text:
Services on Demand
Related links
- Cited by Google
- Similars in Google
South African Journal of Science
On-line version ISSN 1996-7489
Print version ISSN 0038-2353
S. Afr. j. sci. vol.104 n.9-10 Pretoria Sep./Oct. 2008
South African research in the context of Africa and globally
Mohammed JeenahI, *; Anastassios PourisII
INelson Mandela Metropolitan University, P.O. Box 77000, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa
IIInstitute for Technological Innovation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
The quality and quantity of research publications are used as benchmarks to monitor the performance of South Africa's national system of innovation. The indicators are pertinent to the policies of the Department of Education, which distributes funds for research at institutions of higher education by measuring the volume of research outputs. In this article, we present a scientometric assessment of research in South Africa in the context of the rest of Africa and in comparison with Brazil and Indiatwo countries with which South Africa aims to develop strong scientific ties. We find that South Africa has published a significant number of papers in all 22 disciplines represented in the ISI's Essential Science Indicators. The largest numbers of journal articles in a 10-year period (19962005) were published in the categories Clinical Medicine, and in Plant and Animal Sciences, with over 7000 papers each. Three groupings, namely, Chemistry, Geosciences, and Environmental/Ecology, form the second cluster of disciplines in terms of the highest number of publications (2966, 2488 and 2386, respectively). In all 22 subject categories, India and Brazil are rated higher than South Africa in terms of number of publications, but South Africa is ranked above these countries in relation to citations per paper in all disciplines. Egypt outranked South Africa in three disciplines in the period 19952004, namely, Chemistry, Engineering, and Materials Science, as did Nigeria in Agriculture in 19962005. In addition to the three disciplines in the earlier period, Egypt outranked South Africa in 19962005 in Physics, Agricultural Sciences, and Pharmacology/ Toxicology. However, South Africa scored higher than both African countries in all disciplines in terms of citations per paper.
The South African government recognizes the value of the contribution of science and research to the improvement of the quality of life of its people and wealth creation.1 Since 2002, the government's focus shifted from organizing the system that underpins science and technology to substantially increasing the expenditure on research and development as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), from 0.6% to 1% by 2010. In line with this commitment, the government has, amongst other measures, introduced the National Research and Development (R&D) Strategy2 in 2002, the National Biotechnology Strategy3 in 2003, and the South African Research Chairs initiative in 2005. These policies all aim to increase the level of scientific and innovation activity.
In addition to the efforts of the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Education has modified the way it funds higher education institutions in South Africa. While not completely ignoring input measures, outputs are factored into the funding formula in the case of research activity at all 23 higher education institutions.4
The number of publications emanating from a country and their impact through citations are familiar indicators to assess research output and quality for the purposes of country assessments57 and discipline evaluations.8,9 A publication is attributed to a particular country if at least one author includes it in his or her address. Moreover, the number of publications is a proxy for the level of scientific activity. Citation counts indicate the number of times a paper is referenced by other scholars in their publications, and are therefore a measure of the impact a particular study has had in its field and possibly of its quality. The evaluation of South African research capacity, both in absolute terms and in relation to other countries, is a benchmark through which the effect of changes within the national science and technology system can be measured. Governments regularly monitor their expenditure on R&D and volume of publications to assess their performance and issue monitoring documents.10,11
In this article, we present a scientometric assessment of research in South Africa in the context of Africa and in comparison with Brazil and India, two countries with which South Africa aims to develop scientific ties. It is therefore desirable to recognize the strengths of these countries to take advantage of their potential in developing joint R&D programmes.
We used the Thomson ISI databases for the purposes of country assessments and discipline evaluations. These sources provide statistics on publications in journals that they index. A journal has to meet a minimum set of criteria that reflect the quality of the periodical and its penetration within the scientific community.
A product offered by Thomson ISI and used for this analysis is the Essential Science Indicators (ESI),12 which provides rankings in terms of volume of publications and number of citations per article to rank institutions, countries and journals over 10-year periods. To compensate for varying publication and citation rates across scientific fields, different thresholds are applied to each discipline. The thresholds are set to reflect the same proportion of entities from each field. These percentages translate into a specific frequency cut-off for each field. For countries and journals, this percentage is 50%, whereas for institutions and authors it is 1%. The number of citations required for a country to be included in the database varies from as few as 22 in Multidisciplinary Sciences to as many as 1644 citations in Clinical Medicine (for the period ending 1 May 2005).
Information was obtained from the ISI databases on the number of papers, total citations and citations per paper in respect of different countries, as well as average citations per article for the different disciplines. The information so gathered for this study represents publications that appeared between November 1995 and November 2004, and from November 1996 to November 2005. These periods were selected to provide a baseline to track the impact of changes introduced by the South African government through the departments of Education and of Science and Technology in the first half of the present decade. Two periods were chosen to establish the baselines because both the numbers of publications and citations can fluctuate from year to year.
South Africa's research performance
Table 1 shows the number of publications produced by South African researchers during the two 10-year periods ending November 2004 and November 2005. The country has a presence in all 22 disciplines in the ESI database, indicating that it reaches the minimum thresholds in all disciplines. In the 19962005 period, the disciplines with the largest number of papers, as defined by ESI, were Plant and Animal Sciences, and Clinical Medicine, with 7462 and 7342 publications, respectively.
The difference in numbers between the two top disciplines in Table 1 and the next cluster of subjects is striking. There are seven fields that can be grouped together, with publication numbers ranging from 3000 in Chemistry to 1700 in Biology and Biochemistry. A third group of disciplines can be grouped together with fewer than 1000 papers. The numbers of entries in the last group of six disciplines range from 377 to 593.
Even though research productivity is field specific, it is important to monitor the number of publications and activity within a field to assess the trends over time. In comparing the data over the two adjacent periods, the number of publications in Plant and Animal Sciences increased from 7128 (19952004) to 7462 (19962005), while those in Clinical Medicine decreased from 7440 (1995 2004) to 7342 (19962005). It is the first time that more South African papers were published in Plant and Animal Sciences than in Clinical Medicine. The decline in the number of publications in the latter category is possibly related to the increase in clinical workload. Since 1994, the health system has been expanded and the number of patients visiting public tertiary teaching hospitals has increased greatly.13
The fall in publication numbers could also be related to changes in the provision of laboratory services in South Africa. The establishment of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) has resulted in a greater emphasis on laboratory services than on academic research.
As in the case of Animal and Plant Sciences, the number of publications in the two survey periods has grown in 17 of the 22 disciplines. One of the areas with the highest increase was Social Sciences, by more than 10%, whereas publication numbers decreased in five disciplines Clinical Medicine, Psychiatry/Psychology, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Physics, and Multidisciplinary. It is noteworthy that Molecular Biology and Genetics have contracted at a time when biotechnology has been declared a national priority, especially with the launch of the National Biotechnology Strategy in 2001. It is possible that the emphasis on the commercialization of research resulted in a decline in new knowledge production, as reflected in research papers in the public record. However, the increases in the other 17 disciplines should to be viewed against the background of a global expansion in publications in all fields. In the last two decades, South African research papers increased by 2.4% whereas international science, as reflected by the volume of publications in the ISI database, increased by 3.5%.6
The fall in the level of activity in three of the five disciplines was also noted by Molatudi and Pouris,14 who reported a 22% decrease in Clinical Medicine, a 6.8% drop in Molecular Biology and Genetics, and a 7.2% decline in Multidisciplinary between the periods 19901994 and 19962000.
Table 2 shows the citations received by South African publications during the two periods under review. Citations are a measure of the usefulness of publications in the generation of new knowledge. There has been an improvement in the citation record in the two survey periods in 21 of the 22 disciplines. The increases range from a marginal improvement of 1.1% in Physics to a healthy 26% in Social Sciences. In 12 of the disciplines, the increase was equal to or less than 12%. In Multidisciplinary, however, citations declined by over 45%, reflecting also a decrease of 30% in the corresponding number of publications.
The general increase in citations can partly be attributed to South Africa's changed political status. Prior to 1994, an international academic boycott was in place to protest against the policies of the apartheid government so that collaboration between South African scientists and academics abroad was limited. The establishment of a democracy has resulted in closer links between South African researchers and their international counterparts.
Table 3 shows the citations per article for the different scientific disciplines for the two 10-year periods.
For all but three disciplines (Multidisciplinary, Agricultural Sciences, and Space Science) citations improved. This trend was noted also by Molatudi and Pouris.14 In the periods 199094 and 19962000, citations in 12 of the disciplines increased, perhaps reflecting an improvement in the quality of research since 1994 or else the rise in the volume of publications and therefore more citations. Despite this improvement, however, South Africa performed unfavourably compared with global trends. The percentage of citations received by South African articles relative to the world average varied from 87% for Agricultural Sciences to 33% for Economics and Business. Even in fields in which the country has published extensively, citations per paper fall short of the corresponding average by more than 25%for example, in Animal and Plant Sciences (by 33%), Clinical Medicine (27%), and Chemistry (34%). In Psychiatry/Psychology, and Economics and Business, the level is more than 50% below the discipline average. Space Science and Agricultural Sciences are the two fields where South African publications come closest to the global average. In both these cases, however, the citations per publication were 12% and 13%, respectively, below the global average for the discipline. We have argued earlier that the increase in citations could possibly be due to the 'freedom dividend' of 1994 and that in terms of global averages this dividend might not have been fully realized. The fewer citations may also be attributed to publications by South Africans concentrating on issues specific to this country, which might not be relevant to academics in other countries.
International comparisons
Table 1 provides absolute values of publication numbers and provides a measure of research activity. However, these numbers have to be interrogated against international trends as well as taking account of the discrepant volumes of publications across different disciplines. Researchers' productivity varies according to scientific field. Moreover, publication practices differ widely across disciplines in terms of co-authorship practices, the typical number of publications per year, and even the definition of what counts as a scientific article. In some disciplines, researchers are not expected to produce more than one article per year, while in others the typical annual output is in the range of 10 to 20 articles.
South Africa produces almost three times more papers in Clinical Medicine than in Geosciences yet is ranked 30th in the former and 20th in the latter category. Thus, although South African scientists produce more than 7000 publications annually, as a percentage of the global output this total is relatively less impressive than the 2594 publications in Geosciences in a decade. Furthermore, although the country produced about six times more papers in Chemistry than in Immunology, the two disciplines are ranked almost equally in global terms (31st for Chemistry and 29th for Immunology).
In terms of the number of publications, South Africa is rated in the top 20 countries in two disciplines, Plant and Animal Sciences at position 18 and Geosciences at number 20. In national terms, the two disciplines are ranked first and fourth, respectively. Plant and Animal Sciences therefore represents an area of excellence in South Africa. Not only do researchers in the field produce most of the national publications by category, the discipline is also highly ranked.
In seven other disciplines, South Africa is rated in the global top 30. However, in four of these, the rankings range from 28th to 30th, the ranking of the 13 other disciplines range from 31st for Chemistry to 46th for Materials Science. It should be a concern that Clinical Medicine and Chemistry, which are placed second and third in South Africa in terms of the number of publications, are ranked so low internationally.
These listings allow comparisons to be made with developments globally and within Africa.
South Africa compares unfavourably with two other countries from the group of developing nations that are considered innovative, India and Brazil. Brazil is ranked in the top 20 countries in 12 disciplines, with a high of 11th position in Agricultural Sciences. India is among the top 20 countries in 13 disciplines, with five of the disciplines in the top ten in the world.
The higher volume of publications generated by India and Brazil can be partially attributed to these countries having more researchers as well as spending more money on R&D than South Africa. However, the appropriate parameter to measure the value for money is complicated. To normalize the data it is necessary to use purchasing price parity (PPP), which allows aggregates of national accounts to be compared in terms of the purchasing powers of the currencies in their respective domestic markets free from differences in price levels among countries. Table 4 in supplementary material online reveals that in the three cases of publications per GDP,15 publications per PPP, and publication per spending on R&D, the South African performance is much more favourably reflected than absolute publication numbers. Although South Africa produces 21% of India's papers, and less than 36% of Brazil's, it generates more articles per dollar when comparing GDP in terms of purchasing price parity.
Although Brazil and India produce more papers than South Africa in all 22 ISI disciplines, their quality is not necessarily better. South Africa is ranked higher than both countries in terms of citations per paper across all 22 disciplines (Table 5 in supplementary material online).
Among African nations, Egypt outranks South Africa in six disciplines: Chemistry (29 vs 31), Engineering (29 vs 42), Materials Science (29 vs 46), Physics (40 vs 43), Agricultural Sciences (37 vs 38) and Pharmacology and Toxicology (26 vs 35). On the other hand, Nigeria outranks South Africa only in Agricultural Sciences (27 vs 38) (see Table 6 online).
South Africa is falling behind some African countries. In the period 19952004, Egypt outranked South Africa in only three areas: Chemistry, Engineering, and Materials Science. South Africa continues to outrank both Egypt and Nigeria in all disciplines in terms of citations per paper. However, compared with Kenya, a much smaller country with fewer resources, South Africa is outranked in 14 disciplines in terms of discipline-specific citations. Kenya's higher rankings can be partly attributed to the smaller number of papers and greater collaboration with industrialized countries. In all but one field South Africa produces substantially more publications than the east African country (at least three times more) and this higher value distorts the comparisons of citations per paper. The Kenyan articles that are highly cited are limited, and the senior authors are collaborators from Europe and America. The country is primarily a field site with only limited capacity being developed within its borders. It is in only one field (Pharmacology/Toxicology) that the number of publications is similar: 412 (Kenya) and 514 (South Africa) (Table 6).
This article presents the results of an effort to establish a baseline with which one can compare the impact of the changes that are arising within the South African research and development landscape. The study shows that the volume of research publications in most disciplines is increasing, with a few exceptions. This expansion, however, takes place against the backdrop of a general increase in global output.
It appears that South Africa's growing research productivity does not reflect global trends. As we have argued in the discussion, what is of importance in assessing a country's research performance is its position in relation to its competitors. A nation may raise its publication output and its world share, yet still lose ground in its scientific standing. Scientific competition is like running a marathon race. As long as the participant keeps running as fast as or faster than the other runners, he or she may stay in the leading group and competitors will have to keep trying to catch up. If, however, the researcher (or discipline) slackens off, the rest of the field will pass and he or she will join the stragglers.
South Africa is the dominant producer of research publications on the African continent, yet we have shown that the country is being outranked by Egypt and Nigeria in some disciplines. It is also clear that the South African research community has increased its international exposure and its work is more highly cited than elsewhere in Africa. The citations per publication have been steadily increasing in most disciplines, although the country's average for all disciplines is below the global average. In establishing the benchmarks and examining the impact of policy changes, it is important to consider both the absolute numbers of publications and citations and international comparisons.
1. Department of Science and Technology (1996). White paper on South African Science and Technology. Pretoria. [ Links ]
2. Department of Science and Technology (2002). National Research and Developmental Strategy. Pretoria. [ Links ]
3. Department of Science and Technology (2003). National Biotechnology Strategy. Pretoria. [ Links ]
4. Minister of Education (2004). Statement on Higher Education Funding: 2004/05 to 2006/7. Government Printer, Pretoria. [ Links ]
5. King D.A. (2004). The scientific impact of nations. Nature 430, 311316. [ Links ]
6. Pouris A. (2003). South Africa's research publication record: the last ten years. S. Afr. J. Sci. 99, 425428. [ Links ]
7. Rojo R. and Gomez I. (2005). Analysis of the Spanish scientific and technological output in the ICT sector. Scientometrics 66(1), 101121. [ Links ]
8. Braun T., Schubert S. and Zsindely S. (1997). Nanoscience and nanotechnology in the balance, Scientometrics 38(2), 321-325. [ Links ]
9. Dastidar P.G. and Ramachandran S. (2005). Engineering research in ocean sector: an international profile. Scientometrics 65(2), 199213. [ Links ]
10. National Science Board (2002). Science and Engineering Indicators. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. [ Links ]
11. European Commission (1997). Second European Report on S&T Indicators. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. [ Links ]
12. www.scientificthomson/products/esi [ Links ]
13. Department of Health (2003). Annual report. Government Printer, Pretoria. [ Links ]
14. Molatudi M. and Pouris A. (2006). Assessing the knowledge base for biotechnology in South Africa: A bibliometric analysis of South African microbiology and molecular biology and genetics research. Scientometrics 68(1), 97108. [ Links ]
15. www.worldbank.org/data/ICP [ Links ]
Received 6 May. Accepted 12 September 2008.
This article is accompanied by supplementary material online at www.sajs.co.za
* Author for correspondence. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Supplementary material to:
Jeenah M. and Pouris A. (2008). South African research in the context of Africa and globally. S. Afr. J. Sci. 104, 351354.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Human-Equine Alliances for Learning (HEAL) supports and studies Equine-Facilitated Psychotherapy (EFP). EFP is an experiential therapy in which horses are employed to facilitate emotional growth and learning for humans. HEAL promotes through public education, supports with scholarship and program subsidies and studies EFP efficacy and supporting science.
The HEAL Model™ of EFP & Equine Therapy
HEAL founder and lead therapist Leigh Shambo, MSW, LPCC has developed the HEAL Model™ of EFP, based on scientifically validated principles from the fields of neuroscience and psychology (human and animal). The HEAL Model™ teaches core skills for navigating and enhancing relationships, while strengthening autonomy and awareness of self. The horses are respected as sensitive and intelligent communicators who may guide the process in unique ways!


text:
Here is yet another awesome build for people that wants to have something new and different while everything works.
This build will work on Fork Kodi –
To Download MMC 17.1 AKA MyGica Media Center 17.1
Kodi 17.6 / 17.5.1 / 17.5 / 17.4 / 17.3 / 17.2 / 17.1 Krypton is a new version. It has almost every movie and TV show ever made available. No need for downloading and/or watching ads – everything is streamed and ad-free.
Not compatible with Kodi 18.0 Leia ( beta )
Best kodi build 2018, best kodi build Jan 2018, kodi best builds 2018, kodi best builds, kodi addons 2018, kodi movies addons, best kodi build ever, best kodi build of all time, top kodi addon 2018, live tv kodi, best kodi live tv addons, best build 4 fire stick 2018, january 2018, kodi live iptv addons 2018 computer hardware & software, best fire stick build 2018, best iptv 2018, sports on kodi, fire stick & sports, kodi on firestick, fire stick kodi, live tv on kodi, kodi movies addons,
You want to buy other products Use this link:
Gearbest: http://xctechs.ca/gearbest
Banggood: http://xctechs.ca/banggood
Amazon CAN: http://amzn.to/2CpVeI6
Amazon USA: http://amzn.to/2EDnIvs
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2lHsqzR


text:
Matt Carr / Getty Images file
Actor Johnny Lewis, 28, who starred in the series "Sons of Anarchy."
Johnny Lewis, an actor in the popular "Sons of Anarchy" motorcycle-gang cable drama, died early Wednesday in Los Angeles, suspected of killing his 81-year-old former landlord, Catherine Davis, and possibly himself.
Police think the 28-year-old rising star, who played Kip 'Half-sack' Epps on the FX show, may have been under the influence of a drug few have heard of, a substance known informally as "Smiles."
It's part of a new wave of synthetic drugs finding their way onto America's streets and into its clubs. With the chemical name 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine, it is known by drug agents and chemists as 2C-I, part of a closely-related family of "2C" drugs.
While Smiles may seem obscure, it's already done damage, and not just in drug-hip Hollywood.
When 18-year-old Adam Budge of East Grand Forks, Minn., gave a derivative of the Smiles drug to his buddy, 17-year-old Elijah Stai, of nearby Park Rapids this year, Stai wound up dead. The drug was supposed to be a cheap, harmless high. But within an hour of mixing the powder into some chocolate and eating it, Stai was convulsing, hallucinating, and eventually stopped breathing. Now Budge faces charges that could put him in prison for many years.
But what is Smiles?
Like all the 2C drugs, it's a psychoactive, hallucinogenic chemical that alter the brain's balance of dopamine and serotonin. Smiles is particularly powerful, binding to serotonin receptors in the brain at 20 times the rate of another drug used in schizophrenia research, according to an experiment performed by Purdue University chemists.
The effects of 2C-I, like those of LSD, can last up to eight hours. But because the effects can take time to appear, users may think they haven't taken enough to get the desired high, and so take more, risking overdose.
The drug can be taken as small tablets, on pieces of blotter paper like LSD, or in powder form, often mixed with something else, like chocolate.
In June, as part of a Substances Control Act overhaul, Congress made 2C-I a schedule I drug -- highly restricted, like methamphetamine. But, explained Drug Enforcement Administration spokesperson Rusty Payne, trying to get government arms around these new drugs is "like playing whack-a-mole. There are just so many emerging chemicals."
Labs, often located in Europe or Asia, can use legal, common chemicals to produce huge batches of the drugs. Once one formulation is discovered, and banned, all the chemists have to do is slightly alter the structure of the molecules to create another, potentially legal, substitute until that one is banned.
There is no known geographic hot spot for the 2C drugs, unlike, say, methamphetamine, which became known as a rural, small-town problem. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration believes that most, if not all, the 2C drugs are being imported to the country, not made domestically.
Often, Payne said, teens rationalize the use of the drugs because they think, or are told, that it's legal and if it's legal, it's safe. Another problem is that users often think they're taking something else.
"We are getting so many calls because people are dying abusing chemicals that nobody ever heard of," Payne said. "They're told it's harmless. If you can just go buy it somewhere, or on the internet, then it must be safe, but nothing could be further from the truth."
Users aren't the only ones who are often in the dark. According to Payne, even the DEA's own agents are behind the curve when it comes to designer synthetics.
"It's tough for our agents to stay up to date," he explained. "Chemicals that used to take years to synthesize now take months. And many chemicals are diverted" from legal uses to illicit ones.
Chemical and pharmacologic research appears in journals, is posted online, and becomes easily available to all. That is often a good thing, but it also allows rogue chemists to use the science to create new analogs of drugs like 2C-I.
The drug "Spice," for example, which made headlines over the past two years as a marijuana substitute, began as a research project by a Clemson chemist named John W. Huffman. He was doing the research under the auspices of the National Institute for Drug Abuse.
"This synthetic stuff is the new frontier of drugs," Payne said.
Brian Alexander (www.BrianRAlexander.com) is co-author, with Larry Young Ph.D., of "The Chemistry Between Us: Love, Sex and the Science of Attraction," (www.TheChemistryBetweenUs.com), now on sale.
Related stories:


text:
Jochen Krause
Jochen Krause is the project lead for the Eclipse Rich Ajax Platform (RAP) project, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Eclipse Foundation. He is CEO of Innoopract, a recognized leader in Eclipse distribution and web application development. Jochen has had a leadership role in the Eclipse community since its inception in 2002, and in addition to RAP development, co-leads the Eclipse Runtime PMC and participates in the development of the next generation Eclipse Platform (e4).
Jochen has focused Innoopract's product development on bringing Eclipse technology to enterprise customers, and at the same time has guided the company in making strategic technical contributions to Eclipse. In addition to Jochen's activities, Innoopract staff are involved in many Eclipse projects such as Riena, Eclipse Packaging and G-Eclipse.


text:
NVIDIA's GeForce 9600 GT looked like a winner at launch back in February.
Then AMD waltzed up and slapped NVIDIA around with the Radeon HD 4800. Its effect was to push some very powerful 3D hardware below the £100 barrier. That's made life a lot harder for the plucky little 'GT.
To counter this, Gigabyte has wheeled out this impressive factory overclocked revision. For starters, the core and shader clocks have been bumped from 650MHz and 1,650MHz respectively to 720MHz and 1,800MHz. Memory speeds are also up from 1.8GHz to 2GHz.
All of which makes this probably the quickest 9600 GT we've seen and comfortably faster than Sapphire's Radeon HD 4670. Factor in the well-engineered passive cooling and it's just about worth the extra 25 smackers.


text:
carry water for (someone)
carry water for (someone)
1. To serve, assist, or perform menial or difficult tasks for some person, group, or organization. Internships are a great way to gain practical work experience, but you'll be the one carrying water for the company while you're there. Immigrant workers are most often the ones who carry water for farm owners and construction firms.
2. To support a person, organization, or cause that one would not in reality endorse, as due to pressure, force, or pragmatic reasons. Once elected to congress, I soon realized that you must carry water for many groups that run contrary to your own personal politics. Though I personally found him repugnant, I carried water for him for two years because I thought it would open up many career opportunities.
carry (someone's) water
To support someone, especially in an submissive or uncritical manner.


text:
Missed chances loom large for Marlins in Atlanta
Fish get to Kimbrel in ninth but lose to Braves in 10 innings
ATLANTA -- On a night of missed opportunities for the Marlins, none was more glaring than Reed Johnson's baserunning blunder in the top of the ninth.
Johnson mistook Derek Dietrich's ninth-inning double as a potential flyout and retreated to second base to tag up, holding up Adeiny Hechavarria at first. The ball sailed over Justin Upton's head in left-center field, deep enough to score both runners.
"I feel terrible," Johnson said. "I mean, that's the game right there."
Not scoring that extra run in the ninth proved costly when Arquimedes Caminero surrendered a walk-off, two-run homer to Evan Gattis in the bottom of the 10th as the Braves defeated the Marlins, 4-2, in front of 16,055 fans at Turner Field.
Miami finished 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position and wasted a fourth straight quality start by Tom Koehler in the loss, which is the club's seventh straight defeat on the road to begin this season, building on a franchise record.
"If we're going to win games on the road, we've got to take advantage of opportunities," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "We weren't able to do that today and that's too bad because we really should've won that game."
Koehler added: "Every loss is a tough loss. That's a game we definitely would've liked to have, especially against a division rival."
With Hechavarria on first, Johnson on second and Miami trailing, 2-1, Dietrich hit a 3-2 fastball from Craig Kimbrel off the base of the wall in left-center field. Redmond believes that if Johnson had got a good jump, both runners would have scored.
"I don't know, I couldn't tell, and I don't know what he saw," Redmond said. "Sometimes, it's one thing for me. I'm in the dugout, but I don't know what he saw out there."
Johnson knew the outfield was playing deep. He misread the ball, which was hit directly over his head, and he was concerned with tagging up and advancing.
"If I had to do it over again, obviously I'd just take off in that situation," Johnson said. "And Hech probably maybe gets sent right there. Maybe he doesn't. I don't know. I didn't see him. I didn't even know where he was."
Still, the Marlins had runners on second and third with nobody out. Kimbrel, however, prevented further damage by striking out the side to end the threat.
"I was glad I was able to work out of it," Kimbrel said.
Miami entered Monday in the top five in the Majors in batting average with runners in scoring position. In addition to recording just one hit in 14 tries in those situations, the Marlins stranded 26 runners in all.
The Fish put men on base in every inning except the fourth, sixth and seventh. Two of those hits came from Christian Yelich, who extended his hitting streak to a career-best 15 games.
"We had bases loaded with one out, we had second and third with nobody out and the infield in," Redmond said. "Couldn't get a run across."
Miami's inability to score nearly saddled Koehler with a hard-luck loss. Facing Braves ace Julio Teheran, Koehler certainly played the part of ace himself. He gave up two runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings against a red-hot Atlanta lineup.
"He gave us exactly what we needed," Redmond said. "We needed a good start, and he gave it to us. … It was a great effort for him, and we weren't able to get him the win. He deserved it."
Koehler navigated the first six innings with little trouble, and his 2.13 ERA ranks as the best among Marlins starters. After receiving an average of five runs of support in his first three starts, Miami plated just one run in support of Koehler on Monday.
Garrett Jones supplied the lone run to back Koehler, launching a solo home run to right field in the top of the second. His third home run of the season made Jones the fourth Marlin to achieve double-digit RBIs this month. Justin Ruggiano was the only Marlin to drive in 10 runs in April of last year.
Jones' homer was enough for Koehler until the bottom of the fifth, when Andrelton Simmons hit a 1-0 curveball into the left-field seats, tying the game, 1-1.
Koehler wanted the execution of the pitch back, rather than the curveball itself.
"I made a mistake on a breaking ball," Koehler said. "He's a good hitter. He did what you're supposed to do on bad pitches."
Prior to the homer, a single by Gattis in the second was the only hit Koehler had surrendered in a 10-inning stretch that began following a single by Anthony Rendon in Koehler's start against the Nationals on April 15 at Marlins Park.
But Teheran matched Koehler pitch for pitch, giving up just one run and striking out eight in seven innings, working out of multiple jams along the way.
"I don't really focus much on what the other guy is doing," Koehler said. "I just wanted to give up less runs than he did, so it was really just one of those situations where you want to keep the team in it for as long as you can."


text:
Peeling back the layers of her grandmother's life, filmmaker Linda Ohama discovers a painful, buried past in this feature-length documentary. Asayo Murakami, 103 years old, recalls life in Japan, her arrival in Canada as a "picture bride," her determination to marry a man of her choice, the bombing of Hiroshima and the forced relocation of her family during WWII. Beautifully rendered dramatic sequences are merged with an exquisite collection of memories, feelings, images and voices. Culminating in an emotional reunion with a long-lost daughter, this film is a personal reflection of Japanese-Canadian history and a testament to one woman's endurance and spirit.
Wonderful historical and dramatic tribute. Thanks for making this film.gdoi, 2 Jan 2017
Thank-You for sharing your wonderful heart felt story and Thank you NFB for the making of this film.grannylin46, 26 Aug 2014
love you great grandma xoxoxoxoxoxoxochiyoko, 27 Jun 2010
wonderful film!reginahartwick, 26 Feb 2010
Beautiful film.cdrozdow, 27 Jan 2010


text:
Senate majority leader Harry Reid on Tuesday unveiled a vastly narrower energy bill, minus controversial climate provisions that would have capped carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. The bill focuses instead on addressing the Gulf oil spill, home efficiency, land and water conservation, and natural gas powered vehicles.
After months of political wrestling, the Nevada Democrat last week closed the door on the "cap-and-trade" proposals, including one offered by Sens. John Kerry (D) of Massachusetts and Joe Lieberman (I) of Connecticut that would have focused emissions caps just on utility smokestacks. That proposal, among others, was far broader in scope.
By contrast, Sen. Reid said Tuesday that he believed he finally had the 60 votes necessary to avoid a Republican filibuster.
"This bill does not address every issue of importance to our nation's energy challenges, and we have to continue to work to find bipartisan agreement on a comprehensive bill to help reduce pollution and deal with the very real threat that global warming poses," Reid said in a statement. "But this is a good bill that deserves bipartisan support, and continues us along the path toward a clean energy future."
The bill includes as its centerpiece "oil spill response" legislation that would: require BP to pay for damage from its spill; require oil companies to invest in new spill cleanup and prevention technologies; improve federal spill response; reform the Minerals Management Service; and update maritime laws.
But other aspects of the bill, according to a draft summary of the legislation, step into other energy arenas by:
- Providing incentives for turning the nation's heavy truck fleet to natural gas and toward electrification of the nation's transportation sector.
- Promoting "clean energy job creation" providing $5 billion of rebates to encourage homeowners to make efficiency upgrades as part of the Home Star program.
- Fully funding a Land and Water Conservation Fund over the next five years to ensure that vital US lands and waters are protected into the future from climate change damage.
- Increasing the $1 billion liability cap of the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to $5 billion and increasing fees to pay for it by requiring that oil companies pay 49 cents per barrel into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.
But that was small solace to crest-fallen environmentalists and renewable energy advocates who were also plainly angered at Republicans' consistent ability to block major energy and climate reform in the Senate.
"At every opportunity, a minority of Senators who are in the pocket of America's largest polluters in the coal and oil industries chose obstruction over working together to solve America's energy and national security challenges," said a statement by a group of 350 organizations including the League of Conservation Voters, the Alliance for Climate Protection and the Union of Concerned Scientists. "As a result of their actions, the big polluters will continue to reap record profits at the expense of Americans."
They weren't the only ones upset. Renewable energy industry trade groups that have been back on their heels during the recession had been lobbying hard for a Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) to be part of the Reid-proposed Senate energy bill.
That would have required utilities in all 50 states to get a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable energy and energy efficiency – a big boost to wind, solar, geothermal, and other non-fossil fuel sources. But they didn't get that either.
"The US wind industry is in distress," said Denise Bode, president of the American Wind Energy Association in a statement after the bill was released. "Wind power installations to date this year have dropped by 57% and 71% from 2008 and 2009 levels.... An RES is a critical component to ensure the US wind industry thrives."
In an attempt to win the 60 votes needed in the Senate to overcome the threat of a Republican filibuster, Democrats this year had followed a Rubik's Cube approach to comprehensive climate-energy legislation, exploring different combinations they felt might draw even a few GOP senators' support.
There was an economy-wide cap-and-trade proposal that would have capped carbon emissions and sold permits to industrial, utility, and other big emitters. But that was soon labeled "cap-and-tax" – political poison in an election year. Another "clean-and-green" energy-only bill was weighed – as was a utility-only cap-and-trade (the Kerry-Lieberman bill). Finally, even a direct carbon tax was considered.
But none of these were filibuster proof. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, was the only Republican to ever publicly considered voting for a climate-energy bill. Taking the slender offerings they received Tuesday, environmentalists though angry are now are lining up to try to help Reid in what is likely to be a struggle to pass even a much-diminished energy-environment bill.
President Obama called Reid's bill "an important step in the right direction." But he added, "I intend to keep pushing for broader reform, including climate legislation, because if we've learned anything from the tragedy in the Gulf, it's that our current energy policy is unsustainable."
Reid's push for a slender energy bill is now competing for precious time in the next two weeks as the Senate also holds pre-August recess votes on a food-safety bill, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, and a jobs bill.


text:
Blake Lively's wavy blonde "Gossip Girl" locks are the new "Rachel" according to a new report.
A decade after women flocked to salons for Jennifer Aniston's "Friend's" 'do, a new crop of women are being spotted in shops asking for a Serena, the NY Times reported.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Blake Lively: From Hollywood To The Upper East Side!
"It's aspirational hair," John Barrett, who has a salon above Berdorf Goodman in Manhattan, told the paper.
"[They] don't just want the hair, they want he life," he added.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: XOXO! Hot Shots From 'Gossip Girl'
Nuri Yurt, of Madison Avenue's Toka Salon, told the paper that nearly almost all of his clients with long hair are requesting a Serena-esque look.
"Her hair right now is a big trend," Yurt said.
As for Blake herself, she had no idea her 'do was so on the pulse.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Life After 'Friends'
"I didn't really realize the extent of it," she told the paper.
"That's always kind of odd, but unbelievably flattering," she added.
As for how to go about getting Blake's Serena 'do, Jennifer Johnson, who crafts Blake's Serena look on The CW teen drama, lets the curls form by wrapping the actress' locks in a bun.
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
PLAY IT NOW: DKNY Party: Blake Lively Talks 'Gossip Girl' (March 2009)
PLAY IT NOW: 'Gossip Girls' On The Town!
MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Blake Lively - Gossip Girl - Jennifer Aniston - Style - TV


text:
Friday 25 January
|Lampsilis (1)
The wavyrayed lampmussel (Lampsilis fasciola)is a medium sized freshwater mussel around of 75-100 millimetres in length (2) (3) (4) (5). The rounded shell is circular among males and oval-shaped and inflated in appearance among females (2) (3). The outside of the shell is shiny and yellow to yellow-green in colour, with many thin, green, wavy rays that vary in width (2) (4) (6) (7). The inside of the shell is white, sometimes with a blue tint, and can be iridescent towards the posterior end of the shell (2) (5) (6). There are two triangular-shaped teeth in each half of the shell, found at the front edge of the hinge (4) (6).
The wavyrayed lampmussel is a long-term brooder (2) (3). Spawning takes places in the autumn when the male mussels release sperm into the water column from where females siphon it to fertilise eggs (2) (5) (6). Mature glochidia (larval stage of the mussel) are then released by the females the following summer (2) (3) (5) (6). These glochidia are parasitic, and must attach to the gills or fins of an appropriate host fish in order to gain the appropriate nutrients to complete their development (2) (3) (6) (8).The parasitic glochidia cause no damage to the two known host fish species, the smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieuI) and the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) (6). In order to maximise the chances of the glochidia attaching to a host fish successfully, the female wavyrayed lampmussel lures fish close to her using a mantle flap that mimics small fish such as minnows before releasing them (2) (3) (5) (6) (8).
Once the glochidia have developed into juvenile mussels on the host fish, they drop off the host into a suitable sandy or gravel substrate (2) (5). They are typically sessile throughout their adult life, usually partially buried into the substrate (2). The wavyrayed lampmussel is a filter feeder (2), feeding on suspended organic particles in the water (5). Water is brought into its shell and over its gills, where food particles are extracted (2). In this way, an adult wavyrayed lampmussel can filter up to 40 litres of water a day (6).
Individuals are known to live for more than 10 years, but are not thought to live more than 20 years (3) (6) (8).
Populations of the wavyrayed lampmussel are declining, but it has historically been found in the Great Lakes region (2) (6) (8). Its range has been known to extend from Ontario south to Alabama, and from New York west to Illinois where it can still be found in disjunct populations (5).
The wavyrayed lampmussel is usually found in small or medium sized streams in shallow areas with a good, steady current. It prefers clean gravel or sand substrate (3) (5) (6) (7).
The wavy-rayed lampmussel is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List (1).
The most significant threat facing the remaining populations of the wavyrayed lampmussel is water pollution (2) (3) (6) (7) (8). This species is very sensitive to water quality, and is therefore one of the first organisms to disappear from a polluted aquatic ecosystem (6). They are also significantly threatened by the introduced zebra mussel (2) (6) (7) (8). Zebra mussels attach themselves to local mussel species, such as the wavyrayed lampmussel, and directly inhibit feeding and breeding (6) (7). The introduction of zebra mussels is thought to be the primary cause for the loss and decline of many lake populations of wavyrayed lampmussels (3) (8).
Juvenile wavyrayed lampmussels are eaten by predators such as worms and crustaceans (5). As mature mussels, they are predated upon primarily by muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) (3) (5). Due to their parasitic lifestyle, threats facing the wavyrayed lampmussels host fish must be considered as threats to the mussels as well (7).
Conservation efforts appear to have led to an increase in some populations of the wavyrayed lampmussel (3) (6). In Canada, their status was down-listed from endangered to a species of special concern in 2010, thanks to increasing numbers (6). However, this is not the case everywhere, and numbers appear to be in decline particularly in the northern part of its range (7) (8). It is considered an endangered species in Illinois and a species of special concern in Indiana and Michigan (4).
The wavyrayed lampmussel is protected under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) in Canada, as well as the federal Fisheries Act, which offers shellfish the same protection as fin fish (3).
Find out more about the wavyrayed lampmussel at the Illinois Natural History Survey -
This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact:
Image credit
© Corey Raimond
Corey Raimond
Link to this photo
Embed this Arkive thumbnail link ("portlet") by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed portlet may be used as a link from your website to Arkive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite Arkive images and videos and share them with friends.
Play the Team WILD game:
This species is featured in:
Friday 25 January
Friday 05 October
Monday 24 September


text:
COVID-19 updates
Quality CareFind out why Mayo Clinic is the right place for your health care. Make an appointment.
Meet the StaffFind a directory of doctors and departments at all Mayo Clinic campuses. Visit now.
Research and Clinical TrialsSee how Mayo Clinic research and clinical trials advance the science of medicine and improve patient care. Explore now.
Visit Our SchoolsEducators at Mayo Clinic train tomorrow's leaders to deliver compassionate, high-value, safe patient care. Choose a degree.
Professional ServicesExplore Mayo Clinic's many resources and see jobs available for medical professionals. Get updates.
Philanthropy at Mayo ClinicYour support accelerates powerful innovations in patient care, research and education. Give today.
Mayo Clinic offers appointments in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota and at Mayo Clinic Health System locations.
Subscribe to Housecall
Our general interest e-newsletter keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics.
Migraines cause pain as real as the pain of injuries — with one difference: Healthy habits and simple nonmedical remedies sometimes stop migraines before they start.
Medication is a proven way to treat — and prevent — migraines. But medication is only part of the story. It's also important to take good care of yourself and understand how to cope with migraine pain when it strikes.
The same lifestyle choices that promote good health can also reduce the frequency and severity of your migraines.
In fact, knowing how to manage migraine pain with lifestyle and behavioral measures, as well as medication, can often be the most effective way to handle migraines.
At the first sign of a migraine, retreat from your usual activities if possible.
Drink a caffeinated beverage. In small amounts, caffeine alone can relieve migraine pain in the early stages or enhance the pain-reducing effects of acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) and aspirin.
Be careful, however. Drinking too much caffeine too often can lead to withdrawal headaches later on.
Migraines may keep you from falling asleep or wake you up at night. Likewise, migraines are often triggered by a poor night's sleep.
Here are some tips to encourage sound sleep.
Unwind at the end of the day. Anything that helps you relax can promote better sleep: listen to soothing music, soak in a warm bath or read a favorite book.
But watch what you eat and drink before bedtime. Intense exercise, heavy meals, caffeine, nicotine and alcohol can interfere with sleep.
Your eating habits can influence your migraines. Consider the basics:
During physical activity, your body releases certain chemicals that block pain signals to your brain. These chemicals also help alleviate anxiety and depression, which can make migraines worse.
Obesity also increases the risk of chronic headaches, so maintaining a healthy weight through exercise and diet can provide additional benefits in managing migraines.
If your doctor agrees, choose any exercise you enjoy. Walking, swimming and cycling are often good choices. But it's important to start slowly. Exercising too vigorously can trigger migraines.
Stress and migraines often go hand in hand. You can't avoid daily stress, but you can keep it under control to help manage your migraines:
A diary may help you determine what triggers your migraines. Note when your migraines start, what you were doing at the time, how long they last and what, if anything, provides relief.
Until recently, avoiding migraine triggers was considered the best advice. But new research suggests this may actually increase sensitivity to potential triggers.
A more useful approach may be to learn to cope with these headache triggers by using behavioral management techniques, such as identifying and challenging negative thoughts, relaxation training and stress reduction.
Living with migraines is a daily challenge. But making healthy lifestyle choices can help. Ask your friends and loved ones for support.
If you're feeling anxious or depressed, consider joining a support group or seeking counseling. Believe in your ability to take control of the pain.
Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission.
Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic.
Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below.
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization and proceeds from Web advertising help support our mission. Mayo Clinic does not endorse any of the third party products and services advertised.
A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.org," "Mayo Clinic Healthy Living," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.


text:
|About us
Steering Committee
Fields of Activities
|Calendar of Activities
|Higher Education ForA
|European Higher Education Area
The Bologna Process
Council of Europe Contribution
Bilateral and regional activities
|Recognition of Qualifications
The Council
of Europe/UNESCO Convention
The ENIC/NARIC Network
|Results of prior activities
Public Responsibility
Sites of Citizenship
Legislative Reform Programmes
More topics
|Resources / Documents
|Higher Education Series
What is the Bologna Process?
How is the Process organised?
How did it all begin?
Prague 2001
Berlin 2003
Bergen 2005
London 2007
Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve 2009
Council of Europe
Who participates in the Process?
The Bologna Process is a European reform process aiming at establishing a European Higher Education Area by 2010. It is an unusual process in that it is loosely structured and driven by the 46 countries participating in it in cooperation with a number of international organisations, including the Council of Europe.
This probably did not really answer the question. It comes down to the following:
By 2010 higher education systems in European countries should be organised in such a way that:
This goal is rather ambitious and it is not connected only to the Bologna Process. However, within the Process, the necessary tools for achieving these goals are being developed and implemented.
Before we move further along, two things should be made clear:
The Bologna Process is not based on an intergovernmental treaty.
There are several documents that have been adopted by the ministers responsible for higher education of the countries participating in the Process, but these are not legally binding documents (as international treaties usually are). Therefore, it is the free will of every country and its higher education community to endorse or reject the principles of the Bologna Process, although the effect of "international peer pressure" should not be underestimated.
It is not foreseen that by 2010 all European countries should have the same higher education system.
On the contrary, one of the very valued features of Europe is its balance between diversity and unity. Rather, the Bologna Process tries to establish bridges that make it easier for individuals to move from one education system or country to another. Therefore, even if e.g. degree systems may become more similar, the specific nature of every higher education system should be preserved. If not, what would be the point to go somewhere else to study if what one studies is going to be the same as back home? The developments within the Bologna Process should serve to facilitate "translation" of one system to the other and therefore contribute to the increase of mobility of students and academics and to the increase of employability throughout Europe.
There are several levels of implementation – international, national and institutional.
When it comes to the international level – there are several modes of cooperation and several structures developing the Bologna Process. There is the so-called Bologna follow-up group (BFUG) that consists of all signatory countries and the European Commission as well as the Council of Europe, EUA, ESU (ex-ESIB), EURASHE, UNESCO-CEPES, ENQA, Educational International Pan-European Structure and UNICE as consultative members.
In addition to this, numerous seminars are being organised throughout Europe, which carry the unofficial label of "Bologna seminars". These are discussing various issues of the Bologna Process, obstacles to implementation and possibilities for co-operation. You will find an updated calendar on current events on the web site of the Benelux Bologna Secretariat. The results of previous Bologna seminars and activities are available on the UK Bologna Secretariat, the Bologna-Bergen web site (2003 – 2005) and the Berlin Ministerial Conference web site (2001 – 2003).
Every two years a Ministerial Conference is organised where Ministers responsible for higher education of all participating countries gather to evaluate the progress and to set guidelines and priorities for the upcoming period. The last conference took place in Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve 2009. Previous conferences were held in London in May (2007), Bergen (2005), Berlin (2003), Prague (2001) and Bologna (1999) – see next section for more information.
The national level usually involves the government and ministries responsible for higher education, rectors' conferences or other university associations, student unions but also in some cases quality assurance agencies, employers etc. Many European countries have already changed their legislation in line with the goals of the Bologna Process and others are preparing to do so. Depending on the country and the development of its higher education system so far, some are introducing ECTS, discussing their degree structures and qualifications, financing and management of higher education, mobility programmes etc.
The institutional level involves higher education institutions, their faculties or departments, student and staff representatives and many other actors. The priorities vary from country to country and from institution to institution. However, it is important to stress that without adequate implementation at the institutional level, little can be achieved in reaching the Bologna objectives.
The Process officially started in 1999, with the signing of the Bologna Declaration. Twenty-nine countries have signed the declaration on 19 June 1999 in Bologna (hence the name of the whole Process). The Declaration states the following objectives:
These six objectives are the essence of the Bologna process and have since been developed further, see below.
However, prior to the signing of the Bologna Declaration, another document was adopted by four countries: France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom – the Sorbonne Declaration. This declaration provided the necessary push towards the Bologna Declaration and indicated already in 1998 the main goals of the European Higher Education Area.
After the signing of the Bologna Declaration, a follow-up structure has been organised. The aforementioned Bologna Follow-Up Group was formed. It decided that the Ministerial meetings should take place every two years and the first was held in Prague in 2001. In the meantime, a general rapporteur for the Follow-Up Group was selected. This was Mr. Pedro Lourtie, who later became Deputy Minister of Education in Portugal. His task was to monitor implementation of the objectives of Bologna declaration and report on this to the Ministers of Education in Prague (for the report click here). Furthermore, different countries have organised the so-called "Bologna seminars" which covered various important topics. European University Association (which was formed in March 2001 from two European university networks) developed the so-called Trends II report – report on the implementation of the Bologna declaration at the institutional level and adopted the Message from the Salamanca Convention 2001. ESIB adopted the Student Gőteborg Declaration as a special student message for the Prague Ministerial Summit.
In May 2001, in Prague, new countries joined the Bologna process: Croatia, Cyprus, Liechtenstein and Turkey. The ministers adopted the so-called Prague Communiqué, which sets guidelines for the next two years, until the Ministerial Conference on the Bologna Process in Berlin in 2003.
It is very important to stress that the Prague Summit introduced several new elements in the Process:
In between 2001 and 2003, an even greater number of "Bologna seminars" were organised. Mr. Pavel Zgaga (former Minister of Education of Slovenia, one of those who actually signed the Bologna Declaration) was selected as the General Rapporteur (his report to the Berlin Ministerial Conference can be found here); the EUA developed its Trends III report and also started the Quality Culture Project in higher education institutions and launched a joint masters programme; ESIB completed several student surveys on the implementation of the Bologna Declaration; the European Commission supported several European projects (the Tuning project, the TEEP project) connected to quality assurance etc.
At the Berlin Ministerial Conference in September 2003, 7 new countries were accepted into the process (Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Holy See, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro and "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"). Thus the total number of countries involved increased to 40. It was also decided that all countries party to the European Cultural Convention are eligible to take part in the Bologna Process provided they apply for accession and submit a satisfactory plan for implementation of the Bologna goals in their higher education system. Apart from taking note of the developments from 2001 to 2003 and setting guidelines for further work, the Berlin Communiqué also concluded:
The Bologna Follow-Up Group was asked to look into two issues especially:
At the Bergen Ministerial Conference in May 2005, 5 new countries were welcomed (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) as new participating countries in the Bologna Process bringing the total number of participating countries up to 45. It was also decided to enlarge the circle of consultative members to the Education International (EI) Pan-European Structure, the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), and the Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE). The Bergen meeting confirmed the shift from future plans to practical implementation; in particular it was marked by
The Council of Europe addressed the Ministerial meeting's opening session.
In London in May 2007, Montenegro was welcomed to the Bologna Process following its declaration of independent in 2006, bringing the number of participating countries to 46. In London, Ministers also:
the social dimension of the Bologna Process and on mobility
portability of grants and loans
qualifications frameworks
a European Register of quality assurance agencies
On April 2009 the Ministerial conference was held in Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve. Ministers took stock of developments since the previous conference in London (2007) and above all considered priorities and goals for the European Higher Education Area beyond 2010. In particular, Ministers:
As in London, the Council of Europe addressed the opening session of the Ministerial conference
The Council submitted a report on its activities to further the Bologna Process since the previous ministerial conference.
On 29 April, the first Bologna Policy Forum gathered high ranking representatives of Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Tunisia, USA, along with the International Association of Universities. In the statement adopted by the meeting, participants underlined the importance of developing cooperation on a range of policy issues.
When it comes to the contribution of the Council of Europe to the establishment of the European Higher Education Area by 2010, the focus continues to lie on:
Who participates in the Process?
Following the London Ministerial Conference, there are 46 countries that are participating in the Bologna process. These are:
Apart from the countries (who are all members of the Bologna follow-up group - BFUG), several international organizations are also participating:


text:
What matters more to a sports league, threats to its players, or threats to its brand?
It's getting awfully hard to tell with the NFL these days. On Sunday afternoon, Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco waved a dollar bill in the direction of a referee and said after the game, while smiling and laughing, that he was trying to "bribe" the official into making a call for his team. Then, on Sunday night, Eagles tight end Brent Celek, as part of a ham-handed viral marketing campaign, posed like Captain Morgan following a touchdown. The league reacted by fining Ochocinco $20,000 and making it clear that they'd do the same to anyone else who made like Celek and put their hands on their hips while raising their right leg.
The league's anger with both things is understandable: Ochocinco's on-screen joke lampoons the integrity of the league's officials and Celek's pose represents an attempt to advertise with the NFL without paying the NFL. What's disturbing is how quickly and harshly the league deals with these kinds of things when there are so many festering issues involving player safety sitting on the backburner.
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
What's worse, Ochocinco's act or Falcons coach Mike Smith escalating a fight during Sunday's game with the Redskins? Apparently, the forner, because Ochocinco was fined $5,000 more than an authority figure who couldn't control himself during a sideline scuffle. Generally speaking, the NFL doesn't seem to care much about what coaches do, as evidenced by Tom Cable's continued appearances on the Raiders sideline after assualting an assistant coach and admitting to knocking around one of his ex-wives. No player would be so lucky in today's NFL.
The double-standard goes on and on. Touchdown dances and sock length are rigorously scrutinized, while reports about the impact of head trauma on retired players are ridiculed by the league. Twitter accounts are seen as a bigger threat to the league than the fact that the Browns have players practice without pads against fully outfitted teammates. That led to running back James Davis being injured for the season, which the NFL said was fine and dandy. After the league's non-decision, the practice led to a second player getting injured during another round of league-sanctioned post-practice activities.
Ochocinco often comes off like a moron. And the NFL, like all successful companies, has a right and a responsibility to protect their brand from loose canons like him. But those efforts are counterproductive when the league comes off as more worried about Ochocinco's mouth than the safety of his body and his brain.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com.


text:
Chkdsk will not run on my data partition giving "unspecified error" messages. Googling this gives a multitude of reasons and solutions, non of which work (such as running from dos/safe mode).
I think it's a corrupted NTFS file system but I could be wrong, cuz it happened when I was organizing files on the drive with two different apps and the file names show up but are "not found" when trying to open them.
I ran sfc /scannow which found errors, but like most windows crap was no use "unable to fix them".
bootitbm cannot image the drive successfully giving these errors when trying to open:
"insert media 1 containing file C:\lenovo_DDATBAK_2-2-17.tbi
unable to open file
error 6 opening file c:\lenovo_ddatbak_2-2-17.tbi
This usually means the file is not accessible or the file is invalid
Ensure the file exists and the user has read permissions; update to latest
version of tbiview; consider checking or replacing system ram"
I am experiencing no other noticeable problems with ram (except occasional lags of failure to load bootitbm opening screen). Permissions are ok for the file. FIle exists cannot open it. Imaged it twice with verify byte by byte.
I have downloaded western digitals DLG check(an supposedly repair), but I have my doubts it will work).
I spent hours transferring data files to this drive and erasing same files from USB. I'd HATE to have to reformat the drive so I can run chkdsk. THe drive is functioning normally and I can access 99.9 percent of what's on it, but I can no longer image the drive with bootitbm, cuz the image fails.
Any ideas? Thanks for all your helpful replies.


text:
The spirit of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will continue with Lee Valley Leisure Trust are determined to deliver a legacy from the world's greatest sporting festival.
The Trust is working closely with other groups to ensure that as many people as possible get to enjoy its London 2012 venues over the coming decades; Lee Valley VeloPark, which will have the iconic Velodrome at its heart and be the finest hub for cycling in the world; Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, both of which are located on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and Lee Valley White Water Centre in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire.
Lee Valley White Water Centre is an exciting example of the Trust philosophy of running sports venues that are community focused, commercially driven that cater for all abilities.
This world class venue opened in April 2011. In its initial year, it attracted 155,000 visitors generating £2 million in income. The world's best canoeists, youngsters and white water rafters on a fun day out have all used the venue.
Two fabulous schools festivals have also been staged, with 2,000 young people from every single London Borough, Hertfordshire and Essex getting the chance to white water raft for free.
The Schools Festivals initiative forms a key part of the Trust drive to ensure that as many people as possible benefit from the sporting activities on offer at its London 2012 venues.
The Schools Festival is now an annual event at Lee Valley White Water Centre and will become part of the programme at all the Trust's London 2012 venues. Young people from across the capital and surrounding region will have the chance to try new sports in world class arenas. Designed to inspire and motivate, the Schools Festival will also help unearth the stars of tomorrow.
This "open to all" philosophy will carry through to the activities available at Lee Valley VeloPark and Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, which will offer a range of programmes aimed at diverse community groups, ages and all kinds of athletes, from grassroots to elite.
The London 2012 Games were a once in a lifetime event, providing us with some fantastic memories but Lee Valley Leisure Trust will also ensure that will bring a lifetime of brilliant benefits to visitors and local residents alike.
Note: Due to the nature of some languages, the layout of the webpage may change.


text:
HBO has debuted a trailer for Steven Soderbergh's long-in-development Liberace biopic, and it is as over-the-top as its subject. Michael Douglas stars as the flamboyant entertainer; Matt Damon plays his younger lover Scott Thorson. The hair, the costumes — everything is dripping is feathers and rhinestones! Be sure to keep an eye out for co-stars Rob Lowe and Dan Aykroyd looking just as groovy. Check out the trailer:
TV Scorecard: Renewed or canceled?
Behind the Candelabra premieres Sunday, May 26 on HBO.


text:
- 1
- 2
- 1
- 2
Christmas Villages and Trains Take You Home for the Holidays
Your next destination is always Christmas when you take a trip with our heirloom-quality train collections and Christmas village collectibles. And The Bradford Exchange Online, Hawthorne Village Division is happy to help you with your travel plans. Spanning the ages from Christmas past, through Christmas present and forward on to Christmas future, we have a great selection of Christmas villages and trains sure to be a festive addition to your holiday home. We invite you to take a moment and discover all of the wonderful places you can visit this holiday season, with just a little magic from our collectible trains and villages.
Festive Christmas Village Sets to Pique Your Passion
The passion of the Christmas season is already compelling, but when you add in the spark and twinkle of your own personal interests and passions, a celebration is always certain. For instance, if you are a fan of the legendary Painter of Light, wouldn't you love a way to always visit the beauty of his luminous vision? You can when you bring home his illuminated Village Christmas Collection - a breathtaking walk through Christmas past. From there, how about a nostalgic trip down memory lane? Our Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Holiday Village Collection lets you relive all the magic of Christmastown time and time again. We are proud to offer many collectible Christmas village sets showcasing the artistry of well-known brands like Farmall, Budweiser®, Disney, COCA-COLA® and more, each one a reflection of popular passions captured in a wonderful Christmas escapes.
We invited you to be captivated by Christmas when you discover all the places our collectible villages and trains can take you. And don't forget that we always have the best guarantee in the business, with returns up to one full year and free return shipping, so you can always shop with complete confidence. Ready to book your holiday trip to the next winter wonderland? Shop Now!


text:
Effectiveness of an Internet-Based Self-Management Program in Treating Prolonged Grief Disorder
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00598884
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : January 23, 2008
Last Update Posted : June 24, 2013
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Grief Mental Health
|Behavioral: Internet-Based Self-Management for Prolonged Grief Symptoms
|Phase 1
Prolonged grief disorder (PGD) is a severe psychiatric condition that occurs in about 10% of people who experience a recent loss. PGD does not just go away with time and is associated with considerable functional impairment, physical and mental health problems, lost productivity, lack of interest in previously enjoyed activities, suicide, and depression. Because the majority of people with PGD are elderly and less capable of pursuing outside care, making readily available treatments for PGD is very important. Current treatments for PGD include psychotherapy and antidepressant medications, but there is very little solid research on the effectiveness of these treatments. Previous studies have shown that Internet-based mental health treatments are an effective and cost-efficient way to provide self-help to people who otherwise would not seek care. Using strategies from the psychotherapy known as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), this study will evaluate the effectiveness of an Internet-based self-help program in treating people who are at risk for developing prolonged grief disorder following a recent loss.
This is a randomized, wait-list control design. Participants will be randomized to immediately begin the intervention or to wait for 6-weeks before beginning. The intervention will ask participants to log-on to the study's self-help website three times per week for the 6 weeks of treatment. During these sessions, participants will be offered optional information about grief and coping with grief and will be required to complete computer exercises that involve identifying self-care needs, support systems, and short- and long-term goals. Participants will also be asked to perform off-line activities that are designed to increase self-care and social activities and that may take anywhere from a few minutes to 30 minutes per day. For all participants, there will be four assessments, after randomization, before beginning treatment (these 2 are the same for the immediate group), upon completion of the intervention, at 6 weeks post-intervention, at 3 months post-intervention (for immediate group). Assessments will include questions about mental and physical health adjustment, beliefs about the loss, and coping status.
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|135 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Parallel Assignment
|None (Open Label)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|Internet-Based Self-Management Intervention for Prolonged Grief
|Study Start Date :
|August 2009
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|November 2012
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|November 2012
Experimental: 6-week delay start
This group begins treatment 6 weeks after recruitment and baseline.
Behavioral: Internet-Based Self-Management for Prolonged Grief Symptoms
The treatment consists of empirically derived cognitive behavioral therapy strategies to promote stable and active routines, self-care, accommodation of loss, enhanced self-efficacy, re-engagement in pleasurable activities, and reattachment with significant others. Treatment sessions will be Internet-based and will occur three times per week for 6 weeks.
Experimental: No delay start
This group begins treatment after enrollment and assessment with no wait period.
Behavioral: Internet-Based Self-Management for Prolonged Grief Symptoms
The treatment consists of empirically derived cognitive behavioral therapy strategies to promote stable and active routines, self-care, accommodation of loss, enhanced self-efficacy, re-engagement in pleasurable activities, and reattachment with significant others. Treatment sessions will be Internet-based and will occur three times per week for 6 weeks.
- Prolonged grief symptoms and other comorbid mental health difficulties [ Time Frame: Measured at Weeks pre-, post-, 6-week, 3-month ]
- Social functioning and coping styles [ Time Frame: Measured at pre-, post-, 6-week, 3-month ]
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|21 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion criteria:
- Meets criteria for a diagnosis of prolonged grief (with the exception of the requirement for 6-month duration of symptoms) using the Prolonged Grief -13
- Access to the Internet
Exclusion Criteria:
- Lifetime history of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, psychosis, or delusional disorders
- History of substance or alcohol dependence other than nicotine in the year prior to study entry
- Significant suicidal ideation
- Concurrent psychotherapy initiated within 3 months prior to study entry, or ongoing psychotherapy specifically targeting loss; general supportive therapy initiated more than 3 months prior to study entry is acceptable
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00598884
|United States, Massachusetts
|Boston VA Medical Center
|Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02130
|Principal Investigator:
|Brett T. Litz, PhD
|Boston University
|Responsible Party:
|Boston University
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|Other Study ID Numbers:
R34MH079884 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
R34MH079884 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
|First Posted:
|January 23, 2008 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|June 24, 2013
|Last Verified:
|June 2013
Clinical Protocols
Behavioral Research


text:
I've been hypnotized. I've been living in a self-imposed trance.
I was an ugly duckling growing up. My ears were too big, my body was too small and even when puberty hit, I never shook off my insecurities as an ugly duckling. I've been living as an ugly duckling.
I had convinced myself that everything that needed to be said on my blog, was said. I felt as though my thoughts didn't matter. I had hypnotized myself into believing that all things must come to an end. But life is not like that. Our journey to wellness will forever be a lifelong assignment. Constantly evolving, bettering itself, conflicting itself. Even when our bodies die and wither, our offspring will continue to live on and evolve. Our lives matter. Whether you believe we are here to glorify God, or whether you believe we were placed here to express ourselves to the fullest, they are one in the same. What better way than to glorify God than by becoming the best God has equipped you to be?
Have you been living in a less than ideal trance?
I recently read Psycho Cybernetics and it was the perfect refresher I needed to start feeling good again. You can read it for free on Scribd by clicking here.
Hello friends. It's good to be back. :)


text:
- Swelling: It's been a couple of months (almost) since my trip to Mayo Clinic, and my local doctor is working with me on their recommendations. Overall, I've lost about 15 of the 45 lbs of swelling that I had. The progress has been slow and with a few ups and downs, but it's heading in the right direction – giving me great hope. I'm moving a little better and looking slightly less freakish, but I'm not yet at a point of being able to return to my "normal" life (which would probably still be a bit abnormal to most, but that's a different story). There is a very recent possibility as far as a potential cause that I discovered quite by accident. It's possible that another medicine that no doctor even remotely suspected could have something to do with the swelling. This is something SO recent that I'm not going to bother going into detail here, but after a few days off of it, I'm seeing a little better progress each day. Anyway, the news is good right now…slow, but good.
- From Cool to Tool: It's funny how things can go from being "awesome" to "dorky" in a relatively short time. Parachute pants, jeans jackets, the Men Without Hats' tune Safety Dance and the use of "air quotes" are good examples. To me, the Blue Tooth headset has joined this sad list. I'm not bashing anyone who really needs to use one, and I understand they can be effective tools in some situations. However, speaking of tools, that's exactly what I think when I see a dude walking around outside and talking loudly with that dorky-looking thing stuck on his ear – what a tool. I think they have gone from cutting edge, status symbol territory into something that losers THINK makes them look cool. Who is with me on this? I'm really curious.
- Kid update: My three and a half year old girl, who seems to think she is about 12, continues to be the light of my life. Sadly, she currently believes that she is the funniest person on earth whenever she inserts the word poop into a song. Example: Twinkle, Twinkle Little POOP! She may not have the most sophisticated style of humor yet, but she continues to amaze me in other ways. She very much enjoyed watching Charlotte's Web. The ending, of course, lead to a discussion about death. (Spoiler alert if you still do not know what happens at the end). She asked questions about why Charlotte had to die. We talked about living a long life and how people go to heaven. First, she wanted to know if her dog would go to heaven. Since everyone knows that they do, I answered in the affirmative. She then asked if she could live with Mommy and Daddy when she goes to heaven after she gets old. I'm not sure how her future husband might feel about this, but I answered with a firm yes once again. She then got a sad look on her face and said, "I don't want Mommy to die." I hugged her tightly and again assured her this would not happen for many, many, many years. Before her mother could get a big head about this, my daughter quickly added that she didn't want "Elizabeth" (a friend of hers) to die either.
- On the "scary" front: I'm looking forward to attending a midnight premiere of the new Friday the 13th movie this week with a few other horror lovers. I'm intrigued by the fact that it appears to be a re-imaging of certain elements from several of the first few Friday the 13th films as opposed to just the first one. Anyone else love these old, dumb scary movies? Also, who else has seen the reality, contest show called 13: Fear Is Real? It has some of the same cheesiness as other reality shows (most of which I detest), but I can't help having a soft spot for this one. The reason is that my nephews, friends and I made "scary tapes" as kids. They were cassette tapes that instructed the "victims" (we took turns being victimized) what to do and where to go in the woods. We did them at night, of course, and they actually were pretty scary some times. Even so, it was always more fun making the tapes than doing them. We enjoyed creating new characters and embellishing upon them in future tapes. Some of our favorites included: Slicer Dicer, Harry Maniac, Rickety Inflictor and Brat & Splat who were evil conjoined twins). Well, someone with a MUCH higher budget has turned this type of idea into a reality show. It's fun if you like horror stuff.
Swelling Update & Other Goofy Tidbits9 02 2009
Comments : 12 Comments »
Tags: 13 fear is real, friday the 13th, kids say poop, Mayo clinic, not cool anymore, swelling
Categories : entertainment, family, health, kids, life, movies, personal, television


text:
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Fun, Fun ! Fun !
No comments:
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
This blog is dedicated to farm, shop news and to share ideas. I hope you'll enjoy your visits and sign up as a follower. Dont forget to leave your email address so as not to miss anything! You'll be noitified of updates. Call for shop hours 203-736-2630 or you can find me at www.PamsFiber.etsy.com Thank you for visiting our Dream Come True!


text:
Enjoy all of the guitarist's favorite tools, to learn songs or create masterpieces
Tablature and score reader
Guitar Pro offers many reading features: 3 types of notation (standard/tablature/slash), zoom and virtual fretboard/keyboard to visualize the exact positioning of your fingers on them.
Edit your compositions
Create your own professional scores for one or several instruments and capture your notes quickly with the numerical pad, the mouse, or even a MIDI instrument.
Mix your sounds
The sound engine offers more than 1000 sounds (presets) using 200 soundbanks and 80 effects/amps modeling recorded in studio. Select your sounds among our built-in sounds or create your own presets.
Improve your technique
Enjoy a series of tools to optimize your practice sessions: tempo, looper, metronome, chord and scale library, guitar and piano fretboard. You can also edit or buy full scores files and then be able to solo or mute individual parts.
Thousand of tabs online
The Guitar Pro file format is the most widespread when it comes to look for tabs online. Download songs online or access to 2000 high quality full instruments tabs made by our team on mySongBook.
Share your music
Print your tabs, read it on your Guitar Pro app for smartphone or tablet, or export it in various formats like PDF, audio, image, MusicXML, MIDI...
Listen to the Guitar Pro 7.5 RSE sound
I've been checking out the various TAB options for some time, and when I discovered Guitar Pro I was bowled over by the depth of features
It's way more than a TAB program, it's a very effective learning tool. You can program all instruments and hear them too, and the playback engine is very good - Justin Sandercoe (justinguitar.com)


text:
Sweet news from Line 6. The MIDI Memo Recorder is a free piece of software which saves custom midi interface settings and records sessions to the iDevice. This ain't another class lecture interface, it is a professional touring/recording software/hardware interface for musicians. MIDI has been a longtime standard in effects mastering and creation for many musicians. The best part now, however, is that it goes mobile and even works as a backup settings organiser in case of gear breakage. While the software can be downloaded now, the MIDI Mobilizer hardware attachment won't be available till "Spring 2010" – gotcha…
Line 6, MIDI Memo Recorder – Free
Piccies, video and more after the gap:


text:
Jacksonville, FL. – This weekend starts out chilly and rather breezy. Saturday morning's temperatures got as low as the mid to upper 30's over inland Southeastern Georgia. Temperatures in Jacksonville got down into the mid forties. Chilly breezes blew in at 20mph along the beaches, and stayed in the 10-15mph range during most of the day along the coast. Mostly cloudy skies along and to the East of I-95 made warming challenging during the day. Temperatures slowly climbed through the 50's and topped out in the mid sixties. Warmer temperatures and sunnier skies over inland areas.Overnight, skies will clear out, making for a moonlit evening. With calm winds, temperatures drop into the mid 40's, making for a chilly start to Sunday.Sunday there is not a chance for rain- expect a sunnier, less windy afternoon, allowing temperatures to climb into the mild low 70's for an afternoon high.
This Weekend's Weather
Breezy & cloudy at times
Copyright 2013 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
Quick Query Library Search
Use this form to quickly search the online catalogues of libraries throughout the world. Enter author, title and/or keyword(s) into the appropriate fields and then click the button next to the source you want to search. Search criteria only need to be entered once. Results will be - directly from the selected site.
Recent Search History with links to recent search results click HERE
Wants Manager
Library Search
564 Years
Search Help
Terms of Service
Copyright © 2020 viaLibri Limited. All rights reserved.


text:
Eugene Bailey Released & Charges Dropped Against 1 Teen In Beating Death Of Honor Student! "Shout Out To Derrion's Family. Hes A Good Friend Of Mine"
First-degree murder charges were dropped against one of four teens charged in connection to the beating death of a high school honor student. Eugene Bailey, 18, was released from custody on Monday evening
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
Comments will only be displayed by verified emails. No Spamming or Racism.


text:
Welcome to the Albemarle County Special Use Permit Documents Center where you will find the application and schedule for Special Use Permits.
NOTE: This application has a filing deadline as outlined in the Review Schedule found in the links below. These applications must be in the Community Development Office by 3:00 PM on the day specified.
Questions regarding this information should be directed to the Department of Community Development. You may reach the Department by calling 434-296-5832 or by Emailing the Department
Documents are in PDF format and must be viewed with a PDF Reader; see link below to download a free plug-in. Please note that State and Federal forms are not posted on this Website.
ADA Compliance Request
Resident Service Request


text:
For the past decade, marketers in just about every industry have focused on Baby Boomers—and with good reason. Baby Boomers are a populous and wealthy market. However, many Boomers have reached the age of 65 now, and the rest of them are following quickly behind. That means that marketing, programming and fitness equipment that targets this market must change with them.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 40.3 million people, or 13 percent of the total population in America, are 65 and older. That number is projected to grow to 88.5 million, or 20 percent of the total population, by 2050 when Baby Boomers and Generation X will make up the majority of that age group. Also by 2050, more than 600,000 Baby Boomers will be 100 years old or older, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
"Clearly, there is a lot of opportunity to market health and wellness to this group," says Colin Milner, CEO of the International Council on Active Aging, Vancouver, British Columbia. "They are the largest, wealthiest market with 47 times more wealth than kids coming out of college."
And this market is loyal if treated right.
"Clubs need to implement effective active aging programs and provide the outcome data and user feedback, and they will have a high revenue growth opportunity with a very high retention rate," says Juha Vaisanen, president of HUR Health and Fitness Equipment, Northbrook, IL.
However, club operators need to be careful about how they target this group.
"It is important to remember that the Baby Boomers don't see themselves as being older or aging at all. That is for their parents' generation," says Darrin Pelkey, vice president of sales and marketing for Keiser, Fresno, CA, which makes fitness equipment that targets older people. "You need to talk to them like you would any other member for the most part. But you need to make them feel comfortable in the club both socially and with the right equipment."
Some club owners are, in fact, adding programs and services geared toward older Americans as they see an increasing number of older Americans maintain— or in some cases undertake—a more active lifestyle.
"It is important to think about who you are speaking to and targeting," Milner says. "Who is coming into your club? Is it a fit older athlete? Maybe it is a dependent or frail individual. Whatever the market, it is important that the club has the right message, staff and equipment in place for this segment of the population."
Although some club operators see the opportunity in this generation, others do not focus enough on them, despite many club operators also being in the Baby Boomer generation, Milner says.
"Today's club owners for the most part have grown up in the industry and are approaching this time in life," Milner says. "Yet they don't see that there is an active older population along with a deconditioned older population that is there for them. They still market with images of young beach bodies and buy the costliest piece of equipment for members they already have—and always will. But they are missing a fast-growing segment of the population."
Perhaps the perceived lack of attention from more traditional clubs has allowed niche players, such as Nifty After Fifty and Welcyon, to fill the opening.
"I don't know if traditional clubs will ever fully target this market—and I'm not sure they should or need to," Pelkey says. "But there are specialized clubs—in addition to senior centers, etc.—that are beginning to target this market and think about the equipment they need. And they will find success."
Finding the right equipment that allows Baby Boomers to be active but makes allowances for health issues related to aging is a big factor in marketing to older Americans.
"Falling is the number one reason for injury and deaths for those in their 60s and older in the USA, with every third American over 65 falling every year," Vaisanen says. "This is the fastestgrowing segment in fitness. We have designed our equipment to provide a comprehensive solution to implement active aging programs—fall prevention, continence, dementia, independence, physical therapy—and to measure the outcomes."
Octane Fitness, Brooklyn Park, MN, is one of the mainstream manufacturers that is keeping an eye on the aging Boomer market and is looking at products and modifications with those considerations in mind, says Chris Chu, product manager at Octane Fitness.
"In many cases, the equipment for the general population is enough for many older Americans, depending on their fitness level," he says. "Probably a bigger consideration is making seniors feel comfortable in the club environment, such as social hours and a sense of community for seniors."
Just like with any market, the right equipment and programming helps, but a sense of belonging is what keeps them coming back.


text:
Cullen to step down from Legislature next year
A Wisconsin state senator says he won't run for re-election next year.
Janesville Democrat Tim Cullen said at a news conference Thursday he wants to focus on foundations he's created that help high school students find internships in the Legislature and help minority students become teachers. He also says he wants to work with nonprofits.
He says he can accomplish more as a private citizen than in the Legislature, where he says lawmakers refuse to compromise and party leaders control everything.
Cullen served in the Senate from 1974 to 1987. He was elected again in 2010 and was among 14 Senate Democrats who fled the state the following year in a futile attempt to prevent a vote on Republican Gov. Scott Walker's plan to strip public workers of their union rights.
Senate Minority Leader Chris Larson of Milwaukee issued a statement thanking Cullen for his long service to the state.
"From his thoughtful contributions as we fought for sustainable, responsible mining reform to his deep knowledge of education and health care, Sen. Cullen has provided the state Senate and the Senate Democratic Caucus with an important perspective and provoked thoughtful debate raising the level of discourse on all issues.," Larson said.
Republicans currently control the Senate, 18 to 15.