text:
On Valentine's Day, Rex at Savage Minds called for love letters to anthropology.
This idea is simple: in the next seven days, for a few thousand words, somewhere public on the Internet, write about why you like anthropology. Then we'll make the guys at Neuroanthropology do a round up.
Many anthropologists sent out their missives, impassioned posts that take us to the heart of this fair discipline. Here is the correspondence, ordered by postmark date.
James Holland Jones, Monkey's Uncle: Anthropology: A Bittersweet Love Story
Barbara King, Friday Animal Blog: Why I Love Anthropology
Rex, Savage Minds, Why I <3 Anthropology
Megan McCullen, Great Lakes Ethnohistorian: My Love Letter to Anthropology
Jason Antrosio, Living Anthropologically: Loving Anthropology
Kristina Killgrove, Bone Girl: The Accidental Anthropologist
Krystal D'Costa, Anthropology in Practice: Anthropology, How Do I Love Thee
Zinjanthropus, A Primate of Modern Aspect: A Love Letter to Anthropology
Daniel Lende, Neuroanthropology: Life, Anthropology, and Love
How do we love anthropology? Below I present the lines that inspired me, the excerpts that cut to the heart of this lifelong love affair. Struck by their passion, roused to reflect, I write at the end on what ties together these different declarations of love. Enjoy!
How can we explain human diversity without documenting its full extent, through both time and space, and across cultures? This is the thing that drew me to anthropology, the thing that really made me fall in love with it. The great story of humanity. Our great story.
Where did we come from? What makes us human? Where does the tapestry of human diversity come from and how is it that we continually manage to resist powerful homogenizing forces and hang on to our diversity? What commonalities transcend local difference to unite all humanity? How is it that civilizations rise and fall? And what is the fate of humanity?
This vision of anthropology relies on a simultaneous focus on difference and universality — reminiscent of Scott Fitzgerald's famous take on true intelligence, "the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function." It isn't about making hyperbolic claims on flimsy or otherwise highly situated evidence. It is about relentlessly examining the commonplace with an eye to universal, the grand…
For anthropology to thrive, we need to not be afraid to learn the tools that help us answer questions we want answered, rather than simply the ones that are expedient. Better still, we should have the confidence to create our own methods and develop our own theories, rather than perpetually borrowing them from our ostensibly better-endowed cognate disciplines…
I really believe that anthropology can play a role in meeting the enormous challenges our species now faces. Diversity is the foundation of adaptation and adaptation is always local. Understanding how different people in different places and different times solve(d) real problems provides the raw material for finding adaptive solutions to a rapidly changing world.
I wondered one day why the Baboon Project's Kenyan assistant, Raphael Mututua, was waving at me from across a wide open area, where he too was collecting data. I waved back, only to learn later that he'd been trying to alert me to the fact that a rhinoceros was lumbering right towards me. The poorly-sighted rhino veered out of my path by random luck, but I soon enough suffered other blunders involving near-misses with lions and mamba snakes.
Gradually my greenness faded; I began to thrive at Amboseli. I could distinguish one baboon from another by glimpsing a single body-segment at a distance. I gained many hours of data and knew how to stay safe.
Various veils of mystery began to slip from my eyes. Animal-behavior-wise, things began to make sense. But the human world was a different story. I'd taken Swahili lessons and could properly greet people and engage them in minor chit-chat, but understood perhaps 25% of the fast-clip conversing going on around me. Living amongst Kikuyu and Maasai families, I was keen to grasp what people were up to, what the world was like for them compared to what it was like for my family back home in New Jersey. I listened a lot, and sometimes thought I'd grasp something that mattered, but most often (even when my multi-lingual hosts switched to English for my sake) felt that I was missing the key aspects.
This whole description amounts, I think, to an apt if crude metaphor for doing anthropology, a practice which destabilizes a person and upends lots of assumptions. Even as you gain a modicum of wisdom in one area, you flail in ignorance in others, sometimes to the extent that you can't even figure out the right questions to ask.
And oh—those questions! Excellent questions are at the heart of Anthropology (maybe of all disciplines). In the years since Amboseli, I've learned a lot about how to tolerate the attendant disorientation that comes with creating them, and asking them: of people I hang out with, of the video tapes I analyze about ape communication, of the books I read in biological anthropology, archaeology, and sociocultural anthropology…
When I do anthropology, it always starts with agitated questions. No matter how modest my contribution, as I work, I feel connected to anthropologists past and present, people who, in Papua New Guinea or Paris, in Berlin or Boston, trained themselves to see the rhino lumbering in their path. To capture from our peripheral vision something strange and exciting about human meaning-making or its evolution, to move it front and center into our minds and join those minds up with others, is a challenge and a joy. It's why I love being an anthropologist.
I love anthropology — cultural anthropology, my subfield of the discipline — because it is the most human of the human sciences: the one that is the most about people. The one which thinks you can learn about how people live their lives by watching how they live their lives — not by building models of them, or having them live small parts of it laboratories. In order to understand people we study people, and is willing to embrace all the challenges this entails.
I love anthropology because it is the discipline that takes seriously the idea that our common humanity with those we study is a boon and a strength, not an impediment that distort objective judgment. It works with and works through the fact that we can be powerfully changed by our research, and that this change is a strength. I love the fact that we stick with the project of ethnography despite the fact that it is aa project of telling the stories of others, an entitlement to be earned, not a right to representative authority that can be assumed.
The other day for a project I read the tables of contents for every issue of American Anthropologist from 1900 to 1960. One of the articles I came across was called "Columns of Infamy". I love that…
Above all I love how anthropology, a science of the human, articulates with our lives: we study kinship, and raise children. We read about enculturation, and we teach students. We analyze power and we try to create a democratic, just world. Our discipline is connected, intimately and irrevocably, to our whole persons — and that's what I love about it most of all.
During that term, the Egyptologist told fanciful tales of adventure. They were enticing, they took me out of a dull physics laboratory full of little spring loaded cars into another country that was active not because of force vectors, but because of human energy.
More than that, though, I discovered that there were other people in the world who enjoyed observing and interpreting what people do all day. Sure, we eventually discussed Pharonic Egypt and the Pyramids, and that was fantastic. But for the first 1/3 of that semester we discussed things like microliths – small slivers of stone that were used to make compound tools. I was entranced to discover how much we could discover about people by looking at these little blades. The rest of the class was falling asleep and groaning about the fact that we were not yet discussing King Tut. This was the moment I realized that you and I could have something special together.
I went home one of those days and pulled out my course catalog, a thick book full of class listings and departmental information… I looked up Anthropology in the catalog. This word was new to me – we had never discussed it in high school. It was not a program anyone I knew was in. I read the two paragraph description of the discipline.
Never had I read such wonderful words. I do not remember the original words, but I can tell you how I translated them in my head "Dear Megan, there are people who spend their lives researching what it means to be human. They go to all the different regions of the world to spend time with people, to look at the remains of our ancestors, and try to understand how we got to be so interesting and different from one another, but at the same time so similar. Humans are amazing! And unusual! And you can combine your love of history, geology and political science by becoming an anthropologist! If you can connect your interest to humans, you can study ANYTHING YOU WANT in anthropology! And you can study all of it! There is a discipline just for you! We're sorry no one told you about us before. Since we interweave with so many other fields, sometimes people do not even realize they are studying anthropology. But we are here, come love your species with us!" …
[Now] as an ethnohistorian I have an opportunity to combine cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology and history together – it allows me to be as near to a generalist as one can manage these days. And I have retained my passion for human evolutionary studies – teaching Introductory courses allows me to keep up on this section of the field as well. I am a generalist at heart; I am fascinated by what makes us all tick, and what makes some of us tock instead. While my research has necessarily narrowed, my passion for understanding how amazing our species is continues.
I love anthropology for the questions it asks, the way anthropologists search for answers, and the importance of the answers to our world. Anthropology asks big questions, root questions, origin questions. Anthropologists listen, look, and explore–doing anthropology means having humility and openness to discovery. What anthropology has discovered is world-changing: that there are more possibilities than the way things are; what seems so natural and permanent is not the way it has to be…
The questions anthropology asks are fundamental to the human condition: How did we get here? What are the material bases and social conditions for different ways of life? How do people make sense of their world?
For a research-based discipline, anthropology may be unique in questioning its own questions. Often the best anthropology comes not from the initial research question, but from the research that calls into question the terms of the research question…
Anthropology requires a basic respect for people and working with them, not just studying them. Looking for answers means being humble and open to this process. This stance of listening, studying with people, applies not just to cultural and social anthropology, but to how archaeology is attentive to artifacts, how primatologists study with non-human primates, how forensic anthropology understands the context of bone measurements, how anthropologists read historical documents to coax hidden meanings.
I found anthropology because of the questions it asks, and I appreciate how anthropologists listen and study with people, but what keeps me hopeful and loving anthropology is the empirical documentation of human possibility.
This is not simply neutral documentation but a counterpoint to dominant narratives, what Michel-Rolph Trouillot terms anthropology's "moral optimism." In an age when neoliberal market discipline has become a religion, at a time when versions of determinism have been gaining ground, "we owe it to ourselves and to our interlocutors to say loudly that we have seen alternative visions of humankind–indeed more than any academic discipline–and that we know that this one [neoliberal capitalism] may not be the most respectful of the planet we share, nor indeed the most accurate nor the most practical. We also owe it to ourselves to say that it is not the most beautiful or the most optimistic. (2003:139, in Global Transformations)."
The issue is one of making sure anthropology has a honed message, identifies who needs to hear the message, and is speaking loudly enough…
I love anthropology because it's interesting, but I stick with it because it's important.
One of my earliest memories is poring through every foreign-language board book I could find in our tiny public library, memorizing Spanish words with absolutely no idea how they sounded, and devouring images of the marble elegance of the ancient Greeks. I desperately longed to experience far-away lands filled with colorful tapestries, musical phonemes, spice-laden food, and history much deeper than my native Virginia. Growing up poor, I knew I'd have to travel to Europe vicariously – through old National Geographics with illustrated Roman history timelines, middle school French classes, and used textbooks on Greek architecture…
[In college, while studying classics] at the back of my mind were images of graves in the Greek and Roman archaeology books I had pored through as a kid. No one was studying the human skeletons found on classical archaeology digs; nowhere in the textbooks was anything reported about the biological remains of classical civilizations. In approaching graduate school, I realized there wasn't a name for the sort of research I wanted to do: research that combined a deep understanding of human biology with the archaeological and historical context of ancient Rome and anthropological theories of culture…
The freedom that I had at ECU [during my masters] to take courses I was interested in, like human anatomy and disease ecology, and to design my own research project made me realize the importance of an anthropological perspective on the past…
I ended up in anthropology accidentally, but it is the only discipline that takes a biocultural perspective of humans from the deep past to the present. Anthropology finally gave me a name for what I do. Finding a place within an academic family and finding a term – however neologistic – for my research interests convinced me that what I do is real, what I do is important, and what I do is possible.
At the time, my [high] school was experimenting with replacing our standard bell system with music during passing. There was concern over the choice of music, and many felt that the change was disruptive. The system was reverted shortly back to the standard bell system. I was outraged. We hadn't tested the new system properly—the administration had reverted back to the standard system because a few teachers complained. I was determined to find evidence to switch the system back or to prove that it was disruptive.
What was the relationship between mood and music and productivity? This became my project. I got the administration to agree to a trial period to let me test and observe. I trained participant observers and assigned them to classrooms. I surveyed teachers and students. I even got other schools involved in my tests. The project won an honorable mention in the Solomon Smith Barney Quality of Life competition (1999), and I was hooked…
Freshman year in college, I found myself sitting in Introduction to Anthropology. The questions that driven me to the social science elective began to turn inward. I come from a legacy of immigrants. My grandfather was an indentured servant. And it's likely that my maternal great-grandparents were as well. From what I've been able to piece together, it is probable that these distant ancestors left India via Goa and journeyed to Trinidad in the early 20th-century…
My parents continued this tradition of immigration, bringing our family to New York in the early nineties. The political state of the country and personal economics kept me from the island of my origins, and I spent a long time forgetting this part of my history…
Lawrence Hirschfeld, [a] psychological anthropologist, would give me the tools to discuss race and theory of mind, and would guide my questions of identity to the digital space. My relationship with anthropology has been fueled by this quest to know—both myself, and the world around me, and to understand how the intricate and tenuous connections that bind us, actually work to shape us…
Anthropology, I love you because you've allowed me to discover the world on my own terms. You've allowed me to find a history I thought lost, and to inspire others to look within as I have. I love you because you bring together so many ways of knowing, from so many disciplines, and you weave them together into a brilliant narrative to generate the human story.
One of our professors ("Dr. Stats") is on pretty much every committee for every graduate student who graduates from our program. I've begun to pick out a pattern to Dr. Stats' questions: During the first round of questioning, he asks a question in which he is pushing you, the student, to directly tie your research with some broad, textbook-level principle of anthropology.
During the second round of questioning, he pushes you to explore just how deep your knowledge of statistics is. In this defense, for example, it was decided that in order to explore the full power of a certain statistical test, the defendee would have to add a table 5.1a.
As I listened to the back-and-forth going on during the defense, I realized precisely why I love anthropology so much. There is no other field which forces such a breadth of knowledge to accompany the extreme depth of knowledge gained in a particular area of research.
My friend probably understands the social behavior, feeding ecology, and activity patterns of this particular species of monkey better than anyone else in the world. But she has also learned about the broader impacts of her research in terms of general rainforest ecology, biomechanics of the jaw, and the cognitive processes that occur in a monkey's brain when it decides which path to take to a fruiting tree.
That is why you find so many people with so many disparate interests in anthropology departments. We are drawn to the breadth of knowledge that anthropology offers to us- the ability to explore just about any question that occurs to us. But we are also drawn to collaborate with other disciplines so that we can understand our topic at a depth that has so far gone untouched.
I read anthropologists' work on co-sleeping, parents sharing their bed with their babies. Co-sleeping was the typical pattern around the world, and could help prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
It wasn't the typical thing parents were supposed to do in the United States, where cribs and bottles and every other kind of apparatus filled the "baby's room" in many homes. But it sounded like the right thing to do to me – to share our life with our new child.
Co-sleeping did make life easier for us, where my wife could easily breastfeed during the night. And we learned almost instantly how to sleep lightly, our senses keyed into murmurs and breath. Unlike people saying we might crush our child, we could actually be more attentive.
And the beauty of waking up in the morning, your new baby beside you, its perfect face healthy and happy in the morning's light, is such a gift.
All the love letters bear the obvious marks of personal narrative. A love letter is not an abstract analysis, and all the posts bear the marks of specific lives.
In my reading, I found three themes across the personal narratives, three things that highlight why we love anthropology.
-Anthropology connects with and illuminates our lives. From our past as immigrants to the choices we make today, anthropology provides insight and sustenance for the lives we live.
-We love the discovery inherent in anthropology. The delight at encountering human diversity, both past and present, is a treasure that proves its worth again and again. Yet like all discovery, that encounter with difference and the questions it yields challenges us. This dual nature of discovery – how it can amaze and unsettle – is the mark of a grand love affair.
-We want to understand people better, and anthropology provides that understanding to us. Anthropologists love being street philosophers, our understanding of this life coming from spending time on the ground, developing a vision shot through the prism of the different ways humans have lived elsewhere.
The love letters also highlight the field itself – its core subject matter, the richness and demands of its approach, its deep relevance.
-Researching the human condition, working within the most human of the human sciences, is what draws us to anthropology. Anthropology embraces our common humanity and our vast differences, even extending that same dynamic to our primate family. It brings together biology and culture, past and present, language and material culture in ways that create enormous challenges and profound insights.
-Anthropology has great questions at the core of the field, ranging from the origins of our species to the course of history, and the many eddies and oxbows and new channels that have happened over the river of our time on earth; from how we relate socially to one another, through the powerful animators of kinship and gender and hierarchy and exchange, to the role of language and symbol in human meaning, thought, and expression.
-The animating principles of the field and the way we search for answers inspire love. Ours is a comparative discipline, one that requires both depth and breadth, and one that thrives on combining different areas of knowledge. Our search for answers in the same places people and primates live, and our willingness to critique how we do our work and what our answers mean for them and for us, make for a complicated yet more fruitful relationship.
-We admire the relevance of anthropology, of how it can help us understand and better deal with major social problems of our time, from racism to globalization, from improving health care to addressing conflict, from preserving our cultural heritage to confronting the terrible impact on inequality. We also hope that the field has greater impact, knowing the relevance it has to our own lives and our love for the field as a whole. Finally, we find hope in anthropology for the options it gives us in a world where people fight too often to champion only their way forward, for the vision it provides in how we have lived and how we might live in the future.
Anthropology Love Letters:
James Holland Jones, Monkey's Uncle: Anthropology: A Bittersweet Love Story
Barbara King, Friday Animal Blog: Why I Love Anthropology
Rex, Savage Minds, Why I <3 Anthropology
Megan McCullen, Great Lakes Ethnohistorian: My Love Letter to Anthropology
Jason Antrosio, Living Anthropologically: Loving Anthropology
Kristina Killgrove, Bone Girl: The Accidental Anthropologist
Krystal D'Costa, Anthropology in Practice: Anthropology, How Do I Love Thee
Zinjanthropus, A Primate of Modern Aspect: A Love Letter to Anthropology
Daniel Lende, Neuroanthropology: Life, Anthropology, and Love


text:
Anyone who has ever driven that stretch knows just one way is a bit of a haul. But to come and go in the same day is madness. There we were though, with full bellies, late at night and a little less than 300 miles to get home. At first it was no problem. We were energized from the meeting and recapping all we had talked about and what we were planning to do in the upcoming holiday selling season. Then around Salado, we started getting tired. There was an AM radio station that played old rhythm and blues and Motown hits from the 60's. Eugenio lived in Chicago in that time and became a fan of the music, as foreign to him as Gianni Morandi or Rita Pavone was to most Americans then.
The cappuccino wasn't the kind one finds at the Autogrill in Italy but it was caffeinated. It did the trick. We were out of range for the music station so Eugenio started telling me a story about one night he had in Tennessee.
"I had gone down to one of the cities, I think it was Nashville, because I had an Italian shirt importing company and wanted to go see some of my customers. This was around 1968. In one of the shops I had met this cute young lady, Leanne, who worked behind the counter. I asked her out for dinner at one of the restaurants in town where I had made acquaintance with the Italian owner. She was probably 21 or maybe 22, long dark hair, pretty eyes, a real Southern lass. She was as exotic to me as I was to her."
"Being Italian I naturally ordered a bottle of Italian wine. There weren't that many choices in those days, but I found a nice bottle of Bardolino, the kind that used to come in a wicker basket. It was fresh enough and my date thought the bottle was cute. 'You can take the bottle home as a souvenir if you like, put a candle in it. Something to remember this evening by," I told her. 'Oh no, I couldn't, my daddy wouldn't approve of me drinking alcohol.' I guess it was the '60's but this little gal was out on the town and wasn't going to miss anything life had to offer her."
"The evening went well, really well, and we finished dinner about 8PM. People ate real early in those towns normally and the restaurants would close up. So we had a few hours. The wine, I must admit we had two bottles; after all it was just Bardolino. Like I was saying the wine had an effect and before I knew it she was suggesting we go back to my hotel room and listen to some music."
As we were sighting the city lights of Dallas in the near distance, Eugenio wrapped up the story in as few as words as I have ever heard him wrap anything up. "It just goes to show you, Alfonso, never underestimate the power of Italian wine. Even a shy little wine like Bardolino can coax a Baptist preacher's daughter into losing her Band-Aids."
written by Alfonso Cevola limited rights reserved On the Wine Trail in Italy
wine blog + Italian wine blog + Italy W

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Morning MarketBeat: Does 'Great Rotation' Even Matter?
Pre-Market Brief:
MARKET SNAP: At 0525 a.m. ET, S&P 500 futures down 0.3%. Treasury yields higher. Nymex crude up 27 cents at $97.27; gold up 0.1% at $1,643.80. In Europe, FTSE 100 down 0.2%, DAX down 0.3% and CAC 40 down 0.1%. In Asia, Nikkei 225 up 0.5% and Hang Seng up 0.9%%.
Overnight action: Euro zone and Japan's GDP both contract. BNP Paribas profit falls, mulls expansion in Asia. Oscar Pistorius arrested after deadly shooting.
Watch for: Weekly jobless claims (8:30 a.m. Eastern Time): seen: 360,000; last: 366,000. EIA weekly natural gas storage report (10:30). U.S. Treasury 30-year bond auction (1:00 p.m.).
Earnings: Agilent Tech, Alliant Energy, BorgWarner, Brocade, CBS, Charles Schwab, DirecTV, Discovery Communications, General Motors, Molson Coors, Orbitz, PepsiCo and Waste Management, among others.
For more MarketBeat and other streaming markets coverage from The Wall Street Journal, point your mobile browser to wsj.com/marketspulse.
The Breakfast Briefing
For stock returns, the "Great Rotation" may not matter as much as you might think.
Cash has flowed out of bonds and into stocks at the onset of 2013. By some metrics, stock funds and ETFs notched the biggest monthly inflow on record in January. But as the market flirts with record highs, some observers don't think this rush of cash into equities will have much of an impact on the market's future overall performance.
After all, the Dow and S&P 500 more than doubled off the March 2009 lows even as investors yanked billions of dollars out of the market in the same time frame. Just because evidence shows that money is trickling back doesn't necessarily represent a new catalyst in the market's latest rally.
As history has shown, both metrics don't necessarily back one another up. Ana Avramovic, an analyst at Credit Suisse Trading Strategy, studied the correlation between fund flows and the broad market. Her conclusion: "Fund flows aren't statistically related to market returns at all."
Weekly fund-flow data reacting to the previous week's market returns had a correlation of 0.35, illustrating how the market's performance during any given weak didn't necessarily spark people to buy or sell stocks, Avramovic told MarketBeat. Zero correlation means no discernible pattern between two metrics and one means the pair moves in lockstep.
Concurrent weekly fund flows and market returns had a 0.28 correlation. The least correlated pairing was weekly fund flows predicting market returns, which came in at just 0.09.
What's more, Jeffrey Rubin, an analyst at Birinyi Associates, noted the S&P 500's financial and technology sectors benefited the most from the rush of cash into the market. Yet technology shares have been among the worst performers this year, while financial shares have been among the best.
Another cautionary tale about the Great Rotation: Money has historically flowed into the market during the first month of the year. Only three Januarys since 1998 have experienced outflows.
"This seasonality makes some sense," Avramovic says. "Many people invest in mutual funds via 401K accounts, and contributions may kick in in January and peter out throughout the rest of the year."
January's surge in inflows coincided with the Dow's 5.8% rally, its best start to a year since 1994. The blue-chip average has gained another 0.9% this month as it hovers around 14000 and its record high remains less than 200 points away.
Questions remain whether cash will keep moving back to stocks. Yet even if it does, it may not be the trigger the market needs to keep the rally chugging along.
Morning MarketBeat Daily Factoid: On this day in 2003, Dolly — a female sheep and the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell — was euthanised due to premature aging, a progressive lung disease and severe arthritis.
–Steven Russolillo[wsj-responsive-more-in tag="Morning MarketBeat" category="" ]
Stocks to Watch
Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Thursday's session are General Motors, CBS and DirecTV.
General Motors is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of 51 cents a share, according to a consensus survey by FactSet.
CBS is projected to report fourth-quarter earnings of 69 cents a share. The stock is rated at outperform due to its upside from possible sale of its international outdoor division and "potential for higher valuation on Americas outdoor if it converts to a REIT," said analysts at Wedbush.
DirecTV DTV is forecast to post fourth-quarter earnings of $1.13 a share. "We look for high-single digit revenue growth and stable margins in 2013," said analysts at Brean Capital, who reiterated their buy rating and target price of $62.
PepsiCo is expected to report earnings of $1.05 a share in the fourth quarter.
Must Reads
Euro Zone Economy Plunges: "The euro-zone economy plunged last quarter at its fastest pace in nearly four years, as weakening global activity and deep recessions along the currency zone's southern border gripped powerhouses such as Germany and France."
Japan GDP Shrinks Again: "Japan's real gross domestic product contracted for the third straight quarter in the final three months of last year as the global slowdown underscored its reliance on exports."
Euro's rise threatens corporate recovery: "The euro's recent strength is dimming a rare bright spot for European companies: exports."
Ex-SAC Analyst Felt Pressured for Tips: "A former analyst at SAC Capital Advisors told federal criminal investigators that he was pressured by his manager to gather inside information on technology stocks."
U.S. Funds Score Big by Betting Against Yen: "Some big U.S. hedge-fund investors have made billions betting against the yen, exploiting Japan's determination to weaken its currency."
U.S. Slams EU's Tax-on-Trades Plan: "The U.S. Treasury said it opposes plans by 11 European Union countries to impose a small tax on trades in shares, bonds and derivatives, saying it would 'harm U.S. investors.'"
Banks Warned Not to Leave Libor: "Several banks planned to withdraw from the panel that sets a key benchmark interest rate but scrapped the idea after the U.K.'s financial regulator warned them against doing so."
Heard on the Street: Comcast Is Content to Diversify: "The peacock has landed at Comcast. In buying the 49% of NBCUniversal it doesn't already own from GE now, Comcast aims to secure the full rewards of a turnaround at NBCU before the division's success drives up its value."
Daunting Challenges at Legg Mason: "Legg Mason Inc.'s search for a new chief executive spanned five months, involved about 15 external candidates and cost $1.5 million. In the end, the Baltimore asset manager settled on the person already in the job, Joseph Sullivan, the interim chief since October. Legg Mason named Mr. Sullivan president and chief executive on Wednesday."
Ackman: Regulators Risk Embarrassment Not Acting on Herbalife: "William Ackman, the prominent hedge-fund manager who has bet more than $1 billion against shares of Herbalife Ltd, told investors that U.S. regulators risk embarrassment if they fail to take action against the nutritional-supplements company he has called a pyramid scheme."
Indictments Allege 'Pump & Dump' Stock Fraud: "Two indictments unsealed Wednesday in federal district court here charged an overlapping group of individuals with operating "pump and dump" stock-fraud schemes that took in more than $30 million by manipulating shares in several small, publicly traded companies."
As Nikkei Surges, Some Investors Sit Out: "A rush of investment from speculators and hedge funds has made Japan's stock market one of the best performers in the world in recent months. But the sustainability of the rally will depend on whether mainstream investors—from big global funds to Japanese mom-and-pop buyers—see enough signs of economic improvement to jump in, market participants say."
Ahead of the Tape: Was GM Deal to Buy Back Shares Money Well Spent?: "General Motors Co., the latest auto maker to offer "no haggle prices," may have taken the concept a bit too far.
Most Popular Videos
Most Popular Articles
Inside U.S. Airlines' Decisions to Keep Flying the 737 MAX
Jury Finds Bayer's Roundup Weedkiller Caused Man's Cancer
Florida Prosecutors Offer to Drop Charges Against Patriots Owner Kraft
After Mass Detentions, China Razes Muslim Communities to Build a Loyal City
Is Elite College Worth It? Maybe Not


text:
More than 24,000 students attend the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the NU system's flagship campus and one of the nation's top
50 public universities. UNL offers more than 150 undergraduate majors and the Explore Center for students who haven't yet settled on a major, a
wide range of graduate programs and opportunities to learn from and work with some of the nation's best
researchers. UNL is home to the nationally known Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management, Husker athletics and top-notch academic advising. UNL's Institute
of Agriculture and Natural Resources, located on East Campus, offers students a range of academic and
research opportunities.
We invite you to visit UNL and find out more!
The 6,650 students at the University of Nebraska at Kearney come from more than 40 countries, and all 93 counties in Nebraska, to enjoy small classes, caring professors and a safe, progressive community. More than 170 academic programs and a strong emphasis on undergraduate research create a challenging academic environment, while the Lopers consistently lead Division II athletics in 17 men's and women's sports. Visit UNK.
At the University of Nebraska Medical Center, 3,237 students prepare for careers in health sciences while working alongside internationally recognized medical researchers and health care professionals in state-of-the-art facilities, such as the cutting-edge Durham Research Center and Durham Research Center II. Programs in medicine, nursing, dentistry and dental hygiene, pharmacy, public health and ten allied health professions are available to students who complete their college prerequisites. Visit UNMC.
The Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis is also part of the University of Nebraska, offering a two-year degree program with a focus on veterinary technology, ag production and business management or horticulture. NCTA's 425 students enjoy the personalized attention and support of a small college while having access to the resources of a major research university. Visit NCTA.


text:
David Beckham gets dirty as he poses half-naked on an urban rooftop for his latest H&M Bodywear campaign.
The former footballer reclines against pipes in form-fitting underwear and hangs shirtless from ladders in new eye-catching pictures to promote his underwear range.
The pictures will be accompanied by an action-packed promotional clip from Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn, set to debut during the Super Bowl on February 2.
The clip will see Beckham attempt to find his way down from a rooftop after being locked out of a photoshoot in just his underwear.
"It was so exciting to work with one of my favourite directors, Nicolas Winding Refn, on my new campaign for H&M," Beckham said.
"Nicolas pushed me hard to create an action-packed film, which shows off this season's new heritage-inspired bodywear at its best."
The 38-year-old has filmed two alternative versions of the advert, which will be put to a vote on hm.com to find the public's favourite. Voting starts on January 27.
Pictures from filming of Beckham performing stunts while scantily-clad first appeared back in October.
A behind-the-scenes video has also been released ahead of the advert's unveiling.


text:
Still ness beginning
Tags: cricket bat, horror, the undead, zombiesThis entry was posted on Monday, December 15th, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under Comics, Still ness.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Name (required)
Mail (will not be published) (required)
DrawingSilence is powered by WordPress with ComicPress.
Subscribe: Entries [RSS] | Comments [RSS]


text:
8:00 pm
Global Voices "Where Heaven Meets Hell" Four sulfur miners working at an active volcano in Indonesia search for meaning in their daily struggles and triumphs. This intimate portrait chronicles their attempts to escape the social ills that haunt their community. D
9:00 pm
Outdoor Idaho "Wilderness in the 21st Century" This exploration of wilderness issues captures scenic vistas of Idaho from north to south. The show examines what wilderness means to Idahoans, pressures from wheeled vehicle advocates, collaborative efforts that include multiple sides, and how work is accomplished inside a wilderness.G
9:30 pm
Dialogue "Israeli-Palestinian Partnership" As talks between Israelis and Palestinians start up once again, host Marcia Franklin talks with an Israeli and a Palestinian about conversations they have organized between their respective communities as a result of funding from a Boise non-profit. Eden Fuchs, a former colonel in the Israeli Defense Forces, and Ibrahim Issa, a Palestinian educator, are part of the Center for Emerging Futures, started by a Boise couple.G
10:00 pm
Earthflight, A Nature Special Presentation "Africa" Fly and arrow-dive with cape gannets among sharks, dolphins, whales and the great sardine run. Soar with fish eagles, flamingoes, kelp gulls and vultures to see the most animal-packed continent with fresh eyes. D
11:00 pm
Great Plains: America's Lingering Wild "We Live with the Land" This two-part program follows photographer Michael Forsberg, as he examines what wildness remains in the plains of North America.G


text:
Sea Squirts Shark Fin Doggie Jacket
Gonna need a bigger R/C boat!
- Your dog has always wanted to be a shark
- This doggie life jacket will help your pup attain its dreams
- D-ring lets you attach a leash (for landshark action)
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water... you hear a cello playing two notes. Back and forth and back and forth. And then the tuba player starts in and it all speeds up and you see the dorsal fin and think you're done for and then... oh, hello puppy. The dorsal fit was attached to you dog, well to your dog's Sea Squirts Shark Fin Doggie Jacket.
Sea Squirts Shark Fin Doggie Jackets are fun and functional swim jacket specially designed for our canine children. They features full-body flotation to support your pet in and around the water and a flexible dorsal fin and handle (for quick control of your pup). Plus, there's a metal D-ring on the back, so you can connect a leash and let your dog wear his/her shark costume on land, too. Hey, the old people didn't call them "swimming costumes" for nothing, right? Sea Squirts Shark Fin Doggie Jackets - because you can't spell "shark" without d-o-g!
Product Specifications
- Turn your dog into a shark with this swim jacket
- Full-body flotation supports your pet in and around the water
- The flexible dorsal fin and handle on the back allow for quick control of your pup
- Metal D-ring so you can easily connect a leash
- Sizing (Measure around dog's neck (Neck size) and then the thickest part of the torso (Chest size)):
- Small
- Sized for dogs 10 - 20 lbs
- Chest size: 17 - 23"
- Neck size: 12 - 15"
- Medium
- Sized for dogs 20 - 50 lbs
- Chest size: 24 - 30"
- Neck size: 16 - 19"
- Materials: Heavy-duty Neoprene
- Imported


text:
Six cities in Liaoning province, including Shenyang and Anshan, recently announced they are converting abandoned industrial sites to farmland. Dongguan, once a booming factory center, is on the verge of bankruptcy as companies close, leaving the local government severely cash-strapped.
Just two years after China overtook the U.S. to become the world's largest manufacturer, the country faces the prospect of decades of de-industrialization. And there is little Beijing can do to arrest the slide.
Globalization once propelled China. Hong Kong manufacturers flocked to that country's coastal regions in the early 1980s largely because labor costs were low and regulation lax. Later, companies had little choice but to move to China because their competitors had already located there, and soon suppliers congregated around assemblers, forming efficient industrial communities. The country became an integral link in the production plans of manufacturers, large and small.
As a result, China made itself the manufacturing powerhouse. From nowhere, it became the world's biggest producer of steel, cameras, toys, sporting goods, shoes, garments, textiles, televisions, cell phones, pens, you name it. One enterprise, Shenzhen-based BYD Co., grabbed more than half the global market for mobile phone batteries. One city, Datang, produced more than a third of the world's socks: about a pair and a half for each man, woman, and child on the planet each year. The country manufactured eight out of ten of the world's microwaves and nine out of ten of its DVD players. China churned out 70% of all counterfeit goods.
But as the Chinese say, "no feast lasts forever." Various trends coincided to erode their country's competitive advantages. First, Chinese authorities started enforcing environmental rules as citizens took to the streets to complain about metals in the soil, pollutants in the water, and soot in the air. Now, no one in China wants to live in a "cancer village," and people are routinely blocking projects, especially in the prosperous coastal regions of the country.
Second, smaller foreign investors began to pull back as they realized that manufacturing in China substantially increased the risk of loss of their intellectual property. Beijing did little to stop rampant theft.
Third, Chinese political risk, once thought to be minimal, became a factor. Beijing attempted to use its considerable economic leverage to achieve geopolitical goals, and this involved the targeting of companies from countries that had, in one way or another, angered China. Since the middle of 2010, Beijing has gone against Japanese, Norwegian, American, and European Union businesses. Chinese leaders, in the process, started to make their country an unreliable part of global supply chains.
Fourth, changes in the market convinced companies that there were significant cost and time-to-market advantages in manufacturing close to customers. The friction in dealing with faraway Chinese factories, once ignored, is now a big consideration in plant-location decisions.
Fifth, the most important factors in eroding China's competitive position involved the labor force, the reason why foreign companies moved to the country in the first place. For one thing, the world's most populous country, paradoxically, began to run out of people. The size of the workforce peaked in 2010, six years before Beijing's official demographers said it would, and rural residents are increasingly reluctant to move to the cities to work in dreary factories and live in squalid conditions.
Labor shortages helped drive up wages, which are now rising faster than both inflation and productivity. Last year, urban wages were up 14.3% in the nonprivate sector and 18.3% in the private one.
And Chinese workers have become restive, showing discontent from strikes to suicides. Labor issues became so serious that Foxconn Technology Group, which now employs 1.2 million workers in China, decided it had to automate. Last year, this electronics assembler had 10,000 robots in that country. In 2014, there will be a million of them making products for Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Nokia, Microsoft, and Sony, among other brands.
Automation, however, essentially eliminates the advantages of China as a manufacturing platform for the world. Robotized production in China is no cheaper than robotized production in, say, Texas or California, where Foxconn maintains manufacturing facilities. And so it should come as no surprise that, as Foxconn replaces humans with machines, Apple CEO Tim Cook told NBC's Brian Williams on Thursday that next year his company will manufacture one of its Mac computers in the U.S.
Even though Cook's announcement could have been "political"—a "token gesture" as one observer in Hong Kong sniffed—it nonetheless is part of a broader narrative of factories fleeing China. After all, Apple is not the only company to recently announce it was "onshoring." Lenovo, China's largest maker of PCs, in October said it would move some computer manufacturing to its North Carolina facility, and General Electric has been transferring production back to Appliance Park in Louisville. Small- and medium-sized manufacturers are started to return to the U.S. as well.
American manufacturers, in short, are gaining on the Chinese. Boston Consulting Group has predicted that around 2015 it will become more economical to manufacture in the U.S. than China in seven industrial sectors. American workers are more productive and less likely to strike than their Chinese counterparts. Moreover, as suggested above, transportation costs are much lower and delivery times far shorter when goods are made here. And energy is substantially cheaper in America.
Of course, these trends do not mean all manufacturing will come back to America. "As far as my industry is concerned, I don't see production moving out of China to the U.S. in the foreseeable future," said Willie Fung Wai-yiu of undergarment maker Top Form International to the South China Morning Post. "Our trade is labor intensive."
Yet some labor-intensive garments are now being made in the U.S., as my wife's stroll around our local Walmart, located in Manville, New Jersey, revealed yesterday. There, for instance, she found Mainstays bedding with U.S. labels.
Chinese goods were hard to find. She saw that every piece of clothing in Walmart's house brand, George, was made in Bangladesh. Items with the Hanes label came from Guatemala and El Salvador, Wrangler jeans from Nicaragua, Fruit of the Loom from Honduras. Danskin apparel was imported from Jordan, Egypt, and Kenya. If you want to know where Simply Basic sleepwear comes from, fly to Cambodia.
My wife, after some searching, did find one garment label made in China. It's called "Faded Glory."
More on Forbes:
Follow me on Twitter @GordonGChang


text:
Mr. Steve Halverson, Mrs. Ann Hicks, Mrs. Wanyonyi Kendrick, Dr. R. Bruce Taylor, Mrs. Carol Thompson
Mr. Justin Damiano, Mr. Wilfredo Gonzalez, Mrs. Joan Newton
Chair Taylor called the meeting of the Executive Committee to order and reminded committee members that the purpose of this meeting was to finalize President Delaney's annual evaluation and discuss a salary recommendation for 2006-2007, to include a bonus recommendation for the 2005-2006 year.
Chair Taylor distributed a copy of the proposed Presidential Evaluation document and opened the floor for discussion and comment. Following discussion of the presidential evaluation form, there was agreement that Chair Taylor would consider comments from this meeting and finalize President Delaney's written evaluation as he deemed appropriate.
The Executive Committee then moved into a discussion of President Delaney's overall compensation and its recommendation for a performance bonus for the 2005-2006 year. The Executive Committee first considered President Delaney's overall compensation and agreed that it would recommend to the Board that President Delaney's overall compensation structure for 2006-2007 remain the same. The Executive Committee then moved into a discussion of a performance bonus and agreed that given President Delaney's excellent performance this past year, it would recommend to the full Board a performance bonus of approximately 92% of the maximum allowable under President Delaney's contract.
The meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m.


text:
Newton Police Department
• Andrew D. Altemeier, 32, of Newton was charged with public intoxication after police were called to Fareway at 12:06 p.m. Monday. Police found Altemeier in the in a nearby alleyway. He taken to the Jasper County Jail.
• A 13-year-old student was charged with disorderly conduct for an incident that occurred at Berg Middle School at 12:11 p.m. Jan. 9. Police were called to the middle school in reference to an out-of-control student. The boy was charged Monday with disorderly conduct. The case is being handled by juvenile authorities.
A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. It is the policy of the Newton Daily News to release the names of individuals charged with a crime who are 16 and older.


text:
The Bangkok Bank Young Chemists on 14ACC ConferenceActivity by Phornphimon Maitarad | added on Aug 31, 2011 | Thailand
Sponsor(s): Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited
The Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited has provided a hundred awards for the young chemistry who attended the 14 Asian Chemical Congress (14ACC) conference that will be held on September 5-8, 2011 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, Bangkok, THAILAND
This award has been given to 100 selected Thai graduate students who are interested in attending the 14th Asian Chemical Congress at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, Bangkok, Thailand during September 5-8, 2011. The aim of this award is to encourage the Thai graduate students to present the posters of their research work, to participate, to meet, to share and to exchange their idea and knowledge with other participants in this gracious congress. The total number of the participants are around 1,800 from 43 countries. The award has been supported by Bangkok Bank.
See more details http://www.14acc.org/
Want to submit your own activity or comment?
In order to do so you need to be part of the IYC network. Please log in or sign up now.
Join the IYC Network


text:
DGWB Advertising and Communications, Orange County, California's largest independent ad agency, announces a new partnership with Yogurtland Franchising, becoming its national advertising agency of record.
Yogurtland, an Irvine, California–based frozen yogurt company, has more than 190 locations across the U.S., Guam, Mexico, Venezuela, and Australia.
DGWB will handle Yogurtland's marketing communications, including brand strategy, in-store merchandising, and video and digital marketing.
DGWB's first integrated campaign, "Flavor Quest," takes customers on a three-month journey around the world via the introduction of 10 new authentic global flavors.
An exciting feature of the campaign is the DGWB-designed Yogurtland App, which enables customers to work toward earning complimentary yogurt, while tasting the global flavors Yogurtland's flavorologist has created.
The app includes a DGWB-made video about the flavorologist's travels and is available for free at both the Apple App Store and Google Play.
"In DGWB, Yogurtland has a partner with extensive restaurant and franchise marketing experience and in-house capabilities that will help introduce new flavors and experiences to our customers," says Yogurtland director of marketing Charlotte Lucich.
"Yogurtland's flavorologist scours the globe for real, honest ingredients, striving to find only the most authentic global flavors," she adds. "By creating the 'Flavor Quest' and its mobile app, accompanying video, and in-store materials, DGWB has begun our relationship by developing a truly interactive way to bring those incredible flavors of the world to life."
Mandi Dossin, DGWB partner and general manager, says, "To kick off this partnership, DGWB used its experience in this segment and its vast in-house resources to design a mobile app that will truly provide Yogurtland customers with a unique in-store experience.
"Yogurtland strives to create flavors that taste just like the real thing and bring them straight to your cup, and DGWB is proud to help it through its new 'Flavor Quest' journey and beyond," Dossin adds.
The five times weekly e-newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on the latest industry news and additions to this website.


text:
It will be particularly useful for the reviewers, as they evaluate the quality of the genotyping, to have results from a standard set of SNPs and samples. NHGRI has identified a standard set of 200 SNPs and an additional set of 1797 SNPs (see below). Applicants are strongly encouraged to genotype both sets of SNPs in the set of 90 HapMap CEPH samples plus five duplicates (available from the Coriell Institute for Medical Research) and to submit these data to Michael Shi by July 6, 2004, for analysis by NHGRI and the reviewers.
Michael Shi, M.D., Ph.D.
Program Director
Genetic Variation Program, NHGRI
Building 31, Room B2B07
31 Center Dr., MSC 2032
Bethesda, MD 20892-2033
Phone: (301) 451-1340
E-mail: email@example.com
Lisa Brooks, Ph.D.
Program Director
Genetic Variation Program, NHGRI
Building 31, Room B2B07
31 Center Dr., MSC 2032
Bethesda, MD 20892-2033
Phone: (301) 435-5544
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Standard set of 200 SNPs in a text file
Standard set of 200 SNPs in an XML file
Additional set of 1797 SNPs in a text file
Additional set of 1797 SNPs in an XML file
Please e-mail Michael Shi (firstname.lastname@example.com) if you have trouble accessing the files.
The Coriell catalogue number for the plate is HapMapPt1. The plate contains 30 trios, five duplicates, and one blank and costs $8,000. Each well contains 50ug of DNA at a concentration of 250ug/ml. The samples will be shipped on dry ice in 96 well plates with a rubber cap mat to seal the plates.
Coriell requires each group to submit an order form, statement of research intent, and an assurance form, which can be found at: ccr.coriell.org/Sections/Collections/NIGMS/Ordering.aspx?PgId=65&coll=GM.
Judy Peluse
Phone: 1-800-752-3805
International Phone: 856-757-4848
E-mail: email@example.com.
Return to RFA: HG-04-005 [grants1.nih.gov]
Last Updated: November 19, 2010


text:
Information brokering, the business of buying and selling information as a commodity, has been around for a long time. A business historian can make a good case that it started with Gutenberg in the middle 1400s, when what had been a closely held church and government prerogative involving the distribution of "original works of art" gave way to mass production and the business of book publishing.
By the 1700s, faster, time-sensitive techniques for information distribution took hold. First the newspaper and then the magazine made smaller, but timelier, chunks of information available to the public, and venture capital investment opportunities were available for those who wished to back entrepreneurial publishers.
Information brokering as we now think of it as a business opportunity for the individual information professional was begun by the French in 1935. (This history is documented in the 1987 book Passion SVP: Femme et P.-D.G., by Brigitte de Gastines in collaboration with d'Alice Hubel.)
Brigitte de Gastines is President-Director General of SVP France and the daughter of the company's savior, Maurice de Turckheim. In her book, she describes the birth of SVP as a profit-making or fee-charging entity.
The concept came from the Societe Francaise de Radiophonie, an organization of professionals who created the notion of supplying information over the phone for a fee. In 1935, members of the society convinced the French governmental postal, telephone and telegraph agency (PTT) to reserve the letters SVP (for s'il vous plait, "if you please") on the telephone dial for dial-up question-answering service for Parisians. Though the service got off to an enthusiastic start, the financial situation deteriorated rapidly, going from bad to worse to catastrophic. With significant debt piling up, the struggling business attracted the attention of Maurice de Turckheim.
Joining the group in 1937, he set out to strengthen SVP with his considerable promotion and marketing skills. His big break came several years later.
After World War II, France, like much of the world, had to pull itself together, and SVP, guided by Maurice de Turckheim, was resurrected. Turckheim's strategy was to play on the belief of the average person that the upper classes were privy to all sorts of secret information. Using this knowledge, he would invite people to join his "exclusive club," which let them in on all the information secrets they wanted for the yearly price of admission, a hefty subscription fee.
The strategy worked and by 1950 the operation was in full swing. Over the next 30 years, SVP became a worldwide operation with franchises in 23 countries on five continents.
In the meantime, several entrepreneurs in the United States found ways to enter the not-yet burgeoning information business. Among them were Matthew Lesko, who turned a home-based newsletter on how to get free information from federal government agencies into a $750,000 a year business, now called Washington Researchers, and Roger Summit, who began his ground-breaking work that spawned the online industry.
In spite of the entrepreneurial activity, however, librarians were slow to realize that they could leave the confines of the buildings which named their profession to perform fee-based services on a free-lance basis.
Darlene Waterstreet of Badger Infosearch in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, may have been the first to point out the building-restrictive warning message implicit in the library/librarian naming convention: The person and the building were socially perceived to be joined like Siamese twins. The more daring librarians, like Susan Klement and Alice Sizer Warner of Warner-Eddison, and Kelly Warnken, separated themselves from the building, then went around telling others how it was done. What they were doing was diffusing an innovation, as described in Everett M. Rogers' 1962 communication theory classic, Diffusion of Innovations.
Moving Librarians Out of the Library
The American Society for Information Science (ASIS) was itself a major force in the drive to divorce information from the library. To ASIS members, information was not only recorded items of knowledge, it was also the digitized bits of information that could be moved through computers and telephone lines to where it was needed, rather than requiring users to come to the place where knowledge or information was stored. In this approach, people stayed where they were; information moved to them.
By the late 1960s, there were sufficient private, for-profit information companies in the United States to encourage a group of database producers, managers and operators to launch a trade organization to serve their interests. In 1969, the Information Industry Association (IIA) was formed and held its first meeting, which merited coverage by the trade in Publisher's Weekly (April 14, 1969).
In celebration of the 200th anniversary of the American Revolution in 1976, when people throughout the country were encouraged to look at revolutionary concepts of the 20th century, ASIS turned the spotlight on information-on-demand services and gave them full-issue treatment in the Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science (February 1976). (See Alice Warner's article, "Looking Back, Looking Ahead," on page 10 of this issue.)
Also in 1976, Susan Klement created the first outline of a course on being an information specialist outside of a library building: "Draft Proposal for a Graduate Course on Alternatives in Librarianship" (Canadian Library Journal, April 1977). She included, in a separate article in the same journal, a 41-item "Selected Annotated Bibliography of Articles Relevant to Alternatives in Librarianship." Though faculty members in schools of library science at leading universities claimed to have taken note of these new career possibilities, the concepts were rarely incorporated in their classes. But entrepreneurial librarians and publishers had seen the wisdom in alternative careers.
In 1980, Betty-Carol Sellen convinced Gaylord Professional Publishers to publish What Else You Can Do With a Library Degree. Although many people remember Betty-Carol's book as asking the question, "What else can you do with a library degree?" this collection of first-person accounts outlined the wide range of alternatives available to a library school graduate who wanted to be independent of the library building.
One of the alternatives already documented by that time was free-lance information brokering. By 1977, enough people had gone that route to justify Kelly Warnken's first self-published Directory of Fee-Based Information Services. With 87 entries on 74 pages, including both academic-based and free-lance information service providers, the book took a well-known technique of information organizing, the traditional directory format, and applied it to this new field. (Helen Burwell of Burwell Enterprises, Houston, Texas, now publishes the international edition of this directory, still a self-published product.)
In 1981, R.R. Bowker entered the field to publish Warnken's The Information Brokers: How to Start and Operate Your Own Fee-Based Service, indicating how far the field had come.
Expanding the Field with PCs
By the early 1980s, librarians and many others had begun to sense the potential of the free-lance information brokering business. With the increasing availability of personal computers, many people believed that the combination of PC, modem and commercial databases was a natural; librarians added their library skills to the mix and expected to turn a spare room in their homes into money-making business ventures. Articles in a variety of consumer magazines, such as Working Woman, created a tantalizing image of sitting at home and making millions.
Unfortunately, those who tried it were made cruelly aware of how hard it really is to make a dollar in the real world of competition, money and power. But help came soon for those who had the combination of skills, capital and fortitude necessary to start an entrepreneurial business.
In 1987, 26 people came together in Milwaukee to form the first U.S. organization devoted solely to the information brokering profession. With their sights set firmly on building a network among themselves and their colleagues and on aiding struggling entrepreneurs, the group created the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP).


text:
Kevin Wade needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 52 designs submitted by 12 freelance designers.
This is my first time doing this contest thing and realized that I have not put enough information for people.
Would like a logo for Quality Seafood Direct a company that sells Chesapeake Bay Seafood to Upscale Restaurants. Would like the logo to have charcteristics of our parent company logo J&W Seafood.
Please Read Details
The logo for our parent company can be found at http://www.rickbarlow.net here you will find a clean copy of our logo.
I would lke to have a logo created for http://www.qualityseafooddirect.net with very similar characteristics to our J&W Seafood Logo.
- Where you see the Letters J&W I would like to put the text Quality Seafood Direct. This will probably have to be done in 2 - 3 lines.
- Where you have the lettering "Harvesting the Best of the Chesapeake Bay" Should be replace with "A Division of J&W Seafood of Va., Inc."
- Where the Orange Bar Says "SEAFOOD" can be replace with http://www.qualityseafooddirect.net
- The text at the bottom of the logo "Since 1982" should stay the same.
- The Boat in the logo can stay, but if you would like to submit an image with an alternate image that would be fine to. The image should not be any seafood creature. But could be a boat and a plane for instance since http://www.qualityseafooddirect.net ship seafood by airplane direct to restaurants.
- Color- I would like to see some submissions with same color characteristics of the logo at http://www.rickbarlow.net but also would like to see some submissions with other color patterns.
- Item 1...
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


text:
Users / Re: Southern California Linux Expo« on: January 08, 2013, 06:53:11 pm »
As a long time user i thought i would show my thanks also so donation sent. Love the system having had a core running now for several years. Thanks to all for the hard work put in by the few for the many to enjoy and use.


text:
With Tony Romo's status uncertain for Sunday because of a back injury, the Cowboys needed a third quarterback to go with Kyle Orton on the roster.
There were reports about visits from David Carr, John Skelton and Tyler Thigpen, but the team has decided to go in a different direction. Per multiple reports, the team will sign Jon Kitna.
Kitna, who turned 41 in September, last played in the NFL with the Cowboys in 2011. He started nine games for them in 2010 when Romo broke his collarbone, so he's familiar with Jason Garrett and at least some of the offense from his previous stint with the team. How much that familiarity would help if Kitna were actually pressed into action after almost two full years as a retiree is a question the Cowboys would surely prefer remain unanswered.
Kitna has been teaching and coaching in high school since retiring. Should the Cowboys win this weekend and advance to the playoffs, he may not be available when school reopens after the winter break.


text:
An exciting part of my new job at the Nature Research Center of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences is that I'll also have a faculty appointment somewhere in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHASS) at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
One of my new colleagues is Dr. Cat Warren, Associate Professor of English at State and editor of Academe magazine (and accompanying blog) of the American Association of University Professors.
If all goes well, I'm hoping to be able to contribute to the curriculum for the Master of Science in Technical Communication in the NCSU Department of English.
Cat asked me for a few representative posts to share with my potential new colleagues and I thought I'd put them up here under a single URL. While I do have a sampler over and up to the right – and include one of those posts below – I wanted to provide a more broad overview of my writing from the five blogs where I have a presence.
1. Drugs from the crucible of nature (Scientific American Guest Blog) – The invitation by Bora Zivkovic to write at the new SciAm blog network for Chemistry Day in August allowed me to discuss the traditional and modern contributions of my research field.
2. Trine Tsouderos on This Week in Virology: When do you fact-check article content with sources? (Take As Directed, PLoS Blogs) – An interview on Vincent Racaniello's excellent webcast with the superb Chicago Tribune science reporter had me question what I had always thought was a prohibitive tenet of journalism. This relatively quick post unexpectedly generated a tremendous comment thread from some of the top names in science journalism.
3. Marking the magnificent memory of Henrietta Lacks (Terra Sigillata, ScienceBlogs) – My participation in the gravestone dedication of the HeLa cell donor and visiting with her family was one of the most moving experiences in my life as a scientist.
4. "The current phenomenon of 'bloggers' should be of serious concern to scientists" (Terra Sigillata, CENtral Science) – An opinion piece by the editor of the journal Analytical Chemistry led many commenters to discuss his archaic views on the role of blogging by practicing scientists.
5. James Ray and testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) (Science-Based Medicine) – My monthly gig at SBM affords me the opportunity to share stories on alternative medicine to a relatively large audience. In this post, I discuss some of the drugs that law enforcement authorities found in the Arizona sweat lodge hotel room of the New Age self-help/self-promoter now imprisoned for negligent homicide.
6. Why Terra Sigillata? (Terra Sigillata, CENtral Science) – I periodically update this, my second blogpost ever, to discuss where I came up with my original blog name. It's okay to just call it, "Terra Sig."
And for those who want a little more background of how I got to this point in my writing pursuits, my About page at Terra Sig is a good reference.
I hope that these posts give my colleagues a flavor for the scope of my science writing for diverse audiences. Readers new and old might care to revisit a few of these and perhaps even suggest others for inclusion on this list.


text:
Modify/Customise existing WordPress Plugin -- 2
Orçamento $10-30 USD
I have purchased the WordPress plugin Affiliate Egg and i require customisation to the existing plugin. The plugin zip has been attached.
If you have no idea what is the affiliate egg plugin about please look at the youtube link for more information:[url removed, login to view]
Basically this Affiliate Egg plugin already supports several affiliate stores out of the box such as [url removed, login to view] and www.groupon.com.
The modification that i require is to create a "Custom parsers" to support the affiliate store groupon.sg.
There are instructions in the Affiliate Egg's plugin manual on how to create "Custom parsers" to support new affiliate stores. Please see page 14 and 15 of the PDF Manual. Link: [url removed, login to view]
You need to have php and xpath skills for this custom job.
For this customisation, i will need for "Custom parsers" to be created for the affiliate store groupon.sg.
- So, after the WordPress installation, go to menu > Affiliate Egg > Add Store front.
- I will be able to add (1) URL of single product page from [url removed, login to view] (2) Or Page with list of products/ Main Category Page.
Once you have completed the customisation, you are required to show me the screenshot that it works and send me the codes to test.
You will not be given test WordPress website accounts. You will need to setup this plugin in your own test website environment.
Please let me know if there is anything that you are unclear of. Or need additional clarifications.
Let me know if you can take up this job. And when can you complete this job by?


text:
Do Not Travel With Raised Load Sign
Delivery Cost: ₹100.00, FREE Delivery on and above purchase of ₹1000.00.
Note: The display signs used in this website are with copyright watermark for image protection. The signs sold to the customer will be without watermark.
- High Quality Sign on PVC Paper (90 GSM Thickness).
- Color Print
- Self Adhesive Sticker
- Can Stick on Anything. Wall, Tiles, Glass, Metal, Wood, Plastic, Etc.
- Can be used Outdoors.
- Waterproof Print.
The Do Not Travel With Raised Load Sign is made using high grade materials to make sure it meets the quality and durability standards. The Do Not Travel With Raised Load Sign is tested through various processes before it is delivered to the customers.
Available Sizes:
- "19h" x "13w" inches
- "15h" x "10w" inches


text:
Advanced Search
Distance Learning | News
Western Nevada College (WNC) has implemented a video content management and webcasting system to serve its 4,800 students, approximately half of whom take courses entirely online.
The college serves a huge rural area, and many of its students used to drive hundreds of miles to watch pre-recorded video lectures at one of the college's satellite campuses. After budget cuts forced the college to close several of those satellite campuses, it started researching alternative ways of delivering video lectures to distance education students. That was when the college turned to Mediasite, a webcasting solution from Sonic Foundry.
The college now offers 10 flex courses that allow students to view lectures online or attend class in-person at one of WNC's three remaining campuses. WNC hosts the video lectures in the Mediasite cloud, and students can watch them on their desktops or mobile devices through the college's Canvas learning management system.
"Our online students never had access to live lectures until we adopted Mediasite," said Clarence Maise, distance education coordinator for WNC, in a prepared statement. "Plus, our face-to-face students now have on-demand video of lectures to go back and review."
Mediasite's OCR (optical character recognition) capabilities automatically index slide text, so the college has instructed its faculty to "add keywords so their students can easily skip to points in their presentations instead of fast-forwarding through several hours of video," said Maise.
The college now plans to implement the My Mediasite desktop capture system, which will enable faculty, staff, and students to create and share videos, lectures, and assignments from anywhere using their laptop's built-in webcam.
Western Nevada College is a public college based in Carson City, NV, with two other campuses in Fallon and Minden, as well as several satellite centers.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at email@example.com.
View More Webcasts
View More Whitepapers
Sign up for our newsletter.
I agree to this site's Privacy Policy.


text:
Cauliflower: New ways
I think I remember you saying that you bake whole cauliflower in olive oil in the oven - can you please tell me how?
Many thanks, Linda
A few years back I was travelling in Israel with my cheffy author friend Yotam Ottolenghi (he of the shared whitebait pizza fame from last week's column) and we ate ourselves stupid around his native homeland. It seemed to be one memorable meal after another from the simplicity of freshly made warm hummus and raw white onion, through to almond and raisin stuffed lamb's neck in an Arab village. One meal, among so many memorable ones, was at a restaurant that a friend of his was cheffing in called North Abraxas (40 Lilenblum St, Tel Aviv). The food was fabulous in many ways, a little clever here and there without being so clever it forgot it was food. The kitchen is headed by Eyal Shani, quite a big name in Israel.
The meal consisted of many tasty things from blue crabs cooked in tomato butter and pounded fresh corn polenta with a cheesy topping through to a strange peach marmalade with creme patisserie which definitely tasted far superior to how it looked.
However, it was the whole roast cauliflower that was the most memorable of the dishes that night. I've often roasted florets of cauliflower tossed with olive oil, herbs and olives (in fact there's a recipe for them in my latest book, Everyday) but I'd never seen such a simple, fabulous way of treating this misunderstood brassica. What the kitchen had done was to remove the green leaves and trimmed the stalk, keeping it whole however. It was steamed until cooked, then roasted in a fiercely hot oven, ideally a wood-fired oven, until golden and tender. It was served wrapped in baking paper with a spoon - which at first I couldn't understand as I'd not eaten a cauliflower on its own before, nor with a spoon as though it were a mousse. However, we peeled the paper back and the golden cauliflower was easily scooped out and eaten. It was delicious in that way that only a freshly harvested cauliflower can be.
This is very easy to do yourself and it only requires a cauliflower, a pot or steamer large enough to hold the curd (as the head is called) and a very hot oven. I've cooked it at home many times and always guests are really interested in the concept. I usually make a pesto or dressing to serve drizzled over it at the table, and because cauliflowers are available year-round they can be cooked and served with a huge variety of flavours and spices.
Some favourites, apart from the two mentioned above, are a raw summer salad made from thinly sliced (I use a super-sharp knife or mandolin) cauliflower tossed with lemon juice, sunflower and hazelnut oils, crushed toasted hazelnuts, picked parsley and crumbled feta cheese - just make sure you toss it all together at the last minute so the cauliflower retains its crunch.
I love cauliflower cheese as much as the next person, making sure the cauliflower isn't cooked so much it loses all its bite, and I flavour the cheese sauce with a little smoked paprika that I saute with chopped rosemary and garlic. A smooth cauliflower soup enriched with beaten egg yolks and yoghurt at the end is delicious, especially if the soup also contains a handful of split peas and fresh thyme.
Roasting chicken legs, separating thigh and leg, is all the better with large florets of cauli tossed in along with plenty of fresh herbs and slivers of garlic, and a puree of slowly simmered cauli, cream, ginger and sage is delicious served with crispy skinned pork.
Actually, as I type this in London with winter now well and truly with us, I think I might just have to knock up a cauliflower cheese for dinner tomorrow.
In our Ask Peter series, executive chef Peter Gordon answers your curly culinary questions. If you're stumped over something food-related, send your question to email@example.com and keep checking in for answers. You can read more on Peter on his website, have a read of his Ask Peter articles or check out his recipes on our site.


text:
Women's top in technical fabric
Scuderia Ferrari Store Exclusive
Uncompromising sports style for this women's training top, characterized by its perforated fabric inserts.
Featuring an ergonomic cut and high-performance technical materials, this women's top has been designed to enhance performance whether practicing indoor or outdoor sports. The material has been treated so as to be extremely breathable. The garment's silhouette boasts an ergonomic cut at the waist and is enhanced with stitching in the collection's colors and perforated tone-on-tone fabric inserts. Complete with ventilation holes, the vest is customized with the iconic Ferrari Shield. Because the passion for sport always wins out, whether at the F1 track or the gym.
- Perforated fabric inserts
- Ventilation holes on the back
- Ergonomic cut
- Composition: 83% Polyester, 17% Elastane
We offer both Standard and Express shipping: choose the service that best meets your needs at checkout.
We provide an easy return service: just ship your items back to us with a shipping service of your choice within 30 days of delivery.


text:
Shwood Eyewear
Follow Shwood's own Eric Singer as he meets up with Keith Hufnagel and others to claim the streets of LA in pursuit of Shwood's latest experiment, sunglasses made from broken skateboard decks. Crafted entirely in Shwood's local woodshop, this one-of-a-kind pair of sunglasses was created out of curiosity, just to see what was possible. For more of Shwood's experiments visit: ExperimentWithNature.com
Based in Portland, Oregon Shwood creates handcrafted wooden eyewear using fine exotic hardwoods.
Shwood's in-house manufacturing process merges precision technology with classic skilled craftsmanship to create a timeless art form. Every step from veneering and precision lens cutting, to shaping and finishing is conducted in our own Portland-based workshop to promise an entirely handcrafted eyewear piece. View the collection at shwoodshop.com
Thanks to Keith and the crew at HUF. hufsf.com
Filmed and Edited by Joe Stevens. joestevensmedia.com
T.Rex "Mambo Sun"
The Black Keys "240 Years Before Your Time"


text:
Responsibility – in terms of environmental, social and governance issues – is usually associated with large, multinational corporations. However, the spotlight is increasingly turning onto the private sector more broadly, as well as more recently onto civil society organizations.
Stakeholders are becoming more demanding in terms of being able to demonstrate genuine engagement and integration of responsibility issues. Individuals too have a key role to play in minimizing their respective footprints and for delivering a more sustainable development. In short, it's no longer just about what any organization or individual does but also how they do it. This poster highlights events on the Responsibility Journey to help you navigate through some of the current key issues:
- Private sector responsibility – how far have businesses really advanced and what can we learn from the private sector?
- Civil society responsibility – what should your organization be doing better and how?
- Individual responsibility – what can I do as an individual to be more responsible?
Find out more at the Green Congress booth in the centre of the entrance hall during the Congress.


text:
Scott Rasmussen '86 Launches New Media Venture
August 8, 2013
Scott Rasmussen, a 1986 graduate of DePauw University, today announced the Rasmussen Media Group, LLC. The firm will "develop and invest in digital media opportunities," according to a news release. "The mission of the Rasmussen Media Group, based upon deep respect for the common sense wisdom of the American people, is to refine, enlarge, and empower the voice of mainstream America."
"Twenty-first century technology offers tremendous opportunities for creating community solutions to the challenges facing our nation," says Rasmussen. "There is a huge market opportunity in serving those who want to find solutions rather than play politics."
The founder of Rasmussen Reports, which conducts national polls, Rasmussen is the author of The People's Money, Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System, In Search of Self-Governance and Solving the Budget Crisis: Hope for America's Future. He co-founded ESPN with his father Bill Rasmussen, a 1954 DePauw graduate.
"Moving from one venture to another is always a mix of excitement and sadness," says Rasmussen, who majored in history at DePauw and earned an M.B.A. at Wake Forest University. "We have a tremendous staff at Rasmussen Reports and I will miss them daily. But the opportunity to help empower the voice of mainstream America is terribly exciting."
Read more here.
Scott Rasmussen was on campus in February to present a 175th Anniversary Distinguished Alumni Lecture, "Sweeping Change is Coming to America." Learn more in this summary.Back


text:
PLEASE NOTE I AM ON HOLIDAY UNTIL 28th JUNE. ALL ONLINE ORDERS WILL BE DESPATCHED AS SOON AS I RETURNSquisito (squiz-eat-oh) is an Italian butcher, cheese shop, deli, cookery school & wedding caterer ...
Tel: 01788 824123
Award Winning Local Food Hero Yelvertoft NN66LQ 2016 Nominated BBC Midlands Best Deli Italian Specialist Cheese Salami Local Meat Game Cheese Bread Italian Wedding Caterer Turkey Christmas
Unit: 2.0 kilo minView
Unit: 4.0-4.5kgView
A massive thank you for the fantastic turkey Alex Absolutely lovely Merry Christmas.Grant Bowles - 28 December 2016
That Zwartble lamb was epic!Gary Bradshaw - 16 December 2016
Hi Alex, Just a quick note to say a massive thank you for your knowledge, expertise and company over the last 2 days. Both courses were absolutely fantastic and have armed me not only with the knowledge of techniques and skills but also an understanding of the actual processes and reactions that are at play. Above all it's given me the confidence and enthusiasm to have a go at all of the things you taught me. I was re-looking at the website this morning and did notice the warning that each course was a full day working - it was certainly that, I arrived home on both days absolutely knackered. After 34 years driving a desk as a job, it was certainly a good workout. Of the goodies I came away with the sausages from Wednesday were a hit, the Gravadlax went down a storm and I've just have the Soused Mackerel for lunch. The Mackerel with the carrots and onion, which had remained crunchy, were brilliant, great flavours..... I can see that becoming a firm favourite in this house. Once again many thanks for your time and input, thanks also for the offer for a return refresher once I've got some kit. kindest regards MikeMike Wells - 27 November 2016
Hi Alex I'm glad I popped over last week and got a good supply of sausages. Took a couple with me in a sandwich on Saturday to the Saints and they were considerably better than Saints play. Thoroughly enjoyed the lamb kebab things yesterday except i had to share them with visiting relatives. Linda has enjoyed the olives and thanks you for the lentils. See you in a couple of months Cheers TimTim Hoddle - 12 October 2016
Leave a review
Just to say a massive thank you for the food. It went down a treat. All our guests loved it all, so thanks for everything. The service we received was great. We will be recommending you. Kindest Grant & AndrewGrant Bowles - 13 September 2016
PLEASE NOTE I AM ON HOLIDAY UNTIL 28th JUNE. ALL ONLINE ORDERS WILL BE DESPATCHED AS SOON AS I RETURNSquisito (squiz-eat-oh) is an Italian butcher, cheese shop, deli, cookery school & wedding caterer - an award winning rural business that makes and sells local and artisan food. BBC 'Midlands Best Deli' 2016, Shortlisted 2015, Northamptonshire 'Local Food Hero' 2014, BBC 'Best Street Food' Award Winner 2013, shortlisted BBC Food & Farming Award 'Best Food Producer' 2012 etc 46 High Street, Yelvertoft, NN6 6LQ just off M1/M6/A14/A5 Call 07824 314235 email [email protected] FREE DELIVERY OVER £75.00
Weds 12 til 5, Thu/Fri/Sat: 10-late, Sun 10-5
Collection: Yes
Dispatch Days: In 5 Days
|Delivery Charges
|£0.00 - £75.00
|£75.01 - £999.00
"Get Food, Growing, Cooking & Nutrition on the School Curriculum"Sign here
Please share with your friends and contacts. You can find out more here.No, thank you


text:
Hacking biomedical science in 30 hours
On Sunday 10 December 2012 I had my first hackathon experience. A hackathon is essentially a computing marathon, in this case about 30 hours long, fuelled by pizza, sugar and caffeinated drinks with minimal time for sleep.
This first Wellcome Trust hackathon was a themed weekend around 'open data', exploring the vast array of biomedical data that is being collected about us all the time – in hospitals by clinicians but also by ourselves, online and through apps on our phones. These large datasets are potential goldmines of information for researchers and clinicians on everything from sleep patterns to exercise routines. Working with Wellcome Trust Public Engagement Fellow Kevin Fong and Rewired State, developers and designers were invited to develop web and mobile applications that would help make the scientific data interesting and understandable by the general public.
Some people worked alone, others formed teams – many formed ad hoc on the day. Some even did both! Similarly with project ideas, some came with an idea of what they want to work with, while others waited to see what emerged on the first day, piggybacking and collaborating on the fruits of the groups' labour.
Despite losing some people to the winter sniffles, the developers managed to present 19 projects to our four judges: Tilly Blythe, Curator of computing and information at the Science Museum; Dallas Campbell of TV's Bang Goes the Theory and Supersized Earth; Mark Thorley, Head of science information and data management co-ordinator at Research Councils UK; and our own Mun-Keat Looi, the Wellcome Trust's Online Editor.
So after a long 48 hours of hardcore coding, on Sunday evening the teams mustered their last reserves of energy for their three minutes in the spotlight to present and (hopefully) demonstrate their apps.
From a phone app for hypochondriacs to a running app where the runner's speed dictated how fast a film clip played on the individual's portable device, the variety of ideas created from scratch was staggering. Picking winners was a tough task, but winners there must be for any competition. The competition was divided into three categories: Open Me — involving data we voluntarily provide (e.g. to apps); Open Research — hacks that use data from biomedical research, and; Open Data — hacks that use data collected by devices used by clinicians. There was also a special award for the hack deemed most useful to the public.
And without further ado, the winners were:
Open Me — winner: Boneplicator
3D printing is expanding. While the hardware is still expensive, there is an opportunity for developers to write open source software. This hack helps turn CT and MRI scans – normally the domain of doctors, radiographers and researchers – into a file that you can feed into a 3D printer to get a plastic model of your bones or brain. You can buy model skeletons today, but they are expensive and often representative of a 'healthy' body, not to mention impersonal. These tailored models could be useful as a teaching resource, as well as a way to engage the patient more with their data. It would allow the printing of damaged or diseased bones that training clinicians would rarely see. Furthermore, the technology could be adapted to print almost anything that will scan, such as soft tissue structures.
Open Research — winner: MEDIC (Monitoring and Early Detection for Intensive Care)
In an intensive care setting patients are often wired up to a vast array of machines with competing beeps and alarms. This hack brings together a variety of live data feeds into a single dashboard, allowing doctors and nurses to get a snapshot overview of all the patients currently on their ward. The MIT PhysioNet data, comprised of historical ICU data, forms the basis of the predictive algorithms that provide an early warning system using a series of thresholds, such as heart rate. This warning system should help intensive care units allocate resources effectively and decrease reaction times in a crisis.
Open Data — winner: HackBox
LifeBox is a non-invasive piece of medical equipment that checks the level of oxygen in a patient's bloodstream. Healthy patients usually have an oxygen saturation level of at least 95 per cent. Oximeters like the Lifebox can detect changes as small as 1 per cent and sound an alarm as soon as an unsafe change is detected. Without one, clinicians often only notice signs of hypoxia (oxygen starvation) when a patient's skin starts to turn blue, usually at an oxygen saturation around 85 per cent. However, clinical devices such as the LifeBox are often 'closed' machines, producing immediate readings but not recording the data, which could be useful if saved. The HackBox team reverse engineered the Lifebox to do this. They developed a system that both increases the frequency of readings and records then. Readings at more frequent time intervals would be of more use to hospital clinicians, while a logging function could produce large research datasets that could, for example, look at the effect of administering drugs at different time points during an operation.
Most useful to the public – winner: Slow Changes
According to a 2007 study, 88 per cent of those who set New Year resolutions fail within the first two months. This is mostly because many resolutions are too general with no measurable goal or because they're trying to introduce too many changes at once. The 'Slow Changes' hack tries to help people make sustainable life changes by only allowing them to set one, modest, measurable goal at time. The user logs each time they achieve their goal, accumulating 'ambition points'. Once a certain number of points have built up , the next goal can be set. This stepwise approach could help people break the cycle of failed resolutions and hopefully live a healthier, happier lifestyle.
Information, data and more about all of the projects is, of course, open source and can be found on the Rewired State website.
It was truly inspiring to see what the teams were able to produce in such a short space of time, Judge Dallas Campbell hit the nail on the head when he described the projects as 'frighteningly brilliant work'. Hopefully the developers will continue to work on them so they'll be available to you and me sometime soon.
Emma Rhule
Emma Rhule is a graduate trainee at the Wellcome Trust.


text:
The Academy of American Poets Prize is an award endowed by Loyola College and administered by the Academy of American Poets, one of the nation's oldest poetry organizations. The writing department welcomes submissions of poetry portfolios from any Loyola student.
All forms of poetry are eligible. Send us your best collection of 5-7 poems.
Guidelines for submission:
**Deadline: May 1
The reading committee, comprised of members of the department, will read portfolios and contact the winners and honorable mentions by mid-May.
Feel free to contact Linda Herr (410-617-2228 or firstname.lastname@example.com) if you have any further questions.
Good luck!
The writing department recognizes outstanding first-year writers through its annual essay contest held in May. Faculty nominate students from WR100 Effective Writing and its equivalents (WR100, WR101, and HN200). Faculty read and evaluate the essays, selecting students whose writing merits recognition. Winning students receive a cash prize and a certificate of merit at the Honors Convocation. Winning essays are typically included in the Forum, the department's literary magazine.