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warc | 201704 | WASHINGTON -- Tapping oil and gas deposits in the last untouched wilderness in Alaska is one of more than 60 proposals that government planners will give to President Bush when they submit the framework for a national energy strategy, probably early next month.
Other proposals include tax credits for alternative fuels, enhanced incentives for renewable energy and ways to boost vehicle efficiency, particularly in public transportation, according to officials at the Department of Energy.
The strategy draft, though, does not appear to encourage nuclear power as the best alternative to fossil-based power production as long as "political and regulatory" problems such as waste disposal remain unresolved, a senior policy planner said.
The international problem of global warming is addressed only indirectly in the policy proposal, reflecting the administration's ongoing belief that any large-scale effort to reduce emissions of climate-changing carbon dioxide solely for the sake of slowing global warming would be economically wasteful.
It is an issue likely to grow in magnitude as Washington prepares to host the start next February of negotiations for an international treaty to reduce global warming.
The Persian Gulf crisis has heightened the clamor for a national energy strategy, shattering the general complacency that existed in the cheap-oil days of mid-1989, when President Bush asked the agency to compile an environmentally safe and economically sound set of options "to reduce dependence by ourselves and our friends and allies on potentially unreliable energy suppliers."
In the 16 months since then, the Energy Department has held 18 public hearings around the country and compiled 22,000 pages of testimony that originally presented about 750 policy options. With the project nearing completion, agency planners say they have percolated the mass of material into a menu of just over 60 options for the president.
But whichever proposals he accepts or rejects, it appeared from discussions with department officials this week that the eventual policy is bound to draw protests from both environmentalists and industry.
There will be no easy fixes, said Linda Stuntz, the agency's deputy undersecretary for policy, planning and analysis.
The energy strategy, she said, would try to stimulate production, efficiency and conservation in the electricity sector, building industry and especially transportation, the primary user of oil. Vehicles currently require more oil for gasoline than can be produced domestically and are therefore a major reason why the United States must import more than half its oil, she said.
But because many regulatory limits and incentives to stimulate alternative energy supplies are contained in existing legislation, further regulation in that area is not needed, Mrs. Stuntz said. For example, stiff emission controls in the recently passed Clean Air Act should reduce carbon dioxide emissions and stimulate alternative fuels such as ethanol, methanol and even electric power.
Natural gas, alcohol fuels, even hydrogen as a long-term option would be encouraged in the energy proposals. "There are no golden bullets," she said.
The strategy, however, would not be able to escape an overwhelming reliance on oil, she said, and because the United States cannot meet its expanding energy needs with domestic oil supplies, oil imports are likely to rise.
"We are not saying we should reduce imports of oil -- only reduce the vulnerability of our foreign supplies," she said.
One option contained in the national energy strategy proposal to reduce foreign dependence, she said, is to open for exploration and extraction oil deposits in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska's last undeveloped wilderness.
The refuge in northeastern Alaska has been off-limits to exploration since Congress passed a protective bill in 1980. In 1987, however, the Interior Department decided that the benefits from oil extraction in the refuge outweighed its pristine status. A bill that would have authorized exploitation of the refuge deposits died in Congress last year amid public outrage over the Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska's southern coast.
Any decision to open the refuge to drilling is likely to draw heated resistance from environmentalists, who say the estimated 3 billion to 9 billion barrels that could be extracted would amount to no more than one to three years of U.S. oil use. | 4,458 | 2,130 | 0.000472 |
warc | 201704 | Few signs of a breakthrough in the fight against AIDS emerged from the eighth international conference on AIDS in Amsterdam. The fatal disease continues to spread rapidly in many parts of the world, particularly among women. Prevention depends on safe sexual practices. Yet far too many people still engage in risky behavior.
As many as 100 million people may be infected by the HIV virus by the end of the decade, compared with about 13 million now. International efforts to slow its spread are being overwhelmed by the caseload.
AIDS was first reported a decade ago primarily as a disease of gay men. It is now a worldwide scourge, with 80 percent of new infections in developing countries.
Infection among women is rapidly increasing. Women pick up the virus more easily than their sex partners and will soon account for half the world's new AIDS infections.
Many homosexual men have modified their sexual behavior because of the threat of AIDS, as have some drug users. But many heterosexual men do not use condoms, according to recent studies in Africa, Asia and South America.
AIDS is exploding in Southeast Asia. By the turn of the century, Asia is likely to overtake Africa as the continent with the largest proportion of HIV-infected persons. And yet only a tiny percentage of the worldwide spending on AIDS prevention is in the developing nations.
Few countries have made AIDS a top public health priority. Leaders of some nations hit hard by the epidemic have never spoken publicly about the disease. Most nations prohibit infected people from immigrating. Some, including this country, even bar them from entering for a visit. That's more a political decision than a medical one.
Most ominous of all, but not unexpected by researchers, is the fact that up to half a dozen different strains of the HIV virus may be at work. That will complicate detection, treatments and the development of anti-AIDS vaccines.
Because AIDS is such a clear public health hazard and is now closely allied with tuberculosis and other highly infectious diseases, nations must double their public-health preventive programs. Many of the strategies used to combat the spread of
venereal diseases -- from promoting abstinence to teaching safe-sex techniques to distributing free condoms -- must be used on a massive scale in the developing nations.
More money for research won't necessarily help. Unlocking the secrets of the AIDS viruses, as with cancer viruses, is likely to be a slow, tedious process. Governments should target funds to the most promising research and prepare to spend considerable sums for treatment as the caseload explodes.
Changing the behavior that spreads AIDS is the best tool at hand in containing the epidemic | 2,738 | 1,376 | 0.00073 |
warc | 201704 | Albert Ellis, the provocative icon of modern psychology who helped bring psychotherapy to the masses by urging people to examine their problems rationally and to quickly take control of their feelings, died of natural causes Tuesday at his New York City home. He was 93.
Ellis' death was announced by the Albert Ellis Institute, which he founded in 1959. He lived on a top floor of the midtown Manhattan institute, which was the site of legendary therapy sessions that the influential psychologist held weekly for four decades until 2005, when the institute removed him from its board of directors amid reports of an internal power struggle and financial worries.
Ellis was later reinstated by a judge, but controversies continued to swirl around one of psychology's most colorful figures.
The author of 78 books, including such bestsellers as "Sex Without Guilt" and "How to Control Your Anxiety Before It Controls You," Ellis was voted the second-most influential psychotherapist in history in a 1982 poll of 800 clinical psychologists.
Carl Rogers, the father of humanistic psychology, was No. 1, and Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, was No. 3.
Ellis was recognized because of his rational emotive behavioral therapy, also called cognitive behavioral therapy, which emphasizes quick results and an active role for the therapist. He directly challenged the protracted protocols of Freudian analysis, often remarking that success is contingent upon forgetting "your god-awful past."
"He opened the door to the therapy room for thousands and thousands of people," said David B. Baker, director of the Archives of the History of American Psychology at the University of Akron.
By developing techniques that were relatively easy to learn and institute on a wide scale, Ellis brought about "a sea change in the practice of psychotherapy in America at midcentury," Baker said.
As a therapist, Ellis was not merely active: He was confrontational.
No matter what the trauma -- a terminal illness, an abusive past, the murder of a loved one -- his response was essentially: Stop complaining and deal with it.
One of Ellis' favorite words was "awfulize," as in don't awfulize an upsetting situation. He taught people to view their problems rationally and separate their sense of identity or self-fulfillment from the source of their unhappiness. He delivered this message in language that was often unprintable and always blunt.
"Why can't you understand that some people are crazy and violent and do all kinds of terrible things?" he once told a woman whose sister had been killed by a drug dealer. "Until you accept it, you're going to be angry, angry, angry."
When something bad happens, "you can easily upset yourself, but you always have a choice to feel sorry, regretful, frustrated, annoyed and not depressed, anxious and despairing," he told National Public Radio in 2004.
While seen as brutal and superficial by some, Ellis' methods won wide acceptance, with 1 out of 4 psychotherapists in a recent survey identifying themselves as sharing his cognitive behavioral approach.
"Someone has to come along and forcibly shake up the status quo, and that person needs to be powerful, innovative and largely unbothered by most colleagues' negative criticisms early on. Al Ellis did that perfectly with cognitive therapy," John Norcross, a past president of the psychotherapy division of the American Psychological Assn., once said.
Ellis' style of therapy evolved from personal experiences. As a teenager, the Pittsburgh-born, Bronx-raised psychologist was painfully shy around women and devised a program to change his behavior. He spent much of one summer by a bench at the New York Botanical Garden. Every time a woman sat down alone at the bench, he forced himself to speak to her. Within one month, he had spoken to 100 women.
The experiment was life-changing. "Nobody vomited and ran away. Nobody called the cops," Ellis recalled in a New York Times interview a few years ago. "I completely got over my shyness by thinking differently, feeling differently and, in particular, acting differently."
He attended City College of New York, earning a bachelor's degree in 1934. He worked various odd jobs, including assistant to the president of a wholesale novelty gift company.
At the same time, Ellis was writing novels and plays, but none were published so he switched to nonfiction. He wrote about love, sex and marriage, and before long, friends began consulting him about their sex problems. His success helping them overcome their hang-ups led him to enter the clinical psychology program at Columbia University, where he obtained a master's degree in 1943 and a doctorate in 1947.
Psychoanalysis was the rage then, and his first published book -- "An Introduction to the Principles of Scientific Psychoanalysis" (1950) -- capitalized on it. He opened a full-time psychoanalytic practice in New York a few years later. | 4,980 | 2,522 | 0.0004 |
warc | 201704 | Judith Curry
Judith A. Curry is chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She runs a climate blog and has been invited by Republicans on several occasions to testify at climate hearings about uncertainties in climate understanding and predictions.
Climate scientists criticize her uncertainty-focused climate outreach communication for containing elementary mistakes and inflammatory assertions unsupported by evidence. Curry is a regular at Anthony Watts' denier blog, as well as Steve McIntyre's Climate Audit, another denier site. She has further embarrassed herself (and her university) by using refuted denier talking points and defending the Wegman Report, eventually admitting she hadn't even read it in the first place.[1]Criticisms from climate scientists
Criticisms of outreach communication
Laundry list
Curry's contrarian-leaning "public outreach" public communication is criticized by prominent climate scientists and other science-aligned climate bloggers for a propensity toward
"inflammatory language and over-the-top accusations ...with the...absence of any concrete evidence and [with] errors in matters of simple fact."[10],[11],[12],[13],[14],[15].
"...Examples of the unreliability of Curry's blog publications are illustrated by Michael Tobis[16] and James Annan[17], who both showed
basic flaws in her understanding of uncertainty and probability, or at least an irresponsible level of sloppiness in expressing herself.
Arthur Smith pointed out an under-grad level misunderstanding[18] in her own field's basic terminology," said Coby Beck.[10]
Climate scientist James Annan has provided examples (with rebuttals) of assertions made by Curry on topics like no-feedback climate sensitivity, aerosols, climate change detection&attribution, and the IPCC tolerance of challengers; he finds there's a pattern of
"throwing up vague or demonstrably wrong claims, then running away when shown to be wrong",[19]
This is only one of dozens of examples in the link!
link-http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Judith_Curry
Judith_Curry is really building up quite a history of throwing up vague or demonstrably wrong claims, then running away when shown to be wrong! Judith Curry has abandoned science!
My Opinion
Here’s how I see it: Judith Curry really did nothing more nor less than to scour the IPCC AR5 looking for stuff she could claim weakens the case for dangerous man-made climate change. In so doing, she was willing to ignore what the IPCC report actually says in favor of her preferred interpretation of things. She demonstrated more than once that
she doesn’t have sufficient knowledge of what the data have to say, or of what the peer-reviewed literature says, to know what she’s talking about.
It’s rather disappointing, really, because if you’re determined to find fault that’s usually ridiculously easy in any report as lengthy as the IPCC AR5, but she still managed to
botch
the job. Dismally. She also utterly failed to mention, perhaps even to notice, anything in the IPCC report which strengthens the case. Seriously — are we actually to believe that there isn’t anything like that at all?
I also expect that regarding her testimony, Judith Curry will staunchly refuse to learn anything from the many critics (I’m far from the only one) who have found serious faults in her testimony.”
link-https://tamino.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/the-rise-and-fall-of-judith-curry/
I end with this quote from a previous post which the right wing climate denier dope did not reproduce in full.
He omitted everything after the word climate typical of the manipulation and fraud and misrepresentation perpetrated by climate deniers like Inhere.
Science is not about certainty but about probabilities
A good example is smoking. Not everyone who smokes will die prematurely from a smoking related disease. But their is a high probability supported by evidence that 2 out of 3 smokers will die prematurely from a smoking related disease. This is sufficient to justify controls on the advertising and sale of the product! If the probability is very high that something adverse will happen then we should act!
It is always easy to find gaps—even very significant gaps—in the understanding of a system as complex as the climate, but the issue on the table isn’t whether our understanding is complete, but whether it is complete enough to justify the need for serious controls on carbon dioxide emissions. It’s not the situation that the range of climate predictions runs from “pretty good” to “somewhat bad”—the truth is more like “bad” to “extremely bad,” unless emissions growth is halted and eventually reversed. “
Some aspects of the science of AGW are known with
near 100% certainty.
The greenhouse effect itself is as established a phenomenon as any: it was discovered in the 1820s and the basic physics was essentially understood by the 1950s. There is no reasonable doubt that the global climate is warming. And there is also a clear trail of evidence leading to the conclusion that it’s caused by our greenhouse gas emissions.
Some aspects are less certain; for example, the net effect of aerosol pollution is known to be negative, but the exact value needs to be better constrained.
What about the remaining uncertainties?
Shouldn’t we wait for 100% certainty before taking action?
Outside of logic and mathematics, we do not live in a world of certainties
. Science comes to tentative conclusions based on the balance of evidence
. The more independent lines of evidence are found to support a scientific theory, the closer it is likely to be to the truth.
Just because some details are still not well understood should not cast into doubt our understanding of the big picture: humans are causing global warming.
In most aspects of our lives, we think it rational to make decisions based on incomplete information
. We will take out insurance when there is even a slight probability that we will need it.
Why should our planet’s climate be any different?
link-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LvaGAEwxYs
doug | 6,264 | 2,983 | 0.000346 |
warc | 201704 | You're cruising along the highway at 60 mph, towing your boat on a trailer behind you. Suddenly, you hit a huge bump in the road, and your trailer becomes unhitched from your ball mount. Just like that, 12,000 pounds of metal is flying freely down the highway, ready to slam into oncoming traffic.
When trailer hitches aren't secured properly, they can cause serious accidents. That's why you need a second line of defense when towing a trailer. This is where
hitch safety chains come in.
Safety chains are used to keep the towing vehicle and the trailer connected in case they become disconnected along some part of the towing equipment. Not only is it just a good idea to have these on your hitch whenever you're towing, it's the law to have them installed. Federal laws, as well as laws in many cities and states, require you to have safety chains equipped while towing.
In this article, we'll discuss why you need a hitch safety chain, as well as how to properly install these hitch accessories on your towing vehicle so you don't cause any accidents. | 1,061 | 568 | 0.001771 |
warc | 201704 | All these years, I never thought I would go on a diet. But, reality is different and the amount of time spent on the couch, combined with increasing waist line among other things has led me to kick start a weight loss program. As being a vegetarian is already a restricted diet, I was not sure what I wanted to do in terms of controlling what I eat. Inspired by some friends' posts on facebook - one of them is on a paleo diet, and also by some folks I follow on pinterest, on a little whim I decided to do the South Beach Diet. This diet is basically cutting down on sugar / starch intake. There seems to be a lot of options too for vegetarians and well, I started yesterday.
It was a little stressful yesterday as I felt unprepared to jump right in. Anyways, I had dark coffee to start the day. Then I had an fried egg for breakfast. I made a tofu/egg/carrots scramble, a curried lentil soup with green jackfruits and a saute of carrots. Though carrots are not allowed in the phase I of the diet, thats all I had at home and didn't want to not use them up. I went shopping last night, even a little over board, just to make sure I have enough to eat whenever there is a craving for sugar. I made adai - with three different lentils and very little rice fir binding last night with a coconut/carrot chutney.
I also had a nasty headache last night and wanted to make sure I ate well today. So I decided to go back to food I am very familiar with and knew I liked from before. Today, I made a spicy roasted red pepper - tomato soup and a shepherd's pie without the crust. For the soup, I used a berbere spice powder I got from St. Louis the last time we were there and it added a good amount of heat to the soup. I used up the tofu scramble made yesterday along with cottage cheese, broccoli, sour cream, mushrooms and scallions for the pie. Lunch today was delish and filling. For a snack this evening, I made a chickpeas sundal.
I could totally tell the difference in my body from lacking sugar intake. I am not sure how much of it is psychological. I was more tired yesterday than today, but there could be other factors. Today I felt more fulfilled and happy, mostly because I cooked for myself! Most of the time, I cook for others and take great pleasure and satisfaction from seeing others eat well, but today I did everything for myself and it did feel good. 12 more days of no sugar / no starch :) | 2,409 | 1,238 | 0.000809 |
warc | 201704 | GUILFORD, Maine — Amber Gahagan knows the face of poverty in Piscataquis County.
The SAD 41 social worker in the Milo area said some families in her district have no running water or electricity.
“It’s not much unlike the whole Appalachia kind of family things,” Gahagan said. The families often live in groups of campers or mobile homes in areas not reached by paved roads.
On one such visit, Gahagan recalled, a resident moved a rug, exposing a hole in the floor and a rope. The rope was attached to a jug of milk kept beneath the mobile home to avoid spoilage, she said. At another home, a young girl lived in a bedroom whose roof had collapsed. “She had mushrooms growing on the walls in her bedroom,” she said.
Gahagan also recalled that a youngster had burns on her belly because she came too close to the family’s old-fashioned kerosene heater, the home’s only source of heat.
These families, like others, are too proud to ask for help and are trying to make do with the few dollars they have, according to Gagahan.
The SAD 41 staff and the town do what they can to get the families help, she said. Blankets and clothing have been delivered and the district has made special arrangements so children from such homes can shower and study at school.
When staff members learned that some children didn’t like weekends and vacations because of hunger at home, volunteers initiated a backpack program funded by contributions. Now every Milo Elementary School pupil takes home a backpack of food each Friday.
While she recognizes that state officials are looking to save money, Gagahan shudders at discussions about reducing the school week from five days to four. It would mean one less day these pupils would be safe, she said.
Job losses, aging population
Poverty is well-known in this rural county of 3,966 square miles. More than 53 percent of schoolchildren qualify for free or reduced-price lunches versus the state average of 38.9 percent, according to the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council.
The situation has been made worse by the closing of manufacturing plants in the county.
“This is a very difficult time for Piscataquis County,” John Dorrer, director of the Maine Center for Workforce Research & Information, said recently.
The county has slow population growth and an aging population, he said.
It also has the highest unemployment rate in the state. The county’s rate for March was 13.5 percent, compared to the state average of 8.9 percent, according to the Maine Department of Labor. Of the county’s 7,480 workers, 1,010 were unemployed in March, the latest figures available.
Dorrer said that from 2000 to 2007, the county lost 490 manufacturing jobs, which were replaced by 475 lower-paying jobs in the service sector, a trend he expects will continue.
These changeovers can create very formidable challenges for those caught in the crossfire — older employees who tend to be at their peak earning years, Dorrer said.
“If you are a 55-year-old manufacturing employee, and you’ve got 30 years of your life invested in doing a particular job and using a particular set of skills, and all of a sudden a job comes along in a real estate office, it isn’t an easy match financially,” Dorrer said.
Tina Smith, 51, of Guilford knows the challenges posed by such a disruption in life. She’s been laid off three times because of mill closings or downsizing; from the Hathaway shirt plant in Dover-Foxcroft in 1986, from Pride Manufacturing Co. in Guilford in 2005, and most recently from True Textiles Inc. in Guilford. On Friday the U.S. Department of Labor announced it had approved a $462,096 grant to assist about 100 workers laid off from the True Textiles plants in Guilford and Newport.
Recognizing there is little prospect for another good-paying manufacturing job, Smith since has enrolled at Beal College in Bangor to study for a career in mental health.
“It’s frustrating, but I look at it as one door closes, another opens up,” Smith said. “I don’t have a negative attitude; it’s not doing any good to sit around and mope about it.”
Families are not alone in facing tough times. The county’s towns and plantations depend heavily upon federal assistance to upgrade their aging infrastructure, said Thomas Kittredge, executive director of the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council.
In recent years, the council has received $1.3 million in grants for the county, plus a $475,000 congressional earmark for a sewer extension to the Milo Industrial Park. Since the countywide need is so great, eight earmarks were submitted this spring for federal stimulus funds.
Highway and rail improvements, better broadband Internet service, stronger economic incentives and lower taxes would help entice new businesses and give a boost to existing ones, Kittredge said. The county has a great quality of life, an ample wood supply and hardworking people, all assets that should help drive the economy, which must be diversified, he said.
Kittredge said tourism and advanced wood products are good niche markets.
“We can’t be all things to all people. If we try to attract all types of businesses, we’re not going to be very focused,” he said, adding that the county needs to find its competitive advantage, lobby to improve its infrastructure and continue to make its needs known.
“This county’s socioeconomic demographics have not exactly been stellar in its history, and that’s the cause of us wanting to get everybody’s attention,” said Roger Merchant, a University of Maine Cooperative Extension educator and Piscataquis Tourism Task Force member.
“If we’re holding the glass half empty and it’s emptying, that’s a pretty scary proposition — it’s pretty disheartening,” Merchant said, referring to the county’s economic health.
Although there has been much work done to move the county forward, there’s still much to be done, he said. The county needs to reconsider its strategy and include innovation, investments, preservation of its natural assets and increased availability of high-speed Internet access to compete in the larger economy, he stated.
Improved Internet access is equally important to the county’s schools.
“The critical key component is high-speed broadband Internet access for everybody,” SAD 4 Superintendent Paul Stearns said recently. Just as rivers were the first commercial highways, followed by pavement, fiber optic communications will be the future highways, he said.
“We want to rely a lot on tourism and crafts, and that’s important, but I think side by side we could have some very powerful, financial-type Internet work done in our area,” Stearns said. “When the jobs come, the enrollment follows.”
Diversification will be key to the county’s success, said John Richardson, commissioner of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development. With an upgrade in the rail system, the region could re-emerge as a strong specialized food basket for the Boston area, especially since the Obama administration considers rail an important strategy for improving infrastructure, he said.
Until then, the county needs to look at its natural advantages such as forest products, tourism, hospitality and produce, Richardson said. He said it is “critically” important that county residents decide what they want for the future and then demand assistance from the government.
Help from the state
The state could do more to help the general economy, according to Rep. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville, and Sen. Douglas Smith, R-Dover-Foxcroft. The state needs to change its regulations, craft a better tax code, and improve the highways, which in the long run will help Piscataquis County, they said.
Even in good times, the county hasn’t been able to catch up and it’s primarily because it hasn’t attracted capital, Davis said. There are plenty of government and mental health field jobs that are funded through taxes, but it also needs more private-sector jobs, he said.
“The real problem is not Piscataquis County, Aroostook County or Washington County or any of the other rural counties. The real problem is that the foundation for economic growth in this state, the policies that are the foundation for economic growth, [need] changes,” Smith said. “We essentially have anti-growth policies in Maine.”
The Maine Development Foundation’s 2009 measures of growth show that for the most part, Maine’s economy is underperforming compared to both New England and the nation as a whole, Smith said. Even in the boom years from 2004 to 2006, the state was barely able to keep above recession levels in terms of gross domestic product growth, he said.
The entire state has to be healthy for growth to take place in Piscataquis County, agreed Laurie Lachance, a native of the county and president of the Maine Development Foundation.
Much can be done within the county lines to help the local economy, Lachance said. Thoughtful marketing of the county’s natural attributes such as Gulf Hagas would help the economy, she said. Given the heritage of lumbering in the county, it could be home to new forms of energy production and new uses of wood fiber — whether it’s in composites, biofuels or various wood technologies.
The county needs to look past its barriers, adopt a can-do attitude, and think differently from the way things have been done historically, Lachance said.
That is being done by the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council, the county’s Tourism Task Force and projects such as the Villages of Piscataquis County, said County Commissioner Tom Lizotte.
For example, he said, county officials are looking into entrepreneurial opportunities based on the University of Maine’s wood composites research.
Another project is cultural heritage tourism, but a lack of accommodations is a stumbling block, Lizotte said. An inland resort similar to the Samoset is needed, he said. While the county continues to work to bring investments and visitors to the region, the state needs to do its share, he added.
“Maine does an extremely poor job of marketing itself as a vacation destination, especially for a state that has Vacationland on its license plates,” Lizotte said. When the state increased its tourism budget a few years ago, the return was outstanding, he noted.
It also hasn’t helped that roads have deteriorated and the state closed basic services in the county, such as the local Department of Health and Human Services and career center offices, Lizotte said. Then there’s the potential for the county jail to be closed, and school consolidation, both of which have a major impact in rural areas, he said.
“What I see as times get tight in terms of finances, the state has almost adopted a default policy of removing services from rural areas,” Lizotte said. “This is troubling to me because you need a certain level of service to have a viable community. If you remove some of those services, it almost becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. You begin to lose population because the services are no longer there to support the population.”
Piscataquis County residents are strong, they’ve been through hard times before, they’re self-reliant, and they know how to make do with less, Lizotte said. “I think there’s a solidarity there — they are survivors.” | 11,699 | 5,204 | 0.0002 |
warc | 201704 | Help! Money is harming my friendships. Most of my friends and family know I write about money for a living and sometimes I worry that it influences the way people talk around me. Do they feel pressure to justify splurges? To let me know they used a coupon? Do they hide certain purchases from me?
Is my frugal lifestyle harming my relationships? I truly hope that the answer is no. But sometimes, I detect a bit of anxiety from my friends as they tack on a quick “but don’t worry, I used a coupon” to the end of their shopping stories. Other times, I think I hear a need to justify purchases as being “really worth it.” Do people think I’m judging them on how they spend?
I don’t want others to censor their talk around me or feel obliged to reassure me that they did, indeed, get a deal. I’m not going to stop being your friend because I discover you’re deep in credit card debt. Or cozy up to you because you’re a coupon whiz.
My money philosophy is, to each their own.
It’s your money, so if you want to spend it on fancy cat food, matching ski outfits, and a new car every three years, be my guest! I’m going to spend and save my money the way I want, and for all I know, you think
my spending habits are ridiculous. I try not to judge people based on their money habits because I haven’t walked a mile in their shoes.
For all I know, their credit card spending is out of control because their parents never taught them how to use one responsibly. Or they experienced tragedy early on and so their life philosophy is live today, forget tomorrow. Perhaps they have a parent or secret benefactor that bankrolls their quarterly Club Med trips. Maybe they talk about spending big, but it’s just talk. Or maybe they have a second business selling stuff on Ebay that funds all their expenses.
So when I hear about a purchase that I might not have made, I remind myself that my circumstances are different than theirs. I try to see how it fits into their priorities and lifestyle, and be happy for them.
The reality is, however, that I DO have opinions about money.
I don’t think carrying a balance on your credit card is a good idea, and I believe pretty much everyone should have a cash emergency fund
and a retirement savings account. This is just a short list. I could go on and on. (Oh! That’s a post I’ll write soon!)
I can’t help but have opinions. It’s impossible to be 100 percent objective when it comes to money. But if I’m careful not to judge people – isn’t that good enough? Is having opinions about money the same as judging them for their spending? | 2,684 | 1,331 | 0.000787 |
warc | 201704 | I've considered long and hard. I've agonized. I've cast about for alternatives until all the skin has worn off my fingers. I've repeatedly refused to accept the implications of what my senses repeatedly told me. I simply can't do it any longer. The evidence is overwhelming.
America is currently in a state of civil war, and has been for some time.
It's not a conventional, easily recognized, flying-lead sort of war. That's what makes it so deadly. That's why the Right must win it. Should we lose, the carnage will be unimaginable.
I can practically hear what you're thinking: "Porretto has finally flipped his wig." Perhaps I have. That's always a possibility. As the saying goes, there's a fine line between genius and madness. But perhaps I'm right...and perhaps you've inhabited the same State of Denial in which I hid from reality for so very long.
We shall see.
I have several citations this morning. They don't stand alone. Indeed, none of them, in the absence of much other evidence would be significant at all. That's part of what makes the ongoing hostilities so lethal: it takes a perspective both wide and deep to grasp the pattern.
The first is from
the esteemed Mark Alger: ...Police and Fire are the primary fiduciary responsibilities of government. They should be budgeted first and cut last.
An official was quoted as saying that the citizens he'd talked to didn't want to raise taxes to "pay for the fire department." How much you wanna bet he never heard any of them say, "... until you quit wasting taxpayer money on massage parlors and sweetheart deals for your brother-in-law."
Right?
Step into my office. I've just heard about this bridge...
Here lately, Teh Won has been on the stump (How is it proper for a government official to campaign for particular policies?) trying to persuade us that, if Congress doesn't raise the debt limit (How does that make sense?), we're going to lose [insert laundry list of sacred cows]. Bridges, roads, armies -- the latter day version of teachers, cops, firemen.
Saying nothing about bank bailouts, green energy boondoggles, union payoffs, CAGW scams, ACORN, and the rest of the treasury-looting going on...
Right.
No. What we want to do is bit-flip the selected duties of government which we are going to fund. We're going to start with your charter, fiduciary responsibilities, like protect the borders, run the courts, maintain the roads, deliver the mail. The rest of that crap can hold a bake sale.
The tactic employed by the unnamed official (and by Barack Hussein Obama) has a long and dishonorable history. It's called the Washington Monument Defense. It hearkens back to an incident in which, when Congress dared to reduce
of the budget for the operation of the District of Columbia, the city's lower levels of government immediately retaliated by closing down Washington's most popular tourist attractions -- that is, by denying non-residents access to the only features of the city they really enjoy and value. The outcry was so sharp that Congress immediately restored the full amount the bureaucracy had demanded. the rate of increase
Like other items with the WMD acronym, the Washington Monument Defense can bring an opponent to heel with no more than a suggestion. Consider, if you will, this passage from William E. Simon's
about the 1975-1976 New York City budget crisis: A Time For Truth, When informed that cuts in jobs and in pay were inevitable, the municipal unions ran amok. It is only fair to say that Mayor Beame's cuts in the summer of 1975, under the supervision of the Municipal Assistance Corporation (MAC), were deliberately inflammatory. They were calculated for the purpose of "proving" that the city needed state and federal aid. Beame dismissed nearly 5000 policemen and more than 2000 firemen (closing twenty-six firehouses) and fired nearly 3000 of the city's 10,000 sanitation workers. The unions understood that this was an act of political blackmail. In June 1975 the firemen's and policemen's unions published a four page leaflet which they distributed to tourists. Titled "Welcome to Fear City," with a lurid skeleton's head on the cover, the pamphlet advised visitors to New York to stay indoors after 6 P.M., avoid public transportation, and, "until things change, stay away from New York if you possibly can." In July the sanitation workers went on strike. They threatened to turn "Fear City" into "Stink City" and shouted from picket lines, "Wait till the rats come!"
Anyone familiar with New York City's monstrously bloated government -- no less so in the Seventies than today -- will realize at once that Beame and the aforementioned unions were playing the Washington Monument Defense. It worked, by the way.
The thrust of the Washington Monument Defense is obvious:
The original incident merely angered tourists to Washington, D.C. More recent invocations of the Defense have struck directly at the legitimate and proper functions of a government: defending the citizen against predation and maintaining peace and order in public places. Mark Alger's piece above describes the dynamics of such incidents beautifully. Punish the citizenry for not conceding what the government has demanded.
The attitude that gives rise to the Defense is one that divides the nation into "us" and "them." The inside or "us" group is composed of those who regard their positions in government, or as beneficiaries of government, as theirs by right and not to be challenged or questioned. The outside or "them" group, against whom the Defense is wielded, is composed of everyone else -- i.e., those of us who are compelled by threat of punishment to pay for the State's activities. The Defense itself actuates the threat, albeit not in the conventional manner of indictment, trial, and imprisonment or expropriation.
Before I press onward, ask yourself:
That is: what combination of circumstances and cessions produces a state of affairs in which the insiders -- government functionaries (elected, appointed, or hired) -- can deprive us on the outside -- private citizens under a nominal regime of self-sufficiency -- of the protections of life and property? What makes the Defense possible?
I'll return to this.
The Washington Monument Defense isn't the one and only weapon in the State's arsenal, but it does outline the mindset of those inside the "us" group:
If you're not one of us, you're the enemy. Any promises we might have made to you are not binding upon us. Our aim is to bring you to heel.
Of course, the candor of that implication doesn't entirely serve the "us" group. Insiders would generally prefer to maintain the facade of "service" -- i.e., that they're merely dedicated public servants straining to do their duties despite the obstinacy of the "them" group about providing what they "need." Toward that end they'll lie so baldfacedly as to create new low-watermarks in the annals of public deceit.
But there are lies and lies. Some lies are easier than others to establish and perpetuate. Take as an example the lie that labor laws, by which Washington can descend on a firm for not having hired enough Negroes, or cripples, or brain-damaged welders of Moldovian descent, actually serve the interests of those of us who work for a living. Or the lie that the many "affirmative action" (i.e., preferential treatment by race, sex, and ethnicity) laws truly improve the prospects of minorities and the character of the American workplace.
Let it be said at once that such intrusions into properly private relationships do nothing to help their supposed beneficiaries, but rather do them a great deal of harm. The statistics speak unequivocally on this point. Indeed, the
apartheid regime of pre-Mandela South Africa was brought into existence in part by the imposition of minimum-wage laws; high-ranking members of the National Party admitted that they knew what result would come of them, and steered deliberately toward it. But for a member of the "them" group to speak openly about such effects is to court counterfire of the most devastating sort.
Which brings me to my second citation:
a thirty-year-old essay by the great Thomas Sowell: In the movie, Absence of Malice,lives are damaged and even destroyed by irresponsible reporting -- and the law offers no real protection. In real life as well, the most damaging, unsupported, and inaccurate statements about an individual can be written and broadcast coast to coast, without the law's offering any meaningful recourse. Judges have so watered down the laws on slander and libel that only in special cases can you nail those who are being irresponsible, vindictive, or even outright liars.
I know. As one who has taken controversial stands on various issues, I have been the target of a smear campaign for more than a year. Demonstrably false statements have been made about me in the media and positions attributed to me that are the
direct oppositeof what I have said for years in my own published writings. And yet a lawsuit would probably do nothing but waste months of my time, at the end of which the smear artists could slip out through one of the many loopholes -- and proclaim themselves vindicated and their charges substantiated.
[Applause to
Mike Hendrix of Cold Furyfor digging up this stunning piece.]
The entire essay is invaluable. It should be read and digested by every American with an interest in the consequences of supposedly well-intentioned public policies. Nor is Dr. Sowell, one of the nation's strongest and clearest voices for limited government, the only target the "us" group has attacked.
(An aside: In
the second of F. Lee Bailey's legal autobiographies, he narrates the legal ordeal of Captain Ernest Medina, one of the officers accused of perpetrating the My Lai butchery. A telling passage in that tale concerns For The Defense, Timemagazine's slanders against Captain Medina as he awaited trial, for which Bailey and Medina sued under the libel statutes. Timeescaped the judgment by claiming, successfully, that Medina was a "public figure," and thus fair game for anything, Enjoy the irony.) by virtue of Time's own efforts to that effect.
To give the lie to an "us" group's representations is, in the minds of the "us" group, a declaration of war -- and they believe in total war, in which no weapon and no tactic are off limits. Their entire cadre of hangers-on in the communications trades will mobilize at once to destroy the target. The truth or falsity of their chosen shafts is never under consideration. Victory -- the silencing of the dangerous "them" voice -- is all that matters.
Compare that behavior to what totalitarian regimes have done to dissenters. Americans of the "them" persuasion aren't yet in fear for our lives, but it needn't remain so forever.
Some years ago, back at
of late, lamented memory, I posted the following: Eternity Road Just a few days ago was the first anniversary of the judicially sanctioned torture-murder of Terri Schindler-Schiavo by her soi-disanthusband, Michael Schiavo. During that gruesome process, your Curmudgeon penned athat, had he had his druthers, would have been read by every man, woman, and child on the face of the Earth. cri de coeur
To cut to the chase: it wasn't. At least, it wasn't taken to heart.
On March 2, 3, and 4 of this year, the Texas Academy of Sciences held its annual conclave, at which it awarded a certain Eric Pianka, a biologist at the University of Texas, with its Distinguished Texas Scientist Award. Whatever Dr. Pianka's achievements as a researcher or educator might be, they were overshadowed, for the moment at least, by his proposition that
90% of the human race must die:"Every one of you who gets to survive has to bury nine," Eric Pianka cautioned students and guests at St. Edward's University on Friday. Pianka's words are part of what he calls his "doomsday talk" -- a 45-minute presentation outlining humanity's ecological misdeeds and Pianka's predictions about how nature, or perhaps humans themselves, will exterminate all but a fraction of civilization.
Though his statements are admittedly bold, he's not without abundant advocates. But what may set this revered biologist apart from other doomsday soothsayers is this: Humanity's collapse is a notion he embraces.
Indeed, his words deal, very literally, on a life-and-death scale, yet he smiles and jokes candidly throughout the lecture. Disseminating a message many would call morbid, Pianka's warnings are centered upon awareness rather than fear.
"This is really an exciting time," he said Friday amid warnings of apocalypse, destruction and disease. Only minutes earlier he declared, "Death. This is what awaits us all. Death." Reflecting on the so-called Ancient Chinese Curse, "May you live in interesting times," he wore, surprisingly, a smile.
So what's at the heart of Pianka's claim?
6.5 billion humans is too many.
In his estimation, "We've grown fat, apathetic and miserable," all the while leaving the planet parched.
The solution?
A 90 percent reduction.
That's 5.8 billion lives -- lives he says are turning the planet into "fat, human biomass." He points to an 85 percent swell in the population during the last 25 years and insists civilization is on the brink of its downfall -- likely at the hand of widespread disease.
"[Disease] will control the scourge of humanity," Pianka said. "We're looking forward to a huge collapse."
Let's get one thing straight before we proceed: Anyone who agrees with Dr. Pianka had better keep his hands where your Curmudgeon can see them.
An attitude like Pianka's can only come from an ivory tower. One must be utterly isolated from real life and real people to contemplate their extinction with such cheerful equanimity. Yet according to the linked story, Pianka is well supplied with admirers and acolytes:Most of Pianka's former students are bursting with praise. Their in-class evaluations celebrate his ideas with words like "the most incredible class I ever had" and "Pianka is a GOD!"
Mims counters their ovation with the story of a Texas Lutheran University student who attended the Academy of Science lecture. Brenna McConnell, a biology senior, said she and others in the audience "had not thought seriously about overpopulation issues and a feasible solution prior to the meeting." But though McConnell arrived at the event with little to say on the issue, she returned to Seguin with a whole new outlook.
An entry to her online blog captures her initial response to what's become a new conviction:
"[Pianka is] a radical thinker, that one!" she wrote. "I mean, he's basically advocating for the death for all but 10 percent of the current population. And at the risk of sounding just as radical, I think he's right."
Today, she maintains the Earth is in dire straits. And though she's decided Ebola isn't the answer, she's still considering other deadly viruses that might take its place in the equation.
"Maybe I just see the virus as inevitable because it's the easiest answer to this problem of overpopulation," she said.
Of course, "this problem of overpopulation" is a completely impersonal matter. It has no bearing on the identities or futures of identifiable individuals. Were Miss McConnell asked if she expected to be among the doomed 90% or the fortunate 10%, what do you suppose she would say? Is it not likely that in her unspoken thoughts, she assumes herself to be among the architects of the annihilation, rather than an honoree?
Your Curmudgeon calls this the Commissar Complex. It puts him in mind of an anecdote from the 1848 French Revolution, when a coal-carrier scoffed at a lady of the upper classes: "Yes, madam, everything's going to be equal now. I'll go in silks and you'll carry coal." They who imagine the remaking of the world after their own preferences are like that.
Never imagine that they aren't serious. Consider the following:"The ending of the human epoch on Earth would most likely be greeted with a hearty 'Good riddance!'" -- philosopher Paul Taylor in
Respect for Nature: A Theory of Environmental Ethics"Human happiness [is] not as important as a wild and healthy planet....Until such time as Homo sapiens should decide to rejoin nature, some of us can only hope for the right virus to come along." -- biologist David M. Graber, in review of Bill McKibben's in the The End of Nature, Los Angeles Times,October 29, 1989.
But in keeping with the "death cults" motif, your Curmudgeon must emphasize the underlying attitude: Superior individuals, disdainful of the common herd and disinclined to rub elbows with them, theorize about the management of the
hoi polloiwhile sipping Cointreau. Such management connotes a shepherd-to-sheep relation. Certainly it would include a willingness to "thin the herd" at need -- with need determined solely by the self-nominated master intellects in the closed circle.
"Kill five-billion-plus people because their continued existence offends us? Why not? Haven't we acceded to the deaths of millions of unborn children in the name of convenience? Haven't we argued that to let a child be born with a birth defect, or against its mother's will, is an act of 'wrongful life?' Don't we have such luminaries as Peter Singer to justify infanticide as a form of retroactive abortion? Haven't we condemned a president and his administration specifically for liberating two nations from monsters who were slaughtering tens of thousands each year? Haven't we argued in the highest chambers of power that 'a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy,' and that rocks and moss and tundra are more precious than the human lives the oil beneath them could sustain? When we argued for those things, did anyone rise to stop us? Who could stop us now?"
Gentle Reader, I wish I had preserved for your edification the batch of hate mail I received after posting that piece. It was an undifferentiated mass of viciousness. You would have thought I'd come out in favor of executing homosexuals, or discriminating against rhythm-challenged Negroes, or the designated hitter rule. But if memory serves, not one of my correspondents dared to address the central thread of Pianka's lectures -- that the death of 90% of the human race would be
a good thing -- even though Pianka himself has openly said so.
Why
would a hate-mailer address that thesis? It's so clearly anti-human that only someone who actively hates other people and desires their destruction would adopt it. So anyone determined to defend Pianka, but equally resolved to represent himself as a "good guy," must treat Pianka's thesis as "off the table." He must assail the one who dares to express shock and horror that anyone could espouse such an idea as somehow evil.
Doesn't that suggest that the hate-mailer finds the thesis worthy? Doesn't it bring to mind the
faux-equality of the Parisian coal-carrier -- the "Commissar Complex" mindset I alluded to in the above piece?
Which brings me to my third citation:
a look at one of Pianka's more overtly genocidal fellow-travelers: This is Finnish writer Pentti Linkola — a man who demands that the human population reduce its size to around 500 million and abandon modern technology and the pursuit of economic growth — in his own words.
He likens Earth today to an overflowing lifeboat:
What to do, when a ship carrying a hundred passengers suddenly capsizes and there is only one lifeboat? When the lifeboat is full, those who hate life will try to load it with more people and sink the lot. Those who love and respect life will take the ship’s axe and sever the extra hands that cling to the sides.
He sees America as the root of the problem:
The United States symbolises the worst ideologies in the world: growth and freedom.
He unapologetically advocates bloodthirsty dictatorship:
There cannot be so incompetent a dictator that he would show more stupidity than a majority of the people. Any dictatorship would be better than modern democracy. The best dictatorship would be one where lots of heads would rolland where government would prevent any economical growth.
We will have to learn from the history of revolutionary movements —
the national socialists, the Finnish Stalinists, from the many stages of the Russian revolution, from the methods of the Red Brigades— and forget our narcissistic selves. A fundamental, devastating error is to set up a political system based on desire. Society and life have been organized on the basis of what an individual wants, not on what is good for him or her.
As is often the way with extremist central planners Linkola believes he knows what is best for each and every individual, as well as society as a whole:
Just as only one out of 100,000 has the talent to be an engineer or an acrobat, only a few are those truly capable of managing the matters of a nation or mankind as a whole.In this time and this part of the World we are headlessly hanging on democracy and the parliamentary system, even though these are the most mindless and desperate experiments of mankind. In democratic countries the destruction of nature and sum of ecological disasters has accumulated most. Our only hope lies in strong central government and uncompromising control of the individual citizen.
Linkola's ground assumption is that the current penetration of environmental alarmism is an adequate popular basis for his recommendations. He's wrong, of course; most Americans, at least, would not consent to having nine-tenths of their number liquidated and the survivors subjected to rigid totalitarian rule for any reason, much less to "save the planet." But his aim isn't truly to bring about mass death and totalitarian rule for the sake of the environment; it's to use "the environment" as the rationale for mass death and totalitarian rule. Indeed, he hardly bothers to disguise it.
The disturbing things about this vile notion are:
That there are many, including many in the United States, who would call Linkola's unsubstantiated assumptions of ecological crisis, like those of the aforementioned Eric Pianka, rational and defensible; That the "us" group now promulgates those assumptions as dogmas beyond question; That those dogmas are now the overt basis of public policies at all levels of government; That anyone who gives these obscenities true coloration -- i.e., as expressions of hatred and contempt for Mankind -- will come in for the full vituperative, calumnious force of the "us" group, most particularly via their mouthpieces in the media.
Do you disagree?
Read this, and tell me if you still do.
I hope my central point hasn't been lost among all the atrocities covered in the above. My tiny participation in the incidents I related is insignificant; I'm so far down the list of English-language political commentators that I don't deserve personal mention. The pattern beneath these incidents is what matters.
We are at war. Not by our decision -- that is, the wills of those of us in the "them" group -- but by those in the "us" group. The "us" group aims at our complete, unquestioning subjugation, a campaign in which effort no weapon is to be held in reserve, and no tactic deemed beyond the pale.
Bu really, that's only one of the major points I'd like to make today. The other concerns this snippet from an earlier segment:
Before I press onward, ask yourself: That is: what combination of circumstances and cessions produces a state of affairs in which the insiders -- government functionaries (elected, appointed, or hired) can deprive us on the outside -- private citizens under a nominal regime of self-sufficiency -- of the protections of life and property? What makes the Defense possible?
Like most of the genuinely basic questions about social and political affairs, to ask the question -- sincerely, determined to know the answer regardless of what it might tell us about ourselves -- is to answer it.
We are no longer self-sufficient.
We have ceded all responsibility for the protection of our lives, our property, and peace in the streets to The State. The State has taken advantage of that cession to reduce us ever more completely to helplessness before it -- in some regions, mainly psychological helplessness, but in others objective helplessness as well. The State has compounded our subjugation by creating numerous mascot groups, some of which are merely strident, others of which are ready and eager to use violence, in support of the State's overall agenda. Our response to these developments has mostly been to shrug.
Please, please, please:
Anyone who, for any reason, wields coercive force or the threat thereof to compel obedience to some external dictum is at that time and in that place an agent of the State. Ask Massachusetts ice cream vendor Mark Duffy whether it mattered to his livelihood whether the "armed environmental police" were hirelings of Washington, or Massachusetts, or the town of Carlisle, or claimed to be "private citizens" solely interested in "the public good." Ask him whether he would have regarded an equal or greater force that dared to stand in his defense against those "armed environmental police" as enemies, or as courageous and infinitely praiseworthy American patriots. Interpret "the State" broadly, not narrowly.
Then ask yourself whether, should you ever be in a position comparable to Duffy's, such a force is at all likely to appear in your defense.
Political salvation has become extremely unlikely. Yes, I meant what I said in
this essay about the desirability of buying time. We need time for the general recognition of the war between "us" and "them" to burgeon and mature. But I can't see a reversal of the trend through political mechanisms alone as plausible.
If that's the case, we can go in only two directions from here:
Acceptance of de juresubjugation, coupled with as much "underground resistance" as is possible to us; Open armed revolt.
We are not ready to revolt. Not only do far too many Americans still believe in "the system;" there aren't enough of us ready, willing and able to put "our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor" at risk for a chance at a Constitutional restoration. Among the Constitutional movement's weaknesses is that too many of us are in our "declining years." Though we recognize the rumble of Juggernaut's carriage, we're far more inclined toward "riding it out" than taking up arms against it.
Far more Americans must grasp the enormity of our common plight before an overt uprising would have a significant chance of success.
One cannot recognize a state of war yet deny that an enemy exists; the latter posture makes the former impossible. My overriding purpose in the above was to make it more difficult to deny the existence of the enemy -- to some extent, to give us of the "them" group "a face to hate."
I wish I could think of a way to end that last sentence with some other phrase. Hatred is always destructive. Indeed, it's the engine of willed destruction itself: the conscious desire to do harm to someone else. Christians are enjoined against hatred...
with one exception: Then an experience that perhaps no good man can ever have in our world came over (Ransom) – a torrent of perfectly unmixed and lawful hatred came over him. The energy of hating, never before felt without some guilt, without some dim knowledge that he was failing to distinguish the sinner from the sin, rose into his arms and legs till he felt they were pillars of burning blood. What was before him appeared no longer a creature of corrupted will. It was corruption itself to which will was attached only as an instrument. Ages ago it had been a Person: but the ruins of personality now survived in it only at the disposal of a furious self-exiled negation. It is perhaps difficult to understand why this filled Ransom not with horror but with a kind of joy. The joy came from finding at last what hatred was made for. As a boy with an axe rejoices on finding a tree, or a boy with a box of coloured chalks rejoices on finding a pile of perfectly white paper, so he rejoiced in the perfect congruity between his emotion and its object.
Elwin Ransom's Adversary was already damned. We cannot wish for -- certainly not labor for -- the damnation of the "us" group; that's theological hatred, hatred unto eternity, which is the worst of all kinds. But we can ardently desire their downfall and disgrace. We must look upon their faces, not merely as a group but
dispel the notion that they're simply "misguided," acknowledge the enmity between us, and respond to their ill-concealed desire for our subjugation with a confident, justified desire for their ruin. More, until we allow ourselves to do so, we will make no headway at restoring liberty and justice to these United States. as individuals, | 29,022 | 13,035 | 0.000078 |
warc | 201704 | Nutritional Support: An effective way of arsenic detoxification for patients having arsenicosis.. Update: 2012-01-15
Arsenicosis is defined as a chronic health condition arising from prolonged ingestion of arsenic above the safe dose for at least six months, usually manifested by characteristic skin lesions of melanosis and keratosis, occurring alone or in combination, with or without the involvement of internal organs.
Arsenic toxicity results from absorption of trivalent and prevalent inorganic arsenic. After absorption, inorganic arsenic accumulates in the liver, spleen, kidneys, lungs, and gastrointestinal tract. It is then rapidly cleared from these sites but leaves a residue in keratin-rich tissues such as skin, hair, and nails. Arsenite (+5) undergoes biomethylation in the liver to the less toxic metabolites methylarsenic acid and dimethylarsenic acid. This process requires the biothiol glutathione, which can be depleted with patients suffering from arsenicosis.
The arsenic poisoning of drinking water in Bangladesh is the largest poisoning in history according to WHO. More than 100 million people are exposed to unsafe levels or arsenic and millions are already afflicted by poisoning. Seemingly perfect well water from millions of wells that have been bored during the last decades contains natural arsenic from the ground. According to a recent report in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization [2000;78(9):1093-1103], Bangladesh has the largest arsenic contamination in groundwater in history. More than half of the population of Bangladesh may be at risk of arsenic poisoning from contaminated drinking-water. The potential severity of the problem is estimated to be greater than that from the chemical accident at Bhopal, India, in 1984 and the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986.
The arsenic hazard in Bangladesh now appeared as a ‘real disaster', affecting thousands physically, physiologically, mentally and economically; it is intensifying malnutrition, poverty and destitution among the already poor villagers. The futures of the Bangladesh villages are jeopardized (Prof. I. Zuberi, Rajshai University, Bangladesh, 06. 07. 03). Arsenic contaminated underground water is one such severe problem which the government has failed to manage properly. Five years after the approval of National Policy for Arsenic Mitigation and Implementation Plan, two lakh people still face the threat of cancer annually due to drinking of arsenic contaminated water in Bangladesh, says a report of World Health Organization (WHO) (Daily Star, Nov. 13, 2009). UNICEF has come out with some dismal findings with regard to Bangladesh on the occasion of a high-level meeting. The successive governments failed to respond to the crisis with the promptitude the situation had called for Arsenic is a ticking time bomb.(New Age, April 26, 2010).
The arsenic lodges in the organs and breaks down the immune system. The sufferer is progressively afflicted with carcinoma, blindness, renal failure, diabetes and cancer. A healthy and nutritious life-style may postpone or entirely counteract the arsenic affliction, but the marginalized people are the only sufferers. Until now there has been no cure for this pandemic and there have been no appropriate ways of removing the arsenic from the water.
As, the farmers and villagers have the food habit with low protein-containing diet; development of their body’s own mechanism of arsenic detoxification pathway is reduced from its capacity.
An important research outcome from Viola Vitalis (Bangladesh) together with Allium vitalis (Berkely, USA) was nutrient based formulation for Arsenicosis management. This formulation was developed on the intention of improving body’s own pathway of arsenic detoxification for peoples who suffers deficiency of elements responsible for development of arsenic detoxification pathway. The tripeptide glutathione is the core element of intracellular detoxification of inorganic arsenic. Arsenic consumed by drinking water is absorbed in body and processed in inorganic toxic radicals which can destroy the thiol groups of larger important proteins in the cell. By bonding with these thiol groups of protein, arsenic destroys protein’s tertiary structure. Destruction of protein’s normal structure and activity causes tissue damage, weakening of body and symptoms of arsenicosis. Glutathione resists the bonding of toxic inorganic radicals of arsenic with important proteins inside the cell. Glutathione itself make bonding with toxic inorganic radicals of arsenic and makes it organic molecule by methylation. This organic arsenic molecule is capable of rapid excretion from body; where in absence of enough glutathione inside cell the inorganic arsenics could damage protein structures repeatedly and produce toxic elements.
The nutritional support theme was developed by the long time clinical research of Viola Vitalis in the objective of improving glutathione synthesis inside the cell. Two amino acids (glutamic acid and glycine) of the tri-peptide are available in body because of capability of storing. But the rest amino acid (cystine) is barely available inside the cell to take part on glutathione synthesis. The cause of absence of cystine inside the cell is because its property of destroying in low temperature during cooking process. Another cause is – complex process of absorption into cell. The nutritional formulation by ViolaVitalis contains the source of cystine and allyl mercaptan which facilitates the cystine to absorbe and thus increase synthesis of glutathione inside the cell. This increased amount of glutathione inside cell improves the arsenic detoxification mechanism which was clinically proved in some (highly affected) rural areas of Bangladesh.
It is obvious that arsenic toxicity is the un-focused calamity in Bangladesh because it is a non-profitable area where mostly people with low-income is involved. Still this invention of Viola Vitalis and Allium Vitalis may be one way of support for the victims.
Article By: Md. Azharul Haque Bhuiyan
Officer, Product Development,
Novartis Bangladesh Limited.
Artical sources:
US Patent – US 7678833 B2; D.M. Ott; METHOD TO INCREASE THE BIOAVAILABILITY OF CYSTEINE.
Arsenicosis Management by Arsenicure & ARS-Detox; Viola Vitalis. | 6,369 | 2,961 | 0.000341 |
warc | 201704 | (Before It's News)
Sir, I refer to Claire Jones reporting on Mario Draghi’s difficulties on deciding what to do “to come up with a stimulus package that convinces markets the ECB is doing enough both to keep the fragile recovery on track and to keep hawks on his governing council onside”, “ECB has six weeks to update QE, says Draghi
” October 21.
Mario Draghi was the former chair of the Financial Stability Board, and is the currently the President of the European Central Bank and chair of the Group of Governors and Heads of Supervision of the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision. No doubt that in the area of high-finance, Draghi is about as important as one can be… perhaps more important than one should be allowed to be.
Because Mario Draghi, though he might be a very knowledgeable technocrat, in the sense that he knows for instance that it can be quite risky for a bank to lend to an unrated SME, something with which all bankers would agree, is unfortunately not sufficiently wise to understand that what is for instance rated as super-duper safe AAA, is what can be truly dangerous for banks, precisely because bankers do also not think that to be dangerous.
And unfortunately Mario Draghi, like his regulatory technocrat buddies, seems also to have missed out on a Finance 101 course. That because seemingly he does not understand that when you allow banks to leverage more their equity, and the support these receive from society, with assets that are perceived safe than with assets perceived risky, banks will invest more than usual in what’s safe, because there is where it will obtain higher expected risk adjusted returns on equity. And the consequences of that are twofold, and both negative. First it leads to dangerously overpopulating the safe havens, and second, equally dangerous, especially for the real economy, to underexploring those risky bays where SMEs and entrepreneurs reside.
As an example, the risk weight the Basel Committee has assigned to the financing of residential housing is 35%, while that for unrated SMEs is 100%. This causes banks to finance the basements where the kids can live with their parents, but not the necessary job creation required for the kids to be able to become themselves parents in the future.
It is truly shameful! Europe (and world) wake up!
@PerKurowski ©
Source: http://teawithft.blogspot.com/2016/10/europe-beware-mario-draghi-and-his.html | 2,466 | 1,298 | 0.000787 |
warc | 201704 | Local Notes
A federal grand jury has named nine Baltimore food retailers, indicting them on charges of stealing nearly $7 million from food assistance programs in a scam known as “food trafficking.” Those retailers are accused of agreeing to debit cash for beneficiaries without selling food and then retaining a cut of the proceeds. Specifically, the indictment alleges that the retailers allowed customers to convert their SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) debit cards into cash, typically splitting the proceeds. Federal prosecutors allege that, to avoid being detected, the store owners debited the funds from the cards in multiple transactions over a period of hours or days. According the U.S. Department of Agriculture, c-stores and small grocery stores account for 15 percent of all redemptions, but 85 percent of all trafficking, and violations are more likely to occur in higher-poverty neighborhoods. Among those indicted is Abdullah Aljaradi, 51, owner of prosecutors say owns the Second Obama Express on Harlem Avenue in CharmCity, who is accused of defrauding the government of $2 million in benefits over a three-year period. Eight other merchants are charged with bilking the SNAP program of between $348,000 and $1.4 million. Prosecutors say those charged face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each count of wire fraud, and others face additional charges of food stamp fraud…who likes the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”)? As Giant/Landover and Safeway begin their labor negotiations with UFCW Locals 400 and 27, one of the major bargaining challenges will be to try to work within the costs, constraints and uncertainties about the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) which began the next phase of implementation on October 1. And if you think it’s just corporate America that dislikes Obamacare, think again. It appears labor unions, which typically provide some of President Obama’s strongest base, are finding the potential ramifications of the new health care law, aren’t in the best long-term interest of its membership. One of those unions is UFCW Local 1500, which admitted it is struggling to make progress in bargaining a new contract with King Kullen and Stop & Shop in metro New York (the existing pact expired on September 28, but has been extended by two weeks). “The Affordable Care Act is presenting tremendous and unprecedented challenges to these negotiations,” said Bruce W. Both, president of UFCW Local 1500. “The complexity of this 22,000 page law, combined with confusing interpretations of the law by various federal agencies, such as the Department of Labor, IRS and Treasury Department, has left union negotiators with no choice but to proceed slowly and cautiously as we negotiate the legally required changes. The one factor that has not changed during these negotiations, compared to previous ones, is our union’s commitment to provide the members of UFCW Local 1500 comprehensive healthcare. For decades the healthcare plans, mutually agreed to between UFCW Local 1500’s union members and participating employers, has provided health insurance to thousands of New Yorkers. UFCW Local 1500’s healthcare plan has been a model of efficiency, achieving better cost savings than for-profit insurance carriers that ensured a large percentage of every dollar spent goes to patient care. Savings in healthcare cost frees up money to negotiate fair wages and secure pensions. The Affordable Care Act has greatly complicated this respected and successful labor bargaining model. It is very difficult to negotiate an entire contract with the fair wages and comprehensive benefits our 23,000 truly deserve with so much time being spent consulting with healthcare consultants on the ACA and bracing for additionally confusing regulations from Washington D.C. All our members wanted was what Congress promised them when this bill was passed: a law that would not require them to change their coverage or their doctors. They did not get that from this law. Regardless of what takes place in Washington, DC, the leadership of UFCW Local 1500 is going to fight any effort by anyone to undermine the excellent union contracts our members have fought for and earned over these many years.” Local 1500 is New YorkState’s largest grocery workers union and about 10,000 of its members work for King Kullen and Stop & Shop covering stores on Long Island, New York City and Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess Counties. More Ahold news: the Northeast’s largest retailer is postponing its annual vendor meeting from Tuesday, October 29, 2013 to Tuesday, March 11, 2014. The location of the meeting will still be the GiantCenter in Hershey, PA. According to the company, “We realize that all of us, as suppliers and retailers are extremely busy during the 4th quarter and having the meeting in late October would not be the best time to interrupt our planning and preparation for the busiest time of the year. We apologize if our change in plans causes you any inconvenience. We promise that we will be well prepared to present the type of meeting you have become accustomed to with Ahold USA; one that is informative, interesting and exciting.”…after much speculation about which retailer would open the new food retail location at Baltimore’s historic Rotunda site (40th Street in Baltimore) which will undergo a $100 million renovation, the winner is MOM’s Organic Market. The Rockville, MD organics retailer will open its third Baltimore location and11th overall in the next 18-24 months. Long-time tenant Giant/Landover moved to a larger nearby location (41st Street) about 18 months ago and the new developer Hekemian & Co. selected MOM’s to occupy the 15,000 square foot space… Shuanghui International Holdings has finalized its $4.7 billion acquisition of Smithfield, VA-based Smithfield Foods. The deal is officially the largest Chinese purchase of a U.S. company and within the first week of completion, Shuanghui has reportedly already begun integrating international sales staffs… two obituaries of note the report this month. Although he wasn’t very well-known and only recorded a limited body of work, it’s sad to note the death of rock and roller Jackie Lomax, 69, one of the first artists to record on Apple Records, the label founded by The Beatles. In fact, Lomax’s first album on Apple – “Is This What You Want?” – included the excellent single “Sour Milk Sea” penned by George Harrison. Among those who played on the album were Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Eric Clapton. The album is kind of hard to find, but worth hunting down if you’re a fan of the pop-rock genre that was an important part of the late 60s-early 70s music. Also passing on was Robert R. Taylor, 77, one of the greatest (and most unsung) entrepreneurs of the past 50 years. Among dozens of enterprises he was involved with, two stand out as genius.
New York Times shortly after the sale, “is to avoid competition – or at least find ways to circumvent it.” | 7,207 | 3,492 | 0.000295 |
warc | 201704 | When mainstream media starts publishing positive articles about blockchain technology and Bitcoin, something could be bound to happen very soon. Most people active in the world of digital currency know all too well how versatile blockchain technology can be, and slowly but surely, the rest of the world is figuring this out as well. The possibilities are limitless, and the glass ceiling of blockchain technology is our own imagination. A Bright Future For Blockchain Technology
It is refreshing to see media outlets such as the BBC getting excited about several projects revolving around blockchain technology. Smart contracts are on their list, of course, and it is an area that could get very competitive over the next few year snow that there are multiple platforms on which this technology can be deployed. Ethereum, Bitcoin, and BitShares all offer a way for individuals and businesses to write smart contracts, which could lead to some interesting innovation down the line.
However, OpenBazaar is something that will appeal to far more consumers and business in the world. The main purpose of OpenBazaar is to let anyone sell anything to everyone else, without geographical restrictions. A decentralized peer-to-peer marketplace is vastly different from more traditional offerings such as Amazon or eBay, as there is no website platform to use. More importantly, OpenBazaar is designed to work with Bitcoin as a payment method, although other payment options can be integrated in the future.
Augur is getting some well-deserved attention as well from the BBC, as the platform uses blockchain technology to offer a prediction market. Although this may sound very science fiction-esque to a lot of people, collective intelligence is a force to be reckoned with. A global prediction market platform in a decentralized manner allows experts from all over the world to weigh in on particular market trends, which – according to Augur – will turn the platform into the most accurate forecasting tool in history.
There is no denying the blockchain is one of the most exciting technological innovations the world has seen in the past decade or so. Unlike consumer goods – which are usually only available to the middle class and wealthier individuals – blockchain technology is something that belongs to and can be used by everyone in the world. Even though the commercial viability of the blockchain remains uncertain for now, it has been doing a mighty fine job powering the Bitcoin network for several years.
In the end, there are still some doubts as to how blockchain technology will change our society as we know it. Financial institutions still see the technology as something that can overthrow their entire infrastructure, even though the blockchain is more of a tool than a direct competitor right now. At the same time, a lot of money has been pumped into blockchain startups, and there is a lot of interest from developers all over the world to get a more hands-on experience with this technology.
What are your thoughts on the topics mentioned above regarding blockchain technology? Let us know in the comments below! Source: BBC
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Images courtesy of Shutterstock | 3,218 | 1,529 | 0.00066 |
warc | 201704 | Nearly every business has a trademark, but few know what a trademark is. Even fewer take the steps necessary to protect what for many companies is their most valuable asset. A little knowledge can not only help you choose between "good" and "bad" trademarks, but can help steer your company clear of a trademark lawsuit costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions I am asked about trademarks:
So what is a trademark? A trademark is a mark that identifies goods or services coming from a particular source. The mark may be a word, name, phrase or symbol. By identifying goods or services as coming from a particular source, consumers can go back to that good or service time and again, relying on the quality they have grown to trust. How do I "get" a trademark? You cannot obtain trademark rights unless you actually USE the trademark in commerce in association with goods or services. Without use, there is no trademark. Even if you have a trademark, if you stop using it, it will go abandoned after a period of time. What are the different types of trademark protection? Once you start using your trademark in commerce, you obtain what are known as "common law" trademark rights. Common law trademark rights can be effective in obtaining an injunction or a judgment against someone infringing your trademark, but they do not provide all of the benefits associated with state or federal trademark registration.
Every state provides for both registration and enforcement of trademark rights. While these state protections involve a small cost, they typically offer little more protection than common law rights. Accordingly, most companies opt for either free common law protection or much more valuable federal law protection. Federal trademark registration involves governmental and attorney fees of approximately $1,200 and about an eighteen month wait.
What are the advantages associated with federal trademark registration? Federal registration provides several advantages over common law and state law trademark protection. Like common law and state law protection, federal trademark registration allows you to recover the damages a trademark infringer has caused your company. Unlike those two weaker types of protection, however, federal registration allows you to recover your attorney fees and up to three times your actual damages if the infringer of your federal registration is found to be "willfully" infringing your trademark.
Federal registration also allows you to use the ® symbol as a warning to would-be infringers and constructive notice to everyone in the country of your ownership of the trademark. Federal registration provides several other benefits, including incontestability, and prima facia evidence of the validity of the trademark and your ownership thereof. Unlike patents and copyrights, trademarks can last forever, as long as you keep using them.
Are some trademarks easier to register than others? Yes. How easy it is to register a trademark depends in large part on how descriptive the trademark is of the particular product or service provided in association with the trademark. For example, if the product is bananas the trademark "Banana" would be deemed “generic,” and would not be protectable at all. Similarly, the trademark "Yellow" would be deemed “descriptive,” and would also not be protectable. The trademark “Monkey Stick” however, would merely be “suggestive,” and would, therefore be protectable. Suggestive trademarks do not provide enough information to determine what the good or service is, but trigger that mental "Ahhh" after you find out what the good or service is. What are the easiest types of trademarks to register? Not surprisingly, the easiest types of trademarks to register are the ones least preferred by marketing departments. "Arbitrary" and "fanciful" trademarks are the easiest to register because they do not describe or suggest the goods or services. This is the exact reasons marketing departments shy away from them. The trademark “REGAL” for bananas would be “arbitrary,” whereas the trademark “Baaan” would be “fanciful.” Both arbitrary and fanciful marks are protectable and registrable.
The question to ask in determining whether a prospective trademark is likely to be registrable is “
Would my competitors likely use the word in their marketing of the product?" If so, the trademark is probably protectable, if not, then the trademark is probably not protectable.
While arbitrary and fanciful marks may seem initially less attractive, once the public associates the trademark with your goods or services, as in the case with eBay, the trademark can become extremely valuable with a broad scope of protection.
Can things other than words be trademarks? Yes. Logos, symbols, colors, sounds and smells can all be protectable trademarks if they are not descriptive and uniquely identify your goods or services. Should I register my trademark? To determine whether you should register your trademark, you should examine several factors. How much is the trademark worth to the company? How likely is it that someone may infringe the trademark? How likely is it that a competitor will obtain rights in the trademark by using the trademark in a different geographic region? How much would it cost your company to have to change trademarks? How much value would a trademark registration add to your company’s intellectual property portfolio?
Once you have the answers to these questions, visit with an intellectual property attorney to determine whether a federal trademark registration would be right for your company. Many intellectual property attorneys offer a free consultation to determine whether or not a federal trademark registration is warranted.
Even if the decision is not to proceed with a registration, it will not have cost you anything and at least you have the piece of mind knowing what you have and where you stand at when it comes to trademarks. | 6,119 | 2,446 | 0.000418 |
warc | 201704 | Outdoor lighting is often the ugly stepchild to the more glamorous and blogged-about pendant lighting, chandeliers, and other interior fixtures. But in both residential and commercial settings, the exterior lighting is one of the first things visitors see when they come to your home or frequent your place of business.So shouldn’t your outdoor lighting be an important part of your overall décor or brand? Absolutely! And we’re here to help with yet another stylish way to take a simple, utilitarian fixture and make it a focal point in your outdoor spaces.... Read More
In last Friday’s blog post, we showcased a gorgeous kitchen remodel completed by Nar Bustamante of Nar Fine Carpentry in California. Nar selected three of our Ivanhoe® Wilcox Deep Bowl Porcelain LED Pendants to serve as a focal point and offer a splash of color in the space. These Cobalt Blue fixtures feature energy-saving LEDs that will save the homeowner on energy bills and maintenance costs for years to come.... Read More
If you’re addicted to HGTV like we are, you no doubt have seen the wildly popular Cousins Undercover show starring Anthony Carrino and John Colaneri. The show just wrapped up its second season which features surprise renovation makeovers for local heroes in neighborhoods across the country.In addition to his television commitment, John has spent the last six years working in the family business — Brunelleschi Construction — and looking for a place to put down his own roots. While driving to work one day, John’s wife spotted a For Sale sign. She insisted that John come take a look at the property.... Read More
Call me nostalgic, but I miss the days when the biggest decision you faced in the light bulb aisle was whether to buy 60 or 100 watts. Have you looked at light bulbs lately? There are literally hundreds to choose from with differences not only in wattage but in color, brightness, life expectancy, efficiency, and, of course, cost.You can find plenty of information online about what all of these differences mean, but the one thing experts agree on is that LED lighting is, by far, the most efficient and longest-lasting option on the market.... Read More
Tucked into a quiet hillside in the small town of Fairview, North Carolina, lies a beautiful contemporary home full of warm, earth tones and a cozy mountain feel. Sandie, an editor and designer, lives here with her musician husband and Whitney, a sweet, grey-faced golden retriever. Sandie spends many hours in her home office creating the Fairview Town Crier, a local paper,and working for other local organizations including the Fairview Business Association. The lighting in her office was adequate but put off too much heat in the small, 12 x 12 room.... Read More | 2,794 | 1,478 | 0.000689 |
warc | 201704 | 5 Ways To Burn Out Programming
I've only recently come out of my burnout, despite it happening years ago. It sucks. It sucks bad. But looking back, I can see many of the causes crystal clearly, that weren't so apparent at the time. Here's a list:
1. Think about your project and only the project
Let's face it. Business wants you to make the best product you can "for our customers". You put off fun features for the sake of hitting a deadline. You plan and analyze and break a project into sets of deliverables that then must be coded by a monkey (you). You demo it, gather feedback, iterate. All without thinking anything for yourself.
But newsflash: you started programming because you thought it was fun, why not keep programming because it's fun? Take that little extra time to put in a feature you want. Challenge yourself a little bit in doing something you didn't think you could. Show it to everyone you know, and don't just ask for feedback, but brag about what you've done.
2. Have a negative attitude toward everything.
You know Docker? It sucks. Who would trust their production environment to a new, unstable, toy. Go? Do I look like I want to write every library myself? Everything I need is already in PyPI. This project I'm working on is so caught up in office politics, it's never going to work. Jenkins? 2008 wants their tech back.
It's really easy to fall into the "being critical" trap. It's easy to tell other people what the "wrong" choice is. I imagine it's because as software engineers, our job is to find faults in our applications and fix them. And if we don't find them, someone else finds them for us.
But I don't think we need to be negative about our job, decisions that are being made (even if it's not our decision) and what we're working on. Some of the best projects I've worked on worked out that way because we had a great, positive team. We enjoyed showing up every day to work, told each other when we did awesome things, held back heavy-handed criticism and phrased it in a productive manner.
3. Use the tools you know, because you're faster that way
So you're an uber expert in Java + Spring + Hibernate. Nobody can touch your python skillz. Every personal project you do should be in these, because all that matters is the business side of things, right?
Wrong.
While it definitely makes good business sense, you should prototype, play around, and become an expert in new tech, even if it's unvetted. While this might seem like obvious advice (it's repeated alllll the time), it becomes a lot harder to do as you grow more experienced.
4. Switch jobs often
Otherwise known as "chasing butterflies". Getting bored with what you're working on? Have an itch? Time to dust off that resume!
This is bad, bad, bad.
When you have several short employments, it can usually help boost your salary quite a bit, but you are robbing yourself of:
Growing in the company (developer -> manager -> director) Gaining an expertise in a specific area. Considering it takes 4-6 years for a PhD student to get their PhD, that's a lot of time you need for learnin. You are having to start from scratch often. If you are a good developer, you have to "prove" yourself (people listen to you) all over again.
So how do these contribute to burnout? Your career stagnates, you don't develop your skills as deeply (only breadth), people dont trust you'll stay employed for a while, and you're constantly having to prove yourself.
5. Work long hours, ignore your life
"You don't have to work a lot of hours, but some people choose to." You want to impress your boss. Hell, you want to impress yourself. So you go die-hard to meet an impossible deadline. You delivered the project on time, with all the extra features you wanted. You are the hero. High fives all around. And if you're lucky, you'll get that bonus.
That's great the first time. But how about the second. And the third. It's a bomb, and you dont know how short the fuse is.
Summary
In short, it's easy to burnout. Do these 5 things, and you can burnout too. | 4,072 | 2,098 | 0.000481 |
warc | 201704 | Your workplace might be comprised of employees and managers from four different generations. The age differences between your youngest employees and most experienced employees could be anywhere from one to 50 years.
The workforce now has the Silent Generation (born before 1946), the Baby Boomer Generation (born 1946-1964), Generation X (born 1965-1980), and Generation Y or the Millennial Generation (born 1981-2000). Each generation may come with its own approaches and ideals, but they all have assets to bring to the table. Employees of all generations need to be led in a way that makes an organization cohesive and united.
It takes time to figure out how to approach your multigenerational workplace, while maintaining the company culture and environment. Here are three tips to consider when leading your multigenerational workplace:
Be flexible and open to new ideas
If you have employees born in a different generation than you, it is likely that they can have different ideas that might fit with their generation. Differences are not a bad thing. They can lead to ideas and approaches that you might not have thought of or considered. Be open to ideas that challenge your way of thinking and lead to an innovative approach.
Initiate open communication about needs
Employees across multiple generations might possess a variety of workplace needs or preferences. You may prefer face-to-face communication or a personal note. However, an employee in a different generation might prefer email or a text message.
Employees may also need different types of motivation. While Generation X tends to be motivated by results, Generation Y can be associated with being motivated by achievements. You will have to be open to asking questions and figuring out how employees are motivated.
Eliminate generational stereotypes
You as a manager are expected to have open communication with your employees, yet you should also encourage open discussion amongst employees. Encourage people to discuss their differences, whether they be strengths or weaknesses. This can help to eliminate any generational stereotypes. Open communication could lead to the discovery of a Silent Generation employee’s social media skills.
A multigenerational workplace is one that has a variety of approaches, ideas, and skills that can all be used to strengthen an organization. Instead of taking a general approach to leading all of your employees, figure out how to use their variety of skills most effectively.
For additional tips for managing a multigenerational workplace, please call a member of CAI’s Advice and Resolution Team at 919-878-9222 or 336-668-7746.
Photo Source: US Department of Labor | 2,702 | 1,272 | 0.000793 |
warc | 201704 | THIS BLOG HAS MOVED AND HAS A NEW HOME PAGE. August 28, 2008 The politics of food-6: Corn and obesity
(This series of posts looks in detail at some of the fascinating aspects of food production identified by Michael Pollan in his book
The Omnivore's Dilemma (2006). All page numbers refer to that book, unless otherwise noted. Other related posts can be found here.)
The abundance of corn has made the economics of food shift towards unhealthier foods. If you have a limited budget, you can buy more calories based on corn-based fast-food products that you can from healthier foods. $1 buys 1,200 calories from potato chips and cookies vs. 250 calories from whole foods like carrots; 875 calories from soda vs. 170 calories from fruit juice from concentrate. (p. 108) Is it any wonder that poorer people, in order to feel satiated, are more likely to eat potato chips and follow it up with a soda than they are to eat carrots and follow it up with juice, since the cost of a calorie is five times as much for the latter meal?
In fact, an article published in the January 2004 edition of the
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition by Dr. Adam Drewnowski (director of the Center for Public Health Nutrition in the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine) and Dr. S.E. Specter (research nutrition scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, Calif.) reports that the correlation of obesity with income levels is striking. Unlike in the developing world where obesity is often the result of wealthy people eating a lot of rich and fancy food, in the US, obesity afflicts a lot of poor people trying to save money on food.
The study says that:
Energy-dense foods not only provide more calories per unit weight, but can provide more empty calories per unit cost. These foods include French fries, soft drinks, candy, cookies, deep-fried meats and other fatty, sugary and salty items. The review shows that attempting to reduce food spending tends to drive families toward more refined grains, added sugars and added fats. Previous studies have shown that energy-dense foods may fail to trigger physiological satiety mechanisms – the internal signals that enough food has been consumed. These failed signals lead to overeating and overweight. Paradoxically, trying to save money on food may be a factor in the current obesity epidemic.
What are 'empty calories'? This Wikipedia article explains:
Empty calories, in casual dietary terminology, are calories present in high-energy foods with poor nutritional profiles, typically from processed carbohydrates or fats. An "empty calorie" has the same energy content of any other calorie but lacks accompanying micronutrients such as vitamins, minerals, or amino acids as well as fiber as found in whole grains but less so in white flour. Michael Jacobson, head of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, coined the term in 1972.
Generally, unnecessary calories are converted in the body to fat. However, if calorie intake is limited for the sake of reducing weight, insufficient vitamin and mineral intake may lead to malnutrition. Dieticians recommend in every case that nutrient-dense food such as fruit and vegetables be substituted for empty-calorie food.
Drewnowski adds that the drive for lower costs is replacing nutrition-rich calories with empty calories:
It's a question of money. . . The reason healthier diets are beyond the reach of many people is that such diets cost more. On a per calorie basis, diets composed of whole grains, fish, and fresh vegetables and fruit are far more expensive than refined grains, added sugars and added fats. It's not a question of being sensible or silly when it comes to food choices, it's about being limited to those foods that you can afford.
As result of policies designed to produce more and more corn, corn has been on a silent and unseen rampage though our diet, resulting in a whole host of undesirable effects. The massive output of corn has led to the "rise of factory farms and the industrialization of our food, to the epidemic of obesity and prevalence of food poisoning in America." (p. 62) Since the explosive growth of corn production and cheap food containing mostly empty calories in the 1970s, obesity has risen since 1977 and the average American's food intake has risen by 10%. (p. 102)
Since what we eat ends up being the source material that goes into creating the tissues in our own bodies, it is now possible to analyze human hair to see how much of us originates in corn. It turns out that the US diet contains so much of corn in various hidden forms that our bodies are becoming increasingly made up of tissues that originated in corn. As Professor Todd Dawson (Director of the Center for Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry at the University of California, Berkeley) who has analyzed the corn component in food and in our bodies, says, "we North Americans look like corn chips with legs". We have a greater component of corn in our bodies than societies like Mexico that ostensibly seem eat more corn. (p. 23)
POST SCRIPT: Nuns beauty pageant cancelled
Two days ago, I reported on an Italian priest who had organized a beauty contest for nuns to show off their looks, and asked prospective contestants to send in photos.
He now says he has had to cancel his plans because of objections from his superiors in the church. I can't imagine why.
TrackbacksTrackback URL for this entry is: http://blog.case.edu/singham/mt-tb.cgi/18580 | 5,552 | 2,745 | 0.000366 |
warc | 201704 | Public Law Schools Become Private
There is a lingering perception that public law schools are cheaper than private law schools. First, the accuracy of this perception is hard to measure because of the extensive price discounting (in the form of scholarships) used by private law schools (and some public law schools) to engage in price discrimination. Therefore, students generally can’t infer very much on the published “sticker price” of a law school; the actual price can vary widely and can’t be known until an individual student’s financial aid package is prepared.
Second, I wonder if the era of “public” law schools is drawing to a close because many “public” law schools now derive trivial state support. This National Law Journal article gives an update on this development: University of Virginia Law School gets zero state support; University of Michigan and University of Minnesota get 3% of their budget from the state; and Illinois, Texas and William & Mary all derive 10% or less. Inevitably, this means the price discount for public law schools will narrow; and it challenges our notions about what makes a law school “public” in the first place.
Normatively, I don’t think this development is inherently good or bad. Obviously, public law schools have played a key role in providing low cost access to a legal education, but diminishing state support doesn’t automatically mean the end of that in an era of aggressive non-public price discounting. But the phasing out of state support should ultimately contribute to the decline of
stereotypes of the benefits of public vs. private legal education. In the future, they will be indistinguishable. | 1,733 | 886 | 0.001177 |
warc | 201704 | The possibility that dogs are able to detect cancer in humans has been researched for some time. A recent German research reports that dogs can be trained to detect lung cancer in patients. While the study is still in progress, they found that four particular dogs were able to identify 93% of cancer-free samples. This low rate of false positives is better than the imaging tests that most doctors use to detect lung cancer.
Time Healthland explains how dogs are able to do this:
It’s no secret that dogs have an acute and sophisticated sense of smell, and the scientists believe the canines are picking up on very subtle changes in certain volatile organic compounds in the breath, which may change when cancer is present. (In the study, patients exhaled into glass tubes filled with odor-capturing fleece, and the dogs were given these to sniff.)
It is truly remarkable that dog’s scene of smell is so strong that it is able to detect cancer. Would you trust a dog to diagnose you with lung cancer?
Related posts: | 1,032 | 580 | 0.001751 |
warc | 201704 | Maybe your profits aren’t what you expected. Maybe an unexpected financial setback has put you in the red. Whatever your reasons for examining your budget, here are just five ways to cut costs and get your business back on track. (more…)
Degree or no degree
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all about education. You need to go to school in order to have access to all the opportunities available out there. However, there are some instances where you didn’t make it to college and that should not be the end of the line for you. You still have a chance in the business finance world if you take the following tips to heart. (more…)
Banking is a huge part of running a small business. Between acquiring a loan, opening an account, and keeping up with paperwork, it helps to know the tricks of the trade. We asked our small business experts what they’ve learned about small business banking since starting their businesses. Here’s what they had to say… (more…)
A company credit rating works in much the same way as an individual credit rating. So it provides information on how your company has handled its finances in the past with the aim of offering an insight into how it and you are likely to manage money in the future.
A company credit rating isn’t designed to be absolutely definitive or unchanging but it is important to have it in mind as an organisation of any size because its impact and relevance can be wide-reaching. (more…)
By Keith Tully
In some situations a bit of creativity will be needed to facilitate a turnaround and get your company back to operating in a profitable manner. However, more often than not you won’t need to be an innovator to save your business, you’ll just need to consider some of the commonly overlooked recovery and restructuring options that are applicable and readily available:
1. Using Assets as Leverage to Obtain Financing
Even if you have poor credit you may be able to obtain financial assistance by using some of your assets (i.e. – equipment, inventory, real estate, etc.) as collateral in obtaining approval for a secured loan. However if you were to default on such an agreement then the lender would potentially have the right to seize the assets you used as a security, so keep that in mind before you put your home on the line.
Small business owners are basically living in the dark ages. No, I’m not referring to the aversion many mom and pop stores seemingly have to the power of web-based marketing or even how tough it is to become successful in the currently gloomy economic climate. Rather, I’m talking about the fact that politicians and financial regulators don’t seem to think that small business owners are worthy of the same rights and protections as the general consumer population.
While the CARD Act of 2009 has proven to be a huge success – adding transparency and fairness to the personal finance industry – it doesn’t apply to credit cards branded for business use. That’s alright, you might be thinking; small business credit cards are just different, right? | 3,151 | 1,563 | 0.000666 |
warc | 201704 | Category Archives: APS March Meeting 2008
Yesterday I went to a news conference given by five physicists who believe that materials called “block copolymers” could help the electronics industry continue its relentless drive towards smaller and smaller devices — and even help battle some cancers.
Block copolymers are a hot topic in nanotechnology because of their ability to self-organize into tiny structures.
They are essentially two different kinds of polymer that are joined end-to-end to create one long strand. The two polymers normally repel each other — creating something akin to “cats and dogs with their tails tied together”.
Similar polymer ends are attracted to each other and the competing forces tends to organize the copolymers into one of several possible solid structures, depending on external parameters such as temperature.
These strucutures have features on length scales of tens of nanometres, which is just about the right size for future generations of electronic devices.
One possibility, according to Chris Ober of Cornell University is that block copolymers could be used to create patterns on the surface of a silicon wafer with features much smaller than is possible using standard lithography techniques. An etching process — with the block copolymer acting as the etch resist — could then be used to create nanometre-scale electronic devices. Indeed, Ober believes that computer chips could be made this way in the next five years.
Other electronice applications include high-density magnetic memory chips and “low-K” insulators, which which would allow tiny circuits to run faster.
Dan Savin of the University of Vermont believes that block copolymers could be used to create tiny capsules that would deliver drugs to specific parts of the body. For example, a capsule that was the right shape and size to get from the bloodstream and into a tumour.
However, one serious drawback of self assembly at the moment is that there are a limited number of structures that the block copolymers can form. But I’m guessing that this could be expanded by using more than just two ends — maybe cats and dogs and mice with their tails tied together!
How much do drugs affect the performance of athletes and more interestingly how can we quantify such enhanced performance? That was the question that Roger Tobin, a condensed matter physicist from Tufts University, posed in his talk on ‘Sox and Drugs: Baseball, steroids and physics’. Quantifying enhancement is an interesting question, if someone takes drugs and it increases their performance to, say, score one more goal per season or hit a golf ball a few centimetres farther is it really worth it to make a fuss?
The sport in question in Tobin’s talk was of course baseball. In other sports such as weight lifting, taking steroids can have an obvious effect. But what about other sports where strength is an advantage, but cannot easily correlate with results.
He characterized two eras, namely before and after steroid use became well documented (which he put as around 1990s onwards). If one looks at the record home runs in a single season, this explodes in the late 1990s when Sosa hits 66 and Bonds hits 73 home runs in a single season. This increased effect for baseball is around 20% (from the previous efforts of Ruth). Imagine a 20% increase in the 100 m sprint, this would mean a sprinter taking around 8 seconds to run it. If steroid use is the culprit, how can steroid use affect baseball so much but not other sports?
Tobin says that the only advantage of using steroids in baseball comes in the bat speed. It’s pretty straight forward — steroids build muscles, or increase muscle cross section, which allows the player to exert more force on the ball, which then gives the ball more speed. He calculates that steroid use could increase the ball speed by about 3%. Which if one thinks about it is not a lot…
However, here comes the catch. If I took steroids (don’t worry I am not planning to do the experiment) and started playing baseball, it wouldn’t automatically mean that I am going to beat Babe Ruth’s previous home run record, but as Tobin says the player must already “be pretty special.” So what happens? Well, if you look at the hit distribution of a top player, he may hit 10% of all shots as home runs in a season, but he will hit many that are near home runs, in fact the distribution will have a peak at the place which are nearly home runs. What Tobin says is that steroid use shifts this peak so that all those previous near home runs, now become, well, home runs, so this shift alone increases a players 10% home runs to around 15% in a season — all with the help of a few more percent in ball speed…and some steroids.
Seems like condensed matter physicists are spreading their wings, he also plans to extend his work to other sports, so footballer and golfers beware…
Here I am doing my bit to persuade the US government that it should give a little more money to the nation’s physicists.
The photo was taken by the APS’s Tawanda Johnson, who was trying to get American physicists to write letters to their members of Congress asking them to support the provision of “supplemental appropriations” for 2008. In other words, an extra $510 million in funding that would go to the National Science Foundation, NIST and the Department of Energy — three major sources of money for physics research.
The campaign is in response to the surprise cuts in 2008 research funding that were announced in a recent bill. Hardest hit were fusion and particle physics research, which suffered 10% and 8% reductions respectively.
The letter that the APS would like its members to send describes these and other cuts as “devastating blows [to] science research”…”resulting in significant layoffs of scientists and engineers”. The letter also says that the funding cuts will thwart US efforts to reduce its reliance on foreign oil, mitigate global warming, and put a lid on escalating energy costs. “In short, the enacted bill is bad for our energy and economic future”, the letter says.
At about four in the afternoon, more than 400 letters had been sent and Tawanda expects that a total of about 1200 physicists will put pen to paper at the APS.
My first session was on supersolid He-4, up bright and early for the 8am start. The paper under discussion for the first talk appeared in Nature last year by Xi Lin and colleagues from Penn State University. They looked at the heat capacity of He-4 at low temperature (T < 0.5 K), and reported a peak centered around T = 0.08K.
It also became apparent the difficulties of making accurate measurement at such temperatures, they reported that they constructed 20 low temperature cells for the measurement, and only one of them was heat leak proof.
A large question in the area of supersolid He-4 is what the role of He-3 impurities are, in the final talk of the session given by Philip Anderson this question seems to have even got the better of the Nobel prize winner himself, when he openly admitted to not knowing the answer.
The supersolid peak is independent on the amount of He-3 impurities with Lin presenting samples with 0.3 ppm (parts per million) and 1ppb (parts per billion) of He-3 impurity. But the peak did slightly decrease in temperature when the samples was annealed for longer, so it seemed to depend on how the sample is made. A comment was later made that the supersolid peak could be intimately linked with disorder.
Unfortunately the session did break up a little when the second speaker didn’t show up – which was supposedly a knock on effect from the storm that was over the east coast at the weekend.
The March Meeting has everything, including a session on cold fusion.
It is almost 20 years since Pons and Fleischmann told the world that they had seen nuclear fusion in what is essentially an electro-chemistry experiment. The idea is that if you packed enough deuterium into a piece of palladium metal, the deuterium nuclei would somehow overcome considerable electrical repulsion (perhaps being screened by palladium electrons) and fuse together, releasing lots of energy.
The announcement set off a furore that pitted chemists against physicists and led to allegations that big-energy interests and the physics “establishment” were trying to cover up a genuine breakthrough. And sadly, as nuclear physicists scrambled to do experiments involving hydrogen and electricity, there was at least one deadly explosion.
However, other researchers were unable to confim cold fusion and today most of the physics community has forgotten it. Except for a small band of researchers who have somehow convinced the APS to give them a session at the March Meeting.
This year’s session included a talk from a non-physicist, Thomas Grimshaw, who teaches public policy at the University of Texas at Austin. Grimshaw has adopted cold fusion as “a posterboy for rational policy making”. He looked at cold fusion research results using “evidence-based policy making” analysis techniques — the sort of thing a government would use to decide if lower speed limits save lives on the roads.
His conclusion is that there is a “preponderance of evidence” that funding cold fusion research is in the public interest. The minimum response, he believes, is that the US government should reinstate its cold fusion programme — and it would be a reasonable response to give cold fusion the same funding status as conventional approaches to fusion such as magnetic and interial confinement.
While I doubt that this public-policy approach will raise the profile of cold-fusion research, there is something admirable in the fact that the people in session A14 have battled against conventional wisdom for nearly two decades. But writing as someone who did a cold fusion experiment in 1990, my personal opinion is that whatever they are seeing — it’s not fusion.
You can read more about Grimshaw’s work here.
It’s a lovely day in New Orleans and I managed to get a sunburn walking around the French Quarter this morning….I suppose I’m a real redneck now!
Our hotel is right across the road from the convention centre and there are now lots of physicists milling about — the excitement is building. Like myself, many of them look like they haven’t seen the sun for quite some time, so local pharmacies better stock up on sunburn cream!
After lunch I took an ancient streetcar (tram to our European readers) out to the Garden District — a leafy area of huge moss-covered oak trees, ornate Victorian houses and of course, fragrant gardens.
As I was coming back on the St Charles streetcar, I noticed that the branches of the trees at the side of the road were festooned with hundreds of garish necklaces of every possible colour. I’m guessing that these were thrown from floats during a Mardi Gras parade.
I might go back to the Garden District and try to find the City of the Dead — a cemetery where all the tombs are above ground. Maybe I can persuade the IOP crew to make the journey tonight after dark!
The 21 hour door-to-door trip is past us now as we focus on the start of the conference tomorrow. We arrived at the hotel early on Sunday morning after a quick connection in Chicago. The whole trip from Heathrow to New Orleans went quite smoothly, except for the need to change planes in Chicago after we were all seated and ready to go – apparently there was a problem with the braking system, so I wasn’t complaining to change planes. It was also on the flight from Chicago that it became apparent that there were possibly many physicists on-board, most of them armed and ready with poster tubes.
Today, we had our first chance to see some of New Orleans. We had a brief walk around the French Quarter and along the Mississippi river where most of the hotels are situated near to the convention center. Though it was not immediately clear from these areas the devastation that was inflicted by hurricane Katrina in 2005.
I popped into the convention center itself, and already saw a mass of physicists queuing up to register. Coming to the center is the first time the scale of the APS March meeting hits you – containing massive halls where the exhibitions are held. Some people already have their hands on the thick conference book, meticulously studying it, though no doubt looking for the location of colleague’s talks.
After a few too many shrimps this afternoon, we are ready for the conference tomorrow and look forward to keeping you updated on all the in’s and out’s of the 2008 APS March meeting.
Michael and I are leaving for New Orleans bright and early tomorrow morning — along with five other colleagues from IOP Publishing. Our journey begins in Bristol at about 9.30 in the morning and if all goes well, we will arrive in New Orleans just before midnight (local time). I reckon that’s about 21 hours door-to-door. Unless, we get snowed-in in Chicago!
We have just put the finishing touches on our battle plan for what promises to be a intensive week of condensed matter physics. Actually, more than just condensed matter is on the agenda. Michael will be looking into “econophysics” and physics of the stock market, while I’m looking forward to learn about the physics of hurricane formation and climate change.
See you in the Big Easy! | 13,697 | 6,217 | 0.000166 |
warc | 201704 | From piling on wrinkle creams to dying those nagging grays, it seems Americans are obsessed with preserving youth, but what about age-proofing your brain? New science reveals a smarter way to keep the brain young; fish oil. According to a new study published in the journal
Neurology, diets lacking in omega-3, the essential fat found in fish oil, could lead to memory loss and dementia and cause the brain to age faster.
Click on the following link to watch a video on the topic: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46548774/#46548774
In addition to supporting brain health and cognitive function, the main omega 3 fats found in fish, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), have also been shown to support a healthy mood, normal inflammatory response in the body, immune health, eye health and heart health.
Wondering how much to supplement? As Dr. Snyderman points out in the video above, current national guidelines suggest at least 2 servings of fatty fish per week or a
minimum of 500 mg combined EPA/DHA per day. However, some people, like those with heart disease or other health issues, may need to take up to double that dose.
If you’re thinking it might be tough to fit fatty fish into your weekly meal plan, you’re not alone. Whether it’s personal taste, limited availability or the increasing concern about the high levels of mercury in fish, many people are much happier getting the benefits of omega 3 fats in one convenient softgel rather than head to the fish counter at the grocery store. Just be sure that you choose a high quality fish oil that offers high concentrations of EPA and DHA, and has been purified to remove contaminants and is third-party tested for freshness. | 1,740 | 987 | 0.001027 |
warc | 201704 | A little bloodshed is good for the news business, particularly if journalism professionals are back to shooting at each other instead of collectively gathering around their own grave, hand-wringing and waiting to be pushed in by a dismissive and disinterested public.
Yesterday, I spoke to a group from Yelp and tried out a few of the standard, dark yuks about my business: paid obituary revenues are up but, wait! Those are (were) also our most avid readers. Ba-doom.
The mostly youngster group blew past all that manufactured self-pity. They were more interested in how SF Gate handles comments, the value of public input in what we do and some anecdotes about the quirkiness and potential Wild West fun of gathering news.
(Note: maybe you saw the new SF Gate comments features. Now that I know you can ignore or de-friend me with a click, I’ll be diving into my own blog’s comments section much more fearlessly, talking back to the back talk)
Despite ongoing concessions of broken business models and surfing through the still untested technologies and new practices, it does feel like journalists have exhaled a little of the breath we’ve been holding for years.
Here’s Cristoph Leitgen, a big shot at the news agency Reuters, talking about journalists gathered last week at what is usually the American Society of Newspaper Editors’ annual gripefest:
“This doesn’t feel like a funeral.”
That’s a definite improvement.
I could cite the stats on fewer bankruptcies, fewer financial losses, fewer newspaper closures. And there are still plenty of Jeremiahs out there warning about the end of the newspaper/print/journalism world. The reality, as they say in TV news stand-up closes, is it remains to be seen.
But it’s much more lively to measure breath on the mirror of our business by its deathmatches, where our history is rich and passionate.
In the 1800’s, San Francisco rivals in the newspaper world were shooting each other on the street. Charles de Young, a Chronicle founder, popped a cap in politician Isaac Kalloch. De Young’s brother, M.H., was shot by businessman Adolph Spreckels over an article in the paper. And James King, editor of the Daily Evening Bulletin, was killed right downtown on Montgomery.
Those were some days – it was definitely higher real life drama than the media fight scenes in the movies “Anchorman” and “The Paper” (who can forget Michael Keaton clocking Glenn Close?).
A recent New Yorker story detailed the long feud between New Yorker inventor Harold Ross and the Time Magazine Empire’s architect, Henry Luce in the 1920’s and 30’s. A cover illustration shows them dueling with pens. There’s even a part about the two men meeting over a story, accompanied by their seconds.
According to the story, “Ross was a madman” who hated Luce. And Luce was always looking for ways to shiv Ross. The rivalry, “before it got goofy, served them both surprisingly well,” says New Yorker writer Jill Lepore.
But “If, one day, everything is for everyone,” she also writes about our age of media immediacy, “and everything is timely, the battles between editors won’t be as bloody because there will be less to fight for.”
Take heart, Jill. Just look next door to the New York Observer, which ran a piece a few days before yours titled “The Battle of the Barons,” about Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal taking on Arthur Sulzberger’s New York Times.
While all these guys are wearing suits and not carrying side arms, the Observer story reports on very different versions of a meeting between Sulzberger and Murdoch managing editor Robert Thompson that could have been a replay of the Ross-Luce confrontation but without seconds on hand.
This is today, and only a short step into propriety from the street corner gunshots of early San Francisco.
I know, I know. Today’s successful journalism is all about cooperation and partnership. Former competitors are now happy collaborators. I’m one of the loudest and most persistent proponents of that notion. (Witness the great joint work of the Center For Investigative Reporting’s California Watch reporters and journalists at the Chronicle, resulting in lots of “holy s—” front page Sunday stories.)
All that old-fashioned stuff is so day-before-yesterday.
But I still think there’s something visceral, something full of life and spectacle and entertainment in the battles among media big shots. There’s some meat there for the public to get their teeth into, whatever form the information takes, however it’s delivered and however the money might be made.
Gun battles snap your attention away from the current obsession with form-as-future (What’s the platform? What’s the technology? What’s the gadget?) and back to a ripe, human dimension.
Personally I’m hoping for some fireworks between mega-media mogul Arianna Huffington and the conservative, birther movement’s World Net Daily, squabbling over only getting one table each to the upcoming White House Correspondent’s Dinner.
The WND folks are probably better armed but never, ever count Arianna out of a fight. | 5,310 | 2,695 | 0.000391 |
warc | 201704 | By Zach Taylor, University Relations Student Writer
For the sixth consecutive year, UTC hosted Bloodanooga, Chattanooga’s largest blood drive. Organized by Blood Assurance, the area’s only blood bank, which serves and provides for nearly 50 medical facilities across Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, Alabama, and North Carolina, this semester’s Bloodanooga was held in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“We usually collect around 600 units of blood during every Bloodanooga event, and every donation can save 3-4 lives. The University plays a huge role in this process. From promotion, hosting, and providing volunteers, this really is a UTC-motivated event,” said Craig Glass, Business Development Account Manager for Blood Assurance.
Morgan Hatmaker, a junior Secondary Education English major, jumped at the chance to donate blood.
“I have donated every year I have been at UTC. It really just feels good to know that you may be saving someone’s life,” said Hatmaker.
Tyler Milton, a sophomore Pre-Professional Biology major, has seen firsthand how a simple blood donation can help someone.
“My mom is a nurse, so I know that there are usually shortages in blood supply, and every donation can be a big help,” said Milton.
Besides just taking blood donations, the event also signed up participants for the National Marrow Donor Program registry.
Unlike blood, there must be a DNA match between donor and recipient for marrow donations. Over 12,000 people a year are diagnosed with various blood cancers, such as leukemia or lymphoma, and around 6,000 of those die due to a lack of a matching donor.
Minorities face the most significant difficulties in finding donors, with only 7% of the registry composed of African Americans.
According to Rhonda Moore, Marrow Representative for Blood Assurance, the lack of marrow donors comes from myths surrounding the process.
“Donating marrow is not dangerous or painful. The liquid marrow found in the pelvic bone is extracted, and at the most, there may be some slight stiffness and soreness following the quick procedure. At the end of the day, if a little bit of discomfort can save a life, we should all do it,” said Moore.
For more information about Blood Assurance, as well as other blood drives in the area, visit http://www.bloodassurance.org/www | 2,377 | 1,272 | 0.000811 |
warc | 201704 | Creativity Versus Beauty
I like to keep old magazines.
It fuels my plans to update my vision board (just as soon as I actually accomplish anything on my current vision board, that is).
It also makes me feel “current” – as in, yes I do read the news and follow unfolding events. Which of course I don’t – unless you count a thorough analysis of the entertainment section and side-by-side comparison of “who wore it best” snapshots.
Sometimes I also delude myself into feeling like an actual grown-up by telling myself that I will read the entire issue – including the boring articles on the ongoing economic crunch – if I just hold on to the magazine.
This never happens either.
But recently I picked up an old issue of “Time” (hunting as usual for Joel Stein’s column) and opened to a section called “Ideas: Assessing the Creative Spark.” The subtitle, “what Americans think about creativity” actually sounded interesting so I kept reading.
Apparently random strangers who live in the same country I do also think creativity out-ranks intelligence, compassion, humor and ambition by triple-digit percentage points. Creativity also trumps beauty as a value by 94% to 57%.
Wahoo!!
Considering I work in the field of eating disorders and body image, this was refreshing as well as valuable intel for me.
The truth is, at this point in my own personal recovery journey and career, I have come to believe that where we place our focus is more important than any other factor in shaping the substance of our individual life.
For instance, if I choose to focus heavily on my body shape and size, the food I eat, the numbers on a scale and how I think those compare to my neighbor, best friend, mom or partner, then that will in many ways define my experience of life on a daily basis.
But if I choose instead to focus on my creativity, my intelligence, my compassion, my sense of humor or my ambitions/goals in life, this too will shape how I experience life and what I think about and act upon on a day-to-day basis.
We may assume from looking at magazines or movie trailers that all of America is obsessed with beauty. But this poll clearly shows that America’s obsession remains firmly planted in the soil that originally created such a great, free, wonderful and wide-open place to live – human creativity.
Today’s Takeaway:
If you were to take the “Time” poll, how many percentage points would you give to each attribute: creativity, intelligence, compassion, humor, ambition, beauty? How much of your daily time, energy and focus do you give to each? How much value do you place on each when it comes to choosing others to work, play and share life with? Are you happy with the percentages?
Paint and brush image available from Shutterstock.
APA Reference
Cutts, S. (2013). Creativity Versus Beauty.
Psych Central. Retrieved on January 23, 2017, from http://blogs.psychcentral.com/mentoring-recovery/2013/09/creativity-versus-beauty/ | 3,058 | 1,576 | 0.000662 |
warc | 201704 | July 2009
Some people just have it.
They've got the talent, the looks, the presence, the focus, the luck and, when we see it all come together, we kind of glow inside, lift a little, despite the knowledge we'll never have what they do, no matter how hard we try.
That's the cool thing about ridiculously talented people. Grafters, pretenders, journeymen ... sometimes they grate because, I dare say, we see ourselves in them and perhaps begrudge them the limelight we reckon we could garner if the breaks went our way.
But the ridiculously talented? People such as Muhammad Ali, Ian Thorpe, Cate Blanchett, Tiger Woods, John Lennon, Prince, Hank Williams, Henry Miller ... well, I reckon most of us just sigh and enjoy witnessing greatness ...
There's a guy who lives in my neighbourhood who's pushing 50, yet dresses like he's a teenager who's just walked out of a General Pants store, wearing hoodies, garish t-shirts and rainbow Converse, not to mention some truly hackneyed tribal tough-stickers.
He's in good company because living nearby there's also a woman his age who wears denim skirts, cowboy boots and midriff tops, seemingly dressed for a night on the goon with her schoolmates in the local park.
Part of me admires them for thumbing their nose at age and dressing for themselves. Then there's a part of me that thinks it's kind of pathetic, that they should both say 'uncle' and hit David Jones to tone down the teen angst ...
So lemme get this straight.
A couple of months ago Hells Angel bikie Peter Zervas got shot four times while trying to park his Harley ... sorry Hyundai, so someone close to him called triple-0.
The police and ambos arrived, fought to stem the blood pouring out of Zervas's body and he was taken to hospital where doctors saved his life. However, when detectives arrived at the bikie's bedside to question him about his attacker, Zervas refused to co-operate.
More recently we've seen Fadi Ibrahim shot five times while parked in his Lamborghini, then lose metres of his intestines during life-saving operations at Royal North Shore Hospital ...
I try not to get angry about pronouncements by politicians because if I did, I'd spend most of my life fuming about what out-of-touch old men with too much money and privilege consider best for me.
Then someone like Bob Katter opens his mouth and intones on a subject close to my heart and, in the space of one sentence, manages to encapsulate everything that is wrong with the way we raise boys, yet presents it as some kind of rough-and-tumble, old-school Aussie bush wisdom.
See, Bob reckons that Queensland high schools teaching boys about emotional intelligence are "building a race of sooks", which pretty much ensures every kid who's enrolled in the programs he's crapped on will now have doubts about staying involved ...
"I've broken into houses so crammed full of appliances they're better than Bing Lee and I've picked up the front-door key from under the mat. Wake up Australia, this isn't the 1950s any more!"
The man quoted has, by his reckoning, broken into more than 1500 homes during a 10-year burglary career in Sydney and Brisbane, cut short by a lengthy spell in Long Bay prison.
Now retired, Jimmy was not a spontaneous burglar and often planned jobs weeks in advance, sometimes robbing several residences a day. He says that if a man's home truly is his castle, many blokes in this country don't deserve to occupy the throne.
"My record was eight places in one night. I worked hard but the average idiot made my job a whole lot easier" ...
As I've posted previously, one of the many blind spots of our education system is that we spend so little time teaching children how to interact with the opposite sex.
Algebra, history, geography and chemistry are all handy things to know but their usefulness in adult life is limited, whereas knowledge about how to crack onto someone without coming off as wet or creepy has decades of application. It's a skill you'll never regret having.
On the flipside of this is how, if you're on the receiving end of someone's ardour, you can reject them without humiliating them; how to be unequivocal but kind in your refusal of their advances ...
A few weeks ago I went to a very alternative health food café which sported hand written-signs and was dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free and almost nut-free, save for the two kooks dancing around the kitchen in gumboots.
As I watched the chef prepare my meal, I saw he had a pretty impressive plumber’s crack poking out of his footy shorts and it struck me how much trust we put in strangers' hands.
My trust on this occasion was assuming the chef hadn’t given the aforementioned orifice a quick scratch before he picked up my lentil patty or that he’d not dropped a dreadlock or string of prayer beads in the salad dressing ...
I’ve been eating this cereal for a while now called Fibre Plus or Plus Fibre or something equally imaginative.
It’s made of bran flakes with sultanas, dried apples and almond slivers that look like toenail clippings.
They seem to have changed the artwork on the box lately, to this young couple running on the beach. The picture doesn’t take up the whole box, it’s a swipe across the face of it, like you’ve smeared your hand across a fogged up shower screen and this beach vista is revealed; handsome guy trotting barefoot, leading his beautiful, blonde wife behind him ...
You know someone I know.
Or at least a friend of yours knows a friend of mine, or a relative of yours used to work with a guy who my ex-girlfriend went to school with. Or used to shag.
That’s how it works. There’s no six degrees of separation in Australia, it’s two degrees if you’re lucky, usually one.
This is a good thing to keep in mind next time you scream oedipal obscenities in traffic at a father-of-three who you’re just about to meet again at day care, or when you slander your boss to the cab driver who also collects her every morning ...
Have you ever played football, gone surfing or shot pool with a guy who’s all elbows and knees, can’t seem to govern his limbs, drops balls, trips over himself and runs into team mates on the court?
Call him "unco", "spaz" or "a menace" but from the moment he unveils his physical awkwardness, it’s hard not to push him down the evolutionary pecking order, label him a less complete male, a tad defective, because he can't catch or kick or run or swim or dribble or grubber.
I know this because I am "that” guy" ...
The question kind of threw me because I'd never thought about the transition being that clear cut. While I mentally fled up and down the time-line of my life trying, hoping, to find an obvious demarcation of my ascent into manhood, it finally struck me when it happened.
It wasn't when I sprouted pubes, first had sex, could walk into a pub legally, nor when I got my first pay cheque, car or apartment. I reckon it was when I finally worked out that life's not all about me ...
Have you ever been seen a beautiful woman paired with a not-so-attractive man and thought to yourself, “that dude is punching above his weight”?
The analogy, borrowed from the boxing ring, usually refers to a coupling where one member of the partnership is radically hotter than the other, leading the rest of us superficial types to wonder of the lesser light - “what have they got? Cause it ain’t good looks.”
When it comes to less attractive men, the answer is usually ‘money’ or ‘status’ ...
An attractive female friend of mine was telling me recently about attending a ritzy fundraiser with the guy she's been seeing and how, once they'd settled in at the table and she'd been introduced to his friends, the boozing and sleazing began in earnest.
To be accurate, my friend is a little more than attractive; she's dazzling, and it soon became clear that her date's best friend strongly shared this opinion.
"About halfway through the night, my man went to the bathroom and his friend lent across and made it abundantly clear he was attracted to me, wanted to have sex and questioned just how serious I was about his mate. His best mate" ...
It's been observed that "any relationship is under the control of the person who cares the least" because when things go to crap, they've got less invested, less to lose, the shards of rejection don't penetrate as deeply.
It's a pragmatic inversion of another common observation: that in most relationships, someone always loves someone more, which I'm sure nearly all of you have experienced.
Being the one who is loved less feels pretty shabby, but then so does the other side of the equation; seeing that look of devotion in your partner's eyes and knowing you can't return it and will soon have to break them the bad news, along with their heart ... | 8,936 | 4,476 | 0.000229 |
warc | 201704 | There are two groups of people who should be wary about reading this post: people who grew up outside of Israel and people who have never had kids in the Israeli school system. I should probably add people who are at all squeamish to that list.
So, if you’re in both of the first two categories, and definitely if you’re in all three categories, you should probably stop reading now. Here, go amuse yourself with some Mel Brooks quotes. Wait, but don’t do that if you haven’t seen the movies before. Taken out of context, those quotes make Mel Brooks sound like a giant bigot. So watch the movies instead, and when you’re done with them, just scroll down to the dotted line.
Okay, they’re all gone? Everyone still reading has a stomach of steel and either grew up in Israel or has raised kids in Israel?
Good.
So, listen, my head is itchy.
Don’t worry, I don’t have lice! I went through my hair with my trusty ASSY 2000, so I know I’m good.
My kids, though…well, I have to admit that this is not my favorite aspect to the beginning of the school year.
Last year it began around Chanuka. I don’t even want to say how long it took until we saw the last of them. I would make sure to get every bug and egg out, throw the bedclothes in the wash, and… a few days later, the scratching would begin all over again. And over, and over, and over.
“Use the lice comb on them every single day, whether they have lice or not,” people say. People whose children don’t scream as loudly as mine do, I assume.
I used to be patient. I used to say, “Aw, I’m sorry that it hurts,” or, “I know, but you’re so brave!” or, “Once we’re done, we’ll have ice cream; won’t that be fun and delicious?” At this point, I’m more like, “Stop. Stop screaming. I already used the regular comb on you, and your hair has no knots in it; ergo, this does not hurt. I use this comb on myself all the time and it doesn’t hurt. STOP screaming. It DOESN’T hurt. Stop SCREAMING! IT DOESN’T HURT!!!” (For some reason, this plea is not as effective as one might think.)
My alternate method is more sneaky. (WARNING: If you have any doubts about how squeamish you are,
skip this paragraph.) “Come here, give me a hug,” I say. And as soon as I have access to the tops of their heads, I start checking for bugs like it’s a plate of rice. I slide nits out of their hair like a ninja, without breaking a single strand. And when I find a bug, my fingernails get to work. Pow! It’s almost as satisfying as bubble wrap.
(I hope the people I told to stop reading really did, right? I hope they’re not hiding under the desk, following the whole conversation. If they are, they’re probably
really sorry about that right around now.)
Bottom line, my kids don’t trust my hugs anymore.
Anyway, after all the sweat and tears, what finally did the trick for us was this “natural” non-poison spray that you leave in for ten minutes, then comb out. It’s supposedly not like conventional lice shampoo, and the lice don’t build up an immunity, so you can reuse it next time, etc. I think the ingredients are ylang-ylang, rainbows, butterfly kisses, and coconut oil. (Coconut oil fixes
everything.) I’m kind of skeptical about the whole non-poison thing, because when I ran the lice comb through their hair afterwards, all of the lice were already dead. It was totally gross and also kinda cool. Oh yeah, semi-squeamish people, skip this paragraph, too. Retroactively. Or at least don’t picture all the dead bugs. (I said, don’t.)
Fun nostalgia: When my eldest was a baby and my visiting sister had lice, I went to a pharmacy and picked up some of that regular pesticidal lice shampoo. “But they build up a resistance, and it won’t work next time,” the pharmacist told me. “Next time, you’ll need to get a different kind.”
Ooookay, I’ll keep that in mind, because I’m sure lice have such a long memory, I thought sarcastically.
More the fool me! I mean, not in that particular situation, because we didn’t see lice again in our house for another few years, but seeing as I was a young married woman buying lice shampoo without saying whom it was for, the advice was solid.
All the Anglos I know are like, “You have to make kids with lice stay home from school! It should be a law! Somebody get me Rachel Azaria on the line!”
But, the argument goes, we already have so few days off compared with the number of days our kids are off. (The 11-13th of Tishrei? Why?) If we had to stay home whenever our kids got lice, we would never be at work.
But, the counter-argument goes, if we had to keep kids with lice out of school, then they wouldn’t catch it as often.
B’kitzur, Israelis making kids with lice stay home from school is like Americans switching to the metric system. We understand that, theoretically, it’s better for us in the long run, but the journey is just too painful to imagine.
We used the coconut oil spray (just to clarify, it doesn’t actually have coconut oil in it) the day before Yom Kippur. (This may be part of the reason why break-fast the next evening consisted of water, toast, and carob spread.) The bathroom still smells like coconut oil (again, not coconut oil). It seems to be keeping the lice at bay, so far. Here’s to hoping!
Meanwhile, I’m gonna go run that comb through my hair again.
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Hi, welcome back! How were the movies? Pretty outrageous, right? Don’t worry, you didn’t miss much over here. Thanks for being troopers; I’ll try and cater my next post to you guys. | 6,092 | 2,803 | 0.000394 |
warc | 201704 | Srilanka, being an island shares trading relations with many countries. As no country is completely self independent, export and imports of goods from across the world is a necessity for each country. Srilanka is experiencing growing trading relations with many nations.
Sri Lankan export increased from 841 USD Million in February of 2014 to 1069.90 USD Million in March of 2014.
A country selects a trading partner on the basis of its trading requirement, geographical location and political and economical stability of the partner country. In the process of trading, the most important thing is that the requirements of a particular country is being fulfilled by the export or import of the products by another countries and visa verse. The trading relations between countries tend to change with variations in trade policies, agreements,resource availability and export and import needs.
Srilanka and its trade relations:
Before studying the trading relations of a country it is important to understand the features of that country’s economy. Some of the features of Srilankan economy are:
Srilanka have a mixed economy with both public and private players involve in the process of production. It is a developing economy depending largely on agriculture, light industry and services. Overall GDP of the country was calculated to be 59.42 billion US dollars in 2012. Agriculture counts for approx 21 percent of GDP in Srilanka. Srilanka is a well known destination for FDI due to certain reasons. India is among the top five countries offering FDI in Srilanka. India and Srilanka trade relations:
India and Srilanka have a long and high valued trade relations. They had signed a Free Trade Agreement in December 1999 for better trading opportunities. India was an important trading partner of Srilanka even prior to this agreement.
Srilanka and India Export and Import data Years Export to India ($ Million) Import from India ($ Million) 2001 72 601 2002 170 832 2003 245 1076 2004 391 1439 2005 566 1825 2006 489 2173 2007 515 2610 2008 418 3447 2009 322 1820 2010 474 2570 2011 519 4431 2012 567 3640
Source: Central Bank of India. Annual report, Various issues.
The above mention data shows that the value of trade between India and Srilanka was always significant. The main import origins of Srilanka are: India, China and Singapore. In the current scenario, India counts for 18% of the Srilankan import. While china and Singapore counts for 16% and 9% respectively. In the year of 2012, India sourced 21.3% of the Srilanka’s import and China and Singapore sourced 16.5% and 8.6% respectively. | 2,622 | 1,261 | 0.000799 |
warc | 201704 | Search
Now showing items 31-40 of 754
Developmental diversity in free-living flatworms
(BioMed Central, 2012-03-19)
Abstract Flatworm embryology has attracted attention since the early beginnings of comparative evolutionary biology. Considered for a long time the most basal bilaterians, the Platyhelminthes (excluding Acoelomorpha) ...
The relationship between socioeconomic status and waiting time among elderly men in Norway
(Stein Rokkan Centre for Social Studies, 2012-12)
We investigate whether socioeconomic status affects hospital waiting times for elderly men when controls for severity and supply/choice variables are included. Socioeconomic status is measured by small area level education. ...
The effect of radiation screens on Nordic time series of mean temperature
(Royal Meteorological Society, 1997-12)
A short survey of the historical development of temperature radiation screens is given based upon research in the archives of the Nordic meteorological institutes. In the middle of the nineteenth century most thermometer ...
Mål- og resultatstyring i praksis – En studie av styringsdialogen mellom Arbeids- og inkluderingsdepartementet og Arbeids- og velferdsdirektoratet
(Stein Rokkan Centre for Social Studies, 2010-06)
This paper is based on an in-dept single case study of how Management by Objectives and Results (MBOR) is practised in the steering dialog between the Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion (AID) and the Norwegian ...
Omstilling i Arbeidstilsynet: Tilsynsmeldingens konsekvenser for strategi og organisering
(Stein Rokkan Centre for Social Studies, 2005-11)
In 2003, a government white paper (St.meld. nr. 17 (2002–2003)) instigated comprehensive reforms in several of Norway’s regulatory bodies. The reform package provoked controversy, particularly the proposed relocation of ...
Mission impossible made possible? –Tenkning og argumentasjon bak partnerskapet mellom stat og kommune i NAV
(Stein Rokkan Centre for Social Studies, 2008-12)
This working-paper addresses the partnership between central and local government in the Welfare and Employment administration in Norway. The mandatory partnership regulating the collaboration between the government levels ...
The polyscopic landscape of povert research. "State of the art" in International Poverty Research. An overview and 6 in-depth studies.
(Comparative Research Programme on Poverty (CROP), 2005)
In August 2004 the Research Council of Norway announced tenders for a “State-of-the-art” report within international poverty research, with special focus on institutions and rights. The Research Council wanted the report ...
Wittgenstein Archives at the University of Bergen: Report on activities in the period 2000–2002
(The Wittgenstein Archives, 2003)
NMR measurements of wettability alternation in Berea Sandstone
(The University of Bergen, 2011-11-28)
When a new oil reservoir is discovered and a production strategy is chosen the knowledge about wettability characteristics for the field is of outermost importance. Wettability is a key factor for fluid distribution ...
Foretak, management og medikrati. En sektorstudie av helseforetaksreform og ledelse i spesialisthelsetjenesten
(The University of Bergen, 2008-02-15)
This thesis consists of four articles that deal with the introduction of unitary management from 2000 and health enterprise reform from 2002 in Norwegian specialist health care (hospitals). The first of the articles ... | 3,532 | 1,758 | 0.000581 |
warc | 201704 | The cervical spine is composed of the seven vertebrae in the neck. These vertebrae are separated by discs that provide padding between the vertebrae and allow the neck to extend and absorb shocks. Located at the end of the spinal column, these vertebrae are critical to functioning in day-to-day life and delivering messages to the brain regarding eating, breathing, moving, speaking and other important functions.
Massachusetts injuries to the neck are generally very serious, and may occur in Massachusetts motor vehicle accidents, Massachusetts sports accidents, Massachusetts worksite accidents or any other situation involving trauma to the cervical spine. In Massachusetts auto accidents, ligaments in the neck may be stretched beyond their normal range of motion, resulting in whiplash, a soft-tissue injury. Whiplash, which occurs when the head is suddenly thrown forward and then quickly recoiled backward, can cause neck sprains and torn ligaments. A Massachusetts resident who has sustained a neck injury may experience dizziness, fatigue, headaches and pain in the shoulder, shoulder blades or arms. Additional symptoms of Massachusetts cervical spine injuries include the onset of depression, as well as difficulties with sleep, concentration and memory.
In cases of severe Massachusetts cervical spine damage, neck injuries can completely change or take the victim’s life. When the cervical spine snaps, it may cause internal decapitation in which the skull is completely severed from the spinal column. Such a serious trauma leaves few survivors. Those who do not die as a result of a cervical spine break may suffer quadriplegia, namely paralysis in the body below the neck. The immobility of the limbs and torso make it extremely difficult to perform essential bodily functions, and can create a dependence on long-term care or a decreased life expectancy.
Treatment for Massachusetts neck injuries varies based on the severity of the injury, and may include rest, medication, physical therapy, surgery or a neck brace. It may take months to recover from whiplash or other Massachusetts neck injuries, which may require extensive time away from work. Injured Massachusetts victims who are paralyzed must receive ongoing nursing care, along with physical and emotional therapy, in order to cope with the complications of their neck injury and establish new daily routines.
If you or a loved one has sustained a neck injury as a result of a Massachusetts accident, you are likely experiencing the financial strain of paying for the ongoing pileup of medical expenses. Special medical devices, surgeries, therapy and in-home care can all add up to create a significant financial burden. However, you do not need to suffer financial ruin in addition to your physical pain caused by someone else’s negligence. Call the experienced and highly skilled Massachusetts cervical spine personal injury lawyers and Massachusetts wrongful death attorneys at the Boston, MA Law Offices of Gilbert R. Hoy, Jr. and Affiliates at 617-787-3700 or email us at info@gilhoylaw.com. | 3,092 | 1,462 | 0.000688 |
warc | 201704 | The opinion of the court was delivered by: Dennis L. Beck United States Magistrate Judge
ORDER DISMISSING COMPLAINT WITH LEAVE TO AMEND THIRTY-DAY DEADLINE
Plaintiff Bennie Mathis ("Plaintiff"), a state prisoner proceeding pro se, filed this civil rights complaint on October 12, 2012. Plaintiff names North Kern State Prison Dr. E. Flores and Chief Medical Officer A. Shittu as Defendants.
The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised claims that are legally "frivolous or malicious," that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1),(2). "Notwithstanding any filing fee, or any portion thereof, that may have been paid, the court shall dismiss the case at any time if the court determines that . . . the action or appeal . . . fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted." 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii).
1. Rule 8 and Pleading Requirements
A complaint must contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief . . . ." Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Detailed factual allegations are not required, but "[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 1949 (2009) (citing Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). Plaintiff must set forth "sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim that is plausible on its face.'" Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). While factual allegations are accepted as true, legal conclusions are not. Id.
Section 1983 provides a cause of action for the violation of Plaintiff's constitutional or other federal rights by persons acting under color of state law. Nurre v. Whitehead, 580 F.3d 1087, 1092 (9th Cir 2009); Long v. County of Los Angeles, 442 F.3d 1178, 1185 (9th Cir. 2006); Jones v. Williams, 297 F.3d 930, 934 (9th Cir. 2002). Plaintiff's allegations must link the actions or omissions of each named defendant to a violation of his rights; there is no respondeat superior liability under section 1983. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 676-77; Simmons v. Navajo County, Ariz., 609 F.3d 1011, 1020-21 (9th Cir. 2010); Ewing v. City of Stockton, 588 F.3d 1218, 1235 (9th Cir. 2009); Jones, 297 F.3d at 934. Plaintiff must present factual allegations sufficient to state a plausible claim for relief. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678-79; Moss v. U.S. Secret Service, 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir. 2009). The mere possibility of misconduct falls short of meeting this plausibility standard. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678; Moss, 572 F.3d at 969.
Here, Plaintiff fails to provide sufficient details about his claims to allow the Court to determine whether it states a claim. He provides a paragraph of allegations that appear to involve medical care given by Defendant Dr. Flores and an appeal denied by Defendant Shittu. Although Plaintiff includes dates, his allegations are too vague and non-specific to state a claim for which relief may be granted. Plaintiff also attaches exhibits, but the Court will not attempt to craft his allegations from the exhibits.
As written, Plaintiff's complaint is not a cohesive, concise description of his allegations and supporting facts and fails to comply with Rule 8(a). Plaintiff bears the burden of separately setting forth his legal claims and for each claim, briefly and clearly providing the facts supporting the claim so that the Court and Defendants are readily able to understand the claims. Bautista v. Los Angeles County, 216 F.3d 837, 840-41 (9th Cir. 2000).
Plaintiff's complaint therefore fails to state a claim for which relief may be granted and is dismissed with leave to amend. The Court will provide Plaintiff with the legal standard for Eighth Amendment medical claims.
To maintain an Eighth Amendment claim based on medical care in prison, a plaintiff must show deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs. Jett v. Penner, 439 F.3d 1091, 1096 (9th Cir. 2006) (citing Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106, 97 S.Ct. 295 (1976)) (quotation marks omitted). The two-part test for deliberate indifference requires the plaintiff to show (1) a serious medical need by demonstrating that failure to treat a prisoner's condition could result in further significant injury or the unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain, and (2) the defendant's response to the need was deliberately indifferent. Jett, 439 F.3d at 1096 (quotation marks and citation omitted).
Deliberate indifference is shown by a purposeful act or failure to respond to a prisoner's pain or possible medical need, and harm caused by the indifference. Id. (citation and quotation marks omitted). Deliberate indifference may be manifested when prison officials deny, delay or intentionally interfere with medical treatment, or it may be shown by the way in which prison physicians provide medical care. Id. (citation and quotations omitted). Where a prisoner is alleging a delay in receiving medical treatment, the delay must have led to further harm in order for the prisoner to make a claim of deliberate indifference to serious medical needs. Berry v. Bunnell, 39 F.3d 1056, 1057 ... | 5,472 | 2,525 | 0.000399 |
warc | 201704 | Correlation between Sum of 8 Skinfolds to Predicted % Body Fat Range as a Reliable Measure of Body Composition Assessment for Well-Trained Athletes Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine if relationship trends between the mean of 3 predicted % body fat (%BF) equations and the sum of 8 skinfold (SKF) measures existed for well-trained athletes as opposed to BMI as an assessment of body composition.Two test periods were conducted 4 months apart collecting 8 SKF measures from 35 full-time athletes (21 male 26.05 ± 5.07 and 14 female 24 ± 4.15), 17 athletes were tested at both periods. Predicted %BF calculation used was the mean score (MS) of three equation predictors – Durnin and Womersley (DW) 4 Site Skinfold Test (Standard Error of Estimate (SEE) 3.5% for female: 4.0% for male), Jackson and Pollock (JP) 3 site SKF Test (SEE 3.9% for female: 3.4% for male), and Yuhasz SKF Test (Total Error (TE) 3.5% for male). Easton et al (1995) indicated JP & DW over and underestimated %BF, which suggests the mean may reduce the error of calculation. This analysis did support Easton et al observations with mean results for male 8.71±5.11 (16.01%<MS) JP, 12.80±5.56DW (23.36%>MS), 9.61±3.16 Yuhasz and MS of 10.37±4.55; female 17.41±6.22 (4.08%<MS) JP, 23.86±6.67 (31.42%>MS) DW, 13.19±7.50 Yuhasz and MS 18.15±6.72. The correlation co-efficient relationships for all equations were significant from r = 0.965 tor = 0.983 for males and r = 0.961 tor = 0.992 for female. The MS data indicated range trends to link the sum of 8 SKF measures to a prediction range of %BF. However the data sample is small in determining definitive conclusions, this warrants further data collection to validate the range trend findings. The data from the 17 subjects highlighted BMI has deficiencies in determining a true reflection of a well-trained athlete’s body composition.
Full Text:PDF
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ass.v10n5p12
Asian Social Science ISSN 1911-2017 (Print) ISSN 1911-2025 (Online)
Copyright © Canadian Center of Science and Education
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warc | 201704 | Cornell Eyecare by Virginia Bruce
So how do you test the eyesight of a baby? Dr. Chad Lawson knows, and it’s not that hard. “We have a retinascope that measures prescriptions by bouncing light off the retina. In fact, we can test anyone’s eyes this way, and it is accurate enough to prescribe glasses. But with adults we like to do the other tests because getting the correction right can be somewhat subjective,” he says.
Dr. Lawson takes care of the vision of his patients at Cornell Eyecare, located on the north side of Cornell west of Saltzman. He began working there with Dr. Raymond L. Roy, Jr in 2001, when he bought the practice from Dr. Roy, who still sees clients two days a week. “He’s not retiring, he’s exploring other ventures,” Lawson says. Lawson had previously worked for a doctor in Tigard and at a chain store.
Both Dr. Lawson and Dr. Roy got their degrees from Pacific University College of Optometry. Dr. Roy built the building on Cornell in 1978, when he founded the practice after working with his father in Portland. He chose the location because Cedar Mill was a growing community. And they have another thing in common – both have wives who work in the practice. “When Dr. Roy is here, his wife Marietta comes in and works with him. And my wife Caryn also works here part time and also buys all our frames,” Lawson explains. Other employees include office manager Pam Flores and receptionist Mary Ingram.
What’s the advantage to getting your vision care and correction from a practice like Cornell Eyecare rather than the discount mall shops? “Most people who go to the mall shops discover that their service is unpredictable,” explains Dr. Lawson. “Our service and professionalism stand above others. We use only the best products, which are a great value.”
Does Dr. Lawson ever recommend corrective surgery for his patients? “Yes, but it’s important for patients interested in laser refractive surgery to know the risks and benefits. I take it on a case-by-case basis. Surgery does work, but you also need to remember that your eyes are always changing slightly,” Dr. Lawson cautions.
People should have their vision tested every one or two years, he says. Headaches, blurry or double vision, trouble with concentration, tired eyes and squinting are all signs of vision problems. If you’re interested in getting more information about vision problems, Dr. Lawson recommends webmd.com.
Children get a basic screening in schools, but they’re not tested for near vision, lazy eye, or eye disease, so they should get their first checkup at about 6 months and again every one to two years. “It can sometimes be challenging to work with young children,” he admits, “but I have three children of my own and I enjoy working with them.”
Cornell Eyecare recently installed a new sign in front of their store, since the construction work on Cornell is done on their side of the road. “There was a lot of delay and confusion during the construction, but we are near the end and looking forward to the road’s completion,” Dr. Lawson says. He enjoys learning about Cedar Mill’s history, and is proud that the business has been in the community for over 25 years. “And the area is still improving, with lots of small businesses.”
Cornell Eyecare is located at 12955 NW Cornell Road. Their phone number is 503-643-5556. They are open from 8-5 Monday-Wednesday, 8-7 on Thursday, and 8-3 on Friday. They welcome new patients, and the average wait for an appointment is just a few days. The first appointment usually takes about an hour. They have a website at www.cornelleyecare.com. | 3,760 | 1,841 | 0.000568 |
warc | 201704 | Exploitation of Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget data using simulations from a numerical weather prediction model: Methodology and data validation
Allan, R.P., Slingo, A., Milton, S.F. and Culverwell, I. (2005)
Full text not archived in this repository.
To link to this article DOI: 10.1029/2004JD005698
Abstract/Summary
We describe a new methodology for comparing satellite radiation budget data with a numerical weather prediction (NWP) model. This is applied to data from the Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) instrument on Meteosat-8. The methodology brings together, in near-real time, GERB broadband shortwave and longwave fluxes with simulations based on analyses produced by the Met Office global NWP model. Results for the period May 2003 to February 2005 illustrate the progressive improvements in the data products as various initial problems were resolved. In most areas the comparisons reveal systematic errors in the model's representation of surface properties and clouds, which are discussed elsewhere. However, for clear-sky regions over the oceans the model simulations are believed to be sufficiently accurate to allow the quality of the GERB fluxes themselves to be assessed and any changes in time of the performance of the instrument to be identified. Using model and radiosonde profiles of temperature and humidity as input to a single-column version of the model's radiation code, we conduct sensitivity experiments which provide estimates of the expected model errors over the ocean of about ±5–10 W m−2 in clear-sky outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) and ±0.01 in clear-sky albedo. For the more recent data the differences between the observed and modeled OLR and albedo are well within these error estimates. The close agreement between the observed and modeled values, particularly for the most recent period, illustrates the value of the methodology. It also contributes to the validation of the GERB products and increases confidence in the quality of the data, prior to their release. | 2,055 | 1,074 | 0.000943 |
warc | 201704 | Character Community
It is my hope that the character community will one day launch a venture to write a character, open to anyone, Wikipedia. The aim is to engineer a system where self directed character authors and scholars cooperate and take responsibility for creating a platform that runs a character platform with a small amount of top-down smartness complimented by massively bottoms up contributions.
To create such a platform, the character community must overcome the old barriers to craft a new crowd-powered service. But who will pay the creators of character content? It seems if, as Kevin Kelly states, “the audience is king,” the audience could fund the work of character creators. Might also the fans collectively finance their favorites?
The technology of sharing enables the power of one fan that is willing to prepay author to be aggregated together with hundreds or thousands of other fans into a significant pool of… Continue reading
Although I am a newbie in the character community, most would agree our major institutions, educational, corporate, military, and professional sports are in need of a character upgrade. Given the decline of character in America, I believe academics and regular citizens need to collaborate in building character by embracing emerging technological shifts that promise to improve character education.
Hyper linked pages is a core idea of the web, why not invite academics, character foundations and all those interested in character to link together by actively participating in the emerging culture based on sharing? Academic pros why not invite regular Joes as a way of sharing the collaborative work of character education? Why not ask the ordinary folks to share their content, their user-generated videos and turn toward the sphere of social networking in the creation of public tutorials on character building? The enhanced conversations between and among the academic… Continue reading
After reading
by The Inevitable I have been thinking whether many of the 12 technological trends that Kelly believes will shape our future, might also shape character education and character building. For example, might the character community cooperate to create a platform like the iPhone and write an encyclopedia, as is done with Wikipedia? The aim would be for the character community to engineer a system where self-directed peers take responsibility for critical processes and difficult decisions, such as sorting out priorities are decided by all participants. Kevin Kelly
The next several posts will be based on applying several of Kevin Kelly’s twelve trends to building character in America. With feedback from readers of
, we might very well begin to harness the sharing of the character crowd. The Character Building Project
After years of consistently high unemployment in this country, the job situation is finally start to look up and the hope is this positive trend will continue. (
See: The Employment Report: The Private Sector is in Good Health)
The Character Building Project (CBP) continues to provide support for and exposure to those working to improve character in America. Members of the character community are sharing their lectures and best practices as CBP offers a platform to expand the audience of those interested in character and virtue. Alex Havard, of the Havard Leadership Institute, has shared an interview conducted at the Army Navy Club in Washington. Alex often tells us leadership is about virtue in action. Learn more of Alex’s views on virtuous leadership at http://hvli.org/video/.
The next member of the character community to be introduced is Frank Hill. Upon returning to North Carolina after a 22-year ‘hiatus’ in Washington, D.C., and after witnessing the meltdown in 2008 of the financial community in Charlotte, Frank was struck by the fact that many people were ‘mad’ about the situation and especially the lack of political leadership in Washington that directly led to such a terrible outcome. Continue reading
The next member of the “character community” to not only profile but acknowledge as an early supporter of
, is Peter John Hampson. Peter is a Professor of Psychology, University of the West of England, Bristol, (UK); Associate Tutor, Wesley College Bristol (UK); President of the Bristol Theological Society, Peter is also a Visiting Research Scholar at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford University. His scholarly and research interests include theology-psychology dialogue; Thomist anthropology and moral psychology; religion, theology and interdisciplinary in contemporary higher education. Continue reading Politics with Principle
Hopefully, many will readers will appreciate Robert Porter Lynch’s commentary http://www.characters-with-character.com/blog/2011/3/14/collaboration-creates-extraordinary-results.html#comments and see the extraordinary result of our last post on “collaboration.”
Robert joins the Character Building Project (CBP) in calling for a our “highest quest,” a “symphony of synergies,” or as Robert states … Continue reading
It occurred to me through the publication of
and by working on the Politics with Principle , I am now approaching the ten thousand hour threshold of hours of practice Malcolm Gladwell proposed in his best selling book Character Building Project (CBP) . http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1858880,00.html Continue reading Outliers: The Story of Success
The Mission of the
is to foster character building in a rising generation of public service aspirants by sharing the stories of successful and ethical leaders who presently serve others in government, public and private sector careers. Our vision is to expand the conversation about the importance individuals of good character can make to the lives of our fellow Americans. Continue reading Character Building Project | 5,961 | 2,753 | 0.000371 |
warc | 201704 | From Bloom, 1956
As teachers we tend to ask questions in the "knowledge" category 80% to 90% of the time. These questions are not bad, but using them all the time is. Try to utilize higher order level of questions. These questions require much more "brain power" and a more extensive and elaborate answer. Below are the six question categories as defined by Bloom. KNOWLEDGE remembering memorizing recognizing recalling identification recalling information who, what, when, where, how ...? describe COMPREHENSION interpreting translating from one medium to another describing in one's own words organization and selection of facts and ideas retell... APPLICATION problem solving applying information to produce some result use of facts, rules and principles how is ... an example of ...? how is ... related to ...? why is ... significant? ANALYSIS subdividing something to show how it is put together finding the underlying structure of a communication identifying motives separation of a whole into component parts what are the parts or features of ...? classify ... according to ... outline/diagram ... how does ... compare/contrast with ...? what evidence can you list for ...? SYNTHESIS creating a unique, original product that may be in verbal form or may be a physical object combination of ideas to form a new whole what would you predict/infer from ...? what ideas can you add to ...? how would you create/design a new ...? what might happen if you combined ...? what solutions would you suggest for ...? EVALUATION making value decisions about issues resolving controversies or differences of opinion development of opinions, judgements or decisions do you agree that ...? what do you think about ...? what is the most important ...? place the following in order of priority ... how would you decide about ...? what criteria would you use to assess ...? | 1,869 | 986 | 0.001018 |
warc | 201704 | When the deadline fell at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Luzerne County school districts were split in their decisions to apply for the millions of dollars available in federal stimulus Race to the Top grants.
Dallas, Crestwood, Hazleton Area and Pittston Area filed complete memorandums of understanding with the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
The memorandums - which notify the state that a district is willing to look into Race to the Top initiatives but does not bind them to participate - were due to the state by 5 p.m. and were required to have superintendent, board president and union president signatures.
"We have been having some very good conversations about how we could utilize these funds throughout the district," Dallas Superintendent Frank Galicki said. "There is a lot of confidence and coordination and cooperation between our board and our unions and our administration."
Six other districts - Greater Nanticoke, Hanover Area, Northwest Area, Wilkes-Barre Area, Wyoming Area, Wyoming Valley West - filed MOUs with two signatures, from the superintendent and board president, because the teachers unions did not agree to sign. Superintendents said they were aware the MOUs would probably be rejected by the state, but filed regardless.
"I don't want to leave that money on the table," Wyoming Area Superintendent Ray Bernardi said. "I'd at least like to go for that money and be a contender for it."
At the remaining district - Lake-Lehman - no one signed the MOU and therefore one was not sent to the state. Lake-Lehman Superintendent Jim McGovern said they have done extensive research on Race to the Top and had several concerns about the initiatives.
"We had a long conversation this morning with union representation about Race to the Top and they made a lot of valid points," Lake-Lehman Superintendent Jim McGovern said. "We wanted a united front. We were going to do this together or not do this together."
When President Barack Obama approved stimulus funds for education, he held back $4.35 billion to award later to states that showed significant progress.
Pennsylvania is one of 36 states in the running for a piece of that money, and 12 will receive grants. The commonwealth could receive up to $400 million to divide among districts and other educational institutions, sate Secretary of Education Gerald Zahorchak said in a letter to superintendents.
The money must be used for initiatives such as developing standards and assessments, teacher recruiting and training, improving poor-performing schools and building data systems to help identify students' strengths, weaknesses and progress, according the U.S. Department of Education.
"It's long on results and short on the details and the devil is in the details and no one really knows what the details are," said Pennsylvania State Education Association representative John Holland, who works with teachers unions at Lake-Lehman, Wyoming Area and Wyoming Valley West. "And it's very difficult to sign onto something when you don't know what you are signing onto."
If Pennsylvania receives a grant, participating districts will be awarded grants based on a variety of factors, including poverty levels and number of students. Most Luzerne County districts fall into the $500,000-to-$1.5-million category. Hazleton Area School District, which could receive up to $8 million, is one of 31 districts with a low-performing, turnaround school eligible for additional money.
However, the amount of money will vary depending how many school districts participate. The Department of Education estimates are based on 150 of Pennsylvania's 500 districts receiving money.
"For the participating schools, there's really a lot of unknowns, and what we're afraid of is it's going to end up costing the schools and the districts more than the funding," said PSEA representative Virginia Cowley, who works with Crestwood, Greater Nanticoke Area and Hazleton Area. "We really don't think that taxpayers can afford to sign onto something that could end up with them paying more than what they are signing onto."
emoody@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2051 | 4,151 | 1,930 | 0.000523 |
warc | 201704 | It is the Independence Day weekend and quite naturally the I-day spirit is everywhere. From freedom to choose discount offers to freedom to sleep, almost every conceivable form of freedom is on offer right now. I decided to take this opportunity to assess the state of freedom of press in our country. As an Indian I have always been immensely proud of the constitutional encouragement that Press gets in the form of Article (19)(1)a guaranteeing freedom of expression for every Indian.
But as we celebrate the country’s 69th anniversary the question is do we actually enjoy the freedom of press as envisaged in our Constitution? Almost every once in a while we read or hear about a certain new story being suppressed by an influential corporate or asked to give a favourable twist during the course of news reporting. There are numerous instances of stories that never make it to the headlines for vested interest, reporters or news persons who are threatened with dire consequences and at times even death as we saw in the Vyapam case recently.
Here is one more shocking revelation. According to the results of the World Press Freedom Index, India ranked a paltry 136 amongst the 180 nations that the Index comprises of. Though a small advance from the last 3 year’s constant 140 ranking, it is a decided downhill for the Indian media industry if compared to the situation in the first ten years of 2000. According to the estimates of Reporters Without Borders, which publishes the Press Freedom Index globally, India ranked 105 in 2009. While the top 5 in this comprises of Scandinavian nations like Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, surprisingly Afghanistan too has a higher ranking than India at 122!
Apart from most media houses in India becoming the acquisition hotspot for aspiring corporates looking to diversify, I believe a lack of centralised body that looks into the rights of journalists is a big problem. Almost left orphan, they battle abuses, confront insults, journalists in India are increasingly paying a heavy price for speaking out the truth. Is it in any way a surprise then that paid news and biased news is the order of the day! | 2,168 | 1,154 | 0.000873 |
warc | 201704 | Productivity Calculator
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warc | 201704 | One of the most common questions that we received from new cockatiel owners is about a cockatiel not eating very much or not eating at all. For cockatiel owners who have just brought a brand new cockatiel home from the pet store or a breeder, this is very normal.
A cockatiel that is new to its surroundings might be stressed because it's out of its "comfort zone" and familiar surroundings. Give your bird a chance to get accustomed to it's new environment, including its new cage and views. It's extremely important that you use the same food that the bird was eating at the store for the time being, cockatiels are notorious for getting accustom to particular type of feed.
"Other reasons why a cockatiel might loose its appetite are for example, if it's introduce to a new feed that the bird does not like, the temperature in a room, or a cockatiel that have lost his appetite due to grieving over the loss of a companion."
If you have had your cockatiel for a while, and see a decreased in the consumption of food intake you might want to investigated a bit further why. Just like humans, cockatiels do get upset stomachs and their appetite might be off for a day or too. If your cockatiel is not showing any signs of illness like being lethargic, not perching, being at the bottom of the cage or being fluff, you should not worry about it. If any of the symptoms mentioned before occurs, do take your cockatiel to an Avian vet as soon as possible.
A healthy cockatiel would not starve itself to death. Once they are hungry enough, their survival instincts will kick in for feeding.
As always the information offered here is to provide guidance and is not intended to be a substitute for the good advice provided by your own avian vet. When in doubt always consult your own veterinarian. | 1,803 | 921 | 0.001092 |
warc | 201704 | In our recent Dog Census we asked:
Do you think pedigree dogs are living longer? Yes 26% No 37% Don't know 37% Do you think pedigree dogs are getting healthier? Yes 11% No 59% Don't know 30% Isn't it interesting? We have analysed a small group of 100 just to get a trend in advance of the survey closing, but isn't it fascinating that there is such a difference between perceived life expectancy and health even in a small group of people? What do you think? Are pedigree dogs living longer or not? If you're just going from personal experience there are so many other factors to consider. I've had lots of Beardies in my life, even so I struggle to find a definitive trend. Some have lived very long lives - 16 is my best, some have died at 12 or younger of something odd. Some have had pups, some haven't. Some have had some trauma or an infectious disease. Will have been fed a certain commercial diet or fresh homemade food. Some were rarely vaccinated, others annually. In that time I've had brilliant vets and sadly some really very ordinary ones. Great pet insurance or none at all - which possibly changed the options my vet may have put to me. Sally for example was on Vivitonin for years, none of my other oldies before then were ever offered this wonder drug and that may have extended her life in both quality and quantity dramatically. How will we ever get proper scientific data on life expectancies that factors all these variables out? I guess we can just measure perceptions and ask lots of people in different professions and then take the average of them all. Has there ever been a survey that suggested pedigree dogs are getting healthier and living longer? | 1,680 | 880 | 0.001138 |
warc | 201704 | The Liberal Mismanagement of Government Continues.This is even more evident at the state than the federal level. A study of the best- and worst-managed states in America revealed that 4 of the top 5 are Republican strongholds, just as 4 of the bottom 5 are deep, deep blue. California (surprise!) comes in dead last, with the nation's second-highest unemployment rate and its worst credit rating, while according to the Tax Foundation, its business tax climate is the third-worst. Rhode Island, Illinois, and New Jersey provided misery with its company, the Garden State enjoying a crushing debt of 91.6% of its percentage of revenue. North Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Utah, meanwhile, enjoy very low unemployment rates and levels of debt, with Moody's credit agency attributing the latter's stability to its "tradition of conservative fiscal management." Words the blue states don't understand, that is, because that would be racist and hurting the poor or something.
In other blue-state news, the city everyone loves to stay the heck out of--Detroit--has now become so chaotic that one Michigan state senator has proposed dissolving the city altogether and putting it under county administration. The good people of suburban Wayne County can't wait for that, I bet. And back in California, the city of San Bernardino is now being sued by the state's public-employee pension agency, which says that even though the city has declared bankruptcy, it is still required to pay those big, big pensions, even at the expense of education, police services, etc. The agency is also reportedly trying to prove that you can, in fact, extract blood from a stone. So I heard.
In the "Further Proof That Tax Hikes Are A Bad Idea" Department:The British government announced earlier this year that it's been forced to surrender on its 50% tax rate for millionaires. Well, it didn't actuallysay that, but it did announce a slight lowering of the rate to 45%. And not a moment too soon: the Daily Telegraph pointed out recently that the number of Britons declaring income of more than 1 million pounds (that's what they call "dollars," Americans) fell from about 16,000 in 2009-10 to 6,000 two years later, rebounding somewhat to 10,000 after the government's announcement. One Conservative MP argued that this policy cost the state 7 billion pounds in revenue.
The reason why should be obvious to everyone here--overtaxed rich people either move their income out of the country, take advantage of loopholes, or stop producing it altogether--but sadly, it's not so obvious to our fellow Yanks. (My apologies to all Southerners reading the blog.) The latest ABC/WashPo poll shows that 60 percent of Americans, including 39 percent (!) of Republicans, favor raising taxes on those making over $250,000 a year--far outnumbering those who favor entitlement reform, even simply raising the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67. Good job, citizens. The $80 billion a year that tax hike will bring in should keep the federal government running. For, like, a couple weeks.
And Speaking of the Middle Class:Has anyone figured out yet whether the Obama administration really believes it can solve the debt crisis by heavily taxing the rich and not touching anyone else, or if they're just lying to middle-class voters and letting them believe that? Because I honestly don't know. Anyway, clearly a lot of people do believe that--but maybe not for long. In January, the payroll tax rates set by Congress are set to increase by nearly half, a change which will cost the average middle-class household an extra $1,000 per year. Ironically, given that about 160 million people are in the income categories affected, this may well raise more revenue than the tax hikes on the rich--and thus the dirty little secret of American economics: the bulk of national wealth doesn't lie with the rich, it lies with the middle class. Needless to say, the Obama spokesmen aren't exactly publicizing this pending change.
So if you're middle class, you may be about to get screwed out of a bit more money (and I haven't even mentioned the jailhouse shiving that is the Alternative Minimum Tax). Sucks, I know, but hey: You broke it, you bought it. We did try to warn you, didn't we? | 4,256 | 2,231 | 0.00045 |
warc | 201704 | When it comes to content marketing, much is written about narrative-based content (i.e., the written word). Often overlooked is the role of in-person content — content shared through events — to engage with customers and prospects. And for marketers trying to connect with top executives, getting them to attend an event like a salon, forum, conference, or client roundtable can be particularly daunting.
Developing the right event content is critical to ensuring that your event aligns with your hard-to-please audience — executives who won’t leave the office unless they are convinced they’ll get significant value in return for their time. In our experience with C-level executives, we have found that the themes I shared in my earlier article, Creating Content that Connects with the C-Suite, help marketers think about event content, too. Building on those themes, here are a few best practices that can make the difference between “
Yes, I’ll attend” and “ I’ll send someone on my team instead,” along with some examples of the success businesses can realize through these processes. 1. Agenda co-creation is key
One of the most effective tools for creating a compelling executive event is to create the agenda with the participants. Invest the time and resources up front to test, shape, and vet the topic agenda, content focus, and speakers and experts with a group of your valued clients. Take heed of their advice as you confirm the program elements. This will help you surface the most compelling issues, start with a shared sense of ownership and value, and ensure that you are digging into the right topics and challenges to get your desired audience in the door. You’ll also collect useful insights that will help craft and shape the speakers’ presentations for maximum value.
2. From the mouths of peers
Executives value advice and insights from those they consider their true peers, and they appreciate the opportunity to listen to those stories directly from the source. Build your speaker roster with peer leaders who can share their case studies and lessons learned. This is an excellent opportunity to engage your own executive clients as presenters. Also consider external experts that your clients have identified as compelling. But keep in mind: This is not the time to parade your product managers across the stage; their messages likely won’t resonate with the audience and could detract from the strategic nature of the conversation.
3. Strategic issues and new ideas
Executives seek intriguing, surprising, or useful ideas in areas that tie in to their greatest business challenges, as well as to solutions that push beyond common wisdom. An in-person event is a great forum in which to share innovative thinking and provocative trends with clients and prospects. And an added benefit is that discussing these new ideas within a group of their peers gives executives a unique experience they will value beyond others — and in turn they will value your role as convener of the strategic conversation.
4. No sales… only stories
Executives are particularly sensitive when it comes to sales pitches. Many shy away from events — especially those held by vendors and partners — because they fear it will be a forum for a hard sell of features and benefits. In such a case, they will happily delegate attendance to junior staff. If you want your executive clients to accept your invitation and look forward to your event, craft the meeting themes, the presenters, and the presentation content with care. Coach your presenters to share outcomes and impact and offer insights about the process to get there. And make sure to allow plenty of time for discussion and networking so that the story exchange can continue outside of the event content presented.
Note that this does not necessarily preclude having some of your own senior executives take to the stage. Your executives are, after all, peers to your executive clients, and thus they play an important role in the success of the event. As long as your company leaders can convincingly wear the hat of thought leader and share relevant stories of their own that focus on the themes at hand, they will complement the clients and experts who are presenting and contribute to the strategic discussion.
5. Keep it focused
In creating events for clients and prospects, it can be tempting to fill the agenda with all manner of topics and subjects in the guise of showcasing your company’s full range of capabilities. Executives have a laser focus on the two or three things they need to do to create value now, and a program that hones the topics for discussion to those few that really matter will resonate more strongly. Similarly, executives are unlikely to take multiple days out of the office, and thus will appreciate an agenda that consolidates what they need to hear into a concise and carefully managed program design.
Case study 1: Getting to content leadership
In her role at IBM, Karla Bousquet, Director, Client Executive Marketing, leads high-level, in-person programs for IBM’s top executive customers globally. Karla has applied a number of the critical success factors listed above in her expansion of the program.
Here’s one example. In 2006, IBM was looking for ways to enhance its event program to engage its top 200 CIO customers in new and more strategic conversations. The goal was to move far beyond the product pitch-based events often created by IT vendors and shape a content-rich program focused on economic and business issues that were challenging CIOs.
Starting with the premise of co-creation, Karla and her team embarked on a series of interviews with their executive customers, from which they uncovered some surprising and critical findings. This led the company to build a strategic agenda, leveraging CIO customer and expert stories and examples of success. The initial program convened 200 CIOs and, in concert with IBM’s executives, the program tackled critical business issues such as globalization and emerging economies, as well as important technology issues. Now in its seventh year, the series is highly valued by leading CIOs who travel from around the globe to attend, and has firmly positioned IBM as a strategic thought partner.
Karla’s insights into the key to success are straightforward:
“Once we started engaging our executive customers in the development of the agendas and in presenting their stories on stage, we saw a dramatic increase in the quality of the attendees, the conversations and, most importantly, the relationships we developed between events. We worked closely with our own executives to move beyond sales presentations to share innovative thinking of their own. This year, based on our ongoing conversations with our strategic customers, we have expanded the dialogue to include the CMO in partnership with CIOs, tackling the next arena for business impact for our executive client base.”
For content marketers looking to engage executives through events, co-creation, peer leadership and pushing the envelope on business challenges that matter are core to success. IBM has received overwhelming feedback that this approach works. As one satisfied executive noted,
“I value the fact that IBM seeks out my opinion, and includes my perspectives in the strategies they are building. They have shifted from a vendor to a partner — a positive shift for IBM and for my company. ”
For more information on the recent CIO/CMO event, visit the IBM site.
Case study 2: Bringing executives on board
The digital performance agency iProspect has been riding a wave of growth, expanding its services and the level of its client relationships as it goes. When Amy Quigley, VP of Marketing, joined iProspect 18 months ago, she saw an important opportunity to engage and involve the more senior executives who were part of these growing client relationships.
iProspect had held a client summit for several years, and it was well attended by a large number of client practitioners, but few executives were joining. Amy could see that the content was geared toward those on their clients’ teams who executed the digital marketing strategies but did not focus on the more strategic, broad-reaching business challenges and market-leading innovations of interest to senior marketing executives. She took the step to create an executive track for the summit this year, bringing in client speakers and industry-leading experts to address the interests and needs of the senior group. The result was one of the most well-attended client summits ever by executive client contacts, and participants gave high marks on the relevance and benefit of their attendance. As one happy attendee noted after the event,
“The content of the conference was ‘spot on’ and very helpful for our business.”
Amy credits several factors for gaining traction with executive-level events:
“I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having peers to speak and present on their own valuable experiences. Our executive clients tell us that they look to us for market leadership and innovation, and want to see examples where they can learn about important ideas, and not be sold to in the process. I also find that focusing on a few critical themes helps draw and keep executives’ attention.”
The bottom line
Sharing content with executives through in-person events can bring great value — if you do it right. Bring your clients along with you to co-create and lead the agenda, and share with your own executives the opportunity for exchange of insights and new ideas. In doing this, you’ll advance the conversation in new and sometimes surprising ways.
Get more great insight into the latest content marketing tools, technologies and processes from Chief Content Officer magazine. And for more information on in-person content marketing events, check out the CMI Events page.
Cover image via MDGovpics. | 10,115 | 4,354 | 0.000235 |
warc | 201704 | There are a few virtues you can always associate with a Birmingham family dentist. A capable oral surgeon can assist you in enjoying ultimate oral health.
Oral health is assuming true significance in recent times. It is imperative to fix an appointment with a qualified family dentist so as to ensure the best oral health. If you are a resident of Birmingham and interested in hiring the services of an oral surgeon, you need to consider a few important factors. There can be the least denying that a qualified oral surgeon can assist you in enjoying the best oral health possible; thus improving your overall living standard.
Are you in a state of complete ignorance finding it a lot difficult in realizing as to what are the virtues you need to consider while fixing an appointment with a dentist? Well! The first and foremost quality you need to deliberate on while searching for a family dentist is focusing upon the desired degree of the knowledge base. The fact that an educated oral surgeon stays informed about the latest advances in the field of dentistry is one of the prime reasons as to why; it is crucial to consider hiring services of a dental surgeon.
You need to understand that dentistry is a precise and articulate form of treatment option that needs to be applied with delicate care. There is no point in appointing the services of an oral surgeon who do not have the potential to provide treatment facility in a gentle manner. It is mandatory for a dentist to have steady hands and endurance so as to be able to deliver treatment options for an extended period of time. Communication is also one of the other true virtues you can associate with a dentist. It is expected that the oral surgeon must be able to break down the treatment option accordingly; thus extending the ultimate degree of advantages.
Residents of Birmingham who are interested in hiring the services of a recognized oral surgeon need to understand the responsibility of the surgeon in helping you gain relief from all sorts of anxieties. A
Birmingham family dentistmust stay informed as to what is the ultimate approach that can prove to be appropriate in extending services to elderly persons and children. A good family oral surgeon also needs to understand the importance of educating patients; as to what be the best ways of maintaining the best oral health. The oral surgeon needs to educate the patients as to what are the flossing techniques that can improve oral health condition.
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33 views | 2,704 | 1,198 | 0.000838 |
warc | 201704 | Does your child drool at the sight of cold coffee topped with whipped cream and chocolate syrup? Does your child insist on adding coffee to his glass of milk every morning? A report in The Journal of Pediatrics reveals that 75% children consume coffee on a daily basis. Here, we look at whether children should consume coffee, and what side effects it can cause in kids and teens!
SIDE EFFECTS OF COFFEE IN KIDS AND TEENS 1. Restricts calcium absorption: Caffeine may restrict calcium absorption of in the body, which may affect the growth and development of a child. According to research, every 100 milligrams of coffee intake leads to a loss of 6 milligrams of calcium from the body. Coffee addiction can take a toll on the bone health of your teenager during the critical growth years. 2. Leads to obesity: Cold coffee is replete with staggering amounts of sugar, fat, and calories. It may lead to obesity in children. Early obesity begins during the childhood and may continue even during adulthood and cause severe health complications. 3. Causes dental decay: Acidic drinks can weaken the teeth. Coffee is acidic in nature (pH 5.0-5.1). Children who drink coffee are more likely to suffer from loss of enamel and cavities. It also stains the teeth of children, making them look unsightly. 4. Results in insomnia: Children between the age of 5 and 12 years need at least 11 hours of sleep and teens need 9-10 hours. Coffee has five times more caffeine per serving than soda or tea. It lasts in the body for up to eight hours, leading to sleep loss. Kids who drink coffee to boost their stamina and energy levels affect their sleep negatively. During puberty, the maximum number of neural connections develops. Coffee induces sleep disturbances and reduces sleepiness. As coffee consumption interferes with deep sleep and leads to sleep disturbances, it limits the neural development of the brain. 5. Increases anxiety: According to several reports, children who drink coffee suffer from anxiety disorders. Coffee stimulates the central nervous system. It can cause the children to become hyperactive, nervous and anxious. Caffeine increases the heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and production of gastric juices too. 6. Loss of appetite: Children should have a balanced diet full of whole grains, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Coffee curbs appetite in children and leads to a decline in nutritional intake. So, while coffee does not stunt the growth of children, by lowering appetite and with lower intake of nutrition, it adversely affects the growth and development of children. 7. Coffee is bad for heart: If kids already have heart problems then drinking coffee will make it worse! In a case of an undiagnosed arrhythmia, an irregular or abnormal heartbeat, caffeine will worsen the condition or can exacerbate the arrhythmia. You can expect palpitation, irregular heartbeat or an increase in heart rate with drinking too much coffee. The journal Pediatrics discusses that coffee as a stimulant has potent heart and blood pressure in boys and girls after puberty. Studies conclude that coffee as a stimulant has more effects on adolescent boys than adolescent girls while no gender-specific changes were noticed in younger children. 8. Coffee increases blood pressure: Caffeine constricts the blood vessels. 4 mg of caffeine per kilogram of the body weight can increase blood pressure. 9. Coffee is bad for the nervous system: Children's brains are a bit more sensitive to caffeine than that of adults. As such, caffeine can cause hyperactivity. Jitteriness and nervousness becomes a common feature. Kids may also experience sleeplessness at a very young age. Too much coffee can also give headaches, difficulty in concentrating. Severe toxicity by the coffee can also cause fits! 10. Severe toxicity by coffee: One can experience symptoms like nausea, stomach upset, vomiting, muscle cramps, twitching and agitation if a child consumes more than 4.5 mg of caffeine per pound of body weight. 11. Leads to behavioral issues: Coffee is a stimulant in nature. It can lead to hyperactivity, restlessness, inability to concentrate and a host of behavioral problems in children. If children are made to cease drinking coffee abruptly, it will aggravate the behavioral issues. 12. Headaches: Coffee provides instant relief from headache, but it is also one of the most recognized sources of headaches or migraine in teenagers. Excessive coffee consumption by teens is the most common cause of headache. Sometimes coffee can also lead to severe withdrawal headache once you stop consuming it. 13. Coffee is a dehydrating agent: Coffee is a diuretic. It eliminates water from the body through urination. It's not clear however as to how much amount of caffeine can cause dehydration this way. It might depend on the person consuming coffee in a day. Therefore, in hot weather when kids need to replenish lost water from the body, avoiding coffee altogether might be wise. 14. Poor performance: Large doses of coffee affect your teen's attention span at the school. Though small amounts of coffee can sharpen your teen's mental focus and help him concentrate at school or college, too much of coffee can have a detrimental effect. It not only reduces his attention span, but also causes muscle tremors and nervousness. These tremors reduce her ability to interact effectively at school or college. 15. Under nourishment: Coffee increases your teen's metabolism rate while suppressing her appetite. Children who have too much coffee fill themselves with empty calories and miss getting enough nutrition from other food and suffer from stunted development. Excess coffee also leads to low iron and calcium absorption, which is essential for strong bones and teeth. 16. Jitters: Coffee is a stimulant for the central nervous system, and it affects the brain and its functions. While moderate coffee intake increases oxygen supply to the brain and awakens the mind, excess coffee intake causes the body systems to move slightly faster. The situation can lead to jitters i.e. your teen is jumpy or nervous all the time. 17. Hallucination: Teens who consume coffee are more prone to mental disorders in the later stages of life. A regular cup of coffee interferes with his brain and can also lead to hallucinations. The hallucinations occur as coffee leads to nervousness in teens. Giving your children coffee is good so long as it is in moderation. If your child is a coffee addict, you can help, by reducing his intake and avert the withdrawal symptoms like muscle aches, headaches, depression, and irritability. If your adolescent child is asking for coffee, it's ok for him to have the occasional 8-ounce drink at least 6 hours before bedtime. In effect, coffee is a 'drug'. Apart from the several drinks and foods that contain caffeine and which your children might already be consuming, an additional addiction of coffee can make it worse. The writer is a freelance contributor at www.momjunction.com | 7,017 | 3,125 | 0.00032 |
warc | 201704 | Kushalrani Gulab For years, Ismail Ali has been assisting Parveen Robbani in the fine art of making pickles. Naturally, this involves handling chillies. Occasionally, says Ali, he forgets the warning that all chilli handlers are given, about not touching your face without first washing your hands. But he’s so used to hot stuff that he’s unconcerned about ill effects. However, ask if he’s ever touched his face by accident when he’s worked with bhut jalokias, and he freezes. “No,†he says, firmly. “When I’m handling bhut jalokias, I never forget what I’m doing.†Sitting in the living room of the Robbanis’ Guwahati flat, you know exactly why Ali is so careful. It’s obvious from the pungent reek emanating from the pile of bhut jalokias on the dining table some 10 feet away. It’s evident from the fact that Parveen Robbani wears rubber gloves even when she’s ladling her bhut jalokia pickle into packets for the market, not actually touching it with her hands. It’s clear from the anxiety on Parveen’s husband Arif’s face as he warns you to wash your hands and face with soap even though all you’ve done is lean over the pickle jar to look at the bhut jalokias. Because the bhut jalokia is the hottest chilli in the world. No one treats it with anything less than the greatest respect. Feel the burn The hottest chilli in the world? What does that mean? Well, technically, the bhut jalokia measures 1,001,304 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), which means it contains the highest naturally occurring amount of capsaicin (the pungent chemical in chillies) in the world. SHUs are based on the number of times an extract from a chilli must be diluted in sugar water to lose its heat. So the bhut jalokia extract had to be diluted more than 10 lakh times before the testers could declare it heat-free. Impressive though that sounds, it’s difficult to understand how hot the bhut jalokia can be unless you compare it to something familiar. So figure this out. The ordinary hari mirch measures 15,000-30,000 SHUs, the Andhra Guntur sannam measures 35,000-40,000 SHU, the Kashmiri mirch measures 1,500-2,000 SHUs, and the Simla mirch measures zero SHUs. The reek of the bhut jalokia is so strong that it keeps elephants at bay, and it’s so pungent that scientists at the Defence Research and Development Organisation announced that it could be used to make the world’s first non-lethal hand grenade. But till the 2000s, no one had ever heard of it. No one outside the North East of India, that is, where the bhut jalokia, also known as the Naga jalokia, the bih jalokia, the raja mirch and the u morich, has been eaten for 500 years, according to Dr Ananta Saika, professor at the Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Jorhat. That changed in 2007, when the Guinness Book of World Records recognised the bhut jalokia as the world’s hottest chilli based on tests at New Mexico State University, US, in which the chilli beat the previous record holder, the 577,000 SHU Red Savina Habanera. Since then, the bhut jalokia has not only been the subject of much excitement amongst the chilli-heads of the world (chilli-heads being people who are addicted to the rush of happy-making endorphins that the capsaicin in chillis release), but also a huge amount of business curiosity from both potential buyers of the chilli and the states that grow it. For instance, with such a high level of capsaicin, the bhut jalokia seems perfect for the health industry, which uses the chemical to make pain-killing creams for arthritis and topical creams for skin disorders. And it’s also useful for pepper sprays for crowd control and self-defence. Its colour also attracts the cosmetics industry, which uses it for lipsticks. And there’s the food industry. Hot sauces – really hot sauces – are much in demand, and international chilli cultivators are already growing the bhut jalokia and its hybrids and selling its sauces and pastes at supermarkets worldwide. All of this has made at least two North East states, Nagaland and Assam, realise that their beloved chilli has big money-making potential in the world. And in the country. And even in the North East itself, where people who have always used the bhut jalokia now regard it with awe. “We’ve always eaten it, but we didn’t know it was the hottest chilli in the world,†laughs Dr Jyotsna Devi, professor of plant breeding and genetics at the AAU. “But since the Guinness certification, we’ve been very proud of it. It’s a great thrill to get letters from people outside Assam, asking for its seeds.†Some like it hot It’s a thrill, yes, but it’s also a matter of concern for the Assamese, who worry that this outside interest in the bhut jalokia may cause the North East to lose the chilli just as it has found it. Which is why, in 2008, the government of Nagaland applied for and received Geographical Indicator (GI) status for what it calls the Naga Mircha, and the Assam government is working on the same. “GI status is vital, because the seeds of the bhut jalokia are available all over the world, and now everyone is trying to cultivate it commercially,†explains Dr Saikia. “If they are successful, we will be nowhere in the picture.†But though the government of Nagaland has patented the chilli, the bhut jalokia is not a Naga property alone. “It grows wild all over the North East, as well as in the hilly regions of Bangladesh, Myanmar and even Cambodia,†says Ashish Chopra, environmentalist turned culinary historian who’s published a book of recipes from the North East and been a big fan of the bhut jalokia since he was a child trotting after his anthropologist father in the North East. Cooked in special dishes (primarily by the Nagas and Manipuris, while the Assamese tend to eat it on the side), smoked, dried, pickled, cut into tiny pieces and salted, infused in oil that’s later used for cooking, the bhut jalokia is a big part of North East cuisine where the taste has always tended towards the hot. “People here don’t like the North Indian green chilli,†says Dr Devi. “Our chillies are hotter than them, and the preference here is for the hot.†But there’s hot and then there’s the bhut jalokia. Though several types of chillies are grown in Assam, including the mem jalokia (named after memsahibs because they’re white), the Krishna jalokia (purple-black), and the dhan or khud jalokia (tiny chillies, the size of grains of Assamese rice), and all of them are hotter than the hari mirch, none are as hot as the bhut jalokia. Which means that not everyone can eat the bhut jalokia. While Parveen Robbani struggles to explain why the chilli means so much to her, finally giving up with “I love it because I like it!†and Himanga Sonowal, additional development officer at the Golaghat office of agriculture, offers a bemused “Well, ye-es!†when asked if he eats the chilli, Arif Robbani shudders at the thought of it. And there are gales of laughter at the Gogoi household in Guwahati, when Thagi Gogoi, retired government official, explains why he tries to escape eating anything with the bhut jalokia in it: “It doesn’t upset the stomach, but it does set the mouth on fire and you do feel the burn when you go to the bathroom.†The heat is on That’s a point about the bhut jalokia that requires investigation – the fact that though it’s very, very hot, it doesn’t upset the stomach. Its effects are the opposite in fact – it’s often prescribed as a home remedy for gastric trouble. “Recently we even got an order from Poland, where a doctor prescribed one bhut jalokia a day for a patient with stomach cancer,†says Dr Saikia who also consults at Frontal Agritech, a company set up by his wife, food technologist Dr Leena Saika, which has been marketing the bhut jalokia since 2004. How the bhut jalokia works on the stomach no one knows. In fact, there’s not much about this chilli that anyone knows. It is a complete mystery. “It’s never been cultivated in an organised way,†says Dr Harshajyoti Barooah, officer on special duty at the department of horticulture, Assam. “It’s always grown wild, or in kitchen gardens. Now we’re trying to cultivate it commercially.†In 2009, Assam’s agriculture minister Pramila Rani Brahma announced assistance of Rs 13,000 per hectare to farmers willing to cultivate it; now that has gone up to Rs 18,500 per hectare. That’s possibly because of something no one had realised about this chilli. It doesn’t want to be tamed. “What we’ve learned about it so far,†says Dr Barooah, “is that if you let it grow wild, it will grow. But if you try to grow it, it demands a lot of attention.†In its first year of commercial cultivation, the bhut jalokia is behaving like someone in need of psychological help. If you take this analogy further, that’s because the chilli itself doesn’t really know what it is. “It cross-pollinates easily with other plants, so everywhere it’s a different shape, size, colour, pungency level,†says Dr Mantu Bhuyan of the North East Institute of Science and Technology, Jorhat. “In Jorhat alone I can show you six or seven variations. In the entire North East, there are 40 or 50 variations. It isn’t possible to test every one.†Since the bhut jalokia is all over the place genetically speaking, researchers at the AAU who have the task of working out a package of cultivation practices for farmers are bemused by the number and variety of diseases the plant is subject to. “It’s also very sensitive to climate and local ecology,†says Dr Devi. “For instance, we’ve been trying to grow a variant from Nagaland at the AAU, but we just haven’t managed to pull it off.†It’s important to know how to grow the different variants, because if the bhut jalokia is to have commercial viability, its attributes, such as colour, pungency, shape and so on, have to be standardised. If buyers want it for its capsaicin level, then the level had better always be what the buyers need. If buyers want it for its colour, then it had better always be that red. If everything is perfect, the chilli can sell for Rs 1,000 per kilo, says Dr Barooah. But if not, the price can vary. Fire down below But though there is no package of cultivation practices to work with and though the demand for the chilli seems a little vague at present, farmers are turning their fields over to the bhut jalokia. “It’s a high value crop,†says Dr Saikia. “If it’s given proper care, a farmer can become a lakhpati from one bigha.†That’s what Narayan Bora, a farmer in Assam’s Golaghat district, hopes will happen. His idea was to begin a tea estate, but for quick returns, he decided to give 15 bighas of his land to bhut jalokias. “I think I’ll make Rs 10 lakhs from bhut jalokias,†he says. “And next year, I want to give 40 bighas more to the chillies.†Bora is just one of the 350 farmers in Golaghat who are attempting to grow the bhut jalokia as part of the government’s technology mission, says Himanga Sonowal of the district’s agricultural office. “They required slight motivation to begin,†he says, “But they’re not worried, because there is a demand for it in the local market at least.†Right now, the local market keeps them going – though you can hear the click of a calculator in Bora’s head when you tell him that the chilli, which is Rs 10 for six pieces in Jorhat, is Rs 10 for four in Guwahati and Rs 10 per piece in Mumbai. But there are big hopes of big national and international orders. “Already, we are exporting to several countries including Australia and Venezuela,†says Dr Barooah. “And for marketing, we hope to tie up with ITC.†And the future seems bright at Frontal Agritech. “Now companies in India are also asking for the bhut jalokia,†says Dr Leena Saikia. “In fact, one company has just asked for 5,000 kilos every week.†What the demand actually is, no one can tell as yet. And whether the bhut jalokia will ever allow itself to be tamed is another big question. But neither the Assam government nor Minakhi Kasari, president of the Ujwal Mahila Samiti, a Golaghat-based NGO for women which has sunk money, time and effort into farming the bhut jalokia, will allow themselves to be pessimistic. Asked if she worries about the risk, Kasari has only one thing to say. “It’s human nature to hope, isn’t it?†Common property Much as we’d like to believe that North Eastern chillis at least originated in India, that is not true. Chillis were ‘discovered’ in South America by the Spanish. When the Portuguese Vasco Da Gama came to India, he carried chillies with him, and they spread all over the sub-continent and Asia. India had always had a taste for the hot thanks to black pepper (kali mirch) and long pepper (pippali). So we reacted to the chillis in a ‘where-have-you-been-all-my-life!’ manner and adopted them at once. “Still, we’ve had the bhut jalokia for 500 years,†says Dr Ananta Saikia of the AAU, Jorhat. “Surely we can call them indigenous by now?†White hot! This year, the British media announced that a UK cultivator had grown a chilli hotter than the bhut jalokia. Called the Infinity (see picture above), it measured 1,067,286 SHUs. Though he’s waiting for a reply from the Guinness Book of Records, the developer of the Infinity, Woody Woods of Fire Foods, a company that makes hot sauces and pastes, is not challenging the bhut jalokia yet. “I grow the super-hot Bhut Jalokias, Trinidad Scorpians, Fatalis and 7-Pods. Two of these super-hots crossbred and from that the Infinity grew,†he says. “But we will wait until the next batch of results to confirm the continuous level of heat in the plants.†Naga Pork Curry A significant feature of Naga food is its unique flavour; it can be either very hot or totally bland. Raja chilli (bhut jalokia) is an important ingredient in a lot of Naga dishes. Sometimes, it’s the main ingredient. Here is a simple Naga Pork curry with raja chilli recipe, courtesy Ashish Chopra, from his book of recipes, NE Belly. Ingredients: Pork 1 kg with meat and fat; Garlic crushed 20 cloves; Ginger crushed 50 gms; Salt to taste; One raja mircha fresh or smoked and dried; Tomatoes 400 gms pureed. Serves 4 Preparation Wash and slice the pork and set aside, puree the tomatoes and keep aside along with crushed garlic and ginger. Method Put the pork in a thick bottomed pan, add salt to taste, add half a glass of water and let it cook until half done. Then add the tomato puree, ginger and garlic and let the pork cook until tender. When it is almost done, add the raja chilli and stir until the pork is cooked and tender. Once done, transfer it to a bowl and serve with steamed rice. It is delicious and the flavour of the raja chilli adds marvels to your tastebuds. http://nebloggers.blogspot.com/2010/06/hottest-chillies-in-world.html Warning: The link provided gives a malware warning. Open it at your own risk. | 17,103 | 6,764 | 0.000168 |
warc | 201704 | Peter Duesberg.This professor was much admired and respected at his University of California-Berkeley campus, and has completed some incredibly respectable work. But a recent article in Discovermagazine brought to light some of Duesberg’s more controversial, perhaps even unsavory, beliefs to light. Since 1986, Duesberg has been an adamant AIDS denier, believing that the illness is caused by drug use rather than by the HIV virus. Despite a lack of evidence backing up his claims, as well as some concerns about ethics in regard to his published articles, Duesberg’s views have affected international AIDS policy, especially in South Africa. It is thought that the government’s refusal to provide anti-viral medications to AIDS patients, believing with Duesberg that their condition was not caused by a virus, led to hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths. | 880 | 522 | 0.001953 |
warc | 201704 | Cracked feet can be unsightly, painful, and hard to get rid of! While there are many causes of this frustrating condition, winter weather is one of the most common culprits of dry skin that peels, tears, and cracks. Knowing exactly what the cause is for
your cracked heels is the first step to healing them. Here are the 10 most common causes of dry, cracked feet and heels. 1. Lack of Moisture
Winter weather is the number one cause for seasonal dry skin. The heels are especially prone to chapped skin, because they are home to most of the sweat glands in your feet. Protect them from vital moisture loss by wearing aloe vera-infused socks, or by massaging oils into feet before you put on evening slippers. Some of the best natural skin hydrators include shea butter, cocoa butter, and jojoba oil.
2. Eczema, Psoriasis, Diabetes and Other Dry Skin Conditions
Skin conditions such as these can cause skin to dry out, flake, peel, and even crack down deep into the layers beneath the epidermis, drawing blood. In certain areas of the body, you might not notice these symptoms right away. Heels, however, are particularly susceptible to added complications of these conditions, as they get a lot of “foot traffic” (so to speak).
3. Kidney Problems
These bean-shaped organs are responsible for filtering waste products and other toxins from the body. Over time, they can become problematic for reasons including genetics, poor diet, and other lifestyle choices. If you suffer from a kidney disorder, a buildup of waste products in your blood can cause dry skin, itching, and flaking. Windy, cold winter weather only worsens this condition, and may cause heels to crack.
4. Thyroid Dysfunction
The most common thyroid problem associated with dry skin and cracked heels is hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid). The thyroid produces important hormones responsible for everything from hunger to sleep, and even healthy hair and skin. If you notice any of these symptoms, check with your doctor about a thyroid test: unwanted weight gain, mood swings, irregularity, muscle aches and pains, joint pain, fatigue, and painful PMS.
5. Nutrient Deficiency
Dry skin is normal, especially during winter months. However, if you notice that your skin is so dry that it’s prone to flaking and cracking, it may be a sign of a nutrient deficiency. Ultra-dry skin can be caused by a lack of enough water and a deficiency in essential fatty acids, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, or potassium.
6. Aging
Over time, the body slows down production of many different important hormones needed to maintain skin elasticity and strength. For this reason, older people may notice especially dry skin, and even thicker skin on the feet than they had when they were younger. This is normal with age, but it can increase the risk of developing cracked heels.
7. Unwanted Weight Gain
Wintertime gives you a great excuse to eat a little more than usual –
and that’s ok! However, if you suffer from excessive weight gain or obesity, it could be adding pressure to your heels, which causes the cracking of already extra-dry feet. An easy remedy for this is custom orthopedic inserts to keep feet centered and in balance. 8. The Wrong Footwear
Many times, cracked heels are the result of walking in the wrong type of footwear, or wearing a pair of shoes that are too small or improperly fitted. Sandals and other exposing shoes can also cause parts of the foot to slip off balance, further increasing the risk of cracked heels.
9. Genetics
There are many causes of cracked skin on your feet and heels. If you feel like no matter how hard you try you just can’t keep your heels soft, it could be genetic. Families pass this dry skin condition down to their children, and as luck would have it, many people get it from their parents. Check your family medical history if you suspect your dry heels are genetic.
10. Poor Hygiene
The skin is the largest organ of the body, and it is charged with removing toxins via the pores.
It’s a tough job! Help your skin, and reduce the likelihood of cracked heels by keeping skin clean, dry and moisturized. How Do I Get Rid of Dry, Cracked Heels?
There are many different ways to approach the type of dry skin that can lead to deep cracks. Follow this simple five-step process, and heal your cracked heels at home:
1. Remove the toughest parts of calloused dry heels with scissors or nail clippers.
2. Use a pumice stone or metal nail file to further eliminate calluses, and smooth the skin. 3. Once the deep cracks are reduced, you can begin to apply healing slaves. Bandage the area to prevent infection. 4. Once the area has begun to heal, apply a healing ointment. 5. It is recommended that you additionally purchase a set of custom insoles (orthotics) to reduce pressure on the heel.
Persistent cracking of the heels isn’t just a temporary nuisance. It can be a painful condition troublesome to treat. Try this simple five-step process, and if your symptoms persist, check with your doctor to see if there is a prescription or other treatment option for you. | 5,132 | 2,467 | 0.000411 |
warc | 201704 | Automation is not DevOps
Nor is any technology or product.
I should remind a famous quote:
“The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.” Bill Gates
It may sound counterproductive from an Automation specialist to reveal the limitations of his job, but I have seen a wide range of inefficiencies, and many failed attempt to fix them.
To be clear from the outset, I do think technology and automation are a mandatory milestone in a company’s DevOps journey, but they are no more than tools or enabler to achieve something bigger: help delivering the business value people expect when you mention that term: DevOps.
If you’re familiar with the CALMS model, you know that Automation is only one of the 5 pillars for DevOps. The others, Culture, Lean, Metrics and Sharing are equally important, and a good reminder that it’s not only about technology. The problem with those is that it’s a bit harder to action them directly, it requires some knowledge, analysis, thinking and… iterations! Culture:
Sum of ideas, attitudes, and social behaviour of people is what makes a company-wide (the system) performance possible, transcending the archaic way of managing performance by isolating highly specialist fields, and optimizing their production on their relatively narrow field of expertise. This is the model inherited from mass production industries, for economy of scale. Doing so disconnect the work of individuals or so called ‘teams’ from the actual business value it is intended for, hence leaves each team fighting for their short sighted KPIs relative to their field, without true and sincere collaboration. How many times have I heard techies saying sales people from their company are selling inappropriate solutions that they, ops., will have to support. It’s a standard outcome when revenue making team is fighting against the team that tries to limit the opex, their KPIs are working against each other, and the resulting culture gets in the way of collaboration and continuous improvement. And if it’s not the sales department, it could be any business department, asking for yet another new complex software to be supported before the rollout of the previous one is complete, and technical debt paid off…
In such environment, your co-workers are your first enemies to your performance, that’s why changing job might look so attractive, current competitors to your company are not really working against you, as much as your own colleagues do. In such system, evaluating individual or team performance is the cherry on the cake, a futile exercise because the individual is evolving in an inefficient system. As Dr Deming said: “All anyone asks for is a chance to work with pride.”
Lean:
The simplified idea is to focus strictly on value added effort, in small batches, instead of managing teams with a busy-o-meter approach. The goal and metric should be the value provided to the business, eliminating waste, and measuring the actual value. Activities and tasks should be disciplined so that they are done just in time, just enough, an evolve with the needs. This goes far beyond the technology, it requires the business to have processes that allow for value accounting, measurements where technology can be used to gather, track and report on that data. To enable this the batch size should be sufficiently small to avoid the effort to value relation to be untestable for a long period.
It is wasteful to engage in long and complex projects because ‘we know’ we have a list of specifications that we’ll need to be addressed at some point, and to deliver the solution in a few months or years. Even if something is seen as best practice in the industry, that a big feature needs to be implemented now in its entirety, in your context. Instead we should identify the value the business needs now, to respond to it as quickly and efficiently as possible, no need to add extra-nice feature for the sake of it. For sure the initial specs won’t be what was actually needed, but if you accept it from the outset and work to refine those requirements as you build the product, you are sure you are not spending time in features that won’t be needed. That does not mean you don’t plan ahead, the key is to prioritise those value, have a development process that allow estimating and planning delivery in an accurate but not necessarily precise way, and that every choice you make support future evolution and changes. By the communication and collaboration required in that feedback loop, and through the obsession of business value you will eliminate waste. After all, are you more efficient towards achieving business value by working 4 weeks uninterrupted, or by identifying waste worth 4 weeks’ of effort during a long meeting with the business, and together realize there might be priorities that have been overlooked?
Measurement (or Metrics):
The key here is not tracking all and every metrics, most of them won’t be tracking the actual progress made (they are Vanity metrics as explained in The Lean Startup). Tracking time spent on project per individual will not relate to value provided to the business if that project produce an undefined amount of waste. How do you evaluate project A to project B in terms of business value? Chances are that they’re both seen as critical and need to be done yesterday. This lack of value management, or probably lack of clear communication, vehicle down the hierarchy that everything is important or, with time, equally unimportant. Battling on every front may seem productive because the teams gets extremely busy, but the time required for task switching, and the corners cut to deliver something lead to poor quality and a constant need to firefight and coming back to fix what the business assumes is already achieved, and no longer on the radar.
That’s usually why focusing on quality as a first measure will provide great benefits in the medium to long term, it’s a way to stop the accumulation of technical debt, reducing the firefighting, freeing time for other activities. But don’t be fooled, the debt accumulated to this point is a drag that will still slow you down until it’s paid off, and need to be managed on a daily basis, not left on its own. Identifying and avoiding choices that will create that debt, will pay off in the medium to long run, company-wide. But individuals disconnected from rest of the business, won’t see the debt creating choices, as it may not be their responsibilities, and evaluated on their KPIs, when it becomes a problem to the business. This is where the wall between Dev and Ops is created: a feature or product may be released by the Dev team, but a technical debt, such as documentation, may mean the Ops team will have to pay it off, with much more effort it would have been needed to avoid it from the start.
Sharing:
Finally, this one is not be the most obvious, but should not be overlooked. I’d suggest having a read at Steve Thair’s post, from DevOpsGuys (@): Is the S (sharing) in CALMS redundant.
Many people discover their own assumptions either when attempting to express their point of view, or by listening to others’. It is good practice to make sure that sharing is not only a by-product of the culture, but also a mechanism and an effort to ensures that the improvement loop is closed, so that such activities can feedback into the culture by promoting, facilitating and sharing the knowledge in improvements attempts: aka. validated learning. The other benefit of sharing, is to amplify and spread principles and practices internally and externally, giving a broader source for innovation and improvement. After all, to truly benefit from a DevOps mindset, the whole organization needs to embrace it, from the technology teams, to the other departments and the customers. By sharing your journey, you give your co-workers the insights of your efforts, allowing them to engage at the right time for their own benefits, and yours…
The first Way of DevOps:
Back to the “3 ways underpinning DevOps“, as exposed by Gene Kim in “The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your business Win”, many discussions on the subject have ablated a big chunk, right at the start.
In the 1st Way: Systems Thinking, there is this famous picture in the Phoenix Project With Dev and Ops linked by an arrow. I believe, many people only have this picture in mind when explaining DevOps, and did not remember, let alone read, the accompanying text explaining the ideas behind.
This is not just between your Dev and Ops team on a technical level, this represents Systems Thinking, which does require the creation of a delivery System across all business value streams to improve.
Dr W. Edwards Deming’s work, The System of Profound Knowledge is a management philosophy grounded in systems theory which goes in great details in the concepts that DevOps leverages and are illustrated by the picture.
Automation is only the (mandatory) enabler so that we, techies, can take our eyes off the screens, to go talk to people and understand the system we evolve in, understand the values of the business, engage, and start contributing pro-actively. When IT start looking less busy, and engage with the rest of the business to create value, the IT department of your organization will look less like a cost centre for opex, and more like an innovation enabler. The key is that innovation needs a delivery system, your conveyor belt, to ship value.
Takeaways:
Automation is only a fraction of the DevOps picture. Working towards automation is a mandatory milestone with its own challenges and where choice of technology and technique of implementation are some of the keys to success. But the real value-add work starts when you engage with the business to participate in that whole system.
Remember to make an effort to not simply “do as you’re told”, but to connect your effort with your organization desired value creation, and show that you’re ready to collaborate. | 10,390 | 4,618 | 0.000222 |
warc | 201704 | Title Date of Award
5-1-2007
Degree Type
Restricted Access Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Public Health
Field of Study
Community Health
Department
School of Public Health
First Advisor
Claudia Coggin
Second Advisor
Ximena Urrutia-Rojas
Third Advisor
Sejong Bae
Abstract
Bhatia, Shimona R., Pilot Project Evaluation: Keep It Healthy- An Obesity Prevention and Lifestyle-Modification Non-Profit Organization. Master of Public Health (Community Health), May 2007, 120 pp., 3 tables, 5 illustrations, references, 66 titles. This study was a secondary data set analysis and pilot-project evaluation of the Keep It Healthy non-profit organization. The eighteen-week program, which twenty-one qualifying participants completed, included dietary counseling, physical activity groups and classes as well as nutritional education. Overall, there was a significant (p-value <0.05) increase in fruit and vegetable consumption per day. There was also an increase in the days per week and minutes per day spent engaging in various levels of physical activity. There was also a significant decrease of average weight (164.10 to 169.49 pounds) and average body mass index (BMI) (30.04 to 29.14) of the group over the eighteen-week program.
Recommended Citation
Bhatia, S. R. , "Pilot Project Evaluation: Keep It Healthy - An Obesity-Prevention and Lifestyle-Modification Non-Profit Organization" Fort Worth, Tx: University of North Texas Health Science Center;(2007).
http://digitalcommons.hsc.unt.edu/theses/458 | 1,518 | 836 | 0.001215 |
warc | 201704 | And even on the ceiling
But eating powdered gecko’s ass
I would not find appealing.
The ancient healers’ art, alas,
Needs gecko parts for healing
Among the superstitious class
With whom these folks are dealing.
Although I hear my views are crass,
I get a funny feeling
That watching where the dollars pass
Would likely be revealing.
And seeing how the funds amass…
It’s little more than stealing.
Ok, actually, it's quite a bit more than stealing. Stealing would be taking people's money for nothing. This is also lying, and killing lizards for no good reason.
NPR reports on a brisk, though illegal, trade in traditional gecko-based cures--significant enough that health officials in the Phillipines are actually issuing warnings. People are being told that gecko remedies can relieve asthma, or even AIDS.
I like geckos. Mind you, I would throw geckos under the bus if they actually did cure AIDS, for such time as it would take to identify the active compounds... but. There is no evidence that it does.
If any of my readers A)can read Chinese (Mandarin, I am assuming), and B) have PubMed access, please take a look at the NPR article--they link to a journal article that I would love to be able to read, but I am (alas!) American, and thus speak barely one language.
Oh, and I was going to post the picture of the gecko from the article, except that it is dead, dried, and mounted on heavy-duty paper clips. I prefer my geckos alive and eating bugs.
If traditional healers are to be respected, we must assume they are motivated by a desire to heal (thus the title), and not to profit without healing (they can profit
whilehealing, of course). Healers who prefer getting paid to healing are known by other terms. If geckos can cure X, then let it be shown in trials, so that we can synthesize X as quickly as possible. If not, then dammit, true healers would look elsewhere. Those who foist | 1,935 | 1,056 | 0.000967 |
warc | 201704 | God’s perfected plan for humanity hit another speed-bump yesterday when a group of scientists released a report in the latest edition of
Uh-oh. This is perilously close to saying that there are basic differences between the two groups.
The report demonstrates that “sniffing a chemical from testosterone, the male sex hormone, causes a response in the sexual area of gay men’s brains, just as it does in the brains of straight women, but not in the brains of straight men.”
“It is one more piece of evidence that is showing that sexual orientation is not all learned,” said Sandra Witelson an expert on brain anatomy and sexual orientation at the DeGroote School of Medicine in Ontario, Canada.
Warning! Warning! All fundamentalists to your bunkers -- ignore the misleading, atheistic teaching of science.
But, seriously, these new findings put a real wrinkle in the convictions of many fundamentalist Christians who erroneously believe that homosexuality is a choice. (Does anyone really remember choosing their sexual preference when they reached puberty?) The reason they insist on this point of view is that if homosexuality isn’t a choice, then it must be a “natural” expression of one’s sexuality, suggesting that God made gays the way they are. This is an admission that, I expect, is not forthcoming form the ultra-religious community.
The science implies that men and women are predisposed in their sexual attraction. It is supremely arrogant to think that we control our basic instincts. (To quote the Bible, “All is vanity.”) Man has no such power over his environment or his character. In fact, the same rule applies to religious belief. Man does not choose the ideas to which he gravitates; he is either naturally inclined towards those ideas because they appeal to his intellectual sensibilities or because they resonate with his emotional makeup. In other words, our beliefs are a manifestation of our intellectual or emotion predisposition and, as such, are mainly subjective. They do not necessarily reflect a reliable grasp of reality.
So, fundamentalists are in a real pickle. On the one hand they’ve combed the Bible for passages that seem to condemn homosexuality as an “abomination” but, on the other hand, they’re increasingly confronted with more and more scientific proof that their assumptions are just baseless mumbo-jumbo.
Presently, all eyes are on the war being waged in a Kansas courthouse, where the updated version of the Scope’s “monkey” trial is unfolding. Fundamentalists are trying to prove Darwin got it all wrong with his evolutionary “theory” of natural selection. This new report on homosexuality suggests that fundamentalists will have to battle on a second front: denouncing the science that implies that men may be “naturally” gay.
Bummer. Either God really slipped up when he slapped creation together or gays are actually a vital part of his eternal design. Of course, if gays are just expressing their God-given, natural inclinations then we’ll have to forgo our condemnations and try to develop a sense of tolerance and compassion.
It reminds me of when playwright George Bernard Shaw was asked what he thought of Christianity. After a lengthy pause Shaw opined, “I don’t know, it might work if anyone ever tried it.”
Here’s a chance to look at the new science and “try it.”
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* A Tentative Strategy for Ending the War | 3,583 | 1,808 | 0.00058 |
warc | 201704 | 1 Genitori che applicano il Programma Son-Rise Associazione Gocce di Solidarietà di Manerbio Associazione Autismando di Brescia Con il Patrocinio Ass. Servizi Sociali del Comune di Manerbio Ass. Servizi Sociali della Provincia di Brescia CONGRESSO INTERNAZIONALE SULL AUTISMO E DISTURBI GENERALIZZATI DELLO SVILUPPO: OLTRE LA DIAGNOSI NUOVE PROSPETTIVE SULL AUTISMO: IL PROGRAMMA SON - RISE E LA RICERCA BIOMEDICA MANERBIO 8 NOVEMBRE 2003 Teatro Civico, Piazza Cesare Battisti Relatori Sean Fitzgerald: Massimo Montinari: Marcello Mandatori: Carmelo Rizzo: Insegnante del Son-Rise Program, Option Institute-Sheffield U.S.A. Pediatra, Dirigente del Dip. di Biomedicina dell età evolutiva Ospedale di Bari Docente di Nutrizione c/o Scuola di Specializzazione dell Università di Urbino Docente di Ecologia Clinica c/o Scuola di Specializzazione dell Università di Urbino ATTI DEL CONGRESSO
2 A tutti i Volontari che dedicano tempo, energia, entusiasmo, passione... Perchè sappiano che il bene che stanno offrendo è lo strumento fondamentale per la costruzione di un Ponte tra due mondi, un ponte su cui, in ogni caso, l amore si è già incontrato.
3 CONGRESSO INTERNAZIONALE SULL AUTISMO E DISTURBI GENERALIZZATI DELLO SVILUPPO: OLTRE LA DIAGNOSI NUOVE PROSPETTIVE SULL AUTISMO: IL PROGRAMMA SON-RISE E LA RICERCA BIOMEDICA MANERBIO 8 NOVEMBRE 2003 IL PROGRAMMA SON-RISE Mr.Sean Fitzgerald Insegnante del Son-Rise Program Option Institute, Sheffield (Massachusset) U.S.A. 1
4 Genitori che applicano il Programma Son-Rise Associazione Gocce di Solidarietà di Manerbio Associazione Autismando di Brescia CONGRESSO INTERNAZIONALE SULL AUTISMO E DISTURBI GENERALIZZATI DELLO SVILUPPO: OLTRE LA DIAGNOSI NUOVE PROSPETTIVE SULL AUTISMO: IL PROGRAMMA SON-RISE E LA RICERCA BIOMEDICA MANERBIO 8 NOVEMBRE 2003 INDICE 1. Mr. Sean Fitzgerald IL PROGRAMMA SON RISE (PAGINA 1) 2. Mr. Sean Fitzgerald IL PROGRAMMA SON RISE (Tradfuzione) (PAGINA 16) 3. Dott. Massimo Montinari Approccio diagnostico omotossicologico al bambino autistico. (PAGINA 30) 4. Dott. Marcello Mandatori - Corretta alimentazione nel bambino autistico: metalli tossici, mineralogramma (PAGINA 47) 5. Dott. Carmelo Rizzo Corretta alimentazione nel bambino autistico: intolleranze alimentari, citotest. (PAGINA 55) 6. Allegato 1: CH.A.T. Checklist for autism in toddlers (PAGINA 64) 7. Allegato 2: RACCOLTA INDIRIZZI SITI INTERNET (PAGINA 67) 8. Allegato 3: DOVE EFFETTUARE CYTOTEST E MINERALOGRAMMA (PAGINA 87)
5 Breakthrough Strategies for Autism Autism. Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). As the prevalence of these disorders continues to rise, our questions become ever more urgent. What causes autism, and what can we do to help our children who are already diagnosed? As we look with increasing determination for the answer to the first question, we never forget the importance of the second question. We want so much to help our children, and yet it is easy to feel a bit lost as to how best to accomplish this. How do we help children who often don t appear to want the help we offer? I would like to discuss here an interlocking network of specific strategies and techniques which addresses exactly this issue. These strategies, when utilized properly, can have a profound impact on the development, communication, and skill acquisition of children diagnosed with autism or PDD. They are, in fact, the principles of The Son-Rise Program, the autism treatment modality taught at the Autism Treatment Center of America. To understand the context of these principles, though, one must first have an awareness of the history of The Son-Rise Program a history, incidentally, that is also my own. At 18 months, Raun Kaufman was diagnosed with severe autism, along with a tested I.Q. of less than 30. Completely mute and withdrawn from human contact, he spent his days endlessly engaged in repetitive behaviors (often termed stimming ) such as spinning plates, rocking back and forth, and flapping his hands in front of his face. He didn t want to be touched, he never looked at other people, and he did not give the slightest response to 2
6 the calls and requests of the people around him. He was, in every way, in his own world. His parents were told to expect no change in his development (or nondevelopment, as the case was). It was explained that he would never speak, never have friends, never go to school, never learn to communicate with others in any meaningful way. His condition, it was said, was incurable, unchangeable, and hopeless. The prognosis was stark: He would have autism for the rest of his life. The professionals recommended eventual institutionalization. After being confronted with this prognosis, Raun s parents designed and implemented a home-based, child-centered program in an attempt to reach him and facilitate his development. They worked with him for over three years, using the method they developed, now called The Son-Rise Program. Their Son-Rise Program enabled Raun to recover completely from autism without any trace whatsoever of his former condition. He graduated with honors from high school, went on to earn a degree in Biomedical Ethics from an Ivy League university (Brown University), and then directed an educational center for school-aged children. He now lectures internationally at conferences, symposia, and universities, as well as being an author, teacher, and the Director of Global Outreach for The Son-Rise Program at the Autism Treatment Center of America. After Raun s recovery, his father, Barry Neil Kaufman, wrote a book relating their story in detail. The book, entitled Son-Rise: The Miracle Continues, was later recounted in an NBC television movie. In the avalanche of press and attention that followed the publication of the book and 3
7 subsequent airing of the television movie, my parents were flooded with requests for help. Therefore, in 1983, they founded what is now known as the Autism Treatment Center of America (a division of The Option Institute, a non-profit, charitable organization), which is dedicated to helping parents and professionals caring for children with autism, autism spectrum disorders, PDD, and other related developmental challenges. At this center, located in Sheffield, Massachusetts, USA, we run a series of weeklong training courses. In these programs, we teach a system of treatment and education designed to help families and caregivers enable their children to dramatically improve in all areas of learning, development, communication, and skill acquisition. In our work with thousands of people from across the globe, we have consistently seen results far outstrip prognoses. The foundation of the program rests upon this idea: the children show us the way in, and then we show them the way out. This means that, rather than forcing children to conform to a world that they don t understand, we begin by joining them in their own world first before asking them to join us in our world. In this way, we establish a mutual connection and relationship a critical prerequisite to productively teaching our children. Keep in mind that interaction is the #1 challenge for this group of children as well as the deficit most often cited by parents as to where they would like to see their child progress. Our primary focus, therefore, centers around helping these children to interact with, connect with, and form relationships with others. Furthermore, we want these children to want interaction, as well as to act spontaneously rather than by rote training. The key is to have our children 4
8 on our side and interested in what we are trying to convey to them. Then, we can teach our children everything we want them to learn with exponentially greater success, speed, and ease. So, where do we start? We know that we want to meet our children in their own world, and we know that we want to do this in a way that is tangible and visible to our children. Certainly, one of the major aspects of the world of so many of these special children is self-stimulating, repetitious behaviors, such as spinning objects, lining up blocks, rocking back and forth, watching the same short segment of a video over and over again, etc. This is where The Son-Rise Program begins. Instead of stopping a child s repetitive behaviors, we join in with these behaviors. These children are performing their behaviors for reasons that are important to them (and, as research is beginning to show, these behaviors often serve a physiological purpose, as well). We show our acceptance of and even interest in what they are doing, establishing a critical bond around this common interest. This is so important, because we find repeatedly that children begin to display an interest in us when we have an abiding interest in them. What s more, this interest is spontaneous, not forced. These children interact because they want to. Some who are unfamiliar with this joining technique have raised concerns that joining children in their repetitive, exclusive behaviors will only reinforce these behaviors. However, in practice, the exact opposite is true. Joining establishes, often for the very first time, a real connection between a child and his or her parent or facilitator. We see time and time again with the thousands of families with whom we work that when children with autism or PDD are joined, they begin to look at us more, pay more attention to us, and 5
9 even initiate interaction with us. And as these children move toward deeper and deeper engagement, they perform their repetitive behaviors less. The reasons for this are by no means mysterious. Typically, children with autism and PDD are continually asked to stop doing what they want (their repetitive or unusual behaviors) and start doing what someone else wants (sit down at a table, play a specific game, use the toilet, write their name, etc.). We are then baffled when it appears to be such a struggle to engage these children. But really, are we any different? The key to real, genuine social interaction is a back and forth between people a mutual interest in one another s wants and motivations. We do not befriend those who only focus on their own wants and display no interests in ours. We form relationships with those people who both expose us to their interests and focus on our interests. And, yet, when teaching children with autism and PDD, the very children who have a challenge with social interaction, we may find ourselves employing tactics that are diametrically opposed to the most basic principles of human interaction and connection. When deciding to join, we look for behaviors that are both repetitive (occurring over and over again or with sameness) and exclusive (noninteractive, being performed as a way to tune others out). Then we simply engage in this behavior with our child, displaying a genuine interest but not trying to change the behavior. At this point, we wait for the child to initiate connection by looking at us, stopping their activity, speaking to us, taking our hand, etc. The bottom line is, if we want to build a rapport and connection the platform for all education and growth with our children, then we must begin 6
10 by entering their world, following their interests, connecting on their terms. Only then does ongoing teaching and social interaction become possible. Some benefits of joining are as follows: our children will look at us more, pay more attention to us (which makes learning possible), and aggressive and self-destructive behaviors may decrease. Also, joining delivers the key to unlocking the mystery of these behaviors as well as facilitating eye contact, social development, and inclusion of others in play. The next key principle is facilitating skill acquisition by capitalizing on your child s own motivation. Rather than pushing one particular mode of learning on every child, we use each child s own motivation as a conduit to help that child learn and interact. Traditionally, we might look at what we want our children to learn first. Then we might think about how to teach them. In The Son-Rise Program, we reverse this process. We focus on locating children s primary areas of interests before deciding what and how to teach them. This way, we use the learning skills and interests our child already has instead of trying to teach against the grain by using a medium that doesn t work for our child. Critical to the effective utilization of this principle is the recognition that learning is the single largest factor for growth. This concept is well understood, seen throughout every area of learning, and is not disputed. We know that children and adults, regardless of ability level, learn more and learn it faster when they are motivated by and interested in what they are learning. Yet, we seldom see this principle utilized especially when it comes to children with special needs. Often, the mode of learning and the children s interests are not matched. For example, let s take a child counting oranges on a piece of paper. Maybe this child is more interested in cars or dinosaurs. 7
11 The question is: would this child learn faster if he/she were asked to count dinosaurs? In the case of children with autism and PDD, traditional learning modalities will rarely be motivating. Therefore, we must customize the presentation of curriculum to match the child s highest areas of motivation. If we match our goals to each child s area of motivation, the result is a highly effective symbiotic marriage between skill acquisition (social interaction, toilet-training, language development, etc.) and a particular child s natural areas of interest. Thus, learning is exponentially increased - with a unique and startling benefit: we have the child s willing cooperation. So many parents tell us that their child, after being repeatedly taught a particular skill, may perform some rudimentary skill-based behaviors. However, they also explain that, when they do perform the behavior, their child appears robotic, exhibiting a programmed response. They frequently report that their child doesn t spontaneously (let alone joyously) respond in new ways without a prompt or reward. In our approach, we are interested in helping children to actually learn what they re missing. When a child has learned something not memorized it, but learned it it becomes a generalized skill they can use spontaneously. Again, let s look at some benefits of this approach: our children s rate of learning can increase exponentially with their willing cooperation. Our children are enabled to acquire critical skills (social interaction, toilet-training, language development) with ease instead of strain. Moreover, our children can build the studentship necessary to be successful in traditional learning environments, such as school and social situations. Also, this approach enables our children to respond spontaneously, without requiring prompt or 8
12 reward, and without seeming robotic or exhibiting a programmed response. The next principle to discuss is teaching socialization through interactive play. There are two prerequisites for implementing this principle effectively: specific skills or concepts that we want our children to learn (toilettraining, dressing oneself, reading, having a conversation, etc.) and the belief that our children are capable of learning them. Without this belief, the effectiveness of any teaching efforts is severely compromised. There are a number of specifics to this principle, some of which we will briefly touch upon here. The first is something we call the three E s: energy, excitement, and enthusiasm. Getting sincerely excited about any activity we are doing with our children maximizes their engagement. A corollary of this is celebration. Celebrating children with animation whenever they accomplish something (no matter how seemingly small) is the key to getting children to come back for more. We also want to encourage children especially our children to be good tryers. This means not only celebrating our children when they successfully complete a task or say a word, but also celebrating their attempts - That was so close! Nice try! Let s try again. Finally, we want to prioritize the interaction over the goal. No matter how important we think a particular goal is, interaction and connection will always get us and our children further in the long run. For a given child to accomplish a particular goal on a Thursday instead of Friday is much less significant than for that child to continue to build a bridge of interaction between his/her world and ours. Therefore, we vigorously pursue specific goals, but never at the expense of overall interaction and rapport. 9
13 Benefits of this principle include: we are focusing learning on the area where our children need the most help, we stimulate in our children a selfperpetuating desire to learn, we promote increases in our children s attention span, and we expand our children s learning capabilities and at the same time enable our children to retain what they ve learned. What s more, we take the pressure and stress out of teaching. Another principle often very much appreciated by many who come to the Autism Treatment Center of America is to help children unlearn their challenging behaviors. Many parents and professionals tell us about having serious difficulties with their children s tantrums and other challenging behaviors. Ironically, they often unwittingly react to these behaviors in ways that reinforce them. Think about what we normally do when our children do something we don t want them to do: Oh my gosh! Look what happened! Sally, no! I told you not to touch that! It s very dangerous! Honey, look what Sally did! We run around frantically, making a big Hollywood production out of whatever just happened. Of course, we re doing our best to take care of the situation, but is this really getting us what we want? More importantly, are we teaching our children to behave and communicate effectively? This is a question worth asking, because it lies at the heart of our children s progress (and, at times, our own well-being). And what happens when our children are playing sweetly and quietly (maybe even with their siblings)? Well, then we are very careful. Especially if such behavior is rare, we think my child (or children) is actually playing quietly the last thing on earth I want to do is rock the boat. So we tiptoe around and stay out of the way, hoping the moment will last. And, again, we unwittingly teach the opposite of what we really want. 10
14 It is important to understand that our children do not necessarily know how to communicate the way we do. They do the best they can to communicate what they want, and they use our reactions as gauges to see whether their communication is effective. Thus, our reactions become, in and of themselves, a form of communication. Whatever we give big reactions to (whether the reactions are of a happy or unhappy nature), we promote. When we yell and scream, we promote what we re screaming about. When we clap and cheer, we also promote what we re cheering about. On the other side, the less we react to something, the less we promote it. We would do well to always ask ourselves: what am I teaching or promoting with my reaction, and what is the best way for me to react, given what I want to teach my child? We can, if we choose, use our everyday reactions to teach our children sweet, easy ways to communicate rather than the more aggressive or tantrum-oriented behaviors they may be using now. In fact, The Son- Rise Program is the fastest tantrum reduction and elimination program we ve ever seen. The crucial beginning point for this is to remain calm and relaxed when our children do things that we don t want. We might read the previous sentence and think: easier said than done. However, that is only because we have been taught to believe that the way our children behave is a comment on us as parents or teachers (remember when autism was thought to be caused by cold refrigerator mothers?). And yet, this is simply not true. Our children are just trying to communicate (or trying not to, as the case may be). What they do means nothing absolutely nothing about us. It just means they are trying to take care of themselves the best way they know how (just like we are). When we really believe this, then there is nothing to get worked 11
15 up about, even when our children behave in a challenging manner. Again, we can always come back to our question: what is the best way for me to react, given what I want to teach my child? Simply by slowing down and toning down our reactions to challenging behaviors and stepping up our reaction to the behaviors we want (the opposite of how we often react in day-to-day situations), we enable swift, dramatic change. By then clearly showing our children, in a caring, supportive manner, which forms of communication (i.e. pointing or speaking rather than yelling or throwing things) we understand (and then really celebrating them when they communicate with us in this manner), we can help our children to communicate effectively without using challenging behaviors. The beauty of this approach is that it plays to our children s intelligence. What we have seen to be true is that when a mode of communication (a tantrum, for example) ceases to be effective both at getting a child what he/she wants and at generating a flamboyant reaction, that child will stop using that mode of communication. By the same token, when a child notices that he/she is getting what he/she wants more quickly and is getting big, fun reactions through the use of a particular mode of communication or behavior (attempting words, pointing, or even playing sweetly, for instance), that child becomes increasingly motivated to continue utilizing that form of communication or to repeat that particular behavior. The benefits of utilizing this principle are many. We quickly reduce or eliminate tantrums while at the same time helping our children to communicate more effectively. We maximize the types of behaviors we want and minimize those we don t. Furthermore, we remove adversarial 12
16 interactions. Another huge benefit to this approach is that is has a ripple effect: it teaches and promotes sweet, easy communication with any typical children we may have, as well. Also of critical importance is our child s work/play environment. By creating an environment free from distractions and control battles, we can optimize learning and interaction. We construct a one-to-one work/playroom where the focus in upon interaction above all else. By removing TVs and electronic toys, colorful wallpaper, loud noises, etc., we clear away many of the obstacles that specifically hinder the learning and attention of children with autism and PDD, who are often highly overstimulated by their environment. In this special playroom, we give the child a great deal of control. It is precisely this control which enables our children to begin to feel free to step beyond the boundaries of their world. This experience of control of their environment goes a long way toward building trust and interaction. The more control these children experience, the more they will feel comfortable reaching out and connecting with others. The benefits here are, in brief: we stop the cycle of overstimulation, increase our children s focus and attention span, make person-to-person interaction central to the teaching process, and we drastically reduce control battles which hinder growth and interaction. All of this occurs in an environment in which we can feel comfortable in the assurance that our children are safe and secure. It is also very important that we discuss the two overarching principles which form the foundation of the first five described above. The first is that the parent is the child s best resource. Having worked with parents and professionals from all corners of the globe, we ve had the opportunity to 13
17 speak with so many people who deeply love and care about their children. We have met professionals whose caring and dedication far outstripped the confines of their job, who ve made their career their calling. However, we have seen nothing thus far to match the motivation, love, dedication, and lifelong commitment possessed by parents for their special children. Furthermore, no one has the kind of long-term, day-to-day experience with their own particular child that parents possess. Without question, professionals and other family members can be critically important. At the same time, because of their unique position in their child s world, parents can positively affect their child s life in a way no one else can. Therefore, not only do we acknowledge parents as the child s most important resource, but we seek to empower them to the child s advantage. This is why we teach them how to design, implement, and take a central role in their children s programs. The last principle to discuss focuses on an area often overlooked when it comes to the treatment of children with autism (or any other special needs, for that matter): attitude. A non-judgmental and optimistic attitude is crucial to effective implementation of any of the previous principles. What does this mean? First, it means that we don t label our children s repetitive and ritualistic behaviors as inappropriate, wrong, or bad. Like the idea of remaining calm in the face of an aggressive, challenging behavior, we may at first be tempted to see this attitudinal shift as difficult, if not impossible. And, again, it comes back to the issue of what we believe will ultimately be the most helpful for us and for our children. For this principle is every bit as practical and pragmatic as it is idealistic. We see time and again that children with autism tend to move away from people they perceive as 14
18 uncomfortable or judging and toward people they see as comfortable, easy, fun, safe, and non-judgmental. Thus, we can use our attitude to become an interaction magnet. We can, indeed, go farther than that. By combining this nonjudgmental attitude with an attitude of optimism and hope, we can lift our children to new heights. When Raun was diagnosed with autism, his parents decided to see possibilities where others saw none, and it was this perspective that enabled his complete recovery. In order to accomplish anything, we must first believe that it can be done. Let us believe in our children. When we don t put limits on our children s future, we open the door for limitless growth and progress. Hope is the vital ingredient. Why? Because hope leads to action. Without hope, there is no action. Every practical strategy of The Son-Rise Program outlined here is based upon action. Every child with autism in the world that is helped by anyone is helped through action. Although we cannot know what any particular child will accomplish, we need not decide in advance what any child will not accomplish. Let s give our children a chance. If we do only that, we will have given our children the greatest gift we could possibly give them. 15
19 Mr. Sean Fitzgerald, Option Institute MA, U.S.A.- (TRADUZIONE) Strategie innovative per l autismo Autismo. Disturbi generalizzati dello sviluppo (PDD). Mentre la prevalenza di questi tipi di disturbi è in continuo aumento, le nostre domande si fanno sempre più urgenti. Cosa provoca l autismo e cosa possiamo fare per aiutare i nostri figli ai quali l autismo è stato diagnosticato? Cercando con sempre maggiore determinazione una risposta alla prima domanda, non dimentichiamo in nessun momento l importanza della seconda. Vogliamo così tanto aiutare i nostri figli eppure è molto facile sentirsi un po disorientati riguardo al modo migliore per farlo. Come possiamo aiutare dei bambini che spesso sembrano non volere l aiuto che stiamo loro offrendo? Vorrei qui discutere una rete di specifiche strategie e tecniche che si riferiscono proprio a questa ultima questione. Queste strategie, quando utilizzate correttamente, possono avere un impatto profondo sullo sviluppo, sulla capacità di comunicazione e l acquisizione di abilità nei bambini diagnosticati con l autismo o PDD. Si tratta in effetti dei principi del programma Son Rise, la modalità di trattamento insegnata presso il centro americano per il trattamento dell autismo (Autism Treatment Center of America). Per comprendere il contesto di questi principi tuttavia è necessario conoscere la storia del programma Son Rise una storia che incidentalmente è anche la mia. A 18 mesi di età a Raun Kaufman fu diagnosticata una grave forma di autismo, insieme ad un quoziente intellettivo minore di 30. Completamente muto e alieno al contatto umano, Raun passava i suoi giorni impegnato in comportamenti ripetitivi (spesso definiti stimming ) come lanciare piatti, dondolarsi avanti e indietro, e battere le mani davanti al viso. Non voleva essere toccato, non 16
20 guardava mai le altre persone e non dava la minima risposta alle chiamate o alle richieste di chi era intorno a lui. Si trovava in ogni senso nel suo mondo. Ai suoi genitori fu detto di non aspettarsi nessun cambiamento durante il suo sviluppo (o per meglio dire non-sviluppo). Raun non avrebbe mai parlato, non avrebbe mai avuto amici, non sarebbe mai andato a scuola, non sarebbe mai stato in grado di comunicare con gli altri in nessun modo. La sua condizione fu definita incurabile, senza speranza e senza possibilità di cambiamento. La prognosi era definitiva. Sarebbe stato un autistico per tutta la sua vita. I medici suggerirono la possibilità che venisse rinchiuso in un istituto. In seguito a questa prognosi i genitori di Raun svilupparono un programma incentrato sul bambino e che si svolgesse in casa per cercare di raggiungerlo e facilitare il suo sviluppo. Lavorarono con lui per più di tre anni utilizzando il metodo che avevano sviluppato e che ora si definisce programma Son Rise. Il loro programma Son-Rise fece sì che Raun guarisse completamente dall autismo senza alcuna traccia di quella che era stata la sua condizione. Si diplomò con lode, proseguì gli studi all università laureandosi in Etica Biomedica presso la Brown University e in seguito diresse un centro educativo per bambini in età scolare. Ora tiene conferenze a livello internazionale, scrive, insegna ed è il direttore degli outreach presso il centro americano per il trattamento dell autismo (Autism Treatment Center of America). Dopo la guarigione di Raun suo padre, Barry Neil Kaufman, scrisse un libro in cui raccontava dettagliatamente la sua storia. Il libro, intitolato: Son Rise il miracolo continua, venne poi raccontato anche in un programma della NBC. In seguito all interesse della stampa e all attenzione che seguì sia alla pubblicazione del libro che alla messa in onda del programma, i miei genitori vennero inondati da richieste di aiuto. Quindi nel 1983 fondarono quello che è oggi conosciuto come il centro americano per il trattamento dell autismo (Autism Treatment Center of America)(una 17
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warc | 201704 | Suppose I am deciding whether or not to buy ice cream. Suppose also that all things being equal, a past-omniscient agent would predict a 50/50 chance of my buying ice cream. How does my final decision get made? Is there a reason for it?
Before I go any further, I want to note that I'm not talking about probabilities that result from a lack of knowledge on our part. If I flip a coin, I typically estimate the odds of tails at 50%, but that's really due to my ignorance about the behavior of a coin when I flip it. However, an observer who is omniscient about the past will be able to predict the outcome of my coin flip by computing what the laws of physics have to say about forces on the coin. In other words, when I speak of probabilities below, I'm talking about probabilities as they appear to an observer who is omniscient about the past. According to libertarians, I somehow choose to buy or not buy the ice cream without my decision being (1) fully determined by the past, (2) random, or (3) some combination of determined and random. Let's suppose that the world is not fully deterministic. How can the outcome of an event be partially determined? Well, in quantum mechanics, as an example, the probability distribution for the event outcomes is determined, but the actual outcome is the result of a random selection according to the distribution. For example, suppose a quantum theory predicts a 67% chance of an experiment finding an electron spin-up versus a 33% chance of finding the electron spin down. The theory says that nature acts as if the experiment is equivalent to placing 67 red balls and 33 green balls in a barrel, and randomly drawing a ball from the barrel. If the ball comes up red, then the electron is spin up, otherwise it is spin down. The past-omniscient observer only knows how many of each type of ball there are in the barrel. This way of looking at events is quite general. It's not general because the world is physical, material or made up of quantum elements. It's general in the theoretical sense. If the past is determining something, then the past is altering the probability that an outcome will occur. A fully deterministic world is one in which the probabilities of outcomes are either 0% or 100%. When pushed, even libertarians will agree that the past makes certain outcomes more probable than others. Will I choose to step in front of a moving bus this afternoon? Being a happy, stable person who lives a charmed life, probably not. Indeed, very probably not. Even if the libertarian believes I have the "free choice" to step in front of a moving bus, they can still admit that that choice is highly improbably due to factors in my past. However, when we factor out the probability, what is left for a decision to be based upon? It's very frustrating trying to pin down incompatibilists on this issue. As far as I can tell, the incompatibilist's belief in libertarian free will is generated by moral considerations, and comes without any technical accounting. For most libertarians, there is not only no mechanism for free will, but there's no way of distinguishing free will from randomness. To make my argument more airtight, I'm going to suppose there's a detailed accounting for deterministic factors. What we'll see is that there's no basis for an agent to make a choice except via fundamental randomness. Suppose I enumerate all the reasons I have to buy ice cream, and all the reasons not to buy ice cream. Suppose there turn out to be 5 reasons to buy (B1, B2, ..., B5), and 5 reasons not to buy (N1, N2, ..., N5). For example, perhaps N2 = "Ice cream will make me fat, and I want to be slim." and B4 = "Ice cream is one of the great pleasures of life, and I don't want to miss out on life's pleasures." Each reason has an associated importance or weight. Being vain, I assign 10 points to N2, and 5 points to B4. Since my vanity is is a part of my character, and my character is part of the past state of things, it is predictable. That is, the weight assigned to each reason is mostly determined by the past. Suppose that these reasons and their weights translate into a 50/50 chance that I will buy the ice cream. That is, we are assuming that, all things being equal, the weight I assign to the reasons is such that they happen to cancel each other out. At this stage of the thought experiment, the libertarian would say that I choose to buy or not to buy using my free will. What does this mean? Well, something has to change the weighting of the reasons. It must be that, as I make my decision, I reassign weights to my reasons, and this causes me to come down on one side of the decision or the other. But on what basis can I reassign weights to my reasons? Presumably, the libertarian does not mean I am whimsical in reassigning the weights. Whimsy is random. There's no reason for it. It is arbitrary. To see this, imagine that my brain incorporates a random number generator which randomly shifts the weights of all the reasons. If the random number generator happens to throw the balance to buying the ice cream, I can't rationalize the decision by saying that my decision occurred because of B1-B5. Could I have an actual reason to change my weights? No. If I did have a reason to change weights such that I buy the ice cream, this reason would constitute B6, and should have been accounted for in my set. That is, the existence of such a reason contradicts the premise that I already had a complete set of reasons in sets B and N. Is it possible that I discovered a new reason at the moment of my decision? No. Nothing in the analysis above is phrased in terms of my own perspective. Rather, it's phrased in the perspective of a past-omniscient observer. It doesn't matter whether I was aware of B5. If I was unaware of it, the past-omniscient agent would have assigned it a low weight. Is my attention to a particular reason the missing factor? Well, attention or memory or prominence to consciousness may be a factor, but it doesn't help. Either there is a reason for the reason to have prominence to my consciousness or not. If there is a reason, it is already accounted for. If there isn't a reason, it is random. At this stage, we are forced to conclude that whatever is not determined to the past-omniscient observer is fundamentally random. That is, there can be no possible reason or cause for the selection from the determined probabilities. I would not be surprised to see some libertarians try to escape this conclusion by trying to redefine the word random. However, there's really nothing special to my definition. Just because an event occurs in the mind of an agent doesn't make any difference to my definition. There remains no reason for the decision, whether you call it random or not. Any attempt to make such a distinction is like saying that when a random event occurs in the mind of an agent, it's called whimsy. What value such nomenclature might have is beyond me. | 6,970 | 2,973 | 0.000337 |
warc | 201704 | $16 million. That's how much in tax breaks CBS is eligible for by keeping The Late Show in the Big Apple.
The bulk of the money is $11 million in tax credits over five years. Then there's another $5 million in grants from Empire State Development to offset costs of renovating the Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway for its soon-to-be-new host Stephen Colbert.
Stephen Colbert appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman on April 23, following the announcement that the Comedy Central funny man would take over the CBS program after Letterman retires in 2015. Colbert came armed with a Top Ten list he submitted for a writing job on Dave's show in 1997. West Coast vs East Coast redux: Los Angeles had tried to woo the CBS late-night entry, hoping to fill the broadcasting gap left when NBC returned to the East Coast when Jimmy Fallon took over. NBC also got tax breaks for that eastward migration.
The prospects of relocation to Hollywood, however, were slim, even without New York's added incentives. Colbert has lived and worked in the greater New York City area for years. He and his family live in New Jersey.
Still, New York didn't want to take any chances.
CBS officials and Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other Empire State lawmakers are pleased with the new deal. So are the workers who fill the 200 or so New York-based jobs that support the program's year-round production.
But others aren't as copacetic about what they view as a waste of taxpayer money.
E.J. McMahon, the president of the nonprofit Empire Center for Public Policy, called the CBS deal the "latest in a series of giveaways to the entertainment industry. We're going to basically pay CBS to keep the Letterman Show where it already is."
Another tax credit loss for California: In addition to causing the latest debate about the efficacy of New York film and TV tax credits, the $16 million is this week's By the Numbers figure.
It's also an amount that's causing consternation in California.
It's not that the Golden State doesn't offer tax breaks for such productions. The California Film and Television Tax Credit Program started in February 2009.
Since then, according the California Film Commission's July progress report on the tax break, approximately $700 million in tax credits has been allocated to or reserved for eligible projects.
"This $700 million investment yields $5.39 billion in total aggregate direct spending by projects in-state, including an estimated $1.72 billion in qualified (below-the-line) wages," wrote report author and Commission Executive Director Amy Lemisch.
But the news is not all good.
Lemisch also noted that "due to the limited availability of tax credits…California continues to lose overall market share, and has in effect forfeited certain types of productions" to states and countries that offer similar tax incentives.
"While some productions elect to shoot in California without a tax credit, the majority of projects -- especially those with larger budgets -- leave," wrote Lemisch. She estimated that these "runaway" projects accounted for a loss to other states of nearly $2 billion.
Expect this latest report to bolster efforts by California lawmakers and the state's film and TV industry to expand the state's production tax credit program.
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warc | 201704 | Thinking about becoming a dentist? Gauging the right time for selling your dental practice The dental industry as a whole is stable, but markets change, technology evolves, and laws regarding insurance are up in the air. Here are a few trends to consider in planning your future.
Like many professions, demand for dentists ebbs and flows. The economy affects this, specialists retire leaving openings, and large numbers of graduating specialists can flood a market. These are natural cycles that will probably happen several times during your career. And often they are very region specific. The market for Philadelphia cosmetic dentistry may be booming while it's over saturated in Boston. A specialty that is over saturated when you start medical school may clear itself out before you graduate, or vice versa. You can navigate these changes by being flexible. It may not be feasible to start a practice in your first choice of city, so have other options. You can choose a broad specialty like general dentistry and narrow it later. As you build your credentials and markets change in your favor you can always relocate or adjust your services. The more you can diversify your practice the better. This may mean continuing training throughout your career. You may do the best bridges in Orlando. But dental implants are being used more than ever. The more options you can give your patients the better. So add to your repertoire the best dental implants in Orlando. Another way to diversify is to partner with a dentist who has complimentary skills. If you're a periodontist, partner with an endodontist. This has several benefits. If you're a younger dentist it allows you to join an already established practice where it should be easier to build your clientele and learn the business aspects of the dental industry. If you're an older dentist preparing to retire, it could make selling your practice much easier because continuity is attractive to potential buyers. For all dentists, it means not needing to try to be all things to all patients. Whatever your specialty, if you can stay flexible and become versatile you'll be prepared for the changes in your dental career -- beginning, middle, and end.
Moving is somehow interesting in its way. You can feel that moving can give you such experiences. You can get the beauty of moving in different types. Many ups and downs while you are moving from one place to another. These days, sometimes the service of choosing flat is completed by moving service companies that think about details of moving concept. Even, you can now find the international moving companies that might help you moving from one country to another. Hence, you can use the service of this moving company either locally or internationally. It means that you do not need to worry that much about bad experience of moving.
Through this kind of company, you will save much time in thinking about all details and you will save much energy because the people will give their best to help you with everything that you need during your moving time. You do not have to think seriously because they definitely take their job seriously. Therefore, you can get the peace of mind. What you need to do is just enjoy your moving experience, for instance international moving experience. You will feel that moving is not a big deal after you get the services from a great moving company.
Not to mention, you can also make request about things that are related to your moving concept. The specialists will absolutely consider many things and help you to prepare all those things. All of the staffs are experienced people and they have great credibility. Thus, rely on them is the best choice you can do. Aside from local and international moves, you can also have the service for long distance movers. It is actually a bit complex than the usual local moves and you need to prepare different things. Well moving will be no more a big problem because this great moving company exists.
Nowadays, there are many cigar products available in the market. That is why people who like smoking can easily buy the cigar. However, almost all smokers choose to smoke the fine cigar. Choosing the fine cigar becomes a daunting task since there are many cigar products available today. That is why the smokers need to know about the latest information about cigar. Finding the latest news about cigar is not difficult anymore today. Moreover, you can also find the cigar videos easily and quickly. Searching cigar videos on the Internet is the best way that the smokers can do in looking for the latest information about fine cigar. On the internet, there are some websites that you can visit if you want to get the cigar news. The Cigar Channel is an interactive Protocol Television (IPTV) website that you can visit if you are searching the cigar videos on the Internet.
The Cigar Channel is an IPTV website dedicated for the world of fine cigars. This website is very useful for smokers or others who are looking for the fine cigar. This website provides many new cigar videos that can give you information about the fine cigar that you can choose. Those cigar videos related to the news, topics, reviews, tips, and others from overall point of view. The Cigar Channel is a website designed to inform and educate about the fine cigars. In this site, you can find cigar reviews, cigar news, cigar videos, and many more. In this site, you can also ask questions and share your opinions about cigars. Besides, this website also helps the smokers to interact with some favorite cigar brands easily. All of the cigar articles, news, and others provided in this website are new and informative so that you can go to this website if you want to find fine cigars. | 5,764 | 2,443 | 0.00041 |
warc | 201704 | Even a mild deficiency of magnesium can cause increased sensitivity to noise, nervousness, irritability, mental depression, confusion, twitching, trembling, apprehension, and insomnia. Imagine being able to clear these symptoms without dangerous drugs! Magnesium is the premier medicine for depression, sleep disturbances, emotionally disturbed behavior, and neurological diseases because of its strong positive effect in calming and nourishing the nervous system.
Evidence is mounting that low levels of magnesium contribute to the heavy metal deposition in the brain that precedes Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s. Many of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease can be overcome with high magnesium supplementation. In a trial with 30 epileptics 450 mg of magnesium supplied daily successfully controlled seizures. Another study found that the lower the magnesium blood levels the more severe was the epilepsy. In most cases magnesium works best in combination with vitamin B6 and zinc.
Magnesium is essential in regulating central nervous system excitability thus magnesium-deficiency may cause aggressive behavior[1], depression, or suicide.[2] Magnesium calms the brain and people do not need to become severely deficient in magnesium for the brain to become hyperactive. One study[3] confirmed earlier reports that a marginal magnesium intake overexcites the brain’s neurons and results in less coherence–creating cacophony rather than symphony—according to electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements.[4]
If magnesium is severely deficient, the brain is particularly affected. Clouded thinking, confusion, disorientation, marked depression and even the terrifying hallucinations of delirium are largely brought on by a lack of this nutrient and remedied when magnesium is given. Symptoms that multiple sclerosis (MS) has in common with magnesium deficiency include muscle spasms, weakness, twitching, muscle atrophy, incontinence, nystagmus (rapid eye movements), hearing loss, and osteoporosis. People with MS also have higher rates of epilepsy than controls, which have been linked to magnesium deficiencies. [5]
Women’s bodies are known to crave for chocolate during PMS. Some researchers believe that women crave chocolate prior to menstruation because it contains magnesium. The medical journal for the American Heart Association created a stir when it reported a study of 22 heart transplant patients who were given a dose of dark chocolate or fake chocolate. Just two hours after eating the real thing, patients had measurable improvements in blood flow, vascular function, and less clotting, compared to placebo chocolate eaters who experienced no change.
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Chocolate cravings are potentially a sign of a magnesium deficiency since chocolate is high in magnesium. Though it is widely accepted that chocolate affects our moods, few make the correlation between magnesium and emotions. People often report when eating chocolate that their mood is elevated and they feel better. This elevation in mood is temporary and when the effect wears off, subjects again reverted to their previous state of mind. The mood changing effect is greater when magnesium is used medicinally in high doses, which is most efficiently administered transdermally. Chocolate is not high enough in magnesium to be used medicinally and would be undesirable because of the high sugar component of most chocolates. Natural magnesium chloride (magnesium oil) is more effective to raise cellular magnesium levels mood to affect moods positively.
Magnesium deficiency or imbalance plays a crucial role in the symptoms of mood disorders. Observational and experimental studies have shown an association between magnesium and aggression, [6],[7],[8],[9],[10], anxiety, [11],[12],[13], ADHD, [14],[15],[16],[17], bipolar disorder, [18],[19], depression [20],[21],[22],[23] and schizophrenia [24],[25],[26],[27]. The two most basic requirements for the normal operation of our brain are a sufficient energy supply and an optimal presence of biochemicals involved in transmitting messages. Magnesium is crucial in both the production of energy and neurotransmitters, and the integrity of the blood brain barrier. Solid neuroscience connects magnesium to neurological disorders. [28]
Depression and other emotional disorders of the heart are addressed most directly with magnesium. There is a definite link between how we feel and the condition of our cells. If we think of our cells as a microcosm of our total self, then we can see how cellular degeneration can affect every aspect of our being. When our cells are open, permeable and healthy we feel happy, energetic and optimistic. But when our cells become rigid (from excess calcium and insufficient magnesium) they become closed off and toxic, which can lead us to feel depressed with low energy and pessimistic moods. The condition of our cells will affect us physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
The healthy cell is permeable. This means that nutrients are able to pass into them efficiently to be absorbed and the toxic byproducts of metabolism are eliminated. When the cells are healthy the polarity of the cell is correct, i.e., there is intracellular potassium and magnesium as well as extracellular sodium and calcium. The cell in this state is healthy, and the person functions optimally both physically and emotionally. The unhealthy cell is not permeable. This leads to unhealthy cells with sodium and calcium going inside the cell, and magnesium and potassium being lost.
[1] Bernard Rimland. While no patient has been cured with the vitamin B6 and magnesium treatment, there have been many instances where remarkable improvement has been achieved. In one such case an 18-year-old autistic patient was about to be evicted from the third mental hospital in his city. Even massive amounts of drugs had no effect on him, and he was considered too violent and assaultative to be kept in the hospital. The psychiatrist tried the B6/magnesium approach as a last resort. The young man calmed down very quickly. The psychiatrist reported at a meeting that she had recently visited the family and had found the young man to now be a pleasant and easy-going young autistic person who sang and played his guitar for her. http://www.autism.org/vitb6.html
[2] C. M. Banki, M. Arato and C. D. Kilts. Aminergic studies and cerebrospinal fluid cations in suicide. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol 487, Issue 1 221-230, Copyright © 1986 by New York Academy of Sciences
[3] This is the first experimental study in which magnesium intakes were tightly controlled and EEG measurements were analyzed by computer so they could be statistically compared.
[6] Izenwasser SE et al. Stimulant-like effects of magnesium on aggression in mice. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 25(6):1195-9, 1986.
[7] Henrotte JG. Type A behavior and magnesium metabolism. Magnesium 5:201-10, 1986.
[8] Bennett CPW, McEwen LM, McEwen HC, Rose EL. The Shipley Project: treating food allergy to prevent criminal behaviour in community settings. J Nutr Environ Med 8:77-83, 1998.
[9] Kirow GK, Birch NJ, Steadman P, Ramsey RG. Plasma magnesium levels in a population of psychiatric patients: correlation with symptoms. Neuropsychobiology 30(2-3):73-8, 1994.
[10] Kantak KM. Magnesium deficiency alters aggressive behavior and catecholamine function. Behav Neurosci 102(2):304-11, 1988
[11] Buist RA. Anxiety neurosis: The lactate connection. Int Clin Nutr Rev 5:1-4, 1985.
[12] Seelig MS, Berger AR, Spieholz N. Latent tetany and anxiety, marginal Mg deficit, and normocalcemia. Dis Nerv Syst 36:461-5, 1975.
[13] Durlach J, Durlach V, Bac P, et al. Magnesium and therapeutics. Magnes Res 7(3/4):313-28, 1994.
[14] Durlach J. Clinical aspects of chronic magnesium deficiency, in MS Seelig, Ed. Magnesium in Health and Disease. New York, Spectrum Publications, 1980.
[15] Kozielec T, Starobrat-Hermelin B. Assessment of magnesium levels in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Magnes Res 10(2):143-8, 1997.
[16] Kozielec T, Starobrat-Hermelin B. Assessment of magnesium levels in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Magnes Res 10(2):143-8, 1997.
[17] Starobrat-Hermelin B, Kozielec T. The effects of magnesium physiological supplementation on hyperactivity in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Positive response to magnesium oral loading test. Magnes Res 10(2):149-56, 1997.
[18] George MS, Rosenstein D, Rubinow DR, et al. CSF magnesium in affective disorder: lack of correlation with clinical course of treatment. Psychiatry Res 51(2):139-46, 1994.
[19] Kirov GK, Birch NJ, Steadman P, Ramsey RG. Plasma magnesium levels in a population of psychiatric patients: correlations with symptoms. Neuropsychobiology 1994;30(2-3):73-8, 1994.
[20] Linder J et al. Calcium and magnesium concentrations in affective disorder: Difference between plasma and serum in relation to symptoms. Acta Psychiatr Scand 80:527-37, 1989
[21] Frazer A et al. Plasma and erythrocyte electrolytes in affective disorders. J Affect Disord 5(2):103-13, 1983.
[22] Bjorum N. Electrolytes in blood in endogenous depression. Acta Psychiatr Scand 48:59-68, 1972.
[23] Cade JFJA. A significant elevation of plasma magnesium levels in schizophrenia and depressive states. Med J Aust 1:195-6, 1964.
[24] Levine J, Rapoport A, Mashiah M, Dolev E. Serum and cerebrospinal levels of calcium and magnesium in acute versus remitted schizophrenic patients. Neuropsychobiology 33(4):169-72, 1996.
[25] Kanofsky JD et al. Is iatrogenic hypomagnesemia common in schizophrenia? Abstract. J Am Coll Nutr 10(5):537, 1991.
[26] Kirov GK, Tsachev KN. Magnesium, schizophrenia and manic-depressive disease. Neuropsychobiology 23(2):79-81, 1990.
[27] Chhatre SM et al. Serum magnesium levels in schizophrenia. Ind J Med Sci 39(11):259-61, 1985.
[28] Murck H. Magnesium and Affective Disorders. Nutr Neurosci., 2002;5:375-389: Murck showed many actions of magnesium ions supporting their possible therapeutic potential in affective disorders. Examinations of the sleep-electroencephalogram (EEG) and of endocrine system points to the involvement of the limbic-hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical axis because magnesium affects all elements of this system. Magnesium has the property to suppress hippocampal kindling, to reduce the release of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and to affect adrenocortical sensitivity to ACTH. The role of magnesium in the central nervous system could be mediated via the N-methyl-D-aspartate-antagonistic, g-aminobutyric acid A-agonistic or the angiotensin II-antagonistic property of this ion. A direct impact of magnesium on the function of the transport protein p-glycoprotein at the level of the blood-brain barrier has also been demonstrated, possibly influencing the access of corticosteroids to the brain. Furthermore, magnesium dampens the calcium ion-protein kinase C related neurotransmission and stimulates the Na-K-ATPase. All these systems have been reported to be involved in the pathophysiology of depression. Murck et al. also demonstrated induced magnesium deficiency in mice to produce depression-like behavior which was beneficially influenced with antidepressants. | 11,351 | 5,153 | 0.000195 |
warc | 201704 | Cap-and-trade systems limit emissions to some pre-specified absolute quantity. Intensity-based limits, that restrict emissions to some pre-specified rate relative to input or output, are much more widely used in environmental regulation and have gained attention recently within the context of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trading. In this paper we provide a non-technical introduction to the differences between these two forms of emission limits. Our aim is not to advocate either form, but to elucidate the properties of each in a world where future emissions and GDP are not known with certainty. We argue that the two forms have identical effects in a world where future emissions and economic output (i.e., GDP) are known with certainty, and show that outcomes for marginal costs, abatement, emissions and welfare diverge only because of the variance of actual future GDP relative to its forecast expectation.
Description:
Abstract in HTML and technical report in PDF available on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change website (http://mit.edu/globalchange/www/). | 1,135 | 633 | 0.001585 |
warc | 201704 | Publisher:MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research
Date Issued:1990
Abstract:
The assumption of an initial fixed mineral stock is superfluous and wrong. User cost (resource rent) in mineral production is the present value of expected increases in development cost. It can be measured as the difference between in-ground market value and development cost, or estimated approximately from current development cost. For private or national-income accounting, mineral reserves should be treated as a renewable inventory. Adjustment for change in inventory may increase or decrease the income of a mineral producer, but an increase is more likely. | 662 | 406 | 0.002482 |
warc | 201704 | Stanley Hall was built in 1972 and is named after Wendell M. Stanley, Class of 1926. Stanley was the recipient of the Nobel Prize in 1946 for his research on viruses. Phase I of the Natural Science Complex was the renovation of this 45,000 square foot facility.
The renovations of Stanley Hall were completed in August 2013 at a cost of $17.6 million, making the science facilities at Earlham College more collaborative, efficient and visible. The projects modernized and reconfigured labs for optimal collaboration between chemistry, biology and biochemistry, better reflecting the way science is conducted today and giving students more opportunities to participate in research across the disciplines.
A grant from the National Science Foundation funded a portion of the project which includes five “research neighborhoods” organized by research themes and common function including analysis, biochemistry, molecular biology, support and synthesis. In addition, air, vacuum, nitrogen, high purity water and ample storage will be available in every lab. Additional renovations funded solely by the College included teaching laboratories, classrooms, seminar rooms, offices and support spaces.
The exterior features a south-facing wall of large windows that will overlook a crustaceous garden upon the completion of Phase II. Most research labs have interior glass walls facing the corridors allowing passersby to witness students splicing genes, sequencing DNA, conducting heavy metal analysis, and using equipment including a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, gas chromatographer, mass spectrometer, a dual-view ICP, and an atomic absorption spectrometer among others.
Stanley Hall received a LEED Silver certification from the US Green Building Council showing Earlham’s commitment to sustainability. The LEED certification process requires us to demonstrate sustainable practices and reducing the environmental impact of the buildings with sustainable purchasing practices, water and energy use, waste stream management and indoor environmental quality.
“This is our vision for the future of modern science and science education: collaboration among students and faculty of different backgrounds, working together on problems that span traditional disciplinary boundaries.”
– Charlie Peck ‘84,
Associate Professor of Computer Science
What is LEED Certification? | 2,417 | 1,251 | 0.000815 |
warc | 201704 | If the Matrix could be considered as a serious Manifesto for the future of technology, living organisms are a great source of potential energy.
Now a team at Oxford University, gave some weight to the idea, after successfully able to mimic the biological plant. The researchers used a computer to simulate the behavior of bacteria swimming in a liquid suspension. When they then added a ring-shaped network structures, the bacteria started to move at a predictable model around the wheels. The movement was sufficient to generate tiny amounts of energy that can be used to power microscopic devices.
Admittedly, we are still far away just even to make the corresponding laboratory experiment, given the complexity and the scale to which we have to operate. But like this technology will one day be a power source for small gadgets, where self-sufficiency. The team discusses the idea of using bacterial turbines for self-organizing devices, which are not tied to traditional sources of energy. | 997 | 587 | 0.00171 |
warc | 201704 | Garlic Cheesy Crumbed chicken
Ingredients:
2 pieces of chicken breast.... pls remove all fats and skin if u'r strictly on diet... but for me, i use half of a chicken (the wings n breast part are my favourite) 2 tblspoon of olive oil (i used 20g butter instead) 4 cloves of garlic (less or more depending on individual taste)... finely crushed bread crumbs ( i dry-blended bread myself, instead of buying the expensive ready made bread crumbs) half cup of grated parmesan cheese.... optional, but strongly recommended... pint of salt
Directions:
cut the chicken breast into thin slices, or as u like... olive oil + garlic.... put in microwave n heat it for awhile.... just to let the olive oil absorb the garlic taste... marinade the chicken wt the garlicy oil, and add in salt to taste.... let them marinade for at least half an hour mix the bread crumbs n cheese.... coat the chicken wt these mixture... bake at 200 degrees for 20 minutes or until ur chicken turn into golden colour.... now, u can eat as much as u want bcz this is 100% oil free if u're using olive oil...
extra virgin olive oil....
OLIVE OIL???? VIRGIN???? EXTRA VIRGIN????
Virgin means the oil was produced by the use of physical means and no chemical treatment. Extra-virgin olive oil comes from the first pressing of the olives, contains no more than 0.8% acidity, and is judged to have a superior taste. There can be no refined oil in extra-virgin olive oil.
The beneficial effects of olive oil are due to both its high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and its high content of antioxidative substances. Studies have shown that people who consumed 25 milliliters (mL) - about 2 tablespoons - of virgin olive oil daily for 1 week showed less oxidation of LDL cholesterol and higher levels of antioxidant compounds, particularly phenols, in the blood.
But while all types of olive oil are sources of monounsaturated fat, EXTRA VIRGIN olive oil, from the first pressing of the olives, contains higher levels of antioxidants -- Vitamin E in particular -- because it is less processed.
Here are just some of the health benefits you can gain from consuming extra virgin olive oil regularly:
Unlike other oils, it will not typically upset your critical omega 6:3 ratio and many of the fatty acids in olive oil are actually omega-9 oils that are monounsaturated. No other naturally produced oil has as large an amount of monounsaturated fatty acids (mainly oleic acid) as olive oil. Your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and HDL (good) levels may be positively affected by a diet which includes olive oil. Oleates in the oil may promote and maintain healthy bones and bone development. Olive oil also contains vitamins E and K, and polyphenols, which provide you with a defense mechanism that may delay aging and may help protect against certain diseases such as carcinogenesis, atherosclerosis, liver disorders, and inflammations. When part of a healthy diet, research has shown that moderate amounts of olive oil may help you to reduce excess body fat, especially around the abdomen. | 3,064 | 1,510 | 0.000665 |
warc | 201704 | mastitis(redirected from black mastitis)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Wikipedia.
mastitis(măstī`tĭs), inflammation of the breast. Mastitis most commonly occurs in nursing mothers between the first and third weeks after childbirth, usually of the first child. It is an infection that results when bacteria enter through cracked nipples; the organisms may already be in the body and attack breast tissue weakened by injury. The breast becomes swollen and painful and a high fever may be present. Mastitis is usually easily treated with antibiotics antibiotic,
any of a variety of substances, usually obtained from microorganisms, that inhibit the growth of or destroy certain other microorganisms.
Types of Antibiotics .....Click the link for more information. . In severe cases, when an abscess abscess,
localized inflamation associated with tissue necrosis. Abscesses are characterized by inflamation, which is due to the accumulation of pus in the local tissues, and often painful swelling.
.....Click the link for more information. forms within the breast, the suckling baby must be weaned completely. Chronic cystic mastitis is a common, noninfectious but often painful condition in women between 30 and 50 years old, in which cystic nodules develop in the breasts, giving them a lumpy appearance. It sometimes results from a hormonal imbalance. Biopsy may be necessary to distinguish the condition from breast cancer. Another type of mastitis may occur during puberty, and another is associated with other infectious diseases, e.g., mumps and tuberculosis. Mastitis
inflammation of the mammary gland.
Mastitis occurs mainly in primiparas during nursing, but it may also develop before labor or be unrelated to pregnancy and childbirth. Less frequently, it is seen in girls and even men. A particular form is mastitis neonatorum, a coarsening of the breast in the newborn (of either sex) associated with the passage of lactogenic hormones from the mother’s blood.
The course of mastitis is acute (less commonly, chronic). The main causes are stagnation of the milk, poor emptying of the gland during feeding, and cracks in the nipple. Under these conditions microbes penetrate into the gland through the lymphatic and lactiferous ducts and cause its inflammation. The causative agents (staphylococcus or streptococcus, for example) come into contact with the gland by way of the infant’s mouth or dirty linens, or as a result of inadequate breast hygiene during pregnancy and nursing. Cracks form when the skin surrounding the nipples loses its elasticity, owing to poor preparation of the nipples before childbirth or incorrect nursing technique.
The symptoms of mastitis are induration (coarsening) of the breast, reddening of the skin, severe pain, and elevated temperature. As the inflammation progresses, the skin becomes taut and hot to the touch. The formation of an abscess under the skin or within or behind the breast is characterized by softening of the induration (infiltrate) and elevation of the body temperature. Nursing becomes very painful, and pus sometimes appears in the milk. Restricting or halting breast feeding intensifies the inflammation. If the patient’s resistance is low or if treatment is delayed or inappropriate, the process may become phlegmonous or even gangrenous.
Treatment of mastitis in the initial stage involves the application of cold compresses to the breast, the administration of antibiotics and Novocain block, and the complete evacuation of milk from the breast (breast feeding systematically and thoroughly drawing off the milk). In the event of suppuration, the abscess is lanced, nursing from the affected breast is halted, and the milk is drawn off with a breast pump. The condition is prevented by preparing the nipples for nursing and treating cracks when they form. The milk can be kept from stagnating by drawing it off after each feeding. The rules of breast feeding should be strictly observed. The mother’s hands and nipples should be kept clean, and the infant must grasp the nipple completely, together with the skin around it. Mastitis neonatorum disappears in three or four weeks without treatment. Fluid should not be forced from the breasts. The strictest cleanliness is essential.
REFERENCEVoino-Iasenetskii, V. F. Ocherki gnoinoi khirurgii, 3rd ed. Moscow-Leningrad, 1956. In animals. The females of all animal species—especially cows and goats during steaming up and in the first few weeks after parturition—are vulnerable to mastitis. Predisposing factors include bruises, injuries to the udder, misuse of milking machines, and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and birth canal. Clinical symptoms vary with the severity of the condition and include systemic inhibition, elevated body temperature, sharp decline in milk yields, and induration and tenderness of the affected part of the udder. When the affected quarters of the udder are milked, clots and flakes of casein appear in the milk. In severe cases there is a watery exudate with flaky clots (sometimes a mixture of pus and blood).
Sick animals should be allowed to rest. The quantity of succulent fodder in their diet should be reduced. Antimicrobial agents should be administered internally and topically. Cold and hot applications, iontophoresis, and massage may be prescribed. Animal mastitis may be prevented by breeding cows suitable for milking by machine. Other preventive measures include a balanced diet, a proper milking schedule, timely and correct steaming up, and regular examinations for the latent condition.
Sheep and goats also suffer from infectious mastitis, caused by the specific pathogens
Bad mastidis ovisand Bact. mastidis capriand affecting primarily dams giving birth for the first time. Sick and convalescent animals are the sources of the causative agent. Lactating animals become infected after the pathogen enters the teat canal or injured udder tissue. The disease has severe clinical symptoms and often ends in death. Animals that recover acquire permanent immunity. REFERENCEHeidrich, H., and W. Renk. Mastity sel’skokhoziaistvennykh zhivotnykh i bor’ba s nimi. Moscow, 1968. (Translated from German.) | 6,258 | 2,855 | 0.000354 |
warc | 201704 | HANNOVER - Under the slogan of "Green + Intelligence", China as the Partner Country of the 2012 Hanover Industrial Exposition this year showcased a series of sustainable growth solutions during the five-day event concluded on Friday.
The participation of 500 Chinese companies presented China as "an equal partner and an important market and technology driver", said Dr Wolfram von Fritsch, Chairman of the Managing Board of Deutsche Messe, at the press conference on the last day of the show.
Out of a record number of 195,000 visitors, more than 50,000 were from outside Germany attending the world's largest and most influential industrial technology fair, regarded by many as a barometer of the global industry. The figure is one third more than that of year 2008, right ahead of the setting off of a global financial crisis which still haunts the world even today.
"All the right topics, a further rise in participation from abroad and highly satisfied exhibitors, all this point to the fact that this year's Hannover Industrial Expo added up to a complete success," said von Fritsch.
By focusing on the keynote topic of "greentelligence", the expo highlighted green technologies as a viable business model with the power to drive growth across the world.
According to Fritsch, about one in five visitors to the Fair was a CEO or company owner. Professionals accounted for 95 percent of all attendees - a jump of five percent compared with 2008.
"This mix of international participation, thematic excellence and high-caliber decision-makers defines Hannover Industrial Expo as the international benchmark for new business generation and networking in the industrial, government and research sectors," von Fritsch added.
The next year's Hannover Industrial Exposition will be held from April 8 to April 12, 2013. | 1,835 | 968 | 0.001044 |
warc | 201704 | Clark, C. J., 2013. Development and Psychometric Properties of A Screening Tool for Assessing Developmental Coordination Disorder in Adults.
International Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 1 (145), - .
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Abstract
Background: Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting motor coordination. Evidence suggests this disorder persists into adulthood and may be associated with biomechanical dysfunction and pain. We report on the development and initial validation of a questionnaire to assess for DCD in adults. Methods: An initial item pool (13 items) was derived from the American Psychiatric Association criteria and World Health Organisation definition for DCD. An expert panel assessed face and content validity which led to a 9-item Functional Difficulties Questionnaire (FDQ-9) with possible scores ranging from 9-36 (higher scores indicating greater functional difficulties). The FDQ-9 was piloted on individuals recruited from convenience samples. The underlying factor structure and aspects of reliability, validity and accuracy were tested. The Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve was employed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the test using self-reported dyspraxia as the reference standard. Results: Principal Axis Factoring yielded a two factor solution relating to gross and fine motor skills; for conceptual parsimony these were combined. Internal reliability was high (0.81), the mean inter-item correlation was 0.51 and preliminary findings suggested satisfactory construct validity. The Area under the Curve was 0.918 [95% CI 0.84-1.00] indicating a diagnostic test with high accuracy. A cut-off score was established with a sensitivity and specificity of 86% [95% CI 78%-89%] and 81% [95 % CI 73%-89%] respectively. Test-retest reliability was good (ICC 0.96 [95% CI 0.92 to 0.98]. Conclusion: The psychometric properties of the FDQ-9 appear promising. Work is required to conduct further psychometric evaluations on new samples and apply the scale to clinical practice.
Item Type: Article ISSN: 2329-9096 Uncontrolled Keywords: Dyspraxia; Musculoskeletal pain; Reliability; Validity; Assessment Tool Subjects: UNSPECIFIED Group: School of Health and Social Care ID Code: 21036 Deposited By: Unnamed user with email symplectic@symplectic Deposited On: 27 Jan 2014 12:19 Last Modified: 27 Jan 2014 12:20 Downloads
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warc | 201704 | Interaction of PPARG Pro12Ala with dietary fat influences plasma lipids in subjects at cardiometabolic risk
AlSaleh, A, O'Dell, SD, Frost, GS, Griffin, BA, Lovegrove, JA, Jebb, SA and Sanders, TAB (2011)
Interaction of PPARG Pro12Ala with dietary fat influences plasma lipids in subjects at cardiometabolic risk Journal of Lipid Research, 52 (12). pp. 2298-2303.
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Abstract
Objective: The PPARG SNP rs1801282 (Pro12Ala C>G) has shown variable association with metabolic syndrome traits in healthy subjects. We investigated genotype association with plasma lipids and the influence of dietary polyunsaturated:saturated fat ratio (P:S) in subjects at increased cardiometabolic risk. Methods: Habitual dietary intake was recorded at recruitment to the RISCK Study. PPARG rs1801282 was genotyped in 466 subjects aged 30-70 y. Genotype associations with plasma lipids were assessed at recruitment, after a 4-wk high-SFA (HS) diet and a 24-wk intervention with reference (HS), high-MUFA (HM) and low-fat (LF) diets. The interaction of habitual P:S intake x genotype on plasma lipid concentrations was investigated. Results: PPARG rs1801282 G-allele frequency was 0.09. At recruitment, G-allele carriers had higher plasma total cholesterol concentration (n=415; P=0.05) after adjustment for BMI, gender, age and ethnicity. Dietary P:S ratio x genotype interaction influenced plasma LDLcholesterol (P=0.02) and triglyceride (P=0.03) concentrations. At P:S ratio 0.33, mean LDLcholesterol concentration in G-allele carriers was higher than in non-carriers, but fell between 0.34-0.65. Triglyceride concentration followed a similar pattern. After the 4-wk HS diet, Gallele carriers had higher concentrations of total cholesterol (P=0.03), LDL-cholesterol (P=0.04) and apo B (P=0.04) than non-carriers, after adjustments. After the 24-wk interventions, diet x genotype interaction did not significantly influence either LDLcholesterol (P=0.58) or triglyceride (P=0.57) concentrations. Conclusion: A high dietary P:S ratio would help to reduce plasma LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations in PPARG rs1801282 G-allele carriers at increased cardiometabolic risk.
Item Type: Article Divisions : Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences > School of Biosciences and Medicine > Department of Nutritional Sciences Authors :
Date : 2011 Identification Number : https://doi.org/10.1194/jlr.P019281 Additional Information : This research was originally published in Journal of Lipid Research. AlSaleh A, O'Dell SD, Frost GS, Griffin BA, Lovegrove JA, Jebb SA, Sanders TAB. Interaction of PPARG Pro12Ala with dietary fat influences plasma lipids in subjects at cardiometabolic risk. Journal of Lipid Research. 2011. 52(12): 2298-2303. © the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Depositing User : Symplectic Elements Date Deposited : 22 Jun 2012 11:50 Last Modified : 09 Jun 2014 13:20 URI: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/id/eprint/191641 Actions (login required)
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warc | 201704 | Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, is the new Steve Jobs. Like Jobs, he is driven to reinvent the way things are done, with the perspective of an industry outsider. Musk is redefining cool, and his Tesla is a very hot brand and currently the cool car on the market. They can't keep them in stock. Some even wish Musk were running Apple, which some feel is losing its shine, becoming more like Microsoft as it changes how it operates and treats its customers -- and Apple's lame new television campaign shows nothing of its former cutting edge.
I'm always intrigued with innovators, and Tesla is currently high on my list. I recently had dinner with one of the company's top executives to learn more about why Tesla is different, and how they think differently. I learned that Musk, like Jobs, is obsessed with quality even when it cannot be seen, is driven to change the world, and expects exceptional, innovative performance from his key people.
Innovators always meet with resistance, and I would imagine lots of traditional car makers in Detroit are explaining all the reasons Tesla can't succeed and all the things Musk is doing wrong. Yet because Musk does not come from the automotive industry, he's finding ways to do things those within the industry were sure couldn't be done.
I assumed that Tesla had some innovations for the radio dash as well -- things that may lead others to emulate its direction. So last week I visited Tesla to learn more about its digital dashboard, radio and audio. Here's what I learned.
The Tesla center console dash media player is like a giant, 17-inch iPad. AM and FM radio comes standard with the car -- which is great news -- and the touchscreen allows you to scroll the dial with the touch of a finger, much like turning pages on an iPad. Of course, you can also set your favorites. The Internet radio interface is a game-changer, allowing you to search by artist and find all the stations playing that artist, including Internet-only stations.
There's voice search as well: A simple "Find a station playing Lady Gaga" will bring the listener to any station in the world playing her music. And with just a touch, you can find stations from around the world and set them as your favorites. I scrolled through and found NRJ, my favorite station in Paris. Of course Pandora, iHeart, and SiriusXM are also available, giving consumers lots of options.
For years there has been an argument that, considering road and engine noise, it's not necessary for cars to have really great audio. But in the Tesla, you'll instantly notice a difference: With little or no engine noise, you can fully enjoy the stellar sound system. If electric vehicles continue to catch on, sound quality in the car will be increasingly important.
So why does Tesla matter to radio? After all, the car is very expensive, and unlikely to appeal to the average car buyer who is listening to your radio station. It matters because Tesla's innovative ideas will be copied by others. It's also important because the way consumers use audio in an automotive environment is changing quickly. The reality is that, in our study of automotive dashboards as they relate to radio, we found that the way audio and radio are presented has changed on almost all new car models. Though everyone is approaching audio differently, almost all car companies have changed the listening experience. As Internet radio is becoming universally available in the car, radio broadcasters no longer have the exclusive "radio" franchise on the dash.
Though the fear of losing AM/FM's position on the dash has been lessened by assurances from some automakers that they plan to keep it around, we must be very aware of how the listening environment has changed. Unless you've driven in one of these vehicles with these new audio entertainment options, you cannot possibly relate to the challenges they bring for those of us within the industry. Imagine the impact of voice search for stations or songs. Imagine how having all the stations in the world available at the driver's whim can impact how people listen to your station.
Most in our industry are responding like any industry that's challenged: defending the status quo and finding all the reasons consumers won't change. And it might even be true, in radio's case. But how likely is that? The questions all radio broadcasters need to be asking themselves now is how they can develop listener loyalty and cement their brands so deeply that listeners will seek out their favorite stations even when they have a choice of 75,000 stations from all around the world. Though you'll still be available on the local AM FM dial, you need to assume people embracing online radio may only seek out stations in an online environment.
I hate to admit it, but since moving to Austin four years ago, I'm not sure I can remember the names or frequencies of more than three AM or FM stations. (And I'm a radio person.) I have come to rely on my scan button until I find something interesting. Though I have a couple of favorites, my five presets are not filled. What matters most to me as a listener is finding something I love, something entertaining, something that scratches my itch. On the TuneIn app on my phone and iPad, presets are few -- stations I grew up listening to in my hometown, stations I've found around the world that I like, and a couple of local stations. All the more reason branding and station loyalty are critical.
If you're operating a station, I encourage you to go sit in a Tesla and experience AM/FM radio in the Tesla's new media center. I encourage you to visit car dealers and ask to see all the latest ways the different car companies are reinventing in-car audio. If you've not seen it, how can your station properly reflect how consumers are using their cars? Every GM and programmer needs to deeply understand the new in-car dash, whether it's from Tesla, Ford, GM, or other automakers. Every one of them is approaching audio differently. Each needs to be seen and understood.
Though Tesla will remain just a dream car for most, its innovations will be adopted by others. The radio experience in a Tesla is one of the best I've seen yet, and my visit to the company was an eye-opener. Everyone running radio stations today needs to study the way the car dash has changed in order to find a way to continue radio's dominance in the car. If the 50 percent of listening that takes place in the car gets divided up among other entertainment sources, your job will get a lot more difficult. By understanding it now, you can still find ways to keep your listeners engaged and seeking out your stations.
Eric Rhoads
PS: In 25-plus years of
writing at Radio Ink, no subject spread more widely or received more
response than a recent editorial about the future of radio and its
presence on the automotive dash. It cut deeply and resulted in
statements assuring radio's future in the dash from major automotive
companies, had radio companies concerned, and had local and national
advertisers wanting to learn more. The considerable response made me
even more certain that the automotive dash is critical to everyone
involved. It's for that reason that Radio Ink has partnered with Jacobs
Media and with Shuman Consulting Group to create the very first event
designed to get the automotive and radio industries in a dialogue to
understand how we can be working together, and to help radio understand
what car companies are planning and thinking.
We may look back on this event as a major milestone for both industries. People are attending from most major car companies, from Internet radio, digital audio apps, radio groups, radio stations, advertising agencies, and even car dealers. This is an area important to them all. I invite and encourage you to attend on October 23-24 in Detroit. It's a day and a half that may help you reinvent the way you do business and create and deepen the relationships between audio, radio, advertising, and the car companies. To learn more, visit www.dashconference.com. | 8,080 | 3,680 | 0.000273 |
warc | 201704 | The
Internet rights are human rights is a series of training modules concerned with the relationship between human rights, ICTs and the internet. These modules are intended to help those who work on human rights and/or ICTs, and others with an interest in the issues, to understand ways in which the internet is affecting the enjoyment and protection of rights – now and in the future – and explore how these affect their work.
This module has been commissioned by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and conducted with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
Get the training modules on ItrainOnline. | 671 | 398 | 0.00257 |
warc | 201704 | Equity markets started off the final trading week of the year on a mixed note, with many taking profits and locking in gains, while some cheered on the positive economic data at home. The holiday weekend wasn’t enough to inspire a full-scale Santa Claus rally like many had hoped ; the Nasdaq led with way higher, clinching a 0.25% gain, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average Lagged Behind, turning in a loss of 0.02% on the day. Gold futures inched lower as stock markets drifted sideways, with prices for the precious yellow metal settling near $1,595 an ounce as the trading session drew to a close [see ETF Insider: Slick Picks For Year End Bulls].
[click to continue…]
Equity markets inched higher last week as news from the Euro zone was sparse, while economic data releases on the home front surprised to the upside. The final trading week of one of the most volatile periods in financial history is sure to abundant with more of the same: excitement, drama, and perhaps even the […]
With 2011 nearly in the books, the ETF industry has set yet another record for product development and innovation. More than 300 exchange-traded products debuted this year, beginning in early January with the launch of the first VIX ETFs from ProShares and continuing through late December when RBS added another Trendpilot ETN to its lineup. […]
This time last year, investors were generally thrilled with the performances of their portfolios, which had continued to bounce back nicely from the devastating recession that hit in 2008. Unfortunately, few are feeling the same sense of accomplishment as 2011 draws to a close; this year has been frustrating in that a few large, swift […]
The curtain is about to drop on 2011, a year that will go down as a record-breaking period for the rapidly-expanding ETF industry. More than 300 exchange-traded products began trading this year, with dozens of issuers rolling out new products. While some of the new additions bear a striking resemblance to more established products on […]
2011 has rattled investors’ confidence as sluggish economic growth in the developed world was complemented with resurfacing European debt woes and deficit drama on the home front. With clouds of uncertainty gathering on all fronts, investors have been scrambling for safe haven exposure, although volatile trading has plagued virtually every corner of the market. Unfavorable […]
This past year was the most active ever for the exchange traded industry in terms of product development; the launch of more than 300 new products shattered the record set in 2010. And innovation continues to run high in the industry; the creativity of issuers is still impressive, as many of the ETFs that have […]
Growth and evolution have been recurring themes in the exchange-traded universe in 2011, as investors are now faced with a diverse product lineup of over 1,400 ETPs. More than 300 of those are new additions in 2011, a year that broke the previous record for extent of product development. And while many of the new […]
Investors had plenty to celebrate this holiday weekend, as the S&P 500 pushed back into positive territory for 2011 after the index’s three-day winning streak. Despite the announcement of several dreary and unimpressive U.S. economic reports, stock markets continued to gain steam throughout the week, finishing off strong at the end of Friday’s trading session. Investors also […]
Equity markets have taken a wild ride this past year as everything from an unimaginable earthquake in Japan to a looming debt crisis in Europe has taken its toll on investors’ confidence. As 2011 draws to a close, many are left scratching their heads in confusion and uncertainty, given the predominantly gloomy economic outlook that […]
An industry veteran and a newcomer have ramped up activity on the product development front during an otherwise quiet week before the holiday weekend. ProShares filed with the SEC for a lineup of new equity ETFs that are calibrated to deliver a specific level of volatility depending on market conditions,while New York-based Yorkville ETF Advisors […] | 4,200 | 2,022 | 0.000506 |
warc | 201704 | I have an article coming out this winter in the Journal of Psychology and Christianity. The paper is entitled Death, Art and the Fall: A Terror Management View of Christian Aesthetic Judgments. My co-authors were Dan McGregor, Brooke Woodrow, Andrea Haugen and Kyna Killion. Dan and I are colleagues at ACU, he in Art and I in Psychology. Brooke, Andrea and Kyna were my Graduate Assistants while we were working on this project. What follows is a bit of that paper edited for this blog:
Visual art has a long and rich tradition within the Christian faith. From the first Christian art in the Roman catacombs to DaVinci’s The Last Supper to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescoes to the work of contemporary practicing Christian artists, art has profoundly affected Christian worship, personal devotion and the larger Christian culture. And yet, with the rise of Christian retail, many Christian artists are lamenting the quality of the “Christian art” bought and sold in Christian bookstores and retail outlets, artwork that is often used for devotional purposes or to adorn worship spaces. Specifically, many Christian artists see a general decline in Christian aesthetic judgments, as poor or superficial artwork appears to be dominating the Christian visual culture. Take, as an example, the assessment of the poet Steve Turner in his book Imagine: A Vision for Christians in the Arts: [Aspiring Christian artists] are usually frustrated that there is so little distinctive Christian content in the contemporary arts, but on the other hand, they are embarrassed at the low standards of much of what is promoted as “Christian art.”This evaluation of Christian artists’ frustration jives with Turner’s own judgment: This perspective confirmed what I had instinctively felt for sometime—that a lot of art created by Christians was bad and a lot of art created by non-Christians was good…Because the work that bore the name Christian was often poor in quality and naïve in understanding, Christianity by implication seemed insipid and uninspiring.And Turner is not alone in this assessment. Take, as another example, the analysis of Philip Graham Ryken in his book Art for God’s Sake: The question becomes, therefore, whether as Christians we will aspire to high aesthetic standards. All too often we settle for something that is functional, but not beautiful. We gravitate toward what is familiar, popular, or commercial, with little regard for the enduring values of artistic excellence. Sometimes what we produce can be described only as kitsch—tacky artwork of poor quality that appeals to low tastes. The average Christian bookstore is full of the stuff, as real artists will tell us, if we will only listen.In light of these criticisms, it is important to note that kitsch isn’t unique to Christianity. Much of what passes for art in the retail world is of questionable quality and can be subjected to the same criticisms that Turner and Ryken level as Christian commercial art. Still, it seems worth asking if Turner and Ryken are making a legitimate point. Might there be theological and psychological forces within Christianity that are affecting Christian aesthetics?
If we accept the judgments above, even on hypothetical grounds, we might ask the following: What might be artistically compromising Christian aesthetic judgments? Many think a root cause is theological. Specifically, when Christian artists depict the world they must wrestle with how they portray the brokenness they find there. In light of God’s grace should the artwork depict the way the world should be or will be at the eschaton? Or should the artist depict the brokenness, woundedness and suffering of our current existence? Take, for instance, the work of one of the most recognizable Christian artists, Thomas Kinkade. Kinkade has said that his idyllic paintings are portrayals of the world “without the Fall." But many Christian artists wonder if this impulse is truthful to human experience and the activity of God’s grace in a broken world. The graphic artist Ned Bustard writes in It Was Good: Making Art for the Glory of God:
Inevitably it seems that most attempts to picture good tend to offer the viewer disingenuous, sugary sweet propaganda. Ignoring the implications of the Fall, these artists paint the worlds as a shiny, happy place. The quintessential example of this in our day is found in Thomas Kinkade’s general philosophy. Kinkade professes to be a Christian but has said, “I like to portray a world without the Fall.”The argument is made that good art, to be truthful, must present grace in the midst of the Fall. Supporting this view, Bustard cites the opinion of Edward Knippers, one of the most influential Christian artists working today: Speaking to the issue of the portrayal of goodness in art, Knippers [insists] “Goodness needs to be attached to the real world because if you separate it from reality what you are left with is Disney World.” The believer’s art should be rooted in the rich soil of believing that humanity is far worse off than we think and God’s grace extends far beyond what we can imagine. It is in this understanding and not the two-dimensional, sweet, niceness of Snow White that we can produce good fruit that is rich in the fullness of our humanity.According to this view, true beauty isn’t achieved by willfully removing the signs of death, suffering or brokenness. True beauty aims to find God’s grace in unlikely and painful places. Take, as an example, the work of Tim Lowly. A recurring subject in Lowly’s art is Temma, his severely mentally and handicapped daughter. Temma is an emotional and biographical vision of the brokenness we find within the human condition. And yet, in painting Temma Lowly finds powerful ways to communicate grace in the midst of brokenness. For example, in his piece Carry Me Lowly draws Temma being lifted upward by six young women. We look down on the scene. Temma’s eyes are closed. She appears peaceful and restful. The eyes of the six women look upward, toward us or God. Carry Me is not, to quote Bustard again, a work of “sugary sweet propaganda” which ignores the implications of the Fall by painting the world as “a shiny, happy place.” Carry Me confronts the Fall through the broken body of Temma, but the beauty of the work is in how, through the six women lifting Temma up, it also depicts love, compassion, trust, and hopeful expectation in the midst of brokenness. Adrienne Chaplin writes of Carry Me: “By allowing the broken body of Temma to stand for the brokenness of us all, we are encouraged to reflect on our shared humanity."
Of course, as said above it is important to note that kitsch is not unique to Christians. Nor am I saying that I don't enjoy Kinkade's work. In fact, there is a small Kinkade hanging in my living room. So these concerns about declining aesthetics within the Christian population might very well be overblown. However, it is worth wondering if Christians (or anyone for that matter) might be attracted to artwork that portrays a world “without the Fall,” a sweet, shiny, untroubled and Disneyesque existence. No doubt, there are good theological reasons to paint the world not as it is but as it should be. We might characterize this kind of artwork, such as Thomas Kinkade’s, as eschatological, as painting the world that is yet-to-be. And yet, this eschatological impulse could tend toward triumphalism and an all-too-quick dismissal of the brokenness of human existence. In short, are preferences for eschatological art a form of denial or hope?
This is the question that has been occupying me as a researcher for the last few years. From worship choices to Christian publishing to Christian music to how Christians explain the pain of human existence, are Christians trying to deny or avoid the brokenness in the world? And are they doing this for existential and emotional comfort and solace? Is there within Christian populations what my friend and co-author Dan and I call The Thomas Kinkade Effect, the desire to portray the world "without the Fall"? | 8,265 | 3,684 | 0.000278 |
warc | 201704 | Disappearing Rape Kits and the Betrayal of American Women
Jay Grayce moved to San Francisco to start a new life. She found a job as an ESL teacher and was looking for additional work. When she arrived at a high end family restaurant for an interview, the manager was friendly and introduced her to his wife and the other employees. After telling Jay that she was ideal for the job, he invited her to join him in his office to fill out a few forms and discuss her schedule.
The manager walked quickly ahead of her and she lost sight of him. When she stepped into the office, he attacked Jay from behind and put his hand over her mouth, so no one could hear her scream. He threw her down, brutally raping her on the cold, damp floor. "I felt like I left my body and was watching it happen," she says, "I remember thinking how could this happen? His wife is out there eating and drinking."
Bloody and bruised, Jay went to the hospital to be examined, so the DNA evidence could be collected. She waited 6 hours for a nurse to attend to her. During this time, police questioned her relentlessly. "They were very dismissive, insensitive and showed no form of empathy whatsoever," she says. The police officers asked her the same questions over and over again, but did not act on any of the information she gave them.
Jay endured the excruciating process of submitting evidence for a rape kit, but months passed and the police never returned her calls. A year and half later, her counselor offered to reach out to an acquaintance in the precinct to inquire about the status of her case. The officer said that her case was closed and her file showed that she never called, followed up or showed any interest in pursuing the case.
"The DNA evidence is not here," he said. "We don't know where it is. Let me go down to the basement. It shouldn't be there because that area is for old cases." After carefully searching the basement, he called Jay and explained, "I found your evidence. It was purposefully hidden."
This buried evidence was eventually used to convict the restaurant manager who received a 5 year sentence for sexual assault. He was a serial rapist who attacked women in California, New York and Florida. Without the help of an advocate who had a personal contact at the police station, the case would have remained closed and the lives of other women would have been ripped apart.
Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of rape kits in the U.S. have never been processed. The DNA evidence is stored and buried. This is nothing less than the mass betrayal of American women. Jay says, "Sadly enough most of these cases never go to trial. There is a lot in the system that is lacking. There should be sensitivity training for DA's and police officers, so they show some remnant of empathy. You can be professional without being detached completely. We internalize it as blame and shame as survivors of trauma."
Jay now hosts a radio show called "The Rape Declaration Forum" on Pacifica Radio, New York (WBAI) to raise awareness on sexual assault and encourage other survivors in their recovery. She wants to keep other women from enduring the same violation through the criminal justice system. "As far as rape kits, my evidence was buried. It took over a year and half for someone to find it. This is not ethical. What can we do as a community to make a change? What we're doing so far is not working."
One way we can create change is to pass the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry Act (SAFER Act) which would ensure that every rape kit in the U.S. is documented and processed. It would also create a national registry where victims of sexual assault can track the status of their case. Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced the SAFER Act in April and has been a passionate advocate for survivor rights:
"We must help law enforcement eliminate the rape kit backlog once and for all...My Debbie Smith Act improved funding for all DNA processing, but this bill would allocate a portion of that funding to help law enforcement get a handle on their existing rape kit backlog and to provide the resources to process and track it. The tools in this bill would empower victims-- and get rapists off the street that much faster," she explains.
Processing DNA evidence and convicting perpetrators is a key sexual assault prevention strategy. We cannot continue to ignore the backlog of rape kits and allow violent predators to walk free. "We shouldn't wait for our loved ones to be in that position, " says Jay. "We need to act now."
Brooke Elise Axtell is a an award-winning singer, songwriter and poet. Her latest CD, Creatrix, was produced by Charlie Sexton (guitarist for Bob Dylan) and Mitch Watkins (guitarist for Leonard Cohen). She is also the founder of SHE: Survivor Healing and Empowerment, a healing community for survivors of rape, abuse and sex-trafficking. Her work as an artist and activist has been featured in many media outlets, including The San Francisco Chronicle, CBS Radio and Fox News. Visit her website at www.brookeaxtell.com.
Also by Brooke Elise Axtell:
Feminism in Kenya: A New Narrative | 5,169 | 2,539 | 0.000397 |
warc | 201704 | You should be able to catch Summer and Winter species this month as the last of the schools of kingfish, amberjacks and bonito mix with fish such as Australian salmon, tailor and trevally.
Kingfish and amberjacks should be holding deep around markers and other structure. The best way to catch them is on livebait dropped down to the depth they are holding. Another method is to jig using Slug-Go metal jigs or a combo of metal and plastic. But don’t give away the surface lures altogether, there will always be a kingfish looking up for tasty morsels. I always throw a few topwater lures at the structure before going deep.
When I approach the marker or structure I will cast the top water lure as close as I can and then work it back to the boat. Most of the time you will pull a strike in the first dozen casts. If I don’t get a strike or I miss a fish, I then work the deeper water.
I use my 97 Matrix sounder to locate the deeper fish, noting how deep they are holding. You can anchor or drift over them, depending on the wind and current. I then lower the jig to the bottom, keeping in contact with it on the descent because often fish strike on the drop.
When your lure hits bottom, wind it a few turns and jig it up and down with the rod a few times hoping for a strike. Then wind at high speed with a pause or two on the way up. On many occasions you will be nailed on the pause or just as you start to retrieve.
Often when we are jigging I cast an unweighted soft stickbait, put the rod into a holder and let the lure slowly sink, moving up and down with the boat movement from the waves. This will often hook up without any input by the angler. After 10 minutes, work it up slowly, putting action into it with the rod and then repeat the process.
It also pays to get a berley going and often baitfish and fish will follow it right back to the boat. I often pin a livebait and send it down as a back-up. Berley is also handy when deep-water fly fishing. Get a good trail going, cast your fly, let it sink and retrieve it through the trail.
I have upgraded all my rods on the boat to G Loomis and have been using a couple of pearlers for casting poppers, plastics and deeper jigs. These Pro Blue PBR843S are tough graphite rods and stand up to all the abuse that my clients can hand out. I usually break a few rods in the course of a season but I have not broken one of these, which I team up with Shimano Sustain 6000 reels with 20lb braid and 20lb to 30lb fluorocarbon leader.
BASS, EPs
Bass and estuary perch should be caught in good numbers in May; they should be schooled up in good numbers in the stretch from Sackville to Wisemans Ferry.
This is the time of year when a lot of bigger bass are caught. Soft plastics and flies worked around drop-offs and eddies should work well. Most of these fish will be hanging in the deeper water so make sure you get your lure down near the bottom.
Use coloured braid so you can see when your line has reached the bottom, then work your lure back with a lift-and-fall retrieve .
Winter is a good time to work surface lures in the back eddies where all the floating weeds, sticks and every other thing that floats in the river comes together.
On cold, frosty mornings John Bethune and I have cast surface lures and shallow jerkbaits in these areas and pulled some of the largest bass from under floating debris in these large back eddies.Reads: 499 | 3,425 | 1,680 | 0.0006 |
warc | 201704 | TIP #11B07-01
DATE ISSUED: January 26, 2011
Beginning January 1, 2011, phosphate rock producers are no longer required to remit a surcharge of $1.38 per ton. The Department will begin the process of reimbursing the total surcharge paid by calculating the surcharge offset amount for each taxpayer. The surcharge offset amount is the difference between the total tax paid at the reduced rate and the amount that would have been paid if the rate was calculated using the annual adjustment to the producer price index. Once the accumulated surtax offset for a producer equals or exceeds the total amount of surtax paid by the producer, the producer’s severance tax rate will be calculated based on the provisions of section 211.3103(5) and (6), Florida Statutes (F.S.).
Use the new tax rates when completing the
(Form DR-142ES). Declaration of Estimated Tax and Installment Payments of Solid Mineral Severance Tax
Tax Rate Period Tax Rate July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011 $1.71 per ton July 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012 $1.61 per ton
References: Section 211.3103, F.S. as amended by section 3, Chapter 2010-166, Laws of Florida
This document is intended to alert you to the requirements contained in Florida laws and administrative rules. It does not by its own effect create rights or require compliance.
For forms and other information, visit our website at www.floridarevenue.com or call Taxpayer Services at 800-352-3671, Monday through Friday (excluding holidays).
For a detailed written response to your questions, write the Florida Department of Revenue, Taxpayer Services, MS 3-2000, 5050 West Tennessee Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0112. | 1,661 | 916 | 0.001109 |
warc | 201704 | Over 15 Court Qualified Professionals Listed in our Nationwide Free Directory.
Talk to an Expert NOW!
US and Canadian courts are filled with forged wills, fake checks, and mocked up contracts cluttering the legal system. Until recently, it was "free reign" for criminals to forge documents to support their dubious claims in the thousands of uncontested trials statewide because of a serious shortage of court qualified certified document examiners.
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In many states, the attorney general just dismisses in mass forged check charges and other document related cases because the workload and the price is simply too high to prove forgery without a witness or a highly trained handwriting expert, until now.
Bart Baggett , California's top handwriting expert, explains,"Many clients are not attorneys. They are regular people honesty trying to figure out if a suicide note is authentic, a last will of a parent is real, or the identity of the writing on a card. Handwriting is the key to solving a lot of problems."
Handwriting Experts are needed daily in both civil and criminal proceedings. According to Bart Baggett, President of the School of Forensic Document Examination, "Over 90% of the handwriting cases we get never get to court. So, a powerful "letter of opinion" is in many cases, enough motivation to settle without the risky and costly trial."
Handwriting Services International is providing court qualified trained "experts" that can guide victims of forgery peaceful resolution, without breaking the bank.
If you have ever been a victim of forgery, you might not realize there are professionals that can spot a forgery, testify on your behalf in court, and help you prove you have been the victim of one of the most popular crimes of the 21st century: forgery. What's more, until Handwriting Services International, combined the resources of 20 plus handwriting experts in the USA and Canada, it was difficult to find a certified professional with integrity, experience, and at a price you can afford. Up until now you had to hire a retired government document examiner, who's technical training might have been over 25 outdated. Plus, many examiners with government background lack the business or legal knowledge needed in today's fast paced legal system - which requires fax opinions and court experience.
This small group of examiners has changed the way documents are analyzed and forgery cases are solved. If you need a handwriting expert, just choose someone on this list and you will have the best in the business on your team.
View a video on how to hire a forensic document examiner whether you are an attorney or you are utilizing an attorny in your legal proceedings. This videos reveals all the right questions you should ask.
Bart Baggett is one of the USA's top media spokesperson for Handwriting Industry as seen on CNN & Court TV. Available in California and nationwide.
I don't have a forgery issue. I want to learn the science of profiling and understanding personality from handwriting.
View a video on how to hire a forensic document examiner whether you are an attorney or you are utilizing an attorny in your legal proceedings. This videos reveals all the right questions you should ask.
Document Examiners reports and testimony for judges, attorneys, lawyers, law firms, insurance companies and government agencies in Federal and Provincial court trials and arbitrations.
Handwriting, hand printing and signature authorship identification Experts.
Handwriting Experts Witnesses and Handwriting Experts, Forensic Document consultants in legal matters, and provide Handwriting Experts for attornies and individuals.
Remember that a court qualified handwriting expert or document examiner is different than a graphologist or handwriting analyst. While a forgery expert can assist you in winning an important court case, attorneys and corporations realize the value of an independent document examiner providing a professional opinion on questioned documents and forgeries. | 4,048 | 1,836 | 0.000549 |
warc | 201704 | financial transformation of ITas well.
I've recently written about IT's need for financial metrics and financial transparency (a recent blog of mine has a great set of resource pointers on this very topic) but haven't done a deep dive into the companies - and products - that enable this change. In the course of researching I've found that the market is getting increasingly crowded with players... and indicator to me that this segment is beginning to become more important to IT leaders.
At its core, IT finances are based on capturing and monitoring fixed vs. variable costs, use and utilization of assets, and then blending-in operational costs. Other more sophisticated IT finance tools then allocate those costs to projects and/or organizations across the enterprise, and some even integrate that data into other finance applications (See this Blog by Paulo Prazeres on the topic). Still other tools extend out into the public cloud, monitoring usage and cost - even making recommendations regarding other pricing options and even other cloud providers.
Overall, in my opinion, these tools should be used with one goal in mind: Running IT more like a business. To do so, you need to know your sources of fixed and variable costs, costs of alternative sourcing, per-unit service costs, and who costs are allocated to. (Note: knowing costs is a requirement, actually charging-back is not). So, when choosing tools, consider what you might need for your basic here-and-now requirements, also consider
where you want to bein a few years, and what vendors are likely to offer those features as well. Disclaimer - I may have unintentionally omitted some vendors... if so, please let me know so I can add them in. ~ KO Subscription Billing
This class of players provide approaches to manage online subscription services, be they recurring SaaS or perhaps even other cloud-based infrastructure services. Many have flexible policy engines to support a variety of recurring revenue models. This group of vendors isn't necessarily core to providing IT financial transparency, but may provide important services for specific IT business models.
Aria Systems- (San Francisco, CA) SaaS based service providing subscription billing and recurring revenue management; flexible billing/metering on any metric within the data center. Multiple connectors into many types of accounting systems Monexa- (Vancouver, BC) A very comprehensive suite of tools for billing automation for the entire subscription lifecycle of the business from initial offer to revenue to renewals. Zuora- (Redwood City, CA) With an impressive set of customers, they provide enterprise-class, cloud-based tools to launch and scale any subscription service, quickly and affordably. IT Accounting, Charge-back, Show-back
This next set of companies is by far the broadest, with all vendors providing at least basic products for monitoring, allocating and (most of the time) charging-back variable IT costs. This is all a foundation for providing basic IT cost transparency.
Cloudability- (Portland, OR) The platform aggregates our customers’ cloud costs into accessible and comprehensive reports to help manage spending, reduce waste, and identify opportunities for cost savings. CloudRows- (Israel) Provides cost control for Amazon Web Services (AWS) accounts; enables you to be sure you are operating within your IT budget, and notifies you before a budget exception is about to occur. Works by constantly monitoring AWS activity logs in the background, and producing cost analytic reports for budget tracking. Cloudyn- (Israel) Yields a deep view of application use of cloud resources, and actionable solutions for cost optimization; continually collects utilization, consumption, availability, capacity, and cost metrics for monitored cloud resources i.e. Compute (e.g, AWS EC2), Database (e.g, AWS RDS) etc. Costnomics- (Fremont, CA) SaaS based tool providing IT Financial Management; Service Cost Management; IT Investment Management; IT Charge Management. The resulting value is to provide Cost Transparency, optimized IT Spend, and better business alignment. Newvem- (Israel) Newvem tracks and analyzes cloud resources usage, especially as they sprawl, identifying sub-optimal and vulnerable use of cloud resources with regards to security, availability, utilization, cost effectiveness and more. Then, recommends what needs to be done. Newvem does this by combining powerful data analytics of cloud usage data and curating crowd-sourcing knowledge and expertise from active cloud users, the community and experts for each specific issue that arises. Nicus Software- (Salem, VA) Provides enterprise-wide IT financial management application used for IT chargeback, cost visibility, budgeting and forecasting. Suite is a comprehensive set of chargeback functions to support many different chargeback methodologies including resource-based, subscription-based, fixed cost, distributions, allocations, pass-thru and adjustments. Pace Applied Technology- (Warrenton, VA) Offers accounting for IT resources, user chargeback, financial analysis and reporting. Provides the means to identify resource use, determine the cost of utilization, and charge the appropriate system users and/or business activities. uptimeCloud- (Toronto, ON) a cloud cost monitoring service that will help you measure, monitor and manage the cost of all your cloud based infrastructure in AWS (Amazon Web Services). Provides Cloud cost monitoring, Cloud cost forecasting, and Cloud cost showback. From Uptime Software. IT Finance and Technology Business Management
I've chosen to break this out from the section above due to the more comprehensive features that appear to be provided by the vendors. These products play a more strategic role to manage and forecast costs, evaluate overall value, and assist in IT/business decision-making.
Apptio- (Bellevue, WA) Enables IT leaders to manage the cost, quality and value of IT Services by providing deep visibility into the total cost of IT services, communicating the value of IT to the business through an interactive "Bill of IT"; strategically aligns the planning, budgeting and forecasting processes BMC- (Houston, TX) Business Service Management Delivers comprehensive transparency into resources and associated costs required to provide IT services to the business; process for capturing demand, as well as a means by which it can be prioritized and managed based on business goals and objectives; Enables IT to budget and forecast expenses from the perspective of IT resources, activities, and their associated costs. Claritia- (Fort Worth, TX) Provides solutions aimed at delivering complete transparency into the total cost of IT ownership and delivery so executives can easily optimize and forecast their budgets. Products for IT cost transparency, IT financial management and IT cost optimization. CloudCruiser- (Roseville, CA) Provides cost visibility and optimization across heterogeneous internal/external cloud environments. Offers a comprehensive suite of applications to map and measure resource usage independent of computing environment, allocating costs based on IT-defined criteria, and providing flexible and in-depth reporting of that usage. Comsci- (Iselin, NJ) Establishes product and unit costing metrics for benchmarking and/or chargeback; quantifies and presents the TCO for all IT applications and solution; provides actionable metrics and analytics for cost reduction opportunities and comparison to alternative solutions Cube Billing(Dallas, TX)- a cloud-based application with two service offerings: An Internal Billing/Chargeback System and an External Billing System. ability to easily understand cost information via a cost allocation and chargeback application. We help make financial data transparent across sales, delivery, account teams, and external clients. Other Resources & References IT Financial Management Association Gartner's IT Financial, Procurement & Asset Management Summit IT Financial Management tools from major vendors | 8,077 | 3,622 | 0.000277 |
warc | 201704 | Minimally invasive hip replacement
Definition
Minimally invasive hip replacement is a technique used to perform hip replacement surgeries. It uses a smaller surgical cut. Also, fewer muscles around the hip are cut or detached.
Alternative Names
Small incision total hip replacement; MIS hip surgery
Description
To perform this surgery:
A cut will be made in one of three places -- on the back of the hip (over the buttock), on the front of the hip (near the groin), or on the side of the hip.
In most cases, the cut will be 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 centimeters) long. In a regular hip replacement surgery, the cut is 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 centimeters) long.
The surgeon will use special instruments to work through the small cut.
Surgery involves cutting and removing bone. The surgeon will remove some muscles and other tissues. Less tissue is removed than in regular surgery. Most of the time, muscles are not cut or detached.
This procedure uses the same type of hip replacement implants as regular surgery.
Why the Procedure Is Performed
As in regular surgery, this procedure is done to replace or repair a diseased or damaged hip joint. This technique works better for people who are younger and thinner. Minimally invasive techniques may allow for a quicker recovery and less pain.
You may not qualify for this procedure if
Your arthritis is quite severe.
You have medical problems that do not allow you to have this surgery.
Talk with your surgeon about the benefits and risks. Ask if your surgeon has experience with this type of surgery.
After the Procedure
People who have this surgery can have a shorter stay in the hospital and faster recovery. Ask if this procedure is a good choice for you.
References
Harkess JW, Crockarell JR. Arthroplasty of the hip. In: Canale ST, Beatty JH, eds.
Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 12th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Mosby; 2013:chap 3.
Meneghini RM, Smits SA, Swinford RR, Bahamonde RE. A randomized, prospective study of 3 minimally invasive surgical approaches in total hip arthroplasty: comprehensive gait analysis.
J Arthroplasty. 2008;23:68-73. PMID: 18722305 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18722305.
Review Date:
7/13/2015
Reviewed By:
C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. © 1997-
A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. | 2,983 | 1,520 | 0.000666 |
warc | 201704 | The
Tax
Register shows that the volume of corporate income
tax
entities, trusts, employers and Vat
vendors all decreased from 2011 to 2012, says
iAfrica.com
.
So if you're a
taxpayer, SARS has its eye on you.
If you haven't yet submitted or started working on your
provisional tax return
, best you start right this minute.
Act now to get your provisional tax return to SARS on time – the clock is ticking!
The deadline to submit your
provisional tax return
is 28 February.
If you hand in your
provisional tax return
late – even one minute late – you'll be paying
SARS
an administrative penalty of up to R4 000! And this penalty amount doubles after 30 days, with interest, says the
Tax Bulletin
.
And errors mean double penalties – one for the error, and one for not following the rules.
So if you pay
SARS
the due tax
late, you'll also owe it 10% of the penalty amount upfront, as
SARS argues
that you have to 'pay now, argue later'.
And if you do ask
SARS to consider suspending payment of a disputed debt, it will look at your compliance history.
So if you've made a late payment or submission of any
tax returns before, SARS isn't likely to be lenient on you in future.
That's why you have to get your
provisional tax return
in on time!
Here's what you'll need to do:
The first step is to open your
provisional tax return
(IRP6 form) on
SARS
's eFiling site.
Don't open yourself up to more penalties by forgetting to fill in the estimate of how much you owe SARS!
Once you've checked your personal details that are pre-populated on the IRP6 form, you'll need to estimate how much you owe
SARS.
This is the most important step.
'If a person fails to submit such an estimate, the person will be liable for another penalty for non-submission of an estimate,' explains
Piet Nel, SAICA's Project Director:
Tax
.
SARS' website will then automatically calculate the total amount you owe SARS and pre-populate this on your IRP6 form.
Once complete, you'll receive a message confirming that your provisional tax
return has been filed, says the
Tax Bulletin
.
It won't take long – just get the relevant forms together, log into eFiling and you'll soon be able to breathe easy that you've submitted your
provisional tax return
on time!
Make sure you make the 28 February
Provisional tax deadline
- complete your
Provisional Tax Return
in 7 easy steps. Find out more here...
PS. We recommend you check out:
Provisional Tax 101
. It gives you the step-by-step advice you need to estimate, calculate and pay over your provisional tax
correctly - yourself! | 2,641 | 1,262 | 0.000822 |
warc | 201704 | What is a fringe benefit?
SARS defines a fringe benefit as comprising all of the following 3 aspects…
Aspect#1:
There's an employment relationship between the person giving the benefit and the person receiving it.
Aspect#2:
The benefit increases over time because of an employee's employment. In other words, it's a 'perk' of his job.
Aspect#3:
The benefit must be a reward for services provided (or which will be provided) by an employee.
Now that you know what a 'fringe benefit' actually is, let's look at which of them are taxable…
There are 13 taxable fringe benefits. They are if you:
1.
Give the employee an asset for free, or for a price lower than its actual value;
2.
Allow the employee to use assets which you own. This excludes company cars;
3.
Give the employee a company car for him to use privately;
4.
Provide the employee with free meals, refreshments or meal vouchers;
5.
Provide the employee with cheap or free accommodation, or allow him to purchase a place to stay, which you own, for an amount lower than the place's market value;
6.
Pay the employee's medical aid contributions for him;
7.
Pay for his medical expenses;
8.
Put money towards the employee's insurance policy;
*To learn what the other 5 taxable fringe benefits are, simply page over to
Chapter F 05
in your
Practical Tax Loose Leaf Service
handbook.
PS:
It's also worth noting that many of these fringe benefits have
special rules
and
exceptions
in certain situations. So head over to
Chapter R 05
now and get cracking!
Remember that you simply can't afford to risk being penalised by SARS because of your lack of tax
knowledge around fringe benefits.
So if you don't already have this very useful tax
resource,
click here
to order yours today and from there on out have the peace of mind knowing that you're on top of all important tax
issues in South Africa. | 1,904 | 967 | 0.001066 |
warc | 201704 | Bill Hammond takes a one-sided view of prescription drug costs in his article, “Drug lobbyists push bitter pill on taxpayers,” (March 23). He says New York State “could save hundreds of millions of dollars” by instituting a preferred drug list for Medicaid that would “steer patients away” from newer brand name drugs. However, research has shown that restricting access to these drugs may actually increase overall health costs.
Columbia University Prof. Frank Lichtenberg has found that replacing older medicines with newer ones reduced other health expenditures by up to $8 for every $1 spent on the newer drugs. Newer medicines are usually more effective, have fewer side effects, and may treat conditions for which no existing effective treatment is available. Denying patients these drugs may mean more doctors’ visits, more hospitalizations, and more spending on less effective medicines.
Is it possible that New York legislators are actually looking at the bigger picture and are not simply beholden to lobbyists, as Mr. Hammond suggests?
Grace-Marie Turner
President
Galen Institute
www.galen.org | 1,148 | 662 | 0.001569 |
warc | 201704 | You are here Impact of number of [(18) F]fluorodeoxyglucose-PET-positive lymph nodes on survival of patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery for oesophageal cancer Miyata H, Yamasaki M, Makino T, Tatsumi M, Miyazaki Y, Takahashi T, et al.
Br J Surg. 2016 Jan;103(1):97-104.
Abstract BACKGROUND:
[(18) F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET has been used to evaluate the response of primary tumours to neoadjuvant therapy for oesophageal cancer. The clinical significance of the number of PET-positive nodes before and after therapy has not been investigated previously.
METHODS:
[(18) F]FDG-PET was performed before and 2-3 weeks after completion of neoadjuvant chemotherapy to identify the number of PET-positive nodes, and these numbers were assessed in relation to metabolic changes in the primary tumour.
RESULTS:
Of 302 patients in total, 90 had no PET-positive nodes, 83 had one, 59 had two and 70 patients had three or more positive nodes before therapy. After treatment, the numbers were: none in 207 patients, one in 59, two in 20 and three or more in 16 patients. The number of PET-positive nodes after treatment was influenced by both the number of PET-positive nodes before therapy and the response to preoperative therapy, and correlated with the number of metastatic lymph nodes. Overall survival was longer in patients who had no PET-positive nodes after treatment than in those who had one or more. Multivariable analysis identified the numbers of PET-positive nodes before and after chemotherapy as independent prognostic factors, together with clinical response, tumour depth and lymph node involvement.
CONCLUSION:
The number of PET-positive nodes after treatment correlated with survival in patients with oesophageal cancer who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
©PubMed Central | 1,823 | 856 | 0.001179 |
warc | 201704 | If men’s kindnesses toward women were really only kindnesses, a man would be pleased if another man or woman offered these kindnesses to him. He would be pleased if another man or woman lit his cigarette or pulled out his chair for him. He would be pleased to derive his income, prestige, power and even his identity from his partner. He would take pride in another man’s or woman’s offer to walk him to his car at night. But in fact, “one of the very nasty things that can happen to a man is his being treated or seen as a woman, or womanlike." -- Frye 1983 You should be flattered is an excuse used for sexist incidents, in particular for sexualized environments or harassment incidents, in which commentary on women's appearance (usually) is defended as being complimentary to the women.
This excuse is problematic because:
it ignores that random sexual comments tend to stem from asserting male power and control over women, not good-will it reminds women that they are subject to men's approval (see Grunch), and implies the "flatterer's" right to express their opinion aloud is more important than the "flatteree's" feelings it attempts to dictate women's emotional responses to them, in particular perpetrating the idea that women are socially obliged to be pleasant and accommodating it places the blame on women for responding negatively to what is wholly inappropriate conduct for many contexts, such as professional communities it reminds women who aren't the object of the commentthat they are also subject to men's approval it ignores the fact that many women have had negative experiences with sexual attention, such as immediate or eventual criticism or violence, and therefore do not view it with unmixed (or any) pleasure it makes non-straight women feel particularly marginalised focusing on women's appearance contributes to feelings of exceptionalism and conveys the judgement that a woman's interests and expertise are less valuable than her attractiveness it is often defended with dismissive False equivalence, such as "well I'dbe overjoyedif I got catcalled!" | 2,114 | 1,056 | 0.000961 |
warc | 201704 | Marketing Transformation Signalled in Accenture’s CMO Insights Report
Accenture’s latest CMO Insights Report is an interesting read for anyone focused on the evolution of marketing strategies and practices. 37% of the 400+ respondents were B2C companies, 37% B2B2C and 26% B2B meaning we can take a certain level of confidence in what the results are telling us about the B2C space we are so passionate about.
In an industry synonymous with fast and furious innovation, it’s not surprising that CMOs feel less prepared to meet their marketing objectives in terms of people, tools and resources than they did in 2011. However, the need for growth and efficiency is now deemed more important than the need to cut costs according to the report which will be music to any cash-strapped marketer’s ears. This is a strong marker in our view that the challenges, opportunities and commercial realities of the marketing department are being better understood and supported than they might have been previously. Considering that the report also tells us that attracting and retaining customers to increase sales is getting more difficult, marketers are going to need the support of the rest of the business to continue to deliver.
Looking at how CMOs are going to address these challenges, new strategies deemed important to the respondents include synchronising the customer experience from marketing to sales to service, ensuring agility and relevance, along with incorporating real-time impacts brought about by data and technology. We know from experience that the value of real-time marketing cannot be underestimated. At its simplest, in this fast-moving digital universe, consumers expect any appetite to be satisfied immediately, and may well go elsewhere if a brand cannot or will not deliver according to their schedule. Another strategy that will continue to drive growth in the CMO’s marketing programmes is through closing the gaps between different channels. Consumers are driving the evolution of a more seamless marketing experience across both online and offline media and marketers obviously understand the need to keep up.
One of the most interesting areas of the report for us was the insights into the marketing ecosystem that exists around CMOs and client-side marketing programmes. 45-75% of activities were found to be managed by either digital agencies, marketing service providers or specialised agencies. Outside suppliers and partners can bring in a wealth of specialist skills and knowledge as well as being an additional resource that can be bolted-on whenever required so this makes a lot of sense. Working with partners comes with its own set of challenges though – such as execution and delivery – which the report found to be weakest in the minds of 64% of CMOs queried. The distance at which the ecosystem has to operate is likely to be partly responsible for this, but at the same time it is important that all companies working with end brands really dig in and understand the realities according to their clients. We work both with client-side marketers and their agency suppliers and know that each type has different needs and challenges on top of the unique facets of each individual brand.
Regardless of current digital challenges, CMOs are clear that digital is the future. 66% will allocate over 25% of their budgets to digital this year, with a particular focus on customer experience, data and analytics. There is also going to be rampant change ahead for all marketers, but especially those focused on B2C as we are. 71% of CMOs in the B2C space believe there will be fundamental changes in the next 5 years in areas including the marketing operating model, the development of internal skills, aligning with the right partners and driving digital throughout their organisations. As we face these changes together as an industry those that can work together, understand each other’s perspectives and provide real solutions to marketing’s growth trajectory and associated challenges will be the ones that prosper in this exciting new world.
Take a look at the report linked above, or the infographic that sums up the findings superbly, and let us know in the comments section how this stacks up with your experiences.
The best way to see the amazing power of Lead Intelligence and learn more about how it could transform your performance marketing is to see it for yourself. | 4,464 | 2,093 | 0.000484 |
warc | 201704 | So much has been written about the US-Mexican border, and so many stereotypes and assumptions, artistic and otherwise, have been made by people who have never been here, that the El Paso Museum of Art (EPMA) thought it was time to explore the art that is being created by artists who live along this 3,000-mile boundary.
Christian Gerstheimer, curator of
Sister Cities: Testing Boundaries, spent nine months selecting the work of artists who live on either side of the border that runs from San Diego to Brownsville.
He established two criteria for the show: One was that all of the artists had to be currently living on the border, and the other was that the work had to test boundaries ― physical, aesthetic or conceptual. Gerstheimer emphasized that the show was not intended to be about the physical border so much as about boundaries in general.
Choosing artists from this wide a geographical area is something of an impossible task ― there are so many artists working in so many different media that it must have been hugely difficult to narrow things down. But he has chosen a fair cross-section of different media and different conceptualizations.
Of course, as Albert Fierro, chief of cultural affairs for the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former general director of CONUCULTA, pointed out in a panel discussion, there is really not just one border, but many different borders ― that is, how people live and interact along this boundary varies widely. This is certainly true of how artists relate to this particular environment. At that same discussion, Carmen Cuenta from INSITES in San Diego-Tijuana showed slides and talked about all of the various joint art projects in San Diego-Tijuana. To a great extent, these have developed in direct response to the wall that has been erected and extended out into the ocean, dividing the two countries. She showed sides of the human cannonball that was shot from a cannon on one side of the border over to the other side. She showed a project to cut a hole in the wall featuring tubes, which enabled people on both sides to drink water from the same pipe.
All of these projects were created with the help of everyone who was in any way connected to the scene ― border patrol and citizens, as well as various city and neighborhood groups. These groups were able to erect sculptures that they ensured would not be vandalized by consulting people living in the community to explain what they were going to build, which made everyone “co-participants.” As a result, pieces that at one time would have been soon destroyed are now protected. Furthermore, people in the community have set up food stands and T-shirt stalls to sell their wares to tourists who came to see the art projects, making the artwork a real part of their community.
INSITE members seem to be focused on the border as the principal subject, attempting to create projects that play with the border and trying to emphasize unity where there is a very prominent barrier to it. In El Paso-Juarez, by contrast, a more formal cooperation was established, with joint shows at museums on both sides of the border: While there are very informal discussions between a few artists who have friends on each side, for the most part everyone operates independently.
On the other hand, there is such a free flow of people back and forth between El Paso and Juarez that for many the border is more a hindrance than anything else. As a result, work from artists in Juarez tends to focus on other concerns altogether. One of the interesting aspects of the current EPMA show is that the majority of art that concentrates specifically on border issues seems to be the work of people living on the US side. Cecilia Briones, La Catrina, of Juarez told me, “We really aren’t limited to these stereotypes of what border art is supposed to be like.” She said that “everyone has a belief that the border means violence, use of certain colors and images, but there is so much more going on here.” Her abstracts and use of found images reflect her her artistic and social concerns, but those concerns have little to do with the border as such. Andrea Gussi, also from Juarez, is represented by her sculpture
Skin series #3 portraying a female form made from wire, goatskin and light. It is part of a much larger series simultaneously on display at INBA Museum in Juarez featuring similar forms. She is a Mexican artist whose artistic concerns are unrelated to the border. Her painting and sculptures often have an otherworldly, spiritual quality to them.
Nevertheless, the show contains many pieces that play exclusively with stereotypes and the border, often in funny as well as highly charged political ways. The brothers Einar and Jamex de la Torre, who live on both sides of the border in California, make Toltec figures using pop culture items ― a television set featuring norteno singers for the face, rifles for arms, the whole piece (comprised of these kitschy items) forming an ancient deity figure. Alfred Quiroz from Tucson has painted a huge canvas called
Border is Shoes, a painting filled with images of Canadian Mounties carrying a book of NAFTA rules, border patrol guards wildly shooting guns and logos of pop products.
Gilbert Rocha from Laredo has piled on a bicycle cardboard reaching to a nearly impossible height, reflecting a reality often seen there. Gaspar Enriquez from El Paso also paints a familiar reality: He grew up in El Paso’s poor and politically charged second ward, and he paints those people with whom he grew up. These are deeply respectful portraits of individuals who are often marginalized by the rest of society. Indeed, he explained that one portrait in the show is not, as some critic complained, glorifying a drug dealer, but is actually a portrait of an incredibly talented tattoo artist who was a former student of his. The man sports various slogans and gang-like marks on his body, and Gaspar wanted to pay homage to his talent.
Likewise, Margarita Cabrera, who was born in Monterrey and who spent a great deal of her childhood in Mexico City, but who now lives in El Paso, pays homage to maquiladora workers by replacing the plastic parts of common household items made in the maquiladoras with vinyl replicas. She wants to make us aware of who makes those items we use daily. She also pays homage to the Volkswagen Beetle, which for the urban Mexico City dweller might well be compared to the camel for the Bedouin: It is used for everything. She made a full-size soft sculpture of the Beetle by taking a Volkswagen apart and replacing all the metal parts with vinyl counterparts. Just as the Beetle is used for everything in Mexico, nothing here went to waste: Margarita revealed that she actually put the original Volkswagen she had taken apart back together with various used parts, and it is now for sale.
The Aiko collectivo from Juarez, whose name comes from the Japanese word for “dream child,” normally works with ideas of childhood fantasies and fairy tales. Here they have made a piece specifically for the show with elongated figures pulling on a line that almost looks like a clothesline, but is, of course, the border.
The popularity of the collectivo, here represented by several different groups, points to a fairly interesting difference between the two countries. While the US does not have a Ministry of Culture, Mexico, like almost every other country, does. Museums cannot arrange shows on their own the way they can here, but have to involve the government in Mexico City. With governmental control over the arts, there is not really, at least in Juarez, a well-developed system of galleries: People either show their work in restaurants or go through the government for exhibitions. As Jose Badia and Oriana Richaud of Aiko pointed out, they are more likely to get governmental support if they can show there are many people involved, therefore the rise of the collectivo. “Plus,” Jose said, “I am really social, so I like to have people around me when I work.” They also like the anonymity, which comes from belonging to a collectivo rather than promoting themselves as individual artists. Many artists, however, do both. Andrea Gussi, for instance, exhibits individually, but in the fall she will be part of a collectivo doing an art project in Oaxaca.
The EPMA show is fascinating in its scope and range of interests. There are eerie nighttime landscapes of illegal border crossings, as seen through a border guard’s field binoculars, by Louis Hook of San Diego; a Luche Libre construction designed to make a political point; and representations of taco stands and pop culture by Gregg Stone from California. The border is a unique culture, producing its own world. As Fierro pointed out, “It is a crossroads between two different ways of doing things … where the Anglo-Saxon world meets the Mexican world; it is a place where people are often preparing to move and where waiting ― waiting for visas, waiting to cross ― is a fundamental part of the life and where there is an endless case of exchanges and opportunities.”
Reams of information could be written about the subject. To look at all of the artwork ― political, funny, angry, lyrical ― is to get a sense of the wide variety of artistic life on the border. The exhibition perhaps most importantly has helped to begin a dialogue among those of us who live here, and to keep far away the often strident rhetoric and misperceptions about our region that blare at us from the airwaves daily.
Images courtesy El Paso Museum of Art
David Sokolec is a writer living in El Paso.
also by David Sokolec Orozco at Kurimanzutto, and a knitted bus - June 7th, 2009 Globalization and Contemporary Art-Zona Maco - May 6th, 2009 Pushing Conceptual Boundaries in Mexico City - April 26th, 2009 Changes in the El Paso Art Scene - February 28th, 2008 A few questions for Dr. Michael Tomor about the El Paso Museum of Art - July 2nd, 2006 | 10,111 | 4,686 | 0.000217 |
warc | 201704 | "We watch over every case, roll, or box of product as if our life depended on it. We strive to provide more control over the handling and movement of your products than you could provide yourself. At Grand, we have one mission - Do it right, and do it better than our customer expects. Always!"
Dave SchulmanPresidentGrand WorldwideLogistics Corporation
Your products are the lifeline of your company. When they leave your hands, you entrust them to a supply chain that can make or break you. We've built our organization on the feedback we have heard from every major manufacturer, importer and logistics provider we've ever worked with. It's a system built on providing the comfort of knowing that your products are handled with the utmost care, remain 100% secure at all times, and are managed by people and processes that are always in control.
Your customers count on you to meet their demand. Nothing can be left to chance. Efficiently moving your product through your supply chain requires the expertise to manage air, water, rail, and over-the-road transportation. It also requires warehouse management to ensure that your products are always in proximity and ready to supply the markets you serve.
At Grand Worldwide, we've built our business on the foundation that each link in the supply chain must be aligned at every step along the way.
Grand provides you with virtual control of your products through WMS and Logistics Systems at all facilities. Grand Worldwide is your single source to manage the movement of product from your plant to your customer's door, and every step in between.
In place. In sight. Always.
If you could warehouse your products more effectively, ensure their security at all times and have on-line access to their status 24x7, would your supply chain become more efficient?
Whether by rail, container or truck, we can handle your products the way you demand. By doing so, we provide the support you need to become a more effective supplier to your customer.
If Grand Worldwide can do this for you, what are you waiting for? Give us a call today. We’re always here to help. | 2,127 | 1,056 | 0.000955 |
warc | 201704 | A robust Pilot and Feasibility Program will be an integral portion of the CONSORTIUM FOR HEREDITARY CAUSES OF NEPHROLITHIASIS AND KIDNEY FAILURE. The Rare Diseases Consortium will serve as an active incubator for novel ideas in nephrolithiasis research and patient care. Plans are to fund 2 projects at all times for the duration of this award. For this purpose, $100,000 has been budgeted each year, allowing approximately $50,000 per pilot project. One of the two pilot projects will be funded by money pledged from the Mayo Clinic Rochester research committee. The primary focus will be to support new protocols with high potential for advancing patient care amongst one or more of the patient cohorts in our consortium. Proposals from junior investigators will also be given special consideration for funding, although the program will also be open to established investigators as a means of encouraging them to develop new projects or avenues of research within this field. Projects with a high potential to produce preliminary data making them competitive for additional extramural funding will also be given higher priority. In years 1-2, we will fund a pilot project on developing technology for harvesting viable hepatocytes from livers removed at transplant. This project synchronizes well with aims of Project 1, and will open the door towards novel model systems and potential therapies for PH. The second pilot project will be funded by the Mayo Clinic Research Committee ($50,000 per year for 5 years pledged). These funds expand the overall resources and scope of the Rare Diseases Consortium. All proposals will be selected by the full Rare Diseases Consortium Pilot Project Committee, using a rigorous selection processed. Several possible candidates for future Pilot Projects have been identified. However, we have intentionally elected to not select this additional proposal at the time of submission. Instead, we will issue a new RFA and select the most promising proposal at the time of potential grant funding. In this manner, we will maintain flexibility and not lock the consortium into specific areas, but instead allow the possibility that novel areas can be supported that emerge over the next 12 to 18 months.
The Pilot Program will fund 2 projects at all times for a period of 1-2 years each. Maximal budget is $50,000/year. Goals are to fund promising nephrolithiasis investigators and provide preliminary data in support of promising new ideas.
Tang, Xiaojing; Lieske, John C (2014) Acute and chronic kidney injury in nephrolithiasis. Curr Opin Nephrol Hypertens 23:385-90 Meeusen, Jeffrey W; Lieske, John C (2014) Looking for a better creatinine. Clin Chem 60:1036-9 Lieske, John C; Collazo-Clavell, Maria L; Sarr, Michael G et al. (2014) Gastric bypass surgery and measured and estimated GFR in women. Am J Kidney Dis 64:663-5 Ali, Farah N; Falkner, Bonita; Gidding, Samuel S et al. (2014) Fibroblast growth factor-23 in obese, normotensive adolescents is associated with adverse cardiac structure. J Pediatr 165:738-43.e1 Fattah, Hasan; Hambaroush, Yasmin; Goldfarb, David S (2014) Cystine nephrolithiasis. Transl Androl Urol 3:228-233 Modersitzki, Frank; Pizzi, Laura; Grasso, Michael et al. (2014) Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in cystine compared with non-cystine stone formers. Urolithiasis 42:53-60 Fervenza, Fernando C (2013) A patient with nephrotic-range proteinuria and focal global glomerulosclerosis. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 8:1979-87 Lee, Hyo-Jung; Jeong, Soo-Jin; Lee, Hyo-Jeong et al. (2011) 1,2,3,4,6-Penta-O-galloyl-beta-D-glucose reduces renal crystallization and oxidative stress in a hyperoxaluric rat model. Kidney Int 79:538-45 Goldfarb, David S (2011) Potential pharmacologic treatments for cystinuria and for calcium stones associated with hyperuricosuria. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 6:2093-7 Coe, Fredric L; Evan, Andrew; Worcester, Elaine (2011) Pathophysiology-based treatment of idiopathic calcium kidney stones. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 6:2083-92
Showing the most recent 10 out of 16 publications | 4,062 | 2,073 | 0.000483 |
warc | 201704 | I am a past board member, committed donor and have volunteered locally and for overseas outreach. Genesis World Mission (GWM) really "gets it" when it comes to helping people receive access to quality healthcare services that meet real needs and create lasting impact. Episodic assistance may assist someone in a moment. GWM is more interested in sustained positive health outcomes for the people they serve. This is true for the local clinic in Garden City as well as partnerships internationally. Volunteers in the local clinic are the same doctors, nurses, dentists, etc. that people fortunate to have healthcare insurance trust with care for our families. Quality of care, respect for the patient, education to help them manage their issues and access to needed specialty care is what GWM delivers. There are so many examples of patients whose lives are changed through GWM helping them get the healthcare they need to "get well" so they can function effectively in society. Internationally, GWM Partners with like minded in-country organizations and the local community being served to create involvement, commitment and ownership of the medical clinics and healthcare services to be delivered. The core problems of the community are identified WITH the community by following a proven discovery and planning process. It's not a GWM project but a partnership with the community so both are investing in the work, mission and long-term sustainability. I participated in this process first-hand in Burangi, Kenya and witnessed community leaders, in country non-profit Partners and GWM leaders mutually commit and invest in the right plan to bring the community what they need to improve their health for the long-term. The results thus far have been phenomenal. Proof that the GWM approach is successful is the clinic started in Ndumberi, Kenya I was able to visit that is now 100% self-sustaining meeting the needs of their local community seeing thousands of patients annually. This is life changing and life saving assistance for impoverished families that otherwise would not have access or be able to afford the care. GWM is run very fiscally responsibly by smart, devoted and caring leadership. People of hope and strong character. It's the type of organization you want to be able to do more of what they do and mentor others to do the same. More volunteers and donations can help them do this. They have become very proficient at "replicating" their successes so that other communities in the US or internationally can get quality and lasting assistance for health problems they face. I wish I could peronally afford to put them in a more substantial financial position with an endowment to allow them to grow their impact. Together, we may all be able to make this a reality. I know GWM would pay it forward. | 2,828 | 1,376 | 0.000729 |
warc | 201704 | Published on August 14th, 2013 |
by GBE FACTS Fuel Cell Innovation by Korean Researchers
August 14th, 2013 by
GBE FACTS Novel cathode materials for SOFC with high performance and strong reliability at the intermediate temperature
Research team of Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Georgia Institute of Technology, and Dong-Eui University developed a novel cathode material which has outstanding performance and robust reliability even at the intermediate temperature range.
This research was published in Scientific Reports on August 13. (Title: Highly Efficient and robust cathode materials for low-temperature solid fuel cells: PrBa0.5Sr0.5Co2-xFexO5+δ )
As high power density devices, fuel cells can convert chemical energy directly into electric power very efficiently and environmentally friendly. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), based on an oxide ion conducting electrolyte, have several advantages over other types of fuel cells, including relatively inexpensive material costs, low sensitivity to impurities in the fuel, and high overall efficiency.
To make SOFC technology more affordable, the operating temperature must be further reduced so that substantially less expensive materials may be used for the cell components. Also there will be more choices of materials for other components with lower operating temperature.
However, at the low operating temperature, the problem is that the efficiency drop by the cathode is especially dramatic than the one due to the anode and/or electrolyte. It means that the cathode, as a key component of SOFC, contributes the most to the polarization loss during intermediate temperature operation. As a result, the development of feasible low temperature SOFCs requires the generation of highly efficient cathode materials.
A UNIST research team tried to co-dope Sr and Fe and succeeded in yielding remarkable out-performance to present materials at lower operating temperature. The optimized composition has facilitated excellent oxygen reduction reaction and the novel structure has created pore channels that dramatically enhance oxygen ion diffusion and surface oxygen exchange while maintaining excellent compatibility and stability under operating conditions.
“The hardest part of this research was finding optimum composition of Sr and Fe for the best performance and robustness,” said Prof. Kim. “Previously various researches trying to dope Sr to perovskite structure had been made by many other groups. But none of them was successful for the better performance at the low operating temperature.”
The new material developed by the UNIST research team led by Prof. Guntae Kim, could be used at significantly low temperature SOFC with higher efficiency and solid reliability than the previously reported materials. This new novel cathode material enables the fuel cell designers have more flexible choices on the materials of fuel cell components, which leads to the lower fuel cell cost and, finally, to the step closer to the highly efficient and reliable fuel cells.
Source:
AAAS EurekAlert | 3,117 | 1,440 | 0.000703 |
warc | 201704 | Bryan Lawrence ... personal wiki, blog and notes Bryan's Blog 2008/01 Moving Modelling Forward ... in small steps
I'm in the midst of a series of "interesting" meetings about technology, modelling, computing, and collaboration ... Confucian times indeed.
Last week, we had a meeting to try and elaborate on the short and medium-term NERC strategy for informatics and data. For some reason, NERC uses the phrase "informatics" to mean "model development" (it ought to be more inclusive of other activities, and perhaps it is, but it's not obvious that all involved think that way). As it happens, we didn't spend much time discussing data, in part because from the point of view of the research programme in technology, the main issue at the moment is to improve the national capability in that area (i.e. through improvements and extensions to the NERC DataGrid and other similar programmes).
Anyway, in terms of "informatics" strategy we came up with three goals:
In terms of general informatics, to avoid loosing the impetus given to environmental informatics by the e-Science programme,
To try and increase the number of smart folk in our community who are capable of both leading and carrying out "numerically-rich" research programmes (i.e. more people who can carry our model development forward). We thought an initial approach of more graduate students in this area followed by a targetted programme might make a big difference.
To try and identify some criteria by which we could evaluate improvement in model codes (in particular, if we want adaptive meshes etc, which ones, and how should we decide?). (Michael you ought to like that one :-)
This was in the context of trying to ensure that NERC improves the flexibility and agility (and performance) of its modelling framework so it can start to answer interesting questions about regional climate change. Doing so will undoubtedly stretch our existing modelling paradigms, particularly as we try and take advantage of new computer hardware.
During the meeting we all had our list of issues contributing to the discussion. This was my list of things to concentrate on:
Improving our high resolution modelling (learning from and exploiting HIGEM).
Improving our (the UK research community outside the Met Office) ability to contribute to AR5 simulations.
Data handling for irregular grids.
Model metadata (a la NumSim, PRISM, METAFOR).
Future Computing Issues in general, but in particular:
Better dynamic cores
Better use of cluster grids and university supercomputing (not just the national services, will require
muchmore portable code than we have now, and not a little validation of the models on each and every new architecture).
i.e. better coding standards ...
Better ensemble management and error reporting (Michael's bad experience is not dissimilar to folk here with the Unified Model).
Learning the lessons of the GENIE project(s).
Handling massive increases in data volumes.
With consequential issues for transport and archival
and the requirement to better exploit server-side data services
Much better model componentisation and coupler(s).
And like everyone else, I wanted to know where are the smart folk to do all this?
Then today, we had an initial discussion about procuring a new computing resource with the Met Office (which, by the way, doesn't preclude our involvement in other national computing services, far from it). There isn't much I can say about this discussion, as much of it was in confidence, but suffice to say, it was all about how we can exploit a shared system on which we would be running the met office models for joint programmes ... of course it's that very same model which most certainly needs a technology refresh :-)
On Friday, we'll be discussing the new NERC-Met Office joint climate research programme ... (which will be one of the programmes exploiting the new system).
Using more computer power, revisited.
In the comments to my post on why climate modelling is so hard, Michael Tobis made a few points that need a more elaborate response (in time and text) then was appropriate for the comments section, so this is my attempt to deal with them. But before, I do, let me reiterate that I don't disagree that there are substantial things that could and should be done to improve the way we do climate modelling. Where the contention lies maybe in our expectations of what improvements we might reasonably expect, and hence perhaps in our differing definitions of what might be impressive further progress.
Before I get into the details of my response, I'm going to ask you to read an old post of mine. Way back in January 2005, I tried to summarise the issues associated with where best to put the effort on improving models: into resolution, ensembles or physics?
Ok, now you've read that, three years on, it's worth asking whether I would update that blog entry or not? Well, I don't think so. I don't think changing the modelling paradigm (coding methods etc), would change the fundamentals of the time taken to do the integrations although it might well change our ability to assess changes and improve them, but I've already said I think that's a few percent advantage. So, in practise, we can change the paradigm, but then the questions still remain: ensembles, resolution or physics? Where to put the effort?
Ok, now to Michael's points:
Do you think existing codes are validated? In what sense and by what
method?
In the models with which I am familiar I would expect every code module that can be tested physically against inputs and outputs has been done so for a
reasonable range of inputs. That is to say, someone has used some test cases (not complete, in some cases, the complete set of inputs may be a large proportion of the entire domain of all possible model states, i.e. it can't be formally validated!), and tested the output for physical consistency and maybe even conservation of some relevant properties. There is no doubt in my mind that this procedure can be improved by better use of unit testing (Why is that if statement there? What do you expect it to do? Can we produce a unit test?), but in the final analysis, most code modules are physically validated, not computationally or mathematically validated. In most physical parameterisations, I suspect that's simply going to remain the case ...
Then, the parameterisation has been tested against real cases. Ideally in the same parameter space in which it should have been used. For an example of how I think this should be done, you can see Dean et al, 2007, where we have nudged a climate model to follow real events so we can test a new parameterisation. This example shows the good and bad: the right thing to do, and the limits of how well the parameterisation performed. It's obviously better, but not yet good enough ... there is much opportunity for Kaizen available in climate models, and this sort of procedure is where hard yards need to be won ... (but it clearly isn't a formal validation, and we will find cases where it's broken and needs fixing, but we'll only find those when the model explores that parameter space for us ... we'll come back to that).
(For the record, I think this sort of nudging is really important, which is why I recently had a doctoral student at Oxford working on this. With more time, I'd return to it).
It might be possible to write terser code (maybe by two orders of magnitude, i.e 10K lines of code instead of 1M lines of code).
While I think this is desirable, I think the parameterisation development and evaluation wouldn't have been much improved (although there is no doubt it would have helped Jonathan, the doctoral student, if the nudging code could have gone into a tidier model).
The value of generalisation and abstraction is unappreciated, and the potential value of systematic explorations of model space is somehow almost invisible, or occasionally pursued in a naive and unsophisticated way.
I don't think that the value is unappreciated. There are two classes of problem: exploring the (input and knob-type) parameters within a parameterisation, and exploring the interaction of the paramterisations (and those knobs). The former we do as well as is practicable and I certainly don't think the latter is invisible (e.g. Stainforth et al, 2004 from ClimatePrediction.net and Murphy et al, 2004 from the Met Office Hadley Centre QUMP project). You might argue that one or both of those are naive and unsophisticated. I would ask for a concrete example of how else we would do this. Leaving aside the issue of code per se, we are stuck with core plus parameterisations - plural - aren't we?
(if) there is no way forward that is substantially better than what we have ... I think the earth system modeling enterprise has reached a point of diminishing returns where further progress is likely to be unimpressive and expensive ...
I'm not convinced that what we have is so bad. We need to cast the question in terms of what goals are we going to miss, that another approach will allow us to hit?
Which brings us to your point
... If regional predictions cannot be improved, global projections will remain messy,
True.
... time to fold up the tent and move on to doing something else... the existing software base can be cleaned up and better documented, and then the climate modeling enterprise should then be shut down in favor of more productive pursuits.
I think we're a long way from having to do this! There is much that can and will be done from where we are now.
I have very serious doubts about the utility of ESMs built on the principles of CGCMs. We are looking at platforms five or six orders of magnitude more powerful than todays in the foreseeable future. If we simply throw a mess of code that wastes those orders of magnitude on unconstrained degrees of freedom, we will have nothing but a waste of electricity to show for our efforts.
I don't think anyone is planning on wasting the extra computational power, and I think my original blog entry shows at least one community was thinking, and I know (since I'm off to yet another procurement meeting next week) continues to think, very seriously about how to exploit improving computer power.
On what grounds do you think improving the models, and their coupling, will not result in utility?
Whither service descriptions
(Warning, this is long ...)
Last week I submitted an abstract to the EGU meeting in April in the
The Service Oriented Architecture approach for Earth and Space Sciences (ESSI10) session. I'd been asked to submit something, but I fear I may be a bit of a cuckoo in the SOA nest ... (if by SOA, we take a traditional definition of SOA=SOAP+WS-*).
The abstract can be summarised even more briefly in two sentences:
there is a long tail of activities for which the abilities of web services to open up interoperabilty is being hindered by the difficulty in both service and data description, so
there is a requirement for both more sophisticated and more easily understandable data and service descriptions.
Some might argue that the latter is a heresy. Amusingly, I wrote that before I opened up my feed aggregator this week to find another raft of postings about service description languages. Probably the best, and easily most relevant, from my point of view, was Mark Nottingham, who wrote by far the most sage stuff. I'll quote some of it below. It looks like there was an ongoing discussion that hit the big time when Ryan Tomayko wrote an amusing summary which was picked up by Sam Ruby and Tim Bray.
It's hard to provide a summary that is more succinct than the material in those links and adds value (to me, remember these are my notes, I don't care about you
1) so I won't! But I will write this, because I don't particularly want to wade through them all again.
On Resources
The first point to note is that most of the proponents of service description languages (particularly those from a RESTful heritage) are finally realising that it's not just about the verbs, the nouns matter too! It's fine to argue that you don't need a service description language because we should all use REST, but the resources themselves can be far more complicated beasts than standard mime-types, and so they need description too.
Mark Nottingham said it best in his summary:
Coming from the other direction, another RESTful constraint is to have a limited set of media types. This worked really well for the browser Web, and perhaps in time we?ll come up with a few document formats that describe the bulk of the data on the planet, as well as what you can do with it.
However, I don?t mean "XML" or even "RDF" by "format in that sentence; those are the easy parts, because they?re just meta-formats. The hard part is agreeing upon the semantics of their contents, and judging by the amount of effort its taken for things like UBL, I?d say we?re in for a long wait.
I've wittered on about the importance of this before, again and again. However, there are fundamental problems with using XML to describe resources. I've alluded to this issue too, but along with the summary by James Clark, I liked the way that it was put here:
One of the big problems with XML is that it is a horrid match with modern data structures. You see, it is not that it isn't trivial to figure a way to serialize your data to XML; it is just that left to their own devices, everyone would end up doing it slightly differently. There is no one-true-serialization. So, eventually, you end up having to write code to build your data structures from the XML directly. The problem there is that virtually all XML APIs are horrible for this kind of code. They are all designed from the perspective of the XML perspective, not from the data serialization perspective.
It gets worse. XML is one of those things that looks really easy, but is actually full of nasty surprises that don't show up until either the week before you ship (or worse.., a few weeks after). Things like character encoding issues, XML Namespaces, XSD Wildcards. It is really hard for your average developer (who makes no pretenses at XML guru-hood) to write good XML serialization/hydration code. Everything is stacked against him: XML APIs, XML -Lang itself, XSD.
At one time, I think I understood what it meant "Share schema not type", but now I don't ...
On the Service Description Language itself
Well, I've tried to review this sort of thing before. Since, then WADL has hit the big time. From a semantic point of view, I can't say I understand the big differences between WSDL and WADL, although I can appreciate that the WADL syntax is much simpler (and so it's a good thing).
Some folk, sadly including Joe Gregorio (whose work I mostly admire), have made a big deal out of the fact that there is no point generating code from WSDL (or WADL or any service description language), because if you do, when the service changes the WSDL (should) change, and so your code will need regeneration or otherwise your service will break. I think that's tosh (it's true, but still tosh, best put in Robert Sayre in a comment):
HTML forms are service declarations.
No one is arguing that we don't need HTML forms! The fact is, that clients will break when services change! Sure, some changes wont break the clients, but
some will! The issue really comes down to How well coupled are your services and clients? and if they are strongly coupled Will you know when the service changes, and can you fix your client if it does? From experience of using WSDL and SOAP (yuck), I know I'd MUCH rather simply get the new WSDL, and regenerate the interface types .... than muck around at a deep level. (That said, I'm not arguing in favour of SOAP per se! Today's war story about SOAP and WSDL is one set of new discovery client developers complaining about our "inconsistent use of camelcase" in our WSDL ... it seems that they're hand crafting to the WSDL, and they want us to break all the other clients to fit their coding standards).
Of course, me wanting to use a service description language presupposes I've used my human ability to read the documentation (if it exists, or the WSDL if I really have to), to decide whether such a solution is the "right thing to do".
What does this mean to me?
At the moment we use WSDL and SOAP in our discovery service. I'd much rather we didn't (see above). It could be RESTful POX, which is how we've implemented our vocabulary service (but inconsistent camel case would still break things). It probably will change one day. More importantly, for the data handling services, we're currently using OGC services, where the "service description language" is the Get Capabilities document. This much I know (and where I violently disagree with Joe G) is that it would be
much easier to use a generic service description language than the hodgepodge of get capabilities documents we deal with. I think OGC Get Capabilities is an existence proof that a generic service description language would be a Good Thing (TM)! In the final analysis, that's probably what I'll say in April (as well as "SOAP sucks" and "You need both GML and data modelling). from every direction it's mitigation and acknowledgement
Most mornings now I get between half and an hour of time to myself: between feeding my baby boy who wakes up around 5.30 to 6 am and getting my daughter up around 7 to 7.30 am ... I mostly spend the time reading, coding (for pleasure ... I have made some significant progress on the new leonardo), and just cogitating.
This morning it was reading; and it seemed like from every direction we have climate change adaptation and mitigation issues:
Paul Ramsey on climate change, peak oil and the deep ocean (I read Paul for his commentary on GIS and Postgres ...)
The Observer reporting that the Severn Tidal power scheme takes another step towards actuality ... (when in the UK you do
haveto read a Sunday newspaper, they are the best in the world ...).
Joe Gregorio on batteries (Joe writes sage stuff on python, web services and much else).
Now the thing is, I found
all of them in my thirty minutes this morning. It's an eclectic bunch of sources, but that's my point! (... and yes, it is unusual for me to read things from the NS, the Observer and my akregator all within thirty minutes ... and none of the readings from the latter were from my environmental folder).
Why is climate modelling stuck?
Why is climate modelling stuck? Well, I would argue it's not stuck, so a better question might be: "Why is climate modelling so hard?". Michael Tobis is arguing that a modern programming language and new tools will make a big difference. Me, I'm not so sure. I'm with Gavin. So here is my perspective on why it's hard. It is of necessity a bit of an abstract argument ...
We need to start with the modelling process itself. We have a physical system with components within it. Each physical component needs to be developed independently, checked independently ... This is a scientific, then a computational, then a diagnostic problem.
Each component needs to talk to other components, so there needs to be a communication infrastructure which couples components. Michael has criticised ESMF (and by implication PRISM and OASIS etc), but regardless of how you do it, you need a coupling framework. This is a computational problem. I think it's harder than Michael thinks it is. Those ESMF and PRISM folks are not stupid ...
All those independently checked components may behave in different ways when coupled to other components (their interactions are nonlinear). Understanding those interactions takes time. This is a scientific and diagnostic problem.
We need a dynamical core. It needs to be fast, efficient, mass preserving, and stable in a computational sense. Stability is a big problem, given that the various parameterisations will perturb it in ways that are quite instability inducing. This is both a mathematical and a computational problem.
We need to worry about memory. We need to worry a lot about memory actually. If in our discussion we're going to get excited about scalability in multi-core environments, then yes, I can have 80 (pick a number) cores on my chip, but can I have enough memory and memory bandwidth to exploit them? How do we distribute our memory around our cores?
What about I/O bandwidth? Without great care, the really big memory hungry climate models can often get slowed up and be waiting spinning empty CPU cycles waiting for I/O. This is a computational problem.
Every time we add a new process, we require more memory. The pinch points change and are very architecture dependent. Every time we change the resolution, nearly every component needs to be re-evaluated. This takes time.
At this point, we've not really talked about code per se. All that said, the concepts of software engineering do map onto much of what is (or should be) going on. Yes, scientists should build unit tests for their parameterisations. Yes, there should be system/model wide tests. Yes, task tracking and code control would help. But, every time we change some code there may be ramifications we don't understand, not only in terms of logical (accessible in computer science terms) consequences, but from a scientific point of view, there might be some non-linear (and inherently unpredictable) consequences. Distinguishing the two takes time, and I totally agree that better use of code maintenance tools would improve things, but sadly I think it would be a few percent improvement ... since most of the things I've listed above are not about code per se, they're about the science and the systems.
So, personally I don't think it's the time taken to write lines of code that makes modelling so hard. Good programmers are productive in anything. I suspect changing to python wouldn't make a huge difference to the model development cycle. That said, anyone who writes diagnostic code in Fortran, really ought to go on a time management course: yes learning a high level language (python) takes time, but it'll save you more ... but the reason for that is we write diagnostic code over and over. Core model code isn't written over and over ... even if it's agonised over and over :-)
Someone in one of the threads on this subject mentioned XML. Given that there (might be) a climate modeller or two read this: let me assure you, XML solves nothing in this space. XML provides a syntax for encoding something, the hard part of this problem is deciding what to encode. That is, the hard part of the problem is the semantic description of whatever it is you want to encode (and developing an XML language to encapsulate your model of the model: remeember XML is only a toolkit, it's not a solution). If you want to use XML in the coupler, what do you need to describe to couple two (arbitrary) components? If it's the code itself, and you plan to write a code generator, then what is it you want to describe? Is it really that much easier to write a parameterisation for gravity wave drag in a new code generation language? What would you get from having done so?
So what is the way forward? Kaizen: small continuous improvements. Taking small steps we can go a long way ... Better coupling strategies. Better diagnostic systems. Yes: Better coding standards. Yes: more use of code maintenance tools. Yes: Better understanding of software engineering, but even more importantly: better understanding of the science (more good people)! Yes: Couple code changes to task/bug trackers. Yes: formal unit tests. No: Let's not try the cathedral approach. The bazaar has got us a long way ...
(Disclosure:I was an excellent fortran programmer, and a climate modeller. I guess I'm a more than competent python programmer, and I'm sadly expert with XML too. I hope to be a modeller again one day).
Walking the Leonardo File System in Pylons
Now that we have access to the filesystem, the next step to porting is to get a pylons controller set up that can walk the filesystem ...
Start by installing pylons (in this case, 0.9.6):
easy_install Pylons
(watch that capitalisation: don't waste time with easy_install pylons ...)!
Now create the application... in my case a special sandbox directory called pylons ... and get a simpler controller up ...
cd ~/sandboxes/pylons paster create --template=pylons pyleo template_engine=genshi cd pyleo paster controller main
At this point it's worth fixing something that will cause you grief later: we've decided on genshi, so we need an __init__.py in the pyleo/templates directory. Create one now. It can be empty. We won't need it til later ... but best get it done now!
At this point if we start the paster server up with
paster serve --reload development.ini
We can see a hello world on http://localhost:5000/main and a pylons default page on http://localhost:5000
The next step is to get rid of the pylons default page, and make our main controller handle pretty much everything (we wouldn't normally do this, but we're porting leonardo not starting something new). We do this by replacing the lines after CUSTOM ROUTES HERE in config/routing.py with:
map.connect('',controller='main') map.connect('*url',controller='main')
and removing public/index.html.
Now http://localhost:5000/anything gives us 'Hello World'.
The next step is to get hold of the path and echo it instead of 'Hello World'. We do that by accessing the pylons request object in our main controller, which we have available since in main.py we inherit from the base controller.
So instead of
return 'Hello World'pre] we have path=request.environ['PATH_INFO'] return path
And the next step is to pass it to a simple genshi template to echo it. We do this by
making a simple template. Here is one (path.html which lives in the pyleo/templates directory):
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" i xmlns:py="http://genshi.edgewall.org/" xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" lang="en"> <body> <div class="mainPage"> <h4> $c.path </h4> </div> </body> </html>
and callit from main.py after assigning the path value to something in the
cobject (itself visible to the template). Replace those two lines in main.py that we just replaced before, with: c.path=request.environ['PATH_INFO'] return render('path')
And now we're using Genshi to show us our path. The next step is to bring the leonardo file system into play, so we put filesystem.py into the model directory. (As an aside: Pylons is Model-View-Controller. If that doesn't ring any bells, see this).
Note that the MVC stuff is inside a directory embedded one more level than one might expect. That's why we have this wierd structure: sandboxes/pylons/pyleo is the source for a new (distributable) egg, and sandboxes/pylons/pyleo/pyleo is where our pylons application (with MVC) lives.
Realistically, next time I do this, i won't be repeating every identical step, so I'm bound to stuff up. I might need to get some decent debugging. Set this by editing the development.ini file so that [logger_root] has level set to DEBUG rather than INFO. Be warned; it results in verbiage on the console!
Right back to our thread ... In this first stab, we'll use filesystem.py as our model, and we'll simply put in place a view which walks the content and then displays the text for the moment (without a wiki formatter). Nice and straight forward.
We simply modify our existing template: path.html:
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:py="http://genshi.edgewall.org/" xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" lang="en"> <!-- Simple genshi template for walking the leonardo file system --> <!-- We'll be using the javascript helpers later, so let's make sure we have them --> ${Markup(h.javascript_include_tag(builtins=True))} <body> <div class="mainPage"> <h4> $c.path </h4> <ol py:if="c.files!=[]"> <li py:for="f in c.files">Page:<a href="${f['relpath']}">${f['title']}</a></li> </ol> <ol py:if="c.dirs!=[]"> <li py:for="d in c.dirs">Directory:<a href="${d['relpath']}">${d['title']}</a></li> </ol> </div> </body> </html>
and our main controller. It's all in the main controller for now. We'll change that later. Meanwhile, our main controller now looks like this:
import logging from pyleo.lib.base import * from pyleo.model.filesystem import * log = logging.getLogger(__name__) class MainController(BaseController): def index(self): ''' Essentially we're bypassing all the Routes goodness and using this main controller to handle most of the Leonardo functionality ''' c.path=request.environ['PATH_INFO'] #Later we'll move this elsewhere so it doesn't get called every time ... self.lfs=LeonardoFileSystem('/home/bnl/sandboxes/pyleo/data/lfs/') #ok, what have we got? dirs,files=self.lfs.get_children(c.path.strip('/')) if (dirs,files)==([],[]): return self.getPage() c.dirs=[] c.files=[] for d in dirs: x={} x['relpath']=os.path.join(c.path,d) x['title']=d c.dirs.append(x) for f in files: x={} x['relpath']=os.path.join(c.path,f) leof=self.lfs.get(f) #print leof.get_properties() x['title']=(leof.get_property('page_title') or f) c.files.append(x) return render('path') def getPage(self): ''' Return an actual leonardo page ''' leof=self.lfs.get(c.path) c.content=leof.get_content() if c.content is None: response.status_code=404 return else: #This is a leo file instance c.content_type=leof.get_content_type() #for now let's just count these ... comments=leof.enclosures('comment')+leof.enclosures('trackback') c.ncomments=len(comments) if c.content_type.startswith('wiki'): # for now, just return the text ... without formatting etc ... return ''.join([c.content,'\n%s comments'%c.ncomments]+[com.get_content() for com in comments]) else: t={'png':'image/png','jpg':'image/jpg','jpeg':'image/jpeg', 'pdf':'application/pdf','xml':'application/xml', 'css':'text/css','txt':'text/plain', 'htm':'text/html','html':'text/html'} if c.content_type in t: response.headers['Content-Type']=t[c.content_type] else: response.headers['Content-Type']='text/plain' return c.content *** highlight file error ***
and believe it or not, that's all we need to walk our filesystem, and return the contents ... it wont be a big step to add the formatter to get html, and to start thinking about how we want the layout to look in template terms. (We'll need to make sure we use a config file to locate our lfs as well).
The steps after that will be to add the login, upload, posting, trackback, feed generation etc ... none of which should be a big deal ... but I don't expect to do them quickly :-)
Update: I'm pleased to report that while this is a fork from the leonardo trunk, as is the django version, all three code stacks are now jointly hosted on google. The pylons code is in the pyleo_trunk and this is rev 464 (I haven't worked out the subversion revision syntax for the web interface). the leonardo file system
The most difficult thing about porting leonardo is interfacing with the leonardo file system (lfs). The lfs was designed to allow multiple backends through a relatively simple interface ... of course it's not properly documented anywhere, so remembering how it works was a bit difficult. The following piece of code shows the general principle:
from filesystem import LeonardoFileSystem import sys,os.path def WalkAndReport(leodir,inipath='/'): ''' Walks a leonardo filesystem and reports the contents in the same way as doing ls -R would do ''' def walk(lfs,path): directories,files=lfs.get_children(path) for f in files: leof=lfs.get(os.path.join(path,f)) #The following is the actual content at the path ... if it exists. #It's what you would feed to a presentation layer ... content=leof.get_content() print '%s (%s)'%(f,leof.get_content_type()) for p in leof.get_properties(): print '---',p,leof.get_property(p) #check for comments and trackbacks ... is there any other sort? comments=leof.enclosures('comment')+leof.enclosures('trackback') #comments and trackbacks are leo files ... for c in comments: for p in c.get_properties(): print '------',p,c.get_property(p) for d in directories: leod=os.path.join(path,d) print '*** %s *** (%s)'%(d,leod) walk(lfs,leod) lfs=LeonardoFileSystem(leodir) walk(lfs,inipath) if __name__=="__main__": lfsroot=sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv)==3: inipath=sys.argv[2] else: inipath='/' WalkAndReport(lfsroot,inipath) *** highlight file error ***
While I'm at it, I'd better document a small bug in the leonardo file system itself that manifested itself on this blog (python 2.4.3 on Suse 10) but nowhere else ... the comments came back in the wrong order. The following diff on filesystem.py fixed that:
def enclosures(self, enctype): + #BNL: modified to reorder by creation date, since we can't + #rely on the name or operating system. enc_list = [] for d in os.listdir(self.get_directory_()): match = re.match("__(\w+)__(\d+)", d) if match and enctype == match.group(1): index = match.group(2) - enc_list.append(self.enclosure(enctype, index)) - return enc_list + e=self.enclosure(enctype, index) + sort_key=e.get_property('creation_time') + enc_list.append((sort_key,e)) + enc_list.sort() + return [i[1] for i in enc_list] Playing with pylons and leonardo
I've suddenly been granted a couple of hours I didn't expect, so I thought I'd take the first steps towards forking leonardo (sorry James), so that we have a pylons version. I know James has a Django version, but I want pylons for a number of reasons:
I've done a lot of work with pylons. I understand it.
I have a number of extensions already to James' codebase (including full trackback inbound and outbound). (James' subversion got broken: we never resolved it, so they never got committed back).
I want to build an egg, which allows external templating (i.e. you can complete control the look and feel via a genshi template or use the default within the egg).
I want to do all of this so I have a nice small job which exercises
and documentsall the skills I've built up building in the NDG portal (in my spare time) over the last few months.
I want to cache documents more efficiently (trivial in pylons).
I want to be able to be able to produce archiveable versions for previous years (not so trivial). Tim Bray reminded us all that this is important!
I expect it will take months to do what I expect to be a few hours coding :-( I wonder how well this will compare with previous announcements!
I guess we'll need a new name. pyleo will do, in this case for pylons leonardo.
virtualenv
One more thing to remember. I'm going to be building pyleo using pylons 0.9.6.1, but the ndg stuff (also on my laptop) is using pylons 0.9.5. Library incompatibility is scary. Fortunately, we have virtualenv to the rescue.
Using virtualenv, I can build a python instance that is independent of the stuff build into my main python (which is a virtual-python for historical reasons). It's better than virtual-python because I get the benefits of things in my system site-packages that I've installed since I installed my virtual python.
What to remember? (I really will be forgetting things like this when there are weeks between activity ... in particular, this way I'll know which python to use!)
Well, I built my new virtualenv instance by typing
python virtualenv.py pyleo
and I can change into it any time I like with
source ~/pyleo/bin/activate
I expect I'll be able to ensure I use this python in my (test) webserver when I get to it. It looks like I need to adjust the path to the libraries inside the outer script with
import site site.addsitedir('/home/bnl/pyleo/lib/python2.5/site-packages')
I used virtualenv 0.9.2.
It looks like I can make ipython respect this by copying /usr/bin/ipython into my ~/leo/bin and editing it to use ~/leo/bin/python ... | 35,867 | 15,240 | 0.000066 |
warc | 201704 | If you ask any grandmother about specialized baby items like wipe warmers, you're likely to get a head shake and maybe even a derisive snort. Babies don't really need much, so a lot of the baby gear you'll encounter is a want-to-have and not a need-to-have. In the case of wipe warmers, if you live in a temperate climate or keep your home warm in winter, they're unnecessary. If you live where it gets cold and you keep your home cool, you can warm wipes with the heat of your hands or stick them in the microwave for a couple of seconds. At best, baby wipe warmers are novelty items that you probably won't use much if at all. | 630 | 378 | 0.002654 |
warc | 201704 | Reupholstering a piece of furniture is a way to recycle, reuse and re-purpose. The cost saving versus purchasing new furniture can be substantial. However, purchasing too much fabric, which usually can not be returned, unnecessarily increases your cost, cutting into your savings. Use the upholsterer's method of calculating fabric to ensure you get the right amount.
1
Examine the furniture piece to familiarize yourself with the location of each section of the body. Each section is typically covered with one piece of fabric and can be contained within a square or rectangular shape. For example, on an armless chair with an upholstered seat and back, there are three sections -- the seat, the inside back and the outside back. On an upholstered chair with arms, there are also two inside arm sections, two outside arms, two front of arms, one rail and one deck. The deck is the seat portion of the furniture and is often covered with cushions. The rail is the section that continues from the deck toward the floor, between the arm fronts.
2
Measure and record the size of each section, adding 4 inches to each measurement. For example, if the inside back actual measurement is 32 inches wide and 20 inches long, record these measurements as 36 inches and 24 inches. Record all measurements as “width by length,” and write them as: “Inside back: 36 x 24.” This indicates that the piece is 36 inches from side to side, and 24 inches from top to bottom, or back to front. Always write the measurements in this format; it is also the standard format for measuring walls, windows, drapery and blinds. Cushions have an additional measurement of depth which represents the thickness of the cushion.
3
Cut graph paper to represent the sections of fabric. On 1/4-inch graph paper use a scale of one square to equal 6 inches. If the section measurement is 36 by 24, cut a rectangle of graph paper six squares by four squares. Write the name of the section on the rectangle and note which edge represents the length of the section.
4
Prepare a piece of 1/4-inch graph paper to represent a length of upholstery fabric. Because each square on the graph paper represents 6 inches, and typical upholstery fabric is 54 inches wide, the representation will be nine squares wide. Start with a representation length of 24 squares to represent 4 yards.
5
Place the section representations on the graph paper, aligning the length edge of each section piece perpendicular to the width of the fabric representation on the paper. The pattern on upholstery fabric appears perpendicular to the length edge. In order for the pattern to appear correctly on the finished piece, the top of each section must orient toward the same long edge of the fabric. Continue positioning section pieces on the graph paper, adding paper to create more “length” as necessary.
6
Count the number of squares along the long edge of the fabric representation. Multiply the number of squares by six to determine the number of inches of fabric required. Add 10 percent for ease of mind. Divide the final number by 36 to realize the number of yards required.
Things You Will Need Fabric tape measure 1/4-inch graph paper Paper scissors Calculator Tip The pattern on drapery fabric runs parallel to the long edge. Visualize bouquets of flowers running from the floor to the ceiling. On upholstery fabric the pattern runs perpendicular to the edge. Visualize a series of bouquets along the back of the sofa. Drapery fabric is not usually suitable for upholstery. Photo Credits Thinkstock/Comstock/Getty Images | 3,606 | 1,539 | 0.000658 |
warc | 201704 | Heat-loving cucumber plants thrive once soil temperatures reach at least 70 degrees Fahrenheit, often producing an abundant crop. Slow growth in a cucumber plant usually indicates a problem in the growing conditions. Identifying the deficiencies in how you care for the cucumber plants allows you to correct the problem to salvage the cucumber crop.
Planting Problems
Poor planting practices start a cucumber plant off at a disadvantage and may cause growth problems. The vegetables need nutrient-rich soil amended with compost or manure for proper growth. Proper spacing of plants allows the cucumbers to grow fully. If you place plants closer than 24 inches, you may notice slowed or stunted growth for a decreased yield. Timing of planting is also a factor. If cucumbers are planted too early, they are susceptible to slowed growth from cold temperatures.
Weather
The weather plays a large role in how well cucumbers grow. Air temperatures lower than 65 F present a danger to the plants. Frost quickly damages cucumber plants and may stunt growth or kill the plant completely. If frost or cold air temperatures are a risk, floating covers offer protection to keep the plants growing well. Even though cucumbers like warmth, temperatures higher than the mid-90s F put stress on the cucumber plants that may affect growth. Shade cloths blocking part of the sunlight during the hottest part of the day provides relief for the cucumbers.
Care
Regular care of the cucumber plants is essential for proper growth. The vegetables are primarily water, so the plants need around 1 to 2 inches of water each week for adequate growth. Cucumbers need regular irrigation from the time they are planted until harvest to avoid slowing growth. Lack of water also causes bitterness in the vegetables. Mulching helps retain moisture in the soil. Side dressing cucumber plants with compost or fertilizer after the flowers sprout gives them a boost to encourage fast growth. Yellow leaves are a sign of too little nitrogen: another sign you need to fertilize.
Diseases and Pests
Pests and diseases attack cucumber plants and affect growth. Verticillium wilt, bacterial wilt and fusarium wilt are diseases that cause the vines to die, which slows or stops cucumber growth completely. Crop rotation reduces the risk of these bacterial diseases. Removing diseased plants prevents the spread to uninfected cucumbers. Cucumber beetles damage the plants and spread disease. Controlling the beetles with wood ash allows for healthy cucumber plants that grow well. Removing weeds from the cucumber garden eliminates a breeding ground for insects like cucumber beetles and diseases.
Photo Credits Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images | 2,715 | 1,288 | 0.00078 |
warc | 201704 | Cascades of delicate flowers draping glossy, deep green leaves rank Japanese pieris (Pieris japonica) among the most graceful late-winter ornamentals. Also known as the lily-of-the-valley shrub for its urn-shaped blossoms, the 9- to 12-foot Asian native grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 though 8. Its susceptibility to leaf burn from winter sun and wind limits its use in many areas. If you love its blooms but can’t cater to its needs, consider substituting a less-temperamental but like-flowered tree.
Japanese Snowbell
Compact Japanese snowbell tree (Styrax japonicus) reaches 20 to 30 feet tall with a similar spread. From late spring to early summer, clusters of bell-shaped, white or pinkish flowers dangle from the ends of its horizontal branches. The subtly fragrant blooms show up well against its glossy green leaves. The branches' contrasting, gray and orange bark becomes visible when the leaves drop in fall. Seldom troubled with pests or disease, Japanese snowbell grows in USDA zones 5 through 9, where it does best in acidic, fertile well-draining soil and full sun to partial shade.
Lily-of-the-Valley Tree
Lily-of-the-valley tree (Clethra arborea) comes into its own in late summer, when arching spires of white or pink blooms open against its bronze-green, oblong leaves. As headily fragrant as the blossoms of the spring-blooming perennial for which the tree is named, the flowers last into early fall. Much more cold-sensitive than Japanese pieris, the evergreen tree grows in USDA zones 8 through 10 and reaches 25 feet in about 12 years. Plant it partial to full shade and acidic, consistently moist, loamy or sandy soil. Its major problem is susceptibility to spider mite infestations. The microscopic pests drain sap and spin fine webs on the backs of the leaves. Remove them as needed by hitting their feeding sites with a strong spray of water from the hose.
White Lantern Tree
Somewhat confusingly, the evergreen white lantern tree (Crinodendron patagua), which grows in USDA zones 9 through 10, also goes by the common name of lily-of-the-valley tree. In late summer and fall, bell-shaped flowers hang in small clusters from the ends of its branches. They give way to ornamental red and cream seedpods. Narrow, silver-backed dark green leaves give the tree year-round interest. Eventually reaching 25 feet tall, white lantern tree grows best in full sun. It also does best in well-draining, moist to wet, sandy or loamy soil. Expect to spend time staking and pruning the shrubby plant to if you want it to look more like a tree.
Sourwood Tree
Its mouth-puckering common name doesn't do justice to sourwood tree's (Oxydendron arboreum) ornamental appeal. Typically standing 20 to 25 feet tall, the slender-trunked tree has a narrow canopy of glossy, tapering deep green foliage. In early to midsummer, loose, curving sprays of tiny, white bell flowers droop from its branches. Silvery seed pods, an eye-catching complement to its crimson fall leaves, often remain on the tree through winter. Hardy in USDA zones 5 though 9, sourwood tree blooms best in full sun and acidic, organically rich, moist soil. Its major shortcomings are intolerance of pollution and drought and occasional susceptibility to leaf spot disease.
Missouri Botanical Garden: Pieris Japonica Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute: Clethra Arborea Missouri Botanical Garden: Styrax Japonicus Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, Fifth Edition; Michael A. Dirr Missouri Botanical Garden: Spider Mites -- Outdoors Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute: Crinodendron Patagua Missouri Botanical Garden: Oxydendron Arboreum North Carolina State University Extension: Pieris Japonica Photo Credits John Pavel/iStock/Getty Images | 3,806 | 1,806 | 0.000556 |
warc | 201704 | ‘Putting Full Recovery First’ is the Government’s “Road Map to Recovery” published on behalf of the Inter Ministerial Group on Drugs by The Home Office at the end of March 2012.
While The Alliance welcomes government intentions to describe its approach to meeting the challenges of drug and alcohol and the joint consideration of alcohol and drugs in the document, we believe “Putting Full Recovery First” is problematic,
Firstly it proposes that we should restrict and withdraw access to lifesaving treatment for many thousands of vulnerable people. It redefines recovery to exclude people in receipt of substitution medication – like methadone or buprenorphine.
It represents a break with the internationally accepted clinical evidence about what makes drug treatment effective. In doing so it risks the health and well being of families and communities – multiplying the dangers of HIV and other blood born viruses and increasing crime.
Ken Stringer, Director of The Alliance said:
“I’d like to know how the risk assessment was undertaken for this policy – what’s going to be the impact on crime? How will it affect health – and healthcare? We also need a much broader consultation. If we are going to completely change our approach to drug treatment, we need to talk to the people who use it - and their families and carers.
“In what looks like a rush to achieve abstinence for all described as ‘full recovery” – and costs savings – we risk forgetting the lessons we have learned over the past 25 years that have placed us at the forefront of evidence based drug policies.
“This is coming at a time when some commissioners and providers are already abandoning the evidence base. We’ve got huge changes to our local and national health services, and some very confused people out there. This isn’t going to help and I am afraid if we are not careful, we could end up measuring the impact of this policy in lives lost”
Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert. | 2,133 | 1,110 | 0.000957 |
warc | 201704 | The MSME (Micro Small and Medium Enterprise) sector is growing fast all over the world. It is both acting as an engine of accelerated growth and serving as a nursery for entrepreneurial development. Therefore, many countries have established MSME support agencies to coordinate government interventions in this sector. With the view to foster the growth of the MSME sector in India, the Central Government has put in charge the Office of Development commissioner (MSME) ,formerly known as small Industries Development Organization(SIDO), as the respective nodal support agency. Office of Development Commissioner (SSI) was established in 1954. Over the years, it has seen its role evolve into an agency for advocacy, support, and facilitation for the MSME sector. It operates over 70 offices and 21 autonomous bodies include Tool Rooms, Training Institutions and Project-cum-Process Development Centres. They provide a wide spectrum of services to MSME which includes facilities for testing, training for entrepreneurship development, preparation of project and product profiles, technical and managerial consultancy, assistance for exports as well as energy audits. Office of the Development Commissioner (MSME) offers economic information services and advises the government in policy formulation for the promotion and development of MSME. The field offices of the Office of the Development Commissioner (MSME) work as effective link between the Central Government and the State Governments. Consequent to the increased globalization of the Indian economy, MSMEs are required to face new challenges. Office of the Development Commissioner (MSME) has recognised the changed environment and is currently focusing on providing support in the fields of credit, marketing, technology and infrastructure to MSMEs. Global trends and national developments have accentuated Office of the Development Commissioner (MSME)'s role as a catalyst of growth of MSMEs in the country. | 1,970 | 944 | 0.00106 |
warc | 201704 | Inspire today's youth and help spread awareness of the growing need for STEM education in our community and have fun doing it!
STEMinists meet quarterly to share stories, network and socialize. We invite you to join us! By becoming a STEMinist, you will help narrow the gap in STEM fields, provide more opportunities for our community’s youth to learn 21
st century skills and network with women who share a passion for empowering girls in our community. We all want to make a difference for kids! STEMinist Membership Levels
There are two STEMinist Membership levels you can choose from. Both include the same benefits. The difference is in the membership price and volunteer commitment. Choose which one better fits you best.
Executive Membership – $75 No volunteer commitment.
Associate Membership – $30 And a commitment of 10 volunteer hours per year. Perfect for students and young professionals! Become a STEMinist and enjoy the following benefits:
Attend a free networking event and annual meeting
Two informal gatherings at a local venue annually – share stories, network and socialize!
Receive discounted admission to a STEMinist fundraiser
10% off a Family Membership to Imagination Station
Four admission passes to Imagination Station to share with a student and her family
Quarterly digital newsletter featuring programming for girls and underserved children, stories to share when advocating for women in STEM and information on volunteering and mentoring opportunities as they emerge. (
Coming Soon!)
Once you join, you will also be invited to join a private Facebook group where you can collaborate and engage with other STEMinists all year long!
Why is our work important?
Despite making up 48% of the overall workforce,
only 24% of STEM workers are women. The decline in interest in the STEM fields begins at a young age. In fact, by the time US students reach 12 th grade, only 26% are proficient in math, and only 21% are proficient in science, even though, over the next decade, the US could need as many as 1 million more STEM professionals than the educational system is currently providing. Getting kids excited about STEM early is critical: Students interested in STEM fields by 8 th grade are three times more likely to choose a STEM major and career!
Join Today!
Join today online below or call 419.214.9103 to join over the phone or if you have any questions. | 2,426 | 1,229 | 0.000827 |
warc | 201704 | by Daniel Putnam | May 21, 2013 9:35 am
High-yield bonds are the investment everyone loves to hate right now. Absolute yields are at record lows, and talk of a bubble is rampant with multiple experts weighing in each day to make the case of why the rally’s days are numbered.
For investors who are searching for ways to boost their portfolio’s yield, this represents a conundrum: buy into an asset class sitting at a multiyear high, or settle for lower-risk options that pay nothing?
Fortunately, there’s a third choice that not enough investors are aware of yet:
Guggenheim’s BulletShares ETFs, a series of funds that allow investors to invest in high-yield bond portfolios with specific maturity dates. The maturities range from 2013 through 2018, with tickers running in order from BSJD[1] through BSJI[2].
Each fund invests in bonds that mature or are callable in the year in which the fund matures. For instance, all of the securities in the
Guggenheim BulletShares 2014 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (BSJE[3]) mature or can be called away in 2014. As each bond matures, the fund rolls the proceeds into cash, then the fund itself matures on Dec. 31 of that year.
The upshot is that the funds have characteristics similar to investing in individual bonds, but with greater diversification and without the need for the investor to conduct credit research on the issuers — a task for which few individuals have the time or skill level.
All of the funds in the series charge an expense ratio of 0.42%.
This might sound somewhat esoteric, but it’s an approach that has numerous substantial benefits for investors.
In contrast to broad-based high-yield funds such as
iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond Fund (HYG[4]) or SPDR Barclays High Yield Bond ETF (JNK[5]), which hold constantly rotating portfolios that never mature, the target funds have a set endpoint. This means that if the high-yield market were to experience a downturn, the owner of traditional funds would absorb a loss that lasts indefinitely. On the other hand, target maturity funds would slowly gravitate to the breakeven point as the maturity dates approach. While there is no upside beyond the fund’s income, the investor also doesn’t have to worry about principal fluctuations since he or she simply has to hold on until the fund matures.
The Guggenheim funds do carry the risk that individual securities in the portfolios will default. In this instance, the investor would receive less principal back upon maturity than he or she would if all of the underlying issuers made their payments as scheduled.
Still, the more immediate concern for investors in high-yield funds isn’t necessarily security-specific defaults, but rather the impact that broader credit conditions and shifts in investor risk tolerance have on the value of their principal.
A prime example is the first 11 months of 2008, during which HYG plummeted 29.4%. While a target-maturity fund also would have experienced a loss, investors at least would have had the peace of mind knowing that they would receive their principal back upon maturity (barring an issuer default).
Investors aren’t giving up much in the way of yield to gain these benefits. While yields on the funds closer to maturity are lower than those on HYG or JNK, the yields are competitive for funds maturing in 2016 and beyond — particularly from a risk-adjusted standpoint.
These high-yield funds aren’t the only options for investors in the target-maturity ETF universe. Guggenheim also offers a series of target maturity funds for investment-grade corporate bonds, with the maturity dates extending to 2020 and tickers ranging from BCSD[6] to BCSK[7]. In total, these funds now have more than $1 billion in assets.
In addition,
iShares offers five target-maturity municipal bond funds (2013-2017, tickers MUAB[8] through MUAF[9]) and four corporate bond funds (tickers IBCB[10] through IBCE[11]). Fidelity also offers a series of target-maturity municipal bond funds. Accretive Asset Management, which manages the indices used in the BulletShares funds, offers a comprehensive description of how target maturity funds work here[12] under the link titled “Target Maturity Bond Funds.”
In the past, investors had to choose between funds or “ladders” — a series of individual bonds with staggered maturities. These target-maturity ETFs combine the best aspects of the two choices, and even allow investors to take it one step further by building ladders consisting of funds rather than individual securities.
Those who are looking for yield but are concerned about the dire predictions of the “bubble” in high yield might find these ETFs to be a very compelling solution.
As of this writing, Daniel Putnam did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Source URL: http://investorplace.com/2013/05/nervous-about-high-yield-bonds-you-dont-have-to-be/ Short URL: http://invstplc.com/1nzbmGQ
Copyright ©2017 InvestorPlace Media, LLC. All rights reserved. 700 Indian Springs Drive, Lancaster, PA 17601. | 5,156 | 2,463 | 0.000416 |
warc | 201704 | Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/10397/36453
Title: Thread solidarity and power : a study of garment workers' self-organization of production in the Yangtze River Delta Region of China Authors: Fan, Lulu Advisors: Pun, Ngai (APSS) Keywords: Clothing trade -- China
Clothing workers -- China
Labor movement -- China.
Issue Date: 2015 Publisher: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Abstract: Based on my participant observation in two garment factories in Jiaxing Pinghu, and participation in a large-scale study of garment industries in six cities in the Yangtze River Delta Region, this thesis explores new forms of work organization, labor process, production and reproduction in Chinese booming garment industry, and how garment workers develop solidarity and power on their own. I look into the typology of Chinese garment workers and understand their self-organization in the sphere of production and reproduction, as well as how such associations affect labour's power. To this purpose, I identify six types of garment workers in relation to skill level, average hourly wage, method of pay and level of control over the labour process, including workers in cooperative production teams, individual outsourced workers, workers in contractor teams, regular workers, older workers and student workers. Significantly, this thesis highlights that, while China approaches full maturity stage (the Toyne Mode), informal employment and outsourced production in the Chinese garment industry are not the result of underdevelopment or total manipulation by capital (as in Third World societies) as understood by existing literature. Indeed, on occasion, informal employment is an active choice of workers. As labour shortages have become increasingly severe, particularly regarding skilled workers in the garment industry, increasing numbers of skilled workers wish to become informal and independent workers in cooperative production teams or individual outsourced workers in factories. This gives them the opportunity to earn higher hourly wages and achieve more autonomy over the labour process. This situation also occurs in the informal sector as many experienced all-round workers choose to work in non-factory production units. I identify four types of non-factory units in the garment industry according to number of workers, production activities, space arrangements for production and living, and personal relationship in the organization. These non-factory units are: contractor workshops, workshops involving family members and wage earners, cooperative production teams and home workers. This thesis discusses class formation to understand relationships among class, localism, gender and skill level. Male or female garment workers, at differing points in the process of proletarianization, originating from various native places, with varying skill levels and are at differing stages of life, participate in different kinds of work organization: cooperative production teams and contractor teams. These two types of worker self-organization are diverse in terms of class structure, social organization, organizational faith and motives for taking collective action. Therefore, they have different roles in protecting workers' rights and interests. Native place and other social bonds blur class conflict in contractor teams; meanwhile, in cooperative production teams, class identity overcomes other distinctions and helps bond workers together in struggle against employers. In this research, we discover that workers with stronger market bargaining power have greater opportunity to organize democratic and equal association and this in turn enhances their associational power. Description: PolyU Library Call No.: [THS] LG51 .H577P APSS 2015 Fan
267 pages :illustrations
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10397/36453 Rights: All rights reserved. Appears in Collections: Thesis
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warc | 201704 | Dr.Hannani Maya المشرف العام الدولة : الجنس : عدد المساهمات : 38010 مزاجي : تاريخ التسجيل : 21/09/2009 الابراج : التوقيت :
موضوع: The Road to Gendercide السبت 13 مارس 2010, 8:45 pm 11.3.10
The Road to Gendercide
Hussein Al-alak, The Iraq Solidarity Campaign It was Karl Marx who stated that men make history but not in circumstances of their choosing and if men are the ones who make history, then we need to have a serious debate about the contributions that women are making, especially when women are forced into action by circumstances not of their choosing. This debate has got to include just how far the occupation of Iraq is willing to turn the clocks back, on the rights and civil liberties of women in Iraq, where the displacement, poverty, the imprisonment and forced separation of families have become the weapons of choice to both humiliate and control Iraq’s female population. The current situation faced by Iraqi women is a continuation of a “mediaeval tradition”, which is being enforced by “civilised colonialists”, a scene which is reminiscent of a description of life under the first British rule of Iraq in the 1920‘s, where Suad Khairi, in her 1982 essay explained that “under tribal laws women could be murdered and the murderer escape punishment”, with British colonialism seeing women as “deficient human beings”. Under the atmosphere of colonial repression, where “women suffered from the consequences of backwardness and dependency which the “colonialists strove to maintain”, Iraq’s women rallied to the cry of their nation and took an active lead in resisting the presence of foreign troops, by taking part in military campaigns and actively protesting for the release of Prisoners of War. As early as the 1920’s, Iraqi women also took a leading role in resisting the ill treatment that was being forced upon them in the home, by mounting a direct challenge to the forced wearing of the veil and resisting the status quo by demanding a woman’s right to education. A story is often told, of a female Iraqi freedom fighter whose brother had been taken by the British authorities and confronting his captors, threw the veil into the air, and with her long hair flying loose, declared to the occupying power that she too, would fight for the freedom of Iraq. The traditions of resisting colonialism made history inside of the Middle East, when the revolution of 1958, finally saw the end of the British puppet regime of Nouri Saad and the birth of the new Iraqi republic, led by General Abdul Karrim Qassim. Iraqi women started to write their own history when Naziha Dulaimi, the first-ever female cabinet minister was elected to a government post. Whilst progress continued to be made inside of Iraq, from 1958 Iraqi women saw many revolutionary changes in both the laws and their social standing, including the introduction of the personal status law, which allowed a women an equal share in property if ever she divorced. Women also saw advancements in career prospects, as a result of the nationalisation of the oil industry, which according to UNESCO “Iraq was one of the only countries in the world where, even if you were born in absolute poverty, with illiterate parents you could come out of the education system either a brain surgeon, archaeologist or whatever you wished to become." Throughout the 1980’s, when women lost male relatives during the eight year war with Iran, female dependents were given recognition by the state, where even the Iraqi opposition welcomed provisions such as debt cancellation, land, secure homes, widows pensions and other necessities which were given to prevent women from falling into the poverty trap but such measures, also allowed Iraqi women to maintain their own independence as bread winners for the family. During the Iraq/Iran war, women also took a great leap forward, where similar to the British land girls in World War Two, Iraqi women took over the professional roles in society as a result of men being in the front line of combat. In effect women became the doctors, the architects, teachers, the engineers; infact they became the engineers and architects of Iraqi society itself. The war against Iraqi women, did not start under the occupation of 2003 but infact began after the first Gulf War and through out the 1990's, until the Coalition forces of George Bush, Tony Blair and Ahmed Chalabi decided to invade, under the pretexts of liberating Iraq. The start of the Gendercide against Iraqi women, was demonstrated through the mass murder of over one million children, who lost their lives as a result of the UN imposed Sanctions, which also left Iraq unable to purchase basic items including tampons, pencils and medications such as Asthma inhalers. According to the UN, preventing items like pencils from entering Iraq was because the graphite was categorised as “Duel Use”, therefore it could allegedly be used in constructing Saddam’s “weapons of mass destruction“. Sarah Flounders, author of De-Linking Sanctions stated in 1997, that other items denied to the Iraqi people included; “batteries, X-ray machines, ambulances because they could be used in battle and enriched baby powdered milk,” which supposedly could be used in germ warfare. As Flounders also stated “many of the children killed by Sanctions died from diseases carried by impure drinking water", when before the first Gulf War, the vast majority of Iraqi people did have access to potable drinking water but “good drinking water needs pipes, pumps, filtration and chlorine. But Washington defines chlorine as a “Duel-Use” item, as it does the pipes that would be used to carry water.” A study conducted by Harvard, discovered that after the Gulf War there had been a “fourfold increase in child mortality and a high incidence of health problems among women, including psychosomatic conditions such as sleeplessness and mental disorders.” In the early 1990’s Dr. Suha Omar also described how there was a dramatic increase in domestic violence, with “traumatised conscripts” returning to Iraq, who “would take out their distress and anger on wives, daughters, mothers and sisters.” In other words, “Women had to pick up the pieces” because the men were either mentally or physically damaged by the war, with the situation being exacerbated by the “drastically worsened economic situation, as victims of the pauperisation of Iraqi society.” Andy Kershaw of the Independent described in the 2001 article A Chamber of Horrors, how a woman’s reproductive system had also become a victim of gendercide, where through the use of Depleted Uranium in the 1991 Gulf War, Iraqi women were giving birth to "congenital anomalies", where even at the authors own admission “were head-spinningly grotesque”. Through the use of Depleted Uranium, which has recently hit the headlines again in Britain, in 2001 the Basra Maternity and Children's Hospital showed the Independent how Iraqi children were being born, “with only half a head and nothing above the eyes“…“Then there was a head with legs, babies without genitalia, a little girl born with her brain outside her skull and the whatever-it-was whose eyes were below the level of its nose.” Even though in 1997, a UN weapons inspector declared “Iraq had been disarmed” in 1919, Woodrow Wilson described how effective “sanctions” could be, with the process being a “peaceful, quiet and lethal remedy”, which “doesn’t take a single human life outside of the country exposed to the boycott, but instead subjects that country to a pressure that, in my view, no modern country can with stand.” When Madeline Albright, then US secretary of state to Bill Clinton was asked on US television in 1996, wherever she believed the deaths of 6,000 Iraqi children per month, was an effective way to “contain” Saddam Hussain, her response was the same as those, who now see death, destruction and the full scale terror of Iraqi women, as being “a price worth paying“. | 8,661 | 4,029 | 0.000271 |
warc | 201704 | رابطه بین سرمایه انسانی و مدت زمان عملکرد در مدیریت پروژه: تجزیه و تحلیل مسیر
کد مقاله سال انتشار مقاله انگلیسی ترجمه فارسی تعداد کلمات 18540 2007 13 صفحه PDF سفارش دهید محاسبه نشده Publisher : Elsevier - Science Direct (الزویر - ساینس دایرکت) Journal : International Journal of Project Management, Volume 25, Issue 1, January 2007, Pages 77–89 چکیده انگلیسی
This paper uses a causal path model to measure the relationship between project management human capital (PMHC) and project time performance. Human capital is an established branch of economic theory concerned with the value embodied in the firm’s human resources. Project managers’ knowledge and experience are considered important in determining project outcomes and these facets are assessed using a human capital framework. The path analysis confirms the central research hypothesis that performance will improve with increased investment in human capital. The results are significant because they confirm that the education and training of project managers is important in influencing the time delivery of construction projects.
مقدمه انگلیسی
What makes project delivery successful is a topic of much academic debate. It is generally agreed that to be considered successful, a project must be fit for purpose and it must have achieved its delivery targets. Though project management (PM) literature often considers wider objectives [1] and [2], the central PM delivery targets remain time, cost and quality. In view of this, the PM discipline has three key responsibilities. First, to ensure that the project mission is appropriately defined [2]. Second, to quantify appropriate targets for the mission. Third, to organise and mobilise resources to accomplish the specified mission, within the quantified targets. PM has a poor track record considering these responsibilities [1], [3] and [4]. Adams and Brown [4] concluded that PM failed to deliver added value. The recent inquiry surrounding the Scottish Parliament project adds currency to this issue [5]. Nevertheless, we still expect that PM should deliver projects successfully. The tools and the body of knowledge that support PM are extensive. Moreover, PM has proved itself in industries other than construction (for example, the Boeing 777 project in the aviation industry [6]). This suggests that PM can be successful and that the problem in construction may be one of implementation. There are many issues in implementation; however, of central importance is capability. Capability can be viewed as a function of education and experience. If these are deficient, there is a high probability that a project mission will be inappropriately specified from the outset, with the result that time, cost and quality targets will be compromised from the beginning. If this is the case, it is highly improbable that the resource base will be organised and mobilised to deliver time, cost and quality targets successfully. This paper examines capability, measured in human capital (HC) terms, and it evaluates the relative importance of HC as a causal factor influencing time performance. The paper is structured as follows. First we address the issue of capability and HC in a PM context and we develop a theoretical framework for evaluation. We operationalise this framework using a path model to interrogate a dataset drawn from the UK and the Saudi Arabian construction industries. The reasons for selecting the UK and Saudi Industries for the sample are explained and the data is subsequently presented and analysed and the findings are discussed.
نتیجه گیری انگلیسی
The analysis undertaken in this paper verifies the main research hypothesis presented. Relationships between HC and performance have been verified in other industries and this research confirms the existence of a similar positive relationship in the case of PM and project performance. The results presented here suggest that investment in PMHC by way of education and specific PM experience will produce a return in terms of improved performance. The results suggest that experience of the construction industry without specific PM education and experience will reduce the initial potential for successful performance and conversely that individuals educated and trained specifically in the subject of PM will deliver better performance. However, there are some important limitations in this work and the findings presented. First, we have considered performance only in terms of time. As we acknowledge, time is one of three interlinked project performance criteria. The other two, cost and quality, are not assessed here. Because time, cost and quality are interlinked, some inference may be drawn insofar as we may expect better time performance to benefit performance in the other areas. However, this is dangerous because it has previously been demonstrated that although PM was associated with a positive influence on time performance, it was simultaneously associated with a negative influence on quality and no influence on cost [4]. In other words, time targets can be delivered at the expense of cost targets and quality targets. It is possible that the very strong relationship between PMHC and time performance identified in this study, may be less meaningful if cost and quality data were also modelled. For this reason, future work will examine the relationship between PMHC and cost and quality performance. Second, the acquired dataset is small in statistical terms. Though we believe the quality of the data acquired to be suitable for the research, the small sample size is an area of weakness and this should be remembered when interpreting the results. Third, there are some measurement limitations that need to be considered, most specifically in connection with the assessment of PMHC. As explained we believe that project manager’s can be categorised into different HC profiles based upon the career path followed. This has been used in the assessment of PMHC and we consider its use legitimate, however, there is an alternative possible explanation for the strong positive relationship between PMHC and TE that has been identified. This alternative explanation arises because of the way PMHC was measured. This relates to the concept of ‘leverage’. Leverage represents the beneficial effects that accrue to a trainee by working with senior professionals within their chosen discipline. As mentioned earlier, individuals learn by observing their peers. We must acknowledge that projects are not managed by individuals, but by teams. It is likely that profile D project managers receive better PM support (leverage) from their firms than will the profile A project manager’s. This is simply because profile D project managers are more likely to be employed by large PM practices than profiles A–C profile project manager’s who are more likely to be employed by multidisciplinary or surveying practices or even self-employed. What this means is the model may in fact be measuring the human capital embodied in the PM (or other) firm than the individual. The results remain encouraging for the project management discipline, however, it is the case that the PMHC measurement system may be disadvantaging profile A–C project managers who do not receive the same level of support from their employers as do profile D project manager’s. These limitations should be remembered in interpreting the results. It is recommended that future research in this area investigates relationships between PMHC and cost and quality performance and that the effect of ‘leverage’ be assessed. Therefore, the findings of this research are presented as preliminary rather than conclusive. Determining a conclusive assessment of PMHC upon project performance remains a subject for future research. | 8,807 | 3,589 | 0.000315 |
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