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The 2013 ASIS&T Annual Meeting will be held at Le Centre Sheraton, 1201 Boulevard René-Lévesque West, Montréal, Québec H3B 2L7, Canada, November 1-5, 2013.
REGISTER! Early bird registration rates have been extended to September 30, 2013
|Registration Fees
|Early Bird
|After Sept. 30, 2013
|Full Conference (Sunday-Tuesday)
|Full Conference - Members
|Full Conference - Non Members ^
|Full Conference - Retired Members *
|Full Conference - Member Students
|Full Conference - Non Member Students ^
|ASIS&T Daily Rates (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday)
|Daily - Members
|Daily - Non Members
|Daily - Retired Members *
|Daily - Member Students
|Daily - Non Member Students
* Retired rates are for
ASIS&T retired members only.
^ Full conference non member registrants receive a 1 year complimentary ASIS&T membership. Click here for details.
Become an ASIS&T member and save! Click here to join.
Group Discount
For every group of 6 registrations, one registrant will receive a free registration (at the same or lower rate). Full conference registrations only, all registrations must be submitted at the same time, and ASIS&T reserves the right to determine the complimentary registration. Please contact the registrar for arrangements.
How to Register
All speakers, participants and attendees must register. Early rate
registrations must be received by September 30, 2013. Please see our
cancellation and refund policies below.
|There are 3 ways to register! Registrations are valid once payment is received and processed.
Registration Form
You will receive an automatic confirmation email after you register online. Once your payment has been processed, you will receive a 2nd email with an attached receipt.
|By Fax:
a Registration Form and fax to 301-495-0810.
Once your payment has been processed, you will receive an email confirmation with an attached receipt.
|By Mail:
a Registration Form and mail to:
1320 Fenwick Lane, #510
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 USA
Once your payment has been processed, you will receive an email confirmation with an attached receipt.
Conference Days
The ASIS&T annual meeting sessions start on Sunday November 3rd with the Keynote speaker at 1pm and runs through Tuesday evening, November 5th.
Full conference registrations include:
- Access to all sessions and events from Sunday at 1pm through Tuesday evening;
- All social events listed in the program including the Awards Luncheon on Tuesday (additional tickets may be purchased), unless otherwise noted;
- 1 copy of the Proceedings (papers submitted to the conference);
- Non-members registering for the full conference will receive a 1 year complimentary ASIS&T regular or student membership (electronic delivery of JASIST and access to the ASIS&T Digital Library).
Pre-Conference Seminars and SIG Workshops
Seminars and workshops are full and half day highly attended professional education courses that will be held before the meeting on Friday, November 1st and Saturday, November 2nd.
Fees for these seminars and workshops are in addition to regular conference registration fees. If you are registering for a seminar or workshop only, you do not have to pay an additional daily registration fee. You will receive a ticket for each seminar or workshop for which you've registered. Please make sure you receive the right tickets when you check in to the conference.
Cancellations and Refund Policy
Cancellations and refund requests must be received in writing (email or fax) no later than October 7, 2013 and are subject to a $50 cancellation fee. Refunds will be issued in the same manner in which payment was made and may take up to 4 weeks after the conference ends.
Sister Societies
Members in good standing of the following organizations qualify to register at the member rates:
- Special Libraries Association (SLA)
- Medical Libraries Association (MLA)
- International Society for Scientometrics and Infometrics (ISSI)
- American Association of Law Libraries (AALL)
- Canadian Association of Information Science (CAIS)
- Consortium of iSchools of Asia-Pacific (CISAP)
Conference Materials
All speakers and pre-registrants must check in at the registration area to pick up conference materials during the On-Site Registration Hours posted below. Everyone will receive a name badge which must be worn to all sessions and events. Full conference attendees will receive a copy of the conference proceedings and a ticket to the Awards luncheon being held on Tuesday, Nov. 5th. You will also receive tickets for any seminars or SIG workshops that you registered for.
On-site Registration Hours
On-site registration will be available at Le Centre Sheraton, during the on-site registration hours below. All speakers and registrants must check-in at the ASIS&T registration area to pick up your name badge and conference materials.
|Thursday, Oct. 31
|Friday, Nov. 1
|8:00am-12noon, 4:00pm-6:00pm
|Saturday, Nov. 2
|7:30am-10:00am, 12noon-2:00pm, 4:00pm-7:00pm
|Sunday, Nov. 3
|Monday, Nov. 4
|Tuesday, Nov. 5
Hotel Registration
Attendees must make their own hotel and travel arrangements. To stay at the conference hotel (Le Centre Sheraton), please register by 5pm, October 14, 2013 to get discounted room rates. Click here for more information.
A Special Note to the Disabled
ASIS&T is committed to ensuring that no one with a disability is excluded, denied services, segregated, or otherwise treated differently from other conference attendees because of the absence of an auxiliary aid or service. If you are in need of such an aid or service as outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act, please contact ASIS&T headquarters at 301-495-0900 or indicate the necessary items or services on the special needs line of the registration form.
Maryland Relay Services number for the hearing impaired: 1-800-735-2258
For More Information
Feel free to contact us:


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Secretary Rokita testifies before U.S. Election Assistance Commission
Contact: Kate Shepherd
Election Assistance Commission Hearing
September 30, 2004
Chairman Soaries and members of the Election Assistance Commission, I would like to thank you for conducting this hearing regarding provisional voting. Your role in providing guidance on this issue and the countless others we face as state and local election administrators has already proven to be an invaluable resource to those of us charged with constitutional and statutory duties to impartially promote and conduct elections.
In Indiana, we had embraced the idea of provisional voting shortly after the 2000 election, when it was discussed by the Bipartisan Election Task Force on Election Integrity, a forum created and chaired by my predecessor, Sue Anne Gilroy. At the time, I served the state as the Indiana Deputy Secretary of State and Mrs. Gilroy's Chief of Staff. Additionally, I had served as general counsel to the state's Recount Commission, and having the relatively rare experience as a recount attorney, I was asked to participate in the Florida recount in seven southwest Florida counties. Upon taking office in January 2003, I was pleased that the Help America Vote Act had become law and that provisional voting would now be the law of the land. Assuming that other panelists will have adequately explained the concept of provisional voting as well as the legislative history behind it (for example, see the statement of Senator Chris Bond, dated September 30, 2004), I will dispense with another recitation of that here, and instead focus on provisional voting's use, affect, and challenges in the great state of Indiana.
I see a tremendous accessibility tool in provisional voting, knowing that it can be used as a "last resort" when a qualified voter would have otherwise been turned away from the polling place, her civic duty unfulfilled. Due to the strict and sometimes unreasonable mandates of the National Voter Registration Act, keeping an accurate list of voters has become an even more daunting task and clerical mistakes occur through no fault of the voter. In these cases, that voter's intentions should be counted and provisional voting offers us this chance, as election administrators, to get it right, maintain voter confidence, and we hope foster a positive affect on voter turnout--- one of our most important goals.
At the same time, provisional voting can have a positive effect on system accountability. It can act to reduce the ability of unscrupulous individuals, political parties, activist groups or campaigns to dilute the voice of honest voters by rushing polling places with unqualified voters and people intending to vote multiple times. In 2002, the Wall Street Journal outlined this illegal practice in Indiana by imbedding one of its columnists in a Congressional campaign where that columnist detailed, through his eyewitness account, voter intimidation in reverse -- that is poll worker intimidation - by groups of persons (being driven around in vehicles hosted by the campaign) demanding to vote and proceeding to vote without care or regard as to whether they were legally qualified.
HAVA correctly left administration of the provisional voting concept to the states. In the remaining time I have, I would like to detail Indiana's process with the hope that you would select it as a model practice for fairly implementing provisional voting in a way that protects voters' rights and fosters system accountability.
Indiana Code 3-11.7-5-2 sets forth the key requirement concerning precinct based provisional voting in Indiana. Each county election board ultimately decides whether a provisional ballot is valid, and therefore whether the provisional ballot should be counted. The county election board can be assisted by bipartisan teams in sorting provisional ballots and in helping make "easy" calls where the facts about a provisional ballot are not in dispute.
When the county election board examines a provisional ballot, which is still sealed inside its secrecy envelope to protect the privacy of the voter's choices, the board asks three questions:
- Is the affidavit signed by the provisional voter properly executed?
Meaning, did the voter sign a sworn statement that the voter meets the qualifications to be eligible to vote in the precinct?
- Is the provisional voter "a qualified voter of the precinct?"
Meaning, is the voter registered to vote in the precinct where the voter is casting the provisional ballot (or otherwise "qualified" to vote in that precinct under one of the fail-safe methods)?
- If this voter claims to have applied to register to vote at a "full service" voter registration agency, did the voter apply at the agency while registration was still open?
Meaning, since "full service" voter registration agencies under the National Voter Registration Act will continue to accept voter registration applications year round, did this voter apply with the agency before registration was closed before the election? If a voter applies after the registration cutoff, that application is still processed, but is done so when registration reopens after the election.
The county election board has to find that the answer to each question (1), (2), and (3, if applicable) is yes. If the answer is yes, the provisional ballot is declared valid and can be removed from the secrecy envelope and processed.
Policy Considerations
One of the strongest arguments for having provisional ballots cast at the precinct where the voter lives comes from one of the most successful community efforts in modern times: the neighborhood watch programs.
The neighbors who participate in these programs are the best equipped and have the best knowledge to sort out innocent behavior from suspicious activity. They know the difference between people simply walking along their street and an unfamiliar car circling the playground.
When many of these same community activists serve as poll workers, they may know that a person whose name does not appear on the poll list is their neighbor, or will know if a residence address given by a person is actually a demolished building. They can better communicate the questions they have to the county election officials to help eliminate the need for the voter to cast a provisional ballot in the first place. In Indiana, we firmly believe that the provisional voting process is one of last resort-to be used only when all other methods of proceeding directly to the voting booth have been exhausted. So far, we have seen its use limited to the rare exception and not used as "normal" way of voting.
Everyone acknowledges the desperate need to recruit poll workers. We also know that both poll workers and voters are discouraged by long lines and delays at the polls. Discouraged poll workers may decline to work again. Discouraged voters may decide that the lines are too long and may walk away without voting. We need to recognize that while of course voting is important and the integrity of the election process is critical, it is also true that for many non-activist voters outside this room, casting a ballot is only one of several important or critical things that they must get done on Election Day.
For example, a parent picking up a child after school, a worker hurrying to her job, or a minister on the way to visit a patient at a hospital also have other important things to do.
For that reason, we want to make every voter's experience within the polls as pleasant and as efficient as possible. Some problems at the polls are of course unavoidable. Some voters have more ability (and perhaps more patience) than others to wait while the poll workers try to solve these problems.
But every voter who would appear at a polling place other than at the precinct where he lives to cast a provisional ballot there would be requiring another voter to wait. The voters in line would have to wait while the poll workers look unsuccessfully for the name on the poll list; to wait while the poll workers process the forms the voter fills out to cast a provisional ballot; to wait while the provisional voter uses a booth to cast her ballot; and to wait while the poll workers provide the provisional voter with the information required by the Help America Vote Act about the provisional ballot process. Then, there are the logistical problems associated with the 'vote anywhere' approach. For example, administrators could not possibly know how many provisional ballots to print, and of what kind, for a particular polling place, which would lead to ballot shortages, and yet again, turning potential voters away-the very thing provisional voting was designed to stop!
Yes, every vote is important. But no voter is more important than any other voter. We should encourage both equal treatment and equal responsibility for all voters.
Prohibiting precinct based provisional voting also sends the wrong message about the importance of voting for all of the other offices on the ballot. While important decisions are made in Washington, and in state capitals, some of the decisions that have the most obvious and compelling effects in people's daily lives are made down the street at city hall or in the county government building.
The decisions about whether to rezone to allow for a new business, to change a speed limit in a neighborhood, or to raise school tax levies are often made by these local elected officials.
It is also true that elections to these local offices are sometimes decided by one or two votes, or even have ties. In one Indiana county earlier this year, a nonpartisan election for school board resulted in a tie vote between a challenger and the incumbent.
How ironic it would have been if a voter in that county had chosen to stop by some other polling place on the way home from work to vote for the "more important" statewide offices, such as U.S. Senator or Governor, by way of a provisional ballot since it was more convenient to do so, only to discover the day after the election that she could have decided the school board election by her own vote if only she had appeared at the precinct where she lived. Our republic needs and deserves a system where elected offices are treated in a uniform fashion when it comes to the selection of the officeholder.
(NOTE: In Frankton-Lapel school corporation in Madison County, the local judge broke the tie in favor of the incumbent).
As we have been shown in other instances, history is a stubborn teacher. If we fail to remember our lessons, she will teach them to us again and again.
We have been taught the lesson in the past that to protect the integrity of the election process, it is important as a general principal to have voters cast their votes in the precincts where they live. Let me take a moment to tell you about the lesson that we were taught in Indiana.
There was once a close presidential election. The Democratic Party's candidate won the popular vote that year but lost the Electoral College vote to the Republican Party nominee. There were allegations both before and after Election Day of fraud in a key state that both parties had fought hard to carry.
The year was not 2000; the year was 1888. The state was not Florida; the state was Indiana. The candidates were not Bush and Gore; they were Cleveland and Harrison.
In Indiana, there was evidence that so-called "floaters" were being hired to go from one precinct to another on Election Day to cast votes for the most important race on the ballot: President of the United States. In the absence of an effective voter registration system, these floaters may have provided the margin of victory in a presidential campaign. No one knows for sure.
And that is one risk inherent in prohibiting precinct based provisional balloting. Yes, if modern-day floaters appeared at several polling places on Election Day, the law requires that these voters be given provisional ballots, whose validity can be determined later.
We also know from our experience in 2000 that the public's patience in waiting for election results can wear thin quickly and that the credibility of both the media and the entire election administration process can be damaged by prolonged doubt about which candidate has won an election.
A flotilla of modern-day "floaters" could have that effect in a key state in a national race or in a statewide race for U.S. Senator or Governor. Even if an effort to improperly sway the election results through misuse of provisional voting fails, there will be time required to sort out genuine from false provisional ballots. Once again, the general public will wait while the ballot battles are fought before county election boards or before the courts.
Just like problems at the polling place, some election contests, disputes, and recounts are inevitable. There will always be ill-motivated persons who attempt to win an election by any means, fair or foul. However, let's not have to learn the lesson about "floaters" again.
The aftermath of the 1888 election in Indiana was much like that of 2000. There was a bipartisan effort, led by the Governor, a Democrat, and the Governor-elect, a Republican, to enact laws that according to one historian "made Indiana a pioneer in election reform." Other states followed Indiana's lead in providing for secret, government-printed ballots for all voters, and for that ballot to be given to each voter at the voter's polling place.
The same historian (Walsh, Centennial History of the General Assembly, p. 228-229) wrote "the immediate result" of these reforms "was restoration of public confidence in the integrity of Indiana's election process."
I contend that the spirit of HAVA, as enacted in 2002 with bipartisan support in Congress and by the President, can have the same effect in restoring public confidence in the elections process. For this reason, my prayer is that you consider the approach taken in Indiana and recommend it as the best practice for the nation.
Thank you.

subset: commoncrawl


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Abu Dhabi: The UAE`s first all-female team of 24 aspiring engineers, researchers and astronauts, between the ages of 12 and 18, has completed an on-site space training at the NASA Space Center, Houston.
The training was organised and coordinated by Space Ed-Ventures, a UAE-based educational platform and the region`s only space exploration programme.
Maitha Al Zeyoudi, a 12th grade student at Applied Technology High School, said she was lucky to be nominated for the trip.
"I had applied for this trip as it allowed me to further explore my interest in space and science. I was excited to know that we were going to see how real astronauts train for a mission," she said.
Chosen on their academic merit and fluency in English, the 24 people worked on projects that simulate real-life scenarios. They also designed functioning rockets and operated robotic Mars rovers. Their assignments mimicked the obstacles astronauts at NASA face on a daily basis.


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CHSWC and AB 749 as Amended
Prepared for the Commission by
Charles Lawrence Swezey, CHSWC Consultant
CHSWC Members
Tom Rankin, Chair
Allen L. Davenport
Jill A. Dulich
Leonard C. McLeod
Kristen Schwenkmeyer
Robert B. Steinberg
Darrel "Shorty" Thacker
John C. Wilson
Christine Baker
Executive Officer
October 2002
PLEASE NOTE: This update of the report "CHSWC and AB 749" (originally released in February 2002) was developed to include amendments by AB 486 in September 2002. For the convenience of readers that are familiar with the provisions of AB 749 as originally enacted, the changes made by AB 486 will be noted in bold face type.
Assembly Bill 749 [Chap 6, Stats of Calif 2002], which becomes effective on January 1, 2003, is the first major workers' compensation legislation since the 1989 and 1993 reform acts. As amended by Assembly Bill 486 [Chap 866, Stats of Calif 2002], it affects the Commercial and Insurance Codes and amends over 50, repeals five, and adds 22 sections of the Labor Code. Although the major focus is on increasing benefits for injured workers, it also rectifies many reform act provisions that had not effectively served their intended purpose.
One provision of the 1993 act that has been effective was the creation of the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation. CHSWC was directed to conduct a continuing examination of the workers' compensation system by conducting or contracting for necessary studies. Pursuant to this mandate, CHSWC studied and made recommendations on many facets of the system including the treating physician presumption, "baseball arbitration," pharmaceutical costs, adequacy of medical reports for permanent disability rating, lien claims, penalties, information for injured workers, audit procedures, and uninsured employers. The CHSWC recommendations on all of these subjects were adopted, in whole or in part, in the new legislation, and CHSWC has been ordered to conduct additional studies or advise the administration on several other subjects.
The minimum weekly payment for temporary disability has been restored and will be $126 as will be the new minimum for permanent total disability. The maximum will be $602 for injuries in 2003, $728 in 2004, $840 in 2005 and the greater of $840 or the state average weekly wage in 2006. Beginning in 2007 both the maximum and the minimum will be increased annually by the percentage of increase in the state average weekly wage. If a minor's probable earnings at age 18 cannot reasonably be determined, the average weekly earnings will be maximum.
For permanent partial disabilities less than 70 percent, the minimum increases to $100 and the maximum to $185 for injuries in 2003, $105 and $200 for 2004 injuries, $105 and $220 for 2005 injuries, and $130 and $230 for 2006 and later injuries. For 70 percent or greater ratings the minimums and maximums will be $100 and $230 for 2003 injuries, $105 and $250 for 2004, $105 and $270 for 2005, and $130 and $270 for injuries on or after January 1, 2006.
For injuries after 2003, the number of weeks of permanent disability payments has been increased for permanent disabilities less that 25 percent. Four weeks will be allowed for permanent disabilities under 10 percent and five weeks for 10 to 24-3/4 percent ratings. [CHSWC studies of the wage loss of permanently disabled workers by RAND showed that workers with low ratings suffered greater uncompensated wage losses.]
Weekly life pension payments for injuries after 2005 will be double the current amount.
Death benefits for injuries after 2005 will be:
s$290,000 for two total dependents regardless of the number of partial dependents and for one total dependent and one or more partial dependents;
s$250,000 for one total dependent and no partial dependents; and
s$320,000 for three or more total dependents regardless of the number of partial dependents.
The death benefit for partial dependents if there are no total dependents will be eight times the amount annually devoted to the support of the partial dependents but not more than $250,000.
For injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2004, if there are no dependents, $250,000 will be paid to the estate of the deceased employee.
Death benefits to dependent incapacitated children will continue for their lives.
[As originally enacted, AB 749 had a provision that if there were no other dependents, surviving parents would be conclusively presumed wholly dependent. This subsection was eliminated by AB 486.]
Procedural changes that were recommended by CHSWC were a restriction or repeal of the §4062.9 presumption of correctness of the treating physician's determinations and elimination of "baseball arbitration."
For injuries after 2002 the §4062.9 presumption will only apply to the findings of personal physicians or personal chiropractors predesignated before the injury. Section 4065, which required WCJs and the Board to choose between permanent disability ratings proposed by the parties and to adjust medical-legal costs according to which was chosen, has been repealed.
Other procedural changes permit an unrepresented employee that obtains an attorney after an evaluation under §4061(d) or §4062(b) to obtain the same reports at employer expense as an employee "that has been represented from the time the dispute arose." The additional reports are admissible, and the employer will have a corresponding right to secure an additional QME.
Provision will also be made for priority conference calendars and expedited hearings for cases in which the applicant is represented and the disputed issues are employment or injury. The court administrator will establish a priority conference calendar for these cases. The conference must be held within 30 days, and if the dispute is not resolved at the conference, trial will be scheduled as expeditiously as possible. AB 486 provides that a decision will be made and filed within 30 days after the trial rather than after the conference as provided in AB 749.
The disputes that must be arbitrated have been reduced to insurance coverage and contribution.
A major organizational change that did not result from a CHSWC study is the creation of the new position of a court administrator that will manage "the workers' compensation adjudicatory process at the trial level." The court administrator will be appointed by the Governor but hold office at the pleasure of the administrative director. Some of the functions of the court administrator will be approving or disapproving honoraria for WCJs, furthering uniformity and expeditiousness of trial proceedings, assuring that all WCJs are qualified and adhere to deadlines, adopting uniform rules for district office procedure, establishing uniform district office procedures, uniform forms, and uniform time of settings for all WCAB district offices, and taking reasonable steps to enforce those rules. Although WCJs will continue to be appointed by the AD, they will be supervised by the court administrator.
Provision for settlement conference referees has been repealed, but WCJs appointed after 2002 must be attorneys licensed to practice law in California for five or more years prior to appointment and have experience in workers' compensation law.
A provision of AB 749 that WCJs would be subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission on Judicial Performance was deleted by AB 486. In its place is a requirement that the administrative director, in consultation with both the court administrator and the Commission on Judicial Performance, adopt regulations to enforce the ethical conduct of WCJs. The court administrator will enforce the rules so adopted.
A study of the WCAB judicial function by RAND for which CHSWC contracted is nearing completion, and among the organizational changes in the new law is express authority for the AD to employ necessary personnel "to implement new, efficient court management systems."
CHSWC will now be funded from the Workers' Compensation Administration Revolving Fund rather than exclusively from "ghost writing" (Labor Code §4628) and audit penalties. The Workplace Health and Safety Fund has been abolished, and audit and §4628 penalties will now be deposited in the administration revolving fund. AB 486 clarified this provision to make it clear that moneys in the administration revolving fund, when appropriated by the Legislature to fund the grants and other activities and expenses of CHSWC, shall be expended by the Department of Industrial Relations for that purpose.
CHSWC studies of the quality of medical reports confirmed that many, particularly those of treating physicians, did not provide an adequate description of disability for rating purposes. AB 749 requires the administrative director, in consultation with the IMC, to develop educational materials to give treating physicians information and training in basic concepts of workers' compensation, the role of the treating physician, the conduct of permanent disability evaluations, and report writing.
The procedures by which employers and insurers contract with health care organizations to provide medical treatment to injured workers have been simplified. Among other things, it is no longer necessary to offer more than one HCO nor one that is compensated on a fee for service basis. The provision that an employee receiving employer provided health care from the same HCO that provides treatment for industrial injuries may be treated by a physician of his or her own choice only after 365 days has been eliminated.
HCOs licensed pursuant to the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act no longer need apply to the administrative director for certification and will be deemed to be a HCO able to provide medical treatment to injured workers provide they maintain good standing with the Department of Managed Health Care and meet most of the current requirements. AB 486 added the additional requirement that these HCOs provide the Managed Care Unit of DWC with the necessary documentation to verify their compliance with the requirements and agree to provide the AD with information submitted to the Department of Managed Health Care relating to financial solvency, provider accessibility, peer review, utilization review, and quality assurance upon request. Disclosure of peer review proceedings and records to the AD will not, however, alter their status as privileged under Sections 1370 and 1370.1 of the Health and Safety Code.
AB 486 also amended §4614(a)(2) (which provides that a health care service plan that provides treatment for both industrial and nonindustrial illnesses may be paid for treatment of injured workers only on a capitated basis) to exempt from its provisions any "nonprofit health care service plan that exclusively contracts with a medical group to provide or arrange for medical services to its enrollees in a designated geographic area."
The administrative director must adopt rules requiring medical bills to be on standardized forms, requiring employers to accept "electronic claims for payment of medical services," but protecting the confidentiality of medical information on the electronic claims.
CHSWC did an extensive study of the lien claim backlog in some WCAB district offices and had several lien resolution roundtable sessions attended by interested members of the workers compensation community. In its 1999-2000 Annual Report, the commission recommended that statutory limitations be placed on the filing of lien claims.
New §4903.5 provides that no liens for medical or medical-legal expenses may be filed more than six months after a final decision on the merits of the injured worker's claim, five years after the injury, or one year from the date the services were provided, whichever is later. An exception is made in the case of health care providers, health care service plans, group disability insurers, employee benefit plans, and other entities that provided medical benefits on a nonindustrial basis. They may file a lien claim within six months after their first knowledge that an industrial injury is being claimed.
Essentially following the recommendations of a CHSWC study, new §§4600.1 and 4600.2 control the cost of pharmaceuticals. Pharmacies providing medicines and medical supplies for injured workers will dispense a generic drug equivalent unless the prescribing doctor states otherwise in writing. Employers and insurers are authorized to contract with pharmacies or pharmacy benefit networks to provide medicines and supplies to injured employees pursuant to standards adopted by the AD. The contracts may not affect the ability of employee-selected physicians to prescribe medicines and supplies that the physicians deem reasonably necessary and must require access to a pharmacy within a reasonable distance from an injured worker's home.
The AD will also adopt an official pharmaceutical fee schedule establishing maximum fees for medicines and medical supplies provided to injured workers. The schedule must include a single dispensing fee and provide for access to a pharmacy within a reasonable distance from the worker's home.
CHSWC is currently conducting a study of facility charges for outpatient surgeries. It is expected that the results will be useful for the administrative director in complying with the mandate of new §5307.21 to develop an outpatient surgery facility fee schedule that will include all facility charges for outpatient surgeries performed but not the fees of the doctors providing services in connection with the surgery. The fees allowed must be sufficient to cover the costs of each surgical procedure, minimize administrative costs, and ensure access to outpatient surgery services by injured workers. AB 486 added a new subdivision to §5307.21 which requites the AD to furnish the Legislature a comprehensive report on the data analysis he obtained and his recommendations at least 90 days before the public hearings on the fee schedule.
CHSWC staff and contracted researchers did a study of §5814 penalties and their application. The commission approved the report but made no recommendations for legislative action. Nevertheless, §5814 was amended to state that multiple increases may not be awarded for repeated delays in making a series of payments due for the same type of benefit unless there has been a legally significant event between the initial delay and the subsequent delay.
Labor Code §5814.5 has been amended to provide for an award of reasonable attorneys' fees for enforcing the payment of compensation found to have been unreasonably delayed or refused subsequent to an award against all employers, not merely against only self-insured public entities as at present.
A delay in the negotiation of a written instrument caused by application of banking laws or regulations is not subject to penalty, but the administrative director, with the assistance of CHSWC, must propose how to provide better access to funds in light of the requirements of laws and regulations governing the negotiability of disability indemnity payments.
In February 2001, CHSWC and DWC hosted a Forum for Workplace Safety at which the latest research on return to work was presented and discussed. Literature reviews on facilitating, and barriers to, return to work were completed and continue. In its 2000-2001 Annual Report CHSWC recommended that return to work as soon as feasible be promoted and suggested ways of accomplishing it.
New Labor Code §139.47 requires the establishment of a program to encourage employers to provide early and sustained return to work after industrial injuries. The program will develop educational materials, guides, and training for employers, health care providers, employees, and unions.
During the years 2004 through 2008, but only if funds are appropriated by the Legislature, the AD will maintain a return to work program that will reimburse employers for wages, workplace modification, and insurance premiums. The money for program will come from the Workers' Compensation Return-to-Work Fund. If the program goes into effect, the AD must contract with an independent research organization to study it. AB 486 clarifies the legislative intent that all reimbursement expended for this program will be funded from that portion of the annual premium tax (Revenue and Taxation Code §12201) that is attributable to the compensation benefit amounts provided in Chapter 6 of the Statutes of 2002 (AB 749).
Adopting most of the recommendations in the CHSWC report Information for Injured Workers (2000), the legislature added additional information to that required to be on the notice that §3550 requires employers to keep posted in a conspicuous location and to the notice that §3551 requires employers to give to all new employees. The exact content of the latter notice will be prescribed by the AD after consultation with CHSWC. The content of the notice will be made available to employers and insurers, and insurers will be required to provide it to policyholders, with advice concerning the penalties for a failure to provide it. The notice must include a form for notifying the employer of the name of the employee's personal physician designated to treat any industrial injury. §3552 which only required an employer to provide the form on request is repealed.
Labor Code §138.4 which provides for benefit notices has been extensively revised and defines claims administrator. Whenever an injury results in lost time beyond the work shift or need for medical treatment beyond first aid, the claims administrator will provide the injured worker with a claim form and a notice of potential eligibility for benefits in three working days unless it knows that the employer has provided it. If it cannot determine whether the employer has provided a claim form and notice, the claims administrator must provide the form and notice to the employee within 30 days of the administrator's knowledge of the claim.
In addition to the existing requirement for regulations on notices dealing with payment, nonpayment, or delay in payment of temporary disability, permanent disability, death benefits, and the provision of vocational rehabilitation services, the AD must now require notices of any change in the amount or type of benefits being provided, termination of benefits, the rejection of any liability, and an accounting of benefits paid. The legislature has assigned CHSWC the duty of making recommendations to improve and simplify benefit notices, and a study of this is already under way.
Labor Code §5401 which requires employers to provide a claim form and a notice of potential eligibility for benefits to injured employees whose injury results in lost time or requires medical treatment beyond first aid has been amended to clarify the definition of first aid and to provide that, insofar as practicable, the notice and the claim form shall be a single document. The form and content of the notice and claim form will be prescribed by the AD after consultation with the CHSWC. Among the things that the notice must include are the procedure to be used to commence proceedings to collect compensation, what happens to the claim form after it is filed, the role and function of the primary treating physician, the right to change physicians, and the protections against discrimination.
Claims administrators will now be required to include the IMC form for requesting a panel of qualified medical evaluators with the permanent disability notices to unrepresented injured workers mandated by that §4061.
Adopting essentially all of the recommendations of CHSWC Report on the Division of Workers Compensation Audit Function (1998), AB 749 amends §§129 and 129.5 to assure that each audit unit will be audited at least once every five years and that good performers will be rewarded. A profile audit review of every audit subject will be done at least every five years. Any audit subject that fails to meet a profile audit standard established by the AD will be given a full compliance audit. Any audit subject that fails to meet or exceed the full compliance audit performance standard will be audited again within two years. Targeted profile audit reviews or full compliance audits may also be conducted at any time based on information indicating that an insurer, self-insured employer, or third-party administrator is failing to meet its obligations.
To reward good performers, profile audit subjects that meet or exceed the profile audit review performance standard will not be liable for any penalties but will be required to pay any unpaid compensation. Full compliance audit subjects that meet or exceed standards will only be required to pay penalties for unpaid or late paid compensation and any unpaid compensation.
To mitigate inequality between total penalties assessed against small and large audit subjects, the size of the audit unit will be considered by the AD in developing the penalty schedule. Audit subjects that fail to meet the full compliance audit performance standards will be assessed penalties as provided in a schedule adopted by the AD.
Labor Code §129.5(e) is amended to provide for civil penalties up to $100,000 if an employer, insurer, or third-party administrator has knowingly committed or (rather than and) has performed with sufficient frequency to indicate a general business practice acts discharging or administering its obligations in specified improper manners. Failure to meet the full compliance audit performance standards in two consecutive full compliance audits will be rebuttably presumed to be engaging in a general business practice of discharging and administering compensation obligations in an improper manner.
Review of the civil penalties assessed will be obtained by written request for a hearing before the WCAB rather than by application for a writ of mandate in the Superior Court. Judicial review of the Board's findings and order will be as provided §§5950 et. seq.
Penalties collected under §129.5 and unclaimed assessments for unpaid compensation under §129 will be credited to the Workers' Compensation Administration Revolving Fund.
Following recommendations in the CHSWC report Employers Illegally Uninsured for Workers Compensation CHSWC Recommendations to Identify Them and Bring them Into Compliance (1998) and several solutions developed in the course of meetings of the Uninsured Employers Task Force and Round Table, but not included in the report, new §90.3 declares that it is the policy of the state to vigorously enforce the laws requiring employers to secure the payment of compensation and to protect employers that comply with the law from those that attempt to gain a competitive advantage at the expense of their workers by failing to secure the payment of compensation.
Pursuant to this policy, the investigations undertaken by the Labor Commissioner's field enforcement unit will concentrate on industries, occupations, and areas with high rates of non-insurance as well as those in which employees are relatively low paid and unskilled and in which there has been a history of other labor law violations.
The Labor Commissioner will also be required to "target" employers in industries with the highest incidence of uninsured employers from data from the Uninsured Employers' Fund, the Employment Development Department, the California Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, and other sources. Employers with payroll but no record of workers' compensation coverage will be contacted, and if they have no valid reason for the lack of record of coverage, they will be inspected on a priority basis.
Whenever an employer has been uninsured for over a week, a penalty assessment will be made requiring the uninsured employer to pay the greater of (1) twice the amount the employer would have paid in premiums during the period the employer was uninsured, or (2) $1,000 for each employee employed during that period.
Willful failure to secure payment of workers' compensation is added to the crimes for which the Department of Insurance and district attorneys can receive moneys from the Workers' Compensation Fraud Account to investigate and prosecute.
Making or causing a false statement to obtain or deny any of the benefits or reimbursement provided in the Return-to-Work Program (Labor Code §139.48) or to discourage an employer from claiming any of the benefits or reimbursement provided in that program is added to the definition of workers' compensation fraud.
The membership of the Fraud Assessment Commission is increased to seven (two representatives of organized labor, two of self-insured employers, one of insured employers, one of insurers, and the president of the State Fund or a designee). The specific manner in which the Director of Industrial Relations will levy and collect from employers the amount determined necessary by the Fraud Assessment Commission for the fraud account is described.
The Bureau of State Audits is directed to evaluate and report to the legislature on the effectiveness of the Fraud Assessment Commission, the Bureau of Fraudulent Claims, the Department of Insurance, the Department of Industrial Relations, local law enforcement agencies, and district attorneys in identifying, investigating, and prosecuting workers' compensation fraud and willful failure to secure payment of workers' compensation.
The civil penalties for fraud and solicitation provided in §3820 are increased. New §3822 requires the AD annually to warn every employer, claims adjuster, third party administrator, physician, and attorney that participates in the workers' compensation system against committing workers' compensation fraud and to specify the penalties.
An employer and a represented employee will be able to settle the employee's right to prospective vocational rehabilitation for not over $10,000 for "use in self-directed vocational rehabilitation" if the settlement is approved by the vocational rehabilitation unit after finding that the employee "knowingly and voluntarily agreed to relinquish his or her rehabilitation rights." A settlement may only be disapproved if the RU finds that rehabilitation services are necessary to return the employee to suitable gainful employment.
It will no longer be necessary for insurers to have their occupational safety and health loss control consultation services certified by the Director of Industrial Relations, but they must continue to offer services that are adequate to identify the hazards exposing the insured to significant workers' compensation losses, and to advise the insured of steps needed to mitigate the losses.
In place of the certification program, there will be a loss control services coordinator who will inform employers of the availability of loss control consultation services and respond to their questions and complaints about the services provided by their insurer. If an employer and an insurer are unable to agree on a solution to a complaint, the coordinator will investigate and recommend action necessary to bring the loss control program into compliance. The cost of providing the coordinator services will come from the Workers' Occupational Safety and Health Education Fund, but no more than 20 percent of that fund may be expended annually for that purpose.
AB 486 makes it clear that the Fund will be financed by assessments against insurers that may not exceed the greater of $100 or 0.0286 percent of paid workers' compensation indemnity amounts for claims as reported for the previous calendar year to the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau
The remainder of the fund will be expended by CHSWC for a worker occupational safety and health training and education program to promote awareness of the need for prevention education, to develop and provide injury and illness prevention education programs for employees, and to deliver these programs through a statewide network of providers. The programs may be conducted directly by CHSWC or by contracts or interagency agreements. An employer and worker advisory board will guide development of curricula, teaching methods, and specific occupational safety and health course material. This board will also assist in providing links to the target audience and broadening partnerships with worker, labor, and other organizations able to reach the target audience.
The curricula will include the elements of prevention programs and hazard communication. Additional training will be provided for industries on the high hazard list, hazards causing significant worker injuries or compensation costs, industries or trades with numerous or significant injuries, groups with special needs (such as language barriers or limited literacy), young workers, and other traditionally underserved groups of workers. Priority will be given to training workers able to train others and workers with health and safety responsibilities. The program will operate libraries and distribution systems for occupational safety and health training material.
The Speaker of the Assembly and the President pro Tempore of the Senate, or their designees, are added to the board of directors of the State Compensation Insurance Fund as ex officio, nonvoting members. The voting members must have been policyholders (or employees or members of a policyholder) for a year immediately preceding appointment, and must continue in this status during the entire term as director.
All advertisements of the Fund must state "The State Compensation Insurance Fund is not a branch of the State of California." The Fund may commission an independent study, with the assistance of an investment banking firm, to determine the feasibility of the Fund's issuing bonds or securities. Fund reserves will be invested "in a way as to realize the maximum return consistent with safe and prudent management practices" rather than the current 3-1/2 percent.
Several obsolete provisions relating to the Fund are amended to reflect current realities, e.g., premium rates will be set by the board of directors rather than by the Industrial Accident Commission. The Fund need no longer file its rates with DIR and all county and city clerks.
Insurance companies are authorized to increase rates on policies issued before January 1, 2003, up to the pure premium rate increase approved by the Insurance Commissioner reflecting the cost of the change in benefit levels authorized by AB 749.
CHSWC contracted with a multi-disciplinary research team at UC Berkeleys Survey Research Center and Haas School of Business and the Stanford Center on Conflict and Negotiation to study the alternative workers compensation procedures permitted by Labor Code §3201.5. The study was extensive and analyzed in great detail the experience in the first several years. Among the recommendations were that if the ombudsman in the program was not an advocate for injured workers, the workers should have legal representation in all stages of the proceedings. The study also concluded that if carve-outs are successful in construction, they may be permitted in other industries in California.
New §3201.7 permits carve outs in the aerospace or timber industries. The provisions are similar to those in §3201.5 (construction industry carve outs), but there is an added requirement that an employer include with its original application an agreed framework for implementation of their alternative system. There is also a preclusion from any provision that denies any employee the right to representation by counsel at all stages of the alternative dispute resolution process. AB 486 added an additional requirement that the participating unions must be affiliates of a national or international labor organization that has one or more affiliate local unions that negotiated a carve out agreement before January 1, 2003. It also made non substantive changes in §3201.5.
The portions of Labor Code §3762 restricting the medical information that an insurer or third-party administrator may give to the employer have been amended to make permissible the diagnosis of the mental or physical condition for which compensation is claimed and the treatment provided for the condition in addition to medical information necessary for the employer to have in order to modify the employee's work duties.
AB 486 added a new §3701.8 that creates an alternative security system for private self-insured employers by allowing them to secure their aggregate incurred liabilities collectively through a Self-Insurers' Security Fund. Under current law, the security deposit of any one employer may only be used to administer and pay that employer's compensation obligations. The proposed alternative system would pool all of the security deposits and make them available to the Self-Insurers' Security Fund for payment of the claims of any defaulting employer. §3742 was amended to authorize the Director of Industrial Relations to require fund members to subscribe to financial instruments or guarantees to be posted with the director to satisfy the security requirements established under the new section.
Commercial Code §9109 is amended to exempt from the definition of security interest in personal property a claim or right of an employee or employee's dependents to receive workers' compensation benefits.
In drafting AB 749, the Legislature not only relied heavily on CHSWC studies and recommendations, but also directed CHSWC to provide on going advice to others. For example, the administrative director, in consultation with CHSWC and others, must conduct a study of medical treatment provided to injured workers covering the rising costs and utilization of medical treatment, case management, ways to attain early and sustained return to work, physician utilization, quality of care, outcome measurement, and patient satisfaction. Similarly, the AD, with the assistance of CHSWC and the Employment Development Department, must make recommendations regarding payments to migratory and seasonal farm workers.
AB 486 provides that it is the intent of the Legislature that annual appropriations to DWC be sufficient to hire necessary staff and to obtain adequate resources and technology to carry out and complete each of its mandates under the Labor Code in a timely manner and in a manner consistent with constitutional mandate.


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This is the third-annual collection of residences that were created from buildings that formerly served other purposes. The visionaries who dreamed up and created these homes started off with disused and neglected buildings (one dating back five centuries) and transformed them into unusual habitations designed for modern lifestyles.
Some categories of buildings are favorites when it comes to adaptive reuse, and you'll see a few types here that have been featured before in this series, yet the results are still completely different. Other homes in this collection were made from unexpected structures. Whatever their starting points, the resulting examples of adaptive reuse range from simple and minimal or rustic to contemporary. And whereas Unique Converted Homes on CNBC has featured many single-family home conversions in the past, this go-round features a few more apartments than usual.
By Colleen Kane
Posted 11 Jan. 2013


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Collaboration accelerates Smart Grid adoption
LONMARK international and OpenADR Alliance agreement enables building-to-grid connectivity, facilitates ubiquitous energy conservation and management.
Commercial buildings will soon be able to connect to the Smart Grid with ease, thanks to a strategic relationship between industry alliances LONMARK International and OpenADR. LONMARK, a non-profit association for the certification, education, and promotion of interoperability standards for control networking, and the OpenADR Alliance, a nonprofit corporation created to foster the development, adoption, and compliance of a Smart Grid standard known as Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR), have announced that they are working together to enable interoperability between certified products that will better enable commercial buildings to manage their energy uses on the Smart Grid.
The Smart Grid is designed to keep these buildings from overtaxing the power grid or having to reduce power consumption. Today, more than one-third of U.S. commercial buildings have some form of energy management and control systems installed, which makes them ideal candidates to participate in utility mandated Demand Response programs using standard interfaces such as OpenADR.
LONMARK allows buildings connected to the Smart Grid to use granular automation and enhanced control strategies to better maximize energy efficiency, without impacting client comfort and productivity. Buildings participating in an OpenADR program can leverage the existing building automation systems and protocols through a well-defined, standard interface to accept the OpenADR signal using a common language over any existing IP-based communications network such as the Internet. Through a pre-programmed set of events, the BAS can reduce load according to the messages it receives. In addition, it may bring real-time energy consumption information back to the utility or service provider.
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The Original Game of Perfection is a board game in which you have 60 seconds to fit all 25 shapes into their proper place. If the player does not complete the puzzle within the time allotted, the board pops up in the player's face and all the pieces scatter. I played Perfection for the first time last night, after seeing my 5 year-old nephew play the game. The simple concept of fitting shapes into their proper place seemed really easy. My nephew completed 15 pieces the first round. I completed 9 pieces. I had a harder time than expected. A concept that seemed so easy wasn't in reality. The lurking variable? Time. Being timed made all the difference. The idea of time … [Read more...]
"The Original Game of Perfection"
January 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment


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Author Garcia-Aguilera's Book Reviews
Bitter Sugar
Morrow, Nov 2001, 24.00, 336 pp. ISBN: 0386977818 Her Cuban-American father dislikes the profession of Miami-based private detective Lupe Solano because he does not believe this is a proper profession for a good girl. Thus, when he asks Lupe to help his friend Ramon, she immediately agrees to show him that she is good at her trade. Ramon wants Lupe to investigate an offer to buy the five sugar mills they once owned in Cuba before Cast...


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Riverside Lodge Minutes from Yosemite National Park
Once it leaves Yosemite National Park, the Merced River picks up speed, developing whitewater rapids by the time it barrels past Yosemite View Lodge. This secluded inn is tucked into the Sierra Nevadas along the park's western border. Guest-room balconies overlook untouched wilderness centered on the rushing river and towering pines lining it on both sides. A short drive takes you to the entrance of the park, where you can behold Yosemite's snow-covered peaks.
A private balcony or terrace is attached to each queen river-view room. Guests can warm up by the fireplace or brew a pot of coffee in the kitchenette. Each guest room is also outfitted with a spa tub, where you can make use of the soap, lotion, and scrub included with the spa gift bag.
Outdoor hot tubs sit on the river's edge, enabling splash wars with passing trout, but you can take a dip in the indoor pools if you'd rather stay inside. For a hearty meal before an outdoor adventure, visit the mountain-cabin-esque River Restaurant & Lounge, which serves upscale, traditional American breakfasts as well as dinner year-round. For lighter bites, the Yosemite View Convenience Store sells groceries for lodgers looking to prepare their own meals and snacks.
El Portal, California: Gateway to Winter Adventure in Yosemite National Park
California State Route 140 follows the snaking Merced River 20 miles into Yosemite National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site that welcomes millions of visitors every year. Much of the Yosemite Valley, as well as the Wawona area farther south, remains accessible to drivers, hikers, and snowball poachers throughout the winter.
Crowds are much smaller in the cooler months than during the summer rush, meaning you can leisurely explore the park while introducing yourself to its cold-weather beauty. On some early March mornings, frazil ice formed from the frozen mist of waterfalls can transform Yosemite Creek into a churning plume of slush.


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WATER (big book)
large landscape: 13×11 Zoll (33 × 28 cm)
by We are 127 Photographer from 36 countries
This is the price your customers see. Edit list price
About the Book
We are a group of 127 photographers from 36 countries around the world who have joined creative forces and resources in order to raise awareness about what water in all its forms and shapes means to us as human beings: not only as a necessity to keep us alive but also as an everlasting source of beauty, joy, respect, strength,inspiration and happiness. The profits of this joint book (20 euros per book) project will be donated to "Operazione Acqua e Riso", a small organization - created by a group of photographers under the lead of Oliviero Masseroli - supporting communities in Bangladesh in getting access to clean water." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The historian Thomas Fuller said, "We never know the worth of water till the well is dry." And for more than a billion people that well of safe water is now dry. Take a moment to consider how many times today you have utilised the resource of water, and taken its accessibility for granted. You needed water for your morning cup of coffee and your hot shower. You needed water in the laundry and when you watered your garden. Water cleaned your dirty dishes and washed your car. Water filled your swimming pool and rinsed the fruit you ate. But beyond these needs begs the simple fact that water is not merely a need, it is a right. And it is this right that places the worth of water beyond measure. In the most fundamental terms we and every other living thing on this planet rely on water to survive. We owe our human existence and all of nature surrounding us in entirety to the resource of water. Currently four out of every ten people in the world are affected by water scarcity. This situation is worsening with the impact of climate change, population growth and water pollution. UNDESA estimates that by 2025 two thirds of the world's population could be facing moderate to severe water stress. And you could be part of this statistic. The right to water is an entitlement we cannot take for granted. As a resource it belongs to all life on earth and it's supply, quality and access should be nondiscriminatory, regardless of individual economic circumstances.
Features & Details
- Category Arts & Photography Books
Large Format Landscape, 13×11 in, 33×28 cm
100 Pages
- Publish Date Dec 02, 2012
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This is the shirt every guy needs in his arsenal—a versatile no-brainer that can be worn with literally everything. Constructed from 100 percent two-ply cotton, it's crisply tailored and exceptionally soft, thanks to our Secret Wash (the unique formula makes it feel lived-in from the get-go). Regular fit—a tailored cut with a made-to-measure feel.
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Location: Cereal Disease Lab
Project Number: 5062-21220-021-09-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jul 15, 2010
End Date: Apr 30, 2014
Overall objective is to improve the existing Puccinia graminis draft genome sequence (strain 7a) and provide a complete web resource for the scientific community. The specific objectives are to: (a) improve the reference genome (b) comprehensively refine the annotation using RNA-sequencing (c) establish a genetic framework to resolve haplotypes, (d) provide a reference for the current epidemic rust strain, Ug99, and (e) provide a web-based information infrastructure for delivery of this information.
Objectives 1 and 2 involve the improvement of the existing P. graminis reference genome, through the genetic linkage of existing supercontigs and the generation of novel RNA-seq data to support gene annotation. Objective 3 is to prototype a novel genetic approach to distinguish the two haplotypes of 7a, which if successful, will also lead to an improvement in the quality of the 7a reference. Objective 4 is to generate a de novo assembled reference sequence for the Ug99 strain and to annotate this genome (the improved annotation of the reference strain will assist in this process). Objective 5 is to use both these strains as reference sequence to integrate other high throughput data sets (specifically, with variation data from other strains of Pgt) and to disseminate this data to the scientific community in the context of other fungal genomic data, through Ensembl (a genome informatics portal maintained by the European Bioinformatics Institute) and the Broad Institute rust fungal genomes website.


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Miller Flex Cuff CutterSKU: 4000
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Quickly cut through disposable cuffs with these easy to use steel cutters. 5.5" long.
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March 14, 1921 - March 23, 2013
Ithaca, NY - Formerly of Hurleyville, NY
Fred Madeo, a 12-year resident of Ithaca, formerly of Hurleyville, NY, died on March 23, 2013 at the age of 92. The son of Frank and Sylvia Mancuso Madeo, he was born March 14, 1921.
He received his BS and MA degrees from New York University and taught English at Fallsburg Central High School, Fallsburg, NY, where he served as Chairman of the English Department. He enriched the high school dramatics program by challenging students and audiences alike with productions such as The Glass Menagerie, Death of a Salesman, Medea, and Inherit the Wind. In a teaching career spanning more than 30 years, he mentored, inspired, and delighted countless students. In 1975 Fred received the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching, and retired as Professor Emeritus from Sullivan County Community College in 1983.
During his time in Sullivan County, he served as Board chair of CACHE (Community Action to Help the Economy), a Board member of Fallsburg Central School District, and a play director of the Sullivan County Dramatics Workshop.
In retirement he published a novel, The Shout and the Avalanche, translated Sophocles' Antigone from the original Greek, and also wrote a modern version of that play, D.S. Creon. He wrote poetry, short stories, and essays, and mentored a number of Ithaca veterans in a writing project. Ithacans, as well as residents of Sullivan County, are very familiar with Fred's Letters to the Editor, which reflected his life-long commitment to social justice.
A World War II veteran, he was predeceased in 2001 by his beloved wife of 56 years, Mary (Wondrasch). Survivors include a daughter, Suzanne (Doug) Thaler of Port Jefferson Station, NY; sons: Karl (Linda) Madeo of Ithaca, and Kevin (Betsy) Madeo of Hilton Head, SC; grandchildren: Christopher (Tara) Witzenburg, Stefan (Elisa) Witzenburg, and Anica (Eric Pinaud) Madeo, and Bo Madeo; seven great-grandchildren; a brother, Raymond (Kristi) Madeo of Key West, FL.
There will be a celebration of Fred's life on Saturday, April 6th, at 2 p.m. at the Unitarian Church, 306 N. Aurora St., Ithaca, NY.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Peter J. DeMotte Catholic Worker House, 411 S. Plain St., Ithaca, NY or a charity of your choice.


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Spotlight Article:
The Evolution of Smart Home Performance and Its Benefits to the Grid
As the number of residential demand-response programs and the use of smart home technologies has grown over the last several years, an important opportunity has emerged in home performance to increase residential energy savings. Namely, ...
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Libraries and Utility Collaborate to Educate
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In an innovative program, Dane County Library Service (DCLS) and Madison Gas and Electric Company (MGE) in south central Wisconsin are collaborating to deliver energy information and assistance. [continue reading]
Sandra Wood
Top US Cities Considered the Most Energy Efficient
Many people recognize the need for increased efforts to reduce energy consumption and make communities cleaner. As cities strive to ...
Dave Yeager
Speaking the Same Language: The Importance of Open Standards in Energy Efficiency
Open standards provide the backbone for many markets and industries. The Internet itself could not exist without the collaborative, agreed-upon ...


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The one that got away!
Kay E. Mahoney 6/30/2005 5:35:22 PMVery cute Jennifer. Love the look on their faces. Love how the baby is looking up at the daddy. #271653
Laura E. OConnor 6/30/2005 5:40:23 PMThis is PRICELESS!!! Have they see this one, yet?? GREAT shot! #1540798
Sherri Conley 6/30/2005 6:03:44 PMThis is terrific, Jennifer! Glad to see you were quick on the trigger! :) #1540855
Olivia Navarro 6/30/2005 6:22:28 PMAbsolutely adorable!!!! Laura's right--this is PRICELESS!!! And your title is perfect! LOL! #1540886
Jennifer Jones 6/30/2005 10:24:42 PMThanks everyone! Every time I see this picture I just crack up! This little guy was so full of energy... like he was going to burst! I even love how his little fists are clenched because he was so excited.
Kimberly J. Whipps 7/1/2005 12:28:08 PMWhat an absolutely fabulous REAL family image. All their faces are fabulous! This is priceless. #1544067
Kimberly J. Whipps 7/1/2005 12:28:21 PMWhat an absolutely fabulous REAL family image. All their faces are fabulous! This is priceless. #1544068
Amanda Price 7/22/2005 7:12:15 PMLOL!!! Congrats on your finalist! This is hilarious!! You'll have to check out my family photo. It has a similar flavour. :) #1622520
Laura E. OConnor 7/22/2005 7:17:49 PMThis is SO GREAT! CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR FINALIST!!!!! #1622534
Susana Ms Heide 7/22/2005 7:21:06 PMThis is hilarious!! Many congrats on this humorous portrait! #1622555
Barbara Helgason 7/22/2005 8:05:09 PMCongratulations, great capture, good luck in the next round. #1622924
Dale Ann Cubbage 7/22/2005 8:08:19 PMJennifer, congrats on this great finalist!! Good luck in the next round!
da #1622948
Alisha L. Ekstrom 7/22/2005 10:53:55 PMCongrats Jennifer on this outstanding family portrait finalist. WTG!! Good luck on the next round:) #1623857
Kay E. Mahoney 7/23/2005 6:25:40 AMCongratulations on your win Jennifer. I loved it when I first saw it. Good luck on the next round. #1625194
KHAWLA Haddad 7/23/2005 7:18:49 AMCongratulations on this wonderful Finalists Jennifer put big smile on my face to see it wonderful work !!! #1625553
Jennifer Jones 7/23/2005 10:47:08 AMThank you SOO much everyone for taking the time to comment! Everytime I see this photo I just chuckle. :o) The photo shoot with this little guy was so smuch fun... he was so full of life! #1626944
Peggy Wolff 7/23/2005 2:59:58 PMThis is great! One of those photos that will make you laugh every time you look at it! Congrats and good luck! #1628051
Lori S. Aschbrenner 7/24/2005 6:04:47 AMCongratulations, Jennifer! This is just too cute! #1630505
Margot Petrowski 7/24/2005 4:59:37 PMCongrats.....those unplanned moments can really pay off!!!! #1632707
Katherine K 7/24/2005 6:26:00 PMCongrats on this priceless capture! #1632977
Terrill Province 8/20/2005 12:38:56 PMThis is priceless!!! I live for these moments ~ I would rather snap this shot than set up 100 perfect traditional family poses. This is probably so representative of their lives at this point in time; I'm sure they wouldn't trade it for the world. A BIG CONGRATULATIONS on hitting the moment perfectly. #1739476
f/8 @ 1/125 sec., iso 100, studio lights
A little two year old quickly escaping from the family pose!! (As you can see, he was quite pleased with himself as he darted back in front of the camera!) I can't decide which expression is funnier..his or his parents! :o)
Uploaded on 6/30/2005 3:56:56 PM
Camera: Canon EOS 10D Digital SLR Camera
Copyright for this gallery photo belongs solely to Jennifer Jones. Images may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way without the expressed, written permission of the photographer.
Log in to follow or message this photographer or report this photo.


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"I have ordered these Thanksgiving invitations for about seven years in a row and I hope to continue to order them as long as I keep hosting Thanksgiving Dinner. I try to use a picture from last years Thanksgiving so everyone can watch the children grow. Every invitation I have ordered has been perfect! Thank you."
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The Flight of the Conchords song Feel Inside (and stuff like that), which they did for Red Nose Day, just gets better every time I hear it. A superb idea that hit the nail, struck a chord and bashed the gong, reminding us why they're so successful and so beloved. It's New Zealand's We Are The World, hell it's even better than Sailing Away which used to be our We Are The World.
To verify this I returned to that America's Cup sing-along, and found myself in an awesome time capsule. My favourite Sailing Away moments are:
1) When Billy T James puts his hand on Dave Dobbyn's shoulder before Tim Finn pops up to rest his arm on the other one.
2) Bunny Walters banging out "One people on the waaater" followed by Barry Crump's raspy "One people on the land".
3) The bit where Bunny has his arm around diminutive weightlifting legend Precious McKenzie.
4)The Country Music moment with John Hoar and Suzanne Prentice. (Or is it the other one?)
But we are no longer "One nation on the water". The chances of us all getting behind a yachting event to this extent again seem unlikely, absurd even. Which isn't to denigrate the magic to be found in Sailing Away, which is a slightly different beast from Feel Inside, We Are the World or even Do They Know It's Christmas (Feed The World) the British We Are The World from 1984.
That song popped into my head while I was watching Campbell Live this week during a story illustrating child poverty here in New Zealand.
It was a clever piece that illustrated the problem with a simplicity that almost demands action. Comparing a decile 1 school with a decile 10 school they revealed a stark reality best summed up with the image of a nutritiously packed lunch box for the rich kids and a pack of Burger Rings for the poor ones.
Although the poor kids who had the Burger Rings were the lucky ones as 14 out of a class of 27 had no lunch at all. Half of them also had no breakfast compared to just one well heeled kid across town. (Not that I have anything against Burger Rings, which I consider to be superior to Twisties or Rashuns.)
If you haven't seen it you should watch the report by Tristram Clayton here.
Where's my new favourite show?
Just as I was about to have a wee rave about the newish Gordon Ramsay's Best Restaurant series, I read that it's been moved mid-season to 3:25pm on Saturdays and has been replaced with reruns of Criminal Minds, which I guess means it wasn't rating, which is a shame because it's a very good show.
If nothing else it's provided me with a list of eateries I will track down the next time I get back to the UK. It's been great to watch actual chefs compete with each other for a change.
A genius aspect to show has been the secret diners who turn up and test the staff to the limit with some hilariously demanding carry-on: "Sorry I know I ordered this but I don't like the look of it, can I have what she's having instead?"
On last week's show one of the diners wound a Thai restaurateur up so much that he threatened to call the cops.
I'm loving hating.
The Newsroom (Soho, Monday 8.30pm) continues to delight and appal in equal measure. It's the worst show that I can't stop watching that I can ever recall. Soho tell me that series 2 will screen here in the new year. I'm excited and enraged at the same time.
Weekend free-to-air movie tip.
Death In Brunswick (Maori TV, 9.30pm Saturday). "Carl Fitzgerald is down-on-his-luck until he meets Sophie, a beautiful Greek girl. He gets a job as a cook, but accidentally kills fellow worker Mustafa." Set in Melbourne, and featuring kiwi's Sam Neil and John Clarke (of Fred Dagg fame). (1991) Watch the trailer here.


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Information Session, Haringey Cypriot Centre
To begin your adoption journey with us and to discover if adoption is right for you, please come along to our information session.
Tuesday 06 November 2018
Haringey Cypriot Centre
Earlham Grove
Wood Green
The session starts at 17.30pm and finishes at 8pm (please arrive promptly). There is free parking available at the venue.
To book a place please call 0800 6940 101 (option 1) or email [email protected]


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Category: Yasuhiro Iwamura
Yasuhiro Iwamura – ANS Presentation on LENR Transmutation
|December 9, 2012
|Posted by Jack Cole under Mitsubishi, Toyota, Transmutation, Yasuhiro Iwamura
Transmutation of elements is something that has been seen in many past experiments of LENR. Yasuhiro Iwamura presents his experimental work on transmutations utilizing LENR at the American Nuclear Society meeting. This video was posted by Steven Krivit, who organized the November 14, 2012 session. Also discussed in the video are potential commercial applications such […] more


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Phillip Jacob Runser (30 Jun 1845 - 22 Mar 1921), a maternal second great-grandfather, was born in Hégenheim, in the Alsace region of France--just a landslide away from the Swiss border--where Runsers can still be found. He was the seventh of eight children, and was named after his father.
(I would be fascinated to know how Phillip and Clara, as she was known, met, as her family worked primarily as sailors and such along the Great Lakes, while the Runsers were farmers in central Wisconsin. I do not know where she was living in 1870, as I cannot locate her on the U S Census for that year. The John Borden Wilbor family, with whom she was living in 1860, was still in Erie, Ohio, but Clara was no longer living there. Did she go to Wisconsin? If so, why? I have no indication that Phillip or any of the relevant Runsers visited Ohio.)
Anyway. Black River Falls, home to numerous Runsers and their relations, is the subject of both a book (by Michael Lesy, 1973) and documentary film (by James March, 2000) entitled Wisconsin Death Trip. Both works feature extremely disturbing stories, and photographs taken in Black River Falls during the late 1800s by Charles Van Schaick. The film is highly recommended as a look at what our ancestors endured. It is no wonder that within a few years the newly-married Runsers moved to the Dakota Territory, settling in Redfield, Spink County sometime around its formation in 1879.
|Black River Falls a few years after the Runsers left.
Photo by Charles Van Schaick, courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society.
The Runsers acquired more acreage, and with it, apparently, some financial success. The first school in Spink County was built on one acre of land on the NE corner of NW 1/4 Section 25, Twp.117, Range 64, donated by P J Runser, Sr. Perhaps this altruistic gesture served as the catalyst for the love of learning that runs through our family, and led to many of P J Runser's descendants becoming educators. Several of his grandchildren attended the school, which stood in the same location for over fifty years. It was later moved (a new school built in its place), and used as a meeting hall for the Farmer's Union, then finally torn down in 1975.
In 1888, Phillip co-founded a company, the Redfield Elevator Company, for "Buying, selling and shipping grain and farm products."
|Notice of incorporation of the Redfield Elevator Company,
from the Bismarck [North Dakota] Daily Tribune, 9 Dec 1888.
His entire adult life was spent in farming, so perhaps it is not surprising that a few years later Phillip invented a gizmo to be used on farm equipment. His "Speed-Changing Device and Indicator" was patented on 8 Feb 1898 as U S Patent number 598,817.
|Page one of a three-page explanation of the device.
|Note the engraving of PJR's signature in the lower right.
In a previous post, I had quoted from a distant relation who bemoaned the detailed pedigrees of livestock, in lieu of focusing on human lineage. At the time, I imagined he was hyperbolizing, but researching Phillip, I discovered that these animal genealogies actually exist. In my second great-grandfather's case, I was able to find his name in several hefty tomes with titles like The American Oxford Down Record, Vol 5 (1892, page 391) as the owner of what were apparently several prized animals, including American Oxford and Vermont Merino sheep, and American Poland-China hogs. From 1901:
|Some pig.
Like his father, Phillip also had eight children, including a son who became the third Philip Jacob Runser (26 Oct 1884 - 10 Nov 1984). Strictly speaking, he was not the third, as his grandfather went by Phillipe, and his father by Phillip, seemingly losing a letter with each generation; however, we will not let orthography get in the way of sentiment. At any rate, as of 2010, there was still a Philip (or perhaps, by this point, just Phil) J Runser--the sixth--living in Foxboro, Wisconsin.
A few years later, Phillip and Clara, after living for a short time in Minnesota, finally returned to Wisconsin, this time to Douglas County. As late as 1910, aged sixty-five, Phillip Jacob Runser's occupation on the U S Federal Census was still listed as "Farmer." He died in 1921, just a year after his wife; his children Kitty, Joseph, and Philip and their families living on adjoining farms.
|Summit Cemetery; Foxboro, Douglas County, Wisconsin.


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Earlier in the week, we discussed the bigger picture effect of the Cliff Lee signing on the Phillies franchise. On the field, beyond the simple fact that the Phillies now have the finest rotation in the majors, Lee's signing has a trickle-down effect on the rest of the roster.
In the last few decades, bullpens have naturally expanded as starters pitch fewer innings and, in the National League, settled upon seven relievers as the standard. Middle relievers have become commodities on the open market -- this off-season, teams have handed out an astounding 11 multi-year contracts to relievers.
But with the current construction of the Phillies' staff, the bullpen is de-emphasized. The guys over at The Good Phight did a quick and dirty analysis based on 2010 innings averages that concluded Phillies starting pitchers could be expected to average 6.87 innings per start in 2011. Again, that assumes health and maintaining stamina from 2010.
In 2010, the Phillies' bullpen already logged a league-low 421 innings. The addition of Lee and assuming a fifth starter that can pitch to the league average of IP/S (5.91) would yield a bullpen expectation of 344 1/3 innings in 2011.
Now, let's assume that those assumptions are a bit extreme. Why? Consider this: No bullpen has pitched that few innings in a non-strike-shortened season since 1988 when the Mets (341 2/3 IP) and Rangers (333 1/3) both did it.
The last Phillies bullpen to pitch fewer than 344 1/3 innings in the bullpen? That would be the 1959 Phillies, who had 54 complete games from their starters -- and relievers threw 342 2/3 innings.
So let's expand our range even further. We'll settle at 400 IP by relievers -- almost 60 innings above the rough estimate. The last team's bullpen to pitch fewer than 400 innings? The 2005 Cardinals, whose relievers threw 397 2/3 innings. And since 2000, only two other bullpens pitched fewer than 400 innings (2003 Yankees and 2002 Diamondbacks).
What's special about those teams? Well they each won at least 98 games in those seasons. Both the Cardinals and Yankees broke the 100-win barrier.
So yes, obviously we are talking about something special here. Having four aces allows the Phillies to be creative with their bullpen construction.
Under no circumstances should the Phillies break camp with more than 11 pitchers on the staff. Given the numbers we discussed, you could probably make a coherent argument that 11 is still too many, but for various reasons, we'll stick with 11 rather than 10.
There are four relievers under contract and locks for 2011 already. They are Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, Jose Contreras and Danys Baez. That's $21.25 million in 2011 dollars committed to the bullpen.
They should not sign anyone else to fill the final two spots.
"We're still trying to figure it out," Phillies assistant GM Scott Proefrock said earlier in the week.
Sure, Dennys Reyes at $1.1 million would have been a very low-risk signing and the Phillies were prepared to make it even after acquiring Lee.
So they're left looking at the current lefthanded options on the market. There's J.C. Romero, whom the Phillies know very well. But he made $4.5 million in 2010 and unless he is willing to take Reyes money, it probably is not prudent to re-sign him.
There's Hideki Okajima, a reliable setup man before 2010 with Boston. But he will likely cost more than $1.1 million and a source said the Phillies have yet to have any discussions with his agent. The same could be said for Brian Fuentes, who is likely looking for at least $4 million per season in a multi-year deal.
There's Arthur Rhodes, who is coming off an All-Star season and is also a known commodity inside the Phillies' front office. But he too could be costly.
So who would take $1.1 million in 2011? Well, there's Will Ohman, Randy Flores, Joe Beimel and Ron Mahay.
And given those names, I wonder how much would really be lost should the Phillies decide to stay internal for the lefthanded quest and let Antonio Bastardo, Dan Meyer, Mike Zagurski and Sergio Escalona fight for the job this spring.
Remember the Lee effect. The bullpen will be asked to pitch even fewer innings this season than last. On many nights, the starting pitcher could finish seven innings. That would leave the eighth for Madson and the ninth for Lidge. The opportunities for a lefthanded reliever to matchup and face a lefty are lessened.
Then, consider this: The Phillies have approximately one reliever under contract for 2012 -- Contreras. Lidge has an option that is likely to be declined (he could be back in 2012, but not for $12.5 million), and Madson and Baez are free agents.
The bullpen in 2012 will have to be younger by necessity. It would behoove the Phillies to attempt to slowly work one or two of their younger arms they like -- Bastardo, David Herndon, Justin De Fratus, Scott Mathieson, Michael Stutes and Michael Schwimer -- into low-leverage bullpen roles in 2011 with an eye toward 2012.
For reasons we've explained above, the soft underbelly of the Phillies' bullpen will really be marginalized in 2011. It's a good chance to fill those spots with younger pitchers.
Plenty of times, Ruben Amaro Jr. has said, "We're not going to have a lefty just to have a lefty." If his starting staff is going to go deep into games most nights, he has Contreras, Madson and Lidge to pitch the later innings. They can retire lefties too.
The bullpen was Amaro's top priority at the beginning of the off-season. He solved many depth issues by signing a starter. And with an extraordinary rotation in 2011, the Phillies should not follow the traditional roster guidelines that govern pitching staffs.


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Learners will model the gravitational fields of planets on a flexible surface. Children place and move balls of different sizes and densities on a plastic sheet to develop a mental picture of how the mass of an object influences how much effect it... (View More) has on the surrounding space. This activity is part of Explore! Jupiter's Family Secrets, a series designed to engage children in space and planetary science in libraries and informal learning environments. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $5 - $10 per group of students
This is a lesson about infrared radiation. Learners will investigate invisible forms of light as they conduct William Herschel's experiment and subsequent discovery of infrared radiation. They will construct a device to measure the presence of... (View More) infrared radiation in sunlight, explain that visible light is only part of the electromagnetic spectrum of radiation emitted by the Sun, follow the path taken by Herschel through scientific discovery, explain why we would want to use infrared radiation to study Mercury and other planets, and explain how excess infrared radiation is a concern for the MESSENGER mission. This is activity 1 of 4 at the Grade 5-8 band of "Staying Cool." (View Less)
Materials Cost: $5 - $10 per group of students