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In our ongoing exploration of house exteriors, today we'll be taking a hard look (pun intended) at brick veneer—an option that offers durability, exceptional curb appeal, resistance to insects, stellar fire protection, and low maintenance compared to wood surfaces, as we noted in our previous blog post about cedar shake or shingle siding.
While properly installed brick veneer offers a host of benefits, there are a number of common defects you'll need to watch for to make sure your brick exterior stays in top shape. And if you're in the market for a home and have your heart set on solid brick or brick veneer, you'll definitely want an experienced home inspector in your corner checking the walls for obvious problems (extensive spalling, missing bricks, widespread mortar cracking and deterioration) and more subtle signs that trouble may be on the horizon.
What are the differences between brick veneer and solid brick exterior cladding?
Popular until the mid1950s, solid brick construction, also known as "double brick," entails building the home's support structure by use of several layers (wythes) of brick, held together with header bricks. On the other hand, brick veneer is essentially a single-layered brick wall that is installed over a concrete, steel, or wood backup wall, which serves as the support for the house. The brick veneer provides protective and aesthetic benefits but does not support the load of the building. It also allows for the placement of added insulation.
After World War II, the popularity of brick veneer in residential construction soared as builders took advantage of its lower cost and ease of installation over the significantly heavier solid brick. Brick veneer is also known as a "cavity wall" because proper construction calls for a cavity between the veneer and the supporting wall. In addition to the benefits above, brick siding is widely recognized for its long-life span and recyclability. On the negative side, the porousness of brick veneer makes it a poor moisture barrier, which we'll discuss below.
Here is a brief home inspection checklist of some of the problems association with brick veneer sidingthat have been reported by the home inspectors at A-Pro over the last 27 years.
Installation Problems: Properly executing a brick veneer job requires experience and meticulous, skilled workmanship to do it correctly. In short, weekend handymen need not apply. This is why it's not uncommon to find brick veneer projects with installation-related defects. Moisture that gathers on the sheathing or flashing behind the brick wall needs a means to drain to the outside. Placed along the top of the foundation and above windows and doors, weep holes (in the form of open vertical joints) provide an escape route for water. Missing, improperly placed, or blocked weep holes (perhaps from dropped mortar during installation or homeowners who have clogged them to deter entry by rodents and insects) will be a cause for concern since the trapped water may eventually find its way inside, leading to rotting wood framing, mold, and mildew.
Some hidden defects, such as lack of a required air space between the veneer and sheathing, cannot be observed by the inspector. Another part of the structure that cannot be seen are the metal ties that connect the veneer to its backup wall. By pushing on the surface, your inspector may find that the structure is loose or that there is separation between the veneer and backing wall, indicating that ties may be missing, damaged, poorly installed, or insufficient in number. A wall's bowed appearance may be another sign of separation.
Other installation defects include window sills that don't have enough slope to shed water; amateurish, damaged, or missing flashing between brick veneer and the foundation, trim, roof materials, and other types of siding; inadequate, improperly installed, or missing lintels; missing mortar joints; and bad repair jobs that could lead to moisture penetration. Your inspector will also report mortar degradation, which may be the result of an installer using a non-recommended grade of material to bind the bricks.
Cracks: Your inspector will note the size, direction, and frequency of cracks in brick veneer. Do the cracks indicate serious foundational problems or are they the result of natural settlement or expansion and contraction of wood framing? The inspector will look for further evidence (drywall cracks opposite the brick veneer cracks, misaligned doors and windows, separations between walls and floors, etc.) to confirm if the exterior cracks signal major foundational issues or if they are simply defects that need to be sealed to prevent moisture intrusion. Cracks may also be the result of separation of the veneer from the backup wall.
Your inspector will also report instances of significant spalling—a flaking or crumbling of masonry that can be traced to moisture absorption and breakage caused by the freeze-thaw cycle.


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Online Assessment | Feature
When it comes to secure testing online, even high-tech solutions rely on an old standby: a human proctor. But is such an approach sustainable in the long run?
A student labors over a midterm exam while a vigilant proctor peers over his shoulder, watching for any sign of cheating. It sounds like a tableau from a century ago, but the fact is that human proctors are alive and well, despite meteoric growth in institutions' online offerings. Even the most high-tech online testing solutions often rely on a person watching the exam-taking, whether that proctor is on-site at a testing center or monitoring the test via webcam.
Yet, with more than 6.7 million students now taking at least one course online, is this approach sustainable and--equally important--is it effective in curbing cheating? CT asked three online learning experts for their perspectives.
This story appeared in the March 2013 digital edition of Campus Technology.
The Human Touch Human proctoring "has been around for over 100 years" and works very well, says Peg Wherry, director of online and distance learning at Montana State University. There's already a well-established system for exam proctoring, created by schools that were offering distance learning--mail-correspondence courses, essentially--long before computers arrived on the scene. This proctoring network is generally available to other colleges and universities.
Although Wherry has years of experience with online learning programs at multiple institutions, MSU's distance-learning program is just beyond its pilot phase; online courses for undergraduates were offered to a small group for the first time in fall 2012. At testing time, online learners select human proctors from a list furnished by the university, or offer up their own proctor for approval. (During the fall pilot, remote students within a certain radius of MSU had the option of coming to the school's on-campus testing center, although this facility is used almost exclusively by on-campus students.)
The testing process followed by MSU is fairly typical of nationwide practices. If students want to suggest their own proctor instead of selecting one from a university-supplied list, a number of restrictions apply--for example, no family members, friends, supervisors or coworkers. In general, MSU stipulates that the proctor have a professional role in a relevant learning organization. The proctor, who is not paid, is e-mailed instructions on how to conduct the exam and a list of what materials--if any--are allowed in the exam room. Proctors do not need knowledge of the test subject matter. As for appropriate testing locations, MSU suggestions include public libraries and universities (generally free), and Sylvan Learning Centers, which charge a fee but have more than 1,000 locations nationwide.
New Technology Options It's a similar story at Penn State University's World Campus, a large online program that serves up some 900 courses a semester. Online learners can select their exam proctors from an extensive Penn State human proctoring network. But nowadays they can also opt for a new technology-based service: Students can sit the exam anywhere with an internet connection, using a webcam and software that authenticates the identity of the test-taker by monitoring keystrokes.
The solution, from Kryterion, is relatively new at World Campus, says Wayne Smutz, associate VP for academic outreach and the executive director of the online program. He estimates that fewer than 10 percent of World Campus students use the technology, though he expects that number to grow.
As with other technology-based solutions, including ProctorU, the Kryterion system also employs a human proctor watching from a remote location. According to the company's website, proctors are trained to watch for unusual behavior, including eye movements, unusual noises, or moving about, and they can stop the test, send a warning, or take other action at the discretion of the institution.
Ideally, online learners should be offered a selection of testing authentication methods, including both human and computer proctoring, asserts Deb Gearhart, vice provost for e-learning and strategic partnerships at Ohio University. Gearhart recently moved to OU from Troy University (AL), where she helped develop its eTroy online learning program. Troy has some 30,000 students, about half of whom take some or all of their courses online.
In addition to the usual range of choices for proctored exams, eTroy students can select remote proctoring options including ProctorU or Software Secure's Securexam Remote Proctor, both of which use cameras and off-site human proctors. In addition, eTroy students log in for exams using LogMeIn Rescue, a software program that locks down their browsers. They also must answer several personal questions, such as a previous address or employer, posed by Acxiom Software.
Troy charges students a set fee of $25 for using a live proctor at a Troy-approved location. If a remote proctoring option is chosen, there is no charge, unless the student's computer lacks a webcam. In that case, the student must purchase an external camera through Troy's online bookstore for about $65.
ProctorU has proved to be the most popular solution among Troy students, Gearhart says, partly because the technology works well, and partly because an exam can be scheduled at virtually any time. This is particularly useful for service members in remote locations outside the US (eTroy caters heavily to students serving in the military).
Gearhart now plans to grow the e-learning program at Ohio University, where online learning for undergraduates is less than five years old. There are presently about 36,000 students at OU, 4,000-plus of whom are fully online learners. Many undergraduates choose human proctors, Gearhart says, but the school may add electronic choices as the program grows. For now, a small testing center is available on campus for students attending class in person and for those online students who live nearby.
Cheating: A Double Standard Ultimately, the purpose of all the proctors, webcams, keystroke monitors, and browser locks is simple: to eliminate cheating. Yet those who are deeply involved in distance learning say cheating is no more prevalent online than in face-to-face classrooms. Studies back them up, claims MSU's Wherry. For example, a 2006 study published in College Student Journal found that about 3 percent of online students admitted to cheating, with a similar percentage on the face-to-face side. However, other studies have documented online cheating rates both higher and lower than in traditional courses. Nevertheless, Wherry finds the whole online cheating debate "annoying" because the inference is that the problem is unique to online learning, and generates undeserved criticism of online testing methods.
Gearhart, too, sees a double standard in how online exams are viewed. "A lot of people say there's more cheating online than face-to-face," she says, "but that's only because they tend to turn a blind eye to face-to-face cheating."
In her view, even government regulations hold distance-learning programs to a higher standard. The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, for example, requires accrediting agencies to assure that distance-learning programs can verify student identities. Face-to-face classes are under no such obligation. "Online learning seems to have to jump through more hoops in general than face-to-face," notes Gearhart.
Despite this, says Gearhart, online programs can--and should--do a better job of designing exams to prevent cheating: "Too much of online learning echoes paper testing." Techniques such as competency testing, which assesses established standards of skills, knowledge, and abilities, can be much broader--and much more difficult to fake, copy, or otherwise scam--than exams that merely test what has been learned in one portion of one course.
Designing Cheat-Resistant Exams
When it comes to designing effective online exams, it's all about asking the right questions. Peg Wherry, director of online and distance learning at Montana State University, favors exams that test the application of knowledge rather than just recall of facts--an approach that is not only a better measure of students' understanding of course material, but also makes it harder for them to cheat. For building exams, MSU uses Respondus, a tool for creating and managing exams, along with the university's learning management system, Desire2Learn. Instructors use both software packages to create question banks and the exams themselves.
To keep online exams fair, Deb Gearhart, vice provost for e-learning and strategic partnerships at Ohio University, advocates using a pool of randomly selected questions to create a different exam for each student. These personalized exams are particularly effective when the tests must be offered over several days. Of course, this method requires more time from instructors, who must create many iterations of questions of escalating difficulty for the testing bank.
For courses such as math, technology can be used to track students as they work through a sequence of questions, Gearhart adds, monitoring gradual progress over time and making cheating difficult. This adaptive method has been used for years by software such as ALEKS, an internet-based assessment and tutoring program.
At Penn State, Smutz is comfortable with the integrity of World Campus's online testing system. While there have been incidents of online cheating during exams--some of them blatant, he admits--they have been handled using the system in place. Like Gearhart, Smutz advocates assessment strategies that go beyond proctored exams. With few exceptions, World Campus courses are relatively small (25 to 35 students) and emphasize instructor interaction.
"Our philosophy is high interaction, group projects, and collaborative work," he says. Not only does this approach raise the quality of instruction, but it also lowers the stakes on any particular exam. Plus, he notes, cheating becomes more difficult when there is significant student-instructor interaction. Indeed, some courses eliminate proctored exams altogether--instead, faculty base grades on projects, non-proctored quizzes, and other measures.
An Issue of Scale As the massive open online course phenomenon pushes center stage, it is raising a number of interesting issues about online learning and assessment. Among them, of course, is how huge numbers of students can be tested fairly and efficiently--especially as MOOC organizations begin to offer for-credit options.
"We can learn from them," says Smutz, who is watching MOOCs with great interest. "Over time, I believe one of our big challenges is to continue to scale courses while maintaining highly effective classes and learning programs." Watching how--or if--MOOCs manage to achieve this level of excellence at scale will be highly instructive.
However, Smutz doesn't see existing methods for online testing scaling to the MOOC level. "I think [MOOCs] are going to have to go in a different direction," he notes. While that direction remains unclear, Smutz speculates that it might include new technologies such as machine-read essays, in which software can assess--and presumably correct and grade--narrative written exams.
In addition, Smutz believes learning analytics are a promising way to help identify areas early on where an individual student needs work. After all, why wait until exam time to discover problems?

subset: commoncrawl


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Google Maps mash-ups can suffer performance problems when trying to display a large number of markers at any one time. In order to avoid performance issues when displaying hundreds of markers some kind of clustering needs to be implemented. Today Click2Map have released their clustering solution.
This new feature from Click2Map is demonstrated in the video below:
Click2Map is an easy to use application that lets you create, manage and publish Google Maps without any knowledge of programming. Now, with the introduction of this clustering solution, you can build maps with thousands of markers.


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African cichlids enjoy an alien, exotic courtship routine. A dominant male attracts choice females to his territory by dancing seductively. If the female is sufficiently impressed, she lays her eggs and immediately collects them in her mouth, where the male fertilizes them. And, in some species, every once in a while, a lower-ranking male will dart into the scene and try to fertilize a few eggs before the dominant male knows what's happened.
At least that's what we thought was going on. But one day, while watching this nostalgic display in the lab, Stanford postdoctoral biology researcher Karen Maruska noticed something unusual. A dominant male was courting a female in one corner of the tank, at the entrance to a terra cotta pot he had claimed as his territory.
"Then, at the last minute, a subordinate male made a beeline for them from the corner of the tank behind the pot, so he could spawn at just the right time," Maruska said. "And I thought: there's no way the subordinate saw" that opportunity. In fact, he didn't see it. He heard it.
Astatotilapia burtoni's predilection for waggling its tail and quivering its body before mating is well documented. But what Maruska, undergraduate researcher Uyhun Ung and Stanford biology Professor Russ Fernald would later write in a paper published last week in PloS ONE was that males also vocalize during courtship. Not only are females responsive to these calls, but their ability to hear them improves with their sexual receptiveness. This additional courtship component may provide crucial signals used for mate choice decisions and help explain how similar-looking cichlid species avoid accidental interbreeding.
Listening fish
Using underwater microphones called hydrophones, the researchers found that males would make low-frequency sounds when confronted with receptive females. And females preferred males associated with playbacks of these courtship sounds over males that were associated with no sound, or a neutral noise.
But not all hearing thresholds were created equal. Females that were sexually receptive – and had high circulating levels of sex hormones – were dramatically more sensitive to the low frequencies contained in the courtship sounds than females that had already spawned and were in the mouth-brooding parental care phase of their cycle. This kind of hormone-dependent hearing has been observed in other animals, and is a reliable indicator of the importance of sounds in courtship displays.
Subordinate males were also subtly more sensitive to certain frequencies than dominant males. Although the reasons for this change are less clear, Maruska suggests the subordinate males may "use the frequency of the sound to determine which males to fight with and attempt to take over their territory." Because the frequency of the courtship sound is related to body size, subordinate males may listen to these courtship sounds to identify the smallest – and most vulnerable – males in their area.
A small pond
The cichlids studied by the Fernald lab are native to Lake Tanganyika in East Africa "where they co-exist with a lot of other cichlid species," said Maruska. "Each species needs to find its niche in the system."
The high level of diversity within the cichlid family is unusual, and difficult to maintain when all the relatives are in the same body of water. Researchers had previously assumed that cichlids, which tend to be brightly colored fish, only used visual cues to distinguish potential mates from out-of-species mistakes. But biologists now believe that visual cues alone can't account for the phenomenon.
Recent field studies by other scientists have shown that cichlid species that live in overlapping areas in the wild produce distinct sounds. The Stanford researchers' discovery that these sounds are an integral component of courtship rituals lends credence to the theory that the vast array of cichlid species may be a consequence of courtship displays that make use of more than one sensory system.
Still, "not a lot is known about fish sounds," said Maruska. There remains a host of unsolved mysteries in the field. "We don't even know the mechanism of sound production in this species yet."


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Our office is located at 106 rue de Carouge. From the Place Bel Air, take tram number 12 and get off at Place des Augustin. Walk on the same side of the road another 150 meters further and you will find our office. Click on the icon to see a map.


text: I can't imagine what the two young women have been thinking since their scholarship auditions at the Delta Blues Museum on Thursday. Jacquline Gooch and Paula Thompson, students from the Delta Blues Museum's Arts & Education Program, were both outstanding. Gooch, 19, accompanied herself on a guitar with a sliver of worn wood below the sound hole that looked like a scar. I imagined the hours she's played her instrument, writing her own songs and learning others. Thompson, 15, stood with the microphone in hand and sang for a small audience of family and museum staffers. Kyleen Thomas, 12, another museum student, played bass while instructor Daddy Rich played guitar for Thompson. Rich, museum gift shop manager Chris Coleman, Berklee professor Lenny Stallworth and I judged the two singers and multi instrumentalists. It's hard to choose one of them when there are two talented and deserving hopefuls.


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On Princeton and Worship
My friend, Paul Feiler, got a five-minute standing ovation at Princeton Seminary. He is a Ph.D. candidate there and has a teaching fellowship. He was asked to give the final lecture on the book of Revelation to a class of 200 students.
Princeton Seminary is not noted for the spiritual warmth of its classes. But Paul decided to help these students see that there is more to Biblical Studies than academic gamesmanship. He used enough trade language to fix his credibility (like, "Apocalyptic literature is born out of the dual concerns of soteriology and theodicy."). But then he asked the young biblical critics, "What will you say in the hospital room when your dying parishioner all of a sudden smiles and says, 'I see Jesus; I hear the choir of heaven'? Will you say, 'Oh, that's just a mental construct from your subconscious wish-fulfillment?' Or will you say, 'We know that the idea of heaven first arose in the inter-testamental period through the influence of Iranian speculation'?"
Paul showed them that they had better keep the reality of death fixed over every book they read and paper they write. He broke through the academic gamesmanship. And it was so refreshing for the students that they gave a standing ovation. Paul was so moved he left the hall in tears. A historic moment at Princeton Seminary!
My heart's desire for Bethlehem is that we might become a people known for our sense of ultimate reality. I want people to visit Bethlehem and say, "Those people seem to take their worship so seriously. They seem to be so aware of God. They seem to be living on the brink of something infinite. Nobody seems to be playing church or going through motions. You get the impression this could be their last time together before they die. You have the feeling something awesome is at stake."
O that our worship might come alive with the incredible presence of the living Christ! Pray that God might free us all from worship games. Come to meet the living God! These are precious days together at Bethlehem. None of us knows when it will be our last Sunday in the house of the Lord. Drink deep in worship. Picture yourself on the brink of eternity. Space falls away infinitely before you. And you say, "I see Jesus! I see Jesus! The choir of heaven! The choir of heaven!"
Loving to worship with you,
Pastor John


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School Lunches
More than at other meals, kids have a lot of control over what they eat for lunch at school. A kid can choose to eat the green beans or throw them out. A kid also can choose to eat an apple instead of an ice cream sandwich.
When choosing what to eat for lunch, making a healthy choice is really important. Here's why: Eating a variety of healthy foods gives you energy to do stuff, helps you grow the way you should, and can even keep you from getting sick.
Think of your school lunch as the fuel you put in your tank. If you choose the wrong kind of fuel, you might run out of energy before the day is over.
So what is the right kind of fuel? What does a healthy lunch look like? Unlike that killer question on your math test, there are many right answers to these questions.
To Buy or Not to Buy
Most kids have the choice of packing lunch or buying one at school. The good news is that a kid can get a healthy lunch by doing either one. Read the cafeteria menu the night before. Knowing what's for lunch will let you know if you want to eat it! Bring home a copy of the menu or look for it on the school website.
A packed lunch isn't automatically healthier than one you buy at school. If you pack chocolate cake and potato chips, that's not a nutritious meal! But a packed lunch, if you do it right, does have a clear advantage. When you pack your lunch, you can be sure it includes your favorite healthy foods — stuff you know you like. It's not a one-size-fits-all lunch. It's a lunch just for you. If your favorite sandwich is peanut butter and banana, just make it and pack it — then you can eat it for lunch. Or maybe you love olives. Go ahead and pack them!
If you want to pack your lunch, you'll need some help from your parents. Talk to them about what you like to eat in your lunch so they can stock up on those foods. Parents might offer to pack your lunch for you. This is nice of them, but you may want to watch how they do it and ask if you can start making your lunches yourself. It's a way to show that you're growing up.
10 Steps to a Great Lunch
Whether you pack or buy your lunch, follow these guidelines:
- Choose fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are like hitting the jackpot when it comes to nutrition. They make your plate more colorful and they're packed with vitamins and fiber. It's a good idea to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day, so try to fit in one or two at lunch. A serving isn't a lot. A serving of carrots is ½ cup or about 6 baby carrots. A fruit serving could be one medium orange.
- Know the facts about fat. Kids need some fat in their diets to stay healthy — it also helps keep you feeling full — but you don't want to eat too much of it. Fat is found in butter, oils, cheese, nuts, and meats. Some higher-fat lunch foods include french fries, hot dogs, cheeseburgers, macaroni and cheese, and chicken nuggets. Don't worry if you like these foods! No food is bad, but you may want to eat them less often and in smaller portions. Foods that are lower in fat are usually baked or grilled. Some of the best low-fat foods are fruits, vegetables, and skim and low-fat milk.
- Go for whole grains. "Grains" include breads, cereals, rice, and pasta. But as we learn more about good nutrition, it's clear that whole grains are better than refined grains. What's the difference? Brown rice is a whole grain, but white rice is not. Whole-wheat bread contains whole grains, but regular white bread does not.
- Sip sensibly. It's not just about what you eat — drinks count too! Milk has been a favorite lunchtime drink for a long time. If you don't like milk, choose water. Avoid juice drinks and sodas.
- Balance your lunch. When people talk about balanced meals, they mean meals that include a mix of food groups: some grains, some fruits, some vegetables, some meat or protein foods, and some dairy foods such as milk and cheese. Try to do this with your lunch. If you don't have a variety of foods on your plate, it's probably not balanced. A double order of french fries, for example, would not make for a balanced lunch.
- Skip packaged snacks. Many schools make salty snacks, candy, and soda available in the cafeteria or in vending machines. It's OK to have these foods once in a while, but they shouldn't be on your lunch menu.
- Mix it up. Do you eat the same lunch every day? If that lunch is a hot dog, it's time to change your routine. Keep your taste buds from getting bored and try something new. Eating lots of different kinds of food gives your body a variety of nutrients.
- Quit the clean plate club. Because lunch can be a busy time, you might not stop to think whether you're getting full. Try to listen to what your body is telling you. If you feel full, it's OK to stop eating.
- Use your manners. Cafeterias sometimes look like feeding time at the zoo. Don't be an animal! Follow those simple rules your parents are always reminding you about: Chew with your mouth closed. Don't talk and eat at the same time. Use your utensils. Put your napkin on your lap. Be polite. And don't make fun of what someone else is eating.
- Don't drink milk and laugh at the same time! Whatever you do at lunch, don't tell your friends a funny joke when they're drinking milk. Before you know it, they'll be laughing and that milk will be coming out their noses! Gross!
Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.
© 1995- The Nemours Foundation. KidsHealth® is a registered trademark of The Nemours Foundation. All rights reserved.
Images sourced by The Nemours Foundation and Getty Images.


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Like the Bobcats actual chances of making the playoffs, the argument about whether they should even be trying to make them isn't dead yet either.
I appreciate Rick Bonnell's steady-handed beat writing on the Bobcats for the Charlotte Observer. But I couldn't disagree more with his take on the issue, posted on his blog on Monday night after the win over the Bucks. Rick's words are in italics:
I got an email today from a reader saying I should stop writing about playoff implications and that the Bobcats would be much better off chasing lottery luck.
Wasn't me, but it might as well have been.
I get that email a lot, and frankly it disregards how the weighted draft lottery works these days. If you're one of the last teams to reach the playoffs, you have a miniscule chance of a top-3 pick (about a 1 percent chance for each of those picks).
Frankly, I'm not sure Rick is properly regarding the weighted lottery system. (Also, I'll assume he means "If you're one of the last teams to MISS the playoffs", otherwise he really doesn't understand the system.)
Fortunately, I do understand the system and so can you. It's all right here on the Wikipedia page for the NBA Draft Lottery. Scroll down about halfway to the "Process" section — the chart is very helpful in understanding.
Currently, the Bobcats have the 10th worst record in the league. With Monday night's win over the Bucks, it's looking more and more like we'll be locked in there to finish the season. The "lottery" is indeed for the top 3 picks. After that, the remaining non-playoff teams are simply slotted back in their order from worst to "best".
With the 10th worst record, the Bobcats would have a 1.1% chance of winning the lottery for the #1 pick, a 1.3% chance at the #2 pick, and a 1.6% chance at the 3rd pick. Another way of looking at it is that there is a total of a 4% chance of moving up into the top 3 picks. Obviously, the chance that the Bobcats would end up with the 10th pick is overwhelming — 87%.
If the Bobcats could drop down lower than the Bucks (again, unlikely after Monday night) they'd be the 9th worst team. That gets you a 1.7% chance at the #1 pick, 2.0% for #2, and 2.4% for #3. Total 5.1% chance of moving up into the top 3 and 81% chance of sitting tight at the 9th spot.
If the Bobcats really got serious about tanking (it's really not a dirty word — you can say it) they could pass up the Clippers for the 8th worst record in the league. With that comes a 2.8% chance at the #1 pick, 3.3% for #2, and 3.9% for #3. Total 10% chance at moving up; 72% chance at staying at #8.
Meanwhile the Bobcats would have a far greater chance (about nine percent) of actually moving DOWN in the draft order.
Yes, if the Bobcats finish in with the 10th worst record, they actually have a 8.9% chance of falling back one spot to the 11th pick (and a miniscule 0.2% chance of falling back two spots to the 12th pick) — that 9% chance represents the sum of the chances of teams 11-14 moving up into the top 3, thus bumping the Cats back.
You know what would DEFINITELY bump the Bobcats draft spot back — all the way to the 15th spot? Making the playoffs.
And don't even try to argue that the difference between #10 and #15 isn't that big of a deal in this mediocre draft. Not valuing draft picks like that is just the kind of lazy thinking and poor planning that have gotten the Bobcats into the mess they're in. (Hey, Adam Morrison! He's awesome in college! 3rd pick, you betcha!!! It's all a crapshoot anyways!).
Someone a lot smarter than you, I or Rick Bonnell figured out that the average player drafted in the 10th spot is roughly 31% better than the average player drafted in the 15th spot. Scroll about halfway down the page to figure 7 and table 2 and the following discussion for the meat of the article.
In this particular draft, the 10th spot gives you a shot at getting Brandon Knight or Terrence Jones — guys that still have some star potential. At #15, you're looking at names like Jordan Hamilton, Kenneth Faried or John Henson — guys you're hoping will carve out a spot in your rotation.
The playoffs are fun, and even if they were clobbered in the first round, the Bobcats would gain experience by participating.
Ahh, the tee-ball argument. Everyone come to the playoffs, its FUN! I disagree, getting swept/exposed/embarrassed by the Magic was not fun last year, and getting swept/exposed/embarrassed by the Bulls this year wouldn't be any fun either. As far as "gaining experience", name me a player from last years' squad who seems to have benefitted from the experience of last year's playoff sweep.
If you have a young, developing team with most of the big pieces in place, then it's acceptable to gun for the 7th or 8th playoff spot for "the experience". Think last year's Oklahoma City Thunder, or this year's Memphis Grizzlies. But not the Bobcats — not a team sorely lacking talent that relies on a 33-year-old volume shooter to be its "star".
You can't convince me finishing ninth in the East is better than finishing eighth.
Agree to disagree, then?
And you sure don't want to send the message to players that losing is ever better than winning.
Completely agree with this. It's a very delicate issue and probably the strongest argument against tanking. My only counter is to say that this probably underestimates the intelligence/maturity of the players. They aren't in a Disney movie; they know better than anyone that their squad needs an influx of talent to seriously compete.
Treat injuries conservatively and shift minutes to younger players who need the burn anyways. The players save face while the losses mount. As long as the locker room chemistry is good (supposedly the case with the Bobcats) there are probably not going to be any serious negative ramifications from a few extra losses to end the season.
Until next time, I'll be "chasing lottery luck".
-Dr. E
POLL : This Season: Where Did It Go Wrong? Total Voters: 182


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Let readers know about your upcoming book while growing your list and hitting your deadline.
Easy-to-Update Progress Bar Widget
Show off your book's progress in style. You can add this fully customizable widget to your sidebar or any other "widgetized" area of your WordPress website.
MailChimp Integration
Readers can subscribe to your email list to get book updates in just a few clicks.
Deadline Tracking
Insert your deadline and MyBookProgress will help you stay on track. If you fall behind, MyBookProgress will do the math to tell you how many words/pages/chapters you need to write each day to catch up.
Writing Statistics Dashboard
The statistics dashboard can help you find out which day of the week is your most productive, and much more. Geek out as you track your writing progress with cool charts and graphs.
NaNoWriMo Mode
Are you writing a book as part of National Novel Writing Month? MyBookProgress has a special template to help you get your 50,000 words written.
Social Media Update Generator
Let your readers know about your progress on Twitter and Facebook with just a few clicks.
Blog Update Generator
Did you just finish your rough draft and want to update your readers about passing a milestone? MyBookProgress has a blog post generator button that will automatically start a blog post for you and insert a snapshot version of your book's progress bar. You have full control over the content of the blog post. Include a sample of your writing or an update about why you are excited about your work in process.
MyBookTable Integration
MyBookProgress integrates with MyBookTable to help you get pre-orders for your book.
Repository Crossload Method (Recommended)
- Log in to your WordPress Dashboard then go to Plugins -> Add New -> Search
- Search for "MyBookProgress"
- Click "Install"
- Click "Activate" under the the plugin on the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress.
- Follow the instructions at the top of the dashboard.
Zip Upload Method
- Download the mybookprogress.zip from the WordPress.org plugin repository.
- In your WordPress Dashboard go to Plugins -> Add New -> Upload
- Select "choose file", select mybookprogress.zip, and click "install now"
- Click "Activate" under the the plugin on the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress.
Old-Fashioned FTP Method (Advanced)
- Download the mybookprogress.zip from the WordPress plugin repository.
- Open the zip to a directory named mybooktbale. This should happen automatically by double clicking the zip file.
- Upload the mybookprogress directory to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory of your site, using your favorite FTP client.
- Click "Activate" under the the plugin on the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress.
Συνεισφέροντες & Προγραμματιστές
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Σύνοψη αλλαγών
- Fixed support for the Mailchimp API v.3
- Fixed issues with adding widgets
- added instructions for manually adding shortcodes
- replaced create_function, support removed in PHP 8, with stand-alone function in /includes/functions.php
- Updated supported WordPress version after testing.
- Updated supported WordPress version.
- Fixed a minor display issues when phases were created with overly long names.
- Changed new progress blog posts to be created as drafts instead of being immediately published.
- Minor bug fixes
- Improved Style Pack styling and support
- Added WordPress 4.6 support
- Added PHP 7 support
- Added localization support
- Added support for multiple books
- Various other tweaks and minor bug fixes
- Fixed several display bugs that manifested when using Firefox
- Added new loading animations to improve clarity
- Added book style editor to Book Setup page for ease of use
- Improved frontend progress bar display
- Fixed several minor bugs causing error messages to show on admin page
- Added ability to leave feedback on help topics
- Fixed a bug with the progress pagination system
- Improved design and functionality of Upgrades page
- Fixed a bug that caused the admin page to not show up properly with certain server configurations
- Various other tweaks and bug fixes
- Minor improvments to responsive styling
- Improved statistics graphs display
- Improved admin page styling
- Fixed bug that prevented the license key from updating properly
- Fixed major bug that prevented opening the main MyBookProgress page in certain cases
- Fixed bug that prevented adding new phases
- Initial Release


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Ini diperolehi daripada email seorang peguam. Sama-sama kita kongsi maklumat ini.
I am sure you all have heard of 'pick pocket'.
A new trend 'push pocket'.
Read on.. for your own good
A few days ago a new type of crime has surfaced in town.
It goes something like this:-
Somebody slips a hand-phone into your pocket,
sometimes it could be just a wallet with
an identity card and a few ringgit.
A few minutes later, the 'owner' comes up
and confronts you, the 'thief '.
He makes a big commotion that you stole his stuff.
You, caught unaware, are then pulled aside by the
'owner' for a settlement. You are intimidated and threatened
that if you do not pay up the police will be brought in.
If you pay up, this 'owner' lets you go.
If not, the police are brought in.
Another strange thing is that there always seems
to be a 'witness' to your 'theft'.
I am told this often happens to foreigners at
the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA)
or even at LRT trains.
Given that you're 'guilty until proven innocent'
as far as t he Malaysian police are concerned,
I understand some poor people are in jail for
these 'offences'.
At the KLIA, the 'owner' throws his hand-phone and
wallet with the few ringgit notes into the luggage
trolley of a just arrived passenger.
The drama unfolds a few minutes later.
The real culprit has easily convinced our Malaysian police
to arrest the real victim (if he has not paid up the 'settlement' demand).
This is a very serious matter.
This is another form of extortionists operating in broad daylight.
They are disgusting criminals who will do anything
to rob and steal. The sickening part of the whole
scenario is that unless you pay the 'quoted settlement' money,
they will put you in real trouble by calling the police.
The real culprit gets back his hand-phone
and wallet but the real victim ( i.e. could be any one of us)
is thrown into the police lock up and charged in court.
So do be very careful,
otherwise you may end up as a 'thief'
as you have no way to prove your innocence.
Pass it on.....
let more people be aware
of such things around them.


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Craig Keen, PhD
Professor Emeritus, Department of Theology
Craig Keen, PhD, is an award-winning professor of theology who has held various offices in the Wesleyan Theological Society, including promotional secretary, program chair, and president. Keen has published several articles in the Wesleyan Theological Journal, has a chapter in the book Embodied Holiness: Toward a Corporate Theology of Spiritual Growth (InterVarsity Press, 1999), and has written two books, both published by Cascade Books: The Transgression of the Integrity of God: Essays and Addresses (2012) and After Crucifixion: The Promise of Theology (2013). He is also under contract with Cascade Books to write Sanctity: Standing Up to the Coming of God. He served as co-chair of the Systematic Theology Working Group of the Twelfth Oxford Institute of Methodist Theological Studies, and in 2002 he served on an eight-member committee that envisaged, planned, and implemented the first Global Theology Conference of the Church of the Nazarene in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
- PhD - Religion and Theology, Claremont Graduate University
- MDiv - Nazarene Theological Seminary
- MA - Systematic Theology, Southern Nazarene University
- BA - Philosophy and Religion, Southern Nazarene University
Academic Area
- School of Theology
- Theology
- Philosophy
- Wesleyan Theology
Courses Taught
- THEO 303 – Theology and the Christian Life
- THEO 363 – Contemporary Christian Thought
- THEO 410 – Systematic Theology I
- THEO 411 – Systematic Theology II
- THEO 440 – The Theology of John Wesley
- THEO 496 – Senior Seminar: Theology and Social Issues


text:
Preschool-aged children can benefit from preoperative planning, education, and explanations. Begin preparing your child several days before the procedure. This will give your preschool child time to absorb it all. Recognizing what is stressful to your preschool child while in the hospital can guide you in preparing them for the experience. Common stressors and fears in the hospital may include the following:
Fear of being away from family and home, or of being left alone
Thoughts that they are in the hospital because they are in trouble or being punished
Fear of having a part of the body damaged
Fear of needles and shots
Fear of waking up during surgery
Fear of pain (or the possibility of pain)
Fear of the dark
Most preschoolers have a fear of the unknown. Tell your child about the surgery several days before the procedure and perhaps even visit the hospital for a tour. Many hospitals will allow you and your child to visit before surgery. This can help your child see the sights, sounds, and events they will experience the day of surgery. It can help your child learn about the hospital, and it gives them time to talk about concerns and questions they may have. Contact the hospital's child life department for this service.
Tell the truth in simple terms and answer all your child's questions. For example, "Yes, it will hurt, but it will not last long."
Talk with your child about why they are going to have surgery. It's not uncommon for this age group to have misconceptions about a hospital stay. Often, children think they have done something wrong or that needles are given to kids who are "bad."
Dramatic play is a big part of a preschooler's life. Using pictures, stuffed animals, or toys to help your child understand is better than simply telling them what will happen. Illustrate the situation clearly for your child. Ask a child life specialist to help explain what will happen and why in terms your child can understand. Also discuss therapeutic play activities, such as playing "hospital" with your child at home before they are admitted for the procedure.
Give very simple explanations and be careful of the words that you use. For example, say, "The healthcare provider is going to fix your arm." Don't say, "The healthcare provider is going to make a cut on your arm." If you describe anesthesia as "being put to sleep," your preschooler may think of a family pet that died and wonder if they will die, too. A better way to phrase it might be: "A healthcare provider will help you sleep (a different kind of sleep than how you sleep at night) during the operation, and they will wake you up after it is over."
Your child may enjoy reading books about the hospital with the family. Point out the parts of the story that your child may experience.
Let your child help pack their own suitcase. Bringing a favorite security item, pictures of family and pets, and a special toy can be very comforting.
Explain the benefits of the surgery in terms your child can understand. For example, "After the healthcare provider fixes your arm, you can play ___."
Learn as much as you can about your child's surgery. Children can tell when their parents are worried. The more you know, the better you will feel and the more you can help explain things to your child.
Stay with your child as much as possible to provide comfort and security.
Be patient with your child. It is normal for them to require more attention. Your child may have temper tantrums or be uncooperative. It is not unusual for your child to return to bedwetting or thumb-sucking. The regressive behavior will usually improve after the stress of the procedure has passed.
Remember, too, to take care of yourself. Simplify your life during this time and don't be afraid to ask for help from family and friends. Remaining positive and nonstressed can help reduce your child's anxiety.
Anne Civardi. 2005. Going to the Hospital(First Experiences). Usborne Publishing Ltd. (Ages 3 and up)
Fred Rogers. 1997. Going to the Hospital. Penguin Young Readers Group. (Ages 2 to 6)
Deborah Hautzig. 1985. A Visit to the Sesame Street Hospital. Random House for Young Readers. (Ages 4 and up)
Richard Scarry. 1995. A Big Operation (The Busy World of Richard Scarry) . Aladdin Paperback. (Ages 2 to 4)
Debbie Duncan. 1995. When Molly Was in the Hospital: A Book for Brothers and Sisters of Hospitalized Children . Rayve Productions, Incorporated. (Ages 3 and up)
Paulette Bourgeois. 2011. Franklin Goes to the Hospital. Kids Can Press. (Ages 3 to 8)
Virginia Dooley. 1996. Tubes in My Ears: My Trip to the Hospital . Mondo Publishing. (Ages 4 to 7)
Juliana Lee Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff. 2004. Good-Bye Tonsils! Puffin Books. (Ages 4 to 8)
Norman Bridwell. 2000. Clifford Visits the Hospital. Scholastic Incorporated. (Ages 4 to 8)
Margret Rey, H.A. Ray. 2010. Curious George Goes to the Hospital. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (Ages 4 to 7)
Barbara Taylor Cork. 2002. Katie Goes to the Hospital. Brighter Child. (Ages 5 to 8)
Joanna Cole. 1990. The Magic School Bus: Inside the Human Body. Scholastic, Incorporated. (Ages 4 to 8)


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New "Mickey Mouse" Cartoon Shorts Coming to Disney Channel
via Disney Channel press release:
The endearing, adventurous and comedic antics of Mickey Mouse, Disney's #1 star and the world's leading character franchise, will be presented in a new short-form series of 2D comedy cartoons, "Mickey Mouse," with a special preview today, TUESDAY, MARCH 12 (3:00 p.m., ET/12:00 noon, PT) exclusively on Disney.com.
This new series of 19 cartoon shorts will begin rolling out FRIDAY, JUNE 28 on Disney Channel, Disney.com and WATCH Disney Channel, among other platforms. An online game, "Mickey Delivery Dash," is also debuting today on Disney.com. The announcement was made today by Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer, Disney Channels Worldwide.
Regarding the new cartoon shorts, Marsh said, "By bringing Mickey's comedic adventures to life with vitality, humor, inventiveness and charm, the entire Disney Television Animation team of artists, animators and directors have worked to capture the essence of what Walt Disney himself created 85 years ago."
Since his creation in 1928, Mickey Mouse has continued to be a timeless favorite, a character that embodies joy, innocence and impishness. While the direction and pacing of the new "Mickey Mouse" cartoon shorts are fresh and contemporary, they are at the same time homage to the art direction and storytelling of Walt and his animators in the 1920s and '30s.
Emmy Award-winning artist and director Paul Rudish ("Dexter's Laboratory," "The Powerpuff Girls") is the executive producer and director. Aaron Springer ("SpongeBob SquarePants, "Gravity Falls") and Clay Morrow ("Dexter's Laboratory," "The Powerpuff Girls") are directors, and Joseph Holt ("The Powerpuff Girls") is the art director. The series is produced under the supervision of senior vice presidents Eric Coleman and Lisa Salamone at Walt Disney Television Animation (TVA).
With the slapstick feel of classic Mickey Mouse, the series of cartoon shorts presents Mickey in a broad range of humorous situations that showcase his pluck and rascality, along with his long-beloved charm and good heartedness. Each cartoon short finds Mickey in a different contemporary setting including Santa Monica, New York, Paris, Beijing, Tokyo, Venice and the Alps, facing a silly situation, a quick complication and an escalation of physical and visual gags. The stories also feature genuine heartfelt and heroic moments as Mickey explores and experiences life with his comical partners: Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, and Pluto.
Geared towards kids age 6-14 and families, and produced in 2D animation, the design esthetic for the "Mickey Mouse" cartoon shorts reaches back almost 80 years and borrows reverentially from the bold style of his 1930s design, but not before adding a few contemporary touches. Designs for other characters have a similar approach, favoring a "rubber-hose" cartoon style for more exaggerated animation. Background designs closely reflect the graphic design sense of 1950s and 1960s Disney cartoons. For those true eagle-eyed Disney fans, the production team has also included the occasional homage to other icons from the storied Disney heritage.
In the first cartoon short, "Croissant de Triomphe," Mickey must deliver croissants to Minnie's cafe, battling street traffic and other Parisian obstacles along the way.
Stories in the upcoming cartoon shorts include: "Yodelberg" — Mickey longs to visit Minnie atop her mountaintop chalet but quickly realizes that the threat of avalanche has made the trek up the mountain more challenging than usual. In "No Service," Mickey and Donald try to buy lunch from a beachside snack shack but are unceremoniously turned down because of the classic "No shirt, no shoes, no service" admonition (of course, Mickey doesn't wear a shirt and Donald doesn't wear shoes!).
Disney Channel is also home to the hit CG-animated series "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" which for 2012 was among the Top 3 cable TV series for kids age 2-5. The learning-focused series is presented daily on Disney Junior and Disney Channel in 167 countries and in 34 different languages. In fourth quarter 2012, it reached nearly 165 million unduplicated viewers worldwide.
Disney Channel is a 24-hour kid-driven, family inclusive television network that taps into the world of kids and families through original series and movies. It is currently available on basic cable in over 99 million U.S. homes and to millions of other viewers on Disney Channels around the world.


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Privacy Policy
1. About This Policy
This Privacy Policy sets out information into how we use personal information relating to people we interact with including, for example, customers and website users. It serves as an expression of our commitment to protecting your personal data. It is important that you read this privacy policy together with any other privacy notices we may provide you on all occasions of personal data collection and processing, so you are fully aware of how and why we are using your data. This privacy notice supplements other notices and is not intended to override them.
2. Your consent
This Privacy Policy outlines the terms and conditions you agree to when accessing and using this website. By accessing and using this website and providing personal information to us, or by booking any travel services with us, you agree and consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information as outlined in this Privacy Policy.
3. About us
This is the privacy policy of Labbaika (referred to as "we", "us" or "our"). We are incorporated under the laws of Amman, Jordan. Located in Amman, Jordan. Mecca Street building no. 234 – Office 203.
4. Contacting us
If you have any questions about our privacy policy or about how we process your personal data, including any complaints, please contact us either by e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.com, telephone 00962 6 5902000 or by post to P.O.Box 921763, Amman 11192, Jordan
5. Our commitment
We respect your right to privacy, and we aim to ensure you have a trustworthy experience with us, including when using our websites or offices and booking with or through us. We understand that you care about how your personal data is used by us, and we want to share with you the policies and practices we've adopted. This way you can feel confident about how we handle your personal data that you entrust to us.
6. Who our privacy policy covers
6.1 Our customers
Our privacy policy sets out how we process personal data relating to individuals who are booking or enquiring about booking travel services with or through us or who are customers or potential customers, or recipients of any travel services booked with or through us.
6.2 Examples of who this policy covers
We include in this privacy policy personal data we process relating to: (1) individuals who are making any enquiry or booking with us or through us, and individuals in respect of whom any enquiry or booking is made (such as friends, family members, and tour group members, and officers and employees of businesses and organizations booking with or through us); (2) individuals in respect of whom any enquiry or booking is made with us by an agent; (3) where our customer is a business or organization, employees or individuals who are acting as representatives of that business or other organization, and individuals connected to that business or other organization, such as owners, partners, shareholders, and directors; and (4) individuals whose personal data from other companies in our group (such as where you have consented to your personal data being disclosed to other group companies for marketing purposes).
7. What laws we comply with
To the extent allowed by laws of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, these Terms of Use and the provision of our services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with Jordanian law and any dispute arising out of these terms of use and our services shall exclusively be governed by the competent courts in Amman, Jordan.
8. What types of personal information we process
This section summarizes the types of personal data about you that we process:
8.1 Data concerning you as an individual
This includes name, age, gender, address, telephone, mobile, fax, e-mail, proofs of identity, copies of passports, card and other payment details, and financial information, health information relevant to your planned travel, and travel insurances held, results of searches carried out against you (such as to verify your identity, address, and credit status), your preferences, frequent flyer or travel partner program affiliation and member number, and any other information provided to us by or in relation to you which concern you as an individual.
8.2 Business Related Information
If you are an individual associated with a business or other organization that is our customer, then your personal data may include the following information that we link to your: business or organization details (such as name, address, telephone numbers, payment arrangements, financial information, etc.), your relationship with that business or organization (such as owner, partner, director, shareholder, employee, or agent), and your contact details within that business (such as work address, work telephone and mobile numbers, work fax number, and work e-mail address).
8.3 Enquiry and Booking Information
Information concerning enquiries and bookings made with or through us for travel services, including where you are making the enquiry or booking or are the recipient of the travel services to which the enquiry or booking relates. This information may include: records of enquiries and searches for holiday and travel products made by or on your behalf, details of your personal interests, needs and other data relevant to your enquiry; details of results, quotes, proposals, estimates and other information given in response to enquiries; details of the holiday, accommodation, travel, car hire, and other travel services booked or enquired about; details of the passengers travelling; details of the provider of the travel services (e.g. tour operator); dates and times of travel; price; payment details (including card details); passport information and visa information; foreign exchange requirements and arrangements; and sensitive information such as health, medical, dietary, mobility, disability, religious or other special conditions or requirements.
8.4 Performance Information
Information generated concerning the performance of any booking or other contract made with or through us, including information relating to anything arising during any holiday or other travel services, and information relating to payments to be made.
8.5 Survey Information
Information collected or generated out of any surveys we conduct.
8.6 Marketing Information
Information collected or generated out of any promotion we run.
8.7 Account, Registration and Loyalty Information
Information concerning any accounts, registrations, or memberships with us, or participation in any loyalty program.
8.8 Correspondence
Correspondence, communications and messages, including between you and us, and between us and third parties, including relating to any booking or booking enquiry, or performance of any contract.
8.9 Website Usage Information
We may collect information about your visits to, browsing of, and use of our website, unless your web browser blocks this. The range of data we collect will depend on how you interact with our website.
This information may include: your IP address (a unique identifier allocated to your computer for your connection to the internet); your computer device details (PC, tablet, smartphone, watch etc.); the make and version of web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Chrome) you are using; your operating system (e.g. Windows, Windows Phone, OSX, iOS, Android, Linux etc); your time-zone; your browser plug-ins; any web-page you came from, identified as the referrer web page address by your web browser; cookies; page response times; download error; pages and parts of pages you visit; usage you make of our website, including enquiries and searches undertaken, and registrations for accounts, etc.; services and products you viewed; length of visit to website and pages; page interaction information (such as scrolling, keys pressed, mouse clicks, touches, and mouse-overs). This will normally be collected and used anonymously, and aggregated for analysis, with your name and any characteristics identifying you remaining anonymous, but our privacy policy will apply, and it will be treated as your personal data, if this information is in any way linked to you personally.
This information may also include: data inputted into forms and field; registrations for any accounts, feedback mechanism, social functionality, newsletters or other features of our site; usernames and passwords, log-in / out history, and settings; actions taken within any account or other registration, including view and update and changes to settings; feedback, review or other social functionality on our website.
9. How we collect or generate your personal information
This section sets out the ways in which we may collect or generate personal information concerning you.
9.1 Visiting our website
By visiting and using our website you or your computer may provide personal data. This includes information which is automatically provided by your browser to our servers; information record on our web servers about your interaction with our website and pages viewed; information we capture or place on your computer or generate using cookies or other technologies on our website; and information you input into forms and fields on our website.
9.2 Data you provide
Your personal data will include data you provide (or later amend), whether: from correspondence with you; verbally to us over the phone or in person; by filing in any field or form on a website; by filling in any printed form we provide you with; by e-mail; from documents you provide use with; and from updates to any information you provide from time to time. This includes when you: register or subscribe for any service, account, or loyalty program, or make an enquiry or booking for a holiday or other travel services whether in person, by phone, through our website or otherwise; send us your comments or suggestions; subscribe to any newsletter or other publication; and request sales and advertising information, including brochures.
User Generated Content (UGC)
We may process information or content provided by you in relation to your feedback or experience on a past, current or future trip with us. We will only use such content and images you have submitted to our social media channels or websites, if you have given consent to let Labbaika and subsidiary companies to process this information in various initiatives. These could include any marketing activities such as:
Print materials
on our website
email activities
social posts
provide images to our trade partners to use on their websites, email marketing and other marketing initiatives
Any other information provided to us by or in relation to you which concerns you as an individual.
9.3 Data obtained from third parties
We may obtain personal data concerning you from third parties, including from: providers of any holidays, accommodation, other travel services which are enquired about or booked, and their intermediaries; credit, fraud, identity and other searches we may undertake, including searches with public records and regulatory and private organizations; from any business or organization you are associated with; from telephone numbers identified by the telephone system when you telephone us.
9.4 Data generated by us
We and any suppliers or sub-contractors working for us may generate personal data relating to you, including in connection with responding to and dealing with any enquiry, booking or complaint; or in performing any booking or other contract with you; or through the analysis of your personal data or data gained from your use of our website. We may record telephone calls with you.
10. What do we use your personal information for
This section sets out the uses which we make of your personal data:
10.1 Operate our website
To operate and provide the search, booking, accounts and other services, facilities, and functions of our websites. This includes managing any accounts or registrations you have with our websites, apps, and services, and making changes to your settings and profile at your request.
10.2 Provide information and respond to enquiries
To provide information to you about our websites, apps, and services, including to respond to booking enquiries and searches for holidays and travel, and to keep you updated generally.
10.3 Bookings and other contracts
To enable you to make bookings, and to fulfill, provide, perform, administer, manage, and enforce all bookings, orders, and other contracts which relate to you (including if you are a passenger in a booking made by someone else), and to process any transactions authorized or made with us which relate to you.
10.4 Payments
To collect and make payments due and administer our accounts.
10.5 Communication with customers
To collect and make payments due and administer our accounts.
10.6 Record keeping
To keep internal records and maintain reasonable archives, including concerning enquiries, bookings, contracts, travel services, and complaints. and including for the purposes of disputes, legal proceedings and investigations.
10.7 Manage and improve our business
To analyze, audit, provide, operate, administer, maintain and improve our business, website, and services; to carry out surveys and analyze the results; to run promotions; undertake product or customer research/development; to assist us in and help us to improve our sales, editorial, advertising and marketing processes; to carry out other business development and improvement activities; and to provide training to our staff, sub-contractors and suppliers. For example, we may use your personal data to help us profile how our customers generally are using our websites and booking travel services with (or through) us. We may also use this information to ascertain interests so that we can better tailor our business offerings.
10.8 Direct marketing
To carry out direct marketing to you. See next section below for further information.
10.9 Advertising
To report aggregate information concerning usage of our websites to our advertisers. We normally create anonymous statistical data about browsing actions and patterns, and do not identify any individual.
11. Use of your personal data for direct marketing
We do not use or disclose your personal information for direct marketing purposes unless we have obtained your express consent to this, such as through an opt-in or opt-out tick box on any form or website of ours.
11.1 Direct marketing by us
Where you have consented to this, we may use your personal information to carry out direct marketing and send you marketing messages, materials, adverts and promotions relating to travel services we provide, or which can be booked with third parties through us.
Where you have consented to this, we may also use your personal data to carry out direct marketing and send you marketing messages, materials, adverts and promotions relating to travel services which are offered by or which can be booked through any other company in the same group of companies as us (i.e. within the Travel Group Holding) or third parties selected by us.
You will be free to withdraw your consent to this at any time, by contacting us as detailed in this privacy policy or as detailed in any direct marketing that you receive or by clicking the 'unsubscribe' button at the bottom of any of our emails. In any e-mail you send we would ask you to insert "unsubscribe" as the subject heading.
11.2 Direct marketing by third parties
Where you have expressly consented to this, we may disclose your personal information which is contact data (such as name, e-mail, postal address, telephone, mobile or fax number) to any other company in the same group of companies as us (i.e. within the Travel Group Holding), or to third parties selected by us. They will use this to carry out direct marketing in their own right and will use it to send you marketing materials, advertisements and promotions relating to products and services they offer, or which can be booked through them. You will be free to withdraw your consent to our disclosure of your personal information for this purpose at any time, by contacting us as detailed above as well as by unsubscribing from their email directly by clicking the 'unsubscribe' button at the bottom of any of their emails. If you withdraw your consent, this will not affect any disclosures we have already made (i.e. we will not be able to remove your personal information from anyone we have disclosed it to), but we will tell you who they are on request, and you should contact them directly concerning this.
12. Disclosure of your personal data
We disclose your personal data to third parties in the following circumstances: -
12.1 Credit Checks etc.
We may disclose your personal information to third parties (including intermediaries) as necessary to carry out any checks concerning you or enforce any booking or contract with you (including credit, security, fraud and identity checks). This may include credit reference agencies and other companies for use in credit decisions, for fraud prevention and to pursue debtors.
12.2 Bookings and performance of contracts
We disclose your personal information to third parties (including intermediaries) as necessary to deal with any booking enquiry being made by or for you, to make any booking requested by or for you, to perform and administer any booking for you or other contract with or in respect of you. This may include: to apply for visas on your behalf, to collect payments to be made by you, to investigate and respond to complaints, and to enforce any booking or other contract with you. Such third parties may include any suppliers or sub-contractors and their agents (e.g. airlines, bus, ferry or train companies, hoteliers, hire companies, cruise companies, tour operators etc.).
12.3 Suppliers of travel and other services
We may disclose your personal data to any third party (e.g. supplier, contractor sub-contractor) we make any enquiries with concerning or engage or sub-contract to perform any booking or other contract, including to provide any travel, tour or other products or services we have agreed to provide to you. We may disclose your personal data to any supplier with whom we make any enquiry concerning or book any travel or other products and services for you as agent (whether as agent for you, someone representing you, or the supplier), such as a tour operator. Details of any third-party tour operators or other third parties who will be responsible for or supply you with the travel services booked or enquired about, may be obtained from us on request, and may be stated in any tour or other brochure provided by us.
12.4 Insurance
If any application is made through us for any travel or other insurance to cover you, we will pass your personal data on to the insurer. Information provided by you may be put on to a register of claims and shared with other insurers to prevent fraudulent claims.
12.5 Business Function Outsourcing
Where we use third parties to host, provide, operate or supply any part of our websites, databases, systems, business, or services, or carry out on our behalf any of our business functions or actions (including sending mail, processing payments, providing marketing assistance, providing customer and advertising analysis, and providing customer services), then we may provide your personal data to them as required for use or processing as part of those purposes.
12.6 Legal Requirements
We may supply personal data to a government authority or regulator where required to comply with a legal requirement, for the administration of justice, for the purposes of customs, visas and immigration, or where reasonably required to protect your vital interests or enforce any booking or other contract. We may disclose your personal data where otherwise required by or permitted by law.
12.7 Direct Marketing by third parties
We may disclose your personal data to third parties to carry out direct marketing to you, where you have given your prior consent, to third parties to carry out direct marketing. See the direct marketing section above.
12.8 Customer Representatives
If our customer is a business or organization, and we are holding your personal data in your capacity as an associate of that business or organization (including as agent, representative, contact, employee, officer, owner, partner, or director), then we may disclose to them that personal data. If our customer is making a booking or booking enquiry on your behalf, with your authority, then we may disclose to our customer your personal data as reasonably required in connection with such booking or enquiry, or the subsequent performance of or payment for any booking made.
12.9 Business Acquirers
If our business is ever transferred to a third party, then your personal data will be transferred to the acquirer to enable them to continue our business.
13. How third parties will handle your personal data
Where we provide your personal information to a third party one of the following two circumstances will apply: -
13.1 Processing on our behalf
In some cases, your personal information may be held and otherwise collected and used by them on our behalf, in which case we will remain responsible for what they do with your personal information, and your personal information will only be held and collected and used by them in accordance with our instructions and this privacy policy.
13.2 Processing on their own account
In other cases, your personal information may need to be provided to them to be held and collected, used or disclosed by them in their own right and on their own account. In such case, they will have their own responsibility for that personal information, subject to their own privacy policy, and we will not be responsible for what they do with it following disclosure.
14. Location of your personal information
We (and any affiliate, subcontractor or other person collecting, using and disclosing your personal information on our behalf) may transfer, store and otherwise collect, use and disclose your personal information anywhere in the world.
In each case, we will comply with any legal requirements concerning the transfer of your personal information by us to any third party outside the country where we are established, and where your personal information is still controlled by us or is being stored or otherwise collected, used or disclosed on our behalf, our security measures (as detailed below) will also apply.
15. Keeping your data secure
15.1 Our security measures
15.1.1 Our general commitment
We are committed to doing what we reasonably can to keep your personal information secure, and we are obliged by law to put in place appropriate technical and organizational measures against unauthorized or unlawful collection, use and disclosure of your personal information and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, your personal information. We have accordingly implemented security policies, rules and technical measures with a view to achieving this.
15.1.2 Transmissions between your web browser and our servers
We use a specialized security software in order to encrypt the personal information that you provide to us whilst it is in transit over the internet. You can verify that this is working by looking for the symbol of a closed lock or solid key on the bottom bar of your browser window and checking that the prefix for the web address in the browser address bar has changed from "http" to "https".
15.1.3 Storage of your personal data
The personal information we collect from you online is stored by us and/or our service providers on databases protected through a combination of physical and electronic access controls, firewall technology and other reasonable security measures.
15.2 Your security measures
For your own privacy protection, we encourage you to maintain anti-virus and other malware protection software on your computers and other devices, and to maintain your own measures to protect your personal information. Please do not include sensitive personal information in any e-mails you may send to us, including payment card information.
We also encourage you to be careful about who you give personal information to. We never contact you to ask you for sensitive personal information, such as payment card information, or sensitive personal information such as passport numbers or log-in details, and we will only ask you for such information in person or through our website, or by telephone in connection with a booking you are making or have made. Please let us know if you someone purports to contact you in our name.
16. How long do we keep your personal data for
We keep your personal information for so long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which we use it, and if longer, for any duration required by law, and for statutory claims limitation periods where your personal information may be relevant to any possible liability we may have to you.
17. Your rights
17.1 Access to your personal data
You may request us to tell you whether we are processing personal data about you, to tell you what personal data we are processing and for what purposes, and to provide you with a copy of your personal data that we hold. Once we have sufficient information from you to deal with the request, we will seek to provide you with the relevant personal data within 30 calendar days. Where we are unable to respond to you within the said 30 calendar days, we will notify you of the soonest possible time within which we can provide you with the information requested. Note that there are certain types of personal data which are exempt under the applicable data protection laws from being subject to your access request.
17.2 Use causing substantial distress or damage
You have the right to ask us to stop using your personal information for any purpose in any manner that is causing you or is likely to cause you unwarranted and substantial damage or distress, subject to exceptions.
17.3 Use for direct marketing
you have the right to ask us to stop using your personal data to carry out direct marketing to you.
17.4 Correction of inaccuracies
For a request to correct personal data, once we have sufficient information from you to deal with the request, we will:
Correct your personal data within 30 calendar days. Where we are unable to do so within the said 30 calendar days, we will notify you of the soonest practicable time within which we can make the correction. Note that there are certain types of personal data which are exempt under the applicable data protection laws from being subject to your access request; and
We will send the corrected personal data to every other organization to which the personal data was disclosed, within a year before the date the correction was made, unless that other organization does not need the corrected personal data for any legal or business purpose.
We may, if you so consent, send the corrected personal data only to specific organizations to which the personal data was disclosed by us within a year before the date the correction was made.
17.5 Request to withdraw consent
You may withdraw your consent for the collection, use and/or disclosure of your personal data in our possession or under our control at any time by submitting your request to the contact details provided in this policy.
We will process your request within a reasonable time from such a request for withdrawal of consent being made, and will thereafter refrain from collecting, using and/or disclosing your personal data in the manner stated in your request.
However, your withdrawal of consent could result in certain legal consequences arising from such withdrawal. In this regard, depending on the extent of your withdrawal of consent for us to process your personal data, it may mean that we will not be able to continue with your existing relationship with us.
17.6 Compensation
You have the right to claim compensation for damage and (in certain cases) distress you suffer if we do not comply with the laws referred to above.
17. 7 Complaints to applicable authority
The laws we comply with are regulated by the Jordanian law. In addition to your rights above, it is open to you, if you have a complaint or concern, to seek assistance from such a government regulator, who has powers to compel us to comply with applicable laws and fine us for non-compliance. However, before you do so, we would hope that you will contact us first to discuss any complaint or concerns you have.
If you have any complaint or grievance regarding how we are handling your personal data or about how we are complying with our Data Protection Policy, we welcome you to contact us with your complaint or grievance.
Please contact us through one of the following methods with your complaint or grievance:
Telephone number: 00962 6 590 2000. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Office address: Travel One – Station One, Umm Al Summaq, 234 Mecca Street – Office 203, P.O.Box 921763, Amman 11192, Jordan
Where it is an email or a letter through which you are submitting a complaint, your indication at the subject header that it is a personal data protection complaint would assist us in attending to your complaint speedily by passing it on to the relevant staff to handle. For example, you could insert the subject header as "Personal Data Complaint".
We will certainly strive to deal with any complaint or grievance that you may have speedily and fairly.
18. Copyright & Trademark Notices
All contents of this Website are ©2022 Labbaika.com, Ltd. All rights reserved. Other logos and product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Labbaika.com, Ltd. is not responsible for content on websites operated by parties other than Labbaika.com, Ltd.
19. Changes to this privacy policy
We may change this privacy policy at any time and from time to time without notice to you, including by publishing a new version on our website. You should check this privacy policy for updates each time you visit our website to be sure that you are aware of any changes. You should check the top of the document to see the latest version in force. Any change will be prospective only, and we will not make any changes that have retroactive effect unless legally required to do so.