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Greg Smith's resignation op-ed from Goldman Sachs Wednesday raised a zillion questions. What was the back-story? What was with the ping pong? And what's wrong with being a muppet?
But the biggest question would have to be: What happened to Goldman Sachs? Smith wrote that the culture at Goldman had shifted during his 12 years there from valuing teamwork and "always doing right by clients" to one where people "callously … talk about ripping customers off." That sounds bad. So what are we to make of it?
The answer that seems easiest to dispense with is that it's just not true, and Goldman always does right by its clients. I saw mentions of Goldman's charitable activities Wednesday, but not a single defense of it (other than from Goldman's PR department) as a company that puts clients first. (Update: Politico's Ben White did have a brief testimonial from hedge fund manager and Goldman client Whitney Tilson this morning.) And Goldman's behavior before and during the financial crisis just wasn't what any neutral observer could call client-centric.
A more popular line of reasoning is that Goldman (and other Wall Street firms) were always about ripping customers off. It's no mistake that one of the classic books about Wall Street is called Where Are the Customers' Yachts? Didn't Smith get that when he joined? Was he that naive?
But something did change on Wall Street and at Goldman in particular over the past few decades. Goldman did have a reputation for looking out for its clients — and inspiring great loyalty in them. This was largely a product of the firm's near-death experience after the 1929 crash. It had spawned a closed-end fund, the Goldman Sachs Trading Corp., run by a charismatic would-be visionary named Waddill Catchings. As Charley Ellis tells it in his history of Goldman Sachs:
It was Catchings' No. 2 at Goldman Sachs Trading, Sidney Weinberg, who wound the thing down and succeeded in at least paying off all its debts (its share price dropped from $326 to $1.75) — at huge cost to the parent firm. Before long the Sachs family had put one-time office boy Weinberg in charge of bringing their enterprise back to health. Over the course of the next two decades, he did. The Weinberg trademarks, which became the Goldman trademarks, were (1) hard-nosed prudence, (2) an extreme emphasis on the partnership, with partners generally able to make serious money only after decades at the firm, and (3) the long-term cultivation of relationships with business executives and politicians. Weinberg was one of the only Wall Street chieftains who supported Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which resulted in all sorts of status-enhancing opportunities during the 1930s, and the opportunity during the war years, as assistant to the chairman of the War Production Board, to get to know just about every promising young business executive in the country. Weinberg was self-interested, sure. But he was long-term self-interested. And so was Goldman Sachs, well into the 1990s at least.
So back to the question: What changed? The most obvious answer is simply that Goldman stopped being a partnership. It was the last of the major Wall Street firms to switch over, in 1999 (right around when Greg Smith arrived), to being a publicly traded corporation. Upstart Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette had been the first, in 1970, followed by biggie Merrill Lynch the next year. Andrew Haldane, the Bank of England official whose speeches I recently praised to the heavens, has an excellent explanation of why highly leveraged financial institutions probably shouldn't be controlled by shareholders with limited liability:
But Goldman succeeded in managing its risks before and during the financial crisis better than almost any other financial firm. That may just be because some of the partnership ethos lived on nine years after the IPO, meaning that the firm is unlikely to do so well in the next financial crisis. It's also certainly true that Goldman hasn't been great about managing its reputational risk. But it feels like the end of the partnership can't be the whole answer.
Noah Millman, a former equity derivatives trader, offers up another explanation: that there's just too much money for the taking in the over-the-counter derivatives business not to drive short-term greedy, customer insensitive behavior:
At Goldman, where investment banking for corporate clients had driven the resurgence of the firm in the 1950s and 1960s, this shift in where money is made is quite apparent in the financial statement. In 2011 — a bad year for trading — investment banking generated just $4.6 billion of Goldman's $28.81 billion in net revenue. The firm's long-standing balance of power between bankers and traders is broken, which has big implications for the firm's overall culture. For one thing, it means Goldman's most important customers are no longer nonfinancial corporations out to build real-world businesses, but hedge funds, banks, and other financial players who are often out to put one over on Goldman. I can see having far fewer qualms about taking advantage of the latter than the former. Also, as Mihir Desai argues in this month's HBR, it means Goldman is playing in a talent market where the terms are set by hedge funds — making it impossible to maintain the wait-till-you-retire-to-get-rich pay structure that long defined Goldman.
Finally, there's the wonderful explanation for Wall Street's woes that Calvin Trillin offered up in a New York Times op-ed three years ago: Smart people started working there. Wall Street had long attracted the bottom third of the class; decent enough folks with modest ambitions. Then the combination of bigger paychecks and higher college and grad school tuition began driving the best students into finance. Quoting a possibly imaginary (but possibly not) grizzled veteran of his generation, Trillin wrote:
It's a joke. But not entirely. Goldman was the world's gold-standard employer, able to recruit from the very top of the top of the class. And the culture of an organization composed entirely of people who are really, really smart and know they are really, really smart may be bound to turn toxic eventually. (Watch out, Google!) That's probably especially true in a pay environment where the rewards to long-term loyalty to the organization are low.


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Steve Blank and Alex Osterwalder have combined their respective methodologies, Customer Development and Business Model Generation, into a powerful business model generation and testing framework. There are several good sources for how these two mesh, including this Jan post on Osterwalder's blog, here and most recently, in Blank's SXSW presentation:
Blank's Customer Development is critical, otherwise speculating what comprises your startup's business model is just another academic exercise. Arguably, one could easily waste as much time documenting assumptions on your business model canvas as documenting them inside a 40 page business plan. The canvas exposes your hypotthesis and customer development tests them. It's a laudable ambition to document and test all of your business model canvas components.
But how much is necessary to get going?
All building blocks are not created equal. I believe there's a natural progression towards figuring out your business model and many blocks are directly dependent on prior blocks. Is it worth the time to document 2nd or 3rd tier blocks before establishing the reality of 1st tier? The answer, of course, depends on you and your business. It doesn't hurt to go as far as you can at the start, unless the activity inhibits you from getting started, i.e., "getting out of the building."
To use a rather simplistic example, you might presume that your customer is an enterprise-sized business that requires a field sales force and partnerships with highly technical systems integrators. What if your customer ends up being a medium-sized business that requires SaaS product distribution? Early customer development might very well point you down the correct path from the outset. Some business model components flow naturally from validated core hypotheses.
The real dilemma in my mind is, what do you test first? The key to getting started is to nail the validate of the core hypotheses: Customer, Problem, Solution.
Go to the #CustDev White Board
In our book, The Entrepreneur's Guide to Customer Development, Patrick Vlaskovits and I developed a white board exercise to help think through business model risk in order to determine what to test first. The key components are:
=> draw the ecosystem around your business as you imagine it, including partners, distributors, customers.
=> determine which are mission critical — in other words, can you get going without any? Which are absolutely necessary?
=> state the value proposition for each mission critical participant — what determines whether or not they join the ecosystem?
=> list the minimum product functionality necessary to get entities to participate.
=> prioritize the risks (technical and market) based on the above.
Ultimately, what you trying to prioritize is: what's the quickest way to fail your business model. The "value path" of testing your business model runs through testing the the core value proposition of each of your mission critical ecosystem entities. Easiest to test means: what you can test in the shortest time frame.
If building a landing page and driving traffic to it has the potential of killing your present business model hypotheses, then it's a legitimate "intermediate MVP" and worth testing. But be careful. Are you sure you're not testing your ability to drive some amount of traffic or your positioning? If a 3rd party API doesn't provide the hooks you need to develop a critical piece of technology and therefore your business model fails, maybe that's what you test first.
Documenting the building blocks of your business model = good. Using the #CustDev White Board exercise in conjunction helps you determine what to document and test first.
How do you determine what to test first?


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Date Night got fairly good reviews, but that really only proves how funny Tina Fey and Steve Carell are. While the script is filled with weak gags and absurd hijinks, the stars save the movie from becoming a complete dud.
The film, which opens today, is about tax accountant Phil Foster (Carell) and real estate broker Claire Foster (Fey), a self-described "boring married couple" from New Jersey who decide to go to a ritzy restaurant in New York City for their weekly date night after their friends (Mark Ruffalo and Kristen Wiig) announce they're divorcing. When the Fosters steal another couple's dinner reservation, they are mistaken for blackmailers who stole a flash-drive containing incriminating information about a group of criminals. As they're being chased all over the city the Fosters run into thugs (Common and Jimmi Simpson), a drug dealer and his stripper girlfriend (James Franco and Mila Kunis), a cop (Taraji P. Henson), a mobster (Ray Liotta), and a security expert who is Claire's former client (Mark Wahlberg and his abs).
Critics say Date Night is more enjoyable than most recent action comedy movies, but "better than The Bounty Hunter or Did You Hear About The Morgans is not quite the same as 'good.'" Reviewers blame director Shawn Levy, who made the Night at the Museum and Cheaper By The Dozen, for adding in too many goofy stunts, like a car chase and a scene in which the Fosters strip. Levy also relies on slapstick humor rather than the "sharp comedy that's fast-paced, cerebral, and laden with cultural references" that Fey is particularly known for. Fey and Carell salvage the film with funny ad libs, good comedic chemistry, and the fact that they seem like they could actually be a normal couple from New Jersey, but when the actors' bloopers over the credits are funnier than the actual script, there's definitely a problem.
Below, the reviews:
The comedy turns coarse during a garishly overproduced car chase. (Ditto for the broadness of William Fichtner's dissolute district attorney.) That's a pity, but hardly a mystery. Under pressure from less expensive forms of entertainment, the studios fear that small-scale films-even distinctive little films like this one-won't find an audience unless they're bulked up with production values. (And a car chase in the trailer will surely sell tickets.) Not to worry, though. Date Night is too good to be wrecked by reckless driving.
Like the recent Jennifer Aniston misfire, "The Bounty Hunter," "Date Night" makes the fundamental miscalculation that a hand-me-down plot will look after itself while the actors goof in the foreground. It's a fatal error, because a sense of danger invariably sharpens our laughter, and because audiences still care about stories there's no bigger turn-off than a storyteller who doesn't. Levy engineers one innovative set piece, a chase in which the getaway car becomes enmeshed with the front grill of a yellow cab after a head-on collision, the two autos speeding through intersections, one going forwards, the other in reverse, with the heavies in hot pursuit. It's a novel sequence, but virtually the only excitement in the movie's labored run-in.
Tina Fey and Steve Carell make Date Night an absurd and wildly amusing night to remember. This is the rare screwball comedy that is superbly paced, cleverly plotted and hilarious from start to finish. Fey and Carell are ideally cast. Their respective improvisational talents and razor-sharp comic timing make them one of the most engaging on-screen couples around. And their chemistry is palpable. Whether hashing out marital problems, giddily running from the law, enduring a harrowing car chase or staring into the barrel of a mobster's gun, they nail it every time. Equally skilled in verbal banter and ridiculous physical gags, neither is afraid to look ridiculous - and both frequently do.
It must be said that Date Night - in which a suburban married couple out for an evening in Manhattan endure car chases and the unwanted attention of thugs with guns - is superior to most recent movies of its kind, the marital action comedy. This is not saying much: better than The Bounty Hunter or Did You Hear About The Morgans is not quite the same as "good." ... A flurry of outtakes accompanying the end credits suggests how much livelier this movie might have been if [Fey and Carell] had been allowed to improvise everything, or had just written the script themselves without regard for plot twists and character arcs and all the other creaky Hollywood machinery that keeps them running frantically from one set piece to the next.
Date Night, like so many other films of its type, too often relies on words, catchphrases and inflections that signify a generally accepted notion of funniness rather than being, you know, actually funny. For example: the word vagina has no intrinsically humorous properties, but it's uttered here as if believing that it did were sufficient to make it so. Same thing with the sarcastic rhetorical question - "Seriously?" "Really?" - that has become an almost universal lazy substitute for the traditional double take. And then there is the habit of trying to make a line retroactively uproarious by admitting that it really wasn't funny to begin with.
Date Night may be the funniest movie of the year so far-one-quarter of the way through a year that's been remarkably weak for comedies. This is a movie that I'm inclined to grade on a serious curve, because while it never achieves full-on laugh-riot momentum, it gets one crucial element of comic filmmaking right in a way that few recent comedies have. It's cast, down to the smallest role, with genuinely funny performers, people who understand how to time a joke, deliver a setup, underplay a deadpan glance. Though the material-an often-formulaic script by Josh Klausner, directed by Shawn Levy of the Night at the Museum franchise-isn't always worthy of their talents, Tina Fey and Steve Carell (and many of their co-stars, including Mark Wahlberg, James Franco, and Mila Kunis) manage intermittently to elevate Date Night to giddy heights.
Carell and Fey have an easy, affectionate rapport as run-down parents looking to renew some romantic sparks with a night out in Manhattan to break their boring routine. The actors try hard to make it work, but the lowbrow sensibilities of director Shawn Levy leave them tottering through painful verbal exchanges, lame stunts and other dreadfully unfunny hijinks (their pole dance at a strip club is just embarrassing, and like so many of the movie's gags, it drags on a long time).
Fey has become associated with comedy that's fast-paced, cerebral, and laden with cultural references; even more than Carell, she's hurt by the transition from a sitcom that regularly operates on multiple levels (30 Rock to a film squarely aimed just north of the lowest common denominator. Director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museums) glosses over the seeds of social satire inherent in the premise, and instead tries to make his movie all things to all quadrants-straight-faced violent action flick, slapstick comedy, relationship comedy, sanctimonious ode to family values. A jumble of genres, tones, and styles, Date Night ultimately strains to be a serious movie about marriage, with one joke: that, even when surrounded by excitement, Claire and Phil revert to being dull. But in practice, their dullness is just dull.
As the characters wiggle their way out of scrapes during a bizarro night in New York City, the actors hold steady as grownups, a rarity in a world of rom-coms about flighty girls and lost boys. And as a result, even when the action veers into tedium, the leads provide their own excellent entertainment. Box office champ Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum) directs this soft-edged all-American couples comedy with a nod of the chin to TV sitcoms and a tip of the hat to William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles in their Thin Man movies. The movie is a Walter Mitty fantasy for the modern kids'-playdate set.
Fey and Carell know, as great comic actors like Cary Grant and Jack Lemmon knew, that their job in a comedy is to behave with as much realism as possible and let the impossibilities whirl around them. To begin with, Carell and Fey look like they might be a pleasant married couple. Attractive, but not improbably so. Young, but not that young. Fit, but they don't reveal unexpected skills. And frightened when they need to be. Do you ever wonder why the characters in some movies are never gob-smacked in the face of what seems like certain death? All of this is a way of saying that Date Night is funny because, against all odds, it is involving. Each crazy step in the bizarre plot made a certain sense because it followed from what went before; it's like the Scorsese masterpiece After Hours.
At times, pic's domino-style series of spontaneous adventures, gallery of unsavory characters and brushes with peril suggest a lesser version of the nocturnal black comedies After Hours or Into the Night — but those were rated R, and this one is resolutely PG-13. That's a little too bad, as it would be fun to see where Fey and Carell could really go if let loose, and if Date Night had even further embraced its edginess. Nevertheless, it's a date worth making.
n the hands of, say, a Greg Kinnear and a Sarah Jessica Parker, the thing could be a disaster. It's not. Not by a long shot. That's because Carell and Fey have something that no movie, no matter how predictable, can stifle. It's called chemistry, but it's not the romantic kind. Instead, it's the power that each of them has to crack the other up.
Steve Carell and Tina Fey bring their estimable comic chops to "Date Night," which sadly illustrates the current disparity between television and big-screen comedy. These talented performers star in two of the wittiest, most sophisticated sitcoms on the air, but for this movie pairing they're stuck with an endlessly silly plot line and overblown physical mayhem that is instantly forgettable. The fact that they make it so funny nonetheless is a testament to their abilities.
Though it often defaults to flailing slapstick wedded to rote action, Date Night occasionally stumbles onto moments of emotional honesty when the subterranean currents of resentment and boredom in Fey and Carell's marriage puncture the surface. In one of the film's sharpest gags, Franco and Kunis' flat-lining relationship woes serve as a funhouse-mirror reflection of Fey and Carell's own issues, except in the younger couple's case, they involve handjobs in champagne rooms instead of driving kids to soccer practice. Yet whenever the film threatens to develop real comic momentum or pathos, it grinds to a halt for arbitrary thriller mechanics that recall the glut of gratuitous diamond-smuggling comedy subplots of the 1980s. There's something genuine and more than a little sad at the core of Levy's poorly staged, modestly amusing comedy, but it isn't the part that involves flash drives, blackmail, and glowering, gun-toting bad guys.
Intent on touching as many cinematic bases as possible, Date Night contrives some awkward and self-consciously poignant moments between Phil and Claire and the kind of super-elaborate car chase Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn would have had no part of. It's as if there are so few movies for adults made these days the filmmakers want to make sure no one in the theater feels left out. None of this would be troublesome except for the knowledge of how funny Carell and Fey are when the film is smart enough to use them well. This is vividly demonstrated in the outrageous gag reel outtakes placed at both the beginning and the end of the final credits. When we see what these two can do, the feeling is inescapable that Date Night has left some laughs on the table.


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It's been named the best reading program in the country, selected by thousands of teachers and selected by AOL. Co-founder of Apple, Steve Wozniak said it's "the best educational product I've ever seen. Period!" It was developed on principles described by the National Reading Panel and other key reading experts. What is it, exactly? StudyDog is an innovative expertly designed reading system for pre-K through first grade, and is among the fastest growing reading programs in schools nationwide. A little context: back in 1999, the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health both determined that the country had a reading problem; more than 30 percent of fourth-graders were classified as "reading below basic". They formed the National Reading Panel (NRP) to determine the cause and propose a solution. Deme Clainos (pictured), CEO of StudyDog, saw a big need in teaching children pre-K through first grade to read. "I thought I could contribute in a new and better way that had not been done before," he says. When the NRP released their December 2000 findings, they said that in order for students to learn critical reading skills, their instruction needed to address five areas – phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension and the method of instruction needed to be explicit (versus implied), one-to-one and systematic. "Some schools were not doing that," says Deme. "It turns out that I have a background that I thought would be valuable here." In fact, Deme is a technologist with experiences at Hewlett-Packard and Apple Computer; he also has a U.S. patent in the Expert Systems area, embedding the actions and performance of a human expert in software. "I thought that expertise would be appropriate in this case," he says. "What if we built reading lessons that were so engaging for young children that they would stick with them for several months with little or no direct and dedicated supervision—even if these children have already failed to learn reading skills—and, while they are engaged, the correct curriculum was taught to them exactly the way the NRP specified?"
Victor: Where did your questions go from there?
Deme: Could we create these engaging lessons when no one else had done so? And, if we could, would a child learn the reading skills even if they had tried and failed before? I thought both could be accomplished.
Victor: Then what did you do?
Deme: I raised the capital necessary, attracted absolute stars who thought the same way I did and StudyDog was formed.
Victor: Did you do anything unique?
Deme: Organizationally, I did one thing that I don't believe has ever been done before in educational companies. I divided the company into two groups; one responsible for the development of the lessons and the other responsible for the curriculum and instruction. Each had a simple objective. The Lesson Developers had to make sure that young children (ages 4-7) loved the lessons so much that they took lesson after lesson and kept coming back for more. The Curriculum Group had to make sure that students actually learned the reading skills. If you think about this, these goals are not complimentary, but competitive, which is what I wanted. Each group was fiercely committed to reaching their objectives.
Victor: How did they play off each other?
Deme: Often times one group complained that the other was impeding their progress and I would personally be the "referee" in those cases. In all other educational companies, either the creative or the curriculum groups are dominate, not equal. If the creative group is dominate, then the lessons are a lot of fun, but there is little or no educational value (as defined by the NRP) and if the curriculum group is dominate, the lessons are rigorous but they are so boring a human instructor is needed (remember Hooked on Phonics?).
Victor: What was the result?
Deme: The result for us was reading lessons that are so engaging that even struggling students stick with them all year and, during that time, the exact curriculum is taught the exact way required for them to learn. There is no other reading program that does this.
Victor: What does the name mean?
Deme: The name StudyDog was chosen because it is unique, easy to remember and—along with the logo—loved by children, elementary teachers and parents.
Victor: What is it? Who created it?
Deme: My daughter, who is a graphic artist, created the original StudyDog logo. She now works for StudyDog in the marketing department. The logo has since been improved slightly.
Victor: What does it do? What are the benefits?
Deme: The benefit to schools is that classroom teachers can teach more children than they could before. With StudyDog, they can teach a skill to an entire class and then let them work with StudyDog (StudyDog has created an individualized reading program for each student based on their needs). Students work at their own pace and StudyDog is constantly measuring their performance so it knows when a student starts to struggle. When that occurs, that student is automatically given additional and different instruction to bring them back to mastery. The teacher is comfortable with the fact that StudyDog is exercising the students exactly the way she has taught them, as well as, the way the NRP has specified. Also, the teacher is happy the students are engaged and she doesn't have to constantly keep them on task; they refer to this as "independent learning". The teacher can work with other students.
The benefit to parents is the same as with schools but with the additional benefit of having an expert reading specialist available to them. If a parent is not a certified teacher, she can still achieve the same results for her child because StudyDog engages the child and then teaches him or her expertly.
Victor: How is it unique from other similar products/services? What companies do you see as in the same market?
Deme: StudyDog is unique in that it both engages a student and, while engaged, teaches expertly. No other reading program does that. There are numerous reading programs in the market, but none do what StudyDog does.
Victor: When was it developed?
Deme: It took a long time and several millions of dollars! We started in 2001 and we had some lessons to test in late 2002 to 2004. All the lessons were completed and validated by 2005.
Victor: Where did it originate? Where can you get it now?
Deme: StudyDog is an online reading program. It is sold to schools thru a sales organization. It is sold to parents through a consumer portal that was just introduced and is just now fully operational. Marketing partners, like Amazon and Homeschool resellers are being signed as we speak.
Victor: How much does it cost? What are the options?
StudyDog costs a parent $8.99 a month and it goes down to $4.99 per month if a 12-month program is purchased.
Victor: What are some examples of it in action?
The Pocano Mountain School District example (click video) is typical for schools. For parents, here is a typical response:
"We have tried everything with Ryan, so I was at first skeptical as to how much of an affect it would have. Ryan has a very difficult time with auditory learning. What pleased me most was his attitude towards StudyDog. He has become confident and most importantly he wants to learn. What used to be a battle has turned into a pleasure. Working with StudyDog has far exceeded my expectations." —Daliah L.
Victor: Who is it particularly tailored for? Who is it not for?
StudyDog is designed for children ages 4-9. It is not intended for older children unless the child is severely struggling. Here is an example:
"I agree with Steve Wozniak—Study Dog is the very best educational software I have ever seen. My daughter is a special needs 16 year old child who has been using Study Dog ever since she was in the 6th grade in the Centennial school district and believe me she loves Study Dog and still uses it and that was almost 3 years ago. I am home schooling her since she was told that she would never be able to read and we used Headsprout this last year and also Hooked on phonics and neither one of them holds a candle next to Study Dog. Not only does she love Study Dog but she really learns from it without any help from me and she enjoys it as well. I wish that you had a program that would be beyond the 2nd grade as she is now ready for something a little harder and I really do not know where I am going to go to get it. If you do add some lessons could you please advise me so I can order whatever it might be. THANK THANK THANK YOU for all you have done for my daughter and me. We Love Study Dog." —Tom H., Parent of 16-year old
Victor: What are your thoughts on education these days?
Deme: Getting better every year due to measuring student achievement—versus forming an opinion—and schools being accountable.
Victor: What sort of formative experiences in your own education helped to inform your approach to creating StudyDog?
Deme: I observed how painful it is for a child when they fail academically and how much it affects their life. I knew that reading was the first academic challenge a child encounters and for most it is the greatest obstacle in their life. I then realized that when a child fails to learn reading skills, they start on the downward slope towards academic failure, which alters the quality of their life forever. If that is not enough, I also learned there is a time element; if a child does not learn to read by age 7, it is highly likely they never will—due to the way the brain develops. This observation exposed a chilling fact for me: if a child does not receive rigorous reading instruction between the ages of 4 and 6, the damage is very likely already done. Hence, if a parent first realizes a reading problem with their eight year-old child, there is little that can be done. I think of StudyDog as an "immunization against reading deficiencies" when administered between the ages of 4 and 7.
Victor: How does StudyDog address some of your concerns about education?
1. StudyDog is ideally aligned with the latest research on how to instill reading skills. It is based on recent discoveries on brain research, namely how to teach healthy reading versus non-healthy—like memorizing—methods which lead to a "false positive" in young children and failure at ages 8+.
2. StudyDog measures a child in the beginning—to determine an individualized reading program—and in every lesson. Educators call this "response to instruction" versus an instructor's opinion. This is important stuff.
3. StudyDog was designed to captivate a child's interest and to turn-around the reading instruction paradigm. Instead of a teacher or a parent teaching a child, the child learns from StudyDog over a long period of time, not a few lessons. StudyDog does this better than any other reading program available.
Victor: What is your outlook on the future of education?
Deme: Positive.
Victor Rivero tells the story of 21st-century education transformation. He is the editor-in-chief of EdTech Digest, a magazine about education transformed through technology. He has written white papers, articles and features for schools, nonprofits and companies in the education marketplace. Write to: email@example.com


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Title: VP, Director of Insights Department: INSIGHTS Reporting Structure: SVP, DIRECTOR, INSIGHTS The role of the VP, Director of Insights is to provide leadership internally to the team and externally in terms of driving and delivering actionable media and communication...


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- Format:Spiral bound
- Subject(s):Latin
- Author(s):Barbara Bell
- Available from: October 1999
A lively introduction to Latin for children aged 7 and over.
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Join in the fun with Minimus - a mix of myths, stories, grammar support and historical background! This Teacher's Resource Book provides full support for non-specialist teachers, including worksheets on various aspects of Roman life, suggested practical activities and translations of the Latin passages.
- Contents
Develops language awareness and helps pupils with the basics of English by identifying common Latin roots.
With a mix of myths, stories and historical background, Minimus supports cross-curricular activities including geography, history, RE and art.
Roman Britain is bought to life as myths, stories and illustrations give children a meaningful insight into a different culture and time.
The teacher's resource book contains English translations of the Latin passages, photocopiable worksheets and full teaching notes to support the non-specialist teacher.
The cassette and CD feature readings and extracts to help with pronunciation and contain lively readings of the Latin text to help motivate pupils.
Many schools have introduced Latin to their pupils through lunch of after-school clubs. For advice on setting up a Latin club email Minimus author, Barbara Bell: email@example.com
- 1. Meet the family
- 2. Food, glorious food
- 3. Work, work, work
- 4. The best days of your life
- 5. Romans and Britons
- 6. Off to town
- 7. The military machine
- 8. Time for a bath. 9. The soldier's life. 10. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 11. Some sad news. 12 Gods! Hear our prayers.
Advice on useful tools, activities and timetabling from teachers experiencing school closures.Read more
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Samsung Electronics may finally be ready to launch a smartphone based on the Tizen open-source operating system, and is eyeing Russia and India for the event.
Last year was an uphill struggle for Samsung's Tizen team. Products were supposed to start shipping before the end of the year, but the plan fizzled out as mobile operators Orange and NTT DoCoMo backed off plans to sell the phones.
But Samsung and its partner Intel have deep-enough pockets to continue to develop the operating system, hoping to turn it into a success and help wean the telecom sector off its dependency on Google and Android. About six months after the original target date Samsung is once again getting ready to launch a Tizen smartphone at an event in Moscow in the coming weeks, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The phone would go on sale in Russia and India, sources told the paper. These two countries have likely been carefully picked by Samsung, as it wants Tizen to get off to a good start.
"My take would be that there is more of an opportunity to drive volume in these markets as they don't depend on operator distribution or subsidies as the primary route to market," said Ben Wood, director of research at CCS Insight.
Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics agreed: "We believe Samsung is taking a path of least resistance for Tizen. India and Russia are relatively open markets, where mobile operators have limited control over distribution channels. This makes it easier for Samsung to sell new Tizen models. Breaking into the established markets in Asia, Western Europe and North America, where operators have far more control over smartphone distribution, may prove to be trickier for Samsung," he said.
Putting the "R" and "I" in BRIC
India and Russia are the third- and eighth-largest smartphone markets worldwide, and they often get overlooked for major new global product launches, according to Mawston.
Earlier this year Samsung launched the Tizen-based Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo smartwatches. Those products stand a greater chance of becoming successful, because the smartwatch market is still in its infancy and Tizen's reliance on HTML5 would be less of an issue with fewer and less advanced apps needed. Breaking the stranglehold Apple and Google have on the smartphone market will be very difficult irrespective of the tactics Samsung chooses.
The Tizen project was born about two years and 8 months ago, when the Linux Foundation and Limo Foundation rebooted their efforts to compete with iOS and the Android camp by merging their respective open-source mobile OSes, MeeGo and Limo. The backers of the operating system will meet next month at the Tizen Developer Conference, which takes place in San Francisco from June 2.


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Web Internet Marketing, Increase Income By Improving Sales Process In Any Business On The Internet
Web Internet Marketing: how to make this year a phenomenal success for your business
Many people who are trying to build an internet marketing business or run any business, whether trying to start a business or improve on an existing business, never really give themselves the gift of "Brutal Honesty" and this is never to be underestimated it is just too important to miss. We can all learn a great deal from past experience be it in an existing marketing career, starting a web internet marketing business or just improving on last year and building a better business on the internet for 2011. People simply don't think about their internet marketing business much beyond the idea that they'd like to make more money, and let's be honest with ourselves we would all like that, but a better business requires an improved business plan constantly evolving and focusing on strengths and weaknesses, this enables analysis of what is working and what we may be wasting our time on.
Without doubt everybody wants to improve their business model, but if you really want to achieve your income goals, then you need to be brutally honest about yourself and your business plan. You need to think about your business, assess your business and make wise choices for your business to increase your income in 2011. Now as I said earlier these principles apply to a career as much as they apply to a web internet marketing business.
Now let's get started analyzing and creating a better Internet marketing business model.
What I'm going to talk about right now totally fits in with any business on the internet. This is a monumental fact and philosophy that if followed will allow you to achieve your goals automatically every day. I'm going to tell you how to plan your business on the internet for 2011. Now it may well not sound like an obvious topic, but I can guarantee you that analysing and eliminating what did not work last year is the single best way to increase your success. When I first started in my business on the internet, I didn't plan at all, literally. There was so much to learn, and I was so confused, that I didn't know what to do. I now know this to be "information overload" and information overload restricts your thought process and prevents you from focusing on what you know that you need to do to achieve the results that you deserve.
How many times have you finished your day and thought, "My objective today was to achieve X but I was distracted by Y and did not complete my intended task for the day", well my friends this is something that has happened to us all and it's something we all need to try to eliminate. You see when I first started an internet marketing business plan I was constantly distracted by a learning plan. All that I really knew for sure was that I wanted to create a business on the internet that allowed me to live the life I wanted to live. So I kind of muddled through, trying this and that, trying to figure out what worked and what didn't. I bet this sounds all too familiar to most people reading this article, am I right?
It wasn't long before I realized that I was going nowhere, it had been a year or two and I felt like I'd made little or no progress at all, sure I had learned a lot but I had neglected to take decisive action. It was very frustrating, but I wasn't sure what was wrong. Then I asked some friends what they thought about what I was doing and how I was doing it. This was a couple of years ago when there were not so many successful internet marketers and business coaches. Now I needed some brutal honesty so I asked some friends who were having similar issues to be brutally honest with me.
It was clear to most of my friends that the actual problem was not sticking to a real internet business plan. I was chasing anything that I thought would work consistently, and that meant that I chased just about every web internet business model I could find, and as a result I failed to focus long enough on any one of them. Let me save you some years of frustration by telling you that you MUST have focus and you MUST have a business plan. It doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to be original or something fantastic. It simply oh so just has to exist. An internet marketing business plan, plus a learning plan equals a business model that should not be distracted from.
You may well be surprised at just how easy this is to do. There are only five steps, and they build on what you probably already know, but information overload has prevented you from implementing this as an actionable business plan. There are entire books written about this topic, but I'm going to give you a short plan for simply getting things done. Maybe that will save you some reading.
Right Then here goes let's get started, Here are the important steps that will improve your Internet Marketing business and your personal success.
First Step
Assess Last Year Now I know that's a bit obvious but all too many people miss this point, this is what most people know they should do but fail to do, now can I go into a little more detail. If you had a plan for last year, ask yourself (and your friends) how things turned out, ask yourself these two simple questions and be brutally honest with yourself about your answers!
* Did you achieve your goals?
* If you didn't achieve a particular goal, why do you think you fell short?
Many people may not have had a plan last year; if this is the case then it's just a matter of comparing your results to your goals. Even so you owe it to yourself not to skip this step. You just have to do something different maybe even something a little easier or simpler that you can really focus on. What you need to do is analyze what you want to achieve overall (success as you see it), and what you actually achieved last year to try to make progress toward that goal, then you need to focus on the steps that you took last year that had any sign of successful results before you were distracted or moved on to something else.
Sure, you may not have made it yet, but ask yourself if you really tried, I mean really tried and if you really focused on things that achieved even the smallest of results and just how hard you tried. I strongly suggest that you need to be very specific here. Ask yourself what you did specifically to achieve your long-term goals, and be brutally honest with yourself (again) and figure out if you wasted time, or lost focus, or whatever may have been responsible for preventing you achieving your goals. You will probably realize that you had little or no web internet marketing plan. This is the exercise I recommend all be it a simplified version, but I want you to look very deeply at what happened. Talk to friends and mentors. Talk to your family, if you feel comfortable doing that. Figure out where you've been for the past 12 months, so you can set yourself up to figure out where you'll go in 2011.
Second Step
Now go and select three big goals for 2011 Goals that you know that you can achieve if you put your full focus onto them. You see a year is just an arbitrary target. You can have lifetime goals if that is what you want or perhaps even your goals for the next decade. But focusing on 2011 can help you start achieving goals on a regular basis, which is what success is all about. So choose one, two or three big goals to accomplish next year, and then you will quickly learn to recognise exactly what success looks like.
You can have a single goal. That's fine, and it might actually make you more focused. But if you have two or three, that's good as well. However please do not pick any more than three goals as to do so is just setting yourself up for failure. That will hurt you more than you can imagine in the long run. Having too many goals is like having too many television channels to choose from. You end up hopping around looking for something good, and you end up not really watching anything. Quite similar to information overload, now do you understand what I'm telling you? Too many goals are a distraction. Between one and three well-defined goals lets you focus like a laser beam. Here's what a well-defined goal looks like.
First, it will be concrete not fluid. That means it's clearly something you want, and it's specific enough to mean something in the real world. It's all well and good to say "I want to be wealthy" but what does that mean? Put a number on it. Flesh it out. Make it as concrete as you can make it. Second, it has to be actionable for you, meaning that you can make progress toward that goal. It's fine to say you want to fly a plane, but are you really equipped to do it? Most people aren't, and it's probably not a good goal for your internet marketing business anyway.
Third Step
It is very important that this or these goals are achievable with a stretch maybe but achievable! It is also important to make your goals something that stretches you a bit, sort of like athletic training. If you don't push yourself, you'll never achieve more in achieving a better business. However be realistic don't push yourself to the breaking point. Push yourself hard, but not enough to get hurt. This is a judgment call, for certain, but it's also something you can both measure and feel.
Here's an example for you, if you failed to make any profit last year, saying your goal is to make five thousand dollars a day next year is clearly unrealistic. If you get there, great! But maybe consistently making $100 a day is a nice stretch goal and would give you a great lifestyle I'm sure $36,500 is not to be sneered at, but is realistically achievable in today's web internet marketing business world whether you are building a traditional brick and mortar business, a business on the internet or maybe even an e-bay or e commerce business, it doesn't matter $100 a day is realistically achievable and that's what counts every time.
Fourth Step
It needs to be exciting. I can't emphasize this one enough. If your goals don't motivate you to get out of bed in the morning, get other goals. Really, that's what goals are all about. Make sure your goals engage your mind and get you fired up. Once you're armed with your well-defined goals, it's time to plan how to achieve them.
Again I don't want to over emphasise this, but I now have a philosophy in life, if I don't enjoy doing something then I don't do it, simple. I love my work and enjoy everything about my internet marketing business, and I enjoy helping other people which is why I have enjoyed writing this article, and I truly hope you find benefit in reading my articles and books. There is a very old saying that applies to you if you are starting a business and here it is:
"God will not get you out of bed in the morning; you have to do that yourself"
Fifth Step
Determine Each Goal's Success Factor" that means that you have to figure out what you need to do to achieve each specific goal. If your goal is to make $100 a day, you need to make $100 a day to achieve it. But I'm talking about going beyond that. For example, the success factor for that goal might be for you to
* Sell your own product for $27
* Sell eight copies per day to net $100 after you pay 50% commissions.
If it's not a web internet marketing business that you are building then branch out, find new products or services to sell, remember new business is additional business, and please never ever neglect your existing customers, bring them value because it is far more difficult (and expensive) to find new customers than it is to look after your existing customers. Banks take note! Notice that your marketing business plan is now very specific. It talks about what your business on the internet model is (selling your own product) and what kind of results you need to get. You're not to the place of defining how you'll get there yet (that's next), but you're clearly saying what you need to achieve to accomplish your goal. "You just have to have faith, you do not need to see the whole staircase; you only need to take the first step" Dr Martyn Luther King.
There are no right or wrong answers here, your internet marketing business model might be affiliate marketing, or selling your own product, a mixture of the two, or even something else. Oh yes, and the goal you're trying to achieve needs to influence the success factor that you come up with for that goal. The example I just gave you was a specific revenue goal. But your goal could be something like building your list to 10,000 subscribers. In that case, your success factor could be:
* Give away something for free, a free report on the front end maybe, always aim to under promise and over deliver, go that extra mile.
* Attract 100,000 visitors so a relatively low 10% conversion rate will be good enough.
Different types of goals, different success factors. Now that you know what your success factors are for each goal, it's time to determine exactly how to get there. Yep time to take action.
Sixth Step
Unit Management: In other words break down your goals into smaller more manageable parts that you can focus on, and give yourself time targets in which to achieve them. There are two flavours of this; the first thing to do is break your goal into smaller more manageable and achievable chunks that you can work on throughout the year. The second thing to do is to break those smaller chunks into specific tasks so you know what to work on today.
Maybe you've heard this old saying how do you build a house? The answer is planning, design and then building bit by bit, foundations, walls, roof, windows, plumbing, now do you get the idea? You see you cannot do everything at once so break it down into smaller more achievable more manageable segments that you can easily achieve on a daily basis, then anything else that you achieve is an additional triumph for that day, and boy does that feel good, it makes your mind go into over achievement mode and this state of mind is very sticky, even more sticky than the mindset of I haven't achieved!
Start with time. Break each of your big goals for the year into quarters, as in calendar quarters. If your goal is to make $100 a day, maybe you should be making $25 per day after the first three months, then $50 per day after six months, and so on. Then break each quarter into monthly goals. So maybe you should be making roughly $8 per day after the first month, or something similar. There are several ways you can break your goals down into quarters and months, based on the type of goal you're dealing with. The two most common are:
* You can "ramp" the numbers you want to achieve, such as ramping up your subscriber count each month.
* You can set milestones, such as how much free time you have per day at the end of each month.
Now, once you've broken your goal into smaller chunks, it's time to come up with the daily and/or weekly tasks necessary to achieve each smaller goal. For example, to get to your $10 per day after the first month, you might say you'll get, on average, one new sale of your $27 product per day (that will do better than $10 per day, but you get the point). If you assume a one percent conversion rate, which is pretty conservative but also pretty common in today's web internet marketing, you'll need 100 people to see your offer every day, you then need to specify how you'll make that happen. Maybe you'll write a new article to publish, or make some more forum postings, or whatever it is that is needed to improve your business on the internet.
This is where you get to use your head, and ANY other resources you can draw on, to figure this out. Of course until you have some real numbers to base your estimates on, you'll have to guess. That's fine. Go ahead and guess and learn. Sometimes it's easier to think of things on a weekly basis. In this example, you might say you'll shoot for about 50 sales per week and do the daily tasks necessary to make that happen. This is where the dog sees the rabbit, so to speak. It's where you do the relatively simple daily things to help you achieve your big goals. You'll be building the house one brick at a time.
Seventh Step
Build in accountability: This is the step most people miss, and it's a killer if you overlook it. You need to be accountable for doing the daily or weekly stuff necessary to achieve your goals. I'm not saying you need a baby sitter, but you do need to recognize that you'll have a tendency to neglect your tasks. Understand that it's happened to all of us – however In the end, there's no substitute for being accountable to you. You just have to commit to doing what you need to do, and stick with it. But sometimes a little external encouragement can give you a big boost. So find a mentor or a friend to help you stay on track. Here's how I suggest you do it:
* Tell this person that you want to get some friendly nudging from time to time so you don't neglect what you need to do to succeed in your internet marketing business.
* Schedule a periodic meeting or phone call with this person to report your progress.
* Be honest with this person about what you really did or didn't do since your last conversation.
* Tell this person to give you a slap on the hand if you don't get the job done really, if you don't care about accomplishing your goals, having this kind of accountability partner won't help you.
Now if you do care, (and I know you do) knowing that you're going to have to admit to somebody that you fell short could give you the motivation you need to stay focused. Every little bit helps. And you can use your regularly scheduled accountability conversations to assess your plan, too. If it needs changing, change it. It's a plan and it's not written in tablets of stone. That's what this entire planning process is really all about "making progress", assessing progress and achieving things so it gets to be a habit.
Like I said, I previously failed to do this, and my results were anything but impressive. Once I started planning like this, I very quickly realized that success isn't hard at all. It's a matter of breaking things down and accomplishing smaller goals. Over time, the small goals add up to bigger and bigger goals.


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|Well, this here is my new (old) cupboard!!
Isn't it perty!?
I found it at the Christie Antique Show.
It was love at first sight.
I have been feeling the NEED to make changes within our home
find ways to infuse a little more color
|Now, this here is the cupboard that my husband and I built TOGETHER
last summer.
I know it's story.
It holds special meaning.
I really needed a LARGE kitchen cupboard for our family
We couldn't afford much at the time
|We already had these pine doors purchased from a yard sale for $3.00
that were taken off someones old cupboards.
So we went out and bought more pine (which cost more than planned!)
but we built this wonderful cupboard for our kitchen.
|I first stained it
then painted it with just regular latex paint
I actually mixed a few colors together that I had left over from other projects
|It was GREAT for all my spices & pantry items.
|I just loved (still love) it!
I e-mailed the owner of the cupboard and asked if she still had it
Or had it been sold at the antique show??
.........She still had it...........
|I had pictured right away that I would fill it with Ironstone and Linens
(which now I want more of because I had to take most of this from everywhere else)
|This exposed side has no green paint left on it
I think years ago someone scraped it off.
|But THIS side is loaded with wonderful chippy green paint!
Unfortunately I don't know the story of THIS cupboard.
I wish I did!
How old is it exactly?
Who owned it?
Where is it from?
What stories could it tell?
Ahh The BEAUTY of old!
| So here it is~starting another chapter in it's life.
In it's new home.
A wonderful girl gave it a lovely home.
|I think it looks wonderful and I hope she loves it.
I miss it.
I am really warming up to the change of having this new (old ) cupboard
Do you love the change??


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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Hey, wealthy foreigners! Want to live in the U.S.? Buy a home here.
International purchases of American homes are ramping up, and a new Senate bill designed to boost the ailing real-estate market would encourage globe-trotting investors to buy even more.
The bill, co-sponsored by Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Mike Lee (R.-Utah) would grant a U.S. visa to international investors who agree to spend at least $500,000 on residential real estate here.
If passed, the legislation could add to a surge in homebuying by international purchasers over the past year or two that's already given some local U.S. markets a welcome boost.
Foreigners spent $82 billion buying up U.S. homes in the 12 months ended in March, up 24% from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That represents 8% of total U.S. sales.
In places like South Florida, international buyers already account for a whopping 25% of the market. California, Texas and Arizona also attract many foreign buyers, as do Hawaii and New York.
South Florida condo sales have been surprisingly strong, said Brad Hunter, chief economist for Metrostudy, a housing analytics company. "And the majority of those sales are to South Americans and Canadians," he said.
All that international buyer activity has been a tonic for the anemic Florida market. Housing starts were up nearly 20% in the three months ended Sept. 30, according to Metrostudy.
In Manhattan, there's been a steady baseline of foreign condo buyers, said Jonathan Miller, CEO of Miller Samuel, a New York appraisal firm. They generally account for about 15% of investors, but in recent years, the buyer mix in New York City has shifted, he said.
When the euro was strong in the mid-2000s, buyers from Western Europe -- and particularly Ireland -- dominated.
The Irish "economy was so strong back home -- the 'Celtic Tiger' years -- that many were flush and wanted to invest and take advantage of the spread between currencies," said Miller. "There were marketing groups that would go to Ireland and sell packages of condos here."
Now, said Miller, the New York market now attracts more Asian and Latin American buyers than in the past.
Wei Min Tan, a real-estate agent with Charles Rutenburg Realty who specializes in selling Manhattan real estate to Asians, said his volume has more than doubled this year.
"I tell [buyers] it's going to be a stable investment that should go up 10% a year," he said. That's "not as much as they might get in Hong Kong or Shanghai," but there's less volatility, he said.
Even better for homeowners, foreign sales can be very easy: The buyers are often affluent and buy more expensive homes. The median sale price of $175,000 they pay in Florida, for example, is well above the median sales price of $136,500 for all transactions.
There's also no hassle over financing or waiting around for a mortgage lender to approve the deal: Overwhelmingly, international buyers pay cash.
Indeed, the Senate bill would require buyers to pay cash for the homes to qualify for the new "homeowner" visa. They'd also need to pay U.S. taxes and spend at 180 days a year in the country, and can't work here or take out home-equity loans against the properties. In return, they'd get to live here for at least three years.
The program could improve the housing market nationwide, said Schumer.
"We think a very significant number of people will be brought in," he said. "They'll sop up the extra supply of homes we have right now that has been dragging down the economy."
Foreigners seem to have more confidence in the U.S. real estate market than Americans do. Almost half of buyers surveyed by NAR cited the profitability or safety of their investments as the main factor that persuaded them to buy.
"With the economic distress in Europe," said Miller, "people are still looking for safe havens for investing and the U.S. is perceived globally as safe."
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Brunei Darussalam: Islamic banking earmarked for further growth
Asia | 24 Jan 2013
The Islamic banking segment strengthened its position within Brunei Darussalam's financial services industry last year on the back of rising demand that led to the launch of a new bank and major bond issuances. Having moved early to establish sharia-compliant services, the Sultanate is now well placed to carve out a niche for itself as an international Islamic banking centre. However, the industry will need to address a number of challenges, led by a shortage of skilled workers, if it is to fully support the segment's development.
In mid-October, Standard Chartered Bank Brunei (SCB) said it was mulling plans to introduce Islamic banking products this year to meet increased demand for sharia-compliant banking services in the Sultanate. SCB's announcement followed the September launch of the Islamic Bank of Brunei, which replaced the International Bank of Brunei as the sole domestically owned bank operating in the country.
The Tabung Amanah Islam Brunei was the first financial institution to offer savings and financing in accordance with Islamic principles when it was launched in 1991, followed two years later by the Islamic Bank of Brunei. They were joined in 2000 by the Islamic Development Bank of Brunei.
SCB's CEO, Lai Pei-Si, told reporters during a media luncheon held at Hua Ho Manggis Mall in October that launching an Islamic bank was a "logical step to take and logical step to consider because Brunei has an express need for Islamic banking products". He added that the bank would begin modestly by offering Islamic products, with hopes of bringing "much more comprehensive Islamic solutions into the country".
In April, the managing director of Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam, Javed Ahmad, said the market share held by sharia-compliant banking was expected to increase to 60% from its current levels of 40-55% over the next five years.
Speaking at a seminar on Islamic finance, Ahmad said Brunei Darussalam's strengths, led by strong economic and political stability, good infrastructure and government support, meant it was well placed to build a reputation as an Islamic financial centre. "With more aggressive marketing, Brunei Darussalam's journey towards making itself an Islamic financial hub might become a possibility in the next few years," he said.
A report prepared in December by global consultancy firm Ernst & Young said the worldwide value of Islamic banking would reach $1.55trn in 2012 and $1.8trn this year. Growth within the Muslim population of Middle East and North African countries and Asia, it added, were key drivers in the increasing demand for Islamic financial services. The Sultanate is clearly benefitting from early participation in the Islamic banking segment, having launched its first Islamic bond, the Short Term Government Sukuk Al-Ijarah programme worth BND150m ($111m) for a three-month certificate in April 2006.
In November, the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD), which is acting as the central bank, announced the successful pricing of its 82nd issuance of sukuk, or Islamic bond, which was worth BND100m ($122.5m) at a rental rate of 0.16%. The move followed a $100m, 90-day issuance that matures this month.
While Brunei Darussalam is well placed to tap into growing interest in Islamic financial services, observers have highlighted the need for the Sultanate to develop new Islamic banking products if it is to maintain its position in the market.
"Understanding the theory of Maqasid al-Sharia (the objectives of Islamic law) and the defining characteristics of an Islamic bank could encourage the Islamic banking industry to improve and excel in their product innovation as well as financial intermediation that can be linked to economic growth," Abdul Ghafar Ismail, a lecturer at the Research Centre for Islamic Economics and Finance, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, said at a conference in May.
Industry experts believe the Sultanate is working to address these challenges, with a particular emphasis on improving staff training after human resources was identified as a factor that could limit its success in the field. "Having strengthened its operational base and regulatory framework, Brunei is now taking steps to address a shortage of trained industry professionals in the Islamic financial sector by providing on-the-job training and local universities offering bachelors, masters and doctorate degree programmes related to Islamic finance," said Javed.
The Sultanate's early entry into the Islamic financial services market has provided it with solid foundations to develop the industry. Experts suggest the sector should now shift its focus to exporting that expertise and consolidating a global role in sharia-compliant banking.
Countries: Brunei
Topics: Finance


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We are waiting for more snow but we are certainly skiing in Vail everyday! Some pictures and a video for you below. I joined a couple of guests from New York City this afternoon. We mainly stuck to runs in Northwoods and Chair 14 (Sourdough lift). The western U.S. has been very dry this winter and yet we are open with 1500 acres. Conditions are hard packed until we receive some more snow, so stick to the groomed runs for now. You can ski the bumps (and we do) but they are icy between the tops. We are hoping for 2-5 inches by Sunday morning.
Heading down towards mid-Vail
A little video from January 5
Looking over towards Vail's mountain top
Skiing under Sourdough lift in Vail January 6, 2012
Best runs were off of Chair 14 in Vail


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Vancouver, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC rode a pair of second- half goals to a vital 2-0 defeat of the San Jose Earthquakes at BC Place on Saturday.
A scoreless opening period gave way to a prosperous 45 minutes after the restart as Vancouver's deadly strike partnership helped the 'Caps collect all three points.
Camilo Sanvezzo got the home side off the mark in the 60th minute, getting a toe to Nigel Reo-Coker's cross to poke a shot past Jon Busch.
Reo-Coker helped set up the insurance goal in the 74th minute as he fed Kenny Miller for his seventh goal of the campaign.
Vancouver climbs to 36 points on the season, good enough for second place in the Western Conference. San Jose remains second from bottom on 30 points.


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Graphic courtesy of www.preserveamerica.gov
Preserve America
Preserve America is a White House initiative announced by Laura Bush in 2003. The goals of the initiative include: a greater shared knowledge about the nation's past, strengthened regional identities and local pride, increased local participation in preserving the country's cultural and natural heritage assets, and support for the economic vitality of our communities. Major components of the initiative include the Preserve America Presidential Awards, Preserve America Communities, and federal support.
Oklahoma's Preserve America Communities
Ardmore, Durant, Enid, Muskogee, Newkirk, Oklahoma City, Ponca City, Shawnee, and Tulsa have been designated Preserve America Communities. Each city will now benefit from this special program, and the State Historic Preservation Office extends congratulations to them.
The Preserve America initiative is a federal program to encourage and support community efforts for the preservation and enjoyment of America's priceless cultural and natural heritage. The goals of the initiative include a greater shared knowledge about the nation's past; strengthened regional identities and local pride; increased local participation in preserving the country's cultural and natural heritage assets; and, support for the economic vitality of our communities. As of May 12, 2011, there are 867 PA communities nationwide.
Communities must complete a program application that features a special project related to historic preservation and economic revitalization. Summaries of the projects and activities highlighted in Oklahoma's Preserve America Communities applications are provided below.
Ardmore, Durant, Enid, Muskogee, Newkirk, Oklahoma City, Ponca City, Shawnee, Tulsa, and other Preserve America Communities receive national recognition for their efforts. Other benefits include appropriate use of the Preserve America logo on signs and promotional materials; notification to media, state tourism offices, and visitor bureaus; listing in a web-based directory to showcase preservation efforts and highlight heritage tourism destinations, and eligibility for grant assistance when funding is appropriated.
For Preserve America Community program information or for assistance with your community's application, contact Lynda Ozan at email@example.com. The Preserve America Communities application and other program information is available at www.preserveamerica.gov.
Ardmore (2005)
Ardmore's Preserve America Community application featured the rehabilitation of its 1918 Santa Fe Depot, and the community received its official Preserve America designation in January 2005. The depot project demonstrates the community's commitment to the preservation of its local landmarks, revitalization of its downtown commercial district, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and promotion of its many assets through heritage tourism. The project was the culmination of years of effort by the Ardmore Main Street Authority (now officed in the depot) and its many public and private partners.
Durant (2005)
Durant's application featured its downtown revitalization efforts. Since Durant's selection as an Oklahoma Main Street community, over $5 million in private funds has been invested in the central business district otherwise known as the Durant Main Street District. This does not include public reinvestment of over $750,000. The majority of the public reinvestment stems from Phase I of the Downtown Streetscape that was completed in November 2004. The project was funded with a TEA-21 grant (federal highway funds administered through the Oklahoma Department of Transportation) and supplemented by money and in-kind labor from the City of Durant as well as $50,000 raised from private sources by Durant Main Street. Subsequent phases of the project are now complete. Another project completed in 2004 was significant to their community heritage preservation efforts. The Three Valley Museum opened in June 2004 in Downtown Durant after a three-phase rehabilitation of a building on the verge of collapse. The second and third phases were jointly funded through TEA-21 and matching funds from the community. The total project cost was $880,600.
The same organizations and more were involved in sponsoring the 2002 Statewide Historic Preservation Conference. Durant Main Street worked with the State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma Historical Society, to host the event. Additional co-sponsors included the Oklahoma Main Street Center, Oklahoma Department of Commerce; Preservation Oklahoma, Inc.; Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; the City of Durant; Durant Historical Society; and Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
Enid (2008)
Enid's application featured rehabilitation of its historic Masonic Temple built by the Garfield County Masons in 1924. Today the magnificent building serves as the Enid Symphony Hall. The individual who had owned the building for several years donated it to the symphony. The Enid Symphony, the City of Enid, Enid residents, 40 local volunteers, and more than 50 artists from around the world recently completed a $3.2 million renovation project, adapting the building for a theater and event space. Public contributions, corporate sponsorship, and in-kind donations, particularly from artists, made the exemplary local initiative possible. Now the building boasts a symphony hall decorated with three Swarovski chandeliers and seats salvaged from a 1930s theater from Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Also renovated was an Egyptian style lobby, and the Eleanor Hoehn Hornbaker Banquet Hall, which are rented for weddings and other events. A virtual tour of the restored rooms can be found on the Enid Symphony's website (http://enidsymphony.uniqhorns.com). The City of Enid participates in the State Historic Preservation Office's Certified Local Governments Program, and, through this program, the downtown commercial district was recently listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The Enid Main Street Program provides vital services and guidance for the revitalization efforts in the district. The Enid community supports the Museum of the Cherokee Strip and many other civic, cultural, and recreational activities.
Muskogee (2010)
Muskogee's application featured its annual Azalea Festival. Each April, over 100,000 visitors come to see the Azaleas in bloom in the historic Honor Heights Park. The park dates to 1909 when the Muscogee (Creek) Nation ceded the land on Agency Hill to the city of Muskogee. For many years, it was merely a bramble of trees and vines with a winding wagon path around the hill that afforded a spectacular view of the city in the valley below. Gradually the city's parks department, along with the Muskogee Garden Club, began a transformation of the park turning it into an English style garden. The park won the Better Homes & Gardens More Beautiful America Award after the WPA had added picnic tables, ponds and covered pavilions among its winding trails. It was a private donation of Azalea plants that gave the park its greatest feature. Today, hundreds of varieties of Azaleas bloom during April and bring visitors from around the world.
Many cultural and heritage tourism events are now offered during the Azalea Festival including the Native American Art Market at the Five Civilized Tribes Museum and a Downtown Trolley Tour offered by the Three Rivers Museum. A downtown parade sponsored by the Parks Department, the Exchange Club's chili cook-off, a quilt show presented by the Muskogee Quilters Guild and Darkwood Film Art Institute's international film festival are other events tied to the Azalea Festival. The economic impact of these events averages $3.5 million spent in Muskogee during the month of April and with 143 jobs directly relating to Honor Heights Park and the Azalea Festival.
Newkirk (2005)
Newkirk's application featured a special effort on the part of young people to promote community vitality. The Newkirk community is extremely proud of its Junior Main Street Program. The first such program in the nation, it was organized in 1997 by four eighth grade students. Their slogan is "Living in the future to repair the past," and their mission statement is "To improve and preserve the future of Newkirk's downtown heritage and keep the pride the town has developed in the last 100 years." They also created their own logo. Among Junior Main Street's first efforts to promote Newkirk's heritage were two publications: A coloring book designed for fourth graders that features drawings of buildings in the Newkirk Central Business District (listed in the National Register of Historic Places and protected under a local ordinance) accompanied by a brief narrative about each property; and a pamphlet entitled "Fun & Almost Free Things To Do In Newkirk" that also features the historic downtown district and is popular with visitors and local citizens alike.
In 2002 Newkirk Junior Main Street initiated its most ambitious project, the annual spring community-wide clean-up, and it has made a real difference over the past three years. To help emphasize the importance of the project, the students arranged for the Kaw Nation Environmental Specialist to visit the after school program and discuss the importance of keeping the community litter free. The Junior Main Street project has received awards from Keep Oklahoma Beautiful. Thanks to Newkirk Junior Main Street and its many volunteers, the town looks great, and the neat and clean appearance of the Newkirk Central Business District is a real point of pride for the community. It is a place where tourists want to come. One more effort of these outstanding young people is their special project to clean outdoor sculpture in the community in accordance with guidelines from Save Outdoor Sculpture.
Oklahoma City (2008)
Oklahoma City featured the rehabilitation of the landmark Skirvin Hotel in its Preserve America Community application. The hotel closed in 1988 and remained vacant and deteriorating until the City of Oklahoma City stepped up to facilitate its preservation. The City formed Skirvin Solutions, purchased the building with Community Development Block Grant Funds, and entered into a contract with Skirvin Partners LLC to redevelop the hotel. The $55 million project benefited the community in many ways including the generation of more than 400 construction jobs; the creation of approximately 170 permanent hotel jobs (FTEs); the elimination of an example of blight; the addition of 225 hotel rooms two blocks from the convention center; increased tourism and convention business; the preservation of one of the most historically significant structures in the state; increased ad valorem and sales tax revenues; improved property values; and direct and indirect impact on the state and local economy. Because the project involved federal and state rehabilitation tax credits, and the developers and their architects, Kahler Slater, Inc. worked closely with the Oklahoma SHPO and the National Park Service to insure the work would meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, the resulting rehabilitated property retains its historic integrity for generations to come. The Skirvin reopened for business on February 26, 2007, right on schedule.
Ponca City (2007)
Ponca City's Preserve America Communities application featured its ongoing downtown revitalization program. The effort is led by Ponca City Main Street (PCMS). The City, the Chamber, local businesses, and citizens have given new life to the historic district. An increase in tourism and economic development in the heart of the city is a result of their efforts. The PCMS program began in 1987. Since that time the downtown district has benefited from a total of over $22 million in private investment and $15 million in public investment stemming from a sales tax and other city funds. The outcomes have been increased economic vitality, heritage tourism and community pride. The creation of the annual PCMS Birthday Bash and the development of the annual PCMS Iris Festival are just two examples of the program's activities that stimulate the local economy and feature community heritage.
Shawnee (2005)
Shawnee, Oklahoma's first Preserve America Community, received the designation in December 2004. Shawnee's Preserve America Community application featured the revitalization of its downtown, including rehabilitation work, educational programs, and heritage tourism initiatives, as justification for the designation. The revitalization effort began in 1989 when Shawnee was selected as an Oklahoma Main Street project. Since that time over $10 million of public/private monies have been invested in the revitalization area. A few specific accomplishments of the Shawnee community include completion of its downtown streetscape project, development of a downtown walking tour and stained glass tour, and hosting Windows of Opportunity in Preservation: Oklahoma's 16th Annual Statewide Preservation Conference in May 2004. Clearly, the strong public/private partnerships formed to revitalize downtown Shawnee are impacting the City's overall economy while fostering the preservation of its heritage.
Tulsa (2007)
The City of Tulsa and Tulsa County recently collaborated with local property owners to infuse new life into a struggling downtown. The Philtower Building, listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, occupies a pivotal position in Tulsa's legacy, and the conversion of its upper floors into lofts assures that its place at the cutting edge cannot be consigned to the past. This important revitalization effort is the focus of the City's Preserve America application. The building that has been a Tulsa icon for 80 years continues to adapt to modern needs with assistance from Tulsa taxpayers.
The history of the Philtower mirrors the history of Tulsa itself. In 1927 the Philtower's iron skeleton rose at Tulsa's core. From its Oil Boom origins to its contemporary rejuvenation, the Philtower has developed along with the city's needs. Beauty and functionality coexist in a structure that remains remarkably faithful to the architect's original concept. While the building's contributions to commerce are impressive, the Philtower's architectural significance is equally notable. Its Gothic Revival beauty, embellished with Art Deco details, endures. In 2004, The Philtower, LLC made the landmark decision to convert the upper floors to luxury residences, creating Tulsa's first mixed-use high-rise. This pioneering project successfully combined Federal and State Rehabilitation Tax Credits, private financial investment, and public dollars funded by Tulsa County and the City of Tulsa's local revenues. The local government contributed $1 million dollars of the $5 million in total project costs. The Philtower Lofts project makes the public statement that has influenced others to follow suit.


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The Setters assisted at the Food Bank of Westchester by sorting, organizing and packaging different types of bread. Then, once prepared, the bags were placed into large boxes, which were sealed and sent out for delivery. In total, the Setters packaged more than 1,800 pounds of bread to help feed people throughout Westchester County.
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Global LTE Advanced And 5G Market to grow at a CAGR of +15% by 2021 Along with Major Regions Analysis and Revenue Analysis Forecasts to 2022 – Top Manufacturers Profiled are Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T Inc., Ericsson Inc., SK Telecom Co. Ltd, NTT Docomo Inc., Verizon Communications
Houston, TX -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/30/2018 -- A comprehensive analysis of the Global LTE Advanced And 5G Market is been done in this intelligence report. It includes the investigations done on the past progress, ongoing market scenarios, and future prospects. An accurate data of the products, strategies and market shares of leading companies in this particular market is mentioned. This report presents a 360-degree overview of the competitive scenario of the Global market. The report further projects the size and valuation of the global market in the coming forecast period. The report also presents a thorough qualitative and quantitative data affecting to the projected impact of these factors on market's future growth prospects.
Global LTE Advanced And 5G Market to grow at a CAGR of +15% during Forecast Period.
According to the research report, the global market for LTE Advanced And 5G Market is witnessing a continual rise in its valuation with the advancement in technologies, which is impacting the consumer behavior and, accordingly, their purchasing patterns to a great extent. In addition to this, the rising penetration of internet and the surge in mobile surfing are anticipated to boost the demand for LTE Advanced And 5G across the world, states the research report.
Top Key Vendors:
Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T Inc., Ericsson Inc., SK Telecom Co. Ltd, NTT Docomo Inc., Verizon Communications, Qualcomm Inc., Nokia Networks, Samsung Group, Deutsche Telecom AG, Telefonica S.A and Huawei Technologies Company Ltd..
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The Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) vertical is expected to hold the largest market share in the LTE Advanced And 5G market in 2012. The healthcare sector is expected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2017 to 2022, in the LTE Advanced And 5G market. The BSFI industry will be investing greater resources in the market to focus on providing better services to customers through their limited global and local workforce. Authorities are encouraging investments in the healthcare industry in a bid to modernize and digitize the industry infrastructure and workforce.
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On the basis of geographical regions, the Global LTE Advanced And 5G Market is segmented broadly into Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. The global market is still in its exploratory stage in most of the regions but it holds the promising potential to flourish steadily in coming years. The major companies investing in this market are situated in Canada, U.K., and the US, India, China and some more countries of Asia Pacific region. Consequently, Asia Pacific, North America, and Western Europe are estimated to hold more than half of the market shares, collectively in coming years.
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Global LTE Advanced And 5G Market Research Report 2017-2022
Chapter 1 LTE Advanced And 5G Market Overview
Chapter 2 Global Economic Impact
Chapter 3 Competition by Manufacturer
Chapter 4 Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2017-2021)
Chapter 5 Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2017-2021)
Chapter 6 Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type
Chapter 7 Analysis by Application
Chapter 8 Manufacturing Cost Analysis
Chapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers
Chapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders
Chapter 11 Market Effect Factors Analysis
Chapter 12 Market Forecast (2017-2021)
Chapter 13 Appendix


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Falls and Fear of Falling in Parkinson's Disease With and Without Deep Brain Stimulation
12 Dec, 2013, 12:53 ET
The Parkinson Alliance reports findings pertaining to falls in Parkinson's on DBS4PD.org
KINGSTON, N.J., Dec. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New findings from The Parkinson Alliance (PA) show that falls are highly prevalent in Parkinson's disease (PD) and may be adversely impacted by deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy. Given that falls are a substantial problem for people with PD with health, social and psychological implications, PA conducted a survey related to falls for individuals with PD with and without DBS.
In the study "Falls and Fear of Falling in Parkinson's Disease With and Without Deep Brain Stimulation," there were 1,153 individuals who participated, including 334 participants with PD who underwent DBS and 819 individuals with PD without DBS. There was a high prevalence for falls in this population with increased frequency as the disease progresses. Individuals who have DBS of the subthalamic nucleus (DBS-STN) have 2.52 times the risk of falling compared to individuals with PD who do not have DBS. Factors contributing to falls include balance problems, gait disturbance, freezing, fatigue, vision problems, difficulties with cognition, depression and anxiety, and decreased arm swing.
"This research is part of the bigger mission for PA: to give a voice to the individual with PD to better understand his or her experiences with this disease, and to give practical recommendations to help individuals with PD and those who share their lives," said Jeffrey Wertheimer, Ph.D., clinical neuropsychologist and Chief Research Consultant for PA. "Falls may result in increased medical attention and expense, psychological distress, restriction in engagement of activities, and reduced quality of life. This particular study highlights the importance of attending to the risk factors related to falls in PD, and implementation of fall prevention programs. Falls and related treatment should be discussed regularly and routinely with individuals with PD ... For individuals who are receiving DBS therapy, increased education about and intervention for fall prevention should be discussed during each follow-up visit with their doctor," added Wertheimer.
About The Parkinson Alliance (PA)
The Parkinson Alliance is a national non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for Parkinson's research and improving the quality of life in the DBS community. Margaret Tuchman, President of PA, underwent bi-lateral DBS in 2000 and founded DBS4PD.org to keep the community informed.
For more information about research conducted by PA, visit www.dbs4pd.org or call 1-800-579-8440.
Aurore Duboille
DBS Research Coordinator
[email protected]
SOURCE The Parkinson Alliance


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The Feldenkrais Method for Singers—Achieving Relaxed Alertness
The practice of Feldenkrais can help singers perform with minimum effort and maximum efficiency. In this video, Feldenkrais practitioner Karen Clark demonstrates how being both relaxed and alert can bring greater freedom in singing.
Episode 1: Introduction (17:07 min.)
Episode 2: Centering with the Breath (5:59 min.)
Episode 3: Opening the Throat (6:09 min.)
Episode 4: Relaxing the Tongue (11:30 min.)
Episode 5: Releasing Eye Tension (9:52 min.)
Episode 6: Vocalizing to Release Tension (6:01 min.)
Episode 7: Achieving Relaxed Alertness (3:25 min.)
Singing with Your Whole Self: The Feldenkrais Method and Voice
Clark, Karen. (2002) Article: The Impulse to Sing; Feldenkrais Journal, No. 14