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warc | 201704 | Learn something new every day
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A biome is a community of flora and fauna which has adapted to particular conditions; biomes are also known as ecosystems. The wetlands biome is a biome characterized by damp conditions, leading to a diverse collection of species which enjoy this semi-aquatic environment. Examples of the wetlands biome can be found in almost every part of the world, except for regions which remain frozen year-round. Wetlands are believed to be very ecologically important because they provide shelter, food, and protection for a range of species, and they also act as buffer zones, protecting neighboring biomes from flooding and inclement weather.
The defining characteristic of a wetland is a large amount of water, either salt, fresh, or mixed. The wetlands biome typically has areas of standing water for much of the year; some wetlands are wet year round, while others run in a wet/dry cycle, in which the land experiences periodic periods of dryness. The standing water hosts aquatic plants and animals, along with transitional trees, shrubs, and animals which enjoy the food and shelter that the wetlands biome offers.
Aquatic plants like reeds and lilies are common, along with waterbirds like ducks, geese, swans, and herons. The wetlands biome also often hosts creatures like beavers, minks, and rats, and sometimes larger animals such as deer and moose will venture into wetlands for food and shelter. Trees like cypress and mangrove can also be found in the wetlands biome, along with shrubs such as cranberries. Studies of wetlands seem to indicate that they are among the most diverse places on Earth.
Marshes, bogs, and swamps are all considered wetlands. Swamps can run the gamut from the heavily forested mangrove swamps found along the shoreline in many nations to freshwater swamps in inland regions. Bogs are characterized by highly acidic conditions, created through slow decomposition of plants and animals and poor drainage. Wetlands act as large buffer zones, trapping floodwaters and rain so that drier ecosystems do not become waterlogged during storms and heavy weather.
Because wetlands straddle the divide between fully wet environments and entirely land-based ecosystems, they integrate characteristics of both ecosystems. They are also very fragile, and subject to damage through pollution, poor land management, and exploitative use of natural resources. Several conservation organizations are dedicated to the preservation of the wetlands biome around the world, and some groups also work to restore and expand existing wetlands.
SteamLouis
Post 5
Biomes of the world are so important, especially wetlands. They do much more for us than we can imagine. Wetlands protect from floods, serve as a buffer from storms and tsunamis, filter and save groundwater and prevent landslides. And these are not even all of their functions.
turquoise
Post 4
If you were to mark wetlands biome on the map, you would be surprised to know that they exist in the most unexpected places like Russia, Sudan and Bangladesh. And they are not the scary places that our childhood thrillers depicted them to be -- they are some of the most beautiful places on earth, varying in size and habitation. Some are over one hundred thousand square kilometers! Many of them are actually used for recreational purposes and parks.
afterall
Post 3
Because of how fragile their environments are, wetlands biome animals are among the more commonly endangered types. Luckily, wetlands conservation efforts in general have become more active in recent years, and the problems are, in some places at least, becoming less common.
One of our editors will review your suggestion and make changes if warranted. Note that depending on the number of suggestions we receive, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Thank you for helping to improve wiseGEEK! | 3,913 | 1,836 | 0.000547 |
warc | 201704 | My wife and I were blessed with a healthy Internet baby on Christmas
Eve around 9 p.m. PST. That’s why you didn’t see a column during Christmas and almost didn’t see one this weekend. The baby isn’t even a week old. As many of you may know from experience, I haven’t been getting much sleep.
But, as I reflect upon the events that lead up to the baby, I would
say the Internet had much more influence than I had ever expected or imagined. The amount of education material, contacts and leads has been tremendous.
There is this fantastic Internet site called Baby Center. This is our
first child. We learned so much using Baby Center. Best of all, it was all free. We were able to scout for names using their name-search feature. The results provided include the origin and meaning of the names. We found it more helpful than any of the three baby-name books we purchased.
Probably the most influential role the Internet played was one which
lead us to firing our first doctor. Imagine, where can one go to get references on doctors? Doctors are not like regular businesses that have a list of references you can call. Their resumes are for hospital and clinic administrators, and rarely do you hear anything from their patients, happy or otherwise.
So where does one go?
My wife cleverly posted a message on a Baby Center bulletin board
asking for experiences of doctors that worked at the clinic the insurance company pointed us at. The response back was surprising, amazing and convincing. I mean we had our doubts after the first few visits. But, to get direct e-mail back from previous patients now located throughout the country in effect stating, “Stay away from …” (I am withholding the name). Glowing off the computer screen monitor was our doctor’s name with the methods used and details of what we could expect. That did it; we now knew we should find a new doctor.
Surfing the Internet we found a local birth center, learned all about
the center and decided to enroll and attend classes. Here we were able to network and find a fantastic doctor. His name is Dr. Creevy. This mellow, informative, communicative, attention-to-detail doctor has delivered about 6,000 babies. We also landed ourselves a great midwife — full of knowledge, who gets along with “both” parents and doctors. Ronnie is her name and she has a website at Gentle Birth.
On the Internet we landed local birth classes that taught us what to
expect. We landed information that would leave us in control of the events that would take place on that special day. We then landed a great doctor as a result, even though the doctor had no Web page. We landed a great midwife. We found a name we could agree upon via the Internet. At this point, much of this baby’s life was planned as a direct result of information acquired via the Internet.
But it doesn’t stop there. We live in Silicon Valley, Calif. My
mother lives on the East Coast. We were out of the hospital in under 24 hours. Baby was home and in front of my computer camera for grandma to see. Two of my brothers, local to her, had helped install and configure the software for her. This was accomplished months ago knowing that day would come. For the relatives without video conferencing abilities I grabbed my Sony digital camera, the one with the floppy film that also takes short MPEG movies; those things are great. Snapped some high-resolution images and a couple of short MPEG movies. Three floppy disks later, I slapped together a website for our Internet baby in less than 15 minutes.
I find myself laughing when I catch myself wondering what people must
have had to put up with when having babies before the Internet came along. Y2K babies are coming to a hospital near you. From our doctor and during our recent hospital visit, we learned that there’s this HUGE race going on to the have the Y2K baby. In fact we know of doctors that have scheduled cesarean births at midnight Dec. 31. I would guess that a great number of hospitals will have cesarean birth rooms with an occupancy rate higher than we will ever see again in our lifetimes.
In the U.S., Y2K problems you can expect to read about will really
boil down to events like, hacking, planted Y2K virus effects and deliberately huge pranks. However, I plan on visiting the ATM machine just in case they need another day to rest the ATM networks.
Next week, I plan to get some more sleep and get technical.
I would love to hear about your Y2K experiences as they relate to the
Internet. Drop me an e-mail. | 4,606 | 2,284 | 0.000448 |
warc | 201704 | IMR project to study fish reactions to sound
The 8m long, oil filled array, houses eight omni-directional identical hydrophones. The array is designed to be deployed to depths of 100m
A research project being carried out by the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) in Bergen to map the sound field inside a fish pen at Austevoll is using three 8m long, active hydrophone arrays designed by Chelsea Technologies Group Ltd.
The reactions of a school of herring (ca. 10000 fish) to waterborne acoustic signals and noise of various types is currently being studied to get a better understanding of the environmental impact human-made noise can have on fish. The primary objective of the project is to gain an understanding of the interaction between direct stimuli and the information transfer between individuals in schooling fish, and to understand how this affects their behaviour.
Tim Cato Netland, technical engineer at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) said, “The marine acoustics team at NTNU are responsible for the acoustic modelling and instrumentation on the penned herring project. We have conducted several experiments in the Trondheim fjord, leading to an optimised underwater acoustic transmittance and transfer of data. The use of the Chelsea acoustic arrays has greatly simplified the testing process”.
The research involves observing the collective behaviour of penned herring and investigating the effect of various sound stimuli. An area of particular interest is to understand how information is transferred in animals groups, and how stimuli is amplified or dampened through social interactions.
The project will perform lab experiments on schooling fish in response to external stimuli, and investigate the role of the social interactions. The fish will be observed using video cameras, and techniques to extract the behavioural information will be further developed.
An important aspect of the proposal is to establish a link between the highly controlled laboratory observations to in situ experiments. The results from the laboratory will be used to form rigorous hypotheses on the collective behavioural rules in herring, a key species both economically and ecologically. These will be tested on herring in a net pen setup. We will use both video cameras and acoustic cameras to observe the behaviour, and the methods developed from the laboratory experiments will be refined to fit the herring net-pen system.
Links to related companies and recent articles ... MAREANO survey underway Utilising wild fish around fish farms Research grant for salmon disease project Record mackerel stock Conference recognises importance of fishermen’s data The Norwegian Reference Fleet Ecosystem Survey advances further Gentle, rapid handling gives best salmon IMR project to study fish reactions to sound Gondan to build oceanographic vessel for Norway | 2,908 | 1,382 | 0.00073 |
warc | 201704 | There is an ongoing debate within the libertarian community on whether libertarians focus enough on “privilege.” Telling an individual to "check their privilege” urges them to look at the overarching power structures that disproportionately affect different groups, and to appreciate the fact that, statistically, they are more or less likely to have certain advantages over other groups. Although this is an ultimately well-intended exercise of perspective, the concept of “privilege” is wholly irrelevant and misleading from a libertarian perspective.
The problem is, telling people to look at their “privilege” is like trying to make a sociological mosaic out of human beings: Someone already knows what they want the larger picture to look like — whether it reflects hardships, advantages, predispositions — and so they carelessly muddle together the individual pieces to fit their conclusion. If you tell a white male to check their privilege, what are you really saying to them?
Although this may be a great exercise for a sociology class, it has no constructive place in the meat and potatoes of libertarianism. People — which is merely an abstract term for real, individual actors — are far too intricate and nuanced to be filed away like paperwork according to the surface of their skin or their sexual orientation. Invariably, this (literally) black and white way of looking at the world substitutes the infinitely complex nature of the individual for a rhetorically convenient collective.
And for what? While it’s certainly true that cops target black people more than they target people with fairer complexions, what is to be gained by segregating this overlying issue from the brutal murder of Kelly Thomas? The solution, like so many others in our society, is not to merely look at the symptom itself, but the disease that causes it: The drug war, the ongoing welfare programs, government schools, wage controls, zoning laws — all of these and more are factors that keep black people disproportionately stuck in poverty traps and rotting in the bellies of the penal system. But the magnitude of these problems stem not from the racist whims of society, but from | 2,246 | 1,131 | 0.000913 |
warc | 201704 | The achievements medical and therapeutic techniques will depend on the accuracy of diagnostic functions. This is because a suitably discovered overall condition is in many cases granted well timed medical assistance. To achieve this, medical patients have to tell you detailed details of itself with regards to the health issues where they undergo. Particularly, much of these records is rather personal and personal. It is because of this that health professionals are limited through the values on their measures to protect this advise and continue it exclusive custom essay. Patients personal medical data must only be accessed by physicians for treatment purposes unless authorized by the concerned patients for research and other reasons, as protected by the morals of practice and legal provisions. Viewed as doctor-patient confidentiality, the main purpose served by this notion is that of reassurance and provision of emotional security to patients. When searching for medical treatment, all men and women with assorted afflictions probably will be wide open and absolutely free with their health professionals. In that experience, they must reveal all all the info of their own feelings; conversely harming or embarrassing.
In turn, they must remain reassured that these kind of info is not going to increase the risk for physician look at them badly. Ever again, a patient should really stay conscious of the doctor contains an requirement to never tell you these insight to any alternative party unless these types of expertise is issued in the sufferer. To the current magnitude, a regular outstanding is achieved in specialized medical tactics and custom essay. During clients receive the best beneficial products and services, health care professionals also realize its easier to make medications for treatments. Several factors will make doctors request for the authorization of men and women to discuss the material inside of their medicinal data. Just about the most superb of the aforementioned considerations is evaluation for development of medical science and the growth of restorative procedures. Even in many of these situation, organized treatments will need to be then followed and information shown only once the affected individuals have consented custom essay.
The thinking behind holding health care files confidential officially gets to be thought of a patients directly rather than a advantage. However, various extensions get considered in applying this rule. Of family members. That’s the first case. Health concerns which affects people without the need of the opportunity of stretching to family remain protected among the principles of secrecy. Physicians may have to reveal information in circumstances where illnesses can extend to other family members in case they are not informed, however. When this happens, the intention of disclosure can be to offer protection to the implicated family members. Breaches to those confidential conditions occur when physicians launching patients ideas to thirdly social gatherings without the presence of permission of your medical patients. You will find provisions for official measures with many of these physicians.
A client can sue a health care provider or even an institution for invasion of comfort, absence of professionalism, and medical malpractice with other torts. However, additional provisions still allow the release of such information to specified institutions. Many of these may incorporate declare overall health disputes and requirements concerned with judge purchases. Within your take a look at their state, these disclosures are associated to http://myexcellentwriting.com make the broad high quality around the society. The obligation to be private continues perpetual to each health professionals. This means that medical professionals cannot present patients details a long time after the medical patients ceased witnessing them as well as following your patients passing away. In summary, individuals should present highly delicate sensitive information to medical professionals for the best health care facilities. Specialized medical secrecy provides the guarantee that medical experts can not reveal this sort of tips to any 3 rd parties custom essay. They can only apply it treatment solution considerations.
In cases where a doctor demands to disclose these kind of important info, they have to find authorization of your involved sufferers. There are circumstances when patients medical data can still be revealed to third parties, however. Included in this are periods of judge requisitions and expectations by area specialists. For a second time, people as their settings will possibly endanger men and women about them may have these factors breached. Except these, all specialized medical providers must absolutely preserve medical material formula even with their subjects have transferred absent. | 4,923 | 2,250 | 0.000445 |
warc | 201704 | Difference between Franchising and Distribution-ship! In common parlance, franchising and distribution mean the same thing and are often loosely used. However, they mean different meanings. The lines between the two can often be blurry. Nonetheless, and attempt has been made to draw a distinction between the two terms, viz., franchising and distribution-ship. The term distribution-ship […]
Tag Archives | Difference Between Articles
Nominal versus Real Cash Balances! At the outset it is important to introduce the distinction between nominal and real cash balances. Cash balances are another term for money. Nominal cash balances are money of the current purchasing power of a unit of money (say, a rupee). Real cash balances are money of some base-year purchasing […]
Difference between Competence and Competency! Often a question is asked: Are competence and competency the same or different? Some dictionaries have represented the two interchangeably, i.e. meaning the same. However, the meanings of competence and competency are not the same, but they mean two different meanings. The difference between the two has been shown in […]
Difference between Entrepreneurship and Leadership! Sometimes, an entrepreneur and a leader, or say, entrepreneurship and leadership are considered as synonym, i.e. meaning the same thing. But, these two terms mean quite different meanings.Entrepreneurship means a set of attributes that an entrepreneur possesses and practices in starting his /her enterprises. But, leadership is the process of […]
Sometimes, the two terms, namely, an entrepreneur and a manager are considered as synonym, i.e., meaning the same. In fact, the two terms are two economic concepts meaning two different meanings. The major points of distinction between the two are presented in following Table 1.3: Table 1.3: Difference between an Entrepreneur and a Manager: […]
Difference between Entrepreneur and Intrapreneur! Of late, a new breed of entrepreneurs is coming to the fore in large industrial organisations. They are called ‘intrapreneurs’. They emerge from within the confines of an existing enterprise. According to Gifford Pinchot (1985), “Intrapreneur is an entrepreneur within an already established organization.” In big organisations, the top executives […]
Improving a process involves various elements like leaders, team memberships, time commitment, charters, resources, risks and drivers. The examples for such elements are shown in Table 8.5. Also, these examples have been contrasted with the corresponding concepts of re-engineering.
Difference between Labour Force and Workforce! Labour force refers to the number of persons usually employed or willing to be employed. All members of a population cannot to be engaged in economically productive activities. Those persons who can produce goods and services constitute the potential labour force. Labour force excludes the very young and very […]
Some of the major differences between state and nation are as follows: In common usage, the terms State and Nation are often used as synonyms. For example, when we say ‘Western nations’ or ‘Asian nations’ or ‘African nations’, we do not mean nations but States. Similarly, the ‘United Nations’ is in reality an organisation of […]
Some of the main differences between state and association are as follows: Before or understanding the difference between a State and Association, let us first know the meaning of Association. An association is a voluntarily organised union or group or institution of some people for securing a particular need or some needs. MacIver writes: “An […]
Difference between Political Thought and Political Institutions! Political thought is heavily influenced by existing political conditions. Most of the political theories emerged either to explain or justify the existence of authority that men obeyed, or as a criticism that aimed to bring about a change in the existing system. Sometimes, political theories emerged out of […]
Rural-Urban Differences: Demographic and Socio-Cultural Characteristics! Rural and urban communities may be distinguished from each other on the basis of several criteria like occupation, size, and density of population, environment, homogeneity-heterogeneity, social stratification, mobility and system of interaction: The term ‘community’ is used by sociologists to describe a quality of relationship which produces a strong […]
There are no specific criteria by which we may distinguish a tribe from a caste. In broad terms, a tribe is defined as “a community occupying a common geographic area and having a similar language and culture or beliefs and practices” (Theodorson, 1969:443). Nadel has described tribe as “a society with a linguistic, cultural and […]
We have already stressed that this paper touches on a complicated issue which requires more intensive and in-depth treatment before any definitive arguments can be made. Furthermore, as the contours of this paper have been sketched on a broad historical canvas going back to that Vedic age, we can only describe the most general trends […]
Marshall’s Cardinal Utility Analysis vs. Indifference Curve Analysis! Barring the views of some economists like Dennis Robertson, W. E. Armstrong, F. H. Knight, it is now widely believed that indifference curve analysis makes a definite improvement upon the Marshallian cardinal utility analysis. It has been asserted that whereas Marshallian cardinal utility analysis assumes ‘too much’ […]
Difference between Rural and Urban Convergence! Much of the foregoing discussion (historic rural-urban distinction) has become outdated. Today urban and rural differences (dichotomy) of all sorts are rapidly shrinking everywhere in the world, though the speed of this change differs from place to place. The rural-urban distinction has already become less important than occupational distinction. […] | 6,090 | 2,663 | 0.000388 |
warc | 201704 | According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, there are around 12.7 million hotel rooms around the world, and another 1.3 million are in development, half of them being built in the Middle East and Africa. These days, bottled water is as common a sight in hotel rooms as thin-screen televisions and mass-produced art. In most developing parts of the world, bottled water is increasingly sought after, both by locals and visitors.
Given that hotels generally charge for bottled water, this represents an important revenue stream. But there is a negative side: hotels must deal with a flood of empty single-use plastic bottles. In coastal areas, some plastic bottles invariably end up at sea, where they contribute to a marine pollution problem that is turning into a catastrophe for sea life. Shipping water also is costly, generates carbon emissions and most plastic bottles are made using virgin resin, derived from oil.
In 2008, a forward-thinking hospitality executive decided to rectify the wastefulness of single-use plastic bottles at his luxury hotel properties. Sonu Shivdasani banned the import and sale of the bottles at his Soneva resorts. Instead, the company filters, bottles and sells its own water onsite, in bottles that are then collected and reused. This eliminates the emissions associated with transporting bottled water into the resorts, located in the Maldives and Thailand.
Now, a startup is tapping into this same well of thinking. Whole World Water, which officially launched on World Water Day, March 22, is hoping to bring the practice of onsite water treatment and bottling to the wider hospitality industry.
The effort is the work of Karena Albers and Jenifer Willig, a pair of environmentalists and entrepreneurs who count Shivdasani, entrepreneur Richard Branson, industrial designer Yves Behar, actor Edward Norton and environmentalist David de Rothschild among the influential supporters and trustees of their effort.
While Whole World Water is being established as a for-profit, member-based venture for resorts, it has also created the Whole World Water Fund, a charitable organization, through which all participating resorts contribute 10 percent of their proceeds from the water sales. The fund, administered by ClimateCare, will then use the funds to develop water treatment infrastructures in communities around participating resorts. (This model is similar to one used by Shivdasani, who also donates proceeds from water sales to clean water projects –- albeit he contributes a larger share, at 50 percent.)
Turning tides
Albers and Willig acknowledge that packaging waste and emissions generated from food transport are major issues that defy easy solutions, but they see the hospitality industry –- particularly luxury resorts –- as agents for change.
"We all have to ask ourselves, when do we get bamboozled into drinking bottled water? But we did. It became the thing to do, especially at high-end resorts," Albers says. Whole World Water, she says, is "trying to get people up to speed on what we need to do to protect natural resources."
That said, Albers and Willig believe they will be more successful if they give consumers a better option to plastic-bottled water rather than trying to immediately force a change of habit.
"People are buying bottled water [at high-end resorts] more than they are asking for tap" in places such as restaurants, Willig says. "So we said let's offer a brand that satisfied that request, and this way we can wean them off branded bottled water."
The hope is that consumers will come to find the Whole World Water option a more chic, appealing one. At the same time, perhaps they'll start to think differently about single-use plastic bottles. At the same time, Albers and Willig want to provide a new option to travelers who might consider bottled water the only safe option based on the part of the world they're visiting. On some remote islands or in developing parts of the world, "there are not a lot of options so people are more comfortable with branded bottled water," Albers sats. "But in urban settings such as New York, there is definitely more demand for tap water."
Just as local food has captured the attention of travelers, so can water –- as long as it is clean and safe. "We're in a big movement over local food," Albers says. "Why did water get taken out of that equation? Why shouldn't water be local?
Business plan
Whole World Water has already engaged nearly 20 high-end resorts, including Banyan Tree Hotels, Branson's Virgin Hotels, Sovena and three Ritz Carlton properties. These member companies, and others that join in the future, must agree to three basic conditions: paying a $1,000 annual membership fee (this covers marketing and promotional expenses); installing a secondary water filtering system to further purify the hotel's tap water and then bottle it in the Whole World Water glass bottle, which is later collected and reused; and donating 10 percent of water bottle sales to the Whole World Water Fund.
Banning sales of single-use branded plastic water bottles from third parties is not a membership requirement. "We are not mandating that they can't sell bottled water in plastic," Willig says. "We have to walk before we can run."
It's up to members to decide whether they'll continue offering plastic bottles, therefore, but they'll all likely push the Whole World Water option, and not just because its good for marketing purposes. According to Whole Water World, hotels and resorts can boost their own revenue by becoming their own water vendors. Based on a case study, the company says switching to onsite bottling can increase a hotel's profits from bottled water by around 22 percent, since the filtration systems are relatively inexpensive. Plus, the resorts can cut shipments of bottled water by using the onsite system, thereby reducing their carbon footprints and waste generated.
The World Travel & Tourism Council estimates that travel and tourism contribute around $6 trillion to the global economy, which is around 9 percent of the global GDP. Albers and Willig believe they can attract enough members to Whole World Water to raise $1 billion each year for the Whole World Water Fund, to help the estimated 1 billion people around the world who lack access to clean, safe water sources.
The pair says their goal is to show that if drinking local water –- even water that is perceived to be very unsafe –- can be shown to be safe at a fancy resort, then it can also be done at the municipal level.
They also hope to expand the Whole World Water model beyond water. Many resorts already grow a portion of their own food. Why not add a program to divert a portion of restaurant profits to support sustainable agriculture outside the walls of the resort?
(Thumbnail image courtesy of Creative Commons) This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com | 6,960 | 3,189 | 0.000317 |
warc | 201704 | Thailand has been a magnet for holidaymakers for many years and overseas property buyers are now also looking to this beautiful Far Eastern destination to buy. Overview of the property market in Thailand Prices of Thailand property are very reasonable and the cost of living is low Wide range of properties, prices and locations for those buying property in Thailand Exotic climate and some awe-inspiring beauty in its islands, mountains and rural landscapes Some restrictions on foreign ownership
In Bangkok, the country has one of Asia's busiest capitals, and a thriving commercial centre. Elsewhere, there are some excellent beach resorts, golf courses, hundreds of islands and mountain, rural and jungle retreats.
There is a wide range of Thailand property and prices vary enormously across the country. The cost of living is generally low and it is generally a safe and welcoming country for visitors. There is also culture, magnificent natural beauty, delicious cuisine and great weather. Though there are some restrictions on property ownership in Thailand, tourism is at least as popular as ever, not just from Europe but also from Australia and the rest of south east Asia. It is not exactly a short hop from Britain but you will never find anywhere quite like Thailand very close to home - and more and more overseas property buyers are considering the trip worthwhile.
Choice of property in Thailand
Most visitors will enter Thailand via Bangkok, a sprawling city of perhaps 15 million people and a long-established gateway for business in the Far East. Its commercial districts still thrive and there is a great deal of Bangkok property construction being undertaken here and a wide choice of apartments and condominiums available. This type of property is by far the most popular for overseas property buyers in Thailand, not least due to legislation forbidding foreigners from owning land there.
Two of the most popular coastal areas on mainland Thailand are Pattaya and Hua Hin. Pattaya lies to the south east of Bangkok, about 160 kilometres (100 miles) outside the capital. It has two main beaches and over 20 golf courses within an hour of the town. Hua Hin is an altogether quieter area, located 200 kilometres (130 miles) south of Bangkok. It is the Thai royal family's summer residence. It has a long sandy beach and the region is subject to strict development restrictions, though quality golf and beach properties are being built in this picturesque region.
In the north of the country, the city of Chiang Mai is becoming increasingly modernised while retaining much of its ancient charm. Thailand's second city is much smaller than Bangkok and but combines the commercial and shopping opportunities expected of a modern city with the serenity afforded by over 300 temples and its proximity to some of the most popular tourist activities - jungle tours, elephant treks and some of Thailand's most breathtaking rural locales. Golfers will also find a number of excellent courses in this region.
Thai islands have been some of the country's most visited tourist destinations and have attracted some of the most intense property buying interest too. Phuket is perhaps the best-known destination and its numerous excellent beaches and some truly stunning (and expensive) hillside properties are understandably in demand from foreign property buyers. It is by no means the only island worthy of property hunters' attention - Phi Phi, Koh Samui and Koh Chang, to name but three, can also offer a beautiful location for a holiday property in Thailand.
The property market in Thailand
The bloodless military coup of September 2006 contributed to a slowdown in property price rises in Thailand. The new regime clamped down very firmly on some of the loopholes in Thai law regarding foreign ownership of property in Thailand. Though they did not introduce any new laws, they began to scrutinise property transactions involving overseas property buyers, who are not allowed to own land, though within certain limitations they are legally able to own property in Thailand.
The somewhat arbitrary nature of periodic clampdowns since has undermined confidence in some potential overseas property buyers and property price appreciation in Thailand has slowed as demand has diminished. However, with patience and good legal assistance, property buyers should not be put off looking to buy Thailand property. It is especially important under these circumstances that you seek the best possible independent advice before and during the property buying process.
The capital is an important commercial centre in south east Asia and there are good opportunities for property rentals in Bangkok. The latest figures suggest around an 8 per cent annual return here. Property prices and the cost of living are generally highest in the capital, though there is a supply of jaw-dropping multi-million pound properties in Phuket. Even in the popular resorts, prices are generally very affordable for British property buyers and build quality for new property developments is up to European standards.
Tourism in Thailand comes not just from Europe but also from Australasia and other south eastern Asian countries, and high quality property in any popular location should offer owners a reasonable return. Though tax on rental income is not high, Capital Gains Tax is 30 per cent, the highest rate in the region.
Hot spots to buy property in Thailand
Hua Hin has become a a very popular second home destination recently so there is a huge choice of Hua Hin property for sale. New developments are springing up rapidly so you are spoilt for choice when looking to buy.
Koh Samui as a semi-mature property market and boasts more five and six star resorts than any other in the world. Prices of property in Koh Samui went up by up to 50 per cent in 2007.
Property in Pattaya has risen in value by 70 per cent to 80 per cent, due largely to to a very limited supply of high quality apartments. Pattaya is a rising star in the international yachting scene so property prices look set to continue to rise
Property in Phuket is popular with buyers looking for both rental income and capital growth. But property prices are among the highest in the country. Coastal development is spreading quickly but inland properties overlooking golf courses are becoming more popular.
Some information contained herein may have changed since it was first published. HomesOverseas strongly advises you to seek current legal and/or financial advice from a qualified professional. | 6,572 | 2,884 | 0.000348 |
warc | 201704 | Graduates of associate degree programs with a technical or career focus can continue their education in Granite State College's Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Applied Studies. This degree program was developed in collaboration with the Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH), and offers A.S. or A.A. degree graduates from CCSNH and other accredited institutions a seamless transition to a bachelor's degree at Granite State College.
Some examples of associate degrees that transition into the Bachelor of Science in Applied Studies program include computer technology, fire science, automotive technology, dental hygiene, and graphic design. Examples of highly specific, career-focused associate degrees that are also well-suited to this bachelor's degree program include interior design, human services, culinary arts, massage therapy, criminal justice, occupational therapy, paralegal studies, travel and tourism, or others.
Students with associate degrees enter Granite State College with maximum transfer credit, saving time and money. Courses may be taken online or at any of our statewide campuses.
Education and Training Human Services and Management
Enhance your knowledge and skills as a working professional through higher learning in adult learning, training, or staff development in business, government, or other private or public organizations. This degree is responsive to the education needs of businesses and includes an appropriate foundation for further graduate study. Specific careers may include: Facility Educator, Center Director, Senior Training Specialist, Education Resource Specialist, and Training and Development Consultant.
Curriculum maps:
Prepare for a career working with young children in the human services field. The B.S. Applied Studies in Human Services and Early Childhood Development has
With your associate degree and/or career experience in management, focus further on learning advanced management functions, processes, and skills that will enable you to effectively respond to complex business and management challenges. The B.S.A.S. in Management at GSC is responsive to the education needs of businesses and includes an appropriate foundation for further graduate study—such as GSC’s Master of Science in Project Management. Specific careers may include: Project Manager, Director of Operations, Business Consultant, Manager of Customer Care, and Supervisor.
To learn more about our 3+1 Management Program agreement with the University of New Hampshire Thompson School, click here. | 2,558 | 1,160 | 0.000869 |
warc | 201704 | Recognize these warning signs
While the appendix doesn't appear to have a real job in the body, it quickly becomes a concern when inflammation of the organ -- known as appendicitis -- sets in.
The Cleveland Clinic mentions these warning signs of appendicitis:
Vomiting and nausea. Pain in the lower-right area of the abdomen that becomes worse when touched. Soreness just above the belly button that may extend to the lower-right area of the belly. Aforementioned pain that worsens when coughing, sneezing, moving around or taking a deep breath. Running a mild fever. Having diarrhea, constipation or being unable to pass gas. Loss of appetite. Abdominal swelling.
APPENDIX by Dictionary.com
supplementary material at the end of a book, article, document, or other text, usually of an explanatory, statistical, or bibliographic nature. a narrow, blind tube protruding from the cecum, having no known useful function, in humans being 3 to 4 inches (8 to 10 cm) long and situated in the lower right-hand part of the abdomen. Also known as vermiform appendix. | 1,063 | 629 | 0.0016 |
warc | 201704 | Although Vermont law does not explicitly recognizes surrogacy agreements, it appears that such agreements are lawful. Furthermore, surrogacy agreements are available to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and couples in Vermont.
There is no case law dealing directly with surrogacy, but in the case of
Baker v. State,[i] the court expressed the view that surrogacy agreements are valid in Vermont. In this case, which led to the creation of civil unions in Vermont, the state itself argued that restricting marriage to different-sex couples would serve the important goal of minimizing complications in surrogacy agreements. Furthermore, in its holding the Court granted state-level benefits and responsibilities associated with marriage to same-sex couples.
It is legal in Vermont for same-sex couples to jointly adopt, as well as for individuals to adopt the children of their same-sex partner. Moreover, now that same-sex couples have the right to marry in Vermont, it would stand to reason that surrogacy agreements would be extended to these couples if they are considered enforceable at all in the state.
[i]
170 Vt. 194 (Vt. 1999) | 1,159 | 606 | 0.00166 |
warc | 201704 | GLEN FORK, W.Va. — Across Laurel Creek and down a dirt road in this sleepy valley town is the modest white house where Steve Day grew up. For more than 33 years, it was where he recuperated between shifts underground, mining the rich seams of the central Appalachian coalfields and doing his part to help make Peabody Energy Corp. the nation’s most productive coal company. Now, it’s where he spends most days and nights in a recliner, inhaling oxygen from a tank, slowly suffocating to death.
More than a half-dozen doctors who have seen the X-ray and CT images of his chest agree he has the most severe form of black lung disease. Yet his claim for benefits was denied in 2011, leaving him and his family to survive on Social Security and a union pension; they sometimes turn to neighbors or relatives for loans to make it through the month.
The medical opinions primarily responsible for sinking his claim didn’t come from consultants-for-hire at a private firm or rogue doctors at a fringe organization.
They came from a respected household name: the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions.
[More]
The more I read this report the angrier I got. All thanks to real data put together that allowed unseen tendencies to be revealed, for intuitive suggestions to become objective reality. It appears that a single medical institution is responsible for many coal miners not getting any benefits for their lung disease,f or having to die sooner than needed in intense agony as they struggle to breath. Would you trust a doctor’s opinion that only agreed with those of other doctors 2% of the time, out of thousands of cases? The report constructed a database of decisions regarding black lung claims. It took a lot of work but what they found was that the Johns Hopkins unit hardly ever finds black lung when other doctors find it easily. Their diagnosis is that the X-rays reveal tuberculosis or a fungal disease but not black lung. And these doctors use their reputation to overrule the diagnosis from lesser doctors at institutions that are not Johns Hopkins. It is interesting that the coal companies pay big dollars to Johns Hopkins for their analysis of the X-rays. Here is the telling infographic that boggles the mind, from just one of the Johns Hopkins doctors looking over 1500 cases:
1500 cases where a single Johns Hopkins doctor – the head of the unit – made a diagnosis. He looked at 3400 X-rays. Red is a negative diagnosis for black lung; green a positive. In none of the cases did Wheeler find any stage 3 disease and only found the possibility of black lung in 4% of the cases. However, he also believed that another disease – such as TB – was responsible for 2% of those cases. So, in 1500 cases, he thought only about 30 of them were actually caused by black lung. Other diseases like tuberculosis were really responsible, in his opinion.I guess there is a huge outbreak of TB in coal miners. Many judges, in their rulings, simply deferred to the expertise of the Johns Hopkins doctors. Their name was so much more important than the doctors from other lesser institutions. And judges that recognized the bias had little they could do. To discredit an expert, they had to find a logical flaw:
But, to discredit his readings and award benefits to a miner, as Levin did, judges must identify a logical flaw or some other reason not to give his opinion greater weight than those of other doctors. Former judges said they knew certain doctors almost never found black lung, but said they were barred from taking these experiences in other cases into consideration. In four cases reviewed by the Center, judges who have questioned Wheeler have seen their decisions vacated by an appeals board.
This doctor apparently does not like X-rays and will really only believe a biopsy – something that is not only expensive and not required but has risks to the patient. Yet in over 100 cases where Wheeler said there was no black lung, biopsies showed that there were. And when shown test X-rays used by the government to certify readers for black lung, Wheeler got them wrong. Yet he continues to be certified for interpreting these X-rays. In fact, it appears he does not follow protocol when reading the X-rays. Yet he still reads them. Autopsies performed on several people after death demonstrated that Wheeler was wrong – they did have black lung. They should have gotten benefits. That they did not would cause a normal doctor to be saddened, as shown in the article. Wheeler does not appear to be nearly as concerned, at least in his responses, about being wrong. It certainly appears that Wheeler would rather thousands of people with black lung not be compensated, rather than let one get compensation unfairly. Thus there are likely thousands who will die in needless agony all so he can prevent that one person from gaming the system.
He has let his own confirmation bias cloud his judgement. That is what this deep data analysis indicates. He is not acting as an independent examiner of what the X-rays show but is spreading his own view on the matter, one that is out of touch with a huge number of colleagues.
In written opinions, judges have said Wheeler’s assumptions seem to have “affected his objectivity” and “inappropriately colored his readings.” Another wrote in 2011 that Wheeler had a “bias against a finding of complicated [black lung] in ‘young’ individuals.”
So let’s hope that future lawyers will be able to use this objective data to show the non-objective opinions of Johns Hopkins doctors. An ‘independent’ examiner who lets their bias cloud the examination is not really independent at all. | 5,752 | 2,655 | 0.000385 |
warc | 201704 | Working in an increasingly dynamic environment involves continuous modification of roles, work goals and processes in order to meet the operating conditions and changing requirements of the business. Having a model that integrates the organisational structure, goals, behaviour, and components (both strategic and operational) of the business is beneficial in tackling day-to-day challenges.
Organizational modelling is a technique for describing the roles and reporting structure within a business and ensuring that the structure supports the goals of the business. Organizational models or charts are usually designed by grouping people with a common set of objectives. An organisational model illustrates:
· The employees that fall within a group
· The relationship between members of a group
· The role of each person in a group
Organizational models may be developed by adopting any of the following approaches:
Functional Model: With this approach, employees are grouped based on their shared skills, processes and expertise. Though this model encourages standardization of work and processes, it can quickly lead to the development of silos within the business. Market Model: This organizational structuring may be based on customer groups, geographical areas, processes or some other mode of organization. It is designed to meet the needs of customers but may not follow any consistent structure in terms of how work is performed. Matrix Model: With this arrangement, there is a separate supervisor for each functional area as well as each product, service or geographical location. It is a hybrid of the functional and market-based organizational model.
Though organizational models are often criticized for the workload needed to keep them up-to-date and their inability to spot informal lines of authority, they help provide a comprehensive overview of the business for effective planning, restructuring and organization. | 1,956 | 937 | 0.00108 |
warc | 201704 | Got this exciting Google Alert on entrepreneurship policy that highlights and lists papers on entrepreneurship and innovation policies of all sorts.
I just downloaded a paper comparing entrepreneurship education at the state level across 18 states. It doesn’t go into too much detail, but for those interested in legislation related to entrepreneurship, this is a good basic starting point.
There are countless other papers at the link below covering everything from the role of entrepreneurship in economic development to a digest of various entrepreneurship indicators that are available to academics and policy makers.
Check out the Reseau Innovation Network, based in Quebec. I am definitely gonna join their mailing list as they seem to aggregate some solid information. | 785 | 451 | 0.002246 |
warc | 201704 | Progression Tracker
Do You Need a Funding Plan?
Introduction to the Six Steps
Step 1: Establish Priorities
Step 2: Assess Capacity
Step 3: Set Fundraising Goals
Step 4: Identify Funding Sources
Step 5: Evaluate & Select Funding Sources
Fundraising Environment Diversification Estimated Returns Sustainability Key Evaluation Questions
Final Quiz
Sample Finance Plans
List of Case Studies
References & Additional Resources
Step 5 (continued). Estimated Returns
When choosing the best funding strategies for your group, it is important to know what kind of returns you can expect from a particular funding strategy. One of the best ways to figure out costs associated with different funding options is to ask other groups in your area. Here are some factors that can affect your organization's fundraising costs and returns:
Age of your organization.New organizations can expect to see fewer returns from their funding sources than established organizations. For example, success with particular grants in previous years may determine success with those grants in future years. Competition for funds.If there are similar organizations in your area, you may see a decreased return on investments. Source of funds.Small gifts from individual donors will mean higher fundraising costs, at least in the short term. In contrast, grants, major gifts, and donations from corporations will mean lower costs. (However, individual donations are more sustainable, as we will see on the next page!) Different methods.Different methods have different returns. Below is an estimation of returns from a few funding sources: Source of Funds Expected Costs Membership $0.20 to $0.30 per $1.00 raised Special Events $0.50 to $1.00 per $1.00 raised Corporations/Foundations $0.20 per $1.00 raised Direct Mail (acquisition) $1.25 to$1.50 per $1.00 raised Direct Mail (renewal) $0.20 to $0.25 per $1.00 raised Non-monetary returns.While some of these strategies may be higher in cost than others, they often have important non-monetary benefits, such as recruiting new members, maintaining current membership, media exposure, and heightened awareness of your watershed.
Fundraising costs has become a hot topic in the nonprofit sector. Not only are nonprofits facing increased scrutiny on their operating and fundraising costs, but they are also facing increased competition from other groups in their area. As a result, nonprofits often feel the need to show low fundraising costs and assure donors that their money is going towards programming and projects. Still, organizations must be honest about their fundraising costs to develop trust among their donors.
Citation: See Resources, Works Cited #28 | 2,698 | 1,305 | 0.000772 |
warc | 201704 | This morning, I took my first-ever pottery class, in the spacious studio in our college’s arts center, with a generous colleague, George, and a large group of students, several of whom had been in my classes before. I’m here on sabbatical, I said, to learn, just like you are. And the relief of being among them in the posture of a fellow apprentice was deep, even though, by the end of the two-hour session, that feeling had twisted around and taken several paths I did not expect.
As a writer and writing teacher (and yoga student), I thought I’d internalized the realities of doing and making: don’t expect perfection the first time (or maybe ever), don’t overthink, concentrate and let the material take shape in front of you, going back and back to smooth or bend or trim it. Use your hands, your body, your senses to learn and listen and adjust. Real and valuable change takes place over time, sometimes a lot of time. But it is easier to hold these ideas when you are not also learning something totally new – the time of excitement and discovery is also a time when fear can let a few old bad habits slip through the door.
“The bowl is a beautiful shape,” said George, “the inside and the outside are both totally exposed.” He taught us about clay – how more is always being created, geologically, how its tiny crystals lock together like wet magazine pages or decks of cards, how with working and reshaping, it releases the solar energy it has stored over eons literally right into our hands.
Ooh, metaphor, I thought, I know what to do with that! I remembered how long I’d wanted to try this craft, how pleased I was when a dear graduating senior gifted me with a beautiful coffee mug she’d made in this same class. But as I worked at pinching lumps of clay into small figures and a small bowl shape, I realized also how exposed I felt as a student rather than a professor, despite my eagerness and happiness to be there, and how in response to that a smarmy professor-pleaser I have not been for years was starting to creep back into my head. I congratulated myself on accepting the fingermarks along the bottom of my bowl, smoothed and smoothed the breast of my little bird figure, hoping unconsciously for the instructor to pause at my workspace and praise me – saying this is good! or this is the best! Every student looks for that, waits for that, hopes for that. Every person does. And as professors, we need to ask: how much of our teaching would be so very different if we felt — really felt — how deeply the posture of the learner can be different from that of the teacher, and how easy it is for us to separate ourselves from “learners,” artificially, behind our wall of “expert” self-identification? What would be different if we put ourselves in the place our students are, every day, especially our students who are making art, with all the risk and confusion and unknown paths ahead we ourselves think we already know how to handle? What would be different if we really remembered how clueless our students can feel before the blank page or the silent keyboard or the familiar set of equations — a cluelessness buried, sometimes, too far back in our own experience to remember with that same keen sympathy?
Watching George at the wheel, so matter-of-fact and quietly skilled, centering a lump of clay and letting it spin up between his hands into a bowl, then a vase, I felt a surge of confidence: surely I would be able to figure that out. It looks so easy when he does it! Routinely I cook, plant, knit, judge jam textures and tomato ripeness by touch, eyeball the correct placement of pictures on a wall or the contours of a new garden bed, trust my body and its spatial abilities. Surely I could do this too.
So I sat behind the wheel and lowered my foot on the pedal. When I felt for the first time the lump of clay spinning under my cupped hands, I felt elated, totally focused, connected to every cell in the surface of the skin that was sensing this round motion and mass. “You centered that clay really quickly!” George praised. “Good! You seem to have a really good sense for that.” Then I dropped my thumbs into the middle of the mass to begin hollowing it out. And at some point, assailed by multiple simultaneous competing needs – depress the center, bring my left hand up and fingers down against the right hand to smooth out and deepen the inside of the bowl, fetch more water, ease up where the wheel friction is heating the side of my hand, depress the pedal (which works just like a car accelerator) – I lost the process completely, slewing a slather of clay all over the wheel surface. “Maybe ease up on the pedal,” George offered. (Familiar advice, unfortunately….) So I scraped it together and tried again, and again. Something about this form felt different, the center deeper from the beginning, the shape a little more under control. I let the wheel slow down. Watching carefully, George helped me shave an uneven place off the rim which was threatening to collapse the bowl, the only time he had intervened in the process. “Stop right there!” he exclaimed. “That is actually a nice piece.”
Just as my students have done with their written work, when they were in my place and I was in George’s, I blurted, “Really?” And I looked at it again. It was a nice piece. It is. A chunky little bowl with deep swirling fingermarks up the inside, somewhere between a vase and oversized handleless coffee mug in shape, with an accidental, insouciant lip in the rim. It has attitude. The outside is a little rough, mostly smooth. You can see the fingertip-wide rings of throwing lines there too, tell how this was shaped – inside and out – by touch. Obviously a beginner piece. But it also – even if only to my eyes – looks like the form this ball of clay wanted to take, the piece it wanted to be. Looking at it, I recognized my teacher was right. “Picture a river rushing up against a fallen log,” writes yoga teacher Michael Stone, “a new form comes about when the natural world pushes a form forward.” Stone is talking about the ongoing reality of being, the life that flows on and within and around us, and perhaps about pottery too. And writing. And any other art worth doing.
So I sliced my bowl off the wheel and put it on a board on “my shelf” to be fired at the end of the semester. What glaze? Red. Deep red. Maybe with some brown. But mostly red. By the end of the semester, I’ll have made more bowls and vases and other things to fill that shelf and be glazed and fired, but I’ll always remember: this bowl was first.
Wandering around the studio, I spotted a ceramic Buddha head perched above the kiln door and remembered suddenly the statue of Prajnaparamita I saw earlier this summer at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The smile on her face is deep and intangible and captivating. How on earth, you wonder, could anyone ever be so skilled as to capture that in stone? Yet somebody was. And you think suddenly and with total freshness about all the made, crafted, beloved objects you have ever stared at in museums or held in your hand or sipped your coffee from —
Somebody made this. Who? Things look different once you ask that question. In a lot of ways.
Students have responded powerfully in my classes to these questions and to texts like Matthew Crawford’s
Shop Class as Soulcraft, sharing stories of carving spoons, husking corn, playing guitar, knitting sweaters, building boats, and experiencing the type of rapt absorption in reality that things with glowing screens can make impossible. Once you have tried making a physical material into an object that did not exist before, you see the whole tangible world, and the whole process of making, completely differently. They become at once fascinatingly strange and familiar. And you understand the way language, as the author Jay Griffiths has written, must be hooked to the physical world to keep its full range of motion and meaning. “The virtual world, the antinatural world, kills metaphor,” she says in her essay “Artifice vs. Pastoral.” “I couldn’t call language ‘shimmering’ without knowledge of the natural world, light on water.” And having had my hands in raw clay, brought for the first time against its full strength and fragility, I remembered the simile that strikes me every time I hear Handel’s “Messiah,” as the music rises with apocalyptic tension: “thou shalt dash them in pieces, like a potter’s vessel.” The fragile body, broken. Its inner space exposed. For the vase, the vessel, the body does have such a inner space, a sacred life. You feel the aptness of the simile, and its fierceness, and you wrestle with it because of its ordinariness. That humble container in which we live.
The coffee on my desk steams away inside a little footed cup made by some friends and favorite local potters, and looking at it now I see the subtle curlicue where fingers shaped the bottom, the even ribbing of finger pressure along the sides, and I know in my own fingers just how those marks got there. I feel a human presence that, in this era of soulless mass production and alienation of people from labor and labor from value, is profoundly reassuring — and necessary. When you try to make things, with your own hands, focusing only on that task and letting everything else fall away, you join up with that great, silent stream of human dignity and craft throughout time — of who we are, at our best — running constantly just below the surface of the visible world, palpable if you know how to feel it. | 9,885 | 4,629 | 0.000224 |
warc | 201704 | This article focuses on pyrotechnic pet stress, but help can be applied in the event of lightning, thunder, or any sound.
Pyrotechnics is a tradition in our country (United States) and is mainly used for the celebration of multiple events such as: Christmas, New Year, birthdays, parties, festivals, patriotic celebrations, etc.
However pyrotechnics has some not so desirable consequences as environmental pollution, burns, accidents, etc.
But some of the side effects that are almost not talked about is the stress brought on by pets.
Dogs are mainly affected, causing them stress from a bad night (the dog and the owners), but we have also received dogs in shock, problems of immunosupression secondary to stress, gastritis, loss of appetite, and even death (Especially in small dogs). These are some of the key responses to pyrotechnics in pets received at our hospital.
For this reason we suggest some mechanisms to reduce the effect of stress
on our pets:
Plugs: The plugs are soft cover the ear canal and some dogs are well. These reduce sound and therefore reduce stress.
Medicines. There are medicines of veterinary use with anxiolytic effect, that is to say, they reduce the body’s response to stress, making it more bearable the noise of the fireworks.
Bandages There are bandages that are put on the dogs and helps them to feel embraced or contained and it is proven that it helps to reduce the stress during the celebrations with pyrotechnic fires. If you do not have a big enough band, you can use a scarf !.
Desensitization. It is a slow but very effective process, which consists of recording sounds of cars, thunder, cars, etc. And routinely put animals under stress from these noises with a volume that increases as you get used to a very loud sound that helps us when the storm passes, storm lightning, fireworks, etc., the pet feels more confident and At least lower your stress during the event.
Hugs. If your pet is very stressed when they are thundering, tighten and speak softly so that it feels accompanied, it will give you peace of mind and your stress will be more bearable.
If the stress is too much and you can not help it, it will be important that you go with a veterinary hospital 24 hours to give you a tranquilizer or sedative to spend the night and the next morning your friend feels better. | 2,345 | 1,171 | 0.000861 |
warc | 201704 | We live in era when the world seems to be unraveling. Is it unraveling? If it is unraveling, why?
Here we continue with part 2 of LOVE: IS IT OUR CHIEF IDOL OR OUR MOST PRIZED VIRTUE? What is the subject?
How The Idolization of Love Corrupts Church and State What Is Idol Worship?
Word Origin and History for idoln. mid-13c.,
“image of a deity as an object of (pagan) worship,” from Old French idole “idol, graven image, pagan god,” from Late Latin idolum “image (mental or physical), form,” used in Church Latin for “false god,” from Greek eidolon “appearance, reflection in water or a mirror,” later “mental image, apparition, phantom,” also “material image, statue,” from eidos “form” (see -oid ). Figurative sense of “something idolized” is first recorded 1560s (in Middle English the figurative sense was “someone who is false or untrustworthy”). Meaning “a person so adored” is from 1590s. (from here)
When we idolize something, we put that person, place, or thing before our Creator. We foolishly put our faith in a person, place, or thing that is not worthy of such trust (Note again the origin of the word “idol”.). For the sake of what we can get from our idol, we sacrifice our self (in service) to our idol, and we risk our soul. We don’t “love” our idol, but it does consume us when we try use it to get what we want.
At gotquestions.org, here is how the author begins his post on the differences between ancient and modern idolatry.
Question: “What are some modern forms of idolatry?”
Answer: All the various forms of modern idolatry have one thing at their core: self. We no longer bow down to idols and images. Instead we worship at the altar of the god of self. This brand of modern idolatry takes various forms. (continued here)
The various forms he lists involve stuff (materialism), self (pride), state (mankind), and self-indulgence (various forms of gluttony).
How Does The Idolization of Love Corrupt The Church?
Most Christians have memorized at least one passage in the Bible. We call it The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), but it is really a model prayer. This prayer puts the focus on God and obedience to Him. When we recite it — and mean what we say — we humble ourselves and beg forgiveness for our sins. But this is not the way prideful men want to imagine God, and we have a wonderful capacity for self-delusion. So it is that once we take our eyes off God, we focus upon what we want. In Grammar Lesson – ‘AS’ and ‘AND’, irtfyblog provides an example of how that works. Here is an excerpt.
So, knowing how a word is defined and used in a specific language, a reader can develop a better understanding of what the writer is trying to convey. Hence, the command:
“Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
Since we know that ‘As’ is defined as a word used to compare and refer to the extent or degree of something, we can then see that the meaning of the command is really: “Love your neighbor
in comparison to or to the degree of which you love yourself.”
If God had said,
“Love your neighbor that would have changed the meaning of the command entirely. AND love yourself,”
Since we very much like to love ourselves, so it is that many of us look for excuses to change the meaning of the Bible. When the folks at gotquestions.org addressed this question, “Why is idol worship such a powerful temptation?”, they considered this matter.
There is another form of idolatry prevalent today. Its growth is fostered by cultures that continue to drift away from sound biblical teaching, just as the apostle Paul warned us, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:3). In these pluralistic, liberal times, many cultures have, to a large degree, redefined God. We have forsaken the God revealed to us in Scripture and have recast Him to comply with our own inclinations and desires—a “kinder and gentler” god who is infinitely more tolerant than the One revealed in Scripture. One who is less demanding and less judgmental and who will tolerate many lifestyles without placing guilt on anyone’s shoulders. As this idolatry is propagated by churches around the world, many disillusioned congregants understandably believe they are worshipping the one, true God. However, these made-over gods are created by man, and to worship them is to worship idols. Worshipping a god of one’s own making, however, is particularly tempting for many whose habits and lifestyles and drives and desires are not in harmony with Scripture.
I call this form of idolatry the idolization of “love”.
How do our churches support the idolization of “love”? So that we can focus on the God of Love, we ignore much of scripture. We ignore Hell. We ignore the condemnation of sin. Fearing we deserve the same, we ignore the stories of Israel’s sins and suffering. We also ignore the sins and the suffering of Israel’s enemies, of Sodom and Gomorrah, of the peoples before Noah’s Flood, of Cain, and of Adam and Eve. Refusing to seriously consider the future, we set aside the coming Wrath of God in Revelation.
When was the last time your pastor warned of Hell and damnation? Does your pastor slyly step past the scary parts of the Bible? How many people do you know who read those parts? How many people do you know who have read the Bible?
Is there a Hell? Is there a punishment for sin? If not, then why did Jesus die upon that cross?
We have to study and revere the whole Word of God. Any church that refuses to do that will in time unravel.
Deuteronomy 12:29-32 New King James Version (NKJV)
Beware of False Gods
29 “When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, 30 take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ 31 You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. 32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.
For the sake of what they imagine they could get from a demon god called Molech, the Canaanites and their Hebrew imitators burned their children alive. For the sake of distorted notions of love, we abort hundreds of thousands of children every year.
How Does The Idolization of Love Corrupt The State?
Churches Don’t Provide Character Education
When churches begin preaching sloppy notions about love and ignore much of the Bible, the morals of a nation must suffer. Then the nation itself must suffer. Without a moral people, we cannot make a constitutional republic work. Neither the people nor their leaders will restrain themselves and abide by the law.
There is a certain irony in that. Consider all the rules, regulations and laws we suffer under now, and ignorance of the law is no excuse. In a highly technical society with potentially lethal hand-held power tools; big and even more dangerous cars, buses, and trunks; powerful chemicals; and so forth, we have to have lots of rules, regulations and laws. We cannot just point to a song and chant “What the world needs now is love, sweet love”. We have to understand that loving your neighbor means stopping at red lights. In fact, we have to teach our children and each other what real and sincere love looks like.
Yet too many Christian churches do not teach about the effort required to love. They should. Consider how Jesus summarized the Bible.
Matthew 22:36-40 New King James Version (NKJV)
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Did Jesus say that this passage is all we need to know? Didn’t Jesus spend three years teaching His apostles. Did not even the Apostle Paul, a brilliant scholar, have to spend 2 – 3 years in the desert before he began his work as an apostle (Galatians 1:11-18). For similar reasons, each of us needs to study the whole Bible. Just as the apostles could not teach others how to be good Christians without the instruction of Jesus, we cannot properly live as good Christians without studying the Bible.
An Example Of The Problem
The Bible is a book of wisdom that tells us how we should try to live with each other. Government is an institution we created to keep us from destroying each other. Because we must empower government to control us, government is an institution we can either use properly or abuse.
Here is a very simple, straightforward example. The Bible gives us a personal responsibility to love and help each other. The Bible speaks of voluntary giving, not government-run charity. Yet we have let legions of politicians persuade us that they have the right to take money some people and give it to other people. These politicians give us excuses. “It is for the children.” “It is for the disabled.” “It is for the old.” And so forth.
What at bottom is the excuse for government-run charity — welfare? The politicians defend the welfare state as modern man’s means for loving his neighbor. In fact, what has happened is that the conniving politicians who run these schemes just create large voting constituencies dependent on government handouts.
Government cannot love us. Government welfare is not about love; it is about votes. The Bible does not make exceptions for government handouts. Even when we use the government to do it, when we take the property of another person, that is stealing.
Government Cannot Provide Character Education
Since the time we turned the education of our children over to politicians, each succeeding generation has had less and less familiarity with the Bible. What have the politicians put in its place? It is a vague thing we call Secularism.
Why would our leaders choose to do such a thing? Why would they set aside the Bible, which contains invaluable wisdom, for Secularism. Well, there is nothing new in this. In fact, when Americans chose to prevent the government from establishing a state religion, that was new. Unfortunately, we risk losing what they won.
In the 1830’s Americans started sending their children to schools run by their local governments. Those public schools, ostensibly for the sake of religious freedom, gradually begin separating the religious content out of the curriculum. When state governments and the Federal Government sought to stick their noses into the government-run education racket, Federal and state officials accelerated the process of separating out religious education content. Hence, when the Supreme Court ruled against school prayer, the judges merely finished a process that was almost complete.
Unfortunately, a secular education cannot and does not instill virtue into children. Therefore, everyone expected parents and churches to somehow make up for this deficit, but relatively few parents and churches ever taught children what was needful. In fact, as some have observed, the way the public schools teach subjects like sex education (handing out condoms to teenagers.) and history (religion starts wars) is often at odds with what churches and parents want children to learn.
Conclusion
If we want to save our republic, we have to focus on a more serious problem. We each have to repair the damage to our souls. We must study the Bible.
2 Chronicles 34 tells the story of a revival in Judah. The priests had lost the Book of the Law in the temple. When the priests finally began looking towards God again, they then were able to find His Word again (in the Temple where they lost it). The question for today is whether we can do the same.
Continued: A Review Of What Others Have To Say | 12,525 | 5,642 | 0.000184 |
warc | 201704 | Read the article below and do the writing exercise at the bottom of the page. Web sites, awful and not
document.writeln(‘<div id=”bodyText” style=”font-size: ‘ + currentTextSize + ‘px; line-height: ‘ + currentLineHeight + ‘px;”>’); LONDON: When did you last see a well-designed Web site? One that wasn’t just great to look at, but so easy to use that you found what you wanted effortlessly? And when did you last grumble about a badly designed site having spent far too long trying – and failing – to find something?
I’d love to think that there’d be more enthusiastic answers to the first question, than grouchy responses to the second. But sadly for the millions of us who waste so much time struggling to extract information from the Web, it’s bound to be the other way around. The blunt truth is that far from being visually pleasing, intelligently organized and simple to use, too many Web sites are ugly, cluttered, sluggish and brain-fuddlingly difficult to navigate.
There’s no logical explanation for this. Lots of smart design graduates go into Web design, and it’s at the forefront of technological innovation. Even corporate dinosaurs now recognize the value of a well-designed Web site, and design budgets have risen accordingly. Why then are so many sites so poorly designed?
1. It’s difficult. Designing anything well is difficult, but Web design is especially so. One reason is because it’s such a new medium that there are few design rules, and most of them were imported (not always successfully) from print. Its newness also means that the 99 percent of us who use Web sites, rather than create them, aren’t sure how to judge whether or not they’re well designed. Another problem is that technology changes so fast that Web designers constantly have to abandon old tricks and learn new ones. (A particularly painful lesson seems to be designing sites that are remotely legible on cellphone screens.)A third is that the designers have no control over how their work will be seen, because that is influenced by so many other factors. Will the site be seen on a computer or cellphone? If it’s the former, on a Mac or PC? (Even typefaces can look different on the various formats. Take Georgia – gorgeous on a Mac, and ungainly on a PC.) The type of browser changes things, too, as does whether the screen is adjusted correctly for brightness and color, and if it’s dusty or stained. But don’t feel too sorry for Web designers. They don’t help themselves by working – and showing off their sites to clients – on state-of-the-art computers. Popping into an Internet café to use its elderly PCs would give a more realistic impression of how most people will actually see their work. 2. Too flash by half. One of the worst habits of Web designers – and the clients who let them get away with it – is to “prettify” sites with digital animations created by Flash software. Think of how many times you’ve logged off Web sites because you’ve been locked into a seemingly endless (often irritating) animation. That’s Flash. It was fashionable in the late 1990s, but fell from favor when Web designers started obsessing over “simplicity.”Ironically Flash still tends to be popular with would-be fashionable brands. The chief offenders are fashion labels. Chanel, Dior, Lanvin, Stella McCartney and Louis Vuitton all have unfashionably Flashy sites. “Often those brands are trying to recreate their print ads, which are very elaborate and very beautiful,” said Daljit Singh, creative director of Digit, a Web design group in London. “You just can’t recreate that level of finesse on the Web.” 3. More isn’t always merrier. Another common crime is cluttering up Web sites with inessential stuff that makes it harder for you to find what you’re looking for. “I don’t understand why people think that putting everything on the page will attract more clicks,” said Chanuki Seresinhe, co-founder of the London design firm Design Science Office. “It just confuses users. We’re already overwhelmed with too much information, so why do they throw too many choices at us?” Quite. She cites the online shop of Liberty, the London department store, as an example of a site that’s “full of useful features without creating too much clutter.” 4. Not that you’d notice. A well-designed Web site looks so straightforward and is so thoughtfully organized that you can find your way around it instinctively. One of Singh’s favorite examples is Google Maps. “Just fantastic!” he said. “It goes to show that keeping things simple and human does make a difference.” The better designed a site’s navigation is, the more intuitively we’ll use it. Like the user interface software with which we operate cellphones and other digital devices, we only tend to notice Web design when it goes wrong.One obstacle to usability is the fragmented nature of many Web design “teams.” The designer often works with a user experience expert, who’s in charge of navigation, as well as a graphic designer responsible for the aesthetic of the site and the developer that builds it. With so many people pitching in, it isn’t surprising that Web sites often seem incoherent. 5. To print, or not to print. Sometimes I wonder whether Web site designers are so entranced by their screens that they never print anything on paper. They certainly seem determined to stop the rest of us from doing so, either by making it fiendishly difficult or ensuring that the end result is barely legible.A prime culprit is http://www.nationalrail.co.uk, the online information service for Britain’s railroads. The site is so poorly planned that details of a single journey are spread across several screens, and printing the information gobbles up pages of paper. A link to “Timetables you can Print” just fobs you off with directions to other sites. Then there’s http://www.ica.org.uk, the Web site of the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. It looks O.K. on-screen, at least it does on a Mac because the font is Georgia in an elegant shade of gray. But if you print a page, the gray type is so pale that it’s barely discernible. Great.
EXERCISE: Read the article and write a brief essay (tesina – 500 words) about your experience with well constructed and badly constructed web-sites you have encountered. Use the points in the article as a guide (but not only!) with which to evaluate the examples you use. The first paragraph should include a sentence that indicates what you are going to talk about and the point of view you are going to take in the essay. The last paragraph should include some form of conclusion. | 6,944 | 3,341 | 0.000316 |
warc | 201704 | Family Access to Care Study (FACS)
Tracking Information First Received Date
ICMJE December 21, 2007 Last Updated Date January 13, 2009 Start Date
ICMJE February 2003 Primary Completion Date February 2008 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure) Current Primary Outcome Measures
ICMJE Not Provided Original Primary Outcome Measures
ICMJE Not Provided Change History Complete list of historical versions of study NCT00582218 on ClinicalTrials.gov Archive Site Current Secondary Outcome Measures
ICMJE Not Provided Original Secondary Outcome Measures
ICMJE Not Provided Current Other Outcome Measures
ICMJE Not Provided Original Other Outcome Measures
ICMJE Not Provided Descriptive Information Brief Title
ICMJE Family Access to Care Study (FACS) Official Title
ICMJE Family Access to Care Study (FACS) Brief Summary The purpose of this study is to find ways to get services to families living with HIV. New services for families living with HIV have been tried in places around the country. They seem to benefit many families. We will work with places in New York City that provide HIV services to find out more about family services. There, we will talk with people living with HIV, their family members, and their providers. Many questions need to be answered. For example: What kinds of services do families want? What would make it easier for families to come in for services? What would get in the way? Detailed Description Families affected by HIV and AIDS require access to a comprehensive continuum of services. Findings from our own and other recently completed federally sponsored intervention trials and other studies could be used to help expand and enhance these services. However, a number of fundamental questions must first be answered about the feasibility of "technology transfer." This study will address this issue by conducting individual interviews and focus groups with providers from 64 medical care and social service settings. Data will also be obtained through a comprehensive assessment of providers' capacities to serve families and to participate in technology transfer, including dimensions of organizational mission and leadership, availability of resources, and connections in the community. Thirty patients/clients served by each setting along with approximately twenty of their family members will also be individually interviewed to assess their needs for services, factors that affect their desire for family-oriented services, and their willingness to take part in psychosocial intervention studies. Data analysis will determine how initial setting readiness and setting capacities, and feedback about patient and family needs and willingness to participate in research, influence change in readiness, interest in capacity building and participation in research partnership activities. We will also conduct hierarchical data analyses to better understand how providers' readiness and capacities are related to clients'and families' service needs, barriers to participation, and willingness to participate in research. Study findings will guide efforts to implement family-oriented intervention research in frontline community service settings, and will help to establish a scientific framework for studying the process of technology transfer. Additionally, this project will lay the groundwork for sustained research collaboration with the network of community providers participating in this study to further explore ways to address the needs of families affected by HIV/AIDS. Study Type
ICMJE Observational Study Design
ICMJE Observational Model: Case-Only
Time Perspective: Prospective
Target Follow-Up Duration Not Provided Biospecimen Not Provided Sampling Method Non-Probability Sample Study Population Patients/clients and their families at HIV/AIDS care centers Condition
ICMJE HIV Infections Intervention
ICMJE Not Provided Study Groups/Cohorts Not Provided Publications * Not Provided
* Includes publications given by the data provider as well as publications identified by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number) in Medline.
Recruitment Information Recruitment Status
ICMJE Completed Estimated Enrollment
ICMJE 3200 Completion Date February 2008 Primary Completion Date February 2008 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure) Eligibility Criteria
ICMJE
Inclusion Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria for Sampling AIDS Care Settings: Our goal in sampling is to identify and recruit the kinds of organizations that might ultimately be targets for Phase IV trials and other Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center dissemination efforts. For purposes of this research, we define an "AIDS Care Setting" as any setting which:
Inclusion Criteria for Providers:
Inclusion Criteria for Sampling Patients/Clients:
Inclusion Criteria for Patients'/Clients' Family Members: In keeping with the definition of family as "networks of mutual commitment" adopted by the NIMH Family and AIDS Consortium, and in recognition of the diverse types of family situations of people affected by HIV/AIDS, we will include anyone designated as a "family member" by the index client/patient who meets our other inclusion criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria for AIDS Care Settings: Note that two or more AIDS Care Settings may exist within a single institution or agency. For example, hospitals may have separate programs for adult and pediatric HIV. A community AIDS service organization may have multiple distinct programs for different populations. Also, two settings may be closely coordinated. In order to ensure independence among settings, we will adopt the following exclusionary criteria:
Exclusion Consideration for Providers: All providers who are identified by the agency leadership will be approached. However, a provider will not be able to participate if he/she has already participated in the study as a provider from another agency.
Exclusion Considerations for Patients and Families: All patients/clients of settings identified for this study and meeting above inclusion criteria are eligible. Patients/clients will be able to participate regardless of whether or not they nominate a family member to participate in the study with them.
Patients/clients will not be able to participate if they:
Sex/Gender
Ages 18 Years and older (Adult, Senior) Accepts Healthy Volunteers Yes Contacts
ICMJE
Contact information is only displayed when the study is recruiting subjects Listed Location Countries
ICMJE United States Removed Location Countries Administrative Information NCT Number
ICMJE NCT00582218 Other Study ID Numbers
ICMJE 03-008 Has Data Monitoring Committee Not Provided U.S. FDA-regulated Product Not Provided Plan to Share Data Not Provided IPD Description Not Provided Responsible Party Bruce Rapkin, PhD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Study Sponsor
ICMJE Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Collaborators
ICMJE Not Provided Investigators
ICMJE
Information Provided By Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Verification Date January 2009
ICMJE Data element required by the
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and the
World Health Organization ICTRP | 7,214 | 2,981 | 0.000338 |
warc | 201704 | -How Geothermal Works
-Why Go Geothermal? -Getting Started -Resources
The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the DOE (Department of Energy) concluded that geothermal heat pumps are the most environmentally friendly and cost-efficient way to heat and cool your home. Geothermal systems emit no carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, or other greenhouse gasses.
How Geothermal Works Geothermal heat pumps are one of the most efficient ways to heat and cool your home. They can achieve efficiencies two to three times greater than commonly used air source heat pumps because they rely on the relatively consistent ground temperatures to transfer heat to or from a home. Across much of the United States, the temperature of the upper 10 feet of the ground remains between 45°F and 75°F, and often between just 50°F and 60°F. By contrast, air temperatures can range over the course of a year from below 0°F to over 100°F.
A horizontal closed-loop system is typically most cost-effective for residential installations. It requires trenches at least four feet deep. The most common layouts either use two pipes, one buried at six feet, and the other at four feet, or two pipes placed side-by-side at five feet in the ground in a two-foot wide trench. The Slinky™ method of looping pipe allows more pipe in a shorter trench, which cuts down on installation costs and makes horizontal installation possible in areas it would not be with conventional horizontal applications.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Why Go Geothermal? 1. Federal Tax Credit —30% of total cost 2. Annual Energy Savings – $400-$1,800/year. 3. Financing is offered by the District of Columbia 4. Most energy efficient system available 5. Cleanest way possible to heat 6. No noisy outdoor condenser
(1) Tax savings/credits estimates should be discussed with your individual tax advisor. Click here for tax credit information from EnergyStar: http://publicaccess.supportportal.com/link/portal/23002/23018/Article/19320/Is-there-a-tax-credit-for-geothermal-heat-pumps.
(2) Based on a 4-ton heat pump for a 2,000-square foot house. (3) DC offers Property-Assessed Clean Energy financing. Click here for more info: http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=DC12F&State=federal¤tpageid=1&ee=1&re=1.
Even though the installation price of a geothermal system can be several times that of an air-source system of the same heating and cooling capacity, the additional costs are returned to you in energy savings in 5–10 years. System life is estimated at 25 years for the inside components and 50+ years for the ground loop. There are approximately 50,000 geothermal heat pumps installed in the United States each year
Getting Started 1. Determine if you have enough space around your house for a geothermal system. A typical residential, vertical loop can be installed in an area as small as 10’ x 20.’ However, the area must be accessible to a drilling rig and free of utilities. Also, a 140’ trench is needed per ton for your geothermal unit, with 15’ of space between each trench. For example, a 4-ton system would require a space 140’ x 45’ free of utilities. 2. Figure out how much you currently spend on heating and cooling so you can determine how much your savings will be. You should expect your heating and cooling bill to drop 40%-80% by switching to a geothermal system. 3. Select an Installer* Get three estimates for your geothermal system . You can talk to members and get their recommendations.
Key Considerations for Choosing an Installer:
price track record experience have they worked in DC before? how long have they been in business? 4. Once You Select an installer and sign a contract. The installer will guide you through the process, and the permit process.
*CPEC does not endorse any products or services.
Resources U.S. Department of Energy http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/space_heating_cooling/index.cfm/mytopic=12640 Information about geothermal systems. | 4,067 | 1,986 | 0.000516 |
warc | 201704 | And since stars were made during Creation Week when God was supernaturally creating, how do we know for certain that distant starlight has arrived on earth by entirely natural means?
The next time you’re arguing with a creationist about evolution, or global warming, or anything where the science is solid and they openly reject evidence, remind yourself of the above.
We are able to generally measure the size and age of the universe, and the stars that sit within it. Tens of billions of them are far more than 6,000 light years away from us, and their answer is to say that God is magical, and he might have put the light there supernaturally, to make it look like it does.
That’s quite similar to the clear evidence that story of Genesis comes from hundreds of years before the bible, and that most religious stories we know today were completely unoriginal and came from cultures and traditions long before them.
How do they explain that? Easy: those were posted there as temptations, but they’re not the real thing.
You cannot argue with someone who wants to believe what they already do, and who disregards evidence that disagrees with that position. When you do, it’s you that’s the idiot–not them. | 1,243 | 685 | 0.001505 |
warc | 201704 | The Diabetes Emotional Roller Coaster By Adam Brown
Diabetes sometimes feels like the ultimate roller coaster: ups and downs, no idea what’s around the corner, and moments where I fear for my life. Part of that ride is an incredible emotional and mental balancing act:
Fighting to stay on top of my blood sugars vs. Letting diabetes take over my life;
Keeping high standards for myself vs. Becoming my own worst critic;
Having a routine for better predictability vs. Rejecting spontaneity and fun;
Learning from past mistakes, planning to be safe in the future vs. Forgetting to live life in the present.
This adds up to a lot of mental pressure every day, and along with it, feelings of frustration and failure, struggle, and guilt. Less frequent, but far more awesome, are those occasional days when things go right. This short article depicts my roller coaster of emotions in pictures and quotes, and more importantly, shares the tactics I use to deal with them. I’m not always successful, but writing down what helps me is an amazing reminder – I may not enjoy the diabetes emotional roller coaster, but I have many ways to buckle my seat belt and try to enjoy the ride.
What emotions do you feel every day with diabetes? What pictures symbolize those feelings? What helps you deal with them? Let me know!
1. Frustration and Failure - “How is this blood sugar possible? I did the same thing yesterday and this isn’t what happened!” - “Wow, I’m really blowing it today. Nothing is going right. I stink at this.” - “I exercised and didn’t eat and my blood sugar went UP?! Gahh!!” What helps me:
There are 22+ factors that affect blood glucose: not every out-of-range blood sugar is my fault or even in my control.
A 288 or 52 mg/dl is not an indication of “failure” or a “bad grade”; it’s a neutral data point to help me change something right now.
Frustration is unproductive and just makes me feel crappy. Asking useful questions is so much better: What can I do in this moment to improve? How can I do better tomorrow? [More on this topic here.]
Eating low-carb to reduce big sources of frustration: insulin dosing, carb counting, glucose variability, and insulin sensitivity.
Going for a walk outside (even five minutes makes a difference).
Taking five deep breaths (count up to five on the inhale, down to one on the exhale).
Having a morning routine for more predictability, especially morning exercise.
2. Struggle - “Diabetes is so much work!” - “I never get a break from diabetes.” - “I’m tired of diabetes!” What helps me:
Gratitude – My diabetes “burdens” are tiny compared to places where this disease is still an early death sentence. I have so much to be thankful for – access to insulin, strips, CGM, a pump, healthy food, a city with parks and sidewalks, friends and family to support me – that it would be selfish NOT to work hard at managing my diabetes.
Why is my diabetes worth caring about today? When my blood sugar is in range, I’m nicer, more patient, and my best-self with loved ones; I have more energy to do things that make me happy; I smile more and am less stressed; I sleep better; and I can think more clearly (and thus, help more people at my job).
Wearing a pump and CGM to reduce some of the diabetes struggle: no daily injections, no taking 12 fingersticks per day. [I know these devices add hassle for some people. For me, they subtract more struggle than they add. Let me know if I can share any tips!]
3. Guilt - “Why did I stuff my face? Why did I overeat?!” - “I wish I hadn’t...” - “How could I make the same mistake again?” What helps me:
Writing my own diet commandments and following them.
Understanding my diabetes landmines and steering clear of them.
Staying in the present; lots of guilt comes from negative judgments about what I did in the past (e.g., “Why did I eat that?!”). When a bad decision has already happened, I need to acknowledge it, learn from it, and do better next time.
Keeping tempting foods out of the house (ideal) or making them harder to access (e.g., out of visible sight in a cupboard, tearing a smaller hole in the package, using a twist tie, having a loved one hide them).
Only eating when I actually feel hungry; often, I’m mistaking hunger for thirst or simply boredom. I love Michael Pollan’s advice in Food Rules, “If you’re not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you’re not hungry.”
4. The rare WOOHOO! - “For once I did things right today – my blood sugar stayed in range (70-140 mg/dl) and diabetes did not feel like a constant struggle. I was in a good mood, treated the people around me well, and had energy to do things I enjoy.” What helps me:
Identify Bright Spots:
What did I do to make this great day happen?
What behaviors and choices helped keep my blood sugar in range (70-140 mg/dl) today?
What was my routine like today – medication, food, activity, stress, sleep?
What did I avoid today?
How I can have more days like this?
Email me if you are interested in my “Bright Spots” list related to food, attitude, exercise, stress, and sleep. I’m working on a project related to this and would love your thoughts!
Special thanks to Priscilla Leung for this article's graphic and pictures! | 5,476 | 2,631 | 0.000402 |
warc | 201704 | Honey bees are predisposed to win-shift but can learn to win-stay
The ability of honey bees, Apis mellifra, to avoid returns to locations recently depleted of sugar solution (win-shift) or to return to locations recently depleted of sugar solution (win-stay) was tested. Bees collected sugar solution from a small matrix of six cells. During each of a series of trials, they first visited a randomly ‘determined set of three cells. They were then allowed to freely choose between the six cells, with the contingencies encouraging either win-shift or win-stay behaviour. Previous research indicates that honey bees use spatial workin’g memory to discriminate previously visited cells from unvisited cells in this experimental preparation (Brown & Demas 1994, J. camp. Psychol., 108, 344352). In the present experiment, bees in the win-shift condition tended to choose previously unvisited cells throughout the experiment. Bees in the win-stay condition learned to choose previously visited cells over the course of the experiment. These results indicate that bees choose locations based on previous visits, either being attracted to, or repelled from, locations recently depleted of forage.
Main Author: Demas, Gregory Other Authors: Brown, Michael Language: English Published: 1995 Online Access: http://ezproxy.villanova.edu/login?url=https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:175046 | 1,404 | 731 | 0.001382 |
warc | 201704 | From the department of “so many great wines and so many great people and so little time”…
One of the best things about what I do for a living is the great wines I get to taste and the fascinating people I get to meet. And one of the most rewarding things about my career is getting to share those wines and those experiences with people I care about.
All of these elements came together week before last when the inimitable
Randall Grahm — the Willy Wonka of wine in my view — graciously agreed to do a staff training with the servers at Sotto in Los Angeles where I curate the wine list.
When you work so closely with people as you do on the floor of a restaurant (often in extremely stressful situations), you develop a unique bond with them. And I was thrilled that Randall agreed to come talk to us and sprinkle some of his magic dust on us.
Of all the winemakers I’ve ever met, Randall — a polite and warm man — is perhaps the most erudite. I love the fact that he shares my love of words (philology!) and describes wines in terms of
antipodian and podian (his neologism?). I love that he doesn’t mince words (I cannot repeat what he had to say about one antipodian wine). And I love his lyrical approach to describing winemaking and wine. At one point, when I asked him to address reduction in wine and why it’s not necessarily a bad thing. He replied using the follow simile: “Reduction is kind of like the male sex drive,” he said. “It can be ugly but it lets us know that everything’s working correctly and that the wine is alive.” (Reduction can be caused by wine being stored without any contact with oxygen, often the case with screw-cap wines. As a result, the wine may stink briefly when first opened. For the best definition of reduction in wine, see the entry on Jancis’s site — well worth the subscription fee, btw — or see her Oxford Companion to Wine.)
On the edges of our seats, the staff and I were entirely captivated by Randall’s spiel on the spectrum of organic, biodynamic, and Natural winemaking. And we tasted his Syrah Le Posseur together (by the glass at Sotto these days).
Le posseur, the pusher in French, was inspired by the way great Syrah is like drug dealer who tempts you with his assortment of aromas and flavors. I love the analogy and I love the affordable and delicious wine (it only gets better with a day’s aeration, btw).
But
dulcis in fundo, Randall also shared with us his new hope and faith in biochar — a newly developed form of charcoal that is used to restore balance to the soil. We live in such precarious times, these days ( o tempora o mores!). “It is the future,” he said, referring not only to winemaking but also the survival of humankind.
Looking back on our encounter with the ineffably charming Randall, I cannot help but be reminded of the lyrics of one of favorite songs — from childhood to the present day.
If you want to view paradiseSimply look around and view itAnything you want to, do itWanta change the world?There’s nothingTo it…
Historically and with seemingly quotidian recurrence, Randall seems to seek and find beauty in the world around and in us, too.
This is one of my all-time favorite songs and cinematic moments. I’ll never forget seeing it for the first time and the emotion that filled my chest. It happens, to this very day, every single time… | 3,481 | 1,762 | 0.000594 |
warc | 201704 | Did you know that regardless of how often or how hard you work out, certain genetic factors will always play a part in determining how your body responds? Depending on your body type -ectomorph, endomorph, or mesomorph-changing the size or shape of your body may be relatively simple or extremely difficult. To maximize the effects of your workout routine, identify your body type and learn which exercises will be most helpful to you.
The Ectomorph
People with this body type can seemingly eat whatever they want whenever they want, without ever gaining an ounce. For some ectomorphs, gaining weight can be a real challenge. Typical physical characteristics of this body type include low levels of body fat, thin limbs, chest, and abdominal areas, and narrow shoulders and hips. They also commonly have thin faces and high foreheads.
When it comes to training, ectomorphs should focus on a few key tips. First, split-training that engages 1-2 body parts and muscle groups at a time is recommended once per week. The specific workout plan should be changed about once a month, with plenty of rest between routines. The key is to force the body to work hard for a short amount of time, using heavy but simple movements aimed at hitting fibers deep within the muscles.
For best results, the ectomorph should perform 6-8 sets of 5-10 reps per exercise, taking the time to rest for 60 seconds between sets and 5 minutes between each body part. If muscle growth and strength are slow, the ectomorph can attempt to shock their body by performing 10 sets of 10 reps for each exercise aimed at an individual body part. This shocking technique should be used sparingly, however, and no more than once every 8 weeks to avoid overtraining that can lead to slower muscle growth.
The bottom line: Due to having high metabolic rates, ectomorphs require at least 8 hours of sleep per night and more rest days between workouts. Avoid excessive amounts of aerobic exercises, as this, can actually slow the rate of progress. 3 aerobic routines per week are sufficient, and the best types include brisk walking, stationary biking, and treadmill workouts.
The Mesomorph
The mesomorph body type is right in between the thin ectomorphs and the rounder endomorphs. Characterized by having broad shoulders and a narrow waist, it is generally the preferred of the 3 body types. Other physical characteristics of mesomorphs include strong thighs and forearms, long torsos and full chests, and a proportionate shoulder-to-waist ratio. Generally, they have very little body fat and have the highest potential for bodybuilding of all the body types.
An ideal workout routine for a mesomorph should consist of shaping exercises that utilize heavy yet basic movements, alternating between 3-4 weeks of high-intensity training and several weeks of lower impact workouts. Keeping a varied workout routine will both produce great results and prevent the mesomorph from burning out.
8-12 reps of quick and basic movements with heavy weights followed by shaping techniques will produce obvious results for those who fall under the mesomorph category. Routines focusing on the hamstrings, quads, and calves can be performed in reps as low as 6 and as high as 25 though the mesomorph should be sure to avoid overtraining. The key to seeing results is to constantly change up the intensity with different exercises, sets, reps, weights, and periods of rest. Training days should alternate between light, moderate, and high-intensity workouts.
The bottom line: For best results, cardio exercises should be limited to 3 per week, 20-35 minutes per workout. Mesomorphs are genetically blessed, so it is easy to over-train. Recommended exercises include climbing stairs, treadmill, brisk walking, or stationary biking.
The Endomorph
The most challenging body type of them all, endomorphs are quite literally rounder than the rest. Physical characteristics include narrow shoulders and broad hips, with generous amounts of fat spread across the body, including the upper arms and thighs. Thin ankles and wrists magnify larger areas of the body. Endomorphs typically have slow metabolisms and have difficulty losing weight, though gaining weight is not a problem for most. Accumulated fat also makes muscle gain harder to notice.
Endomorphs require more frequent and intense workouts–specifically aerobic exercises–if weight loss is to be achieved and maintained. For each body part, 3-5 exercises should be learned, and 2-3 should be performed during each workout routine. Make sure to let each body part rest 48 hours before the next workout. Whole body workouts are best during the beginning of training, and split-training exercises can be introduced later in the training. The main goal for endomorphs is to raise their metabolic rate while decreasing their amount of body fat. If this is to be done, every exercise routine should be intense with minimal rest between sets.
The bottom line: The endomorph body type requires the most effort if weight loss is to be achieved. Sets should be minimized to 8 per body part, with no more than 60 seconds of rest between sets. Avoid training with heavy weights and small reps. The target rep range for upper body parts should be around 9-12, and lower body rep ranges should be around 12-25.
Conclusion
The amount of effort required to reach your fitness goals is largely impacted by your specific body type. Ectomorphs will always be more naturally thin than an endomorph, and mesomorphs will always seem to have a muscle-building advantage over the rest of us. However, your body type is not an excuse to stay enslaved by your genetic make-up. Anyone can take their workout routine to the next level if they take the time to learn which forms of exercise are most helpful to their specific body type. | 5,833 | 2,553 | 0.000394 |
warc | 201704 | Circuit Theory/Mutual Inductance Contents Magnetic Fields[edit]
Inductors store energy in the form of a magnetic field. The magnetic field of an inductor actually extends outside of the inductor, and can be affected (or can affect) another inductor close by. The image above shows a magnetic field (red lines) extending around an inductor.
Mutual Inductance[edit]
If we accidentally or purposefully put two inductors close together, we can actually transfer voltage and current from one inductor to another. This property is called
Mutual Inductance. A device which utilizes mutual inductance to alter the voltage or current output is called a transformer.
The inductor that creates the magnetic field is called the
primary coil, and the inductor that picks up the magnetic field is called the secondary coil. Transformers are designed to have the greatest mutual inductance possible by winding both coils on the same core. (In calculations for inductance, we need to know which materials form the path for magnetic flux. Air core coils have low inductance; Cores of iron or other magnetic materials are better 'conductors' of magnetic flux.)
The voltage that appears in the secondary is caused by the
change in the shared magnetic field, each time the current through the primary changes. Thus, transformers work on A.C. power, since the voltage and current change continuously. Ideal Transformers[edit] Modern Inductors[edit]
When the coils of number of turns N
1 conducts current . There exists a Magnetic Field B on the coil . Changes of B will generates an Induced Voltage on the turns of coil N 1 and N 2 as shown -ξ p= -ξ s= -ξ
The ratio of -ξ
2 over -ξ 1 -ξ p/ -ξ s= -ξ
If Input voltage at coil of turn N
p = -ξ p and the Output voltage will be = -ξ s/ -ξ p=
Thus, this device is capable of Increase, Decrease and Conduct Voltage just by changing the turn ratio of the coils
Therefore, the output voltage can be
Increased or Step Up by increasing number of turns of coil N sgreater than N p Decreased or Step Down by Decreasing number of turns of coil N sless than N p Buffered by setting number of turns of coil N sequal to N p The following photo shows several examples of the construction of inductors and transformers. At the upper right is a toroidal core type (toroid is the mathematical term for a donut shape). This shape very efficiently contains the magnetic flux, so less power (or signal) is lost to heating up the core. Step Up and Step Down[edit]
The terms 'step-up' and 'step-down' are used to compare the secondary (output) voltage to the voltage supplied to the primary.
Many transformers are specially designed to operate exclusively as step-up or step-down. While an ideal transformer could simply be 'turned around', we find that many actual transformers are built to perform best at certain ranges of voltage and current.
For example, a power transformer may be used to step down household AC (about 120 Volts) to 24V for home heating controls, etc. The output current is higher than the primary current in this example, so the transformer is made with a heavier gauge of wire in its secondary windings.
In transformers that deal with very high voltages, special attention is paid to insulation. The windings that deal with thousands of volts must resist arcing and other problems we do not see at home.
Finally, some transformers in electronic equipment are designed for a task known as 'impedance matching', rather than for specific in/out voltages. This function is explained in literature covering audio and radio topics. | 3,633 | 1,628 | 0.000628 |
warc | 201704 | ERIC Number:ED188679 Record Type:RIE Publication Date:1980-Jan-9 Pages:22 Abstractor:N/A Reference Count:0 ISBN:N/A ISSN:N/A
An Evaluation of the Criminal Justice Curriculum, Fall 1979. Report No. 80-8.
Clagett, Craig A.
The criminal justice curriculum at Prince George's Community College emphasizes a broad social science education, designed to prepare students for immediate employment in law enforcement or for transfer to a four-year program. Program enrollments and student credit hours showed a similar pattern of growth in the mid-1970's, followed by a recent decline. Program participants were taught by a staff of five full-time and eight part-time instructors. The criminal justice students were typical of the student body as a whole with regard to age, marital status, course load, and schedule, but Blacks, males, and continuing students were more highly represented in the criminal justice population than in the total student body. As a group, the criminal justice students had a higher course completion rate than the college average. The number of graduates in the program increased steadily from 24 in 1973 to 91 in 1979. So far, their unemployment rate has been low and the employment outlook is good for those with college training in law enforcement. Follow-up surveys have indicated that both program graduates and their employers are satisfied with the training that is provided. Information on program costs and suggestions for improving the criminal justice curriculum are included in the evaluative report. (AYC)
Descriptors: College Graduates, Community Colleges, Dropout Rate, Employer Attitudes, Employment Patterns, Employment Potential, Enrollment Trends, Legal Education, Participant Satisfaction, Police Education, Program Costs, Program Evaluation, Student Characteristics, Two Year Colleges, Vocational Followup
Publication Type:Numerical/Quantitative Data; Reports - Research Education Level:N/A Audience:N/A Language:English Sponsor:N/A Authoring Institution:Prince George's Community Coll., Largo, MD. | 2,047 | 1,072 | 0.000936 |
warc | 201704 | ERIC Number:ED218530 Record Type:Non-Journal Publication Date:1981-Aug Pages:28 Abstractor:N/A Reference Count:N/A ISBN:N/A ISSN:N/A
When is Unequal Unfair: The Role of Ideology.
Weinglass, Janet; Steil, Janice M.
Theorists concerned with issues of social justice assert that ideology plays a substantial role in mediating perceptions of injustice and feelings of relative deprivation. To investigate the impact of feminism and religious fundamentalism on the perception of injustice in the content of sex differences in a study of traditional religious practices, 121 Jewish women were questioned about their perception of injustice, their sense of personal deprivation (limited personal opportunity for Talmudic study) and fraternal deprivation (sex differences in access to Talmudic study are unfair to women), and their desire for change in this religious area. Both positive attitudes towards feminism and low religious fundamentalism significantly increased the likelihood of a sense of personal deprivation and desire for change. Subjects scoring high on religious fundamentalism were less likely to desire increased opportunities for Talmudic study. Ideology did not impact on subjects' awareness of existing sex differences but did affect the way these differences were interpreted. The results highlight the importance of ideology as a mediator of the perception of injustice. (Author/JAC)
Publication Type:Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers Education Level:N/A Audience:N/A Language:English Sponsor:N/A Authoring Institution:N/A | 1,554 | 803 | 0.00125 |
warc | 201704 | Peer reviewed
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ERIC Number:EJ1003272 Record Type:Journal Publication Date:2013 Pages:5 Abstractor:ERIC Reference Count:0 ISBN:N/A ISSN:ISSN-0013-1784
Go Figure: Math and the Common Core
Burns, Marilyn
Educational Leadership, v70 n4 p42-46 Dec 2012-Jan 2013
In this article about the Common Core State Standards and mathematics, the author wanted to point out what's familiar in these standards and to give teachers clear access to what's different about them. She wanted to emphasize what has made her passionate about the Common Core standards--which is their two-part structure: Standards for Mathematical Practice and Standards for Mathematical Content, both equally important. The Standards for Mathematical Practice include the same eight standards for all grades. These practice standards describe the "expertise that mathematics educators at all levels should seek to develop in their students"--that is, the ways they want students to engage with the mathematics they're learning. In contrast, the Standards for Mathematical Content include many more standards, which are different for each grade. These content standards "define what students should understand and be able to do." They are organized into domains, each of which includes clusters of related standards so as to present mathematics as a subject of closely related, connected ideas. Teaching to the Common Core standards calls for making both the practice standards and the content standards integral to classroom instruction. The challenge of the Common Core standards is to help all students develop enough mathematical expertise to be prepared for college or the workplace--and successful futures. (Contains 2 endnotes.)
Descriptors: State Standards, Mathematics Education, Academic Standards, Educational Policy, Policy Analysis, Educational Practices, Educational Objectives, Thinking Skills, Educational Needs, Program Content
ASCD. 1703 North Beauregard Street, Alexandria, VA 22311-1714. Tel: 800-933-2723; Tel: 703-578-9600; Fax: 703-575-5400; Web site: http://www.ascd.org
Publication Type:Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive Education Level:Elementary Secondary Education Audience:N/A Language:English Sponsor:N/A Authoring Institution:N/A | 2,265 | 1,154 | 0.000873 |
warc | 201704 | Peer reviewed
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ERIC Number:EJ1011307 Record Type:Journal Publication Date:2013-Jul Pages:3 Abstractor:ERIC Reference Count:12 ISBN:N/A ISSN:ISSN-0007-1013
Broadening the Scope and Increasing the Usefulness of Learning Analytics: The Case for Assessment Analytics
Ellis, Cath
British Journal of Educational Technology, v44 n4 p662-664 Jul 2013
Learning analytics is a relatively new field of inquiry and its precise meaning is both contested and fluid (Johnson, Smith, Willis, Levine & Haywood, 2011; LAK, n.d.). Ferguson (2012) suggests that the best working definition is that offered by the first Learning Analytics and Knowledge (LAK) conference: "the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for the purposes of understanding and optimising, learning and the environment in which it occurs" (Ferguson, 2012 n.p.; LAK, n.d.). This author argues that there are two key limitations to learning analytics as it is currently envisaged. The first is that learning analytics has only limited usefulness from both a practical and pedagogical perspective. The second is that the scope of learning analytics is limited because it is largely focused on only a portion of the student body. In this paper Ellis proposes that assessment analytics has the potential to make a valuable contribution to the field of learning analytics by both increasing its usefulness and broadening its scope. She goes on to speculate as to why assessment analytics is underexplored and to propose a framework that can be used to begin to define what it might mean. (Contains 1 note.)
Descriptors: Data, Data Analysis, Students, Student Evaluation, Data Collection, Educational Assessment
Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/
Publication Type:Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative; Opinion Papers Education Level:Higher Education; Postsecondary Education Audience:N/A Language:English Sponsor:N/A Authoring Institution:N/A | 2,126 | 1,171 | 0.00086 |
warc | 201704 | Peer reviewed
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ERIC Number:EJ1074401 Record Type:Journal Publication Date:2015-Oct Pages:11 Abstractor:As Provided Reference Count:57 ISBN:N/A ISSN:ISSN-0162-3257
Investigating Visual-Tactile Interactions over Time and Space in Adults with Autism
Poole, Daniel; Gowen, Emma; Warren, Paul A.; Poliakoff, Ellen
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, v45 n10 p3316-3326 Oct 2015
It has been suggested that the sensory symptoms which affect many people with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) may be related to alterations in multisensory processing. Typically, the likelihood of interactions between the senses increases when information is temporally and spatially coincident. We explored visual-tactile interactions in adults with ASC for the first time in two experiments using low-level stimuli. Both participants with ASC and matched neurotypical controls only produced crossmodal interactions to near simultaneous stimuli, suggesting that temporal modulation is unaffected in the adult population. We also provide preliminary evidence that visual-tactile interactions may occur over greater spatial distances in participants with ASC, which merits further exploration.
Descriptors: Perceptual Impairments, Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Tactual Perception, Stimuli, Visual Perception, Visual Stimuli, Interaction, Adults, Comparative Analysis, Time, Proximity
Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com
Publication Type:Journal Articles; Reports - Research Education Level:N/A Audience:N/A Language:English Sponsor:N/A Authoring Institution:N/A | 1,734 | 1,003 | 0.001004 |
warc | 201704 | Director of WWA Invited to Testify at Senate Subcommittee Hearing June 4, 2007
Researchers at NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory, Physical Sciences Division work in close collaboration with the Western Water Assessment (WWA)—a Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessment (RISA) located at the University of Colorado—to assess how climate variability and change affect water supplies in the western U.S. WWA Director, Bradley Udall, has been invited to testify at the Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on June 6, 2007. The Subcommittee is interested in receiving testimony on the impacts of climate change on water supply and availability in the U.S., and related water-use issues.
Background: The RISA program is an activity of the NOAA Climate Program Office's regional decision support effort. WWA is one of eight RISA programs across the U.S. helping to map climate research to the needs of society. Input from stakeholders can be translated into useful research and products that aid in the decision-making process. Significance: With growing concern on the impact of climate change on water resources, government must try to assess and understand a wide spectrum of information in order to make informed decisions. By providing climate information and resources, NOAA helps inform decision-makers in order to mitigate potential societal impacts.
Contact: Robert Webb More Information: | 1,471 | 771 | 0.00131 |
warc | 201704 | Cell Surface Membranes What do they do? - They control which substances enter and leave the cell.
-They are
partially permeable
-Substances move across by either : OSMOSIS
DIFFUSION
ACTIVE TRANSPORT
Membrane Structure What are they made of? : Lipids, proteins and carbohydrates.
-A common way to describe membrane structure is the
fluid mosaic model.
-The bilayer includes channel proteins and carrier proteins, which allow large molecules and ions to pass through.
RECEPTOR PROTEINS : Allow cell to detect chemicals released from other cells.
GLYCOPROTEINS : Proteins with a carbohydrate attatched.
GLYCOLIPIDS : Lipids with a carbohydrate attatched.
Membrane components - Phospholipids
Phospholipids have a hydophyllic head (LOVES WATER) and a hydrophobic tail (HATES WATER).
Therefore, a
bilayer is formed with the heads facing outwards either side of the membrane.
Because the
tails are located in the centre, the centre part of the membrane does not allow water-soluble substances to diffuse through it.
However, small non-polar substances can diffuse through it.
WATER SOLUBLE SUBSTANCES : Ions and polar molecules EG. NON POLAR SUBSTANCE : Carbon dioxide Membrane components - Cholesterol What is it used for? - It gives the membrane stability. What is it? - A type of lipid present in all cell membranes. Where is it found? - In between phospholipids. How does it work? - It works by binding to the tails of a phospholipid, therefore causing a more close bunching of them. This therefore restricts the movement of them, making the membrane less fluid and more rigid. Extra Information - Cholestrol also has hydrophobic parts therefore increasing the barrier against polar molecules. Temperature and Membranes What affect does temperature have on membranes?
-It affects
how much phospholipids in the bilayer can move. TEMPERATURES BELOW 0'C.
-
Lack of energy, therefore movement is restricted.
-
Channel and Carrier proteins denature, which increases the permability of the membrane.
-Possibility of
ice crystals forming and piercing the membrane, therefore increasing permeability.
Temperature and Membranes TEMPERATURES BETWEEN 0 AND 45'C.
-
Phospholipids are able to move around.
-
Phospholipids are not packed as tightly together.
-Membrane is partially permeable.
-As the temperature increases, the permeability is increased due to the fact that phospholipids can move more because of the energy their given in the form of heat.
Temperature and Membranes TEMPERATURES ABOVE 45'C.
-
Phospholipid bilayer starts to break down, this causes the membrane becomes more permeable.
-The
membrane is put under pressure because the water inside the cell expands.
-
Channel and carrier proteins denature so therefore can not assist which substances enter and leave the cell - therefore permeability is increased. | 2,857 | 1,319 | 0.00077 |
warc | 201704 | Resistivity
The resistance of a component, such as a length of wire, depends upon three measurements;
1) Length (l); the longer the wire, the more difficult it is for current to flow.
2) Area (A); the wider the wire, the easier it is for electrons to pass through.
3) Resistivity (
p); depends on the material. The structure may make it easy or difficult for charge to flow. In general, resistivity depends on environmental factors as well e.g. temperature and light intensity.
The resistivity of a material is defined as the resistance of a 1m length with a 1m^2 cross-sectional area. It is measured in ohm-metres.
p = R A / l
where
p is the symbol rho for resistivity, R is the resistance, A is cross-sectional area in m^2 and l = length in m
The equation is usually seen in the form;
R =
p * l / A
Typical resistivity values of conductors are very small e.g. copper at 25 degrees C = 1.72*10^-8 ohmic… | 924 | 531 | 0.001925 |
warc | 201704 | Let’s see, if you’re going to get rid of the Bill of Rights, you might as well get rid of the First Amendment as well as the rest of them. Don’t worry; the feds are on the case. Another proposed law – SOPA – would give the feds the power to shut down websites that they don’t like.
Yes, dear reader, it is all coming together…
Perpetual war overseas. Police state at home. Spend…spend…spend to support the zombies.
And when you run out of money? You print some more!
Industries that used to provide value for money are corrupted. Each makes a deal with devil government. The education industry hasn’t produced any real gains in 40 years – despite a massive “investment” of public and private funds. The health care industry gets no better results – measured by life expectancy – than Cuba, even though it spends 45 times more per person. The defense industry – with its related empire spending – now costs the nation about 7% of GDP, and probably makes the country much less safe than countries that spend a small fraction of that amount. Taken together, with the rest of government spending added in, and more than half the economy is now zombified – producing little or nothing of value. And more than half the voters, too, are now dependent on the feds.
And now the bankers have made their devil deal too.,,,,
EXCERPT | 1,418 | 774 | 0.001388 |
warc | 201704 | By Kristy Siegfried* By Kristy Siegfried* OXFORD, 28 January 2016 (IRIN) – A new Danish law that will allow police to search asylum seekers arriving in the country and confiscate any cash or valuables worth more than 10,000 kroner ($1,460) has been widely condemned by refugee and human rights groups. But it is only the latest among a raft of new laws introduced by EU member states in the past six months aimed at deterring asylum seekers from lodging claims on their territory. Photo: Gordon Welters/UNHCR | The mood when thousands of refugees arrived at Munich central train station in September 2015 was considerably more welcoming than it is now
They go beyond making it more difficult to cross borders. The explicit intention is often to make conditions for those fleeing war and persecution as unwelcoming as possible in the hope that they will seek safety elsewhere.
Some are a response to clearly overwhelmed reception and asylum systems – as in the case of Sweden and Germany. Others appear to be more pre-emptive, while some can only be described as punitive and draconian (see Hungary).
Here’s IRIN’s round-up: Britain – The UK already had a law requiring asylum seekers to declare their assets and use their own savings before qualifying for government support, but starting in August 2015, the Home Office cut state support by almost a third to destitute asylum seekers awaiting the outcome of their refugee applications.
A single parent with one child now receives £73.90 per week compared to £96.90 before the cuts. Asylum seekers in the UK are not allowed to work, meaning they are often completely dependent on the government allowance, which, even prior to the cuts, had been criticised by refugee rights groups as too low to meet their basic needs.
Hungary – Under the leadership of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Hungary has introduced an array of measures aimed at deterring refugees, to complement its razor-wire border fences.
Hungary already had one of the lowest rates of refugee acceptance in Europe (only 105 out of 175,960 asylum applications were recognised between January and September 2015 according to EuroStat) and routinely detained asylum seekers in overcrowded conditions.
As a result, the vast majority of those arriving via the Western Balkan route from Greece in 2015 moved on to other member states as quickly as possible. But from September, those who breached a new fence at the Serbian border could be prosecuted for damaging state property and jailed for up to three years. Anyone entering via Serbia – now designated a “safe” third country – was automatically considered an economic migrant and could be returned there without any need to examine an asylum claim. The use of detention during a “fast-track” asylum process was also increased.
Germany – In October 2015, Germany hastily approved a series of measures aimed at addressing an influx of asylum seekers, which, by that point, had already reached levels state authorities were describing as unsustainable.
From November, asylum seekers could spend up to six months in so-called ‘initial reception centres’ – usually converted sports halls, abandoned hardware stories or warehouses where conditions were reportedly grim and certainly not conducive to local integration. In addition, cash support to asylum seekers staying in these reception centres was replaced with non-cash benefits as far as possible.
In the wake of criticisms surrounding Denmark’s proposed law, it emerged that several German states already have laws that allow cash and valuables over 350 or 750 euros to be taken from asylum seekers and put towards the cost of feeding and housing them.
Sweden – Having taken in more asylum seekers per capita than any other European country in 2015, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven announced in late November that “we simply can’t do anymore” and that the country was introducing measures aimed at reducing the rate of new arrivals.
Starting in April 2016, refugees will only be granted temporary residence permits for three years while those granted subsidiary protection will only get one-year permits. Although the permits can be renewed, holders of three-year temporary residence permits will only have the right to be reunited with immediate family members such as spouses while holders of one-year permits will have no right to family reunification.
Norway – Draft legislation due to come before Norway’s parliament in February could see cash benefits to asylum seekers replaced with a voucher system and would limit possibilities for family reunification to those refugees who have already been working or studying in the country for four years.
Asylum seekers entering the country via Russia – a route used by 5,500 asylum seekers in 2015 – would not qualify for asylum. Earlier this month, Norway started returning asylum seekers who entered the country by cycling across its Arctic border with Russia – a way around a Russian ban on border crossings by foot and a Norwegian one that criminalises driving migrants across the border.
The Norwegian government eventually suspended these deportations after Russia raised security concerns.
Finland – At the end of 2015 – a year in which Finland received 30,000 asylum seekers, its highest number ever – the government announced a tightening of its asylum policies.
Among a long list of measures with the stated goal of stemming “the uncontrolled influx of asylum seekers into Finland” are plans to tighten family reunification criteria, provide only essential reception services, and regularly review the security situation in countries of origin, cancelling residence permits when security improves.
The government also said that asylum seekers could be assigned unpaid work as a way of relieving frustration. | 5,978 | 2,779 | 0.000372 |
warc | 201704 | Intergenerational equity, discounting, and the role of cost-benefit analysis in evaluating global climate policy
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References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.: King, R.G. & Rebelo, S.T., 1989. " Transitional Dynamics And Economic Growth In The Neoclassical Model," RCER Working Papers 206, University of Rochester - Center for Economic Research (RCER). King, Robert G & Rebelo, Sergio T, 1993." Transitional Dynamics and Economic Growth in the Neoclassical Model," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(4), pages 908-31, September. Robert G. King & Sergio T. Rebelo, 1989. " Transitional Dynamics and Economic Growth in the Neoclassical Model," NBER Working Papers 3185, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. King, Robert G & Rebelo, Sergio T, 1993. " William D. Nordhaus, 1993." Reflections on the Economics of Climate Change," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 7(4), pages 11-25, Fall. Lind, Robert C., 1990." Reassessing the government's discount rate policy in light of new theory and data in a world economy with a high degree of capital mobility," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages S8-S28, March. Full references(including those not matched with items on IDEAS)
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warc | 201704 | Alcohol policy harmonization and trade liberalization in the Nordic countries
In this paper, a partial equilibrium analysis is used to evaluate consequences of a partial alcohol policy harmonization and a trade liberalization in the Nordic countries. The former will reduce alcoholic beverage taxes and the latter will increase imports of alcoholic beverages. The effects on welfare contributed by the alcohol sector depend on three factors: firstly, whether the import restriction is implemented through quota or voluntary import restriction set by the EU; secondly, how a public monopoly producing an externality generating commodity behaves, i.e. is a public firm e.g. welfare or profit maximizer?; and thirdlY, whether alcohol taxation in the EU is higher or lower than its Pigovian level in the Nordic countries.
Volume (Year): 8 (1995) Issue (Month): 1 (Spring) Pages: 17-24
Handle: RePEc:fep:journl:v:8:y:1995:i:1:p:17-24 Contact details of provider: Web page: http://www.taloustieteellinenyhdistys.fi
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References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.: Sofia Delipalla & Michael Keen, 1991. " The Comparison Between Ad Valorem and Specific Taxation under Imperfect Competition," Working Papers 821, Queen's University, Department of Economics. Delipalla, Sofia & Keen, Michael, 1992." The comparison between ad valorem and specific taxation under imperfect competition," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 351-367, December. Delipalla, Sofia & Keen, Michael, 1992. " Holm, Pasi & Suoniemi, Ilpo, 1992." Empirical Application of Optimal Commodity Tax Theory to Taxation of Alcoholic Beverages," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(1), pages 85-101. F. H. Hahn, 1962." The Stability of the Cournot Oligopoly Solution," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 29(4), pages 329-331. Full references(including those not matched with items on IDEAS)
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Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services. | 3,354 | 1,671 | 0.000603 |
warc | 201704 | Is it always good to let universities select their students?
ABSTRACT:We undertake a first step to investigating a reform that has beenapplied in numerous universities across Europe: the right to select students. We ask to what extent this right will increase the effciency of the university. While it seems evident that giving universities the right to select students that match best with the human capital of professors should increase efficiency measures in the productivities of students in the labor market, we point to a potentially negative effect. We argue that allowing universities to select the students they prefer can reduce the incentives of the universities to improve the human capital of their professors.
Length: 17 Date of creation: 12 Jul 2011 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:col:000092:008807 Contact details of provider:
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Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services. | 2,046 | 1,019 | 0.00099 |
warc | 201704 | Distribution, redistribution and development: Where Do We Stand?
This paper provides a short survey of the recent theoretical and the empirical literature on the existence of a negative relationship between economic inequality on one hand, and growth or economic development on the other. The emphasis of the paper is on the lessons to be drawn from these recent development for the design of redistribution policies in developing countries. It is shown, in particular, that somewhat in contradiction with what is often read, recent models do not contradict the old conventional wisdom of a tradeoff between redistribution of current real income in favor of the poorest and economic efficiency. The kind of redistribution that the recent literature calls for is of a fundamentally different nature and is still to be investigated in detail.
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Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services. | 2,658 | 1,328 | 0.000759 |
warc | 201704 | By Bernadine Chapman-Cruz
The white carnation is synonymous with the virtues of motherhood. A mother’s unconditional love for her child is recognized around the world on Mother’s Day. More than a century has passed since Anna Jarvis organized the first mother’s day acknowledgement, a religious remembrance in honor her deceased mother.
Today, this heartwarming tradition has evolved into Mother’s Day, celebrated on the second Sunday in May. The first mother’s day festivities were held in a West Virginia church. Sunday services included liturgy highlighting all mothers’ esteemed role in raising their families. As part of the services, every woman in the congregation received a white carnation, Mrs. Jarvis’ favorite flower, to commemorate this heartwarming sentiment.
Cherished around the globe, the carnation is one of the oldest cultivated flowers. In addition to its heartiness and beauty, the carnation is a floral artist’s favorite. When creating a corsage, boutonniere, bouquet or other floral décor, even after cutting, the carnation retains its freshness longer than other flowers commonly used in floral design.
The carnation is easily adaptable to a variety of floral arrangements from welcoming newborns to expressing condolences in a sympathy remembrance. These ruffled flowers are easy to work with, inexpensive and delightful as a ‘single stem’ or when incorporated with other flowers in any floral arrangement.
Through history, the carnation has come to represent a variety of feelings, emotions and sentiments specific to carnation color. The most common carnation color associations include:
White – innocence, pure love, sweetness, luck
Dark Red – love, passion, affection, respect
Light Red – admiration
Pink – gratitude, remembrance, thoughtfulness, thankfulness
Yellow – distain, rejection, disappointment
On Mother’s Day, remember your mother with a bouquet of white carnations. This thoughtful gift will be cherished and carnations just might become a family tradition.
Copyright ©2011 Bernadine Chapman-Cruz | 2,141 | 1,051 | 0.001 |
warc | 201704 | A recent report on Tennessee’s state-funded pre-k program has led to some controversy over the program’s effects.
The report’s authors, Strategic Research Group, concluded that “the results provide evidence that the objective of Tennessee’s Pre-K program – school readiness is being met…[T]he results should clearly inform stakeholders that not only should the Pre-K program continue to serve at-risk students in Tennessee, it should be complemented with additional support and intervention for students over time to help sustain the early academic growth observed among Pre-K students in Kindergarten.” (pp. 40-41)
However, state representative Bill Dunn argues that the report shows that Tennessee’s pre-K program lacks long-run effectiveness. Rep. Dunn said in a press release that “This report should serve as a revelation for individuals who still believe pre-K is some sort of answer for long-term achievement in education. The fact is, it just isn’t. It may be the largest hoax ever perpetrated on the people of Tennessee.”
The basis of this dispute is a report that shows some short-run evidence of pre-k’s effects as of the end of kindergarten and first-grade, particularly for students eligible for free and reduced price lunch. However, these effects appear to disappear by 3
rd to 5 th grade.
What can be said about this dispute, and the effectiveness of pre-K in Tennessee?
First, the basis for this dispute is a report that does NOT have a randomly chosen control group. Rather, the report matches pre-K participants with non-pre-K participants of the same gender, race, free-or- reduced- price lunch (FRL) status, and school district (or in some cases school). This is important because in general, reports that do not have a randomly chosen control group, or a comparison group that is a good comparison group, may be seriously biased.
Second, there is some reason based on the study’s design to think that such bias may have occurred in this particular study. For free-or-reduced price lunch (FRL) status, the study matched pre-K participants to non-pre-K participants based on whether the student had EVER been designated as FRL, from pre-K on up through 5
th grade.
For Tennessee’s pre-K program, however, first priority for admission was based on whether student’s families would meet the income guidelines for free or reduced price lunch status as of the pre-K year. After such children are enrolled, programs may enroll students with disabilities, or English language learners, or who are at risk of abuse or neglect.
What this means is that Tennessee pre-K participants must either have low income in the pre-K year as well, or have other risk factors. The matched non-pre-K participants do not need to have low income in the pre-K year or have these other risk factors. This means that the income status of the pre-K participants who are eligible for FRL is more likely to be persistently poor. For pre-K participants who are non-FRL status, they are more likely to have other risk factors.
It should be remembered that a zero-one indicator for whether someone is eligible for free-or-reduced price lunch is only a rough control for family income. Within the FRL category, families with lower income will tend on average to have students who will have more problems in school. (Obviously this is just an average tendency, not inevitability, and it can be affected by public policy.) More persistent FRL status is more likely to be associated with lower family income.
If the pre-K participants are on average somewhat lower income or have unobserved higher risk factors or higher income, this will tend to bias downwards the estimated effects of Tennessee’s pre-K program. This bias will occur even in the end of kindergarten test score results. However, this bias will tend to grow over time, because unobserved family income effects or risk factors will have a cumulative effect on student test score performance that will grow over time.
Third, the report’s findings for pre-K’s effects in Tennessee are far weaker than the effects found in a recent Vanderbilt study that has a better comparison group. This Vanderbilt study uses both a randomly chosen control group, and also does a regression discontinuity analysis. The Vanderbilt study’s statistics suggests some problems with the random assignment portion of the study due to missing data. However, the regression discontinuity portion of the study uses a very strong methodology that has been shown in other studies to usually lead to comparison groups that are truly comparable.
Measured in terms of “effect sizes”, the Vanderbilt study shows effects at the beginning of kindergarten that are 15 to 60 times as large as the Strategic Research Group results for effects at the end of kindergarten. It seems highly implausible that the “true effects” could differ so much between the beginning and end of kindergarten.
One plausible interpretation of these discrepancies is that the Strategic Research Group’s results are biased downwards due to unobserved lower income and higher risk factors in the pre-k group relative to the SRG comparison group. This bias could be already apparent at the end of kindergarten, and then grow over time in later grades.
Fourth, our interpretation of Tennessee’s results should be informed by previous research studies. We have good evidence, from the Perry Preschool program and the Chicago Child-Parent Center program, that high-quality preschool can yield long-term benefits. These studies use good comparison groups. While these preschool programs are not identical to Tennessee’s program, the preschool programs do have some similarities.
On the whole, given some of the issues with the SRG comparison groups, I don’t think the SRG results for long-term effects are sufficiently reliable to overcome the evidence from prior research studies that high-quality preschool has long-term benefits. In an ideal world, it would be good to have evidence with a more rigorously chosen comparison group for the specific long-term effects of Tennessee’s pre-K program. Such evidence may be forthcoming if the Vanderbilt random assignment study is able to be pursued over the long-term, and if the Vanderbilt random assignment study is able to correct for some of its problems with missing data. | 6,469 | 2,609 | 0.000393 |
warc | 201704 | Things we do early are of great interest. Where we show a natural propensity to do something – if we seem, so to speak,
programmed to do it – the inference is that the behaviour is both ancient (to have become so ingrained) and important (to have persisted so long). The obvious example here is speech, though I think ‘expression’ would be a more accurate description of that instinct.
A less obvious one is playing games. Not all play amounts to a game, but there is a large area of overlap; the game, if you like, is the complete expression of play. We shall come to a definition of ‘game’ presently.
There is a considerable obstacle to seeing game-playing as an activity of fundamental importance: though tolerated, even encouraged to some degree in children, in adult life it is permitted only as ‘recreation or sport’. Notwithstanding the fact that it can be pursued professionally (and there it is a form of entertainment for a mass audience) – it is regarded as essentially pointless, frivolous, unserious. In adult form it tends to be codified and regulated and exhibits great variety, from field sports such as the various forms of football, cricket and golf to board games such as chess and draughts and nowadays that interesting development, computer games.
(Indeed, such is the variety of the things we call ‘games’ that Wittgenstein doubted if they were capable of a common definition in terms of characteristics which they all shared, and suggested instead that they might resemble one another as members of a family do, some alike in this respect, others in that; a gentle grenade lobbed into an apple-cart that philosophers had been trundling since Aristotle’s day, the notion that whatever had the same name shared the same essence or set of defining characteristics that made it what it was and distinguished it from what it was not; but that is by the way)
I think that games are at their most interesting and revealing in their primitive form, when they are nearest to being a natural, instinctive behaviour, and there I think we can identify common characteristics, not so much in the content of the game as in the behaviour it involves.
Although games are regarded as frivolous, idle, fundamentally unserious, ‘just for fun’, the most striking thing about children is how seriously they play: what they do is done in earnest, and adults who join in but do not show the appropriate commitment will be reproved for ‘not playing properly.’
This earnestness shows chiefly in the degree of absorption in the activity: the child will be described as ‘in a world of his own’ ‘lost in the game’ and so on. The utter solemnity with which children conduct themselves in play can strike adults as amusing (though it can also wring the heart) and it is worth asking why that should be so. The answers are often given in terms of a contrast with ‘real life’ – the child can (briefly) enjoy the pleasures of play, but all too soon he will learn that ‘life isn’t like that’ and the time will come, as St Paul has it, ‘to put away childish things’.
We will come back to the relation between the world of play and ‘real life’ presently. In the meantime, I would like to consider what I think are three fundamental characteristics of playing games as a natural or instinctive activity. All three are related, and could indeed be seen as different aspects of the same thing, but I will separate them for ease of consideration.
One is that the game occupies its own space, not just physically, but as a plane of existence. There may well be actual boundaries – ‘a field of play’, if you like – but these are the embodiment of an idea, the idea that ‘in the game’ identifies a space or plane of existence where things happen differently than outside or ‘not in the game’.
Within this space, objects and actions are invested with a significance which they do not have elsewhere. For instance, when children play indoors, they will often commandeer the furniture to play some part in their game: a line of kitchen chairs can be a train, for instance; the space under the table, a cave; a rug can be a raft on the carpet sea, an armchair a ship, and so on. The child is perfectly able to distinguish between what any of these objects is in itself and what it is ‘in the game’ – there is no confusion or delusion, a point to which we shall return.
The final feature, alongside having its own space and investing objects or actions in that space with significance, is the idea of giving oneself a rule to follow. The game consists in doing things in a particular way. The thing to grasp here is that this rule is self-imposed, which is a kind of paradox: you are free to do it any way you like, but you act as if you have to do it this particular way. There is no concept of cheating in this primitive stage, for the simple reason that the game
is to follow the rule; ‘winning’ (insofar as the concept can be applied) is following the rule successfully; not following the rule is, literally, ‘not playing the game’. (Again, adults who join in and make a false move will be told ‘you can’t do that’).
Trying but failing to follow the rule may be attended by penalties, but again these are self-imposed, and operate ‘in the game’. So, bears will eat you if you step on the cracks in the pavement; if you fall in the carpet sea, or down the chasm that you were trying to leap across, you will die – but only in the game; and in the game you may have several lives, which permit you to start again. (If the rule proves either to difficult or to easy, it will be adjusted, which again shows an implicit understanding of the dual worlds of ‘in the game’ and outside it, and the dual role that implies – the child is both the game-maker and the game player.)
The language that is used is interesting. In the case of a game that evolves spontaneously, a group of children may be milling around, each doing his own thing, but as their activities begin to converge, someone might say ‘let’s make it that you have to -‘ and will add some activity that then becomes the game. ‘Let’s make it’ casts the players in the role of legislators, defining what has to be done; ‘that you have to’ brings out the sense of agreeing to be bound by the self-imposed rule.
‘Acting as if’ goes to the heart of playing games and it is a concept worth examining in detail because it sheds light on our curious reluctance to accept this ancient instinctive behaviour as serious and important, our insistence on classing it as frivolous.
The adult observer of a child at play may say things like ‘it’s as if she’s in another world’ or ‘it’s as if he really believes he’s driving a bus – he’ll talk to the passengers, take their fares, then drive off to the next stop.’ We may picture the child as being assisted in this by various props – the sofa may be the bus, with the driver’s seat a kitchen chair at one end; the passengers might be various toys.
‘As if’ carries an implication of pretence, that what is deemed to be happening is not actually happening, is not
real. it is worth examining the viewpoints involved in this, though it can become difficult, because we may find language working against us.
The first thing to say is that the judgement about what is real matters much more to the adult than it does to the child. Some adults worry themselves quite seriously about the status of ‘imaginary friends’ because they seem so vivid to their child; they may engage in conversations to lead them to the view that Mr Wotsit ‘isn’t really there (like mummy and Daddy are’ that he is ‘just pretend’ and ‘just in the game’ – to which the child will probably assent quite happily, if only to reassure their anxious parent.
Play does not involve delusion – believing something to be other than it is – and I think the difference is easily demonstrated; but the root of the problem is that the adult’s conceptual framework lacks the flexibility to describe the child’s behaviour accurately.
If we consider the theatre – one area where ‘make believe’ is allowed in adult life – at no time in the performance of Hamlet does the audience actually believe itself to be in the royal court of Denmark, nor that David Tennant (or better still Maxine Peake) has ceased to exist and has become, for the time, the eponymous melancholy Dane; nor for that matter does Peake or Tennant think this either. Notwithstanding, people will say things like ‘Maxine Peake
is Hamlet’ and ‘for three hours, we were transported to Elsinore’ – but these are just attempts to express the power of the performance, not factual descriptions.
There is a type of confidence trick that employs a similar set up to the theatre – there is a set to be dressed (perhaps a vacant country house) a cast of players (in character, perhaps in costume) and action (a party, perhaps, where the rich and famous discuss matters of high finance and good investments). The difference is that (for the con to work) the intended audience – the ‘mark’ – must take what he sees at face value, must believe it genuine; in other words, he must be deluded, in a way that the theatre audience is not.
It is worth examining the two different kinds of belief we encounter here. There is ‘believing something to be the case’ which we encounter in the con: the mark believes the party etc. to be genuine, while in reality it is a set-up. That defines ‘delusion’ – believing something to be other than it is.
But the child does not believe himself to be a bus-driver in this sense, nor his toys to be passengers, any more than David Tennant or Maxine Peake believe themselves to be Hamlet. People will talk of ‘belief’ and ‘believing’ here, but it is in a subtly different sense.
Wittgenstein somewhere observes, in discussing scepticism, that if you want to know what a man believes, you should observe what he
does, rather than heed what he says – he may profess doubt as to the reality of the world of appearance, yet he will still sit in chairs without a qualm, cross floors without fear of plummeting into some abyss, go through doors in the expectation of finding himself in the next room and so on; in other words, he behaves as if the world exists, even if he claims to doubt it.
‘Behaving as if’ is at the heart of play whether it is playing Hamlet or playing at being a bus driver. It is the sincerity of Maxine Peake’s performance that brings Hamlet to life, just as it is the earnestness of the child’s play that makes the adult say ‘he really believes he’s a bus-driver.’ Peake’s performance is done with conscious skill, though I think it draws on the same natural instinct that the child demonstrates; the one is a studied and refined version of the other. It is worth considering them side by side.
As I have remarked elsewhere, there is a deep-rooted ambivalence in our attitude to Art in almost all its forms, illustrated by our use of the same language to describe telling stories and telling lies. Art seems indistinguishable from lying, since both involve representing something as other than it is. It is a problem that has troubled philosophers since Plato’s day; and indeed it surfaces in Hamlet, in respect of the counterfeiting of emotions that acting seems to involve:
Is it not monstrous that this player here, But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, Could force his soul so to his own conceit That from her working all his visage wann’d, Tears in his eyes, distraction in’s aspect, A broken voice, and his whole function suiting With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing! For Hecuba! What’s Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, That he should weep for her?
No-one would accuse the child of insincerity or counterfeiting when he is playing at being a bus-driver, yet the same child may well counterfeit emotions if he thinks he can get his own way by it, so the distinction exists even at that level – and it shows our confusion that such behaviour – crying to get sweets, say – may well be described by the parent as ‘just play-acting,’ meaning that it is insincere.
How is this puzzle to be resolved?
I think we need to consider two things that we have already touched on: our notion of being ‘in the game’, that the game is on a separate plane of existence, and the nature of belief. In the theatre, as in the bus-driver game, the planes of existence are separate and distinct. What happens on the stage, with the actors in costume, may occupy the same space as the set and messrs Tennant or Peake and the rest of the cast inside their costumes, but the action of Hamlet is understood to happen in Elsinore and to involve Hamlet, Horatio and the rest, not the actors who play them. Likewise the bus-game occupies the same space as the living room furniture, but in a different plane, where the sofa is a bus and the assortment of soft toys are passengers.
The con, on the other hand, whether it is counterfeit tears for sweets or a grand scam involving a dressed set and a cast of players, succeeds when it is thought to be taking place in the same plane as the observer: i.e. he thinks this is an actual country house party, that this is genuine grief and real tears.
There is an implication here that is not immediately obvious but is profoundly important: the planes of existence are equal. Whether they are equally real or equally fictitious is unimportant, no more than a manner of speaking. To put it another way: there is not one game being played here, but two; but one of the games – ‘the game of Real Life’ – is accorded special status. If you want to be the only game in town, you dissociate yourself from all the rest and either ban them or banish them to some lowly status. So it is part of the Game of Life that it is not regarded as a game, and that the concepts of ‘being real’ and ‘existing’ are restricted exclusively to it and are not allowed in any other game.
So the ‘bus’ is
really a sofa, the ‘passengers’ are really soft toys and the ‘bus-driver’ is really a wee boy called Hamish who is nearly 3. It is at this point that Language becomes a serious obstacle, for the good reason that Language is instrumental in giving the Game of Life its special status. However, let us make the attempt.
The argument I am trying to construct can be illustrated again with reference to Hamlet, where there is at one point a play within the play. In regarding Hamish at his bus-driver game, we think ourselves like the audience in the theatre, and his game the action on stage; but I am saying that we are actually the players on stage, and his game the play within the play. The question then becomes what is the third thing, the reality in which these two games are played, the equivalent (in our illustration) of the theatre?
We can come at it by an oblique route. As I have discussed elsewhere, the distinction we customarily make between ‘imaginary’ and ‘real’ is that favourite term of the philosophy student, a false dichotomy. Most of what we consider ‘real’ are works of the imagination. If you look around you, how much do you see that does not owe its existence to having passed through the human imagination? I can see trees and a hill that might be exempted, though the trees are still where someone chose to put them (and may even have been bred by some human effort) while the hill has certainly been shaped by human thought. But the houses, indeed the whole city in between, with its infrastructure of roads and railways, watersupply and drains, all that – real as it is – was first an idea in some human mind.
The succinct way of putting this is that you can have the plans without the house, but not the house without the plans. What we call ‘reality’ is in most cases a degree of embodiment: the architect’s vision, the detailed plans he draws and the completed building are different versions of the same thing.
We have imposed our imagination on this planet to an extraordinary degree: quite apart from the physical embodiment of our ideas in various forms, there is the map we have overlaid on the planet, dividing it into various territories, and within those territories a highly complex structure of custom, law, industry and so on. While the general inclination might be to suppose that the child playing with model figures on the landscape of the floor is imitating these larger entities – ‘the real world’ – I would suggest that the reverse is nearer the truth: the great world we have built around us is a development of the same imaginary powers that have their first expression in creating other worlds on the floor, in the living room or in the garden. The difference is in scale and degree of realisation, not in kind.
The ‘third thing’, our actual situation, the default position if you like, is immediate experience. Again, language is an obstacle here, because it mediates experience, interposing a picture of objective reality and ourselves as detached observers who exist in that world objectively, as individuals. But our immediate experience is subjective and involved: we find ourselves here (wherever ‘here’ is and whatever ‘ourselves’ are) and the rest is invention – a word which, neatly, can mean both ‘making what was not there before’ and ‘discovering’.
On the matter of belief, we need to distinguish between the common but rather narrow sense of ‘believing something to be the case’ and the wider sense of ‘having confidence or trust in’. The injunction ‘do it with
belief‘ (which we hear as advice to performers of various sorts – singers, actors, even footballers) relates to the second kind of belief, not the first. To do it ‘as if you really believe in it’ is not an injunction to counterfeiting and hypocrisy, which it seems to be if we understand ‘belief’ in the first sense, since ‘as if’ implies that we do not actually believe it to be the case; rather it is to do it seriously and earnestly, to recapture the commitment of the child to his game, to do it properly, as if it matters.
And that is the secret: by doing it
as if it matters, we make it matter: we invest it with importance and meaning. Ritual has no intrinsic value or meaning; that is conferred on it by our performing it meaningfully, seriously, as if it matters.
This sheds an interesting sidelight on Existentialism, which was first explained to me in Sixth Year, when we were reading Camus’
L’Etranger: ‘Life has no meaning save what we bring to it,’we were told. It seemed to me then a grim and depressing philosophy; now I find it a hopeful one. I still think L’Etranger a bit grim, but Beckett makes me laugh and gives me hope. I rather like the idea that our participation is necessary to give life meaning, that we invest life with meaning by living it earnestly, wholeheartedly, as if it matters – by becoming, indeed, like little children. | 19,741 | 8,076 | 0.000131 |
warc | 201704 | Seth Schiesel/NYTimes says Bram Cohen's BitTorrent represents the next wave for file sharing. BitTorrent is an amazing way to distribute huge files, using P2P to spread out the bandwidth across users. I tried it last summer, in an experiment to see how it worked. The process was tricky, and I don't think impatient or inexperienced users would find it easy, and the fact that it took 36 hours to download one 2 gb file was not attractive. However, it will become more attractive in the future, as people get true broadband connections, and have equal speeds moving data up and down (most home users have midband connections, where there is often double the speed downloading, as opposed to uploading, which speaks to the ways BB providers view "consumers" which is as receptacles, who therefore need mostly down speeds, where up really only for email, right? I mean, you don't think you really need to send anything else out from your system do you? If so, you must be a business user and therefore, get on a different BB plan...).
BitTorrent works by having every downloader's system simultaneously work as an uploading system (you can stop uploading when you are finished downloading, but you can't not upload while your download is in process). Since this is the case, slow uploading speeds mean your whole transfer is slower than if you were just downloading. These files are called seeders. One example of BitTorrent use might be by a software company, with webbased distribution, that wanted to make available it's programs on either a trial or free basis. Another might be a digital library or academic institution that wanted to distribute large research files or databases of information and graphics.
At the Digital Media Summit in NY the other day, Charlie Nesson, Director of the Berkman Center at Harvard, presented a system where "Interdiction" might be used as a form of self-help by content makers to disrupt the transmission of copyrighted media files. His logo was a crow (or what looked like a crow) with a long black beak, holding a seed.
This system would work to the find a middle ground between a DRM/IP regime lockdown, and what Nesson referred to as a "disaster" for the content industry, though I would argue that movies/TV/Cable are different that other media, and each media needs to be considered on it's own, when thinking about these issues. In fact, I think that low quality video files are considered to be of just-okay quality for people wanting a quick glance at content, and so they may download something on one of these networks, but that people really want the big rich high quality screen experience, hence video's inability to kill the experience or desire by people to go out to see a big screen movie, and people aalso love watching DVD's on plasma, because of the rich experience... downloaded files on little screens are just not nice in that way. Imagine watching Lord of the Rings on a five inch screen. But as bandwidth grows, it will become more of an issue, but what if these little files are loss leaders to entice people into the theaters, to buy DVD's or high quality downloads with interesting value added stuff?
The Interdiction system is designed to be a speed bump for those who would pirate, and for those who have more money than time, and would otherwise pay for their files (the system is associated with Scenario Three of the Harvard/G2 Five Scenarios for Digital Media in a post Napster world paper) . It is a form of competition for online digital media that is freely shared, so that the Interdiction would come when something is offered, and instead of a denial of service attack (another form of self-help that ties up an entire system or network, discussed by the incumbent content companies that is an illegal means for stopping filesharing), Interdiction would send a message to a seeder to take down the file and it could tie up just the seeds (not a seeder's whole system) so that no one could download. Nesson talked about a "new release" window to keep the market pristine for selling the content.
I found BitTorrent to be a really interesting system, one that could be so powerful for exchanging information, distributing files without centralization (where the distributor has to pay all the bandwidth costs, verses distributing the distribution costs as well across users), but one that needs work before the general public (those beyond the geeks) can use it.Posted by Mary Hodder at February 12, 2004 04:42 PM | 4,504 | 2,179 | 0.00046 |
warc | 201704 | Sunday, April 10, 2011 – In Agreement
My idea of an agreeable person is a person who agrees with me. ~ Benjamin Disraeli
It is by universal misunderstanding that all agree. For if, by ill luck, people understood each other, they would never agree. ~ Charles Baudelaire
Those who agree with us may not be right, but we admire their astuteness. ~ Cullen Hightower
We rarely think people have good sense unless they agree with us. ~ Francois de La Rochefoucauld, Maximes (1678)
If men would consider not so much wherein they differ, as wherein they agree, there would be far less of uncharitableness and angry feeling. ~ Joseph Addison
If two men agree on everything, you may be sure that only one of them is doing the thinking. ~ Lyndon B. Johnson
I don’t necessarily agree with everything I say. ~ Marshall McLuhan
If you can find something everyone agrees on, it’s wrong. ~ Mo Udall
To disagree with three-fourths of the British public is one of the first requisites of sanity. ~ Oscar Wilde
The greatest mistake is trying to be more agreeable than you can be. ~ Walter Bagehot
When two men in business always agree, one of them is unnecessary. ~ William Wrigley Jr.
What we call reality is an agreement that people have arrived at to make life more livable. ~ Louise Nevelson
There is nothing more likely to start disagreement among people or countries than an agreement. ~ E. B. White
My people and I have come to an agreement which satisfied us both. They are to say what they please, and I am to do what I please. ~ Frederick the Great
It is impossible to persuade a man who does not disagree, but smiles. ~ Muriel Spark
Nobody agrees with anybody else anyhow, but adults conceal it and infants show it. ~ Ogden Nash
I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me. ~ Dudley Field Malone
If you wish to appear agreeable in society, you must consent to be taught many things which you know already. ~ Johann Kaspar Lavater
Man, an animal that makes bargains. ~ Adam Smith
Minds do not act together in public; they simply stick together; and when their private activities are resumed, they fly apart again. ~ Frank Moore Colby
The fellow that agrees with everything you say is either a fool or he is getting ready to skin you. ~ Kin Hubbard
There’s nothing is this world more instinctively abhorrent to me than finding myself in agreement with my fellow-humans. ~ Malcolm Muggeridge
You can always tell when a man’s well informed. His views are pretty much like your own. ~ Louie Morris
You can get assent to almost any proposition so long as you are not going to do anything about it. ~ John Jay Chapman
You may easily play a joke on a man who likes to argue – agree with him. ~ Edgar Watson Howe
Compromise: An agreement between two men to do what both agree is wrong. ~ Lord Edward Cecil
Compromise is never anything but an ignoble truce between the duty of a man and the terror of a coward. ~ G. K. Chesterton
Compromise (n) – Such an adjustment of conflicting interests as gives each adversary the satisfaction of thinking he has got what he ought not to have, and is deprived of nothing except what was justly his due. ~ Ambrose Bierce
What are facts but compromises? A fact merely marks the point where we have agreed to let investigation cease. ~ Bliss Carman
Real life is, to most men, a long second-best, a perpetual compromise between the ideal and the possible but the world of pure reason knows no compromise, no practical limitations, no barrier to the creative activity. ~ Bertrand Russell
Life cannot subsist in society but by reciprocal concessions. ~ Samuel Johnson
All government, indeed every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue, and every prudent act, is founded on compromise and barter. ~ Edmund Burke
Compromise used to mean that half a loaf was better than no bread. Among modern statesmen it really seems to mean that half a loaf is better than a whole loaf. ~ G. K. Chesterton
People talk about the middle of the road as though it were unacceptable. Actually, all human problems, excepting morals, come into the gray areas. Things are not all black and white. There have to be compromises. The middle of the road is all of the usable surface. The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters. ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower
If you are not very clever, you should be conciliatory. ~ Benjamin Disraeli
A man’s wife is his compromise with the illusion of his first sweetheart. ~ George Jean Nathan
It’s true Heaven forbids some pleasures, but a compromise can usually be found. ~ Moliere
If we are all in agreement on the decision – then I propose we postpone further discussion of this matter until our next meeting to give ourselves time to develop disagreement and perhaps gain some understanding of what the decision is all about. ~ Alfred P. Sloan
Thus, we see that one of the obvious origins of human disagreement lies in the use of noises for words. ~ Alfred Korzybski | 5,015 | 2,494 | 0.000408 |
warc | 201704 | INBREEDING IN APHID POPULATIONS AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND MORPHOLOGY
Project/Area Number 10640604 Research Category
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C).
Section 一般 Research Field 生態 Research Institution HOKKAIDO UNIVERSITY Principal Investigator AKIMOTO Shin-ichi Hokkaido Univ., Grad.School of Agr., Asso.Pro., 大学院・農学研究科, 助教授 (30175161) Project Fiscal Year 1998 – 1999 Project Status Completed(Fiscal Year 1999) Budget Amount *help ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost : ¥1,300,000) Fiscal Year 1999 : ¥500,000 (Direct Cost : ¥500,000) Fiscal Year 1998 : ¥800,000 (Direct Cost : ¥800,000) Keywords APHID / INBREEDING / HATCH / GALL / MORPHOLOGY / アブラムシ / 近親交配 / ふ化 / ゴール / 形態 / 外交配 / クローン / 繁殖集団 / 局所的配偶者競争 / 単為生殖 Research Abstract
This study aims to quantify the extent of inbreeding in a local population focusing on a pemphigid aphid in which selfing is readily forced. The method invented newly in this study made it possible not only to quantify the extent of inbreeding but also to estimate inbreeding depression. It has been inferred that the pemphigid aphid Prociphilus oriens is likely to inbreed in the field, based on the evidence of the sex ratio. However, the use of the present method clarified that this species has an outbreeding system. This result suggests that the sex ratio theory in aphids should be critically revised. In Prociphilus oriens, eggs from selfing, on the average, hatched later than those from outbreeding, when they were incubated under the same conditions. This later hatching can be considered as an inbreeding depression, because nymphs from late hatched eggs have morphological and physiological anomalies. However, when this method was applied to the non-host alternating aphid Kaltenbachiella japonica, selfing did not lead to later egg-hatching. The hatchability of selfed eggs did not differ significantly from that of outbred eggs either.
Report (4results) Research Output (4results) | 2,251 | 1,228 | 0.000948 |
warc | 201704 | Kyle J. Norton(Scholar, Master of Nutrients), all right reserved.
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published on line, including world wide health, ezine articles, article base, healthblogs, selfgrowth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bio science, ISSN 0975-6299.
Human aging is a biological process, no one can stop, but delay it. It is possible that one person has a physiological younger than his or her biological if one engages in healthy living life style and eating healthily by increasing the intake of good healthy food such as whole grain, fruits, vegetables, beans and legumes, etc. and reducing the consumption of harmful foods, such as saturated fat, trans fat, artificial ingredients, etc.
Metals binding proteins
The expression of metal-binding proteins or peptides in microorganisms and plants in order to enhance heavy metal accumulation and/or tolerance has great potential, according to Dr. Malin Mejárea, Leif Bülow in the study of Metal-binding proteins and peptides in bioremediation and phytoremediation of heavy metals, leading to reduced oxidative stress defence in plants.
Myoglobin
Myoglobin is an iron- and oxygen-binding protein found in the muscle tissue of vertebrates. The binding of oxygen by myoglobin is unaffected by the oxidation or chain of oxidative reaction in the surrounding tissue, thus reducing the free radicals damage caused by oxidate stress.
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Super foods Library,Eat Yourself Healthy With The Best of the Best Nature Has to Offer | 2,164 | 1,188 | 0.000852 |
warc | 201704 | AuthorPosts June 1, 2013 at 12:05 am #43219 angiefParticipant
Hi Community, I’m wondering if anyone knows if there is any evidence indicating that amalgam fillings contribute to migraines. Despite keeping a migraine diary since December, I’m still unable to identify my triggers and thought maybe its my fillings! Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
June 4, 2013 at 2:19 pm #43285 Ellen SchnakenbergParticipant
afinkel – While we do know that amalgam fillings do release a minute amount of mercury into your system, to my knowledge there have been no studies into this as a trigger or contributing factor. That said, it’s important to remember that anything could potentially be a trigger, keeping our health at optimum helps our Migraines, and that we do know heavy metals at high levels can do damage to our neurological systems.
If you are concerned about your fillings, you can have your blood tested to see if your levels exceed those that are normally seen in most people. (remember that heavy metals are part of our everyday environment, even in the dust we breathe and the soil our food grows in) Talk to your headache specialist about your results and the potential it might be an issue for you. Then, if you want to spend the money and the time to have your amalgams removed, please make sure its done by someone with the appropriate equipment and training to do it without actually causing you further damage.
Remember too, that composite fillings are made of plastics, which also leach chemicals.
We are surrounded by chemicals. I guess the trick is figuring out which might be an individual problem, and ignoring the rest?
July 5, 2013 at 1:32 am #43645 carla-fisherParticipant
Afinkel, my husband listens to a lot of alternative medicine brodcasts. He tells me I need to have all my fillings replaced. I don’t know if all this stuff about lead poisoning is accurate or not. I am slowly having my fillings replaced with the composite fillings.My concern is the dust from drilling out the old to replace with the new. I use a metal cleanse twice a year. you can get all kinds of cleanses at you logal health food store. talk to your doctor and pharmacist before using a cleanse if you are on medication. Some medicines are madeto release in the bowel which can be affected by a cleanse.
July 5, 2013 at 9:31 am #43649 Ellen SchnakenbergParticipant
carla-fisher – There are specific techniques to remove amalgam fillings. It is the mercury in them that people worry about. Our bodies are equipped to deal with and remove these things at a certain rate. Some people may be accumulating heavy metals faster than their bodies are equipped to detoxify them however.
Have you been tested to see if your mercury or other heavy metal levels are elevated? Composites are made of plastic, and it is my understanding that these too can leach chemicals, so it’s possible you may be trading off one problem for another. I suggest contacting a dentist specially trained in removing amalgam fillings for an opinion… or two. Ask lots of questions. We do know that mercury is accumulated in organs including the brain, where it can cause damage. If mercury is an issue, this will take very specific chelation procedures to help eliminate it over a very long period of time – years.
Because mercury binds to other chemicals and compounds throughout our bodies, a cleanse is not likely to be very effective. Chelation is helpful but may be done too rapidly for our bodies to deal with effectively, and our already sensitive Migraine brains may get worse instead of better.
There are ways of helping with a mercury issue, but anything other than chelation, is all controversial.
For more information, I’d suggest contacting a local dentist who has specialized training in dealing with these issues. Here is a list: http://iaomt.org/
March 26, 2014 at 11:59 pm #48862 LunaParticipant
All the information I have seen/read about amalgam fillings is that if they are not removed properly it puts the person at a greater health risk because more mercury is put into the body via the drilling dust. One must go to a dentist that specializes in this procedure.
AuthorPosts
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warc | 201704 | The following is a guest commentary from Marc Poirier, Co-Founder and CMO of Acquisio.
Facebook is becoming an increasingly competitive space, making it difficult for advertisers to just get by on the very basics. You can put your ads out there, but without some extra attention to details, it is incredibly difficult to reach your audience and convince them to find out more.
In addition, Facebook is now a massive gathering place for all things consumer-related, which makes it a critical advertising channel. With these three tips, you’ll be able to refine your Facebook marketing strategy to ensure that you stand out and get your message to the people who matter most: your potential customers.
Multivariate Testing
Many marketers engage in A/B testing — it’s a standard practice and is the very least that one can do as a marketer to ensure that one is getting the best out of their ads. After all, it’s the audience that decides which ad is the most successful. One might actually be surprised by results, but in the end, it’s about your audience.
With multivariate testing, you’re taking this several steps further. You will look at headlines, images, offers, prices, colors, forms, and more. You’ll create multiple versions of your ads with different headlines in conjunction with different images and placements. This allows you to drill down deep and find the very best results based on several criteria, as opposed to just two.
These test can be performed all the way from the ad to the landing page with multiple elements of each. For the best results, it is necessary to be able to generate enough traffic to give you a good benchmark from which to glean results.
Testing with very little traffic can be problematic, so you’ll need to have an idea of the traffic you might get in order to establish the number of variables you might test. The lower the traffic, the fewer the variables you can get honest results from in a test. The more variables you have, the longer it will take to gather usable results.
Full-factorial multivariate testing can aid in this and can be done with just three ads with three different combinations of three elements; in this case they are the Headline, Ad Text and Image. You’ll end up with nine combinations, allowing you to distribute daily budget to each of them evenly. In the end, you get a full set of data that allows you to use the highest-performing element from each of the variations to create the best ad from each variable.
Nuanced Segmenting
There are a lot of targeting options provided by Facebook, allowing you to be very nuanced in your advertising options. Those who are successful with Facebook advertising are those who have not put all of their eggs into one basket.
Being too broad with Facebook advertising is dangerous for more than one reason, not the least of which is the possibility that if you target too large a group and no one is interested in your ad, your CTR will be so low that Facebook will actually cancel your ad.
Being more granular with your ad targeting gives you greater control over your efforts, and you get much higher performance as a result. And being granular requires a lot of different targets. This may mean creating thousands of ads in order to target age groups, regions, and every permutation of these things in order to exercise complete control over your CTR.
If you cannot control your CTR, one ad could be the undoing of an entire campaign. It is crucial to a campaign’s success to monitor ads very closely, as campaigns can unravel due to the poor performance of one ad in minutes, but with more precise targeting, you’re giving yourself more room to breathe.
Start by aligning Interests, Broad Categories broken down further, and Connections and create different combinations of these. From there you can further break down your demographics and geographics. Be reasonable in your efforts, but be aware that true success with Facebook advertising requires thousands, not dozens, of ads.
Obviously, a third-party application that allows you to create this many ads quickly will be a huge part of this endeavor, otherwise you will spend more time creating ads than advertising.
Ad Optimization
The process of testing ads does not stop when you have found one that works best. It is still necessary to find out if you can do better. For example, you may have performed a multivariate test and found a winning combination. This does not mean that the testing ends there. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Testing and optimizing is a constant process that requires complete dedication to finding out the answer to the question, “What works best for my audience?”
You may find that ads that mention your brand do not work as well as ads that do not. What you find out may be completely counterintuitive and utterly baffling. But, to get the most out of this advertising process you must be ever vigilant and constantly evolving and further refining your ad strategy.
Facebook advertising is not something that one undertakes lightly. In order to really get your message spread over a large group, it is necessary to put in a great deal of effort, but with that effort can come great rewards. Using these processes to refine your ads, your audience, and your delivery will allow you to make the most out of this potentially very profitable marketing channel.
About The Author Marc Poirier is Co-Founder and CMO of Acquisio, and one of the leading voices of the performance marketing industry. Marc started his internet marketing career in 1996 while studying for his PhD in Cognitive Science, and lives near Montreal where he enjoys fishing in Canadian lakes and rivers on weekends.
In this article Announcements Mobile Advertising Mobile Devices Mobile Marketing Mobile Networks Mobile Social News Platforms Resources Acquisio advertising tools and resources Facebook advertising Facebook marketing tips Facebook news Marc Poirier Mobile Advertising Mobile Marketing Mobile News Optimizing Segmenting social media marketing strategy Testing | 6,135 | 2,724 | 0.000373 |
warc | 201704 | On this day ten years ago, a blogger going by the moniker of Molly Meek started a blog on Livejournal, a platform that many might not recognize today. It was around that time that the phenomenon that later came to be known as socio-political blogging started to become popular, and the undeniably pro-PAP media soon caught up with bloggers, accusing them of being anonymous and full of barb. It was 2004, the same year that saw the creation of Facebook, though it would take several years before local netizens took to Facebook for socio-political causes. Within a short span of ten years, socio-political Interneting became pretty much mainstream in Singapore, and the almighty PAP itself has been questioned, if not undermined, to the extent that it has considered it necessary to enter the realm that used to be reserved for noisy troublemakers and even send its agents to infiltrate cyberspace. Within the same decade, two elections took place, including one in which the PAP suffered a historically significant loss of a GRC to the Workers’ Party. Online socio-political criticism and activism, especially with increasingly diverse voices that can be heard, must have played a part in bringing about changes that would have in the past been unthinkable.
On this day ten years ago, Molly started blogging on Livejournal (yes, Molly started blogging when she was in Primary 1)
1 as an apparently bimbotic young girl though she has since given way to better qualified bimbos who shall not be named to avoid the charge of bullying. Although it was around that time when socio-political blogging started to become popular locally, the era of individual blogging soon gave way to one in which certain group blogs came to be considered more credible for some reason; that eventually gave way to the age in which anti-PAP sites that thrive on being virtually free of originality or thinking co-exist with their most compatible nemesis, covert forces deployed by a certain powerful political party to defend itself (perhaps so that it can delude itself into believing that it is always right and remains very popular with Singaporeans). Ten years, more than twenty per cent of Singapore’s post-independence history, is a long time. Unfortunately, change has not been effected. Even the sense of hope that things are indeed changing has remained the same. There is no better tool to keep a citizenry complacent 2 about the dissatisfying status quo than a belief that radical change is taking place. To be sure, there are new events all the time. The PAP’s loss of a GRC in 2011 seemed to mark a new era. But even 1984 once marked the birth of a brave new world, with the electoral achievements of JB Jeyaretnam and Chiam See Tong, don’t you remember? What came after that was another three decades (and counting) of PAP hegemony during which people were constantly excited about changes that were once unthinkable.
When Molly was still blogging more actively, she was at times described as being too angry (an unintentionally executed variation of the injunction to be constructive), as being simple (an exact word someone used though perhaps not earnestly), and as being obtuse (not an exact word used by anyone, but Molly shall leave you to contemplate which definition of this very interesting word to apply here).
These days, my online activity has been largely confined to Facebook where things tend to be shorter, more accessible and therefore less significant but more appealing. We have progressed to the world of one-second memes and three-worded captions that, whilst being a largely tax haven for the brain, allows people to feel proud of their wit. Like urban landscapes, it may have its architectural beauty, but when it devours all dense vegetation and varied foliage in the environment, the loss is regrettable. Yet, I would have blogged more frequently if Singapore had not damned us all to the inferno of endless echoes.
Because nothing really changes, we are left with the same criticisms, the same arguments and counterarguments and counter-counterarguments, the same complaints about repetitiveness, the same ironic self-reflexivity, ultimately the same silence amidst the old howls and vociferations that sound almost encouraging to the untrained ear. Anger and frustration can accumulate, of course, but one could have fun inflating the same balloon forever as long as air is allowed to escape periodically.
You may, and you should, take objection to the idea of changelessness, which is yet another repetitive cliché if you have not noticed. For a society made up of real human beings (even if they are robotized), changelessness is, strictly speaking, impossible. But change could simply be renewal. In Singapore, any allowed change is meant to be restorative, not revolutionary. Until you change your mind, perhaps. But will you?
Since the reach of the air inflating the PAP-Singapore balloon very much depends on the lung capacity and the depth of breathing of Singaporeans-in-discourse, it would be ideal to keep these people sedentary. As long as they do not breathe too deeply, as long as they inhale little air when they do breathe, the regular, though always partial (so that there’s always hope to keep Singapore going
3), deflation of the balloon will always be sufficient to sustain renewal. In more literal if more abstract terms, the basic rule is to maintain discourse at the lowest possible level, intellectually or otherwise.
To begin with, many local netizens seem to believe in the existence of a conspiracy-theory-like Internet Brigade commissioned by the PAP to counter criticisms it has received, spread pretty untruths about the ruling party and circulate untenable anti-opposition claims, but not much attention has been paid to the belief itself and its effects as a cultural phenomenon. It has been understood, from press reports, that the PAP was not happy upon discovering that the only expressions of political sentiments online seem to be anti-PAP and thus childishly decided to balance the spontaneous expressions with non-spontaneous but pro-PAP sentiments.
If you do not have it, fake it. Like a certain group of lunatics who recently tried to get a book removed from the public library through coordinated efforts to make themselves appear to represent the mainstream and the majority, the PAP’s efforts are concerted and thus disconcerting. Nevertheless, while such efforts may seem to dilute criticisms against the PAP, they probably have a limited effect on existing anti-PAP sentiments. The effect on discourse, however, is arguably stronger and more insidious.
As a response to pestilent groups like Fabrications About the PAP, netizens have plunged into paranoia, often easily and needlessly labeling others as IB. Those who wisely refrain from paranoia and try to patiently counter the usual Internet Brigade suspects find their words deleted (which is predictable) and/or end up repeating the same counterarguments in various enunciations. The beauty of the Singaporean stationary bicycle: repetitive movements in a state of paralysis. Exhaustion
sans progress. Others learn to ignore the pests. But try ignoring the termite infestation in your house and see if you like the end result. Try telling your neighbor who is busy dealing with a termite infestation about the exquisite furniture you have just seen in a shop and see if he is interested. The harm done by the Internet Brigade (even if the Brigade did not actually exist) is the retardation of discourse. (But so what even if we recognize this?)
Even without the Internet Brigade, people have always been excessively reliant on the resources of discourse and resistance afforded by the state. Thanks to the PAP’s claim that it wants to engage the people in a conversation, it gets accused of failing to engage the people as though their failure were a matter of lacking engagement. Thanks to a few ministers’ claim that every school is a good school, people begin to expect every school to be a good school as though there is no need to ask if the education system itself was broken. Thanks to the government’s decision to update laws to tackle harassment and cyberbullying, people, both pro- and anti-PAP, started to uncritically (and wrongly) name behaviors as cyberbullying. It is common for us to see PAP critics calling for certain individuals in Singapore (usually non-citizens) to be indicted for sedition because they have made racially insensitive remarks, conveniently forgetting that the draconian sedition law is an instrument of the oppressive state that can be used to curtail their freedom of speech. Of course, such moves are often made to expose the hypocrisy of those in power, but there also appears to be little movement beyond parodic, ironic exposure that is still circumscribed by the cunning, stretching tentacles of the state.
Perhaps there is a certain pleasure for prisoners to indulge, again and again, in a performance of
Prison Break by scaling and climbing the false fences constructed within their prison only to be led back to their cells by their wardens. This secure, permitted resistance allows them to experience breaking free without having to face the perils of the world outside after actually breaking free. Because further thinking expends too much energy and could cause too much misery, there is no incentive to break out of the discursive prison when one could get the thrill of playing Prison Break. Prisoners would even learn to reproach their peers for trying to scale past the final and only real fence and reminding them of its existence. (How could you be sure it’s not one big prison out there anyway?)
Perhaps, without even realizing it, people are all engaging in constructive politics/criticism, something that the PAP is fond of advocating. Constructive politics is easy. It is merely to assume that every problem can be solved with the PAP remaining in power; it is to tell the PAP to
make changes without ever considering the prospects of actually replacing the PAP with something different. Of course, this may seem ridiculous given that “Vote them Out” has become a rather common refrain. But it is also all too often uttered because of the frustration with the PAP’s apparent inability to adequately address practical issues to do with livelihood. There are those, for instance, who seem believe that the one reason the PAP must be voted out is that it has opened the floodgates to foreigners (by now yet another familiar cliché), causing Singaporeans to lose their jobs or job opportunities. On the other hand, this seems to tell us that if there is one thing that the PAP has got right since 2011, it is the belief that it will likely not lose power as long as it solves problems livelihood and standard of living problems (or at least hoodwink people into thinking that it has taken effective action to do so).
Sure, vote the PAP out by all means—but why? Why not simply because it insists on being the dominant party and on being it forever, and such an insistence has allowed poorly crafted policies to be implemented without anyone to stop it? Why vote the PAP out because it has failed to deliver the promised Swiss standard of living and not because the very spirit of voting is threatened by its brand of politics, regardless of whether it can alleviate the massive economic problems it has created? The former reason is fair enough, but it is also to perceive politics in PAP lenses. In a way, many of the most vehement calls to vote the PAP out (notice the PAP-centric phrasing) are a desperate call for the PAP to change or for the PAP to be substituted with a party with different economic policies. Contrary to the claims that there is a political awakening in Singapore, this actually reflects an unfortunate lack of it. Without any deeper political awareness, Singapore risks prolonged PAP hegemony (there will be enough people who actually think that the PAP has already changed its economic policies sufficiently); it is an open invitation for more PAPs to substitute the current PAP.
What are you saying, Molly? Can you sum it up? Give me the key points? I’m saying the same old things, perhaps. No, I’m afraid not.
Yes, the PAP must go! Of course, but that’s not what I’m saying.
This gives me a headache. I’d rather move on to some list-based article on Singaporean trivia. Sure, go ahead.
The dust always settles … till the next gust of wind stirs it. Till it’s all washed away. Till it becomes.
Futile Footnotes
1Molly has decided to reset her permanent age to 17 because it is rumored that women might soon be conscripted and eighteen would become a dangerous age to remain at for life.
2An potential allusion to some occasionally wise old man’s words that some might have noticed and about which most do not care.
3Another allusion. To what, you are asking me? Seriously?
Filed under: Uncategorized | 6 Comments » | 13,071 | 5,994 | 0.000169 |
warc | 201704 | Perhaps it is impossible to repress a repressive mechanism, so National Service is one issue that keeps cropping up in Singapore, appearing in discussions about foreign talents to those about new citizen MPs and the perceived divide between the political leaders of Singapore and the disempowered people they are supposed to serve. While the strongest detractors of NS will definitely disagree with the necessity of conscription, even the staunchest supporters of NS will not go as far as to deny that conscription is problematic and comes with disadvantages for conscripts. The continued existence of NS without bitter objections is only possible when it is believed to be a common denominator for all (male) Singaporeans, but when this belief is eroded and NS, in fact, becomes seen as a site of gross disparities, a discursive explosion threatens to take place. The issues as some focus on questioning NS on the one hand, and others concentrate on interrogating the circumstances that make inequalities in NS possible on the other hand. NS will be challenged, as will foreign talent policies and the position of the power elite in Singapore. It is no surprise that Tony Tan’s bid for presidency also sees the appearance of NS as an issue of contention.
Singaporeans who have not heard about the claims that Tony Tan’s sons were given special treatment in NS must have very advanced news blocking or filtering systems. First, Patrick Tan was said to have disrupted from full-time national service for an unusually long period of 12 years; the lack of similar examples probably arouses suspicions in many Singaporeans especially when he also served in an NS vocation (Defence Medical Scientist) that is virtually unheard of. More recently, Temasek Review Emeritus reported about claims that Tony Tan’s other two sons, Peter and Philip served as clerks despite being combat-fit, giving the impression that the family has a very attention-grabbing collection of rarities to say the least. We should remember, however, that no one is saying that Tony Tan’s sons did not fulfill their NS obligations. On the other hand, any insinuations that Tony Tan had abused his powers may be deemed defamatory.
We must, regardless of how much we like Tony Tan, allow him and his three sons to defend themselves against serious allegations about their integrity. It is unfortunate, then, that they do not seem to be putting up the strongest defense possible—or at least the mainstream media, which is always so eager to help protect the reputations of certain people, has failed to report their clarifications very well. Claims are “refuted” with counter-claims sans substantiation while the specific allegations are not even reported by
The Straits Times and Today.
According to a statement issued by the sons as reported by
Today
The allegations concerning our National Service – circulated on the Internet and reinforced by Dr Tony Tan’s opponents – are lies.
Either the paper forgot to report which allegations in particular or the sons forgot to mention the allegations. It cannot be that every single claim that has been circulated on the Internet, such as the claim that Patrick Tan disrupted for 12 years or that or that he served as a defence medical scientist, is false. After all, some information such as Patrick Tan’s vocation is provided by Mindef. It is of utmost importance, then, for the sons to specify which allegations are false and for the media to report them even if we were to trust what the sons are saying.
The other claim made by the sons is about themselves:
We fulfilled all obligations in accordance with the rules, regulations, and deployment policies of Mindef. (
The Straits Times)
Again, this is a claim that can easily give rise to doubts. No one is accusing them of not fulfilling their NS obligations. The additional qualifier that they fulfilled their obligations “in accordance with the rules, regulations, and deployment policies of Mindef” may arouse deeper suspicions since the question that people will naturally ask is whether Mindef’s policies actually allow for special treatment to begin with. In other words, if Mindef (and this is purely hypothetical) has the policy of deploying the sons of ministers to non-combat vocations, then fulfilling NS obligations according to Mindef’s policies is meaningless. We know that Mindef’s policies regarding disruption and deferment are not entirely inflexible on paper, but we see reservists having difficulties even in deferring one In-Camp Training in practice. When the flexibility is exercised, it is certainly legitimate. But people will question why it is so rarely exercised and if it is reserved for special people or occasions. How could someone be allowed to disrupt for 12 years to pursue a Ph.D overseas while a local graduate student is not even able to defer, for very good reasons, an In-Camp Training even though theoretically it is possible for the application for deferment to be granted. Even if it is said that some people are exceptionally talented and concessions are made for them, is it not discriminatory that others are not granted the same concessions despite having the same (or even stronger) needs?
The controversial issue is not whether Tony Tan abused his powers as a minister, but whether he even needed to abuse or simply use his power to begin with.
We cannot blame the general public for being doubtful. It is known that certain personnel in the armed forces were once classified as white horses, and while the classification was ostensibly to ensure that white horses did not get preferential treatment, many have the impression that they were accorded special treatment despite the official rationale of the policy.
What Tony Tan and his sons should have done is to list specific allegations and address them one by one. For example, if Peter and Philip were not deployed as clerks despite being combat-fit, they should say so explicitly. Or if they were, they could say so too and explain why it is not uncommon for at least two of three medically fit sons in a family to serve as clerks in NS.
Mindef also has a responsibility to account to the public. At the very least, it should clarify the vocations to which Tony Tan’s sons were deployed. It should also be transparent about the deployment process—even if we believe the Tan family fully, are there any measures put in place to ensure that the deployment of a serviceman to a particular vocation or unit cannot be decided or changed by, say, just a friendly phone call to a friend? Such policies should exist since Singapore’s conscripts have no say over where they are posted to. If they had a choice regarding their vocation and unit, we can at least assume say that deployment decisions are made based on individual preferences. But since servicemen do not have a choice and human beings are in charge of deployment decisions, it is important to ensure that the system is transparent and not prone to abuses. For instance, how many officers of what rank must approve before a serviceman’s vocation is decided or changed? If Mindef does not have processes in place to prevent abuses, it should also explain why.
Neither the Tan family nor Mindef can expect the public to be satisfied simply because they claim that everything is fair. Perhaps the truth is that it is very fair indeed, but there is a need to convince the public. In Singapore, it seems that the establishment fails to distinguish between assertion and persuasion. The public is naturally very cynical. If servicemen have seen their superiors treating “white horses” especially well, even if it is out of unfounded fear of trouble, there will be a sense that the system is unfair. The conclusions that people who actually experience NS arrive at based on first-hand observations are important. Instead of dismissing them because there is no evidence that is admissible in a court of law, we have to remember that the trial by the public follows a different set of rules. In order to put across a more convincing justification of the continued existence of NS, Mindef has to ensure that the concerns of the public are adequately addressed.
A simple Google search leads me to one page of a forum where I can already find comments like:
During my BMT time, there happened to be one or two companies that were better off in terms of welfare than the rest of us. Just because there were a handful of these precious white horses in them.
I was from Nee Soon BMTC ‘K’ coy. during my time, “L” coy had a BG’s nephew, and the treatment was already different!
I once saw the officers doing area cleaning
forthe recruits of a white horse company in BMT. They get to go for breakfast late and book in the latest as well. Open secret? It’s bloody blatant enough.
It is about time we ensure that the system is so fair that most member of the public will not question it. If all three sons of Tony Tan (or even merely one of them) are deployed to non-combat vocations, Singaporeans deserve to know why, especially since now that Tony Tan is keen to be the President. The public may have forgotten about the case of a father who wrote to the press to relate an encounter with his MP after his son died in service. He was advised by a friend to seek the help of his MP to grant his younger son an exemption because of the death of the elder son. While there is probably no policy that allows anyone to be exempted from NS because his elder brother has died while serving NS, the parents said that they were traumatized only to be retorted by the MP who said, ““What traumatic, after two months, you won’t be traumatic [sic]?” (The letter can be found here)
Indeed. After two months, the trauma will disappear. This is exactly what Singapore’s collective repression of memory has always been about. It surfaces every now and then in certain individuals, but collective denial is all that matters. Truth is the burial of doubt.
The White Horse classification which supposedly ensured that no preferential treatment was given was scrapped after 2000. Does it mean that preferential treatment can now be given? Let us forget about this. Perhaps this is what is meant by having a President that can unite the people. Someone to help us forget is someone to help us unite. If you buy into this ideal, vote for Tony Tan tomorrow.
Filed under: Uncategorized | 10,558 | 4,611 | 0.000221 |
warc | 201704 | Numerous studies have examined the employment benefits of earning a bachelor's degree, concluding that higher levels of education sharply increase one's earning potential and employment opportunities (Cappelli et al. 1997). In particular, several studies have demonstrated the labor market advantage that students who concentrate in applied fields, such as business and engineering, experience with respect to higher salaries and full-time employment (e.g., Grogger and Eide 1995; Pascarella and Terenzini 1991; Rumberger and Thomas 1993). However, today's labor market does not necessarily guarantee a college graduate a traditional 9 to 5 job, nor is this type of employment the only option. Bachelor's degree recipients are well-represented in the contingent (short-term) workforce (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2001; Hipple 1998), but there is little research that examines the experiences of bachelor's degree recipients who are not full-time professional employees, but instead have alternative employment.
Although alternative employment is defined differently in
various studies, this analysis examines both alternative working
arrangements and occupation types. Alternative working arrangements
examined here include self-employment, part-time employment, and employment in
multiple jobs. An aggregate variable indicating whether or not the respondent
was in any of these three employment
situations is also included. In addition, this analysis explores the occupation
type of the respondents: clerical and support occupations and field professions
This study uses data from the 1993/97 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:93/97), representing college graduates who received their bachelor's degrees in academic year 1992-93. Survey participants were sampled from the 1992-93 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:93) and were first surveyed in their final year of college, with follow-ups conducted in 1994 and 1997, approximately 1 year and 4 years after graduation. The analysis focuses primarily on employment in 1997 and includes those who were employed and not enrolled for further study at that time. The data are used to address the following questions: How prevalent is alternative employment among bachelor's degree recipients who are not enrolled? Which bachelor's degree recipients are most likely to work in alternative employment, by various demographic, family, and academic characteristics, particularly by gender? What are the differences between patterns of alternative employment when graduates are 1 year out of college and when they are 4 years out of college? How do those in alternative employment differ from those in traditional employment in terms of their reasons for taking their job, benefits, salaries, and job satisfaction?
USER NOTE: This publication is best viewed using a screen resolution of at least 800x600 pixels. For instructions on how to change your screen resolution, please see NCES Help. | 2,973 | 1,443 | 0.000696 |
warc | 201704 | Every family today is becoming more resistant to sweet meats and fast food, not because they are calorie conscious but because sugar is now detrimental for one or more of there family members on account of diabetes mellitus. Yes, today almost every family has a diabetic!
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder in which the sugar consumed in form of secondary sugars like sucrose and lactose as well as carbohydrates cannot be used efficiently by the body. The glucose formed after digestion of other sugars is not taken up by the different cells of the body as the transporter of the glucose inwards is malfunctional. This transporter is nothing but insulin. The increase in sugar concentration of the blood in any diabetic gives rise to a number of complications, retinopathy is one of them.
What is Diabetic Retinopathy ?
Retinopathy is an impairment of the retina a layer at the back of the eye which receives light and sends signals to the nerve responsible for us to enjoy vision. Hence if the retina is damaged we are unable to see clearly.
How does the retina get damaged in diabetes? The high glucose concentration of blood makes it thicker and the thin blood vessels or capillaries are not strong or elastic enough to carry the higher concentration of sugar in the blood they are carrying. So, they tend to swell, lose shape and may finally burst to give spots of blood near the retina. Prevalence of Diabetic Retinopathy Retinopathy is a very common complication in all type 2 diabetics. Infact sixty percent of diabetics develop retinopathy in the first ten years of their disorder, and in the first twenty years, all patients encompass retinopathy. However, this is not a cause to be fearful; infact this should be taken as an alarm to take charge of the complication. Stages in Diabetic Retinopathy
1. Mild: Here the capillaries in the retina get swollen due to the thick blood carrying
high concentrations of glucose. 2. Moderate: Soon as the disease progresses some blood vessels are blocked by the blood. 3. Severe: Most blood vessels of retina are blocked and the retina signals the body for generating more blood vessels. 4. Proliferative: More vessels are formed along the retinal wall but they are also fragile. Hence they rupture easily and release the blood into the cavity. As a result, spotting is seen in the eye after haemorrhage or breakage of blood vessels. Signs and Symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy
Blurred vision and floaters are first seen symptoms which may worsen as the disease progresses into complete loss of vision and heavy bleeding from the eye.
Prevention of Diabetic Retinopathy
Prevention is much better than cure! The complication of retinopathy also can be avoided if the sugar level of the blood is under control. Regular blood tests, medication, exercise and diet regimen maintenance are steps to be taken to avoid deviations in blood sugar level.
Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy
Pan retinal photocoagulation is a laser technique which destroys oxygen deprived retinal tissue. This helps patients showing symptoms of abnormal growth of blood vessels near retina. Vitrectomy is another surgery adopted for patients showing signs of haemorrhage.
Additional Reading: | 3,230 | 1,502 | 0.000669 |
warc | 201704 | Psoriasis is regarded as ekakushta, a type of kshudra kushta according to Ayurveda. This is in the list of curable skin diseases.
Psoriasis can be considered as the vitiation of Vata and Kapha. Irregular food habits, consumption of incompatible food (Eg: diary products with fish), excessive intake of yogurt, black gram, seafood, sour and salted items, etc. can activate the pathogenesis. Alcohol and tobacco consumption will act as a catalyst here. Ayurveda does place emphasis on the effect of stress in the pathogenesis of Psoriasis.
Balancing the body doshas, detoxification and cleansing the body is very important in the management of psoriasis. Toxins are cleansed from the body and the digestion restored to prevent further accumulation. Nourishing herbs are then administered to strengthen and tone the tissues to promote complete healing of the skin.
Along with internal medicines, Ayurvedic Panchakarma procedures should also be done for at least a few months for beneficial results. You may have to consult an Ayurvedic doctor personally and get the external treatment procedures done.
Ayurveda Treatment for Psoriasis
Ayurveda suggests Panchakarma procedures for the treatment of psoriasis. Detoxification of the body is essential. Blood purifying drugs and anti inflammatory drugs are selected for the treatment of psoriasis.
Ayurvedic treatment procedures like shiro vasti, takra dhara (pouring medicated butter milk over the scalp in a continuous manner), lepana (anointing medicated herbal paste over the scalp for a specific duration), etc., are highly beneficial for the treatment of psoriasis.
Recommended ayurvedic medicines for treating psoriasis are:
Guggulu Tiktakam kashayam – 2 tablets twice daily 1 hour before food. Gandhaka rasayanam – 1 tsp at bed time. Kaishora guggulu – 2-0-2 along with the kashayam tablets before food. Neem capsules – 1 capsule twice daily after food. Raz oil – to be applied over the affected areas. Manjishtadi kashayam – 2 tablets twice daily 1 hour before food. Gandhaka rasayanam – 2 tablets at bed time Manjishta powder – it should be mixed with water and applied as a pack
Precautions
1. Use only mild herbal shampoo like Keshohills hair wash.
2. Avoid deep fried, spicy food, cold food and drinks.
3. Avoid non vegetarian food.
4. Consume only easily digestible food.
5. Avoid excessive salty and acidic food stuffs, radish, urad dal, sesame, jaggery (gur), curds, fish and other sour food stuffs that can trigger psoriasis.
Home Remedies for Treating Psoriasis
You may also try the following home remedies for beneficial results:
1. Take 1 glass of bitter gourd juice, add 1 tsp lemon juice and mix well.Drink this every day on an empty stomach.
2. Soak 2-3 tea spoons of fenugreek seeds in water. Leave it overnight. Grind these soaked seeds in water to make a smooth paste. Leave this paste for 30 minutes to thicken. Add little water to make it thin and apply this on scalp and hair.
3. The use of curd in the form of buttermilk has proved useful in psoriasis and the patient should drink it in liberal quantities.
4. Application of avocado oil gently on the effected part is found to be an effective treatment.
5. Cod liver oil, lecithin, linseed oil, vitamin E, and zinc fasten the healing process.
6. Drinking fresh bitter gourd juice mixed with one teaspoon of lime juice on an empty stomach is an effective psoriasis treatment.
7. Applying aloe vera cream thinly to irritated skin and rubbing lightly is effective.
8. Buttermilk can be used for washing the affected areas. A cloth dipped in buttermilk can be tied around the affected area.
9. The thickest and the greenest outer leaves of cabbage should be thoroughly washed in warm water and dried with a towel. The veins should be removed. The leaves should be warmed and then applied over the affected parts in an overlapping manner. A pad of soft woollen cloth should be put over them.
Additional Reading:
Header Image Pic Credit: i.ytimg.com
If you would like to get more information and buy some of the ayurvedic products mentioned in this article, please click the links below: | 4,174 | 1,975 | 0.000515 |
warc | 201704 | A good 7-9 hours of quality sleep is what you need every day for optimal health. This would help day time alertness as well. A consistent sleep schedule helps your body function properly.
Here are the Do’s and Don’ts for a good night’s sleep.
Binge sleeping (catching up all that lost sleep) over the weekends can lead to permanent brain damage. A full stomach and a booze at bedtime are hamper a good night’s sleep. Avoid a super fluffy pillow. All you need is a pillow that elevates your body and neck just enough to keep your spine straight. Sleeping in fetal position is not a good way to sleep as it can restrict your breath. You can instead wedge a body pillow to lengthen your spine. Mattresses which are too hard or soft are bad. They lead to back and spine problems. And if you are a pet parent you might not want to sleep with your pet as according to a research 63% of pet owners who sleep beside their pets sleep poorly.
Want to know more? See the cosmopolitan! | 998 | 571 | 0.001796 |
warc | 201704 | Black eyed peas are a nutritious choice for a healthy lifestyle:
– They are rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamins A, C and B6.
– They are helpful in losing weight as 100 grams of black eyed peas have just 44 calories.
– They are good for your pancreas, spleen and stomach health.
– They are helpful in treating leucorrhoea, wound healing and low immunity.
– They have soluble fibre that lowers your bad cholesterol and keeps your heart healthy.
Additional Reading: | 519 | 313 | 0.003412 |
warc | 201704 | Apple seems to rarely get pad press but they had some this week that was actually of their own making. The company released a report entitled “2010 Supplier Responsibility Progress Report” that detailed what the company learned by auditing the various suppliers that assemble Apple’s products. Numerous violations were noted — or as
ComputerWorld put it “Apple: Underage Workers May Have Built Your iPhone” (Feb 28). That headline is somewhat overly alarmist. It refers to eleven workers hired across three facilities that were 15 as opposed to 16. Somewhat more widespread were violations regarding working hours, minimum wages, and benefits. There was also less than perfect compliance with environmental standards.
This, of course, raises the question of what influence Western firms such as Apple have over their global suppliers. If local authorities are not enforcing minimum ages or minimum wages or environmental standards, will supplying firms care about audits from their Western buyers? According to a recent article in the
Washington Post, the answer is “yes” if the buyer is big enough (In China, Wal-Mart presses suppliers on labor, environmental standards, Feb 28). First, some details on what Walmart means to China:
Wal-Mart has more than 10,000 suppliers in China. In addition, about a million farmers supply produce to the company’s 281 stores in China. If Wal-Mart were a sovereign nation, it would be China’s fifth- or sixth-largest export market. So the company hopes that small measures taken by all suppliers start to add up. Its 200 biggest suppliers in China have already trimmed 5 percent of their energy use.
So Walmart’s big suppliers are getting on board, but what does that mean for the rest of their supply chain. Apparently, CEO Lee Scott has issued a warning:
In October 2008, Wal-Mart held a conference in Beijing for a thousand of its biggest suppliers to urge them to pay attention not only to price but also to “sustainability,” which has become a touchstone for many companies. “For those who may still be on the sidelines, I want to be direct,” Wal-Mart chief executive Lee Scott said sternly. “Meeting social and environmental standards is not optional. I firmly believe that a company that cheats on overtime and on the age of its labor, that dumps its scraps and its chemicals in our rivers, that does not pay its taxes or honor its contracts will ultimately cheat on the quality of its products. And cheating on the quality of products is the same as cheating on customers. We will not tolerate that at Wal-Mart.”
So what sort of things are suppliers doing? The article discusses the example of Lutex, a Hong Kong-based maker of soaps and cosmetics:
Lutex has been paying attention to more efficient light bulbs, better ventilation and less packaging. It switched from Styrofoam to recycled paper and saved enough Styrofoam to cover four football fields. And Lutex, which has been here since 1991, says it treats four tons of wastewater that it used to dump into the municipal sewage line. That water was supposed to be treated by the city, but like three-quarters or more of China’s wastewater, it almost certainly wasn’t. …
The company’s technology expert Alan Wong notes that Lutex has installed motion-sensor-controlled lights in its warehouse; captured waste heat and steam and reused it; installed a catalytic converter on its chimney to capture sulfur dioxide emissions; and upgraded motors for an energy saving of 30 percent. It also increased the energy efficiency of an assembly line for shrink-wrapping packages (eliminating the jobs of people who had wielded hair dryers to finish the work).
One could reasonably ask how much of this is window dressing and how much is real change. The article mentions criticism from groups like China Labor Watch, which claims to have found labor abuses similar to what Apple reported. There is obviously an issue of how you effectively monitor 10,000 retailers and all those farmers. Partially to counter such complaints, Walmart has begun using independent auditors as opposed to trying to do everything themselves.
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. As we have noted before, when Walmart does something it tends to reverberate. There is the question of why they are doing this. It would be nice to think that Walmart woke up one morning and realized that it should use its powers for good. Realistically, I suspect that it was a mix of altruism and marketing combined with a desire to play offense rather defense on what they thought was going to be an important issue. They are certainly moving the ball forward and may well reshape a number of industries and supply chains in the process. | 4,821 | 2,399 | 0.000427 |
warc | 201704 | It’s been a while since we have posted about airline baggage fees, one of my favorite topics. As I have argued before (see here or here), baggage fees are interesting since they serve as a way to regulate passenger behavior and potentially lower airline costs. Fewer bags means less labor in loading them on and off planes or tracking down lost bags. It also potentially means less weight if passengers actually bring less stuff aboard. But how much is any of that worth? Are we talking about pennies or dollars or thousands of dollars?
The folks at
FiveThirtyEight have tried to answer part of that question (Why Budget Airlines Could Soon Charge You to Use the Bathroom, Jun 30). More specifically, they look at the negative impact of adding extra weight to the average flight (or the gain to be had from shedding weight). Here is how they described their methodology.
Our analysis takes into account the distance of a flight, the weight carried onboard the aircraft, and the aircraft type itself. It then simulates every phase of the flight, from departure gate to arrival gate, in order to determine the fuel consumed at each moment along the flight path. To get an idea of how adding small amounts of weight can affect fuel burn on a typical flight, we analyzed a flight from Boston to Denver operated by a Boeing 737-700. Southwest Airlines operates this service three times per day.
According to our model, the total cost of fuel for operating this flight with 122 passengers (85 percent of the maximum seating-capacity) is about $7,900. Each marginal pound onboard the aircraft for this flight will result in a marginal fuel cost of a little less than 5 cents. So if every passenger remembered to go to the bathroom before boarding, shedding an average of 0.2 liters of urine, the airline would save $2.66 in fuel on this flight alone. Such tactics are not off limits. Ryanair famously contemplated charging customers to use the bathroom (in an effort to reduce the number of on-board bathrooms and pack on more seats). Company spokesman Stephen McNamara said in 2010, “By charging for the toilets we are hoping to change passenger behavior so that they use the bathroom before or after the flight.”
(more…)
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Getting people on and off planes is a fascinating topic. Most people have a very visceral response to it if only because it is a business process that we are routinely exposed that often does not run well. Why it doesn’t run well can be blamed on the airline (since there is not the same degree of process standardization in boarding that one sees at, say, a supermarket checkout) or our fellow travelers (since those idiots so often don’t follow instructions). There have been some recent innovations such as boarding passengers in a random fashion or allowing those who do not need an overhead bin to board first. Now
Wired reports that other process changes are coming (Airlines Still Trying to Make Passenger Boarding Less Annoying, Aug 28).
The most unusual — and deceptively simple — idea is simply opening the door at the rear of the plane in addition to the door at the front. Alaska Airlines is trying this at a few airports, including its home base in Seattle and Mineta San Jose International Airport in San Jose, California. The idea isn’t entirely new — many airlines, including Alaska, open the front and rear doors at those airports where there is no jetway, only a staircase leading to the tarmac.
“We’ve been doing the dual-door boarding at some of our Mexico destinations for a while,” says Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Bobbie Egan. But now the airline has a new tool to help facilitate using both doors at other airports. “Because of the solar-powered ramp, we’re testing the idea of dual-door boarding at airports where we didn’t have it before.”
Yes, a solar-powered ramp. Mounted on wheels, the ramp can be driven to the backdoor of the airplane, and passengers make two switch-back turns down the ramp to the ground, providing an alternative to stairs for easy suitcase rolling and wheelchair access.
Using the aft door to unload passengers can reduce the turnaround time by up to 10 minutes, according to Alaska. Egan says the airline will continue to evaluate the data and feedback collected, but for now it’s a pilot project there’s no word yet on whether the process will be expanded to other airports.
(more…)
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Spirit Airlines has made some news this week by announcing some tweaks to their fee structure. Most notably they are increasing the fee for carrying on a bag (they are the only US airline that charges for carry ons unless you consider charging for earlier boarding a form of charging for a carry on). If you carry on a bag and don’t pay for that until you hit the gate, it will set you back a C-note (see, for example, Spirit Airlines to charge $100 for late carry-on bags,
Marketplace, May 4). I wasn’t feeling compelled to comment on this until I read Saturday’s Heard on the Street column (One-Hundred-Buck Bag Shows the True Spirit of Air Travel, Wall Street Journal, May 5). It noted the following about Spirit’s $100 fee.
Rather than being a big money-spinner, though, the increased fee is more likely a form of deterrence. It will be an incentive for passengers to pay their fees ahead of time, says aviation consultant Bob Mann of R.W. Mann & Co. This reduces costly delays caused by bottlenecks at the gate.
This is basically the argument that Gady and I make (along with our colleague Achal) in our paper about baggage fees (although we focus on checked bag fees): If providing an ancillary service like checking a bag or providing space in an overhead bin imposes a cost, it is best to charge for it. The goal in charging for the ancillary service explicitly (over bundling it with the main service) is to reduce use of that service (relative to bundling). For more, see here and here.
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Posted in Airlines, tagged Airlines, baggage fees on February 9, 2012 | 4 Comments »
So the
New York Times had an article on the lengths people will go to avoid baggage fees (Avoiding Baggage Fees, Feb 7). Tricks of the trade run from vacuum sealing bags to driving hours to get on a Southwest flight. Here’s what caught my eye, however:
In Congress, lawmakers in both houses have introduced legislation to force airlines to roll back some of the fees. Senator Mary Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana, introduced a bill in November that detailed what services passengers were entitled to receive free, and mandated that airlines allow passengers to check the first bag without charge.
In December, Representative Larry Kissell, Democrat of North Carolina, followed suit by introducing a companion bill in the House. Both are confident they can get bipartisan support.
Senator Landrieu said she had no problem with airlines charging for nonessential services. “If you want to bring five bags or if you want beer or wine, you can pay extra,” she says. “The bill is not anti-airline, it’s really pro-consumer.”
So should fees for checking the first bag be eliminated? (more…)
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OK, so my headline is a little misleading. By “pay” I mean give you 500 bonus frequent flier miles and by “you” I mean elite members of their AAdvantage frequent flier program who happens to be traveling from Boston. Here is how they explain the offer:
Through November 22, 2011, American Airlines will offer AAdvantage® elite status members the opportunity to earn a minimum of 500 AAdvantage bonus miles for checking bags on flights departing Boston Logan International Airport (BOS).
Earning the bonus miles is easy – simply visit a BOS Self-Service Check-In machine on the day of your departure and follow the normal steps to check-in with bags. Check at least one bag under your own name to earn the bonus miles, which will automatically post to your AAdvantage account five business days after you have completed the travel associated with your itinerary. As a reminder, all AAdvantage elite status members are entitled to check two bags free of charge (within current size and weight limits) in addition to earning the bonus miles with this special offer.
There are, of course, a number of caveats (such as the bonus is only for your first bag) but they are, in effect, paying a select group of passengers an incentive to check bags. This strikes me as rather crazy; I can’t quite figure out what they hope to accomplish with this. (more…)
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A different sort of post today. This one is about a research paper that Gady and I recently finished with our colleague Achal Bassamboo. The paper is called “Would the Social Planner Let Bags Fly Free?” It deals with ancillary services — things like checking bags or printing boarding passes that service firms provide in conjunction with their main service (i.e., flying a person in the case of an airline). What is notable about this paper is that it is the first paper to follow directly from this blog. In essence, the paper compare the relative merits of two quotes that have appeared here in
The Operations Room.
The first quote is from Michael O’Leary, the CEO of Ryanair and it appeared in something Gady wrote. (It should be clear from this why we refer to this paper as Fee to Pee.)
Like, paying for checked-in bags: It wasn’t about getting revenue. It was about persuading people to change their travel behavior—to travel with carry-on luggage only. But that’s enabled us to move to 100% Web check-in. So we now don’t need check-in desks. We don’t need check-in staff. Passengers love it because they’ll never again get stuck in a Ryanair check-in queue. That helps us significantly lower airport and handling costs.
Now we’re looking at charging for toilets on board—not because we want revenue from toilet fees. We’d happily give the money away to some incontinent charity. What it means is, if by charging for toilets on board, more people would use the toilets in the terminals before or after flights, I could take out maybe two of the three toilets on board, add six extra seats and reduce fares across the aircraft by another three or four percent.
The second quote appeared in a post I wrote about Spirit Airlines starting to charge for printing boarding passes at the airport (which Ryanair was already doing). It is from Ben Baldanza, Spirit’s CEO.
“We believe it is important to let customers decide what is of value to them,” said Ben Baldanza, Spirit’s chief executive. “Imagine if you went to a restaurant and all the meals came with dessert. That’s great if you like dessert but, if you don’t, you would prefer the option to pay less for the meal and not take the dessert.”
Note that these are fundamentally different rationales. Ryanair’s O’Leary is saying fees are shaping behavior to lower costs and those saving can be shared with customers. Spirit’s Baldanza is basically talking about segmentation. He’s creating a pricing menu that may give some customers a break but is mostly going to extract extra cash from customers who value or need ancillary services.
So do either of these explanations hold water?
(more…)
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As long-time readers of this blog know, baggage fees are one of my favorite topics. Now from England we have an innovative way of beating the system.
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warc | 201704 | The door and millwork options for your home are seemingly endless when you consider the combination of materials, profiles and styles available. Parr Lumber understands the complexity of selecting the product and profiles that best fit your projects architectural style and budget.
Interior Doors
Different door styles offer a variety of benefits dependent on the design, materials and construction. There are panel styles made of wood or molded composites. These can be ideal for dividing different living spaces, since they allow light to pass through while reducing sound.
When choosing an interior door, think about its intended use. Keep in mind the room where the door is located relative to other openings in the home. The frequency and type of use will also help to determine the best style and design of the door. For example, Bi-fold doors are good for areas with a wider span, like a bedroom closet or a space with a narrow opening. Panel doors are also available with glass sections.
If you are replacing a door consider whether the old one functioned properly and if there is an opportunity to make subtle changes in design. The experts at Parr will provide thoughtful consultation and will share the various options available while tailoring suggestions to your desired price range.
Brands available at Parr: IMP Masonite Jeld-Wen Exterior Doors
Exterior doors are available in wood, steel and fiberglass designs. Wood, while requiring more maintenance, compliments craftsman and contemporary designs popular in Northwest homes.
Function, security and budget are other primary considerations in the selection process. Exterior doors can be customized for any entrance so consult with your local Parr Professional for guidance and exciting ideas on how to accent your entry way.
Benefits of fiberglass doors: High performance in harsh weather conditions Door resistance to denting, cracking and fading Low maintenance Benefits of wood doors: Compliments traditional homes Provides unique architectural style Can be stained or painted to match the existing style of the home Styles of exterior doors: Sliding patio Swinging French Arch-top Bi-fold Door brands available at Parr Lumber: IMP Masonite Jeld-Wen Plastpro Simpson Codel Therma-Tru Andersen Marvin | 2,279 | 1,146 | 0.000876 |
warc | 201704 | Vegetation projections for Wind Cave National Park with three future climate scenarios: Final report in completion of Task Agreement J8W07100052 National Park Service Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/WICA/NRTRT--2013/681 By: David A. King, Dominique M. Bachelet, and Amy J. Symstad Links Introduction
The effects of climate change on the natural resources protected by Parks will likely be substantial, but geographically variable, due to local variation in climate trajectories and differences among ecosystems in their vulnerability to climate change. The projections of general circulation models (GCMs) indicate the possible magnitude and direction of future climate change for a region, but the utility of these projections for more local scales, those of individual National Park Service (NPS) units, are more uncertain because the coarse-scale GCMs lack much of the topographic detail that alters local climates. In addition, complex, interacting effects of temperature, precipitation, atmospheric CO
2 concentrations, fire, and herbivores on the vegetation that is the foundational natural resource of many NPS units present challenges in assessing the effects of projected future climates on plant and animal assemblages managed by the NPS.
In spring 2009, Wind Cave National Park (WICA) served as a case study in a workshop assessing the use of scenario planning as a tool for park management planning in the face of rapidly changing climate. One outcome of the workshop was the recognized need for quantitative models to better understand the range of possible vegetation changes under different future climates and management decisions. This report addresses this need; it describes our adaptation of a dynamic global vegetation model (DGVM) to WICA vegetation and the resulting projections of future vegetation under three future climate scenarios and 11 management scenarios determined by Park natural resource managers.
Wind Cave National Park lies along a narrow transition zone between the ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests of the Black Hills and the mixed grass prairie that once extended with few interruptions over the lower, gentler terrain, subject to warmer, drier climate to the east and south of the Park. The location and character of this transition is strongly influenced by fire frequency and intensity (Brown and Sieg 1999). Furthermore, the mixed grass prairie occupies a broader transition zone between eastern tallgrass prairie and the shortgrass prairie of the western Great Plains. The dominance of species characteristic of these two prairie types varies with soil moisture availability, evaporative demand, and recent grazing history (Cogan et al. 1999). In addition, Wind Cave lies near the midpoint of a long gradient of C
3 (cool season) grass dominance to the north and C 4 (warm season) grass dominance to the south.
The ecotonal position of WICA may make it particularly sensitive to climate change. For example, small changes in fire frequency and/or intensity and the vigor of trees vs. grass could dramatically shift the proportions of these two lifeforms. The Park hydrology is also sensitive to changes in the balance between infiltration of precipitation and evapotranspiration, as on average, only a small fraction of annual precipitation reaches the deeper soil layers that feed permanent streamflow. The resources at risk at Wind Cave NP include the Cave itself, as well as small backcountry caves, a genetically important bison herd, and other prairie species including the black-tailed prairie dog and endangered black-footed ferrets. All of these resources will be directly affected by climate change impacts on vegetation and hydrology.
Natural resource management challenges at WICA are substantial, diverse, and intertwined. Aboveground, the park has been recognized as exemplary for its high quality vegetation (Marriot et al. 1999), though the park is relatively small for the diversity of vegetation types and species that it supports. Even without a changing climate, maintaining the integrity of the plant communities is complicated by the park’s legislated responsibility to maintain viable populations of bison, elk and pronghorn. In addition, the federally endangered black-footed ferret was recently re-introduced to the park. This species requires large extents of prairie dog towns for prey and habitat. Prairie dogs impact vegetation by constant clipping, grazing and soil disturbance, thereby affecting plant composition and productivity. Moreover, naturally high interannual climate variability and the strong influence of precipitation on grass productivity in this region combine to yield high interannual variability in the amount of forage available for the wildlife that the park is tasked to maintain. Finally, fire, which is now primarily controlled by WICA and NPS Northern Great Plains fire management programs, is intertwined with all other natural resource issues at WICA, as it can impact prairie dog colony and forest expansion, ungulate foraging behavior, invasive plant species, and hydrological processes.
Although not capable of capturing all of these complexities, dynamic vegetation models do provide a means for quantitatively projecting vegetation futures in future climates under plausible fire and grazing regimes. Our work uses the DGVM MC1 to simulate the effects of future climate projections and management practices on the vegetation of WICA. MC1 is designed to project potential vegetation as influenced by natural processes and hence is appropriate for national parks, where conservation of native biota and ecosystems is of great importance.
Since the initial application of MC1 to a small portion of WICA (Bachelet et al. 2000), the model has been altered to improve model performance with the inclusion of dynamic fire. Applying this improved version to WICA required substantial recalibration, during which we have made a number of improvements to MC1 that will be incorporated as permanent changes. In this report we document these changes and our calibration procedure following a brief overview of the model. We compare the projections of current vegetation to the current state of the park and present projections of vegetation dynamics under future climates downscaled from three GCMs selected to represent the existing range in available GCM projections. In doing so, we examine the consequences of different management options regarding fire and grazing, major aspects of biotic management at Wind Cave.
Study Area Additional publication details Publication type: Report Publication Subtype: Other Government Series Title: Vegetation projections for Wind Cave National Park with three future climate scenarios: Final report in completion of Task Agreement J8W07100052 Series title: National Park Service Natural Resource Technical Report Series number: NPS/WICA/NRTRT--2013/681 Year Published: 2013 Language: English Publisher: National Park Service Publisher location: Fort Collins, CO Contributing office(s): Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Description: x, 58 p. Country: United States State: South Dakota Other Geospatial: Wind Cave National Park Online Only (Y/N): N Additional Online Files (Y/N): N | 7,255 | 3,232 | 0.00031 |
warc | 201704 | Susan Poneman, owner and head floral designer of Heavenly Hydrangeas Floral Design has shared five tips for keeping your hydrangeas happy in the DC area.
Plant properly. Hydrangeas love well-drained soil, rich in organic matter. THE most important step for successful growth and showy flowers for hydrangeas is to prepare your soil well and properly. Our DC area clay soil must be amended with peat moss and compost or other organic matter. Buy a bag of each at your local nursery (American Plant Food on River Road is a great source) and mix the two together in a bucket or wheel barrow. Or if you have a compost pile, perfect to use. Select a location that receives some sun or alot of sun. My 70+ bushes are in full sun. (There are some varieties that are shade tolerant but most like some sun during the day.) After digging your hole (does not have to be 3x the size of the root ball – I have never done that and my hydrangeas are heavenly!), add some of this clay to your peat moss + compost mixture. Pour some of this mixture into the hole. This is hard work and messy so make sure to drink alot of water and wear old cloths/shoes. Then place your hydrangea plant in the hole. Fill the surrounding area in with you peat moss + organic matter mixture to cover the root ball completely. Pat down lightly to hold in place but do not smother it. Plants need air. Then turn your hose on to a very very slow trickle and place it at the stem and leave it there to soak for an hour or so. If you would like to put some mulch on the top, that will help retain water and keep the roots cooler. Or you can use dried leaves – the perfect, natural mulch.
Water properly. ‘Hydra’ means water. Hydrangeas love and need water. In our dry, hot summers, it is vital to keep your hydrangeas well watered. A soaker hose if the most efficient method. The plants will ‘talk’ to you and when they are thirsty, their leaves will drrop and wilt. Give them a good soak. Early morning is best time to water. Prune properly. People ask me the most questions about hydrangea pruning. I do not prune my 70+ bushes. And they are heavenly. When in doubt, do NOT prune as you risk cutting off next summer’s buds that turn into next summer’s blooms. Most hydrangeas bloom on old growth so you risk pruning off the buds for next year’s show. Hybradizers have developed varieties that bloom on new growth (the most popular and talked about is ‘Endless Summer’) and these varieties can be pruned if you would like to control size and shape. I personally love the big and natural plants. Dry Properly. Hydrangeas are wonderful dried flowers that will give you and your home lasting pleasure for years. Harvest blooms in mid-September to late-October when flowers are already starting to age on the bush. (If you harvest at their peak during the summer, they will wilt and not dry.) Best way to retain their pretty color is to turn them upside-down and hang in a dark, dry room. You can also place them in a container without water and they will dry nicely. The upside down method is best for color retention. After they dry completely, you can place them in a pretty pitcher or vase, out of direct sunlight and enjoy their beauty for years. If they receive too much sun, they will turn tan very quickly. That can be attractive too, if you like the natural color. You can also spray them with color – some do this with gold during the holidays. Educate yourself properly. Read as much as you can about our heavenly hydrangeas. Best online source of information and to purchase plants (best selection of unusual varieties) is http://www.hydrangeasplus.com. Best book is Hydrangeas for American Gardens by Dr. Michael Dirr of the U. of Georgia. And the best source for your wedding and special event floral arrangements of hydrangeas and all other gorgeous flowers is Susie Poneman at Heavenly Hdyrangeas in McLean, VA | 3,947 | 1,901 | 0.000535 |
warc | 201704 | What information has survived the longest? Perhaps the information encoded in DNA. But, to survive in harsh environments with the constant threat of destruction, new copies are made continually within cell nuclei.
Which leads to my suggestion. Maybe we don't just want our data preserved for millenia, we want it made better! Thus we should initiate a process of artificial intelligence, seeded by our own ideas but with freedom to innovate in years to come. Then, it can adapt in order to communicate with any future would-be readers. | 538 | 350 | 0.002873 |
warc | 201704 | As I’ve said before, consumers crave mobile. Everywhere you turn these days, you can see people consulting their mobile devices while shopping, eating, walking, waiting . . . even while sitting side-by- side with friends, each on his or her own phone. Is this devotion—obsession?—to smartphones and tablets simply a harmless sign of the times, or could it have larger, perhaps even unhealthy, social and cultural implications?
Earlier this year, Salzburg Global Seminar tracked the mobile activity of college students over a 24-hour period. Interestingly, this research revealed that many in this age group appeared to be actually
tethered to their phones, literally unable in many cases to put them down.
Moreover, this attachment to mobile devices by those in their late teens and early twenties is not confined to a particular country or even hemisphere. Researchers found that the behaviors were universal; the study included more than 800 students from eight universities on three different continents and representing 52 nationalities.
Other key findings included:
Despite having a wide variety of apps to choose from, the overwhelming majority of young people only use a handful of them, with Twitter and Facebook clearly their top choices. Students tend to spend much more time sharing and commenting on information on their devices rather than consuming it. Young adults use texting and social media platforms for communication more than they use email. Students of all nationalities were inclined to perform the same kinds of tasks on their smartphones, creating what the study called a “homogenizing influence” across nations and continents.
Beyond the similarities of how and why young adults use their mobile devices, there were also shared social, emotional and psychological feelings expressed by many in the study. After having their mobile activities monitored for 24 hours, the students were asked, “How have mobile technologies changed the information habits of a tethered world?” Many of their responses frequently contained comparable feelings and experiences—particularly in terms of how important a part their smartphones and tablets play in their daily lives.
Here are some of the students’ realizations about how truly tethered they are to their devices, often echoed in the answers of other students a half a world away:
“I feel naked, lonely, lost without my phone.”
“When I am without it, it is like I lost my arm.”
“My phone provides me with (shallow) feelings of connectivity and being loved or attended to.”
“I was shocked at how literally everything I do revolves around it and how often I go in my pocket to see if I have any new messages
.”
Many respondents also admitted that they used their devices either to shield them from real world challenges, or connect them to a virtual world that they felt more a part of than the one they live in:
“Because I am on my phone, I will not pay attention to the people around me or especially the traffic around me. I feel like my mobile device often takes me out of the real world and into a completely different one.”
“I find myself unconsciously picking up my phone, praying for a text message or mention on Twitter to take me to a virtual world where there are no math problems and there are hundreds of other people not paying attention in class.”
”My phone and all of its features has become a social crutch – a mindless distraction.”
Whether or not these trends among digital natives become a matter of significant social concern is yet to be seen. Each previous generation has had its own challenges adjusting to technological advances, so in some ways this in nothing new. That said, it certainly seems as though mobile devices are poised to have an increasingly dramatic, global impact on our social, cultural and economic interactions. | 3,959 | 1,926 | 0.000538 |
warc | 201704 | On quite a few occasions in the last weeks, I was having an urge to take a break from the routine plus blogging and go out and spend a few days in solitude and peace. That did not happen; instead the ensuing days were packed and were rather pretty grilling. I have a compelling desire to go the Himalayas on and off, more so to Shri Badrinath, my favourite hideout and haven. But I guess I will have to wait till the Himalayas call me and I may live in my abode of the hushed mountains. The journey to the secluded Himalayas and the subsequent stay there is always so welcome for the reason that the seclusion and quietude in that area is so advantageous for a seeker to capture the offerings of meditations in those serene moments.
Yesterday morning just little after breakfast, I slid into silence effortlessly without any attempt whatsoever from my end. The spiritual chanting that I do during the wakeful hours normally reverberates during my meditations these days but yesterday there was no chanting of this
naam japa “ Narayan Narayan Hari Hari, Guru Narayan Narayan Hari Hari … In one go, all the soft whispers and voices of people echoing in the background of my mind vanished in far flung space. In its place, there was complete silence- kewal nishabd shunya. Now how am I supposed to describe those moments of stillness?
Yet if I am still required to do that, it can be done in one line, mere one line- It was so very wonderful, so magnetic that I never wanted to come out of that state!!
And it is just the beginning, I could perceive during that time that there is so much distance downward, there were such fathomless depths at that level that diving again and again in that sea should be my main concern these days!!
I attempted lengthening my profound silence .Very smoothly in the next moment, I slipped into further depths of silence which to me felt like as though I was walking more deeper in a cave which is built inside a mighty, calm mountain. No sound, no noise and no waves of formation of thoughts either inside me. It became so quiet and tranquil inside that I became absolutely still-
nishkriya and my consciousness began to stretch and stretch further until there was no barrier left to cross. Simultaneously, my soul was crying out to the infinite Spirit to hold me tightly until eternity as I did not wish to let go of the exotic state that I was in. The uprising of pangs in my heart to dissolve myself completely in the Universal Spirit and to remain in that unique state of stillness became so overwhelming that the silent cries of my lamentation touched the corridors of the Heavenly Father, who in those merciful moments got invoked and responded so softly. I saw really genteel rays of delicate Divine Light cascading on me from the Heavenly skies like exceedingly light snow flakes floating in mid-air!
The light was not too bright this time yet it penetrated my whole being and I became energized and cheery. I wondered at that particular moment why is the Light not so bright in colour and not shimmery yet its impact was too evident for me just as I became slightly buoyant. Right then, I heard this gentle voice within me, “
Atma Prakash, yeh Atma Prakash hai– Light of God, this is Light of God. Light of God is not always so bright for you now because you recognize it as it should be and also comprehend its prologue. Divine light not only conveys knowledge, it also brings with it ecstasy, ancient wisdom, and complete silence, inner silence which you have just experienced. The astral rays of Light have energy in them, extra ordinary energy contained in them to accomplish the tasks assigned to you by God. Each ray in the strand of Light is a beam of condensed energy and is intended for your writing assignments which are committed for the human welfare. Write eight more posts specifically designed for the ordinary to extra ordinary seekers beginning with this post and on how to energize oneself with rays of Universal Light after which you can take a short break.”
Essentially I have been pondering since the last few days whether I should now stop writing and take a break from blogging because after all those profound posts what more can I write?
But all mulling over and brooding for a quest of intense quietude not only came to a halt, on the other hand I also got submerged by the grace of a dynamic meditation sitting at home. I offer my kindest gratitude to God and my revered Gurus for bestowing on me such a magnificent revelation and for talking to me on a personal level thus authenticating this piece of wisdom which I am gratified to share with you all.
So what are the sources of energy for a
yogi or a seeker? or life force – Oxygen has life force and is present in plants and the atmosphere. Life force constitutes traces of Cosmic Light and thus recharges our worn out cells . Prana Pranayamor controlling the breath to make it rhythmic and calm, also aides in human’s inhalation of extra doses of oxygen. Whenever the mental, emotional, physical or spiritual activities increase, one should double up the amount of fresh air by exercising, walks and strolls in the parks and gardens or by just sitting near the window or balcony for fresh air. The calmer your breath, the lesser the amount of oxygen required but if the spiritual activities are enhanced then it becomes mandatory to take in extra amount of pranato avoid exhaustion. Food – Saatvik food or spiritualized food. One whole article has been dedicated to this topic in previous segment titled ‘Food and Breath Control’. Hence I will not elaborate on food at this point and I recommend that you please read the article all over again. All I have to say to you is that it is imminent to have some type of brain tonic for the serious and advancing disciples and seekers as one needs extraordinary mental energy to bring about drastic changes in removing patterns of old habits and ideas when one crosses the threshold and enters the kingdom of Heaven. Thought Power or Sankalpa Revival of spiritual energies of the disciple by the Blessed Masters Empowerment of the yogi by Eesh sankalpaor thoughts sent out by God
What is Eesh sankalpa? It is God’s thoughts or
Eesh that is Eeshwar and sankalpa means thought.
Thought
or sankalpa is the most potent form of energy in a human being. Revival of spiritual energies of the disciple and aspirant by the Blessed Masters
We have seen and known how yogis survive without food, air and water under very challenging conditions. They meditate longer and talk lesser thereby saving their energy.
How? Cosmic Light enters the crown chakra of a yogi, penetrates all the brain cells, electrifies them, recharges and then percolates to all the cells thus recharging the entire body through many types of yogic activities. When you connect your thought with the thought of the omni present Guru , the Divine rays originating and issuing from the Satguru infiltrates the body. Such rays heal, nurture and nourish our whole being. The deposited negative energy blocks, hinders some functions in the body and causes disruption in our system and causes imbalance of the body. When we are conferred subtle divine rays from the guru, we immediately begin to alleviate ourselves from the disorders; we are restored to harmony, rejuvenation, health and goodness. This spectacle and unusual occurrence takes place during periods of disruption and disharmony and the faithful and the devoted yogi is supremely favoured with the kindness of the Guru to revive and revitalize himself in exigencies. It occurs in case of invasion of negative energies from known or unknown sources on the disciple. Since the disciple has already offered his life and breath to the Omnipresent Guru, the Guru takes on himself the responsibility to save the disciple from all sorts of dangers, invasions and aggression from the seen and unseen worlds. In the beginning, the disciple or yogi depends entirely on the image of the Guru and the Guru protects and nurtures him in all times.
As the disciple grows in stature and stabilizes in yoga, he is able to unite his mind and immerse deeply in the formless God with Guru and God’s blessings and his spiritual state matures. He constantly revitalizes himself with the continuous flow of thoughts of God from the highest realms. The continuous communion with the Universal Self provides the yogi incessant flow of Cosmic energy. The requirement of food and sleep diminishes and he thrives of contemplation on Divine alone.
When you connect your thought with the thought of God, you rise up and connect directly to Super Consciousness. In the realm of Super Consciousness there is expansion and infinity. At that stage the transmission of Cosmic rays from the Universal Cosmos takes place inside the body through the crown Chakra or
Brahmrandra and they enlighten every cell. The power of Cosmic thought is wondrous as well as magnanimous. It not only transforms our narrow and slender range of Consciousness but it also gives us power to raise our consciousness to Divine consciousness thereby transforming and changing our normal personality to a divine state irrevocably.
All great ideas of social changes, personal transformation, discoveries as well as landmark changes in societies occur when rays of Supreme Consciousness get there in some individual aura. The source of remarkable, indefatigable energy in a yogi is Cosmic Consciousness and not individual intelligence or energy of food. Dr. Annie Besant and other occultists have time and again recognized this fact by confirming how Cosmic rays from the uppermost realms were sent down on the Earth after which space research discoveries were made and how the scientists and saints alike get exceptional powers and energy to bring down Cosmic rays to transform the planet in a very helpful and exact manner. From time to time, the good souls are given some energy for a special task which is ordained by God to carry out the command of God for the welfare of all beings. The Great Spiritual Masters send out divine cosmic rays intermittently to establish Dharma, peace and Order. If we are sensitive enough to recognize this phenomenon, we will also be able to gather and soak in some rays of Divine Consciousness when this phenomenon occurs!! | 10,367 | 4,740 | 0.000213 |
warc | 201704 | Russell Cook sent this over :
11.
COOK: The program proclaimed the sea level rise won’t be stopped by some Carolina committee’s ignorance of it — but sea level rise will also not rise at the request of the IPCC’s prediction models, and according to a U. of Colorado study, “over the next 88 years, sea level would be expected to rise five inches in North Carolina” in direct contradiction to the Carolina committee’s report.
FL RESPONSE: We contacted the Univ. of Colorado, which denied this claim made on a blog. Steven Neerem, professor at the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research, told us: “I have never made a statement or provided a quote about sea level rise in North Carolina.” And also “What Mr. Goddard appears to have done is to linearly extrapolate the last 20 years of satellite data from our website,which would indeed result in only 5″ of sea level rise by 2100. However, no reputable scientist would linearly extrapolate 20 years of sea level data (a very short data record) to predict sea level rise 88 years later. Even longer tide gauge records would not give the complete picture, because they do not consider many factors including the acceleration of sea level rise that is expected from rising greenhouse gases. Regional predictions of future sea level rise must factor in the increasing heat content of the oceans and the locations of these changes, the melting of ice around the world and regional variations in sea level rise that result, as well as changes in ocean circulation due to all these factors including the addition of freshwater to the ocean. In addition, our satellite measurements do not include the contribution to relative sea level rise in North Carolina due to land subsidence.”
CU sea level data shows no acceleration – quite the opposite.
Their whole scary story is based on Hansen’s wildly irrational WAIS collapse theory towards the end of the century. The IPCC estimates only 18-59 cm of sea level rise this century. Apparently CU and PBS do not consider the IPCC to be reputable scientists.
The statement which I called into question was this.
Sea levels are rising faster than expected from global warming, and University of Colorado geologist Bill Hay has a good idea why. The last official IPCC report in 2007 projected a global sea level rise between 0.2 and 0.5 meters by the year 2100. But current sea-level rise measurements meet or exceed the high end of that rangeand suggest a rise of one meter or more by the end of the century.
The PBS article acknowledges that the numbers claimed by Bill Hay are not accurate. Current sea level rise measurements are near the low end of the IPCC range, and are certainly not exceeding the high end.
The only long term tide gauge in North Carolina shows even less sea level rise – 2.0 mm/year, and decelerating. There is no evidence that sea level rise is either accelerating or is a serious threat.
Since 1990 below – only 0.5 mm per year: | 3,033 | 1,451 | 0.000711 |
warc | 201704 | Last fall I mentioned a deal between Korean conglomerate Daewoo and the gov’t of Madascar, for the former to get half a Belgium’s worth of farmland at basically no charge. Turns out it was more controversial than I thought, caused a revolution, and the new government has revoked the deal. But, as the linked article explains, similar deals are proceeding in several other countries.
Archive for the ‘agriculture’ Category
The Census Bureau has issued the 2007 Census of Agriculture reports for Illinois, and, no surprise, most farmland is not owned by the farmer who works it. 62% of farmland in the state is tenant-farmed, up from 58% in 2002. (table 9, pdf) . Owner-operators are the majority of farmers, but have much smaller farms, 107 acres and $47,726 gross revenue, compared to part-tenants (784 acres and $407,013) and farmers who rent all their land (439 acres and $254,814) (table 65, pdf)
Nationally, however, more than half of farmland is operator-owned. And these owners paid more than $7 billion in interest on loans secured by real estate. | 1,080 | 647 | 0.001582 |
warc | 201704 | Distimo, a young Dutch company that is entering the slowly but surely saturating market of mobile application distribution and monitoring services, has just released an interesting report about Apple’s App Store. It contains some noteworthy findings about iPhone app pricing and the significant influence prices have on ranking.
Eventually, Distimo aims to release market-wide data on all application stores (Android, Blackberry, etc.) on a monthly basis, free of charge for broad reports on the U.S. and as a paid service for people who would like to get some insight into what’s happening in other countries or specific verticals. They’re starting with the grand daddy of all app stores, Apple’s, and deliver some interesting findings in a first report based on publicly available data for the month of April, 2009, which you can download here.
We got a first look at it, and the key findings we took away from the report are the following:
1) iPhone app prices are dropping
Data for only one month may be insufficient to make any final conclusions, but Distimo has been comparing the pricing for the 100 most popular iPhone apps for a while and found prices are clearly going down. The startup expects that trend to continue in the near future, too. As for the numbers: in April, the total combined price of all apps in the Top 100 decreased from $265 to $244, or down 7.9%. The biggest driver for the average price drop was the increase of $0.99 apps, with 53 carrying that price at the end of the month compared to only 42 on April 1.
2) Entertainment and Communication apps are most popular
No real surprise there, although I still think the iPhone is an excellent device for business purposes too. What I thought was noteworthy was that the rankings for the top 100 applications, both free and paid, change
every single day, which means it’s an extremely volatile marketplace. The categories Games, Social Networking and Entertainment were most popular in the free app section, with three, two, and two apps in the top 10 list, respectively. For the paid section, games were even more popular with 5 out of 10 apps in the Top 10 for that category.
Top 5 free apps: Skype, Facebook, iFighter Lite, Pandora Radio, iHandy Level Free
Top 5 paid apps: Flight Control, Pocket God, ParkingLot, Flick Fishing, MLB.com At Bat 2009 3) Paid apps maintain higher ranking longer
Distimo found it was hard for both free and paid apps to maintain a high ranking, but paid apps seemed to be more able to do so than free applications. The most popular paid app (Flight Control) maintained the number one ranking 22 days in a row, while the most popular free app (Skype) was only able to maintain the number one ranking 7 days in a row.
4) Nearly a quarter of all apps got updated during the month of April
From all the free and paid apps that have been in the Top 100 in April, 83 apps released an update during the same month. That represents 24% of all apps that were in the Top 100.
5) lower price = higher ranking (and vice versa)
Distimo analyzed the rankings and prices of the three most popular apps with price changes over time, giving insight into the price elasticity. The first app that was looked at was Zombieville USA (first graph). From the 1st of April, its rank decreased steadily, from No. 4 on April 1st to No. 8 on April 11th. On April 12th, the price of the app was lowered, from $1.99 to $0.99. This had an instant effect on the ranking; it increased from No 10 on April 12th to No. 5 on April 14th. The graph of Fieldrunners (second graph) shows a similar effect.
Similar story for the Bowman app (third graph). The price of this app was raised, from $0.99 to $1.99 on April 22nd. The app lost its No. 5 ranking instantly, decreasing to ranking No. 49 in the Top 100 on the 30th of April. | 3,843 | 1,836 | 0.000551 |
warc | 201704 | Who will help needy Singaporeans if not the government?
Posted by temasektimes on October 1, 2012
We want a robust society that every man can fend for himself. We want a man to fight for his own living, to earn according to his talent (as valued by an open market economy). We put on the pedestal the parents who work 12 hours shift to put their children through University. The children in turn take care of the parents in their old age.
And finally, we abhor the notion of the dependent citizen being a leech onto society, lazy and being a bum. If he is old and destitute, it is his fault, since he did not bother or was not wise enough to save for his old age. He has no claim on society’s benevolence, no claim as a citizen, he has no claim for health care or fear from hunger, he has no right to even ask, he was told to be tough and wise, but he was foolish and feeble.And since he is unable to be part of the more “upright”, “capable”, “talented” and “dependent free” Singaporeans, he deserved to be where he is, in need and without help or hope.
I think there is an existential belief in our elites that they are appointed by God; a Darwinism that is raw and coarse, stripped of graces, humility and Noblesse oblige. And what is even more troubling is that they have greater affinity to the global elites than they have with fellow Singaporeans. Is it a wonder that many rich people (US and Europe) descend upon Singapore? They too believe in low taxes, minimal social spending, no inheritance tax, no capital tax, because sharing in a Darwinian society is a cataclysmic paradox; it at once takes away the reason why some should be rich and others poor, it takes legitimacy away from opulence and taints it with guilt, and more importantly it bares the truth that humanity is equality, not a progressive apex where X men appear. As Ecclesiastes showed, the rich man, the poor man, the wise man and the fool, they all die. Yes, I understand that LKY did say that he will get up even when he is six feet underground if Singapore is in trouble, but I rather think that is rhetorical.
Least I am accused of a being Marxist or Communist, lets say I have no illusions with the pomposity of Communists elites; there are enough corruption cases on either end of the cold war spectrum, that elites whether Capitalists or Communists are not that different.
But least I am accused of being emotional and not level headed. Let me show some numbers with regards to how the richest nation on Earth treats its “wayward” citizens. Among Advanced Economies (which include, Iceland, Israel), we spend the least on healthcare at 4% of GDP, almost all other Advanced countries spending is more than double ours. Again, among Advanced countries only Singapore has no unemployment benefits. While, the logic is that the Government will help the unemployed seek employment, the fact is, low unemployment does not mean no unemployment. And more elderly are working, not because they are saving to buy the BMW, but they cannot afford to retire, and about 40% as menial workers competing with the FTs.
When the Government talk about the silent majority, these are the ones they neglect talking about. They are not ones clamoring for benefits, they are not ones going online asserting their rights, they just silently go about their lives in full acceptance of their position in life. But how can we as members of this community called Singapore just keep quiet?
“Help is not something they are absolutely entitled to?” Sigh. If they are not entitled to be helped then who is? If no one needs to be helped then are we already in Heaven?
BK *The above was first posted as a comment on The Temasek Times. | 3,759 | 1,857 | 0.00055 |
warc | 201704 | Recently, former Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan made headlines for his criticism of government funded school lunch programs for children. Making an impassioned argument against the food assistance programs supported by the Obama Administration, he said that “the left may be offering full stomachs but they are creating empty souls”.
I was immediately reminded of the teaching of Rabbi Israel Salanter of Lithuania (d.1883) the founder of the Musar movement. In addition to many other famous teachings, this is one of his most well known: “Too many people show great concern about their own prosperity and the souls of other men. Better to be concerned about your own soul, and the prosperity of your fellow man”.
To which I say, Amen | 765 | 471 | 0.002192 |
warc | 201704 | UPDATED: March 17, 9:50 a.m.: Airbnb and other short-term rental services make it easy for “hosts” to find willing renters for their spaces.
Before that can happen, though, they need a space. And for that, they often need a broker.
Brokers, both sales and rental, are encountering an increasing number of clients who – openly or otherwise – seek units they plan to market through the services, sometimes “commercially,” as de facto hotels.
The Real Deal spoke to a handful of agents navigating this 21st Century problem and encountered a range of responses: from solicitude to suspicion.
“We’re seeing a lot of people who want to cash cow their investment,” said Frances Katzen, a luxury broker at Douglas Elliman.
She described the typical Airbnb-oriented buyer – the practice is more common on the sales side, in her experience, Katzen said – as shrewd professionals, often based in Europe, often working at high-profile jobs in fields such as finance and high tech. They’re typically seeking pied-a-terre units for the handful of days they spend in the city every few months.
“It’s expensive,” she said. “They want a return.”
Though it’s illegal under the state’s Multiple Dwelling Law to sublease an apartment for fewer than 30 days without the owner or leaseholder present, the practice is common.
Roughly half the New York listings on Airbnb as of Nov. 17 2015 were for whole units that weren’t restricted to 30 days or more, according to data released by the company.
Some buyers keep their plans “on the down low,” Katzen said, but others just come right out with it. “They say, ‘I want to do Airbnb,’ literally.”
How she responds, Katzen said, depends on the building’s bylaws.
“We strongly oppose illegal hotels, and regularly remove commercial operators from our site,” a spokesperson for Airbnb said in a statement. “They are not good for our community in New York and do not offer the authentic experience our visitors seek out.”
Karla Saladino, founder and managing partner of Mirador Real Estate, a boutique brokerage and property management firm, took a significantly harder line.
When it comes to rental buildings, she said, “the answer in New York is always no. You don’t mess with it at all. If they’re caught, the landlords are hit with tremendous fines. If we catch people using Airbnb at the buildings we manage, we move to evict immediately.”
Saladino said she and her colleagues have been discussing ways to police the practice for years, ever since the first major fines connected to the Multiple Dwellings Law – which took effect in 2011 – were levied.
While the law is only sporadically enforced, several landlords have been hit with hefty fines in recent months. Ben and Herman Schulman, owners of 357 West 54th Street, were fined over $120,000 when several of their tenants were caught renting out their units on Airbnb. The landlords sued the tenants in turn, hoping to pass the costs onto them.
“Nobody comes straight out and asks [about renting units on Airbnb],” Saladino said. “They lie.”
Her firm has developed screening methods to catch the more wily would-be short-term renters. Mirador runs a check to see if applicants’ credit information has been requested multiple times over the course of the past year, suggesting they’ve applied for — and potentially operate — multiple apartments.
The company also wants to know, “Do they work in real estate? Do they actually own an apartment? Where do they live currently?” Saladino said.
Mirador often reaches out to the parents of college-age applicants, she said, and sometimes requires what are called “comfort guarantor” agreements, where parents simply acknowledge that they know their child is applying to rent the unit, rather than actually guaranteeing payment of the rent.
There’s good reason to be thorough, according to Saladino. Mirador, she said, caught one would-be client paying NYU students for the right to use their names during the application process, to get around the multiple-credit-check sweep.
“It was an entire business,” she said, “He had something like nine apartments running.”
The company is currently assembling evidence against a “giant ring” of similar fraudsters, Saladino said, with plans to file a lawsuit.
She declined to provide details on the alleged ring, on the advice of Mirador’s attorneys.
The question of how brokers should react has also hit the Real Estate Board of New York’s radar.
“We have major concerns about the illegal short-term rental of apartments through Airbnb, which are a violation of state law and have serious safety implications and negative impacts on the quality of life of legal residents,” REBNY’s president, John Banks, said in a statement. “Through ongoing discussions with a working group of owners and managers, we are seeking to identify best practices and legislative solutions, on the city and state level, that would minimize illegal short term rentals and ensure that the appropriate party is held responsible when a violation of law does occur.”
Neil Garfinkel of law firm Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson, who works with REBNY as a legal advisor for brokers, said the group suggests brokers make their position crystal clear in writing, in brokerage agreements.
Still, the practice seems likely to grow as Airbnb – currently valued at $25.5 billion – continues to expand in New York, along with its competitors.
“I think the rules are going to change.” Elliman’s Katzen said. “The demand for Airbnb is going to be such a seductive thing.”
A statement from Airbnb was appended. Correction: A previous version of this article identified Frances Katzen as a managing partner at Douglas Elliman. Her title is actually managing director. | 6,074 | 2,875 | 0.000371 |
warc | 201704 | What do Cali, Colombia; Granada, Nicaragua; and Medellín, Colombia all have in common?
They top the list of the best cities for real estate investment in Latin America, according to the results of a new survey from Live and Invest Overseas. The survey looked at prices of a two-bedroom apartment in the top 20 Latin American markets.
“A strong dollar coupled with expanding middle classes in some markets and windows of crisis opportunity in others make this is the best time in a decade to diversify into foreign real estate, specifically in Latin America,” Katheleen Peddicord, the survey’s author, said in a press release.
While a strengthening dollar has dampened foreign investment in South Florida, the opposite is true for U.S. investment in Latin America. For the second consecutive month, Colombia has led the world in consumers searching for South Florida real estate in January, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. Brazil, which has seen its currency fall in value over the past year, came in second place after having led web searches for 17 of the past 19 months.
– Katherine Kallergis
Check out the full list below:
City Country US dollars per square meter Cali Colombia $587 Granada Nicaragua $1,013 Medellín Colombia $1,119 Arequipa Peru $1,136 Cuenca Ecuador $1,199 Asunción Paraguay $1,224 Puerto Vallarta Mexico $1,273 Bogotá Colombia $1,759 Montevideo Centro Uruguay $1,567 Santa Maria Colombia $1,759 Mendoza Argentina $1,868 San José Costa Rica $2,293 Panama City Panama $2,300 Santiago Chile $2,492 Buenos Aires Argentina $2,660 Cartagena Colombia $2,676 Montevideo Uruguay $2,679 San Miguel de Allende Mexico $2,736 Punta del Este Uruguay $3,350 | 1,734 | 949 | 0.001087 |
warc | 201704 | Towards the end of last year, Ed Vaizey addressed a telecommunications conference in London organised by the Financial Times. In his address, he pointedly failed to give his support for ‘net neutrality’. In fact, although he has denied it, it would appear that he supports scrapping it altogether. In a section of the speech on ‘net neutrality’, Vaizey commented:
“Consumers should always have the ability to access any legal content or service. Content and service providers should have the ability to innovate and, most importantly, to reach end users … This could include the evolution of a two-sided market where consumers and content providers could choose to pay for differing levels of quality of service.”
The Guardian goes on to state:
The comments sparked a furore as his words were seen as allowing a two-tier internet in which companies would have to pay to get their content to arrive in timely fashion – a complaint that Erik Huggers of the BBC made last month over the corporation’s iPlayer catchup service.
There’s a phrase that should strike fear in any information professional: “two-tier internet”. ‘Two-tier’ inevitably means unequal and, consequently, entrenching a divide those that can access the top tier and those that can’t. But before going any further, what is ‘net neutrality’?
Net neutrality is this:
If I pay to connect to the Net with a certain quality of service, and you pay to connect with that or greater quality of service, then we can communicate at that level.That’s all. Its up to the ISPs to make sure they interoperate so that that happens.
Net Neutrality is NOT asking for the internet for free.
Net Neutrality is NOT saying that one shouldn’t pay more money for high quality of service. We always have, and we always will.
…
Control of information is hugely powerful. In the US, the threat is that companies control what I can access for commercial reasons. (In China, control is by the government for political reasons.) There is a very strong short-term incentive for a company to grab control of TV distribution over the Internet even though it is against the long-term interests of the industry.
…
Let’s see whether the United States is capable as acting according to its important values, or whether it is, as so many people are saying, run by the misguided short-term interested of large corporations.
As Berners-Lee suggests, abandoning ‘net neutrality’ could lead to very real dangers in terms of the control of information. At present the flow of information is neither controlled by the state (as it is in China) or by corporate interests. The removal of ‘net neutrality’ would change this, leading to corporations controlling access to information – a worrying prospect.
Over in the US, the debate over net neutrality has been waging for some time. Democratic Senator Al Franken has been particularly vocal in defending the principles of neutrality. As one US blogger puts it:
Net neutrality is, of course, the exact opposite of the freedom-trampling “government takeover” as it is tarred by opponents in the capital. Net neutrality
isinternet freedom, not its adversary. The doctrine is designed to protect consumers’ rights to access information that is unfiltered and unrestricted by telecommunications companies that stand to profit from what could constitute, come to think of it, a “corporate takeover of the internet”.
“The only freedom they are providing for,” Democratic Senator Al Franken and several colleagues snapped back at Republicans in a recent letter, “is the freedom of telephone and cable companies to determine the future of the internet, where you can go on it, what you can attach to it, and which services will win or lose on it.”
The removal of ‘net neutrality’ could do very real damage to both the Internet as we know it today and seriously impact on the consumer’s ability to access information. If ISPs are able to discriminate the flow of content there could be very serious consequences and it would undoubtedly be, as the ALA recently put it, ‘a severe violation of intellectual freedom’. Take these examples from
The Nation:
Imagine how the next presidential election would unfold if major political advertisers could make strategic payments to Comcast so that ads from Democratic and Republican candidates were more visible and user-friendly than ads of third-party candidates with less funds. Consider what would happen if an online advertisement promoting nuclear power prominently popped up on a cable broadband page, while a competing message from an environmental group was relegated to the margins. It is possible that all forms of civic and noncommercial online programming would be pushed to the end of a commercial digital queue.
This is an even greater consideration in the UK where there are three main political parties and a number of smaller parties that are growing in popularity. How would the Greens and UKIP, for example, be able to compete if ISPs discriminate against them and in favour of the main political parties? And if they are able to discriminate, how will we be able to ensure that the consumer receives a range of information rather than just that which is ‘approved’ by the ISP?
As I mentioned above, the effect of a ‘two-tier’ Internet should have very real concerns for all information professionals. The ALA made their concerns clear in 2006:
First, Network Neutrality is an intellectual freedom issue. The ALA defines intellectual freedom as the right of all people to seek and receive information from all points of view, without restriction. Unfortunately, there is no law that protects intellectual freedom on the Internet today. Internet service providers (such as the cable and telephone companies) have the ability to block or degrade information or services travelling over their networks. If these companies discriminate against certain kinds of information based on the content of the message being delivered, this would represent a severe violation of intellectual freedom.
Second, Network Neutrality is a competition issue. Libraries in the digital age are providers of online information of all kinds. Among hundreds of examples, public libraries are developing online local history resources, and academic libraries allow the online public to explore some of their rarest treasures. Libraries, as trusted providers of free public access to information, should not compete for priority with for-profit history or literature Web sites that might be able to afford to strike deals with service providers. This makes the Network Neutrality debate not only a matter of philosophy and values for librarians, but also of livelihood.
Couple this with some local authorities’ eagerness to close public libraries, and it is clear there are problems ahead. One of the arguments against the need for a network of public libraries is that we ‘all’ have access to the Internet (of course we don’t but that doesn’t fit the narrative). This is all well and good at present, but with ‘net neutrality’ under attack and an increasing amount of content being locked behind paywalls, it won’t be long before we find that the Internet as we know it is but a distant memory.
This is, again, yet another reason why libraries and information professionals are so important. Librarians do not (or at least should not) discriminate on the information they provide their users. If, for example, a customer visited the library and requested a book on ‘Islamic terrorism’ a librarian would (provided both texts are available of course!) lead you to a copy of both ‘Al Qaeda‘ by Jason Burke and ‘Londonistan‘ by Melanie Phillips and allow the user to decide which one is appropriate for them (the former hopefully!). It may seem insignificant, but if the information professional was to behave as an ISP ‘unburdened’ by ‘net neutrality’, you would be presented with one or the other, potentially without even being aware that the other was available. Imagine an information space where access to information was subject to vested interests. Librarians do not have vested interests, they simply point you to a range of information resources and allow you to decide which is suitable.
Imagine, for a moment, that there are no public libraries and net neutrality is a thing of the past. Imagine what the implications are for access to information. Imagine the impact that this would have on our democracy. Imagine the impact that this would have on society and how it would reinforce the gap between the richest and the poorest. Sure, you may not think libraries are that important when you have the whole of the world-wide web at your finger tips. But once paywalls are common place and ISPs are able to discriminate content, you may just realise what you’ve lost. And don’t be fooled into thinking this is a far-fetched fantasy. We are only a short step away from this eventuality. Information has been commodified, once there is money to be made it won’t remain free and open for long. | 9,350 | 4,038 | 0.000258 |
warc | 201704 | A purge and trap integrated microGC platform for chemical identification in aqueous samples Date2014-05-19 Author
Akbar, Muhammad
Narayanan, Shree
Restaino, Michael
Agah, Masoud
MetadataShow full item record Abstract
The majority of current micro-scale gas chromatography (_GC) systems focus on air sampling to detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs). However, purging the VOCs from a water sample using microsystems is an unchartered territory. Various organic compounds used in everyday life find their way to water bodies. Some of these water organic compounds (WOCs) persist or degrade slowly, threatening not just human existence but also aquatic life. This article reports the first micro-purge extractor (_PE) chip and its integration with a micro-scale gas chromatography (_GC) system for the extraction and analysis of water organic compounds (WOCs) from aqueous samples. The 2 cm _ 3 cm _PE chip contains two inlet and outlet ports and an etched cavity sealed with a Pyrex cover. The aqueous sample is introduced from the top inlet port while a pure inert gas is supplied from the side inlet to purge WOCs from the _PE chip. The outlets are assigned for draining water from the chip and for directing purged WOCs to the micro-thermal preconcentrator (_TPC). The trapped compounds are desorbed from the _TPC by resistive heating using the on-chip heater and temperature sensor, are separated by a 2 m long, 80 _m wide, and 250 _m deep polydimethylsiloxane (OV-1) coated _GC separation column, and are identified using a micro-thermal conductivity detector (_TCD) monolithically integrated with the column. Our experiments indicate that the combined system is capable of providing rapid chromatographic separation (<1.5 min) for quaternary WOCs namely toluene, tetrachloroethylene (PCE), chlorobenzene and ethylbenzene with a minimum detection concentration of 500 parts-per-billion (ppb) in aqueous samples. The proposed method is a promising development towards the future realization of a miniaturized system for sensitive, on-site and real-time field analysis of organic contaminants in water. | 2,114 | 1,099 | 0.000913 |
warc | 201704 | Mania treatments
Mania
back to top
Treatments could include:
Self-esteem is the general opinion a person has about himself or herself. Having high but realistic self-esteem is essential to good mental health.
Getting older doesn't mean you need to give up being active. In fact, daily physical activity can improve your health in a number of ways, at any age.
ECT been shown to help 78 percent of people with clinical depression. Find out what to expect during treatment and read about side effects and risks. | 517 | 340 | 0.002987 |
warc | 201704 | If you’re looking to continue your personal development with a multitude of study options either online or in a classroom, law courses are for you. Specific study topics typically include intellectual property, commercial law and regulatory theory.
A program in Business, Economics and Administration, intends to further the student’s understanding of the business world. This program often incorporates theory with real world application. With this course, one can be the head in various business departments.
Belgium is known as the heart of Europe and a hub for international networking. As international students in Belgium you be surrounded by a multicultural community.
For those wanting to advance their education, Brussels offers a wide selection on where to study. Top universities like Vrije Universitet Brussels and Universite Libre de Bruxelles are based here.
Request Information Course Studies in Business Studies in Brussels in Belgium 2017
NYU’s International Tax Program is unique in the world, and the benefit will be yours. You will acquire special knowledge of international tax law and the different tax jurisdictions multinational enterprises are confronted with. In many situations a cross-border investment will lead to double taxation. [+]
How is strategy generated in your organization and how can you contribute as a manager? Better strategic understanding and planning leads to better evaluation of future opportunities, smarter allocation of resources, [+]
Imagine you get assigned to manage a project or participate in a project as a team member. You have heard a lot and may have read-up on project management but feel uncertain about how to structure the project, [+]
You are facing a leadership challenge. Your organization has to make strategic adjustments, or perhaps adopt a new strategic direction, and that means change for a lot of people. [+]
This workshop provides you with the negotiation skills to deal with business situations – from everyday negotiation situations to more complex deal-making – and to get better results in every situation. [+]
Communication is a critical skill for every manager. Getting your ideas and issues across to the key people who can support you in implementing the strategy is a very tough job, [+]
You can have the best technical skills, you can have the right management structures and systems in place, but you still might have trouble getting others to collaborate with you, because of problems with interpersonal relationships. [+]
Attracting, motivating and retaining best talent in the current knowledge economy can be very challenging! Teams are often located in different parts of the world and need to perform with less resources. [+]
Organizations are changing and customers are becoming more and more demanding. Business is not easy in 2015! So, how can you lead your team through this change? [+]
Today’s business environment is not easy. Priorities change frequently and you need to get results faster. [+]
School for Butlers and Hospitality has developed a unique set of techniques you will remember all your life. You will be prepared for any possible situation you might handle working at almost any level in the hospitality and tourism sector. [+]
Live the language as you learn, relax, wine and dine in the French language. [+]
Buy packages of hours that suit your needs and arrange the schedule with your teacher. All lessons are provided on a one-to-one basis, ensuring they are tailor-made and student-centred. [+]
Live the language as you learn, relax, wine and dine in the target language you wish to develop. [+]
Understand the EU policy‐making process, Best practices in the utilisation of EU funds; EU projects implemented at Regional level; meeting with the EU affair advisors and new potential project partners. [+]
DATE03 – 06 December 2012
TIME SCHEDULE30 Hours of in-class lectures5 hours of individual work on My Europa Platform(www.my-europa.eu)
LOCATIONBrussels (Belgium)
COURSE LEADERSProject Managers, EU Affairs Advisors, Regionalrepresentatives, EC policy officers...(see the list of our speakers)
This course has been designed to provide to the students a real networking experience which will give them the opportunity to meet new international partners and European Affair Advisors that can help to develop their European projects. The course is also addressed to explain how European projects, as a lobby tool, can influence the EU policy-making process....
[-] | 4,544 | 2,197 | 0.000462 |
warc | 201704 | Despite statistic after statistic showing that private equity investment
generates growth, creates jobs and attracts foreign investment, the government seems determined to crack down on the industry, despite its success.
Brown and the Treasury would not detail what ‘dealing with private equity’
would entail (we will have to wait for the PBR for that pleasure), but I’d bet that the interest relief on debt and taper relief on investment, the foundation of private equity’s outstanding success, are almost certainly on the chopping block.
Private equity has taken a public relations hammering this year. Unions have
successfully painted the industry as one fuelled by greed and selfishness, while the Treasury select committee seized the opportunity to bash bosses called in to give testimony.
I was optimistic that after the political circus had left town common sense
would return Once the media frenzy had subsided we started to hear far more sensible rhetoric from the Treasury, which started talking about a measured approach and careful policymaking rather than a business bloodletting.
Brown’s comments and the language he used (he is going to ‘deal’ with the
industry and ‘take action’ on ‘loopholes’) suggests that a measured approach has gone out the window.
It will be fascinating to see what the government comes up with come PBR
time. I hope I am wrong, but something tells me the goose will be slain and the golden egg chucked out the financial services window. Nicholas Neveling is a reporter on Accountancy Age Related reading
Report argues that the government must change the way it makes tax and budget decisions
Andrew Tyrie airs views on the Finance Bill, 'Making Tax Policy Better' report, and Brexit
Drastically fewer offices for HMRC in the hope to reduce their running costs
Laurence Field, the head of tax at national audit, tax and advisory firm Crowe Clark Whitehill outlines the 6 'unexpected items' regarding HMRC's Making Tax Digital plans | 2,042 | 1,091 | 0.00095 |
warc | 201704 | What does healthy eating look like?
If we were to believe advertising and commercials, we would think healthy, normal eating is either constant dieting or regular consumption of high-sugar, high-fat fast foods and snacks. Neither is true. Long-term caloric restriction can lead to an eating disorder, and a steady diet of sugary and fatty foods, especially in the absence of physical activity, can produce overweight, obesity, and the health problems associated with those conditions.
Some people have eaten in a disordered way for so long that they have forgotten what normal, healthy eating is. Basically, it is respecting your body so that you eat when you are hungry, and you eat what you are hungry for, and you stop eating when you are satisfied. This means that you do not use food to try to meet needs other than nourishment; for example, eating a box of donuts because you are lonely (or anxious, or angry, or bored, or sad). It also means never refusing to eat something your body is really hungry for. If you do, you make that forbidden food an object of obsession, and chances are you will binge on it later — one chocolate truffle now, or a whole box later.
And lastly, eating normally means paying attention to your body so you will recognize when it is hungry for simple things like green beans and whole wheat bread, not just the sweet and fatty foods you routinely deny it.
But it’s a big step from chronic restriction or frequent diet-binge-purge cycles to rule-free spontaneous eating. Most people need a few guidelines to provide reassurance when they begin the transition. The following suggestions are based on current recommendations made by the National Academy of Sciences. Best wishes as you begin to incorporate them into your life, one or two at a time so you don’t feel overwhelmed and panicky.
Food choices and calories
Specific recommendations
Note: The above suggestions were taken from guidelines issued by the Department of Health and Human Services on January 12, 2005.
Counting calories
Don’t obsess by counting every calorie, but be aware that your body’s emergy requirements are higher that what is provided by many diets. Use the following as a guideline. (From the University of California Wellness Letter. October 2002)
Healthy lifestyle choices
In summary
Postscript | 2,347 | 1,231 | 0.000826 |
warc | 201704 | Summary
An introduction to the concept of industrial automation, its advantages and different types of industrial automation used in manufacturing processes.
Article Body
What is Industrial Automation?
Industrial automation is the use of certain technologies and automatic control devices to reduce human intervention in mechanical, quality control and material handling processes. Reduced human intervention also means better performance than manual control. Industrial automation companies automate various processes through the use of mechanized equipment and logical programming commands. Such equipment include programmable logic controllers, computers, input-output modules, etc
What are the Benefits of Industrial Automation?
Increases Productivity – Automation results in better control of industrial processes, which enhances productivity and improves the quality of production.
Optimizes the cost of operation – When all the processes and machines in a factory are mechanized and controlled by automated systems, it reduces the need for human control and intervention and thus saves labour cost.
Improves Product Quality – Since industrial automation reduces human control and intervention, there are fewer chances of human induced errors and defects resulting in better quality of products. Moreover, automation also ensures uniform product output and helps in maintaining quality consistency.
Reduces Need for Routine Checks - Automation completely reduces the need for manual checking of various process parameters. By taking advantage of automation technologies, industrial processes automatically adjusts process variables to set or desired values using closed loop control techniques.
Increases the level of safety - Tasks in hazardous environments, such as extreme temperatures, or atmospheres that are radioactive or toxic can be done by machines. This enhances the safety of human workers.
Types of Industrial Automation Systems
Fixed or Hard Automation – This type of automation is used to increase productivity of machines in the assembly line and reduce operational costs. It used dedicated equipment to automate a particular process or production sequence and is part of the overall system deployment. And once it is deployed it is very hard to change the product design. Examples of hard automation include paint shops and conveyor belts.
Programmable Automation – This type of automation includes equipment that is controlled by a program that can be used to modify the product or process. However, in this automation it is hard to reconfigure the program for a new product or production sequence. Examples of this include paper mills, steel rolling mills, industrial robots, etc
Flexible or Soft Automation – This automation system provides the automatic control equipment that offers a great flexibility for making changes in the product design. These changes can be implemented through command codes given by operators. Multipurpose CNC machines are an example of this automation.
As industrial uses and applications have advanced over the years, the types of DAQ systems available in the market have also advanced - from portable battery operated to system built interconnected with various signals. In industrial use a DAQ system is used in a Substation Monitoring, Pipeline heat tracing circuit control, compressors and pumps or DG set monitoring, gas detection, vibration monitoring, pharma process validation, water and wastewater remote monitoring, fermentation processes, metal and mining applications and many more.
Author Bio
This user has not submitted a user bio yet | 3,654 | 1,597 | 0.000635 |
warc | 201704 | Most days out of the year the weather is watched only to make sure we’re dressed appropriately when we leave for work that morning. We usually just want to know if it’s hot or cold out, if it’s going to rain, or if we should pretend to be sick and take the sunny day off for the beach. But, when the calendar swings around to February 2nd, our attention to the weather is more about an adorable groundhog than anything else.
Groundhog’s Day comes every year on this date and instead of looking to the shy for our weather — we all turn our eyes and ears to an unlikely source — a groundhog. Legend has it that if a groundhog who just emerges from his hibernation can see its shadow when he steps out, there will be six more weeks of winter. If the groundhog cannot see its shadow, spring is on the way. Thus brings Groundhog’s Day as we all eagerly await to hear how soon winter is going to end.
So, what is it about the groundhog that makes them so special that they get all our attention? How did “Groundhog’s Day” come about? The history is pretty interesting — so here are 7 quick, and fun facts about Groundhog’s Day:
1) According to FactMonster.com, groundhogs weren’t always the only rodent to be watched to predict the weather. Centuries ago in Europe, people looked for all hibernating animals including badgers, bears, and hedgehogs, as well as the groundhog to see any signs winter will be coming to an end. 2) Groundhogs were used as winter predictors finally in the mid-1800s when Europeans, who immigrated to Pennsylvania, started to use the groundhog, which is a similar hibernating rodent, due to their widespread population in the area, reports FactMonster.com 3) February 2nd is marked Groundhog’s Day not just because it’s a fun date, but it’s a date that falls between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, according to History.com. It’s also a date that is of significance for many reasons in several modern and ancient traditions. 4) History.com says the first ever Groundhog’s Day was created in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on February 2, 1887 and was the “brainchild” of Clymer Freas, a local newspaper editor. 5) The “mascot” of Groundhog’s Day is a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil, named after the town which it was created. His full name, according to About.com is actually “Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary.” 6) These days, Phil spends his days off when he’s not predicting the weather, in a climate-controlled spot at the Punxsutawney Library. According to About.com, when it comes time to make his prediction, Phil is taken to the location and, “placed in a heated burrow underneath a simulated tree stump on stage before being pulled out at 7:25 am on Groundhog Day, February 2, to make his prediction.” 7) According to History.com, groundhogs may not be the best way of predicting how long winter will last. They report that the National Climatic Data Center and the Canadian weather service have studies that show the success rates of animals predicting the length of winter to be just under 40% — which isn’t a good track record! Photo credit: FreeDigitalPhotos
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warc | 201704 | Consumer Spending in U.S. Probably Stagnated in October on Storm
Spending by U.S. consumers probably stagnated in October as income gains slowed and superstorm Sandy deterred those in the Northeast from shopping at malls and car dealerships, economists said before a report today.
Household purchases were unchanged last month, the weakest reading since June, after advancing 0.8 percent in September, according to the median estimate of 79 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The report may also show incomes grew 0.2 percent after increasing 0.4 percent in September.
Sandy shuttered hundreds of retailers when it made landfall on Oct. 29, temporarily countering the benefit from rising consumer sentiment that has brightened the holiday-shopping outlook. Faster job and income growth would help stoke household spending after a third-quarter slowdown, helping explain why the Federal Reserve is pursuing policy aimed at spurring hiring.
“There was basically a reorganization of sales around the hurricane-affected areas,” said Steven Wieting, head of economic and market analysis at Citigroup Inc. in New York. “It’s likely to affect November as well.”
The Commerce Department will release the spending report at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. Economists’ forecasts ranged from a drop of 0.2 percent to a gain of 0.5 percent.
Household purchases climbed at a 1.4 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the smallest gain in more than a year and down from a previously reported 2 percent advance, revised data from Commerce Department showed yesterday. In the second quarter, spending increased at a 1.5 percent pace.
Sandy Effect
An earlier read on October spending showed retail sales fell for the first time in four months, according to Nov. 14 figures from the Commerce Department. While the government said it was able to collect information from storm-affected areas, it said it couldn’t quantify Sandy’s impact.
Retailers posted November same-store sales that trailed analysts’ estimates as superstorm Sandy depressed traffic early in the month, overwhelming gains from the start of holiday shopping, according to a report yesterday.
Sales at Macy’s Inc. (M), the second-biggest U.S. department- store company, fell 0.7 percent, compared with the average projection for a 2.5 percent gain from analysts surveyed by researcher Retail Metrics Inc. Target Corp., the second-largest U.S. discount chain, posted a 1 percent decline in same-store sales, missing the estimate for a 2.1 percent increase.
Macy’s shares dropped 4.3 percent yesterday and Target fell less than 0.1 percent even as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.4 percent amid investor optimism that lawmakers will reach agreement on the federal budget.
Trailing Estimates
Same-store sales for the more than 20 companies tracked by Swampscott, Massachusetts-based Retail Metrics increased 1.6 percent, excluding drugstores, trailing the estimate for a 3.5 percent gain, the firm said. That follows a 5 percent October advance.
Sandy closed as many as 230 stores owned by Brown Shoe Co., according to Diane Sullivan, the St. Louis-based company’s president and chief executive officer. While all but four locations re-opened within nine days, the operator of the Famous Footwear chain expects fourth-quarter sales were cut by about $2.5 million, Sullivan said during a Nov. 20 earnings call.
The storm affected 106 Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) stores and curtailed online shopping, reducing fiscal third-quarter revenue by about 1 percentage point, according to Chief Financial Officer Frank Conforti. The impact will be smaller in the fourth quarter, he said on a Nov. 19 call with analysts.
Car and light truck demand also cooled, falling to a 14.2 million pace last month, after Sandy hit during the auto industry’s busiest time of the month. Carmakers have said those sales should be made up by the end of the year.
Even so, job growth, climbing home values and better household finances are lifting Americans’ spirits. The Conference Board’s sentiment index climbed this month to the highest level since February 2008, a report showed this week.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net | 4,315 | 2,085 | 0.000491 |
warc | 201704 | EDITORIAL: The ghost of Marikana The Farlam commission recommended censure of those in charge — who set up the situation and then failed to control it — not the triggermen
More than four years after the Marikana massacre and 18 months after the report of the commission of inquiry into the events was released, finally we have a response from the president. The timing of the Presidency’s "update", released on a Sunday in December, is inexplicable. But it does represent at least some attempt to hold some people accountable for the events of August 2012.
Attributing responsibility for the shootings to individual police officers proved to be almost impossible for various reasons. The Farlam commission recommended rather that those who were in charge — who set up the situation and then failed to control it — should be held responsible. Commendably, the Presidency seems largely to have followed this. It has referred a list that includes South African Police Service (SAPS) brigadiers, major-generals, colonels and other officers for prosecution. The list appears to cover the key officers who were in control and were responsible for what happened.
The principle of holding those in charge responsible is an important one, though whether we shall ever see those high-ranking officers in court is open to question, given what we know about SA’s faltering prosecutorial system.
An even bigger problem, however, is that the accountability list begins and ends with the SAPS, including a separate inquiry going on into suspended commissioner Riah Phiyega. It goes no higher.
But where was the minister of police at the time? In the more than four years since, there has never been any sign of any Cabinet minister, least of all the president himself, apologising or acknowledging any responsibility in any broader sense for what went so badly wrong. And that’s a problem, not just for the mine workers and police officers who died or for their families and communities, but for SA itself.
The presidency lists a series of measures that include changes to labour legislation
Then there is the issue of compensation for the Marikana victims, with the Presidency, encouragingly, stating on Sunday that "government is ready to pay". But it is victims of police action who might finally get a payout, rather than a broader set of victims of the events including workers who were killed by other workers.
Like the commission, the Presidency has adopted a somewhat legalistic approach. In the interests of reconciliation, it might have been wise to adopt a more humane one and to make payouts much earlier.
In its update on the actions taken by government departments in response to the Farlam recommendations, the Presidency lists a series of measures that include changes to labour legislation and police procedures, as well as a big focus on the provision of housing in the Marikana area by Lonmin and by the government.
All those measures are important. And the efforts to update SA’s labour laws to try to curb the incidence of prolonged and violent strikes have helped to reassure investors and are holding out the hope of a more stable labour relations environment as well.
But neither new labour laws nor more houses will do much to tackle the profoundly disturbing workplace dynamics that underlay the disaster at Marikana. They were about established trade unions’ failure to represent their members well and management’s failure to engage with their workers or take into account the risks to which they are exposing them. They were about the often brutal workplace dynamics in the mines and the dysfunctional nature of mining communities.
What the government should be doing about those deep social and structural factors is an enduring challenge. But threatening mining companies with revoking their licences is not going to do it. The response to Marikana needs to be a much more probing and reconciliatory one than we have seen so far. | 4,013 | 1,857 | 0.000548 |
warc | 201704 | You know getting a massage feels good, but you may not realize how good it can be for your health, too. For example, as soon as your body senses the first touch of pressure, it sends a signal to your nervous system that can slow your heart rate by more than 10 beats per minute and lower your blood pressure by as much as eight percent. And that’s only the beginning of the health benefits massage delivers. It can help alleviate back pain, chronic headaches, muscle aches, stress and more.
Here’s a look at some of the specific health pluses of common types of massage. You may never look at a rub-down the same way again.
Deep Tissue Massage This massage technique uses slow, deep strokes to target the deep layers of muscle and connective tissue to promote flexibility and movement while reducing pain and stiffness. Those with conditions like osteoarthritis may see improvement in joint pain and range of motion with deep tissue massage. Pregnancy Massage Also called prenatal or maternity massage, therapists use gentle pressure to improve blood circulation, which reduces swelling. Pregnancy massage has also been shown to lessen lower back pain as well as symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful tingling or numb sensation in the hands that up to 60 percent of pregnant women develop. (Though pregnancy massage has not been found to be unsafe for the fetus, some practitioners may not offer it in the first trimester to be extra safe.) Shiatsu Like acupuncture, shiatsu focuses on relieving illnesses brought about by imbalances in the natural flow of energy, or qi, in the body. But unlike the Chinese treatment, this Japanese massage modality uses thumb, finger and palm pressure (instead of needles) to increase the body’s energy flow. Shiatsu may be particularly helpful for people experiencing neck, back and shoulder pain: In one study in the Journal of Holistic Nursing, people with back pain rate their discomfort as significantly lower over the course of four shiatsu sessions. Sports This type of massage manipulates soft tissues and focuses on relieving tightness in specific muscle groups that are repetitively used during a particular sport (like golf and tennis) or type of exercise (like running). Some therapists practice a method called myofascial release, which stretches connective tissue. In general, you’ll experience stronger pressure than you’ll feel in other types of massage. Research in the Journal of Sports Medicine & Physiology has shown that sports massage decreases the stiffness that occurs a couple of days after vigorous exercise, known as delayed onset muscle soreness, by up to 30 percent. Swedish A relaxing treatment that utilizes long, sweeping strokes, Swedish massage increases oxygen flow to your muscles while releasing toxins, boosting circulation and making your limbs more limber and flexible. Swedish massage may be particularly helpful for people with fibromyalgia. It’s also a good option for women looking for relief from PMS and menopausal symptoms: In a study in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, researchers found that people who received Swedish massage had a significant decrease in the hormone arginine-vasopressin, which helps regulate the body’s water retention. Studies have also found that Swedish massage can reduce stress and the frequency of headaches. Thai While other massage therapies involve the use of oils on your skin to stroke sore muscles, Thai massage instead focuses on the stretching and gentle compression of your muscles while you are clothed. A study in the Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies found that participants who received a 30-minute Thai massage showed a significant decrease in muscle tension, pain and anxiety compared to a group that simply rested, making this a great option for those suffering from back pain, as well as stress, depression or anxiety. How to Find a Massage TherapistMassage therapists should be certified or licensed in their state. You can check the American Massage Therapy Association website for licensed therapists in your area, or ask friends, family and health professionals for referrals.
Massage is considered safe for most people, but ask your doctor first if you have skin burns or wounds, a tendency to develop blood clots, severe osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis or cancer. | 4,377 | 2,070 | 0.000488 |
warc | 201704 | Please enter your Mobile Number and Education Level to proceed.
salary packages in india and abroad,
Biomedical engineering is one of the hottest career these days. The opening of insurance sector has indirectly helped the healthcare industry. Anticipating the high quality medical care, which will be made available to millions of Indians, there has been a steady demand for bio medical engineers in India. There has been an increasing use of the combination of medicine with cutting edge technology in the treatment of diseases. More and more doctors are utilizing the power of computer and other devices such as MRI scans,sonography devices etc. Therefore if you are good in biology as well as math and physics ,then biomedical engineering is just right for you. Biomedical engineers apply the concepts of biology as well as physics and chemistry to develop products and devices which are used in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. The biomedical engineers work with other health care professionals including physicians, nurses, therapists and technicians. There are various areas of specialization within the field of biomedical engineering such as :-Clinical engineering- involves developing and maintaining computer databases of medical instruments and equipment records in hospitals.Tissue engineering- involves applying the principles of biology and engineering to develop tissue substitutes to restore, maintain or improve the functions of diseased od damaged human tissues.Cellular and genetic engineering-involves looking at medical problems at the microscopic level and developing devices to deliver medicines to precise locations to promote healing and inhibit diseases.Rehabilitation engineering- rehabilitation engineers enhance the capabilities and improve the quality of life for individuals with physical impairments. They are involved in the development of home, workplace and transport modifications like motorized wheelchairs that enhance seating,positioning and mobility for those with physical disabilities.Biomechanics- involves applying mechanics to biological or medical problems. They study the flow of body fluids such as blood.Bioinstrumentation-This is the application of electronics and measurement techniques to develop devices used in diagnoses and treatment of diseases.Biomedical engineers are involved in making newer and better instrument that can look through the body such as x rays, MRI etc.Orthopedic engineering-involves using engineering for the understanding of the function of bones, joints and muscles and for the design of artificial joint replacement. Orthopedic bioengineers analyze the friction,lubrication and wear and tear of natural joints to develop artificial limbs just as good as the real thing.
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Education & Career Counselling, Intervention therapies for children with learning disabilities. Remedial Training and counselling for Teachers and Parents.Counsellor and Remedial Trainer at Life Healthcare Multi Speciality Rehabilitation Centre, Chennai.Counsellor and Special Educator at Meennakshi Matriculation School, Chennai
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warc | 201704 | A diagnosis of heart failure (sometimes referred to as congestive heart failure) is scary for everyone involved -- both the patient and his or her caregivers. You're certain to have lots of questions about the condition and what needs to be done to manage it. That's OK; the main thing is to feel comfortable asking as many questions as you need to -- and to get answers you understand. Bring a pen and paper to all medical appointments, and take notes on important points. If you get an answer you don't understand, it's important to ask the doctor or nurse to slow down and tell you in simpler terms.
1. Is there something we could have done to prevent this? You'll be worried about this diagnosis, and hearing the answer can be reassuring and help you understand how the condition occurred. Why it's important: 2. What are your expectations? Heart failure is a progressive disease, yet many effective treatments are available that can control symptoms and even reverse damage. So knowing what to expect in terms of both disease progression and recovery will help you monitor treatment and determine which way things are going. Why it's important: 3. Is this condition going to be fatal and, if so, how much time does my loved one have? Some caregivers find it painful to look too far into the future, but many prefer to get the straight scoop, so they can plan ahead. Why it's important: 4. What are the danger signs we need to watch for? As a caregiver, you're likely to notice dangerous developments such as fluid buildup, arrhythmias, and breathing difficulties. Knowing exactly what red flags to watch for will make it much easier to know when to call the doctor or head for the ER. Why it's important: 5. What's the goal of treatment; what are we shooting for? Knowing what the doctor is looking for in terms of improvement, and what signs to monitor, is essential in order to know if the person you're caring for is, in fact, getting better or not. As a caregiver, you need to feel empowered to say that treatment isn't working if you see your loved one not getting better, or even getting worse. Why it's important: 6. What can I do to make the person I'm caring for feel better? The doctor may be in charge of treatment, but you're in charge of keeping your loved one comfortable and helping him or her feel as good as possible each day. The doctor -- and particularly the heart failure nurses -- should be able to suggest strategies to help your loved one sleep, eat, and feel better, so he or she can have the best possible quality of life. Why it's important: 7. What are the best ways we can measure my loved one's condition? Heart failure is a condition that requires consistent monitoring. You'll probably be asked to weigh and measure the person you're caring for frequently, check blood pressure, and possibly take other measures as well. Make sure you know your loved one's baseline numbers so you can keep track of changes. Why it's important: 8. What might these measures look like in six months if treatment is effective? For many caregivers, having concrete goals to shoot for makes it easier to do the day-to-day work of following the doctor's treatment and lifestyle instructions. For example, if keeping to a low-sodium diet does indeed bring your loved one's blood pressure down, that's positive reinforcement for sticking to the plan. Why it's important: More questions to ask after a heart failure diagnosis 9. Will you let us know if it's time to call hospice? Hospice is a valuable resource that's often underused by families and caregivers. At the point that the doctor feels your loved one Why it's important: mighthave six months left, you'll likely be referred to hospice. At that point a considerable amount of home nursing services and support will become available to you. If your loved one rallies during those six months, you can extend or even discontinue hospice. But calling too soon is preferable to calling too late. 10. What follow-up tests should we be scheduling? Additional tests may be necessary to monitor your loved one's progress, and some heart failure medications require regular tests to make sure they're not causing side effects. Why it's important: 11. Will we receive calls to tell us when it's time for follow-up appointments or tests, or do we need to remember to call? It's easy to leave the doctor's office unclear on what the next steps are. And in many situations caregivers aren't told that an appointment or test won't happen unless they make the call. To be safe, ask. Why it's important: 12. What medications is my loved one taking, what are they supposed to do, and how will we know if they're working? Treatment for heart failure can be highly successful, but studies show this condition is often undertreated. Knowing exactly what medications your loved one has been prescribed will help you make sure he or she is getting good treatment. It's important for heart failure patients and their caregivers to take responsibility for the medication regimen and not blindly follow orders without understanding what's being done and what changes are expected. Also, heart failure treatment usually involves multiple medications prescribed in combinations; it's important to know what each one does rather than just the overall treatment goal. Why it's important: 13. If I only see the person I'm caring for once a day or every few days, what are the most important things to do and watch for? Often the medical team doesn't take into account the availability of caregiver support when making treatment decisions and lifestyle recommendations. If your caregiving time is limited, it's important to let the doctor know the person you're caring for is often alone. If you ask the doctor what the priorities are, you'll better be able to plan your time and determine if you'll need additional caregiving support. Why it's important: 14. What do I do if my loved one starts gasping for air in the middle of the night? A sudden increase in breathing difficulty can be dangerous for someone with heart failure, and knowing what to do can be lifesaving. Why it's important: 15. My loved one has a monitoring device; will I be shown how to use it? Many heart failure patients have implanted devices or home monitoring devices, and it's important for caregivers to know how they work and what needs to be done to maintain, operate, or monitor them. Why it's important: 16. How will I know when to call 911 or go to the emergency room? Some of the danger signs for heart failure are obvious; others not so much. As a caregiver you'll be faced with decisions about when to try strategies at home to bring your loved one's symptoms under control, and when the situation requires a doctor. Asking the doctor to go over the specific criteria for an emergency room visit will help you feel much more in control of the situation. Why it's important: | 6,902 | 2,906 | 0.000344 |
warc | 201704 | About CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation
Our strategic plan includes
Vision: A world free of the devastation of diabetes. Mission: To reduce the preventable burden of diabetes through public health leadership, partnership, research, programs, and policies that translate science into practice. Strategic Focus: We concentrate our efforts where we can achieve the greatest impact for populations with the greatest burden or risk.
The Division of Diabetes Translation (DDT) is a part of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The division has about 100 employees in Atlanta, Georgia, plus several public health advisors in the field.
CDC has had a diabetes division since 1977. In 1989, the name of the division was changed to Division of Diabetes Translation, meaning that the division translates science into daily practice. In our applied or "translation" research, we take information from clinical trials and incorporate it into clinical and public health practices.
The division does not support the direct provision of services, but facilitates the efficient, fair, and effective availability of these services to all Americans affected by diabetes. The division does not do laboratory research and does not routinely fund individual investigators.
Prevent diabetes. Prevent complications, disabilities, and burden associated with diabetes. Eliminate diabetes-related health disparities. Maximize organizational capability to achieve DDT goals. Increase diabetes preventive behaviors. Improve the access to effective lifestyle interventions. Enhance and improve community and environmental strategies to prevent diabetes. Improve the health behavior and self management practices of people with diabetes. Enhance and improve the access and delivery of effective preventive health care services. Enhance and improve community and environmental strategies to support people with diabetes. Improve the science of health and health care disparities related to diabetes. Prioritize and disseminate public health strategies to eliminate disparities. Build DDT capacity for communication, evaluation, marketing, policy, and partnerships. Our strategic plan includes concentrating our efforts where we can achieve the greatest impactfor populations with the greatest burdenor risk. Define the diabetes burden—public health surveillance:The division continues to strengthen public health surveillance systems for diabetes. Mainly, DDT works with states using the diabetes-specific modules of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to develop a nationwide, state-based surveillance system. The division is also initiating diabetes surveillance systems within managed care organizations. Conduct applied translational research:The division conducts applied research that focuses on translating research findings into clinical and public health practice. This research identifies and details the public health implications of results from clinical trials and scientific studies and effectively and efficiently applies these findings in the health care system. Areas of research include (1) access to quality care for diabetes, especially within managed care organizations; (2) early detection of undiagnosed diabetes; (3) cost effectiveness of diabetes prevention and control activities; (4) effectiveness of health practices to address risk factors for diabetes; and (5) demonstration of primary prevention of type 2 diabetes. Implement the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP):The NDEP is a joint initiative sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is based on a partnership of public and private organizations that are concerned about the health status of their constituents. The NDEP is designed to improve treatment and outcomes for people with diabetes, to promote early diagnosis, and to prevent the onset of diabetes. Program activities are directed to these audiences: the general public; people with diabetes and their families; health care providers; and payers and purchasers of health care and policymakers. Coordinate media strategies and provide public information. The division has expanded its capacity to meet a rapidly growing demand for information about diabetes and CDC's programs. Through the following, we have increased public awareness about diabetes and provided technical assistance to our state partners: (1) national satellite media and marketing training for partners and a national satellite broadcast; (2) national diabetes/flu campaign; (3) public inquiries and publications request system that includes a toll-free telephone number ( 1-800-CDC-INFO 1-888-232-6348 TTY ) that is answered in English and Spanish; and (4) Internet site (about 1,000 visits/day).
Page last reviewed: September 28, 2015 Page last updated: September 28, 2015 Content source: Maintained By: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Diabetes Translation | 5,148 | 2,146 | 0.000467 |
warc | 201704 | Abstract
In an effort to determine the availability of portable, direct reading carbon-monoxide (630080) meters with a range of approximately 10 to 500 parts per million (ppm), a market survey was conducted. Six companies were asked to submit meters for evaluation; the performance characteristics of the submitted meters were studied. Of the meters evaluated (Bullard, Dackel, Ecolyzer, EnMet, MSA, Wilks), the Ecolyzer most closely satisfied all the evaluation criteria and guidelines. It is portable, operates from an internal battery pack for many hours, is a direct reading meter and has a dual range readout that covers a range from 0 to 600ppm. The MSA meter was ranked second with a 0 to 500ppm readout and portability. The MSA, however, lacks a recorder output and has a meter resolution less than the Ecolyzer's. The Bullard meter provided excellent portability and a long lived sensor. The meter readout is logarithmic and does not provide for good resolution on the high end of its 0 to 300ppm range. The EnMet is very small, portable, and has a direct readout. It is a prototype and has a limited range of 0 to 100ppm and is relatively insensitive to carbon- monoxide levels below 20ppm. The Dackel is also a prototype, very small and portable with a readout from 50 to 300ppm on a logarithmic scale. The Wilks meter is an excellent instrument but it cannot be easily compared to the other meters examined. It is not portable in the sense that the others are and it is not a carbon-monoxide meter. It is an infrared gas analyzer and it can be calibrated to read carbon-monoxide concentrations in the 0 to 500ppm range. | 1,634 | 812 | 0.001234 |
warc | 201704 | Source
J Agric Saf Health 2000 Nov; 6(4):245-247
Abstract
A farmer owns four tractors, all without Rollover Protective Structures (ROPS). He and his wife have worked their hilly, 600-acre farm for 25 years without an overturn. He knows three people in his region who died in tractor overturns and four others who survived overturns on tractors without ROPS, one who never fully recovered from his injuries. He has seen many stories and photographs in newspapers and farm magazines about fatal tractor overturns. Extension agents and equipment dealers have encouraged him to put ROPS on his tractors to protect himself and his family. He has the money to do so, but says, "Until I get a bigger and newer tractor, I'm not going to worry about getting a ROPS. And when I get a newer tractor it won't be for the ROPS!" How can the farmer's statement be explained?
Keywords
Accident-prevention; Accident-rates; Accidents; Agricultural-industry; Agricultural-machinery; Agricultural-workers; Agriculture; Families; Farmers; Safety-climate; Safety-education; Safety-measures; Safety-monitoring; Safety-personnel; Safety-practices; Injuries; Injury-prevention; Education; Educational-resource-centers; Tractors; Training; Risk-analysis; Risk-factors
Contact
University of Kentucky, Lexington
Document Type
Journal Article
Funding Type
Agriculture; Cooperative Agreement
Identifying No.
Cooperative-Agreement-Number-U50-OH-007547
Source Name
Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health
Performing Organization
University of Kentucky | 1,542 | 830 | 0.001221 |
warc | 201704 | Do You Have Celiac Disease and Have Questions Or Need Help?
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Celiac.com Sponsors: Better Education for Celiac and Gluten Sensitive Patients Dr. Vikki Petersen D.C, C.C.N
Dr. Vikki Petersen, a Chiropractor and Certified Clinical Nutritionist is co-founder and co-director, of the renowned HealthNow Medical Center in Sunnyvale, California. Acclaimed author of a new book, "The Gluten Effect"âcelebrated by leading experts as an epic leap forward in gluten sensitivity diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Vikki is acknowledged as a pioneer in advances to identify and treat gluten sensitivity. The HealthNOW Medical Center uses a multi-disciplined approach to addressing complex health problems. It combines the best of internal medicine, clinical nutrition, chiropractic and physical therapy to identify the root cause of a patient's health condition and provide patient-specific wellness solutions. Her Web site is:
www.healthnowmedical.com This article originally appeared in the Autumn 2010 edition of
Celiac.com's Journal
of
Gluten-Sensitivity.
Celiac.com 12/06/2010 - The hazards to health created by celiac disease and gluten sensitivity are well understood. From nutritional deficiencies to osteoporosis, from depression to autoimmune disease, and from psoriasis to thyroid disease, there are few areas of the human body that gluten doesn’t touch in a negative way.
There is so much emphasis on our inadequate abilities to diagnose gluten intolerance, that when we do finally make the diagnosis I believe we are guilty of another problem—lack of adequate education to those affected patients.
Just last month a research study was released by the American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2010 Jun; 105(6):1412-20. The article was entitled “Mucosal recovery and mortality in adults with celiac disease after treatment with a gluten-free diet”. The research team hailed from the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.
They stated that while a positive clinical response is typically observed in most adults with celiac disease after treatment with a gluten-free diet, the rate of small intestine recovery is less certain. Their aims were to estimate the rate of intestinal recovery after a gluten free diet in a cohort [a group of people with statistical similarities] of adults with celiac disease, and to assess the clinical implications of persistent intestinal damage after a gluten-free diet.
Of 381 adults with biopsy-proven celiac disease, 241 had both a diagnostic and follow-up biopsy. Among these 241, the confirmed mucosal recovery at 2 years following diagnosis was 34% and at 5 years was 66%. Most patients (82%) had some positive clinical response to the gluten-free diet, but it did not prove a reliable marker of intestinal recovery.
Poor compliance to the gluten-free diet, severe celiac disease as defined by diarrhea and weight loss, and total villous atrophy at diagnosis were strongly associated with persistent intestinal damage.
There was a trend toward an association between mucosal recovery and a reduced rate of all-causes of death, adjusted for gender and age.
The conclusions were that intestinal recovery was absent in a substantial portion of adults with celiac disease despite treatment with a gluten-free diet, and that there was an association between confirmed intestinal recovery (vs. persistent damage) and reduced mortality independent of age and gender.
So what can we learn from this? Eating gluten-free when you are sensitive will cause you to feel better. Going on a gluten-free diet is not enough to ensure that your intestines will heal. Failing to heal your intestines puts you at increased risk for disease and death. Successfully healing your intestines reduces your incidence of death from disease.
While you likely knew the first point, 2, 3, and 4 are perhaps less well known.
Where I see that we are failing the gluten intolerant population is in the narrow focus of eliminating gluten as the only needed treatment. What the above research proves is that, unfortunately, for over 30% of those diagnosed simply eliminating gluten is insufficient to ensure intestinal healing.
If patients were educated that healing their intestine would make the difference between contracting disease or not and extending their life expectancy or not, I think they’d be more interested in ensuring that it occurs.
I am not a researcher but my clinic sees hundreds of patients who align with the results of this study completely. Patients come to see us who have been told that they shouldn’t consume gluten and for the most part they follow that recommendation. They know that they feel better when they are gluten-free so that is an impetus to not cheat. When they do cheat they know that they’ll “pay” for it but they still do so fairly regularly.
Why do they cheat? Because they believe that the diarrhea, headache, bloating, etc is temporary and that when it goes away they are “fine” again. Their thought process is not unreasonable, it’s just wrong!
If each patient was educated that cheating created intestinal destruction that in turn put them on a fast track towards disease and early death, I believe that cheating would take on a whole new perspective.
Patients need this education and they need it often. Our book “The Gluten Effect” was written with this intention—our patients actually requested it. They asked for a written reminder of why they should maintain their gluten-free lifestyle. Later I began taping Youtube videos because other patients preferred a reminder in a video form.
I’m trying to say this in a few different ways because it is terribly upsetting to meet patients, as I so often do, who have been diagnosed celiac or gluten sensitive and do not follow their diet solely due to ignorance.
After almost 25 years of clinical experience I also know that some people “hear what they want to hear” and doctors with the best of intentions cannot get through to everyone. But I strongly believe that we could be doing a much better job at enlightenment.
Further, we also need to educate patients about the secondary effects associated with gluten. When the immune system of the intestine is suppressed, as is the case in the presence of gluten pathology, inhospitable and pathogenic organisms can gain entry into the intestine and remain there. These organisms may be in the form of bacteria, parasites, amoebas or worms and if they are not identified and eradicated, complete healing of the intestines is all but impossible.
The good bacteria that are housed in the gut, known as the microbiome or probiotics, make up much of the intestinal immune system. In gluten intolerant patients this important population of organisms is often insufficient due to the onslaught from gluten and pathogenic organisms. If the population of these probiotics is not restored to a healthy, robust balance, any attempt to achieve a healthy intestine will be unsuccessful.
Lastly, it is an interesting catch-22 that in order to digest our food we need enzymes and enzymes are made from the nutrients we digest. This circular pattern is dramatically interrupted in the gluten intolerant patient. Celiacs in particular suffer from very poor absorption. It shouldn’t then come as a surprise that augmenting with proper enzymes may be critical for “priming the pump” until proper digestion of nutrients is restored.
Unfortunately I find that few, if any, of these points are made clear to patients who are gluten intolerant. Most believe they are doing all they need to do simply by maintaining a mostly gluten-free diet. Nothing could be further from the truth.
To review we need to do the following:
Maintain a “perfect” avoidance of gluten Test for the presence of pathogenic organisms Test for any imbalance of the probiotic organisms Evaluate the need for enzymes Evaluate for the presence of any other food sensitivities, e.g. dairy Educate the patient until they have a full understanding of the above Test to ensure that the intestine is healed
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warc | 201704 | September 30, 2011
2011-R-0337
By: Lee R. Hansen, Legislative Analyst II
You asked about the state employee grievance arbitration process, how many cases go to arbitration, and how much the state spends on it.
SUMMARY
Grievance arbitration is a process through which unionized state employees can resolve workplace disputes over the application or interpretation of their respective collective bargaining agreements. Although each collective bargaining agreement contains specific rules, in general a grievance moves through the following four steps:
1. the employee submits a written grievance to the supervisor who is first in the chain of command outside the employee's bargaining unit;
2. if the supervisor is unable to resolve the grievance it is submitted to the department or agency head;
3. if it remains unresolved, the employee can appeal to the director of the Office of Labor Relations (OLR); and
4. if OLR is unable to resolve the issue, it can be submitted to an arbitrator who issues a binding decision.
Although OLR does not have exact data on its caseload, it estimates that it typically receives over 2,000 grievances each year. Approximately two-thirds of these cases subsequently file for arbitration, although in order to meet contractually required deadlines, unions often file for arbitration before OLR issues its response to the grievance. OLR currently has over 2,700 grievances filed for arbitration. Even after a grievance is submitted to an arbitrator, negotiations over the grievance continue throughout the arbitration process and often settle before the arbitrator makes a final decision. OLR estimates that arbitrators decided between 100 and 200 cases last year.
When a grievance goes to an arbitrator the state splits the cost for the arbitrator with the grieving employee or his or her union. According to the Office of Fiscal Analysis, the budget typically allocates $275,000 for OLR to spend on arbitrators. OLR spent $191,000 on arbitrators in FY 10 and $195,000 in FY 11. All other arbitration-related work was handled in-house by OLR staff.
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warc | 201704 | Product Description
Most of the studies focusing at power plant construction cost, power plant O&M cost, and power plant decommissioning cost particularly, a primary objective is to consider all major power plant costs. Usually, minuscule costs and sometimes major cost factors are also not the issue of discussion. There are many elementary factors which determine the economics of nuclear power generation methods and that various assumptions can be made concerning. In this matter, it refers to the power generation costs of nuclear power plants and other arguments from other aspects can be summarized in terms of power generation costs. Therefore, this work focuses on electricity costs for nuclear power plants particularly Light Water Reactor (LWR) technology. Main feature of this research is to consider all cost components of reprocessing plant apart from main nuclear power plant costs i.e., construction cost, O&M cost, and decommissioning cost of reprocessing plant. This work is being carried out for the cost approximation of electricity for LWR technology, with consideration of tariff based and LCOE based methodologies for Once Through Cycle (OTC) and Twice Through Cycle (TTC).
SKU : COC93642 Author Saurabh Sharma,Anoop Singh and M. S. Kalra Language English Binding Paperback Number of Pages 92 Publishing Year 2011-10-13T00:00:00.000 ISBN 978-3844380613 Edition 1 st Book Type Mathematics Country of Manufacture India Product Brand LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing Product Packaging Info Box In The Box 1 Piece Product First Available On ClickOnCare.com 2015-08-14 00:00:00 | 1,598 | 861 | 0.001164 |
warc | 201704 | Product Description
Ticks belong among the most important disease vectors. Ixodes ricinus is the most significant vector of Lyme disease and Tick-borne encephalitis in Europe. In the last three decades, the research in the field of tick-host interaction accelerated rapidly and evidence has accumulated that it is the composition of the salivary content that plays a crucial role in tick feeding success and facilitates the transmission of pathogens. This book provides an overview of the work in this research field over past thirty years, with an emphasis on European tick Ixodes ricinus. The transcriptomic approach, focused on salivary glands (sialomics), gives us an insight into the content of tick saliva, and functional characterization of individual salivary proteins helps us to understand, which proteins and protein families contribute to the saliva-activated pathogen transmission and how these proteins can affect host defense mechanisms. The book is based on author's Ph.D. thesis.
SKU : COC55603 Author Jindřich Chmelař and Michail Kotsyfakis Language English Binding Paperback Number of Pages 64 Publishing Year 2014-04-17T00:00:00.000 ISBN 9783659528415 Edition 1 st Book Type Biology, life sciences Country of Manufacture India Product Brand LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing Product Packaging Info Box In The Box 1 Piece Product First Available On ClickOnCare.com 2015-06-08 00:00:00 | 1,415 | 835 | 0.00121 |
warc | 201704 | A long time ago, in a county far, far away — well, OK, not that far away — I was once a young child who read many stories. Fantasies, fairy tales, parables — I read them all. Most of the parables were related to my heavily Catholic upbringing. Needless to say, many of them had to do with fishing.
One of the stories I just barely remember reading — the reading of it and the details obscured by thick mists of time — was about a traveler who came upon a fishing village. He had come at a time of year when no schools were running along the coastline, so the industry of the village was silent. The traveler asked a local what everyone did when the fish were not running. The local said, “We take this time to mend our nets and repair our boats. We work on casting and find new ways to make our catches.”
This is to say, they made themselves ready for when the season changed and brought the currents that carried with them the fish to be harvested. The denizens of the fishing village prepared for the time when their seas were no longer barren, when the cycle turned and they could once again go about their livelihoods.
It is important to note here that those whose skill it is to cast nets are not the same as those whose skill it is to mend them. The best boat captains aren’t necessarily the best repairmen and builders. Depending on the season and the task at hand, different skill sets are needed.
Well, my fellow “parishioners,” the same can be said for advertising. And during this season of still and empty waters, all people in the industry, with all of their varying skill sets, need to get together and start preparing — mending nets and patching boats.
During this downturn, while the market is soft and business is slow, organizations with the resources and wherewithal to make it through this season should look at improving the digital marketplace in ways that will make digital media attractive marketing tools when the climate improves.
Things such as the recent guideline proclamation from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) regarding rich media is one example. The release of studies by the IAB, MSN, Diameter, and CNET in recent weeks are others. And all of this is highly necessary, but hardly sufficient, to give the digital media space the things it needs to prove to traditional advertisers just what it is capable of.
Other things yet to do are Persons Cume Studies that will provide us with campaign-level reach/frequency curves for online advertising so that the Internet’s communication value can be looked at in the context of other media.
Agencies need to start mining all the data that they’ve been gathering and start making sense of it in such a way that the learnings can be applied to clients, in turn yielding better results and more effective advertising in the future. Like it or not, traditional agencies have to realize that the line separating direct response and branding is eroding.
Technology providers need to continuously debug their systems and work with research companies to standardize measurements.
Email list providers need to develop better corroborative filtering to give online marketers the targeting capabilities that satisfy the promise online advertising made so long ago.
There are myriad things this industry could be doing to make itself ready for when advertisers are ready to start spending again.
Sports teams practice in the off-season to prepare for game play against opponents. Doctors and lawyers take continuing education courses to be up to snuff on developments in their given professions. And fishermen mend nets when the fish aren’t running.
We need to take advantage of this downtime and turn it into a blessing, not a curse.
After all, the difference between adventure and ordeal is attitude. So let’s get the right attitude and turn this back into an adventure.
Related reading
2017 will be a watershed moment for video, as consumption moves from the TV to other devices.
In 2015, Verizon purchased AOL for $4.4 billion. Now, the mega wireless carrier is leveraging its wireless network as part of a new ad offering called BrandBuilder by AOL.
As the ball drops on December 31st, make sure your media strategies are stacked with timely resolutions to make the most of 2017.
Easily spotted on the mobile web: holiday ad next to plane crash story; Muslim dating ad next to KKK story; beauty ad next to domestic violence story; car ad next to emissions scandal story. | 4,546 | 2,222 | 0.00046 |
warc | 201704 | Issue No. 02 - March (1981 vol. 7)
ISSN: 0098-5589
pp: 162-168
R.L. Glass , Boeing Aerospace Company
ABSTRACT
Persistent software errors-those which are not discovered until late in development, such as when the software becomes operational-are by far the most expensive kind of error. Via analysis of software problem reports, it is discovered that the predominant number of persistent errors in large-scale software efforts are errors of omitted logic..., that is, the code is not as complex as required by the problem to be solved. Peer design and code review, desk checking, and ultrarigorous testing may be the most helpful of the currently available technologies in attacking this problem. New and better methodologies are needed.
INDEX TERMS
testing rigor, Complexity, omitted logic, persistent software error, research in the large, software problem report
CITATION
R.L. Glass, "Persistent Software Errors",
IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol. 7, no. , pp. 162-168, March 1981, doi:10.1109/TSE.1981.230831 | 1,039 | 627 | 0.001617 |
warc | 201704 | Posted November 4, 2015 If you watch television I’m sure you have noticed that every commercial break contains at least one drug peddling, pharmaceutical commercial. Do you have restless leg syndrome, overactive bladder, heartburn, depression, erectile dysfunction, sleep disorder, high cholesterol or weight gain? Ask your doctor about drug “XYZ.” You don’t need to suffer needlessly any more. We have a pill for whatever ails you! Pharmaceutical companies lead us to believe heartburn, depression, ED, weight gain, cholesterol etc. are “diseases” that can be easily cured with drugs. In reality, these so called “diseases” are symptoms of an unhealthy lifestyle. Drugs will mask the symptoms, but will not cure the “disease.” Remember, there is no money to be made if a disease is cured. Money can only be made through treatment. A countless number of doctors will never admit that personal life choices are causing most illness due to the perks Doctors receive from pharmaceutical companies. Doctors get free drug samples to hand out like candy on Halloween, trips to exotic destinations for sponsored seminars, sporting event and concert tickets, expensive dinners, spa treatments, etc. Many doctors are in bed with big Pharma, and YOU the consumer, get to pay for their bed sheets. Can you imagine the impact it would have if doctors prescribed this sort of advice instead of a prescription drug? Heartburn - Stop eating junk food. Don’t go to bed on a full stomach. Lose weight. Eat more fermented foods that contain vinegar, take ginger, papaya or peppermint after meals. Sleep Disorder - Get more exercise. Don’t sleep with your cell phone. Turn off electronics an hour before you want to fall asleep, dim the lights, read a book, count backwards from 100 or meditate. Have cup of chamomile tea, take some Melatonin, Hops or Valerian before bedtime. Weight Gain - Crap in and crap out. Cut your calories, get off your butt and exercise. Overactive Bladder - Cut back on caffeine, alcohol, artificial sweeteners and lose weight. Erectile Dysfunction- Lose weight to control contributing factors like high blood pressure and diabetes. Do I dare say this? Try another partner because the problem might be in your head. (LOL) If any MD prescribed the above “treatments” on a consistent basis, I’m sure they would be slapped with a malpractice suit and have their medical license revoked under pressure from the Pharmaceutical Mafia. Selling “disease” is big business. In 2014 pharmaceutical companies spent $4.5 billion dollars pushing pills in direct-to-consumer advertisements. Consumers spent $374 billion on prescription medications. That’s a great return on investment in anyone’s book. According to this article published by the Biopharmaceutical Research Industry:http://www.phrma.org/sites/default/files/pdf/2015_phrma_profile.pdf “America’s biopharmaceutical companies support the jobs of 3.4 million American men and women - more than 810,000 of them directly. The economic output of their work is valued at nearly $800 billion every year.” If the above statement is true, curing diseases would cause economic collapse, massive unemployment and create a lot of healthy people who will live well beyond their prescribed expiration date. I guess this sheds a bit of light on why the Government allows pill pushing on TV and silences Physicians who dare practice Alternative Medicine. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Government is actually creating subliminal messages for the pharmaceutical companies and feeding the messages to the consumer through their television sets. Now be a good American, turn on your television, sit on your butt, pay close attention to commercials, visit your doctor often, consume lots of pills, get immunized, and don’t forget your flu shot. Take your children to the Doctor for “Well Child Checks” because as a parent, you are too stupid to know if your child is well or not. It’s imperative to get children into the pharmaceutical brainwashing system as soon as possible. If the sheep ever figure out what is going on, the house of cards will fall! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites | 4,277 | 2,135 | 0.000484 |
warc | 201704 | This page includes information adapted from FAQs by Oregon Department of Human Services, Washington State Department of Health, and Vermont Department of Health as well as from a guest article by Dr. Carol Parrot, MD. What is Death with Dignity?
Death with Dignity can refer to
an end-of-life option that allows certain eligible individuals to legally request and obtain medications from their physician to end their life in a peaceful, humane, and dignified manner; state legislation codifying such an end-of-life option a family of organizations promoting the end-of-life option around the United States.
Learn more about
Death with Dignity as an end-of-life option Death with Dignity legislation Death with Dignity organizations Impact of Death with Dignity Supporting Death with Dignity What is Death with Dignity as an end-of-life option?
Death with Dignity is an end-of-life option that allows certain terminally ill people to voluntarily and legally request and receive a prescription medication from their physician to hasten their death in a peaceful, humane, and dignified manner.
Death with Dignity is governed by state legislation.
What are some other terms used to refer to Death with Dignity?
Death with Dignity is a term originating in the title of the Oregon statute governing the prescribing of life-ending medications to eligible terminally ill people; because our founders authored the Oregon law, our family of organizations bears its name and it’s our preferred term for the practice.
Other terms include physician-assisted death, physician-assisted dying, physician-hastened death/dying, aid in dying, physician aid in dying, and medical aid in dying.
Incorrect and inaccurate terms that opponents of physician-assisted dying use in order to mislead the public include: “assisted suicide,” “doctor-assisted suicide,” “physician-assisted suicide”, and (active) “euthanasia.”
How can I use a Death with Dignity law?
A legal prescription for life-ending medications in only available in states with Death with Dignity laws. As of December 19, 2016, Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California, and Colorado have physician-assisted dying statutes. Physician-assisted dying is also legal in Montana by way of a 2009 State Supreme Court ruling.
To qualify under Death with Dignity statutes, you must be an adult resident of a state where such a law is in effect (OR, WA, VT, CA); mentally competent, i.e. capable of making and communicating your healthcare decisions; and diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months, as confirmed by two physicians. The process entails two oral requests, one written request, waiting periods, and other requirements.
Should I tell my family I want to use the option?
Every family is different, and many families have had strained relations. However, even if there has been little communication for years, the months or weeks before death is a time when many people attempt to open up to each other. It is amazing how many families reestablish communication and offer support.
It is truly in the best interest of those who will be left behind that you tell your family what you are planning, and give them the option to accept or reject it, or to work out personal past differences. This helps those family members cope better after you die, as they have some good, positive memories.
Even if your family cannot support you in what you are choosing to do, by starting the dialogue you have at least given them the chance to understand and grow. And most families rise to the occasion by providing help, support, and understanding.
However, if after thought and consideration, you still feel strongly that telling your family would not be helpful, we encourage you to discuss this with a neutral third party like a friend, a religious counselor, or a social worker.
How can I find a doctor in Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Montana, California, or Colorado who will prescribe life-ending medications?
There are no lists of physicians who participate in physician-assisted dying laws, for both confidentiality and safety reasons. Doctor participation in the law is strictly voluntary.
You are more likely to find a participating physician in a non-faith-based hospital and in larger cities. End of Life Washington has compiled information about which activities each hospital in the state permits or restricts when a patient asks for assistance using their Act.
To find out if your doctor is willing to participate in the law, make an appointment with him or her to discuss your end-of-life goals and concerns, including the option available under the state’s Death with Dignity law. Ask any kind of doctor: your hospice doctor, or your oncologist, or pulmonologist, or neurologist, or even your dermatologist or psychiatrist. Any physician licensed to practice in a “Death with Dignity state” is allowed to participate if s/he agrees; the law also says every physician has the choice not to participate.
If the first physician says yes, ask them for a referral to another doctor who will participate or ask another of your (probably many) doctors if they will participate. Both physicians need to certify that you meet the criteria under the law. The first physician will be your attending physician for the law. He or she will guide you through all the requirements of the law and, if you qualify, will write the life-ending medication prescription for you. The second certifying doctor will be the consulting physician under the law who has to certify all the criteria under the law have been met.
Nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants, while they can treat your basic disease, are not allowed to act as licensed physicians for the End of Life Options law.
Where can I take the medication?
You can take (self-administer and ingest) the medications at a place of your choosing, though the law advises your physician to ask you not to do so in a public place. Most people, about 90%, choose to take the medications at home; those who reside in assisted-living or nursing home facilities tend to take them there.
If you take a dose prescribed under a Death with Dignity law outside the state where you obtained it, you may lose the legal protections afforded by the law in question. For example, your death may be ruled a suicide under another state’s law.
What kind of prescription will I receive?
None of the medical aid-in-dying laws tell your physician exactly what prescription to give you, but all medications under these laws require the attending physician’s prescription. It is up to the physician to determine the prescription. To date, most patients have received a prescription for an oral dosage of a barbiturate (pentobarbital or secobarbital), and beginning in 2015, a phenobarbital/chloral hydrate/morphine sulfate/ethanol mix has also been used.
Cost varies based on medication type and availability as well as the protocol used (additional medications must be consumed prior to the lethal medications at an extra cost). The following are only estimates as prices and availability change. The actual prescription depends on the physician’s assessment.
Pentobarbital in liquid form cost about $500 until about 2012, when the price rose to between $15,000 and $25,000. The price increase was caused by the European Union’s ban on exports to the US because of the drug being used in capital punishment, a practice that is illegal and deemed deplorable there; many international pharmaceutical companies don’t export the drug to the United States for the same reason. Users then switched to the powdered form, which cost between $400 and $500.
The legal dose of secobarbital (brand name Seconal) costs $3,000 to $5,000.
Due to the increase in the cost of Seconal, alternate mixtures of medications has been developed by physicians in Washington state. The phenobarbital/chloral hydrate/morphine sulfate mix produces a lethal dose that is similar in effect to Seconal. The cost of this alternate mix
When will I know it is the time to take the medication?
No one can answer this question for you.
Some people know when it’s time, when they’ve reached a point where their disease or the pain and suffering it causes has robbed them of the quality of life they find essential.
If you decide the time is not right, that’s fine; it only means the Death with Dignity Act is working as intended because it has given you the freedom and empowerment to set your own timeframe. Some people (about 1 in 3) never take the medication. Simply knowing they have this option, if they need it, gives them comfort.
What happens with unused medications?
As controlled, Schedule 2 substances, medications prescribed under death with dignity laws are regulated by federal statutes. These medications are carefully tracked from the date they are prescribed to the date the person for whom they are prescribed dies. Physicians must report all prescriptions for lethal medications to their state’s health department. Similarly, pharmacists must report on dispensing these medications. The medications must be taken by the person prescribed to; criminal penalties may ensue if another person takes them.
One in three people who obtain medications under aid-in-dying laws choose not to take them. Anyone who chooses not to ingest a prescribed dose or anyone in possession of any portion of the unused dose must dispose of the dose in a legal manner as determined by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency or their state laws, if any.
The California End of Life Option Act stipulates that, “A person who has custody or control of any unused aid-in-dying drugs prescribed pursuant to this part after the death of the patient shall personally deliver the unused aid-in-dying drugs for disposal by delivering it to the nearest qualified facility that properly disposes of controlled substances, or if none is available, shall dispose of it by lawful means in accordance with guidelines promulgated by the California State Board of Pharmacy or a federal Drug Enforcement Administration approved take-back program.”
Because 9 in 10 of all patients who use the death with dignity laws are enrolled in hospice care at the time of their deaths, it is the responsibility of hospice personnel to properly dispose of all unused medications, including the legally prescribed lethal doses of medication. In those few cases where the patient is not enrolled in hospice at his/her death any unused medications have been disposed of by those who are present at the time the patient dies. There have been no reported cases of misuse of the medications during the nineteen years Oregon’s law has been in effect nor during the eight years in Washington and the three years in Vermont.
The objection that simply having the lethal dose of medicine results in its misuse fails to account for any other medications patients around the country have, e.g. Oxycontin, Oxycodene, morphine, anti-depressants, sleeping sedatives, etc., all of which could be misused and in some cases are misused. The laws in the US are very clear: legally prescribed medications must be taken by the person for whom they are prescribed and it is illegal for such medications to be used by others.
What options do I have if my state does not allow physician aid in dying?
You can
voluntarily stop eating and drinking. stop treatment or not start treatment at all. Every competent individual has a right to refuse medical therapies. use palliative sedation.
Such measures can take anywhere from several days to several weeks to result in death. Stopping treatment or medication may lead to unanticipated effects or pain.
Discuss your options with your physician.
What is Death with Dignity legislation?
Death with Dignity, or medical aid-in-dying, statutes allow certain terminally ill adults to request and obtain a prescription for medication to end their lives in a peaceful manner. The acts outline the process of obtaining such medication, including safeguards to protect both patients and physicians.
In states where physician-assisted dying is legal, there is no state program for participation in the existing aid-in-dying laws and people do not apply to state health departments. It is up to eligible patients and licensed physicians to implement the act on an individual, case-by-case basis.
Five states currently have physician-assisted dying statutes in effect: Oregon since 1997, Washington since 2009 (the law was passed in 2008), Vermont since 2013, California since 2016, and Colorado since 2016. In Montana, physician-assisted death is legal (since 2009) by the state Supreme Court ruling.
Who can participate in physician-assisted dying laws?
Anyone who meets the eligibility criteria can use their state’s physician aid in dying law. Participation in the law is strictly voluntary.
To qualify for a prescription of medication under existing physician-assisted dying laws, you must be
an adult resident of Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California, or, Colorado; mentally competent, i.e. capable of making and communicating your healthcare decisions; diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months.
You must also must be able to self-administer and ingest the prescribed medication. Two physicians must determine whether all these criteria have been met. The process entails two oral requests, one written request, waiting periods, and other requirements.
There are no exceptions to these requirements.
Can my family member or a proxy request participation in medical aid in dying on my behalf (for example, if I am in a coma or suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia)?
No. The law requires that you ask to participate voluntarily on your own behalf and meet all the eligibility criteria at the time of your request.
Can physician-assisted death laws be used with Advance Directives?
Advance Directives are legal documents that describe what you as a dying person want done (or not done) medically if you can no longer communicate. The aid in dying laws cannot be used under Advance Directives because you would no longer be of sound mind when the advance directives kick in.
What are the residency requirements under Death with Dignity laws?
You must provide adequate documentation to the attending physician to verify that you are a current resident of the state with an aid-in-dying statute. It is up to the attending physician to determine you have adequately established residency. Factors demonstrating residency include, but are not limited to any of the following:
a state-issued ID or driver license; a lease agreement or property ownership document showing that you rent or own property in the state; a state voter registration; or a recent state tax return.
There is no length-of-residency requirement. You must simply be able to establish that you are currently a state resident.
Can I move to a “Death with Dignity state” in order to participate in the law?
There is nothing in Death with Dignity statutes that prevents you from doing this. You must simply must be able to prove to the attending physician that you are currently a resident. However, relocating in and of itself, not to mention across state lines, is a challenge, particularly if you are terminally ill and if you are elderly (the median age of aid-in-dying participants in Oregon is 72).
We work to ensure every state has a Death with Dignity statute so that no one should have to uproot to use another state’s statute.
Can I just fly to Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California, or Colorado and fly home with the medication?
No. You must be a resident of one of these states and be planning to die in that state. Taking the medication prescribed under one state’s physician-assisted dying law outside that state may result in your and your physician’s losing the legal protections afforded by the law in question.
Death with Dignity statutes contain a number of safeguards, protecting patients from abuse and coercion:
Patients must meet stringent eligibility requirements, including being an adult, state resident, mentally competent, and having a terminal diagnosis with a 6-month prognosis as confirmed by two licensed physicians. Only the patient him or herself can make the oral requests for medication, in person. It is impossible to stipulate the request in an advance directive, living will, or any other end-of-life care document. The patient must make two oral requests, at least 15 days apart. The written request must be witnessed by at least two people, who, in the presence of the patient, attest that to the best of their knowledge and belief the patient is capable, acting voluntarily, and is not being coerced to sign the request. One of the witnesses cannotbe a relative of the patient by blood, marriage or adoption; anyone who would be entitled to any portion of the patient’s estate; an owner, operator or employee of a health care facility where the eligible patient is receiving medical treatment or is a resident or the patient’s attending physician. The patient must be deemed capable to take (self-administer and ingest) the medication themselves, without assistance. The patient may rescind the request at any time. Two physicians, one of whom is the patient’s attending physician, familiar with the patient’s case, must confirm the diagnosis. Each physician must be licensed by the state to practice medicine and certified to prescribe medications. If either physician determines the patient may be suffering from a psychiatric or psychological disorder or depression causing impaired judgment, they must refer the patient for evaluation by a state licensed psychiatrist or psychologist to determine their mental competency. Medication cannot be prescribed until such evaluation determines the patient is mentally competent. The attending physician must mail or hand-deliver the prescription to the pharmacy. The patient must wait 48 hours from their written request to fill their prescription. The request process must be stopped stop immediately if there is any suspicion or evidence of coercion. The physicians must meet strict reporting requirements for each request. Anyone who falsifies a request, destroys a rescission of a request or who coerces or exerts undue influence on a patient to request medication under the law or to destroy a rescission of such a request commits a Class A felony. The law also does not limit liability for negligence or intentional misconduct, and criminal penalties also apply for conduct that is inconsistent with it.
Data and studies show these safeguards work as intended, protecting patients and preventing misuse. No evidence of coercion or abuse has been documented in the Oregon since 1998 and Washington since 2009, when these states’ respective laws went into effect.
How do Death with Dignity statutes safeguard confidentiality?
Federal statutes, such as HIPAA, protect confidentiality of all patient records.
While states with physician-assisted dying laws do collect the names of patients in order to cross-check death certificates, the laws guarantee the confidentiality of all participating patients as well as physicians. Patients’ or doctors’ identifying information is never released to the public or media. The identity of participating physicians is coded, but the identity of individual patients is not recorded in any manner. In Oregon, all source documentation, including any patient or physician documentation, is destroyed approximately one year from the publication of annual reports.
If your death results from taking medications legally prescribed and obtained under a physician aid-in-dying statute, your death certificate will list your underlying illness as the cause of death.
Physician-assisted death statutes do not specify who must pay for the services. Individual insurers determine whether the procedure is covered under their policies, just as they do with any other medical procedure. Federal funding, including Medicaid and Medicare, cannot be used for services or medications received under these laws.
Physician aid in dying statutes specify that participation under them is not suicide. Therefore, your decision to end your life under an aid-in-dying statute has no effect on your life, health, or accident insurance or annuity policy.
How many people use Death with Dignity laws?
In 2015, a total of 218 terminally-ill adult Oregonians received a prescription for medications under the provisions of the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, while 132 of them (60.6%) ingested the medications to die peacefully. This corresponds to 38.6 Death with Dignity Act deaths per 10,000 total deaths, or 0.39%. Since 1998, when the first person in Oregon took medication prescribed under the Death with Dignity Act, a total of 1,545 patients have received the prescription, of whom 991 (64.1%) ingested it and died.
In Washington, 213 individuals received medications in 2015, of whom 166 died after ingesting the medication, 24 died without having ingested the medication, and for the remaining 12 people who died ingestion status is unknown. Since Washington’s law was passed in 2008, a total of 938 people have had prescriptions written under the Act.
These figures highlight that
only a small number of people use the law to die; and about one third of those who do obtain the medication prescribed under the law never take it.
The existing Death with Dignity Acts continue to work flawlessly, to protect patients and physicians, and to provide ease of mind and relief to people facing the end of life.
Who uses physician-assisted death laws? What are their demographics?
People who access physician-assisted dying laws tend to be well educated and have excellent health care, good insurance, access to hospice, and financial, emotional, and physical support. Two out of three are aged 65 years or older; the median age at death is 71 years.
Most patients have cancer (77.1 percent in Oregon) or ALS (8.0 percent). Most people die at home (94.0 percent) and are enrolled in hospice care (90.5 percent).
The three most frequently mentioned end-of-life concerns are loss of autonomy (89.7 percent of patients cited this concern), decreasing ability to participate in activities that made life enjoyable (91.6 percent), and loss of dignity (78.7 percent).
Do aid-in-dying statutes obligate or encourage anyone to use them?
Participation in assisted dying is strictly voluntary, for both patients and physicians. No one is encouraged or obligated to use these laws; they merely provide an option to those who wish to use them.
No one qualifies under aid-in-dying laws solely on the basis of age or disability. Many seniors and people with disabilities support physician-assisted dying laws, not because they are disabled but because they are people.
Opponents of aid-in-dying laws like to allege that the mere existence of these laws encourages the elderly, people with disabilities, minorities, or poor, undereducated, uninsured and other marginalized persons to prematurely end their lives. Physician-assisted death laws, however, provide a voluntary option to anyone who qualifies and wishes to voluntarily use it. No one is forced, obligated, or encouraged to use these laws; access to these laws by any one person does not preclude others from opting out.
Do people move to states with assisted dying laws in order to use them?
There are no statistics about people moving to Oregon, Washington, or Vermont in order to use physician aid-in-dying laws. Because only residency matters under aid-in-dying laws, annual reports released by the Oregon Department of Human Services and Washington State Department of Health do not contain information about how many individuals moved to theses states in order to avail themselves of their respective Death with Dignity Acts (Vermont’s Patient Choice and Control at End of Life Act does not have a reporting requirement).
Anecdotally, there is evidence that people are compelled to move to states with aid-in-dying laws. We believe that no one should have to move to use medical aid in dying as an end of life option.
Can the federal government overturn Oregon’s law?
The George W. Bush administration in the early 2000s attempted to use the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to overturn the Oregon law, both through Congress and the courts. However, since the CSA bans the use and trafficking of illegal drugs and regulates the use of legal narcotics for approved medical purposes, and the Oregon Death with Dignity Act specifies only the use of legal narcotics for physician-assisted dying, their efforts failed.
In the U.S., it is the states, not the federal government, that licenses physicians and determines what is and is not legitimate medical practice. In 2006, the US Supreme Court affirmed this by ruling, in the case
Gonzales v. Oregon, that the federal government overstepped its authority in seeking to punish doctors who prescribed drugs to help terminally ill patients end their lives. What is the Death with Dignity family of organizations? What is the Death with Dignity National Center and what does it do?
The National Center expands the freedom of all eligible terminally ill Americans to make their own end-of-life decisions, including how they die. We achieve this by promoting Death with Dignity laws around the United States based on the groundbreaking Oregon model and by providing information, education, and support about Death with Dignity as an end-of-life option to patients, family members, legislators, advocates, healthcare and end-of-life care professionals, media, and the interested public.
What is the Death with Dignity Political Fund and what does it do?
The Political Fund is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization that acts as the political arm of the National Center. The Fund drafts Death with Dignity laws based on the groundbreaking Oregon model; campaigns, lobbies, and advocates for Death with Dignity legislation in the states that lack them; and defends Death with Dignity statutes against legal and legislative challenges. The Political Fund staff and volunteers authored, passed, and defended the Oregon law (1994/1997/2006); spearheaded the successful efforts to pass Death with Dignity statutes in Washington (2008), Vermont (2013), and California (2015); and led the Maine (2000), Hawaii (2002), and Massachusetts (2012) campaigns, which were all defeated by narrow margins.
How long have Death with Dignity organizations been in existence?
The Death with Dignity family of organizations have been advancing physician-assisted dying policy reform for more than 20 years. The earliest predecessor organization, Oregon Right to Die, was established in 1993. In the current form, the Death with Dignity family of organization has been in existence since 2003.
What is your charity evaluation ranking?
Charity Navigator only rates 501(c)(3) organizations with budgets over $1 million. The combined budget of our 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations, the Death with Dignity National Center and Death with Dignity Political Fund, respectively, this year is $600,000. We are not rated by Charity Navigator because we do not meet their budget criterion for evaluation.
Death with Dignity legislation yields numerous direct and indirect benefits.
For the terminally ill, the greatest comfort these laws provide is having the freedom to control their own ending. Most people who obtain medications under these laws value being able to make their own decisions, including the where and when of their death. We know this because people using the law cite loss of autonomy as their chief end-of-life concern.
In addition, if you are terminally ill the option to die a peaceful death at a time and place of your choosing provides you with invaluable peace of mind, which is especially important at the end of life. In fact, so many people get reassurance from simply filling the prescription that one in three choose not to use it.
Most people who are dying wish to die at home. While on the national level only about 20% of people die at home, 90% or more of people accessing the Oregon Death with Dignity Act do. The stringent safeguards in these laws also protect patients from possible abuse, coercion, and wrongful medical practice.
The relief from my terminally-ill patients and their families is palpable. I’ve helped families accept their family members’ final wishes in the face of terrible illness. Aid in dying for terminal patients is an essential part of good, compassionate end of life care.
Family members, too, derive peace of mind from knowing they will not have to helplessly endure watching a loved one die a horrible death.
What are the benefits of Death with Dignity laws for physicians?
For physicians, medical aid-in-dying laws codify and bring to light the common practice of giving life-ending medications to their patients. Death with Dignity legislation protects physicians by stipulating the steps they must follow and, provided they follow the law, providing them with immunity from civil and criminal liability as well as professional disciplinary action.
Where do physicians stand on physician-assisted dying?
A 2014 Medscape survey found that 54% of medical doctors favor physician-assisted dying, up from 46% in 2010. We also know that many physicians who support the end-of-life option are reluctant to declare so publicly for fear of repercussions in their workplace or medical community.
The American Medical Association opposes aid-in-dying laws. However, not only does the AMA represents a declining number of physicians (only about 1 in 3 doctors are AMA members), a 2011 survey of physicians conducted by Jackson & Coker found that 77% of physicians believe the AMA no longer reflects their views. In 2015, the California chapter of the AMA changed its position on physician-assisted dying from opposed to neutral, stating that they “believe it is up to the individual physician and their patient to decide voluntarily whether the End of Life Option Act is something in which they want to engage.”
A number of medical associations have endorsed physician-assisted dying, including the American Public Health Association, the American College of Legal Medicine, the American Medical Women’s Association, the American Medical Student Association, and the Denver Medical Society.
For my patients who have used this law, I was honored that I could be with them every step of the way, ensuring that they were cared for, and that they had control of the final days of their lives. That’s what death with dignity really means.
Do Death with Dignity laws have any broader, societal effects?
Death with Dignity legislation leads to improvements in end-of-life care.
Oregon consistently ranks as a top state in end-of-life care. The Oregon Death with Dignity Act has dramatically improved end-of-life care, particularly in pain management, hospice care, and support services for family members. Reports show that up to 97% of people using Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act are on hospice at the time of death, as compared to 45% in the US overall, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Oregon has the best pain, palliative and hospice care in the nation because the law made physicians get better at diagnosing depression, pain management, and hospice referrals.
Residents of states with aid-in-dying laws are better-versed in end-of-life care issues than of those with no such statutes. A poll by
National Journal and The Regence Foundation has found residents in Oregon and Washington to be more knowledgeable and supportive of a variety of end-of-life options, including hospice and palliative care, than most Americans. According to the same poll, support for Death with Dignity legislation has grown in both Oregon and Washington, and a 2012 poll found 80% of Oregonians support the Act.
Many healthy Oregonians and Washingtonians today discuss end-of-life issues with their doctors and increasingly demand active participation and decision making in their own end-of-life care. Oregon and Washington doctors, as a result, today work harder to prolong patients’ lives and enhance quality of life, while respecting patients’ final wishes when their suffering becomes intolerable. Because of the law’s protections, most Oregonians know their doctors won’t abandon them when the suffering becomes unbearable and use of the law is requested.
Oregon’s medical aid in dying law has also helped foster an open and honest conversation between doctors and patients about end of life.
In the video below, end-of-life care experts in Oregon speak about the impacts of the Act:
The experience in California after the End of Life Option Act passed in 2015 has shown that the passage of a physician-assisted dying law, even before it takes effect, heightens the urgency of improving end-of-life care. Whereas conversations in the Golden State are only beginning, we are confident that the End of Life Option Act will ultimately lead to improvements in end-of-life care there.
These effects also occur in states without physician-assisted dying legislation where a campaign for passage took place, regardless of whether it succeeded. In Massachusetts, in 2012, media reported that interest in and preference for hospice rose in response to our campaign to get an aid in dying bill passed in a ballot initiative.
What is the current state of physician-assisted dying in America?
With a history of more than 100 years, and accelerated development beginning in the early 1990’s, the aid-in-dying movement enjoys more momentum than ever.
While in the past, only two or three states at the time considered physician-assisted dying bills, in the 2015 legislative session no fewer than 25 states and in the 2016 session 20 jurisdictions considered such bills. We saw our greatest victory in California, where the End of Life Option Act went into effect on June 9, 2016.
Though elsewhere aid in dying bills failed, that’s the way progress happens: victories beget more victories, and even our losses teach us the lessons we need to advance. With polls showing up to 7 in 10 Americans favoring right-to-die legislation, every day we are closer to the day when a large majority of Americans will have what they are asking for: more freedom and control at the end of life.
How can I promote Death with Dignity in my community? How can I financially support Death with Dignity?
There are many ways you can contribute funds to promoting and passing Death with Dignity laws: | 34,954 | 12,848 | 0.000079 |
warc | 201704 | What Does the DOR Do?
The Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) assists Californians with disabilities to obtain and retain employment and maximize their equality and ability to live independently in their communities.
We do this by tailoring our services to each individual to ensure a greater chance of success.
A vocational rehabilitation team works closely with each job seeker to establish the best combination of services and resources necessary to prepare for, find and retain employment.
What Services Does the DOR Offer?
DOR services may include:
Career assessment and counseling
Job search and interview skills
Independent living skills
Career education and training
Assistive technology
What DOR Programs Can Individuals Participate in?
The DOR offers the following programs:
Can I Start Receiving Services Right Away?
The answer depends on your priority category and available resources.
When the DOR does not have enough money to serve all eligible applicants, the law requires the DOR to use a process called Order of Selection.
Once you have been determined eligible, you will be given a disability priority score, called a Priority for Services Determination. This score places applicants into priority categories, which are used to ensure that persons with the most significant disabilities are served first.
There are three priority categories:
most significantly disabled (priority category 1)
significantly disabled (priority category 2)
all other eligible individuals determined to be disabled (priority category 3)
Eligible individuals not currently being served are placed on a waiting list.
What Happens If I'm Placed on a Waiting List?
While you are on the waiting list, the DOR will provide you with information and referrals to other services that may help you reach your employment goal until you receive DOR services.
The DOR will also:
notify you every 90 days as to which category is being served
notify you as soon as funds are available, and when you will be served based on your application date.
What If I Don't Want to Wait?
Included in your periodic notification of priority categories will be form DR 68D - Wait List Notice.
To remain on or be removed from the waiting list, you must fill out the form, print, sign and mail it to your assigned counselor at your local DOR office.
I'm Dissatisfied with Some Decisions Related to My Services. How Do I Solve This Problem?
To the extent possible, you should try to resolve your disagreements at a local level with your counselor or the Rehabilitation Supervisor.
If your concerns are still not resolved to your satisfaction, you can request an Administrative Review of the situation by the District Administrator.
An advocate from the Client Assistance Program (CAP) can help you request and prepare for an Administrative Review. They can also represent you at the review.
What Do I Do If I Disagree with the Administrative Review Decision?
If you do not want to have an Administrative Review, or having had one, if you are dissatisfied with the action or decision of the Administrative Review, you may request a Fair Hearing.
Requests for a Fair Hearing must be made in writing and:
submitted within one year after a DOR decision or action that you disagree with.
OR
filed with the DOR within 30 days of your receiving the Administrative Review decision.
Once your request for a fair hearing is received, you will get a response within two weeks indicating if your appeal has been accepted. If it has, a hearing will be scheduled within 60 days, unless you agree to a delay.
When you receive notification that your case has been accepted, you will get a hearing confirmation form that provides detailed instructions.
You will need to prepare a detailed, written summary of the decision / action taken by DOR that you are appealing. Explain why you believe the decision / action was incorrect and what corrective action you are seeking. Copies of any evidence that supports your position need to be included with the confirmation form.
At the hearing, you may:
appear in person
present only written information
be accompanied by a representative or other advocate of your choice
bring witnesses
A decision will be made within 15 days after the hearing. If you are not satisfied with the Fair Hearing decision, you have the right to file a petition, within six months, with the California Superior Court to review the matter.
How Would Mediation Help Me Solve Disagreements?
Mediation is another option for resolving disputes between you and the DOR.
The goals of mediation are:
to fully describe both sides of the dispute
to explore options for resolving the problem, and
to reach mutually satisfying solutions.
If both you and the Department agree to mediation, a qualified, impartial mediator is available, at no cost to you, to help you and the Department find solutions.
An advocate from the Client Assistance Program (CAP) can help you request and prepare for mediation. They can also represent you at the mediation meeting. | 5,069 | 2,184 | 0.000463 |
warc | 201704 | Are they deadly, to children 12-14 years old
Responses (1)
Hello,
Diarrhea may occur. If this effect persists or worsens, notify your doctor or pharmacist asap.
Remember that your doctor has prescribed this medication because he or she has judged that the benefit to you is greater than the risk of side effects.
Many people using this medication do not have serious side effects.
Vitamin B-12 deficiency has occurred with long-term (over 3 years) treatment with medications similar to dexlansoprazole. Tell your doctor immediately if you develop and of these symptoms of vitamin B-12 deficiency: unusual weakness, sore tongue, numbness or tingling of the hands/feet.
A very serious allergic reaction to this drug is rare. However, seek immediate medical attention if you notice any symptoms of a serious allergic reaction, including: rash, itching/swelling (especially of the face/tongue/throat), severe dizziness, trouble breathing.
This is not a complete list of possible side effects. If you notice other effects not listed above, contact your doctor or pharmacist.
Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Take care
Further Information Dexilant Information for Consumers Dexilant Information for Healthcare Professionals (includes dosage details) Side Effects of Dexilant (detailed) Search for questions
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warc | 201704 | The financial crisis and Great Recession have prompted a rethink of monetary policy and central banking. The status quo insider rethink focuses on the role of monetary policy in dealing with asset bubbles; making the central bank the banking system supervisor; and how to deal with the problem of the zero lower bound to nominal interest rates. This paper presents an outsider reform program that focuses on central bank governance and independence; reshaping the economic philosophy of central banks to be more intellectually open-minded; major monetary policy reform that includes adoption of an inflation target equal to the minimum unemployment rate of inflation (MURI) and implementation of asset based reserve requirements; and regulatory reform that addresses problems of flawed incentives, excessive leverage, and maturity mismatch.The proposed outsider reform program is rooted in a rethink of macroeconomic theory compelled by the crisis. There are some overlaps between the insider and outsider reform programs but they are more form than substance. That is dangerous because it can confuse debate if similarity of form is mistaken for similarity of substance.The insider program makes no changes to macroeconomic theory and is uncritical of the Federal Reserve's past actions. From its perspective, any failings of the Federal Reserve have been unwitting sins of omission. The outsider program fundamentally challenges existing macroeconomic theory and is also highly critical of the Federal Reserve. From its perspective the failings of the Federal Reserve have included significant sins of commission rooted in political capture, cognitive capture and intellectual hubris.The outsider critique can be taken even further. The Federal Reserve is already legally mandated to pursue maximum employment with price stability. However, it needs institutional transformation that makes it think of itself as an agent for helping realize the "American Dream". That means it should have a duty to shape the allocation of credit and the financial system in ways that ensure growth, full employment and a fair shake for all. | 2,130 | 988 | 0.001014 |
warc | 201704 | Though big data storage and use are relatively new ideas in the IT world, workers have adapted to them. This has been out of necessity, as companies have faced the challenge of either adding big data programs or falling behind their early-adopter peers. In a short span of time, companies have taken the concepts behind Hadoop and NoSQL databases to heart, making their large data stores available at high speed. According to BeyeNetwork contributor and software industry veteran Barry Devlin, however, there may be a shift on the horizon.
Online giants change course
The future, according to Devlin, is in the hands of the usual suspects in the big data technology world: Google and Facebook. These companies, developed in the digital age, have massive stores of information and have spawned many of the technological approaches that have become industry standard in recent years. Devlin noted that the software being used at these offices involves new methods of storing big data.
Hadoop and NoSQL databases, according to Devlin, are actually quite simple in execution. He framed the current situation as one driven by economics, a search by companies to purchase affordable space with an open source development environment. Compared to such low-stakes surroundings, the new database projects in progress at Google in particular look advanced, with the systems becoming faster than their current equivalents.
Devlin noted that recent reports about Google's big data capacity have focused on the company's efforts to return to a database environment, albeit one capable of processing huge data sets at high speed. He noted that Google has spent the past three years attempting to change the storage paradigm and has published research on its efforts. He stated that the new technologies underway, namely Dremel, Caffeine, Pregel and Spanner, will be important elements of the tech hype cycle in the near future.
Storage and management
One of the open questions regarding the future of data usage revolves around the problems companies already have managing and using their storage systems. TechTarget recently reported that many companies have serious problems using their various data sources, with adverse effects on data quality
and integrity. These faults are often produced by fallacies brought on by the hype cycle. The source noted that many big data users are so eager to harness flashy external data reservoirs that they ignore very useful internal archives they already have access to. | 2,506 | 1,246 | 0.000805 |
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