At the time you register with our application, we may collect "Personal Information" about you, which is information that, without more, can be directly associated with a specific person. Personal Information may include your name, residential or business address, email address and telephone number. We also may request information about your interests, activities, gender, age, date of birth, username, hometown and other demographic or relevant information as determined by us from time to time. You are under no obligation to provide us with Personal Information of any kind, with the caveat that your refusal to do so may prevent you from using certain features of the Site or the Services.
We may occasionally use your name and email address to send you notifications regarding new services offered by the Site that we think you may find valuable. We may also send you service-related announcements from time to time. Generally, you may opt out of such emails at the time of registration or by following the unsubscribe link in the email communications, though we reserve the right to continue to send you notices about your account.
We collect device-specific information (such as your hardware model, operating system version, unique device identifiers, and mobile network information including phone number). Liz Invest may associate your device identifiers or phone number with your account.
details of how you used our service, such.
telephony log information like your phone number, calling-party number, forwarding numbers, time and date of calls, duration of calls, SMS routing information and types of calls. Internet protocol address.
device event information such as crashes, system activity, hardware settings, language, the date and time of your request and referral URL.
When you use our services, we may collect and process information about your actual location. We use various technologies to determine location, including IP address, GPS, and other sensors that may, for example, provide Liz Invest with information on nearby devices, Wi-Fi access points and cell towers.
Liz Invest may collect and may make use of personal information to assist in the operation of our application and to ensure delivery of the services you need and request. At times, we may find it necessary to use personally identifiable information to keep you informed of other possible products and/or services that may be available to you from Liz Invest. may also be in contact with you with regards to completing surveys and/or research questionnaires related to your opinion of current or potential future services that may be offered.
Third Party Service Providers. We may share your Personal Information, which may include your name and contact information (including email address) with our authorized service providers that perform certain services for or on our behalf. These services may include fulfilling orders, providing customer service and marketing assistance, performing business and sales analysis, supporting the application's functionality and supporting contests, sweepstakes, surveys and other features offered through the application. We may also share your name, contact information and credit card information with our authorized service providers who process credit card payments. These service providers may have access to your Personal Information and/or financial information as needed to perform their functions, but are not permitted to share or use such information for any other purpose.
Other Third Parties. We may share your aggregated information with advertisers and investors for conducting general business analysis. We may also share your Personal Information with such third parties for marketing purposes, as permitted by law. If you do not wish to have your Personal Information shared with third parties, you may opt-out by going to your account settings or by contacting us using the contact information provided below.
Perform under demanding conditions to safeguard the personal safety of users of and/or the public.
All users and/or visitors to our applications have the option to discontinue receiving communication from us and/or reserve the right to discontinue receiving communications by way of email or newsletters. To discontinue or unsubscribe to our application please send an email that you wish to unsubscribe to. If you wish to unsubscribe or opt-out from any third-party applications, you must go to that specific website to unsubscribe and/or opt-out.


text:
Arccos Golf launches Arccos Caddie
Data-Driven Decisions Help Golfers Play Smarter, Shoot Lower Scores and Have More Fun
STAMFORD, Conn., – MAY 10, 2017 – Arccos Golf today launched golf's first artificial intelligence platform, Arccos Caddie. Powered by the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, Arccos Caddie harnesses advanced analytics to help golfers of all skill levels shoot lower scores by making smarter, data-driven decisions on the course.
Arccos Caddie leverages the golf industry's richest data set – over 61 million shots hit by the Arccos community, as well as precise elevation data and 386 million geotagged data points on more than 40,000 courses. It also accounts for weather conditions, including forecasted wind speed, wind direction, precipitation, temperature and more. The platform can be used by anyone, on nearly any hole in the world, regardless of whether a golfer has previously played the course.
"Every shot in golf involves a decision-making process, and the caddie's role has historically been to help you make more intelligent choices. Today, however, less than 3 percent of players have access to a caddie," said Sal Syed, CEO and Co-Founder of Arccos. "Everyone else is missing out on a crucial source of information that can help inform every shot. With Arccos Caddie, we're democratizing the caddie experience through the power of A.I. and the Microsoft Azure cloud."
Arccos named Microsoft as its Official Cloud Partner in January 2017. Together, they are dedicated to creating artificial intelligence technologies that will move the connected golf category forward, taking it mainstream; this starts with Arccos Caddie.
"Arccos Caddie is the first platform in sports that truly harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to help players make smarter decisions," said Mike Downey, Director, Principal Evangelist – Sports at Microsoft. "Through the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, Arccos Caddie instantly digests unique data sets and delivers actionable advice to any golfer, from beginners to pros seeking to make the PGA TOUR."
Arccos Caddie will debut during Microsoft Build 2017 at Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, May 10-12. Exclusive to those who have played five rounds with the Arccos 360 connected golf system, Arccos Caddie will be offered on a subscription basis. The platform officially launches May 22. For more information, please visit: www.arccosgolf.com.
"Golfers using Arccos improved their handicap by an average of 2.77 strokes last year," added Syed. "With the introduction of Arccos Caddie, we expect this trend to reach even more dramatic heights."
Arccos Caddie Video
About Arccos Golf, LLC
Arccos Golf, LLC develops game-changing connected golf products. The company is revolutionizing the golfing experience by integrating automatic shot tracking with Artificial Intelligence to deliver unparalleled insights that help players maximize their potential.
Bill Feidler
Buffalo.Agency
bfeidler@buffalo.agency

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Hellström, A., Hagell, P., Broström, A., Ulander, M., Luik, A. I., Espie, C. A. & Årestedt, K. (2019). A classical test theory evaluation of the Sleep Condition Indicator accounting for the ordinal nature of item response data. PLoS ONE, 14(3), Article ID e0213533.
Jönköping University, Sweden;Linköping University Hospital, Sweden.
Linköping University Hospital, Sweden;Linköping University, Sweden.
Univ Oxford, UK;Erasmus MC Univ Med Ctr, Netherlands.
Linnaeus University, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Health and Caring Sciences. Region Kalmar County, Sweden.
Background Insomnia symptoms are common among young adults and affect about 5% to 26% of 19 to 34-year-olds. In addition, insomnia is associated with poor mental health and may affect daily performance. In research, as well as in clinical practice, sleep questionnaires are used to screen for and diagnose insomnia. However, most questionnaires are not developed according to current DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. An exception is the recently developed Sleep Condition Indicator (SCI), an eight-item scale screening for insomnia. Aim The aim of this study was to perform a Classical Test Theory (CTT) based psychometric evaluation of the SCI in a sample of Swedish university students, by taking the ordinal nature of item level data into account. Methods The SCI was translated into Swedish and distributed online to undergraduate students at three Swedish universities, within programs of health, psychology, science or economy. Of 3673 invited students, 634 (mean age 26.9 years; SD = 7.4) completed the questionnaire that, in addition to the SCI, comprised other scales on sleep, stress, lifestyle and students' study environment. Data were analyzed according to CTT investigating data completeness, item homogeneity and unidimensionality. Results Polychoric based explorative factor analysis suggested unidimensionality of the SCI, and internal consistency was good (Cronbach's alpha, 0.91; ordinal alpha, 0.94). SCI scores correlated with the Insomnia Severity Index (-0.88) as well as with sleep quality (-0.85) and perceived stress (-0.50), supporting external construct validity. Conclusions These observations support the integrity of the of the SCI. The SCI demonstrates sound CTT-based psychometric properties, supporting its use as an insomnia screening tool.
OBJECTIVE: Using the Hospital Survey on Patient Culture, our aim was to investigate the patient safety culture in all Swedish hospitals and to compare the culture among managers, physicians, registered nurses, and enrolled nurses and to identify factors associated with high overall patient safety.
METHODS: The study used a correlational design based on cross-sectional surveys from health care practitioners in Swedish health care (N = 23,781). We analyzed the associations between overall patient safety (outcome variable) and 12 culture dimensions and 5 background characteristics (explanatory variables). Simple logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the bivariate association between each explanatory variable and the outcome variable. The explanatory variables were entered to determine the multivariate associations between the variables and the outcome variable.
RESULTS: The highest rated culture dimensions were "teamwork within units" and "nonpunitive response to error," and the lowest rated dimensions were "management support for patient safety" and "staffing." The multivariate analysis showed that long professional experience (>15 years) was associated with increased probability for high overall patient safety. Compared with general wards, the probability for high overall patient safety was higher for emergency care but lower for psychiatric care. The probability for high overall patient safety was higher for both enrolled nurses and physicians compared with managers.
CONCLUSIONS: The safety culture dimensions of the Hospital Survey on Patient Culture contributed far more to overall patient safety than the background characteristics, suggesting that these dimensions are very important in efforts to improve the overall patient safety culture.This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal.
Lin, C.-Y., Imani, V., Broström, A., Årestedt, K., Pakpouro, A. H. & Griffiths, M. D. (2019). Evaluating the Psychometric Properties of the 7-Item Persian Game Addiction Scale for Iranian Adolescents. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article ID 149.
Hong Kong Polytech Univ, Peoples Republic of China.
Tabriz Univ Med Sci, Iran.
Linnaeus University, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Health and Caring Sciences. Region Kalmar County.
Jönköping University;Qazvin Univ Med Sci, Iran.
The 7-item Gaming Addiction Scale (GAS) is a brief instrument based on DSM criteria to assess gaming addiction. Although the psychometric properties of the GAS have been tested using classical test theory, its psychometric properties have never been tested using modern test theory (e.g., Rasch analysis). The present study used a large adolescent sample in Iran to test the psychometric properties of the Persian GAS through both classical test and modern test theories. Adolescents (n = 4442; mean age = 15.3 years; 50.3% males) were recruited from Qazvin, Iran. In addition to the GAS, all of them completed the following instruments: the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS-SF9), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and a generic quality of life instrument. Two weeks later, all participants completed the GAS again. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Rasch analysis were used to test the unidimensionality of the GAS. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to test the test-retest reliability, and a regression model was used to test the criterion-related validity of the GAS. Both CFA and Rasch analysis supported the unidimensionality of the GAS. Pearson correlations coefficients showed satisfactory test-retest reliability of the GAS (r = 0.78 to 0.86), and the regression model demonstrated the criterion-related validity of the GAS (beta = 0.31 with IGDS-SF9; 0.41 with PSQI). Based on the results, the Persian GAS is a reliable and valid instrument for healthcare providers to assess the level of gaming addiction among Persian-speaking adolescents.
Linnaeus University, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Health and Caring Sciences. Kalmar County Council, Sweden.
Uppsala University, Sweden;Linköping University, Sweden.
Out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest survivors suffer from psychological distress and cognitive impairments. They experience existential insecurity and vulnerability and are striving to return to a life in which well‐being and the meaning of life have partly changed. However, research highlighting the experiences of in‐hospital cardiac arrest survivors is lacking. This means that evidence for postresuscitation care has largely been extrapolated from studies on out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest survivors, without considering potential group differences. Studies investigating survivors' experiences of an in‐hospital cardiac arrest are therefore needed.
To illuminate meanings of people's lived experiences of surviving an in‐hospital cardiac arrest.
An explorative, phenomenological hermeneutic method to illuminate meanings of lived experiences.
Participants were identified through the Swedish national register of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and recruited from two hospitals. A purposive sample of eight participants, 53–99 years old, who survived an in‐hospital cardiac arrest 1–3 years earlier, was interviewed.
The survivors were striving to live in everyday life and striving for security. The struggle to reach a new identity meant an existence between restlessness and a peace of mind, searching for emotional well‐being and bodily abilities. The search for existential wholeness meant a quest for understanding and explanation of the fragmented cardiac arrest event and its existential consequences. The transition from hospital to home meant a transition from care and protection to uncertainty and vulnerability with feelings of abandonment, which called for a search for security and belonging, away from isolation and loneliness.
Surviving an in‐hospital cardiac arrest can be further understood by means of the concept of hospital‐to‐home transition. Following hospital discharge, patients felt vulnerable and abandoned when pending between denial and acceptance of the 'new' life. Hence, the healthcare system should play a significant role when it comes to facilitate cardiac arrest survivors' security during hospital‐to‐home transition.
Holm, M., Alvariza, A., Furst, C.-J., Ohlen, J. & Årestedt, K. (2019). Psychometric evaluation of the anticipatory grief scale in a sample of family caregivers in the context of palliative care. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 17, 1-11, Article ID 42.
Ersta Sköndal University College;Dalen Hospital.
IntroductionIn palliative care, family caregivers are often faced with experiences of grief in anticipation of the loss of a close person. An instrument designed to measure this form of grief is the Anticipatory Grief Scale, which includes 27 items and has been used in several studies in various contexts. However, the instrument has not been validated.AimThe aim was to evaluate the psychometric properties, focusing on the factor structure, of the Anticipatory Grief Scale in a sample of family caregivers in palliative care.MethodsThe study had a cross-sectional design. Data were collected from an intervention study in palliative home care that took place between 2013 and 2014. In total, 270 family caregivers in palliative care completed a baseline questionnaire, including the Anticipatory Grief Scale. The factor structure of the scale was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis.ResultsThe initial factor analysis suggested a four-factor solution, but, due to weak communalities, extensive crossloadings, and item inconsistencies, the model was problematic. Further analysis supported that the scale should be reduced to 13 items and two factors. The two subscales captured the behavioral and emotional reactions of grief in family caregivers in palliative care and were named Behavioral reactions and Emotional reactions. This modified version will hereafter be named AGS-13.ConclusionsThis validation study of the Anticipatory Grief Scale resulted in a revised two-factor model, AGS-13, that appears to be promising for use in palliative care but needs to be tested further.
Linnaeus University, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Health and Caring Sciences. Kalmar County Hospital, Sweden.
Ersta Sköndal Bräcke University College, Sweden;Dalen Hospital, Sweden.
This article investigates longitudinal variations in grief, self-rated health, and symptoms of anxiety and depression among family caregivers in palliative care. Data were taken from a randomized psycho-educational intervention trial and were collected at four time-points; at baseline, upon completion, 2 months later, and 6 months after the patient's death. In total, 117 family caregivers completed all questionnaires. The participants' grief was stable across the measurements, while anxiety, depression, and health varied significantly (p < 0.05). No significant differences were found between the intervention or control group. In conclusion, grief emerged as a constant phenomenon, distinct from symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Ersta Sköndal Bräcke University College;Capio Palliat Care Dalen Hosp.
Sahlgrens University Hospital;University of Gothenburg.
University of Gothenburg;University of Gothenburg.
Linnaeus University, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Health and Caring Sciences. Kalmar County Council.
Purpose: The Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) was developed for use among family caregivers in palliative care for assessment of their support needs. The purpose of this study was to translate and evaluate the validity and reliability of the CSNAT in a sample of Swedish family caregivers and nurses in a palliative care context. Methods: Data for this validation study was collected during 2016 in the context of palliative home care in two larger Swedish cities. The study was conducted in three stages to reach conceptual, semantic, operational and measurement equivalence between the original UK version and the Swedish version. Stage I consisted of translation to Swedish. In Stage II, cognitive interviews were performed with 8 family caregivers and 10 nurses. Data were analyzed based on relevance, clarity and sensitivity. In Stage III, the CSNAT and related self-rating measures (caregiver burden, preparedness for caregiving and quality of life) were completed by 118 family caregivers. Data quality, construct validity and test-retest reliability were evaluated. Results: The CSNAT items were considered relevant and useful to identify areas of support needs. The Swedish CSNAT showed sound psychometric properties with satisfactory data quality and few problems with missing data across items (1.8%-6.1%). All items except one correlated as expected (rho > 0.3) with caregiver burden, supporting construct validity. All items had satisfactory test-retest reliability (kappa w = 0.45-0.75). Conclusions: This study further adds to the validity of the CSNAT and shows in addition that it is reliable and stable for use among family caregivers in palliative care.
Ersta Sköndal Bräcke University College.
Ersta Sköndal Bräcke University College;Dalen Hospital.
Norwegian Univ Sci & Technol, Norway.
Linnaeus University, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Health and Caring Sciences. Linköping University;Kalmar County Hospital.
AimTo adapt the Family Involvement and Alienation Questionnaire (FIAQ) for use in the care of older people, psychiatric care, palliative care and diabetes care and to evaluate its validity and reliability. BackgroundInvolvement in the professional care has proven to be important for family members. However, they have described feelings of alienation in relation to how they experienced the professionals' approach. To explore this issue, a broad instrument that can be used in different care contexts is needed. DesignA psychometric evaluation study, with a cross-sectional design. MethodThe content validity of the FIAQ was evaluated during 2014 by cognitive interviews with 15 family members to adults in different care contexts. Psychometric evaluation was then conducted (2015-2016). A sample of 325 family members participated, 103 of whom in a test-retest evaluation. Both parametric and non-parametric methods were used. ResultsThe content validity revealed that the questionnaire was generally understood and considered to be relevant and retrievable by family members in the contexts of the care of older people, psychiatric care, palliative care and diabetes care. Furthermore, the FIAQ (Revised), demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties in terms of data quality, homogeneity, unidimensionality (factor structure), internal consistency and test-retest reliability. ConclusionThe study provides evidence that the FIAQ (Revised) is reliable and valid for use in further research and in quality assessment in the contexts of the care of older people, psychiatric care, palliative care and diabetes care.
Karolinska Institutet;Ersta Sköndal Bräcke University College, Palliat Res Ctr, Dept Hlth Care Sci, POB 11189, SE-10061 Stockholm, Sweden.;Karolinska Univ Hosp, Funct Area Social Work & Hlth, S-17176 Stockholm, Sweden..
Karolinska Institutet;Karolinska University Hospital;Gävle University.
Karolinska Institutet;Karolinska University Hospital;Stockholms Sjukhem Fdn.
Linnaeus University, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Health and Caring Sciences. Linköping University;Kalmar County Council.
Purpose: The knowledge about young adults who have lost a parent to cancer is limited, and to reach a broader understanding about this group, this study used the Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement (Stroebe and Schut, 1999) as a theoretical framework. The purpose of this study was to describe loss- and restoration oriented bereavement stressors and psychosocial wellbeing of young adults following the loss of a parent to cancer. Mathod: This survey used baseline data from a longitudinal study. Young adults, aged 16-28 years, who lost a parent to cancer more than two months earlier and agreed to participate in support groups held at three palliative care services in Sweden, responded to a comprehensive theory-based study-specific questionnaire. Results: Altogether, 77 young adults (64 women and 13 men) answered the questionnaire an average of five-to eight months after the loss. Twenty percent (n = 15) had not been aware of their parent's impending death at all or only knew a few hours before the death, and 65% (n = 50) did not expect the death when it occurred. The young adults reported low self-esteem (n = 58, 76%), mild to severe anxiety (n = 55, 74%), mild to severe depression (n = 23, 31%) and low life satisfaction. Conclusion: Young adults reported overall poor psychosocial wellbeing following bereavement. The unexpectedness and unawareness of the parent's imminent death, i.e., loss-oriented bereavement stressors, might influence psychosocial wellbeing. Despite these reports, restoration-oriented stressors, such as support from family and friends, helped them to cope with the loss.
Linköping University;Univ Calif Irvine, USA.
Background: Decreased appetite and depressive symptoms are clinical problems in patients with heart failure. Both may result in impaired health status. Objective: The aims of this study were to investigate the association between appetite and health status in patients with heart failure and to explore whether depressive symptoms moderate this association. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, patients with heart failure (n = 186; mean age, 71 years), New York Heart Association class II to IV, participated. Data on appetite (Council of Nutrition Appetite Questionnaire), depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), and health status (EQ-5D 3-level scale [EQ-5D-3L] descriptive system, EQ-5D-3L index, and EQ Visual Analog Scale) were collected by self-rating questionnaires. Pearson correlation was used to investigate the association between appetite and health status. Multiple regression was performed to examine whether depressive symptoms moderate the association between appetite and health status. Results: There was a significant association between appetite and health status for EQ-5D-3L descriptive system, mobility (P < .001), pain/discomfort (P < .001), and anxiety/depression (P < .001). This association was also shown in EQ-5D-3L index (P < .001) and EQ Visual Analog Scale (P < .001). Simple slope analysis showed that the association between appetite and health status was only significant for patients without depressive symptoms (B = 0.32, t = 4.66, P < .001). Conclusions: Higher level of appetite was associated with better health status. In moderation analysis, the association was presented for patients without depressive symptoms. Decreased appetite is an important sign of poor health status. To improve health status, health professionals should have greater attention on appetite, as well on signs of depressive symptoms.


text:
Explore Key West
Claudia Miller: Key West Local Expert
Don't leave the Florida Keys without exploring Bahia Honda State Park's warm crystalline waters, shallow sandbars and old railroad trestle bridge.
More About Claudia
Related 10Best Lists
Love is in the air at these top 10 romantic hotels in Key West
Bliss Out at Key West's 10 Best Premier Resorts
Boutique, Beachfront or B&B? Key West's Top 10 Hotels Embody Island Charm
Local Experts' 10 Best Bed and Breakfasts
Our Local Experts' Top Pet-Friendly B&B's, Hotels, and Guesthouses in Key West
Key West Travel Guide
10 Best Keys West Hotels for the Budget Traveler
BY Claudia Miller
Key West Local Expert
— When you buy through a link on our site, 10Best may earn a commission. Our editors operate independently of affiliate relationships.
Key West offers a variety of accommodations from B&Bs to luxury resorts. The one thing they have in common? They may give you sticker shock. Limited space on the island, paired with high demand, equals less availability and higher prices. This presents a challenge for budget-conscious travelers. Fear not, you can still find hidden hotels that offer reasonable rates--mostly small independent B&Bs and inns. There's a price you pay for paradise, and "reasonable" is anything under $200.
Many of the least expensive properties like Speakeasy Inn and Caribbean House are privately owned. While the rooms may be small, the owners provide personal attention, making guests feel at home. Charming B&Bs are tucked away in Conch-style houses, and the Historic Key West Inns has several to choose from including Key Lime Inn, Lighthouse Court and Merlin Guesthouse. While these spots might be low-frills, the free breakfasts help with food costs.
To squeeze the most out of your savings, travel in the off season and on weekdays. Check the Key West calendar to avoid festivals and holidays. Watch the hotel's website for discounts such as AAA, AARP and special packages. When booking, do it the old-fashioned way and pick up the phone. At these quirky properties, the rooms may vary significantly right down to decor. Use this opportunity to quiz the staff about size and location. Try these top ten budget hotels in Key West, so you can get the best bang for your vacation buck.
Key Lime Inn - Key West
Photo courtesy of Flickr.com/Audrey R. Smith
When you check rates and book independently reviewed hotels through our site, we may earn a small commission.
A member of the Historic Key West Inns collection, this 37-room hotel is wedged in Old Town just two blocks from the nightlife scene. The inn's 3-diamond accommodations are geared toward couples, with all rooms containing a queen, or king-sized bed and sporting flat-screen LED televisions. The rooms are spread out over an acre of grounds filled with garden paths and tropical greenery, dotted with hammocks and swings. The main building is one of the oldest in Key West, constructed in 1854 and on the National Historic Register. Continental breakfast is available to guests and is served outside next to the heated swimming pool. Other amenities include free parking and Wi-Fi in the poolside area. Some rooms have a mini-refrigerator and coffee maker. While they have great rates in low season, prices balloon in the winter months and holidays.
Recommended for Budget Hotels because: Geared toward couples, the rooms at Key Lime Inn contain only a queen or king bed. The courtyard is dotted with hammocks, perfect for romance.
Read more about Key Lime Inn - Key West →
Alexander Palms Court
Photo courtesy of Claudia Miller
Not to be confused with the go-to gay B&B, Alexander's Guesthouse, Alexander Palms Court is conveniently located in the Casa Marina area of Old Town. Only two blocks from the beach and Duval Street, the gated inn only has nine rooms grouped around a small pool and sunbathing area. Continental breakfast is served each morning in the garden filled with Alexander (King) Palms, which tower over the guest house. Rooms range from the basic standard to studios with kitchenettes. One-and-two bedroom suites have full kitchens and pull out sofas in the living rooms. While the decor may be a bit dated, it retains an old time Keys feel. The rates are reasonable, especially on the standard rooms. The larger rooms with kitchens offer a great value, as you can save money by not eating out each meal. Free on-site parking.
Recommended for Budget Hotels because: Tucked away in the Casa Marina area, this gated inn only has nine rooms, ranging from the economical standard to studios with kitchenettes.
Read more about Alexander Palms Court →
Duval Gardens
Photo courtesy of Duval Gardens Bed & Breakfast Key West
In this Nantucket-style house, special touches like hand-quilted bedspreads, marble ceiling bathrooms and canopy beds set this cozy B&B apart. There are four types of rooms to choose from, each with unique decor (visit the website to see in-depth descriptions and photos of the rooms before booking). Most of the rooms can only accommodate two people, and children under 16 are not allowed. This ensures mostly couples as guests and a quiet romantic atmosphere. The second floor has a wraparound balcony, and in true Key West style, a complimentary expanded continental breakfast is served on the veranda facing Duval Street each morning. Other amenties include a small heated pool, mini-fridge in rooms, free Wi-Fi and coffee maker (upon request). Limited onsite parking is $20 per day and on a first come, first serve basis. Free street parking is nearby.
Recommended for Budget Hotels because: Perfect for couples, Duval Gardens does not allow children, and most rooms are for two. This romantic getaway won't break the bank.
Read more about Duval Gardens →
Merlin Guest House - Key West
Photo courtesy of Merlin Guesthouse
One of the six quaint hotels owned by Historic Key West Inns in Old Town, Merlin Guesthouse has 20 guestrooms and Conch-style cottages spread out in four buildings. They share a shaded courtyard, featuring a lily pond where a free continental breakfast is served each morning. Their Economy Queen offers the best value, while the cottages can accommodate families. Curl up in a hammock for an afternoon nap, or take a dip in the outdoor splash pool. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the property. The guesthouse is conveniently located one block from Duval Street, and the beach is just six blocks away. While they do not have parking, there is limited room on the street and a pay lot nearby.
Recommended for Budget Hotels because: At Merlin Guesthouse, four historic buidlings share a shaded courtyard and splash pool where free breakfast is served each morning.
Read more about Merlin Guest House - Key West →
Best Western Hibiscus Motel
Photo courtesy of Flickr.com/Lydiat
Best Western's are dime-a-dozen, but the Hibiscus might surprise you. It's perched on the calmer side of Key West, but is within walking distance to Mallory Square, the local beaches and popular attractions. After a day of exploring, guests can lounge by the heated swimming pool or take a dip in the hot tub. Free amenities at this eco-friendly hotel include Wi-Fi, in-room refrigerators, microwave, continental breakfast and on-site parking. A variety of restaurants are located near the hotel, including Italian, American and Japanese cuisine. Check with the staff at the front desk for coupons for free items with dinner. The spacious rooms come at a moderate rate for the Old Town area.
Recommended for Budget Hotels because: Not your typical Best Western, the Hibiscus is close to Duval Street and local beaches. Their spacious rooms come at moderate prices with free breakfast.
Read more about Best Western Hibiscus Motel →
Lighthouse Court Hotel - Key West
Photo courtesy of Duval House
Across the street from the Hemingway Home and next door to the Key West Lighthouse, this quaint historic inn is comprised of ten conch-style cottages. Dating from 1890 to the 1920s, the cotages showcase charming Key West architectural details like tin roofs, wood siding, open porches and French doors. Owned by Historic Key West Inns in Old Town, the property has 40 rooms, all with unique floor plans and décor. If you're on a budget, their small standard rooms are your best bet. Note that prices go up significantly in high season. Wander the brick pathways past the lush tropical landscaping to the pool and Mojito Bar and Café. (Don't forget to use the 2-for-1 drink coupon you'll receive at check-in.) In the mornings, a light continental buffet is served poolside.
Recommended for Budget Hotels because: History buffs will love the location and architecture at Lighthouse Court, and the small standard rooms are affordable. Free breakfast is a plus.
Read more about Lighthouse Court Hotel - Key West →
Authors of Key West
In the Old Town district of Key West, Authors Guesthouse is tucked away near the Historic Seaport. This compound of historic Conch style homes, cozy suites and rooms is dedicated to the authors who called Key West home. Using eclectic decor, the owners pay homage to literary legends such as Tennessee Williams, Ernest Hemingway, Carson McCullers and Lillian Hellman. The cottages are convenient for families with full kitchens and a sleeper sofa in the living rooms. The upper level rooms in the main house have a private sundecks--perfect for couples. A complimentary continental breakfast is served on the lush garden patio each morning. Afterwards, follow wooden walkways to the pool with chaise lounges for a lazing the day away or surfing the free Wi-Fi. While it's a 20 minute walk to Duval Street, Authors has some of the best prices in town and a charm all its own.
Recommended for Budget Hotels because: A literary-lovers dream, each room in this quirky guesthouse is decorated to honor a Key West writer. Budget-friendly prices are just a bonus.
Read more about Authors of Key West →
Alexander's Gay and Lesbian Guesthouse - Adults Only
Photo courtesy of Alexander's Guesthouse
The premier guesthouse for gay and lesbian couples, this 17-room inn does everything right from the shaded pool and Jacuzzi to expanded continental breakfast and clothing-optional sundeck. In the heart of Old Town, this lovingly restored Key West Conch house, built in 1902, blends the original pine floors and stately windows with modern room decor. Black-and-white furniture is paired with zebra patterned rugs, over-sized animal portraits and splashes of red from Broadway posters and fresh flowers. Each day the complimentary happy hour at the Pink Monkey Bar is perfect for mingling with other guests. Ask anyone what makes Alexander's so special and they'll say that it is the kind, genuine, staff that truly embraces the "one human family" credo, which make travelers return again and again to this home-away-from-home. Of course, their reasonable rates don't hurt. Alexander's is adult's only--18 and over. Complimentary Wi-Fi is available throughout the property.
Recommended for Budget Hotels because: This historic Conch house is the premier home-away-from home for gay and lesbian couples looking for a quiet getaway at reasonable rates.
Read more about Alexander's Gay and Lesbian Guesthouse - Adults Only →
Caribbean House Key West
Bahama Village
Photo courtesy of Caribbean House Key West
As one of the cheapest digs in town, the Caribbean House is no-frills accommodations, but that doesn't mean it isn't a welcoming place to stay. It's pet-friendly, and the brightly-colored rooms are tiny but very clean (each opens to a balcony). The French owners are warm and helpful. Their location in Bahama Village can't be beat with the Hemingway House, Mallory Square and Duval Street just a short walk away. It's easy to leave the car, enjoy the free parking and forget about it for a while. Free Wi-Fi and mini-refrigerators are available in all the rooms. Be aware that coffee, tea and espresso are free to guests, but they don't serve breakfast. Not to worry, the popular Blue Heaven and La Creperie restaurants are just a stone's throw away.
Recommended for Budget Hotels because: If you don't mind the tiny rooms, Caribbean House in the charming Bahaman Village, has the cheapest prices in town.
Read more about Caribbean House Key West →
Speakeasy Inn
Photo courtesy of Speakeasy Inn
A rum bar and bed and breakfast combined, this cheerful Duval Street inn has a rich history as a former speakeasy. In fact, if you look closely, you'll see bottles carved into the woodwork--a subtle advertisement. Cozy up at the rum bar and try some of the Bahama Bob's famous "root juice." This rum connoisseur always has a captive audience waiting to try his tasty concoctions. Friendly owners make you feel at ease, and the continental breakfast is a bonus. Amenities include free Wi-Fi, coffee makers, refrigerators, microwaves and toasters. The inn is located on the south end of Duval (the quiet side), but Mallory Square, Sloppy Joes and the usual hot spots are easily accessible. Room sizes vary, but the rates are some of the best you'll find in Key West.
Recommended for Budget Hotels because: A rum bar combined with a B&B: who could ask for more? With its Duval Street location and affordable prices, Speakeasy has a loyal clientele.
Read more about Speakeasy Inn →
Meet Claudia Miller
Claudia Miller has been writing about South Florida for over 17 years--seven from Key Largo. A budding photographer, she can usually be found stalking a sunset. Despite being a tad... More About Claudia


SRINAGAR: Two terrorists were killed in an ongoing encounter between terrorists and security forces in Sutsu village of Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district.
At least two more terrorists are believed to be trapped in. Four jawans were also injured in the incident.
The security forces launched a cordon and search operation in the area.
The slain terrorists are believed to be affiliated to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).


The AAA and AAI hosts aikido seminars around the world. The training is open to students of any martial art or rank from any organization or dojo.
To further training of Aikidoka (Aikido students) through standardized instruction and intensive, focused training, the AAA and AAI offer seminars at a variety of levels and on a variety of subjects including beginning and advanced techniques for both empty-hand and traditional weapons, tactical applications, and therapeutic bodywork. Seminar instructors include shihan (master instructor), shihan-dai (assistant shihan), and AAA Teaching Committee members.
The AAA and AAI Training Camps are large regional gatherings of Aikido practitioners for training, black belt tests, and personal exchange. Held in different parts of the world, the AAA and AAI Camps are major opportunities for practitioners to network and improve themselves through intensive Aikido practice and when possible, through participating in on-site lodging and meals.
Consistent, quality professional instruction is necessary for the long-term growth of Aikido arts. AAA and AAI offer an organized method of instruction which is documented in an instructor's manual and promoted through instructors' seminars and the certification of instructor levels. AAA and AAI's instructional program, instituted by the late President and Chief Instructor Shihan Toyoda, is promulgated under the guidance of Aikido Doshu M. Ueshiba's teaching and the philosophy of Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba. AAA offers its National Instructor Seminar every year in Chicago, and alternating years on the West and East coasts.


text:
Free SMS to France
France, formally known as the French Republic, is a nation whose domain comprises of metropolitan France in Western Europe, and a few abroad districts and territories. The metropolitan region of France reaches out from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. The abroad regions incorporate French Guiana in South America and a few islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian seas. The nation's (five of which are arranged abroad) traverse a consolidated range of 643,801 square kilometers (248,573 sq mi) and have an aggregate populace of right around 67 million people. France is a unitary semi-presidential republic involving 18 indispensable areas (five of which are abroad), with its capital in Paris, the nation's biggest city and driving social and business focus. Other major urban focuses incorporate Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse and Bordeaux.
Amid the Iron Age, what is currently metropolitan France was possessed by the Gauls, a Celtic people. Rome attached the territory in 51 BCE, which held the area until 486, when the Germanic Franks vanquished the district and framed the Kingdom of France. France rose as a noteworthy European power in the Late Middle Ages following its triumph in the Hundred Years' War (1337 to 1453). Amid the Renaissance, French culture thrived and a worldwide frontier domain was built up, which by the twentieth century would be the second biggest in the world. The sixteenth century was commanded by religious common wars amongst Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots). France turned into Europe's overwhelming social, political, and military power under Louis XIV. In the late eighteenth century, the French Revolution ousted the total government, set up one of present day history's soonest republics, and saw the drafting of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which communicates the country's standards right up 'til today. In the nineteenth century Napoleon took control and built up the First French Empire, whose resulting Napoleonic Wars molded the course of mainland Europe. Following the crumple of the Empire, France persevered through a wild progression of governments coming full circle with the foundation of the French Third Republic in 1870.
Mobile Networks in France
Orange, in the past France Télécom, is a French multinational broadcast communications organization. It has 256 million clients worldwide and utilizes 95,000 individuals in France, and 59,000 elsewhere. In 2015, the gathering had income of €40 billion. The organization's head office is situated in the fifteenth arrondissement of Paris. The present CEO is Stéphane Richard. The organization is a part of the Euro Stoxx 50 securities exchange index.Orange has been the organization's principle image for versatile, landline, web and IPTV administrations since 2006. It began in 1994 when Hutchison Whampoa procured a controlling stake in Microtel Communications amid the mid 1990s and rebranded it as "Orange". It turned into an auxiliary of Mannesmann in 1999 and was obtained by France Télécom in 2000. The organization was rebranded as Orange in July 2013.
SFR (Société française du radiotéléphone) is a French broadcast communications organization that gives voice, video, information, and Internet media communications and expert administrations to customers and organizations. As of December 2015, it has 21.9 million clients in Metropolitan France for versatile administrations, and furnishes 6.35 million families with rapid web access. It likewise offers benefits in the Overseas Departments of France: in the Caribbean islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe, and in Guyane and in addition in the Indian Ocean, in Mayotte and on the Réunion Island through SRR (Société Réunionnaise du Radiotéléphone) despite the fact that the organization is marked as SFR Réunion. SFR is possessed by Altice and French aggregate Vivendi. Vodafone had a 44% offer in SFR until April 2011 when it sold the whole offer back to Vivendi. SFR is a noteworthy accomplice system of Vodafone in France. (SFR Belux) worked in Belgium as a link administrator and MVNO in a few collectives of Brussels Region and in a few ranges of Luxembourg. The division was sold to equal Telenet in December 2016.
Bouygues Telecom is a French cell phone, Internet specialist organization and IPTV organization, some portion of the Bouygues gathering. Its home office, composed by Arquitectonica, is situated at the fringe of Paris and Issy-les-Moulineaux close to the River Seine. In January 2016 Bouygues Telecom was liable to transactions with respect to procurement from portable transporter Orange, which did not advance.
Free Mobile is a French remote specialist organization, some portion of the Iliad gathering. It was the fourth versatile system administrator to acquire a metropolitan French 3G permit in 2009. It additionally acquired a 4G permit in 2011. Free Mobile gives remote administrations to 13.140 million supporters as of June 2017.The initial 3G licenses were granted to France Telecom (now Orange) in 2000, SFR in 2000 and Bouygues Telecom in 2002. Free Mobile application has been concurred by French administrative specialist ARCEP on 17 December 2009. The permit cost is 240 million euros for two 5 MHz duplex groups in the 2100 MHz and 900 MHz recurrence groups. Free Mobile marked a 2G and 3G meandering concurrence with Orange on 3 March 2011. It will keep running until the finish of 2020. 100% of the 2G movement will experience Orange's system as Free Mobile has no 2G permit. Free Mobile has for lawful commitment to cover 27% of the French populace by January 2012, 75% by January 2015 and 90% by January 2018. Free Mobile was at that point covering 30% of the French populace in November 2011. A 3G wandering concurrence with Orange empowers interchanges diverted through Orange's system, which covers around 98% of the French metropolitan populace as indicated by ARCEP.
Now you can send free SMS to France using internet connection. We have collected few sites that offer free SMS in France. You just need to select the best ones that provide free SMS to your desired network in France.
People from all over the world try to find out websites that offer free SMS to France, therefore they regularly search following terms at Google or other search engines:
Free SMS to France, Free SMS in France, Free Text to France, Send Free SMS to France, Free SMS to Any Network in France, SMS in France, Web to Mobile SMS in France, Free Text Message to France, SMS France Free, Freesms.France, SMS To France Free, Cheap Mobile SMS to France, Free Mobile SMS to France.
The country code for France is: (+33)
Here are some selected sites that offer free SMS to France. For further information, suggestion or any kind of help please contact us following this link.
SMS France – Send Free Unlimited SMS to France, Send free SMS by using our free SMS service for France.
http://www.friendshipkey.com/sms-france.html
Send Free SMS To France – World SMS Center – Itineris ,Orange,SFR ,Bouygues Telecom , Unlimited
http://www.afreesms.com/worldwide/france
SMS Gratos depuis un PC vers les Mobiles français!
https://www.sendatext.co/France
How to Send Free SMS Messages to France | eHow.co.uk
http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_6970621_send-sms-messages-france.html
Free-SMS.fr – SMS
http://www.free-sms.fr/
Send Free Text France, Send free text to France. No signup or registration needed to send free text messages to France.
http://smsfree4all.com/free-text-france.php
If you want to Submit Your Site for this category then please visit contact us page of this site and fill form, submit your website for approval.
Free SMS to World
Free SMS to Germany
Free SMS to New Zealand
Free SMS to New Zealand New Zealand is arranged exactly 1,500 kilometers (900 mi) east of Australia over the Tasman Sea and about 1,000 kilometers (600 mi) south of the Pacific island ranges of New Caledonia, Fiji, and...
Free SMS to Turkey
Free SMS to Turkey Turkey is a cross-country nation in Eurasia, principally in Anatolia in Western Asia, with a littler part on the Balkan promontory in Southeast Europe. Turkey is flanked by eight nations with Greece...
Free SMS to Mobile
Free SMS to Mobile Regardless of whether you're going for business and you need to send a speedy SMS content to partners or family at home, or you need to shoot a message to a worker, associate or customer abroad...


Modified bitumen is an asphalt based polymer sheet applied to roofs in plies to provide waterproofing protection.
Modified bitumen roof systems degrade from the harsh weather conditions in Florida. Eventually they fail from weathering, constant expansion and contraction, ponding and standing water, wind damage, third-party damage, and age.
Commercial Energy Sytems, LLC is a leading expert in restoring commercial and industrial modified bitumen roofs using a high-solid (96%), single-component silicone elastomeric and/or spray polyurethane closed-cell roofing foam.
If you are looking for an industry leading expert to evaluate your commercial or industrial building in Florida and to provide the most professional recommendation to restore or refurbish your existing modified bitumen roofing system, please contact Commercial Energy Systems, LLC today for a free roof evaluation.
Our Management Has Over 30 Years of Professional Construction Experience.


I am always quick to get out of the rain, but sometimes sluggish in seeking the Lord? If the spirit is more valuable than the flesh why am I slow to seek refuge for it? My soul, my spirit, and my faith have been under siege for more than a year, but increasingly so for the last 6 weeks. Grief is like high blood pressure or a termite in wood. It is a silent killer. The damage is mostly invisible from the outside, but present within. During mourning some people get angry, become emotional, bargain with God, drown themselves in work, hide in an addiction, or relive the situation. However, I seem to draw into myself when the grief continues to come in intense waves. Limiting my reactions with the outside world seems to help me "stabilize" all that is raging on inside of me. My "to do" list sits on a shelf, and I complete only which needs to be done. Hobbies, future planning, extra responsibilities, and social interactions can become too much and drain what little energy I have. At these moments less truly is more.
From the outside the change may not be visible, but I can feel the Lord slowly mending my wounds from this round of mourning. There will never be another one year anniversary for her relapse, a first celebration of her heaven day, or another first Mother's Day without her, but there will always be another trigger. Grief is now as much a part of me as my daughter. Unfortunately the two will go hand in hand until the Lord calls me home, but I am not afraid. God is with me. He is there to listen to me when I am unable to speak. He is here to show me his grace and glory in this fallen world. He will walk with me when I stray from the path. God is my shepherd and I am his sheep. To him, and only him will I run.
I am sorry for my lack of communication about our foundation. We are currently working with 4 hospitals now. UVA was the newest addition, but we also work with Duke, Roanoke Carilion, and Brenner Children's hospital. Unfortunately we have recently lost two of our children who battled bravely. We are sad to watch those who loved them mourn their loss, but we rejoice in the healing they have received from the Father. In September of the upcoming school year we will be running a huge fundraiser through local schools called "Reach for the Gold". I ask that you pray the Lord's blessing upon this endeavor. More details will be coming shortly. We will also be revealing some new T-shirt designs to help support our foundation. They will be available online, be looking for them shortly!
Thank you for your continued support. Without your love, compassion, and prayers we would not have the strength to continue moving forward with God's plan of helping others through this foundation. We are eternally grateful and appreciative. God bless.


text:
Suggestions? | print this page | help
Home Create Account About Us Testimonials Features Purchase Library Blog Support Contact Us
Library: Downloading Your Survey Data
(How to enable Flash in the FireFox browser)
Related Video: Download, View, or Delete Data
When you are ready to download the data from your survey, you can select from the following file formats.
This option produces a data file (filename.sav) for SPSS versions 14+. This file type includes variable names, variable labels, answer values, etc. Variable names are automatically modified for compatibility with SPSS. All SPSS files are compressed and delivered as a ZIP file (filename.zip).
This option produces a data file (filename.xls) for Microsoft Excel, versions 2002 and newer. An Excel file can contain multiple workbooks and each workbook is limited to 256 columns. If your data file contains more than 256 columns, a new workbook will be added each time this limit is reached. Please note that Excel may automatically format data incorrectly (e.g., turning 1-1 into Jan 1). All Excel files are compressed and delivered as a ZIP file (filename.zip).
Tab Delimited
This option produces a universal database text file (filname.txt) with one TAB character separating each value. This file type contains no "text qualifiers". The tab delimited data file can be imported into any software program.
Comma Separated Values (CSV)
This option produces a universal database text file (filname.csv) where each value is separate by a quote-comma-quote triad (i.e., ","). The comma is considered the text "delimiter" and the quotation mark is considered the "text qualifier". The CSV data file can be imported into any software program and is automatically recognized by Microsoft Excel. Please note that Excel is limited to 256 columns (i.e., variables) whereas the CSV file may contain more.
SPSS Data Export Information
PsychData's SPSS data download is compatible with current versions of SPSS and is based on SPSS-19 export standards, which include support for international characters. Because SPSS has rigid file formatting requirements, it is important to understand how your data file is created.
Variable Naming Conventions
PsychData uses the raw question text as the variable name in all data exports. SPSS limits variable names to alpha-numeric ASCII characters and disallows special characters, symbols, spaces or Unicode characters. To meet SPSS requirements, we concatenate the text (remove spaces), remove disallowed characters, and append a prefix of "V#" where "#" is a distinct and incrementing integer number. This process ensures that each Variable Name is unique (as SPSS requires) and that variable names are created in a consistent manner. If all characters of a question are disallowed, we set the the Variable Name to "V#" (e.g., "V14").
Variable Labels
In SPSS, Variable Labels may contain international characters and do not need to be distinct. The Variable Label is typically the entire question up to the character limit imposed by SPSS.
Field Length
All "Free Response" question types in PsychData have a character limit (e.g., 2, 10, 100, etc.). Each question type's field length defines the variable length in SPSS. As a general rule, all text entered by a participant will be included in your SPSS data file, but there are some important exceptions to be aware of:
Truncated Text Notification: In the unlikely event that a free-response is truncated during the export to SPSS, the following will be appended to the end of the response: {TRUNCATED_BY_SPSS}.
Changing Question Types: If a question type is changed such that the character limit is reduced (e.g., 28,000 is changed to 1,000) AND existing data includes a response with more than 1,000 characters, the response will be truncated at 1,000 characters in SPSS.
Non-western international language characters (e.g., Japanese): Non-western language characters typically take up more space (bytes) than western characters. For example, a single western-language character uses 1 byte of storage space whereas a single Japanese character require 3 bytes of space. This only becomes a problem when exporting very long responses in a non-western language. The maximum answer-length in PsychData is 28,000 characters whereas SPSS has a maximum field size of 32,000 bytes. Here is an example of how this would be handled during export:
For example, a Japanese text-response of 28,000 characters (the max allowed in PsychData) would represent approximately 84,000 bytes of information. Because SPSS will only accept 32,000 bytes of information, the response would be truncated at the maximum allowed length, thereby displaying approximately 10,666 Japanese characters.
In the rare event that a free-text response was truncated, you can access the full response via any of our other export formats (xls, xlsx, txt, or csv).
Library: Articles and Videos
All Video Tutorials
Download to SPSS
Save and Return
IRB Application Tips
Identifying Info
Question Logic
Using Video in Surveys
Using Images as Answers
Random Stimulus
Using Copyrighted Materials
Researcher Tips
Link to PsychData
"PsychData provides incredibly personal and professional customer service, which went above and beyond what I expected..."
—Allison Lau, M.S.,
Doctoral Candidate,
Counseling Psychology,
"When it was time to begin my dissertation research, I did not look any further than PsychData."
—Brielle Stark-Adler,
Doctoral student,
Fordham University
Security Statement | Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2001-2019 PsychData®, LLC. All rights reserved.


Hello! My name is Judith and I'm a seamstress based in Preston. I specialise in manufacturing baby slings for some of the UK's top brands.
I also provide education and support to families who wish to use slings.
A combination of my passion for textiles, traditional crafts and babywearing led me to growing this business. I have a busy household, with a partner, four school-age children and two guinea pigs to take care of.
Currently most of our time is spent on planning the renovation of our home, which we bought last year, but there's always time for a nice cup of tea and a sit down with my knitting.
The thing that most inspires me is to always be learning and learning from other people. I am the sort of person who constantly seeks out information and great detail about everything I become interested in.
Connecting with others to hear their experiences and knowledge is what makes me tick. I'm not into 'small talk' – I love conversations to be big and exciting and truthful about stuff that really matters!
Making sense of everything I learn and how it fits together is what sparks new ideas and innovation for me.
What made you decide to be a trainer for The Growing Club?
When I did the Growing Club programme, I travelled from Preston up to Lancaster to take part. I fell in love with the GC ethos and way of working. I wanted to bring that supportive community vibe into Preston to make what the GC offers, available here.
Being part of the GC will also give me the opportunity to meet, connect with and learn from the amazing women in Preston who I don't know yet. That's the beauty of the non-hierarchical/peer-support element of Growing Club courses. It's an ongoing cycle of connection, support and learning.
What are some of the pitfalls for women in business that you've experienced?
I think the biggest problem for many women in business is fear. Before joining the GC, I had a pathological fear of asking questions and putting myself out there.
The month spent working on 'Negative Automatic Thoughts' really helped me identify unhelpful patterns of belief. I could then challenge them so I could get rid of that baggage and take a more balanced view.
If, like me, you are sensitive to rejection, that fear can be hard to shake, but fears that hold us back need to be faced if we're to grow.
How can The Growing Club help women to grow their businesses sustainably?
The reality is that being in business for women is a different experience than it is for men. Social and cultural expectations, stereotypes of women, stories we tell ourselves and the day-to-day practicalities of how we live our lives all impact our ability to grow our businesses. The Growing Club recognises this.
The year's programme covers the nuts and bolts essentials of running any business, through business skills workshops. But skills training alone isn't enough for women when the laundry is piling up, the school run is looming, we need to look in on an elderly relative and cook the tea – growing our business can drop to the bottom of the list no matter how many practical skills we have.
The second element of the course focuses on putting personal and business growth to the top of our agenda: self-care, valuing ourselves and our time, undoing unhelpful patterns of thinking and learning to think BIG!
The final element is the peer network for support and accountability – you're not going it alone. With GC, you're in a cohort of 10 women, with whom you will buddy up with for mutual support in between the monthly sessions.
If you could offer one time-saving tip to a woman running her own business, what would it be?
My best time saving tip is to avoid double-handling. This is logistics-speak for 'don't do the same job twice'. Planning and being pro-active is what helps me to approach things in a logical order. This means that time isn't wasted clearing up problems later that I've created for myself by avoiding tasks or doing half a job in the first place.
Being pro-active saves time and reduces stress – and when we're stressed, we're even more prone to making mistakes!
Tell me about your training course in Preston?
The Growth Programme will run in Preston from 15th May 2019 on the third Wednesday of each month for a year. We will be meeting at the Intact Centre, Whitby Drive, Ingol PR2 3YP.
We meet monthly for workshops on different topics, starting with Goal Setting and taking you through a year of business growth. Throughout the year you will pair up with other members of the group for a monthly 'buddy session' for accountability and support.
If you're a woman running a business in the Central Lancashire area you can join our Facebook group 'Growing Together – Central Lancashire Women's Enterprise Network' for local networking and support.


19 Mar Infographics: Is your business outgrowing your accounting software?
If you are working with accounting software and you think you should make the leap to a complete ERP, you should know your business is giving you clues. In the following infographic you can see what signs your current system is giving you so that you can consider a change to a complete business management software.
Is it time to start this project? Do not hesitate to contact us here!


Bad bug: Department of Parks and Recreation officials announced on Friday that the invasive-beetle species, Emerald Ash Borer — the larvae of which kill ash trees by burrowing into their bark — are present in Prospect Park for the first time ever.
An invasive species of tree-slaying beetle never-before-found in the city is infesting Brooklyn's Backyard, Department of Parks and Recreation officials announced on Friday.
The Emerald Ash Borer, a small, non-native insect, was first detected in New York state in 2009, according to the agency, and park tree-keepers recently discovered the bugs in Brooklyn while tending the meadow's tens of thousands of green things, its head landscaper said.
"The infestation was detected thanks to vigilant monitoring of the tree population by a year-round crew committed to the protection and preservation of the park's 30,000 trees," said John Jordan, director of landscape management for the Prospect Park Alliance, which maintains the lawn in conjunction with the city.
The beetle's larvae burrows deep beneath the bark of ash trees, slowly killing them by cutting off the circulation of water and nutrients.
But the bugs are only a threat to ash trees, which constitute about three percent of all growing in the city, according to a parks department press release.
Officials identified ten trees in Prospect Park that they suspected were affected by the insects, and immediately chopped down and carted off three after confirming they were infested, according to the release, which said workers will remove more this winter.
Local green thumbs should monitor their neighborhood trees for telltale signs of a borer infestation, including the D-shaped exit hole the bugs make in bark as they emerge from trunks, and report any sightings to authorities, said the head of the state's Department of Environmental Conservation.
"The public can greatly assist in our efforts by paying close attention to signs of this invasive pest and reporting any detections to the DEC's Forest Health Division," said Basil Seggos.
Probably just overgrown bed bugs.
Ash trees need to be protected from this beetle in order to survive. This youtube video describes a technique for your community to assess its ash trees and make decisions about protecting them. It is based on work published in January 2017 in the International Society of Arboriculture.
Fort Greene Park has another menace to the viability of trees-namely the Parks Dept and Commissioner Silver!
His 'Parks Without Borders'-a poorly thought scheme- to cut down forty or more trees at the northwest corner (Myrtle Ave) to be replaced by a sterile long hardscape Plaza begs the question why?
OH, NO! NOT THE Beatles! NOT THE Beatles! AAAAAHHHHH! OH, THEY'RE IN MY EYES! MY EYES! AAAAHHHHH! AAAAAGGHHH!
@ Jack Meme Hoff For the lulz man... always for the lulz. Stay dank. Keeh yah lazer charged and the pool closed.
BP: Read the previous three comments and the one at the top and please explain to me why, when I question WC and provide the journalistic standard for the common names of beetles, you deleted my comment. Are you really that thin-skinned?
Do not fret. NYC Parks Forestry division and their leradership is not in the business of protecting and preserving public trees. They are in the business of tree planting and logging those trees they no longer see desirable. We observe throughout communities where many that are allies to Parks Forestry aid and assist in street tree destruction and removal, unnoticied by the public. EAB is simply a plus for the agency- losses in ashes will drive even more new tree installations and great photo opportunities for the agency.
These bedbugs are really dominating human lives and creating more issues day by day. Pests like ants, cockroaches, moths, moles, bedbugs, beetles and flies, can make your life difficult. To get rid of these bed bugs you can use a spray to kill them. Using the homemade remedy spray consist of water, vegetable oil, vinegar, and a little dish soap can help you to kill the bed bugs. But, nowadays, most of the people hire a professional pest control specialist like bed bug exterminator Brooklyn ( http://www.positivepest.net/brooklyn-ny-pest-extermination/ ), who can permanently solve all bed bugs problems in a cost-effective manner.


This Necklace & Earring Leaf Jewellery Set in a Silver colour is made with real leaves, using a special method to give them a beautiful metal coating. As these are real leaves, not one product is exactly the same so every piece bought is unique. These are the perfect romantic gift or fashion accessory for those who are looking to express their individuality and connection with nature. There are sets of leaf jewellery that hold both earrings and a necklace in a fashionable box.


Zithromax from Canadian Health&Care Mall healthcare online acceptance is administered in case of confirmed bacterial infection forms. The drug belongs to group of macrolide and azalide antibacterial agents. The active substance has chemical nature and complex multilevel formula.
The medicine refers to the third generation of microbicides with minimal resistance to the various pathogenic bacteria. This allows to be used by patients with various forms of inflammatory diseases. The basic form of application is gelatine capsule inside which white crystalline powder is.
Capsules should be taken as a single piece, without preliminary breaking up. This should be followed because of the fact that gastric juice hydrochloric acid may adversely affect drug components. The capsule form allows you to bring it in an unchanged form to the intestinal cavity, which have no aggressive acid environment.
The main health care action of Canadian Zithromax online is directed against a wide range of bacterial infections forms. When injected into body tissues, active constituent binds to ribosomes, cell inclusions. Due to persistent connections formation protein production is blocked inside bacterial cell connections.
Thus, therapeutic dosages of Zithromax from Canadian Health&Care Mall healthcare online helps to achieve bacteriostatic slowing down process and inhibition of bacterial microflora multiplication. For rapid microbial flora destruction it is required increase in concentration of active substance in blood plasma.
In some cases, instructions for use of Zithromax may be used at tissue damage by spirochetes.
After oral administration active ingredient enters blood within 30 minutes. An hour later, plasma concentration reaches 38 percent. Maximum bioavailability occurs after 2 hours after administration of therapeutic dose – 500 mg. For full recovery it is necessary to take antibiotic Zithromax at least during 3 consecutive days. In severe infections longer courses of treatment are obligatory.
Instructions for generic Zithromax use permits its use in various infections in form of capsules. In severe forms of disease you should start therapy with intravenous and intramuscular injections.
cholecystitis, duodenitis, gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer.
In dentistry, Zithromax 500 mg is used in acute forms of adnexitis and bacterial vaginitis. This drug is reasonably likely to help prevent the risk of adhesions, and tubal occlusion.
Zithromax 250 mg is effective at oral cavity diseases. In particular, its use is widely practiced in flux, periostitis and periodontitis. After tooth removal and suppuration wells may also be assigned to take this drug.
It does not have sufficient efficiency in diseases of arachnoid and has no effect on the pathogenic form of meningococcosis. Therefore, at meningitis, encephalitis and arachnoiditis Zithromax is not used as the drug of first choice. But it can be used as a additional drug in antimicrobial therapy.
The drug – Zithromax for sale online during pregnancy breast-feeding is contraindicated in all dosages. The exceptions are those cases in which the risk to fetus' health is less dangerous than an inflammatory disease of future mothers' health.
Zithromax is contraindicated to children up to the age of 6 months. Do not use this drug if you are hypersensitive to antibiotics of erythromycin series.
Side effects may occur on part of cardiovascular system, kidneys, skin and digestive tract. These symptoms are detected in no more than 1 out of 1000 patients in control cases.
When choosing a product to replace the original one you should consult your doctor. Analog forms of pharmacological agents are not recommended to independently purchase. They may differ in amount of active substance that affects daily dosage calculation. Also, they may have different contraindications and side effects that can be potentially hazardous to your health, depending on whether you have a variety of kidneys and liver chronic diseases.
Angina is most often manifested in high fever and throat severe pain – so that sometimes swallowing hurts to tears. But it happens that it takes form of chronic tonsillitis exacerbation, and then temperature can not appear, there is only a severe sore throat and general weakness. And in fact, in another case, the main supporting force in fight against infection are antibiotics, among which well established in angina treatment is Zithromax Canada Generic.
Since Zithromax Canadian Pharmacy is a broad-spectrum antibiotic, it is effective against all bacteria that cause sore throat. Zithromax is an antibiotic belonging to the group of macrolides, and usually better tolerated than penicillin group of antibiotics, so it is possible to be met quite frequent among medical appointments.
As antibiotic, it is resistant to acidic stomach environment, so you can take it at any time, but doctors usually recommend an hour before a meal because drug absorption carries out faster and, accordingly, that it quickly began to produce effect.
Zithromax Canadian Pharmacy easily penetrates intosoft body tissues, respiratory tract, liquid (blood plasma and lymph systems). It goes directly into infection localization, where there is its release. Researches proved that drug concentration in pathogens localization areas is significantly higher than in healthy tissues. So, side effects are not expressed.
This antibiotic in angina should be taken during 3-5 days period. Drug is available in pills and capsules, each of which contain 250 mg or 500 mg of azithromycin with additive substances. Angina treatment with Zithromax antibiotic generic differs in children and adults.
The course of angina treatment antibiotic Zithromax for adults used the following regimen – 500 mg tablet should be taken once a day. If for any reason once the drug proved to be skipped, the next dose should be taken immediately, as soon as this fact is found, and the next – with an interval of 24 hours.
To achieve an early effect it is recommended to take the drug in capsule form because it reaches small intestine, where it will start its absorption faster.
Features of growing organism are that up to a certain age, you can not prescribe and give all antibiotics to children. Babies up to six months are particularly vulnerable because they are not prescribed zithromax, as it can cause very undesirable consequences.
6 months and 12 years children Zithromax Canadian is prescribed only as a suspension (Sumamed). For the smallest – up to a year – dose is 5 ml of suspension per kg. Take antibiotic – zithromax in suspension once a day, treatment continues for at least 3 days. From year to 3 years, the dose will increase slightly, and will be equal to 10 ml per kg, from 4 to 12 years – already 15 mL / kg. This drug is given to children, once a day.
Zithromax Oral Suspension should be used for sore throat treatment with caution, and before its appointment you should be sure to tell your doctor about all your existing chronic disease, taking any medications, as well as allergy presence to any antibiotic.
Some patients may feel abdominal discomfort, bloating, pain, nausea, appearance of unpleasant taste in mouth. Some people may notice appearance of insomnia, anxiety does not pass, without external causes. Someone, on the contrary, may fall into a slightly depression, suffer from headache or dizziness.
Particular attention should be paid to the property that Azithromycin can cause photosensitivity – that is, increase skin's sensitivity to sunlight. Therefore, if you are prescribed such an antibiotic in angina in spring or summer, be careful going outside, and cover exposed areas from the sun, otherwise you can even get sunburn.
Fortunately, all these phenomena are transient, so do not be panic if they have begun after Zithromax Canadian Pharmacy intake. However, attending physician is necessary to report them – perhaps he considers the situation serious and substitute another antibiotic drug.
In addition, please note that concomitant use of zithromax and certain drugs can cause weakening of drug effect.
With regard to special category of patients – pregnant women – Zithromax Canada online is an antibiotic prescribed very rarely, and only in cases where expected benefit to the mother exceeds the harm that disease can cause danger for future mother and the fetus.
Why it happens so because Zithromax from Canadian Health&Care Mall healthcare online belongs to the latest generation of antibiotics, whose negative impact on the body is minimal It's simple: at the moment enough data on drug effect on expectant mother and fetus have accumulated. But those studies that have been conducted show that use of this antibiotic does not cause any malformations in baby.


text:
Medical Biology - Research Publications
Protein O-fucosylation in Plasmodium falciparum ensures efficient infection of mosquito and vertebrate hosts
Lopaticki, S; Yang, ASP; John, A; Scott, NE; Lingford, JP; O'Neill, MT; Erickson, SM; McKenzie, NC; Jennison, C; Whitehead, LW; ...
Whitehead, Lachlan; Scott, Nichollas; Goddard-Borger, Ethan; Boddey, Justin; Yang, Annie; John, Alan; Erickson, Sara; McKenzie, Nicole; Cowman, Alan
Medical Biology (W.E.H.I.)
Lopaticki, S., Yang, A. S. P., John, A., Scott, N. E., Lingford, J. P., O'Neill, M. T., Erickson, S. M., McKenzie, N. C., Jennison, C., Whitehead, L. W., Douglas, D. N., Kneteman, N. M., Goddard-Borger, E. D. & Boddey, J. A. (2017). Protein O-fucosylation in Plasmodium falciparum ensures efficient infection of mosquito and vertebrate hosts. NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 8 (1), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-00571-y.
10.1038/s41467-017-00571-y
O-glycosylation of the Plasmodium sporozoite surface proteins CSP and TRAP was recently identified, but the role of this modification in the parasite life cycle and its relevance to vaccine design remain unclear. Here, we identify the Plasmodium protein O-fucosyltransferase (POFUT2) responsible for O-glycosylating CSP and TRAP. Genetic disruption of POFUT2 in Plasmodium falciparum results in ookinetes that are attenuated for colonizing the mosquito midgut, an essential step in malaria transmission. Some POFUT2-deficient parasites mature into salivary gland sporozoites although they are impaired for gliding motility, cell traversal, hepatocyte invasion, and production of exoerythrocytic forms in humanized chimeric liver mice. These defects can be attributed to destabilization and incorrect trafficking of proteins bearing thrombospondin repeats (TSRs). Therefore, POFUT2 plays a similar role in malaria parasites to that in metazoans: it ensures the trafficking of Plasmodium TSR proteins as part of a non-canonical glycosylation-dependent endoplasmic reticulum protein quality control mechanism.The role of O-glycosylation in the malaria life cycle is largely unknown. Here, the authors identify a Plasmodium protein O-fucosyltransferase and show that it is important for normal trafficking of a subset of surface proteins, particularly CSP and TRAP, and efficient infection of mosquito and vertebrate hosts.
Microbiology & Immunology - Research Publications [1555]
Medical Biology - Research Publications [865]


February 7, 2013 | 11:20 a.m.
Richie Kucinski '03 was nominated to lead an immersion school advocacy group.
Doctor of Education student Richie Kucinski '03 has been nominated for the position of senior chair-elect of the Minnesota Advocates for Immersion Network (MAIN), an advocacy group that coordinates the efforts of the state's language immersion schools. Minnesota is a leader in immersion education, with 64 programs taught in seven languages serving 13,000 students.
Kucinski says that MAIN's agenda includes mobilizing parent groups and school administrators that have immersion programs in their districts, inviting legislators into immersion schools to learn about their academic successes, and connecting with businesses that may need bilingual employees. He believes that immersion education prepares students for the 21st century workforce. "Immersion students also test well and tend to succeed academically, helping to close the achievement gap and foster multicultural appreciation," he says.
Kucinski assumes his new position on July 1 and will serve for two years.


text:
Working Class Struggles
Special Haiti
Revolutionary Violence
sábado, 9 | enero | 2021
IWL-FI
Fight Back To Overthrow Maduro and Defeat Anti-worker Austerity Measures
TOPSHOT - A Venezuelan opposition demonstrator waves a flag at the riot police in a clash during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas on May 8, 2017. Venezuela's opposition mobilized Monday in fresh street protests against President Nicolas Maduro's efforts to reform the constitution in a deadly political crisis. Supporters of the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) gathered in eastern Caracas to march to the education ministry under the slogan "No to the dictatorship." / AFP PHOTO / FEDERICO PARRA (Photo credit should read FEDERICO PARRA/AFP/Getty Images)
The crisis that hits the country is far from being over, on the contrary, it continues to worsen, the government of Nicolás Maduro has been unable to resolve it in favor of the workers; its measures to confront it have consisted in unloading brutal austerity measures against the workers and poor people, increasing their sufferings and making the situation unbearable, such economic crisis worsens the political crisis. It is increasingly evident that any alternate solution to the crisis includes the need to organize the struggle to overthrow the government.
By: Leonardo Arantes
More than five months have passed since, following instructions from the US Department of State, Juan Guaidó proclaimed himself interim president of the republic, within the framework of a strategy that sought to divide the Armed Forces, and of which the continental right governments were a part of. Prior to the act of self-proclamation these governments integrated to the so-called Group of Lima had declared their condemnation of the maduro dictatorship. It is evident that in this period of time this strategy has been experiencing a notable decline.
The brutal crisis suffered by millions of Venezuelans, evidenced by the atrocious hunger, low wages, unusable public services, shortage of cash and medicine, among other calamities, created false expectations from the masses in this strategy proposed by a bourgeois and pro-imperialist leadership, as enemy of the workers and the poor people as the dictatorial government of Maduro.
But the proven incapacity of that political leadership to propose an exit to the economic crisis in favor of the workers (its class character prevents it), its inconsistency in the confrontation with the government, its tendency to secret negotiations (for their particular interests), the frustration of the expectations of desperate masses and, more recently, the failed coup plot on April 30, have caused these expectations to dissipate.
Meanwhile, Maduro continues to dispatch from Miraflores, and the workers and poor people feel the severity of a crisis that is worsening, not foreseeing solutions for their endless problems.
From Unidad Socialista de los Trabajadores , we have been emphatic in affirming that workers must organize independently to defeat the government, expelling Maduro from it, the slogan Out with Maduro, has been one of the main axes of our policy; and that independence to which we refer means that in this struggle we should not place any political trust in the bourgeois leadership of Juan Guaidó or imperialism and its lackeys on the continental right (Bolsonaro, Duque, Piñera and others …), who in their countries impose austerity measures that unload the weight of the crisis on workers. We warn not to trust their "humanitarian" pretensions and we reject their sanctions against the country, as well as the retention of resources, actions that do nothing but aggravate the sufferings of Venezuelan workers. That's why another axis of our policy is: No to Imperialist Intervention , No confidence in Guaidó.
The Political Crisis Continues, Government and Opposition Seek Legitimacy
The political crisis continues to advance and worsen, the government discredit is enormous, some polls show a rejection that exceeds 90%, the failure of the bourgeois opposition strategy to which we referred earlier has also increased and accelerated the discrediting of this political leadership, although it still arouses expectations in significant sectors of the Venezuelan population.
In this framework they intend to rearrange themselves with the secret Norway dialogues , conversations that, like the previous ones, don't include the population and will not bring any benefit to working people. With it the government seeks to buy time and the bourgeois opposition to give the impression that it is doing something to confront the government.
The political leadership headed by Guaidó now tries to press and reposition itself calling for a march for July 5 (day of the commemoration of the signing of the country's independence act) that will probably lack mass (or at least it will not have the numbers like January 23 when they reached their peak of popularity), the government will surely respond with a counter-march to try to bring coerced public officials and state workers. Additionally, the government disseminated a story, publicizing an alleged attack against President Maduro, First Lady Cilia Flores and the First Vice President of the PSUV and president of the National Constituent Assembly ANC Diosdado Cabello, this in order to reinforce its internal front .
The truth is that the regime crisis is huge and aggravated by the economic and social crisis that is far from resolved, desertions such as Manuel Cristopher Figuera ( national head of intelligence service SEBIN),after the April 30 failed military coup , show that there are significant fractures within the government, recently there was a meeting between a sector of the PSUV and its deputies (its representatives in the National Assembly (AN) elected in 2015), its speculated that they would be discussing the possibility of returning to Parliament, agreeing on the formation of a new National Electoral Council (CNE) and calling elections, this being part of the Norwegian agreements. This sector of the PSUV, would be willing to "sacrifice" Maduro in order to preserve their political and economic privileges.
Ungovernability is obvious in the country, most public institutions are paralyzed or semi-paralyzed for lack of basic implements to work, so are the state companies, doing any process is a true nightmare and cannot be done without paying a bribe, corruption is notable at all levels of government, merchants (large and small), transporters, businessmen (both boliburgueses and opponents), bankers and military speculate, commit abuses and amass fortunes under the most complete impunity (guaranteed by the military, police officers and directors of institutions).
The Economic and Social Crisis Continues Hurting Us
Since August 20, 2018, when the "Economic Recovery and Stimulus Plan" was launched, the government asked for 90 days to begin to see its positive effects, far from improving, the situation worsened, in reality that time lapse wasn't necessary to begin to feel its harmful effects.
The mega devaluations implemented by the government destroyed the salary more than it already was, from the $ 30 ( official dollar) at the time of the plan's launch , today it stands at just $ 5.3 (7.6 $ if we include the food bonus that has no wage relation), hyperinflation has accelerated which means a new jump in prices, some products appeared on the shelves and are like museums pieces because with the prohibitive prices they cannot be acquired , corn flour for example costs 1.5 and up to $ 2, a dollar or more for a kilo of rice, an average chicken can cost about $ 4, a pair of shoes of average quality costs about $ 30 (good quality over $ 100).
All this against a minimum wage as the aforementioned that is accrued by the majority of the population.The food basket amounts to 1,924,265 BS., and the basic basket is 2,491,159 BS., $ 274.90 and $355.88 respectively (data from the CENDAS of April 2019). There is no medicine and the few that are available are sold at exorbitant prices, electricity crisis is not overcome, thousands of neighborhoods and communities across the country suffer from lack of water, continued shortages of cash, people and families have to make long lines, kilometers (where they spend all day) to fill the gas tank of the vehicle, or wait for weeks to replenish a gas cylinder, because there is no gas and gas is scarce in a country with huge oil reserves.
Regarding gasoline, the problem tends to worsen due to the fact that production continues to plummet, of one million barrels per day of gasoline that were produced in previous years ,today less than one hundred thousand are produced. In response to the gas shortage problem , the government applied the magical and classic solution of increasing service prices (similar to what Guaido's so-called Plan País proposes ; faced with bankruptcy of services, privatizing them and increasing their cost to make them profitable), increasing the price of a 10 kilo cylinder (the most common among workers and poor population in the country) from 50 BS to 3500 BS (an increase of 7000%), similar increases were made in all other presentations (18, 27 and 45 kilos).
When in Crisis, Adjust. The 2792 Memorandum
The "Economic Recovery and Stimulus Plan" was the beginning of the formal application of an adjustment program that the government had been applying slowly, but firmly. This plan, similar to Guaido's Plan País (and in preparation to a possible government of the bourgeois opposition) includes devaluations, re-privatizations, higher tax burdens for those who earn less and tax exemption for businessmen , and allows the latter to change working conditions, lay off workers and eliminate collective contracts .
The official dollar since then has been repeatedly devalued taking it to levels similar to the parallel dollar, which ruined the government's argument of holding the "criminal dollar" responsible for the crisis, and this has had the effect that we have already seen of wage destruction.
Today, Venezuela is the cheapest labor in the continent and perhaps in the world. In cities such as Cumaná and Valencia, companies such as the Fextun cannery and the Abastos Bicentenario chain, respectively, have been handed over to private consortiums, the Venetur hotel chain was re-privatized, cases like these are repeated throughout the country, including in the oil sector and plans to move forward in other sectors We also have the case of the income tax exoneration to transnational companies, while taxes for the population increased (retroactive tax paid by the worker and final consumer) by four points, from 12 to 16%.
All this is being applied by Maduro's government as an adjustment package, but it is also contemplated in Guaido's Plan Pais, under the disguise of "Exchange Discipline, support Private Initiative, Reform and Fiscal Discipline".
But the adjustment does not stop there, it also includes tariff adjustments such as the aforementioned gas and the one decreed for gasoline (which has not been carried out due to technical incapacity, although because of scarcity it has been applied even harder than decreed), telephone and internet rates have already been adjusted and will continue increasing progressively, adjustments are also foreseen in electricity and water.But what is most serious is what has been applied in state and private companies through the implementation of Memorandum 2792, dated October 11, 2018, an instrument designed by the Presidency and the Ministry of Planning, to be subscribed and applied by the Ministry of Labor, through which public and private companies are free to modify working conditions, lay offs and eliminate collective contracts ("Cuts to public spending and stimulus to private investment" as expressed in Plan Pais).
Through the application of this mechanism dozens of clauses of collective agreements of state enterprises and public sector bodies have been eliminated or modified, ending or diminishing benefits and achievements of workers in this sector, but they have also "suspended" hundreds of workers from private companies who are sent home with no expected date of return to their work, with closed plants and peers accruing salaries of a dollar and a half monthly in some cases and without enjoying any contractual benefit , ignoring all labor legislation in the country both in spirit and in norm , all based on said memorandum, specifically in its articles 3 and 4. As victims of this instrument in the public and private sector, we find educators, healthcare workers, Caracas Metro, PDVSA, Firestone, Chrysler (Valencia), Modelo Hipermercado (Maracay), Alimentos Polar , Toyota (Cumaná), Coca Cola, among others.
Workers in Struggle Emerges
In the midst of this alarming situation and partly as a result of it "Workers in Struggle"has emerged, as a space that seeks to unify and independently organize workers struggles. The capitulation of the leadership of Interseccional de los Trabajadores de venezuela (ITV) to a pro-patronal and pro-imperialist political leadership like that of Guaidó, making this organization their union arm, made it impossible for sectors that claim independent mobilization of the workers as a tool of political struggle to remain within their framework , that is why we constitute and are building this new space for the unification and organization of struggles.From the UST we have expressed our willingness and our calls to organize the fight to overthrow the government , to defeat the employer's adjustment and also against imperialist intervention, we are willing to collaborate in this space to contribute in its advance, both at the street mobilizations level, as in the programmatic and political discussion. Our call is to trade unions, union centrals, prevention delegates, activists, workers in conflicts to approach this space to help build it and support ongoing struggles.
Organize the Struggle to Bring Down the Government! Out with Maduro!
Unidad Socialista de Los Trabajadores (UST)Venezuelan Section of the International Workers League (LIT-CI)
Crisis in Venezuela
Nigeria: The first battle of the long war
Venezuela: Diverse Organizations Appeal for Signatures in Rejection of the Anti-Blockade Law and Demanding a Popular Referendum
Castro-Chavismo
Freedom for the Corrupt, Prison for the Workers
Workers' Voice Statement: Here Comes 2021
U.S. enero 7, 2021
Engels and the Materialist Interpretation of the History of Women's Oppression
Special: 200 Years of Engels diciembre 25, 2020
Ten Years of Revolutions in the Arab World
Middle East diciembre 22, 2020
Profit Non-Profit: The Influence of Corporate Foundations on Nonprofits and Social Movements
North America diciembre 18, 2020
Where Is The Economy Heading?
Economy diciembre 14, 2020
Fiddles Melody: Bicentennial of Friedrich Engels, the Communist General
Special: 200 Years of Engels diciembre 4, 2020
Engels' Ecological Dialectical Materialism
Engels, Co-author of the Materialist Conception of History
Special: 200 Years of Engels noviembre 28, 2020
International Courier #24
We are a Leninist international that defends a revolutionary and socialist programme. Parties in different countries are part of our International, also on the base of a workers' socialist programme. Our strategic project is to reconstruct the Fourth International founded by Leon Trotsky in 1938, because we consider it an indispensable tool to struggle for a worldwide socialist revolution.
© Webdesigner - [email protected]


text:
Home Used Cars Mercedes-Benz E Class Middlebury, CT
Used Mercedes-Benz E Class in Middlebury, CT
Car Loans for Mercedes-Benz E Class
Car Insurance for Mercedes-Benz E Class
Car Warranty for Mercedes-Benz E Class
Car Research for Mercedes-Benz E Class
Used Mercedes-Benz E Class by City
Used Mercedes-Benz E Class in Waterbury, CT
Used Mercedes-Benz E Class in Naugatuck, CT
Used Mercedes-Benz E Class in Southbury, CT
Used Mercedes-Benz E Class in Woodbury, CT
Used Mercedes-Benz E Class in Oakville, CT
Used Mercedes-Benz E Class in Oxford, CT
Used Mercedes-Benz E Class in Watertown, CT
Used Mercedes-Benz E Class in Beacon Falls, CT
Used Mercedes-Benz E Class in South Britain, CT
Used Mercedes-Benz E Class in Prospect, CT
Used Mercedes-Benz E Class in Wallingford, CT
Used Mercedes-Benz E Class in Bethany, CT
Used Mercedes-Benz E Class in Roxbury, CT
Used Mercedes-Benz E Class in Bethlehem, CT