How much does 4 yards of sand weigh?

It depends on how wide and how high you are spreading the sand.

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Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles. The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal settings is silica (silicon dioxide, or SiO2), usually in the form of quartz. The second most common type of sand is calcium carbonate, for example aragonite, which has mostly been created, over the past half billion years, by various forms of life, like coral and shellfish. It is, for example, the primary form of sand apparent in areas where reefs have dominated the ecosystem for millions of years like the Caribbean. In terms of particle size as used by geologists, sand particles range in diameter from 0.0625 mm (or  mm) to 2 mm. An individual particle in this range size is termed a sand grain. Sand grains are between gravel (with particles ranging from 2 mm up to 64 mm) and silt (particles smaller than 0.0625 mm down to 0.004 mm). The size specification between sand and gravel has remained constant for more than a century, but particle diameters as small as 0.02 mm were considered sand under the Albert Atterberg standard in use during the early 20th century. A 1953 engineering standard published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials set the minimum sand size at 0.074 mm. A 1938 specification of the United States Department of Agriculture was 0.05 mm. Sand feels gritty when rubbed between the fingers (silt, by comparison, feels like flour). ISO 14688 grades sands as fine, medium and coarse with ranges 0.063 mm to 0.2 mm to 0.63 mm to 2.0 mm. In the United States, sand is commonly divided into five sub-categories based on size: very fine sand ( –  mm diameter), fine sand ( mm –  mm), medium sand ( mm –  mm), coarse sand ( mm – 1 mm), and very coarse sand (1 mm – 2 mm). These sizes are based on the Krumbein phi scale, where size in Φ = -log2D; D being the particle size in mm. On this scale, for sand the value of Φ varies from −1 to +4, with the divisions between sub-categories at whole numbers. The most common constituent of sand, in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal settings, is silica (silicon dioxide, or SiO2), usually in the form of quartz, which, because of its chemical inertness and considerable hardness, is the most common mineral resistant to weathering. The composition of mineral sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions. The bright white sands found in tropical and subtropical coastal settings are eroded limestone and may contain coral and shell fragments in addition to other organic or organically derived fragmental material, suggesting sand formation depends on living organisms, too. The gypsum sand dunes of the White Sands National Monument in New Mexico are famous for their bright, white color. Arkose is a sand or sandstone with considerable feldspar content, derived from weathering and erosion of a (usually nearby) granitic rock outcrop. Some sands contain magnetite, chlorite, glauconite or gypsum. Sands rich in magnetite are dark to black in color, as are sands derived from volcanic basalts and obsidian. Chlorite-glauconite bearing sands are typically green in color, as are sands derived from basaltic (lava) with a high olivine content. Many sands, especially those found extensively in Southern Europe, have iron impurities within the quartz crystals of the sand, giving a deep yellow color. Sand deposits in some areas contain garnets and other resistant minerals, including some small gemstones. Sand is transported by wind and water and deposited in the form of beaches, dunes, sand spits, sand bars and related features. In environments such as gravel-bed rivers and glacial moraines it often occurs as one of the many grain sizes that are represented. Sand-bed rivers, such as the Platte River in Nebraska, USA, have sandy beds largely because there is no larger source material that they can transport. Dunes, a distinctive geographical feature of desert environments, are on the other hand sandy because larger material is generally immobile in wind. Sand is a component of soil. The study of individual grains can reveal much historical information as to the origin and kind of transport of the grain. Quartz sand that is recently weathered from granite or gneiss quartz crystals will be angular. It is called grus in geology or sharp sand in the building trade where it is preferred for concrete, and in gardening where it is used as a soil amendment to loosen clay soils. Sand that is transported long distances by water or wind will be rounded, with characteristic abrasion patterns on the grain surface. Desert sand is typically rounded. People who collect sand as a hobby are known as arenophiles. Organisms that thrive in sandy environments are psammophiles. While sand is generally non-toxic, sand-using activities such as sandblasting require precautions. Bags of silica sand used for sandblasting now carry labels warning the user to wear respiratory protection to avoid breathing the resulting fine silica dust. Material safety data sheets (MSDS) for silica sand state that "excessive inhalation of crystalline silica is a serious health concern". In areas of high pore water pressure sand and salt water can form quicksand, which is a colloid hydrogel that behaves like a liquid. Quicksand produces a considerable barrier to escape for creatures caught within, who often die from exposure (not from submersion) as a result. Sand's many uses require a significant dredging industry, raising environmental concerns over fish depletion, landslides, and flooding. Countries such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia ban sand exports, citing these issues as a major factor.
Sand mining is a practice that is used to extract sand, mainly through an open pit. However, sand is also mined from beaches, inland dunes and dredged from ocean beds and river beds. It is often used in manufacturing as an abrasive, for example, and it is used to make concrete. As communities grow, construction requires less wood and more concrete, leading to a demand for low-cost sand. Sand is also used to replace eroded coastline. Another reason for sand mining is for the extraction of minerals such as rutile, ilmenite and zircon, which contain the industrially useful elements titanium and zirconium. These minerals typically occur combined with ordinary sand, which is dug up, the valuable minerals being separated in water by virtue of their different densities, and the remaining ordinary sand re-deposited. Sand mining is a direct cause of erosion, and also impacts the local wildlife. For example, sea turtles depend on sandy beaches for their nesting, and sand mining has led to the near extinction of gharials (a species of crocodiles) in India. Disturbance of underwater and coastal sand causes turbidity in the water, which is harmful for such organisms as corals that need sunlight. It also destroys fisheries, causing problems for people who rely on fishing for their livelihoods. Removal of physical coastal barriers such as dunes leads to flooding of beachside communities, and the destruction of picturesque beaches causes tourism to dissipate. Sand mining is regulated by law in many places, but is still often done illegally. In the 1930s mining operations began on the Kurnell Peninsula (Captain Cook's landing place in Australia) to supply the expanding Sydney building market. It continued until 1990 with an estimate of over 70 million tonnes of sand having been removed. The sand has been valued for many decades by the building industry, mainly because of its high crushed shell content and lack of organic matter, it has provided a cheap source of sand for most of Sydney since sand mining operations began. The site has now been reduced to a few remnant dunes and deep water-filled pits which are now being filled with demolition waste from Sydney's building sites. Removal of the sand has significantly weakened the peninsula's capacity to resist storms. Ocean waves pounding against the reduced Kurnell dune system have threatened to break through to Botany Bay, especially during the storms of May and June back in 1974 and of August 1998. Sand Mining also takes place in the Stockton sand dunes north of Newcastle and in the Broken Hill region in the far west of the state. A large and long running sand mine in Queensland, Australia (on North Stradbroke Island) provides a case study in the (disastrous) environmental consequences on a fragile sandy-soil based ecosystem, justified by the provision of low wage casual labor on an island with few other work options. Sand mining contributes to the construction of buildings and development. However, the negative effects of sand mining include the permanent loss of sand in areas, as well as major habitat destruction. Sand mining is a practice that is becoming an environmental issue in India. Environmentalists have raised public awareness of illegal sand mining in the state of Maharashtra and Goa of India. Conservation and environmental NGO Awaaz Foundation filed a public interest litigation in the Bombay High Court seeking a ban on mining activities along the Konkan coast. Awaaz Foundation, in partnership with the Bombay Natural History Society also presented the issue of sand mining as a major international threat to coastal biodiversity at the Conference of Parties 11, Convention on Biological Diversity, Hyderabad in October 2012. Sand mining occurs in the Kaipara Harbour, off the coast at Pakiri and offshore from Little Barrier Island. A sand mine had operated at Whiritoa on the east coast of the North Island for 50 years extracting 180,000m3 of sand. Coastal sand mines currently operate at Maioro and Taharoa to recover iron sand. When an application was lodged in 2005 to mine iron sands on the seabed of the coast of Raglan local residents organised in opposition to the scheme. The application for the mining was turned down by Crown Minerals due to a lack of technical detail. Recently, activists and local villagers have protested against sand mining on Sierra Leone's Western Area Peninsular. The activity is providing informal work for people who would otherwise be unemployed, but is also destroying the natural beauty of the area, driving away tourists, business owners and residents, and contributing to Sierra Leone's coastal erosion, which is proceeding at up to 6 meters a year. The current size of the sand mining market in the United States is slightly over a billion dollars per year. The industry has been growing by nearly 10% annually since 2005. The majority of the market size for mining is held by Texas and Illinois. Silica sand mining business has more than doubled since 2009 because of the need for this particular type of sand, which is used in a process known as hydraulic fracturing. Wisconsin is one of the five states that produce nearly 2/3 of the nation’s silica. As of 2009, Wisconsin, along with other northern states, is facing an industrial mining boom, being dubbed the "sand rush" because of the new demand from large oil companies for silica sand. According to Minnesota Public Radio, "One of the industry's major players, U.S. Silica, says its fracking sand sales nearly doubled from 2009 to 2010, from $36 million to $70 million in 2010 and brought in nearly $70 million in just the first nine months of 2011." According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), there are currently 34 active mines and 25 mines in development in Wisconsin. In 2012, the WDNR released a final report on the silica sand mining in Wisconsin titled Silica Sand Mining in Wisconsin. The recent boom in silica sand mining has caused concern from residents in Wisconsin that include quality of life issues and the threat of silicosis. However, these are issues that the state has no authority to regulate. According to the WDNR (2012) these issues include noise, lights, hours of operation, damage and excessive wear to roads from trucking traffic, public safety concerns from the volume of truck traffic, possible damage and annoyance resulting from blasting, and concerns regarding aesthetics and land use changes. As of 2013, industrial frack sand mining has become a cause for activism, especially in the [Area] of southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa and southwest Wisconsin.
An open faced club, sand wedge, or sand iron, is a wedge primarily designed for use out of sand bunkers. It has the widest sole of any wedge, which provides the greatest amount of bounce, allowing the club head to glide through sand and avoid digging in. Gene Sarazen began to win tournaments in 1935 with a new club he had invented that was specialized for sand play. He is hailed as the inventor of the sand wedge. However, history goes about 3 years further back than that. Spoon clubs offered varying degrees of loft and allowed players to scoop their ball out of sand traps and deep rough. As manufacturers became more and more innovative with club design, new types of wedges appeared. Some had concave faces, others featured deeply grooved faces, but not all of these designs conformed to USGA and R&A regulations, and many were banned. With the concave-faced wedge having been outlawed in 1931, Sarazen designed his sand wedge with a straight face. Another modification that he made was to add extra lead to the front edge of the club face, allowing it to cut through the sand more smoothly. After he won the 1932 British and U.S. Opens with the help of his new club, its popularity quickly grew. The modern sand wedge is often the heaviest iron in a player's bag, with most weighing nearly 40 ounces (1.1 kg). Traditionally it also had the highest loft at 56 degrees (55–56 being most common), although that distinction now goes to the lob wedge, which often has a loft of 60 degrees or more. It usually has one of the shortest shafts, between 33 inches (84 cm) and 36 inches (91 cm), though in some sets the sand wedge has a longer shaft than the pitching wedge. The main distinguishing difference of the club from most others, however, is a feature called bounce. On most other irons, the sole of the club is perpendicular to the shaft, meaning it is roughly parallel to the ground when the club is at rest allowing the leading edge to get between the ball and the ground more easily. A sand wedge however is designed with the sole of the club at an angle to the ground in the same position, lifting the leading edge of the club off the ground. This accomplishes three things; first, this design generally requires more material, which increases the weight of the club head for more momentum and places that weight low and forward in the club head for higher launches. Second, the angled sole lifts the leading edge off the ground at the bottom of the swing, preventing the club from digging in to softer lies such as muddy ground, thick grass and of course sand, instead tending to skim over the surface. This in turn allows players more flexibility when addressing the ball; the player can line the ball up in the centre of their stance and take a normal swing in which the club will skim over the turf before contact with the ball, or alternatively they can move the ball rearward in their stance (towards the right foot for a right-handed player) and strike the ball earlier in the swing. The natural consequence of such a shot, executed correctly, is that the club face has less loft at contact, so the ball is launched at a lower angle for more distance. Without bounce, such a shot even if executed correctly will generally cause the club to dig into the ground after it contacts the ball which, with such a high-lofted club, prevents the player from following through on their swing and can cause injury. Lastly, when playing from a bunker, the ball may have buried itself deeply into the sand (depending on the sand's consistency and the degree of impact, the ball may be completely submerged). To lift it out, the club head must contact the ball from underneath, meaning the leading edge of the club must sometimes be an inch or two (2-4 cm) under the surface of the sand at contact. The angle of the sole counteracts the natural downward pressure of the club face digging itself ever deeper into the sand, making it easier to swing the club down under the surface of the sand and then lift the club, and the ball, back out again. Other clubs, especially short irons and other wedges, now incorporate a small degree of bounce to assist in plays from the rough or other soft lies, but the sand wedge will typically have the highest amount of bounce of any club in a player's bag. There are however exceptions; Callaway Golf for instance markets a "Big Bertha" line of irons in which the lob wedge has significantly higher bounce than the sand wedge. As its name suggests, a sand wedge is used most often to extract the ball from a sand bunker. However, the features which make it useful for this purpose are advantageous in other soft lies such as thick rough, soggy ground or mud. It's also used from firmer grass lies for lobs or chips, generally onto the green. It can also be used as any other short iron would; with a full swing, a skilled golfer can typically hit a sand wedge between 80–100 yards (70–90 m). Tour players often use a lob wedge (60° wedge) to get out of bunkers with controlled trajectory and lots of spin.
Particle size, also called grain size, refers to the diameter of individual grains of sediment, or the lithified particles in clastic rocks. The term may also be applied to other granular materials. This is different from the crystallite size, which is the size of a single crystal inside the particles or grains. A single grain can be composed of several crystals. Granular material can range from very small colloidal particles, through clay, silt, sand, and gravel, to boulders. Size ranges define limits of classes that are given names in the Wentworth scale (or Udden-Wentworth) used in the United States. The Krumbein phi (φ) scale, a modification of the Wentworth scale created by W. C. Krumbein in 1937, is a logarithmic scale computed by the equation where This equation can be rearranged to find diameter using φ: In some schemes, gravel is anything larger than sand (comprising granule, pebble, cobble, and boulder in the table above). ISO 14688-1, establishes the basic principles for the identification and classification of soils on the basis of those material and mass characteristics most commonly used for soils for engineering purposes. ISO 14688-1 is applicable to natural soils in situ, similar man-made materials in situ and soils redeposited by man.
A cubic yard is an Imperial / U.S. customary (non-SI non-metric) unit of volume, used in the United States, Canada, and the UK. It is defined as the volume of a cube with sides of 1 yard (3 feet, 36 inches, 0.9144 metres) in length. There is no universally agreed symbol but the following are used: 1 cubic yard is equivalent to:
Sand-based athletic fields are sporting grounds constructed on sand. They can have certain advantages over those built on native soils. Highly maintained areas of turf, such as those on an athletic field or on golf greens and tees, can be grown in native soil or sand-based systems. There are advantages and disadvantages to both that need to be considered before deciding what type of soil to grow turf in. Native soils offer many positive qualities, such as high nutrient holding capacity, water holding capacity, and sure footing. However, native soil fields are typically very poorly drained. This causes problems with growing turf and maintaining a safe surface for players. Sand-based systems provide all of the above qualities, and also improved drainage. They allow the turf manager better control over moisture management and resist soil compaction. Sand-based systems are composed of a sand-based root zone, a gravel layer, and a drainage system. Although the root zone of a sand-based system is mostly sand, amendments are often added to increase the organic matter content and add stability to the root zone. Peat moss is the most common root zone amendment used, but other inorganic amendments can also be used. Peat moss is used because it increases water and nutrient holding capacity and decreases bulk density. The most common ratio of sand to peat moss is 8:2. This ratio will allow a water holding capacity of 15 to 26% and increase nutrient holding capacity greatly. 100% sand root zones are used often and are more cost effective. Selection of the type of sand is very crucial. Sand suitable for a root zone should be a medium to coarse (0.15-1.0 mm) particle size and should have sub-angular or sub-rounded shape. If sub-angular sand is chosen, it can deter some insects from making their homes in the soil. The shape makes it harder for them to move around in the soil. Rounded sands are not suitable because they do not pack and cannot provide a firm enough seedbed. Angular sands are not suitable because they become too firm and can potentially cut into roots. Once a sand is selected and it is determined if an amendment will be used, the layout of the root zone profile must be determined. In the United States, the most common specifications for constructing a sand-based system are laid out by the United States Golf Association (USGA). The specifications for a sand-based athletic field are the same as what is typically used for USGA golf greens. These specifications consist of a 12 to 16 inch sand root zone. The choice of sand type and the addition of an amendment depend on the designer. When an amendment is used, it must be thoroughly incorporated with the sand. The sand overlays a 4-inch gravel layer. This creates a perched water table above the gravel that helps keep the root zone moist during dry conditions. A drainage system should be installed below the gravel to carry excess water away from the field. Aeration on a sand-based system is used more to control the thickness of the thatch layer than to relieve compaction. A thick thatch layer on a sand-based athletic field can be detrimental. These layers prevent essential nutrients and water from reaching the plant. Further, fertilizers, fungicides, and insecticides can not penetrate the surface and reach the soil. This can obviously be devastating if a field is consumed by a soil borne disease or insect. Water penetration can also be deterred by a thick thatch layer. When there is a thick mat of organic matter near the surface of a field a second perched water table will form. This will cause roots to stay in the top couple of inches of soil because they do not need to search for water at greater depths. Without a deep root system, a field can become unsafe due to footing issues. Core aerification is the most conventional way to control thatch. Taking up plugs and removing them from the surface eliminates much of the organic matter that is in the soil. The most common aerificaiton tines used are usually a half inch in diameter, normally penetrate about four inches, and are hollow. If the holes are on 2 inch center, 36 holes will be punch per square foot. After a field is aerified, the cores can either be raked up and removed, or left on the surface to break down. Solid tines will punch holes into surface but are only a temporary solution. This is because they do not reduce the organic layer, but merely displace it. Another common method of reducing thatch is vertical mowing. This consists of vertical blades tearing into the soil and pulling out organic matter. It is very effective at reducing thatch, but is also very disruptive. This can lead to a long recovery time for the turf. Reducing the amount of thatch at the surface allows nutrients and pesticides to penetrate into the soil more effectively. Collecting grass clippings will not reduce the formation of a thatch layer. Thatch layers are made up of decomposed vegetative parts of grass plants like stolons and rhizomes. Once a field is aerified, and there are holes in the surface, a field should be topdressed with the same sand that was used in the construction of the field. Refilling the aerification holes with sand improves the macroporosity of the soil and allows better penetration of water. This will allow the turf manager to water deeper and therefore improve the root system. Introducing sand into the thatch layer allows the growth media to be suitable for play. Without sand mixed with the thatch layer, divots would readily kick out and the field would not be safe for any type of sport. Nutrient management is essential in maintaining a healthy stand of turfgrass, and is much more difficult to achieve effectively in a sand-based system. Unlike with native soil fields, leaching of nutrients is a major concern when managing a sand-based turf system. Nutrient leaching occurs more readily in a sand-based system because sand has a relatively low cation exchange capacity (CEC). This refers to the sand's ability to retain nutrient particles. Soil particle "hold on" to positively charged nutrient particles because they are negatively charged. The opposite charges cause the nutrients to adhere to soil particles which can then be taken up by plants. Sand has virtually no CEC, whereas clay and organic matter have relatively high CEC. This means that the higher the clay and organic matter of a soil, the more nutrients it will hold. Low CEC is a major concern when an athletic field is constructed with 100% sand because substantial amounts of nutrients will be unavailable to the turf. The pure sand base will not hold on to nutrients until there is substantial organic matter incorporated into the soil to keep nutrients from leaching. Eventually, organic matter levels will rise as the plants begin to mature and dead vegetative matter decomposes. The best way to avoid this problem is to incorporate some type of organic matter into the root zone mix during construction. The most common, as noted above, is peat moss. Mixing peat moss into the root zone mixture greatly increases nutrient holding capacity. This will greatly increase the chances of establishing a healthy stand of turfgrass because the soil will be able to retain both nutrients and water. Because the nutrient holding capacity is low, soil tests are crucial for sand-based athletic fields. Soil tests should be taken frequently to measure what nutrients are lacking. Fertility programs should then be based on the soil tests. Unlike a native soil field, where most nutrients that are applied stay in the soil, sand-based fields nutrient status fluctuates. That is why a yearly fertilizer program can not be followed. It is more important to obtain soil tests during the establishment of a new field because organic matter will be low and amounts of nutrients will fluctuate even more. One of the many advantages of sand-based systems is extremely good drainage. A well constructed sand-based system can drain excessive amounts of rainfall very quickly. The good drainage that sand-based systems exhibit also offer the turf manager better control over soil water content. The large size of sand particles allow water to flow freely which, in turn, allows sand-based system to drain extremely well. This is beneficial because it allows fields to be used during inclement weather. Sand-based systems will drain multiple inches of water within a short period of time. This allows a sporting event to be played through a rain or after a short delay. Native soil fields, on the other hand, do not drain well and many games have to be cancelled or postponed due to puddling on the field. The good drainage of a sand-based system allows turf managers better control over their irrigation. Once the turf manager learns how his/her field drains, they will know, fairly accurately, when the field will need water. This allows them to make an irrigation plan that provides the turf with just enough water to maintain its health. Localized dry spots, more commonly known as hot spots, are a common occurrence on sand-based turf systems. Hot spots are small areas of turf that are dry and often become hydrophobic. They can be first seen when the grass plants in the area begin to wilt. If the hot spot is not taken care of, the turf in that area will eventually die. Once the soil becomes hydrophobic, it is very hard to get water to penetrate. The best way to alleviate a hot spot is through long, light irrigation or rainfall. It may also help to use a pitchfork to poke holes into the soil to increase percolation.

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Patients' Capacity

WSJ: What is minimally disruptive medicine?

Victor Montori says care for chronic diseases is often so complex that it overwhelms patients. Mayo Clinic

WSJ: How is medicine practiced in a disruptive way now?

DR. MONTORI: The pressure is on to make sure patients receive all the tests and treatments they need. That means going to the doctor's office, the lab and the pharmacy, completing paperwork and phone calls, dealing with staff at these facilities and with insurance and approvals.

If you have only one chronic condition, that is work you can probably fit into your life. But if you have multiple chronic conditions and a complex life, it is hard to fit all of this work into your day.

WSJ: How much is the current system of measuring quality of care to blame?

DR. MONTORI: Health-care systems and doctors are not being recognized for simplifying the schedule or reducing the number of visits and tests. We don't have any guidelines or quality-of-care measures for that. So, doctors are placed in a conflicted position: to focus on what matters to patients and fits [the specific situation], or to satisfy these quality-of-care measures? We have to give clinicians permission to refocus on what is important for patients and deliver it in ways that fit their context.

WSJ: Can practicing minimally disruptive medicine help reduce health-care costs?

DR. MONTORI:Care that fails to deliver better health, greater ability of patients to fulfill their duties and pursue their dreams, is wasteful and should be eliminated. Care requiring patient work that patients cannot implement will be wasted.

Patients with multiple chronic conditions are particularly at risk for overwhelming care. For these patients, who represent about 5% of all patients and yet account for about 40% of all health-care costs and service consumption, getting less care, but getting care they need, want and can implement, would offer better value. The opposite, of course, is true for people who get less care than they need.

Quality of Life

WSJ: How are you putting these ideas into practice at the Mayo Clinic?

DR. MONTORI: For now, it is a four-pronged approach to the care of patients with many chronic conditions.

Like everyone else, we are working actively on care coordination.


The Garden Landscape Guide

Eridu - a Sumerian city in Iraq

The king-list of the Sumerians gives Eridu as the world’s first city. Eridu (or Eridug or Urudug, from Sumerian Er.i.dug, "House in Faraway Built")  was built before The Flood: ‘When kingship from heaven was lowered, the kingship was in Eridu.’   Eridu means ‘Good City’ and it became a temple city. According to Leick, it was built at the meeting point of three ecosystems and supported three lifestyles: farming, nomadic pastoralism and fishing.  The brick temple complex at Eridu was surrounded by fresh water and therefore by vegetation. In the cosmic geography of Mesopotamia the Earth was an island surrounded by bitter waters, with depths below and ‘On High’ (heaven) supported by great mountains.  As a composition of sky, buildings, landform, water and vegetation, Eridu symbolised the creation.

"When kingship from heaven was lowered,
the kingship was in Eridu."

Eridu was said to be one of the five cities built before the flood. It appears to be the earliest Sumerian settlement (c4000 BC) near the mouth of the Euphrates River and near the shore of the Persian Gulf.  It was a sacred city and had a ‘temple garden’ in the sense of a temple surrounded by water and vegetation. This region is one of the possible locations for the Garden of Eden. Eridu is close to Ur.

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Eridu - a Sumerian city in Iraq Cush


National Center of Competence in Research - NCCR Molecular Oncology

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Tumor Immunity and Cancer Immunotherapy

Despite the fact that tumors originate from normal cells, the immune system often reacts relatively strongly against tumoral components. However, because these tumors closely resemble the original transformed cells, the immune system tolerates most tumor types to a variable degree. Thus, the very nature of tumor immunity poses enormous challenges to the endeavour of harnessing the immune system for the therapy of cancers. The aims of the NCCR module on “Tumor immunity and immunotherapy” are:

  • to identify suitable antigens in various tumor types that may be targeted for innovative therapies based on mobilizing the resources of the immune system against growing tumors
  • to understand in great details the immune responses to tumors in cancer patients,
  • to perform clinical trials of vaccination,
  • to invent and/or refine laboratory methods that allow to measure the immune responses elicited by experimental cancer vaccines,
  • to devise novel approaches for the treatment of tumors by combining established chemotherapy compounds currently used in the clinical oncology practice with our experimental cancer vaccines, with the aim of enhancing the anti-tumor effects of both therapeutic modalities
  • and to develop more potent and innovative therapeutic vaccination approaches by exploiting the latest insights into the inner workings of the immune system.

The “tumor immunity and cancer immunotherapy” module is organized in six autonomous research projects led by independent scientists established at various institutes located in the Lausanne area (ISREC, Multidisciplinary Oncology Center, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Vaud –CHUV, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the Faculty of Biology and Medicine, UNIL). A unique aspect of this module is the dense network of interactions between these research projects and, more importantly, the fluid exchanges between oncologists, clinicians at the Gyneco-obstetrics department, applied immunologists working at the interface between research laboratories and the clinics and basic scientists in pure research laboratories. Moreover, the network has contacts with several start-up companies, big pharma and laboratories both in Europe and the United States.

The outcomes of this research program have important implications for both our understanding of the immune system and for the conquest of cancer. Indeed, novel therapies based on exploiting signaling pathways and knowledge of the immune system physiology would be more specific and far less toxic than current chemo or radiotherapy which cannot discriminate transformed cells from normal proliferating cells and therefore carry a high burden of collateral effects for cancer patients.


Use Songs To Mix Various Paint Palettes

American paint company Dutch Boy’s new app lets customers paint a room in their favorite song.

Paintlist is a new mobile app from American paint company Dutch Boy that gives users a new way to make those tough color decisions when painting a room. Users either select songs already on their smartphone or prompt the app to ‘listen’ to a song, Shazam-style, and receive three suggested palettes based on the song. The palettes can be shared with friends and family, and users are directed to the nearest retailer selling those particular colors. Incorporating music into the color selection process is a smart way for the 106-year-old paint brand to reach future homeowners, a generation which is accustomed to personalized services and for whom music is an integral form of self-expression.

The app was designed by Ohio-based integrated agency Marcus Thomas and incorporates technology from Music DNA. The song-identification service recognizes over ten million songs and classifies them into one of approximately 750 categories based on the tones, tempo and genre. Color experts at Dutch Boy have translated these categories into distinct color palettes, so the tonality of the palette is a visual representation of the music tonality. For example, an upbeat pop tune will result in a more vibrant palette than a slower classical piece. The free mobile app was released on October 15th and is available for iOS and Android.


From the countryside to the city, we provide our region with natural places that nourish and support vibrant and prosperous communities by identifying, preserving, restoring and maintaining essential assets like clean water, working farms, wildlife areas, and parks.

There is nothing more beautiful than a crisp fall day in northern Ohio.

The sun shimmering on our great Lake Erie; the red and yellow leaves of a beech maple forest; the long views of crop and pasture land framed by towering forests; and the gentle murmuring rivers that run through our glacial landscape. We love the Western Reserve. It is where we rear our children and where our hearts reside.


Tue May 15, 2012
Arts & Culture

Bay Area Beats: LoCura

Credit Courtesy of LoCura

The San Francisco band LoCura reflects the Bay's diverse mix of cultures, histories and people through music that surfs genres and shuns labels. Members of the band come from as far away as Spain, and as close as the Mission district. They blend flamenco, Cuban son, reggae, cumbia, ska and more to make their own border-crossing brand of revolutionary party music. With the release of their new album, Semilla Caminante, the band deepens this mixture of musical and political cultures. KALW’s Jen Chien spoke to lead singer Kata Miletich and guitarist Bob Sanders for this edition of Bay Area Beats.

BOB SANDERS: Almost every member of the band has a cultural heritage that is from somewhere else: Nicaragua, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia, El Salvador.

KATA MILETICH: I was born and raised in Spain. My father was a Californian who came there and met my mother, and ended up staying 20 years, then we moved to Italy. And at some point after I graduated high school, I came to the US. For me, I think the LoCura sound evolved parallel to both Bob’s and my own personal musicianship.

SANDERS: It has evolved through a pretty organic process. The only genre that we intentionally set out to do was rumba flamenca.

MILETICH: And when we came to the Bay is when it really exploded. That’s when we met the other original band member of LoCura, Rachael Bouch. She was trained in Cuban traditions.

SANDERS: That opened the doors to allowing other styles to come in.

MILETICH: That is how LoCura was born really, with the sound of rumba flamenca and son cubano. We were already playing some reggae... And then as we met musicians that were coming from Afrobeat traditions and salsa and cumbia, and being in the Bay, surrounded by so much diversity. For me, coming form my father’s background, my mother’s background, and then being raised speaking Spanglish... and then coming here and just meeting people from so many different places – I feel connection to so many different traditions, that it’s helping me learn more about myself, tapping into these different styles of music.

Con El Viento was a song that was inspired by thinking about how I had arrived here in California, and how I was connected to California, and then this kind of resurgence of my Spanish identity here in California, because I’d been away from Spain for so many years. So that song is a song for honoring my coming here and all the people who have come through here, and all the stories we carry within us.

SANDERS: The idea that we have flamenco now as this pure art form that stands by itself is false, because the only reason it exists is because it has mixed over so many years, of so many styles. You’ve got the Gypsies who came over from India, taking all kinds of styles of music with them, along with their own original style. And for flamenco you have a lot of Jews who mixed their own music inside of it, and just the music that was already happening in southern Spain, heavy influences from North Africa … The music only arrived to that point because it had mixed with so many other styles along the way.

The song Que Falta was born sitting in the rehearsal studio with our bass player Izzy, who is heavily influenced by Afrobeat and funk. He had an idea for this riff that opens the song, and then we just kept coming up with all these different musical variations, and we taught that music to the rest of the band, and Kata put her lyrics to it. So that’s a great example of a song that’s funk-influenced, you get into the verse and you’ve got a salsa groove, you get into the chorus and it goes into a timba swing, and then it goes back to funk for the bridge section, then some drum breaks … that’s quintessential LoCura.

MILETICH: We and I do feel pressure to categorize LoCura. What style of music do you play? Do you fit into this nice neat box of flamenco, or timba, or reggae? Are you a rock band or an indie band? What kind of style do you fit in? It’s always a hard one to answer because we don’t really fit into any of those categories. We take little bits of everything. We’ve come up with different little names to describe the style, fusing different words together, or playing on words like flamenkito, or Califas mestizo music.

SANDERS: From what I see, being in the music scene here, it’s very apparent that that’s what bands do here in the Bay Area. We have a hugely diverse population of people from all over the world.

MILETICH: I can’t just get into one style, just as I can’t just sing lyrics in English or just sing lyrics in Spanish. When I came here I really felt validated by the Chicano culture, and validated in certain aspects of my cultural identity. And so in one way I don’t want to fit into any box – I want to continue to cultivate this style of music that finds a common ground between different styles. Whether it’s the African roots, the indigenous roots of here, of different places, and find how different styles of music can really fit in with each other, and groove.

Related program:


carnivore, also called PredatorA lion (Panthera leo) eating its prey.© Peter Betts/Shutterstock.comanimal whose diet consists of other animals. Adaptations for a carnivorous diet include a variety of hunting behaviours and the development of methods for grasping or otherwise immobilizing the prey. Wolves use their teeth for grasping, owls their claws, and bullfrogs their tongues. Some snakes (e.g., rattlesnakes) use venom to immobilize their prey, and many spiders wrap their victims in thread. Most carnivores are larger than their prey species, although some of the largest carnivores prey on even larger species, for example, tigers on water buffalo and orcas on baleen whales.

Many well-known predators (e.g., lions, weasels, dogs) belong to the mammalian order Carnivora. However, carnivorous mammals are also found in many other orders, including the Insectivora, Cetacea, Marsupialia, and Chiroptera. Likewise, not all mammals in the classification Carnivora are exclusively carnivores.

Certain plants are also carnivorous. The Venus’s-flytrap has leaves modified to act as snap traps. Other plants are equipped with passive devices that work like flypaper or lobster pots.


Prison - Monitoring

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Prison - Monitoring Powered By Docstoc
					Prison - Monitoring
Web Copywriter: Pu-ice
   ?Advisory Tel :029-81870056 029-81870069 029-88850267
   ?Address: 216 South Road, Xi&#39;an Jia Tianguo Taibai International
Building 1, Room 1903, 19th floor
Detention and prison reform criminals is a place where detainees are not easy to
manage, security is the first protection; to protect the safety of the community, but
also to protect the safety of prison staff and detainees of the security and stability. By
installing the monitoring alarm equipment, can effectively strengthen the management
to serving personnel, intuitive 及时 key locations reflect the site conditions, boost
security 措施, modern prison management is a powerful tool. With the computer
technology widely used in all walks of life, the rapid development of computer
hardware and software equipment to digital video surveillance equipment have
reached the practical application of the prison monitoring system requirements, and
are gradually put into practical in. Cable Transmission through the new co Monitor
System effective integration of computer technology can effectively enhance the
sentence personnel management, reducing unforeseen circumstances occur, digital
video surveillance equipment can be directly timely reaction of the key locations
scene situation, 增 强 security measures , is an important means of modern
management the prison.
Cell control
For those with high risk of prisoners, their activities need to monitor in real time and
completely; Yifang accidents, to protect himself and prison in the safety of others; use
of monitoring alarm systems, Tong Guo installed cameras inside the cell, All of the
cell can be real-time video, audio video, prisoners in the cell can record all activities,
including; also on the cell through a remote control center to monitor, to achieve
real-time video when unattended.
Public places
In the prison-house, canteen, hall, playground, workplace and other public places are
relatively concentrated in the areas of prisoners, because prisoners were in mixed,
often prone to various exceptions, relatively small in the prison context, to ensure that
all public places within the staff, facilities security, there must be some measure of
security alarm monitoring, through the monitoring system can effectively monitor
these situations and near real-time video, through the alarm system that can arise
when non-normal, in time to the prison management section of the alarm signal to a
timely manner to deal with various non-normal.
Prisons around the door
Around the prison and the door is connected with the outside part of the prison,
escaped detainees are often the place, through monitoring, alarm system, can
effectively ensure that these areas and re-engage in care of the safety of personnel,
and can effectively cope with the prison guard staff interaction, to prevent detainees
escape acts, and can prevent outsiders from entering.
Care personnel working and living area
To ensure the security and stability within the prison is responsible for the
management of detainees is responsible for prison security guards and police officers,
charged with important tasks, their security is to ensure prison security and stability of
the overall top priority, by monitoring the alarm system, care staff work area set up
control room, less in the case of guards, all prison effectively have complete control
of the situation in order to respond in a timely manner; by working and living area in
the custody of officers set up surveillance alarm devices, can effectively care
personnel to ensure the safety of the whole prison security and stability in future.
Second, the system design principles
1, nature, economy: the selection of the monitoring and alarm system equipment
excellent, fully functional, stable performance, the entire system in a long time will
remain within the advanced level; the same time, in line with economic and practical,
stable and reliable principle, give full play to the maximum effectiveness of the
2, Stability: a complex surveillance system, its stability is essential to avoid crashes,
offline, can not control or recurrent abnormal phenomenon.
3, Security: For a system, its internal and external security is also very important,
should have the password, multi-level control level, withdrawal of fortification level;
operator privileges can be divided into system settings, super users, Attendant, etc. a
variety of system control, alarm time should be recorded and sharing.
4, for convenience: The operation should be simple and flexible, easy to learn the
characteristics of the operator can easily carry out the use and maintenance.
5, expansion, upgrade and integration to facilitate: the system leaves ample room for
easy future expansion, upgrades and integration.
Third, the basic form the system
The system includes monitor, monitor and broadcast three subsystems. Of which:
Video surveillance subsystem:
Managers at all levels can be achieved under the network of all or part of the prisons,
the production area, outside the control region, and the external perimeter of the
prison environment in the region live video monitor and digital video systems, and
long-term preservation.
Monitor Subsystem:
Management staff to achieve real-time monitoring of prisoners, and monitor the
content can be recorded, and long-term preservation.
Radio Subsystem:
Managers at all levels can achieve the network under the supervision of all or part of
the broadcast area, and the broadcasting system is not affected during the monitor and
the monitor functions.
The system network architecture has three major layers: the network main control
center, various management point of sub-control center, monitoring and management

Monitoring and management point:
Set up surveillance cameras at various points, listeners and broadcasting equipment,
cable transmission system equipment with a total transmission of all signals.
Sub-Control Center: internal and external control, production department, alarm
processing center and guard towers and other management
In the dormitories / duty room production areas, inside and outside the tube,
watchtowers, alarm processing center set points control points, all regions of the
management control system equipment by the scope of the jurisdiction of the prison
officer and, internal network Diaokan historical record .
Network control center:
DVR system set up in the main control center, TV monitor wall system, broadcasting
system management equipment, administrators can monitor the network for all
control points and all points in the sub-system control, to achieve all the functionality
of the system design. Set in the monitoring command center, connect and control all
hosts on the network under the same master rub less flexibility to expand the master
level; another over control of the host as configured, the network can also be
connected between the host computer.
Concrete design systems

1 point for each monitoring a specific implementation plan
Room surveillance monitor surveillance
Each room in the prison setting a camera on the monitor to conduct a comprehensive
indoor surveillance monitoring in each room to set up a listener first, on the
inter-room to listen in order to keep abreast of the activities of detainees; installation
of radio equipment that can staff to achieve their education, propaganda and
broadcasting function; can be installed in each monitoring indoor smoke detectors to
prevent the prisoners who took the opportunity to create chaos in the prison room.
Housing surrounding monitoring alarm monitoring
Monitoring room in the entrance stairs, etc. to install a full head cameras used to
monitor the situation of all access persons; the same time place in a corridor, the
corridor ends of the installation of a fixed camera is used to monitor the situation
within the corridor . In some of the more important parts of the design button alarm
Monitoring alarm in public places
In the prison cafeteria, auditorium, playground, work space, the closed room, the
space under the occasion, set a certain number of cameras, these non-normal prone to
constantly monitor the occasion; and in these occasions, set the number of key areas
The push-button alarm point to an accident happen on these occasions, to send out
warning signals in time.
Prison, the prison door and around the monitoring and alarming
Prison is a prison door with the outside world where, in this setting for several
cameras, and out of prison officers on the monitor from time to time; and sentry point
guard in the prison gate to set up a push-button alarm point; in prisons around the wall
and the corner area set a number of major focal point of camera surveillance, and with
infrared light, all-weather 24-hour surveillance on these points; and around the prison
walls, set up radio active infrared alarm, guard against through here and out of prison
staff activities.
Care personnel office and living premises alarm monitoring
In the prison guards, armed police office, living all around the entrances to install a
fixed camera; in a corridor where both ends of the installation of a fixed camera; the
same time according to user requirements in the designated office on each floor were
installed full- PTZ cameras or three Kam detector (for example, warden&#39;s
office, the financial room to set foot pick-type alarm button in the personnel file room,
arms room to install a passive infrared detection devices), this setting can guarantee
the room key monitor key , deployment, monitoring, deployment of the system after
the invasion, if people are reported to the police.
Other places
According to customer demand, the more important place in the monitor alarm set
2, sub-system handles the specific design
A total of cable signal reduction equipment, system for system restore audio and video
signal output to the Quad, through 16 under the jurisdiction of the screen on the
monitor area;
A sub-controller to realize the area of each point for large-screen switch, the controller
on the front of the mirror control points to control and electric cloud radio address.
3, the specific design of the network control center system
Establishment of a digital video disk system, the control point for all digital audio and
video signal recording and long-term preservation;
Set up TV monitor wall system, with a large audio and video matrix 24 and a large
screen monitor for system control and switch back and forth to achieve any of the
screen to any one monitor to monitor;
The establishment of the master radio and the electric mirror control system goes
through the controller on the front of the radio broadcast monitoring point cloud
mirror rotation control and electric control
Fourth, the characteristics of cable transmission control system
Currently, most of the TV monitor using video-based band still point to point
transmission, each camera points to the control room needs to layout a set of video
cables, power lines and control lines, dozens of television monitors on the camera
points will form a large bundle of cables. Moreover, the video baseband signal is
50Hz to 6MHz low-frequency signal, will be 50HZ AC power line electromagnetic
interference, therefore, point to point video transmission, power lines and video cables
can not be laid with the pipe with the tank, which the between the need to add steel or
steel tank isolation shield. In addition, the coaxial cable transmission of baseband
video signals increasing transmission distance with the clarity of an image is
decreased, the general transmission over 300 m, the image sharpness will be reduced
to intolerable levels.

Common Cable TV monitor for monitoring transport network, and Beijing Zhongtian
Technology Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. products use many years of experience
and maturity of RF carrier frequency modulation and demodulation technology,
computers and control technology, carrier frequency network technology, R
&amp; D a &quot;total control cable&quot; transmission network
products. Total cable television transmission control technology (hereinafter referred
to as total control cable) transmission technology in the traditional control based on a
technological innovation, representing a period of monitoring transmission
technology for future development direction, there are many traditional techniques
can not monitor the transmission of new features However, traditional monitoring
technology is still dominant in certain areas, will and common cable monitoring exist
for a longer period, the following discussion of a total of five cables from the scope of
First, the number of monitoring points
The number of monitoring points on the transmission technology or conventional
monitor cables with a total control plays a decisive role, the traditional monitoring
transmission technology is in the back of each camera to connect up to four cables,
one video cable (transmission of video signals), a control cable (transmission Zoom
PTZ control signals and signals), an audio cable (transmission monitor signal), a
power cable. In addition to power, the other three cables must enter the host computer
rooms, with 20 monitoring points, 800 meters distance transmission project as an
example, the traditional monitoring technology up to 60 cable laying, cable total
length of 4.8 km, the high cost of acquisition of cable ; laying cables number and size
of large amount of heavy construction difficult; laying costs; unsightly; difficult to
repair, overhaul. If the use of cable monitoring technology, need to add the
corresponding modulation equipment, modem equipment, signal amplification
equipment and control equipment, need for additional equipment. Because of a
coaxial cable inside the monitor to allow simultaneous transmission of video signals
20, control signals and audio signals, so just lay a cable, the total cable length of 2 km,
the purchase of cable cost is very low, significantly lower levels of acquisition cable
costs; laying cables is simple, construction difficulty; laying low cost; the system
appearance; easy maintenance, repair. If the control points are few, the price of
conventional monitoring techniques have obvious advantages, is not difficult to
construct a total control of the program need to configure the cable-related equipment,
high cost, traditional monitoring technology for such an occasion. To three monitoring
points is 300 meters distance transmission project as an example, the traditional
monitoring technology up to nine cable laying, cable length up to 2.7 kilometers, the
purchase of cable cost is not high, the laying of cables in small quantities, is not
difficult to construct, maintenance, repair more convenient. If the use of cable
monitoring technology, to lay a 300-meter cable, but need to add the appropriate
equipment, increasing equipment costs greater than savings in cable costs. As can be
seen from the above cases, the traditional point monitoring techniques applied to
monitor the transmission bit less total control cable monitoring point and apply more
transmission. Based on our accumulated experience in construction, the proposed
monitoring points or more in 30 projects, with a total cable construction monitoring
program; on 6 of 30 monitoring points, it should be a concrete analysis of specific
issues, monitoring of 1 ~ 6 points project, proposed by traditional monitoring
Second, transmission distance
Traditional control methods suitable for transmission distance is 300 meters, the limit
distance of 500 meters can be transferred, installed after the amplifier can transmit
800 meters, but because of the added amplifier noise amplification, while the system,
and very high frequency attenuation, resulting in the image spectrum distortion, can
not guarantee image quality. Appropriate monitoring of cable transmission distance is
2000 meters, to meet the needs of most users, the ultra long-distance monitoring, can
be used the way cable + cable together to build a total of HFC distance transmission
systems to address control signals within 100 km of two-way transmission problem.
Therefore, more than 500 meters transmission distance is less than 3,000 meters of the
demand, for a total cable monitoring technology. Within 500 meters of transmission
can be monitored by conventional techniques, can also be used to monitor common
mode cable.
Third, anti-jamming
With the continuous development of modern civilization, the increasing variety of
high-power electrical equipment, electromagnetic interference more and more, so
much of bad electromagnetic environment, the interference frequencies are 45MHz or
less, the traditional use of video-based surveillance with Li Yong Tong Axis 0 ~
6MHz cable to transmit the image signal bandwidth is fully used within the
interference band, poor anti-interference ability, therefore, prone to interference image
twill, textured, snow and ghosting, seriously affect the image quality. Of the image
move by cable to the monitoring of more than 49MHz high-frequency carrier
transmission, completely avoid the common interference frequency, so
anti-interference ability. Therefore, in the electromagnetic environment of harsh
environments for cable monitoring system.
4, system expansion
Expansion of conventional monitoring techniques need to re-wiring, construction
workload of the larger construction difficult, long construction period, construction on
the surrounding environment easily affected Wei Jie Jue construction impact on the
surrounding environment, often require a number of Zhunbeigongzuo Zuo, often
Daozhi Party starts on time or even abolish the delay in expansion plans. If the use of
cable monitoring technology, will produce different results. 30 monitoring points is
still 1000 meters distance transmission projects, for example, because of cable
monitoring technology to allow simultaneous transmission in a 20-way coaxial cable
required within the signal, the system installed two coaxial cable, 30 Way in the
transmission of existing Based on the required signal can be increased by 10 signals
that the addition of 10 control points, in addition to increasing front-end equipment
and, as appropriate, increase the engine room of the demodulation equipment, without
adding other devices, expansion does not require re-wiring. Total cable monitoring
system expansion construction workload is small, construction difficulty, short
construction period, construction had no effect on the surrounding environment.
5, wiring difficulty
In high-rise buildings, cable will enter the shaft, fixed on the bridge, often laying shaft
other various uses cable, the electromagnetic environment has become more complex,
easy to control technology transfer of traditional base-band signal interference, heavy
monitor bales of signal transmission difficult for long cable bridge and the
construction is firmly fixed; has completed renovation of office buildings, research
institutions, warehouses, residential and other places if the laying of large bundles of
heavy damage control signal transmission cable is bound to have good fitting,
construction difficult and not beautiful; to overhead or fixed in the wall of the
occasion, heavy bales difficult to set up control signal transmission cable, fixed,
right-angle turn, buckle PVC slot board. Not suitable for these occasions, the
traditional monitoring techniques, monitoring programs should be a total cable. In
addition, the lack of power or hard power cable laid under the circumstances, can take
control of cable feed means within the camera and modulator for the front-end to
provide power.
In short, the total cable control for large systems, long distance transmission of
various control signals, the system has strong anti-interference, wiring simple, easy
expansion; traditional monitoring techniques applied to monitoring points less, the
transmission distance is short, less peripheral interference, interference signal is not
strong and does not require expansion (or a small amount of expansion) of occasions.
From: Network


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Taking Up Slack
Vol. 55     No. 12
Most slackers can be turned into better performers by removing organizational conditions that create or enable loafing behavior.

12/1/2010  By Adrienne Fox

Imagine young Billy in the fourth grade bringing his report card home from school. Written among the straight A’s is a glowing note from his teacher: "Billy is a smart child who is a naturally gifted student. He grasps concepts easily and quickly, and is a delight in my classroom."

Fast-forward two decades. Billy is now Bill occupying a cubicle at your headquarters. You hired him because of his natural intelligence and solid experience. So far, Bill has been an adequate performer, doing what his manager tells him to complete projects. Yet he fails to contribute extra effort to reach the next level of performance, preferring to slack off when possible.

Because Bill does just enough to meet his goals, it is hard for managers and HR systems to catch and address his slacker behavior. Bill and other slackers, loafers, time bandits—whatever you call them—are stealing opportunity from your organization and may be demoralizing co-workers who go the extra mile.

"Slackers" are people who know they could be much more productive but make a conscious decision not to be. According to Sibson Consulting’s 2009 Rewards of Work Study released in August, 44 percent of 2,000 employees surveyed are not committed to perform even though they know "what to do." That number is down from the last Sibson study in 2006, but it’s still troubling: "A workforce where almost half of employees have low commitment likely falls short of what employers desire," says David Insler, senior vice president at Sibson in Los Angeles, and co-author of the survey.

"When commitment to the organization decreases, individuals tend to engage in more counterproductive work behaviors," explains Meagan Brock, HR specialist at the Office of Personnel Management at the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City.

Researchers and psychologists say most people want to be productive. Yet something might be holding them back, whether it’s procrastination, poor sleep habits, depression, some other illness or disability, or something in the workplace culture or organization.

Why an employee’s commitment to the organization decreases depends on various factors—and HR professionals can address many of them. Well-intentioned workers may become slackers because "they don’t understand their jobs clearly, are frustrated by the lack of resources or support to do their jobs, feel demoralized because co-workers slack off without consequences, or because their intrinsic motivations are not matched by the rewards offered," says Roland E. Kidwell, associate professor of management at the University of Wyoming’s College of Business in Laramie.

These types of slackers can be reformed through intervention by HR managers. "Clear leadership direction, improved communications, support and feedback to employees, setting a high performance bar, and rewarding top performers accordingly can mitigate the behavior," Insler says.

Other slackers "are just lazy," Kidwell notes. HR professionals "can weed out chronic slackers in the selection process or through progressive discipline."

The worst course of action is to do nothing and allow slackers to fly under the radar, Brock warns.

Psychology of Slacking

Slackers are made, not born, which should give HR managers hope, says Carol Dweck, professor of psychology at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.

Dweck’s decades of research on why certain people succeed and others don’t reveal a societal bias toward natural ability vs. hard work. "Our society, from school to the workplace, rewards smarts rather than hard work," says Dweck, author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (Ballantine Books, 2007). In Bill’s case, "he was rewarded for good grades with little effort. He never learned the value of hard work."

People who grow up being rewarded solely for natural intelligence are more susceptible to slacker behavior because they give up when things get hard, Dweck’s research has found. And organizations that reward smarts and natural talent more than commitment breed "slackism."

Psychologically, Dweck explains, many people equate speed with ability. In addition, they believe that "you shouldn’t need to work hard if you truly excel at something," she says. "Managers feed this notion by praising people for achieving effortlessly." In turn, workers give the impression work is easy so they can appear talented.

At Stanford, professors call it "duck syndrome," where people appear to be calm and serene on top but underneath they’re working like mad. "It’s the façade of slacking," Dweck says. "It’s demoralizing to other students who think, ‘I’m working so hard. And they’re getting A’s without even trying.’ And the truth is, they are working hard but don’t want to admit it."

Everyone Slacks
Typical workers waste about two hours a day at work, not counting lunch, according to Salary.com. In a survey, 2,000 workers identified surfing the Internet for personal use and socializing as their primary time-wasters.

Salary.com estimates the financial loss of potentially productive time to be $759 billion a year nationwide.

“More than hours wasted, the fact is if someone is withholding effort—effort that could lead to innovations—that should be of deep concern to companies,” notes Roland E. Kidwell, associate professor of management at the University of Wyoming’s College of Business in Laramie.

Perhaps more disturbingly, Dweck conducted a study that found that children whose intelligence was praised were more likely to exaggerate their achievements to peers.

"When you communicate that talent is what you value most, it makes even the talented person feel vulnerable," she explains. "It forces the talented person to go to desperate measures to keep looking good. It prevents them from taking on more challenging tasks that may expose their weaknesses. It also leads them to lie about performance and to hide their mistakes."

After the collapse of Enron, author Malcolm Gladwell wrote in a 2002 New Yorker article that the company’s environment of "talent worship" led to its downfall by forcing employees to look and act invincible by any means necessary. Executives, celebrated for perfection, resorted to lying about their mistakes and covering up problems instead of finding ways to fix them.

To combat this culture, Dweck advises HR professionals to "reward behaviors that convey passion and dedication over natural talent. Reward people who improve performance, come up with creative solutions to problems, take risks and work hard. Don’t praise the ‘ace’ worker who keeps doing the same thing well over and over again."

To Catch a Time Thief

Time banditry is a silent behavior that is easy to mask—and hard to prove. "Think about it," Kidwell says. "If you are able to generate acceptable performance at a low level of effort, why wouldn’t you do it?"

Brock says slackers engage in "expectation management" where "they learn to manage what the supervisor is expecting. Slackers become really good at manipulating their bosses or team members to keep up the impression that something takes longer than it should or invent barriers where none exist."

Kidwell cites the example of an employee who writes an e-mail and sets the delivery time for the middle of the night to make it look like he worked all night. Or, the employee who slacks off and then buys time blaming computer glitches.

"Slacker behavior has been around since the dawn of organized work. But knowledge-based work, and especially technology, make it much easier to mask," says Kidwell, whose research has focused on technology’s impact on loafing behavior. "Technology has enhanced our ability to get work done without a high level of effort."

When technology makes workers more efficient and managers’ expectations don’t adapt, it creates a recipe for slackism.

A new web-based system in Brock’s department simplified work processes and made employees more efficient. But, she says, her manager kept the same expectations of project completion time.

"Co-workers abused that system and used the extra time to slack off," Brock says. "Employees are happy to let managers believe that it takes longer to accomplish a task than it really does."

When employers integrate a new piece of software or technology system, managers should assess how much it improves efficiency and recalculate deadlines. "Managers need to be more knowledgeable about how long a project takes and break down each step with the help of employees," Kidwell says. "When it takes longer or falls below expectations, ask why. Doing so will unearth problems in the system, such as unnecessary red tape or employees who hold up the process."

Another way to prevent expectation management or manipulation of time, Kidwell advises, is to connect effort and performance to a valued reward such as time off, incentive pay or stretch assignments. Google, for instance, allows high-performing employees to come up with new projects or work on other projects of their choosing. This practice encourages innovation and collaboration, and it reaches those people at risk of checking out because they feel that their skills are underutilized.

It also contributes to employees’ sense of job security, which was the No. 1 aspect of job satisfaction for the third year in a row in the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) 2010 Employee Job Satisfaction survey report. Sixty-three percent of 600 respondents ranked job security a "very important" aspect of job satisfaction.

Employees reported that having the opportunity to use their professional abilities and skills increased their sense of job security. "Employees frequently have skills and abilities beyond the position that they have been hired for," the report stated.

Poor job fit, often manifested in boredom and frustration, can cause people to withdraw and give up. SHRM’s 2005 Workplace Productivity Poll Findings found that the top two factors that negatively impact employee productivity are poor management, reported by 58 percent of employees and 61 percent of HR professionals, and no longer being motivated by the work, reported by 38 percent of employees and 63 percent of HR professionals.

"Employees who are bored, don’t have clarity in their job or lack the resources to accomplish the job engage in time banditry," Brock says. "Individuals logically seek to avoid frustration and replace frustrating tasks with counterproductive tasks that are more rewarding to them but not to the organization."

Hiding in Plain Sight

Knowledge work, which is increasingly performed in teams, allows slackers to hide unchecked within the group dynamic. In the 1880s, researcher Max Ringlemann proved that individuals don’t try as hard when working in a team. Ringlemann attached a rope to a dynamometer and measured volunteers’ hardest pull. The average force for one man was 85.3 kilograms. As Ringlemann increased the number of men pulling on the rope, the average force of each individual decreased.

What he discovered more than a century ago remains true today. Later variations of his study also demonstrate that, as individual effort becomes invisible in a team, slacking off also becomes invisible. Without clear identification of an individual’s role and responsibility, social loafing is more likely to occur.

People will work harder when they believe their particular tasks or efforts are indispensable to the group’s success and when they are rewarded for those efforts, Kidwell says. The problem is "designing performance appraisal systems that truly capture individuals’ contributions toward the team’s accomplishments."

Kidwell suggests identifying employee actions "that truly constitute helping behavior vs. actions that reflect impression or expectation management." Reward relevant organizational community behaviors—such as participating on task forces, responding to customer queries or helping colleagues in need—as a performance measure when effort cannot be easily observed and when such behaviors are of value.

When individuals withhold effort—and get away with it—even high-performing employees can become slackers. Brock found herself in this predicament at her previous job. "I saw my co-workers doing half as much work for the same salaries," she recalls. "A high performer sees that and says, ‘I’m not going to work as hard, then.’ You will still get your work done, but you don’t work to your full potential."

Sibson’s Insler works with managers to explain that top performers are always going to be good performers, but frustration about managers who don’t confront slackers will erode their discretionary effort and morale.

In workgroups where slacker behavior goes unchecked, conflict increases and communication and information sharing shut down.

"In this environment, co-workers start to protect each other and help hide the loafing behavior," Kidwell notes. Create mechanisms to flesh out and address team conflict, he advises.

"HR professionals also enable slackers and demoralize high performers through this spirit of egalitarianism that persists in organizations," Insler says. "Faced with smaller merit increase budgets, HR will give the same percentage increase to everyone, justifying that it’s too small to motivate or ‘de-motivate’ anyone. But the fact is, if you differentiate and reward only the top portion of your employee population, the message is more important than the amount."

The next time a manager or co-worker complains about someone not pulling his weight, determine if the person is "just lazy" or has a justifiable reason to slack. "You have to ask yourself, ‘Could this person succeed in another environment either within your organization or in another place? And if the answer is yes, then you need to determine what organizational conditions are contributing to the person’s loafing behavior and correct them," Kidwell says.

"True slackers cannot be reformed," Insler adds. "You will know because the idea of rewarding high performers and praising high performers differently won’t matter to the true slackers. But these people won’t last in companies that use progressive discipline performance management properly."

Top performers want to perform at their peak. When they feel they can’t, they will be vocal about it. "It is beneficial to employees to feel like a contributor," Brock says. "This is not about organizations squeezing every ounce of productivity out of each employee until they die an early death. I feel much more satisfied and happier when I can be my most productive."

Do you have slackers in your workforce? What do you do about their behavior or lack of productivity? What do your line managers do about them? What do their peers say about them? Do have have some successes to share?

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January 6, 2011

Canes make top 2 for DT

This defensive tackle has whittled things down to a two-team battle, and UM made the cut. So where exactly does Miami stand and when will he be on campus? What coach visited him on Wednesday and what did they talk about? Read on.


What Does Mah Mean?

Mah is a measure of a battery's total capacity or rating. This means the higher the number, the more charge a battery can hold and usually, the longer a battery will last under a certain load. A battery that provides a current of 1000mAh for one hour is rated at 1000mAh.
Q&A Related to "What Does Mah Mean"
mAh means milliamp hour. In other words its how much juice a battery can hold. The higher the mAh the longer you should be able to use the battery without having to recharge it.
1. Connect a voltmeter to the circuit to measure the voltage acting on it. For example, a circuit might have a voltage of 12 volts. 2. Divide the number of watt-hours by the circuit's
1 Buy a Mah Jongg set . The game cards are used to find hands. 2 Make a four wall structure out of the four tile holders, with 18 tiles on each wall . 3 Deal each player 13 tiles
She is a famous botanist.
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Mah jongg means to win the game of mahjongg. It is a Chinese game that looks similar to dominoes. It is played with 4 people and 144 tiles. The object it to ...
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MAh written as (mAh) which is milliampere-hour, is a unit of electric charge. One ampere-hour is equal to 3600 ampere-seconds. The ampere-hour is frequently used ...


8 Weeks To Your First 5-K

March 27, 2002

Each week of the training program follows the same pattern: 3 days of workouts at varying speeds, alternating with 3 days of walking at a brisk but comfortable pace for up to 1 hour (called "Easy" in our training chart). One day a week, preferably the one following your hardest workout, is for resting. Adequate rest reduces your risk of injury, which would likely disrupt your training. If you want, you can use your day off for activities other than walking, such as bicycling and swimming.

Every week, your workouts get a bit more intense as your speed, strength, and endurance improve. Then in the week leading up to race day, your workouts taper off. This gives you an opportunity to rest, so that you're feeling fresh and strong for the big event.

The training program is outlined in "Your 5-K Training Plan" above. It consists of three basic building blocks (speed workouts).

The 20s: Warm up by walking at a moderate pace for about 10 minutes. For the next 20 minutes, walk a bit faster than you normally do. You should feel a little winded but be able to carry on a conversation fairly comfortably. Then cool down by walking slowly for 5 to 10 minutes, or until you feel your breathing has slowed to normal.

As you progress through the training program, you'll add another 20-minute segment (set) to this workout, with a short rest period in between. ("Rest" means slowing down so that you can breathe easily and evenly, not stopping or sitting.) You'll cool down after completing both 20-minute segments.

The 10s: Walk at a moderate pace for 5 minutes to warm up. Stretch gently, then walk for 10 minutes at a faster pace than in the 20s workout. You should be breathing fairly hard but still be able to get out a few words in conversation. After 10 minutes, slow down and catch your breath. Rest for at least 5 minutes. You'll repeat this cycle up to three times per workout, but don't go for more than that. Remember to cool down afterward.

The 5s: This is the speed-demon workout. Don't panic if you get red-faced, sweaty, and out of breath. That's the idea.

Begin by warming up for 10 minutes, walking at a moderate pace. For the next 5 minutes, walk as though there's molten lava flowing behind you, right on your heels. At this speed, you shouldn't be able to utter a word -- if you can, you're not pushing hard enough. After 5 minutes, slow down and catch your breath. As soon as you're breathing comfortably, pick up your pace again. You'll repeat this cycle as many as four times per workout. Always cool down afterward.

If you're not walking on a 1/4-mile track, try heading out for the first half of your workout, then turning around and heading back for the second half. As the weeks go by, you'll find that the halfway mark is getting farther and farther from your starting point. That means you're walking faster.


Scandal Recap: "Say Hello to My Little Friend"

This week’s Scandal used recent headlines to inspire their new client’s case.  A sexting-happy senator was on trial for murder after one of his girlfriends ended up dead.
His wife, Shelly, dutifully stood by his side, until she found out he had sexted with a bunch of other women.  He’d lied and said it was a lone mistake.

David Rosen (Joshua Malina) tried the case, and was pretty grossed out Pope & Associates would defend such a scummy client.  Olivia (Kerry Washington) seemed skeeved too, but her firm needed the money.
Olivia was ultimately able to convince her client’s wife to testify, thereby providing his alibi for the time of the crime.  David tried to make it seem like it was obvious a wife would lie for her husband.  However, the woman was believed because she made it clear she thought her husband was a pervert, and revealed she now hated him. The disgraced senator was acquitted.
Afterwards, Olivia realized  Shelly had lied on the stand about her husband’s alibi. The couple hadn’t been home together. The wife had been out killing the mistress.  Since Shelly thought it was only one "other woman," she believed the murder could save her marriage and her husband's career.
“The wife did it!” twist is one we’ve seen dozens of times before on legal soaps. I like when Scandal goes the unexpected route.  I’d rather the show start to focus on the Operation Remington storyline. The sudsy drama works better when it focuses on its serial elements.  Fortunately, there was some movement on the Rowan/Remington front.
Olivia told Jake (Scott Foley) to leave her alone. She wanted to forget all about B6-13 and play the role of dutiful daughter. Jake and Huck (Guillermo Diaz) teamed up to seek revenge on Command (Joe Morton). Eventually, they brought their info to Olivia.

The man Huck murdered in the previous episode knew something about a shady mission Fitz (Tony Goldwyn) conducted during the first Gulf War.  Fitz had made preparations for the man to be buried in Arlington Cemetery.  Fitz told the man’s sister that although they hadn’t known one another, they’d served in the Navy at the same time.

It was odd seeing Fitz do something so selfless and decent.  At the end of the hour, Fitz walked right into Eli’s office and demanded a meeting.


(credit: Jupiter Images)

Amerti asked: Why do we associate red with romance? For centuries, red has meant danger, strength, courage and love. It’s always been considered a powerful color that stands out to represent things that are powerful to people. Carol Bruess, professor of family studies at the University of St. Thomas, says it all probably comes down to what’s in our veins. “The heart is the organ that pumps ‘red’ blood through our life system, the body,” Bruess said.

(credit: Mark A. Cunningham/Getty Images)

Gray’s 4 TDs Lead Gophers Past New Hampshire 44-7

university, minnesota, logo, gophers

Gophers Plan To Keep Giving Gray Some Time At QB


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Public Statements

Issue Position: Crime and Public Safety

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"Building safe and secure communities is one of our most important national goals. To succeed, we must create drug- and crime-free schools, support a professional, visible police force rooted in our communities, and invest critical resources in the prevention and intervention of criminal activity by at-risk youth." -- Congressman Adam Schiff

Protecting Children from Predators:

As the father of two young children, Congressman Schiff has been a dedicated advocate for child safety and believes we should always demand the best when it comes to protecting our young people. For this reason, he introduced the Child Protection Improvements Act.

There are thousands of community based groups working around our nation to provide mentoring, tutoring and assistance to young people, and they rely on volunteers to provide those services. These groups need to be able to conduct cheap, fast and accurate background checks on prospective volunteers and employees to ensure the safety of our children.

The Child Protection Improvements Act creates just such a system by using the FBI's fingerprint-based database to ensure a volunteer's fitness to work with children. The bill builds on an existing 6-year-old pilot program, which has run more than 60,000 background checks since 2003 for less than $20 each. Under the pilot, 6 percent of applicants have been found to have serious criminal histories, including crimes against children and sexual assaults, demonstrating that the program serves a vital role in protecting kids.

The House of Representatives passed the Child Protection Improvements Act on a strong, bipartisan vote in 2010, and Schiff will be working to enact the bill in the 112th Congress.

Rape Kit Backlog:

Schiff has also been working through the appropriations process to increase resources for local crime labs as they struggle to clear a decade-old backlog of DNA evidence collected from sexual assaults. Since 2008, Schiff has obtained millions of federal dollars for both the Los Angeles Sherriff's Department and the Los Angeles Police Department to close the rape kit backlog -- the evidence collected during a sexual assault investigation. Thousands of these kits had gone tragically untested; some had been shelved for more than 10 years without being tested. With his support, both the LAPD and the Sherriff's labs will eliminate the backlog during 2011, a huge step forward from the 14,000 kit backlog they collectively faced in 2009.

Schiff has also obtained substantial federal support to help create a state-of-the-art crime lab in Glendale. The Glendale crime lab will ultimately provide forensic services to police departments throughout the Foothills communities.

New Innovations in DNA:

Schiff tried criminal cases as a federal prosecutor in the early days of the DNA-evidence revolution and has continued to be a strong supporter of using DNA technology to its fullest potential to solve crimes. A technology called Familial DNA holds great promise for solving some of the most difficult cases and punishing the guilty. Familial DNA works by matching a sample collected at a crime scene to the database of convicted offenders in such a way that it reports instances where there is a high likelihood that the crime scene sample comes from someone very closely related to a person in the offender database. This technology was used in California to identify and convict the Grim Sleeper serial killer in Los Angeles, an individual who had killed at least 10 people over decades but had gone unapprehended. Using a familial search, which California first authorized in 2009, the police matched DNA from the crime scene to the killer's son, who had been imprisoned for robbery. Further investigation identified the killer, who was arrested and confirmed guilty through additional DNA tests.

Schiff has introduced legislation to authorize the FBI to implement a familial search system for the national DNA database. The legislation includes measures to protect the privacy and civil rights of those in the database, and familial searches would be used only in cases where other leads have been exhausted and only for violent crimes such as murder and rape. Schiff introduced the Utilizing DNA Technology to Solve Cold Cases Act in 2010, and will reintroduce it in the 112th Congress.

Solving Crimes Through Forensic Evidence:

The advent of DNA evidence has transformed law enforcement. As many observers have noted, DNA is really the modern fingerprint, yet even more powerful. However, to use DNA technology to its fullest potential to take criminals off the streets, we need to invest in DNA technology. Effectively utilizing DNA in law enforcement is one of Schiff's top priorities.

Schiff introduced the Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act to incentivize states, like California, that collect DNA samples upon arrest for certain violent felonies. The legislation is named for a young woman from New Mexico who was brutally murdered. Her assailant escaped arrest for many years despite repeated arrests because none of the arrests resulted in a conviction. It was only several years later that he was convicted and a match was found to evidence collected from the crime scene where Katie was murdered. Although he was ultimately convicted of the crime, he could have been caught far earlier if law enforcement had taken a DNA sample and run it against open cases first. Katie's Law would give states an incentive to invest in DNA collection, helping to solve crimes and prevent future ones. Schiff was a cosponsor of similar legislation in the 111th Congress, which passed the House in 2010.

Protecting Against Acts of Arson:

Each year, California's wilderness areas, homes and businesses are threatened by deadly fires, many of which are started by arson. Firefighters have a tough enough job managing natural forest fires, given California's climate and Santa Ana winds. As a federal prosecutor, Schiff handled many arson cases and saw the incalculable damage caused by these criminals. Intentionally set fires destroy homes, precious natural resources and take the lives of innocent victims, including our brave firefighters on the front lines of public safety. Arsons are among the most difficult crimes to investigate because the crime scene is destroyed by the ensuing fire, and as a result law enforcement agencies clear less than 20 percent of arson cases by arrest.

For this reason, Schiff co-authored the Managing Arson Through Criminal History (MATCH) Act of 2009, along with Congresswoman Mary Bono (R-CA), to establish a national database to track convicted arsonists. The legislation recognizes that arson is a crime with high recidivism rates, and seeks to ensure that firefighters and public safety officers are aware of criminal arsonists living in their region. The national database would only provide access to law enforcement and fire investigators, to protect the privacy of individuals that have served their sentences, however it would ensure that law enforcement has access to fingerprints and photographs of convicted arsonists should they be involved in a future arson. The MATCH Act passed the House on a voice vote, but it did not clear the Senate in time. Schiff will continue to work on this issue in 112th Congress.

Criminal Justice Reform:

Congressman Schiff is a leading advocate for smart, evidence-based criminal justice reforms that reduce spending on corrections and reduce recidivism among those who have spent time in prison. The size and cost of our prison system has exploded over the past three decades. Substantial research has shown that smart reform of the criminal justice system can have the three-fold effect of reducing crime, reducing spending, and reducing recidivism.

Schiff sponsored the Honest Opportunities with Probation Enforcement Iniatitive Act (HOPE). The HOPE program was pioneered by Judge Steven Alm of Hawaii, a former U.S. Attorney, who developed a highly effective system of probation for offenders under his supervision. HOPE provides for swift, certain sanctions for missteps by probationers, but punishments are graduated so that they increase in severity over time. An independent study of HOPE found that it reduced recidivism by 55 percent -- an unprecedented success. Schiff's legislation would expand the HOPE model to additional sites around the country. He will continue to support HOPE through the appropriations process, and plans to reintroduce the legislation in 2011.

Cracking Down on Identity Theft and Spyware:

Schiff has been a leading voice in Congress for cracking down on cyber crime and identity theft. In May 2007, he introduced bipartisan legislation with Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH) that takes strong steps to combat cyber crime and protect data security. The Cyber-Security Enhancement Act is designed to help protect American consumers and businesses from the costly effects of identity theft and computer fraud.

Schiff is concerned that as criminals use new technologies to prey upon their victims and defraud consumers, our efforts to fight them have lagged. The Cyber-Security Enhancement Act would provide better data security protections for individuals and businesses by giving law enforcement the tools they need to successfully track down and prosecute cyber criminals.

Many of the reforms that Schiff introduced were ultimately enacted as part of a larger bill (H.R. 6060) in October 2008. He will be working in the 112th Congress to ensure our laws stay up to date, and are able to effectively combat cyber criminals and identity thieves.

In September 2010, Schiff introduced the Data Breach Notification Act, a companion bill to legislation introduced by Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA). The Data Breach Notification Act would lay out a national standard requiring companies and public agencies to notify consumers when their data is stolen or lost. Data breach can result in significant losses to consumers because they were never told of the loss of the data, making them vulnerable to identity theft.

Preventing Gang Violence:

Schiff has long fought to end gang violence, dating back to his days as a federal prosecutor and State Senator, when he saw firsthand the damage that gangs cause in our communities. In 2009, Schiff introduced the Gang Prevention, Intervention, and Suppression Act, which would create new criminal gang offenses and require harsher penalties for illegal gang members who are convicted of those crimes, while focusing on providing new resources for community-based programs that seek to prevent future gang activity.

The bill takes concrete steps in fighting gang violence by increasing federal support for law enforcement, and by cracking down on gang offenders and increasing penalties for those gang members who terrorize our communities. Of equal importance to Schiff, the legislation also takes the next step in prevention and intervention efforts to protect our children from gang violence.

This bill implements a similar prevention and intervention-based model as the landmark juvenile delinquency legislation that Schiff passed when he was in the State Legislature -- the Schiff-Cardenas Crime Prevention Act of 2000. The State legislation was the first time that California invested as much in prevention of crime as in the suppression of crime.

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