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List of Earth starships in Stargate
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In the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 and its sequels, several types of starships are introduced in the later seasons. In the series, they are the product of several years' worth of research into alien technologies discovered on off-world missions to other planets visited via the stargate. The stargate is an alien device discovered on Earth that allows near instantaneous travel to other planets via a controlled wormhole across a network of similar gates. The stargate was created by an extinct race called the Ancients, but are in use by aliens, some of which use both stargate and starship travel. Some of these alien races are hostile to Earth and bent on galaxy-wide domination, so Earth starships are built by the US military through billions of dollars in secret funding to respond to the threat.
After several prototype models, including some failures, Earth begins constructing its own space-capable fighters and larger, mothership-style vessels. The primary source of inspiration for the early models is scavenged Goa'uld technology, which is later replaced with entirely Earth-made components as they gain the expertise to fabricate the materials. The plans for these vessels are shared with the Russians as part of the deal to use their Stargate.[1]
The first successful ship fielded by Earth is the F-302, a small, two-man craft somewhat similar to a traditional human fighter aircraft, but capable of spaceflight and interstellar travel. F-302s are the standard dogfighting attacker used by the Stargate Program. Later on, Earth begins creating interstellar battlecruisers, the first of which is the Prometheus. While the F-302 is generally a match for a Goa'uld Death Glider (and in some ways is superior), Earth battlecruisers are at first inferior to the equivalent vessels of other races. In the SG-1 finale, "Unending", the Asgard provide Earth with technology that closes this gap, making Earth ships some of the most powerful vessels in the series.
The X-301 fighter-interceptor[2] is Earth's first attempt at building a fighter capable of space travel and orbital defense against the Goa'uld. It is featured in the episode "Tangent". The X-301 is constructed in Area 51 from a combination of Earth components and parts salvaged from two Goa'uld death gliders from the Apophis motherships. The X-301 is equipped with a Goa'uld inertial propulsion system capable of nullifying any g-force on pilot, stealth technology that hides it from radar, and two naqahdah-enhanced AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles. It was mentioned that they would be effective against the Goa'uld Motherships if armed with shield modulators, however, no missiles fired by Earth ships were ever seen to penetrate through Goa'uld shields, so they may never have had that form of technology (working), and it was only mentioned in reference to the X-301, not the 302.
The first test flight is conducted by Jack O'Neill and Teal'c, with the callsign "Digger One". The test almost proves fatal when an undiscovered booby trap planted by Apophis activates and launches the ship towards open space and towards Chulak, the home world of Apophis. O'Neill and Teal'c are rescued just before their life support runs out by Jacob Carter in a Goa'uld cargo ship.[3]
The F-302 multi-role fighter[4] is the production model of the X-302 experimental fighter, first seen in the season 6 premiere "Redemption". Based on the X-301 but entirely human-built, the F-302 is a multi-role two-person craft with four sets of engines: two traditional jet engines, two aerospike engines, one rocket motor, and a naqahdriah-based hyperspace window generator. Due to the instability of the naqahdriah, the ship's hyperspace generator is only capable of short, unguided jumps. The craft is fitted with an inertial damping system that allows it to achieve orbit,[1] although they are only 90% effective when pulling negative Gs.[4] F-302s are evidently capable of V/STOL, as demonstrated by two F-302s escorting a Wraith scout ship to a landing pad on Atlantis in the Stargate Atlantis episode "Allies". The F-302's main armaments are modified naqahdah-enhanced AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles. They are also armed with railguns.[5]
The X-302 prototype is used in "Redemption" to carry the Stargate a safe distance away from Earth before it explodes. The first F-302 combat mission takes place in "Fallen", where one is flown by Colonel Jack O'Neill and Major Samantha Carter in a strike against Anubis' mothership. In the episode "Lost City", several squadrons of F-302s commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell accompany the Prometheus in defending SG-1's cargo ship against Anubis' force of Al'kesh and death gliders. F-302 squadrons are assigned to almost all of Earth's outposts, as well as Earth itself.[6][7][8]
The Prometheus could carry eight F-302s.[2] F-302s have had various call signs, including "Airstrike",[9] "Flight",[7] "Blue leader",[10] "Delta 1-4",[11] and "Dagger 1-2".[12] The 1st SFW "Snakeskinners" is a wing of F-302s in the Milky Way,[4] and the 1st TFW "Wraithwaxers" is based on the Daedalus,[13] The X-302s have had the callsigns "Abydos One" and "Starflight".[1]
In season 8, Martin Wood and Brad Wright accepted an invitation by the United States Air Force to go on a test ride in the trainer jets.[14] Set designer Peter Bodnarus based the design of the F-302 on the F-117A U.S. Air Force stealth fighter and the HL-10 aircraft from the 1970s, while still leaving the Goa'uld glider origins of the design recognizable. He and his team focused on creating a realistic-looking cockpit interior for the X-302 in terms of the headrest with overhead ejection handles and emergency systems.[15]
Prometheus, also known as the BC-303[16] or the X-303 early in development, is Earth's first capital starship, introduced in the season 6 episode "Prometheus".[17] The original concept for the look of the Prometheus in season 6 was an aircraft carrier. The producers wanted to build something that was exactly the opposite of Goa'uld ships, which, according to Paul Mullie, are basically big empty rooms with nowhere to sit, no screens and no buttons to press. Andy Mikita thought the Prometheus was a fun set to shoot in because "there's lots of layers and textures and flashing lights".[18] Much of the inspiration for the X-303's interior came from contemporary American aircraft carriers. Bridget McGuire developed the initial concept based on pictures. Peter Bodnarus developed the blueprints of the X-303 that were shown in "Nightwalkers" before the X-303 made its first appearance in "Prometheus". Art director James Robbins developed the interior schematics and interior workings, while Bodnarus developed the actual set interiors including the bridge, corridors, engine room and air lock.[15]
A hybrid of human and alien technologies, the Prometheus is the product of two years and several billion dollars' worth of development by the United States Air Force. The ship originally features mostly reverse-engineered Goa'uld technologies, including ring transporters and crystal-based control systems. It is also equipped with artificial gravity generators and an inertial dampening system. The corridors are constructed of the fictional metal trinium.[17] Substantial amounts of naqahdah are also used in its construction.[16] In "Disclosure", the Asgard install advanced shields and weapons (though the latter are withheld) on the unfinished Prometheus as thanks for SG-1's help against the Replicators. In "Covenant", Jack O'Neill asks Thor for a new hyperdrive for the Prometheus, which is installed by the Asgard in "Endgame" along with beaming technology. However, since the Prometheus lacks advanced Asgard sensors, locator beacons are required to lock onto targets.
The sublight engines of the Prometheus have a top speed of 110,000 miles per second (59% light speed) and can attain orbit from Earth's surface in under thirty seconds. Its original hyperdrive cost $2 billion in research and development and uses naqahdriah as a power source.[17] A buffer was installed to manage the unstable power stream from the naqahdriah, but it is overloaded by an unexpected gravity wave on the Prometheus' shakedown cruise.[19] The ship is then fitted with a hyperdrive salvaged from a Goa'uld Al'kesh, but as that engine is designed for a much smaller ship, the Prometheus can only make short jumps with time in between for the drive to cool down.[20] With the new Asgard hyperdrive installed in "Endgame", the Prometheus is able to reach other galaxies.[21] The Prometheus is armed with 24 railguns, a close-in weapons system, and 16 missile batteries.[citation needed] It carries eight F-302s for fighter support.[22]
In its first appearance, the incomplete Prometheus is hijacked by rogue NID agents and subsequently called upon by the Asgard for a mission against the Replicators.[23] In "Memento", the Prometheus, commanded by Colonel William Ronson, is temporarily stranded near Tagrea after its hyperdrive overloads. In "Grace", the Prometheus is attacked by an unknown enemy warship and almost becomes trapped after hiding in an unusual nebula. Under the command of General George Hammond, the Prometheus defends Earth against Anubis' armada in "Lost City". The ship is subsequently commanded by Colonel Lionel Pendergast, except in "Prometheus Unbound" when Hammond briefly reassumes command. In that episode, Vala Mal Doran hijacks the Prometheus, stranding the crew in a disabled Al'kesh. Under Pendergast, the Prometheus conducts missions against Ba'al and the Trust,[24][25] and against the Ori.[26] In "Ethon", the Prometheus is destroyed by a satellite weapon of Ori design over Tegalus. The last appearance of the ship is in an alternate universe in "The Road Not Taken", where it serves as the equivalent of Air Force One for President Hank Landry.
Daedalus class[edit]
The Daedalus-class battlecruiser, also called a Deep Space Carrier[27] and a 304,[28] is the second generation of Earth battlecruiser, designed to fully integrate the various alien technologies that were "tacked on" to the Prometheus over its life.[29] The first ship of this class, the Daedalus, appears in the Stargate Atlantis episode "The Siege, Part 3". The construction of Daedalus-class ships is a top priority for the United States; in the Stargate SG-1 episode "The Ties That Bind", the Senate Appropriations Committee diverts 70% of the SGC's funding to 304 construction.
The bridge of the Daedalus class is at the rear of the ship along the top of the hull.[30] There are two hangar bays, each with room to accommodate eight F-302s. The hangars have force shields to prevent decompression when the doors are open.[5] The Daedalus class contains technology reverse-engineered from the Goa'uld, such as ring transporters.[31] It also has beaming technology, shields, and intergalactic hyperdrives provided by the Asgard. The hyperdrive of the Daedalus-class allows it to cross the three million light-years between Earth and Atlantis in 18 days;[5] if powered by a ZPM, it can cover the same distance in four days.[13] The ship carries Mark III[12] and Mark VIII[32] tactical nuclear warheads and 32 railguns.[13] The Daedalus and the Apollo have only been depicted to launch missiles dorsally,[12][33] while the Odyssey is shown with ventral emplacements in "Family Ties". In "The Siege, Part 3", Hermiod overrides the safeguards on the Daedalus' beaming technology, allowing it to be used as a weapons delivery system.
In "Unending", the Asgard, about to become extinct, install their most powerful technologies on the Odyssey. Chief among these enhancements are powerful plasma beam weapons, stronger shields, and an advanced self-powered computer core. The other 304s are eventually equipped with these technologies. A computer core was installed on Daedalus and the Phoenix (on the bridge) and possibly the other 304s, as well.[34] With these enhancements, the Daedalus class is shown to be a match for Ancient, Wraith and Ori warships.
Named ships[edit]
During the run of Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe, six Daedalus-class ships are known to have been built (not including two alternate-timeline ships). They are distinguishable by their distinctive interior lighting, notably the lighting of the bridge and the back-lighting for the tactical map behind the commander's chair. The Prometheus and Korolev are white[17] and purple,[35] respectively. The Odyssey is orange,[27] and the Apollo is blue.[33] While the Daedalus is green,[32] its counterpart from "The Daedalus Variations"[36] has a distinctive orange map (a deliberate ploy according to Alan McCullough).[37] As featured in the alternative timeline "The Last Man", the Phoenix has no map and has an Asgard console in its place.
- USS Daedalus The USS Daedalus[30] is introduced in the Stargate Atlantis season 2 premiere "The Siege, Part 3". It is commanded by Colonel Steven Caldwell and initially carries an Asgard engineer, Hermiod. The Daedalus arrives at Atlantis carrying a ZPM recovered in "Moebius", and helps to fend off a Wraith attack. The Daedalus becomes a recurring element in Stargate Atlantis, making regular trips between Atlantis and Earth such as in "The Intruder", "Trinity", and "Critical Mass". The Daedalus battles the Wraith in "The Hive" and "No Man's Land", the Asurans in "Be All My Sins Remember'd", and Michael in "The Kindred" and "Search and Rescue". The ship is also mentioned in several Stargate SG-1 episodes, including "Avalon", where it is due to transport Daniel Jackson to Atlantis, and "The Shroud", where it unblocks the Ori supergate for a mission against the Ori. In "The Daedalus Variations", the Atlantis team encounters a Daedalus from another reality equipped with an alternate reality drive, which allows the ship jump to parallel universes. In "Enemy at the Gate" the Daedalus is crippled following an engagement with a ZPM-powered Hive Ship.
- USS Odyssey The USS Odyssey (registry PB3865) first appears in the Stargate SG-1 season 9 episode "Off the Grid", having been rushed into service to rescue the SG-1 team from the Lucian Alliance. With the Prometheus destroyed in "Ethon", the Odyssey becomes Earth's first line of defense,[38] and is later equipped with a ZPM left behind by the Asurans in "The Return". The Odyssey survives the battle against the Ori in "Camelot", and supports SG-1 in several episodes including "Counterstrike", "The Scourge", and "Dominion". In "The Pegasus Project", the Odyssey conducts a mission in the Pegasus galaxy to seal the Ori supergate between the Ori galaxy and the Milky Way galaxy. In "Company of Thieves", the Odyssey is briefly taken over by the Lucian Alliance, which results in the death of its first commander, Colonel Paul Emerson. Emerson is succeeded by Colonel Davidson.[39] In "The Shroud", Daniel Jackson (with Merlin's knowledge) modifies the Odyssey with the ability to cloak and uses it as part of his plan to deliver the Sangraal to the Ori galaxy. The Odyssey travels to the Asgard homeworld Orilla in "Unending", where it is upgraded with the latest Asgard technologies. In Stargate: The Ark of Truth, the Odyssey is temporarily commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell on a mission to find the Ark of Truth in the Ori galaxy. During the attempted Wraith assault on Earth in the Atlantis series finale, "Enemy at the Gate", the Odyssey is carrying out an unknown mission which even Colonel Caldwell is "not supposed to know about".
- RFS Korolev The RFS Korolev (named after the Soviet space engineer Sergei Korolev) is given to Russia by the United States in the Stargate SG-1 season 9 episode "Crusade", in return for allowing Stargate Command to continue using the Russian Stargate. Commanded by Colonel Chekov, the Korolev picks up Daniel Jackson and Cameron Mitchell from Camelot en route to a confrontation with Ori motherships at P3Y-229 in "Camelot". The Korolev is destroyed in the ensuing battle; the Odyssey is able to beam only six crew members aboard, while Jackson escapes using a ring transporter and Mitchell in an F-302.[31]
- USS Apollo The USS Apollo, commanded by Colonel Abe Ellis and assigned to the Second Tactical Wing,[40] first appears in the Stargate Atlantis season 3 finale "First Strike". Its mission is to destroy the warships under construction on the Asuran homeworld, using the Horizon weapons platform. In "Adrift" and "Lifeline", the Apollo searches for Atlantis after the city fails to arrive at its new planet, and rescues John Sheppard's team from the Asurans. In "Be All My Sins Remember'd", the Apollo and the Daedalus engage the Asuran fleet and participate in the plan to eliminate the Replicators once and for all. In "Outcast", the Apollo assists in the hunt for a rogue human-form Replicator on Earth. In Stargate: The Ark of Truth, which takes place before season 4 of Atlantis, the Apollo monitors the approach of an Ori fleet. In "Enemy at the Gate", following an engagement with an Earth-bound ZPM-powered Hive Ship, the Apollo is heavily damaged and left crippled with no functional hyperdrive.
- USS George Hammond[41] (formerly the Phoenix) The Phoenix first appears in the alternate future of the Stargate Atlantis season 4 episode "The Last Man", where it is given to Colonel Samantha Carter to battle the forces of the Wraith Michael. The Phoenix is eventually mentioned in the normal timeline in "Enemy at the Gate", where it is still under construction and has been renamed USS George Hammond in honor of General George Hammond who died off-screen of a heart attack (Don S. Davis, who played Hammond, died in this way). The ship is commanded by Colonel Carter in the premiere of Stargate Universe, where the ship is shown in orbit of Icarus Base under attack by Ha'tak vessels. The Hammond later attempts to aid Rush when he tries to infiltrate the Lucian Alliance, but due to jammers is unable to beam him aboard and is unable to catch the Lucian cargo ship that escapes. After learning the location of the Lucian Alliance base from Telford, the Hammond is dispatched to rescue Rush and take control of the base. The Hammond's attack forces the Alliance to dial Destiny early, causing the planet to explode. Rush is taken through the Stargate to Destiny while the Hammond is forced to flee without two of her F-302s due to a lack of time to retrieve them. The Hammond's attack on the planet causes its destruction and the death of over 100 Lucian Alliance soldiers, eliminating more than two-thirds of the invasion force and allowing the Destiny crew to eventually overcome the rest.
- Sun Tzu The Sun Tzu is introduced in "Enemy at the Gate". After engaging a ZPM-powered Hive Ship on course for Earth, the Sun Tzu is said to have been crippled and venting atmosphere. According to executive producer Joseph Mallozzi, the ship belongs to the Chinese government,[42] and is a Daedalus-class ship.[43]
See also[edit]
This article relies too much on references to primary sources. (January 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
- ^ a b c "Redemption". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ a b "Disclosure". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ "Tangent". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ a b c "Fragile Balance". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ a b c "The Intruder". Stargate Atlantis.
- ^ "Lost City". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ a b "Covenant". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ "The Scourge". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ "Fallen". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ "Avalon". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ "Allies". Stargate Atlantis.
- ^ a b c "No Man's Land". Stargate Atlantis.
- ^ a b c "The Siege". Stargate Atlantis.
- ^ DeLuise, Peter (2005). "Reckoning (Part 1)" (DVD). MGM.
- ^ a b Eramo, Steven (July 2002). "SG-1 – The Production Design Team – Peter Bodnarus – Set Designer". TV Zone (Special 46): 41–42.
- ^ a b "Enemy Mine". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ a b c d "Prometheus". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ Mikita, Andy, Mullie, Paul (2006). "Full Alert" (DVD). MGM.
- ^ "Memento". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ "Grace". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ "Prometheus Unbound". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ "Ethon". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ "Unnatural Selection". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ "Endgame". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ "Ex Deus Machina". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ "Beachhead". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ a b "Off the Grid". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ "Crusade". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ "Moebius". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ a b "The Daedalus Variations". Stargate Atlantis.
- ^ a b "Flesh and Blood". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ a b "The Siege, Part 3". Stargate Atlantis.
- ^ a b "First Strike". Stargate Atlantis.
- ^ "Be All My Sins Remember'd". Stargate Atlantis.
- ^ "Camelot". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ "The Daedalus Variations"
- ^ McCullough, Alan (2008-08-08). "With Special Guest Blogger Writer/Supervising Producer Alan McCullough". JosephMallozzi.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
- ^ "Echoes". Stargate Atlantis.
- ^ "Talion". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ Mallozzi, Joseph (2007-09-23). "September 23, 2007". JosephMallozzi.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2008-01-13.
- ^ Sumner, Darren (2009-07-22). "Comic-Con booth shows off Destiny, new Stargate Universe footage". Gateworld.net. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
- ^ Mallozzi, Joseph (2009-01-31). "January 31, 2009: I'll take a DVD, an eight-track cassette, and a tincture of laudanum". josephmallozzi.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- ^ Mallozzi, Joseph (2009-02-01). "February 1, 2009: Dogs, mialbag, and NFL - I renounce thee". josephmallozzi.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2009-02-02.


text:
There is little doubt that the physical wellbeing of individuals in the workplace is the primary focus of most organisational Occupational Health and Safety programs. Scan the OH&S section of an employee manual or company intranet and you will see reference to hazardous materials, equipment handling, repetitive strain injury, noise, heat stress, fatigue and falls. Peruse the literature published by any of the State-based WorkCover bodies and you will find a firm commitment to reducing fatalities and employee incapacitation through serious physical injury.
This preoccupation with the physical welfare of Australian workers is warranted. To lose a loved one to their work is tragic and workers' compensation claims for physical injury do account for 93 per cent of total claims made. But what of psychological wellbeing at work? What are the effects that work is having on the emotional state of individuals? Who is vulnerable and what can be done to reduce the risk of psychological injury? Finally, as psychologists, how can we aid in the maintenance of psychological wellbeing at both the organisational and individual levels?
The Centre for Corporate Health (CFCH) is heavily involved in the assessment of psychological injury claims (commonly known as 'stress' claims) which account for the remaining seven per cent of WorkCover claims. Employed as independent specialists by workers' compensation insurance bodies in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, CFCH's psychologists travel throughout NSW, ACT and northern Victoria to undertake clinical interviews with individuals who have lodged claims for psychological injury. These psychologists gather stories of workplace difficulties from often emotionally fragile people and ascertain their symptoms of distress.
The focus then shifts from the individual to the employer. The psychologist attends the workplace and interviews managers, supervisors and colleagues to gain a fuller understanding of the situation that has led the individual to lodge a claim. The views of treating practitioners such as general gractitioners, clinical psychologists and psychiatrists are sought and the full account is written up with recommendations as to the degree of psychological injury (if any,) its work-relatedness and possibilities for treatment and return to work. This is known as a Pre-Liability Assessment and is reported to the insuring body. It is on the basis of this report that a determination of the liability of claims is made.
Data from the front line
In this article we highlight themes emerging from a review of approximately 400 of these Pre-Liability Assessments undertaken by the Centre For Corporate Health in 2004. Our aim in undertaking this review has been to establish whether work is the primary cause of the distress or psychological injury cited, or whether there are other factors at play. If work is the cause, what is occurring in the workplace that makes individuals vulnerable to such distress? And if work is not the cause, what is it that is leading these individuals to lodge a claim for psychological injury?
The work-relatedness of psychological injury claims
In approximately 70 per cent of the 400 claims reviewed the distress cited by the individual was deemed to be legitimately caused by work-related factors. It appears that work is having an impact on the wellbeing of many individuals.
For those organisations specialising in the provision of human services, in which exposure to traumatic incidents or threatening acts involving clients was more likely, 90 per cent of claims were deemed to be substantially work related. Such claims were related not only to the exposure of critical incidents but were also related to the subsequent management of support issues following the incident. Other work factors leading to claims for psychological injury included being the subject of performance investigations or complaints, performance management, exposure to aggressive clients, conflict with colleagues, high workload, poor management skills of supervisors, transfers, and poor person-job fit.
For those organisations in which exposure to critical incidents was less likely, the likelihood that work was the cause of the injury was lower. The issues raised were deemed to be substantially and legitimately work-related in only 60 per cent of these cases. In the remaining 40 per cent, non-work factors were deemed to have led to the individual's distress. The most prominent of these non-work factors were pre-existing personality styles that led a person to be particularly vulnerable to ordinary workplace stressors. Also prominent were high levels of vocational discontent expressed by the individual prior to the individual submitting a claim for psychological injury. Other non-work related factors included personal issues such as health, family or financial issues and pre-existing psychological issues such as psychological disorders that had not fully remitted at the time of the claim.
The degree of distress
The overwhelming trend in all claims submitted for psychological injury and assessed in this review was the existence of clinical levels of distress. In approximately 85 per cent of all claims reviewed, evidence was found to suggest that, whether the issues were deemed work-related or not, the claimants were suffering from clinical levels of distress and could be assigned a diagnosis as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition. It appears that those lodging WorkCover claims for psychological injury are doing so only once their distress has become significant.
In the majority of cases the individual's symptoms of distress met the criteria for an Adjustment Disorder and to a lesser extent, Major Depressive Episode and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The fact that most claimants were assessed as meeting the criteria for an Adjustment Disorder is a favourable prognostic sign for rehabilitation, given that the symptoms are treatable and tend to resolve within a relatively brief period with the appropriate psychotherapeutic and medical assistance.
Who is vulnerable and what can be done?
It appears that those most vulnerable to psychological injury are individuals working in organisations in which they are more likely to be exposed to critical incidents. Access to psychological counselling through Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) is often available to these individuals, and this assists with the management of distress and the expedience of an effective return to work and to full emotional health.
Work-related factors such as performance investigations or complaints, performance management, exposure to aggressive clients, conflict with colleagues, high workload, the poor management skills of supervisors, transfers and poor person-job fit are also relevant, however. Several of these (performance management, performance investigations, transfers, promotions, demotions, employment contract terminations and grievance management) are discounted by the NSW Workers' Compensation Act as legitimate causes of psychological injury for which an employer could be held liable, as long as the employer has handled these matters in an appropriate manner.
In our assessment it appears that the likelihood of such appropriate handling varies depending on the size, structure and availability within the organisation of internal human resources to assist line managers in handling these matters. For those organisations in this review with a highly centralised organisational structure and well developed policies and procedures, managers were deemed to have handled human resource issues effectively in approximately 95 per cent of claims. However, in smaller organisations in which policies and procedures tended to remain undeveloped and managers were largely untrained in human resources issues, these issues were deemed to have been managed effectively in only about 40 per cent of the claims reviewed.
Strategies for reducing the risk of psychological injury
In terms of mitigating the risk of psychological injury caused by these and other work and non-work factors, there are a range of individual and organisational-level strategies that can be implemented. At the individual level, strategies include management training in skills such as providing performance feedback and managing underperformance, coaching and mentoring staff, managing the impact of organisational change on others, managing critical incidents, and conflict management and grievance handling. Career coaching to manage issues such as vocational discontent and the early warning signs of distress associated with this can also be helpful, as can occupational stress resilience programs aimed at enhancing emotional resilience in the workplace and the prevention of burnout.
Improving the quality of workplace relationships is also important in mitigating the risk of psychological injury and in helping individuals to recover from emotional distress and return to work. Relevant interventions for improving workplace relationships include training employees in improving individual communication, understanding and resolving differences, assertiveness and teamwork.
At the organisational level, strategies such as well-developed recruitment and selection processes incorporating psychometric assessment can ensure better job-person fit. This can be particularly effective in reducing the risk of psychological injury resulting from non-work factors such as personality styles that increase the likelihood of individuals becoming vulnerable to distress under certain circumstances.
Our data review suggests that the personality styles more often associated with a claim for psychological injury include a highly personalised and sensitive reaction to ordinary workplace events (high levels of emotionality), perfectionist traits, a paranoid and distrustful thinking style, a somewhat rigid and inflexible thinking style, and high levels of self focus (that is, a strong sense of entitlement and tendency to view oneself in a highly positive manner despite contradictory information from supervisors.) Such personality styles are not in and of themselves problematic at work, but a poor match between the individual's personality style and the requirements of their role or the culture of the organisation can lead to dysfunction, distress and a psychological injury claim.
Other organisational-level interventions include climate and culture surveys, which can be used to assess the state of workplace relationships, perceptions of supervisory skills, organisational morale and vocational discontent. The development of robust, meaningful and effective policies and procedures pertaining to the employment and management of people, and training in these for anyone in a supervisory or management position, can also be effective and worth the required expenditure. Finally, the prevalence of access to Employee Assistance Programs amongst the organisations whose psychological injury claims were reviewed may explain the lesser incidence of claims resulting from personal factors such as health, family or financial issues, and suggests that these programs continue to be effective in maintaining wellbeing in the workplace.
A final, interesting theme to emerge from our case review which may indicate a vulnerability factor in relation to WorkCover claims for psychological injury was the average age of claimants.Amongst the cases reviewed the average age of claimants was 41-45 years, followed by 50 years and older. This suggests that the effective management of individuals in the second half of their careers may be imperative in the quest to minimise psychological injury.
Our review suggests that individuals aged over 40 are at greater risk of experiencing distress as a result of burnout and vocational discontent, much of which appears associated with organisational change. Interventions that may reduce the likelihood of such distress include training to develop enhanced awareness of generational and individual differences, particularly for younger managers required to supervise those who have been in their roles for some time, as well as training to develop improved understanding of the implications and effective management of workplace change. Monitoring of the impact of these changes and ongoing job satisfaction amongst those aged over 40 also appears important.
As psychologists we have an important role to play in not only the assessment and treatment of psychological injury and work-related distress but also in the education of individuals, organisations and the community about the aspects of work that are having an impact on psychological wellbeing, and the implementation of proactive strategies to reduce the risk of psychological injury and maintain emotional wellbeing. Given that the average cost of a psychological injury claim has escalated in recent years to $27,798 per claim compared with $18,913 for a physical injury claim and the average time off work has increased to a high of 21 weeks compared with 8 weeks for a physical injury claim (WorkCover NSW Statistical Bulletin 2003/04), public and private sector bodies have an even greater incentive to engage our assistance and to ensure that the profile of psychological wellbeing in the workplace is raised and takes its place in the Occupational Health and Safety strategies of organisations, Australia-wide.
By Ellen Jackson MAPS, consultant psychologist, Potential Psychology Services and author, and Rachel Clements MAPS, Manager, Centre for Corporate Health Pty Ltd
Copyright InPsych 2006

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Potatoes for human consumption belong to the most competitive segments of EU agriculture.
In 2007, with the share of 19,3%, the EU-27 was the second largest producer of potatoes in the World (China occupying the first place).
Despite the relative and absolute decline in production observed over the recent years, which was mainly due to structural transformations of the potato sector in the new member states, potatoes for human consumption belong to the most competitive segments of EU agriculture.
The sector shows also a competitive edge in international markets, especially in the sub-sectors of seed potatoes and processed products.
Potatoes for human consumption are not covered by the Single Common Market Organisation, except for the standard rules on state aids.
Since 2008 all the potato areas in the EU can be potentially eligible to receive direct payments. Moreover, potato operators may benefit from the CAP promotion and quality schemes.
Detailed information on:
- product characteristics
- potatoes for human consumption from a legal perspective
can be found in the fact-sheet.
Statistics and economic reports on the potato sector


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7 Corporate Titans Selling Spirituality
These gurus and entrepreneurs have made big business selling mindfulness in the form of yoga pants, spin classes, books, and -- wait for it -- hugs.
In our inherent willingness to believe we can change and heal and tap into the power of our higher selves, we shell out $10 billion annually to those who promise to make the process as quick and painless as possible. Despite the research that says 75% of people who make lasting life changes do so on their own -- without the help of an "expert" -- somehow, year after year, we still insist on paying others for our enlightenment. The following are seven such gurus, teachers, and entrepreneurs who have made big profits spoon-feeding our souls that chicken soup.
Rhonda Byrne, The Secret
Like many of her self-help teacher cohorts, Rhonda Byrne had to hit rock bottom before hitting the big time. In her case, her father had just died, her mother was inconsolable, and she was at her own physical and emotional nadir. Then her daughter lent her a copy of Wallace Wattles' hundred-year-old book The Science of Getting Rich.
In it, and other works by New Thought movement writers like Napoleon Hill, Byrne learned about the law of attraction and how to discover the "secret" to unlocking the power of the universe with magnetic properties and units of mental energy and radio waves and vibrations that are as scientifically sound as gravity itself. Whatever the version of the Powerball jackpot was in 1910, you could win it just by believing that you would.
Byrne repackaged this philosophy in her own book and, thanks to a big boost from the Oprah effect, sold more than 19 million copies of The Secret -- and millions more on DVD. Her sequels The Power and The Magic continue to push the notion that positive thinking can manifest anything we want in life.
The consensus from the scientific community is that these books have no basis in fact. They are "larded with references to magnets, energy and quantum mechanics," say psychology professors and authors Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons. "This last is a dead giveaway: Whenever you hear someone appeal to impenetrable physics to explain the workings of the mind, run away."
Meanwhile, Rhonda Byrne will keep running all the way to the bank.
Sylvia Browne
Sure, her predictions aren't exactly batting a thousand; her fortune-telling faux pas even made national news recently. But that's not about to stop celebrity talk show psychic and intermediary to the spirit world Sylvia Browne from taking desperate people's cash to commune with their loved ones. Nope, nothing could stop that gravelly voice from telling it straight, on behalf of the other side.
Seventy best-selling books in -- and with the upcoming Past Lives of the Rich and Famous already getting snatched up in Kindle (NASDAQ:AMZN) format -- Browne has made a tremendous living out of the dead. Her appearances at venues like the Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester, Washington -- home to Hunks the Show, America's Hottest Ladies Night -- bring in $60 a pop. She also hosts "spiritual salons" for intimate groups of between 35 to 45 people for $1,000 per person.
Normally, a 20-minute phone reading with Browne goes for $800, but the rate has been recently dropped to a low, low $550. Perhaps the discounted rate is a bit of damage control from her very public misreading of Cleveland kidnapping victim Amanda Berry's mother on The Montel Williams Show. Or maybe her followers are getting wise to statistical analyses of her missing persons readings that puts her confirmable accuracy rate at zero percent.
Tami Simon, Sounds True Publishing
Two years after Shirley MacLaine brought reincarnation into the mainstream with the 1983 release of Out on a Limb, a 22-year-old would-be publisher with a tape recorder and a dream set out to spread spiritual wisdom. Today, Tami Simon's multimedia publishing company Sounds True boasts a catalog of 600 "wisdom-transmitting" titles. It is guided by a vision to "inspire, support, and serve personal transformation and spiritual awakening" and a mission to "find teachers and artists who serve as a gateway to spiritual awakening and to produce, publish, and distribute their work with beauty, intelligence, and integrity."
All that may sound like a bunch of meaningless platitudes, but it's working for Simon who has enjoyed healthy profits from publishing some of the world's leading teachers, Buddhist thinkers, academics, and visionaries, including Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Pema Chodron, and Eckhart Tolle.
It also appears to be working for legions of readers. And to be fair, whether or not its authors are your cup of organic, artisanal tea, this is not a spirituality-focused business that can be accused of price gouging: Most of the company's books and media sell for under $15 or $20.
Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler, SoulCycle
"We ride close together so we can feel each other's energy. That being said, your neighbor does not want to feed off your odor."
Wearing clean laundry is the third rule of etiquette for members cycling in the soul sanctuary. You see, cramming 70-plus stationary bikes into a tight studio tends to ramp up the sweat and stink factor.
But SoulCycle co-founders Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler insist the sardine can-like spaces in their indoor cycling gyms help nurture "a culture of inspiration" and are not some greedy attempt to maximize every inch of their pricey pieces of Manhattan real estate. Incidentally, the choice to hold classes by candlelight is done to head off leering rather than to dim the harsh spotlight on the reality that its members are exercising on top of one another.
Of course, nothing clears the mind of an impending claustrophobia-bred panic spiral like listening to boilerplate Eastern mantras underscored by thumping house music. Cardio workout aside, SoulCycle's success is largely due to its spirituality gimmick that some have dubbed the "Scientology of Spin." Instructors are a bizarre brand of super-fit yogis who lead class participants on their personal body/mind journeys with chestnuts like "Today we ride with the energy with which we would like to live" ... two, three, four. Sessions -- er, spiritual voyages -- conclude with a namaste set to the meditative tones of Alicia Keys' "New York."
The bike chain is always recruiting new SoulCyclogists. With help from recent partner Equinox, it has grown to 14 locations throughout the country with plans to expand to 60 locations around the world by 2015. At $3,500 for 50 classes, it still costs less than becoming an Operating Thetan.
Chip Wilson, Lululemon
When "yoga billionaire" Chip Wilson stepped down as chief innovation and branding officer
of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) in January 2012 and handed over the luxury sportswear business to Christine Day, he left the enormous responsibility of continuing "to elevate our world" in her hands. No pressure, jeez.
Though outfitting Park Slope moms in $100 yoga pants probably isn't raising global consciousness, it does at least promote inspiring messages, namely, "The pursuit of happiness is the source of all unhappiness," and "What we do to the earth, we do to ourselves," which constitute the company's manifesto. Lululemon is also hitching its wagon to the "emerging fitness-spirituality movement" that is actually the millennia-old practice of yoga by hosting events like The Gospel of Sweat at Manhattan's Riverside Church.
This "pray through our pores" push may seem like a contrived marketing strategy, but it's a smart contrived marketing strategy. Well, at least it was, until a product recall of a few styles of yoga pants for being too see-through hit the company's profit line and Day announced her departure. Due to these misfortunes, the stock price took a hit this week.
This ain't your Gandhi's ashram.
Amritapuri, the birthplace and global headquarters of India's guru de jour, is a pink, tropical villa complex surrounded by palm trees and nestled between the Kerala Backwaters and majestic Arabian Sea. On the grounds are cafes and pizzas shops, gift shops, and an outdoor Olympic-sized swimming pool. To the casual cynic, the high-rise ashram resort may seem less spiritual Hindu community and more five-star San Diego hotel. Then again, the casual cynic may just need a hug.
Translated as "mother," 59-year-old Amma earned her worldwide fame for literally throwing her arms around it. Thousands of devotees flock to her retreats where they wait in line just for a quick embrace from Amma. After all, this is a woman who -- according to her authorized biography (now translated into 31 languages) -- came from low caste beginnings, and at one time subsisted on a diet that included broken glass and human feces, and has now performed miracles like "kissing cobras, diverting rainstorms, and feeding more than a thousand people from a single, small pot."
Today, Amma's empire of the hug rakes in about $20 million per year. In fact, right now, "the hugging saint" is on the first leg of a two-month North American tour held at the ballrooms of various Marriott (NYSE:MAR), Hilton (NYSE:BX), and Hyatt (NYSE:H) hotels as well as convention centers throughout 11 cities. For about $300 (excluding accommodations), followers are treated to meditation and spiritual instruction, while the lucky ones with tokens get that coveted squeeze.
Donation boxes are reportedly never far from sight, and each retreat hosts its own "mini-mall" of Amma merch, like $500 crystals she's allegedly touched, clothing she's worn, and a flower tincture from her garland that can cure cancer. Amma also receives money from high-profile patrons. Warner Bros. Pictures Group (NYSE:TWX) president Jeff Robinov counts himself among her Hollywood benefactors and even then-Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam donated most of his salary to her in 2003. Thanks to another fan, the $7.8 million home previously owned by Sargent Shriver and Eunice Kennedy Shriver is now used by Amma as her Washington, DC, meeting house.
While Amma's charitable organization Embracing the World famously has zero financial transparency, its health and human services work, education efforts, and disaster relief have definitely been felt in some 40 countries. She has been referred to as a headhunter extraordinaire, able to find the right people to quickly fill crucial needs left by unresponsive and red-tape-hamstrung governments. Especially in her homeland of India, Amma seems to represent a palpable sense of hope in a place with so little.
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Not getting the attention you think you deserve in your completely unmodded Civic? We've got the body kit for you. It may not be the coolest of conversions we have seen around these parts, but it is definitely the most festive and beats the hell out of those antenna ball character things. This so-called kit includes two 16-inch antlers that clip on the windows and a 6-inch red ball from the front.
You know what kind of people buy junk like this? The same kind of people who have fake giant inflatable snow globes in their yards. Sorry for being a scrooge, but what's the point. Maybe if the car could fly, it would be a different story because it would make sense and until then, no dice. [What on Earth]


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Bob Pozen is a man who knows his way around the mutual fund industry. Just ask Presidents Obama and Bush, the SEC, Harvard Business School and the Massachusetts voters who have urged him to run for the U.S. Senate, not to mention mutual fund firms including Fidelity Investments and MFS Investment Management.
Now, the mutual funds guru and author of Too Big To Save? How to Fix the U.S. Financial System is co-author of the painstakingly detailed The Fund Industry: How Your Money Is Managed. Indeed, Pozen and co-author Theresa Hamacher's examination of how mutual funds are bought, sold and managed is so comprehensive that it stands to become the fund industry's bible.
"Just as veteran stock fund managers prize their tattered copies of Ben Graham and David Dodd's Security Analysis, coming generations of fund industry leaders will cling to this essential text," writes Morningstar Managing Director Don Phillips in the new book's foreword. "There's no other book that gives readers such a thorough overview of how the fund industry operates, its evolution, its regulation and what makes it tick."
In addition to being a recently published author, Pozen (left) is chairman emeritus of MFS, which in 1924 established America's first open-end mutual fund, the Massachusetts Investors Trust. He is also a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. And before his tenure at MFS, Pozen was vice chairman of Fidelity Investments.
Want more proof of his expertise? Pozen has served as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting. And in 2001 and 2002, he was a member of President Bush's Commission to Strengthen Social Security. His plan to save Social Security was included in a series of memoranda to President Obama from the Progressive Policy Institute.
A Democrat, Pozen recently told Reuters that he wouldn't run for Senate "unless the Democratic Party asks me to, if they want someone who is socially liberal and fiscally disciplined." But if the party wants a confrontational figure to take on Republican Sen. Scott Brown next year, Pozen added, "then they shouldn't choose me because I won't be that type of candidate."
In a conversation on Thursday with AdvisorOne, Pozen didn't address his political ambitions, but he did speak at length about the mutual fund industry in relation to the Dodd-Frank financial reform act, changes in regulation of investment advisors, U.S. retirement planning and the global economy.
"People are investing huge sums in the fund industry. We have $11 trillion in this," he said in explanation of why he decided to write his book now. "If people don't understand how their money is being managed, they could become very unhappy about what's happening."
Q: How did this book come about? Why did you and Theresa Hamacher write The Fund Industry?
A: In 2001, I wrote a book called The Mutual Fund Business, which was geared to investors. At the same time, the National Investment Company Services Association (NICSA), the trade association for back offices that Theresa is head of, had commissioned somebody to do a nuts-and-bolts book on mutual funds for back-office service providers.
Those books were successful within limits, each selling between 5,000 and 10,000 copies, and both are now out of date. Theresa and I know each other, and we thought what we really ought to do was to combine them into one book. We thought we could work together well, and we did. The really important thing is that she has a wonderfully light touch as a writer, and I tend to be heavily analytical, so it was a great partnership.
Q: Who is your intended audience?
A: We have three different audiences. The most important one is investors, because there are close to 100 million investors in mutual funds, and a large number of them know relatively little about their funds. They may just know a fund's return for the last year. Our attempt here is to write something to help investors be better informed about choosing funds and understanding their performance. For example, Chapter 3 is dedicated to explaining the disclosure documents that come from the fund complex. How many people actually read a fund prospectus? The answer is almost no one. Our chapter looks at what investors really need to look at in terms of the riskiness of a fund. We're giving focus on how to handle the flood of information.
The second audience is the industry, meaning all the people who work in the industry and the people who service the industry, and I'm including custodian banks, accounting firms, law firms, journalists and new people manning the phones for a company like Vanguard. This is pretty much going to be the bible for all of these industry people. It has a tremendous amount of detail about how you compute loads, how 12-b funds work, how fair-value pricing works and so on. This is a source book. If an issue comes up about whether a fund is fooling around with its NAV, we tell you how NAV is calculated and whether you're allowed to have adjustments.
The third audience is universities and business schools. We have a website, and I've written a manual for people teaching the course at universities or business schools or training in the fund complex. It also includes about 14 case studies that I've written for the Harvard Business School as well as assignment questions, a teaching plan and the answers.
Q: What does your book have to say about retirement planning?
A: We have a whole chapter explaining what happens in retirement. You may not understand the tax features of retirement plans and how they operate. What's the difference between DB and DC plans? How do rollover IRAS work? We have millions of people in 401(k)s who actually know very little about those plans. I think they'll do a lot better in terms of investing while they're accumulating and also planning for their retirement if they understand the tax and investment issues.
For instance, we know that $500 million moved in 2009 and 2010 into high-quality Treasury and investment-grade bond funds. Most of those people will tell you they were doing something very conservative; they thought they were reducing risk. But a lot of them didn't understand how much interest-rate risk they were taking. Half of retail investors don't understand that if their interest rates go up, their bond funds go down in value. We have a whole primer on how bonds and bond funds work.
Q: With all the change in the financial services industry, do you plan to periodically revise this mutual funds "bible"?
A: As I said, we have a website for teachers, but we also have a separate website for general readers where we show things like what a prospectus looks like. If there are significant changes, we can talk about them on the website. Whether we will actually republish the book, the answer is that it would take a while. Historically, we've gone through one of the greatest financial changes we've ever seen in the years 2000 to 2010. I doubt we'll have as much change in the next 10 years.
Q: Even up to the moment when the presses ran, were you still updating your book?
A: Yes, absolutely. We put the book to bed in August or September, and it came out on Feb. 9, so there were still some rules that were being adopted out of the Dodd-Frank bill that we had to update. Dodd-Frank's main emphasis is on banks and derivatives, and not on mutual funds. Dodd-Frank has almost no effect on stock funds or bond funds.
There are three areas where there is significant change that we explain in the book. One is for investment advisors. It used to be the case that hedge fund managers did not have to register as investment advisors. Now under Dodd-Frank, they have to register. The second area involves advisors to retail customers. Dodd-Frank requires the SEC to "harmonize" brokerage reps and independent advisors, and those rules haven't come out yet, but we explain what those differences are and where the legislation is trying to go. The third area we deal with is money market funds. Before Dodd-Frank, the SEC had already taken a number of moves to tighten the rules, and we include those.
Q: Tell me about the current state of retirement funds and the regulation of 401(k)s.
A: The big issue in retirement planning is how much choice participants want to have. I think it's fair to say that in most plans you have a group of people who want a lot of choice and information and to carefully think out what they're going to invest in. But there's another group of people who are really not that interested in making those choices, and many of them say they like to save but they actually haven't done much about it. Most companies have both of those two very different groups of people. We have a set of rules that the Labor Department has put forth for people who want to have many choices, and they get certain disclosures. The big change is that in 2006, Congress allowed automatic enrollment with opt-out. That's fully increasing the participation rates in plans, especially for low-income and minority workers.
Q: What do you think about target date funds?
A: When you have automatic enrollment with an opt-out, you've got to have a default option. There are still many people who come into the fund, and they don't opt out, but they won't actually choose the fund. The whole notion of automatic enrollment is that inertia works for you. Your employer will say to you, "You're in this fund. You're putting in 2% of your pay unless you opt out" and you do nothing, so you're in the plan. But you've done nothing, so you haven't made an investment choice.
That's why we need a default option for all the people in these automatic enrollment plans who don't opt out but also don't fill out any paperwork and choose any fund. That's the default option. A lot of employers have now used target date funds as their default option. Today, I just published an article in Ignites about why I think that target date funds are inferior to balanced funds.
[Editor's note: In his op-ed for Ignites, The Financial Times' proprietary mutual-fund website, Pozen writes: "The net returns of a balanced fund are likely to be higher than those of a target-date fund. It is impossible to predict over the 20 to 40 years of a worker's career when equity markets will do well. Thus, on an expected return of an investment performance basis, the expected returns of a balanced fund are roughly the same as the expected returns of a lifestyle fund. Yet the expenses of the lifestyle fund are always higher — in most cases, from 15 to 30 basis points higher per year — so its net returns are likely to be lower than those of a balanced fund."]
Q: To conclude, please tell me about your book's final section, which covers the internationalization of mutual funds.
A: Our general view is that most Americans are under-invested internationally. From a diversification point of view, half of the world's market assets are outside of the United States, but it's the rare U.S. individual who has half of his or her portfolio outside. When you think about it, your job is here, your house is here, etc. If you put half of your 401(k) internationally, you would actually have about 25% or 30% of your assets internationally. Your portfolio is one of the few ways you can do it.
We're not saying you should be at half, but the average retail investor has something like 10% or 15% invested internationally. In our view, that's much too low. Exactly how much should be invested internationally depends on your appetite for risk. We explain in Chapter 16 the special challenges, advantages and risks involved with international investing through funds, but the answer is that it should be a lot higher.
Read about Pozen's work on the SEC's financial reporting advisory committee at AdvisorOne.com.


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I say bring both in, bench RainaOriginally Posted by SJS
I say bring both in, bench RainaOriginally Posted by SJS
Completely 101 percent agree with you on that! We need as much experience as possible for this game!Originally Posted by Dravid
Someone has pissed Maa Kaali big time.Originally Posted by Jono
Yuvraj doing his Cruciate is a huge blow for India for mine, will only just be fit in time for thr world cup if he has torn it.
Member of CW Green
Kerry O'Keefe - Worlds funniest Commentator
any game against the aussies, whether it's in india or australia, we go in as underdogs....it's not a question of just one player being present or not, it's more a question of performing as a team which they haven't done recently and not shaking in their boots whenever they see the canary yellow which they almost always seem to do...
I'd have Kaif any day of the week over Raina.Originally Posted by SJS
Kaif has 3 half centuries in his last seven games.....Raina has none, yet Kaif is on the bench...where's the logic in that ?
I hope Munaf is fit for sunday. don't want any excuses when we beat you!
GOOD OLD COLLINGWOOD - PREMIERS IN 2010Originally Posted by Irfan
Is Cam White, Is Good.
JJ jinxed you, you won't win.
Don't worry, Yuvraj and Agarkar are out too. It's on.Originally Posted by Matt79
Easily the game of the tournament?
Despite India's poor performance of late, yeah. Easily.
Sure. I was talking of replacing Yuvraj only. I agree we could have both Mongia (in place of Yuvraj) and Kaif (in place of Raina.Originally Posted by Gajanayake
There is some talk of playing an extra bowler. In which case all three could make it leaving the team one bowler short and also no possibility, it would seem, for Powar in the side.
I know you're a big Powar fan (and so am I) but don't you think we're better off strengthening out batting against the Aussie pace attack even if it means we have to leave out Powar?Originally Posted by SJS
well clarke is looking doubtful for us, and that at least equates to Yuvraj.Originally Posted by adharcric
Is AA being out a good thing or a bad thing?
Good.Originally Posted by Matt79
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I have been encouraging all Intel IT employees to get on social media (internal and external) for a few years and really embrace mobility (i.e., start by downloading the Intel IT Business Review mobile app for the IT industry intel.com/IIBR). And I am so happy to see so many of my peers in IT now on Twitter or LinkedIn — and blogging on our internal collaboration platform and our external community.
But it's 2014 and there are still a lot of people "on the fence" — watching and waiting, but not quite jumping in. Here's what I am learning about shifting the fence sitters.
It's about the Benefits
One thing that seemed to help was collaborating with my peer in Intel IT Training to create an online training series, "The Benefits of Being Social." The 5-part courses cover both internal and external social media platforms typically used by IT people (including LinkedIn, Twitter, HootSuite, and Jive). The first portion of the course reviews the benefits to the employee and to the company.
Each of the Benefits of Being Social courses walks through getting set up and creating your profile, how to follow and just lurk for a while, how to comment on things others post, and then how to post your own ideas or share useful information and start to really engage. It's quite methodical – you do these same actions for each platform. Online training is great because people can go at their own pace. Continue reading


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Center Publication
Through a Different Looking Glass: The Prism of Age
by Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, Christina Matz-Costa, and Jacquelyn James
August 2012—A new research brief by the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College finds that employers need a way to think about the different aspects of the aging experience, so that they can use age diversity in the workplace to the organization's and its employee's advantage.
We all have a quick answer to the question, "How old are you?" At the workplace, though, the way we perceive age is more complicated than adding up the number of birthdays we've celebrated.
"Through a Different Looking Glass" describes "the Prism of Age" framework developed by the Sloan Center on Aging & Work and then considers the implications of this framework for employers and employees of all ages.
» Read the research brief: Through a Different Looking Glass
» View All Center Publications


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EchelonMedia needed a new other design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 20 designs submitted by 4 freelance designers.
I got a tattoo at a young age. It's a common, generic tribal tattoo. I wish it wasn't drab and commonplace, so I want you to "breathe life and inspiration" into it!
It's an armband style tattoo in that wraps most of the way around my arm, but there is a gap on the underpart of my arm that is exactly 2.5". The part that wraps most of the way around my arm is 10.5" in length, measured using a tailor's measurement tape.
(Note: I attached images. Four of them show my arm from different angles and are labeled by date - i.e. 11-10-2010. There's a 5th pic of the tattoo that is someone's else's arm, but I included it because you can see more of it at once.)
I want to expand and update the tattoo to make it vibrant, unique, artistic and awesome!
A little about me to help you with your inspiration:
- I care about living deeply and vibrantly.
- I'm individualistic and own my own high-tech business.
- Travel and adventure are important to me. I travel often.
- Living a healthy, fit life is a priority.
- I'm an elite athlete and in excellent shape.
- Passion and commitment are important to me.
- I am very loyal to my family.
- I'm in my mid 20's.
Anyone with an eye for art, especially body art. Any and all welcome to submit designs!!
Really, I'm open to considering anything you'd like to submit! However, here are some thoughts:
1. Incorporate elements that aren't traditionally tribal. I don't have any tribal heritage and just want inspired creativity on my body.
2. Please somehow complete the design so that it so that it wraps the entire way around my arm.
3. Keep it subtle. I want to add elements to make it "unique and innovative" but I also don't want it to cover my entire arm, or even shoulder. (Although, if you submit an outstanding design, I'll consider it regardless! ;)
4. I LOVE the use of negative space. I've attached an image of a tattoo that is a little too big for my taste but shows an example of negative space use.
5. Use of limited color (1-2) colors would be ok, but I don't want too much of it. The current ink color is navy. Also fine to stick with that.
6. Tattoos that incorporate a "central element" intrigue me, like the image I attached with a black fern in it. (Although, note I'm not from New Zealand, so I don't want a black fern in mine - but do feel free to play around with the concept.) Having said that, I have no idea have no idea what central element to suggest...
7. Feel free to incorporate any elements about myself that I described in above.
Email me if you have any further questions. I'm always available. Thanks!


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U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
EPI Subjected Female Workers to Verbal and Physical Abuse, Federal Agency Charges
OXFORD, Miss. – A St. Louis-based plastic injection molding company will pay $190,000 and provide other relief to resolve a sexual harassment and constructive discharge lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.
According to the EEOC's suit, EPI Advanced, LLC and Engineered Products Industries, LLC allowed Dean Miller, a male supervisor, and another male co-worker to harass press operator Cathy Johnson and seven other women at its Sherman, Miss., plant. The women claimed that they were forced to endure a myriad of sexually explicit comments and propositions, and some were grabbed and touched as well by Miller. Several women quit because of the harassment, and one woman quit her job after Miller phoned her at work threatening to sexually assault her in the employee parking lot. Although several complaints were made by victims to management, the company failed to properly investigate complaints and stop the misconduct, the EEOC said.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi (Civil Action No. 3:09-cv-00108) after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement out of court through its conciliation process.
In addition to the monetary relief, EPI Advanced, LLC and Engineered Products Industries, LLC are required, under the publicly filed consent decree, to develop and maintain a policy prohibiting sexual harassment; to distribute the policy and complaint procedure to all employees; to provide mandatory training to its employees within six months of the decree; to post a notice of the settlement at the Sherman plant; to maintain records of discrimination complaints; and to report such complaints to the EEOC, together with any actions taken in response, for three years. The decree resolving the case also enjoins EPI Advanced, LLC and Engineered Products Industries, LLC from subjecting any female employee to sexual harassment.
The litigation in U.S. District Court at Oxford was a joint effort of the legal units of the EEOC's Memphis and Birmingham District Offices. Both offices have jurisdiction and provide services in the state of Mississippi. Celia Liner, from the Memphis District Office, and Maricia Woodham, from the Birmingham District Office, are the Commission attorneys who headed up the litigation team.
Celia Liner, EEOC senior trial attorney, said, "The environment at EPI was simply intolerable. Women should be able to report to work and do their jobs without being subjected to harassment. No one should have to deal with such conduct in order to get a paycheck. Employers must understand that sexual harassment simply cannot be condoned or tolerated at work. The EEOC will continue to combat harassment in the workplace so that women can work in environments free from sexual abuse."
Maricia Woodham, EEOC trial attorney, added, "We are encouraged that the defendants will train supervisors and managers to handle any future complaints of harassment promptly and properly."
EPI Advanced, LLC, wholly owned by Engineered Products Industries, LLC, specializes in plastic injection molding. EPI is a custom plastic injection molding company founded in 1953 with headquarters in St. Louis and divisional operations in Sherman, Miss., and DeQueen, Ark. The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.


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In which I get things some off my chest about relations between bloggers and journalists and the coverage of the Labour Party conference
There's a hokey old show tune from Oklahoma called The Farmer and the Cowman. It makes fun of the warring between the different groups settling the new territory and it came to mind when I was reading and thinking about the recent sniping between journalists and bloggers.
The media world this past decade feels like a new territory, with diminishing resources, more pressure to win audiences, the rise of 'free' content on the internet, and more voices competing for attention. Yet those exploring this new landscape, supposedly in the public interest, seem determined to tear each other down with an unthinking lack of respect, self-awareness and manners.
I've not been immune from the odd keyboard-blast. And some of the criticisms I'm about to make I'm sure will not go down well. But as per the rules here at Pundit, I try to play the ball not the man.
As one of the few folk in this country who are paid full-time as a journalist but have also invested my own time and money into blogging, I'm tired of those on both sides of the debate seem to shoot first and ask questions later. I'm tired of how little bloggers know about journalism and vice versa. And I'm tired of the silly commentary that's produced as a result.
The demands of work have left little time for blogging or reading blogs recently. But I read Bryce Edward's latest Politics Daily with some dismay.
It seems the criticism of John Armstrong's work at APEC in Vladivostock and his retort in September, followed by the coverage of the Labour Party conference and the Cunliffe affair is still prompting otherwise sensible people to say preposterous things.
The first point I'd make is that good and intelligent people can hold preposterous views. That's human nature and we could all be a little forgiving of it, given that there's certain to be someone, somewhere who holds our own views to be preposterous.
The second is that this is a debate being had by a small group of people (mostly online) in a small country and so should be kept in perspective.
Where do I come from on this? I sympathise with some of Armstrong's frustration. The New Zealand blogosphere is often distinguised by its bitchiness and disrespect. Armstrong has been a loyal and distinguished servant of journalism for decades and deserves to be viewed in that context.
He described bloggers as parasitical -- hardly a controversial statement. Much blogging is a direct reaction to media stories. Even more posts are contributions to broader debates that stem back to news coverage. Yes, there's always been an parasitical element in the way some media outlets take stories from others and there are bloggers who occasionally break news. But to pretend that blogging is not a broadly parasitical activity is just silly.
On the other hand, it was unfortunate he kicked off at two people I respect - Gordon Campbell, one of the best journalists of his generation, and political scientist Bryce Edwards. They too deserve to be seen in a wider context. His language veered into exactly the "cheap shot" territory he was criticising the blogs for entering. And there are plenty of others blogging in this country more worthy of his barbs.
Armstrong wasn't alone. I've been in debates with Larry Williams on ZB about Keith Ng's story on the privacy breaches at Work & Income. Williams argued that Ng and his sources must have been looking for trouble, when in fact Ng is one of the few bloggers who breaks news and avoids rants. He too deserves to be taken seriously.
So to Labour, Cunliffe and all that. It seems, from Edwards' links, that the "MSM", or mainstream media, has been damned for its woeful coverage, according some on The Standard and Chris Trotter.
And this is where we see otherwise intelligent people getting preposterous
In Edwards' aggregation and the linked-to posts, there's the implication of a battle between the MSM and blogs, or more particularly between the press gallery and political blogs. As someone who contributes to both, there's no contest. Blogs remain the preserve of the few; journalism, despite its shrinking audience, is consumed by many, many more. Whilst blogs have an influence beyond their size and bloggers and their posts are sometimes picked up by other media, bloggers need to accept we work in the margins.
So what about the arguments in these posts?
Trotter, an experienced political analyst who writes from an ideological position, rails against coverage of the Labour conference, as many have in the past few weeks. But the complaints still sound disingenuous to me. As best as I can see, Cunliffe got played, out-manouvered. He had ambitions to challenge for the leadership come February. Rather than waiting like a turkey for Christmas, those opposed to him pre-empted the challenge. When Cunliffe was unwilling to say he'd back his leader in a vote in three months' time, it became a story.
Those backing Cunliffe -- rather than accepting that Shearer's backers did what any political activists would do and that the media followed a perfectly legitimate story (ie Cunliffe's unwillingness to back his leader without question) -- have argued that it's outrageous to expect Cunliffe to say how he'd vote in a secret ballot three months away. It's not. If any politician with open leadership ambitions fails to back his or her leader, it's news. End of. None of the people making that case are so naive as to actually believe it. Presumably they're just stung.
Has the backstory been adequately reported - by journalists or bloggers? No. Many have theories as to who played Cunliffe and what machinations played out, but little has been clearly reported and substantiated.
And yes, I was surprised by much of the coverage of the conference. As I blogged here, I thought Shearer's speech very ordinary and was surprised so many were so positive.
But I don't see conspiracies behind every tree, either. Different journalists have different views from mine, choose different angles and hear from different sources. That doesn't mean they intend to "mislead" the public, as Trotter suggests. No journalist willfully ignores the story. Trotter clearly believes they failed to get to the heart of the matter -- and is unhappy that his man lost. That's fair comment, but to turn that into some larger media failing is to add one and one together and get four.
Trotter rightly says that blogs are typically "a second opinion" for those who seek them. But he then equates blogging with news-gathering, which is comparing, well, farmers with cowboys. It's a rare day that bloggers partake in "the gathering and distribution of news"; they are voices of opinion, analysis and, too often, rant.
Few bloggers attempt to find facts, remove their personal opinions from the story, seek balance and make contact with numerous sources before writing. Most blogs are happily biased. Most journalists do their best to remove as much bias as possible. They're different; farmers and cowboys.
Trotter goes on to make numerous assertions about journalism, and for all his political expertise, I'm left wondering how long it's been since he was in a newsroom.
Trotter says the MSM are showing "alarm" at the rise of blogs. As evidence he offers a discussion on The Nation and "repeated attacks" on bloggers by senior press gallery journalists. He doesn't give any examples of those repeated attacks.
I'd agree that journalists need not fear bloggers, but then I don't know any who do. Beyond that single TV3 panel, Trotter fails to say who these alarmed and "patch-protecting" journalists are (except that there are "so many"). Perhaps he could give some examples.
He notes that the press gallery often hunt as a pack. He's critical of this and I'd agree it creates some problems. But it pre-dates the internet age and sometimes it's the relentless pressure from that pack which breaks a story wide open.
He reckons editors demand the same-old, same-old. Not in my experience. Editors don't like the competition to get a story that isn't in their line-up and may demand a matcher, but they're much more excited by something fresh and breaking.
Such as? Well, a Grant Robertson-led coup plot, for example. Trotter says:
"... it was supporters of Grant Robertson, not Mr Cunliffe, who had been gauging the level of support for a leadership spill in the weeks leading up to the Conference."
He says such reports have been appearing on blogs but not in the MSM. If Robertson has been doing numbers, then it's undoubtedly a failure by the MSM. That's a big story. So where's the evidence? Because have no doubt, if anyone can back up Trotter's claims, the MSM would be all over it. And of course if Trotter can back up that claim, he should.
As it stands, that's exactly this sort of un-sourced commentary that angers REDLOGIX over at The Standard. By his/her standards Trotter should have to reveal all his sources, put any interviews online and give Robertson a right of reply.
While the concern I'm sure is genuine, the suggestions make no sense. Contrary to the goal, REDLOGIX's list of requirements would shut down open debate, take resources from news-gathering and achieve nothing.
While anonymity should only be granted by journalists in exceptional circumstances, to forbid it would be to shut down debate and limit transparency. Politicians just wouldn't leak.
REDLOGIX says:
- All interviews must be on-the-record. Almost all are. But should a journalist be banned from following a lead gained in more casual conversation?
- All interviews, it's suggested, should be online. Which would mean newsrooms having to hire transcribers rather than more journalists.
- All reportage must be fact-checked. If only. The last fact-checkers were being laid off from the Heald when I began there 12 years ago. The few US media who still employ them are the exception. But does that mean they never err? No. Is it reasonable to expect journalists to check their own facts? usually, although a lack of resources and time creates limitations. Are stories still checked? Yes, subs, editors and producers all have such a role.
- All professional and personal relationships must be declared. In which we move from ignorance to plain silliness. Conflicts of interest should be declared. But every relationship? How far does that go? Is it just for the gallery or for bloggers and those of us outside Wellington who cover politics? Is it family relationships, whether they've played rugby together or does the odd drink count? Should I declare that I once helped Grant Robertson pull a drunk guy out of an NZUSA conference? That Metiria Turei and Gerry Brownlee have both yelled at me? Should Trotter declare every politician he's ever met? And would REDLOGIX him/herself adhere to that?
- No journalist should be able to spend more than six years or 33% of their career in the gallery. Apart from the obvious nonsense of not being able to know how long a young reporter's career will be, why show such little respect for experience and wisdom? It's silliness piled on silliness.
Of course Trotter and REDLOGIX have every right to critique the media. Just as Armstrong and Williams have the right to be suspicious of bloggers. But it's frustrating when cowboys damn farmers and vice versa with little expertise and less understanding of what those farmers are trying to do. It seems that too often everyone's just looking for a fight.
Both have failings, but neither should be condemned. Journalists shouldn't expect a free ride of course, but it's a tough business and it's getting tougher. Blogging too is finding its feet and exploring its potential. So misguided criticism from either side seems unhelpful. But let's be honest, it's most often bloggers complaining about the 'MSM', usually with little insight or understanding. So given what following we do have online, why don't we do a little less demonising and a little more thinking.
In the show the cowboys and farmers stick to their entrenched positions and break into a fight, little appreciating all they have in common. But in the end there's a recognition that they're "brothers" in their endeavour and a great line from Aunt Eller:
"I don't say I'm no better than anybody else, but I'll be danged if I ain't just as good."
Wisdom for us all.


text: Down 16-12 to the Houston Texans with 1:50 left in the game, no timeouts, and the ball on their own 22, the Indianapolis Colts would have been heavy dogs to win even with Peyton Manning playing quarterback. But win they did, thanks to the heroics of backup-backup QB Dan Orlovsky and some timely penalties by the Texans defense (who had their own incentive to lose). It put the Colts' #1 overall pick for the 2012 draft in serious jeopardy, put tears in the eyes of Colts fans who dreamed of a Luck-y future, and put a big smile on Manning's face. [NFL Network]


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Phantoms achieved goals in win over Rams
By Don Seeley
ROYERSFORD — For nearly an entire week, Bill Furlong kept hearing how his Phoenixville football team would be greeted by Spring-Ford's non-varsity starters when they kicked off their final game of the Pioneer Athletic Conference season Wednesday night.
Sure enough, the Phantoms were.
And did they ever take advantage of the opportunity — which presented itself when Spring-Ford head coach Chad Brubaker made the decision to rest his regulars for Saturday afternoon's District 1-Class AAAA semifinal showdown at Pennridge.
Some will remember it as a mismatch, which it certainly was.
The Phantoms dominated both lines of scimmage, well behind and past them too, depending on direction they were heading or defending. They scored on four of their initial five possessions of the first half; got the running clock when an interception was returned for touchdown just 1:45 into the second half; and scored two more times to close it out at 49-0.
Furlong was happy, and not only for finishing up at 6-3 in the PAC-10 and 7-5 overall, but for finishing up with one of the best performances of the long season ... albeit it against non-varsity starters or not.
"I thought we executed well," he said. "The kids played hard and played together. Our goal coming in was to play our best game, and we accomplished that goal. And playing (against non-varsity starters) doesn't take away anything from this."
Nor should it.
As they have been for a good part of three seasons, seniors Ryan Yenchick and Ryan Pannella — along with unsung fellow seniors Tom White, Chris Demy and Sean Hesser — were superb. Yenchick was his usual workmanlike self, running for more than 90 yards and three touchdowns and catching one pass on offense and popping up around the ball more than enough times on defense. Pannella dictated his blocking space at tight end and caught a pass on offense and dominated whatever area he chose to be in, punctuated by a pair of sacks, on defense. White was his usual blue-collar, bullish self up front on both offense and defense (with one sack). Demy, who in his first year at quarterback matured beyond many's expectations, ran for one score and kept Spring-Ford honest in the box by completing fives passes. And Hesser ran for one touchdown and returned that interception for another.
Still, as well as the Phantoms played and as often as they scored — and as happy as Furlong and his staff were — so were, believe it or not, Brubaker and his cast of non-varsity starters, many of whom never got any time at all in a Friday night or Saturday afternoon game this season.
"Coach (Brubaker) told us we played a good game," said two-way sophomore end Bryce Rhodenbaugh, who'll share Thanksgiving dinner today with his father, Phoenixville assistant coach Gary Rhodenbaugh. "Our defense wasn't that bad. I think we lived up to (Brubaker's) expectations."
"I actually thought our kids played well," said Brubaker, whose Rams will take an 11-2 overall record into Saturday's matinee at Pennridge. "They hit, and was a great opportunity for us as a staff to see them and evaluate their play."
What Brubaker saw was his team surrender a lot of yards and, of course, a lot of points. But, as he pointed out, there weren't many noticeable big plays.
The Phantoms took the opening kickoff and drove 66 yards in 13 plays, then their next possession 56 yards in 11 plays for the 14-0 lead after one quarter. And interception and respectable punt return set up two short-field, scoring drives to double that spread after two quarters. Then the Rams' defense thwarted another drive that go to their own 21 right before the break.
"Everyone was excited to play," Rhodenbaugh said. "I know I was nervous in the beginning, and others were, too. But we were excited to be playing in a Thanksgiving game. I think we gave (Phoenixville) a good game."
"Our kids played tough," Brubaker said. "I'm happy with a lot of them because they were physical, and they didn't back down. They played a very good seven-win team, and it's a shame because the scoreboard doesn't reflect that."
Phoenixville's dominance up front didn't allow the Rams to get any run game going, and three quarterbacks — Brandon Leacraft, Zac DeMedio and Matt Daywalt — were hurried six times and sacked four times, which went a long way in explaining their combined 9-for-21 with three picks.
So, in the end, Furlong and the Phantoms got the win they sought ... and earned in every aspect.
And Brubaker and the Rams had no regrets over the decision made to go with non-varsity starters.
"We have an opportunity that's never occurred before in the history of our program," Brubaker said, referring of course to Saturday's district semifinal. "We have to make the most of it.
"To play for a possible district title is an opportunity that you don't often get. It's like a bowl game, what everyone's goal is. And no one stops in the middle of the playoffs, or in working toward achieving that goal. It's unfortunate (going with non-varsity starters) but it's the way we decided to play it out. You can't please everyone."
Phoenixville finished behind Perkiomen Valley and Spring-Ford — both 7-2 — and champion Pottsgrove (9-0) in the final PAC-10 standings. ... Tickets for Saturday's District 1-Class AAAA semifinal at Pennridge will be on sale from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the high school gymnasium lobby entrance at Spring-Ford High School. ...


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Replies to This Discussion
Thanks Topspyn, i couldn't tell from google sat map if the courts has lights? Am and I will check that out tomorrow evening around 7pm (if it's not raining), maybe we'll see you there...?
Thanks DS, them courts are tough for me to get to from where we coming from on a weeknight.
by the way, we gonna see you Sun AM CPD? Heard JP's got another sick team this summer with LGonz.
Wood Oaks Park in Northbrook, on Sanders just south of Dundee. About a month ago the clay courts were still closed, assumedly because of all the rain. Public courts, pretty well-maintained. No lights though.
As for Euro red clay, I don't know of any in the area. But I'd love to play on it sometime.
Thanks Angie. will check out wood oaks.
sounds like it's going to be challenging to get a court at Sunset Woods around 7pm once the weather turns nice.
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Almost six months ago I blogged that marketers would decide on the fate of Klout. However, with the continued buzz about Klout scores that I hear from new and potential social media consulting clients, as well as the continued presence of its main competitor PeerIndex and the emerging metric for influence Kred, the debate over how social influence is measured continues to rage on.
In fact, as Google Trends suggests, we have had a pretty stable interest in the metric to measure social media influence for the last several months:
Let's take a step back and try to understand what exactly these platforms are trying to do. We've been hearing people speak about their Klout scores on social networks, but what exactly do those numbers mean, and do they really profile users accurately?
Klout is an algorithmic system that it brands itself as the "Standard for Influence". According to its website, it measures the influence of a person or a brand by taking into account content posted on the major social networks, which drive online trends and user action. A Klout score measures influence on a scale of 1 to 100, 100 being the highest result possible. It measures the following:
- True Reach – the number of people that you are possibly influencing;
- Amplification – how much you actually influence these people; and
- Network impact – how influential the people you influence are.
Klout also shows you a list of those in your network who influence you, as well as those you influence, and the topics which you are most influential in. It also tells you what it thinks your social network profile is: a Curator, a Broadcaster, a Taste Maker, a Celebrity, a Syndicator, a Feeder, a Thought Leader, a Pundit, a Dabbler, a Conversationalist, a Socializer, a Networker, an Observer, an Explorer, an Activist, or a Specialist.
The questions now are what can Klout possibly do for you, and is it really true that it's the standard for social media influence?
The Pros and Cons of Klout
Just as we have varying objectives for using social media for our business, there are many different ways in which we can use Klout scores to support our social media marketing activities. For instance, if you're an emerging brand or business looking for a way of getting a general idea of how "influential" you and your brand might be, then Klout may just be what you need to see how you might be affecting people online. Aside from gauging your influence and tracking your results, the following features may also be of use to you:
- Recent Buzz: current topics being talked about in your network that you may want to share
- Influential Topics: topics you are most probably influential in based on what you talk about online
- Influencers List: list of people in your network that you influence who just might be the brand advocates you've been looking for
Measuring your weight online is seemingly a good idea, but many critics have bashed Klout for many different reasons, including supposedly pulling numbers out of thin air. Many also question the score's usability and if influence can even be measured at all. Although an explanation has been posted on their blog, Klout allegedly refuses to disclose how exactly the calculation goes, and what process they go through to calculate scores. Of course, divulging the algorithm, just like making Google's search algorithm public, could allow the system to become easily "gamed."
Aside from these potential transparency issues, Klout has also been criticized about privacy issues, specifically about pulling in information of minors and Facebook users with accounts set to "Private" just because they commented on a public post. If this worries you and you suddenly wish to delete your account, their opt-out function is not that easily accessible and is at the bottom of, ironically, their privacy policy page, which people think to be just a little too "hidden". CEO Joe Fernandez may have apologized for these issues, but in spite of this, there are still many who continue to delete their Klout accounts.
Final Word
Should you or shouldn't you use Klout? In the end, it's up to you to decide, but should you go ahead with it, remember to take everything with a grain of salt. Any single metric will only give you a hazy idea of how you're doing online, so it would be best to have other means of monitoring your social media metrics and use your score to complement your findings. Klout, however, is definitely here to stay, as its recent announcement of new funding would indicate, so as brands and marketers, we have to continuously adapt with the tools that exist, and utilize the good aspects and filter out the bad that any "score" provides us.
I personally remain a user and a fan of any system, whether it be Klout, PeerIndex, or Kred, that is trying to build out a metric which could potentially have value to social media marketers. Might I suggest that the problem doesn't lie with any one of these systems: The problem of measuring social media influence lies with either 1) users who take their Klout score too seriously or 2) companies who make decisions based purely on one metric.
What's your final word on Klout?