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Extension Expert Gives Advice on Safety
Perryville families returning to their flooded homes should exercise caution before and during the cleanup process, according to a University of Missouri Extension emergency management expert.
"There are several dangers that people need to keep in mind when dealing with any structure that has been flooded," said Frank Wideman, community emergency management specialist. "Before you even enter the building, make sure it looks structurally sound," he said. "Next, make sure that the electricity is off to avoid the risk of electrocution, and that the gas has been shut off."
Because flood waters contain contaminants and debris, people need to take health precautions, he said. MU Extension has a free step-by-step guide to cleaning flood-damaged homes. The publication covers electrical systems, repairing walls, cleaning furniture, flooring and floor coverings, bedding, kitchen items, and controlling mold and mildew. The guide also includes financial advice, including filing insurance claims, avoiding fraud and hiring a contractor.
Copies of "Resources for Your Flooded Home" are available at MU Extension offices, disaster recovery centers and online.
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Campus: Extension
Key words: Health, Teaching, UM System,
County: Perry


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Among the many mysteries inside Iran's ruling hierarchy, the Quds Force has a special place in the shadows.
It's been linked by Western officials and others to dozens of clandestine operations around the world such as a deadly bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires in 1994, aiding Shiite militias in Iraq and helping arm Afghanistan's Taliban _ and now as the alleged masterminds of a plot to kill the Saudi Arabian ambassador in Washington.
Imagine the spymaster cloak of the CIA, the under-the-radar capabilities of military Special Forces and the deep-pocket resources of the Pentagon and big business rolled together. This comes close to explaining the powerful underpinnings of the Quds Force, the Arabic word for Jerusalem and a reference to the city's Islamic holy sites.
The Quds Force _ with between 5,000 and 15,000 agents and field tacticians by various estimates _ sits atop the vast military and industrial network of the Revolutionary Guard, the defenders of Iran's ruling clerics and their hold on power.
The Guard effectively has a blank check. It controls most major programs _ including nuclear, missile development and Iran's budding space efforts _ as well as a millions-strong paramilitary corps known as the Basiji that's been used as street muscle to put down protests.
The Quds Force is seen as the Guard's A-team around the world. The favored route, experts say, is the low-risk channels of arming and training proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and Shiite militiamen in Iraq _ whose armor-piercing roadside bombs have been linked by the U.S. military to Iran.
In July, the U.S. military's top spokesman in Iraq, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, attributed a sharp rise in attacks to a suspected Quds-aided faction known as the Hezbollah Brigades. Earlier this year, Western intelligence officials in Afghanistan claimed a Taliban leader met in Iran with Quds Force personnel to ask for stronger weapons to fight NATO forces.
A 2007 report by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies claimed that Quds agents have special "sections" in Iranian embassies that are off limits to regular diplomatic staff. It's unclear, the report said, whether even the ambassadors have full knowledge of Quds Force operations.
"Its ranks are said to be comprised of Iran's most highly skilled special operations and intelligence officers," said Michael S. Smith II, a counterterrorism expert and co-founder of the security consultant group Kronos Advisory, which presented a report on the Quds Force to a congressional caucus in April.
The report described the Quds Force as part of a "known unknown" for Western security officials trying to track its network.
In August, the European Union announced imposed harsher sanctions against the Quds Force, saying it had given support to Syrian President Bashar Assad _ a key Iranian ally _ in attacks against anti-government protesters. The U.S. Treasury in 2007 declared the Quds Force a "specially designated global terrorist organization."
Iran, however, barely acknowledges the Quds Force exists. The group is not mentioned in the national budget and doesn't openly participate in military parades alongside its Revolutionary Guard partners. A former CIA officer, Robert Baer, has said it's believed that the Quds Force requires the use of couriers for all sensitive communications _ a technique that was also used by Osama bin Laden.
One of the few public faces with known Quds links is Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, who was the force's commander during the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people. Vahidi and four others are wanted by Argentina in connection with the attack.
Quds commanders, however, come under no public scrutiny in Iran and have an open door to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last word in all major affairs.
If this week's U.S. allegations prove true, a Quds plot would potentially have links to the highest levels of Iran's theocracy.
While the U.S. has no direct proof, and did not charge in court, that the top Iranian leaders approved an attack on Saudi envoy Adel Al-Jubeir, a U.S. official said any such operation would be vetted at the highest levels.
President Barack Obama said Thursday that the U.S. will make sure that Iranian officials are held accountable for "reckless behavior." People in the Iranian government "were aware of this plot," Obama told a White House news conference.
Iran, in turn, has called the U.S. allegations baseless.
Manssor Arbabsiar, a 56-year-old U.S. citizen who also holds an Iranian passport, was charged along with Gholam Shakuri, who authorities said was a Quds Force member and is still at large in Iran.
U.S. officials described the assassination plot as "amateur hour."
The sloppy and traceable aspects of the alleged conspiracy _ such as two normal bank transfers of more than $100,000 and bringing an Iranian-American used car salesman into the plot _ appear contrary to the Quds' hallmarks of working through third parties and carefully avoiding leaving fingerprints.
Rolf Tophoven, director of the Institute for Terrorism Research and Security Policy in Essen, Germany, said the U.S. accusations raised "a lot of questions."
"I'm very skeptical," he said. "If the government of Iran wanted to do something against a foreign Arab diplomat, it would not be necessary to do it in the United States. They could do it in any country of the Middle East."
Tophoven said a possible scenario is that "radical elements" of Quds could have acted on their own.
"Maybe some hard-core elements in Quds did it on their own, not on the order of the government," he said. "These guys (the Iranian government) are not so stupid to give an order to kill a foreign diplomat because the damage to the regime in Tehran would be catastrophic in the Middle East and elsewhere."
Like most of Iran's present military system, the Quds Force took shape during the 1980-88 war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq _ which at that time was backed by Washington.
Some analysts see Quds Force's hands emerging as early as the 1983 truck bombings of U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut that killed 241 Americans. Others claim the Quds Force helped direct the 1996 bombings of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American military personnel.
Any possible clues of a Quds Force role are long buried under layers of front organizations and the meticulous secrecy that has become the group's hallmark.
On the battlefield, however, it is harder to hide involvement. Iran has supplied Hezbollah with Fajr-4 and Fajr-5 rockets used in the 2006 summer war with Israel. In Iraq, suspected Iranian-linked roadside bombs, known as IEDs, were once the chief killer of U.S. troops.
"What we do know is that the Quds Force was instrumental in providing these deadly IEDs to networks inside of Iraq," said then U.S. President George W. Bush in February 2007. "And we also know that the Quds Force is a part of the Iranian government. That's a known. What we don't know is whether or not the head leaders of Iran ordered the Quds Force to do what they did."
Associated Press writer David Rising in Berlin contributed to this report.

subset: commoncrawl


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Greek PM vows to eradicate far-right Golden Dawn
Sep. 30, 2013
NEW YORK (AP) — Greece's prime minister said Monday his government will do "whatever it takes" to completely eradicate the extreme-right Golden Dawn party, whose neo-Nazi leaders have just been arrested.
Antonis Samaras said the Greek people "are very smart" and are now seeing the party for what it really is.
"I believe that they will realize that they should not follow the party that has such extreme ideological positions and ideas," he told a meeting in New York of AJC, the American Jewish Committee, which advocates globally on Jewish issues.
Samaras, in New York to attend the U.N. annual meeting of world leaders, added that he does not believe the party will return with greater popularity because its leaders will be viewed as victims or martyrs. Golden Dawn's approach and thinking about politics is "so negative" and "so hideous ... (and) so catastrophic to Greeks and Greece that I do not believe they might come back," he said.
Golden Dawn, a formerly fringe nationalist group with neo-Nazi roots that started in the late 1980s, enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity during Greece's financial crisis which began about six years ago. They won 18 seats in the 300-member Parliament in the 2012 election.
Since the election, Golden Dawn has been blamed for numerous violent attacks, mostly against dark-skinned immigrants but also against gays and left-wing activists. The party has been increasingly on the defensive since the Sept. 17 fatal stabbing of a left-wing Greek activist rapper, blamed on a Golden Dawn supporter. Though the party has vehemently denied any role in the killing, it has appeared to dent its appeal among Greeks and apparently sparked the current government crackdown.
Several of the 100 invited guests at Samaras' speech expressed concern at Golden Dawn's anti-Semitic and fierce anti-immigrant stance, and the crowd loudly applauded his pledge to crack down on the party.
"We are dedicated (to) completely eradicating such a shame," he said. "There is no room for the neo-Nazis in any part of the democratic world, and there is no tolerance for the neo-Nazis, or for any kind of extremism, undermining democratic institutions."
On Saturday, police counterterrorism units started arresting key Golden Dawn leaders and by Monday, six lawmakers — including the party's top two officials — 14 other members and two police officers with alleged sympathies had been arrested. Warrants have been issued for 10 more people.
The crackdown marks the first time since the 1974 restoration of democracy after a military dictatorship that sitting members of a Greek parliament have been arrested.
On several occasions in his speech and the questions that followed, Samaras used the word "deracinate" — meaning uproot or eradicate — to describe his government's goal. He said Greek authorities reacted decisively in "identifying the culprits" of alleged crimes by Golden Dawn leaders and those "who possibly stand behind them."
The judicial system is now in charge — not the government and it will "take care of them" and it "will deracinate this phenomenon from Greece," he said.
As for the government, Samaras said: "We are going to do everything we can for the justice system to do exactly what it has to do, and I think they started correctly and will finish in the best way."
The Greek leader stressed the link between New Dawn's rise and Greece's depression, which has erased about 25 percent of Greece's gross domestic product and sent unemployment as high as 27 percent. Youth unemployment skyrocketed to more than 60 percent.
Despite the standard of living dropping by about 40 percent, which hasn't happened anywhere in the post-World War II era, Samaras said, "the Greek people showed maturity, resilience and determination and we now have started to ascend, getting up step-by-step out of the worst part of the crisis."
He stressed that the people who voted for Golden Dawn were not neo-Nazis.
"The heads of the group are neo-Nazis," he said. But their supporters were reacting to the terrible times that Greece went through.
"I would never call the people who voted for them neo-Nazis," he said.
Samaras stressed that the arrest of the Golden Dawn supporters was a first in Europe, but he said other countries in the region are facing people with similar ideologies.
"What to me is important is to deracinate totally this group, and the only way you can do it is when unemployment will start falling," he said.
"That's what we're planning to do, and hopefully this will be done, and this will establish a precedent ... for the rest of Europe."
With 18 lawmakers in the 300-member Parliament, the Golden Dawn is slated to receive more than 873,000 euros ($1.18 million) in 2013.
The Greek government submitted draft legislation to Parliament late Monday aimed at cutting state funding to the party. The proposed legislation would suspend state funding for a party if any members of its leadership or lawmakers are being prosecuted for felonies.
"Democracy cannot fund its rivals," said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos. "When you have a criminal organization which is operating inside a political party, there must be sanctions regarding funding."
Associated Press writers Nicholas Paphitis and Elena Becatoros contributed to this report from Athens.


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18 Helmikuu 2014
If you've visited my website before, you might have noticed I have not updated it for a while. I have been receiving emails saying "Where are new wallpapers?", "We miss you!" - and I truly appreciate them. Silence is proved means of defence for me. However, allow me to write a little bit, just in case you're interested.
Some time ago, I used to combine doing outsource design and development with drawing wallpapers. It worked well, sometimes challenging, but manageable. I had steady flow of jobs, and enough time to draw a wallpaper every week or two.
Then, three things happened.
First, my little Alice was born. Yeah I know it was three years ago :-) But I only felt I was able to re-structure myself about a year ago. A kid is definitely the greatest gift, and I heard there are young parents who are able to keep on the pace of their work - I was not one of them. The "project guilt" was accumulating.
Second, seemed like everyone who wanted to purchase Vladstudio account have done so :-) The decline in sales is evidently also due to lack of updates, promotion and generally efforts I was (not) able to spend to keep my website hot.
Third, I found myself involved into several really great projects, started by awesome people, and backed by great ideas, but they took all my time and did not return any money. It could not last long, unfortunately.
So after the most stressful summer of 2013 (filled with personal stuff), I simply said "No" to everything. I burned all bridges. I was squeesed and sat silently, unsure what to do. One thing I know for sure - enough of "startup", "freelance", "independent".
Suddenly, my friend, working for large US company, recommended me to her boss, looking for graphic designer. I joined them immediately, thinking that the timing could not be more perfect, and it must be more than just coincidence. So this is where I am now - still living in Irkutsk, working remotely, but having only one boss (and she's the best boss ever, that's for sure!), one project, and most importantly - stability. Oh stability, I missed you so much these years!
But where are new wallpapers!? - I hear you asking. I'm afraid they're still in my head. It's either work or family (or winter flu) right now. Just need some more time.
Thanks for reading! And once again, I have been most lucky to get the audience like this. Your warm emails support me enormously.
← Vladstudio.com - still alive Who Stole The Moon? - free (paper) book giveaway →


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IFRS Roadmap: Planning a Safe, Economical Trip
IFRS, with proper planning, may now be comparatively economical as well as beneficial to a business.
Many U.S. executives don't have fond memories of the effort required to address the year 2000 issue or implement the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. For many, a significant expenditure of time and capital was necessary to deal with those issues. Today, with the conversion to
International Financial Reporting Standards underway in many countries and pending in others, some executives are wondering if a déjà vu experience is in the offing.
Fortunately, IFRS conversion efforts need not follow the Y2K or SOX pathway. Those arduous routes can be avoided in favor of an IFRS journey that may not only be comparatively safe and economical, but may also yield some tangible benefits along the way.
But planning is paramount, and procrastination and passivity, likely counterproductive. Experiences in the dozens of countries that have completed the conversion process suggest unforeseen obstacles that can disrupt an IFRS journey in various ways:
- Expense: For many companies, IFRS conversion resulted in a major capital outlay and significant budget overruns.
- Scope: Unprepared organizations learned that conversion involved much more than shuffling the chart of accounts and ensnared many more functions than finance.
- Inefficiency: Companies that delayed conversion until the deadline was upon them often resorted to a "fire-drill" approach, which often led to inefficiency, complexity, distraction and redundancy.
In short, now may be the window of opportunity to get your IFRS roadmap drawn, before the pressures of mandatory conversion dates dictate a less advantageous path to compliance. Consider creating the itinerary now, take care of some maintenance issues, and then tuck away your roadmap in the glovebox until you are ready to embark, secure in the knowledge that your route has been planned.
While much of the world has converted, or soon will, uncertainty exists in the United States as of mid-2009. The changing of the White House guard in January also ushered in a new chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary L. Schapiro. And the IFRS conversion milestones established by her predecessor are now uncertain.1 Yet it should be noted that Ms. Schapiro's well-publicized concerns focused primarily on the implementation timetable, not on the overall suitability of IFRS as a reporting standard for U.S. exchange-listed companies. Indeed, the chairman has expressed her support for a high-quality set of international financial reporting standards.2
According to a recent Deloitte* IFRS Pulse Survey of more than 150 finance professionals from a cross-section of industries, 75 percent support or strongly support the movement toward a single set of high-quality global accounting standards such as IFRS.3
Meanwhile, while regulatory uncertainty may have slowed the preparation of finance departments across the United States, the rest of the world has moved inexorably toward IFRS. More than 100 countries across the globe, including those in Europe, currently require or permit IFRS reporting. Chile officially adopts the standard this year; Brazil in 2010; Argentina, Canada, India and Korea in 2011; Mexico has instituted and Japan is weighing mandatory use by 2012.4
Where does this leave U.S. companies? Stuck in neutral perhaps, a position many executives would rather avoid. According to the aforementioned Deloitte survey, 62 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that, "The SEC should soon establish a 'date certain' for when IFRS would be required for U.S. issuers, as opposed to a timeline based on interim conditions and milestones."5
Despite the calendar uncertainty, it may be time to plan your trip.
A few other considerations:
- IFRS will impact many areas: There's simply no avoiding it. A successful IFRS conversion project will likely involve not only technical accounting and financial reporting, but also issues around internal processes and controls; regulatory, statutory and management reporting; technology infrastructure; tax; treasury; legal and contracts; compensation and human resources; and communication.
- Some companies will underestimate the challenge: The European experience, which involved a wholesale conversion within a compressed timeframe, overwhelmed many companies with the scope and complexity of the project.6
- The disruption can be successfully minimized if not eliminated: A key lies in taking full advantage of the runway in front of you: don't try to land this jumbo jet on the last 50 yards of tarmac. A conversion effort that is sane (in the sense of avoiding the fire-drill atmosphere that characterized SOX and Y2K), successful (able to withstand the scrutiny of regulators, analysts and your independent auditor), and economical (remaining within a reasonable budget) will likely require a long-term approach. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants considers a three to five year timeline to be reasonable for transition to IFRS. Other organizations, including Deloitte, have made similar comments. Greater benefits and fewer disruptions will likely result from adopting the longer timeframe.
The European experience
When the European Union converted to IFRS in 2005, it was, for many companies, an unpleasant trip driven by the tight timelines imposed by the European regulators. Without the luxury of time to convert on a staggered basis, many companies were forced to rush through the process, leading to inefficiencies and ineffectiveness. Among the lessons learned were the following:
- The magnitude of the project was underestimated: Some companies began the process with the misconception that conversion was primarily an accounting issue. That notion was replaced with a dawning realization of the true scope and complexity of the project.
- Some projects were too narrowly focused: Due to the tendency cited in the bullet above, some companies didn't pay proper attention to the nonfinancial impacts of conversion, including the effect on information technology, human resources, legal and tax.
- Procrastination and delays were sometimes costly: Some companies paid a price for waiting until the (already tight) deadline was imminent, in terms of higher costs and greater diversion of resources.
- Manual processes were relied upon: Some companies relied upon manual changes and spreadsheets, which led to errors, costly rework, and other unintended consequences.
- The information systems implications were often underestimated: Due to exhaustive disclosure requirements under IFRS, significant upgrades to software applications were required to capture the additional information. Upfront planning to carry this out was not always implemented on a timely basis.
- Some companies resorted to extraordinary measures: These companies did not achieve "business as usual" state for IFRS reporting because they weren't able to fully integrate IFRS into their systems and processes. Instead, the first-year financials were produced using extraordinary, labor intensive and unsustainable measures.
- Potential benefits were deferred: In some cases, due to these cited factors, the first-year effort focused primarily on "getting it done." Potential benefits in terms of reducing complexity, increasing efficiency, decreasing costs, and improving transparency had to be delayed. Several years in, some companies are only now starting to realize benefits from IFRS implementation.
The added complexities of SOX
The systems of internal control over financial reporting that companies enhanced in response to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 may be impacted by a conversion to IFRS.
Currently, most U.S. exchange-listed companies attest to the effectiveness of internal controls that are designed to support reporting under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). But a conversion to IFRS will create different information needs, which will require different processes to support them and thus, potentially, entail a different control configuration to facilitate accurate reporting.
To guard against falling out of SOX compliance during the IFRS conversion process, consider factoring this potential issue into planning from the start. Talk to your external auditor about the implications of an IFRS conversion on your system of internal controls over financial reporting.
Yet it should not be implied that the conversion experience in the EU was uniformly negative. Many companies made great strides and derived tangible benefits from the conversion, and some best practices can be gleaned from their experiences. For example, many organizations perceived a weakness in terms of in-house knowledge of IFRS and therefore prioritized staff training early in the process to facilitate readiness by the transition date. Other companies made a concerted effort to reach out to investors to discuss potential impacts during the transition, focusing on some key measures such as operating income, net cash/debt, and other financial metrics that may be impacted by the conversion. And other organizations benefited from extensive, ongoing communications with their independent auditors as the process unfolded, particularly in terms of dealing with numerous options and alternative accounting treatments.
One significant lesson: It's never too early to start planning your transition.
Superhighway or scenic route?
The destination is clear, but the arrival date is murky. Given these conditions, what is the best route?
The choice between a rapid conversion — the superhighway — and a more leisurely pace — the scenic route — will hinge on many factors, including your business size and footprint, strategy and plans, risk appetite, and corporate culture, along with regulatory measures and your competitors' actions. Both routes will get you there, albeit with the high speeds of the superhighway potentially impacting the efficiency and safety of the journey.
Global companies with aggressive competitors may wish to accelerate as quickly as regulations allow. Conversely, domestic organizations with a conservative philosophy may be content with a leisurely pace, bypassing any optional adoption dates to wait for a mandatory deadline.
Generally speaking, a superhighway approach is characterized by a relatively short timeframe, simultaneous conversion of all reporting entities, dedicated project teams, and commitment of significant resources. Conversely, a scenic route approach is conducted over a more extended period, with phased conversion of reporting entities, with at least some personnel retaining their "day job" duties, and with a spreading out of project costs.
Regardless of which road you choose, the primary objectives should be the same as they would be for any journey: arrive safely and on time, as efficiently as possible.
Map your route
While the pace and route may vary according to a company's needs and objectives, all should consider beginning the trip with the same navigation tool firmly in hand — an implementation roadmap.
A carefully drafted roadmap may allow a company to generate value from an exercise that otherwise could be solely reactive and compliance-driven. The map may lead to reduced implementation costs, standardization and centralization of statutory reporting activities and related controls, potential tax savings in certain areas, greater consistency of accounting policy application, and, if desired, even core finance transformation.
Conduct a safety check: The following items may help lead you through a safe journey.
Designate a sponsor and a project leader. Someone needs to take charge, so identify a leader with clout to sponsor the effort, such as your chief financial officer, chief accounting officer, or other C-suite executive. Also choose a project leader who will run the day-to-day aspects of the operation and report back to the sponsor. Because the effort will require the cooperation of many, your designees will likely need sophisticated people skills to persuade when possible and demand when necessary. These leaders should be able to exert influence across the organization when there are IFRS-related changes to implement, problems to solve, and decisions to be made. This role becomes especially important in larger, matrixed organizations that may have dozens of different IFRS work streams — from accounting and tax to systems and controls — working in parallel.
Create a PMO. A project management office provides a single point of coordination that can help you leverage project benefits; facilitate the consistent application of accounting policy and changes across a global enterprise; issue important communications and consistent nomenclature; deploy standard templates; and help all parties adhere to a single, unified plan.
Determine where you are. It's hard to reach your destination if you don't know your starting point. Find answers to these preliminary questions:
- What are our current and pending IFRS reporting requirements?
- How many local GAAPs do we currently report under?
- How many of our business units already prepare IFRS financial statements?
- How many of our competitors have converted?
- Do we have a major ERP or finance transformation project in the works?
- Are we involved in or considering a major acquisition?
- What is the level of IFRS knowledge within the company, both domestically and globally? Will training or hiring be required to augment it?
Prioritize your people needs. Many U.S.-based companies face a dearth of IFRS knowledge within their organizations. While over half (54 percent) of the respondents in the Deloitte survey indicated some or sufficient knowledge of IFRS in-house, 40 percent of the respondents admitted they had no IFRS knowledge or experience in-house.7 Only 27 percent of respondents indicated that the impact of IFRS on personnel has been evaluated.8 You may need to employ a combination of training, hiring, and transfers to bridge the gap.
Engage your independent auditor. Consider getting assistance with your effort by drawing upon a well-informed source — your independent auditor. Larger accounting firms likely have participated in numerous conversion projects; tap into that knowledge early in the process.
Get your team aligned. Gather key members of your executive team to bring everyone up to speed and get thinking aligned. Consider asking your independent auditor to make a presentation. Make sure your agenda includes an IFRS primer and a regulatory update. Discuss your current reporting status across all entities. Explore the potential impacts across departments, divisions and geographies. And end up with a Q&A session to hear and address concerns.
Budget now, even if you plan to spend later. Despite heightened interest and strong support of IFRS, 64 percent of respondents to the Deloitte Pulse survey stated they had not yet allocated budget funds for IFRS conversion.9 This is likely due, at least in part, to timeline uncertainty. Nonetheless, a significant number of other companies are taking action: 22 percent of survey participants have budgeted for assessment and readiness.10 And a small minority (three percent) have budgeted for all aspects of conversion.11
Plan your trip: Gain a clear idea of your destination and the major milestones along the way.
Address accounting changes. Your first step is the most obvious: develop a full understanding of the accounting changes associated with a transition from U.S. GAAP to IFRS. Significant variability exists by industry; seek out guidance tailored to your sector.12 Some multinationals can find in-house expertise in units already reporting under IFRS. Other organizations may need to develop their talent through training or hire professionals already versed in the standards.
Refresh your policies. Conversion to IFRS may facilitate a revisit of fixed asset componentization, inventories, derivatives, revenue recognition and other accounting policies. In other words, IFRS provides a refresh exercise for accounting policy implementation, with the aim of more transparent and timely financial reporting. Forty-six percent of respondents in the Deloitte Pulse survey plan to rewrite or refresh their accounting policies as part of their conversion plan.13
Consider nonfinancial impacts. Expand your focus to include operational adjustments, including systems, people and process implications. Consider, for example, how an accounting change such as revenue recognition might impact the configuration of an ERP system.
Investigate presentation and disclosure requirements. IFRS rules for presentation and disclosure differ significantly from U.S. GAAP and may require data and information that you don't currently capture. The differences may necessitate changes in systems, processes and controls.
Communicate frequently. Be vocal with internal and external constituents regarding the changes around IFRS. Consider creating websites, blogs and road shows to educate employees, avoid confusion, and engage the larger organization in the effort. Investors and analysts will appreciate being kept informed, and such communications may even contribute to the perception that your company is forward-thinking and ahead of the pack.
Improve efficiency: If high mileage is your goal, consider some of these activities.
Leverage existing projects. If you have started — or are about to start — an enterprise resource planning (ERP) or finance transformation project, now is the time to factor in IFRS considerations. Recent versions of major ERP systems are designed to accommodate IFRS, which can be mapped in, usually with significant cost savings. A finance transformation project, conducted hand-in-hand with an IFRS conversion, can yield efficiencies for both. Thirteen percent of respondents in the Deloitte Pulse survey plan to leverage their conversion to complete a finance transformation project.
Consider shared services centers. IFRS provides a compelling reason to establish shared services centers, with the prospect of consolidating dozens of local GAAPs down to a single reporting standard. Geographically dispersed finance offices could be drastically reduced or even eliminated in favor of a central finance function, strategically located to take advantage of tax incentives, payroll savings and facilities cost reductions. Six percent of respondents in the Deloitte Pulse survey plan to establish a shared services center as part of their IFRS conversion.14
Conduct a trial run. Implementation might be easier if you take a bite-sized approach starting with a single country or reporting entity. Use existing reporting requirements and local country IFRS requirements to your advantage. For example, subsidiaries in countries adopting IFRS over the next three years may be good candidates for a trial run. Learn from this initial conversion exercise, and apply the lessons learned to the global rollout down the road.
Facing the inevitable
IFRS is neither Y2K nor SOX.
Some might say Y2K was characterized by fear of the unknown; although the predicament was perceived well in advance, nobody knew exactly what would happen at the stroke of midnight. IFRS, in contrast, has a well-documented implementation history in dozens of countries and thousands of companies.
SOX was notable for its tight timelines; although limited delays were granted, accelerated filers were nonetheless forced to move hastily. The IFRS conversion process in the United States, on the other hand, will likely take place over an extended timeframe that could allow for a methodical approach and a measured pace.
A key for a safe and efficient IFRS journey is to take advantage of the calendar. Start soon, and there will likely be no need for decisions under duress or for frantic mobilizations. Indicators suggest the inevitability of IFRS for U.S. exchange-listed companies. Many executives will gear up now.


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College of Nursing launches Pirate Nurse Network at Vidant Medical Center
By Crystal Baity
ECU News Services
ECU faculty and staff met with alumni and staff at Vidant Medical Center in September to discuss initiating a Pirate Nurse Network. Contributed photo.
GREENVILLE, N.C. (Nov. 13, 2013) — East Carolina University's College of Nursing has partnered with Vidant Medical Center to launch its first alumni network in eastern North Carolina.
A member-driven support organization, the Pirate Nurse Network will offer educational opportunities, social and professional networking for ECU nursing graduates who work at Vidant in Greenville. Already 140 alumni have joined, and members say they are looking forward to continued growth and activities in the coming months.
"The College of Nursing is very proud of its alumni and wants to stay connected with them," said Dr. Sylvia Brown, dean of nursing. "It is our desire that networks of Pirate nurses can be established throughout our state and beyond as a strategy to support fellow ECU nurses and a way for them to stay in close contact with our college."
Many ECU graduates serve as clinical preceptors for students, and the network is one way to show appreciation for their service to the college, Brown said.
Mark Alexander, director of development and major gifts in the College of Nursing, is working closely with liaisons at Vidant to facilitate network events.
"Keeping our alumni connected will allow us to do a better job of spreading awareness on all of the great things that we are accomplishing in nursing education as well as raise awareness for areas of need and support," Alexander said. "When working as a team, there is not a more dedicated group of people than nurses, especially Pirate Nurses."
Two inaugural meetings were held at Vidant in September. New members toured ECU's state-of-the-art nursing simulation labs on Oct. 17.
"Pirate nurses can now access an organized support system within our hospital as they share their Pirate pride and engage in educational, community service and recreational activities with nurse colleagues," said Jessica Griffin, who serves as network liaison where she is a staff nurse in the special care nursery of the James and Connie Maynard Children's Hospital at Vidant. Griffin also was president of the class of 2001 in the ECU College of Nursing.
Griffin worked with Dr. Linda Hofler, the medical center's senior vice president-nurse executive, and Cathy Jackson Bunch (BSN '94), staff development assistant in rehabilitation services and MSN student, to set up the network.
Initially, interested members were invited to complete a survey on how the network should function and activities that they would be willing to engage in with other alumni. Responses included a desire for monthly educational and professional networking events, opportunities for community service, mentorship and, in the future, scholarships. Nurses who are enrolled wear a "Pirate Nurse" badge reel on their uniforms, officials said.
Vidant Medical Center is one of four academic medical centers in the state and serves as the teaching hospital for ECU. The hospital provides acute, intermediate, rehabilitation and outpatient health services to more than 1.4 million people in 29 counties, according to its website.
Any Vidant employee and alumni of the ECU College of Nursing may contact
for more information on Pirate Nurse Network.
Crystal Baity
| 252-744-3764
East Carolina University
ECU News Services
1001 E. Fifth St.| Greenville, NC 27858 USA | 252.328.6481 |
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|Interaction Lab
|Contact Details
A minimalist distributed Multi-Robot System (MRS) is one composed of a group of robots each with limited capabilities in terms of sensing, computation, and communication and each acting under local and sensing and control. Such systems have received increased attention due to their empirically demonstrated performance and beneficial characteristics, such as their robustness to environmental perturbations and individual robot failure and their scalability to large numbers of robots. However, little work has been done in investigating ways to endow such a MRS with the capability to achieve a desired division of labor over a set of dynamically evolving concurrent tasks. In these domains, the division of labor may need to be continuously adapted in response to changes in the task environment or group performance. Such a capability can help to increase the efficiency and robustness of overall task performance as well as open new domains in which minimalist distributed MRS can be seen as a viable alternative to more complex control solutions.
Our approach to providing a minimalist distributed MRS with such an adaptive task allocation capability involves having individual robots independently maintain a limited history of observed available tasks as well as the observed task allocations of observed robots. Using these histories as an estimate of the system-level task allocation, each robot makes a local control decision on which of the available tasks to perform that would best move the system-level allocation in the desired direction.
For more information on our approach for adaptive task allocation in minimalist distributed MRS, see [1].
To validate the adaptive task allocation mechanism, we applied it to a concurrent foraging task domain in physically-realistic simulations. Concurrent foraging, a variation on traditional foraging, consists of an arena populated by multiple types of objects (e.g., pucks) to be foraged. In our case there are two types of pucks randomly dispersed throughout the arena: red and green pucks that are distinguishable by their color. Each robot is equally capable of foraging both puck types, but can only be allocated to foraging for one type at any given time. Additionally, all robots are engaged in foraging at all times; a robot cannot be idle. A robot may switch the puck type for which it is foraging according to its control policy, when it determines it is appropriate to do so. It is desirable for a robot to avoid thrashing (i.e., wasting time and energy) by needlessly switching the puck type for which it is foraging.
Our simulation experiments were performed using Player and the Gazebo simulation environment. Player [3] is a server that connects robots, sensors, and control programs over a network. Gazebo [4] simulates a set of Player devices in a 3-D physically-realistic world with full dynamics. Together, the two represent a high-fidelity simulation tool for individual robots and teams that has been validated on a collection of real-robot robot experiments using Player control programs transferred directly to physical Pioneer 2DX mobile robots. In all simulation experiments 20 robots were used. The robots were either realistic models of ActivMedia Pioneer 2DX mobile robots. Each robot, approximately 30 cm in diameter, is equipped with a differential drive, a forward-facing 180 degree scanning laser rangefinder for obstacle avoidance, and a forward-looking color camera with a 100-degree field-of-view and a color blob detection system. Figure 1 shows a snapshot of the concurrent foraging setup.
|Figure 1: Snapshot of the concurrent foraging simulation setup.
The role of adaptive task allocation in this domain requires the robots to split their numbers by having some forage for red pucks and others for green pucks. For the purpose of our experiments, we desire an allocation of robots to converge to a situation in which the proportion of robots foraging for red pucks is equal to the proportion of red pucks present in the foraging arena (e.g., if red pucks make up 30% of the pucks present in the foraging arena, then 30% of the robots should be foraging for red pucks). In general, the desired allocation could take other forms. For example, it could be related to the relative reward or cost of foraging each puck type without change to our approach.
Figure 2 provides results from experiments using 20 robots, a total of 50 pucks, and a variety of robot and pucks history lengths. Data are averaged over 30 simulation trials. As Figure 2 shows, the robots are effective at achieving the proper task allocation of having the percentage of robots foraging red pucks match the percentage of red pucks in the arena. Futhermore, at times X and Y, the proportions of red and green pucks were instantaneously changed by an external force and the robots effectively adapted their allocation in response.
|Figure 2: Proportion of red pucks and robots foraging for red pucks over time when using different puck and robot history lengths, shown with 1 standard deviation error bars.
This work is supported by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Grant F30602-00-2-0573 and by National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant EDA-0121141.


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|Brief Overview (3:59 minutes) E-Marketing Systems
We believe that all advisors should have a website, so a VSA subscription includes the option for your own personal website.... at no additional cost!
Everyone agrees that consistent contact is vital to client building and the VSA makes it easy for you to quickly send quality print or e-mail based newsletters to your clients.
The VSA provides fact finders for virtually all markets...about 40 of them in total for business, estate, personal and disability planning, as well as questionnaires designed for annual planning reviews.
There are 80 Powerpoint presentations that can be saved to your computer. Seminars can be conducted and interviews can be held without being tied to the Internet. Handouts for all the presentations are also provided.
Hundreds of 'one pagers' that can be used to illustrate concepts, provide technical information or supplement a complete client presentation.
Over 100 needs analysis and financial calculators available to analyze clients' needs and assist in developing recommended solutions.
Like photographic snapshots, the Financial Snapshots produce a picture of an instant in time that can be saved and updated to reflect your clients' changing needs and objectives.
The simplest and most effective approach concept in the industry... great for cross selling in any market and for increasing your sales to seniors and business owners.
Some Life Guides are event specific, such as marriage, moving, death, divorce, retirement and inheritance. Other Life Guides are more general in nature, such as teaching kids about money, general finances, emergency planning and business continuation and protection planning.
Includes the complete Tools & Techniques series, a large number of specimen documents, answers to frequently-asked tax questions and access to underwriting insight.
The Virtual Assistant provides unlimited access to a complete library of financial tools and support materials. It supports producers regardless of their practice specialty, distribution channel or career stage; consequently, it is, of necessity, a very broad product. It is in essence a huge interactive library and, like a library, you will never use all the "books." The Quick Guide below is designed to help you quickly identify the areas of the VSA that will be of most potential benefit to you. Simply roll your cursor over the topic for a brief "pop-up" overview of the content and/or click for additional information on the content in that section.
Introduction Videos:
Email Marketing:
Newsletters and Brochures:
Prospecting and Approach:
Calculators and Presentations:
Business Organization
Training and Motivational
Client Building:
Advanced Markets/Reference:
Other Resources:
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Action: Fast Action
Through a proprietary process, Kevlar is sandwiched between two layers of carbon fiber pre-preg. This patented (US patent pending) process helps reduce the ovaling effect a rod blank experiences under load, creating an exceptionally smooth powerful rod with remarkable damping (tip bounce) qualities. The result is ultra high line speed with crisp, clean, accurate loops.
TFO's Axiom series feature a rich translucent blue blank accentuated with gold script and accents, Flor grade cork (reverse half wells on the 4 and 5, full wells with decorative burl rings on the 6-10), gun metal blue up-locking reel seat and large stripping guides with gold titanium oxide inserts.
"I think of the Axiom rods as "launch pads" because their incredibly smooth power delivery literally rockets the line out on its flight path. To achieve maximum line acceleration, these rods are designed to effect a complete stop at the conclusion of the casting stroke with virtually no remaining vibration. The result is a smooth, shock-free, line trajectory." -Nick Curcione
The Temple Fork Outfitters No-Fault Warranty is for the life of the original registered owner. Fill out the online form or send in your registration card to activate your warranty. To use your No-Fault Warranty, simply return the damaged rod with $25 and your return shipping / contact information to TFO. They will repair or replace your rod and send it back to you in a business day.


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Below you will find links to various education-related websites. If you are familiar with these organizations and do not
wish to scroll through the descriptions below to find the entity you are looking for, you may click
here to go to a page that just provides the links.
Academic Common Market (ACM)
The purpose of the Academic Common Market is to share between states specified academic degree programs located at southern
public colleges and universities. This is accomplished through an exchange of students across borders at in-state rates. This is
a Southern Regional Education Board sponsored program.
American College Testing Program (ACT)
ACT is an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides more than a hundred assessment, research,
information, and program management services in the broad areas of
education and workforce development.
Alabama Administrative Code
The Alabama Administrative Code is published by the Legislative Reference Service pursuant to subsection (e) of
Section 41-2--7 of the Code of Alabama 1975. The Alabama Administrative Code is a compilation of the rules
of all state agencies covered by the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act.
Alabama Articulation and General Studies Committee (AGSC) / Statewide Transfer and
Articulation Reporting System (STARS)
AGSC was created in March of 1994 by the State Legislature through ACT 94-202. The act states four specific charges of the
committee: 1) develop a statewide freshman- and sophomore-level general studies curriculum to be taken at all public colleges
and universities; 2) develop and adopt by a statewide articulation agreement for the freshman and sophomore years for the transfer
of credit among all public institutions of higher education in Alabama; 3) examine the need for a uniform course numbering system,
course titles, and course descriptions; and 4) resolve problems in the administration or interpretation of the articulation agreement
of the general studies curriculum.
The STARS System allows public two-year students in Alabama to obtain a Transfer Guide/Agreement for the major of their choice. This
guide/agreement, if used correctly, guides the student through their first two years of coursework and prevents loss of credit hours
upon transfer to the appropriate public four-year university in Alabama.
Alabama Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
AAICU's mission is to increase public understanding of the unique contribution independent colleges make to the life of our
state and to ensure that the independent sector of higher education continues to thrive in Alabama.
Alabama Career Information Network
A collaborate website for students, parents and counselors with info on career planning, financial aid and higher
education. The Alabama Department of Education, Career Technical Education section, created this website as part of the
College Access Challenge Grant Program (CACGP). The purpose of the CACGP
is to foster partnerships among federal, state, and local governments and philanthropic organizations through matching challenge
grants that are aimed at increasing the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education.
Alabama Community College System (ACS)
The Alabama Community College System (public two-year colleges) provides a unified system of academic college education, technical
education, customized business and industry training, workforce development and adult education.
Alabama Council of Graduate Deans
The primary purpose of the Council is to advise the Alabama Commission on Higher Education on matters pertaining to graduate programs.
Alabama Department of Labor (ADOL)
The Labor Department provides Labor Market Information, Employment Services to help find jobs in Alabama, etc.
Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education (ADPE)
The ADPE has direct responsibility to the State Board of Education for the direction and supervision of educational programs and
services provided by The Alabama Community College System. The Department provides leadership, service, and regulatory functions for
the member institutions of The Alabama Community College System to ensure educational accessibility, excellence, and equity
for all citizens of Alabama
Alabama College Counts 529 Fund
The College Counts 529 Fund offers tax advantages including tax-deferred growth and tax-free withdrawals for qualified college expenses. In addition, Alabama taxpayers are eligible for a state income tax deduction of up to $5,000 per individual ($10,000 if married filing jointly). Over time, these tax advantages, along with your investment dollars, can help provide additional savings for college.
Alabama Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research
The ALESPCoR is a family of competitive, merit-based programs supported by the State of Alabama and primarily funded by federal funds
from NSF, NASA, DOE, and USDA. Each program represents a federal-state-industrial partnership formed to enhance the science and
engineering research, education and technology capabilities of Alabama.
The ALEPSCoR Steering Committee is responsible for oversight of the fiscal and programmatic aspects of ALEPSCoR. Steering Committee
Members include the Vice Presidents for Research from the seven Ph.D. granting research institutions (AAMU, AU, TU, UA, UAB, UAH, and
USA), as well as, a representative from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education.
Alabama Higher Education Partnership
The Alabama Higher Education Partnership is a consortium of fifteen public universities whose mission is to advocate the importance
of higher education in bettering the lives of people in Alabama.
Alabama Industrial Development Training Institute (AIDT)
The mission of AIDT is to provide quality workforce development for Alabama's new and existing industries, and to expand the
opportunities of its citizens through the jobs these industries create.
Alabama Legislative Information System Online (ALISON)
This site will allow you to access copies of bills, amendments and substitutes, as well as to obtain final bill status.
Alabama Network of Alabama Academic Libraries (NAAL)
The purpose of NAAL shall be to coordinate the collective resources of academic libraries to enhance graduate education and research.
NAAL is an unincorporated consortium of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education and eligible academic institutions of higher
education offering graduate education. Both publicly-funded and privately-supported institutions offering graduate education may
serve as general members. In addition, other academic institutions offering graduate education and research libraries not
affiliated with educational institutions may join as nonvoting cooperative members.
Alabama State Department of Education (ASDE)
Homepage for the Alabama State Department of Education
Alabama Virtual Library (AVL)
The AVL provides all students, teachers, and citizens of the State of Alabama with online access to essential library and information
resources. It is primarily a group of online databases that have magazine, journal, and newspaper articles for research.
American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)
AACC is the primary advocacy organization for the nation's community colleges. The Association represents more than 1,100
associate degree-granting institutions and some 10 million students.
American Council on Education (ACE)
ACE seeks to provide leadership and a unifying voice on key higher education issues and to influence public policy through advocacy,
research, and program initiatives. Its members include approximately 1,800 accredited, degree-granting colleges
and universities and higher education-related associations, organizations, and corporations.
Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT)
ACCT is a nonprofit educational organization of governing boards, representing more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who
govern over 1,200 community, technical, and junior colleges in the United States, Canada, and England.
Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and Universities (AGB)
The goal of AGB is to advance the practice of citizen trusteeship and help ensure the quality and success of our nation's colleges and
universities by providing university and college presidents, board chairs and individual trustees of both public and private
institutions with the resources they need to enhance their effectiveness.
Association for Institutional Research (AIR)
The Association for Institutional Research (AIR) is a professional association of more than 3,100 institutional researchers, planners,
and decision-makers from higher education institutions around the world. AIR exists to benefit its members and help advance research
that will improve the understanding, planning, and operation of higher education institutions.
Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education, a weekly periodical, is the academic world's No. 1 source of news and information.
Code of Alabama
This site will provide you access to a compilation of the codified statutes of Alabama. The Alabama Commission on Higher
Education's section can be found in Title 16, Section 5.
College Board (Scholastic Assessment Test or SAT)
The College Board's mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed
of more than 4,500 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board
serves over three million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,500 colleges through major programs and services in
college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning. Among its best-known programs are
the SAT®, the PSAT/NMSQT®, and the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®).
Commission on Colleges (COC) – Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is the recognized regional accrediting body in the
eleven U.S. Southern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas and Virginia) and in Latin America for those institutions of higher education that award associate, baccalaureate, master's
or doctoral degrees.
Council of University Chief Academic Officers
The CUCAO is comprised of provosts and vice presidents for Academic Affairs of the 14 public universities in the state of Alabama.
The purposes of this Council shall be: To serve in advisory capacity on academic policies and issues to the Alabama Commission on Higher
Education and the Council of Presidents. To recommend approaches that would improve the quality of higher education in the State of Alabama
through facilitation of cooperation among all institutions of higher education in the state. To recommend to the Council of Presidents and
the Alabama Commission on Higher Education policies, studies, and research related to academic programs and practices. To review and comment
on all academic long-range plans for higher education in Alabama.
Economic Development Partnership of Alabama
The Economic Development Partnership of Alabama is a totally private, non-profit organization committed to helping Alabama realize its full
economic development potential. The Partnership is supported by 69 leading companies that are committed to the state's long-term
economic growth.
Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)
ERIC is a national information system funded by the
U.S. Department of Education's
Institute of Education Sciences to provide access to
education literature and resources.
Education Commission of the States (ECS)
ECS is an interstate compact on education with the goal of providing a mechanism for improving and strengthening education
policy and policymaking at the state level.
Executive Budget Office (EBO) – State of Alabama
The Executive Budget Office (EBO) is a division of the state's Department of Finance and is operated under the direction of the
Assistant Finance Director for Fiscal Operations. The mission of the EBO is to effectively prepare the Governor's budget proposal, properly
administer and supervise the execution of legislative appropriations, estimate revenues for budget preparation and administration, and
assist in the drafting of appropriation bills.
General Educational Development Testing Service (GED)
The GED Tests measure your knowledge and academic skills against those of today's traditional high school graduates.
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
IPEDS, established as the core postsecondary education data collection program for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES),
is a system of surveys designed to collect data from all primary providers of postsecondary education.
Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO) – State of Alabama
The LFO is a nonpartisan office established to provide independent, accurate and objective information to members of the Alabama House of
Representatives and Alabama Senate with respect to historical, current, projected and proposed appropriations, expenditures, taxes and
revenue, as well as any other information requested.
Minority Doctoral Program – Southern Regional Education Board
The Southern Regional Education Board's State Doctoral Scholars Program was developed with support from The Pew Charitable Trusts
and The Ford Foundation. It is part of a nationwide initiative, the Compact for Faculty Diversity, to produce more minority Ph.D.s and
to encourage them to seek faculty positions.
National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO)
NACUBO serves a membership of more than 2,500 colleges, universities, and higher education service providers across
the country. NACUBO represents chief administrative and financial officers through a collaboration of knowledge
and professional development,advocacy, and community.
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA)
NASFAA supports financial aid professionals at colleges, universities, and career schools. NASFAA is the only national association
with a primary focus on student aid legislation, regulatory analysis, and professional development for financial aid administrators.
National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES)
NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data that are related to education in the United States and other
National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS)
CHEMS is a private nonprofit (501)(c)(3)organization whose mission is to assist colleges and universities as they improve their management
National Postsecondary Education Cooperative
NPEC's is a voluntary partnership of postsecondary institutions, associations, government agencies, and organizations. Its
mission is to promote the quality, comparability and utility of postsecondary data and information that support policy development at the
federal, state, and institution levels.
Society for College and University Planning (SCUP)
The mission of the Society for College and University Planning is to provide higher education professionals with planning knowledge,
resources, and connections to achieve institutional goals.
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
SACSCOC accredits more that 12,000 public and private educational institutions, from prekindergarten through university level, in 11
states in the Southeastern U.S. and in Latin America. SACSCOC is one of six regional accrediting organizations in the
U.S. recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Southern Association for Institutional Research (SAIR)
The Southern Association for Institutional Research (SAIR) is dedicated to the advancement of research leading to improved
understanding, planning, and operation of institutions of post-secondary education. SAIR provides a forum for the
dissemination of information and interchange of ideas on problems of common interest in the field of institutional research.
In addition, SAIR promotes the continued professional development of individuals engaging in institutional research and fosters the
unity and cooperation among persons having interests and activities related to research.
Southern Regional Education Board (SREB)
The SREB was the nation's first interstate compact for education. The SREB was created to provide specific services to
member states, to create ways to share resources, and to enable states to achieve together educational programs and improvements that would
be impossible or financially impractical for a single state.
State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO)
SHEEO's current members are the chief executive officers serving 26 statewide governing boards and 30 statewide coordinating boards of
higher education. Its goal is to assist its members and the states in developing and sustaining excellent systems of higher
A Transition Toolbox found at https://sites.google.com/site/transitionresourcesinalabama/home
has been developed online to provide a way for young adults with disabilities, their parents, and professionals to find
resources in their area and to share information.
State of Alabama Official Website
Official website for the State of Alabama
United States Department of Education (USDE)
Official website for the United States Department of Education
Click on map for details


text:
Forget the affable Frasier Crane; Kelsey Grammer is embracing his inner bad guy. After his Golden Globe turn as the ruthless politician in Boss, Grammer has just landed the key villain role in Michael Bay's next Transformers film, which also stars Mark Wahlberg and Stanley Tucci. I'm told that Grammer will play Harold Attinger, a counter intelligence guy.
A good choice? Sound off in the Energon Pub.


text:
Tags in the questions should follow the official standard for Web 2.0 tags. This means that all tags should have rel="tag" attribute. See the official specification http://microformats.org/wiki/rel-tag. You could also look the way WordPress implements tags, e.g. here.
Svetlin Nakov
The rel="tag" is only included on question pages, not on pages listing questions. This includes your own site. The reason is the explanation from here:
By adding rel="tag" to a hyperlink, a page indicates that the destination of that hyperlink is an author-designated "tag" (or keyword/subject) for the current page.
In other words, the tag isn't accurate metadata for the questions listing page, but it is for the question page itself.


text:
(Reuters) - Billionaire James Irsay, owner of the National Football League's Indianapolis Colts, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in a deal with prosecutors to a misdemeanor charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Irsay, 55, who was arrested in the Indianapolis suburb of Carmel in March after a traffic stop, will be on probation for a year but will not go to jail under the plea agreement. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail with all but two days suspended and was given two days credit after his arrest, the Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney's Office said in a statement.
Irsay also will be required to provide current prescriptions for medications he is prescribed upon request and to complete a rehabilitation program he has taken part in since March, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the agreement was typical for a first-time offense in the county for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Laboratory tests had detected the pain killers hydrocodone and oxycodone in Irsay's blood, prosecutors said.
In March, police stopped Irsay for driving at a slow pace, stopping in the roadway and failing to signal a turn and arrested him after he failed roadside field-sobriety tests.
He was charged preliminarily with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and four counts of possession of a controlled substance. Irsay checked himself into a healthcare facility after he was released following his arrest.
Irsay was charged formally in May with one count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and one count of operating a vehicle with a Schedule I or II controlled substance or metabolite in the body, both misdemeanors.
The second count was dropped under the plea agreement.
Forbes magazine lists Irsay's net worth at about $1.7 billion.
(Reporting by David Bailey in Minneapolis; Editing by Bill Trott)


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Rate This Movie SYNOPSIS: When a hunter sent back to the prehistoric era runs off the path he must not leave, he causes a chain reaction that alters history in disastrous ways. REVIEW: There has a been a pretty decent amount of films made about time. After all, time is one of the great mysteries that still fascinate us to …Read More »
Home | Tag Archives: Armin Rohde


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By Gerda MenzelOn Nov 19, 2017 Ideas
The two overall types of window blinds are ready-made blinds and made to measure. Made-to-measure blinds are made to fit a given or measured window size. Ready-made blinds are manufactured in set sizes that can be cut down to fit any window. Window blinds can be classified broadly into six different categories: roller blinds (which do not have slats but consist of a single piece of material), Roman blinds, pleated blinds, Venetian blinds, Shoji Japanese blinds and vertical blinds.
Shoji blinds are based on Japanese Shoji screens and slide on a conventional panel blind track so the panels stack one-in-front of the other- they can stack to either or both sides of the window, inside or outside the recess. They are frequently used as room dividers or wardrobe doors.
The term window blinds can also be used to describe window coverings generically—in this context window blinds include almost every type of window covering, i.e. shutters, roller blinds, cellular shades (also called honeycomb shades), wood blinds, roman blinds and of course, standard vertical and horizontal blinds. In the United Kingdom, awnings are sometimes called blinds or shades.
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Recall Details
Volkswagen is recalling 2009 CC models because an improperly routed right front passenger seat belt buckle wiring harness may cause wire damage when the seat is adjusted. If this wiring damage occurs, the air bag control module may deactivate the passenger's frontal air bag, increasing the risk of injury during a crash. Dealers will inspect and adjust/replace the wiring harness free of charge.


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The price of oil was nearly unchanged above $94 a barrel Thursday, stabilizing after a sharp drop the day before sparked by rising U.S. crude supplies.
By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for May delivery was down 5 cents to $94.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped $2.74, or 2.8 percent, on Wednesday. The last time oil fell by that much in a day was on Nov. 20.
Oil plunged after the U.S. Energy Department said crude oil supplies grew by 2.7 million barrels to 388.6 million barrels in the week ended March 29. The U.S. supply of oil is now 7.2 percent above year-earlier levels and the highest since July 27, 1990, when it was at 391.9 million barrels.
"We regard the market's price reaction to the inventory data to be exaggerated," said analysts at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "Nonetheless, the oil market will remain under pressure in the short term."
Oil production in the U.S. is about 7.1 million barrels a day, up 22 percent from a year earlier and the highest in two decades. Output has jumped as oil companies use techniques such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to unlock crude oil trapped in shale rock formations in the U.S.
Oil prices were also struggling to advance because of the stronger dollar, which makes crude more expensive and a less attractive investment for traders using other currencies.
The dollar has risen partly thanks to a big drop in the yen after the Bank of Japan announced an aggressive monetary easing campaign. Looser monetary policy tends to weaken a country's currency. The dollar has also strengthened against the euro.
Brent crude, used to price many kinds of oil imported by U.S. refineries, rose 14 cents to $107.25 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:
— Heating oil fell 0.73 cent to $2.9947 a gallon.
— Natural gas rose 1 cent to $3.91 per 1,000 cubic feet.
— Gasoline fell 0.9 cent to $2.905 a gallon.
Pamela Sampson in Bangkok contributed to this report.


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A further advantage of exercise is in the area of stress reduction. Adding regular exercise to your lifestyle is an excellent means to release tension and use energy in a purposeful and productive manner.
Studies also indicate that people who begin an exercise program tend to eat a more healthful diet, and therefore receive double benefits from becoming more physically active. Of course, the same exercise programs that are useful for reducing hypertension, may also be helpful for maintaining desirable blood pressure levels throughout the adult and senior years. Although you should certainly consult with your physician regarding an appropriate exercise program for lowering hypertension, the following training protocol should be effective for healthy adults and seniors with respect to cardiovascular conditioning. However, even if you have no blood pressure problems, it is a good idea to check with your medical professional before beginning an exercise program.
Training Principles
1. Be sure to warm-up for 3 to 5 minutes before engaging in your exercise activities.
2. Keep your aerobic exercise at an appropriate intensity, typically about 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. This generally corresponds to an effort level at which you are breathing moderately hard but can talk in short sentences.
3. Do your strength training repetitions at a slow movement speed and through a full movement range.
4. Use a resistance that enables you to perform between 8 to 12 controlled repetitions. When 12 repetitions can be completed in proper form, increase the resistance by 5 percent or less.
5. Be sure to cool-down for 3 to 5 minutes at the conclusion of your exercise sessions.
6. Train 3 nonconsecutive days per week.
Exercise Protocol
1. Perform 20 to 30 minutes of walking, stationary cycling, stepping, or other large muscle aerobic activity in one of the following manners.
B. Interval training: Starting at an easy effort level, alternate 3 to 5 minute intervals of higher and lower intensity exercise, for example, you could do the first 3 minutes of stationary cycling at Level 2, the next 3 minutes at Level 4,
the next 3 minutes at Level 2, and so on throughout the training session.
2. Perform one set each of the following machine or free-weight exercises for your major muscle groups.


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By David Beasley
ATLANTA (Reuters) - A grand jury indicted 35 former Atlanta public school educators, including an award-winning former superintendent, on Friday for allegedly conspiring to cheat on standardized test scores to obtain cash bonuses.
Former Superintendent Beverly Hall was named National Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators in 2009, the same year prosecutors contend widespread cheating took place.
Hall received a $78,000 bonus that year for improving the school system's test scores, prosecutors said.
"The money she received, we are alleging, was ill gotten and it was theft," Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said at a news conference.
Besides Hall, those indicted included administrators, principals and teachers. The 65-count indictment said "test answer sheets were altered, fabricated and falsely certified."
Hall was charged with racketeering, making false statements, theft by taking and false swearing. She and others could face up to 45 years in prison if convicted, Howard said.
A state investigation of test results in 2009 found cheating in 44 of the 56 Atlanta public schools examined. The cheating was prompted primarily by pressure to meet targets in a data-driven environment, according to a investigation conducted by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal's office.
The 2009 cheating was said to include teachers erasing incorrect answers on state standardized tests.
The 2011 state report concluded that there was a "major failure of leadership throughout Atlanta Public Schools with regard to the ethical administration" of the 2009 standardized exams known as the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests.
Amid the investigation, Hall stepped down after nearly 12 years as superintendent of the Atlanta Public Schools. Her successor, Erroll Davis, said on Friday the school system now has extensive training and other safeguards to prevent cheating.
He said 95 percent of the school system's staff was not implicated in the scandal.
Justina Collins, the mother of an Atlanta public school student, told the news conference her daughter had trouble reading yet scored well on the standardized tests.
Collins said when she asked the superintendent about the discrepancy, Hall told her, "Your daughter is simply the kind of person who tests well."
Collins' daughter is now in the ninth grade but reads on a fifth-grade level, Howard told reporters, adding that the real victims of the cheating scandal were the children.
"Her example points out the plight of many children" in the scandal, said the prosecutor.
Richard Deane, Hall's attorney, could not be reached for comment.
(Editing by Ian Simpson and Todd Eastham)


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Hi, I think Jazz has a cold! It's the first time I've ever noticed a dog with a cold. Since Friday, on return from daycare she was typically tired but I noticed her nose was runnier than usual. Over the weekend she's been more tired than usual so I've limited her walks so she's not exhausted. Anyway, she's sneezing quite a bit, no cough so I'm fairly certain it's nothing more serious like kennel cough. (She is vaccinated but I'm told like flu, not all strains can be vaccinated against).
anyway, any advice? She's eating and drinking ok, wants lots of cuddles! Should I just let it take its course? She's 9 months and just through her first season. Just a bit concerned as she's still a pup.