Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/238567399?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Institutionalize Change | The Stimson Group
Or, Everything I Know I Learned From Live Events
Change is the one thing that we can count on in business, so you would think that change management would be a core competency. Unfortunately change is not something humans often enjoy, so we need to teach our employees how to change. ?
One of the first things actors have to learn (aside from their lines) is what to do when another actor misses a cue. The answer is?improvise, but actors have to make improvisational choices within the context of the scene and with a complete understanding of what is supposed to happen next. Good actors can rebuild a broken scene by recasting the lines of other characters as their own to keep all the players on track. Great actors can do this without the audience and often the crew ever realizing what just happened. Businesses have to master this kind of improvisation in order to be consistently successful.
There are three critical success factors that determine whether an organization has the capacity for change:
?The only people who know where the edge is are the ones that have been over it.?
A colleague said this once to me many years ago, and I have never forgotten its significance. At the time we may have been assessing an employee or freelancer, and the context would have indicated that the individual in question lacked the experience to move at the pace we needed. Live Events run along a razor?s edge of deadlines, near misses, and endless surprises. Planning is mission critical, but as a Captain Barbossa says, ?the code is more what you?d call?guidelines?than actual rules.?? It is important to have people in charge of processes that are as good at bending the rules as they are at following them. And when the rules no longer work, then the effective process owner will know how to get it changed.
?We make a plan so we can change it.?
My clients will recognize this as one of my favorite sayings. It comes out in meetings when a team member expresses frustration over the perceived futility of planning discussions. ?It?s all gonna change anyway!? The purpose of most planning meetings is to make the process more transparent. If all the players understand the reasoning and factors involved in creating the original plan, they will be better prepared to improvise when the time comes. And the time?will?come. Many companies eschew planning as a waste of time because circumstances change so quickly. Instead these companies operate in reaction mode, which often fails because it becomes too easy to lose track of the final outcome. The Plan is what keeps us pointed towards the goal.
?Start with facts, then at least we know?something.?
If you don?t know where to start, gather some data. Facts are your friends. You may not agree with the facts, because they often represent limitations. But, knowing what you cannot change will simplify the discussion of what you will change. Early in my career I was a flyman in a theater and the road company rigger didn?t measure the grid height correctly. As a result all the chain hoists trimmed at the wrong height making it impossible to fly the set pieces out of view. The Stage Manager was very philosophical about it. ?Well, we can lower the stage or raise the roof. However, we can?t do either in time. How about we reset the pick points correctly?? He then directed the scenic crew to clear the stage and take an early coffee break while we worked overhead. Although his comments were tongue in cheek, his methodology was intended to teach his panicky department head how to handle the situation. The Stage Manager gathered the relevant data, kept his eyes on the goal, and chose the next logical thing that needed to happen to accommodate the new plan. If there had been no plan or order for loading in the show, he wouldn?t have known which steps would be affected by the miscalculated rigging points.
Teaching a company how to be proactive instead of reactive is all about?institutionalizing process change. Many leaders are disappointed to learn that becoming proactive isn?t about establishing hard and fast rules that you cannot deviate from. Proactive firms research, plan, and adjust over and over again. It looks something like this:
- Establish who owns the process; they have to be involved in change.
- Recognize that many steps are dependent upon an earlier step.
- Recognize the natural checkpoints in the process when several sub-steps come together.
- When something goes wrong, reset to the last checkpoint and choose a new path.
- The first step in the new process is the one that allows the dependent steps to occur in the right order.
- Let all the other process owners know about the change so they can adjust accordingly.
- Ensure that those adjustments will flow properly so everyone can reach the intended goal. If not, return to step 1.
- Repeat.
Something Integrators can learn something from Rental-Stagers about project management (ok, some stagers need to learn this too) is that the key to successful planning is to build flexibility into processes. Allow extra time, but don?t use it without knowingly changing the plan. Provide additional labor to absorb some of the time of INEVITABLE changes. Use the natural checkpoints in the process wisely. Know that if you are behind on schedule that catching up will require using additional resources be they personnel, time, or reducing the scope. If you miss two checkpoints in a row, then the project is out of control and more drastic measures are needed.
Business owners can apply the same type of thinking to help the company reach its goals. Some part of management?s time needs to be spent on the company in lieu of processing customer-driven projects. We call this working ?on? the business instead of ?in? the business. Next month, we will examine how to use business plans as platforms for process change.
Thanks for reading!
Source: http://trstimson.com/uncategorized/institutionalize-change/
Dothan native, Troy University golfer Tolver Dozier earns berth into U.S. Amateur
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Friday, July 27, 2012
Trousdell Gymnastics & Aquatics Ctr | From Parks and Rec Business ...
Trousdell Gymnastics & Aquatics Center is an 18.81 acre complex located at 326 John Knox Road, near the Tallahassee Mall. It features a large pool, a kiddie pool, a waterslide, a bathouse, shade area, and a large gymnasium.
Hours of Operation: Sunrise to Sunset
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Source: http://www.parksnreviews.com/parks/TrousdellGymnasticsAquaticsCtr/81627
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CW's new campaign designed to pull viewers back to TV
NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - The CW is debuting the new slogan "TV Now" and an image campaign designed to lure its youthful viewers back to the old-fashioned TV screen.
The network hopes to amplify its ratings after they dipped last season. One reason for the slip, the CW says, is that so much of its youthful audience watches its shows online.
It has said that at any given time, 7 percent of its viewers watch shows on its website, CWTV.com. The new campaign will push the idea that while viewers can watch CW shows on many different formats, it all starts with TV.
The campaign, which will begin next month, will include combining other words with "TV" to create new adjectives for its shows, such as "seducTV" and "suggesTV."
The CW, born five years ago from a union of Warner Bros.' WB and CBS's UPN networks, targets 18- to 34 year-olds with a mix of fun, fashion and melodrama. This season the network's lineup is getting grittier, with new shows like "Arrow," "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Cult."
Like many youthful-skewing networks, the CW considers itself a 21st century company still subjected to 20th century ratings tracking, which does not take online viewers into account. The network is currently working on an alternative to Nielsen tracking that it says would better count the actual number of people watching its shows across all platforms.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cws-campaign-designed-pull-viewers-back-tv-002123024.html
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'White stork' delivers new research and technology investigations to International Space Station
ScienceDaily (July 25, 2012) ? A "white stork" is soon to deliver supplies to the International Space Station. But it's not the typical stork you associate with baby deliveries. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kounotori3 H-II Transfer Vehicle, or HTV-3, is a 16.5-ton cargo ship. Kounotori is Japanese for "white stork."
Following a weeklong journey since its launch July 20, the HTV-3 is scheduled to dock to the station July 27 packed with nearly four tons of supplies, including a mix of NASA and international partner research ranging from biology to education to technology demonstration.
A Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency investigation will study new sampling techniques and environmental microbiological methods for environmental analysis. Microbial Dynamics in the International Space Station -- III (Microbe-III) will monitor the abundance and diversity of fungi and bacteria in Kibo, the Japanese Experiment module on the station. The results will be used to produce a microbiologically safe environment which is essential for a long-duration stay in space.
Another Japanese investigation, In-situ Observation of Growth Mechanisms of Protein Crystals and Their Perfection Under Microgravity (NanoStep), aims to clarify the relationship between crystal growth mechanism and the perfection of crystals. Crystallization of proteins in microgravity yields crystals with better perfection than crystallization on Earth. This study will look at the reason for this phenomenon, which has not been explained from a viewpoint of crystal growth mechanism.
NASA's ISS SERVIR Environmental Research and Visualization System (ISERV) is an automated system designed to acquire images of Earth's surface from the space station. It is primarily a means to gain experience and expertise in automated data acquisition from the station, although it is expected to provide useful images for use in disaster monitoring and assessment, and environmental decision making.
Five small mission payloads that perform science and technological demonstrations also are among the newest investigations arriving at the station. The Multi-mission Consolidated Equipment (MCE) includes two atmospheric observations that study lightning and resonant scattering from plasma and airglow. The other technology demonstrations include inflatable structure deployment, robotic tether movement and testing a high-definition television camera in the space environment.
Several educational activities are scheduled to begin after the supplies arrive at the station, including the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Education Payload Observation 5 (JAXA EPO5). These activities demonstrate artistic activities aboard the station to enlighten the public about microgravity research and human spaceflight.
Through an agreement with NASA, Space Adventures is sponsoring the YouTube Space Lab world-wide contest for students 14-to-18 years old. Over the past year, students submitted entries in the areas of physics or biology via a two-minute YouTube video. The top two experiments were selected in March 2012 through online voting and by an international panel of experts, including William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA's Human Exploration Mission Directorate, and Leland Melvin, NASA's associate administrator for the Office of Education. The winning experiments -- from Egypt and Michigan -- are being flown to the station to be conducted later this year. One experiment will study how bacteria grow in space to see if different nutrients can block the growth. The other winning entry looks at how a Zebra spider -- which jumps on its prey instead of catching them in a web on Earth -- will hunt its prey in microgravity.
Several human research activities will arrive with the cargo ship, including Sonographic Astronaut Vertebral Examination (Spinal Ultrasound). This investigation aims to use ground- and space-based studies to fully characterize and assign a mission health risk to microgravity-associated spinal changes for back pain and potential injury. This research will determine the accuracy of the ultrasound in characterizing the anatomy and composition of the vertebral unit and help to develop new training methods.
In the area of physical sciences, the Binary Colloidal Alloy Test -- C1 (BCAT-C1) experiment will study nano-scale particles dispersed in liquid, known as a colloidal suspension, commonly found in such commercial commodities as paint, electronic polishing compounds and food products. These suspensions will have the unique property that the particles will separate -- like oil and water -- and the particles will self-assemble into crystals that interact strongly with light, like opal. Photographing these samples in microgravity will allow the measurement of these processes while avoiding the effects of particle sinking due to gravity. This study will allow the development of new insights into this important materials process.
A technology demonstration, called The Reentry Breakup Recorder (REBR), tests a cost-effective system that rides a space vehicle reentering Earth's atmosphere, records data during the reentry and breakup of the vehicle, and returns the data for analysis. Understanding how vehicles behave during atmospheric reentry gives future spacecraft developers unique information that can enhance design efficiencies and safety.
One of the new facilities for the station is the Aquatic Habitat. This habitat is capable of accommodating small fish, such as medaka or zebrafish, which have many advantages as vertebrate models. The Aquatic Habitat will be used for experiments investigating how microgravity and the space radiation environment affect living things including human beings, particularly over the long term.
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NASA. The original article was written by Lori Meggs, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120725104518.htm
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Sprint loss widens, but revenue beats estimates
NEW YORK (AP) ? Sprint Nextel Corp., the country's third-largest wireless carrier, on Thursday reported a wider loss for the second quarter as wrote down the value of its moribund Nextel network.
However, Sprint was successful in convincing smartphone subscribers to pay up for "unlimited data" service, and its service revenue zoomed, beating estimates.
Sprint's volatile stock jumped 46 cents, or 14 percent, to $3.83 in morning trading. It was the highest level in nearly a year.
In the April to June period, Sprint's net loss was $1.37 billion, or 46 cents per share. In the same quarter last year, the loss was $847 million, or 28 cents per share.
Analysts polled by FactSet were on average expecting a loss of 41 cents per share.
It was the nineteenth straight quarter of losses for Sprint, which is struggling to compete with AT&T and Verizon Wireless. Still, Sprint raised its forecast for adjusted operating earnings for the year by 18 percent. The measure excludes interest expenses and writing down asset values.
Revenue at the Overland Park, Kan., company was $8.84 billion, up 6 percent from a year ago. Analysts were expecting $8.72 billion.
Sprint's goal is to complete the shutdown of Nextel in the middle of next year. It bought the network in 2005, a deal that proved disastrous. Nextel's strength is its walkie-talkie-like push-to-talk capability, but it's not built for smartphones or data service. Even as subscribers abandoned it, Sprint was saddled with the cost of maintaining the network.
CEO Dan Hesse said Thursday that Sprint is ahead of schedule in deactivating Nextel antennas. It's putting the space freed up on the airwaves to use for faster data service.
Customers on contract-based Sprint plans paid an average of $63.38 per month in the quarter, a record high and nearly as much as AT&T customers are paying, even though AT&T has had the iPhone, which attracts high-paying customers, for longer.
IPhones proved surprisingly popular at Sprint. It activated 1.5 million of the phones in the quarter, the same number as in the first quarter. AT&T and Verizon saw a drop in iPhone activations from the first quarter to the second, as the excitement around the latest model, the iPhone 4S, cooled. Sprint is the only one of the four national wireless carriers that still offers unlimited data service, and Hesse said that was a major reason Sprint keeps pulling in iPhone subscribers. However, Sprint offers relatively slow data speeds.
Hesse said that Sprint focused its marketing resources in the quarter on getting departing Nextel subscribers to move over to Sprint instead of to Verizon, which has been getting most of them. That gave results: 60 percent of those leaving Nextel switched to Sprint.
However, excluding these Nextel conversions, Sprint recruited practically no new customers to its contract-based plans, the worst result in years. Contract-based plans are the most lucrative, and the additions figure is closely watched.
Still, Sprint raised its forecast for adjusted operating earnings for the year by 18 percent. The measure excludes interest expenses and writing down asset values.
Christopher King, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus, said he saw "troubling signs" in the poor subscriber recruitment compared with AT&T and Verizon.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sprint-loss-widens-revenue-beats-estimates-113851438--finance.html
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Why Customer Service Should be a Part of Your Marketing ...
There?s often talk about the need for marketing and sales to be more aligned, but with the proliferation of social media and a global marketplace, it?s the relationship between marketing and customer service that will drive customer engagement.
Top 5 reasons marketing needs to work with customer service
1. Advertising is out, relationships are in.
Today?s consumer is far too savvy to buy into your fantastic advertising and viral media campaigns; but they?ll still buy into people. Remember the last time you had a great customer service experience and how that one interaction with an individual influenced your opinion of the brand?
2. More and more vendors are competing for your customer.
Thanks to the internet every retailer is now competing in a global marketplace. Online consumers have more retail options than ever before, and increasingly customer service is becoming the key differentiator and a marketable commodity. Take note from Avis Car Rental, who, back in the 1960s empowered their customer service department and successfully launched the ?We Try Harder? campaign on the back of it. As a consequence, the company tripled market share in four years and still use the slogan in their marketing today.
3. Social media forces customer service into the open.
Social media is a public forum, so any communication from customer service, whether online or offline, can become public fodder and affect your company?s branding. A good example is UK supermarket chain Sainsbury?s. Following massive social media exposure of a positive customer experience, the supermarket even renamed tiger bread to giraffe bread. Now that?s good team work between customer service and marketing.
4. Brand ambassadors are priceless.
Word-of-mouth is now word-of-social media, which is great for marketers to finally be able to identify brand ambassadors. However, there?s a good chance you?ll need the customer service department to nurture and reward these VIPs.
5. Customer feedback should be at the forefront of product development.
Nokia was once at the forefront of mobile phone sales, and even now, arguably has better reception and reliability than iPhone. However, despite delivering fewer dropped calls, and an antennae that actually works (remember Apple?s issues with their iPhone 4 release), it is still losing market share to competitors because product development wasn?t listening to its customers? feedback around the UI. The customer service team is the best place to source the insights product development needs.
?
Marketing?s how-to guide for working with customer services
1.????? Establish rules.
Together, marketing and customer service should define the protocol for social media engagement. This starts with who should respond to which type of comment/question, assigning processes, when and how to refer to competitors (if at all), and escalation rules. If you?ve got a lot of customers, we recommend separate social media channels for customer support and corporate branding.
2.????? Make it easy and consistent inside out.
Every company, with a little copywriting expertise from marketing, should have a suite of canned email, chat and Twitter responses that reflect, through tone and language, the image of the brand. These pre-prepared responses are not only an efficient way of working, but will ensure customer service stays on brand.
3. Personalize and reward.
Marketing-led social media initiatives that extend the customer service offering will not only keep customers coming back, but will naturally make it easier for them to share their positive feedback with their friends and family. For example, the Ritz-Carlton Naples asked Facebook fans to tell them how they liked their coffee. If they checked into the hotel, their coffee would arrive exactly as they wanted without having to ask. Conversely, you can encourage followers to answer questions from other customers on Facebook, Twitter and forums, with rewards for their efforts. This will not only engage product evangelists, but reduce the stress on the customer service team.
4.????? Great PR opportunities.
Sometimes there?s a great story behind one customer?s need for support. If the lines of communication are open between marketing and customer service a simple support ticket can turn into a fantastic public relations piece.
5.????? Implement that feedback.
Any marketing team that works with customer service to develop and validate the product roadmap based on customer feedback is sure to improve customer retention rates.
Denise Parker is marketing guru of Casengo. This social customer support software in the cloud helps companies to respond to their customers with greater ease and a human touch. Casengo, developed in Amsterdam, will be released to the public this Fall. You can register as a beta tester by? View?full?profile
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Small businesses postponed borrowing in 2011, report says
by Monica Mendoza
Published: July 26,2012
Time posted: 8:11 am
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Small businesses continued to postpone borrowing in 2011, according to a report by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Overall lending and borrowing by financial depository institutions and small businesses was weaker in 2011 than in the previous year, the report said.
The availability of credit is paramount to small business health, growth and survival, wrote Victoria Williams, author of the report.
Annually, the Office of Advocacy prepares the study that examines the lending environment of depository lending institutions. Here are the highlights:
- While business lending in amounts of more than $1 million increased, small business lending under $1 million remained restrained. Small business loans outstanding in June 2011 were valued at $606.9 billion, down 6.9 percent from $652.2 billion the previous year.
- Borrowing declined for both types of small business loans?commercial real estate and commercial and industrial loans under $1 million?but at a slower rate for CRE. The value of the smallest C&I business loans or micro loans, those less than $100,000, declined by 12.7 percent, from $137.2 billion in June 2010 to $119.8 billion in June 2011. CRE and C&I micro loans combined were valued at $139.5 billion in 2011.
- Megabanks?those with $50 billion or more in assets?accounted for 38 percent of small business loans outstanding and for 51 percent of the total decline in small business loans.
Source: http://csbj.com/2012/07/26/small-businesses-postponed-borrowing-in-2011-report-says/
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Wordless Wednesday: #DispatchesDNLee Field Research in Tanzania
July 25, 2012 |??
I?ve been in Tanzania nearly 2 weeks and I?m getting settled. Here?s an overview of what I?ve been up to.
Riding in the back of the Lnadcruiser, on the Highway from Dar Es Salaam to Morogoro.
I'm stationed at APOPO studying African Giant Pouched rats. Here I am with an APOPO HeroRat in Training
Now, to the field so I can study pouched rats in the wild. The field is thick with grass, much it it taller than me.
Laying out the trapping grid, 70 x 70 meters squared
Blade grass like this cut me up every inch of the way
Here's a view of my traps in the field.
I pre-baited my traps with banana. This looks like a very possible nibble from my rats.
I?ll be setting the traps soon to catch rats.
If you would like to see more photos from my Trip to Tanzania, then follow allow on my Facebook Fan Page.? I?ve posted my pictures from #DispatchesDNLee:?Week 1 in Tanzania.
About the Author: DNLee is biologist and she studies animal behavior, mammalogy, and ecology . She uses social media, informal experiential science experiences, and draws from hip hop culture to share science with general audiences, particularly under-served groups. Follow on Twitter @DNLee5.More??
The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.
Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=93524246e3d95bbe9292d41f7467f8cf
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Spatial skills may be improved through training, including video games
ScienceDaily (July 25, 2012) ? Spatial skills--those involved with reading maps and assembling furniture--can be improved if you work at it, that's according to a new look at the studies on this topic by researchers at Northwestern University and Temple.
The research published this month in Psychological Bulletin, the journal of the American Psychological Association, is the first comprehensive analysis of credible studies on such interventions.
Improving spatial skills is important because children who do well at spatial tasks such as putting together puzzles are likely to achieve highly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.
David Uttal and fellow researchers at Northwestern University with Nora Newcombe, professor of psychology at Temple and principal investigator of the National Science Foundation's Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center, reviewed 217 research studies on educational interventions to improve spatial thinking.
"There are limitations involved with looking at individual studies one by one. What we found when we brought together this large body of literature on training effects and analyzed it was a very powerful message, said Newcombe. "People of all ages can improve at all types of spatial skills through training, period."
Although recent research confirms that spatial abilities uniquely predict STEM achievement, there has been some debate about whether spatial skills can be improved -- and whether such improvement lasts or transfers to new tasks. The new meta-analysis answers all those questions in the affirmative.
The researchers found that spatial skills are indeed malleable and that spatial training transfers to other fields.
"Our findings have significant real world implications by showing that training can have an impact on a technological workforce. With the right training more high school students will be able to consider engineering and other scientific fields as a career option," said Newcombe.
One example of the type of training that can increase spatial abilities is having physics students use three-dimensional representations. Video game playing also increases spatial skills. "Perhaps the most important finding from this meta-analysis is that several different forms of training can be highly successful," the authors say.
"Our hope is that our findings on how to train spatial skills will ultimately lead to highly effective ways to improve STEM performance," said Uttal, the lead author on the study.
The study looked at gender and age differences in relation to spatial thinking and found that in males and females, adults and children, even a small amount of training can improve spatial reasoning and have long-lasting impact.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Temple University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- David H. Uttal, Nathaniel G. Meadow, Elizabeth Tipton, Linda L. Hand, Alison R. Alden, Christopher Warren, Nora S. Newcombe. The Malleability of Spatial Skills: A Meta-Analysis of Training Studies. Psychological Bulletin, 2012; DOI: 10.1037/a0028446
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120725120634.htm
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Law of attraction: Men can't be just friends | Firstpost
London: ?It?s official! Men can never be just?friends with women as attraction always gets in the way, a new?research has found.
Researchers said that men?s friendship with the opposite?sex are driven by sexual attraction, regardless of whether?they are single or in a relationship.
Getty Images
On the other hand, women are more likely to consider their?friendships with men as platonic and only hope for more if?their own relationship is in trouble, the Daily Mail reported.
The findings mirror the plot of 1989 Hollywood movie When?Harry Met Sally, where Harry, played by Billy Crystal, tells?Meg Ryan?s character of Sally: ?Men and women can?t be friends?because the sex part always gets in the way.?
Researchers said the study had ?potential negative?consequences for people in long-term relationships.
In a survey, 88 pairs of young male and female friends?were asked to rate their attraction to each other in a?confidential questionnaire.
Men, whether attached or single, were more likely to be?attracted to their female friends and wanted to go on a date?with them than the other way around.
They also assumed their female friends were more?romantically interested in them than they actually were ?and?women tended to be unaware of this.
Single and attached women showed the same level of?attraction to their male friend. But attached women tended?only to want something to come of that attraction if their?relationship was in trouble.
Women were also less attracted to attached men.
A second questionnaire for 140 middle-aged people, who?were almost all married, found levels of attraction between?male and female friends fairly equal.
Middle-aged men?s attraction to their female friends was?much lower than that of the younger men, except among those?who were single.
For women, levels of attraction had stayed the same.
Participants of both questionnaires said they gained?benefits from friendship with the opposite sex including?getting good advice and boosting their confidence.
The study is published in the Journal of ?Social and?Personal Relationships?.
Those who did harbour a secret crush were five times more?likely to see it as a potential problem than a benefit. But?more men than women saw it as a perk.
PTI
Source: http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/law-of-attraction-men-cant-be-just-friends-390315.html
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Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Why does everyone want Paleo in the Main-Stream? - PaleoHacks ...
I might get blasted for this but I don't see why everyone who has adapted this lifestyle wants it to be so popular. Sure, I see the benefits and I have told my close friends and family who I truly think could benefit from this lifestyle. Also, if people ask how I lost so much weight or what I have done differently, I throw the "Paleo" or "Ancestral" terms out there along with some facts about toxins in foods and exercise. I also understand that the more Ancestral Health is discussed, the more it will be researched and proven. Regardless, if people want to get healthier, they will find a primal diet. I know I did.
I remember, when I was in High School, a teacher of mine lost about 15 pounds. She was very overweight but you could tell she had slimmed down. When asked how she was losing it, she would explain the Atkins Diet. Couldn't explain the theory behind it nor did she follow very closely but she was "on the Atkins diet". Her half-assed attempt at fitness kept her preaching Atkins but she never lost another pound. Sort of discredited the whole diet in my mind. The more main-stream Paleo becomes, the more half-assed, overweight preachers we will have, the crazier we will all look. Just a thought.
Also, my main beef with this popularity push is the cost of Paleo grocery options. A few months back, I went to Trader Joe's for some odds and ends and the Almond butter was $3 more expensive than normal. When I got home I did a little research on Almond Butter and found that Dr. Oz had mentioned the benefits just days before. I can't afford for this to happen with grass-fed beef, Organic veggies, or Nitrate/Nitrite-free bacon. They are already expensive enough.
Why? Why this push for popularity? The Olive Garden is never going to have a Paleo-Friendly Section in their menu.
Source: http://paleohacks.com/questions/137944/why-does-everyone-want-paleo-in-the-main-stream
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iRobot, InTouch Health unveil RP-VITA telepresence robot, let doctors phone in bedside manner
In case you missed the memo, there's quite a bit more to iRobot than adorable autonomous vacuums -- these days the firm works on military projects, consumer electronics and tablet-controlled telepresence robots. Earlier this year, iRobot even retooled itself to build an emerging technologies group, announcing a partnership with InTouch Health to put its AVA telepresence technology to better use. Today the two companies are announcing the fruits of their labor -- the Remote Presence Virtual + Independent Telemedicine Assistant, or RP-VITA. The project aims to combine the best of iRobot's AVA telepresence units with InTouch health's own bots, creating an easy to use system that allows physicians to care for patients remotely without stumbling over complicated technology.
The RP-VITA features state-of-the-art mapping and obstacle detection and avoidance technology, a simple iPad user interface for control and interaction and the ability to interface with diagnostic devices and access electronic medical records. The remote rig will eventually be able to navigate to specified target destinations autonomously, though this feature is still being reviewed by the FDA for clearance. iRobot and InTouch are optimistic about the unit, but claim that the RP-VITA is only the beginning. "While this represents our first foray into the healthcare market, the RP-VITA represents a robust platform," said Colin Angle, Chairman and CEO of iRobot, "we see many future opportunities in adjacent markets." The new telemedicine assistant is slated to make its first appearance at InTouch Health's 7th Annual Clinic Innovations Forum later this week. Check out the press release after the break for the full details.
Filed under: Robots
iRobot, InTouch Health unveil RP-VITA telepresence robot, let doctors phone in bedside manner originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jul 2012 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/24/irobot-intouch-health-unveil-rp-vita-telepresence-robot/
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Don't mention the Olympics, but SwiftKey has language pack updates for the Olympics
The Olympic Games kicks off in London in just a few days, and popular keyboard replacement SwiftKey is getting in the mood by launching updated language packs for the Olympics, while making sure not to directly refer to the games so as not to anger the London 2012 brand police. Y'see, organizations not officially sponsoring the games are forbidden from using a number of words in their promotional materials, including Olympics, London, 2012, Olympic Games, or simply 'the games.'
So understand that it's merely our own interpretation of SwiftKey's latest announcement that leads us to believe it's launching language pack updates with a variety of new words associated with the London 2012 Olympic Games. Really, the statement below could apply to any major athletic event occurring in London the nation's capital in the summer of 2012 the present calendar year.
Over the next several weeks this summer, we’re pretty sure many of you will mention One Thing in particular. To give you a clue, we’re based in the UK’s capital, where that One Thing is hard to ignore because it’s taking place here.
So, we’ve created a special and entirely coincidental update for our two most-used language packs, UK English and US English. It contains a whole host of important names and terms that may be useful when you’re sitting on your sofa shouting at the TV, wanting to mention something to do with that One Thing in a text or tweet.
SwiftKey users can update to the latest version of the language pack by finding "SwiftKey" in the app drawer, and heading to "Languages and layouts," where updates for UK and US English should be available. If you're a SwiftKey user, be sure to let us know how you're getting on with this latest update, using the only the IOC-approved remainder of the English language, down in the comments.
Source: SwiftKey
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/tr0W8ZoKobM/story01.htm
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Skype's Server Upgrade Triggers Wiretapping Worries
Fears have surfaced that Skype may be eavesdropping on communications over its service. The concern is that supernodes Microsoft is introducing to Skype could make it easier to monitor calls, because they route the voice data in addition to initiating communications between parties.
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Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Disability Rights Oregon recommends legislation after investigating ...
Disability Rights Oregon on Friday concluded an investigation critical of the prosecution of a mentally ill Aloha man, twice charged in the 1997 slaying of his ex-wife.
Hermann could not be reached for comment.
The investigation questioned how the schizophrenic man "came to be held in Washington County Jail for months without treatment and then was committed to the Oregon State Hospital without legal authority even though the legal means existed."
The advocacy group investigated the case of Donn Thomas Spinosa, 58, who was first charged in the killing of Kathleen T. Relay in 1997. He was found unable to aid and assist in his own defense; his charges were dismissed and he was civilly committed to the Oregon State Hospital.
Spinosa's charges were refiled in 2010 after Washington County District Attorney Bob Hermann learned that the state hospital planned to release him. A judge again found him unable to aid and assist last year and returned him to the hospital on an order that Disability Rights Oregon says was not legal.
Among other findings, the advocacy group says in its report that Hermann's re-indictment of Spinosa was "inhumane and wasteful"; laws and resources assuring Spinosa's appropriate treatment were not used; and the state hospital made decisions "without clear standards, accountability or understanding of the treatment options available in jail" that led to Spinosa returning to jail after 14 years in the hospital.
Hermann could not be reached for comment.
The report concludes that Spinosa's "unnecessary transfers back and forth between the state hospital and jail left him without adequate mental health treatment for long periods of time, with little or no justification."
Last October, when Judge Thomas Kohl dismissed the aggravated murder case against Spinosa, he signed an order for a "mental illness magistrate hold," supposedly sending Spinosa to the state hospital indefinitely.
The order elicited ethics complaints in December, filed by retired Lane County Judge Jim Hargreaves. In complaints to the state bar against Hermann and defense attorney Robert Axford, Hargreaves said the law does not allow for the magistrate hold. He also filed a complaint with the judicial fitness commission against Kohl.
The state hospital asked Kohl to dismiss the order, which he did in May. In June, Spinosa's civil commitment was renewed.
Disability Rights Oregon launched an investigation last year after reading about Spinosa's case in The Oregonian. Bob Joondeph, the group's executive director, said in December the organization wanted to know why a judge would skip the civil commitment process and impose an order that doesn't exist within the law.
The investigation report concludes that Hermann, Axford and Kohl acted outside the law with the "mental illness magistrate hold." The legislature makes law, the report says, and in Spinosa's case, it was the attorneys and judge who "essentially created a new law that allows for a person with mental illness to be detained without the elements of due process."
The investigation report lists several recommendations to address the problems the group identified.
"Changes are in order to assure that citizens are not punished for having a severe mental illness," Joondeph said in a statement.
Among those, the group recommends that patients who have been previously found unlikely to regain capacity to assist in their own defense should not be re-indicted without further evaluation to see if they have regained ability.
The also group recommends a change in the law to permit notification to authorities when a patient who could be re-charged with a crime is being released from the hospital. But the law should not violate the defendant's right to keep personal health information protected, the report says.
The report, which refers to Spinosa as "D.S.," says Hermann and jail staff violated his privacy rights by providing information regarding his mental health and behavior in the state hospital.
?-- Emily E. Smith
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/aloha/index.ssf/2012/07/disability_rights_oregon_recom.html
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Sales Pro: International Business Development Manager (Large ...
Job ID: 75789
Job Views: 37
Location: Not Specified,
Job Category: Engineering
Employment Type: Full time
Salary:
Posted: Mon Jul 23
Keywords (tags):
Job Description
International Business Development Manager (Large Generators)UK Based
Reports to: Managing Director
Sulzer Dowding & Mills are a global leader in the repair and maintenance of high voltage electrical motors and generators, and related services across several industries. As a brand with over 100 years of history, we are committed to providing an outstanding level of service and technical support to our diverse client base.
As part of our continued and impressive growth, we are currently recruiting for an International Business Development Manager who will be based at our Head Office in Birmingham.
ROLE PURPOSE:
To provide growth strategies and initiatives to assist in the development of SD&M business throughout the region.
To participate in management and leadership of SD&M. To ensure the strong ambition for growth is transformed into executable business plans.
Working primarily across the UK, Europe, Middle East, Russia & Caspian Sea, and Africa, building not only regional development plans, but also an examination of new service offerings, including potential acquisitions.
The role will have the responsibility to provide thorough and robust business models and plans and to lead the implementation of those plans, once approved.
This role will have extensive requirements for international travel and candidates should be prepared to be away for several weeks every month.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES:
Searching for new clients who might benefit from company products or services and maximising customer potential in designated regions
Travelling to visit potential clients
Developing and growing long-term relationships with customers
Creating business plans for organic growth and acquisitions
Reviewing industry databases, such as Achilles and the EU Journal
Being responsible for the management of the company's agents
Managing and interpreting customer requirements - speaking with clients to understand, anticipate and meet their needs
Persuading clients that a product or service best satisfies their needs in terms of quality, price and delivery
Calculating client quotations
Negotiating tender and contract terms to meet both client and company needs
Negotiating and closing sales by agreeing terms and conditions
Offering after-sales support services
Administering client accounts
Analysing costs and sales
Preparing reports for head office
Meeting regular sales targets
Recording and maintaining client contact data
Coordinating sales projects
Supporting marketing activities by attending trade shows, conferences and other marketing events
Making technical presentations and demonstrating how a product meets client needs
Providing pre-sales technical assistance and product education
Liaising with technical staff
Solving client problems
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
Formal apprenticeship in electrical or mechanical engineering or a Degree (or equivalent) in electrical or mechanical engineering
RELATED EXPERIENCE
Previous international business development experience within the electro/mechanical engineering services industry, with specific knowledge of large generators.
PERSON SPECIFICATION:
Leadership qualities and previous supervisory experience
A solid technical background in electro/mechanical engineering i.e. large generators
Strong negotiation skills
Excellent interpersonal skills
Sound judgement and good business sense
Team-working ability as well as the initiative to work alone
Ability to build relationships with clients quickly
Analytical and problem-solving skills
Resilience and tenacity
Independence
Articulate
Strategic thinker
This is an exciting opportunity to work with a market leading organisation during a period of growth and offers an excellent benefits package.
Please contact the Recruitment Team at Sulzer Dowding & Mills with a fully updated CV and Covering Letter about this position.
Sulzer Dowding & Mills is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, or religion or belief.
Contact Details
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Internet rumor mill says Jelly Bean coming to Samsung Galaxy S III 'soon'
According to the fine folks at Sammobile, we might be seeing the Jelly Bean update for the Galaxy S III as soon as August. We're certain that Samsung is in the process of figuring out the update schedule, but it's always nice to see the insiders mention that things are moving along. Of course, Jelly Bean on the Galaxy S III will not look like the Jelly Bean we've seen so far, but that's not a bad thing. Samsung has a pretty good handle on their TouchWiz operating system, and whether you love it or hate it you can't deny it's feature rich and runs pretty damn well on the SGSIII's blazing hardware.
We're excited to try Android 4.1 and "the butter" on some handsets with better hardware under the hood. The Galaxy S III is sure to impress us even more with the new features and polish that comes with Jelly Bean. We'll keep an eye on this one closely.
Source: Sammobile
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/k6SM3lzLy3A/story01.htm
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Monday, July 23, 2012
DARPA-backed Power Pwn is power strip by day, superhero hack machine by night
Call the Power Pwn the champion of white hat hacking. Underneath that Clark Kent power strip exterior, there's a Superman of full-scale breach testing that can push the limits of just about any company network, whether it takes 3G, Ethernet or WiFi to get there. Pwnie Express' stealthy sequel to the Pwn Plug ships with a Debian 6 instance of Linux whose handy hacking tools are as easy to launch as they are tough to detect. There's just one step needed to create a snoop-friendly Evil AP WiFi hotspot, and the box dodges around low-level NAC/802.1x/RADIUS network authentication without any help; in the same breath, it can easily leap into stealth mode and keeps an ongoing encrypted link to give do-gooders a real challenge. The hacker doesn't even need to be in the same ZIP code to crack a firewall or VPN -- the 3G link lets the Power Pwn take bash command-line instructions through SMS messages and doles out some of its feedback the same way. While the $1,295 device can theoretically be used for nefarious purposes, DARPA's blessing (and funding) should help keep the Power Pwn safely in the hands of security pros and thwart more than a few dastardly villains looking for weak networks.
Filed under: Networking, Internet
DARPA-backed Power Pwn is power strip by day, superhero hack machine by night originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jul 2012 07:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink
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Pwnie Express | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/22/darpa-backed-power-pwn-is-superhero-hack-machine/
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Fence erected near Paterno statue at Penn State
FILE - The statue of former Penn State University head football coach Joe Paterno stands outside Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa., in this July 13, 2012 file photo. Police and construction workers have barricaded both sides of street and the sidewalks near the Joe Paterno statue at Penn State University Sunday July 22, 2012. A chain-link fence has been erected around the perimeter surrounding the statue.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
FILE - The statue of former Penn State University head football coach Joe Paterno stands outside Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa., in this July 13, 2012 file photo. Police and construction workers have barricaded both sides of street and the sidewalks near the Joe Paterno statue at Penn State University Sunday July 22, 2012. A chain-link fence has been erected around the perimeter surrounding the statue.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
FILE - A statue of former Penn State University head football coach Joe Paterno stands outside Beaver Stadium on in this July 12, 2012 file photo. Police and construction workers have barricaded both sides of street and the sidewalks near the Joe Paterno statue at Penn State University. A chain-link fence has been erected around the perimeter surrounding the statue. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
FILE - Sabine Briggs, 2, looks up at a statue of Joe Paterno outside Beaver Stadium on Penn State's campus, in this Nov. 11, 2011 file photo taken in State College, Pa. Police and construction workers have barricaded both sides of street and the sidewalks near the Joe Paterno statue at Penn State University early Sunday July 22, 2012. A chain-link fence has been erected around the perimeter surrounding the statue. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Police and construction workers have surrounded the Joe Paterno statue in State College, Pa., Sunday, July 22, 2012. A chain-link fence has been erected around the perimeter surrounding the statue. Two dump trucks, a flatbed truck and a forklift that brought the fence are at the scene. (AP Photo/Christopher Weddle, Centre Daily Times)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) ? Police and construction workers have barricaded both sides of the street and the sidewalks near the statue of Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno at Penn State University.
A chain-link fence has been erected around the area surrounding the statue.
Two dump trucks, a flatbed truck and a forklift that brought the fence are at the scene. In all, about 20 construction workers and about 20 police officers are present.
The statue has become a target for the late coach's critics since former FBI Director Louis Freeh alleged a cover-up by Paterno and others that allowed retired assistant coach Jerry Sandusky to continue molesting boys.
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Facade and garden paving become one | Architectum
Since 2005, architect couple Hans Weemaes and Karin Janssens from hk architecten in Antwerp, have worked together in the design of private residences full of character. In both their renovation and new build projects, the pair aim to create a balanced unity between interior and exterior, between home and surroundings, between living, working and relaxation. Frequently, they also design the furniture and garden, including terraces and paving, throughout the course of their projects. In 2009, they conceived a single-family house in Brecht, and here they were at liberty to give free reign to their architectural vision. The result is a conspicuously inconspicuous residence, where strict volumes seamlessly and playfully fit together and where the paving in the garden cannot be distinguished from the property facade.
Monolithic Structure, introverted Atmosphere
Hans Weemaes: ?For this residence we wanted a particularly strict and monolithic appearance. In doing so, the front of the building facing south is characterised by a relatively closed design. The privacy on the front side is further emphasised by the use of a claustrum gable, that is a ?perforated? wall of facing bricks was positioned at some distance in front of the actual glazed area on the upper level. In this way, a narrow courtyard space is created in front of the window. The client?s study, which is located behind the glazing on the upper level, thus enjoys soft and filtered daylight, while views from the outside are blocked.
On the other three sides, on the other hand, we have designed large window areas for a maximum incidence of light.? Although strictly monolithic on the outside, the interior design can be referred to as introverted. Differences in level between the living and dining room on the ground floor intensify this impression. As does the discreet integration of the master bedroom above the garages and the shared terrace for both children?s rooms, which is designed as a social meeting place.
Strict Facade with playful elements
The repetitive openings in the claustrum provide a beautiful as well as playful, rhythmic pattern, which perfectly harmonises with the applied jointing technology. Originally, the facing bricks were to be glued but, ultimately, the client decided against this option so the facades were finally constructed in a traditional way with black mortar. The horizontal joints were scraped out which, in combination with the random pattern, provides for a subtle horizontal interplay of lines.
The path merges into the wall
From the road, a path made of paving bricks leads up to the property. The path is lined with plants alternating with Dolomite areas. The transition from the footpath to the house is formed by a raised section leading down to the sunken entrance.
Hans Weemaes: ?For the facade of the property we selected Forum Ombra brick, in the Waal Format (WF). For the garden we were looking for a paver which would be a perfect match with regard to colour, format and appearance, in order to intensify the monolithic characteristic of the house. We used Terca Crea Nero WF, as both these products are very similar in appearance. We maintained consistency of application in our design approach by arranging the pavers in a random pattern just as with the facing bricks of the house. For both the footpath and the raised entrance section, the walls were built with facing bricks, positioned on concrete and mortared. The result was a concrete trough, which was filled with terrace pavers arranged without joints and in a random pattern in a bed of sand. Adjoining the living and dining rooms on the rear side of the property, narrow terraces were also laid out. In all, around 45 square metres of paving bricks were used.? The successful combination of facing and paving bricks creates an aesthetic which radiates calm and strength, which appertains to the profound and elaborate architectural concept.
- Project:
- Single-family house, Brecht
- Architect:
- hk architecten, Antwerp
- Client:
- Private
- Pavers used:
- Terca Crea Nero Waal Format (WF)
- Verf?gbare For Available formats:
- 200 x 50 x 88 mm (WF), 200 x 65 x 88 mm (DF), 202 x 99 x 73 mm
- Facing brick used:
- Forum Ombra WF
- Paved area:
- 45m?
- Completion of the project:
- 2010
- Photographer:
- Kevin Lecointre
Source: http://www.architectum.com/facade-and-garden-paving-become-one/
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