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Diabetic complications
People with diabetes have an increased risk of developing a number of serious health problems. Consistently high blood glucose levels can lead to serious diseases affecting the heart and blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, nerves and teeth. In addition, people with diabetes also have a higher risk of developing infections. In almost all high-income countries, diabetes is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower limb amputation. Maintaining blood glucose levels, blood pressure, and cholesterol at or close to normal can help delay or prevent diabetes complications. Therefore people with diabetes need regular monitoring.
Cardiovascular disease: affects the heart and blood vessels and may cause fatal complications such as coronary artery disease (leading to heart attack) and stroke. Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in people with diabetes. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood glucose and other risk factors contribute to increasing the risk of cardiovascular complications.
Kidney disease (diabetic nephropathy): caused by damage to small blood vessels in the kidneys leading to the kidneys becoming less efficient or to fail altogether. Kidney disease is much more common in people with diabetes than in those without diabetes. Maintaining near normal levels of blood glucose and blood pressure can greatly reduce the risk of kidney disease. Nerve disease (diabetic neuropathy): diabetes can cause damage to the nerves throughout the body when blood glucose and blood pressure are too high. This can lead to problems with digestion, erectile dysfunction, and many other functions. Among the most commonly affected areas are the extremities, in particular the feet. Nerve damage in these areas is called peripheral neuropathy, and can lead to pain, tingling, and loss of feeling. Loss of feeling is particularly important because it can allow injuries to go unnoticed, leading to serious infections and possible amputations. People with diabetes carry a risk of amputation that may be more than 25 times greater than that of people without diabetes. However, with comprehensive management, a large proportion of amputations related to diabetes can be prevented. Even when amputation takes place, the remaining leg and the person's life can be saved by good follow-up care from a multidisciplinary foot team. People with diabetes should regularly examine their feet.
Eye disease (diabetic retinopathy): most people with diabetes will develop some form of eye disease (retinopathy) causing reduced vision or blindness. Consistently high levels of blood glucose, together with high blood pressure and high cholesterol, are the main causes of retinopathy. It can be managed through regular eye checks and keeping glucose and lipid levels at or close to normal.
Pregnancy complications: Women with any type of diabetes during pregnancy risk a number of complications if they do not carefully monitor and manage their condition. To prevent possible organ damage to the fetus, women with type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes should achieve target glucose levels before conception. All women with diabetes during pregnancy, type 1, type 2 or gestational should strive for target blood glucose levels throughout to minimize complications. High blood glucose during pregnancy can lead to the fetus putting on excess weight. This can lead to problems in delivery, trauma to the child and mother, and a sudden drop in blood glucose for the child after birth. Children who are exposed for a long time to high blood glucose in the womb are at higher risk of developing diabetes in the future.


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How To Keep Lyme Disease From You
Lyme disease was once unheard of in western Pennsylvania, where Barbara Thorne, now an entomologist at the University of Maryland, spent time as a kid.
Thorne knew that if black-legged ticks are infected with bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi, they can transmit Lyme to people and, that if untreated, symptoms can range from fever, fatigue and a rash, to serious damage to the joints, heart and nervous system.
But she didn't realize that ticks in that part of Pennsylvania had become broadly infected with the bacteria. That is, until she was bitten during a family reunion weekend.
She never saw the tick on her body. But about eight or nine days later, after returning home, she became suspicious.
"I noticed a roundish red rash above my waistline and it expanded each day," she recalls. "I was also feeling sick with exhaustion and achiness."
Her primary care doctor diagnosed her with Lyme disease and prescribed a course of antibiotics. After a few months, she felt better.
"I felt very lucky to have had the rash appear as literally a red flag," Thorne says. It's a telltale warning sign of the disease.
But not everyone with a Lyme infection develops a rash. And other symptoms, such as fatigue and aches, overlap with common illnesses. So, spotting Lyme disease can be tricky. Some people don't realize they're infected and don't seek medical treatment.
How Lyme Disease Cases Have Spread In The U.S.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the actual prevalence of Lyme disease infections is 10 times higher than the number of reported cases.
Tick-borne diseases have been "steadily going up every year … as the diseases expand to new areas around the country," Lyle Peterson of the CDC told reporters in a recent conference call announcing the updated infection estimates. Lyme disease accounts for about 80 percent of the tick-borne illnesses in the U.S.
Another factor that can contribute to the underreporting of cases is a lack of effective surveillance and tracking.
"People just go to their local doctor to be treated," says Peterson, and the doctor may not report the case to the local or state health department. Or, if the case is reported by the doctor, he says, sometimes "state health departments have a very difficult time keeping up with the sheer number of cases reports."
There's another factor at play, too: shortcomings in the way the infection is diagnosed.
"Many of the tests for Lyme disease are negative at the time that patients first visit their doctor," says Dr. Paul Fiedler, a clinical pathologist on Yale School of Medicine's faculty who also heads the department of pathology at Western Connecticut Health Network.
Blood tests to detect Lyme disease rely on a person's immune response, Fiedler explains, and after infection with the bacteria, it takes time — sometimes as long as 10 to 30 days — for the body to mount a measurable response. The blood tests detect Lyme-specific antibodies.
If somebody is tested before the immune system has produced enough antibodies, the result will be a false negative.
"And the diagnosis could be missed," Fiedler says. The subsequent lack of treatment after a missed diagnosis can lead to serious health problems.
But Thorne says it's possible to take steps to help prevent Lyme disease if you're meticulous.
In the spring, tick nymphs — young versions that transmit most of the Lyme infections — are abundant. They're tiny, no bigger than a pinhead or poppy seed, and tend to hang out in or near wooded areas, in brush or tall grass.
The ticks need a blood meal to stay alive. They tend to feed on small mammals, such as mice, or birds. But if you happen to brush against a stick, blade or stem they're clinging to, they can easily hitch a ride on you. And you won't feel a thing.
If you're hiking in or near a wooded area, it's wise to be on the lookout for nymphs on your skin or clothing when you get home. "They're small, but they're not invisible," Thorne says.
She recommends light-colored clothing (to increase likelihood you'll notice the darker fleck of an insect) and long sleeves. Insect repellent may help, but Thorne says the most effective strategy is a thorough tick check of your body after you've been in tick-infested areas.
"The ticks do tend to climb upward — like they climb up your legs," Thorne says. "They often attach where there was a constriction of clothing, like around the waistline." (She's compiled personal protection tips in this bulletin.)
Other favorite hiding spots include armpits, or behind your ears. If you do find one attached to your body, use a pair of narrow tweezers to grasp the tick very near the surface of the skin and tug upward with steady pressure.
Don't freak out if the arachnid's been attached a few hours. In general, the CDC says, ticks need to be attached for 36 to 48 hours before they can transmit the bacteria that cause Lyme disease.

subset: commoncrawl


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Tuesday, 27 October 2015 at 20:00
Thunder Bay Beach
Hare: Messiah
Full Hunter's Moon or Full Harvest Moon – October This full Moon is often referred to as the Full Hunter's Moon, Blood Moon, or Sanguine Moon. Many moons ago, Native Americans named this bright moon for obvious reasons. The leaves are falling from trees, the deer are fattened, and it's time to begin storing up meat for the long winter ahead. Because the fields were traditionally reaped in late September or early October, hunters could easily see fox and other animals that come out to glean from the fallen grains. Probably because of the threat of winter looming close, the Hunter's Moon is generally accorded with special honor, historically serving as an important feast day in both Western Europe and among many Native American tribes.


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I looked into this. Portland's average low in January is 1 C (33.7 F). Groningen's average low in January is -0.6 C (32.9 F). I haven't found figures for Assen, but it is just a few km south of Groningen so it'll be virtually identical.
It was quite cold today, and the radio reported that in some areas it is already possible to skate on natural ice, so there will already be scenes as in the video.
OK, so sometimes the weather really is too extreme in some places. However, mostly "it's too cold in the winter here" is just another of those excuses people use not to cycle, and not to provide for cyclists. It isn't necessary for everyone to make all their journeys by bike, but there are few places where the weather is really too much of a challenge for cycling in all four seasons.
Here in the Netherlands the cycling rate in winter for utility purposes is about 95% of the rate in the summer. Cyclists are supported by the cycle paths and roads being kept clear of snow, and cycling is thus just as convenient and safe as at any other time of year. That's why there is significantly more cycling in Assen and Groningen in the middle of winter, despite the conditions, than in Portland in summer.


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I am so thrilled to see the recent influx of magnetic polishes. That was the last item left on my nail polish wishes list and now it's coming true! So far I've only tried LCN and Lancôme, but now Nails Inc. has a couple of magnetic shades available at Sephora. By the way, who else was super bummed when Sephora sent out that email that the Nails Inc. Magnetic Trio was discontinued before it was even released? I was. I soooo wanted that set, the pretty packaging, getting three shades for the cost of only two. Ugh. Now watch, after I buy both shades, they're going to bring back the set. Anyway......
I chose Houses of Parliament, but there's a grey shade called Trafalgar Square as well. There used to be a gold one called Big Ben, but it seems to have vanished.
Out of all the magnetic polishes I've tried, this one is the easiest to use by far. Nails Inc. has really nailed the magnet design. Observe:
The Nails Inc. Magnetic Polish bottle has a vanity cap with built in magnet. That means that whole round outer cap comes off and becomes the magnet platform. There's a little plastic curve at one end of the magnet. What you do is rest your cuticle on the curve and you'll automatically be in the optimal position to form a good design with the magnet. It keeps the nail from touching the magnet and the dip in the curve really helps you center the design on your nail.
There is one thing about this polish that you need to be careful of: The magnet is VERY strong. Which is a good thing, but that means that if you put a really thick coat of polish on, it will suck the iron out of the polish and onto the magnet, forming little weird nipple-y things on your design. So, try to go for a thinner coat, or even one super thin coat over a black or purple base. The thinner the coat, the less the magnet will attract the polish.
Quick summary:
What I liked:
- Easiest to use of all the magnetic polishes I've tried.
- Gorgeous rich purple color.
- 3D / Tiger's Eye / surreal effect on the polish. You HAVE to see it in person, it's crazy.
- Magnet works extremely fast. I only need 1-2 seconds for a strong design to form.
- Generously sized bottle.
- Reasonable price for what you get- $16 for 0.33fl oz of polish and the magnet.
- Complete coverage in one coat.
- Fast dry time.
- Available at Sephora.
- No variety in the colors- you get grey or purple, that's it.
- Super crazy strong magnet can mess up the design if you're not careful.
- Brush isn't the greatest quality, which is a shame.
Yeah, this one definitely gets two thumbs up from me. It's awesome. Dying to try the other color now. Really hoping they do more shades of this!


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The Mining Industry Council of Missouri is a trade association formed in 1966 and incorporated in 1971. Its membership is composed of companies actively engaged in mineral mining and production in Missouri, individual and companies holding mineral rights in property in Missouri and individuals or companies with peripheral interests in the mining industry in Missouri who have been approved for membership by the Board of Directors of the Mining Industry Council.
Please Join Us!
Mining Industry Council Of MissouriP.O. Box 1543101 East High Suite 200Jefferson City, MO 65102


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AppleInsider is reporting that iPhone Software v2.0 will add a secure wipe feature. The screenshot above shows the text "This will take about an hour." added to the normal erase feature. This time is used to overwrite data to the disk multiple times. The need for secure phone erasure came to light after a researcher was able to recover personal information from a refurbished iPhone using forensic tools. Since then, a few people have published techniques for obliterating personal data using either the GUI or the more thorough command line method. Remote wipe has also been added to the new firmware in case the phone is stolen. We're happy to see security being made easily accessible to nontechnical users and expect that remote wipe will become standard on laptops in the future.
6 thoughts on "IPhone 2.0 Adds Secure Wipe"
at the request of many of you i will limit future postings. i will only post if i have something to add to the original post.
Wow Mike, It's about time.
In case the phone is stolen? What, so the thief can wipe it before reselling it??
No, its so that when you want to retire your iPhone and possible sell it over ebay, that all of your private data, like email credentials, are permanently wiped from the phone. This is a good thing.
remote wipe is in case you lose your phone you can call up att, or if it's a corporate phone, your sys-admin can remote wipe it. Hopefully before someone gets the data off it.
great stuff.. beautiful �
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To close out the series on Edge JsRT, there are two minor APIs that were added that didn't fit any of the other categories.
Filling in a hole I accidentally left when I originally did the APIs, JsNumberToInt allow extracting an integer value from a JS Number value.
And to aid in debugging and other diagnostics, JsCreateNamedFunction allows creating a function that has a name associated with it that will show up in callstacks, toString, etc.
You should also follow me on Twitter here.


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Posts tagged sexualized media messages
What Moms Can Do About Kids Who Want to Be Sexy
0As I started reading this article, "Why 6-Year Old Girls Want to Be Sexy," I could hear my mind saying "UGH!" and thinking about the conversations I have been having…and will need to continue to have…with my two young daughters.
As I got to this section, however, I breathed a bit of a reassured sigh–validated that despite the challenges from the media, there is indeed much that Moms (and Dads and other caregivers!) can do about sexualized media messages:
"Mothers feel so overwhelmed by the sexualizing messages their daughters are receiving from the media that they feel they can do nothing to help," she said. "Our study's findings indicate otherwise — we found that in actuality, mothers are key players in whether or not their daughters sexualize themselves. Moms can help their daughters navigate a sexualizing world by instructing their daughters about their values and by not demonstrating objectified and sexualized behaviors themselves."
Check out the whole article here:
If you are interested in hearing more about what parents can do to help their kids become critical thinkers and consumers of media, I have a few other recommendations:
- First…check out Friendship & Other Weapons, of course, and the featured sections on helping young girls examine music lyrics, advertising, social media, and technology. My article "Thinner, Sexier, Hotter" talks about sexualization in media and gives adults practical ideas for helping kids think critically about these messages.
- Next, check out Pigtail Pals and Ballcap Buddies, led by the tireless Melissa Wardy who always has something bold, brave, and inspiring to say about the impact of media sexualization on kids. Mattel and Monster High–watch out!
- Third, check out the innovative work of Ines Almeida and her new online marketplace that celebrates childhood without limits and gender stereotypes.
- And fourth, New Moon Girls is a great publication and option for young girls who want to be inspired by their peers and celebrate all the things that girls can do without the limits of having to be "sexy" at a young age.


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Gun-rights activists have reached a settlement with the government that will allow them to post 3-D printable gun plans online starting August 1.
The settlement ends a multi-year legal battle that started when Cody Wilson, who describes himself as a post-left anarchist, posted plans for a 3-D printed handgun he called "The Liberator" in 2013.
The single-shot pistol was made almost entirely out of of ABS plastic -- the same stuff they make Lego bricks out of -- that could be made on a 3-D printer. The only metal parts were the firing pin and a piece of metal included to comply with the Undetectable Firearms Act.
The US State Department told Wilson and his non-profit group Defense Distributed to take down the plans. It said the plans could violate International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which regulate the export of defense materials, services and technical data.
In essence, officials said someone in another country -- a country the US doesn't sell weapons to -- could download the material and make their own gun.
Wilson complied, but said the files already had been downloaded a million times.
He sued the federal government in 2015.
The settlement
The settlement, which is dated June 29, says that Wilson and Defense Distributed can publish plans, files and 3-D drawings in any form and exempts them from the export restrictions. The government also agreed to pay almost $40,000 of Wilson's legal fees and to refund some registration fees.
The settlement has not been made public, but Wilson's attorneys provided a copy to CNN.
"We asked for the Moon and we figured the government would reject it, but they didn't want to go to trial," said Alan M. Gottlieb with the Second Amendment Foundation, which helped in the case. "The government fought us all the way and then all of the sudden folded their tent."
Gottlieb said they filed the lawsuit during the Obama administration, but he doesn't think that explains the change of heart.
"These were all career people that we were dealing with. I don't think there was anything political about it," he said.
Avery Gardiner, the co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said she'd be astonished if the settlement wasn't approved by political appointees.
"We were shocked and disappointed that the Trump administration would make a secret backroom deal with very little notice," Gardiner said. She said she found out about the settlement from a magazine article.
The group has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for emails and other documents related to the settlement.
Josh Blackman, Wilson's attorney, said he wished the settlement signaled a philosophical change.
"They were going to lose this case," Blackman said. "If the government litigated this case and they lost this decision could be used to challenge other kinds of gun control laws."
The implications
Do-it-yourself firearms like The Liberator have been nicknamed "Ghost Guns" because they don't have serial numbers and are untraceable.
Wilson has built a website where people will be able to download The Liberator and digital files for an AR-15 lower receiver, a complete Baretta M9 handgun and other firearms. Users will also be able to share their own designs for guns, magazines and other accessories.
He says the files will be a good resource for builders, even though it's not yet practical for most people to 3-D print most of the guns.
"It's still out of reach for them. We'll get to watch it all develop," Wilson said. "The plans will be here when that moment comes."
For Wilson and his supporters, the ability to build unregulated and untraceable guns will make it much harder, if not impossible for governments to ban them.
Gardiner fears it will make it easier for terrorists and people who are too dangerous to pass criminal background checks to get their hands on guns.
"I think everybody in America ought to be terrified about that."
The fact that high end 3-D printers are still too expensive for most people doesn't ease her concerns.
"The people who make them will be state actors or well financed criminal cartels who have the ability to execute well organized criminal attacks in the United States and elsewhere," she said.
She said that providing the plans to anyone in the world, who has Internet access is a national security threat.
The Defense Distributed website proclaims that "the age of the downloadable gun formally begins."


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If the U.S. economy enters a recession, the causes and potential outcome will be hotly debated. At LPL Research, our starting point is always looking at history. This week's commentary will remind us of three things we know about historical recessions.
1. Technical Definition
First, a recession has an important technical definition that's different than what many people think. Earlier this year when Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth was negative, many were under the false impression that two consecutive quarters of negative GDP make a recession. Often that view is a good general approximation but not the technical definition. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is the official arbiter of U.S. business cycles, and they consider a wide range of economic indicators other than just the quarterly GDP metric. The official definition of a recession is "a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and that lasts more than a few months." [1] Now for most investors, this definition does not sound very specific and raises questions about things like the meaning of "significant."
The three factors for defining a recession are depth, diffusion, and duration – conveniently referred to as the "three D's." Depth refers to declining economic activity that is more than a relatively small change. Diffusion describes an economy that has experienced a contraction in a wide range of sectors, such as trade, business activity, and consumer spending. Duration is likely the least important of the three D's and measures the time between the previous business cycle peak and the following trough. Given the unique cause of the 2020 recession, the time between peak and trough was the shortest on record – only two months.
2. Warning Signals
Second, warning signals usually precede a recession, and these signals are clearly set forth by NBER. The relevant data for determining the onset of a recession is conveniently categorized at the St. Louis Federal Reserve. [2]
- Consumer metrics, specifically real spending and personal income, give investors an early read on the health of the consumer and are good warning signs.
- Employment activity, as reported by both businesses and households, begin to decline before the onset of a recession.
- Industrial production often stalls near the beginning of a recession, indicating cracks in the business sector.
- Indexes with aggregate economic and financial metrics give early broad-based warnings about market conditions and are historically good leading indicators. The following paragraph explains one of them.
One reason we see healthy debate on the likelihood of recession is that for most of this year, not all metrics were flashing warning signs. However, recent data may give us more clarity. On October 20, the Conference Board released the Leading Economic Index (LEI) and as of September, the LEI had declined seven out of the last nine months, showing that the economy could enter a period of significant and broad-based contraction. The decline is predictable as many sectors, such as housing, started slowing months ago. Since the inception of the index, a decline of this magnitude over a six-month period has always foreshadowed a recession in subsequent quarters [Figure 1]. As such, we think recession risks appear more probable by the beginning of next year. If the economy does fall into a recession, the cause will likely be from the consumer sector retrenching after years of inflationary pressures, high housing costs, and slow real wage growth.
3. Not Perfectly Concurrent
Third and most importantly, recessions historically have not perfectly coincided with market declines. Bear markets, defined by a market decline of at least 20%, and recessions overlap but investors should remind themselves that markets are forward-looking, so current market volatility is often about future recession risk. As predictable as this slowdown is, the markets have likely priced in much of the slowdown but that remains to be seen. Taking a broader look at the markets than just officially designated recessions, in [Figure 2], we show the following 12-month equity returns after a negative shock. History may not repeat itself but it often rhymes, so during these contentious times investors should remind themselves of the three things to know about recession.
Even though investors are tempted to say "this time is different," we all can take note of general principles about business cycles and the markets. The Federal Reserve (Fed) has warned that the current inflation fight will be painful, so a dip into recession should not be that surprising. As more metrics start blinking red, sticking to long-term investing plans with the guidance from a financial professional is becoming more and more important.
Jeffrey Roach, PhD, Chief Economist, LPL Financial
You may also be interested in:
- Low Bar for Earnings Season Brings Third Quarter Expectations Down – October 17, 2022
- Pockets of Vulnerability Magnified by Monetary Policy – October 10, 2022
- Markets on Watch as Xi Jinping's Influence to Be Tested in October – October 3, 2022
Click here to download a PDF of this report.
This material is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. There is no assurance that the views or strategies discussed are suitable for all investors or will yield positive outcomes. Investing involves risks including possible loss of principal. Any economic forecasts set forth may not develop as predicted and are subject to change.
References to markets, asset classes, and sectors are generally regarding the corresponding market index. Indexes are unmanaged statistical composites and cannot be invested into directly. Index performance is not indicative of the performance of any investment and do not reflect fees, expenses, or sales charges. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results.
Any company names noted herein are for educational purposes only and not an indication of trading intent or a solicitation of their products or services. LPL Financial doesn't provide research on individual equities.
All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, LPL Financial makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.
US Treasuries may be considered "safe haven" investments but do carry some degree of risk including interest rate, credit, and market risk. Bonds are subject to market and interest rate risk if sold prior to maturity. Bond values will decline as interest rates rise and bonds are subject to availability and change in price.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (S&P500) is a capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries.
The PE ratio (price-to-earnings ratio) is a measure of the price paid for a share relative to the annual net income or profit earned by the firm per share. It is a financial ratio used for valuation: a higher PE ratio means that investors are paying more for each unit of net income, so the stock is more expensive compared to one with lower PE ratio.
Earnings per share (EPS) is the portion of a company's profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock. EPS serves as an indicator of a company's profitability. Earnings per share is generally considered to be the single most important variable in determining a share's price. It is also a major component used to calculate the price-to-earnings valuation ratio.
All index data from FactSet.
This research material has been prepared by LPL Financial LLC.
Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial (LPL), a registered inv estment advisor and broker -dealer (member FINRA/SIPC). Insurance products are offered through LPL or its licensed affiliates. To the extent you are receiving investment a dvice from a separately registered independent investment advisor that is not an LPL affiliate, please note LPL makes no representation with respect to such entity.
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Phishing emails are a type of scam designed to obtain information or prompt certain behavior from their targets. To that end, they typically appear to come from a person or entity we trust.
In most cases, careful inspection will reveal cracks in the façade, little signs that the message is not what it purports to be. But, of course, most of us don't thoroughly analyze every email we receive from a colleague or supervisor. When we get an email from our CEO, Lizzy Beth, we don't hover the mouse over her contact card to verify that the message came from her actual company email and not email@example.com. We see the email, assume Lizzy Beth wants us to send her the requested information, and send it.
A successful scam can be a costly data breach with legal consequences. Businesses are generally required to take reasonable precautions to protect personal information in their possession. In the event of a breach, many states require that notice be given to those whose information was compromised. This notice might need to include the cause and nature of the data breach as well as what protections are afforded to those affected.
One of the best ways to protect your company from these sorts of scams is to have a policy and practice of never emailing sensitive employee information. The language below may serve as an effective reminder:
"Employees should not under any circumstance email sensitive employee information such as W-2s, benefit enrollment forms, completed census forms, or anything with social security or credit card numbers. Email is inherently insecure, and scammers may pose as company executives or employees to steal information. If you receive a request to email any such sensitive information, do not respond to it. Instead, inform your manager immediately."
You can help protect your organization by giving employees examples of the kinds of emails and other communications (texts, calls, etc.) that are likely suspicious. Here are a few:
- A notice from your email provider suggesting you change your password.
- A message from the IRS asking you to click a link, open an attachment, or provide information.
- A message asking you to click a link to pay fines or penalties.
- A request for W-2s or payroll records.
- A request for names, birth dates, home addresses, salaries, and social security numbers.
- A request for contact information.
- A request to purchase gift cards and email the sender the card numbers.
- A request for login information.
- A communication with glaring typos.
- A communication that says "EMERGENCY" in the subject.
- A LinkedIn connection from someone you don't recognize even though they purport to work at your company and have connected with some of your colleagues.
By Kyle Cupp
Originally posted on Thinkhr.com.


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What a gorgeous way to celebrate the birth of a new baby and a fabulous keepsake piece of art! Give a gift that will be treasured with this lovely personalised print!
Also makes a fabulous birthday gift! With all the important details captured in one beautiful print, this will be a gift long remembered after the birth.
Printed on 250gsm high quality white gloss card stock with genuine Epson pigment inks. Printed on A4 card to suit an 8 x 10" frame.
Please tell us the details for your personalised print, for your loved one, and let us do the rest!
The details for your print that we require are:
*If you do not wish to add a particular detail please let us know.
Need it framed? Let us take care of it for you! Gorgeous white shadow box frames are also available to purchase for prints that are A4 and suit 8 x 10" frames only.
Please leave your order details in the box provided.
FREE shipping Australia wide!


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This Swinging card can also be called a spinning card as the quilled central circle can spin 360 degrees! I saw this type of swinging card at a commercial card selling site [cant remember which site] and was so fascinated that I tried to work out the mechanism of this interactive card.This is a friendship card for all my blogger friends who inspire ,support and encourage me constantly.
This is one side of the swinging card which spins on a wooden skewer on top of the card stand.
I made the red flower and its leaves by looping paper strips by hand. I found that though not as perfect as the proper husking technique using pins on a board to form the loops its much faster and more fun!
This is the closeup of the quilled flower bud again looped by hand.
The quilled rosebud is made by forming a tight coil and pushing its center out.
The golden butterfly is also made by looping paper strips held in the hand.
The red flower is technically made by looping the paper strip around a comb[combing technique].I actually found making it by hand simpler and faster and not as perfect as in the proper combing! [ We have to compromise somewhere!]
The other side of the swinging card also needs to be embellished as this swings 360 degrees and comes onto the other side.So while making it ,its nice to have images that look ok upside down too!
The central Swinging card part is embellished with eccentric coil quilled flowers.
These quilled flowers are eccentric coils.
The eccentric coil flowers are made with paper strips having 2 color tones.
I reversed the direction of coiling to make the white in the center for the lower quilled flowers.
This gorgeous embossed paper was a paper bag I cut up and recycled! The pearl leaves and pearl hearts are from a local fancy store.
This is one side of the swinging card which spins on a wooden skewer on top of the card stand.
Swinging Card |
Quilled Flowers |
Quilled Flower
Quilled Flowers |
Quilled Butterfly |
Quilled Flowers |
Spinning Card |
Quilled Flowers |
Quilled Flowers
I reversed the direction of coiling to make the white in the center for the lower quilled flowers.
Quilled Flowers |
Embossed Card |
- Thick Card stock- The base card which forms your stand for the spinner needs to be particularly strong as it is a stand for your card and has to support the weight of your wooden stick and spinner card.The spinner card also should not be thin as otherwise it will be floppy and unsightly.
- Glue
- Glue dots or any other adhesive of your choice to stick the skewer to the spinning card.
- Wooden/plastic/ metallic stick to form the basis of your spinner card mechanism.- I used a wooden skewer. Use any long thin stick.
Fold your card stock in half. I have used an A4 sized card.
Cut out a shape at the folded edge- you can cut out a semicircle,rectangle,half of an octagon etc.I cut out a semicircle marked with the help of a compass.
Spinning Card Tutorial
Use the shape you cut out and make it smaller by a centimeter or so.Here I made it smaller by a 1/2 a centimeter only and discovered its better if you make it smaller slightly more so that it can swing and spin freely once attached to the card stand.
Spinning Card Tutorial
You need 2 similar sized circles for the swinging part. Embellish the circles before you stick them .Use an adhesive of your choice to stick the skewer or stick to the center of your swinging card.Here I used glue drops to stick a wooden skewer. Apply glue and stick the 2 circles together.
Make the support for the swinging card:The support for the swinging stick with your card is 2 small folded card strips with a gutter for the stick to swing.The width should be such that when stuck inside the card base it is hidden. I used a strip around 3 cm long and folded it. If the central groove of this folded strip is more deep the skewer will be at a lower position. Experiment a little before you glue it on place
Make a stand for the lower part of card base.Take 2 strips of strong card. I used a strip as long as height of by base card.Fold in half
Fold up each end as shown. These folded ends form the tabs where you will stick it to your base card
The photograph below shows the mechanism of the swinging card and how the card strips are stuck in position.
Your swinging card mechanism is ready!Here is the swinging card in action viewed when it is spinning and has swung up!
I was crazily busy the last couple of days professionally with a couple of international patients requiring surgery and extra care. I was on a deadline to make a friendship card for the Guest DT post at Crafty JC [my Ocean Diorama Pop up card had become top 3 at Crafty JC] and perhaps due to exhaustion I just couldn't think creatively and struggled for ideas. The swinging card is technically easy to make but Oh Boy did I struggle for ideas to embellish it! Please do tell me what you think of it and do try the swinging card mechanism as its a fun interactive card.
Here is a even more simplified version of the spinner card tutorial using dies : Spinner card tutorial
Spinning Card Tutorial
Spinning Card Tutorial
Spinning Card Tutorial |
Spinning Card Tutorial |
Stick this card strip to the bottom of your base card as shown
Spinning Card Tutorial |
Spinning card Tutorial
Swinging Card Mechanism |
Here is a even more simplified version of the spinner card tutorial using dies : Spinner card tutorial


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Hello, Crafty Friends!! Happy Thursday!
I'm super excited to be back with Team Xyron today. We have partnered up with Paper House all week to bring you fantastic projects all week!
And today, I made this Victorian Inspired Cantilever Jewelry Box.
I absolutely love brooches and pins. My mother is a fanatic. She wears a brooch on almost every outfit she has on. She was the one who started me on my brooch loving journey. She has given me some over the years and a few I still have till this day. Some were old and passed on to me, and some were brand spakin' sparkly, shiny, and new.
Even though I love the bling and the shine of the new, I love the older ones more. They have a history. They tell a story of the people who have handed it down. And now their story become my story. Because my family and their history is a big part of who I am.
And even though I love these little shiny badges of pride. They all have one thing in common, a need for space. I hate when the get jumbled up on one another. I don't have a ton of brooches so a massive jewelry box didn't seem appropriate. So instead, I made this little jewelry box to store and house them neatly.
Supplies Used
One Big Happy Family Paper Crafting Kit(Paper House)
Creative Station Lite (Xyron)
3" Sticker Maker (Xyron)
Big Shot (Sizzix)
Eileen Hull Cantilever Sewing Box (Sizzix)
Memory Hardware - Montagnac Antique Cord Chain - Copper (Prima Marketing Inc.)
Vintage Mechanicals - Flowers Large (Prima Marketing Inc.)
Hot Gue Gun
I started by cutting 6 pieces of chipboard to 5"x 6".
I also cut 3 pieces each of the Grandparents Tags (Blue Floral) and One Big Happy Family (Burnt Orange Print) down to 5"x 6" pieces.
Then, ran the patterned paper through my Creative Station Lite. Once through I gave them a good burnishing with a bone folder to ensure maximum adhesion.
I peeled back the protective film and attached a sheet of each patterned paper to each chipboard piece.
Now that the chipboard is double sided, I die cut 6 drawer boxes using a Cantilever Box Die (making sure to place the chipboard piece only over the drawer box section of the die and placing blue floral side down).
Then, I folded up the drawer walls along the crease lines.
While the sided are folded up, secure walls by wrapping a rubber band around them. Then add hot glue to all 4 corners.
Repeat for all 6 drawer boxes.
Next, Hot glue two boxes together along its shorter walls. This is will be your bottom base drawers.
I repeated the same step above for the lever pieces using the Love Lives Here paper. These pieces measured 2-3/4" x 6"(before die cutting).
I fastened the levers with brads, arranging them diagonally and then attaching with brads.
I die cut the 2 feet and the 2 lids and hot glued them in place.
I cut a metal embellishment in half (one for each side) and adhere to tops. Then I topped with a flower (only glue down to one of the drawers).
At the last minute, I added these copper chains by just taking out the brads and inserting the prongs in between the links before inserting back into the holes.
And here is my finished jewelry box for my pins!!
I absolutely love it!!
I hope you enjoyed today's project! If you would like to see more creative inspiration please stop by Facebook and visit the Xyron and Paper House pages.
And as a special treat, Xyron is giving away a prize package! YAY!!
All you have to do is visit their page and comment on any of the Xyron/Paper House projects posted during the week! Easy Peasy!
I hope you were inspired and
This was a sponsored post. I did receive product to endorse prior to making this fabulous project. However, the designs, ideas, and opinions on this blog are 100% my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the companies above.


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They'll look at me sidewise and say 'that's her' and I do hope they won't insist on calling me a 'doctress.'
-- Dr. Mary McGavran, 1893
Women's entry into the professional world as physicians was debated for decades. The stories found here capture the lives of women as they took on this new role in a male-dominated world, helping to shape a pivotal change for American women.
Why "Doctor or Doctress"?
Some, like Dr. Samuel Gregory of the New England Female Medical College, advocated the title of "Doctress," for women physicians, arguing that the "ladies of the profession...should have a title exclusively their own" that wouldn't cause "inconvenience and many annoyances."
Others, like Dr. Mary McGavran, felt that the real annoyance was the diminutive, second-class status implied by "Doctress." The choice between the softer, feminized title, "Doctress," and the stronger, more highly respected title, "Doctor," reflected women's transitional status as they entered the professional realm.


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I've been watching "The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard" on Masterpiece Theatre in the US. [...] I noticed an interesting phrase Mrs. Pritchard used, "Chinese whispers." I thought at first she meant what Americans mean when we say children are playing telephone or whisper down the lane. Then I thought, in the context it was used in, that it wouldn't be appropriate to suggest the person was playing a child's game. Mrs. Pritchard's right hand man (I can't remember his title) has passed on a bit of gossip that was passed on through several people. Any thoughts?Coincidentally, the night before, Better Half and I had been watching the episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm in which Larry David (surprise, surprise) makes a faux pas in playing telephone at a party, and BH asked, 'That's Chinese whispers, right?' Chinese whispers and the telephone game are indeed names for the same game in BrE and AmE, respectively. (And this came up once before in the comments for a previous post.)
What has thrown Cathy off is the fact that Chinese whispers is much more likely to be used in an extended or metaphorical way than this sense of telephone is. This is probably not too surprising, since telephone has other senses that would make the metaphor less clear. The OED lists Russian scandal as having the same two senses as Chinese whispers (though I've only ever heard the latter):
(a) a game in which a whispered message, after being passed from player to player, is contrasted in its original and final versions; (b) gossip inaccurately transmittedPeople disagree about whether Chinese whispers should be avoided due to racist connotations. It makes me a little uncomfy, but then I don't find myself needing to say it very often, so I don't worry about it too much. It also reminds me of an AmE term (at least I've not found a BrE speaker who knows it yet---but I haven't asked that many) for another silly pastime with an ethnically (BrE) dodgy name: the Chinese fire drill. Wikipedia describes it as:
A Chinese fire drill is a prank, or perhaps an expression of high spirits, that was popular in the United States during the 1960s. It is performed when a car is stopped at a red traffic light, at which point all of the car's occupants get out, run around the car, and return to their own (or go to other) seats. Chinese fire drills are sometimes executed when one needs to get something from the trunk of a car. Occasionally, if one of the participants is late to get inside the car, the others might drive off without him/her. People have reported this phenomenon as early as the 1940s, so it is possible that the phrase was current at the time, but simply was not written down that early.When I was a child (a bit later than the dates in the Wikipedia article), the driver never got involved--because the driver was Mom or Dad. But we'd try our luck and yell "Chinese fire drill!" and judge how much trouble we were going to get into for trying to do it before opening the car doors. It always sounded like a marvelous idea to my young mind, but I don't know that we ever executed a true Chinese fire drill.
The term is also used as a figure of speech to mean any large, ineffective, and chaotic exercise.


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Linky Tools was created by Brent Riggs. Find out more about Brent here...
The original website called "MckLinky" was born from need. Back then there was only one "linky" service available and a need for something new.
As I (Brent) thought about using link lists on my own blogs, I did not want to rely on a service that had a growing history of being unreliable or unavailable. So as a programmer, I simply decided to create my own linky system to use privately. Over time, others asked me about being able to use my system.
A couple of reasons::
First, a lot of people had trouble trying to figure out how to pronounce "MckLinky"... Muh-klinky? Mick-Klinky?
Second, MckLinky sounded, looked and was spelled too similar to a certain "Mr." out there who has a linky too. I got a lot of email and questions griping me out for the poor customer service and lack of response of "Mr. Other Guy". It got tiring explaining MckLinky is not associated with that other site.
Linky Tools says it all... easy to remember, easy to pronounce.
I hope you enjoy Linky Tools and get a lot of good use out of it. Please feel free to contact us any time with suggestions, comments or questions.
PS. We reserve the right to be family friendly. At our discretion, we do not allow overtly pornographic, violent, racist, gambling, drug or alcohol advertising or blogs (that is not a comprehensive list. Email us first if you want a confirmation about a certain type of blog content). I'm not the content police and try to be pretty lenient... but occassionally when a blog is blatantly un-family-friendly, I'll ask them not to use Linky Tools.
Brent's other blogs and sites:


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Severe flooding in Syria displaces thousands of families
Flash flooding, caused by unusual heavy rainfall, has forced over 12,000 to abandon their homes in refugee camps in Northern Syria.
The heavy rainfall, which began in December, resulted in at least 22 refugee camps being flooded and 67 others being badly affected.
In the short term, Islamic Relief will be providing plastic sheeting and blankets to those directly affected. The organisation also hopes to deploy machines to drain the water and provide gravel for the roads so that the drainage vehicles can access the affected areas.
In addition to this, Islamic Relief is providing vouchers to 80,000 in northwest Syria so they can afford to buy clothes and fuel, as part of its Winter Campaign to keep people warm.
Ahmed Mahmoud, Islamic Relief's Syria spokesman said:
"It's a tragic situation for the people who were already living in dire conditions; in flimsy tents with temperatures dropping to below zero Celsius in the evenings. Then they were forced out into the open air under torrential rain. People were already weakened by the lack of food, water and sanitation in the camps and now they are literally struggling to survive."
The flooding also affected many children in northwest Syria. UNICEF received alarming reports of 80 people being killed, including one child.
Geert Cappelaere, Regional Director of UNICEF in the Middle East and North Africa, said:
"The suffering of children in northwest Syria has tripled due to this recent escalation of violence, harsh weather conditions and lack of safe refuge. UNICEF calls on all parties fighting in the area and elsewhere in Syria to protect children at all times and allow humanitarian workers to reach children and families in need with lifesaving supplies."
To support the displaced people, Turkish NGO's have provided tents to 80 families that could not find shelter after the floods in December.
Photograph: Oxfam International
If you'd like to stay informed on the latest updates in aid and development, please sign up for the AIDF newsletter.


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Your privacy comes first.
Our light-weight monitoring software is designed to provide best-in-class issue detection with minimal access to the monitored computer. Only the information required to identify the computer and troubleshoot problems is sent to our servers.
The following information is gathered about a computer:
- Group Name: We assign an arbitrary "Group" for computer(s) so we know who to call when problems are reported.
- Serial Number: the serial number helps us determine warranty status and gives us valuable information about the computer when problems arise.
- Computer Name: The same name that is visible in:
- Sharing PreferencePane (Mac)
- System Control Panel (Windows)
- Hostname (Linux)
- Monitoring ID: A random identifier is created upon installation for our systems to identify status reports.
- User Name: The "short name" of the last user to log into the computer.
- Online Backup Information: If online backups are monitored, the email address associated with online backup systems will be reported. This can be disabled by an administrator, but the status of that online backup would not be reported.
The Monitoring Client software does not track the following types of information:
- We cannot track screen or keyboard activity
- We cannot see the contents of your screen with the monitoring client.
- We cannot inspect browser history, or other similar user actions.
- The agent can not read inside user-created data (pictures, documents, etc).
- We do not send full logs. Rather than sending full log files, the software only sends the results of the health checks.
- A computer's physical location is not readily available*
- The agent cannot install or update any other software on your computer. The agent uses read-only commands to perform its duties.
*In cases where a computer is considered stolen or missing, administrators can request a one-time notification of the reporting IP address.
Here is what we can do:
- We can tell when your backups are failing, before it's too late.
- We can tell when hard drives begin to fail, and schedule their repair with you.
- We can tell when malware finds its way to your computer, help you get rid of it, and work with you to prevent it from coming back.
- If enabled, the agent will automatically receive updates.
- Issues are reported to the computers' IT professional, who will review and take the appropriate corrective measures
This software is not a computer management system, it's only there to locate problems. We don't own your computer, we're just looking after its well-being.
Here is how this software has been described:
"It's a health monitor, not a listening device" -Michael R.
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If you have any questions about privacy and security, please contact support.


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Malus domestica 'Fiero'PBR (F)
Malus domestica September Wonder FujiBotanical details
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Native to the UK
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Malus are small to medium-sized deciduous trees with showy flowers in spring and ornamental or edible fruit in autumn; some have good autumn foliage colour
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The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK's leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone's life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.


text:
HTC Sensation Battery Life meets the low expectations I've heard
Update: A system update just came out and it claims longer battery life, so I will have to test again…
My HTC Sensation looks like it will probably have a battery life of 1.5 days for me before it hit 9% battery. I have heard that even though it boasts That is less than I hoped. I was hoping for two days, so I would only have to plug it in every other evening. Maybe 9% would last me till tonight, but I doubt it.
A few notes on this 1.5 days.
- I used my HTC Sensation for browsing the web for a good 45 minutes straight in the evening, so maybe I used more battery life than normal last night.
- I was on the phone no more than 10 minutes
- I made sure to keep all services, GPS, Wi-fi, etc., off during most of this time as I am fine turning them on when I use them.
So I also may have used less battery than some who must have these services enabled all the time.
I hoped that since I turned off these services, I would get much more than two days, even with good hour of use at some point during that span. But alas, the HTC Sensation Battery Life meets the low expectations I've heard from others. I have already bought a car charger (well, actually I bought an iGo tip to go with my iGo Car Charger) and I will certainly buy a an extra charger to have at my desk at work as well.


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International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international financial institution (IFI) which monitors the international financial system and provides loans to developing country member-states with balance-of-payments problems.
Former Managing Directors
Mr. Horst Köhler "was the eighth Managing Director of the IMF. He directly succeeded Michel Camdessus, who retired from the IMF on February 14, 2000. Previous Managing Directors were Camille Gutt (Belgium, 1946-51), Ivar Rooth (Sweden, 1951-56), Per Jacobsson (Sweden, 1956-63), Pierre-Paul Schweitzer (France, 1963-73), H. Johannes Witteveen (Netherlands, 1973-78), and Jacques de Larosière (France, 1978-87)." [1]
The IMF was established in 1945, having first been conceived at the Bretton Woods Conference in New Hampshire, USA in 1944. That conference saw representatives from forty four allied nations gather to to craft new rules and institutions to regulate the chaotic global economy – blamed for the Great Depression and for helping cause two World Wars. The outcome was the Bretton Woods Agreement which created two new multilateral institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), now known as the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.
The creation of the IMF was a 'compromise' between the proposals put to the Bretton Woods conference by head negotiators from England and the USA: John Maynard Keynes and Harry Dexter White. Keynes advocated the establishment of a global bank called called the International Clearing Union, which would have divided the responsibility for balance-of-payments imbalances between both the debtor and creditor nations. But the United States was at the time not just the most economically powerful nation in the world, but also the world's largest creditor. As a result, it was White's proposal for a Fund which favoured creditor nations – by placing the world's debt burden solely on debtor nations – which won out in the end, altered only slightly by a few concessions to Keynes.
At its establishment, the IMF was to given a number of interconnected roles, set out in Article 1 of its Articles of Agreement. In essence, the IMF's two main roles were to:
- Monitor an international system of fixed exchange rates based on the value of the US dollar which would be pegged to the value of gold, with the goal of ensuring international monetary stability; and
- Provide short-term loans to nations in danger of balance-of-payments crises (ie: when there is not enough hard currency to pay for imports). The loans were to be made from a large gold reserve, and from contributions from the Fund's members, based on the relative size of their economies.
But in 1971, the US ended fixed US dollar/gold convertibility due to a variety of factors, including inflationary pressure and the cost of fighting the Vietnam War. This move resulted in the collapse of the system of fixed exchange rates which the IMF was established to oversee, and the Fund lost one of its two main roles. This provided the impetus for the change in focus which occured during the 1970s and 1980s. By the 1980s, the IMF had refocused to a large degree on lending to developing countries, both on providing finance and encouraging policies to stimulate growth. 1982 was the last year in which a member of the OECD used an IMF loan facility.
Accompanying this change in focus was a change in method. Former World Bank Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz notes that originally, "the IMF was based on a recognition that markets often did not work well – that they could result in massive unemployment and might fail to make needed funds available to countries" (Stiglitz 2003, p. 12). But in the 1970s and 1980s, "the Keynesian orientation of the IMF, which emphasised market failures and the role for government in job creation, was replaced by the free market mantra of the 1980s, part of a new 'Washington Consensus'" (Stiglitz 2003, p. 16).
The Washington Consensus was so named because it was a common ideology of the IMF, World Bank and US Treasury – all based in Washington – that markets, free from government intervention of any kind, held the key to development in rich and poor countries alike.
Conditionality & structural adjustment
The impact of the Washington Consensus has been felt mainly through the IMF's increasing use of loan conditions ('conditionality') to force policy change in developing countries. The use of loan conditions can be traced to section 1(v) of the Fund's Articles of Agreement, which encourages the IMF to make its funds "temporarily available . . . under adequate safeguards". But while conditions had, in the 1950s and 1960s, been used to promote global financial stability (as per the IMF's Articles of Agreement) in the late 1970s and 1980s, loan conditions began to be used as "structural adjustment" tools, and conditionality – structural change in client countries – became a central focus for the IMF's work.
Structural adjustment policies mean across-the-board privatization of public utilities and publicly owned industries. They mean the slashing of government budgets, leading to cutbacks in spending on health care and education. They mean focusing resources on growing export crops for industrial countries rather than supporting family farms and growing food for local communities. And, as their imposition in country after country in Latin America, Africa, and Asia has shown, they lead to deeper inequality and environmental destruction. For decades people in the Third World have protested the way the IMF and World Bank. [1]
In 1996, a new debt relief initiative for the heavily-indebted poor countries—the HIPC Initiative—was launched by the IMF and the World Bank.1 The HIPC Initiative was intended to resolve the debt problems of the most heavily-indebted poor countries (originally 41 countries, mostly in Africa) with total debt nearing $200 billion.Worldwide events in the 1970s and 1980s—particularly the oil price shocks, high interest rates and recessions in industrial countries, and then weak commodity prices—were major contributors to the debt build-up in the HIPC countries. [2][3]
"Research shows clearly that the policies prescribed by the IMF have, among other things, not produced strong or sustainable growth; opened countries, communities and families to new vulnerabilities; exacerbated inequalities, which puts a brake on growth, stresses political systems to the breaking point, and engenders new and powerful forms of criminality and social tension.
Bolivia has been a model student of such "reforms", and is now also a showcase for the contradictions and crisis these policies engender." [4] The IMF "supports the rapid conclusion of obscure deals made by un-transparent multinationals and unaccountable politicians, deals in which it is impossible for people to evaluate or have a choice." observes researcher Tom Kruse in LaPaz.[5]
It appears some of the debt restructuring for IMF happens through Paris club and London Club. Paris Club is the name given to the arrangements through which countries reschedule their official DEBT; that is, money borrowed from other governments rather than BANKS or private FIRMS. The club is based on Avenue Kléber in Paris. Its members are the 19 founders of the OECD as well as Russia. Other institutions such as the WORLD BANK attend in an informal role. Rescheduling requires the consensus agreement of members and must not favour one CREDITOR nation over another. Private debt rescheduling takes place through the London Club. [6]
Power balances & decision-making
From its beginning, the IMF was dominated by the rich industrialised countries - and particularly by the USA - which have tightly controlled the Fund's agenda, both through the IMF's formal decision-making structure, and through informal influence. Formal decision-making power in the Fund is held by two bodies: the Board of Governors, and the Executive Board. Everyday management of the Fund is the responsibility of the "Managing Director" – selected by and chair of the Executive Board. There is an unwritten agreement that every IMF Managing Director should come from Europe, and every first Deputy Managing Director is American. This has held true for the entire life of the Fund. Stiglitz points out that the managing director of the IMF is chosen "behind closed doors, and it has never even been viewed as a prerequisite that the head should have have any experience in the developing world." (Stiglitz 2003, p. 19).
In contrast to democratic institutions, formal power on the IMF's boards is distributed according to the economic power of its members. Voting is determined by "quotas", which are in turn determined by the size of a country's contribution ot the Fund. The USA – as the world's largest economy – holds a significant 17 per cent of the total voting power. The G8 – the group of eight powerful industrialised nations – controls a vote of 48% of the votes on the Fund's board, leaving only 52 per cent for the other 176 IMF members. In stark comparison to the influence of the rich countries, the largest African member of the Fund – South Africa – holds just 0.87 per cent of the total voting power [7]. This political structure has allowed rich countries to effectively control the agenda of the IMF, and has denied a real voice to the poor countries which are the recipients of Fund policies.
Public relations problems and contracts
In 2000 the IMF's Managing Director, Michel Camdessus, stated that "We are not seen to be accountable, and some of our member governments from time to time find it convenient not to express their public support." At the time PR Week noted that "The McLean, VA-based Wirthlin Group conducted a global image survey for the IMF's external affairs department, while Edelman's DC outpost presented suggestions to the organization's executive board on ways to upgrade PR. The results of the survey and the recommendations, however, have not been revealed to the public."[2]
In September 2008, the IMF retained the major PR firm Hill & Knowlton for one year, to boost the international financial institution's "global outreach." H&K's press release quoted CEO Paul Taaffe as saying, "The IMF plays a crucial role around the world working to stabilize financial markets. H&K's regional expertise and global network means the firm is ideally suited to support the IMF." The contract, for an unspecified dollar amount, is coordinated out of H&K's Washington DC office. Dave Robinson, who heads the firm's Middle East & Africa work, "will lead an H&K team across the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, while Glenn Schloss, regional director for H&K in the Asia Pacific region, will oversee activity on the IMF program in the Far East." H&K will advise the IMF on "stakeholder outreach strategy for Asia and the Middle East, and on financial sector issues." The firm will also design "customized contact programs with key opinion formers, influencers and the wider financial and economic community." [3]
Senior officials
Partial List: Last Updated December 11, 2005:
- Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director (EU)
- Anne Krueger, First Deputy Managing Director (USA)
- Agustín Carstens, Deputy Managing Director (Mexico)
- Takatoshi Kato, Deputy Managing Director (Japan)
- Henry M. Paulson, Jr., United States Governor
- Margrethe Lundsager, United States Executive Director (nominated July 25, 2006)
Executive Board
Appointed Directors: Last Updated January 4, 2006:
- Nancy P. Jacklin, (USA)
- Shigeo Kashiwagi, (Japan)
- Karlheinz Bischofberger (Germany)
- Pierre Duquesne (France)
- Tom Scholar (UK)
Articles and resources
Related SourceWatch articles
- Michel Camdessus - Former Managing Director
- Johannes Witteveen - Former Managing Director (1973-79)
- Charles H. Dallara
- Federal Reserve System
- Globalization
- Hill & Knowlton
- Timeline to Global Governance 1800 to 1969
- U.S. Department of the Treasury
- World Bank
- Linah K. Mohohlo
- Bharrat Jagdeo -former chair board of governors
- ↑ Horst Köehler, organizational web page, accessed September 20, 2012.
- ↑ Steve Lilenthal, "IMF to embark on PR push with naming of new head", PR Week, February 21, 2000.
- ↑ "IMF Turns to H&K for Global Outreach," Hill & Knowlton press release, September 22, 2008.
External resources
- The Bretton Woods System.
- Fact Sheet: "A Guide To Committees, Groups, And Clubs," International Monetary Fund, September 2005.
- Joseph E. Stiglitz, Globalization and Its Discontents, W.W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (April, 2003), ISBN 0393324397 (paperback).
External articles
- Research Tools: Economics A-Z: "Paris Club," The Economist, undated.
- Steve Lilenthal, "IMF to embark on PR push with naming of new head", PR Week, February 21, 2000.
- IMF Staff, "The Logic of Debt Relief for the Poorest Countries," International Monetary Fund, September 2000.
- Brendan I. Koerner, "What Is the Paris Club?" Slate, May 5, 2003. re Paris Club
- Tom Kruse, "The IMF and the Bolivian Crisis," ZMag, October 15, 2003.
- Tom Kruse, "The IMF's Impact on Bolivia," Resource Center of the Americas, October 24, 2003.
- Susmita Barua, "Transforming Money. From Debt to Empowerment," Seek2Know.net, Last updated April 24, 2004.
- "Paris Club Representatives Meet Private Sector," Club de Paris.org, June 15, 2005.
- Matthew Rothschild, "IMF Occupies Iraq, Riots Follow," The Progressive, January 3, 2006. See December 23, 2005, IMF Press Release "IMF Executive Board Approves First Ever Stand-By Arrangement for Iraq."
- Ted McKenna, "IMF issues RFP for global work", PR Week, June 11, 2008.
- International Monetary Fund External Relations Department, "The IMF's Communication Strategy", International Monetary Fund, May 29, 2007.
- International Monetary Fund, "IMF Executive Board Discusses the IMF's Communication Strategy: Public Information Notice (PIN) No. 07/74", International Monetary Fund website, June 29, 2007.
- Ted McKenna, "IMF awards contract to H&K, expects to sign second agency soon", PR Week, August 15, 2008.


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Buyers of the EOS 7D and EOS 5D Mk II in education can receive up to u00a3150
Canon has started an incentive for students to invest in a new DSLR by offer cashback for two of the higher-end EOS models. Anyone on a recognized photographic course at University or working as a technician or lecturer in the same field can claim £150 on an EOS 5D Mark II or £75 on an EOS 7D.
For more information go to www.canon.co.uk/futurephotographer or www.canon.ie/futurephotographer


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Numerous variants of Cirsium arvense have been named based upon such features as pubescence, extent of leaf division, and spininess. Although extreme variants can be strikingly different, they are connected by such a web of intermediates that there seems to be little value in according any of them formal taxonomic recognition.
[Variety integrifolium has glabrous, entire leaves.] It was reported by Hansen (Proc. Indiana Acad. Sci. 35: 199. 1926) as established in Grant and Hancock Counties. It is regarded by some authorities as a species, and, from its appearance and behavior, I believe it is of specific rank. I know of a large colony in Wells County that was treated with chemicals for two years and still it persisted. I have not visited the colony recently.
[Variety mite, with ruffled stem leaves,] was reported by Hansen (Proc. Indiana Acad. Sci. 34: 256. 1925) as established in Blackford, Grant, and Henry Counties.
[Variety vestitum, with denticulate leaves and lanate peduncles,] was reported from Grant and Hancock Counties by Hansen.


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London, United Kingdom, 24th May 2021, ZEXPRWIRE, The vision of MobilityGuru is to achieve and create this global online platform where goods, as well as services, can be advertised, bought, and even sold to the mobility/disability community. It will also be one of the first-ever platforms out there that will introduce cryptocurrency as well as blockchain technology to ensure that no issues arise when it comes to the payment as well as transparency. This will connect advertisers across different platforms with international buyers as well as sellers that are interested in their offerings and this is especially the case of clients who are interested in products for the disabled. This means that, instead of them having to go through unorganised lists of miscellaneous things on other platforms, they can find exactly what they are looking for when searching for items.
Buyers will also have an extensive range to select from, their specific products or services can be found on the MobilityGuru platform specifically designed for people who have a disability of any kind, elderly as well as individuals that are in rehabilitation. No more will the Buyer need to rely on a generalised platform to do their shopping, MobilityGuru is here.
Now, when it comes to the existing platform, it is specifically designed to be simple as well as functional, with the incentive of providing people whom are color blind easy navigation access. The planned text-to-speech feature will also increase the platform's ability to interact even those that are blind and allow just about any user to interact all users.
To combat any transnational issues that might arise, blockchain technology will be used to facilitate the payments and as such buyers can use the cryptocurrencies or the MobilityGuru token to purchase the products as well as services on the entirety of the network.
All of the issues which are currently affecting the online advertisement of products as well as services in the disabled people's niche can be resolved through the usage of blockchain technology. In fact, blockchain can be used to fully facilitate international transactions which are specifically made for the purchase of new as well as used products alongside services. When an online marketplace accepts cryptocurrencies, the result is transaction simplicity, transparent and fast quick. Through the introduction of the MobilityGuru token itself, users will have the ability to shop for products plus services without the need to pass through complex traditional procedures currently found on many online marketplaces.
The benefits of this include fast transaction, simple transaction experience, enhanced security, checkmating fraudulent activities and protection of privacy.
Media Contact
Name: Jason King
Email: [email protected]
Website: Click Here
Company: MobilityGuru LTD
The post MobilityGuru's Vision for the Future of Online Marketplace appeared first on Zex PR Wire.
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Trade News
Munich, 3 July 2012 - Linde Engineering, a division of The Linde Group, is set to build a new Alpha-SABLIN® plant for the production of linear alpha olefins (LAO) in Nizhnekamsk, Russian Federation, which upon completion will be operated by Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNH), a leading Russian petrochemical producer.
NKNH awarded Linde Engineering contracts for license, basic/detail engineering and supply of equipment and materials for revamping of NKNH's existing LAO plant.
The plant is expected to come on-stream by mid of 2014, supplying NKNH with 37.5 kta linear alpha olefins with maximized production of C4 and C6 fractions. The revamp project will partially make use of the existing equipment of NKNH's former LAO plant with implementation of Alpha-SABLIN® technology.
Alpha-SABLIN® is a superior and flexible full range process for the production of linear alpha olefins by selective catalytic oligomerization of polymer grade ethylene, jointly developed and owned by Linde Engineering and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC).
"The project is a major breakthrough for Alpha-SABLIN® and will strengthen our growing position in the market segment for linear alpha olefins," says Florian Penner, Product Manager LAO at Linde Engineering Division. "It proves the excellent reputation of this new technology derived in a relatively short period after full commercialization in 2009."
Since 2009 the first full scale Alpha-SABLIN® plant with a capacity of 150 kta linear alpha olefins built for Jubail United Petrochemical Company (UNITED) in Al Jubail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has successfully demonstrated the outstanding performance and profitability of the Alpha-SABLIN® process.
About The Linde Group
The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 50,500 employees in more than 100 countries worldwide. In the 2011 financial year, it generated revenue of EUR 13.787 bn. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards long-term profitable growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. The Group is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.
For more information, see The Linde Group online at http://www.linde.com.
Florian Penner
Product Manager LAO
Phone +49.89.7445-2213
E-Mail: email@example.com
Doreen Schüßler
Manager Press and Media
Phone +44.89.7445-3495
E-Mail: email@example.com


text: Neil Peart - eBook - Far and Away $9.99 ePub - $9.99 PDF - $9.99 Quantity This variant is currently sold out The 2011 eBook by Neil Peart. Following in the tradition of Ghost Rider and Traveling Music, Rush drummer Neil Peart lets us ride with him along the backroads of North America, Europe, and South America, sharing his experiences in personal reflections and full-color photos. Spanning almost four years, these twenty-two stories are open letters that recount adventures both personal and universal—from the challenges and accomplishments in the professional life of an artist to the birth of a child. These popular stories, originally posted on Neil's website, are now collected and contextualized with a new introduction and conclusion in this beautifully designed collector's volume.


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Why Air Duct Cleaning Is Important
Just like your lungs are an important connection to the rest of your respiratory system, your home's ductwork, or air ducts, are importantly connected to your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. For your HVAC system—and your lungs—to perform at peak level, the numerous airways need to be open and clear. All in the name of breathing properly.
The Importance of Every Breath Your HVAC System Takes
Essentially, the air in your St. Cloud home is carried to and from your lungs back to the HVAC system. Air ducts are the paths traveled by the air, meaning it's optimum for the traveling air to be as clean as possible, because the air can pick up any particles or debris in the ducts and carry it straight to you.
Having clear air ducts can contribute to good indoor air quality (IAQ), which the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states is a prime concern in relation to pollutants these days. The EPA is referring to the air quality around buildings and structures, more specifically as it pertains to the comfort and health of their occupants.
The health effects from indoor air pollutants can show up soon after you are exposed or even years later. While the scientific community recognizes common indoor air quality pollutants can have harmful consequences, it can't pinpoint how long of an exposure or what concentrations are necessary for specific health problems.
Add to the mix that different people react very differently to these exposures. With all this uncertainty, it's a better scenario to avoid the pollutants altogether as much as possible.
When to Have Your Air Ducts Cleaned
You should consider having your air ducts cleaned if you notice any or all of the following situations in your St. Cloud home:
• There is substantial mold visible on the hard surfaces of your ducts (inside and/or outside) and other HVAC system components.
• Ducts are clogged with excessive amounts of dust, debris, or particles, in the case of a remodeling job.
• Rodents and/or insects are infesting the ducts.
In addition to these circumstances, if you or someone living in your Minnesota home suffers from allergies, asthma, or chronic illnesses, or you have pets or smokers in your home, having your ducts cleaned may help improve your home's indoor air quality, thereby helping anyone with these issues.
The rule of thumb from the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA), the leading nonprofit association of companies engaged in the inspection, cleaning, and restoration of HVAC systems, is if your air ducts look dirty, they probably are.
Although there's no concrete scientific data that air duct cleaning improves indoor air quality, the EPA does recommend having your ductwork cleaned if you fall under any of the reasons cited above. And many people who do have their ducts cleaned swear by the difference, especially those suffering from allergies.
Our professionals at Precise Heating, Air Conditioning, Plumbing & Refrigeration are expertly trained to clean your Minnesota home's ducts, so your HVAC system can breathe properly and optimally. Of course, this can be of prime benefit to you, too, no matter your health.
What's Involved in Air Duct Cleaning?
The standards set forth by the NADCA, which all duct experts ought to follow, recommend the entire HVAC system should be cleaned during the duct cleaning process. This includes the air ducts, equipment, registers, grills, plus installing a new air filter.
There are two parts to the duct cleaning itself: breaking the contaminants loose, and then collecting the contaminants. Our air duct professionals will use brushes and similar tools to break any particles and debris free of the HVAC system.
They will follow up by sweeping in with their hoses and suction. Feel free to ask if you can have an inside-the-ducts look before and after the job, because you might be amazed by the difference.
Precise Heating, Air Conditioning, Plumbing & Refrigeration Knows Air Ducts Inside and Out
Having your air ducts professionally cleaned can give you peace of mind, cleaner air to breathe, and help your HVAC system work more efficiently by removing the dust and debris that builds up in your home's ductwork.
Call Precise Heating, Air Conditioning, Plumbing & Refrigeration at 320-363-7401 or request service online to discuss how our skilled professionals can assist you and your St. Cloud, MN, home. We promise to make your ugly duct-lings beautiful.
Need HVAC Service?
Contact the experts at Precise Heating.
Call us at 320-363-7401!


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I really wanted to like this wine…Padrillos, pinot noir from Mendoza
The pinot noir was not a hit. What a shame. My Argentine friends asked me what ever possessed me to buy a pinot noir from Mendoza when I could have bought a perfectly good malbec or syrah from Mendoza. I guess curiosity got the better of me. I´ve had pinots from Patagonia but never from Mendoza so when I spotted it on the shelf I just had to buy it. That and combined with the fact that it had the name Catena on it, I thought it would be good bet. But sadly, it wasn't.
Padrillos is the handiwork of the son of Nicolas Catena Zapata, Ernesto. Going into the wine making business for himself, Ernesto sources the grapes from other growers and makes the wine. Visiting the website, there is a whole story about the Incas and lost treasures etc but it all seemed a bit too much. The back label of the pinot noir also seems to ramble on with a story about a stallion climbing the Andes mountains and some how relating it to the freshness of the wine. This is my rough translation but my friends said it didn't make much sense in Spanish either.
Honestly, if you have to make up such a story, is it a distraction from the wine? In this case, I think yes. I haven't tried the other wines he makes but I'm not really tempted to based on the pinot. A simple wine with not many defining characteristics other then "tastes like fruit juice" as my friends commented. I thought it had lots of cherry on the palate but I think they were right, it was like drinking cherry cola minus the fizz. Light to medium bodied, it reminded me of Beaujolais but not as good. What a disappointment, I was so looking forward to loving this wine, especially after paying 40 pesos for it. Bear in mind, you can get a perfectly acceptable bottle in the supermarket for 12 pesos and a really good one for 30 pesos.
Oh well, you can't win them all. But I'm not giving up just yet. I spied another pinot noir from Alamos Vineyards in a shop yesterday, I might try it when I'm in Mendoza next week….
4 Comments
I understand… if I saw a Mendoza Pinot Noir I would buy it as well… too bad it wasn't what you hoped for – but hey – in another 10 years when everyone is starting to come around and say "Aren't they doing good things in Mendoza with Pinot now?" you can respond "buddy – I remember when I couldn't cook with Mendoza Pinot"…. LOL!
I tried India Rum for just that same reason, with much the same result .
I hope we won´t have to wait 10 years! Going to Mendoza on Monday and will quiz the winemakers on their pinot. Hopefully, my next post will be on a quality pinot from Mendoza…
India rum? hmmm, you´d think they´d be able to make rum, what with the heat there…esp. someplace like Goa or elsewhere along the coast settled by the Portuguese
I've had 2 or 3 Shiraz from Argentina and they've all been hideous. Can't remember what region they were from, but is Mendoza the place for it?
Just remembered I had an Argentine Pinot Noir in an Argentine steak house once, and it was terrible.
I´ve had a couple of pinots from Patagonia which were good but Mendoza so far has not impressed me with their pinots. I´m going to Mendoza to try their malbecs and hopefully, I´ll get to try some shiraz as well. I´ll let you know how it goes…
- Tweets that mention I really wanted to like this wine…Padrillos, pinot noir from Mendoza « The Winesleuth -- Topsy.com - [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Wine Lover +, Denise Medrano. Denise Medrano said: latest post, a disappointing…


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Judicial Watch Warns 11 States to Clean Voter Registration Lists or Face Federal Lawsuit
Data Show Counties in 11 States Have More Registered Voters than Eligible Adult Citizens
(Washington, DC) — Judicial Watch today announced it has sent notice-of-violation letters threatening to sue 11 states having counties in which the number of registered voters exceeds the number of voting-age citizens, as calculated by the U.S. Census Bureau's 2011-2015 American Community Survey. According to the letters, this is "strong circumstantial evidence that these … counties are not conducting reasonable voter registration record maintenance as mandated under the [National Voter Registration Act] NVRA." Both the NVRA and the federal Help America Vote Act require states to take reasonable steps to maintain accurate voting rolls.
The 11 states are: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Tennessee. The states have 90 days after receiving the letters to address the problem and provide Judicial Watch documentation showing that they have conducted a "statewide effort to conduct a program that reasonably ensures the lists of eligible voters are accurate." Judicial Watch informed the states that should they fail to take action to correct violations of Section 8 of the NVRA, it would file suit.
Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act requires states to make a reasonable effort to remove the names of ineligible voters from official lists due to "the death of the registrant" or "a change in the residence of the registrant," and requires states to ensure noncitizens are not registered to vote.
Based on its review of Election Assistance Commission (EAC) data, and more recent U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey and the states' voter registration records, Judicial Watch found the following counties have more total registered voters than the citizen voting age (18) population:
- Alabama: Choctaw, Conecuh, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Perry, Washington, Wilcox.
- Florida: Clay, Flagler, Okaloosa, Osceola, Santa Rosa, St. Johns.
- Georgia: Bryan, Columbia, DeKalb, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Lee, Marion, McIntosh, Oconee.
- Illinois: Alexander, Bureau, Cass, Clark, Crawford, DuPage, Franklin, Grundy, Hardin, Henderson, Jefferson, Jersey, Massac, McHenry, Mercer, Monroe, Pulaski, Rock Island, Sangamon, Scott, Union, Wabash, Washington, White.
- Iowa: Scott, Johnson.
- Kentucky: Anderson, Bath, Boone, Breathitt, Caldwell, Carlisle, Cumberland, Fulton, Gallatin, Greenup, Hancock, Henry, Jefferson, Jessamine, Kenton, Livingston, Magoffin, McCracken, Menifee, Mercer, Monroe, Oldham, Powell, Russell, Scott, Spencer, Trigg, Trimble, Wolfe, Woodford.
- Maryland: Montgomery.
- New Jersey: Essex, Somerset.
- New York: Nassau.
- North Carolina: Buncombe, Camden, Chatham, Cherokee, Clay, Dare, Durham, Guilford, Madison, Mecklenburg, New Hanover, Orange, Union, Watauga, Yancey.
- Tennessee: Williamson.
In its notice-of-violation letters, Judicial Watch warns that the failure to maintain accurate, up-to-date voter registration lists "required by federal law and by the expectations of [state] citizens" will "undermine public confidence in the electoral process."
Judicial Watch asked the states to "conduct or implement a systematic, uniform, nondiscriminatory program to remove from the list of eligible voters the names of persons who have become ineligible to vote by reason of a change of residence, death or a disqualifying criminal conviction." The states are also asked to remove from voter registration lists "noncitizens who have registered to vote unlawfully."
"Dirty election rolls can mean dirty elections," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "These 11 states face possible Judicial Watch lawsuits unless they follow the law and take reasonable steps to clean up their voting rolls of dead, moved, and non-citizen voters."
As part of its commitment to the enforcement of the NVRA, Judicial Watch struck a legal victory for clean voter rolls in Indiana, forcing the state to clean up its voter registration lists and overhaul its list-maintenance procedures. Judicial Watch also filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of its existing agreement with Ohio to ensure that its voter rolls are up to date. This case is still under way.
Robert Popper is director of Judicial Watch's Election Integrity Project. Popper was formerly Deputy Chief of the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department.


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Family Trees
My grandfather, a young boy in a red coat wandering the deep and snowy Lithuanian woods, found a litter of wolf cubs in a hollowed oak that had been rent by lightning. He placed the abandoned pups in the hood of his coat and carried them home, where he raised them, or he let them go, or he began a new narrative of our family inextricably linked ever after with white and quiet woods, with dogs, with hollowness sometimes filled by something unexpected. Soon after, he moved to Warsaw, where he stayed and where I, eventually, came from.
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EPFL is one of the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology. With the status of a national school since 1969, the young engineering school has grown in many dimensions, to the extent of becoming one of the most famous European institutions of science and technology. Like its sister institution in Zurich, ETHZ, it has three core missions: training, research and technology transfer. Associated with several specialised research institutes, the two Ecoles Polytechniques (Institutes of Technology) form the EPF domain , which is directly dependent on the Federal Department of Home Affairs. EPFL is located in Lausanne in Switzerland, on the shores of the largest lake in Europe, Lake Geneva and at the foot of the Alps and Mont-Blanc. Its main campus brings together over 11,000 persons, students, researchers and staff in the same magical place. Because of its dynamism and rich student community, EPFL has been able to create a special spirit imbued with curiosity and simplicity. Daily interactions amongst students, researchers and entrepreneurs on campus give rise to new scientific, technological and architectural projects.
13 complete study programmes, from Bachelors to Masters, are offered in Engineering, Basic Sciences, Information Technology and Communication, Life Sciences, as well as in the field of Construction, Architecture and the Environment. They are accompanied by exchange programmes in the world's best institutions and industrial internships to better understand the realities of the corporate world. The Doctoral School allows PHD students of the same discipline to work within a community that goes beyond their laboratory. PHD students at EPFL benefit from unique skills and excellent infrastructure to conduct their research. Further training allows students to strengthen and update their skills and knowledge in a rapidly evolving business environment.
With over 350 laboratories and research groups on campus, EPFL is one of Europe's most innovative and productive scientific institutions. Ranked top 3 in Europe and top 20 worldwide in many scientific rankings, EPFL has attracted the best researchers in their fields. The School's unique structure fosters trans-disciplinary research and promotes partnerships with other institutions. It continuously combines fundamental research and engineering.
The campus offers services and facilities to transform scientific excellence into economic competitiveness, jobs and quality of life. A breeding ground for new companies, coaching services, study programmes in entrepreneurship and innovation programmes foster relations between the laboratories and the companie. The Innovation Square and the Science Park welcomes on the EPFL site, over 120 start-up and leading research centres of prestigious companies such as Debiopharm, Nestle, Logitech, Credit Suisse, Constellium and Cisco just to mention a few. The infrastructure and high tech technological platforms (clean rooms, high performance computing centres, biomedical imaging centres etc.) within a campus with over 4000 researchers worldwide offers ideal conditions to generate new ideas and new partnerships. The Innovation Square should create and receive over 2'000 jobs.
EPFL is a place for exchanges and meetings. With 125 nationalities on campus and over 50% of professors from abroad, the School is one of the world's most cosmopolitan university campuses. Women benefit from a policy of support and promotion at all levels. The proportion of female students has thus increased by 25% over the past five years. The Rolex Learning Center inaugurated in 2010 is the flagship building of the school. Recognised as a world architectural jewel, the building reveals its curves and technical prowess as a symbol of excellence and scientific creativity of the campus. More than a unique science library in Europe, the Rolex Learning Centre is a centre for knowledge and learning technologies. The designers of the building, Japanese architects Sejima & Nishizawa (Sanaa) were awarded the Nobel price for architects, the Pritzker, in 2010. The EPFL campus is adjacent to the University of Lausanne (UNIL), which excels notably in Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences, Environmental Sciences, as well as in Biology and Medicine. In all, the two campuses count approximately 20,000 students, representing over 10% of the population of the Lausanne metropolitan area, enough to give the city a particular dynamics. Lausanne offers a range of cultural and sporting activities unusual for a city of its size. It hosts notably the seat of the International Olympic Committee. EPFL is Europe's most cosmopolitan technical university. It receives students, professors and staff from over 120 nationalities. With both a Swiss and international calling, it is therefore guided by a constant wish to open up; its missions of teaching, research and partnership impact various circles: universities and engineering schools, developing and emerging countries, secondary schools and gymnasiums, industry and economy, political circles and the general public.