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Assessment |
Biopsychology |
Comparative |
Cognitive |
Developmental |
Language |
Individual differences |
Personality |
Philosophy |
Social |
Methods |
Statistics |
Clinical |
Educational |
Industrial |
Professional items |
World psychology |
Clinical: Approaches · Group therapy · Techniques · Types of problem · Areas of specialism · Taxonomies · Therapeutic issues · Modes of delivery · Model translation project · Personal experiences ·
A personality measure or personality test aims to describe aspects of a person's personality that remain stable throughout that person's lifetime, the individual's character pattern of behavior, thoughts, and feelings. An early model of personality was posited by Greek philosopher/physician Hippocrates. The 20th century heralded a new interest in defining and identifying separate personality types, in close correlation with the emergence of the field of psychology. As such, several distinct tests emerged; some attempt to identify specific characteristics, while others attempt to identify personality as a whole.
There are many different types of personality tests. They are usually divided into two groups projective personality measures and nonprojective personality measures.
Common personality tests consist of a large number of items, where respondents must rate the applicability of each item to themselves. Projective tests, such as the TAT and Ink Blots are another form of personality test which attempt to assess personality indirectly.
Personality tests can be scored using a dimensional (normative) or a typological (ipsative) approach. Dimensional approaches such as the Big 5 describe personality as a set of continuous dimensions on which individuals differ. Typological approaches such as the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator (r) describe opposing categories of functioning where individuals differ. Normative responses for each category can be graphed as bell curves (normal curves), implying that some aspects of personality are better than others. Ipsative test responses offer two equally "good" responses between which an individual must choose. Such responses (e.g., on the MBTI) would result in bi-modal graphs for each category, rather than bell curves.
Many, but by no means all, psychological researchers believe that the dimensional approach is more accurate, although as judged by the popularity of the Myer-Briggs tool, typological approaches have substantial appeal as a self-development tool.
Few personality tests accurately predict behavior in a specific context. For example, with some of the five factor model tests, only one of the five factors are significantly correlated with job performance (needs reference).
Emotive tests can become prey to unreliable results as most people strive to pick the answer they feel the best fitting of an ideal character and therefore not their personal response.
The meaning of personality test scores are difficult to interpret in a direct sense. For this reason substantial effort is made by producers of personality tests to produce norms to provide a comparative basis for interpreting a respondent's test scores. Common formats for these norms include percentile ranks, z scores, sten scores, and other forms of standardised scores.
Test development[]
A substantial amount of research and thinking has gone into the topic of personality test development. Development of personality tests tends to be an iterative process whereby a test is progressively refined. Test development can proceed on theoretical or statistical grounds. Theoretical strategies can involve taking psychological or other theory to define the content domain and then developing test items that should in principle measure the domain of interest. This can then be accompanied by assessment by experts of the developed items to the defined construct. Statistical strategies are varied. Common strategies involve the use of exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to verify that items that are proposed to group together into factors actually do group together empirically. Reliability analysis, and Item Response Theory are additional complimentary approaches.
Test evaluation[]
There are several criteria for evaluating a personality test.
prueba de evaluación[]
Son varios los criterios para la evaluación de un test de personalidad. Fundamentally a personality test is expected to show reliability and validity. Fundamentalmente un test de personalidad se espera que muestre fiabilidad / a> y / a>.
Criticism and controversy[]
Biased test taker interpretation[]
One problem of a personality test is that the users of the test could only find it accurate because of the subjective validation involved. This is where the person only acknowledges the information that applies to them. This is related to what is called in psychology as the Forer effect
Application to non-clinical samples[]
Critics have raised issues about the ethics of administering personality tests, especially for non-clinical uses. By the 1960s, tests like the MMPI were being given by companies to employees and applicants as often as to psychiatric patients. Sociologist William H. Whyte was among those who saw the tests as helping to create and perpetuate the oppressive groupthink of the "organization man" mid-20th century corporate capitalistic mentality.
Personality versus social factors[]
In the 60s and 70s some psychologists dismissed the whole idea of personality, considering much behaviour to be content specific. This idea was supported by the fact that personality often does not predict behaviour in specific contexts. However, more extensive research has showed than when behaviour is aggregated across contexts, that personality can be a modest to good predictor of behaviour. Almost all psychologists now acknowledge that both social and individual difference factors (i.e., personality) influence behaviour. The debate is currently more around the relative importance of each of these factors and how these factors interact.
Respondent faking[]
One problem with self-report measures of personality is that respondents are often able to distort their responses. This is particularly problematic in employment contexts and other contexts where important decisions are being made and there is an incentive to present oneself in a favourable manner. Work in experimental settings (e.g., Viswesvaran & Ones, 1999; Martin, Bowen & Hunt, 2002) has clearly shown that when student samples have been asked to deliberately fake on a personality test, they clearly demonstrated that they are capable of doing so.
Several strategies have been adopted for reducing respondent faking. One strategy involves providing a warning on the test that methods exist for detecting faking and that detection will result in negative consequences for the respondent (e.g., not being considered for the job). Forced choice item formats (ipsative testing) have been adopted which require respondents to choose between alternatives of equal social desirability. Social desirability and lie scales are often included which detect certain patterns of responses, although these are often confounded by true variability in social desirability. More recently, Item Response Theory approaches have been adopted with some success in identifying item response profiles that flag fakers. Other researchers are looking at the timing of responses on electronically administered tests to assess faking.
Psychological Research[]
Personality testing is frequently used in psychological research to test various theories of personality.
Research published by David Dunning of Cornell University, Chip Heath of Stanford University and Jerry M. Suls of the University of Iowa reveals that observers who are not involved in any type of relationship with an individual are better judges of the individual's relationships and abilities. These workers have studied a large body of investigations into self-evaluation, indicating that individuals may have flawed views about themselves and their social relationships, sometimes leading to decisions that can impact negatively on other persons' lives and/or their own.
Additional applications[]
A study by American Management Association reveals that 39 percent of companies surveyed use personality testing as part of their hiring process. However, ipsative personality tests are often misused in recruitment and selection, where they are mistakenly treated as if they are normative measures.[1] More people are using personality testing to evaluate their business partners, their dates and their spouses. Salespeople are using personality testing to better understand the needs of their customers and to gain a competitive edge in the closing of deals. College students have started to use personality testing to evaluate their roommates. Lawyers are beginning to use personality testing for criminal behavior analysis, litigation profiling, witness examination and jury selection.
Dangers of Such Practices[]
It is easy for personality test participants to become complacent about their own personal uniqueness and instead become dependent on the decription associated with them. This can be potentially dangerous with persons who are already suffering from a form of identity disorder or may be a catalyst to instigate particular behaviours in a person who was previously believed to be of sound mental health. The severity of the damage that individuals can sustain to their personal identity was made clear during the case Wilson v Johnson&Johnson in which the plaintiff (Wilson) sued his former employer (Johnson&Johnson) for irreperable damages that resulted from the over abundance of personality tests being administered in the worksplace. Wilson argued that repeated questioning and scrutiny of his personality was a cause of strain and eventually breakdown. In this historic case, Wilson was awarded $4.7 million after jurors agreed that excessive testing caused strain and led to unnecessary scrutiny resulting in personal grief. Similar cases have been tried since and won, but none with such a magnitude as this first monumental case that won mental health rights for employees.
Examples of personality tests[]
- Main article: Nonprojective personality measures
- Main article: Projective personality measures
- The first modern personality test was the Woodworth Personal Data Survey,(WPDS) which was first used in 1919. It was designed by Robert S. Woodworth to help the United States Army screen out recruits who might be susceptible to shell shock.
- The Rorschach inkblot test was introduced in 1921 as a way to determine personality by the interpretation of abstract inkblots.
- The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) was commissioned by the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) in the 1930s to identify personalities that might be susceptible to being turned by enemy intelligence.
- The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was published in 1942 as a way to aid in assessing psychopathology in a clinical setting.
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a 16-type indicator based on Carl Jung's Psychological Types, developed during World War II by Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs.
- Keirsey Temperament Sorter (KTS) developed by David Keirsey is influenced by Isabel Myers sixteen types and Ernest Kretschmer's four types.
- The 16 Personality Factors (16PF) test was developed in 1946 by Raymond Cattell.
- Other personality tests include the NEO PI-R, Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and Swedish Universities Scales of Personality.
- Employers have begun using personality tests to determine whether potential employees have the skills necessary for a job opening. For example, there are a variety of tests that focus on a person's ability to succeed in sales.[1]
- The EQSQ Test developed by Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, Sally Wheelwright, and their team at the University of Cambridge, England, centers on the Empathizing-Systemizing theory of the male versus the female brain types. [2]
- The YWP-1 (Your Work Personality) test developed by Professor John Rust at the University of Cambridge. [3]
- Clinical Psychology MCMI-III (Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory)
Interpersonal Psychology Testing[]
- IBS (Intepersonal Behavior Survey)
- SIQ (Sensational Interests Questionnaire)
- Egan, V., Auty, J., Miller, R., Ahmadi, S., Richardson, C. & Gargan, I. (1999) Sensational interests and general personality traits. The Journal of Forensic Psychology (10) p.567-582
- Streeter, M. (1996) 'Gunman attains top place in history of mass shootings; minds behind the gunsights'. The Independent (London) 29 April 1996: 3.
- SWLS (Satisfaction With Life Scale) - myPersonality Research Blog
Others of interest include:-
- California Psychological Inventory
- Kirkton Adaptation Innovation Questionnaire
- NEO Personality Inventory
- Rokeach Dogmatism Scale
- Sensation Seeking Scale
- Sentence Completion Tests
See also[]
- Employment testing
- Forer effect
- Measures of individual personality traits
- Objective test
- Projective test
- Psychological testing
- ↑ Blinkhorn, S., Johnson, C., & Wood, R. (1988). Spuriouser and spuriouser:The use of ipsative personality tests.Journal of Occupational. Psychology, 61, 153-162.
External links[]
- Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (in German, with a focus on the German version)
- Personality testing through data mining
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subset: commoncrawl


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By Judith Graham
Imagine a government program that would mobilize volunteers to help older adults across the nation age in place. One is on the way. The Administration for Community Living, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, is taking steps to establish a National Volunteer Care Corps.
If it's successful, healthy retirees and young adults would take seniors to doctor appointments, shop for groceries, shovel snowy sidewalks, make a bed or mop the floor, or simply visit a few times a week.
Older adults would not only get a hand with household tasks, but also companionship and relief from social isolation. And family caregivers could get a break.
Younger volunteers might get class credit at a community college or small stipends. Older volunteers could enjoy a satisfying sense of purpose.
There's no question the need is enormous, as the ranks of the oldest Americans ― those age 85 and up, who tend to have multiple chronic illnesses and difficulty performing daily tasks ― are set to swell to 14.6 million in 2040, up from more than 6 million now.
Who will care for these seniors? More than 34 million unpaid family caregivers currently shoulder that responsibility, along with 3.3 million paid personal care and home health aides. (Medicare does not pay for long-term care services or non-medical services in the home.)
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 1.2 million new paid jobs of this kind will be needed by 2028. But filling them will be hard, given low pay, difficult work conditions, limited opportunities for professional advancement and high turnover.
This notion of a domestic Peace Corps for caregiving, if you will, has been circulating since 2013, when it surfaced in a Twitter chat on elder care. In 2017 and 2018, bills introduced in Congress proposed a demonstration project, unsuccessfully.
Now, four organizations will spearhead the Care Corps project: the Oasis Institute, which runs the nation's largest volunteer intergenerational tutoring program; the Caregiver Action Network; the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging; and the Altarum Institute, which works to improve care for vulnerable older adults.
The initial grant to the group is $3.8 million; total funding for the five-year project is expected to be $19 million, according to Greg Link, director of the ACL's office of supportive and caregiver services.
This fall, project leaders will invite organizations across the country to submit proposals to serve "non-medical" needs of older adults and younger adults with disabilities. Next spring, up to 30 organizations will get 18-month grants of $30,000 to $250,000, according to Juliet Simone, director of national health at the Oasis Institute.
The goal is to discover innovative, effective programs that offer services to diverse communities (geographic, racial and ethnic) and that can be replicated in multiple locations.
"We want the organizations that apply to be very flexible and creative," said Anne Montgomery, deputy director of Altarum's Program to Improve Eldercare. "And we're aiming to create a volunteer infrastructure that can last and be sustainable."
All volunteers will undergo background checks and training, and there will be an emphasis on evaluating program results.
"We want to be able to say, 'Here are the services that people really need, and these are the types of things that work well for specific populations,'" said John Schall, CEO of the Caregiver Action Network. Services could include preparing meals, taking seniors to church or home-based tech support for computer users, among many other possibilities.
Care Corps faces several challenges. A big one: The grant is tiny, compared with the trillions of dollars spent on health care. It could take a long time to build it into a national effort that attracts more investment.
Project leaders are optimistic. To nonprofit organizations working in the aging field, "it's a lot of money ― they can do quite a lot with these grants," said Sandy Markwood, CEO of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Programs may find ways to license successful models, and local and national foundations may step in with additional support, Simone said.
Recruiting volunteers could be another challenge. At the Center for Volunteer Caregiving in Cary, N.C., which has been providing "friendly visiting," transportation and caregiver respite services for 27 years, "it's the biggest issue we face," said executive director Elaine Whitford.
Because her organization focuses on building relationships with seniors, it asks volunteers to commit to at least a year. "We get a lot of interest," Whitford said, "then people realize that this just isn't going to fit into their schedule."
Helen Anderson, 86, has sickle cell disease, lupus and chronic pain. She lives alone in a Cary apartment. Without help from the center's volunteers, three women and a man who've taken her shopping, cleaned her apartment and done her laundry since 2008, she said, "I could not live independently."
Scores of volunteer programs serving seniors and people with disabilities already exist, but most are small and many older adults and their families don't know about them. How they'll interact with the Care Corps is not yet clear.
One of the largest is Seniors Corps, run by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Through its Senior Companion program, volunteers age 55 and older visit needy older adults and help them with tasks such as shopping or paying bills. About 10,500 volunteers spend 15 to 20 hours a week, on average, serving 33,000 seniors through this program.
Recent research from Senior Corps demonstrates that volunteers receive benefits while giving to others ― a finding confirmed by a large body of research. After two years of service, 88% of Senior Corps volunteers reported feeling less isolated, while 78% said they felt less depressed.
To learn if Service Corps' companion program is available near you, use this new tool on its website. The group also offers less intensive services to 300,000 older adults and people with disabilities through its Retired Senior Volunteer Program.
To learn about other volunteer programs in your community, contact a local senior center, a nearby Area Agency on Aging or your county's department of aging, experts suggest. ACL's Eldercare Locator can help you identify these organizations.
Another source is the National Volunteer Caregiving Network, which lists about 700 programs, most of them church-based, on its website.
"Volunteer caregiving can make the difference between someone having quality of life and not having any at all," said Inez Russell, board chair of the organization. She's also the founder of Friends for Life, a Texas program that offers volunteer aid to seniors trying to live independently and that reaches out to seniors who don't have family members on birthdays and holidays, among other services. Altogether, the two programs reach about 4,000 people a year.
In Montpelier, Vt., Joan Black, who's 88 and lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment, has been a member of Onion River Exchange ― a time bank ― for 10 years. Onion River members contribute goods and services (a ride to the airport, a homemade casserole, a newly knit baby sweater) to the time bank and receive goods and services in exchange. For years, Black gave out information about the exchange at farmers markets and other community events ― her way of banking credits.
It's a form of volunteerism that "creates a sense of community for many people," said Edisa Muller, chairwoman of the Onion River board.
For Black, who lives on a small fixed income and can't vacuum, scrub her tub, dust her wooden furniture or shovel the driveway that leads to her apartment, participating in the time bank has become a way to meet new people and remain integrated with the community.
"I like a tidy house: When things are out of order, I'm out or order," she said. "I don't believe I'd be able to do everything I do or live the way I do without their help."
Judith Graham is a columnist for Kaiser Health News and writes Navigating Aging, which focuses on medical issues and advice associated with aging and end-of-life care, helping America's 45 million seniors and their families navigate the health care system. This article was written in collaboration with AARP.


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Furniture design competition Furniture of the year – Ideas workshop 2015
All the participating projects will be considered by the BBCWFI members (more than 300 companies) for further development and manufacturing. The selected products will be pursued to get into production through a collaboration between designers and manufacturers.
The terms on manufacturing and sаles of these products will be negotiated separately between the furniture companies and the authors of the products.
1. Brief
The object can be in one of the following categories:
2. Tables and desks.
3. Storage units and systems.
3. Upholstered furniture and beds.
4. Accessories and lighting.
Main materials to be used:
- Solid wood;
Competition aims:
- Developing a high end designer furniture made in Bulgaria;
2. Jurors criteria
- Marketability
- Profitableness
- Production feasibility
- Innovation
- Style and aesthetics
As the product will be considered for mass production, we are looking for salable, stylish and easy to manufacture and transport solution.
3. Recommended materials:
- Solid wood;
- Plywood;
- Bended /molded plywood;
- Chipboard;
- Metal tubes;
- Metal sheets;
- Upholstery, leather, etc.;
- Glass;
- Polymers;
- Composite materials.
Structural components from other materials and joinery are also allowed.
4. Deadlines and conditions:
The competition is open to everyone - individually or as a team. There is no restrictions about the number of the projects sent.
The participation of the competition is free of charge.
4.1. Schedule:
1. 16.03.2015 г. – 12.04.2015 г. - Accepting proposals
2. 13.04.2015 г. – 15.04.2015 г. – Jury
3. 21.04.2015 г. – Winners announcement and award ceremony at Inter Expo Centre - Sofia, Bulgaria
4. 21.04.2015 г. – 25.04.2015 г. - Contest exhibition - the best 40 projects at the "Техномебел/ Светът на мебелите"
4.2. What to send
Each of the projects have to be represented in 2 to 5 images and description of the project based on the attached PDF template
All the submitted materials should include
1. Image in PDF file sized 100X70cm as per the attached PDF template
2. Jpeg version of the poster with maximum size of the shorter side 1200 pixels
3. Project description, its author information.
4. Drawings of the projects - by the author decision.
No markings, symbols or letters revealing the authorship are allowed in the submitted materials under pt.2 except those provided on the Template.
Information about the author should be provided on the PDF file under pt.1 ONLY.
The submissions will be evaluated anonymously. Any publication of a project before the Award ceremony is prohibited.
Project description should not exceed 1500 symbols. Violation of these regulations will lead to disqualification.
5. Awards
- The best projects from each category will be printed and exposed over The World of the Furniture Exhibition;
- All the concepts in the competition will be presented to the BBCWFI members, as a potential product for development and manufacturing;
- Every projects produced until the next exhibition as a result from the competition will take part in the Bulgarian furniture of the year 2016 competition free of charge;
The award for each of the categories will consist of:
- Money prize from the Bulgarian Branch Chamber of Woodworking and Furniture Industry;
- A trophy award;
- Invitation for the workshop Rabotilnica without the entry tax;
- Prize certificate;
- Other awards.
Except the aforementioned awards there will be some Special awards:
- Award from CHERGA - invitation and participation in the workshop Rabotilnica 2015 free of charge
- Special award from MD magazine.
The competition winner will be announced on 21 of April 2015 on the CHERGA and BBCWFI websites and also at the official opening ceremony of The World of the Furniture 2015 21-25 April. Selected projects will be published in a special review article in the MD magazine.
6. Jury
To be announced soon
You can ask all the question you have at the Facebook group of the competition here:


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Nikki F here. I hope you had a good weekend. Before I get on with our new challenge, here is the winner and top three of our last challenge - Hip to be square.
Our sponsor last week was:
and the prize was a $10 gift certificate.
Here is the winner picked by random.org:
and that lucky winner is Tany OD. Congratulations. Please email Incy Wincy (address in the sidebar) for your prize, and grab your winner's badge, which is also in the sidebar.
Now onto the top three:
19 - Krafty Karen
24 - Debbie S
59 - Barbara Daines
19 - Krafty Karen
24 - Debbie S
59 - Barbara Daines
Please grab your top three badges from the sidebar.
Now onto our new challenge. We are sponsored this week by:
Our theme is Magical/Mystical, so we would love to see your mystical themed creations.
Here is some inspiration for you:
This is our last week with our Guest Designer PAULA. Thank you for all your hard work and great designs! It has been a pleasure having you on our team for November!
Here is PAULA'S card, please show her some love!
And now we have some inspiration from our DT:
Karen C
We are looking forward to seeing your creations.


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thought i'd post this here for our SF readers who may be interested in learning about a radical history of san francisco via bici. this is a fundraiser for the national lawyers guild, SF chapter:
Radical History of San Francisco bike ride
Benefits National Lawyers Guild SF
Sun., Jun. 13 @ 10:45 am –3:00pm
Meet at Harry Bridges Plaza - Front of Ferry Building, San Francisco
Learn about the radical history of San Francisco from the 1800s through the more recent past, by biking through SF to visit sites of protest and dissent relating to workers' rights, immigrant rights, civil rights, women's rights, environmental struggles, and more.
Led by Rai Sue Sussman and Michael Flynn.
All proceeds benefit the National Lawyers Guild-SF chapter
$15 to $50 sliding scale donation.
RSVP to email@example.com.
To prepay online, go to: http://www.nlgsf.org/events/#event416
can also be found here on the sfbc's chain of events: http://www.sfbike.org/?chain#3989
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CorpusOxford Text Archive Core CollectionDate of publication:
2002-2005Description:Mode of access: Online. OTA website Gidian Archives is a database created from the press cuttings preserved by André Gide in his personal collection. The archive consists of articles published during his life on the author's ...This item contains 2 files (1.68 MB).Publicly Available -


text: XINETD.LOG(5) File Formats Manual XINETD.LOG(5) NAME xinetd.log - xinetd service log format DESCRIPTION A service configuration may specify various degrees of logging when attempts are made to access the service. When logging for a service is enabled, xinetd will generate one-line log entries which have the fol- lowing format (all entries have a timestamp as a prefix): entry: service-id data The data depends on the entry. Possible entry types include: START generated when a server is started EXIT generated when a server exits FAIL generated when it is not possible to start a server USERID generated if the USERID log option is used. NOID generated if the USERID log option is used, and the IDONLY service flag is used, and the remote end does not identify who is trying to access the service. In the following, the information enclosed in brackets appears if the appropriate log option is used. A START entry has the format: START: service-id [pid=%d] [from=%d.%d.%d.%d] An EXIT entry has the format: EXIT: service-id [type=%d] [pid=%d] [duration=%d(sec)] type can be either status or signal. The number is either the exit status or the signal that caused process termination. A FAIL entry has the format: FAIL: service-id reason [from=%d.%d.%d.%d] Possible reasons are: fork a certain number of consecutive fork attempts failed (this number is a configurable parameter) time the time check failed address the address check failed service_limit the allowed number of server instances for this service would be exceeded process_limit a limit on the number of forked processes was specified and it would be exceeded A DATA entry has the format: DATA: service-id data The data logged depends on the service. login remote_user=%s local_user=%s tty=%s exec remote_user=%s verify=status command=%s Possible status values: ok the password was correct failed the password was incorrect baduser no such user shell remote_user=%s local_user=%s command=%s finger received string or EMPTY-LINE A USERID entry has the format: USERID: service-id text The text is the response of the identification daemon at the remote end excluding the port numbers (which are included in the response). A NOID entry has the format: NOID: service-id IP-address reason SEE ALSO xinetd(1L), xinetd.conf(5) 28 April 1993 XINETD.LOG(5) |


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The Martelli Brothers are proud to present The 2012 General Tire Mint 400 Limited Edition Artist Poster! This years poster features the work of artist Jeral Tidwell of Human Tree – and includes a thrilling image of off-road racer Mikey Childress launching his Class 1 vehicle as originally captured by Mad Media's Director of Photography, Vincent Knakal. Jeral Tidwell is know for his modern take on classic iconic motorsports imagery including skulls, pin-stripes, and pin-up girls – all laid against killer old school hot rods. This years poster pays tribute to the Mint 400's thirty plus years of racing history with a nod to both the racers of the past and the present.
These custom 24×32 inch three-color hand screened works of art, are being printed on heavy archival quality acid-free manila cover stock. Each print will be signed and numbered by the artist. Only four hundred prints will be made – making these posters extremely rare collectors items valued at $150 each. Each of this years Mint 400 teams will receive one poster – with the remaining limited stock to be sold here.
In addition to the main poster run, a very special edition of "variants" will be made with a different color paper and ink, for sponsors and VIP's of the Mint. A mere fifty variants will be created, and will be signed by both the Artist and The Martelli Brothers. The 2012 General Tire Mint 400 variants are valued at $250 each and will not be available for sale.
For all the latest information on The 2012 General Tire Mint 400 visit themint400.com
For more amazing art by Jeral Tidwell visit humantree.com
To see the best photography in off-road visit madmedia.com


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Themeco, LLC (referred to as "we", "us" or "our") have established this privacy policy to provide you with details of how we collect and process your personal data through your use of our website, theme.co.
It is very important that the information we hold about you is accurate and up to date. Please let us know if at any time your personal information changes by emailing us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
By providing us with your data, you warrant to us that you are over 13 years of age.
You can visit our website without revealing any personal data. However, we need certain personal information if you wish to purchase certain products or services, receive email updates from us, or use certain services. Personal data means any information capable of identifying an individual. It does not include anonymized data.
We may process the following categories of personal data about you:
Communication Data that includes any communication that you send to us whether that be through the contact forms on our website, through email, text, social media messaging, social media posting or any other communication that you send to us. We process this data for the purposes of communicating with you, for considering job applications, for record keeping and for the establishment, pursuance or defense of legal claims. Our lawful ground for this processing is our legitimate interests which in this case are to reply to communications sent to us, processing job applications, to keep records and to establish, pursue or defend legal claims.
Customer Data that includes data relating to any purchases of goods and/or services such as your name, title, billing address, home address, email address, phone number, contact details, profile photo, purchase details and your partly anonymized card details. We process this data to supply the products and/or services you have purchased, validating product licenses, and to keep records of such transactions. Our lawful ground for this processing is the performance of a contract and/or agreement between you and us and/or taking steps at your request to enter into such a contract.
User Data that includes data about how you use our website and any online services together with any data that you post for publication on our website or through other online services. We process this data to operate our website and ensure relevant content is provided to you, to ensure the security of our website, to maintain back-ups of our website and/or databases and to enable publication and administration of our website, other online services and business. Our lawful ground for this processing is our legitimate interests which in this case are to enable us to properly administer our website and our business.
Technical Data that includes data about your use of our website and online services such as your IP address, your login data, details about your browser, length of visit to pages on our website, page views and navigation paths, details about the number of times you use our website, time zone settings and other technology on the devices you use to access our website. The source of this data is from our analytics tracking system. We process this data to analyze your use of our website and other online services, to administer and protect our business and website, to deliver relevant website content and advertisements to you and to understand the effectiveness of our advertising. Our lawful ground for this processing is our legitimate interests which in this case are to enable us to properly administer our website and our business and to grow our business and to decide our marketing strategy.
We may use Customer Data, User Data and Technical Data to deliver relevant website content and advertisements to you (including Facebook adverts or other display advertisements) and to measure or understand the effectiveness of the advertising we serve you. Our lawful ground for this processing is legitimate interests which is to grow our business. We may also use such data to send other marketing communications to you. Our lawful ground for this processing is our legitimate interests (namely to grow our business).
Recruitment Data which may include your CV or resume, online profile, written application, responses to questions, interview notes and information passed to us from former employers, in addition to any Communication Data listed above. We use this to assess job applications. Our lawful ground for this processing is legitimate interests, which in this case are to find the very best candidates to work for us.
We do not collect any sensitive data about you. Sensitive data refers to data such as your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, political opinions, information about your health and genetic and biometric data. We do not collect any information about criminal convictions and offenses.
Where we are required to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of the contract between us and you do not provide us with that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract (for example, to provide products or services to you). If you don't provide us with the requested data, we may have to cancel a product or service you have ordered but if we do, we will notify you at the time.
We will only use your personal data for a purpose it was collected for or a reasonably compatible purpose if necessary. For more information on this please email us at email@example.com. In case we need to use your details for an unrelated new purpose we will update this privacy policy.
We may process your personal data without your knowledge or consent where this is required or permitted by law.
We may collect data about you by you providing the data directly to us (for example by filling in forms on our site or by sending us emails). We may automatically collect certain data from you as you use our website by using cookies and similar technologies.
We may receive data from third parties such as analytics providers such as Google, advertising networks such as Facebook, such as search information providers such as Google, providers of technical, payment and delivery services, such as data brokers or aggregators.
We may also collect data from publicly available sources such as social media profiles and in the case of job applications, we may also obtain personal data from former employers.
Our lawful ground of processing your personal data to send you marketing communications is our legitimate interests.
Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, we may send you marketing communications from us if:
We do not share your personal data with any third party for their own marketing purposes. However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.
You can ask us to stop sending you messages at any time by following the opt-out links on any message sent to you or OR by emailing us at email@example.com at any time. However, we caution against this as you may miss out on important product news.
If you opt-out of receiving communication this opt-out does not apply to personal data provided as a result of other transactions, such as purchases or for the fulfillment of services.
We may share your personal data with the parties set out below:
Where we transfer your data to third parties, we will only do so where those parties agree to keep this information confidential. As such:
If neither of the above safeguards is available, we may request your explicit consent to the specific transfer. You will have the right to withdraw this consent at any time.
Unfortunately, no data transmission over the internet can be considered 100% secure. However, your personal and non-personal data is protected for your privacy and security. In certain areas of our websites, as identified on the site, we may use industry-standard SSL-encryption to protect data transmissions.
We have put in place security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, altered, disclosed, or accessed without authorization. We also allow access to your personal data only to those employees, contractors and partners who have a business need to know such data.
We have procedures in place to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach if we are legally required to.
We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
When deciding what the correct time is to keep the data for we look at its amount, nature and sensitivity, potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure, the processing purposes, if these can be achieved by other means and legal requirements.
In some circumstances we may anonymize your personal data for research or statistical purposes in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.
Under EU data protection laws, EU citizens have rights in relation to personal data that include the right to request access, correction, erasure, restriction, transfer, to object to processing, to portability of data and (where the lawful ground of processing is consent) to withdraw consent.
You can see more about these rights here.
You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive or refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.
We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.
We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you.
Under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) we are required to nominate a supervisory authority within the EU for our EU customers. Therefore, if you are an EU citizen and wish to make a complaint regarding our collection and use of your data, we would refer you to the Data Protection Commissioner in Ireland.
However, before making a complaint to any supervisory authority, regardless of your location, we would ask you to contact us first, so that we can try to resolve it for you.
If you object to the collection, use or disclosure of your personal data as outlined in this policy, please do not provide any personal data to us. If you have provided personal information to us but now object to its use or disclosure as outlined herein, please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
This website may include links to third-party websites, plugins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website you visit.
A "cookie" is a piece of information that is stored on your computer's hard drive and which records how you move your way around a website so that, when you revisit that website, it can present tailored options based on the information stored about your last visit. Cookies can also be used to analyze traffic and for advertising and marketing purposes. Cookies are used by nearly all websites and do not harm your system.
You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when websites set or access cookies. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this website may become inaccessible or not function properly.
We use cookies to track your use of our website. This enables us to understand how you use the site and track any patterns with regards how you are using our website. This helps us to develop and improve our website as well as products and/or services in response to what you might need or want. Cookies are either:
Session Cookies – These are only stored on your computer during your web session and are automatically deleted when you close your browser. They usually store an anonymous session ID allowing you to browse a website without having to log in to each page but they do not collect any personal data from your computer; or
Persistent Cookies – A persistent cookie is stored as a file on your computer and it remains there when you close your web browser. The cookie can be read by the website that created it when you visit that website again. We use persistent cookies for Google Analytics.
Cookies can also be categorized as follows.
Strictly Necessary Cookies – These cookies are essential to enable you to use the website effectively, such as when buying a product or service, and therefore cannot be turned off. Without these cookies, the services available to you on our website cannot be provided. These cookies do not gather information about you that could be used for marketing or remembering where you have been on the internet.
Performance Cookies – These cookies enable us to monitor and improve the performance of our website. For example, they allow us to count visits, identify traffic sources and see which parts of the site are most popular.
Functionality Cookies – These cookies allow our website to remember choices you make and provide enhanced features. For instance, we may be able to provide you with news or updates relevant to the services you use. They may also be used to provide services you have requested such as viewing a video or commenting on a blog. The information these cookies collect is usually anonymized.
Please note that third parties who advertise on our website (including, for example, advertising networks and providers of external services like web traffic analysis services) may also use cookies, over which we have no control. These cookies are likely to be analytical/performance cookies or targeting cookies.
From time to time, we may revise this privacy policy as we see fit. When we do, we will also revise the "last update" date, which can be found at the top of the policy. We encourage you to review this policy periodically as we may not provide you with notice of revisions . If you continue to use our website after we have revised this policy, this will signify your acceptance of it.
If you have questions or suggestions about this privacy policy, or your own personal information, please contact us by email, at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Themeco LLC, 1621 Central Ave, Cheyenne WY, 82001 USA


text:
The CIA book review
The CIA book review.For the historical record . .
important part is at the end of the article.....
As President George W. Bush's top speech writer, Marc Thiessen
was provided unique access to the CIA program used in
interrogating top Al Qaeda terrorists, including the
mastermind of the 9/11 attack, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad (KSM).
Now, his riveting new book, "Courting Disaster", How the CIA Kept America
Safe (Regnery), has been published.
Here is an excerpt from "Courting Disaster":
"Just before dawn on March 1, 2003, two dozen heavily armed
Pakistani tactical assault forces move in and surround a safe
house in Rawalpindi . A few hours earlier they had received a
text message from an informant inside the house. It read: "I am with KSM."
Burstingin, they find the disheveled mastermind of the 9/11 attacks,
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in his bedroom. He is taken into
custody. In the safe house, they find a treasure trove of
computers, documents, cell phones and other valuable "pocket litter."
Once in custody, KSM is defiant. He refuses to answer questions,
informing his captors that he will tell them everything when
he gets to America and sees his lawyer. But KSM is not taken
to America to see a lawyer Instead he is taken to a secret CIA
"black site" in an undisclosed location.
Upon arrival, KSM finds himself in the complete control of Americans.
He does not know where he is, how long he will be there, or what
his fate will be.
Despite his circumstances, KSM still refuses to talk. He spews contempt
at his interrogators, telling them Americans are weak, lack
resilience, and are unable to do what is necessary to prevent
the terrorists from succeeding in their goals. He has trained to
resist interrogation. When he is asked for information about
future attacks, he tells his questioners scornfully: "Soon, you will know."
It becomes clear he will not reveal the information using
traditional interrogation techniques. So he undergoes a series
of "enhanced interrogation techniques" approved for use only on
the most high-value detainees. The techniques include waterboarding.
His resistance is described by one senior American official as
"superhuman." Eventually, however, the techniques work, and KSM
becomes cooperative-for reasons that will be described later in this book.
He begins telling his CIA de-briefers about active al Qaeda plots
to launch attacks against the United States and other Western
targets. He holds classes for CIA officials, using a chalkboard
to draw a picture of al Qaeda's operating structure, financing,
communications, and logistics. He identifies al Qaeda travel
routes and safe havens, and helps intelligence officers make
sense of documents and computer records seized in terrorist
raids. He identifies voices in intercepted telephone calls, and
helps officials understand the meaning of coded terrorist
communications. He provides information that helps our
intelligence community capture other high-ranking terrorists,
KSM's questioning, and that of other captured terrorists,
produces more than 6,000 intelligence reports, which are shared
across the intelligence community, as well as with our allies
across the world.
In one of these reports, KSM describes in detail the revisions he
made to his failed 1994-1995 plan known as the "Bojinka plot" to
blow up a dozen airplanes carrying some 4,000 passengers over
the Pacific Ocean.
Years later, an observant CIA officer notices the activities of a cell
being followed by British authorities appear to match KSM's
description of his plans for a Bojinka-style attack.
In an operation that involves unprecedented intelligence
cooperation between our countries, British officials proceed to
unravel the plot.
On the night of Aug. 9, 2006 they launch a series of raids in a
northeast London suburb that lead to the arrest of two dozen al
Qaeda terrorist suspects. They find a USB thumb-drive in the
pocket of one of the men with security details for Heathrow
airport, and information on seven trans-Atlantic flights that
were scheduled to take off within hours of each other:
* United Airlines Flight 931 to San Francisco departing at 2:15 p.m.;
* Air Canada Flight 849 to Toronto departing at 3:00 p.m.;
* Air Canada Flight 865 to Montreal departing at 3:15 p.m.;
* United Airlines Flight 959 to Chicago departing at 3:40 p.m.;
* United Airlines Flight 925 to Washington departing at 4:20 p.m.;
* American Airlines Flight 131 to New York departing at 4:35 p.m.;
* American Airlines Flight 91 to Chicago departing at 4:50 p.m.
They seize bomb-making equipment and hydrogen peroxide to make liquid
explosives. And they find the chilling martyrdom videos the
suicide bombers had prepared."
Today, if you asked an average person on the street what they know
about the 2006 airlines plot, most would not be able to tell you much.
Few Americans are aware of the fact al Qaeda had planned to mark the
fifth anniversary of 9/11 with an attack of similar scope and magnitude.
And still fewer realize the terrorists' true intentions in this plot
were uncovered thanks to critical information obtained through
the interrogation of the man who conceived it: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
This is only one of the many attacks stopped with the help of the CIA
interrogation program established by the Bush Administration in
the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Editor's Note: For other foiled terrorist plots, see page 9 of "Courting Disaster."
In addition to helping break up these specific terrorist cells and
plots, CIA questioning provided our intelligence community with
an unparalleled body of information about al Qaeda Until the
program was temporarily suspended in 2006, intelligence
officials say, well over half of the information our government
had about al Qaeda-how it operates, how it moves money, how it
communicates, how it recruits operatives, how it picks targets,
how it plans and carries out attacks-came from the interrogation
of terrorists in CIA custody.
Former CIA Director George Tenet has declared: "I know this program has
saved lives. I know we've disrupted plots. I know this program
alone is worth more than what the FBI, the Central Intelligence
Agency, and the National Security Agency put together have been able to tell us."
Former CIA Director Mike Hayden has said: "The facts of the case are
that the use of these techniques against these terrorists made
us safer. It really did work."
Even Barack Obama's Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair,
has acknowledged: "High-value information came from
interrogations in which those methods were used and provided a
deeper understanding of the al Qaeda organization that was
attacking this country."
Leon Panetta, Obama's CIA Director, has said: "Important information
was gathered from these detainees. It provided information that
was acted upon."
And John Brennan, Obama's Homeland Security Advisor, when asked in
an interview if enhanced-interrogation techniques were necessary
to keep America safe, replied : "Would the U.S. be handicapped
if the CIA was not, in fact, able to carry out these types of
detention and debriefing activities? I would say yes."
On Jan. 22, 2009, President Obama issued Executive Order 13491,
closing the CIA program and directing that, henceforth, all
interrogations by U.S. personnel must follow the techniques
contained in the Army Field Manual.
The morning of the announcement, Mike Hayden was still in his post
as CIA Director, He called White House Counsel Greg Craig and
told him bluntly: "You didn't ask, but this is the CIA
officially nonconcurring". The president went ahead anyway, over
ruling the objections of the agency.
A few months later, on April 16, 2009, President Obama ordered the
release of four Justice Department memos that described in
detail the techniques used to interrogate KSM and other
high-value terrorists. This time, not just Hayden (who was now
retired) but five CIA directors -including Obama's own director,
Leon Panetta -- objected. George Tenet called to urge against
the memos' release. So did Porter Goss. So did John Deutch.
Hayden says: "You had CIA directors in a continuous unbroken
stream to 1995 calling saying, 'Don't do this.'"
In addition to objections from the men who led the agency for a
collective 14 years, the President also heard objections from
the agency's covert field operatives. A few weeks earlier,
Panetta had arranged for the eight top officials of the
Clandestine Service to meet with the President. It was highly
unusual for these clandestine officers to visit the Oval Office,
and they used the opportunity to warn the President that
releasing the memos would put agency operatives at risk. The
President reportedly listened respectfully-and then ignored
their advice.
With these actions, Barack Obama arguably did more damage to
America's national security in his first 100 days of office than
any President in American history.


text:
The JNDC Series Elite Series represent the pinnacle of JNDC instrument design in both art and function. Similar to the Winged Elite and Scrolled Elite, the Majestic Elite metal snares are inspired by the vintage snare drums of the 1920's and 1930's, which were accented by intricate hand-engraved scroll and panel patterns.
The JNDC Majestic Elite is exquisitely faceted in a hand-engraved feather motif scroll adorning the drum in a mirrored fashion above and below the center bead. Unlike the Winged Elite and Scrolled Elite, which are plated in lustrous black nickel, the Majestic Elite is plated in 3½ ounces of 24k gold. The hoops and hardware are also 24k gold-plated. These extraordinary drums are hand-engraved by the world-renowned master drum engraver and vintage drum historian, John Aldridge, who painstakingly renders the scroll design to life, never engraving any two drums the same. Each drum is truly one-of-a-kind, both aesthetically and sonically.
Hand-selected for their increased mass and density, these seamless brass or bronze shell drums are extremely musical and "bell-like" in their tonal quality, yet very articulate and focused in their responsiveness. Once the shell is hand-selected, the bearing edges and snare beds are finished by hand in order to refine and optimize the sonic performance. The brass shells will tend to be more colorful in their high-end register and harmonic series, resulting in extraordinary vibrancy. The bronze shells will exhibit powerful mid-range and low-end frequencies, translating into increased focus and presence. The Majestic Elite possesses an explosive power that is literally felt, as well as, heard, making it ideal for both recording applications and live performances.
The Majestic Elite model design and hardware consist of 2.5mm solid brass hoops, ten solid brass Corder tube lugs, bell-flanged bearing edges, vintage-inspired crimped snare beds, 24k gold-plated brass JNDC feather motif drum badge, and the proprietary cast bronze JNDC "One Touch Classic" snare drum strainer (throw-off) system.
A certificate of authenticity, serialized lapel badge, JNDC Strainer Tutorial DVD, and a complimentary embroidered soft shell case accompany each instrument. The JNDC Majestic Elite is available in 6.5x14, 5x14, and 4x14 sizes. Hoops and hardware components are all 24k gold-plated. Hardware options include the choice of single or triple flanged hand-engraved hoops.
Order Fulfillment Time: Approximately 9-12 Months


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Slender Silhouette Sweet Gum
Liquidambar styraciflua 'Slender Silhouette'
Height: 50 feet
Spread: 10 feet
Hardiness Zone: 5
Other Names: American Sweet Gum
A very narrow variety that can be many multiples higher than it is wide; a stunning columnar tree perfect for articulation or garden accent; fall colours are a striking orange yellow and red
Ornamental Features
Slender Silhouette Sweet Gum is primarily valued in the landscape for its rigidly columnar form. It has forest green deciduous foliage. The lobed palmate leaves turn an outstanding orange in the fall. However, the fruit can be messy in the landscape and may require occasional clean-up.
Landscape Attributes
Slender Silhouette Sweet Gum is a deciduous tree with a narrowly upright and columnar growth habit. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.
This is a high maintenance tree that will require regular care and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;
Slender Silhouette Sweet Gum is recommended for the following landscape applications;
Planting & Growing
Slender Silhouette Sweet Gum will grow to be about 50 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It has a high canopy with a typical clearance of 5 feet from the ground, and should not be planted underneath power lines. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 70 years or more.
This tree should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have rich, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selection of a native North American species.
A NetPS Plant Finder tool


text:
Connected: Unleashing Ugandan Farmers' Potential Through Mobile Phones
A powerful, new mobile platform designed for smallholder farmers that combines agriculture information and financial services to help them harvest bigger profits is going live in Uganda.
Modeled on the cloud-based AgriLife, the new platform will be accessible via mobile phone and provide two key, interconnected services: data collection and analysis about farmers' production capability and history; and, an integration point for financial institutions, mobile network operators, produce buyers and their agents to more efficiently provide much-needed services to distant, rural farmers.
The data analysis will drive the growth of services and products that benefit smallholder farmers based on a better understanding of their production capability. The more high-quality, comprehensive data that can be collected, the more valuable an asset it becomes as service providers can better understand farmers' needs and tailor their offerings. These include crop insurance, input payments and savings accounts. For the first time, transaction data will enable each smallholder farmer to build a credit history that will be used by other value chain actors to provide credit and access to other 'easier access' purchases, such as seeds, fertilizers, and pest control chemicals.
Farmers Centre (U) Ltd. (FACE), a farmer-centric agribusiness enterprise based in the Lira District in northern Uganda, is an AgriLife early adopter. FACE is already uploading information about their 10,000 farmer clients, who travel long distances to purchase inputs and aggregate their produce at FACE warehouses for processing and sale. Previously, FACE collected this information by paper and stored the data on a computer that recently crashed, highlighting the need for a USSD farmer registration process via mobile and cloud-based storage system.
"AgriLife will reduce the transaction time with our farmers because it's all done online quickly and there's less of a need to travel," said Dr. Otim Bernard, CEO of the Farmers Centre. "In the end, this will reduce our costs."
The AgriLife platform was developed by Kenyan-based IT company MobiPay Kenya Ltd. Mercy Corps has supported the expansion of AgriLife to Uganda, while building relationships with other service providers that can be integrated into the platform so they can better reach rural clients – a new market segment for many companies. Mobipay expects to provide services to 10,000 farmers through the partnership with FACE, with a target of 100,000 by the end of 2013.
"If we can track our clients' acreage and their output, we can help them plan what to plant and get the inputs they need," Bernard continued. "Then we can link up with buyers and let them know more accurately that we have X farmers who can produce a certain amount of maize, and we currently have X tons aggregated at our warehouse for sale."
During a farmer group meeting in March 2013, in a small village about 65 kilometers from Lira's town center, group members acknowledged using a "wait and see" strategy. They have been observing the group president's use of his mobile phone and plan to determine whether the benefits he'll derive from the mobile connection to the Farmers Centre (via AgriLife) are enough to convince them to purchase their own phone and register individually. Farmers are more interested in group loans due to the need for collateral, which is usually land. In northern Uganda, land is often owned communally by clans so individuals can't use it as collateral. MobiPay is tailoring the AgriLife platform for this region so that group credit scores are possible, and is engaging financial institution partners that can provide group lending based on these scores.
Trust is typically a major obstacle in introducing new products to rural farmers. Working with local partners like FACE means farmers see AgriLife as just one more service provided by a well-known enterprise that has consistently provided quality services to them for many years, sharing and explaining all of the products available with their clients.
However, challenges remain: low network coverage and instability of the network in the most remote areas can mean lower adoption; the high cost of phones (~$20) and calls (~$0.20 per minute); and, difficulty in charging mobile phones constrain smallholder farmers from accessing services via mobile, getting on the platform and enjoying its associated economic benefits.
There is hope, however. Based on a survey Mercy Corps conducted in October 2012, 65 percent of households in the region own mobile phones while 90 percent have access. Some are already using mobile money services to send remittances. Farmers have shown a gradual but steady uptake of mobile money services beyond remittances. Focus groups have revealed interest in using more mobile services. Currently, growth is limited largely because of farmers' incomplete understanding of the products available and their associated economic benefits.
Mercy Corps is providing this support under a three-year Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) funded program called Agri-Fin Mobile, simultaneously being rolled out in Indonesia and Zimbabwe with a target of raising farmer incomes by 30 percent by bundling agriculture-related services and delivering them via mobile.
Mercy Corps expects that improved crop yields and increased income resulting from this holistic, mobile platform will have a significant impact on the food security of poor families, maximizing their production and profit potential.
This article was originally published on Global Envision, a blog focused on market solutions to poverty managed by Mercy Corps, a NextBillion Content Partner.
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