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Check out the following NASA opportunities for the education community. Full descriptions are listed below.
Free NASA Educator Professional Development Webinars
Audience: In-service, Pre-service, Home School and Informal Educators
Next Event Date: May 19, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
Call for Proposals — 2016 NASA Education Aeronautics Scholarship and Advanced STEM Training and Research (AS&ASTAR) Fellowship
Audience: First-year Master's or Doctoral Students
Proposal Deadline: June 17, 2016
National Science Foundation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities — Undergraduate Program
Audience: Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Research Initiation Awards — Notice of Intent Deadline: July 26, 2016
Various Projects — Notice of Intent Deadline: Sept. 6, 2016
Broadening Participation Research Centers — Preliminary Proposal Deadline: March 21, 2017
New 'Spot the Station' Tool Expands Ground-to-Space Connection
Audience: All Educators and Students
2016 von Kármán Lecture Series — Attend in Person or View Online
Audience: All Educators; Students in Grades 9-12 and Higher Education
Next Lecture Date: May 19, 2016, at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT)
Space Shuttle Thermal Protective Tiles and Blankets Available for Educational Use
Audience: Educational Institutions, Museums and Other Education Organizations
Free Tours of Facilities at NASA's Glenn Research Center
Audience: All Educators and Students
Next Event Date: May 21, 2016
Smithsonian TechQuest: Astronaut Academy
Audience: Designed for Families With Children Ages 10 to 14, but Open to All
Next Event Date: May 21, 2016, 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. EDT
Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Presents "STEM in 30" Webcast Series
Audience: Grades 6-8 Educators and Students
Next Webcast Date: May 25, 2016, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. EDT
Smallsat Technology Partnerships Solicitation
Audience: Higher Education Educators and Students
Proposal Deadline: May 25, 2016
U.S. Department of Education Accepting Applications for Investing in Innovation (i3) Development Competition
Audience: Local Educational Agencies and Nonprofit Organizations
Development Pre-application Deadline: May 25, 2016
Student Spaceflight Experiments Program — Mission 11 to the International Space Station
Audience: School Districts Serving Grades 5-12, Informal Education Institutions, Colleges and Universities
Inquiry Deadline: May 27, 2016
Call for Proposals — Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program
Audience: Higher Education and Informal Education Institutions
Notice of Intent Request Date: May 27, 2016
Proposal Deadline: July 21, 2016
2016 National Academy of Engineering – Engineering for You Video Contest 3
Audience: All Educators and Students
Entry Deadline: May 31, 2016
DEADLINE EXTENDED: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators
Audience: K-12 Educators
New Application Deadline: May 31, 2016
NASA History Program Office Fall 2016 Internships
Audience: Higher Education Educators and Students
Fall 2016 Application Deadline: June 1, 2016
U.S. Department of Education Accepting Applications for Charter Schools Program Grants for State Educational Agencies
Audience: State Educational Agencies in States With Statutes Specifically Authorizing the Establishment of Charter Schools
Application Deadline: June 1, 2016
U.S. Department of Education Accepting Applications for Magnet School Assistance Program Grants
Audience: Local Education Agencies, or a Consortia of LEAs
Application Deadline: June 1, 2016
Call for Proposals: NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate's University Leadership Initiative
Audience: Accredited, Degree-granting U.S. Colleges and Universities
Proposal Deadline: June 7, 2016
Call for Proposals: Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP-2)
Audience: Universities and Nonprofit Organizations
Proposal Deadline: June 15, 2016
Call for Papers: NASA in the 'Long' Civil Rights Movement Symposium
Audience: Academics, Graduate Students and Independent Scholars
Abstract Submission Deadline: July 31, 2016
Symposium Dates: March 16-17, 2017
Help NASA Study Mars — Planet Four: Terrains
Audience: All Educators and Students
Project Timeframe: Ongoing Through Mid-2016
Future Engineers 'Think Outside the Box' Challenge
Audience: K-12 Educators and Students
Entry Deadline: Aug. 1, 2016
Call for Submissions — NASA Announcement for High Impact / Broad Implementation STEM Education Partnerships (EDUCATION01SP16)
Audience: Education Institutions and Organizations
Applications Accepted on a Rolling Basis Through Dec. 31, 2017
New YouTube Kids Playlist — The Solar System and Beyond: Kids Edition
Audience: All Educators and Students
Don't miss out on upcoming NASA education opportunities.
For a full list of events, opportunities and more, visit the Educator and Student Current Opportunity pages on NASA's website:
— Educators https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
— Students https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/current-opps-index.html
Are you looking for NASA educational materials to support your STEM curriculum? Search hundreds of resources by subject, grade level, type and keyword at https://www.nasa.gov/education/resources/.
Free Education Webinars From NASA Educator Professional Development
The NASA STEM Educator Professional Development Collaborative at Texas State University is presenting a series of free webinars open to all educators. Join NASA education specialists to learn about activities, lesson plans, educator guides and resources that bring NASA into your classroom. Registration is required to participate. To register, simply click on the link provided beneath the webinar description.
Earth Right Now: Atmosphere
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-12
Event Date: May 19, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. EDT
NASA's fleet of satellites, its airborne missions and researchers address some of the critical challenges facing our planet today. Webinar participants will learn about clouds, contrails, Earth's atmosphere and GLOBE, an international science and education program. GLOBE gives students the opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process and to contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the Earth system and the global environment. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/178800
Join Us on the Journey to Mars: Farming on Mars
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 4-10
Event Date: May 23, 2016, at 4 p.m. EDT
This webinar will focus on challenges of nutrition and growing food on Mars to sustain astronauts through NASA's Journey to Mars. The topics in the webinar will focus on Earth-Mars comparisons and aspects needed to grow food on Mars. Participants will also learn how to incorporate the challenges of a journey to Mars into classroom curriculum using two engineering design challenges. This webinar will focus on NGSS LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics and ESS2: Earth's Systems. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/178723
Air and Space — Airplanes and Rockets: Contrails, Clouds and Human Activity
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 6-12
Event Date: May 24, 2016, at 4 p.m. EDT
This webinar focuses on cloud types, in particular contrails, and Earth's Energy Balance. This session will highlight the S'COOL and GLOBE programs with emphasis on student observations to conduct computer-based statistical analysis. Clouds are the largest variable controlling Earth's atmospheric temperature and climate. Contrails, especially persistent contrails, represent a human-caused increase in high thin clouds in the Earth's atmosphere. This webinar will focus on NGSS ESS1 and ESS2 as well as CCSM Statistics and Probability. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/172360
Join Us on the Journey to Mars: Let's Move! — Kinesthetic Problem Solving as Related to Understanding Mars
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades K-9
Event Date: May 25, 2016, at 5 p.m. EDT
The Power of Movement in teaching and learning is well documented in education research. This webinar will integrate the kinesthetic aspects of learning in understanding The Journey to Mars. We will explore astronaut training, rover missions and how satellites work to send messages back to Earth. With summer programming on the horizon, you will want to include these kinesthetic lessons in your planning. So Let's Move! Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/170262
Earth Right Now: Hurricanes in Your Classroom
Audience: Pre-service, In-service, Home School and Informal Educators of Grades 5-8
Event Date: May 26, 2016, at 6 p.m. EDT
As the 2016 hurricane season is about to begin, explore hurricanes, tropical cyclones and other severe storms while integrating NASA STEM curriculum, online resources, missions and the Next Generation Science Standards into your classroom instruction. Register online to participate. https://www.etouches.com/170338
For a full schedule of upcoming webinars, visit http://www.txstate-epdc.net/events/.
Please direct questions about this series of webinars to Steve Culivan at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Call for Proposals — 2016 NASA Education Aeronautics Scholarship and Advanced STEM Training and Research (AS&ASTAR) Fellowship
NASA Education is seeking proposals for a NASA Education Aeronautics Scholarship and Advanced STEM Training and Research, or AS&ASTAR, Fellowship opportunity. The NASA Education AS&ASTAR Fellowship provides funding for fellowship candidates to perform graduate research at their respective campuses during the academic year under the guidance of their faculty adviser and a NASA researcher.
To be eligible to submit a proposal, candidates must be U.S. citizens or naturalized citizens who hold a bachelor's degree in a STEM field earned prior to Aug. 31, 2016. Candidates must be enrolled in a master's or doctoral degree program no later than September 2016 and intend to pursue a research-based master's or Ph.D. program in a NASA-relevant field.
Proposals are due June 17, 2016.
For full program details, visit https://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary.do?method=init&solId=%7b87B17E76-1FDD-A38A-6A69-050E4EB3C8A4%7d&path=open.
Questions concerning this program element may be directed to Elizabeth Cartier at firstname.lastname@example.com.
National Science Foundation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities — Undergraduate Program
The National Science Foundation is seeking proposals for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities — Undergraduate Program. HBCU-UP is committed to enhancing the quality of undergraduate STEM education and research at Historically Black Colleges and Universities as a means to broaden participation in the nation's STEM workforce. HBCU-UP realizes this purpose by providing awards to develop, implement, and study innovative models and approaches for making dramatic improvements in the preparation and success of HBCU undergraduate students so that they may participate successfully in graduate programs and/or careers in STEM disciplines.
HBCU-UP provides support for a variety of opportunities. These include:
Research Initiation Awards: These awards provide support for STEM faculty at HBCUs to pursue new research at the home institution, an NSF-funded research center, a research-intensive institution or a national laboratory. The deadline to submit a required notice of intent for a Research Initiation Award is July 26, 2016. Full proposals are due Oct. 4, 2016.
Targeted Infusion Projects, Broadening Participation Research Projects, Implementation Projects, and Achieving Competitive Excellence Implementation Projects: These projects aim to support efforts that increase STEM participation at HBCUs. See the website for individual project descriptions. The deadline to submit a required notice of intent for these projects is Sept. 6, 2016. Full proposals are due Nov. 22, 2016.
Broadening Participation Research Centers: These centers represent the collective intelligence of HBCU STEM higher education and serve as the national hubs for the rigorous study and broad dissemination of the critical pedagogies and culturally sensitive interventions that contribute to the success of HBCUs in educating African-American STEM undergraduates. Centers are expected to conduct research on STEM education and broadening participation in STEM; perform outreach to HBCUs to build capacity for conducting this type of research; and work to transfer and disseminate promising participation-broadening research to enhance STEM education and research outcomes for African-American undergraduates across the country. The preliminary proposal deadline for this opportunity is March 21, 2017. Full proposals are due Nov. 22, 2017.
For more information on the overall Historically Black Colleges and Universities — Undergraduate Program, visit http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5481.
Please direct questions about these opportunities to Claudia Rankins at firstname.lastname@example.com and Andrea Johnson at firstname.lastname@example.com.
New 'Spot the Station' Tool Expands Ground-to-Space Connection
When the International Space Station is visible from Earth — typically at dawn and dusk — it is the night sky's second brightest object, after the moon. A new companion tool to NASA's popular Spot the Station service makes it easier to share information about where and when to see the orbital laboratory. The International Space Station Program has created a widget that organizations can easily embed on their websites to make the service broadly available for people who want to catch a glimpse of the station as it flies overhead.
Test the widget and find instructions on how to embed it via NASA's website: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/widget/.
2016 von Kármán Lecture Series — Attend in Person or View Online
The Theodore von Kármán Lecture Series, named after the founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and presented by JPL's Office of Communication and Education, shares the excitement of the space program's missions, instruments and other technologies.
Lectures take place twice per month, on consecutive Thursdays and Fridays. The Thursday lectures take place in JPL's Theodore von Kármán Auditorium, and Friday lectures take place at Pasadena City College's Vosloh Forum. Both start at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT). Admission and parking are free for all lectures. No reservations are required, but seating is limited. The Thursday evening lectures are streamed live for viewing online. Archives of past lectures are also available online.
Next Lecture in the Series:
Fire and Ice … and Methane: Exploring Mars and Titan
Event Date: May 19 and May 20, 2016, at 7 p.m. PDT (10 p.m. EDT)
The search for life elsewhere in the solar system has tantalized humanity for centuries. This search has led us to look outward toward places that may have life (Mars) or the chemical precursors for life (Titan). Join Cassini Mission engineer and technologist Dr. Morgan Cable for a discussion about how the search for life beyond Earth has led us also to look inward to recreate other worlds in the laboratory and study places on Earth that can act as analog environments.
For more information about the Theodore von Kármán Lecture Series, including a complete list of upcoming lectures, visit http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures.php.
Questions about this series should be directed to http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/contact_JPL.php.
Space Shuttle Thermal Protective Tiles and Blankets Available for Educational Use
NASA invites U.S. educational institutions to request space shuttle thermal protective tiles, space shuttle thermal protective blankets, and other special items offered on a first-come, first-serve basis while quantities last. Organizations previously allocated thermal protective tiles may request an additional three tiles.
Nonprofit museums, libraries and planetariums (sponsored through their respective State Agency Surplus Property, or SASP, organization) are also eligible to make requests. Visit the link below for special instructions to request items. To find the contact information for the SASP representative for your area, visit http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/100851.
A nominal shipping fee must be paid online with a credit card. To make a request for special items online, visit http://gsaxcess.gov/htm/nasa/userguide/Special_Item_Request_Procedure.pdf.
Please direct questions about this opportunity to email@example.com.
Free Tours of Facilities at NASA's Glenn Research Center
NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, is offering tours that take visitors behind the scenes and inside certain research facilities. Glenn scientists and engineers serve as guides. Tours and open house events will be held each month through October 2016. Tours are free for groups and individuals, but to guarantee admission, reservations are required. Visitor parking is also free.
On the days of the tours, a bus departs from Glenn's main gate every hour, beginning at 10 a.m. The last tour departs at 1 p.m. Each tour lasts about 45 minutes and is followed by a stop at Glenn's Gift Shop.
Glenn's 2016 Tour Schedule
May 21-22, 2016 — Open House at NASA's Glenn Research Center: NASA Glenn is opening its doors to the public for a weekend open house. Visitors will be able to tour many of the center's world-class facilities and see how the center improves aviation and fosters exploration to benefit everyone on Earth. Visitors also will be able to meet an astronaut and talk with engineers, scientists and technicians who work on space programs. Registration for this event is not required.
June 11-12, 2016 — Open House at NASA's Plum Brook Station: NASA Glenn is opening the doors of Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, to the public for a weekend open house. Visitors will be able to tour the station's world-class facilities and step inside the world's largest vacuum chamber, which has tested parts of rockets, Mars landers and Orion hardware. Visitors also will be able to meet an astronaut and talk with engineers, scientists and technicians. Registration for this event is not required.
July 9, 2016: Radioisotope Power System, Systems Integration Laboratory: See how NASA emulates the electrical characteristics of a spacecraft system in the Radioisotope Power System, Systems Integration Laboratory. RPS is a source of electricity for NASA space missions from the surface of Mars to the realm of the outer planets.
Aug. 6, 2016 — See Things a Different Way: Check out Glenn's Graphics and Visualization, or GVIS, and the Reconfigurable User-interface and Virtual Reality Exploration, or GRUVE, Laboratories. The GVIS lab uses advanced computer input and output devices paired with a variety of natural user interface devices and 3-D displays. The GRUVE lab is used to analyze data obtained either by computer simulation or from research test facilities.
Sept. 10, 2016 — Vibration Testing: Join us on a tour of Glenn's Structural Dynamics Laboratory, where things get shaken to verify their survivability. Several experiments that currently are operating on the International Space Station were tested in this lab.
Oct. 1, 2016 — Prepare for Impact: Come explore Glenn's Ballistic Impact Facility. See the laboratory that helped to identify the cause of the space shuttle Columbia accident and return NASA's shuttle fleet to flight.
Tours are open to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. To guarantee admission, reservations are required. For more information on tours and how to make reservations, visit https://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/events/tours.html.
Please direct questions about the tours to Sheila Reese at email@example.com.
Smithsonian TechQuest: Astronaut Academy
Smithsonian TechQuest: Astronaut Academy, at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, is a free alternate-reality game that will challenge you to become an astronaut-in-training for a future trip to Mars. Choose what role you will play on the mission; engage in fun interactive activities; and explore the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills you will need as a next-generation space traveler. Along the way, you'll learn about some of the museum's fascinating artifacts.
Instructions and guidance are given via a special webpage accessed on your mobile device. Players should bring their own phones or devices equipped with an internet browser and a camera. Having a digital picture-taking device (smartphone, tablet, camera) is highly recommended but not required.
The game is aimed at upper elementary and middle school visitors and their families. Do you want to bring a group? Reservations are required for groups larger than 15.
The next offering of the Astronaut Academy is on May 21, 2016. Begin your training with Astronaut Orientation in the Claude Moore Education Center Classroom 1 located on the first level across from the restrooms. Astronaut Orientation is offered at regular intervals between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. The last opportunity to start the game is at 2:30 p.m. A self-guided activity, the game should take between 60 and 90 minutes, and staff will help you along the way.
For more information, including a full list of upcoming Astronaut Academy dates, visit http://airandspace.si.edu/events/techquest/.
Please direct questions about the Smithsonian TechQuest: Astronaut Academy to the visitor service line at 202-633-2214.
Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Presents "STEM in 30" Webcast Series
The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum is presenting a series of free education webcast events called "STEM in 30." This new program consists of live, fast-paced 30-minute webcasts designed to increase interest and engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics for students. To enhance the learning experience, students can get involved with the content through the interactive "Cover It Live" feature, which includes poll questions and classroom activities. The webcasts will be available live on the National Air and Space Museum website and will be archived for on-demand viewing.
Moon Rocks
May 25, 2016, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. EDT
Twelve men have walked on the moon. While the rest of us remain Earth-bound, we're able to learn about the moon from the rocks these 12 astronauts brought back for scientific study. We also have found lunar meteorites here on Earth — meteorites produced by impacts hitting the moon. Explore moon rocks and what they can tell us not only about the moon but also about our own planet.
"STEM in 30" webcasts are online learning experiences but are filmed in front of a live audience. If you are interested in bringing your school group to a live filming of "STEM in 30," please email firstname.lastname@example.com for details.
For more information about the Smithsonian's "STEM in 30" Webcast Series, visit http://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/stem-in-30/.
Questions about this series should be directed to the visitor service line at 202-633-2214.
Smallsat Technology Partnerships Solicitation
NASA is extending an opportunity to college and university teams to propose small spacecraft technology projects that they can conduct in collaboration with NASA researchers. The Smallsat Technology Partnerships solicitation is being issued by the Small Spacecraft Technology Program as an appendix to the Space Technology Mission Directorate's NASA Research Announcement for 2016.
NASA expects to competitively select about eight projects from among those proposed by university teams. The teams can form proposal partnerships with researchers from any of NASA's 10 field centers. Awards for each project will include up to $100,000 to each university team per year. In addition, NASA will fund the time for one NASA employee to work with each selected team. Project funding is for one year with the potential to continue for a second year.
Proposed projects could involve laboratory work to advance a particular spacecraft technology or the development of a new smallsat. NASA will be accepting proposals in four topic areas: 1) enhanced power generation and storage, 2) cross-linking communications systems, 3) relative navigation for multiple small spacecraft, and 4) instruments and sensors for small spacecraft science missions.
Proposals are due May 25, 2016.
Details and instructions for submitting proposals may be found at http://go.nasa.gov/1qc751z.
Questions about this solicitation may be directed to Rachel Khattab at firstname.lastname@example.com.
U.S. Department of Education Accepting Applications for Investing in Innovation (i3) Development Competition
The U.S. Department of Education is seeking applications for the Investing in Innovation, or i3, Development competition. This grant competition encourages innovations that maximize students' learning and engagement by transforming the school environment.
Applicants are tasked with presenting proposals to improve school climates and develop alternative strategies to exclusionary discipline. This allows schools, districts and their partners to build on the extensive work underway through the Administration's #ReThinkDiscipline initiative. This year's competition also focuses on fostering schools' racial and socioeconomic diversity and on closing gaps in opportunity for underserved students. Consistent with past years, this competition promotes innovative strategies to support students and educators as they implement rigorous standards and aligned assessments, enhance students' noncognitive skills, and serve students in rural areas.
Educators working with school districts, nonprofits and partner organizations may apply for grant awards up to $3 million. Pre-applications are due May 25, 2016.
For more information about this grant opportunity, please visit http://innovation.ed.gov/what-we-do/innovation/investing-in-innovation-i3/.
Please direct questions about this opportunity to Kelly Terpak at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Student Spaceflight Experiments Program — Mission 11 to the International Space Station
The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education, in partnership with NanoRacks LLC, announce a science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, opportunity for school districts across the U.S. and space station partner nations. The newest flight opportunity, Mission 11 to the International Space Station, gives students across a community the ability to design and propose real experiments to fly in low-Earth orbit on the space station. This opportunity is part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, or SSEP.
Each participating community will receive a real microgravity research mini-laboratory capable of supporting a single microgravity experiment and all launch services to fly the minilab to the space station in spring 2017 and return it to Earth. An experiment design competition in each community — engaging typically 300+ students — allows student teams to design and propose real experiments vying for their community′s reserved minilab.
Content resources for teachers and students support foundational instruction on science in microgravity and experimental design. Additional SSEP programming uses the experiment design competition to engage the community in embracing a learning-community model for STEM education.
This competition is open to students in grades 5-12 and college. Informal education groups and organizations also are encouraged to participate. Interested communities must inquire about the program no later than May 27, 2016. The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education is available to help interested communities in the U.S. secure the needed funding.
To learn more about this opportunity, visit the SSEP Mission 11 to International Space Station National Announcement of Opportunity at http://ssep.ncesse.org/2016/03/new-flight-opportunity-for-school-districts-announcing-student-spaceflight-experiments-program-ssep-mission-11-to-the-international-space-station-starting-september-2016/.
SSEP is enabled through a strategic partnership with NanoRacks LLC working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the use of the International Space Station as a national laboratory. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (http://www.iss-casis.org/) is a national partner on SSEP. To view a list of all SSEP national partners, visit http://ssep.ncesse.org/national-partners/.
If you have any questions about this opportunity, please email SSEP National Program Director Jeff Goldstein at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Call for Proposals — Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program
NASA is seeking proposals for a new program as part of the NASA Research Announcement "Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) 2016." The Citizen Science for Earth Systems Program's primary goal is to develop and implement capabilities to use contributions from the general public to advance understanding of Earth as a system. The program will complement NASA's observation of Earth from space, air, land and water by engaging the public in NASA's mission. The program will advance the use of citizen science in scientific research about Earth by directly supporting citizen science activities, as well as by developing technology to further citizen science research.
Through this solicitation, two types of proposals are sought — citizen science research and low-cost sensor deployment for the collection of well-calibrated citizen science data.
Notices of Intent are requested by May 27, 2016, and proposals are due July 21, 2016.
For more information, visit http://go.nasa.gov/1SUOO63 .
Questions concerning this program element may be directed to Kevin Murphy at email@example.com.
2016 National Academy of Engineering – Engineering for You Video Contest 3
The National Academy of Engineering, or NAE, is launching the Engineering for You Video Contest 3, or E4U3.
This year, participants are tasked with creating a 1- to 2-minute video focused on mega-engineering. Mega-engineering projects typically address important needs of large populations and/or societies, require teams working across countries and cultures on a solution, and involve at least three disciplines including engineering.
The competition is open to all individuals or teams in the following competition categories:
— Middle school students and younger (grades K-8)
— High school students (grades 9-12)
— Tertiary education students (two-year college through graduate school, full or part time)
— The general public
The main prize is $25,000, and videos will be accepted through May 31, 2016.
For more information, visit http://www.nae.edu/e4u3/.
Questions about the E4U3 Video Contest should be directed to email@example.com.
DEADLINE EXTENDED: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is accepting applications for the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators. This award recognizes outstanding K-12 teachers who employ innovative approaches to environmental education and use the environment as a context for learning.
Up to two teachers from each of EPA's 10 regions will be selected to receive this award. Applicants will be evaluated based on five primary factors: innovation; achievement; service to the community and underserved populations; leadership; and integration of environmental education.
The White House Council on Environmental Quality, in partnership with EPA, administers this award to honor, support and encourage educators who incorporate environmental education in their classrooms and teaching methods.
Applications now are due May 31, 2016.
For more information, visit http://go.usa.gov/3u7XQ.
Please direct questions about this award opportunity to firstname.lastname@example.com.
NASA History Program Office Fall 2016 Internships
The NASA History Program Office is seeking undergraduate and graduate students for fall 2016 internships. The History Program Office maintains archival materials to answer research questions from NASA personnel, journalists, scholars, students at all levels and others from around the world. The division also edits and publishes several books and monographs each year. It maintains a large number of websites on NASA history.
Students of all majors are welcome to apply. While detailed prior knowledge of the aeronautics and space fields is not necessary, a keen interest and some basic familiarity with these topics are needed. Strong research, writing and editing skills are essential. Experience with social media is a plus.
Intern projects are flexible. Typical projects include handling a variety of information requests, writing posts for the NASA history Twitter and Facebook pages, editing historical manuscripts, doing research and writing biographical sketches, and identifying and captioning photos.
Applications for fall 2016 internships are due June 1, 2016.
For more information, visit http://history.nasa.gov/interncall.htm.
If you have questions about this opportunity, please contact Bill Barry at firstname.lastname@example.com.
U.S. Department of Education Accepting Applications for Charter Schools Program Grants for State Educational Agencies
The U.S. Department of Education is seeking applications for the Charter Schools Program Grants for State Educational Agencies. This grant competition has an estimated $160,000,000 in funds and anticipates making 8-12 awards.
The Charter Schools Program Grants for State Educational Agencies program is a competitive grant program that enables SEAs to run state-level grant competitions to support new high-quality public charter schools. The program also focuses on strengthening accountability across the charter school sector and on expanding access to high-quality charter schools for educationally disadvantaged students.
State educational agencies in states with a state statute specifically authorizing the establishment of charter schools may apply.
Applications are due June 1, 2016.
For more information about this grant opportunity, please visit http://innovation.ed.gov/what-we-do/charter-schools/charter-school-program-state-educational-agencies-sea/.
Please direct questions about this opportunity to Kathryn Meeley at email@example.com.
U.S. Department of Education Accepting Applications for Magnet School Assistance Program Grants
The U.S. Department of Education is seeking applications for the Magnet School Assistance Program. This program provides grants to local educational agencies to establish and operate magnet schools that are operated under a court-ordered or federally approved voluntary desegregation plan. These grants assist in the desegregation of public schools by supporting the elimination, reduction and prevention of minority group isolation in elementary and secondary schools with substantial numbers of minority group students.
Only local education agencies or consortia of local education agencies that are implementing court-ordered or federally approved voluntary desegregation plans that include magnet schools are eligible to apply. Private schools do not participate in this program.
Applications are due June 1, 2016.
For more information about this grant opportunity, please visit http://innovation.ed.gov/what-we-do/parental-options/magnet-school-assistance-program-msap/.
Please direct questions about this opportunity to email@example.com.
Call for Proposals: NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate's University Leadership Initiative
NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate is seeking proposals for a new opportunity for universities and their research partners to contribute toward NASA research goals. The University Leadership Initiative allows universities and university-led partnerships to provide strategic leadership that advances ARMD's research objectives and promotes education of the next generation of engineers.
Proposers will identify technical challenges and research activities that will contribute to the six strategic thrusts provided in the ARMD Strategic Implementation Plan (http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/pdf/armd-strategic-implementation-plan.pdf).
For this solicitation, the proposing (lead) organization must be an accredited, degree-granting U.S. college or university. Proposing organizations are invited to include partners as part of their team. Partners may include other U.S. colleges and universities, U.S. companies, nonprofit organizations, and any other public or private U.S. entity. Proposers may not include NASA centers or researchers as team members.
Multiple awards are anticipated with nominal budgets in the $2M range per award per year. Awards will have a maximum duration of five years.
Step A proposals are due June 7, 2016.
For more information about this solicitation, visit http://go.nasa.gov/1VxTDmc.
Please submit questions about this opportunity to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Call for Proposals: Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP-2)
NASA is soliciting proposals for the development of prototypes for deep space habitats that will give astronauts a place to call home during long-duration missions supporting the agency's Journey to Mars.
The solicitation, Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships-2 (NextSTEP-2), is a public-private partnership model that seeks commercial development of deep space exploration capabilities to support more extensive human spaceflight missions in the proving ground of space around the moon, known as cislunar space, and to enable transit to Mars. This partnership model enables NASA to obtain innovative concepts and support private industry commercialization plans for low-Earth orbit.
Eligible applicants from U.S. companies, universities and nonprofit organizations must submit proposals electronically by 5 p.m. EDT, June 15, 2016.
For more information about this solicitation, visit https://www.nasa.gov/nextstep.
Please submit questions about this opportunity to Jason Crusan at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Call for Papers: NASA in the 'Long' Civil Rights Movement Symposium
The History Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and the Department of History at the University of Alabama Huntsville invite academics, graduate students and independent scholars to submit proposals for papers to be presented at a two-day symposium, March 16-17, 2017. The symposium will take place at the University of Alabama Huntsville and will address the role/relationship of NASA to the "Long" Civil Rights Movement, particularly in, but not limited to, the Deep South (Huntsville, Florida, Houston, Mississippi and New Orleans).
The conceptual framework for the symposium is provided by Jacquelyn Dowd Hall's 2005 essay in the Journal of American History, "The Long Civil Rights Movement and the Political Uses of the Past," which called upon historians to produce new "modes of writing and speaking that emphasize individual agency … while also dramatizing the hidden history of politics and institutions." Along these lines, the conference welcomes papers addressing the Civil Rights experience across NASA that not only explore the experience of African Americans, but also of women, immigrants and other politically/legally marginalized groups. The intention is to publish a subset of the papers as an anthology.
Those interested in presenting a paper at the symposium should send an abstract of no more than 400 words and a short biography or curriculum vita, including affiliation, to Brian Odom at firstname.lastname@example.com or Dr. Stephen Waring at firstname.lastname@example.com by July 31, 2016.
For more information, visit https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/history/call-for-papers-nasa-in-the-long-civil-rights-movement-symposium-university-of-alabama.html.
Please direct questions about this opportunity to Brian Odom at email@example.com.
Help NASA Study Mars — Planet Four: Terrains
Help NASA study exotic landscape features near the south pole of Mars! In this citizen science project, you'll view images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's Context Camera. Your input will help scientists identify possible areas for even more detailed examination with the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera. HiRISE can reveal more detail than any other camera ever put into orbit around Mars.
Some of Mars resembles deserts on Earth, but seasonal freezing and thawing of carbon-dioxide ice (known on Earth as "dry ice") at the Martian poles creates some unusual landscape features. There's a lot of territory to cover, so scientists need your help identifying what and where these features are.
For more information and to learn how to participate, visit the "Planet Four: Terrains" website at https://www.zooniverse.org/#/projects/mschwamb/planet-four-terrains.
To learn more about NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and its mission at the Red Planet, visit http://mars.nasa.gov/mro/.
Please direct questions about this opportunity to Whitney Clavin at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Future Engineers 'Think Outside the Box' Challenge
To celebrate the launch of the first-ever expandable habitat to the International Space Station (Bigelow Aerospace's BEAM) and the launch of the first-ever commercial 3-D printer in space (Made In Space's Advanced Manufacturing Facility), NASA and the American Society for Mechanical Engineers Foundation are challenging students to think outside the box with 3-D printing — literally. If you are a K-12 student in the United States, your challenge is to design a useful object that assembles, telescopes, hinges, accordions, grows, or expands to become larger than the printing bounds of the Advanced Manufacturing Facility 3-D printer in space (14cm length by 10cm width by 10cm height). The function of your assembled or expanded item can be anything you think would be useful for an astronaut living on the International Space Station.
The 'Out of the Box' Challenge is the fourth in a series of challenges where students in grades K-12 will create and submit a digital 3-D model of an object that they think astronauts might need in space. Future Engineers is a multiyear education initiative that consists of 3-D space challenges and curriculum videos on the site that parents and educators can use to get kids designing today.
Think big. Think outside of the box! And good luck!
Entries must be submitted by Aug. 1, 2016.
For more information about the challenge and to watch the launch video, go to www.futureengineers.org/thinkoutsidethebox.
Please email questions about this competition to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Call for Submissions — NASA Announcement for High Impact / Broad Implementation STEM Education Partnerships (EDUCATION01SP16)
The NASA Headquarters Office of Education, in cooperation with the agency's four mission directorates, nine center education offices, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) education office, announces this competition to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Responses must be submitted electronically via the NASA data system NSPIRES (http://nspires.nasaprs.com).
NASA Education seeks to partner with eligible domestic or international organizations on a no-exchange-of-funds basis to reach wider and more diverse audiences and to achieve mutually beneficial objectives. The Announcement places a priority on collaboration involving the following: digital learning; engaging underrepresented groups in STEM; NASA-themed STEM challenges; and youth-serving organizations. NASA also is receptive to other creative ideas including, for example, investigations or application of science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics and design (STEAMD); or activities culturally relevant to or focused on unrepresented in STEM careers populations, such as women, ethnic minorities and persons with disabilities. The announcement explains the criteria used to review responses and NASA's partnership mechanism known as a no-exchange-of-funds or non-reimbursable Space Act Agreement.
NASA will accept responses on a rolling basis through Dec. 31. 2017.
For more information about this opportunity, visit NSPIRES at http://go.nasa.gov/1RZwWCi.
If you have any questions about this opportunity, please direct your questions to the Points of Contact listed within the NASA Announcement.
New YouTube Kids Playlist — The Solar System and Beyond: Kids Edition
Ready for liftoff? NASA has launched a new kids playlist of our videos that journey into the solar system and beyond on the YouTube Kids App. Learn something new about your celestial neighborhood!
Explore this new playlist here: https://kids.youtube.com/.
Don't miss out on upcoming NASA education opportunities.
For a full list of events, opportunities and more, visit the Educator and Student Current Opportunity pages on NASA's website:
— Educators https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
— Students https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/current-opps-index.html
Are you looking for NASA educational materials to support your STEM curriculum?
Search hundreds of resources by subject, grade level, type and keyword at https://www.nasa.gov/education/resources/.
Visit NASA Education on the Web:
For Educators: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
For Students: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/index.html
NASA Kids' Club: https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub


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ISLAMABAD - The PML-N government is planning to increase volume of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) in the upcoming budget 2014-15 to ensure financial assistance to the poorest of the poor segment of the society.
The proposed plan to increase the budget of BISP was in pipeline keeping in view the public demand from different areas of the country especially Balochistan and KP, sources in BISP shared with The Nation. The programme has almost over five million beneficiaries against the survey identified around eight million poorest people in the country for this assistance. According to the current figures of the beneficiaries, 1.8 million in Punjab, 1.6 million Sindh, around one million in KP, 0.2 in Balochistan, nearly 96,000 in AJK and over 9,000 in Federal Capital are receiving this monthly support.
The proposed plan, sources said, the number of beneficiaries and monthly package of the beneficiaries is likely to be increased in the upcoming federal budget 2014-15.
When contacted, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar expressed positive intentions of the government to increase the volume of the BISP programme in the budget. "The government is trying to increase Benazir Income Support Programme budget as per the fiscal space is available," said Dar, responding a query about increase in BISP programme. Both the governments of the PML-N and PPP have so far disbursed around Rs192 billion among five million families from 2008 to 2014 under BISP. In order to facilitate the 'poorest of the poor', around 27 million households families were surveyed in different in part of the country, and among 8 million poorest families over five million beneficiaries are getting this assistance.
Sources said the incumbent government has almost chalked-out a plan to merge BISP with Pakistan Baitul Mal but final approval in this connection is still awaited. This proposed move of the government has earlier hit a snag due to severe criticism from the major opposition parties including the PPP. The PPP had reportedly argued that BISP was approved by the Parliament and its status could not be changed with any administrative order.

subset: commoncrawl


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HCL Technologies
Jill Goldschneider
Lead Data Scientist, HCL Technologies
Writes About :
Dr. Goldschneider's career spans more than 20 years in the fields of Statistical Software and Product Development working within many industries including manufacturing, defense, life sciences, online advertising, optimiation, and green tech. Her role at HCL is to create data science solutions and help commercialize these solutions across the HCL customer base. Most recently, Dr. Goldschneider has developed predictive energy consumption models for clean tech and predictive maintenance models for commercial and light industries and life sciences. Jill has a combination of interpersonal skills, program management skills, analytical skills and technical knowledge that make her uniquely suited for this role.


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How Twitter might change without the 140 characters limit
Must-read article by John Hermann, writing for The Awl:
But a feed in which you can already tap "play" or open a grid of photos into a slideshow or open a link into an internal browser is a feed in which tapping a text preview to see more text will feel natural.
I get why people are afraid of change. It has always been the case with social media (remember when people got angry at the new profile pages on Facebook?) But this particular change – even if it might become the biggest change of all – probably won't annoy me as much as some of the previous changes Twitter made (I am looking at you heart-shaped buttons).
I've said this before on this very blog: the 140 characters limit is not what defines Twitter. What defines Twitter is its network of users, its affinity-based social graph. I don't see why a well designed button to "read more" would ruin the experience more than opening a link into a new tab, or a screenshort.


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Update: We've been in touch with the Vegan Society who assured us that they "have values which avoid the exploitation of human animals, alongside our vegan values" and had nothing to do with this stunt. It turns out the stunt was organised by PETA , no big surprise given their track record objectifying women.
I stumbled across this horrible caption competition today. I'm not going to put the photo up here because it makes me feel really unsettled. It shows children's TV presenter Sarah-Jane Honeywell lying 'like a piece of meat' naked on a giant plate with some plastic chips and peas. Bizarrely this stunt happened in Trafalgar Square to mark World Vegan Day. This is inappropriate on so many levels.
I don't understand how Sarah-Jane Honeywell, her agent, the children's TV channel she represents, all the people working on World Vegan Day and the Orange phone network (who ran the caption competition), could have agreed to this piece of meat stunt without realising that it was a wildly bad idea. Also, given that it is now properly winter, why would anyone agree to lie down naked on a plate in Trafalgar Square?
It's really unfortunate that for the majority of women who want to make a career in the media, their body is still the most effective tool they have. I have sympathy for people who think that this is their option for career progression, because in some cases (due to no fault or short coming of their own) this is probably true. Even so this one crosses a few boundaries. Children's TV presenters, if anyone is, should surely be exempt from this sort of soft porn stunt. Clearly treating people like meat makes for an inappropriate stunt.
Urggh, I'm going home for a vegan dinner and since it's November I'll have all my clothes on.


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Frank Stilwell on Turnbull's Economic Plan
Q: When is an economic plan not an economic plan?
A: When it's a mixture of wishful thinking, class bias and trickle-down economics.
Malcolm Turnbull's election pitch was that his government would produce more jobs and growth in the Australian economy, while eventually eliminating the budget deficit. It was the central message in his party's massive TV advertising during the last week (substantially funded by his own money, it has been alleged and not denied). The Coalition's narrow election victory has put it in a position where it needs to deliver. What can we expect?
An actual 'economic plan' would involve setting specific targets and identifying an array of policy instruments for achieving those targets. This is not what is currently on offer. Indeed, it is anathema to the political right, fearful that real economic planning smacks of socialism.
What we have instead is some fragments of policies that are being touted as potential contributors to 'jobs and growth'. Specifically, five elements of the Coalition government's policy agenda are said to have this economic character: business tax cuts, building submarines, a business innovation policy, international trade agreements and cutting weekend penalty wage rates. While not forming a coherent economic plan, they deserve our attention.
Cutting Business Taxes
The proposal to cut company taxes has been the central plank of the Coalition's claim to be able to generate 'jobs and growth'. The proposed policy is a huge gamble that would see the government collecting about $50 billion less revenue over the next 10 years, as the ALP and Greens emphasised during the election campaign. Now that the government has scraped back in with only the most tenuous majority and a troublesome Senate, the horizon has effectively shrunk to just the next three years. The government will seek to cut taxes for what is calls 'small businesses', while substantially expanding that category to include firms with annual revenue up to $10 million (rather than the current $2 million limit). Estimates of tax revenue foregone suggest a figure of about $17 billion.
Can this reduction in much-needed revenue be justified by its potential contribution to creating jobs and growth? The government asserts it will do so by giving more incentive for business investment, but careful analysis reveals fundamentally flawed reasoning. The policy rests on five shaky propositions.
First is the belief that capital investment by businesses depends on their after-tax profits. On this reasoning, if the government allows businesses to keep more of their profit each year, they will spend it on capital goods such as new offices or factories, computers or whatever other equipment will help them to expand their outputs. However, as every economics student learns, what drives business investment is not the amount of internally-generated funds: rather it is the expectation of increased demand for their products relative to the cost of raising capital (which is already minimal because interest rates are at record lows). 'Tis wisely said, "you can take a horse to water but you cannot make it drink". In the absence of growing demand for their products, there is no reason to expect that business will respond to a tax cut by investing in expanded productive capacity. Any additional after-tax profit is just as likely to be used for buying residential real estate - precisely what an already speculation-prone economy and society does not need!
Second, even if some of the increased after-tax profits went into productive investment, the economic boost would likely be tiny. A careful look at the Treasury's economic modelling confirms this. Even with substantial pro-growth biases embedded in the assumptions on which the modelling is based, the projections of additional economic growth are remarkably small. The predicted boost to GDP over the ten-year period is only 0.6 per cent, which is within the margin of error of macroeconomic modelling exercises of this kind. In the real world, future events such as global financial crashes, recessions, and the economic fall-out from climate change, are likely to blow any such projections wildly off-course anyway.
Third, even if there were some small boost to the output of goods and services, this might not lead to any increase in employment. It is just as likely that the additional investment would be capital-intensive and job-displacing. The rapid technological change occurring in the current era, and which the government's 'innovation policies' are supposed to accelerate, understandably raises anxiety about 'jobless growth'. At best, a small number of hi-tech jobs and a larger number of insecure service-sector jobs for 'the precariat' seems to be the prospect. 'Jobs and growth' go nicely together in the slogan, but they don't necessarily go together in the real world. Jobless growth is at least as likely as jobs and growth.
Fourth, even in the unlikely event that the policy of cutting business tax were to create employment growth, it would not necessarily create jobs that are sustainable for the future. The proposed cut in business taxes would apply equally to coal-mining companies and to renewable energy providers, to sunset industries and to potential sunrise industries. What Australia needs is to transition to a more ecologically sustainable future: that means creating a wide array of 'green jobs' and work directly geared to producing for social needs. There is nothing in an across-the-board cut in company taxes that would help bring this vision to fruition. Malcolm Turnbull has recurrently talked of the need for our economy to 'transition' to a different future that is less dependent on extractive industries, but the business tax cut policy makes no contribution to achieving this. A more selective approach to industry development is needed, which could include embedding environmental criteria in taxation policies, among other policies. Yet this is evidently quite beyond anything that the Coalition can contemplate.
Fifth, the government would get 'more bang for the buck' by putting the same expenditure - whether $17 billion over three years or $50 million over ten - into infrastructure rather than business tax cuts. Infrastructure spending would improve our transport systems, education and health facilities and the quality of urban and regional environments. It would directly create more jobs linked to areas of social need, rather than relying on a more indirect policy that might not bear any fruit at all.
Building Submarines
Meanwhile, the Federal government has committed to spending over $70 billion on new submarines. Of this, at least it can be said at least there is a direct link to jobs, particularly in a South Australian economy coping with the unemployment consequences of car plant closure. Cynics might say that saving Christopher Pyne's job in Canberra has been the more immediate goal. The Xenophon team's electoral success shows that not all South Australians were impressed. Buying the subs 'off the shelf' would be much cheaper.
The long-term national expense, taking account of maintenance and running costs, has been estimated at about triple the initial outlay. So, while there is no doubt that it is employment focussed, the policy is sadly lacking fiscal rationale. The defence rationale is similarly opaque: from whom are the submarines supposed to be defending us? These toys for the boys are phenomenally expensive and the opportunity costs are prodigious.
Moreover, it is pertinent to ask: what if the policy were actually successful in creating some spin-offs for further military industrial development? This is an ambition asserted by the Prime Minister; but is it the kind of economic development we really want as a nation? Many people would think creating a minor 'military-industrial complex' down-under, no matter how unlikely a prospect, would be an unwelcome prospect. It would lock the nation economically into the perpetuation and intensification of sabre-rattling and warfare.
The so-called 'innovation policy' is a third element. This was one of Turnbull's 'signature' initiatives on becoming Prime Minister. Initially welcomed by some business organisations, it has since dropped out of sight. It did not play out well in the election campaign, apparently because many workers are apprehensive about policies that seek to accelerate job-displacing technological change, fearing that they will be the losers. Understandably, such insecurities are most strongly felt in the regions away from the capital cities. Also quite understandably, they pervade a society in which government seems to pay little attention to the casualties of change.
Only a comprehensive industry policy, linked to labour training and regional policies, could really claim to be managing these industry development processes to the advantage of all. Meanwhile, it is hard to take seriously the Turnbull government's claim to be leading the way to a more innovative society. Meagre funding for Australia's premier scientific institution, the CSIRO, is not consistent with a serious concern for science and its applications. Nor should we forget Turnbull's personal role in saddling the nation with a second-rate National Broadband Network. These policies make a mockery of the claim that this government is good at innovation and technology.
Trade Agreements
Well, what about the boost given to the economy by international trade agreements? This is potentially a long story, but it is one without a happy ending. There is a continuity between the Abbott and Turnbull regimes in terms of the claims made about so-called 'free trade' agreements - with China, with Thailand and with the Pacific Rim nations – but the evidence on their effects is spotty, at best. Interestingly, the government's rhetoric has changed to calling them 'export' agreements: but the reality is that they often lead to more increase in imports than exports. In the case of Australia's trade deal with Thailand, for example, the increased Australian imports from that country have outweighed the additional Australian exports by an estimated ratio of 9:1. The effect is deterioration in Australia's national current account.
Even the government's own economic modelling, based on pro-trade assumptions about market adjustments, shows that the potential economic benefits from trade deals are quite tiny. The long-term costs, however, are potentially enormous, particularly in relation to national sovereignty, the costs of pharmaceutical products, intellectual property rights and environmental quality. The trade deals are really as much about investment as trade: they give greater rights to investors, particularly multinational corporations who are enabled to sue governments if national policies go against their interests. The Trans Pacific Partnership is teetering on the brink of collapse, because of widespread public concerns in many of the nations that have been involved in negotiations. The sooner the TPP is stopped the better. The ALP would be wise to now withdraw its already wavering support for it.
Weekend Penalty Rates
The long-simmering wish among right-wing politicians for reduction in workers' weekend wages could perhaps be added to the list of the Coalition's economic policies. Actually, it smacks of class vindictiveness rather than economic policy. To the extent that warrants any place at all in this discussion of an 'economic plan', it rests on the simplistic belief that cutting wages would increase output and employment. But would that really be the case with weekend penalty rates? As Keynes famously taught, cutting wages also cuts the total domestic demand for goods and services, thereby tending to lower national income and employment levels. Offsetting this, it might be conceded that, if the wage cuts occurred in export-oriented industries, there could well be some gains in sales and profits. But that is not the case here. Most of the workers getting weekend penalty rates are in industries such as retail and hospitality which serve primarily local customers. Reducing the wages of these workers will create more hardship and increase economic inequality while adding nothing to national productivity.
Problematic Prospects
Looking across these five aspects of the Coalition's policy agenda, it is hard to see any basis for thinking they will deliver macroeconomic improvement. Rather, we could expect more economic inequality, more instability and more uncertainty about jobs. These concerns should certainly get a good airing during the processes by which the government has get its proposed policy changes through a troublesome Parliament in which the Government does not reliably have the numbers.
Opposition to the policies could well hinge on concerns about inequality. The proposed policy of business tax cuts is particularly problematic in this respect, but so too is the push for cutting penalty rates for wages. The declining share of wages in national income, relative to the profit share, is one of the factors already causing widening economic inequality in Australia.
Increasing the inequality further will undermine the demand for goods and services, and therefore reduce the incentive for investment and job-creation. It can also be expected to intensify an array of social problems, including homelessness, mental and physical ill-heath, violence and crime. There is reputable social science research showing that inequality exacerbates these problems. The need for government expenditure to deal with the resulting social stresses could have the effect of blowing out the budgetary deficit even further in the long term. A new report by the Evatt Foundation (called 'The Wealth of the Nation') carefully documents the already pronounced inequalities in wealth in Australian society: half of the total household wealth is held by just ten percent of households, the other half being shared (very unequally) among the other ninety per cent.
A side-effect of cutting business tax would be to exacerbate these wealth inequalities. This is because a lowered rate of business tax increases the scope for tax minimisation by the wealthy. When he was Federal Treasurer, Paul Keating used to make much of the need to equate the business tax rate with the top rate of income tax, so that incentives for disguising one form of income as the other would disappear (although he did little to achieve that outcome during his own period as Treasurer). The Turnbull government's policy would increase the capacity of wealthy individuals to reduce their tax by representing personal income as business income for which the tax rate is lower.
Of course, it is also pertinent that companies do not generally pay the standard rate of tax on their profits anyway. Some pay negligible amounts, relative to their profits. According to research by the Tax Justice Network, the average payment is around 23 per cent, not the standard 30 per cent tax rate. Many large businesses employ tax minimisation specialists who use every available loophole for this purpose. Tax havens are commonly used by businesses and the wealthy to escape tax liabilities. Malcolm Turnbull is personally acquainted with this. Yet his current tax policy - couched in terms of rhetoric about helping innovative yet struggling 'small' businesses - seems oblivious to what payment of business taxes actually involves for many companies.
Meanwhile, we may anticipate a steady growth in the government's budget deficit. This is not inherently a major economic problem, because deficit budgeting is appropriate during periods of macroeconomic difficulty. Nevertheless, it does become a problem when it is based on a long-term structural imbalance between expenditure commitments and revenue sources, and when it becomes cumulative. It is certainly 'not a good look' for a Coalition government that first came to office and was then re-elected promising 'budget repair'. Of course, there is a solution – to increase taxation on wealth and to eliminate tax loopholes that mainly benefit the wealthy. The ALP's proposals for increasing capital gains tax and limiting negative gearing to only new housing are consistent with that, as are the proposed tighter rules for superannuation that the Liberals took into the election campaign - about which they are now in such internal strife! With the Turnbull leadership increasingly under the thumb of the right wing within the Coalition parties, progressive tax reform evidently cannot get on the agenda.
The other way that budget repair might be achieved is by slashing public spending on health, education and social services. Turnbull's Treasurer, Scott 'there's no revenue problem' Morrison, frequently makes public statements signalling this intention, although usually couched in more neutral language about 'cutting waste' and 'making savings'. But, to really go through with this would be like trying to implement Joe Hockey's 2014 budget Mark II: would they really dare to bring it on? And how could major cuts to social spending be justified at a time when the government would also be cutting business taxes and spending lavishly on submarines?
The government's so-called 'economic plan' does not stand up to critical scrutiny. It looks particularly ill-suited to the economic conditions that the nation faces in the aftermath of the local mining boom and the continuing financial instability on a global scale. There is little 'on the table' that provides an affective antidote or alternative. Rather, we are being offered continuity in the form of 'trickle-down economics'. This is the belief that giving wealthy people even more income will eventually benefit everyone. It is a self-serving elite ideology, rather than sound economics. It was deeply embedded in the policies of US President Ronald Reagan, for example, emphasising tax cuts for the wealthy as a means of creating more incentives for wealth-creating private enterprise. Reaganomics caused both economic inequality and the budget deficit to surge. Are we doomed to re-run this failed policy?
The Coalition's oft-restated commitment to 'jobs and growth' is an Abbott-style three word slogan, hitched to a give-away to the big end of town in the form of business tax cuts and some assorted policies that intensify economic inequalities. When the promised surge in 'jobs and growth' fails to materialise, the government will have three options: (1) abandon any claims about its capacity to undertake 'budget repair', (2) engage in big cuts to social services, health and education in the attempt to get the government budget back into surplus, and/or (3) raise the rate of taxation on goods and services (GST).
No-one knows for sure what the future will bring, but it is hard to take the government's 'economic plan' seriously without also mentioning the tooth fairy or the prospect that pigs might fly...


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SCIENTIFIC evidence links Ian Huntley and his house with the red Manchester United shirts worn by the girls when they vanished, the Old Bailey heard yesterda.
Prosecutor Richard Latham said chemical tests were done to see if there was any link between the fibre and dye used in the shirts the girls were wearing and Ian Huntley.
"The scientists found that fibres from Huntley's clothing and carpets and other items in the house matched precisely the fibre from which the Manchester United shirts were made."


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Graham W. Ward, M.D.
This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access.
Current knowledge regarding what people should or should not do regarding diet and hypertension was discussed. Actions are relatively clear for persons with hypertension. Obvious measures are weight control for obese patients, increased potassium intake for those on diuretic therapy, and decreased sodium intake for most patients. For persons with mild hypertension these measures may avert the need for drug therapy.
Preventive measures for the general population with normal blood pressures were seen as less certain. Avoidance of weight gain and excessive sodium intake may be of value for persons having a family history of hypertension, but no definitive studies
Ward GW. Diet and Hypertension. Ann Intern Med. 1983;98:882. doi: https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-98-5-882_2
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© 2019
Published: Ann Intern Med. 1983;98(5_Part_2):882.
Cardiology, Coronary Risk Factors, HIV, Hypertension, Infectious Disease.
Copyright © 2019 American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.
Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704
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Creative Luxury Table Plans for weddings and any occasion
Home Page | Contact us
AS Wedding Table Plans by Artemis Stationery is based in Yeovil, Somerset at 26 Trent Close. Premises are not open to the public.
AS Wedding Table Plans is a part of Artemis Stationery a small design, illustration and printing business run by Nathan Gardiner. All table plans sold are original designs and illustrations by Nathan Gardiner. This site sells table plans which can be used for weddings and any occasion where guests need to be directed to their seats.
Part of Artemis Stationery


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Proof That Skin Choices Dry Itchy Scalp Relief Really Works – If You Had An Opportunity To Get Rid Of Your Itching Flaking Skin Naturally Today… Would You Be Ready?
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Seaweed extract – This has been earning a lot of applauds from the skin care world because of its properties like moisturizing, repairing, restoring and revitalizing properties. It improves scalp hydration and increases hair density.
Hydrolyzed wheat protein – It nourishes, moisturizes and soothes your scalp.
Glycerin – Glycerin's benefits in skin care has been proved through a lot of researches. Its property in hydrating and protecting the skin is undeniable.
There are other ingredients like hydrolyzed rice protein, Linalol and wood powder etc. which make Scalp Application from Skin Choices one of the best natural products for itchy scalp treatments that actually work.
>>>Click Here to Start Getting Rid Of Your Itchy Flaky Scalp Today<<<
Skin Choices Shampoo and Conditioner
This is the next product in Skin Choices dry itchy scalp relief treatment. What are its ingredients?
- Natural oils – Like Scalp Application, Skin Choices Shampoo and Conditioner also contains natural oils. It contains jojoba oil and avocado oil. Jojoba oil is similar to sebum that is naturally present in your scalp to keep it hydrated. Avocado oil is used in special scalp treatment given in natural spas because it is rich in vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids.
- Aloe Vera extract – Aloe Vera is a good moisturizer. It is useful in treating dandruff, one of the main causes for dry itchy scalp.
The other ingredients in Skin Choices Shampoo and Conditioner are Decy Glucoside and Betaine etc. When combined together, these ingredients make it a good shampoo for dry scalp. It is not a medicated conditioner for dry scalp relief. So there is no need to worry about side effects.
Does Skin Choices itchy flaky scalp treatment products work?
The list of ingredients and their benefits are enough to understand that Skin Choices itchy flaky scalp treatment products do work. Money back guarantee is another evidence.
Where can I buy Skin Choices itchy flaky scalp remedies?
You can buy it online. Can I buy it in Amazon or eBay etc.? If this is your next question, the answer is No. It is better to buy it directly from the manufacturers rather than searching for other sites that sell natural itchy flaky scalp treatment products by Skin Choices approved by NHS UK. The cheapest price, the best discount and other offers are available only in the manufacturer's site. They deliver to many countries apart from USA, UK, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia etc.
Buy Skin Choices dry itchy scalp relief treatment products today.
CLICK HERE For Current Skin Choices Specials STRAIGHT From The Company Official Site!


text:
"Start working to fulfill your dreams, otherwise some day someone will put you in work to fulfill their dreams." Author Unknown
Fulfill your dreams before attempting to fulfill others.' It's not being selfish–it's nurturing self, and will lead you to become a more selfless person. If you let yourself get too caught up in everyone else's drama, or simply get so involved in helping other people find their way, you will lose and rob yourself of the very reason you are here.
Give yourself time to grow, travel, and experience life before you saddle yourself with too many responsibilities. This advice is especially for the young just starting out in life, and also empty-nesters trying to fulfill dreams put on hold so long ago. It's never too late.
Author Unknown
If you don't give yourself the gift of fulfilling your dreams, I hope you realize that nobody around you ever will. And if you don't try you will end up a bitter and angry soul with a life not lived.
Remember, if you are good to yourself you will be a happier and kinder person to all those you care about.