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Nutritional Psychology
Binge Eating & Over Eating Disorders
Exercise Resistance & Motivation
Exercise Resistance (Part 2) w/ Francie White, MS RD & Anita Johnston, PhD
by Francie White | Feb 23, 2018 | Nutritional Psychology, Videos & Audios | 0 comments
Francie White, M.S., R.D. and Dr. Anita Johnston, Ph.D. join together to discuss the causes, considerations aand treatment for Exercise Resistance from a holistic, consciousness perspective. Break free from struggling with and hating your body, and step into a relationship of pleasure, freedom and fun with conscious movement and exercise.
This is part of a new intensive program for treating Binge Eating Disorder & Metabolic Syndrome with breakthrough medical knowledge combined with advances in Nutritional Psychology and Transformative Recovery.
Francie White is the co-founder of the Central Coast Treatment Center, and received a B.S. in Health Sciences from UCSB and a M.S. in Nutrition from UC Davis. She has also published research articles with UC Davis Medical School. Currently a PhD candidate in Consciousness Studies at California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. Central Coast Treatment Center has three locations in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, California. www.centralcoasttreatmentcenter.com
Anita Johnston, Ph.D. is the Director of the Anorexia & Bulimia Center of Hawaii which she co-founded in 1982 and is the Clinical Director and the Founder of the 'Ai Pono Intensive Out-Patient Eating Disorders Programs in Honolulu and 'Ai Pono Maui, a residential treatment facility in Maui. She is also Senior Clinical Consultant to EATFED intensive outpatient program in Sydney Australia. She is the author of Eating in the Light of the Moon: How Women Can Transform Their Relationships with Food Through Myth, Metaphor, and Storytelling which has been published in six languages, and the co-creator of the Light of the Moon Cafe, an online e-course and support circle http://www.lightofthemooncafe.com
Francie White
MS, PhD Candidate in Consciousness & Transformative Studies
Francie White is a theorist and practitioner in the science and art of nutritional psychology as well as a creative force investigating and teaching about philosophies of consciousness. She has a 35 year history at the forefront of treatment for all types of disordered eating, which parallels her abounding interest in the deeper questions about the nature of reality, and the importance of resurrecting wonder within the journey of human life. Learn More
The Karpman Triangle: A Powerful Model for Healing Life
3 Big Businesses Form a Silent Triangle Leading to Over Eating, Weight Problems & Eating Disorders
The New Science of Energy and Health: Insulin & Glucagon, Metabolic Hormones
The Question: Soul Self Inquiry
We Thrive TV: How to Help Your Daughter Be Healthy without Shaming Her
© Copyright 2018 Francie White | Site Designed with love by The Inspired Brand | Photography by Untamable Woman, Nasa, & Unsplash


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Q: How to correctly use the DateTime feature below I have a timepicker where the textbox (durationChosen) formats the time like this '00 Hrs 00 Mins 00 Secs'.. Now the problem is that I want this time to be inserted into the database but obviously the format is incorrect. I want the textbox format to remain the same but how can I insert the time correctly in the database with the correct format?
At the moment the code below is causing the page not to load and because of this it is not inserting anything in the database. Have I coded the DateTime feature below incorrectly:
Below is the code for the INSERT VALUES:
    $time = DateTime::createFromFormat( 'h * i * s *', $_POST['durationChosen'] );
    $sql="
      INSERT INTO Session (SessionDuration)
      VALUES ('" . $time->format( 'H:i:s' ) . "')";

 mysql_query($sql);

A: Maybe you could use this:
$time = date("H:i:s", strtotime($_POST["durationChosen"]));

A: Lets the datepicker return a valid ISO duration string like
$duration = "PT3H12M36S";

Now you can use DateInteval
$time = new DateTime;
$time->add(new DateInterval($duration);

As a side note: MySQL accepts an ISO formatted string for every of its DATE*-typed columns
VALUES (' . $time->format('c')  . ')

http://php.net/datetime

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


I know it won't feel like it but the official start of fall in Iowa begins at 3:02pm CDT today, that's about the time we'll be in the lower 90's. We who live here know that only is the marking of the Autumnal Equinox and has no effect on the weather only our ability to drive safely East and West during sunrise and sunset. Of course it moves Mother Natures corn elves out of the fields, where they could be mangled during the harvest, up into the tree's to start painting leaves. Temperatures will begin to cool and we'll go into "Real football weather" enabling us to legally add chili to our tailgates plus maybe have a snifter of warming alcohol along with that cold beer. We will walk, shuffling our feet a little more to rustle up the many colors of leaves beneath our feet and remembering the falls of years past. Most importantly we will remember why we love the seasons in this beautiful state and officially begin preparations for winter complaints...Happy Fall!
It's the Little Cyclone Homecoming Game against Council Bluffs Lincoln tonight at 6:45pm on 1430!


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Premature babies take part in spook-tacular Halloween costume contest
eliza murphy
Oct 25, 2017, 11:36 AM ET
PlayAdvocate Children's Hospital
WATCH Premature babies take part in spook-tacular Halloween costume contest
This is no trick –- the babies in the neonatal ICUs at Advocate Children's Hospitals in Oak Lawn and Park Ridge, Illinois, are their parents' biggest treat this Halloween.
Interested in Halloween?
Add Halloween as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Halloween news, video, and analysis from ABC News.
To celebrate the spooky holiday, the hospital's tiniest patients took part in an epic costume contest to commemorate their very first Halloween.
Advocate Childrens Hospital
Jada sure makes one cute small fry.
"We have a lot of little preemies at Advocate Children's Hospital that have been fighting for one, two, even three months, and this brings a little bit of normalcy into their parent's life," Deb Skopec, one of the hospital's neonatal nurses who organized the event, told ABC News in a statement. "They get to have a little fun, which they don't always have on a daily basis here."
Beauty and the Beast prince/beast:
Skopec said having the annual costume contest "has been such a phenomenal thing" because "it allows parents to dress their babies, to plan a costume and to really bring out their baby's personalities."
Amyrah is the prettiest mermaid in the sea.
The families' costumes did not disappoint this year. Nearly 40 babies were decked out from head to toe in precious costumes ranging from pirates to peacocks, mermaids, pumpkins and Harry Potter.
This sweet new family is "all together ooky" dressed as the Addams Family.
Kameron and Kaleb are the cutest little pumpkins in the patch
Atticus is magical as Harry Potter.
Shelley and Rob Paz of Orland Park, Illinois, dressed their 1-week-old daughter Adaline, who arrived 7 weeks early, as Wonder Woman.
"She's our little Wonder Woman. She's our superhero," said her proud father. "She still has a long road ahead."
Adaline makes an adorable Wonder Woman.
They placed a quote from the movie on the front of her incubator that says, "Only love can truly save the world."
"It was emotional to see her in the costume since it's the first time ever seeing her in clothes, and you really see how tiny she is," her mom, Shelley Paz, added.
Rob Paz said seeing his daughter dressed up for Halloween for the first time was "really adorable."
Julie Kunik of Homer Glen, Illinois, showed off her 6-week-old daughter Sienna's colorful side by dressing her a pretty peacock.
"Most of the time you're in the NICU, you don't get to hold or touch the baby, so today was very special," said an emotional Kunik.
Little Sienna was born at 28 weeks, 12 weeks before her mom's due date.
"You wait for the day your baby is going to be born and you take them home right away. And when that doesn't become a reality and they have to stay in the hospital for a long time, you miss those little moments," said Kunik. "Just being able to change Sienna and dress her brings a little normalcy and fun to the day."
Arianna is blossoming into a beautiful butterfly.
Brian is turtle-ly rad in his costume.
Taavi is ready to take on his opponent in the ring.
Pictures of the costumed babies are on the Advocate Children's Hospital's Facebook page where visitors can "like" their favorite photo to cast a vote for best-dressed. The hospital said the photo with the most likes by Halloween day, Oct. 31, at noon, will win a $150 gift card to Babies R Us. The five runner-ups will also receive prizes.
Babies in NICU take part in Halloween costume contest

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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WE ARE WILD RECREATION SKIN CARE FOUNDER SHARES HER INSIGHTS AND STORY
By Rohit Banota / February 19, 2020 June 14, 2022
We are Wild recreation skincare is a perfect example of an Indie beauty brand that got the brand story fundamentals right, and success with raving fans and retailers is a testament to that!
We are Wild is the first all-solid skincare system designed for everyday recreation. "Because active skin demands solid performance."
Sally Kim, the founder, is one of the smartest founders and marketers out there. Within 30 seconds of seeing "We are Wild" online, I decided to dig deep to uncover how she created such a coherent and powerful brand story, something all Indie beauty founders could learn from.
Q1. I am very curious as to how did the idea for "We are Wild" come about?
Did it come in pieces or you had it all perfectly aligned at the onset-meaning beauty brand for the outdoor lifestyle, solid skincare, price point, beyond wrinkles and flawless skin, ease of consideration and convenience, beauty neophytes? What came first: the product or identifying an unmet skincare need for outdoor consumers who would have minimal involvement in the product? How did you go about finding this unmet need and how is your understanding of your target consumer so refined?
Sally: The idea came to me all at once when I was an expat living in Seoul, South Korea for 5 years. I'm originally from Portland, Oregon and lived a very active, recreation filled lifestyle that included a lot of outdoor activities and travel. I was always confused by all the beauty and skincare products in the market and felt that there wasn't anything that fit or addressed my active lifestyle.
Since Korea is a leader in beauty and skincare innovation/R&D, I found myself immersed in the category and was always on the hunt for something that was new and innovative. That's where I came across solid cleansing sticks and thought this is brilliant! I'm always having issues with my products leaking or putting everything into mini-size bottles so I thought wouldn't it be great if all my skincare came like this. So the idea really started from an unmet need and then finding a product solution based on my own needs.
I also wanted to test the concept and being a market researcher by trade, found that globally 89% of consumers are confused by skincare products. When we first conducted research, most of the people we talked to could not mention specific products or brands they used, let alone know where to buy. We did store audits across outdoor and beauty retailers and found that at outdoor retailers like REI, self-care or even skincare sections were non-existent, except for some sunscreen and soap; at beauty retailers, it was all about 10 steps serums, oils, creams, masks, etc which made everything more confusing.
I thought we had a great opportunity to innovate, create, and disrupt not only the beauty/skincare category but also the outdoor/fitness/recreation space as well.
Q2. Even though it is super obvious and you have done an incredible job at that, but for the benefit of our readers: What's your brand positioning in your own words? Who do you target, what do you offer different from others, what's the benefit to the target consumer, and why should they believe you? Also, who is the brand not for?
Sally: Our brand positioning is as follows: For the active enthusiasts who find joy in living a recreation filled life, We are Wild makes skincare designed for everyday recreation by making it natural, fun, and easy. Because active skin deserves solid performance.
We target the active enthusiasts – those that have purchased some skincare product in the past year, engage in weekly recreation activities and enjoy travel.
Our benefit really lies in breaking from confusing multi-step skincare regimes and simplifying skincare in 3 easy steps/products. Our proof is in (1) our ingredients using natural, non-toxic superfoods rich in anti-oxidants, (2) our technology – leveraging the latest Korean beauty innovation in probiotics and fermentation, and (3) Our form – everything is solid so no spills, messes, germs, or TSA agents. We like to think the brand is for everybody.
Initially, we were actively going after people who were confused by skincare/beauty and not currently using any products. However, we found that even the most die-hard beauty fans really enjoyed our products including some celebrities, celebrity makeup artists, influencers, beauty bloggers. Our products have either replaced some of their current products or have created new occasions (i.e. travel, gym, on-the-go, etc).
Q3. How important was the beachhead market of the Portland area? What was the biggest benefit of launching it in your backyard first?
Sally: It was extremely important for us to establish brand legitimacy and validation in Portland. This was very important to us since a major part of the brand value was about living and celebrating an active lifestyle that's so embodied by people living in Portland.
The biggest benefit of launching in Portland first was testing that our products actually made sense and were relevant to our consumer target. Once we launched with Poler Outdoor and found that their customers loved our products, it was a big win for us in terms of validating our proof of concept.
Q4. Since your TG does not spend as much time on social media, and with hardly any social media following, how did you manage to 1. list with e-tailers like Walmart and Victoria Health and b. How did you create awareness for the brand for movement on these e-tailers? Was there an investment involved? What role do you think your unique brand story played in listing with and movement on these retailers?
Sally: We are 100 percent self-funded and have not taken any outside investment. Since it's a super small team there is definitely more we can be doing with social media, but we find that a brand like We are Wild is better expressed living out our brand values IRL.
This means a big part of our marketing strategy is to be where our consumers play and experience recreation joy through grassroots events and sponsorships of recreation groups, athletes, ambassadors, etc.
Our social media strategy may seem a bit counter-intuitive. We use social media more for brand discovery and going deep with our followers. All of our reviews and posts are not paid or sponsored. We never solicit reviews either. We've received content and reviews from real people legitimately liking our products and brands. Our social growth has been slower but much more organic and intimate as we have a huge repeat purchase and retention rate. I would say we grabbed the attention of retailers through our products and unique positioning but also via old fashion hustling, emailing, calling.
We've also earned a lot of organic press just from editors, celebrities, makeup artists, etc discovering us and believing in our mission and products.
Q5. I personally feel there is a lot more traction and buzz possible with your social media channels. Are you working out a storytelling strategy for social media? A brand like yours offers a perfect opportunity for user-generated content much like Patagonia even though they brand themselves as a cause brand versus a lifestyle brand like yours? Do you think pricing cost-effectively comes in the way of creating raving social media fans?
Sally: Our focus is to attract the right customers and followers. We too think there's still a huge opportunity to gain traction and buzz. Social media is really one method, and quite honestly, we're not obsessed with gaining a huge follower count or engaging in questionable growth strategies as we know there are many ways to attract follower counts if that's what you're after.
We want to attract the right and best people that will fall in love with our brand, be inspired by our mission and say a nice word or two about us to their friends. Doing this the right way takes time and we're all about doing the right thing.
Q6. Why did you price the way you did? How price-sensitive is the outdoor lifestyle consumer and are all of them beauty neophytes?
Sally: We priced our products based on comparable competitive products. We found that the outdoor lifestyle consumer is not price-sensitive and willing to spend on products/brands they believe in.
The majority are beauty neophytes and do need some education and awareness building. But the interesting fact about this segment is that they know they need something for their skin but don't know exactly what and have not found the right product.
We want to make the discovery for them much easier and that's a major part of our on-going strategy. How can we become more accessible and present for these people.
Q7. Where do you go from here-retailers, products, geographies, etc.? Both short-term and long-term plans? What is the ultimate goal for the brand?
Sally: Our goal is to really help facilitate a recreation filled life by not only making products that are natural, fun easy but also accessible and easy to find. That's why we say Yes and partner with every retailer that's interested big or small. Walmart was a big part of that goal.
We did receive some backlash and complaints about partnering with Walmart especially from some prestige retailers that were interested in our brand. However, saying no to the world's largest retailer and not making your products available to the hundreds of millions of customers that shop at Walmart would be a disservice to our current and future customers.
Furthermore, Walmart has been a great partner. They're also becoming a major player in the premium and natural beauty space and committed to showcasing brands like us. We were featured in Walmart's "Here for Every Beauty" campaign last month.
Q8. What are the three pieces of advice you would like to give to both upcoming and established Indie beauty founders who are struggling to list with retailers and grow into a truly recognizable brand?
Sally: a. Remember that it's all about timing. When a retailer said no to us, I took that no as a not now, maybe later. Always look for the right timing to present and represent your brand. Don't take no as a rejection.
b. You're not alone. I think too often founders take entrepreneurial struggles very personally and often feel isolated and alone. Remember that every brand and founder has had similar struggles and obstacles. Seek advice, network, meet new friends, talk to your team, seek out other founders, and most importantly ask for help.
c. Stay true to your values. Don't compromise. We were approached by a distributor in China and although the opportunity would have been potentially huge, we would have had to conduct animal testing on our products in order to sell there. Being cruelty-free is one of our core brand values, so we said no.
We are Wild elicits high loyalty and repeat business from its outdoor enthusiast consumer, the brand tribe.
The brand just launched online at Urban Outfitters with a new offering, Solid Block Active Cannabis Sunscreen, along with the Solid Clean Probiotic Cleanser, Solid Water Probiotic Toner and Solid Oil Nourishing Stick.
I wish Sally and We are Wild all the best. Watch out for this brand as it is for sure going places!
Please share your thoughts on We are Wild's brand story by commenting below!
HOW POWERFUL IS YOUR BRAND STORY?
Join top 1% of beauty brands
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ROHIT BANOTA, FOUNDER of STORYSAVES, has created, transformed and grown dozens of health and beauty brands across North America using Brand Story, Tribe, and Innovation.
He has over 15 years of marketing and business experience growing consumer packaged brands including startups and MNCs like P&G Beauty and Grooming and AB InBev.


If you work at an office, or are going to the store, park farther away from the entrance.
The extra walking can give you 5 minutes of exercise.
This can add 10 minutes more.
During your lunch break, take a 15 min. walk. Ask a coworker to join you.
Or playing with the kids.
After dinner, take your dog for a 15 min. walk.
While watching TV, do 5 min. of situps during commercials.
All of this gets you to the 60 minute goal-without going to the gym.
Walking - I briskly walk 1 to 2 miles a day and I lost 30 lbs in about 4 months. Eating better was also a major factor.
Gardening - I have to laugh at that because the weather was nice this weekend where I live (mid 70's) and I was pulling a few weeds and planting flowers. On Sunday I could barely walk. So yes, gardening is a great workout.


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Two weeks after I installed my Kingston HyperX 120GB SSD in a RAID0, I'm still getting great performance. I have now used up half of my drive space.
My write speeds still look weird between what ATTO and Crystal Disk are reporting. I'm not really good with these benchmark softwares. I just use the default settings. If anyone can tell me how I can tweek or adjust the configurations of the benchmarks to give me a more accurate result, please let me know. Also, I haven't updated the firmware. It is still 320ABFF0.
This entry was tagged hyperx, kingston, raid, ssd. Bookmark the permalink.


Despite the modal shift goals set out in both the 2001 and 2011 Transport White Papers, rail freight is still suffering from chronic underinvestment in infrastructure and unfavourable competitive conditions with other transport modes. As a consequence, employment in the sector has been negatively affected by this critical situation in several EU member states.
The 'fairness and growth plan' proposed by the social partners includes actions that aim to ensure reliable long-term funding of rail infrastructure, the better inclusion of rail freight in logistics chains, and the achievement of fair competitive conditions and a fair social level playing field between the different transport modes.


My husband was out of state and since he is the only one in the family who doesn't have health insurance he found it necessary to go to the ER. I submitted information to hospital to try to get help with the bill but apparently not all of it arrived in time and so the bill went into collections. I was not with him so I did not sign my name on any documents. We are a family of eight and currently struggling economically. I have an excellent credit score myself individually and am very concerned about keeping my score so that when we do get into a better situation we would be able to buy another home. I live in Oregon. My question is: Why is my name now on this bill? Is this legal? Is there a way to remove my name from this debt?
Some states have laws under which spouses are automatically responsible for certain debts of their husband or wife, and sometimes that includes medical debts. So it is possible that you could be ultimately responsible for this bill if your husband cannot pay it.
However, this law may not apply in your state. (Unfortunately I don't have that information). In addition, there has been at least one case in which an attorney successfully argued that trying to collect a spouse's individual debt from the other spouse was a violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. If it turns out that the medical provider and/or collector are not truthful about your responsibility for the debt, you may have a case under the FDCPA. You may case for credit damage as well, if the collector has reported the account on your credit history. However, I am not an attorney and can't tell you that for certain.
For that reason, I would urge you to talk with a consumer law attorney who can help you understand your rights here. Find out how to get FREE or low cost legal advice about debt collection from a consumer law attorney here. It doesn't hurt to ask and find out what your rights are.
Do let us know what you find out using the comments link below.


Want to see a step-by-step guide to using labels to repeat a question? Try our goto a label tutorial.
The flow service helps you to control flows, such as allowing you to trigger one flow from within another, or repeating actions within the same flow.
The New Trigger (trigger) and Trigger a Flow (action) allow you to start one flow from within another using a word or phrase.
This is useful for structuring flows, so you can 'branch off' from one flow to one or more other flows, using filters to decide which flows to trigger.
Triggering another flow by keyword does not automatically stop the current flow. However, when you filter the action you can choose to stop the flow.
Using this action will run any matching Flow > New Trigger or Bot > New Message trigger(s). You can pass information across from one flow to another using Response Path (for passing across info about the bot user) and Metadata (for anything else).
For Bot > New Message triggers to be eligible, you must select a valid response path. Note that when triggering Flow > New Trigger, the word or phrase should be an exact match (although case doesn't matter).
This will trigger when a Trigger a Flow action is run with a matching word/phrase. If more than one trigger is found with the word/phrase, then they will all trigger.
Metadata may have been passed across, and if so, will be available as a data output. If a bot response path was selected in the action, a set of bot related outputs will be available to your flow too.
The Label and Goto a Label actions allow you to set a position in the flow (using Label), and then move the flow back/forward to that action (using Goto a Label).
After using Goto a Label, your next action will have available any metadata sent along with the action itself (as an output of Label), and the outputs of the trigger and any actions prior to it in the flow.
This action is simply a placeholder/marker to define a position within a flow, so that you're able to go back (or forward) to it using the Goto a Label action. Assign a word or phrase that will be used to reference it with Goto a Label.
Metadata may have been passed across, and if so, will be available as a data output. Note that it's not possible to add filters to this action, as they wouldn't be useful.
Using this action will cause the flow to go to the first matching Label action found. You can pass information into the Label action using the Metadata field, which will then be available as an output.
If you go back, the action that runs after the label will have all the same output data available to it as when it was first ran, and every time thereafter, in addition to the latest metadata you send using Goto a Label. If you need to use any info you collected further along in the flow, you should send it as metadata.
If you go forward, the action that runs after the label will have all the output data you collected up until Goto a Label, in addition to metadata sent along with it, but the outputs of any actions that were skipped will be empty.
As a precaution against infinite loops, the Goto a Label action may be used 20 times (in total) during the course of a flow.


The BBC have a proven track record, a 60 year pedigree in the Natural History Unit that is second to none and a living legend in front of camera that is Sir David Attenborough. Experience oozes from every individual. All of them expert in what they do. This is why we watch in our hundreds of millions.
Unfortunately…, not all experts come with the same pedigree.
Whatever you are into, you do not have to look very far nowadays and an expert will be there to give you their "expert" opinion…, whether you want it or not.
It is not rocket science, but some "experts" have done a great job of clouding some very basic facts and sentenced neoprene to a life in exile.
The information contained within this section of our website has been drawn from our many years in the industry, but more importantly our customer's experiences and their subsequent feed-back.
The people behind this information have a wealth of diving experience gained over decades, much like the Natural History Unit of the BBC, they have earned their reputations and the right to be called experts.
O'Three has been listening to customers' stories and feed-back for over 35 years. These shared experiences means that we can be confident in the practical, common sense advice that we try and share with all our customers.
We all need to tell people about our products, but to hide behind marketing that is based on wobbly assumptions is not good for the end user or the future development of this incredible sport.
There are several factors that will influence your buoyancy swing, your suit material is just one of them. In order to make an informed decision about your choice of suit we have created this infographic to help you understand the reality.
We are currently working on more articles for this section and will add them very soon.


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Governments need to 'join up and scale up' on health
By Tanya Barron // 07 April 2014
Staff care for a patient at the Vingunguti Health Center in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Photo by: Plan U.K.
World Health Day is a chance to reflect on the progress we've made since the occasion was first marked in 1950. But it's also a moment to reflect on the huge challenges that remain. One child dying from preventable causes is one too many — but in reality, 6.6 million die in this way each year.
The approaching deadline for the Millennium Development Goals presents us with a real opportunity. Now — in the final push toward those targets and in the design of those that will follow — is the time for bold steps toward realizing the right to health for all. That means deep reflection on how we need to shape our approach to global health going forward. For me, one word stands out: integration.
Last year, I visited a school project which Plan International helped set up in Tanzania. It was great to see the progress the children were making in their learning. As I left, though, I saw a powerful reminder of why education and health programs must not exist in silos. A group of early teenage girls were gathered outside around a large white van. It was a mobile health clinic, visiting the school as part of the government's efforts, supported by Plan, to provide universal health coverage. The girls were receiving tetanus vaccinations.
This, I thought, was a simple but excellent lesson in what you can achieve by "piggybacking" health care onto existing infrastructure such as schools. It soon dawned on me that it was only girls — aged about 12 to 14 years old — receiving the vaccinations, which were preparing them for imminent childbirth.
An integrated approach
The next stage, I believe, would be for the same mobile unit to urgently provide for these girls' family planning, social welfare advice and other services. That's because, if there's one lesson I've learned from the MDGs, with all the momentum and advancements they've brought, it's that we need to be more integrated in our approach — both within the health sphere and between sectors.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, chairperson of the African Union Commission, summarized this point just last week at the EU-Africa summit in Brussels.
"Health encompasses every aspect of development," she said. "Some women die, not because there's no clinic, but because there are no roads so they give birth on the way to hospital."
So while UHC is a crucial component to realizing the right to health, it cannot be seen in isolation. When we talk about education, we have to talk about health and vice versa — the two are intrinsically linked. The right to health is also inseparable from the right to adequate food, freedom from discrimination, and the right to clean water and adequate sanitation. This is why we set up Action for Global Health in 2006, to go beyond the competition within the health community and respond to 21st century needs.
The post-2015 open working group recently published the second draft of its focus area document, identifying the many interlinkages between health and other sectors. But what might that mean in practice? How will the future framework reflect these links? For me, it's no longer the time to think in the abstract about why a holistic strategy is needed. That much is clear. Now is the time to think about how we achieve it.
Moving from the why to the how
First, across government and NGOs we need to push for a "health lens," which means that as well as building a strong health care system, we respond to the underlying burden of disease and ill health across various social and environmental determinants. This means investing in the full spectrum of public services — and doing so with a laser-like focus on the health impacts of this spending.
Second, governments should live up to their role as duty bearers, making investments — and ensuring high-quality programming — in social services that greatly impact on health, such as water and sanitation, working conditions, housing quality, healthy behavior, nutrition and quality education.
Third, community participation in program design is key. Funding integrated approaches at the community level demonstrates what works in lived realities. For sustainable, long-term health interventions that work, this is vital. Critically, we also reach the most marginalized this way.
Finally, we need a renewed, specific focus on child health. Fulfilling our responsibility to future generations by reducing child mortality and improving child health is fundamental to global development and economic growth. In this regard, nutrition should be a central part of the future framework. Good nutrition — particularly in the first 1,000 days — is absolutely critical to the long-term health and productivity of any individual. I would also argue that the health needs of girls, particularly as they reach adolescence and begin to face challenges unique to their gender, such as female genital mutilation and early forced marriage — and the disastrous health consequences these can bring — must be specifically considered.
'Join up and scale up'
Today, encouragingly, interest in integrated approaches is increasing — as decision-makers acknowledge that integrated programs can prove efficient, cost-effective and provide more holistic services for those who need them most. But we must do more to tangibly highlight and explain how effective this can be in improving health.
Governments entering post-2015 negotiations must be on board, and so the 2010 call by Action for Global Health to join up and scale up is therefore more relevant than ever. We believe that everyone — irrespective of their status — should have equitable access to fully funded strong health systems, free from the burden of financial hardship.
More than 60 years on from the first World Health Day, we live in times of great uncertainty. But that should not obscure the fact that the world has sufficient resources and tools to bring child deaths from unpreventable causes down to zero.
Let's hope that the most vulnerable and marginalized can count on the political determination of world leaders together to build a 21st century in which no one is left behind.
Join the Devex community and access more in-depth analysis, breaking news and business advice — and a host of other services — on international development, humanitarian aid and global health.
The views in this opinion piece do not necessarily reflect Devex's editorial views.
Tanya Barron
Tanya Barron is CEO of Plan U.K. since January 2013. Previously, she was international director at Leonard Cheshire Disability, and in 2003 was given the European Woman of Achievement (Humanitarian) award. Barron also holds various trusteeships and is currently a board member of the World Bank's Global Partnership on Disability and Development.
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HBO Announces New Alternate Timeline Civil War Drama 'Confederate' From 'Game Of Thrones' Creatives
HBO Announces New Alternate Timeline…
If you were wondering if Game of Thrones' creators/showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were jumping right into a GoT spinoff–or taking a much-needed vacation–after the HBO juggernaut wraps it final season, well, the answer is "no" on both counts. HBO announced today that the creative pair would begin production on a brand new series once winter has come and gone on their current project.
Titled Confederate, the original series is described, in an official press release from HBO, as an alternate timeline Civil War drama. "Confederate chronicles the events leading to the Third American Civil War. The series takes place in an alternate timeline, where the southern states have successfully seceded from the Union, giving rise to a nation in which slavery remains legal and has evolved into a modern institution. The story follows a broad swath of characters on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Demilitarized Zone – freedom fighters, slave hunters, politicians, abolitionists, journalists, the executives of a slave-holding conglomerate and the families of people in their thrall."
While Benioff and Weiss serve as Confederate's creators, writers, and showrunners, a number of other seasoned television talent will also help bring this promising new production to life. "Partnering with them as executive producers and writers on the series will be Nichelle Tramble Spellman ("Justified," "The Good Wife") and Malcolm Spellman ("Empire," the forthcoming "Foxy Brown"). Carolyn Strauss ("Game of Thrones") and Bernadette Caulfield ("Game of Thrones," "Big Love") will also join as executive producers."
Author: Matt Cabral
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Two new routes from Bournemouth Airport to the Channel Islands have been unveiled.
Flights to Jersey and Guernsey are scheduled from April to October by Loganair – the carrier's first operations from Bournemouth.
Jersey and Guernsey will be served by Loganair's 37-seat Embraer 135 jet, with the Jersey flight time at approximately 45 minutes and around 40 minutes for Guernsey.
As part of Loganair's Summer 2019 schedule Jersey flights will be three times a week – Monday, Friday and Saturday, and once a week for Guernsey on Saturdays.
Awarded Airline of the Year 2018, Loganair has a range of fares, which all include 20kg of hold luggage, 6kg of hand luggage, assigned seats and complimentary drink and snack. There are child discounts.


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U.S. safety, savings rules set stage for baby formula shortage
WASHINGTON — A massive recall is getting most of the blame for the U.S. baby formula shortage, but experts say the products have long been vulnerable to this type of crisis due to decades-old policies that have allowed a handful of companies to corner the market.
Those government rules — aimed at assuring safe, affordable formula — are getting renewed scrutiny as President Joe Biden's administration rushes to import formula from Europe.
"There's perfectly good and safe baby formula available around the world. We just don't have access to it," said Bindiya Vakil, CEO of Resilinc, a supply chain analytics firm. "We've created this problem by not setting up an infrastructure for imports."
Federal regulators are expected to soon allow Abbott Nutrition to reopen the Michigan plant that's been closed since February due to contamination problems. The factory is the largest of its kind in the U.S. and its shutdown — combined with pandemic-related supply chain problems — hobbled supplies of popular formulas and specialty formulas for children with rare medical conditions.
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Lawmakers will hold three hearings on the issue this week, calling on company executives, government regulators and outside experts to testify. The attention could spur changes to government safety and contracting rules that have been in place since the 1980s and favor big U.S. manufacturers that are capable of navigating the complex requirements.
Baby formula is one of the few American products essentially unaffected by globalization, with 98% of the supply manufactured domestically. Four companies account for roughly 90% of the market: Abbott, Reckitt, Nestle and Perrigo, according to industry figures. That consolidation mirrors similar trends across the food industry.
But infant formula wasn't part of a Biden administration initiative last year spotlighting dangerously concentrated industries, including prescription drugs, airlines, hearing aids and internet services.
Food experts say strict formula regulations set by the Food and Drug Administration have long limited competition.
Beginning in 1980, Congress gave the FDA authority to rigorously enforce the nutritional content of all formula sold in the U.S., imposing extra research and manufacturing standards that have few equivalents worldwide. The changes came after some babies were sickened by deficient formulas in the 1970s.
"They are pretty much the strictest food safety guidelines in the U.S. and America has some of the strictest guidelines in the world," said Wendy White, a food safety expert at Georgia Tech.
Companies must consult with the FDA before selling a new formula, altering ingredients in an existing one or making major manufacturing changes. The result is only the biggest manufacturers have plants and procedures that comply with federal rules. And would-be competitors have little incentive to enter the field, given the declining U.S. birth rate.
"You have to have a lot of expertise, a lot of resources and a lot of research dollars," White said.
There are other hurdles for foreign manufacturers looking to compete. The U.S. has long imposed tariffs and quotas on dairy imports from abroad, including Canada, in order to shield American milk producers from competition.
Responding to political pressure, the Biden administration has begun airlifting shipments of formula from Europe. The FDA is also waiving some requirements to encourage more imports from overseas manufacturers that are expected to boost supplies in coming weeks.
The biggest driver of the U.S. market, by far, is a massive federal nutrition program that provides formula and other foods to lower-income women and children. The WIC program accounts for more than 50% of the U.S. market, providing formula for more than 1.2 million babies, according to the National WIC Association, which represents state and local administrators who run the benefit.
Beginning in 1989, federal law has required states to award contracts to a single formula company, based on whichever one can offer the biggest discounts.
The effect is that contract winners quickly squeeze out much of the competition on store shelves. Today, all 50 WIC contracts are held by three companies: Abbott, Reckitt and Nestle, according to the association. Abbott is the leader, with 34 state contracts.
The competitive effects of these sole-source contracts have been researched for years. A 2011 study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that whichever company wins a state's WIC contract typically sees their market share grow by 74%, on average, as WIC recipients switch to their brand.
But not everyone supports overhauling the system. Brian Dittmeier of the National WIC Association says doing away with sole-source contracts would jeopardize the savings that allow the plan to serve so many Americans. Instead he says manufacturers should be held accountable for not investing in their own capacity.
"This is a manufacturing failure," Dittmeier said. "The fact is there just is not enough product to fulfill the demand that manufacturers have drummed up over the years." His group supports calls by some lawmakers for a federal antitrust investigation into the industry.
WIC contracts are generally rebid every four years and market share swings back and forth between the handful of players who compete.
Dr. Steven Abrams, a pediatrician at the University of Texas at Austin, says Congress should revisit the WIC program.
"We need to take a comprehensive look at where the failures happened and where we can fix them" said Abrams. "We need to consider whether we really want to have a situation where there's that much dominance in the program."
AP Business Writer Marcy Gordon contributed to this story.
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The Customer Comes First In The New Digital Ecosystem
by Samuel Greengard . Contributing Writer . CMO.com October 22, 2014
Business models are undergoing a fundamental shift from a one-off transactional mind-set to one that involves an ongoing relationship.
Too often, organizations stumble when it comes to the critical task of delivering a superior and consistent experience after purchase.
Moving from an episodic and event-driven environment requires different thinking and entirely different systems and approaches.
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Marketers We're Following
One of the ironies of the digital age is that marketing is no longer a discreet activity. As technologies expand, the number of channels increase, and various methods and methodologies intersect, the complexity of interacting with customers continues to grow.
But, too often, key areas--such as customer service, support, and sales--fly under the radar for marketing executives.
"Today's marketplace is extremely competitive and complex. When CMOs think about how to differentiate their organizations, they tend to overlook areas that fall outside the bounds of traditional marketing," said Joe Lo, technology customer impact leader for the U.S. at consulting firm PwC.
To be certain, business models are undergoing a fundamental shift from a one-off transactional mind-set to one that involves an ongoing customer relationship incorporating post-sales and support, including possible subscription-based products and services. Within this new order of business, "Marketing takes place all the time. If you're not approaching the process in a persistent and ongoing way, you're at risk of losing loyalty and customers. Today, switching to a competitive product or brand is easier than ever," Lo told CMO.com.
Navigating this environment is no simple task. According to an August 2014 report from PwC, "The new digital ecosystem reality: Innovation's next frontier is in customer service," customers now expect more than "episodic and event-driven" customer service. In addition, they don't want to feel it's their job to initiate and maintain contact with businesses. The upshot? "The dynamics are changing. CMOs must work with others in the enterprise to take advantage of all the potential touch points," Lo said.
This translates into a need for more proactive, integrated, and omnipresent customer-service models. "Organizations must anticipate their customers needs and takes steps to address them," he said.
Relationships Redefined
By now, it should be clear to CMOs that customer relationships are undergoing radical change. For decades, customer interactions took place in a fairly linear and predictable way. Marketing initiatives typically focused on mailings, advertising through print and broadcast, and designing targeted promotions. However, social media, mobility, big data, and other digital tools and technologies have tilted the equation in an increasingly consumer-centric way.
"Customers now have very different expectations. As digital convergence takes place, the business environment is changing dramatically," said Lanny Cohen, global chief technology officer at consulting firm Capgemini, in an interview with CMO.com.
Unfortunately, many companies aren't making the grade--particularly in the customer-service arena. A recent survey conducted by cloud-based contact center provider CorvisaCloud found that customers are fed up and disappointed. Overall, 32 percent of respondents reported that they will hang up the phone after waiting on hold for more than five minutes. Respondents also complained that reps aren't knowledgeable (37 percent), and many are difficult to understand or don't speak articulately (49 percent). Today, "We have a very complex ecosystem, and many companies are struggling to adjust," Charles Laughlin, a senior analyst at retail consulting firm BIA/Kelsey, told CMO.com.
But poor customer service is only part of the problem. Businesses also haven't kept up with a changing sales landscape. Many lack the holistic approach that's required to market effectively across channels, deliver messages in a contextual way, and tie together various functions, including sales, support, and service. As Lo and co-author Rachel Berg pointed out in the PwC report: "Many organizations have been investing in ways to improve the customer experience, leveraging emerging technologies to learn more about their customers and prospects, and deliver more personalized experiences to them across digital and physical channels. Much of this innovation, however, has focused on the path to purchase."
Too often, Lo said, organizations stumble when it comes to the critical task of delivering a superior and consistent experience after purchase. For example, customers may find it difficult to move seamlessly among a brand's Web, social, and physical presences to conduct research, browse the Web, configure products, purchase supplemental items, and handle other tasks. Making matters worse, he pointed out, many businesses do not align warranty policies and support functions across various channels. This results in inconsistent interactions that frustrate customers and, over time, erode brand loyalty.
Kate Leggett, a vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research, noted that the No. 1 way a company can build loyalty is to respect customers and their time. In fact, her research found that 71 percent of the public stated that their time is the most important consideration for selecting a brand and maintaining a relationship. "Consumers' preferences for customer service channels are changing rapidly. And it's not just the younger generation of consumers--there's disruption and change across all ages and demographics," she stated in a blog post.
Moving from an episodic and event-driven environment to one that supports customers more comprehensively is nothing short of challenging. It requires different thinking and entirely different systems and approaches. "Too many businesses, even the most successful companies, market products and services based on features and functionality rather than the customer experience," Lo explained. "Marketing must be tied into every aspect of the business. It must permeate all the different processes and interaction points with customers."
A New Deal
That means revamping and integrating channels, breaking down organization silos, and connecting data in new and different ways.
Some companies--including Apple, Virgin America, and Zappos--have developed a more dynamic business model that interweaves marketing, sales, and support in order to "delight" customers, according to PwC. In many instances, these organizations are able to interact more effectively--and market at the right time and in the right context. However, the success of these firms has also ratcheted up consumer expectations, as well as the stakes for every business across almost every industry. "Consumers increasingly demand a superior experience from every brand--and many base buying decisions and relationships on a company's ability to deliver a more comprehensive experience," Lo said.
Businesses--and CMOs--must avoid getting caught in more linear thinking, including an overdependence on self-service tools, Laughlin added. While automation can generate operating efficiencies and cost savings, it can also redefine and rewire the fundamental way interactions take place. The touch points change, marketing opportunities are different, and the dynamics of the business are altered, he explained. "You cannot proceed with a business-as-usual mind-set or think about marketing and other activities in a disconnected way," Laughlin said.
Moving forward requires a number of steps. One of the most important is the use of predictive analytics to help companies--and marketers--anticipate customer behavior and take proactive steps to remediate problems and even alert marketing and sales teams about potential opportunities. Typically, this means plugging in data from multiple sources--including sales and support databases, social media, Web analytics, and other tools. The most successful companies route data to the right place at the right time, resulting in decision-making that takes place within days or hours, rather than weeks or months, Lo said.
But predictive analytics is only part of the story. The PwC report noted that remote diagnostics, social care, crowdsourcing, and co-creation--which allow customers to define their experiences--are all vital. In addition, many successful companies, and leading-edge CMOs, are turning to the identity-driven Web to obtain a more complete and accurate picture of customers' needs and satisfaction with a brand. This requires a business to combine call records, past purchases, browsing history, and similar transactional or activity-based information with social media identities in order to put a microscope to trends and behavior.
To achieve success and move past disjointed marketing efforts, Lo said that CMOs must work with CIOs and other senior executives to break down silos, build systems that connect real time data, and have the tools and resources to fully understand product use and life cycles. "You cannot look at these systems and services simply as a cost of doing business. You really have to adopt a different mind-set that revolves around opportunities," he said.
Within this framework, business leaders must not view sales and support as separate components or functions. "You have to think of everything within the context of overall customer experience," Lo added.
That means sitting down with an executive team and understanding the end-to-end view of customer relationships. There's a need for a deeper and broader view of customer sentiment and behavior at every step of the product or service life cycle, Lo said. Among other things, this requires an understanding of how customers shop, how they research products, how they compare prices or negotiate, and how they make a final decision. "It's more than the sum of surveys, focus groups, and basic metrics that look at discreet processes or activities," Lo added. "It's necessary to build a framework that delivers a comprehensive view and helps an organization develop ahighly integrated business that delivers a complete experience."
Accenture Interactive global management director Glen Hartman agreed that CMOs must veer away from "episodic campaign-centric thinking" and introduce "continuous and seamless engagement across a variety of channels, situations, and experiences." In the end, there's a need for fresh thinking, new investments in technology, and a different management structure. Organizations must also tap new data mining and analytics methods, redefine KPIs, and improve the dialogue with customers.
"Today's consumer has very different needs and preferences than in the past," Hartman told CMO.com. "Organizations, and marketing executives, must move beyond a granular and disconnected view. In the end, it's not about obtaining more data. It's about putting data to work in more actionable and meaningful ways."
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Can cognitive functioning of the human brain change the physical state of the brain? E.g. does self-awareness, self-reflection change the number of neurons or synapses among neurons? I.e. I am trying to develop self-modifying neural networks as described in my other question https://ai.stackexchange.com/questions/7966/dynamic-self-improving-self-modifying-neural-networks-which-can-simulate-goede and I am interested in the biological process that can be analogues of self-modifying neural networks. What determines the physical structure of the brain - number of neurons and synapses and are the cognitive functions among the determinants? I guess that generally the brains can be less developed matter comparing to the artificial neural networks that humans can invent or that can self-evolve in silica after sufficient period of time and that is why human brain can be more restricted in its self-improving capabilities than in silica ANNetworks. Similar situation is with genetic algorithms which can allow unrestricted number of sexes while biology has at most two sexes.
Browse other questions tagged neuroscience brain computational-model cognition artificial-neural-network or ask your own question.
What is dendritic processing good for?


Every year for the past few years, the Denver Botanic Gardens holds a celebration of Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the dead. This year, I mostly shot Kodak Portra at the festival. Those images can be found in my week 40 post. I started the day with half the roll already exposed. Those shots are in week 43.
These shots are from the remainder of that roll.
The shots for this week are posted on my personal wordpress site. I'm still unable to post any photos here. I tried deleting some of my older images to make room, but that doesn't seem to work.


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Home » Online News-Flint & Walling, Inc. Introduces Maytag Sump and Utility Pumps
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Online News-Flint & Walling, Inc. Introduces Maytag Sump and Utility Pumps
Flint & Walling, Inc. has entered into an exclusive license agreement with the Maytag Corp. for the rights to manufacture, distribute, and market Maytag™ Sump and Utility Pumps.
Flint & Walling, Inc., a division of Zoeller Pump Co., announced that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with the Maytag Corp. for the rights to manufacture, distribute, and market Maytag™ Sump and Utility Pumps.
The Maytag line of sump pumps includes epoxy-coated cast iron pumps from 1/4 hp through 1/2 hp models, in addition to 1/4 hp and 1/2 hp utility pumps. Maytag battery back-up sump pumps are also featured.
Online News-Flint & Walling, Inc. Enters Agreement with Maytag Corp.
Online News-Armstrong Introduces 2-D and 3-D AutoCAD Images Online
Online News-UTILITY Names Three New Independent Agengies
Online News-Intuit Introduces 2005 QuickBooks Software for Small Businesses


Still awaiting pricing and independent reviews now.
The Nissan LEAF e+ is not yet available in the U.S. so ahead of a full review expected in April, Alex On Autos gathered the most important facts about the 62 kWh battery version of the Japanese flagship.
The informative presentation concerns changes (mainly battery, motor and charging power), as well as expected prices.
Deliveries in the U.S. should start in Spring 2019, or just a couple of months from now.
10 Comments on "Alex On Autos Checks Out Nissan LEAF e-Plus: Video"
Best reviewer in all of YouTube.
I am looking forward to Alex's April review on The Nissan Leaf e+. His hands on driving review should be able to answer all of those still yet to be unanswered questions ( $ cost for US, etc. ).
Having 8000 miles on my 2018 Leaf it's an interesting question (to me at least) how much more $$$ the 70 miles of range, marginally faster acceleration, and better charge rate I'd pay vs the 40kWh I got ($6000 under MSRP counting lease acceleration on my 2015 plus 0% interest)..
20kWh is a single 30 minute charge session saved, plus would make 200+ mile trips more doable as we Nissan drivers wait for the Chademo network to fill in in CA.
The acceleration is neither here nor there as for me 0 to 50 is all that matters for in-town driving and the 2018 is already a champ in this dept, as much as a FWD platform can be at any rate.
Faster charging is always good but hard to put a dollar value.
Best thing about paying extra for 60kWh is the useful lifetime down to 30kWh would be a much longer glide slope (in years and maybe shallower loss rate, too).
As a former Leaf owner, I share some of your sentiment. My 2015 was a great little car for the 3.5 years we owned it, and performed admirably when some nucklehead rear-ended her and totaled the Leaf. My daughter was driving at the time and walked away without a scratch, and for that I will always be thankful.
BUT, now that I drive a Model 3 it would be hard to return to a Leaf. Chademo seems doomed to third banana status and even if the standard makes it, Nissan's lack of TMS makes 100 kW+ charging speed unlikely. Combine that with capacity loss issues (our 2015 "Lizard" battery lost 10% after 35k miles), modest performance, and still having to deal with car dealerships and that more or less makes the decision for me.
Less than 1% of the population will ever be able to afford a Model S. Did you buy your daughter a replacement model S? IF you want a great family car get a LEAF or Bolt. if you want a great performance car get a Tesla.
MY wife just got a 2018 LEAF SL, every conceivable bell and whistle and factory option factory rep car for $26,000, only a few months old. It will last a lifetime. One of the most reliable cars ever made. Great car. The LEAF is what it is a great family car.
Excellent news for Nissan fans and families all over the world. One of the worlds most reliable cars will provide years of service. When you select your EV be sure to select one with at least twice the range of your daily commute so you will never run out of juice when you need the heat, AC or extra errands. ENJOY.


This week is forecasted to be the hottest yet this summer! With a high of 106 degrees yesterday and 108 degrees today, you are likely to shed a few bullets of sweat this week! If you want to beat the heat, try bringing the family to one of the Bryan-College Station pools to cool off. Don't forget to wear plenty of sunscreen!


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Where's the Data?
Broadcasting Minister Clare Curran last year shared her vision for RNZ+ as a non-commercial, audio-visual and multi-platform entity, with its services expanded to include a free-to-air non-commercial television service … progressively developed from Radio New Zealand. She likened this enhanced RNZ to the BBC or ABC.
Across the ditch last week the Chairman of the ABC Justin Milne unveiled the organisation's vision for the future at a public meeting in Sydney.
"We'll improve our content partnerships so that we can produce more and better Australian content," he said. "We plan to constantly increase our investment in Australian production to help ensure both a healthy Australian screen industry and to provide more and new stories for Australian audiences.
"We'll improve our commercial operations so that our content can be seen by more people all over the world and extra funds generated can be ploughed back into more Australian content.
"In tomorrow's media environment we can expect ongoing intensity from a number of huge international players. Australia has always been at risk of being culturally swamped by overseas media and I believe that risk has never been greater, so ensuring that the trusted and much loved voice of the ABC can continue to be heard has never been more important."
Milne described their plan of Investing in Audiences as a series of projects which will make the ABC better for audiences and better for staff, creating an initiative he called ABC 2.0.
"ABC 2.0 will use technology to transform the way we serve content to our audiences and it will change how our people operate, attracting the brightest creative and technical talent and making the ABC an even better place to work," he said.
As an integrated platform provider with TV, radio and digital offerings and a far larger budget, the ABC is at a significant advantage over RNZ. The $30 million that RNZ will get to transform into RNZ+ is not going to go far. Yet, RNZ is faced here with exactly the same challenges that the ABC faces: increased competition from international players and the pervasiveness of cultural colonialism from offshore.
Thankfully, Radio New Zealand is the voice of our country, long abrogated by TVNZ with its commercial imperative. And it's proving it. In the year to 18 November 2017, among all radio stations in New Zealand, RNZ National's station share of 11.3% makes it Number 1 nationwide (among people 10+). Its audience of 586,700 listeners makes it the Number 2 station for cumulative audience size nationwide behind The Edge It's this statistical data from GfK Radio Audience Measurements that tells RNZ how well it's doing.
It's the data and the knowledge that you can glean from it that is the Fort Knox in the new media realm.
Netflix makes its US$10 billion dollar and growing content budget decisions based on the detailed data they take from their subscribers, which provides a wealth of information well beyond surveys. And they don't reveal to anyone else what that data tells them, not even the programme makers whose content they screen. That's how valuable it is.
So where's the data on New Zealanders' viewing habits? Well firstly, its in the Nielsen ratings, which no matter how many times you are told is statistically valid, you still doubt the insights that the PeopleMeter panel of 600 households provide.
More relevant now though is the detailed data that the NZ online platforms are amassing: TVNZ OnDemand, ThreeNow, Prime Catch Up, the SVODs Neon, Lightbox, Quickflix, Amazon Prime, Netflix of course and others such as Fairfax Media, Stuff and Vice.
This detailed screen data is what RNZ+ needs to plot its course into the future and help ensure a healthy New Zealand screen industry. But it doesn't really have it now. Here's hoping somebody there comes up with a bright idea for them to get it, rather than leave it all with TVNZ and private players.
Data is the new power and having your own platform to mine it is the new game if you have the money and can get the audience. RNZ+ offers that opportunity, and NZ On Air and NZFC would do well to take heed of that. I think it would be a safe bet to say that the ABC has already got this in hand and I can't imagine it's gone unnoticed at Screen Australia.
You can read ABC Chairman Justin Milne's full speech here.
February 13, 2018 /by Tui
https://www.degnz.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/View_from_the_top_new.png 736 1280 Tui https://www.degnz.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/degnz_logo_home.png Tui2018-02-13 11:18:152018-07-06 15:52:44Where's the Data?


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The Brudenell Social Club has everything you want from a music venue: great atmosphere, excellent people and, due to its growing reputation, some of the most exciting acts around. In fact, The Brudenell has become not only one of the most popular venues in Leeds, but the entirety of Yorkshire itself.
Regular Events - Acts such as Johnny Marr, Noah & The Whale, Franz Ferdinand and The Cribs have all gone out of their way to make this buzzing hub of live music a stop on their tours. Not just an opportunity to catch some of the best artists in the industry, The Brudenell is also an excellent place to make friends in Leeds with exuberant, lively people who have the same tastes in music as you.
Address: 33 Queen's Rd, Leeds LS6 1NY
It Bar is an ideal venue for making friends in Leeds, whatever your taste in music or food! Set in cosy surroundings and with eccentric vibes, it's the perfect place to meet up, grab a bite to eat and sample an amazing array of soul-filled dishes and flagship food-creations. All of this with an eclectic mix of music, DJs, and live acoustic acts make for a pleasant and chilled atmosphere.
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text:
Mother of Florida shooting victim accosts President Trump on live TV
The emotional segment left a CNN anchor in tears
By Nicole Karlis
(CNN)
Lori Alhadeff, a grieving mother who lost her 14-year-old daughter Alyssa in the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school on Wednesday, delivered a powerful and heartbreaking message in a CNN interview. In a live segment, Alhadeff addressed President Donald Trump directly, asking, "How? How do we allow a gunman to come into our children's school?"
"There's no metal detectors," Alhadeff said via a live broadcast from Florida. "The gunman, a crazy person, just walks right into the school, knocks on the window of my child's door and starts shooting, shooting her and killing her," she continued.
She went on to respond to Trump's statement on Feb. 15 in which he failed to mention gun control laws.
"President Trump, you say what can you do?" she asked, distraught. "You can stop the guns from getting into these children's hands! Put metal detectors at every entrance to the schools. What can you do? You can do a lot! This is not fair to our families and our children go to school and have to get killed."
In a particularly heartbreaking moment, Alhadeff says she had spent the previous two hours "putting the burial arrangements for my daughter's funeral."
"Who is fourteen! Fourteen," she yells. "President Trump, please do something! Do something. action! We need it now! These kids need now!"
Understandably, CNN's anchor Brooke Baldwin began to cry after the mother's emotional speech.
The Florida Moms Demand Action chapter said they will keep pushing to pass a legislation that will keep guns out of children's hands.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. But thoughts and prayers aren't enough, which is why Moms Demand Action volunteers will not rest until we pass strong legislation to keep guns out the hands of people with dangerous intentions," said Kathryn Reeve, a volunteer for the Florida chapter. "We can and must demand our elected leaders do more to keep our communities safe from gun violence," Reeve continued.
Trump tweeted today that he was headed to Florida. The President claimed in the same tweet that he was "working with Congress on many fronts."
In Trump's remarks to the nation about the shooting, the president explained that he would be taking steps towards tackling the "difficult issue of mental health."
"We are committed to working with state and local leaders to help secure our schools and tackle the difficult issue of mental health," Trump said. "It is not enough to simply take actions that make us feel like we are making a difference. We must actually make that difference," he continued.
That response seems to imply that gun control laws will not be part of any governmental solution to the school shooting epidemic. Moreover, given Trump's aversion to universal health care, his ability to tackle American mental health care policy via the mechanisms of government seems questionable.
The shooting on Feb. 14 claimed the lives of 17 people and marked the 18th school shooting in the U.S. in 2018.
You can watch the heart-wrenching CNN segment here:
Nicole Karlis
Nicole Karlis is a senior writer at Salon. Tweet her @nicolekarlis.
MORE FROM Nicole Karlis
Gun Control Laws Lori Alhadeff Marjory Stoneman Douglas Mental Health Parkland Shooting Politics President Donald Trump


text:
Q: Encapsulating the returning of only some of that data from Hibernate query I have a POJO that maps to a row in a specific table. The row describes an image in some site and contains data like width, height, url, some sort of status and some more fields. In some legacy code I have a query (in hibernate) that returns the url and the status. This data is encapsulated in a class ImageStatusAndOrigFilename.
I think this is a bad idea because:

*

*What if tomorrow I need to query for some other fields? The name is too coupled to the data.

*In the past the only way to get the image width and height was to parse the url. Today we map the width and height in the db and thus I now need to get the image size and status (and I don't care anymore about the original file name). So I need to change this class but can't because it's being used in other places in the  code. I wish to get to something more generic that is not coupled to a specific scenario and can be extended when needed.

I'm trying to figure out which data structure to use. Should I use the original POJO that has all the fields but leave some of them null (I don't want to query all of the fields as I don't need all of them in this scenario). Should I create another POJO for this specific query (with a better name of course)?
Any other suggestions are surely welcome as well.
EDIT:
The POJO:
@Entity
@Table(name = "web_image")
public class WebImage {
   private long id;

   private Document document;

   private Integer mediaType;

   private Integer width;

   private Integer height;

   private Date creationDate;

   private Date modificationDate;

   private String origUrl;

   private ImageStatus status;

   @Id
   @GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.AUTO)
   @Column(name = "id")
   public Long getId() {
      return id;
   }

   @ManyToOne(fetch = FetchType.LAZY)
   @JoinColumn(name = "document_id")
   public Document getDocument() {
      return document;
   }

   public void setDocument(final OBDocument document) {
     this.document = document;
   }

   @Column(name = "width")
   public Integer getWidth() {
      return width;
   }

   public void setWidth(final Integer width) {
     this.width = width;
   }

   // Other getters and setters for the rest of the private fields
}

The query:

SELECT b.document_id , b.status , b.orig_file_id, a.min_id as id FROM web_image b,
      ( SELECT x.document_id, MAX(x.id) max_id, MIN(x.id) min_id
        FROM web_image x
        WHERE x.document_id in ( :docs ) GROUP BY x.document_id) a
      WHERE a.max_id = b.id

A: What about this:
@MappedSuperclass
public class ImageStatusAndOrigFilename {
...
}

@Entity
public class WebImage extends ImageStatusAndOrigFilename {
    ...
}

Now you have both classes, the old one is not an entity, but its clients don't know anything about it, and all fetching and persistings are on WebImage class, but you can query for ImageStatusAndOrigFilename.

A: If it is really necessary to avoid loading unused columns - and you would need to profile to determine if any saving is actually worth it - then a simple solution is simply to write a query using a JPA Contructor Expression.
JPQL:
http://docs.oracle.com/html/E24396_01/ejb3_langref.html#ejb3_langref_constructor
Criteria API:
http://docs.jboss.org/hibernate/entitymanager/3.5/reference/en/html/querycriteria.html#querycriteria-typedquery-multiselect
Problem with these is you need to add a constructor for each set of properties.
Hibernate specific option - no Constructors required:
See Transformers.aliasToBean:
Java - Hibernate criteria.setResultTransformer() initializes model fields with default values
For all of these options you can use some other DTO or use your existing Entity i.e. return an unmanaged instance.
Lazy Loading
You can also lazy load fields however that required byte code manipulation:
http://docs.jboss.org/hibernate/orm/3.3/reference/en/html/performance.html#performance-fetching-lazyproperties
Also note the comments:

Hibernate3 supports the lazy fetching of individual properties. This
  optimization technique is also known as fetch groups. Please note
  that this is mostly a marketing feature; optimizing row reads is much
  more important than optimization of column reads. However, only
  loading some properties of a class could be useful in extreme cases.


text:
Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath
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Before leaving South Bay, Fl we received an invitation from our friend George to make a visit before we headed farther north. We quickly accepted and looked forward to missing some of the regular sugar cane field burn offs, which had increasing come closer to the campground.
We had a good visit in Miami, with George preparing a great meal and inviting our old friends the Randall's and another couple which provided for lively dinner conversation. It was a very pleasant stay!
The day after our return from Miami, we headed to Wauchula, FL for a week in the Thousand Trails Resort on the Peace River. Since we have explored most of the area on our visit south in the fall, we have mainly relaxed and did some work around the motorhome. One thing we did not do on the previous visit was to hunt for fossilized shark teeth in the river. This part of the river is well known for these prehistoric artifacts. So today, we performed our first dig in the river. Keeping one eye out for the snakes and alligators, we proceeded to dig and shift thru likely looking areas based on the advice received from those in the park that have been successful. We, in fact, like many of the gold miners of the past, did find what we were looking for, but failed to find any really large specimens. But we can say that we have done it.
Today is our son in law Ryan's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RYAN!!
Currently we are camped at the South Bay County Campground on the south side of Lake Okeechobee near South Bay, FL. This is a very nice park with good sites and full hook ups and sits immediately behind the lake. Lake Okeechobee is the second largest lake wholly in the USA and world renowned for its fishing. The lake was once much larger, but like the Everglades, was cut back by man's need for land for agriculture and development. In 1928 a hurricane busted the existing dykes flooding the land and killing over 2000 people. The U S Army corps of Engineers built new and bigger barriers and an extensive flood control system that regulates the water levels to meet the demands of many, often conflicting, water needs.
We wanted to see the area and were not sure what to expect. The first surprise was the fact that this huge lake can only be seen from limited locations due to the huge dykes completely surrounding the lake. The lake is bounded by a series of canals and locks and the Intracoastal Waterway runs thru it.
The surrounding area was also a surprise. The major crop here is sugar cane and there are vast fields all around the lake and instead of military convoys occasionally seen on the interstates, here you can be trapped by large convoys of sugarcane vehicles. The poor condition of the towns surrounding the lake and the apparent poverty of the inhabitants was a shock. This was all the more apparent after spending weeks in the affluent area of Naples. As we drove thru the extremely depressing housing areas, we could not help but compare these sights to the places we observed in Belize and Honduras.
Even the tourist brochures seemed at a loss to come up with real attractions. We wanted to see the historic district of one town touted as a beautifully restored area. After driving around for twenty minutes, Anneke asked at the library about the described area and was told that it was the run down building in the immediate area.
Anneke had located via her research a real local's restaurant on the north side of the lake at a small marina and campground. We had a completely fried lunch of catfish, hushpuppies and fries. It was good!
Finally, we took a real side road in the cane fields to find Uncle Joe's campground and fish camp. This location was used in WWII as an internment camp for German prisoners and has been a campground/fish camp ever since. We also confirmed that our motorhome would not fit in there.
Our last excursion in the area was Shark Valley, a part of the Everglades National Park. This area is really about the alligators and other wildlife that can be seen close up by riding a tram around the 15 mile path, riding your bike or an all day hike. We opted for the bike ride. Before you get very far from the welcome center, you learn how close a look you can get. Some of the alligators are actually on the path. We learned from a ranger that there has been only one attack recently. That was when a biker had the poor judgment to lose control of the bike on the path and actually fell on the alligator, who in turn responded the only way it knew how.
The ride out to the observation tower, which is roughly at the halfway point from the parking area, allowed us to see lots of wildlife at a very close range. It was also a good workout and we were glad to reach the tower. In this area we found lots of additional wildlife and a great view over the everglades.
The ride back was with the wind at our back and we moved along smoothly. We once had to dodge a large snake moving quickly across the path. I apologize about not having a picture of this creature, but for some reason that did not come to mind quickly enough. As we neared the welcome center there was a good size alligator lying nearly on the road and as we passed by suddenly jumped up and started moving in our direction. Keeping the bike between me and it, I did manage to get a few good shots before I headed in one direction and it in another.
On the return trip, we did stop at the smallest post office in the USA which has been in continuous use since 1953 when the general store with post office in the area burned down. Now in addition to serving the local populace including a number of Seminole Indian villages, it also does a good business in selling post cards of the post office to tourists with the special postmark.
We moved to south of Naples, in part to be closer to the Everglades. This vast area of unique environment is less than half of its original size. It has been decimated by the land barons and government agencies that either failed to realize it's important to the ecosystem or just were overcome by greed. Based on recent actions of folks in leadership positions, you can make your own judgments. About 30 years ago, it was realized that the Everglades were essential to the survival of South Florida and finally action was taken to preserve what was left. The Everglades remain on life support today, but is holding steady. It is truly a special environment that should be seen firsthand.
We visited Everglades City and the town of Chockoloskee. These were among the first white settlements in the Everglades. In Chockoloskee, you can visit the first store that traded with the Seminole Indians. Tom Smallwood made a name for himself in this area conducting fair trade with the natives. Today it is part store and part museum to the local history. Here you can get the flavor of how it was here in the early years of white settlement. You read how the local citizens settled their own law enforcement concerns. It was found that a Mr. Watson, a successful cane farmer, was killing his local workers on pay day instead of paying them, so the locals called a meeting with him and promptly killed him.
The drive along highway 41 between Naples and Miami can be called Alligator alley and literally hundreds of the creatures can be seen in the waterways alongside the road. We also stopped at the Big Cypress Bend boardwalk to enjoy the walk among the Cypress Trees and see the local wildlife. Of course the visit would not be complete without a few alligators.