For many years, Beijer Industri has been co-operating with a large number of steelworks. The company can supply steel products such as heavy plate, thin plate, beams, wire and cold-formed profiles.
For further information, please contact Beijer Industri on info@beijerind.se or by telephoning +46 (0)40 35 83 00.
Beijer Industry is included in Beijer Tech, a group of specialised companies which collaborate in order to make the industries in the Nordic countries even more competitive. Beijer Tech represents some of the world's leading manufacturers and, through its subsidiaries, offers processed, customer-adapted solutions within the surface treatment, foundry, steelworks & smelters, fluid technology and industrial rubber product areas.


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By: Sophie Butcher 6th Mar 2021 4th Mar 2021
Featured, Festivals, Film, Reviewsaneil karia, ben whishaw, glasgow film festival, surge
GFF REVIEW: 'Surge' (2021) is an Uncomfortable But Liberating Experience
"Triggers your fight-or-flight response from the start, and then forces you to stew in it until the credits roll"
Joseph (Ben Whishaw) works in airport security. Every day, he puts on his tie, beckons passengers through the scanners, and goes home to sit in front of the telly with a microwave meal for one. Whether at work or striding through the streets of London, he is swallowed up by crowds – a single face smothered by the restraints of civility, barely keeping a lid on his more primal desires. Surge is a 105-minute rollercoaster ride depicting what happens when the lid blows off, as Joseph embarks on an adrenaline-fuelled episode of mania and liberation.
Sometimes the catharsis of a film comes not from plot or character, but from the sheer experience of having watched it. Like the Safdie brothers' Uncut Gems, Surge triggers your fight-or-flight response from the start, and then forces you to stew in it until the credits roll. Directed by Aneil Karia, the camerawork is claustrophobic and subjective, barely leaving Joseph's face or the back of his neck for a second. The handheld style and almost imperceptible cuts give the sense of long, endless takes, often feeling as though the events are unfurling in real time. The camera rocks violently as it runs with Joseph down the street, adding to the queasy desperation of the character it's tracking.
Whishaw is holding nothing back, committing wholeheartedly to Joseph's outbursts as well as pulling off the cowed physicality of his more sedate moments. He convincingly transitions from the reserved, polite manner of someone who blends into the background, to the erratic unpredictability of the guy you don't want to be stood next to on the train, limbs let loose across the screen in a role unlike any of his previous work. Joseph is the only substantially developed character, but Ellie Haddington and Ian Gelder are chilling as his equally odd and repressed parents, and Jasmine Jobson is also strong in her few scenes as his coworker Lily.
It's never specified in Surge whether Joseph has a disorder or mental illness contributing to his breakdown, or if he's simply been pushed over the edge by the endless mundanity of his life. This lack of clarity means some elements of his behaviour veer into the uncomfortable; he seems to emulate physical tics symptomatic of Tourette's syndrome, and his lack of social skills could imply something like autism or a personality disorder. These traits aren't disturbing in and of themselves, but the way they're presented in Joseph can feel like making a mockery or spectacle of mental illness, rather than exploring how one man lets his violent urges run riot. Take it as the latter, and Surge is an inspired, totally immersive piece of cinema – but interpret it as the former, and it could leave a distinctly sour taste in the mouth.
Director: Aneil Karia
Cast: Ben Whishaw, Ellie Haddington, Ian Gelder, Jasmine Jobson
Producers: Sophie Vickers, Julie Godzinskaya
Header image courtesy of Vertigo Releasing / Glasgow Film Festival
Posted by:Sophie Butcher
REVIEW: 'Hillbilly Elegy' (2020) Has an Underlying Authenticity
REVIEW: 'Come True' (2021) Will Certainly Polarise Viewers

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


New Moon and Transformers 3 Release Dates?
Meanwhile, Summit Entertainment has announced a November 20th 2009 release date for the Twilight sequel New Moon. Also scheduled to hit theaters on the same weekend are Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, the computer animated film Planet 51, and the Farrelly brothers' take on The Three Stooges.
I wouldn't be surprised to see one or two of those films move quickly from that release. Twilight had a huge impact on the release of Disney's Bolt. Both Planet 51 and the Three Stooges share the same demographic. The other thing of note is that Summit is basically pushing this film into production as soon as they possibly can so that they can make as much money off the franchise as possible. Lionsgate did the same thing with the SAW franchise, which suffered as a result.


Israel, Travel AdventuresAdventure, Haifa, Israel, Photography, travel, travel blog, weather15 Comments on What's Haifa (Israel) weather like?
The eighth installment of "This is Israel" is here! A space where I share with you what I have experienced during my past month in Israel. In addition to my normal travel blogs, I want to use this space to give you a glimpse of what my life in Israel is really like.


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Indian Summer, also known as Alive & Kicking, is a 1996 British drama film directed by Nancy Meckler and starring Jason Flemyng, Antony Sher and Bill Nighy. The script was written by Martin Sherman, author of the play Bent. The film was released in the UK as Indian Summer and in the United States as  Alive & Kicking due to the recently released Indian Summer by Mike Binder in 1993.

Plot
The story follows a self-involved and very focused dancer, Torino, who has just lost his lover, Ramon, to AIDS. He then refuses to let the fact that he is HIV positive disrupt his career as he rehearses a staging of Indian Summer, a gay-themed ballet about love and lust.

After Ramon's funeral, the dancer begins a troubled relationship with an older man, Jack, a therapist, who also has problems with controlling his own drinking.

Cast
 Jason Flemyng as  Tonio
 Antony Sher as Jack
 Bill Nighy as Tristan
 Diane Parish as Millie
 Dorothy Tutin as  Luna
 Anthony Higgins as  Ramon
 Philip Voss as Duncan
 Aiden Waters as Vincent
 Natalie Roles as Catherine
 Freddy Douglas as Luke
 Kenneth Tharp as Howard
 Michael Keegan-Dolan as Alan
 Ruth Lass as Night Nurse
 Linda Bassett as Doctor
 Hilary Reynolds as Nurse

Reception
The film's reviews were mixed. It holds a 83% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 6 reviews.

Timeout's review states "gritty British realism, resolutely unglamorous and looking always rather TV-bound," but the script, "is cogent and witty".

A DVD of the film was released in the UK on 6 September 2010.

References

External links

1996 films
1996 drama films
British LGBT-related films
British drama films
Gay-related films
HIV/AIDS in British films
1996 LGBT-related films
Film4 Productions films
1990s English-language films
1990s British films

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Ou E, Mulcare MR, Clark S, Sharma R. Implementation of Scribes in an Academic Emergency Department: The Resident Perspective. Journal of Graduate Medical Education. 2017 [in press].
Henriques V, Greene T, Sharma R. What is causing this patient's periumbilical pain and erythema? JAAPA. 2017;30(3):49-51.
Sharma R, Mulcare MR, Graetz R, Greenwald PW, Mustalish AC, Miluszusky B, Flomenbaum NE. Improving Front-End Flow in an Urban Academic Medical Center Emergency Department: The Emergency Department Discharge Facilitator Team. Journal of Urban Health. June 2013; 90(3): 406–411.
Ausmus J, Sharma, R. Diagnostic Imaging Review: A different kind of headache in a patient with migraines. JAAPA January 2012; 25(1): 63-64.
Chan GM, Sharma R, Price D, Hoffman RS, Nelson LS. Phentolamine Therapy for Cocaine-Associated Acute Coronary Syndrome (CAACS). J Med Toxicol 2006; 2(3):108-111.
Ou E, Mulcare MR, Clark S, Sharma R. Implementation of Scribes in an Academic Emergency Department: Resident Perspective [Abstract]. Acad Emerg Med 2017 [in press]. Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL, May 2017.


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Democrats Frustrated With Biden, Furious With Manchin
By Susan Milligan
President Joe Biden didn't mention the "Other Joe" by name when the higher-ranking Democrat announced plans Wednesday to take unilateral action to deal with climate change. But the underlying message was clear: Biden has had enough of Sen. Joe Manchin blocking his agenda on Capitol Hill.
"Since Congress is not acting, like it should, as president, I will use my executive power to combat climate change in the absence of congressional action," Biden said at an event in Somerset, Massachusetts, the site of a former coal-fired power plant. Initial plans include expanding offshore wind energy and helping communities deal now with the high heat and other impact of climate change.
The president may also declare a national emergency on climate change, though White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did not give a timeline for such a declaration.
Whether the president will be able to do much without congressional authority or approval by the courts is an ongoing question. But with the Democratic base furious with Manchin and frustrated with Biden for not doing more, the announcement Wednesday was a sign that Biden intends to kick things up a few notches – even if it doesn't end up with enduring policy changes.
"People around the country want to see action. They don't want to hear excuses," says Eric Schmeltzer, a Democratic strategist. While people understand that Manchin, a West Virginia lawmaker, has held up the president's initiatives along with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona Democrat, "they don't want to hear that as a reason nothing can be done," Schmeltzer adds.
In recent weeks, Biden has issued an executive order and taken executive branch actions to expand access to abortion where he can, given the Supreme Court decision allowing sates to severely restrict or ban the procedure. Thursday, the president will travel to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where he will expand on a recently signed law meant to address gun violence with some new proposals.
The climate announcement comes as much of the country – more than 100 million, Biden said Wednesday – is under a heat advisory, and Europe is grappling with record heat. It is "literally, not figuratively, a clear and present danger," and there's no time to wait, the president said.
But Biden's plans for climate change have been stymied by one of his party's own: Manchin, who teased fellow Democrats by negotiating – or appearing to negotiate – a bill that includes measures to combat climate change. Since the proposal was part of a budget reconciliation bill that could not be filibustered, it could be passed with a simple majority of the entire Democratic caucus and a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Kamala Harris.
But Manchin last week pulled out, saying he simply would not back any measure that included the climate change provisions. That enraged fellow Democrats, who said Manchin was not negotiating in good faith, and appalled environmental activists, who complained Manchin was inexplicably putting the planet at risk.
Manchin, a conservative Democrat from a deep red state, told reporters he was never stringing anyone along and that he was merely doing what he thought was best for his state and the federal budget. But the episode brought the Joe-vs.-Joe conflict to a head.
Biden needs Manchin, since it is the West Virginian's vote that made Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York the majority leader instead of the Senate minority leader. The president also worked with Manchin on a bipartisan infrastructure law, fueling hopes that there were ways for the two men's often clashing agendas to result in compromise.
But Manchin also must answer to his constituents, and his situation there is complex, says John Kilwein, a political science professor at West Virginia University.
"He has an incredibly narrow needle to thread, in terms of being able to get re-elected," Kilwein says. "He can't act like Chuck Schumer," but "he needs every vote he can get," including those of West Virginia's progressive and environmentalist population.
"He seems to be going out of his way to stick his finger in the eyes of the few progressives who live in West Virginia," which could give him problems when he seeks reelection or runs again for governor, Kilwein adds.
For Biden, the dance is tricky as well. The base of his party wants Biden to get tough with Manchin. But Biden has no carrot or stick to throw at the Mountain State lawmaker: The worst threat he could throw at Manchin is a pledge to campaign on his behalf in a state where 69% voted for Donald Trump in 2020.
Manchin's options on the Hill are limited as well. Threatening to jump to the other party if he doesn't get his way would likely have a temporary effect only, since Republicans surely would shop for a far more conservative candidate next time around. And if Democrats ousted Manchin in a primary – he's up again in 2024 – in favor of a more liberal contender, that Democrat would almost certainly lose the general election.
Biden on Wednesday called out the 50 GOP senators for refusing to entertain climate change legislation but did not mention Manchin. Nor did Gina McCarthy, the White House climate adviser who accompanied Biden on his Massachusetts trip.
"I do not know what Congress is anticipating now, or any one senator," McCarthy told reporters on Air Force One, after being asked if the White House would delay a declaration of emergency on climate change in hopes of getting the West Virginia senator's vote on the bill this fall.
Jean-Pierre also did not repeat Manchin's name when she was asked a similar question. It was almost as if the White House had cut the Other Joe out of the legislative equation.


Arriving just after 1 o'clock in the morning to Cairo, I was on cloud nine after seeing the Nile from miles above. Flying over one of the world's most ancient cities, my 12 hour layover seemed like a perfect idea… until I landed & got off the plane.
Plastered across every Pinterest travel board and wanderlust's bookmarked webpages are photos of glass igloos with Northern Lights painted above. Titled "The Most Unique Places in the World" and "101 Most Beautiful Places To Visit Before You Die," the glass igloos in Finland's Lapland have a lot to live up to. So is it worth it?
It's no secret that living in London means a terrible exchange rate & overpriced food. But, since being abroad I have a found a solution to any overpriced lunch: avocado toast. While many Insta famous fad followers get their fill on avocado in 50+ likes, my obsession with this delicious & healthy trend spans more than just social media….
I always thought it would be the most famous cities that would impact me most. While selfies with the Colosseum & Eiffel Tower have made for profile pictures galore though, it has been the the strolls through quiet cobblestone villages and foreign serenading that have truly stolen my heart.
There are cities you travel to with intention, and others you visit just to live.
Growing up, my jobs on Thanksgiving have remained fairly the same: set the table, watch the parade, and steal bites from every side dish before it was time to eat. This year however, was very different.
While the Crown Jewels may be tucked away in the Tower of London, one of the city's best hidden gems can be found just a few blocks from Leister Square station. Sandwiched between SOHO and Covent Gardens, Seven Dials is a hidden village of colliding streets, mixing cultures, and lots & lots of shopping.


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#TBT: The "NHL on FOX" Commercials
This summer, it will be 20 years ago that the FOX Network landed television right for the NHL.
The NHL's time on FOX included the "glow puck," animated robots, and some creative and odd commercials that really had that "FOX Attitude."
Here are some of those commercials:
Wayne Gretzky/Mark Messier: The Odd Couple
After his short stint in St. Louis, Gretzky signed with the New York Rangers and it would be the fourth and final team he would play with in his career before retiring in 1999.
It also reunited him with his former Edmonton teammate, Mark Messier, and it gave FOX a chance to do a parody of the 70s sitcom.
John Vanbiesbrouck/Florida Panthers: Leave it To Beezer
John Vanbiesbrouck was one the top goalies in the 90s. The Panthers made an amazing run in the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs before being swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the Final.
Again, we see a reach for nostalgia. There's nothing wrong with that. Compared to some car commercials that feature athletes these days, the acting was fine.
Bowling Would Be Better if it Were Hockey
We've all seen PBA action on ESPN when the worldwide leader needs to fill time on the weekends. If there was checking in bowling, you might see viewership go up slightly.
Mike Ricci (Colorado Avalanche): Dinner Party
START THE VIDEO AT 40 SECONDS
This is the type of commercial you would expect from FOX back in the 90s.
Mike Ricci of the Colorado Avalanche is at a dinner party, and a pastry is up for grabs between him and another guest at the table.
Looking for any advantage to grab the dessert, Ricci says "Oh Look! Midgets on horses, flying kites!"
It worked, but in a more politically correct world in 2015, that commercial would have interest groups demanding it be pulled.
Steve Thomas (New York Islanders): Skates
This had to be filler for the pregame show. It's as cheesy as cheesy could be. Give Thomas credit for going along with it.
The NHL's time with FOX ended after the 1998-1999 season. The network doesn't carry NHL games anymore, but we have the memory of these commercials.


A massive fire at a townhouse construction site on Cedar Hill Road on Sunday night scorched neighbouring buildings.
Builders should take responsibility for the security of their work sites to reduce the risk of hazards such as fire, a construction industry spokesman said Wednesday.
Greg Baynton, head of the Vancouver Island Construction Association, said security measures to discourage intruders, such as fences, lights, motion sensors or security guards, are all reasonable steps for builders to take.
Baynton said those measures are particularly important during the framing stage. That's when a building sits with bare wood in a well-ventilated space, prime for a fire.
He was speaking in the wake of a spectacular fire that ripped through a construction project in the 4000 block of Cedar Hill Road in Saanich on Sunday. The blaze burned so hot, it melted siding on houses across the street and damaged fire trucks.
Police and fire officials are investigating the blaze as suspicious.
At least 14 people, occupants of units in two completed buildings on the site that were damaged in the fire, have not been allowed to return home.
Sgt. Julie Fast, spokeswoman for Saanich police, said two units are too damaged to be inhabited. Until the other units are inspected and declared safe, their occupants will not be allowed to return.
Fast said an excavator was used to clear burned rubble on Wednesday, allowing investigators access to look for the cause of the fire.
The Saanich Fire Department blocked Cedar Hill Road near the fire site for several hours Wednesday morning to examine the site and take aerial photos.
When the fire erupted, the three-storey townhouse project had a roof but was otherwise at the framing stage. Bare wood sat exposed and fire-resistant materials such as drywall had not been installed.
Afterward, a Saanich building inspector told the Times Colonist that building codes are mostly silent on fire prevention during the frame-up stage of construction.
It's a safety issue recognized and discussed by regulators. But so far, none of the concerns have made their way into building codes.
As the construction industry adjusts to the provincial Wood First Act, it's an issue likely to become more acute in the coming years. The 2009 act allows wood-frame buildings to exceed four storeys.
Baynton agreed building codes don't deal much with fire prevention. But he was reluctant to call for more rules.
"We are already struggling with a great deal of red tape and the cost of affordable housing," he said.
"But if you take a number of reasonable steps, you can mitigate the risks quite a bit.


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Home/Adults/Seniors/Computers
Accessible Computers
Visiting Library Home Delivery
Georgina Public Library members can use computers for free at each of our three locations.
Visiting our Town? You can get a temporary visitor's pass to use our computers at a library Service Desk.
Check out our Public Access to Computers and Internet Policy.
Currently, patrons will only be allowed one session per day of 30 minutes on the public computers.
You may use one of our computers for a maximum of one 30 minute sessions per day. You can also print from our computers. Black & white printing is $0.25 per side and colour printing is $0.50 per side. If you wish to save your work, you may bring a USB Flash drive to do so.
Our library computers have:
Windows 10 with Microsoft Office Suite 2016: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher
Access to all Georgina Public Library's eResources
Children who are 0-15 years of age are welcome to use a computer without adult supervision only after their parent or legal guardian has read, signed, and returned a Computer Use Permission Form.
Read our Computer Use for Juveniles rules about computer access.
Teens who are 16 years of age and older are allowed on the computers, unsupervised.
Discovery Stations and Literacy Go! tablets (without internet access) are pre-loaded with children's literacy games, and are available at
Keswick, Peter Gzowski (Sutton), and Pefferlaw Branches for in-house use.
Launchpads (tablets loaded with learning activities and games) are available at all locations to borrow. You can also borrow a Launchpad for home use.
Children under 10 years of age
Children who are 0-10 years of age must be supervised by a parent or caregiver at all times while in the library, even if they have permission to be on the computers alone.
Free WiFi access is available at all three locations. All WiFi users must agree to our WiFi policy.


To have all the year available your favorite Summer Truffle; this jar encloses all the intense and unmistakable taste of fresh summer truffle. With the simple addition of water and a pinch of salt, to ensure the conservation of the precious tuber, will arrive on your table a product perfect to enrich with its flavour every dish. A true delicacy from the woods of the Marche, will bring "Le Marche" on tables all over the World.
The summer truffle, scientifically tuber aestivum vitt, is so called because it grows in the summer months, it is possible to find from May until December. It is also commonly known as Scorzone because of its rough and wrinkled crust. It grows mainly close to oak, holm and hazel.
General Information: Truffles are used to give a unique savour to every dish. How to use: The truffle is delicious to make appetizing sauces to be spread on toasted bread or made into shavings, to enhance a first course of pasta or a nice risotto. Truffle is ideal also for adding flavour to meat dishes, such as a nice cut of beef with truffle shavings, or to flavour cheese fondue.
Black summer truffle (Tuberaestivum Vitt) 70%, water, salt.
A rich and full of flavour main course: Egg Maccheroncini served with superbBlack Truffle Sauce, all sprinkled with a handful of Summer Truffle shavings.


Welcome to the Petone Rifle Club... now on facebook!
Petone Rifle Club Inc. was founded in 1890 and our home is at the Trentham Rifle Range in Upper Hutt, New Zealand.
Petone Rifle Club is based at Trentham and promotes the community benefits of target rifle shooting to all Hutt Valley and Wellington residents by providing a pathway for personal development and the opportunity to succeed at the highest level.
We are a friendly club of enthusiasts who enjoy the challenge of long range target shooting. We shoot on the Trentham Rifle Range from 300 yards to 1000 yards. We shoot outdoors from September to the end of April from the prone position (lying on the ground).
What is 'long range target rifle shooting'?
Full bore target shooting involves shooting a string of 7, 10 or 15 shots at a target from varying distances of up to 1000yds. There are two main types of shooting, target rifle (aperture or iron sights) or scope shooting (F Open or FTR class) - more details on our fullbore rifle shooting page.
Target Rifle Shooting is a very safe sport with stringent range rules and procedures for everyone's safety. It is a precision sport which involves hand eye coordination and the ability to read the conditions around you. Outdoor shooting involves analysing the range flags to determine the wind direction, speed and strength, reading the mirage and the topography of the range. Shooters learn self-discipline and decision making: you can not bring bullets back so you have to 'get it right' the first time.
We welcome visitors and by prior arrangement we can gladly arrange equipment for you. So come along and meet us and have a go! Find out more on the How to Start Shooting page and the FAQ page. Unfortunately we can't provide a facility for you to zero your hunting rifle.


How does audience-efficient real-time optimization work?
Audience-efficient real-time optimization uses machine learning technology to analyze consumer interests at the user-level and in real-time. The process occurs more quickly, efficiently and effectively than any human planning team could ever hope to replicate and produces highly detailed real-time insights into consumer behavior.
Want to target audiences more efficiently? Watch the video below to learn more!


Throughout the past few weeks I have been able to catch-up with some of the artists I have interviewed over the past year and ask them what their plans are for 2014, with some exciting results!
I am going to release another EP, hopefully in the near future. Would like to do some sort of tour, whether I support someone or do it myself. I also would like to get over to Nashville, and hopefully perform, record and do some writing! Among other things haha but for now.
2013 was such a wonderful year and I'm looking forward to what 2014 brings! I'll be continuing to tour, performing my own shows, along with singing with Blake Shelton during his tour. I will be releasing a single from my latest album early in the year (not quite sure yet what song) and really look forward to thanking my fans with new videos & fun promotions. Along with all of that, I will continue to obsess about food and eat whenever and whatever I can!
I have been demoing lots of brand new songs and next year I would love to record them and find a great producer and musicians to collaborate with. I would also love to play more festivals and shows and get to cities I haven't played yet. Another trip to Nashville is also definitely on the cards!
We're starting 2014 in one of the most fun ways we can think of, playing a bunch of shows in Steamboat Springs, Colorado for the Texas Music Festival! It's going to be crazy fun, so excited to be a part of it this year!


Most of us take our plumbing for granted – until it goes wrong. And when it does, it usually goes wrong when it's most inconvenient. The heating goes off in the middle of winter, the toilet blocks just when we have guests arriving and the leaks pour down on a Saturday night when the plumber is out of hours.
But there are ways you can prepare for the worst, apart from crossed fingers and a dose of "hope it never happens". These three essential checks give you some ideas. Also have the emergency plumber of a local plumber to hand.
Regular servicing, especially of your boiler, may prevent a cold snap overworking a worn-out system. So, it's good to get an annual check in the summer months, then there is plenty of time to sort out any problems before winter sets in. And if you schedule a regular boiler check it can save you money in the long term as the plumber will be able to make sure all is running efficiently. Additionally, of course, it can be dangerous to have a blocked boiler as then carbon monoxide – highly toxic but odourless and invisible can creep out into your room and even kill you.
Lag your pipes. Burst pipes can cause considerable damage and always happen just as the ice is melting, so it's cold and the plumbers are often run off their feet. Check the lagging on your pipes. Often the attic can be a cold place, unless you have excellent insulation, and the water freezes in pipes – expanding as it does so. The pipe cracks and once the ice melts water pours out, often manifesting itself through the ceiling. If you only do one thing – this is it!
It is probably worth having a check around to find any damp spots, mouldy corners or unpleasant smells. These may suggest a leak, of water or sewage. You need to call your local plumber in Romford to find the source of the leak and to prevent it damaging your property or your health. Mould can exacerbate allergies and asthma. You might find it useful to make out a checklist adjusted for your home or office.
Look at your radiators and determine whether they are dripping ever so slightly. And remember to check that they are warm all the way up. Otherwise they might need bleeding. However, this is easy to do. You just need a key to turn the knob – but have rag handy in case of spills!
And a dripping tap or a leaking toilet can waste a lot of water over time – and cost you money. It is worth finding and checking them early on, before they do too much damage.
So, service your boiler, make a general check-up and, most importantly – lag your pipes! These three essential checks will go a long way in ensuring you can relax in the warm comfort of your home. But make sure you also have the phone number of your plumber handy.


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Office of AccessAbility Services uses technology to enhance learning
Home Newsroom 2022 March Office of AccessAbility Services uses technology to enhance learning
Student Kaitlyn Bowyer listens to audiotext via the SensusAccess conversion tool.
Students with disabilities face a range of unique challenges in their quest for an education, much more than the usual challenges most college students face. They often lack mentors who understand their challenges. This is especially true with support for adequate reading and study skills, where often the best they get are student helpers assigned to take notes for them.
Eastern Connecticut State University's Office of AccessAbility Services (OAS) is answering the call with new technologies to help students with disabilities flourish and graduate on time. The new technologies are also available to help other students succeed in their studies.
"SensusAccess" is one of the main technology tools that OAS Director Brooks Scavone and her team are using to support students with disabilities. SensusAccess is a software tool that converts files into alternative formats.
"SensusAccess is available to the entire Eastern community," said Sandra Flores-Gonzales, OAS's interim assistant director. "Anyone who has an Eastern email, including alumni, can use it. This is part of a broader initiative to create awareness about digital and print accessibility on our campus. It is our hope that ultimately, all students can transform documents to reinforce their learning styles.
The "smartpen" by Aegir records lectures and enables writing on special dot matrix paper, which can then be listened to later as "pencasts."
"For example, a student may have an assigned reading in the form of a PDF. If that PDF is well designed and constructed, it can be transformed into an audiotext file that students can listen to using a third-party app like Natural Reader, which is free."
Scavone added, "What is most useful is to know that we are utilizing a variety of websites that offer resources that enable our office to fulfill technology-related accommodations, such as note-taking and audiotext book accommodations. For notetaking, students have an option of using a Smartpen that can record lectures while also recording their written notes. Students write their notes on special paper, which can then be organized afterwards."
Another option offered is "Sonocent," which also can record lectures while students type their notes. "Both record in real-time and both allow students to organize their digital files of notes in a way that reinforces their learning preference," said Flores-Gonzales. "For audiotext book requests, we use Bookshare.org, a website that allows us to assign audiobooks when it's in their inventory. If not, we go through other processes to acquire a digital book file and make it accessible in an audiotext format."
The office has also implemented a comprehensive platform system — Accommodate Symplicity — to manage its processes. Accommodate Simplicity also facilitates accommodation requests for students and faculty who can engage with the testing center as appropriate. Faculty also can request training on the portal.
"(SensusAccess) has helped me to convert my course reading materials into formats that fit my studying and learning style," said senior Taylor Wagner, a psychology major from Waterbury. "One thing I love is that I can convert pdfs of my course readings into an audio book or even into an eBook that I can upload onto my Kindle."
Cici Sechrist '23, a women's and gender studies major and president of the Diversability Club, said OAS has resources available not only for students with disabilities but for any student who is struggling with a heavy workload. One of those resources is the OAS Student Support Program (OASSSP).
"The (OASSSP) has student interns who are available to help you with different skills that can help during college, such as social skills, time management skills, study skills and more," said Sechrist. "They're always available if you'd like to have a conversation with them, and they are all very friendly."
Sonocent is a notetaking application that records audio and allows students to type their notes in real time.
Kaitlyn Bower '22, a senior from Salem majoring in social work, says she has definitely benefited from the technology-related services offered by OAS. "I receive audio textbooks and this accommodation really helped me be successful in my classes. I have a processing disorder so listening to audio books while reading course textbooks really helps me understand the material fully."
Kai-li Davey '23, an English major with a concentration in creative writing and a minor in psychology from Southbury, said she has benefited greatly from OAS's technology services over the past three years.
"As a first-year student, I mainly utilized the SmartPen in my history classes. It allowed me to review the information on my own time and to study for exams outside of class. The audiotexts allowed me the ability to process the information. This helped me greatly, as I am both a visual and auditory learner. If I had a question for my professors, the SmartPen allowed me to write down the information physically and listen to it through my computer. I would then connect with my professors individually if any questions about the material arose."
Scavone says the technology initiative "shows Eastern cares about the greater good and creating positive engagement experiences throughout our community for all students. Our office is promoting a campus culture of inclusivity and trying to create systems of support for the Eastern community to review, improve or remove possible barriers that impact our diverse student population, especially students with disabilities."
For more information about technology services offered by OAS, contact accessability@easternct.edu .
Written by Dwight Bachman
Categories: Student Services


The Dow Chemical Company is a diversified chemicals manufacturer with specialist expertise in the electronics, coatings, plastics, health and agricultural sciences fields and more. The company operates at 214 sites in 37 countries around the globe, employing over 52,000 people and netting nearly US$45 billion in sales turnover. A veteran reporter, Dow published a first Environmental Report back in 1997 at a time when reporters were true pioneers. The uniqueness of Dow's reporting is that not only is it written in accordance with the GRI guidelines, it's actually named after the GRI framework and called a "Global Reporting Initiative Report", following the flow of GRI disclosures and indicators point by point and question by question (with the addition of a "GRI Read me first" section which provides highlights of Dow's sustainability activities during past years).
Aside from the GRI's own reports, I don't recall seeing many others structured in this way. There are upsides and downsides to this approach. The upside is the absolute clarity and discipline with which the report is written, which adds much to its credibility. The downside is that Dow's overall predominant value contribution to global sustainability gets lost. Dow has apparently considered what issues are most material for the company and has translated these into Sustainability Goals to the year 2015, which, due to the structure of this report, are best reviewed as a group of goals on the Dow website. Exactly how these goals were developed, and whether they are the result of a structured materiality analysis, is unclear. In fairness however, Dow presents the most comprehensive set of quantified goals, described in plain language, that I have ever seen. They are grouped in three focus areas: Collaborate, Innovate and Elevate. The goals include: Local Protection of Human Health and the Environment, Contributing to Community Success, Product Safety Leadership, Sustainable Chemistry, Breakthroughs to World Challenges, Energy Efficiency and Conservation and Addressing Climate Change. I am just missing a goal related to the Dow workplace, but this is impressive nonetheless. However, in my view, what this report gains in credibility as a result of rigid tick-box style application of the GRI framework, it loses in terms of focus, resulting in a kind of fragmentation of the real Dow story. With an organization of this size, scope and diversity, the highlighting of some key material themes, with case studies and more in-depth exploration of impacts, would have brought a little life to this report.
This rigid structure, together with the impersonal nature of the report (only one photo of the Chairman and none of employees or any other stakeholders) made me think of comparing the Dow report to a chemistry experiment - sterile laboratory conditions, detailed lab notes, exact measures of all materials, a process conducted in perfect sequence and an output which delivers a predictable result. A CSR Report is, after all, not just a report. It is a story. A story of how PEOPLE are doing sustainable business. Even chemistry labs need people.
Dow appears to have integrated a sustainability mindset into its core business, with product development driven with sustainability aspects at the fore, such as solar solutions and photovoltaics, water solutions for sustainable drinking water, a system to reduce usage of solvents and much more. The company seems to be doing great at sustainability. Now it's time to put the chemistry set back in the box and take a broader view of how the company's reporting can serve a wider range of stakeholders and truly assist Dow in leveraging its core sustainability strengths and key material issues.
How do you measure sustainability ? I have been fortunate to gain a little preview of the input supporting the soon-to-be-released report offering answers to this very question. The report has been compiled by Ethical Corporation and is called "Social and economic impact: measurement, evaluation and reporting: A must-have guide for companies operating in emerging markets and vulnerable communities". This report promises to offer answers to many of the questions that most CSR practitioners and observers have been seeking. If only there were a way to capture all of a Company's sustainability impacts in a clear and consistent measurement methodology, we would all be much wiser, and probably, much more sustainable. The Ethical Corp report promises to include "a break-down and analysis of impact measurement methods, tools and processes currently available" based on insights from a survey of 116 CSR professionals worldwide, 30 in-depth interviews, a review of 60 Sustainability Reports and will include case studies from Henieken, Vodafone. SAB Miller, Tata, Unilever, Nike and more. There have been some spectacular impact assessments produced, such as Unilever's economic impacts in Indonesia, published in 2005 and further studies in South Africa and Vietnam. In fact, Unilever measure quite a lot, including their water footprint and more.
This focus on metrics and measurement is certainly welcome, as, beyond carbon footprinting and community giving, most companies haven't a clue as to how to calculate their sustainability impacts.
67% of the 116 survey respondents said their do measure their company's impacts.
73% of respondents said they measure impacts primarily for the purpose of communicating to stakeholders.
72% of respondents said they measure impacts as a way to build reputation.
The top three indicators that are measured by comanies include (1) economic impact on communities, (2) community impact and employee engagement in volunteering activities within the community and (3) job creation. Oops, only 9% measure gender equality.
There are many different measurement models out there, some more relevant than others, some partial, some more comprehensive, though there is very little consensus on metrics methodologies that can be perceived from Company disclosures in the current state of CSR and sustainability communications. However, I won't continue now. I will review this promising Ethical Corporation report when it is published and share more insights at that time.
In the meantime, what is YOUR company measuring ?
Many thanks to Professor Aneel Karnani of Michigan who has now responded to the myriad of comments, blog posts, commentaries, tweets and all other reactions to his article published in the Wall Street Journal of 23rd August. See the original article: The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility" here.
As the author of this article, I am grateful for the amount of interest and commentary it has attracted. The world faces many social problems such as climate change, resource depletion, disease epidemics, and pervasive poverty. While there are no easy solutions, a good starting point is a widespread public debate on the appropriate approach to tackling these challenges. A critical element of that debate focuses on the roles that business, government, and civil society should play in solving these problems. I hope my article has helped stimulate this debate by challenging some widely held views.
I strongly believe in social justice and that companies should not be left free to pursue the greatest possible profits without regard for social consequences. So, how can we get companies to act to increase social welfare? Whether companies will do so voluntarily or have to be compelled to take such actions depends on whether private profits and public interests are aligned or in conflict.
Many of my critics have pointed out that CSR can and does drive profitability. That is absolutely true when private profits and public interests are in harmony -- the invisible hand at work. That is exactly why the capitalistic system is so good. In these instances, firms driven by the profit motive will also achieve social objectives. Equivalently, firms acting to increase social welfare will simultaneously increase profits. In these cases, the profit motive is the driving force, even though companies might trumpet CSR.
However, the 'invisible hand' argument depends on markets being efficient. We must also be aware of the limitations of markets. Market failures occur due to three causes: externalities (such as pollution), asymmetric information (such as in pharmaceuticals), and market power (such as in electricity distribution). Many of the social problems confronting the world are linked to market failures. In these instances, private profits and public interests are fundamentally in conflict. CSR, a voluntary mechanism, will not be effective in these cases. Then it is the role of government and citizen activism to compel companies to act to achieve social objectives.
It is true, of course, that much government intervention has not been effective either. A practical challenge is to weigh the costs of market failure against those of government failure. However, there is a big difference between market failures and government failures. For example, the externality of pollution is inherent in the nature of gasoline cars. But, incompetence is not inherent in the nature of government, and the costs of government failure can be reduced with improved management. The challenge is to design and implement an effective blend of government regulation, citizen activism and self-regulation that strikes the right balance between private profits and public interests. Government regulation, or at least the threat of such regulation, is a critical element of this blend. It is very unlikely that large social problems linked to market failures will be solved only through voluntary CSR.
Finally, a red herring of an argument is to claim that the conflict between profits and social welfare is caused by companies being short-term oriented. The shareholders collectively want the managers of companies to maximize long-term profits, not short-term profits. In cases of market failure, long-term private profits and long-term public interests are in conflict. In practice, there is, of course, much uncertainty about the long-term impact on both profits and social welfare. But, that does not change the conceptual argument about the role of business in society.
When Prof. Karnani talks about " an effective blend of government regulation, citizen activism and self-regulation [of corporates]" , I think we share a common ground. Clearly, no-one believes that voluntary CSR alone can solve all the world's problems. But it is my firm belief that CSR AS WELL is a critical element in doing just that.
Thank you again to Professor Karnani. Whether or not we agree with his original article, his willingness to respond and engage is in the spirit of ... well ..... CSR . Haha.
I love first-time CSR reports. A first report is an opportunity to create a new slate, set up a foundation for future reporting, position the Company's sustainability message in the most appropriate way, and establish a presence amongst the leading companies in the world that value transparency. It is a blank page, which you can fill to describe your most important impacts. You can be creative, innovative and have a little fun at the same time.
Unfortunately, the production of a first report is usually fraught with so many first-time issues for a Company to address, that, wonderful as first reports are, they sometimes fall short of seizing the opportunity. Common issues with first reports are around the substance of data and information available to include, whether to disclose or not ever if the info is available, what sort of a report to write (GRI or not GRI and at what application level). Report format in print, PDF or online or a combination of all three. Reporting period. Structure. Scope. Style. Concept. Length. Summary report or not. Who approves the final version. Design issues. Print run. Many things to decide and not always easy decisions to make. Every first-time report provides a massive amount of learning for the reporting organization.
This leader in car production in India, the Indian subsidiary of Japanese Suzuki, has manufactured over 7 million cars since 1983 and in addition, has produced a very nice first Sustainability Report entitled "Give Get Grow", because, as they say, you have to GIVE in order to GET and to GROW. The report is nicely designed, clearly written, good on disclosure, includes a materiality matrix, a Japanese glossary of management terms and principles, GRI Index and verification statement. Despite quoting Mother Theresa for a little local flavor, this report reflects a decidedly Japanese culture. This is a male-dominated company with only 207 of the total 7,159 employees being women. It always makes me wonder when a company claims they do not discriminate, how it is that there are so few women. However, this is one of the better first reports around, both in terms of transparency and content.
Key learning: A great concept always adds credibility and interest to a CSR report.
This is a business services supplier based in the UK, employing around 1,000 people. The report follows what I call the Quadrant Model - workplace, marketplace, community and environment - and does a good job in covering core practices relating to corporate responsibility in each quadrant. It's layout is clear, language is readable and coverage comprehensive. However, it's a "good-corporate-citizen" report in the sense that it reports (well) what the Company is doing (well), covering off all bases in the basic model of "we are ethical". The Company explains its initiatives well, such as closed-loop paper recycliing - office paper supplied is returned and recycled, and re-supplied by the Company. Clearly the Company is earnest in its first base approach to Corporate Reponsibility.
Key learning: Method and system in reporting delivers good credibility.
Who is Edcoms? Not sure. The "report" says they are a "leading communications and research agency working for the private, public and third sectors". But don't expect to find any diclosures in this "report", which follows what I call the Marketing Brochure Model. It a nice round-up of what this company is doing in their education and leaning programmes. There appear to be two initiatives of value - a staff survey on what CSR means to them and a project to implement ISO 14,000, which at the time of publication they had not completed. Aside from this, there is plenty of opportunity to produce fuller reports in the future.However, I do think that, if it's not a CSR report, it should not be called a CSR report.
Key learning: Something is better than nothing - and even the most basic of reports can be a foundation for more in the future.
This report is called "Driving towards a sustainable future", a title which immediately made me think of a transport company, but Biogen is actually a "leader in the development of innovative therapies" for multiple sclerosis, lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis, employing 4,750 people. This first report follows what I call the 3P model - split into three main sections - business, environment and society. It's short, but demonstrates evidencce of strong progress on sustainability issues. The report includes a high-level materiality matrix, evidence of serious thinking about the company's impacts. Biogen has developed their own risk-weighted environmental index which shows improved performance since 2007, though the methodology in not transparent. Biogen also makes a Sustainability Award internally for the best efforts and positive impacts of employees - a nice program. Indeed, this short report contains much about employee workplace responsibilities and impacts which is quite impressive. The report was printed using certified wind power.Whoosh!
Key learning: If you have a strong CSR program in place, you can deliver a meaningful, short, report, covering key bases, without going the full stretch on transparency.
Tamro employs around 6,000 people in the pursuit of their mission which is to be a vital link in the healthcare system, as a pharmaceutical wholesaler and pharmacy operator. This is a report designed for web, not particularly interactive but with a good web structure. The PDF download is simply a copy of the web-pages, which doesn't work if you are just reading the PDF, but adequate if your first point of reference is the website.The hyperlinks also take you to the annual report for relevant sections. There is a glossary and a feedback section. The report follows what I call the 3P model - economic, environment and social responsibility sections. The report is excellent, including a materiality index, and a table showing prioritization of stakeholder interests based on structured feedback solicited from stakeholder groups. (Incidentally, compliance is the most important, and energy consumption the least important!) . The web site includes case studies in each of the resport sections, with a video from employees and also from the Managing Director of a customer company. I had to smile at one of the videos of a Tamro Customer Service Director who says : "When it comes to Tamro's weaknesses, Kaselaan cannot think of anything major." (As a woman in a business with no women on the Executive Team or Board, I would be able to think of something major haha) However, all in all, a very impressive web-based first report.
Key learning : A web-based first report can provide great possibilities for showing the faces of the company.
This is an Italian Food Group with 16,000 employees, bringing the Mediterranean diet to the world. This 2008 report, published in August 2010, follows a deep exercise in assessment of CSR strategy and core impacts, which took two years to complete and therefore delayed the timely publication of a first report. The report covers a systematic approach to stakeholder mapping, analysis, engagement in a transparent way and includes stakeholder recommendations and performance indicators adopted as a result. One of the most thorough treatments of stakeholder engagement you can find in a CSR report. The report also includes targets in each section to the year 2014 - clearly a long term approach. Actually, the PDF, not the web, works better for me in this report, which follows what I call a Materiality Model, structured around the prioritzation of material issues, taking in this case, nutrition as the first and supply chain as the second issue addressed in the report, followed by other topics such as environment, people, community etc. Each section is introduced with a philosophical and contextual commentary, which adds a personal touch to the report and also a certain charm.
Key learnings: Better late than never ! AND a great stakeholder mapping process.
So, to conclude, even the first- timers can teach us old-timers something. Considering the extra effort necessary to produce a first report, I say Bravo! to all these Companies. Support them by taking a look and giving them your feedback!
Actually, I planned this post to cover 20 first time reports but I found that doing justice to each is rather time-consuming and also, due to my August diet, I am suffering from a severe deficiency of Chunky Monkey. Still, as we can learn from Edcoms, 30% of something is better than 100% of nothing.
elaine cohen, CSR consultant, Sustainabilty Reporter, HR Professional, Ice Cream Addict. Contact me via www.twitter.com/elainecohen on Twitter or via my business website www.b-yond.biz/en (BeyondBusiness, CSR Consulting and Sustainability Reporting firm). Elaine is the author of CSR for HR: A necessary partnership for advancing reponsible business practices.
Your op ed in the Wall Street Journal was incomprehensible to most, saddening to many and ridiculous to several. It generated much comment.
I was wondering if you would be kind enough to publish a response to all these critics of your position. As a Professor in a respected business school, your voice has the potential to be of great influence.
I will publish your response, if you reply directly to me, otherwise I, and many others, would be happy to see your response on the WSJ or elsewhere.
Now that Aneel Karnani is famous, will he respond ?
"Can companies do well by doing good? Yes—sometimes. But the idea that companies have a responsibility to act in the public interest and will profit from doing so is fundamentally flawed. Large companies now routinely claim that they aren't in business just for the profits, that they're also intent on serving some larger social purpose."
"Irrelevant or ineffective, take your pick. But it's worse than that. The danger is that a focus on social responsibility will delay or discourage more-effective measures to enhance social welfare in those cases where profits and the public good are at odds. As society looks to companies to address these problems, the real solutions may be ignored."
"Still, the fact is that while companies sometimes can do well by doing good, more often they can't. Because in most cases, doing what's best for society means sacrificing profits."
"Executives are hired to maximize profits; that is their responsibility to their company's shareholders. Even if executives wanted to forgo some profit to benefit society, they could expect to lose their jobs if they tried—and be replaced by managers who would restore profit as the top priority."
"In the end, social responsibility is a financial calculation for executives, just like any other aspect of their business. The only sure way to influence corporate decision making is to impose an unacceptable cost—regulatory mandates, taxes, punitive fines, pubic embarrassment—on socially unacceptable behavior."
So, ok, stop, think. It amazes me actually how many business people actually think like this, that money is the sole thing that interests shareholders. It frightens me that a Michigan professor thinks like this. I doubt that any amount of rational retorts will change the mind of this CSR-dissenter, and I guess he is entitled to his opinion and I guess the Wall Street Journal is entitled to print it. For the record, the Wall Street journal is owned by the Dow Jones Company, who has both a Code of Conduct and a Corporate Environment and Safety section on its website, which includes voluntary contributions. Not a wholehearted leap into CSR practices and transparency, but a toe in the water.
The fact that regulation, taxes and fines will not comprehensively change corporate behaviour and never have done, should be clear enough to a Professor of Strategy, I would have thought. The fact that CSR is a financial calculation, just like any other aspect of the business, is not really in dispute - CSR should support delivery of stronger financial returns over time, and data shows this to be the case. The key flaw in this prof's argument is the trade-offs between short and long term. Many generally believe that shareholders want to maximinse SHORT-TERM profit at almost any expense (though there is a growing body of evidence that this is not the case) whilst CSR is by definition focused longer term. Yes, there is an element of sacrifcing short term profit for greater long term profit, which continues to be in shareholder real interests. Talk to Ray Anderson of Interface, Stuart Rose of Marks and Spencer, Jeff Immelt of GE and many others, and they confirm that CSR-type activities repay themselves many times over. How can a professor of STRATEGY be so hooked in the short-term vision box? Perhaps he is a professor of monthly strategy ?
The other core flaw in Dr Karnani's writing relates to the fact that the adoption of business of social policies will delay governments doing it themselves. Excuse me ? Is not the response by business to social and environment global issues required precisely because governments have not resolved these issues, and almost certainly never will. The essence of this argument pits businesses against governments and civil society, ie that each has a role and each should stay in their own corner, ne'er the twain shall meet. What we are seeing today as the concept of CSR matures, is the convergence of these roles, the fuzzying of these boundaries and the coming together of the complex interplay and multiple influences in which law influences business, business influence law, and both are influenced by effective NGO activism. In fact, I have just read an outstanding book (my review to be published soon on www.CSRwire.com) called The New Corporate Accountability - Corporate Responsibility and the Law in which these issues are discussed intelligently and cohesively. I recommend this book to Dr. Karnani. The more we try to keep business in splendid isolation to make as much money as possible, governments in splendid impotence to prescribe social and environmental regulations and NGO's in splendid righteousness, accusing and condemning, our planet will not be sustainable. CSR is much more than a business strategy, it is a convergence strategy of partnership within and across sectors, and across narrow-minded artificial boundaries.
The good news is that the arguments of short-termists are good only as long as their thinking lasts. Fortunately for us, and the world, in the case of Dr Karnani, this is about a month. Then we can get back to doing the business in a way which benefits people and environment, in other words, we can revert to the case for CSR.
Now, you might find some of these a little surprising, as I did, so I thought I would do a little check of my own. I analysed 12 CSR recently published CSR reports (listed on CorporateRegister.com) for a selection of 39 keywords, including the 10 that the BCLC selected. With interesting results.
Clearly the environmental agenda is dominating CSR report content, though employees and customers, and, pleasingly, impact, are up there with the waste, water and emissions.
Most of the top ten words the BCLC selected rank jut nowhere in twelve 2010 published reports, appearing less than 50 times each in a total of 1054 keywords per report on average. Wonder how the BCLC made their selection.
My analysis yielded some disappointments : "women" appeared only 161 times (rank 23) and materiality appeared only 61 times (rank 31) and "leadership appeared only 152 times (rank 24). Stakeholders were mentioned only 366 times, less than 3% of the overall total keyword usage.
The top 25% (10) words account for 61% of all mentions of the 39 keywords. That's kind of Pareto-ish, right ?
Two reports had no mention of "dialogue", 6 reports had no mention of "materiality" and one report had no mention of "customers"
But apart from a little fun in crunching the numbers, what does this tell us about the status of sustainability reporting? Can the focus of the organization be correlated to the frequency of keywords used? Can we tell from an organization such as The Cooperative Group, whose top 5 keywords are sustainability, customer, employees, community and diversity, that they are more social-centric in their approach to CSR versus Ball Corporation whose top keywords are enviro-centric sustainability, energy, employees, water and recycle ? What about the approach to sustainability of BAE Systems who is the only one of the 12 companies who has "leadership" in the top 5 keywords? or Provident Financial, where the keyword "customer" accounted for 32% of this Company's keyword usage, more than any other report of those analysed ? And what does it tell us that Kinross used the keyword community for 16% of its total keyword usage, double that of any other report?
So maybe there's a case for keyword analysis of CSR reports, which reveals more about where the Company is placing its focus than the actual commentary? Of course, my analysis is a little rough and ready and relies on a consistency of language which is not always available - many companies refer to employees as colleagues, associates, team members or other such encouraging terms, so a search for employees might not reveal the true picture. But, on the whole, maybe CSR reporting keywords are a predictor of a Company's CSR mindset.
Our award for best practices in biodiversity, relies on our DNA and core competencies related to the management of carbon emissions, energy, waste and water, which we recycle, in order to provide value add for customers, whom we engage in dialogue about the climate and the environment, because they are stakeholders, and we target to get their feedback, which is in line with our governance and ethics principles, and our desire to be a green company with high impact and leverage in matters of high materiality, in order to mitigate risk and offset high consumption, so that our community can benefit from greater diversity, and sustainability, and our employees can volunteer in philanthropy activities in partnership with our leadership, which is composed mainly of WOMEN, because we value accountability.
Now, personality is a complex thing. So are CSR reports. But there is no getting away from it, CSR reports have a personality all of their own. They have a look, style, tone, and a set of specific traits that make up their personality. In psychology (not that I know too much about that, but the internet is a wonderful thing) there are apparently FIVE BIG PERSONALITY TRAITS or dimensions of personality which characterize human behaviour. Now, with a small stretch of the imagination, these characteristics can also apply to CSR reports. See the traits and the correspondingly traitful reports in the list below.
Openness : (inventive / curious). Appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, curiosity, and variety of experience.
Take a look at this first report from Jain Irrigation Systems entitled Prosperity for Posterity (what a wonderful report title!) - it's a delightful first report demonstrating openness of thinking, great creativity, wonderful artwork and quality reporting. This report from WPP also comes in nicely with an openness personality trait - including great testimonials from a wide range of people, super artwork, and a great pro-bono showcase.
Conscientiousness : (efficient / organized). A tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement; planned rather than spontaneous behavior.
I think this report from Kesko is one of the most conscientious efforts around. It's high quality, very comprehensive and transparent, and demonstrates absolute detail in planning, acting and reporting on CSR.
Extraversion : (outgoing / energetic). Energy, positive emotions, surgency, and the tendency to seek stimulation in the company of others.
Top candidate for this personality trait is of course the SAP 2009 online report. It certainly seeks stimilation in the form of interactive feedback requests on every page.
Agreeableness: (friendly / compassionate). A tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic towards others.
I would put the nice, creative report from Softchoice in this trait category. The report offers good advice on things to do and things to avoid from this IT solutions provider.
Neuroticism : (sensitive / nervous ). A tendency to experience unpleasant emotions easily, such as anger, anxiety, depression, or vulnerability.
Hmm, I had a little trouble finding a CSR report with a neurotic personality trait. Perhaps the closest I could get is the British American Tobacco Report for 2009, where the home page includes questions such as : "Who would want to work for a tobacco company anyway ? "
Alongside the very worthwhile Sustainability Initiatives study benchmarking of 100 top-notch Companies and what they are doing to save the planet and us, Sustainable Life Media also released at the end of last month another fascinating report entitled: "Exporting Textiles: March to Sustainability. Preview of the coming decade: Textile Supply chain Sustainability Plans by Brands and Retailers." And as if that title weren't long enough, it has a subtitle: "Getting Manufacturers to Create Business Value through GHG (Energy), Water and Waste Conservation". The report was produced by cKinetics, and supported by SLM and Nitra. Anyway, now we know what it's all about, let's take a look.
We start off with a bit of context taken from the intro-page: "The 1990s was about the march towards manufacturing quality as the textile industry worldwide raced to adopt lean manufacturing and ISO driven quality practices. The 2000s were about ensuring ethical sourcing and labour practices. The coming decade is going to be about sustainability and optimally using natural resources to generate value in the textile supply chain. This report previews activities already underway that are harbingers of this coming movement." The report examines aspects of sustainability which concern the textile supply chain from the raw material (natural fiber or man made fiber) to the point that it is converted to finished product. The focus in the report is primarily on energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, water and chemcial footprints and logistics. This is important as, the report says, the textile industry is the number one fresh water polluter on the planet, and is high in carbon intensity. In India, for example, 10% of the country's energy is consumed by the textile industry. 10% . Think about that for a minute................ OK. Stop. Move on.
The report provides detailed profiles of brands and their supply chain sustainability initiatives of 19 leading textile sector companies. Those that have programs under way are: Adidas, Carrefour, Gap Inc, H&M, Ikea, Levi Strauss, Marks and Spencer, Nike, Otto, Walmart, Continental Clothing. Those companies whose (supply chain environmentl) initiatives are at the planning stage are: Phillips-van-Heusen, Timberland, Inditex, Grupo Cortefiel, John Lewis Partnership, Primark, Lindex and Tesco. None of the Companies studies are in the unfortunate position of not having anything in progress or in the pipeline, which is a good thing, I suppose.
* Sustainability intiatives relative to the Company's suppliers.
Some Company reports are highly detailed, with some, such as Primark and Lindex, did not fill a page.
In addition, the report summarizes the provisions of the key standards and certifications for sustainability (environmental) initiatives in the textile supply chain and ends up with some predictions. The report's key conclusion is that "evidence pointing to a new wave of sustainability is quite clear". The report predicts that (environmental) sustainability intiatives in the textile supply chain will be adopted by all major players, and will become a differentiating factor in supplier selection.
First, the word "traceability" will necessarily be on the lips of every manufacturer sourcing textiles and suppliers will need to be able to operate systems which give total supply chain transparency and accountability.
Second, manufacturers will need to change their own internal procedures. It will not be enough to require suppliers to be more environmentally friendly. Manufacturers will need to review the way they manage consumer demand and production planning which in turn affects the way suppliers can respond, and impacts the production, waste and logistics activities. Whether or not the 18 companies benchmarked will succumb to the pressures of slow fashion remains to be seen, but even if they continue fast fast fast fashion, they will have to start doing it a little differently to generate greater total supply chain effiiencies.
Third, as a result of all these brilliant supply chain efficiencies, manufacturers will pay their suppliers a fair wage and also share their supply chain savings with consumers, and we will all be able to afford a new wardrobe about six times a year. Oops. You don't believe that, do you ? Just kidding. :) Only 5 times a year.
The big advantage of this report is the ability to review 19 of the top players in the sector side by side and gain an overall insight into what is driving environmental sustainability initatives in this sector. The textile sector is fascinating and contains many lessons for different industries. The challenges of environmental sustainability in the massively complex textile supply chains are incredible. This report is a useful addition to our body of knowledge and hopefully will serve to accelerate progress.
By the way, most of the data provided in this report was sourced from Corporate Responsibility Reports. YEAH! I told you CSR reports were good for something!
Random selection of recently published CSR / Sustainability Reports and my totally frank opinion. Hah!
One Liner: Very impressive report indeed, reflecting impressive performance.
Talk about responsiblity. The BBC says their audience reaches 233 million people EACH WEEK. That's some responsibility. What does the BBC see as its role in creating news and entertainment which makes the world a better place ? After brief intro by CEO Mark Thompson, the bulk of this report works through 6 core sustainability themes ("public purposes") (divergent) before giving the low-down on the business's direct impacts (convergent). The key themes are : sustaining civil society, promoting education, stimulating learning and cultural excellence, presenting the UK, bringing the UK to the world and vice versa, supporting emerging communications. This is quite an impressive list showing the overall value a broadcasting company can add to society. In each section, the BBC describes a range of initiatives and in most cases, includes quantitative data showing the impact of each program. Equally, enviromnental measures are reported clearly (and all, incidentally show improved performance in this reporting year). Key disappointment: the BBC employs 17,000 people and they barely get a mention in this report - aspects of the BBC as a responsible employer seem to be outside the scope of this report which is an omission, in my view. NB: The Assurance statement from "The Virtuous Circle" is one of the best I have seen.
Cummins is an industrial engineering firm with turnover of around $10 billion, employing 36,000 people in 51 countries (with an expectation of 30% increase in employee numbers over the next 3 years. This report is called "Meeting the challenges of global sustainability" The company's vision is "Making people's lives better by unleashing the Power of Cummins" and this report is a testimony to a powerful approach to social responsibility where the philosophy, the activities and the data are throroughly presented. The report is presented "in the spirit" of the Global Reporting Intiiative, though exactly what that means is unclear to me. The report has five main sections (environment, governance, corporate responsibility (society), employees and finance), each one followed by a case study of Cummin's community partnerships and activities. These include the flagship Earth University designed to create ethical agricultural engineers, a college of engineering for women in India, and another project in India where Cummins developed a way to power a rural village of 65 households by using Cummins generators running on a locally available renewable energy source – non-edible vegetable oil produced from the seeds of Pongamia trees. Amazing! The report is nicely padded with case studies, quotations from a range of Cummins' employees and snippets of context, such as the following background to the Cummins decision to ban cell phones while driving: "Nearly 80 percent of all crashes in the United States involve some form of driver distraction within three seconds of impact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration." Another interesting aspect of this report is the description of the Six Sigma system which Cummins reports has saved them over $3 billion in 10 years. A nicely transparent report which, if a little long, is truly worth the read. Inspiring progress!
Mauser, headquartered in Germany, is a provider of industrial packing solutions, selling over 1 Billion Euros worth of solutions to the chemical, lubricant, pharma and other sectors, and employing 4,000 people. Mauser calls sustainability a "key business driver" and it is part of their new vision formulated in 2009. What is nice about this is clearly this company has come to the realization that sustainability is strategic and represents a different way of doing business. More importantly, a key element of this is "strengthening their HR department" As my regular followers will know, this is a point on which I have a lot to say and regrettably Mauser don't elaborate on what they are doing with their HR Managers to equip them to address this new direction. Mauser do confirm that they have conducted a stakeholder analysis, and consulted with stakeholders but none of this is disclosed though promised for further reports. As a minimum, in this first report, a list of key stakeholders would have been advisable. Mauser has made progress in mapping out its key environmental impacts and establishing directions for the future (though not targets). Key areas of impact are use of post-consumer resin in the manufacturing process and the development of Life-Cycle Anaylses for total product impact evaluation and reduction. This report is in my view a little lightweight for a GRI B report, but it is a good start and time will tell as to how Mauser deliver on their promises to expand, develop and report annually in the future.
Who should you thank in a CSR Report?
* The CSR Reporting Manager ?
Who are the best thankers?
Thank (you) appears 6 times in the EasyJet Annual Report and Accounts (integrated CSR report) for 2009. Twice for retiring Board Members, once for the CEO, once for everyone who helped produce the report (by name) and a nice thank you to Easy Jet pilots (page 16) : We have outstanding people, including our front line cabin crew and pilots who are highly trained and professional. They all make a crucial contribution to our success and help to create an easyJet personality which is an important competitive advantage. I would like to thank them all for helping to deliver such a resilient performance in very difficult economic circumstances.
Thank (you) appears twice in the Verizon 2009/2010 Sustainability Report - actually it's the same thank you to all employees from the Chairman and CEO which appears once in his opening remarks and once again, highlighted, at the end of the report. That's good enough for me. Twice.
Thank (you) appears once in the GoLite 2009 first sustainability report, and this is addressed to readers who are apparently as passionate about sustainability as the GoLite company is .
Thank (you) appears once in the Zeon Corporation Report 2009 of Japan. Again addressed to report readers as it does in the Union Pacific Report for 2009.
Thank (you) appears once in the Bacardi Report for 2009, thanking readers in anticipation of their feedback.
Thank (you) does not appear at all in the Barilla 2008 CSR report (published August 2010) though there are 9 instances of the phrase thanks to .. thanks to the collaboration of, thanks to the team of ... but thanks to is not thank you. So I don't count it. Tough, aren't I ?
Thank (you) does not appear at all in the Cooperative Group Sustainability Report for 2009, nor in the National Bank of Abu Dhabi's first report for 2009, nor in Vodafone's Report for the year to March 2010, nor in Dong Energy's report for 2009, nor in AEP's 2009 Corporate Accountability Report, nor in P&G's 2009 report. Intel's 2009 Report doesn't thank anyone directly either, though it does refer to employee programs in which employees are thanked for every day performance.
Actually, this surprises me. After I have worked on a report with a client, I feel soooo grateful to all those who have helped put it together, that it seems obvious that thanks are in order. Putting thanks in print is a positive thing to do - everyone like their efforts to be appreciated even if it is not individually by name. Thanking them in some other way (nice letter, box of chocs, bunch of flowers, life-time supply of ChunkyMonkey) are good too, but do not replace the impact of public recognition. Let's remember that it's people who run companies and people who write reports. Well done to EasyJet and Verizon for being the winners in my brief random analysis.
There are so many reports on CSR and Sustainability published by so many different people, companies and groups that it is hard to keep up with all of them. I find myself having to skim many of them, and even that's usually not before around 2 in the morning. Many offer minimal net additional value to the wealth of words and numbers reaching my screen. So when a report is produced that makes me stop everything and study deeply, I am thankful because it means I am learning something new and important that contributes to my knowedge and thinking about sustainability, and that makes me a better consultant, a better CSR blogger and a more critical and contributing member of the professional CSR community. This was my experience with the new Sustainability Initiatives 2009 Report from SLM Insights, a division of Sustainable Life Media, and Zumer.com. An Exec Sum can be downloaded here.
(leading initiatives here are transparency of political contributions, anti-corruption and CEO compensation).
What is also interesting in this report is the feedback from 1,700 consumers surveyed. In each of the consumer goods sectors, consumers were asked what is important to them, data that can be contrasted with wthere the sector is actually focussing its efforts. In the Personal Household Goods sector, for example, energy efficiency is of most interest to consumers (42%) whereas the sector focuses 17% of its efforts in this area, with GHG reduction and material use being prominent iniatives. In the consumer electronics sector, consumers are most intersted in recycled materials used in product manufacture (48%) rather than the level of GHG emissions. Overall this report shows there is "significant discord between industry activity and consumer demand". A stark contrast reported in this context is that Companies see community giving as an integral part of their sustainability program whereas consumers see corporate philanthropy as "old fashioned" , rarely affecting their purchasing decision. These are most interesting insights which could assist compaines in considering how their sustainability efforts address consumer concerns, rather than more generic sustainability considerations, for added consumer engagement.
Consumers only prioritize GHG emissions reductions in categories where there is a direct, visible output, for example in the automitive sector, where fuel efficiency was mentioned by 81% of consumers and GHG Emissions levels by a further 16%. In the clothing and apparel sector, for example, GHG emissions were not mentioned by consumers.
Few companies view sustainability as a core part of their global strategy; most still view sustainability policy as a means to mitigate risk and achieve operational efficiencies.
This means that CSR and sustainability is still at the level of short-term project-focused thinking and less at the level of creating true long term triple bottom line value - but more about this in my editorial for CSRwire.com which will be published later this month.
I have lots more to say about the implications and insights this report raises and hope to find time to blog more with specific insights in coming days/weeks. In the meantime, these headlines should serve to give you an an appreciation for the richness of this study.


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Students Share Their Coronavirus Diaries: 'I'm Really Missing School' (Video)
By Sarah Schwartz — May 19, 2020 1 min read
The coronavirus pandemic has reshaped the lives of school-aged children across the country. Some are keeping a record of what it was like to live through it.
In the early days of school shutdowns, a number of teachers asked their students to start daily journals—writing down the specifics of their days at home and their feelings about this new reality.
Education Week Video asked two groups of students who had been given this assignment—a 5th grade class in Springboro, Ohio, and a 7th grade class in Summerville, S.C.—to record themselves reading some of their entries.
The journals highlight the strangeness of the past few months.
Life in quarantine isn't all bad: Students write about getting to sleep in, or rollerblading around the neighborhood on beautiful sunny days. But there are also missed milestones and celebrations, and extra precautions taken as family members have to continue working.
"I really miss being in school. Which is weird to hear a kid say, who's in school," Kaylie Tonzola, a 7th grader in Summerville, S.C., wrote in one entry.
Emily Richley, the 5th grade teacher in Ohio, started the project in her class as a way to document a historic moment. But it's turned into a way for students to process their emotions, too.
"I think that keeping this community and family feeling of a classroom is important, because they are scared," Richley told Education Week last month.
The journals are also a way to stay connected to students, and make sure they're safe and healthy, said Pren Woods, the 7th grade teacher in South Carolina.
"When a kid says, 'My mom doesn't have a job and there are four of us, and she's alone and I'm worried.' That's somebody I want to pick up the phone and call, and somebody's mom I want to email," he said.


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Vardan Mamikonian (;  – 451) was an Armenian military leader who led a rebellion against Sasanian Iran in 450–451. He was the head of the Mamikonian noble family and holder of the hereditary title of , the supreme commander of the Armenian armed forces. Vardan and most of his comrades died at the Battle of Avarayr in 451, but their sacrifice was immortalized in the works of the Armenian historians Yeghishe and Ghazar Parpetsi. He is regarded as a national hero among Armenians and venerated as a martyr and a saint of the Armenian Church. Vardan and the rebellion he led are commemorated in numerous works of art and literature. According to Arshag Chobanian, "To the Armenian nation, Vartan [...] is the most beloved figure, the most sacred in their history, the symbolical hero who typifies the national spirit."

Biography
Vardan Mamikonian was born in approximately 387 in the settlement of Ashtishat in the Taron region to Hamazasp Mamikonian and Sahakanoysh, daughter of Patriarch Sahak of Armenia. He had two younger brothers, Hamazasp and Hmayeak. He was educated in Vagharshapat at the school founded by Patriarch Sahak and Mesrop Mashtots. After the death of his father, he became the head of the Mamikonian noble family. In 420, he went to Constantinople with Mesrop Mashtots and was appointed stratelates (general) of Byzantine Armenia by Theodosius II. In 422, he returned to Vagharshapat, then went to Ctesiphon, where Sasanian king Bahram V recognized him as  of the Kingdom of Armenia; the office of , the supreme commander of the Armenian armed forces, was held hereditarily by the Mamikonian family. Vardan retained this title after the abolition of the Kingdom of Armenia in 428.

Conditions worsened in Sasanian Armenia with the accession of Yazdegerd II in 439. At first, Yazdegerd and his officials imposed heavier taxes and obligations on Armenia and its nobility, but did not yet openly move against the Armenian Church. In 442, Yazdegerd sent the Armenian cavalry commanded by Vardan east to fight the Huns. In 449, the Sasanian king issued an edict officially imposing Zoroastrianism on Armenia. That same year, the Armenian elite gathered at Artaxata under the presidency of marzpan Vasak Siwni, Vardan, the bidaxsh of the Iberia March, and the acting Catholicos of Armenia to declare their loyalty to the Sasanian state and their Christian faith. Yazdegerd did not accept this decision and summoned the Armenian magnates () to Ctesiphon and forced them to convert to Zoroastrianism. Yazdegerd released most of the nobles after an unexpected attack from the east and sent magi to convert Armenia.

Upon their return to Armenia, Vardan and most of the Armenian nobles repudiated their conversion, although Yeghishe and Ghazar Parpetsi give conflicting accounts of Vardan's initial apostasy and the origins of the Armenian rebellion that broke out in 450. Vardan may have initially intended to retire into exile, but soon emerged as the leader the popular rebellion against the imposition of Zoroastrianism. Vardan and his allies made a solemn oath and captured a number of fortresses and settlements. Vardan's forces won a major victory over the Persians in the summer of 450 and secured an alliance with the northern Huns; however, an embassy to Byzantium asking for aid was unsuccessful. Vardan was opposed by a significant pro-Persian party of Armenian nobles, and marzpan Vasak Siwni refused to follow him out of Armenia to meet the Persians in battle.

In the summer of 451, a large Sasanian army including the elite cavalry corps of the Immortals and war elephants marched against the Armenian rebels. Vardan's army battled with the Persians at Avarayr near Maku on June 2. The supporters of Vasak Siwni deserted during the battle and Vardan's forces were defeated, with Vardan and most of the Armenian nobility dying in the fighting. The aftermath of the Battle of Avarayr is not completely clear, but it appears that Yazdegerd, alarmed by the Persian losses, withdrew his troops and imprisoned Vasak Siwni. Vardan's surviving supporters were imprisoned in Iran, although many of them were eventually released in the following years. In 481, a new rebellion manifested under the leadership of Vardan's nephew, Vahan Mamikonian, which succeeded in securing recognition of Armenian religious rights and autonomy with the Treaty of Nvarsak in 484.

Family
Vardan Mamikonian was the father of Vardeni Mamikonian, known Shushanik, born around 439 AD. Shushanik married Varsken, a prominent Mihranid feudal lord (pitiakhsh). When Varsken took a pro-Persian position renouncing Christianity and adopting Zoroastrianism, he tried to force his wife Shushanik to convert as well, but she refused vehemently to submit and abandon her Christian faith, so she was put to death in AD 475 on her husband's orders. Shushanik has been canonized by the Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church and is venerated by the Armenian Apostolic Church. Known as Saint Shushanik, her feast day is celebrated on October 17.

Legacy

Consecration as saint

After his death, Vardan Mamikonian was consecrated as a saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He is also revered by the Armenian Catholic Church as a saint of the church and by Armenian Evangelical Church.

His commemoration day in the official Armenian Church calendar is usually in the month of February and on very rare occasions may fall in the first week of March. The actual feast day of Saint Vardan is a moving day, as it is on the last Thursday before Great Lent. Major Christian Armenian churches are named after Saint Vardan, including the St. Vartan Cathedral in New York City. There is also a St. Vartan Park right by the cathedral.

Knights of Vartan Inc. (USA)
The Armenian-American fraternal organization Knights of Vartan is named in honor of Vardan Mamikonian.

References

Bibliography

387 births
451 deaths
Sparapets
Ancient Armenian generals
Armenian saints
5th-century Christian saints
Vardan
Rebellions against the Sasanian Empire
5th-century Armenian people
Military saints
Armenian people from the Sasanian Empire


This New Massage Tool Will Give You 7-8 Hours of Uninterrupted Hours of Sleep.
Stress is the single biggest cause of most of my patients' problems. Humans simply aren't built to tolerate the magnitude and variety of stresses we experience throughout each day and throughout our lives. Most people understand that stress can cause physical and mental discomfort, but the reality is much bigger than that. Understanding how stress affects the body and how to manage it is a major focus of my practice.
When we feel stress- whether it is bodily stress, illness, or mental and emotional stress- we feel on edge. We feel anxiety and tension, and we suffer from repetitive thought patterns, loss of sleep, excessive adrenal function, and a general deterioration of one's quality of life. It affects us physically, and our emotional and mental states suffer in turn.
Did you know that stress also accumulates and stays with us? It's true- when we do not cope with, relieve, and recover from stress, it builds up in our bodies and causes major long-term health troubles (weight gain, inactivity, chronic loss of sleep).
Perhaps the worst of these long-term results is the fact that a lack of restful sleep can lessen your ability to recover from any stress, which makes the whole problem worse. An extended period of increased adrenal function can be difficult to "turn off", which puts us in a constant "fight or flight" state. When you can't turn that off, you can't recover.
Sleep might be more involved than you think. A restful cycle of sleep contains "light" sleep, REM sleep, and "deep" sleep, and the body's physical state changes throughout the sleep cycle.
Being able to truly relax and let go of tension is important to achieving the deep sleep, which is so essential to feeling rested and recovering from stress and physical illness.
The increased adrenal function that results from chronic stress can limit your access to deep sleep. If you aren't getting deep, restful sleep, you may very well sleep eight hours a night but still wake feeling tired and taxed.
How can you start to cope with chronic stress?
There are plenty of ways to deal with stress, but when you've neglected to do so for too long, you may feel your options are limited. Exercise is an excellent way to deal with all types of stress.
If you've been suffering for a long time, it's important to begin with light activity that won't itself become stressful and overstimulating. Light yoga, stretching, and walking are ideal if you need to start slowly.
Another way to address the physical toll of stress is massage and acupressure therapy. Stress accumulates in the body in actual physical locations, and massage can help to relieve the resulting tension and discomfort.
This passive therapy relieves the physical discomfort of stress and helps you to sleep, which is essential to sustainable, ongoing stress management.
The trouble with traditional massage therapy is that you can't do it yourself. It might also be expensive or time-consuming, which can be major barriers for patients who are already stressed and overworked!
Acupressure is a more accessible option because it can be done in just a few minutes, by yourself, and the monetary cost is minimal (especially when compared to the benefits).
Acupressure is performed by applying pressure to precise points on the body. Similar to acupuncture, stimulating these points results in benefits throughout the body. Pressure can be applied by a practitioner's hand or elbow, or by a device.
Some of these points respond to pressure by releasing built up tension that is stopping you from relaxing. Stimulating other points will actually trigger a relaxation response.
All together, the result is a state of effortless relaxation and comfort. This alone helps you start to recover from both acute and chronic stress.
How can I unlock the benefits of acupressure at home?
I strongly believe in the benefits of acupressure. I personally perform an acupressure routine on my own body every single night before I go to sleep. I developed Dr. Berg's Amazing Back & Neck Massage Tool to bring acupressure to the masses, so to speak.
It is a simply designed, easy to use, affordable tool made specifically to stimulate the points most associated with stress relief. I've also developed instructional videos and written materials to help patients get the most out of the tool in their own at-home therapy.
The pressure comes simply from body weight and gravity, so even users with limited strength, dexterity, or mobility can unlock its benefits.
It can be used while lying down or sitting in a high-backed chair (like an office chair, a plane seat, or the armchair in your living room!).
How do I use Dr. Berg's Massage Tool?
I recommend starting your routine by stimulating the base of the skull and of the neck. Simply rest your read with the plastic prongs touching your neck, and allow the weight of your head to push the device into your muscles.
This will relieve much of the tension that builds up in the body, particularly the kind that plagues many people who work at a desk during the day.
An enormous amount of tension and stress is held in the neck and shoulders, and it is important to eliminate that before bed so as to achieve restful sleep. Using my massage tool in this area gets your foot off the gas pedal, so to speak.
Follow that by stimulating the abdomen, to the left and to the right of the navel all the way up to the ribcage. This is the location of the adrenal glands, and stimulating the area will induce a relaxed state.
Think of this part of the routine as applying the brakes. Lying on your back, you can rest your hands and forearms on the device to apply gentle pressure to the prongs.
You might be surprised to learn that stimulating these areas of your body as described only takes a few minutes, and in that small amount of time, you can guarantee yourself better sleep, and the cascade of benefits that follow.
It's a simple habit to integrate into your routine at bedtime or during small breaks throughout the day. If you feel overwhelmed and do not know where to start, start by using my massage tool for just a few minutes a day.
More detailed instructions on using my massage tool can be found on my instructional YouTube videos and on a downloadable PDF, as well as on my instructional DVD.