The Future of Retail Customer Experience: Bridging the Gap Between Physical and Virtual Realities

Ali Chaudhry, Britt Evers, Lauren Jaffré, Ravi Krishna Sripada, and Marc-Andre Lewis
MBA Perspectives
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Key Takeaways

What? E-Commerce, virtual reality, and augmented reality technologies are disrupting the retail industry.

So What? While these technologies are being used by brands, they are not integrated in the overall customer experience, and result in flashy, yet useless promotional gimmicks.

Now What?
Retailers need to integrate virtual reality and augmented reality into a hybrid reality in order to create a holistic customer experience.

MBA Perspectives is an exclusive AMA series examining customer experience design.

While virtual reality immerses the consumer in a simulated world, and augmented reality overlays virtual elements in the real world; both technologies have the potential to revolutionize the retail industry. Many brands are looking to leverage the technologies’ immersive power to create new customer experiences. However, while there is consensus regarding the potential of these technologies, no brand truly understands how to harness them. They are never truly integrated in the customer experience, but rather simply added on. Thus, potentially becoming useless technology gimmicks that will slowly disappear, similar to the fate of 3D televisions.

Outside the retail industry however, researchers utilize virtual reality in a myriad of different ways to simulate environments and study behavioural patterns. For instance, Hershfield et al. (2011) studied the change in individuals’ saving patterns using virtual reality. When shown an age-rendered image of themselves, individuals identified with their future self and chose to postpone monetary rewards for a more comfortable retirement, therefore indicating that emotional connections can be created through virtual reality.

In the retail industry, even though many publications follow Marc Andreessen’s prediction of the death of physical retail (Rigby 2014), brick and mortar retail remains the primary way shoppers make purchases, as online purchases only account for 8.1% of all retail sales (U.S. Department of Commerce 2016). Although seemingly more convenient, online shopping is still not capable of replacing the shopping experience and customer engagement that physical stores offer.

How can brands leverage the convenience of digital shopping, the immersive experience of virtual reality, the fun of augmented reality, and the social appeal of brick and mortar shopping to create an experiential space that drives emotions? The answer is a hybrid reality that integrates them all into one, allowing customers to physically step into a world where possibilities are endless and interactions approach magical realism. Furthermore, brands will obtain better insight into consumer behaviours and buying patterns as digitized experiences offer significantly more data capture opportunities.

L’Oréal Paris is taking steps towards hybrid reality through their “Makeup Genius” application where it gives users the opportunity to virtually try makeup products and then either be directed to a store or have the products delivered directly to them. Not only did L’Oréal Paris use facial recognition and augmented reality to create a user experience that is attracting media attention, they also integrated the technologies into the shopping experience by allowing users to create profiles, make purchases, and save their favorite combinations (L'Oréal Paris 2016).

Another company that is moving towards hybrid reality is Uniqlo. They have set up “Magic Mirrors” in their San Francisco location that allow users to try on different colors of an item with the swipe of a finger. These mirrors remove some of the pain points present in the brick and mortar shopping experience through the use of augmented reality and body recognition. It also further encourages customers to come to the store where true emotional connections are possible as all five senses can be engaged. After all, a truly immersive experience should appeal to all these senses (Holition Augmented Retail 2016).

Although L’Oréal Paris and Uniqlo have still not maximized the potential of hybrid reality, they are among the pioneers that are integrating virtual, augmented, and physical experiences in their customers’ journeys. Thus, they are engaging all their customers’ senses and turning their stores into an experience that bridges both the real and the virtual worlds. Finally, although virtual and augmented reality campaigns can be flashy and attractive, customer experience designers must make sure that if the technologies are used, they must be integrated into the customer journey and add value to the holistic experience to not result in useless promotional gimmicks.

U.S. Department of Commerce (2016), “Quarterly Retail E-Commerce Sales,” U.S. Census Bureau News.
Hal E. Hershfield, Daniel G. Goldstein, William F. Sharpe, Jesse Fox, Leo Yeykelis, Laura L. Carstensen, Jeremy N. Bailenson (2011), “Increasing Saving Behavior Through Age-Progressed Renderings of the Future Self,” Journal of Marketing Research, 48 (November), S23-S37.
Holition Augmented Retail (2016), “Portfolio:Uniqlo.”
L'Oréal Paris, (2016), “Makeup Genius.”
Rigby, Darrell K. (2014), “E-Commerce Is Not Eating Retail,” Harvard Business Review.

The AMA is pleased to partner with Professor Markus Giesler (Big Design Lab) and his MBA students. Ali Chaudhry, Britt Evers, Lauren Jaffré, Ravi Krishna Sripada, and Marc-Andre Lewis are members of the Customer Experience Design class of 2016.

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With the rise of YouTube, Vine, and Snapchat, it may seem like the professional film industry is at risk, but students of film know better. The huge number of filmmaking technology available is allowing more people to enter the industry and learn the trade, increasing the number of opportunities for both students and professionals.

If you're considering a film study abroad program, the world is your oyster. Films are written, set, filmed, and produced in nearly every country in the world, and film schools are almost equally present. Your choice of study abroad program is only limited by your personal interest in a given country or school and the style of filmmaking you'd like to learn. Other than that, the opportunities available will only continue to grow as you continue your education and career in film.

Photo credit: Leeroy.

Generally, film study abroad courses fall into one of two categories, and most programs provide a combination of both: film studies (the critical analysis of film in its different forms and context) and film production (the writing, directing, and post-production work that goes into creating a film).

Film Studies

In your film studies classes abroad, expect to watch many locally produced and directed films from your host country and region. Though the techniques of filmmaking are somewhat standardized by technology, story forms, social and political influences, and stylistic aspects of each film vary depending on the time and place in which it was made.

Your courses will teach you to both consider these variables and analyze the films you watch. You won't exactly be a "critic" after your film studies courses, but you'll understand how to think like one.

Film Production (Filmmaking)

Film production is an important part of all degree programs related to film. Even if you don't specialize in filmmaking, you'll likely learn the ropes and produce several films during your education. When studying abroad, expect to have the same requirements: most programs require you to write, direct, and produce at least one short film as part of your classes. Not proficient at one or more of these tasks? Studying abroad will be a great chance to practice.

Film is one of the great cultural unifiers: in the 21st century, films are both set and produced in every corner of the world. Film schools are equally prevalent, and some boast international reputations worth considering. Here are some of the options.

The Czech Republic

Though based in Eastern Europe, Prague has quickly risen to be one of the preeminent cities for film studies in Europe. Several film schools provide students with the chance to both critically analyze and produce films while studying abroad. You'll also learn enough Czech in your classes to speak technically about the filmmaking process -- a valuable skill if you decide to continue your career in Prague someday.

France has long been a haven for the arts, film included. From the film schools of Paris to the world-renowned festival at Cannes, there are plentiful opportunities for students to immerse themselves in French culture and continue their education. In addition to film studies and production, some programs in France allow you to learn about marketing and the business side of the film industry too.

Each country has its unique style of filmmaking, and India's Bollywood style is perhaps the most famous outside of its namesake Hollywood. Studying film and production in India is a great opportunity to expand your horizons as a filmmaker.

New Zealand

If you've watched any of the major blockbuster sagas produced in the past several years, you've very likely seen a movie that was produced at least in part in New Zealand. Both the North and South Islands are home to acclaimed film schools, and several of the best post-production and special effects companies in the world offer study opportunities here.

South Korea

Perhaps less known than other countries with distinct filmmaking styles, the unique style of South Korean films are increasingly prevalent in Western film markets. There are several excellent film schools and universities that offer study abroad programs for budding filmmakers.

While many parents might worry that becoming a filmmaker comes with a "starving artist" lifestyle, the good news about studying film abroad is that most programs offer comprehensive support included in the tuition cost.

Dorm-style housing is nearly always included in university-based study abroad programs, including for students in the film department. If you decide to study abroad at a film school or private company, this may not be the case, so it's best to research programs closely so you can consider that additional cost should you apply.

Many programs also offer scholarships for film students, since the all-inclusive cost of a semester studying abroad may be higher than your current tuition costs. These are usually offered directly through the film school or university, so be sure to ask about them during your research process. Otherwise, try researching film institutes and festival organizations to see if they offer any support for student filmmakers.

Contributed by Valerie Stimac

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What kangaroos can teach us about what it means to know math: A parable.

Let’s imagine students who know that 2 books + 3 books is 5 books, 2 cookies + 3 cookies is 5 cookies, and that 2 chairs + 3 chairs is 5 chairs. These students are taking a geography class on Australia. They learn a lot about that country and are told about an animal called a kangaroo. They are shown a video about kangaroos and learn  that it hops on powerful hind legs and that the mother keeps her baby (which they all call Joey) in a pouch on her stomach.  Yet, there is one thing that is true of kangaroos that these students are not told. In spite of the fact that Australia is a distant country with many strange creatures, they are not told that 2 kangaroos + 3 kangaroos is 5 kangaroos?  Why not?

Now let’s look at three students, student A, B, and C.  All three are asked to add 2/7 + 3/7. Student A searches inside his brain for a toolbox where he stores rules for operations on fractions.  In it, he identifies a rule that applies to the problem at hand. It says: “To add two fractions with the same denominator, you add the numerators and keep the denominator the same.”  He uses that rule to correctly add 2/7 + 3/7. Student B also reaches into his toolbox, but it is a little bit messy in there and he gets the answer wrong because he confuses the rule about adding with the rule about multiplying: he correctly adds the two numerators but also the two denominators. Student C doesn’t use a toolbox. She takes it for granted that 2 sevenths + 3 sevenths is 5 sevenths for the same reason that 2 kangaroos + 3 kangaroos is 5 kangaroos.

Of these three students, which one knows more math, the one who knows the rule and applies it correctly or the one who doesn’t need the rule?

More importantly, if we look at what takes place in classrooms and textbooks, which of these students are we seeking to create by our teaching?

And, whether we like it or not, if we look at the reality of what takes place and has taken place for a very long time, isn’t it obvious that in aiming to create student A we are also unavoidably creating student B?


Earlier we had an interview with Rob Bloemendal, Dell EqualLogic storage expert.

Rob knows a lot about storage, not only from Dell EqualLogic, but also from the other distributors in their marketplace.

You never hear Rob making negative comments about their competitors. The way he explains the difference between framework and frameless architecture is refreshing. He reconfirms that the discussion shouldn’t be on 8Gbit FC versus 3Gbit iSCSI, but about I/O per second and data characteristics.


Anna Café

Fővám Square

Address: 1052 Budapest, Fővám tér 6.

Opening hours

Monday: 8.30–20.00
Tuesday: 8.30–20.00
Wednesday: 8.30–20.00
Thursday: 8.30–20.00
Friday: 8.30–20.00
Saturday: 8.30–20.00
Sunday: 8.30–20.00

Phone: +36 1 266 2820

Fővám Square

Fővám Square is one of the most frequented places in Budapest. In the time of Mathias, the city wall and the Belgrád Gate used to be here, through which one could get into Pest. The ring of centuries-old buildings is still a characteristic of the square, accompanied by the beautiful scenery. Sitting at the enormous terrace, one can observe the sun setting behind the Gellért Hill. On the side, the crowd of merchants and buyers can be seen around the Great Market Hall, and the recently renovated Liberty Bridge is in sight. The square can be approached using different ways of transportation, and thus it serves as the perfect starting point for a sightseeing tour, after having a morning coffee. We offer the traditional Hungarian pastries and desserts, but if you are only looking for a fresh salad, a glass of wine or cocktail, you will find it here.


What a difference a debate makes.

Businessman Herman Cain is the big winner in the latest Daily Caller/ConservativeHome presidential primary tracking poll, surging forward to become a top contender, despite generally being considered an underdog.

This month’s tracking poll asked only three questions: “Who would be your top pick for president?”; “Who would be your second choice for president?”; and “Who do you think is the most electable in 2012?”

If Cain is the big winner, then Donald Trump (who had not yet announced that he would not run when the poll was conducted), is the big loser. His numbers dropped precipitously since the last poll, suggesting that he made a wise choice to drop out of the race. For instance, in this poll, just 6 percent of respondents said he was the most electable; in the last poll, 15 percent said that of him.

Since the previous poll was conducted, Trump lost a major plank of his would-be campaign platform when President Barack Obama released his long form birth certificate. He seems to have been unable to recover.

Newt Gingrich, who officially announced his candidacy for president last Monday, also saw a small bump in his numbers, gaining three to five percentage point across the board. Tim Pawlenty saw a similar bump after announcing his exploratory committee, suggesting that making ones intentions official provides at least a temporary boost.

This poll is based on an online survey conducted between May 12 and May 14. The sample size was 871 voters, drawn from a panel of 2,500 people identified as conservative Republicans and likely primary voters. The majority of the panel is politically active, with 70 percent having contributed money to a campaign or worked on a campaign. Thirty-five percent of the members on the panel self-identify as part of the Tea Party, while 58 percent say they sympathize with the movement.

The polling language was written before Haley Barbour, Mike Huckabee, and Trump announced that they would not run, and all are still present on the ballot for this survey. They will be removed in the next poll.


GMM Legal - Glymis M Mackie
Email Glynis M Mackie at GMM Legal

Making a will is something that people have a tendency to put off but having a will is important for everyone. In fact the process need not be frightening and you then have peace of mind knowing that whatever befalls you, your family and loved ones have been provided for. I can help you with the decisions that you need to make, taking into account the needs of your family and the implications of the tax regime.

Certainty - where there is a will

The firm is a member of the Certainty National Registry of Wills and I am now encouraging everyone who makes a will to register it with Certainty.

In a recent survey, 67% of people surveyed did not know where to find their parents' Wills. Indeed tens of thousands of estates do fall into intestacy each year, which can cause emotional and financial turmoil for loved ones.

Although I keep a database of all the Wills which I hold, changing circumstances, moving to another area or simply the passage of time can sometimes make it difficult for beneficiaries to locate a Will. Registering your Will ensures that solicitors across the country can log the existence of Wills in a central place. This ensures that your Will is easily traceable by your beneficiaries and not overlooked.

What does the registry of Wills do?

  • The registry records that I hold your Will; no one there sees it, and I keep it here.
  • Following your death, the registry gives us details about anyone who is looking for your Will.

Website developed by Transcendit


‘How media can boost rights protection’

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Lawyers and journalists have examined the state of human rights administration. They set agenda for the government and the media on ways to ensure effective rights protection. ERIC IKHILAE reports

How can human rights be better protected in Nigeria? This was the question media and legal experts sought to answer at a forum organised by the National Association of judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC), Abuja chapter.

It had the theme: The role of the media in promoting human rights.

Speakers assessed the human rights performance of successive administrations and suggested ways the media could boost human rights protection.

Speakers, including Prof Dakas C. J. Dakas (SAN) of the University of Jos, Tobi Soniyi of ThisDay newspapers and Reuben Buhari of the Leadership newspapers said unlike what existed during the military era, there is improvement in the observance and promotion of human rights under the current administration.

They were also of the view that despite the achievements so far, there was need for improvement both on the side of the government, its agencies and the media, in constantly keeping them (government and its agencies) on their toes.

They urged the media see the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act a ready tool to be deploy to seek openness on government and demand protection for the rights of the people. They urged the media engage in continuous training to keep abreast of current development and know when to raise questions and demand actions.

They argued that although the right to freedom of expression was a universally acknowledge and respected right, the media should exercise such right responsibly and refrain from inaccurate, irresponsible reportage capable of inflaming the society.

Dakas, who gave the keynote address suggested efforts must now be directed at the ensuring the realisation of what are now classified as the second and third generations of rights as against the much emphasised first generation of rights, which are basically civil and political rights, provided for in Chapter Four of the Constitution.

“The rights to life, the right to personal liberty, the right to human dignity, the right to freedom of expression and the press, the right to freedom of religion, among others. These are basic fundamental rights that are civil and political in nature that you find encapsulated in Chapter four of the Nigerian Constitution.

“There is also a second generation of rights, which are essentially economic, social and cultural in nature. They include the right to food, the right to education, the right to health, the right to housing, among others. These rights that are economic, social and cultural in nature are not expressly provided for in the Nigerian Constitution in the sense in which a deprived citizen can seek redress in court.

“At best, what you have in the Constitution are the “fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy,” contained in Chapter two of the Constitution, which the Constitution itself, makes non-justiciable.

“There is also the third generation of human rights, which are essentially the solidarity rights. They include the right to safe and clean environment, the right to international peace and security, among others.

Dakas noted that while the existing legal regime guarantees the civil and political rights, as provided in Chapter Four of the Constitution, it made a halfhearted effort at addressing the economic, social and cultural rights in Chapter two, which it made non-justiciable.

He argued that the huddle created by the non-justiciability of Chapter Two can now be sidestepped with the activation of the African Chatter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR), which the country has domesticated.

Dakas further argued that with the domestication of ACHPR, Nigerians can now to go to court to activate the judicial process on the basis of violation of the provisions of the ACHPR, which encapsulates all the generations of human rights and makes them justiciable.

“So, even for those, who argue that because Chapter Two of the Nigerian Constitution is not justiciable, but simply provides for fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy, they need to acknowledge that the ACHPR is now part of Nigerian law. And by reason of the domestication of the ACHPR, it is possible to go to court and activate the judicial process in order to ensure the enforcement of the rights provided for in the ACHPR, including those rights that are economic, social and cultural in nature,” he said.

Dakas noted that as against past experience, particularly during the military era, efforts are being made to protect the rights of the citizens under the current administration.

Dakas pointed at the plausible roles played in recent time by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) . He said although the commission was created under the military, with limited powers, the recent amendment to its establishment Act has provided a framework for the commission to have a robust engagement with the subject of human rights.

The Law Professor, who noted that there are positive developments that are ongoing, in terms of the works the NHRC has done and is still doing in the area of rights protection and enforcement, also noted that with the recent amendment to its Act, the commission can issue an order that has the force of a High Court order.

He commended the government for the passage of the Freedom of Information Act, which was rejected by the Obasanjo administration. He highlighted the benefits of the Act and argued that the people can leverage on the opportunity presented by the Act to lift the veil of secrecy that often pervades the conduct of government affairs, and demand that government businesses are conducted in manners that are credible.

He observed that the people, particularly journalists are not leveraging as much as they should on the FOI Act. “As journalists, if you leverage on the FOI Act, you will find that you will be impacting greatly in the fight against corruption, economic and financial crimes in the country.”

Despite the noted achievements, the lecturer identified existing challenges, which he said must be addressed. They include the for the military and intelligence agencies involved in the current efforts against the insurgents to ensure that they conduct counter-terrorism in a manner that is human rights compliant.

“It is in the interest of the security and intelligence community to ensure that counter terrorism administration reckons with the reality of human rights and mainstream human rights into counter terrorism administration.  Otherwise, you will find that they leave themselves vulnerable to prosecution by Nigerian authorities, and where the Nigerian authorities are unwilling, they will be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court (ICC),” he said.

He urged the government to domesticate the Kampala Convention, a continental initiative to address the plight of the Internally Displaced People (IDP). He contended that it was not enough for the Nigerian government to ratify the convention, but that it should take a further and necessary step of domesticating the convention to allow for its municipal invocation as required under Section 12 of the Constitution.

Dakas urged the government to also do more to alleviate the plight of the IDPs as it relates to meeting their basic subsistence and their rights to vote in the coming elections.

He urged the government to direct efforts at addressing economic, social and cultural rights, arguing that the government cannot ignore the people’s rights to shelter, education, health, among others on the basis of lack of found.

“The government should demonstrate that it is prioritising theses rights and that it is not frittering away resources in the name of corruption and pretending that there are no funds. It is one thing to have resources and it is another to ensure that the little that is realised is prudently utilised.

Dakas noted that the media has a major role to play in promoting respect and protection of human rights. He said journalists must be vigilant and alert in reporting cases of rights abuses to keep government and its agencies on their toes.

He reminded journalists that the right to freedom of expression and of the press, guaranteed by the Constitution, is not an absolute right that should be exercise to the detriment of the larger society. He said journalists, in the course of performing their responsibilities, must ensure accuracy. He also advised them to engage in constant self-improvement to prevent instances of inaccurate reportage of court proceedings

“As judiciary correspondents, if you do not understand the nuances and fundamentals of human rights investigation, monitoring and reporting, you will be looking in the wrong places and be looking for the wrong things,” he said.

Soniyi noted the increasing responsibility modern society has placed on the media, which now include reporting, analyzing and commenting on issues and events as they unfold. He stressed the need for journalist to always be guided by the interest of the larger society and avoid being influenced by the government or concerned interests.

“The media, in reporting rights violations, should look deep into the problem and provide solutions. Mere reporting of the facts is not enough. It should give reasons for the problem, the nature of violations and proceed to give solutions,” he said.

Buhari, who noted that the media was not doing enough to report the various rights abuses being perpetrated in the troubled Northeastern part of the country, urged media owners to empower journalists to put in their best.

He said Nigerian journalists can compete effectively with their foreign counterpart if well equipped and protected.

Buhari gave an instance where he was harassed and threatened with detention by the police for publishing pictures of killings and destructions in Southern Kaduna during one of the crisis.

He said rather the being commended, the police, who wanted everything hidden from the public, accused him of publishing inciting materials.

Buhari urged the journalists not to be deterred by existing challenges, but to seek creative ways of overcoming such challenges.


‘Lee Daniels’ The Butler’ (2013) Movie Review

The Butler movie review

Forest Whitaker in The Butler
Photo: The Weinstein Co.

Imagine your time on Earth began as a black man, young enough to see your father shot in the head in a cotton field with no repercussions for the shooter and you ultimately lived long enough to see Barack Obama elected as the first black President of the United States. Those two events alone would be enough to shock you to your core when placed side-by-side, but now imagine not only living through those two experiences, but also the events that transpired over the 82 years in-between and viewing them from a vantage point unlike any other.

Lee Daniels’ The Butler sets before it a daunting task of first introducing us to Cecil Gaines at the tender age of eight (Michael Rainey Jr.) as he watches his father fall with a bullet wound to the head before introducing us to the 34 years he would ultimately serve eight presidents as a White House butler. It’s too much for one movie to handle. And once the movie ends, and if you have the nerve, just try comparing your life to the one lived by Cecil Gaines and you’ll find there are few comparisons to the struggles he faced as presented here. Not only is it too much for one movie to handle, it’s more than any one life should endure.

Based on the true story of Eugene Allen (changed to Cecil Gaines for the film), The Butler follows Gaines’ life and focuses as much on Cecil (Forest Whitaker) as it does those around him, including his wife Gloria (Oprah Winfrey) and his two sons, Charles (David Banner) and Louis (David Oyelowo). This, of course, may be a point of contention for many as Allen only had one son, the Louis character was created for the sake of the film, and he plays a large role.

As one president moves into the White House and another moves out, we’re witness to the inner mechanics of the White House servant staff, which includes not only Cecil, but considerable roles for Lenny Kravitz and Cuba Gooding Jr., both turning in strong performances as this film, in conjunction with Fruitvale Station earlier this year, prove there are more than enough talented black actors out there, they only need be given the chance.

In the lead role as Cecil, Whitaker turns in a fine, subdued performance. Growing up on a cotton farm, working inside the house, serving the man that murdered his father and his family, Cecil’s education wasn’t one of schooling, but in life and it served him well enough to get away from that cotton farm and by chance land a job at 15 (played by Aml Ameen) as a house butler. He learned his craft, integrated himself and gained the trust of his white employers and was soon recommended for a job at the White House. The film allows you an opportunity to respect and feel compassion for Cecil, but at the same time does a great job of maintaining a certain level of concern for his well-being as his voice over reminds us, “Any white man could kill us at any time and not be punished for it.”

As Cecil’s story guides the narrative through the presidents he serves in the White House, we’re greeted to the realities of the outside world through his son Louis (who didn’t exist in real life). Louis heads off to college where he’ll become one of many Freedom Riders and eventually join the Black Panther movement, much to his father’s concern. With his performance, Oyelowo proves we should ignore his roles in films such as Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Jack Reacher where he plays characters that act as nothing more than storytelling cliches. Here he brings life and passion to a character as well as a level head able to think for himself.

For that matter virtually all of the performances in this film are impressive. Winfrey is sure to gain a share of kudos from all as she brings a lot of varying qualities to a character that must run the gamut of character traits over the course of 34 years of a person’s lifetime. This includes playing a character that becomes and overcomes being an alcoholic, a concerned mother, an ignored wife, an adulterous wife and a loving wife. In her, and all that I’ve described, you can see the uphill battle this film faced and, for the most part, it succeeds.

Scripted by Danny Strong based on the Washington Post article by Wil Haygood, The Butler probably does bite off more than it can chew, but how else can you tell the story of a life that was touched and affected by so many events? Eugene Allen’s one real son, Charles, did fight in Vietnam and Allen did meet Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (played in the film by Nelsan Ellis), however, while the film uses Louis to add a face we know to the harsh realities of the world outside. In reality, those were realized from within the White House. This, for me, is hardly an issue.

Cecil, as was Allen, was in the White House kitchen when John F. Kennedy (James Marsden) was assassinated, and he served President Nixon (John Cusack), Dwight D. Eisenhower (Robin Williams) and Ronald Reagan (Alan Rickman) to name a few.

In one scene we watch as Lyndon B. Johnson, played by Liev Schreiber, barks orders while sitting on the toilet, his dog curled up at his feet. What conversations this man must have been privy to could probably fill pages in history books and here we have director Lee Daniels attempting to fit it within the confines of a 132-minute movie. It’s not possible, but I’d argue this is probably the best you could hope for and it’s damned respectful at that.

I never felt beaten over the head with race issues even though there’s hardly a frame of the film where the issue isn’t front and center. A fantastic line near the end reminds us of our constant focus on the events of the Holocaust while the treatment of the African American here at home went on for over 200 years, and when you consider that quote I mentioned above, you can’t help but think of Florida and Trayvon Martin today.

The Butler is not perfect, it simply can’t be unless it had been turned into a 12-hour mini series. But it strikes all the right cords to remind us and inform us of our nation’s history and the varying strengths of people such as Cecil Gaines and, while he was fabricated for the film, people such as Louis that have helped shape our history and make it a better place to live, while reminding us the work isn’t yet done.


This area of research is based on previous studies on gene structures, gene functions, and relative relationships with diseases, At personal genomics level, to analysis and interpret all the health-related information from a genetic point-of-view. This interpretation includes:

· Screening for monogenetic diseases

· Risk prediction of polygenic diseases

· Consultancy on medical treatment for certain diseases

· Construction and maintenance of databases on human mutations, drug targets, and etc.

Construction of reference metagenome in human gut

MetaHIT was a project founded by the European Commission under the 7th FP program. The project was initiated on January 1, 2008 and completed on June 30, 2012. It aimed to explore associations between the genes of the human intestinal microbiota with  health and disease. Two disorders of increasing importance in the whole world. Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and obesity, were studied in this project. As a major player of the project, BGI constructed the research platform, developed several bioinformatics algorithms and made majority contribution on the work of sequencing data assembly, annotation, variation indentification and function analysis. In 2010, MetaHIT research was published as cover-story in Nature: A human gut microbial gene catalogue established by metagenomic sequencing. In this study, we analyzed samples from 124 individuals of Danish and Spanish origin, some were healthy and some, suffering from IBD or obesity. An extensive bio-informatics analysis showed a staggering number of 3.3 million different genes among the individuals that we analyzed, 150-fold more than in our own genome. More than 85% of all the frequent genes that the 124 individuals carry were identified at the value determined by an appropriate statistical analysis. Some 99% of the genes were of bacterial origin, in accordance with the predominance of bacteria among the intestinal microbes. According to the gene number, was suggested that there are at least 1000 bacterial species frequent in our gut and about 160 species are in a dominant position, more interestingly, most of these 160 species are shared in different individuals. But on the other side, a large part in these genes still couldn’t be perfectly aligned to a reference bacterial genome, which means they belong to unknown bacteria species. The achievement of MetaHIT, an era of metagenomics with rapid progress in techniques, more international cooperated projects in this domain, and a huge number of new bacteria or new genes to be discovered.


Benetti v. United States, 97 F.2d 263 (9th Cir. 1938)

Annotate this Case
US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit - 97 F.2d 263 (9th Cir. 1938)
May 26, 1938

97 F.2d 263 (1938)

No. 8549.

Circuit Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

May 26, 1938.

*264 *265 Platt & Sinai, of Reno, Nev., for appellant.

James W. Morris, Asst. Atty. Gen., Sewall Key, William H. Boyd, M. Leo Looney, Jr., and Earl C. Crouter, Sp. Assts. to Atty. Gen., E. P. Carville, U. S. Atty., of Reno, Nev., and Thomas O. Craven, of Carson City, Nev.

Before GARRECHT, HANEY, and STEPHENS, Circuit Judges.

GARRECHT, Circuit Judge.

Appellant was indicted on three counts for unlawfully, wilfully, knowingly and feloniously attempting to defeat and evade a large part of the tax due upon his net income for each of the calendar years 1929, 1930 and 1931, in violation of Section 146 of the Revenue Act of 1928, 45 Stat. 791, 835 [26 U.S.C.A. § 145].

The evidence shows that sometime in the summer of 1933, two agents of the Treasury Department were assigned to investigate and verify the appellant's income tax returns in order to determine his true income tax liability. The agents had reliable information that appellant was engaged in the illicit manufacture and sale of liquor and had made large sums of money therefrom. To determine if this information was correct and with the purpose of determining appellant's income, the agents made examination of all available records. They also investigated his bank accounts and the county records to check mortgages appearing in the name of appellant. Among the records examined was a copy of an indictment for a violation of the National Prohibition Act, 27 U.S.C.A. § 1 et seq., together with an inventory of liquor which had been seized by the Government. After these preliminary investigations, the agents visited the appellant at his home in Sparks, Nevada, and told him that they were there to examine him in relation to his tax returns and made request for information to assist them in determining his true income.

Appellant expressed a willingness to co-operate; he told the agents that he had kept some records, but that after he had made out his income tax returns through Deputy Revenue Collector Cooper, these records had been destroyed because he thought it was not necessary to retain them.

Both appellant and his wife made statements under oath before the revenue agents. After they were sworn and before they answered any questions, the revenue agent made the following statement to appellant:

"At this time, Mr. Benetti, it becomes my duty to advise you that under the Constitution you are not required to incriminate yourself, and to inform you that anything you say or documents you produce at this hearing can be used against you in any proceeding which may hereafter be undertaken by the Government. Do you fully understand?"

Mr. Benetti answered: "Yes."

Further, the Revenue Agent stated: "It is the understanding that your answers to the questions propounded to you will be entirely voluntarily, is that correct?"

Mr. Benetti again answered: "Yes."

In the course of this examination appellant admitted that he had been unlawfully engaged in the manufacture and sale of liquor from which he had made large profits. To reduce his income tax thereon he furnished statements of his expenses in connection with that business and of his sales. In the course of his deposition he also stated that his "still" had been seized by the Government, together with a considerable quantity of liquor. At the end of the deposition and just above his signature where appellant subscribed to the oath appears the following: "I have carefully read the foregoing transcript of my testimony, pages one to thirty three inclusive, and state that it is a true and correct transcript and that the answers to the questions propounded therein are free and voluntary on my part."

The government agents testified that from the various sources of information they found that for the calendar year 1929, appellant had an unreported net income of $88,202.28; for the calendar year 1930, an unreported net income of $41,596.88; for the calendar year 1931, an unreported net income of $21,542.91, and that no tax had ever been paid on any of these amounts.

In addition to his admission that he had failed to report his true income in his returns for the years in question, he filed a protest to the report of the agents in which he admitted income far greater than he had reported.

*266 At the trial appellant took the stand on his own behalf and when asked to explain this great difference between the net income he had reported, and the net income he actually had earned, he testified that in making out his income tax returns for the years in question, he had been assisted by Mr. E. J. Cooper, a Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue, who had advised appellant that he need not make any return on the income derived from an unlawful business.

The jury returned a verdict of guilty as charged on all of the counts, judgment and sentence were pronounced by the court, from which this appeal.

Although most of the argument on the appeal is devoted to the discussion of the legal implications and effect of an alleged unlawful search and seizure which occurred in connection with a violation of the National Prohibition Act by appellant, no evidence of any proceedings in that matter was offered in evidence, and none appears in the record. There is nothing here but the mere statements of counsel.

In this connection appellant assigns error based upon the failure of the court to instruct the jury to return a verdict of acquittal upon the ground that the evidence disclosed that defendant's constitutional rights had been violated in having been forced to incriminate himself. The summary of this assignment as printed in the brief is as follows:

"On August 3, 1932, the above named defendant, in a different and separate criminal prosecution by the Government, was indicted on three counts for an alleged violation of Sec. 37, F.C.C. [18 U.S.C.A. § 88], of the National Prohibition Act. The indictment was returned in the same Court as the instant case and all proceedings therein were heard and determined by the same presiding United States District Judge. The indictment was quashed, defendant dismissed, the evidence suppressed and the property seized and ordered returned to the defendant, through appropriate motions and petitions made therefor, upon the ground that the search of defendant's premises without a search warrant was unlawful and `that it was clear to the Court that the Constitutional rights of the defendant, Angelo Benetti, were invaded.'"

On the grounds stated and before the Government had finished presenting its case, a motion was made for a directed verdict of acquittal. It was renewed when the government closed its case; at that time the court announced that the motion would be denied for the present and that it would be given further consideration. Appellant then took the stand and evidence was presented on his behalf. The motion was not renewed at the end of all the evidence. His failure to renew the motion for an instructed verdict would seem to bring the case within the rule that, having proceeded with the introduction of evidence, prior motions were waived and could only have been saved by renewing the application for a directed verdict at the end of all the testimony, which was not done. Goldberg v. United States, 5 Cir., 297 F. 98; Sacramento Suburban Fruit Lands Co. v. Melin, 9 Cir., 36 F.2d 907; McAdams v. United States, 8 Cir., 74 F.2d 37; Mutual Life Ins. Co. of New York v. Wells Fargo Bank & Union Trust Co., 9 Cir., 86 F.2d 585. Further, there is no evidence presented in this case that in some other case against appellant, there had occurred an unlawful search and seizure of property, or that this evidence had been suppressed and ordered returned; all this rests entirely on the mere statements of counsel.

It is a mistake to assume that the court must take judicial notice of these matters even if they could be discovered among the records of the District Court. In any event there is no proof of any of these facts in the record here before us. A District Court is not required to take judicial notice of prior litigation in the same court and generally proof thereof must be produced. Morse v. Lewis, 4 Cir., 54 F.2d 1027, 1029. To prepare a record upon which a review can be had, concerning matters involved in some prior litigation, it is necessary that evidence of the material parts of proceedings in the former case be offered and embodied therein. This court heretofore has held that it will not take judicial knowledge of prior litigation unless proof thereof appears in the record. National Surety Co. v. United States, 9 Cir., 29 F.2d 92, 97.

Appellant's position here seems to be to assume that in some proceeding which could be found in the files of the trial court an unlawful search and seizure of defendant's property had taken place; that said files, which were not produced, would disclose that upon the trial of appellant on a charge of violating the National Prohibition Act in which this evidence, unlawfully seized, was offered, the trial court on being advised had suppressed the same and the *267 prosecution had failed; that because of such proceedings, the appellant became immune from ever being proceeded against for any violation of law whatever which was in any manner connected with or grew out of, any unlawful dealings in liquor, and that in this case particularly he could not be prosecuted for unlawfully evading payment of the tax upon his income which he derived from the illegal sale of liquor.

As supporting his position, appellant cites Counselman v. Hitchcock, 142 U.S. 547, 12 S. Ct. 195, 35 L. Ed. 1110; Silverthorne Lumber Co. v. United States, 251 U.S. 385, 40 S. Ct. 182, 64 L. Ed. 319, 24 A. L.R. 1426; Gouled v. United States, 255 U.S. 298, 41 S. Ct. 261, 65 L. Ed. 647. These authorities do not support any such extreme contention as is here made. In these cases it was sought to make use of the very evidence that had been suppressed. There was nothing of that kind in this case. Here the most that could be said was that, as a result of the unlawful seizure, the government was made aware that appellant was illegally engaged in selling intoxicating liquor which aroused suspicion that appellant was evading full payment of his income tax. That this caused the investigation whereby the government came into possession of other perfectly legal evidence which was in every way competent and admissible, unless appellant's claim of immunity is sustained.

The appellant told the agents that several years before the investigation there had been a seizure of liquor. The agents made no effort to determine whether the seizure was lawful or illegal, as this was of no importance to them in their investigation of appellant's income. No evidence of the alleged unlawful search and seizure was offered by the government. No evidence of it was offered by appellant. There was no showing as to any prior action or of any connection between this prosecution and a prior charge of violating the prohibition act.

Even if the crime for which appellant was indicted was revealed by an illegal search and seizure in another case, he would not be immune from prosecution and his conviction cannot be set aside if sustained by evidence obtained from independent sources and no evidence illegally seized was used against him. Constitutional provisions forbidding the use of evidence secured in an illegal way are not to be construed to mean that the facts thus disclosed are forever inaccessible. In the opinion in Silverthorne Lumber Co. v. United States, 251 U.S. 385, 40 S. Ct. 182, 64 L. Ed. 319, 24 A.L.R. 1426, relied upon by appellant, there is language used by Justice Holmes which sustains this view. At page 392, 40 S.Ct. at page 183, it was said:

In addition to the claim of immunity under the Constitution, appellant also claims immunity under provisions of the National Prohibition Act, 27 U.S.C.A. § 1 et seq., the Interstate Commerce Act, 49 U.S.C.A. § 1 et seq., and the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C.A. § 41 et seq. Similarly there is no merit in any of these contentions.

Appellant appeared before the agents voluntarily, and, after being sworn and before giving any testimony, he was advised of his constitutional rights, and also that anything he said or any documents which he produced could be used against him. He stated that his answers would be free and voluntary. He reiterated this after his testimony was concluded and before he signed the statement. Had he been summoned to appear involuntarily, he, nevertheless, would have no right to complain here for the reason that he did not claim any privilege of immunity. He therefore waived it. Such claim now comes too late. United States v. Sullivan, 274 U.S. 259, 47 S. Ct. 607, 71 L. Ed. 1037, 51 A.L.R. 1020; United States v. Murdock, 284 U.S. 141, 52 S. Ct. 63, 76 L. Ed. 210, 82 A.L.R. 1376.

Another assignment of error is to the effect that: "The Court erred in overruling objections interposed in certain of the cross-examination of the defendant with respect to defendant's motives and intentions regarding his alleged infraction of the so-called Prohibition Law, an entirely different, separate and distinct offense, for which he had been previously indicted and which indictment had been quashed by the Court, and the defendant exonerated and permitted to go free of said charge."

Considerable testimony given on the trial preceding the objections and discussed *268 in connection therewith in the District Court is printed in the record. Most of it has no relevancy and to reproduce it here would serve no purpose. It is sufficient to point out as heretofore noted that there was no testimony anywhere in the record that the defendant had been previously indicted, or that the indictment had been quashed, or that the defendant had been exonerated. In fact the record shows that a question asked of defendant as to his motives with respect to the law of bootlegging was objected to and excluded.

The manner in which the error here urged came into the record is as follows: Appellant, called as a witness in his own behalf, on direct examination was asked:

"Did you have any will or desire at any time that you filed these returns to defraud the government out of anything? A. Never."

* * * *

"Q. Did you have any bad motive at all when you filed your income tax returns over these years, including 1929, 1930, 1931? A. No, I didn't have any bad motives."

On cross-examination defendant was asked:

"Mr. Benetti, you testified as a matter of fact, in your direct examination, that you never intended to defraud the Government. Is that correct?"

Objection was made and after discussion the Court suggested that the question be reframed. Defendant was then asked:

"Mr. Benetti, was it your intent to defraud the Government? A. I had no intention."

After the question had been answered an objection was made and the objection overruled but no exception to the ruling is noted in the record. Defendant was then asked on further cross-examination: "Was it your intention to be an honest, law-abiding citizen?" which was objected to as being incompetent and irrelevant and not addressed to this particular issue. The objection was overruled and an exception lodged.

Then the following occurred:

"Mr. Platt: And we assign the ruling as prejudicial error, upon the ground that counsel is attempting to prejudice the jury for the reason that this defendant has once been indicted for a violation of the Prohibition Law, that although he has since been exonerated

"The Court: Neither of those matters are before the Court.

"Judge Carville [U. S. Attorney]: That isn't before the Court at all.

"Mr. Platt: We assign it as prejudicial error, if the Court please, upon the ground that inquiries with respect to any alleged violation of the Prohibition Laws are foreign to the issues involved in this particular case, and the only purpose is to prejudice the jury against this defendant.

"Mr. Craven [Attny. for the Government]: I wish it to be expressly understood that we are not inquiring in regard to the violation of the Prohibition Act, but are inquiring in regard to the violation of the Internal Revenue Law and further to impeach this defendant.

"(Question read)

"The Court: Answer the question."

On further cross-examination the following occurred:

"Q. Do you remember, Mr. Benetti, in any conversation you had with Mr. Chase that he asked you to make a full disclosure of all of your income?

"Mr. Platt: Objected to on the ground it is assuming something not in evidence. The Government put on all these witnesses and I challenge them to find in the record any testimony like that given by either one of these gentlemen.

"The Court: The objection to the question will be overruled.

"Mr. Platt: Exception noted."

It will be remembered that appellant on his direct examination had been interrogated and given testimony as to his motives and intentions in filing his income tax returns. These questions asked on cross-examination and objected to, as pointed out by the District Attorney, were for the purpose of ascertaining what appellant's motives were with regard to the violations of the Internal Revenue Law and that no inquiries were being made in regard to violations of the Prohibition Act. The questions asked were within the scope of the cross-examination and related to matters brought out on direct examination.

Error is also predicated upon certain statements made by counsel for the government, upon the argument to the jury. The evidence of appellant admitted that he was a bootlegger; that he had derived income from that business; that he had not reported said income in his tax returns, claiming *269 that he had omitted to do so, in good faith, having been told by Mr. Cooper, a Revenue Agent, who had died before the trial, that appellant was not required to report income derived from any unlawful business. In addressing the jury, the government attorney said:

"Now, gentlemen, the court will instruct you that an officer of the Federal Government is presumed to have done his duties, and to have done his duties in a lawful manner, and, therefore, Mr. Cooper didn't tell Mr. Benetti that he didn't have to put his income from bootlegging business in his returns, although it is very convenient, gentlemen, to blame this on to a dead man, very convenient. * * * Now, as I said, the Court will instruct you Mr. Cooper was presumed to have done his duty and therefore didn't tell Mr. Benetti to violate the law.

"Mr. Platt: I submit is your Honor going to instruct the jury that Mr. Cooper was presumed to have done his duty and therefore did not tell Mr. Benetti this?

"The Court: I am going to instruct only in regard to the law and his duties.

"Mr. Platt: I therefore assign that as misstatement of conduct and prejudicial error."

Then the Deputy United States Attorney continued as follows: "The reason I have stated the Court will instruct you is the fact that the Court will instruct you Mr. Cooper was presumed to have done his duty, and therefore, if he did his duty, he did not tell him to keep that out of his returns. Isn't that logical? * * *"

Further in his argument, the Deputy United States Attorney made the following statement:

"Gentlemen, in the evidence, Mr. Benetti states that he was a citizen of the United States and as such he takes oath to uphold the laws of the United States. Did Mr. Benetti do that? He admitted bootlegging. He swore that in this case and still, as a citizen of the United States he took oath to uphold the laws of the United States, and then he would have you believe he is the soul of honesty. I ask you to take that into consideration.

"Mr. Platt: We assign statement of counsel with respect to the fact Mr. Benetti admitted he was a bootlegger as misconduct and prejudicial error.

"Mr. Craven: Gentlemen, I told you at the outset we are not interested in the fact that Mr. Benetti was a bootlegger, not in the fact. We are interested in his income from bootlegging that is all, but you can take these things into consideration to determine his credibility."

The argument of government counsel that the deceased Revenue Agent, Cooper, did not tell appellant that he need not report his income received from bootlegging, based upon the presumption that federal officers do their duty, was not improper comment upon the evidence. Johnson v. United States, 9 Cir., 247 F. 92; United States v. Chemical Foundation, D. C., 294 F. 300, affirmed, 3 Cir., 5 F.2d 191. Likewise the allusion to appellant's activities as a bootlegger, specifically limited as it was, furnishes no ground for reversal. Capone v. United States, 7 Cir., 51 F.2d 609, 76 A.L.R. 1534.

In this connection the Court instructed the jury as follows: "You are further instructed that the presumption of law is that a public official, entrusted with a public duty, performs that duty in a lawful manner. This presumption in this case applied to the testimony given by the defendant, Angelo Benetti, concerning E. C. Cooper, a Collector of Internal Revenue, wherein he testifies Mr. Cooper told him he was not required to disclose in his income tax returns money or profits received by him on account of operation of illegal business. This presumption must be overcome by the defendant by competent evidence in this case, and in this particular case by the testimony of the defendant, to the extent that a reasonable doubt shall be raised in your minds as to whether the statement contributed [sic] to Cooper was made by him. The evidence discloses that Mr. Cooper is dead and is not available as a witness in this trial. This being so, the testimony of Benetti, of what Mr. Cooper told him, must be received by you with caution and the closest scrutiny and weighed by you in the light of all of the testimony and evidence in the case."

And later at the request of appellant's counsel the court added the following: "Oh yes. You are instructed that, in connection with the instructions heretofore given with respect to the duties of officers, the presumption that officers perform their duties, an officer who, thru a mistake of law or fact, did not carry out the duties of his office, would not necessarily there be guilty of a criminal offense. It would be only in the case of a wilful violation of the *270 duty of an officer in which the officer himself would be guilty. If you believe from the evidence that Cooper told the defendant, as testified to by the defendant, that he was not required to make a return, and that was a mistake upon the part of Mr. Cooper, then in no sense would Mr. Cooper be guilty. If it was not an honest mistake, then he, himself, would also be liable as violating the law. As before stated, the presumption is that officers perform their duties and that presumption prevails until it is overcome by the evidence satisfactory to the jury. So in determining that material point of the case, you are to consider, not only the testimony of the defendant, but the presumption of law surrounding the Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue."

These instructions of the court made clear to the jury the limitations they were to exercise in considering the admitted fact that appellant had been engaged in the illegal sale of intoxicating liquors and also served to indicate the proper application of the argument of government counsel in reference to these activities of appellant and also explained the presumption of law applicable to the testimony given by appellant concerning statements made to him by the deceased Revenue Agent, which pointed out the manner in which the argument of government counsel should be properly applied.

Error is also claimed in the failure of the court to give the following special instructions requested by the defendant.

"You are further instructed that there has been some testimony offered in the case with respect to an alleged violation by the defendant of the so-called `Prohibition Act.' I charge you that the defendant was acquitted of this alleged offense and that the indictment against him was quashed and dismissed.

"You are further instructed that no evidence concerning this alleged offense should in any particular at all prejudice you against Angelo Benetti, the defendant in the present case. It was determined by the Court that the Government had violated the fourth amendment of the Constitution of the United States through an unlawful search and seizure and that the defendant was entitled to go free.

"I further charge you that the fact of the indictment brought against him for an alleged violation of the prohibition law should not prejudice you at all in arriving at your verdict in the present case."

As heretofore pointed out there was no evidence offered by the defendant of any record of any such indictment for the alleged violation of the prohibition law or of any proceeding of search and seizure and nothing in relation thereto appears in this case except the voluntary statement made by defendant to the Revenue Agents that he had been engaged in the unlawful sale of intoxicating liquor from which he derived income. All the other matters set forth are merely the statements of counsel which are not evidence. In this regard the court instructed the jury as follows:

"You are further instructed that there has been some testimony offered in the case with respect to an alleged violation by the defendant of the National Prohibition Act. You are instructed that there is no evidence in this case of any conviction of the defendant of the violation of that Act. The fact, as shown by the evidence in this case, that the defendant for a time was engaged in the production of liquor and the sale thereof, during the time the National Prohibition Act was in force, is the only matter, so far as that act is concerned, which should be given any attention by the jury. The important point in this case is whether the defendant violated the provision of the law with respect to income tax report."

As the requested instruction embodied statements not correct in law and no exception having been taken to the instruction which was given, there is no error in this regard for us to review.

Denial of a motion for new trial in this case was proper and ordinarily is not assignable error. Mutual Life Ins. Co. v. Wells Fargo Bank & Union Trust Co., 9 Cir., 86 F.2d 585.


04/01/2013 08:20 am ET Updated Dec 06, 2017

Wisdom 2.0: The Rise of Compassionate Mindfulness = Heartfulness

By Deborah Rozman

Last month, I had the honor of presenting with Arianna Huffington at Wisdom 2.0, a fascinating annual conference of some of the most innovative and caring minds and organizational leaders I've met. The mission of the conference is to address the challenge of not only living connected to one another through technology, but doing so in ways that benefit our own well-being and make us more effective at work and in the world.

Speakers included tech executives from LinkedIn, Google, Facebook and Twitter and mindfulness luminaries like Jon Kabat Zinn, Marianne Williamson and Jack Kornfield. I was delighted to discover that many in this eclectic array of speakers are realizing mindfulness heart qualities need to be brought into the workplace and into our daily lives. The high-tech world, the government and big business are starting to acknowledge that humans have a heart, and it's more than just a means to pump blood. There is actually a movement afoot. For example, Jeff Weiner, the CEO of LinkedIn, talked about managing compassionately, and that his personal vision statement is to expand the world's collective wisdom and compassion.

What HeartMath contributes to this important conversation about mindfulness as a lifestyle is the powerful addition of shifting from head to heart. So often when we talk about mindfulness, which starts with self-awareness of thoughts and feelings and holding attitudes of loving kindness, we don't always acknowledge that involves the heart.

How does the heart relate to mindfulness? Mindfulness is about being present to what you're feeling, thinking and sensing. Connecting to our hearts enables us to be in "the heart of the moment," and if you don't want to get hooked into those thoughts and feelings, you let them pass through. Our research at HeartMath confirms that attuning to the heart can enhance mindfulness practice.

At HeartMath, we train people to first get into heart coherence -- generating a stable, sine-wavelike pattern in one's heart rhythms. When the heart rhythm is coherent, the body, including the brain/mind and nervous system, synchronize to the heart's coherent rhythm and we gain greater mental clarity and intuitive discernment, which improves our decision-making. You lose coherence when you're not present. Some mindfulness practitioners have reported how HeartMath's Inner Balance and emWave heart coherence feedback technology signals you when your mind starts to wander or go into a story and helps you maintain attention to the present.

Although the heart and mind are in constant communication, we can intentionally align heart, mind and emotions with our spirit (higher self, higher intelligence, etc.) to increase self-awareness. When we experience sincere positive emotions, such as loving kindness, compassion or gratitude, the heart's rhythm becomes more coherent and harmonious. The heart's rhythm affects the brain and the entire body neurologically, biochemically, biophysically and energetically. You can learn to shift into this state of heart to bring your mind and emotions into harmonious alignment and have more access to intuitive discernment often in less than a minute. It can take a little practice to do this on demand, but it gets easier and quicker the more you do it.

Here is how to get started in adding more heartfulness to your practice, using an adaptation of our Quick Coherence technique:

  1. Shift your attention to the area of your heart.
  2. Imagine your breath passing in and out through your heart area or the center of your chest as you slowly inhale and exhale.
  3. Breathe in an attitude of calm and balance as if you were taking in an emotional tonic that takes off the rough edges. You can also try breathing in a feeling of loving kindness, gratitude or compassion -- or whatever attitude you find most soothing.
  4. If you had been experiencing any tension or stress, you may feel former uncomfortable physical sensations replaced by comforting, relaxed ones.

In this state of heart coherence, you are now ready for your mindfulness or other meditation practice. I've found connecting with my heart in this way really helps me quiet my mind quicker than just observing it.

As I shared HeartMath's discoveries at Wisdom 2.0 on stage, many people in the audience looked inspired. Geshe Thupten Jinpa, the Dalai Lama's chief English translator of his books, seemed to be relating to everything I was saying as his head was bobbing up and down throughout my talk. And when I shared an old Indian saying, "The longest journey a man (or woman) will ever take is the journey from head to heart," the whole audience nodded. Whatever wisdom practices the people in the audience used, there was a common feeling and understanding that the heart is where we are all going. So why not start there?

Mindfulness has been a mainstay of monasteries and esoteric schools for eons. What I think is happening now is its emergence into the mainstream, as regular people, leaders and organizations wake up to its incredible benefits for work, life, health, profitability and sustainability. My hope is that this quickening interest continues to recognize heart-based understanding and heartfulness as central to mindfulness.

debbie Deborah Rozman, Ph.D., is president and CEO of HeartMath LLC, located in Boulder Creek, Calif. HeartMath provides scientifically-validated and market-validated tools and technologies that activate the intelligence and power of the heart to dramatically reduce stress while empowering health, performance and behavioral change in individuals and organizations. HeartMath's award winning emWave® technologies monitor and provide real time feedback on heart rhythm (HRV) coherence levels, an important indicator of mental and emotional state. HeartMath also offers training and certification programs for organizations, health professionals and coaches, and a self-paced online personal development program called HeartMastery for individuals.

Dr. Rozman has been a psychologist in research and practice, entrepreneur and business executive for over 30 years. She was founding executive director of the Institute of HeartMath, and now serves on the Institute's Scientific Advisory Board and Global Coherence Initiative Steering Committee. She is co-author with HeartMath founder Doc Childre of the Transforming series of books (New Harbinger Publications): Transforming Anger, Transforming Stress, Transforming Anxiety and Transforming Depression. She is a key spokesperson on heart intelligence and the role of the heart in stress management, performance and wellness.

For more by HeartMath, click here.

For more on emotional wellness, click here.


FBI Withholds Russia Probe Docs Requested by CongressThe FBI’s denial to cooperate is presented below:

According to a statement by the Oversight Committee, “Chaffetz requested memos, notes, summaries, and recordings to assist in the Committee’s investigation of the FBI’s independence, and which are outside the scope of the Special Counsel’s investigation.”

The documents are due June 8, 2017, but that may not happen as it appears the FBI is suddenly unwilling to cooperate…

Original Source


All staterooms include: two twin beds that are convertible to queen-size (unless stated otherwise) and sitting area. Specialty restaurant Blu a specialty restaurant featuring "clean cuisine" that also serves complimentary, full-service breakfast every day. Upgraded room service menu, only for AquaClass guests. Aromatherapy diffuser and Pillow menu. Reverie Dream Lite Mattress. (A1)


BIMCO has seen incidents, where ships suffer complete blackouts, and malfunctions in radar and other related systems, as a result of unforeseen difficulties with a software update. This means that absence of an industry-standard brings an increasing risk of incidents on ships, delays and costs to shipowners and cyber security problems.

"The industry has been living in a world of hardware. But software has been integrated into most physical equipment on the vessels, and the systems and procedures to manage the software has not kept up with technical developments, and it creates problems," says Angus Frew, Secretary General and CEO at BIMCO.

The goal of the Standard on Software Maintenance of Shipboard Equipment is to make sure software updates happen in a secure and systematic way, by increasing the visibility of the software installed on board, ensuring the effective planning of maintenance and ensuring effective communication between the different parties involved in maintaining the software. Keeping software up to date is also necessary to minimise hacking and malware problems.

The industry standard was made over a four-year period in collaboration with several industry leaders, such as BP Shipping, Maersk Line and Emarat Maritime. BIMCO and CIRM would like to see the standard become an ISO-standard. ISO has provisionally accepted the proposal. BIMCO expects a working group to complete the standard in 2021.

"We hope the entire industry will adopt these standards, to make ships safer, to prevent cyber security problems and to save money," says Mr. Frew.

Explore more details herebelow:


Solgar NAC (N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine) 600mg Vegicaps 60

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Solgar N.A.C. is an amino acid which may help to protect and improve liver function. It does this by helping to detoxify the body of heavy metals. It can also aid the body to remove excess mucous from the lungs. It is often recommended to take Vitamin C in conjunction with N.A.C.

People use NAC for a variety of maladies. It's use has been promoted as a treatment for a variety of conditions including but not limited to; chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hay fever, a lung condition called fibrosing alveolitis, head and neck cancer, and lung cancer. It is also used for treating some forms of epilepsy; ear infections; complications of kidney dialysis; chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS); an autoimmune disorder called Sjogren’s syndrome; preventing sports injury complications; radiation treatment; increasing immunity to flu and H1N1 (swine) flu; and for detoxifying heavy metals such as mercury, lead, and cadmium. N-acetyl cysteine is also used for preventing alcoholic liver damage; for protecting against environmental pollutants including carbon monoxide, chloroform, urethanes and certain herbicides; for reducing toxicity of ifosfamide and doxorubicin, drugs that are used for cancer treatment; as a hangover remedy; for preventing kidney damage due to certain X-ray dyes; and for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

This food supplement is suitable for vegans.

One capsule daily.

BRAND Solgar
FORM Vegicaps
Country of Origin United States


Challenges of Preserving a Multimedia Installation

Challenges of Preserving a Multimedia Installation

Thursday 7 December 2017

Earlier this year, in January, students of the MA ‘Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image’ were presented with four different case studies. Each project was introduced by a specialist from EYE, under whose supervision a group of four to five students would dedicate their time for the duration of four weeks. The following report describes one of those projects: Moving Pictures.

Rien Hagen standing inside his installation, 1995 (one of five available photographs that depict the actual installation as it once was).

Moving Pictures

Moving Pictures is the name of an installation by Rien Hagen, which was on display, together with two other installations, during the two-week exhibition 500 Years of Film, in the Theater aan het Spui in November 1995. The exhibition was organized by the Cinematheek Haags Filmhuis, which hosted an accompanying two-day conference, inviting a variety of speakers who, through a series of lectures and debates, reflected on the state of cinema as it celebrated its centenary.

Hagen’s installation was inspired by, or even based on, Anne Hollander’s book Moving Pictures. Hollander, an art historian, gave permission to use the title of her book for the installation and was present herself during the conference and opening of the exhibition. In her book, Hollander describes the birth and rise of cinema not merely as a technological invention, but above all as the continuation of a specific form of imagery that was established by Northern-European painters. She argues that these painters suggested, by using a variety of techniques, that there was a world beyond the physical frame of the painting, resulting in a form of imagery that can or should be considered proto-cinematic. By projecting some of these proto-cinematic paintings in conjunction with famous excerpts from films, Hagen wanted to highlight the connection between proto- and contemporary cinema in his installation.

Remnants of the Past

Rough first sketch of the installation, the final screens would measure 11 metres wide and 4 metres high.

Our project evolved around the question how such an installation, which now merely exists in parts and on paper, could be best preserved, effectively enabling the possibility of a future reconstruction that mimics, or at least approaches, the experience of the past visitor. The following sources were available to us from the outset:

  • - 192 framed slides.
  • - Over 300 slide duplicates.
  • - 10 cans of 16mm film positives.
  • - 4 cans of 16mm film, A-B negative rolls (8 rolls in total).
  • - 2 Hi 8 tapes, which were solely used to record 8 tracks of audio.
  • - 1 compact cassette.
  • - A post-production script.
  • - A printed sequence of all images, moving and still (sometimes referred to as a timeline).
  • - 5 photographs of the installation (from 1995).

Framed slides, originals and backups.

The photographs of the installation provided an entry point for our research. The installation consisted of four dark transparent screens, which allowed backlit projection, creating a square room which could be entered from one of the corners. Each screen, or wall, could have still images projected onto it at four different locations. Besides these still images, the photographs made clear that film could be projected at the centre of each screen. This indicated that there would have been at least sixteen slide projectors, four per screen, and four 16mm film projectors, one behind each screen. A schemata, acquired at a later stage of our research, confirmed this setup.

Schemata of the installation showing various projector locations.

The framed slides, which were used in the actual installation, bear handwritten annotations that indicate trough a letter on which wall each slide was projected (A, B, C or D). Next to this letter a number was written, ranging from 1 to 4, specifying the exact location on the wall where the image was to be projected.

Example of a series of slides which were all projected on the same wall. Because of the handwritten annotations, it was decided to preserve these slides as a whole, including the frames.

The 16mm positives did not contain many images, some rolls were even completely void. It was to be expected that the actual film rolls used for the installation would contain a lot of black material, since there were four different film projectors, and often there would be no film projected at all during the runtime of the installation. However, none of the prints would match the sequence of images, as provided by the film related documentation, at a specific wall,. The A-B negatives proved to be more promising. There were four cans in total (now eight, for the rolls have been re-canned individually), which all included an A and B roll. The cans were labelled A to D, and the images on the negatives did in fact correspond to the image locations as provided by the timeline. There was however a slight discrepancy between the timestamps in the timeline and the ones provided by the Steenbeck’s counter while viewing the material. Nevertheless, it is very likely that the A-B negatives were in fact used to create the final prints that were projected. The negatives were in excellent condition and would only need dust removal before being processed once more.

Several cans containing 16mm positives or A-B negative rolls.

The compact cassette contained three citations of poems which would accompany specific images while the installation was running. The cassette itself was not used during the installation and should be considered working material. However, the Hi 8 tapes (one being a backup) were used for the installation. This carrier, as we later learned, was chosen because of two reasons. First, the production team simply had access to this specific technology at that time, which made the choice cost efficient. Second, this carrier was able to contain eight separate sound tracks, delivering stereo sound to each individual wall.

The Tascam DA-88 (left), which was used to produce and read the Hi 8 tapes (right) of the installation. Nico Bunnik, who originally worked on the sound for Hagen’s installation, maintained the unit in his studio and was able to digitize the Hi 8 tape for us twenty-two years later.

Cataloguing and Scanning

In order to preserve both material and concept, it was decided to catalogue all slides, including detailed descriptions in EYE’s collection database. There were over 300, non-framed, acetate positive duplicate prints of the slides. For the sake of preservation, all duplicates have been transferred to acid-free folders, while the framed slides that were broken had their glass removed and its folder cleaned thoroughly by a cotton swab. In consultation with EYE specialists it was decided that the originally used slides would remain in their frames, for the annotations on these frames are valuable to the concept and should be preserved as well. Logically, the duplicates were used for scanning purposes, they had never been used in the installation and proved to be in better overall condition.

The time-consuming task of organizing over hundreds of slides. Connecting each slide to a specific wall and position of the installation proved to be a daunting task.

Organized and catalogued slides, transferred to acid-free folders, ready for their trip to the vault.

Connecting the Dots

Even though all content-material seemed to be available, many questions remained, especially concerning the physical and technical setup of the installation. Dealing with a media art-installation, the logical next step was to contact the artist himself, not only to gather missing technological information, but also to focus on the ethics that are involved during a possible re-installation of the work. In other words, to discover and determine what could be considered the essential characteristics of the installation. Rien Hagen suggested to also contact Gerard Holthuis and Nico Bunnik, who were involved with the installation’s production and sound, respectively.

During a variety of interviews a great deal of information was gathered which allowed us to fill in most of the gaps that were still there. Besides specific technical details on, for example, the way in which sound and images were synced or why and how different lenses were used for the slide projectors, Holthuis was able to provide us with a much more detailed production script than we originally had access to. This addition made it possible to finalize an exact timeline.

Excerpt from the production script as provided by Gerard Holthuis. Besides connecting sound and image, it also specifies the location on the screen/wall where an image was to be projected.

Regarding a possible reconstruction of the installation opinions differed. According to Bunnik a reinstallation should ideally be fully analogue, especially the slide projectors, for he identifies the analogue setup as a unique attribute that added to the overall experience of the artwork. In contrast, Hagen and Holthuis argued that if they had had the means in 1995 to produce the installation digitally, they would have chosen to do so. To them, the noise produced by the analogue apparatus was distractive and interfered with the overall experience. Hagen defines specific aspects, like the dimensions of the screens and projections, the fact that the apparatus was hidden from the inside of the installation and the actual content as key components that should not be tempered with.

It’s logical that the content plays a defining role, but to what extend are its delivering mechanisms hands-off? If an artist states that his or her intended goals would have been better served by newer technologies, should one embrace such alterations and implement them in future editions? One might argue that such a deviation automatically leads to a different work of art. Following a similar, yet slightly different, line of argumentation one could assert that especially now, in an era where the digital has seemingly taken over, a return to the analogue apparatus would add an extra dimension to the historical exploration of cinematographic aspects as was investigated by Hagen’s installation in the first place.

The difference between preserving a film and a multimedia installation is primarily that an installation demands the safeguarding of a concept as well. A film may already be accompanied by a variety of film related material, such as posters, catalogues, scripts and photographs, to name a few. A multimedia installation, such as the one described above, potentially multiplies this accumulation of related materials and inscribes them with a certain necessity. Not only do they add something external to its subject, they may provide specific context that is crucial for a possible future reestablishment of the work, its body and meaning.

Research by: Aldo van Keulen, Fatma Amer, Costanza Lo Cicero and Katia Rossini
Written by: Aldo van Keulen


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by Jonathan David Gordon on Dec. 04, 2017

Divorce & Family Law

Your injustice may be someone else’s fair outcome. Sometimes in litigation, when a settlement is not possible, a Judge will make a decision based on the facts and the application of those facts to the Law.  In Family Court, the facts can be disputed and create ambiguity for a Judge. If facts are disputed and there has been no presentation of definitive and convincing proof in a motion hearing, then a Judge will often be forced to schedule a plenary hearing or trial on those disputed facts.  The trial is different from oral argument in a motion hearing since in a trial, there is sworn testimony and evidence may be used as proof of the proposition being asserted by the parties.  Witnesses may be sworn in and testimony is subject to cross examination. The rules of evidence will control what the Judge will admit into evidence and ultimately, at the end of this hearing, the Judge will decide the issue and make findings of fact as well as conclusions of Law.  Frequently, the Judge will strike a compromise position, giving something and denying something to both parties if it seems like the fair thing to do.  Sometimes, but much less frequently, one party will get a “home run” and totally prevail in the Court’s findings.

        It is not unusual for the losing party to be upset or to believe that the court’s finding was unjust, wrong or biased.  In New Jersey where I practice, there are mechanisms for having another look at the issue just decided. For example, a party may submit a motion for reconsideration.  This has to be applied for within 20 days of the Court Order that is being contested and cannot simply be for the reason that the party did not like the Judge’s decision.   Rather, among other things, a party would have to show the Court that the Judge omitted some important fact or misapplied the Law to these facts. Also, if there is brand-new information that just became available, that had it been previously submitted to the Court would have resulted in a different outcome, then this would be appropriate to  reconsider.  Being unhappy with the decision, however, is not a basis to file this motion.

        If a party is not able to get relief through a motion for reconsideration, an appeal may be considered.  In fact, when applying for an appeal (e.g. to the Appellate Division), you will be asked on the Notice of Appeal if you already submitted a motion for reconsideration or a motion to Stay Judgment (pending appeal) and if it was already rejected.  You have 45 days from the day of the original order to submit the Notice of Appeal. Otherwise, it is generally too late to appeal.  In Family Court, most appeals fail and the Appellate Division will affirm the decision of the court below.  Part of that is because the Appellate Division gives much deference to the Family Court Judge. This is due to the fact that the judge has expertise in this area and had the benefit of being there, hearing the arguments first hand and being able to make credibility determinations in the process of rendering a decision. The Family Part Judge has a certain amount of discretion to make a decision based on what the Judge deems to be appropriate and just.  The Appellate Division will send the case back to the trial judge (remand) or reverse the decision below if (among other things) the Appellate Judges believe that the Judge abused their discretion (went too far).  Or, the Appellate Division will reverse and remand, or simply reverse if the Judge made an error of Law.  These are simplifications, designed to give you a basic idea of the process. There are different ways that the Appellate Division will review a Judge’s decision, with different standards or criteria for making their determination, as requested by the petitioner, but this is not the purpose of the current explanation.

        Regarding justice and fairness, a Judge (at the trial level, rather than the Appellate level) will occasionally make a decision based on fairness or “equity”.  In New Jersey, the Family Court is a section of the Chancery Division of the Superior Court and is considered to be a “Court of Equity”. This means that at times, when there is no clear rule of Law that compels a Judge to rule a certain way, a Judge may decide an issue based on what is fair to do. This is usually found in financial issues, where a party may be repaid or at least partially compensated for expenses they previously incurred, because it is the right thing to do, to resolve a case. But a Judge also has the discretion to decline to do that based on other determinations (e.g. the party seeking to be compensated had “unclean hands” or some culpability or bad behavior).

        Justice from the point of view of the litigant may be self-centered. That is, if I lose my argument or application, then it is unjust by (my) definition.  A party can be passionate and sincerely believe that they are right and deserving (to win) but a Judge may disagree based on the totality of all of the circumstances and from a more objective outside perspective. At times, I have heard my clients or adverse clients (the other party) complain that the Judge was corrupt, a friend of the other lawyer, biased, or unintelligent.  It is difficult to defend a Judge to one’s own client, especially when the client is unhappy over a decision that the Judge made, but it is highly unlikely that the Judge was corrupt, or biased or influenced by friendship with a particular lawyer. Judges are not unintelligent.  Maybe sometimes they are impatient, or overworked, or they have had enough of the petty bickering that they hear in a particular case. It has happened, however, that on a rare occasion when there is an actual bias or appearance of bias, that the Appellate Division or even the Judicial Ethics Committee, might step in.  This, however, is something that is rarely, if ever, seen by an attorney perhaps in an entire career. That does not mean that it does not, or could not happen, however.

        In certain areas of Law, there may be a bias that seems unfair. For example, in Child Protective Services (CPS) cases, the Judge usually sides with the Deputy Attorney General (the lawyer representing the CPS agency) in New Jersey, The Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P).  Even when the Division has no case, has a flimsy set of facts, most Judges will usually defer to the Deputy Attorney General (D.A.G.)’s arguments, as well as the Court-appointed Law Guardian for the child, and err on the side of caution due to concerns about the safety of the child.  Since in New Jersey (and elsewhere) the Court has the power to make decisions as a parent (parens patriae powers), then a Judge can at least temporarily change custody of a child, kick a parent out of the house until a further determination is made, and can continue the case for up to a year until it either gets dismissed of goes further if appropriate.  That means that for a small minority of parents who are wrongfully accused of abuse or neglect of a child, that they are treated as guilty until proven innocent later on.  The allegations made by the Division can be later discredited at trial, but the trial can take 3 to 6 months to begin after the initial Complaint is submitted. For a parent who did not commit an act of abuse or neglect, but is accused of doing so, that parent may have to spend tens of thousands of dollars defending themselves (if they do not qualify for public defender) and in the interim, may have to sleep on someone’s couch if they were ordered to leave their home (leaving the child in the care of the other parent or another relative). I had a case like this where the father lived in his car for months until the case was dismissed in his favor.  Parenting time can be ordered to be supervised only, or infrequently allowed, such as every other week for a couple hours. That targeted parent may have to submit to a battery of psychological tests, substance abuse assessments, and perhaps submit to treatment (even before a diagnosis is rendered).  The treatment that may be ordered can include anger management training and parenting skills training.  The assessments may be over-broad and essentially can become a fishing expedition to find some reason why the child should not be in the care of that parent.  The CPS workers generally do not back down, assuming that the parent is “guilty” and that they should receive only supervised parenting time and go for treatment.  Ultimately, that is for a Judge to decide, but the process moves slowly and the Judges usually will go along with the recommendations of the Division and Law Guardian (who usually are in agreement with each other).

        The purpose of describing this latter issue in CPS cases, is that for a parent who is unjustly accused of child abuse or neglect, much damage can be done. This can be psychological, financial, and certainly to the parent-child relationship.  A child’s behavior can deteriorate with the sudden inexplicable absence of a parent with whom they are bonded.  A parent can be forced to go for treatment for a “condition” for which they were not (yet) diagnosed, and their compliance with the treatment and court-ordered assessments will be used to later decide when or if the parent and child can go back to normal.  It is a very difficult area of Law, replete with unfairness when a client has not been abusive or neglectful to their child.  Importantly, however, most of the allegations of child abuse or neglect turn out to be real, the protections of the State are clearly necessary, and children’s lives are often salvaged or saved by the efforts of the child protective services and the Court.  We are only speaking here of the times when an innocent parent is swept up into the system that assumes that they are not so innocent.  That is a painful process for that particular parent or family.

        Justice and fairness is usually accomplished in Family Court.  There are many variables to juggle, including the financial issues, credits due a party, child support and alimony, equitable distribution, anticipated retirement age, and most importantly, the best interests and safety of any children.  Arriving at custody and parenting time decisions is sometimes a daunting task, requiring expert assessments.  All of this takes time, money and the desire to settle the issues through negotiations.  If the parties can negotiate and make compromises, they may be able to reach a fair settlement without going to trial. They can save money on legal fees and maintain a civil, cooperative relationship for the benefit of any children they may have. Then the parties do not have to be so concerned with justice and what is fair. They can mediate their issues make decisions themselves without a Judge having to intercede.  When the parties cannot agree, cannot make decisions amicably, and continue to fight with each other, a Judge will make the decision(s) for them and this will open the door to a party feeling that they were judged unfairly.  It is better to avoid this by making a conscious decision to work out an agreement, even if not totally satisfactory.  A good agreement requires compromise, sacrifice and the ability to keep things in perspective.  That is not easy, but the results can make the effort very worthwhile. On the other hand, being self-righteous, angry, feeling victimized, needing to malign and put down the other party invariably leads to more litigation, more legal fees, and the likelihood of feeling that you did not get a fair shake in court.