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Soft skills, Tough Call
Enough has been written on "employability skills" or the lack of these among most Indian students. Essential for any job aspirant, these are the non-technical skills and competencies which play a significant part in contributing to an individual's effective and successful participation in the workplace. As per a report by Nasscom, a mere 10 per cent of fresh graduates are actually employable. Similar surveys on engineers and MBAs put employable professionals no more than 25 per cent net. A vast majority of even professionally qualified people are not industry ready.
Careercature
Sandeep Joshi
No need to tell me anything. You have been booted out.
New visa rules
A Haven For Students
Undeterred by sporadic incidents of violence with racial undertone and egged on by peer pressure back home, Indian students have started flying to Australia again, though in small numbers though.
Career Hotline
Drdo regulations
Open chance
Failure Scripts Success
There are three primary principles essential to success with their offshoots. They are — determine your objective; analyse the obstacles in your way; learn how to overcome them.
Training strength
There is a spate of technical education institutes in the region and lakhs of students enroll for different courses every year nursing dreams of a bright career. With rapid growth in the field, there is ample scope for technically qualified youth in the job market.
Huge growth potential in dairy farming in Haryana holds out hopes of a lucrative calling for unemployed youth and women in the state, writes Rajender Singh
Historically, Haryana has been the star of dairy farming, and it is a highly suited profession for unemployed youth and women. Shrinking land holdings, mechanised farming, ready marketability of milk, and the involvement of educated unemployed youth, has increased the scope of hi-tech dairy farming in Haryana.
Unemployed youth and womeen undergo training in the latest practices in dairy farming
Happiness @ work
Education fair
New Delhi: The 8th Infra Educa 2010 will showcase a comprehensive view of the education horizon and industry at Pragati Maidan on May 29 and 30. Organised by FEPL, this edition of the exhibition allows students from every educational and economic background to explore the various career options available to them.
Fortnightly Quiz - 362
Non-technical skills are important for a successful career, and a lot of stress is laid on inculcating these. Nishant Saxena on whether these skills can be taught
Research involving almost 40 companies has identified nine missing elements which limit a candidate's employability. These are:
n Attitude (sincerity, can-do, ownership/motivation)
n Business ethics/honesty
n Grooming/confidence
n Communication skills
n General awareness
n Basic managerial skills (leadership, teamwork, time management etc.)
n Basic sales and customer service (most entry level jobs require one of these)
n Domain knowledge
n Work experience
While the obvious solution to unlock India's much talked of demographic dividend is to empower our students with these requisite skills, the big question is: Can these employability skills be coached?
Experience over a period of one year after administering a 240-hour "employability" intervention to 3,000 students across 6 Tier II cities (focusing on Tier II/III MBA colleges) has thrown mixed results.
Attitude and ethics were the most difficult to correct. Clinical psychologists are of the view that attitude can be improved through a six to nine-month long process involving motivation, extended practice and constant feedback. Being pedantic almost never works in improving someone's attitude. Still most college professors and principals continue to hope that by repeating their unsolicited advice multiple times, their students may listen — we all communicate what we want to say versus what our audience wants to hear!
But even the use of innovative techniques like story-telling has had mixed results. In reality the effect of a few hours of class was often drowned by their 22 years of grounding. While some borderline cases did change, for the most part the already good ones became better.
Grooming and confidence, on the other hand, are the easiest to correct. Steady practice in small batches of 15-25 students, with people of similar ability carefully chosen and put together, and then giving every individual a chance to speak for 5-7 minutes every single day for 4-5 months, helps tremendously. Workshops involving specially trained grooming instructors, emphasising on 'Dress to Impress' create impact. The process requires strict discipline in order to ensure that everyone gets sufficient time to speak; else, the ones already good take all the "air-time". Similarly, basic grooming checks like colour combinations of attire, hair and shoe polish, etc. everyday for few months change people's habits. Grooming itself generates self-confidence.
Communication skills development takes time and a very scientific method of intervention. The first part is to sharpen the basic communication skill in any language. This involves honing listening skills, trying to understand the audience, and practice being crisp and logical in responses.
The second concern for most Tier II colleges is the inability of students to speak in English. Unfortunately, just putting a good English spokesperson does not work. A scientific module which covers specific grammar and spoken English /pronunciation, especially tailored for adults is required. Students are also less inclined to focus on English at such a late stage in their careers. So, session needs to be lively and interactive. Use of modules followed in BPOs for 80-140 hours has been successful since these BPOs have mastered the art of imparting training in English communication skills to adult learners. But it requires a rigorous curriculum of 1-1.5 hours session every single day as lack of continuity drastically reduces the effectiveness.
Current awareness is also a relatively easy job. An everyday quiz on current awareness for six months develops reading habits in the students. The reward and punishment strategy works effectively in building the interest of students in this.
Managerial skills like leadership, teamwork, stress and time management can be learnt but again require innovative methods. A good corporate style game followed by an intense and deep debrief, and repeated twice or thrice, can at least sensitise people and make them cautious towards exhibiting the "right" behaviour. While it would be ambitious to think that a two-hour teamwork session will make everyone a great team player, still a significant improvement in the level of maturity and intent can be winessed after this sensitisation.
Sales/customer service and practical domain knowledge are coachable but require faculty from industry. The challenge that most Tier II colleges face is that the major chunk of students are freshers without any previous experience in any domain. Adding to this, the average faculty of these colleges also has limited quality industry experience. So their ability to train students on practical industry-oriented knowledge is limited. The best practice may be to get a significant portion of training, say 25 per cent, to be delivered by actual industry experts. A recent study used IIM alumni who could deliver live corporate experiences, share inside secrets and tips of the business world, explain what is not covered in theory and how to apply theory in real life etc. The feedback from these sessions was positive. Add to it some live games (demo selling, demo trading etc.).
Experience is the tricky one. Most companies wanted experience before a degree like MBA but 80-95 per cent of Tier II/III MBA students were fresh BA/BCom/BSc. We tried to use a via media, offering live industry projects during the course, but industry acceptance of these was varied. Most HR managers were not convinced that a two-month part-time project can replace a relevant work experience of one to two years. The only long-term solution may be for the colleges to recruit only experienced students, especially for a postgraduate course like MBA.
So, for all those who wonder whether employability skills be inculcated through effective training, the answer, is not a simple yes or no. While some of these skills can be acquired through coaching, others can't be learnt and perfected 100 per cent. In grooming, confidence, sales/customer service and basic managerial skills, we may be able to reach significant levels of improvement. On attitude and ethics, however, the impact of limited hours of classroom training is questionable. Communicational skills, on the other hand, can improve drastically but demand extended practicing and effort.
(The writer is CEO, Elements Akademia and guest faculty, IIM, Lucknow)
R.M.S. Atwal
Undeterred by sporadic incidents of violence with racial undertone and egged on by peer pressure back home, Indian students have started flying to Australia again, though in small numbers though. Some 'genuine students' from the region can always give us compelling reasons to believe that the kangaroo-land will soon spring back to reclaim its status as the number one study destination.
Boasting of world-class universities and colleges equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure, Australia has fast recovered from the recent setback. This all was made possible by some concrete measures initiated by the Australian Government following world-wide outcry against racism.
Now as the dust settles on the 'war of words', Kelly Raj, Counsellor-Education in the Australian High Commission, New Delhi, threw light on the various aspects of Australian education following the recent announcement of a stricter student visa regime.
Do you think the recent 'damage control' exercise by the Australian Government has been effective in luring back Indian students?
Measures to better protect the rights and well-being of Indian students in Australia have already been introduced by the Australian Government. These include a nationwide audit of education providers and a requirement for them to re-register their courses under tighter new criteria this year. In addition, the Australian Police Commissioners have agreed to share initiatives designed to ensure student safety and improve the dissemination of information to stakeholders. The Council of Australian Governments, which comprises the Heads of Government of the national, state and territory governments, has also agreed to a suite of practical initiatives designed to better ensure a positive, safe and rewarding study experience for international students. These initiatives form part of the International Students Strategy for Australia and compliment the findings of the recent Baird Review to ensure that Australia remains a world-leader in the international education sector.
But students from the northern region still seem to be scared about pursuing their studies Down Under?
Kelly Raj
Our government is taking the issue of the safety and well-being of Indians in Australia very seriously. Authorities at all levels of government in the country have resolved not to tolerate victimisation and violence against international students. Strengthened police operations have improved physical security and arrests have been made. Tighter regulation has also improved the quality of education, while protecting students affected by the closure of some education providers. Initiatives are also in place to better support international students and foster their inclusion in local communities.
Don't you think stringent student visa rules can prove counter-productive for overseas students?
The paramount objective of the student visa programme is to maintain Australia's reputation for quality international education by facilitating the access of genuine students to our country. When assessing the genuineness, a number of factors are considered, including the applicant's financial capacity, English proficiency, potential to breach visa conditions and other relevant matters. These requirements were introduced on the basis of past experience that indicated such measures resulted in a higher proportion of students complying with visa conditions. The student visa requirements are necessary to ensure the integrity of Australia's visa programme and to support the long-term sustainability and quality of Australian international education. They also help protect the welfare of students and their families, and help students to have a positive experience living and studying in Australia.
How effective has the Association of Australian Education Representatives in India (AAERI) been in reining in bogus education agents?
The AAERI was formed to assure the integrity of agents recruiting students on behalf of Australian institutions. One of the strengths of AAERI is that all members agree to abide by a Code of Ethical practice and that code of ethics is based on the Australian Government's Education Services for Overseas Students Act. So AAERI's Code of Ethical practice ensures that members provide accurate and realistic counselling to Indian students wanting to study in Australia.
Do you think Australia will bounce back before the September intake?
I understand numbers of enrolments have continued to grow since the beginning of this year with an average growth of almost 9 per cent each calendar month. I think the recent Joint Ministerial Statement between India's Ministry for Human Resource Development and Australia's Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations will further strengthen what is already a solid partnership between Australia and India, and expand avenues to achieve greater cooperation between the two nations in the education sector.
Now that countries like New Zealand have taken the major chunk of Indian students, will the Australian government welcome such students' transfer to its own (Australian) universities and colleges?
Despite major events such as the global financial crisis, Indian students' enrolments in Australia reduced only by 1.9 per cent. Australia develops and maintains bilateral education and training relationships throughout Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Australia and New Zealand's geographical proximity, historical, social and cultural affinity extends to the education sector. Educational bilateral activities include more than 30 formal agreements between universities in Australia and New Zealand and 23 offshore programmes.
Permanent residency and study abroad is considered to be a dangerous mix. How does the Australian Government see it in the present scenario?
Student visas entitle people to come to Australia on a temporary basis for a specified period to undertake study at an Australian educational institution. While many overseas students make a decision to apply for permanent residence upon completing their studies, this is an entirely separate process and there is no guarantee that, purely on the basis of having held a student visa, a person will meet the requirements to be granted PR. Students should not make educational choices solely on the basis of hoping to achieve a particular migration outcome, as the general skilled migration programme will continue to change and adapt to Australia's economic needs. For more information students can visit the following links: www.studyinaustralia.gov.au; www.australiaawards.gov.au; www.aei.gov.au
Living costs & funds
While international students are able to supplement their income with money earned through part-time work in Australia, the 'living costs' requirement helps to support the success of students in their studies by ensuring they don't need to rely on such work to meet all their expenses. Under the new migration regulations, the basic rate of living costs were increased from the previous rate of $12,000 a year to $18,000 a year for the main student. Student visa applicants may also be asked to demonstrate the funds they are relying upon to meet the costs of studying in Australia will be genuinely available to them during their stay in Australia.
A note of caution
Never ever go by what your agent says. You know, he always has a business motive. The smart act would be to do your home-work well on the Internet and then seek the advice of your tried and tested agent. Also, you should be wary of academic transcripts offered for sale, generally via the Internet, without any study involved. Find more information on the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations' website.
n The University of Adelaide (Adelaide) www.adelaide.edu.au
n The Australian National University (ANU) www.anu.edu.au
n The University of Melbourne (UniMelb) www.unimelb.edu.au
n Monash University (Monash) www.monash.edu.au
n The University of New South Wales (UNSW) www.unsw.edu.au
n The University of Queensland (UQ) www.uq.edu.au
n The University of Sydney (Sydney) www.usyd.edu.au
n The University of Western Australia (UWA) www.uwa.edu.au
Common study courses
Australian universities and higher education institutions offer programmes leading to Bachelor Degrees and higher qualifications in a diverse range of fields.
Australian universities offer programmes from architecture to zoology.
Bachelor's degree is the most common qualification offered in Australia.
Specialised research training and professional development is also offered through Masters Degrees and Doctoral Degrees.
Graduate Certificates and Graduate Diplomas are also available. Diplomas are becoming less common, however, the Associate Degree provides a shorter-cycle degree programme for professionals wishing to further their careers.
Pervin Malhotra
Q. I have done MSc (electronics). Since this is regarded as equivalent to BTech, please tell me if I'm eligible to appear in the SET exam of DRDO? — Vikas Bhalla
A. The eligibility for taking the DRDO SET (Scientists' Entry Test) is BE/BTech in mechanical, chemical, ECE, computer science, electrical (first div). The DRDO's information brochure specifically mentions that MCA/MSc in any science subject will not be considered equivalent to BE/BTech in the subjects mentioned above. Scientists (Class B) are selected on the basis of the SET.
Q. I want to make my career in modelling, but my height is 5'7. What qualities should one have for it? What do I have to do to become one? — Manish Rastogi
A. Typically, the minimum height required for becoming a ramp model is 5'10. However, don't be disheartened. Fashion modelling is essentially of three kinds:
n Still modelling for print advertisements and cata logues.
n Audio-visual modelling for television and the big screen commercials.
n Ramp modelling for fashion shows.
If your face speaks volumes (the kind that can launch a new frying pan or a thousand ships!), but your physique holds you back then the first two options would be ideal.
Once you decide upon modelling as a career, 'professional' is what you'll need to be at every step: regular with your workout, diet and grooming. Surely, a well-sculpted body or a healthy glowing complexion is not built in a day.
It also helps to keep abreast of things in general, along with the latest trends in style and fashion to project that ideal mix of brains and brawn.
Usually the age specified for participants is 18-30 years.
Typically modelling agencies ask you to send one full-length and one close-up colour picture along with your vital statistics. So the first thing you need to do is get some pictures taken by a professional photographer. For an aspiring model, a well-shot portfolio is the passport to getting noticed. You can also directly contact fashion magazines, ad agencies and perhaps even some top-of-the-line designers or choreographers if you feel your portfolio does you justice. You can do this by simply sending your photographs to the ad agency's model coordinator, even though the odds are that in the beginning, they may land up in the dustbin. But then, that's all a part of the initial struggle. The catch lies in not giving up. As the old adage goes — no pain, no gain.
Signing up with a reputed modelling agency would help.
Q. I did my BCom from an open university. Am I eligible to take the Civil Services Exam?	— Pavni Shankar
A. Why not. If you have completed your education from an Open School / University you can surely apply for the CS Exam provided it is a recognised university and you possess the prescribed educational qualifications and are otherwise eligible.
Moreover, even those who did their graduation without passing Class X and XII, are still eligible for taking the Civil Service Exam provided they fulfill the other conditions.
The writer is a noted career expert and director, Career Guidance India (CARING). Please send in your queries with your full name, complete address and academic qualifications to: The Editor, Jobs and Careers, The Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh-160030, or at careers @tribunemail.com
I. M. Soni
Success is not so much a matter of talent or opportunity as of concentration and perseverance. As Bulwer puts it, "The man who succeeds above his fellows is the one who, early in life, clearly discerns his objects and towards that object habitually directs his powers."
Some flip-flops plunge into a venture, gain a momentary success and then let it peter out. They overlook the stark reality that success depends on knowing, how long it takes to succeed. Water boils at 100 degree.
It is a mistaken notion that success calls for a genius. Contrarily, the greatest successes of the world are won by simple means and the exercise of ordinary qualities.
"What is the secret of your success?" Dr George Washington Carver, eminent scientist, was asked. He replied, "I pray as if everything depends upon God. Then I work as if everything depends upon me."
Green-horns look upon failure as a disaster. They give up. Or sink in the blues. Some even go to the length of ending their life.
Whatever be the hue of failure, attitude matters. If you think that you have burnt all your boats, you go deep in depression and get mentally paralysed.
However, if you look upon it as a temporary setback and rise above it, rather than going under it, you look upon failure as a challenge and an opportunity. You rise again like the legendary Phoenix.
What can be gained from failure?
First, the lesson that persistence can turn failure into success. Quitters do not win. Winners do not quit!
The number of times you try is not important. The important consideration is the intelligence with which you try, and above all, what you yourself discover from your efforts. Courage helps one to accept failure, not as defeat, but as a discipline leading to ultimate success. Coulsen Kernahan says: "Our greatest glory is not in never failing but in rising after every fall."
Adversity is the prosperity of the great
During the Second World War, John Kennedy, later President of the USA, suffered a severe back injury when his boat was cut into two. He says about his feelings at that time when death stared right in his face,"Well, this is how it feels like dying."
He came out of the vice-like grip of certain death. It was feared that he would spend the remaining part of his life in bed, a spineless person. But he falsified the forebodings of the prophets of gloom. With his indomitable will to live a full, rich life he emerged from the shadows of death into the sunshine of success. Surely, there is a technique of facing failures.
Overpower failure
Greatness lies, not in avoiding failures, but in overpowering them. Failures arouse dormant energy in some and extinguish it in others. Failure fire the former with a burning sense of purpose. The dormant volcano of ambitions and energy in them gets active. Failure is a challenge to them; it is like the proverbial red rag to the bull. They charge at it with renewed vigour and fury. Like oysters, they convert irritating particles of sand into pearls.
Norman Vincent Peale states: "The blows of life, the accumulation of difficulties, and the multiplication of problems tend to sap energy and leave you spent and discouraged. In such a condition, the true status of your power is often obscured, and a person yields to a discouragement that is not justified by the facts. It is vitally essential to reappraise your personality assets."
Fire of Patience
Patience is not the tame, negative virtue it is sometimes made out to be. It is the very opposite. You need patience to renew your efforts when the going is tough.
When fired by it you foresee the possibilities of what you hope to achieve. "If a man does only what is required of him," writes A.W Robertson," he is a slave. The moment he does more, he is a free man."
The one who "does more," explores every avenue of approach to chosen goal. Failure closes no doors. Be alert to possibilities. It is hard to gain through misfortunes. Yet, it can be done.
Luck factor
Strokes of bad luck that overtake through no fault of yours are harder to bear than failure. Accidents may leave you unable to lead a successful life. They bring hardship. If you turn grief into self-pity, you begin to live in a shrunken world of self-depreciation.
Beethoven, when deafness, threatened him, intended taking his life. He overcame his despair, however, and continued composing. Eric Blom writes: "It was only when he had a great work in hand that Beethoven could rise above the fearful trials of his existence. But as an artist he triumphed again and again, and the music he produced, although he was fated never to hear it himself, made life endurable for him and indeed often filled it with a joy that made for all his sufferings."
If you are sinking in despair, think of the struggle of a seed to sprout from the earth into an oak.
You resemble a tiny seed. You have the potential to grow into big proportions hidden within you. If you wilt under pressure and give up the struggle, you wither.
In times of stress and strain, there is a tendency to lean on others. That cripples your capacity to overcome obstacles. Dependence, too, has a similar weakening effect on your character. It is better to throw away the 'crutches' and face obstacles, drawing on you own inner resources.
Samuel Smiles says, "Success grows out of struggles to overcome obstacles. If there were no obstacles, there would be no success."
Watch your altitude
Negative thoughts come, may even invade your mental fort. When they do, fight them with positive ones. Face failure realistically, as something to prove your mettle. Do not be defensive.
Failure is an opportunity to prove how strong you are. You prove your strength when you meet failure. Seneca said," Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labour does the body."
Just as exercise is necessary to strengthen the body, just as mental work is needed to keep the mind strong and alert, so in life setbacks are necessary to make character strong. Each time you overcome a failure, you emerge stronger.
You have within yourself resources you needed for any eventuality. Accept this fact, believe in yourself, and your ability to overcome failures as well as your failings. You become a man!
Each failure is a step to success. Every trial exhausts some form of error. He alone is free from failure who makes no attempt!
Parijat De, Director of the National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Chandigarh
There is a spate of technical education institutes in the region and lakhs of students enroll for different courses every year nursing dreams of a bright career. With rapid growth in the field, there is ample scope for technically qualified youth in the job market. A strong training base at these institutes, however, is a must to increase the employability of the students passing out each year. For a strong technical education base, keeping in step with the contemporary industrial culture and environment is as important as keeping pace with technological advancement. Thus, sound training for teachers in technical institutes is an important part of the overall training scenario.
Charandeep Singh chats up Parijat De, Director of the National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research (NITTTR), Chandigarh, to find out how right training for the faculty and development of course materials are strengthening technical education in the region and helping in providing suitably trained manpower of high quality as also to improve the employability of the final product passing out of the technical institutions.
Excerpts from an interview:
What is the importance of technical teachers training?
This involves the training of teachers of engineering colleges and polytechnics. We have four institutes, in Bhopal, Kolkata, Chennai and Chandigarh for this purpose, which are supported by the government. The National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research (NITTTR), Chandigarh, has been delegated with the responsibility of conducting training for the northern region comprising J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan. There is a constant interaction with principals of the engineering colleges in these states. The principals come up with specific inputs as to what they would want to be included in the training programmes. So, we design tailor-made training programmes according to the need of the teachers and various technical institutions.
What is the scope and the importance of Teachers Technical Training in the region
Since, we provide training to the teachers who are already employed in either government or private colleges, so the training, which they undergo with us doesn't enhance their employability status. It gives these teachers intellectual enrichment and stimulation. When these teachers go back, they are more up to date on their knowledge base, with improved pedagogy, enhanced instructional material. With all the inputs, teachers are better equipped to develop the latest curriculum for their own institutes. This happens because of the inputs they receive during their training programme at NITTR. With the mushrooming growth of engineering colleges in the region, it has become imperative for the teachers of these colleges to get trained and equipped with the latest developments and innovations, hence the importance of technical teachers training has increased manifold.
The basic facets of technical teaching like preliminary instruction of pedagogy, how to spruce up your knowledge base, how to keep your lecture more inspiring, to help students go for various courses overseas and how to make the backbenchers the front sitters, are all fed to the trainees in order to make them more effective and erudite teachers.
What role has government support played in this endeavor?
The government is our chief mentor. However, we face staff crunch. We have only 43 faculty members. Considering, the teachers in engineering colleges and polytechnics are in the ratio of 1:250. So, the government should strengthen NITTR and take a fresh look at its working. Till now, we were the only technical teachers training institute in the area, but now a Ludhiana-based business group has tied up with a foreign university for providing training. Even Punjab government is thinking of starting a Technical Teacher Training institute of its own. Since, now we have competition at our hands we want that the number of faculty members be spruced up so that we have an upper hand over our competition.
The prime focus, now, is on murrah buffalo, which has become the key to success for 47 per cent of households in the state. Haryana provides best conditions for murrah buffaloes, making these the prized possession of the state, especially in Rohtak, Jhajjar, Bhiwani, Hisar, Fatehabad, Jind and Sonepat districts. The sorghum-wheat and rice-wheat cropping system that is prevalent in Haryana, too, blends well with a proper understanding of the murrah buffalo and crossbred-cow farming system.
Pure breed of murrah buffalo in Haryana will enable farmers to take to animal breeding also along with dairy farming. With large-size ponds in each village, buffalo rearing has tremendous scope in the state. Dairy farming has attracted support from the government, university, farmers, breeders, and traders, leading to a sort of 'murrah revolution' in the state, especially in the past five years as has been revealed by exponential rise in the number of dairy enterprises in the various parts of the state.
According to a report of the advisory committee on animal husbandry and dairying (Vol.1) constituted by the Planning Commission, the states of Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh have the potential for achieving high growth rates of 6 to 8 per cent during the remaining part of the 11th Plan, whereas the current annual growth rate evaluated is 3 to 4 per cent for Haryana. So the scope of growth in the state is tremendous.
Animal husbandry is an important sub-sector of agriculture, which is contributing 25-30 per cent of the agricultural GDP, and milk alone contributes 68 per cent of the GDP from the livestock.
Some of the major support services that have been helpful in making the prospects in this sector bright are:
Institutional technical support: The extensive network of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) imparts special vocational training to youth in the state. Every district headquarter has a KVK, along with qualified animal/veterinary science experts for imparting training and education about all aspects of livestock production and management.
CCS Haryana Agricultural University scientists of animal science/veterinary science carry out research to augment milk and fodder production, and KVK experts deliver/transfer these technologies to dairy farmers in the state. Haryana has 21KVKs, and each KVK has trained more than 100 rural youths and women, especially of lower castes (SCs) in a year about scientific dairy farming methods apart from the traditional methods.
Government support: The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying also provides good quality semen for artificial insemination services for breed improvement and development, insurance for death-risk cover, vaccination to prevent the animal wealth from diseases like FMD and HS etc, and financial help along with subsidy for setting up high-tech dairy farms for enhancing productivity.
Cooperative department support: Hafed (Haryana State Co-operative Supply and Marketing Federation Ltd.) is providing quality and low cost compounded cattle feed for more milk production and increasing the calf crop to dairy farmers. In dairy farming the feed and fodder cost alone accounts for more than 70 per cent of the total expenditure. By growing fodder following practices like the time of sowing, seed rate, fertilisation and stage of harvesting, farmers can increase the production of fodder and reduce the cost of feeding.
Marketing facilities for milk: The Haryana Dairy Development Cooperative Federation limited purchases milk from village-level milk coopertive societies at the rate of Rs 3.40 per point fat. Thus, at village level the producer gets Rs 34 per kg of milk having 10-point fat. The average fat percentage in buffalo milk is about 7 to 8 points. So dairy farmers will get Rs 23.80 to Rs 27.20 per kg of milk at the village level.
Thus, with intervention from the government, institutional technical support, and cooperative department, dairy farming is growing effectively in the state, and its present growth rate is 5.06 per cent.
The writer is a senior extension specialist, (Animal Sciences), Krishi Vigyan Kendra Rohtak
Gems of ancient wisdom
Attitude matters
An ideal worker is talented, hardworking and has shraddha (right attitude) towards work. In a normal worker who may not have all these qualities, the right attitude matters most.
Only one with shraddha deserves to succeed me, Guru Nanak thought as it was time to choose his successor. Indicating to what appeared to be a corpse covered with a shroud, he ordered, "Eat it." No one, not even his sons Lakshmi Chand and Sri Chand, moved. Then Lehna volunteered and on removing the cloth discovered it to be a tray of sacred food. The guru blessed his unquestioning disciple with his ang (hand) and christened him Guru Angad.
Sanjna, Vishwakarma's daughter, married Surya only to find the sun god too glaring during summer. "As you have closed your eyes on me, the sustainer of life, you shall give birth to Yama, the god of death. And as you tremble before me, you shall bear my daughter Yamuna who will be as fickle as you," announced Surya to the dazed Sanjna before he left her in darkness. As a result of a momentary loss of compatibility, Sanjna and her children suffered long till the couple reunited.
"An arrogant Ganga will be of no use as she, with her force, can drive Earth into hell during her descent from heaven. Pray to Shiva to break her fall," Brahma advised King Bhagirath. Even after Shiva broke her fall and only let her out as a rivulet from his locks, she had the audacity to destroy sage Jahnu's hut. The sage swallowed this rivulet and, on Bhagirath's request, released a trickle from his ear. Pride humbled, Jahnavi, as Ganga is also known, became of use to humanity.
Don't let the cause down with your wrong attitude. — Sai R. Vaidyanathan
The writer can be contacted at svaidyanathan@tribunemail.com
The fair will begin after the declaration of Class XII results, thus giving the students a platform to visit over 120 educational institutions in various streams like engineering, management, animation, hospitality, media, and interact with the admission teams of the colleges. Free career counselling, career guidance, on spot aptitude and psycho test will be conducted free of cost for the visitors from the experts like Jatin Chawla, Director, Centre for Career Development, at the event. — TNS
ZICA in Punjab
Chandigarh: Animation and creativity institute, Zee Institute of Creative Arts (ZICA), is all set to increase focus in North India, especially in Punjab. ZICA has centres in Chandigarh and Bathinda. Atul Sharma, Regional Manager-North of the institute said, "We have already realised North India as a key market for us due to its strong demographics — a population of over 50 crore, predominance of urban youth, aspirational immigration from other states and a vibrant media market. We will continue to focus on North India with more ZICA centres." The Certificate and Diploma courses in 2D and 3D animation, visual effects and gaming offered by ZICA at its Chandigarh and Bhatinda centres, include BSc in Animation and Visual effects (36 months), Diploma in Animation Film Making (24 months), Advanced Diploma in Animation and VFX (18 months).
A saga of valour
1.	Name the Commander of the Indian Navy who recently became the first Indian ever to circumnavigate the globe solo on a sailboat.
2.	Who recently took over as Britain's youngest Prime Minister in 200 years?
3.	Who recently became the youngest Indian to scale Mount Everest?
4.	Who has climbed Mount Everest for a record 20 times?
5.	Name Asia's first Nobel laureate who composed the national anthems of both India and Bangladesh.
6.	Who led a military mission to punish Wazir Khan, subedar of Sirhind, who had bricked alive two young sons of Guru Gobind Singh – Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh?
7.	Name the person, credited with inventing the world's first automated teller machine (ATM), who died recently.
8.	Name the cyclone that recently wreaked havoc in many coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh.
9.	Which countries were recently declared the joint winners of the Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament?
10. Which country recently won its maiden ICC cricket title in limited overs cricket? — Tarun Sharma
Winners of quiz 361
The first prize by draw of lots goes to Anuj Verma, class IX-D, Govt High School, Kajheri, Chandigarh, Pin Code - 160063
Second: Renu Sharma, class XI, Senior Secondary School, Pharal, district Kaithal, Pin Code - 136021
Third: Prabhjot Kaur, class XII, LADM DAV Public School, Budhlada, Mansa, Pin Code – 151502
Answers to quiz 361: Shah Faesal; Rabindranath Tagore; INS Shivalik; New York; Harley-Davidson; Gulf of Mexico; Justice Sarosh Homi Kapadia; Nitin Nohria; Emu; Suresh Raina
Cash awards of Rs 400, 300 and 200 are given to the first, second and third prize winners, respectively. These are sent directly at the school address.
Note: Kindly mention the pincode of your place to facilitate the delivery of the prize money.
Answers can also be sent at quiz@tribunemail.com


text:
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Interview Chris
Disruptive Marketing with Geoff Colon
Now that 75 percent of screen time is spent on connected devices, digital strategies have moved front and centre of most marketing plans. But what if that's not enough? What if most people ignore company messages? Geoffrey Colon is a compelling voice at the intersection of marketing, tech, and popular culture. DJ, data punk, podcaster and author, Geoffrey is a Communications Designer at Microsoft in Redmond, WA. Colon has spent 20 years in various marketing capacities working for and with several of the most influential brands including Red Bull, Spotify, Netflix, American Express, The Economist, Coca-Cola, IBM, WWE and Food Network. Join us for this week's show as Geoff propels you out of your comfort zone and into the disruptive mindset you need for future success!
This show will be airing live on 29th September 2017 at 8am(PT)/11am(EST)/4pm(GMT). To listen please visit http://www.voiceamerica.com/show/1959/
More about Geoff Colon:
Geoffrey Colon is a compelling voice at the intersection of marketing, tech, and popular culture. DJ, data punk, podcaster and author, Geoffrey is a Communications Designer at Microsoft in Redmond, WA.
Colon has written for or been quoted in media outlets including Business Insider, Fast Company, The Huffington Post, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Billboard Magazine, AdWeek and Entrepreneur. He has also appeared on Cheddar TV, NASDAQ Live, WABC-AM New York and Marketplace on NPR.
Colon has spent 20 years in various marketing capacities working for and with several of the most influential brands including Red Bull, Spotify, Netflix, American Express, The Economist, Coca-Cola, IBM, WWE and Food Network. He spent a few years in the New York City tech startup world and several years in the music industry working with several high profile musical artists including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, The White Stripes and Moby.
On today's #Elevation Show Tom Eddington @eddingtonadv shares with us what he has learned about vulnerability & why… https://t.co/a3ar491XnNJanuary 17 2020
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Think Slow to Move Fast with Bob Kulhan
In a world that rotates at 1000mph, sometimes we feel the need to think equally as fast! However, this can often cause stressful and unproductive situations. Bob Kulhan has spent the last two decades linking improvisation to business through the behavioral sciences. Bob is an elite improv actor as well as an Adjunct Professor at […]
I recently shared a stage with Chris, speaking at a Business Growth Conference in Mayfair, London.Chris had a tough job as the final speaker at the end of the afternoon, following a series of speeches from highly experienced conference speakers.The organisers were delighted with Chris – he did a splendid job reminding the audience that they only had themselves to blame if they left that conference and failed to take appropriate action. Using humour and pathos, Chris engaged with the audience and left everyone feeling upbeat and raring to go at the end of the day. I highly commend Chris to you as a speaker.
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text:
Francis Ignatius Neale  (June 3, 1756December 20, 1837), also known as Francis Xavier Neale, was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who led several academic and religious institutions in Washington, D.C., and Maryland. He played a substantial role in the Jesuit order's resurgence in the United States.

Born to a prominent Maryland family, Neale was educated at the Colleges of Bruges and Liège, where he was ordained a priest. When Neale returned to the United States in 1788, he became the pastor of the church at St. Thomas Manor, where he aligned himself with the rural clergy in opposing Bishop John Carroll's founding of Georgetown College, believing it would draw resources away from the Jesuits' rural manors. He would conflict with Carroll over various issues for much of his life.

In 1790, Neale oversaw the establishment of the first Catholic church in Washington, D.C., Holy Trinity Church, of which he was pastor for 27 years. He also established the Church of St. Mary in Alexandria, Virginia, and was its visiting pastor. Neale was briefly the acting president of Georgetown College, and later became its president in 1809. His tenure was considered unsuccessful, as the number of students declined dramatically due to his implementation of strict monastic discipline.

When the Jesuit order was restored in the United States in 1806, Neale joined the Society and became the master of novices at Georgetown. He was also made treasurer of the Jesuits' Maryland mission. He spent his later years as the spiritual director to the nuns at the Georgetown Visitation Monastery and the pastor at St. Thomas Manor.

Early life
Francis Ignatius Neale was born on June 3, 1756, at Chandler's Hope, the Neale family estate near Port Tobacco, located in Charles County of the British Province of Maryland. He was born into a prominent Maryland family; among his ancestors was Captain James Neale, one of the settlers of the Maryland Colony, who arrived in 1637 upon receiving a royal grant of  in what would become Port Tobacco.

Neale's parents, William Neale and Anne Neale (), had thirteen children, and all seven of the boys, including Francis, the youngest, were sent to the Colleges of St Omer, Bruges, and Liège. Two of Francis Neale's brothers died during their studies, and four of the surviving five became Catholic priests. One brother, Leonard, would go on to become president of Georgetown College and the Archbishop of Baltimore, and another, Charles, also became a prominent Jesuit. One sister, Anne, entered the Order of Poor Clares as a nun, in Aire-sur-la-Lys, France.  William Matthews, Neale's nephew through his sister Mary, was another future president of Georgetown.

In 1773, Pope Clement XIV ordered the worldwide suppression of the Society of Jesus. This meant Neale was unable to enter the Jesuit order as he intended, but he continued his seminary studies at the college in Liège. Following his ordination as a priest on April 3, 1788, he immediately left for the United States.

Maryland missions
In 1789, John Carroll, the Bishop of Baltimore, founded the long-planned Georgetown College in the District of Columbia, the first Catholic institution of higher education in the United States. As early as 1785, Carroll had requested that Charles Plowden return a cohort of Maryland Jesuits studying at the college in Liège to the United States so that they could staff the fledging college. He intended Neale, in particular, to play a significant role in the college's early years. Carroll's requests went unfulfilled until November 1788, when Neale, having completed his studies at Liège, arrived in Baltimore. Carroll initially assigned Neale to the Jesuit estate of St. Thomas Manor, near Port Tobacco.

Neale enjoyed the rural life, and aligned with those Jesuits stationed at the Jesuits' rural Maryland manors who opposed Carroll's establishment of a college. He frequently expressed in correspondence with Carroll his belief that the Jesuits should direct their efforts to ministering to rural congregations in Southern Maryland, rather than on higher education. Neale's relationship with Carroll soured when Neale accused his superior of giving insufficient support to the rural missions, and Carroll chastised Neale for poorly managing his congregation's finances, such as failing to obtain orders for the new American-printed Douay–Rheims Bible. Eventually, Neale became the most outspoken opponent of Carroll's efforts to establish Georgetown College, which he believed to be at the expense of the Maryland Jesuits' rural manors.

Establishment of Georgetown Chapel
In 1790, the governor of Maryland, Thomas Sim Lee, requested that a priest be sent to the rapidly expanding city of Frederick. Carroll sought to transfer Neale to Frederick from St. Thomas Manor, but Neale fell ill at about that time and was unable to go. Later that year, Carroll appointed Neale as the first pastor of the yet-to-be-built Georgetown Chapel, reasoning that Neale's prominent ancestry and acquaintance with many distinguished families in Georgetown would aid him in raising funds to support the nascent church. Neale did not arrive in Georgetown until January 13, 1792, after recovering from his period of ill health.

Neale proved to be a successful pastor of the church. He succeeded in raising considerable funds from Catholics in Montgomery, Prince George's, Charles, and St. Mary's counties in Maryland during the first several months of his tenure. This allowed construction on the chapel to begin quickly, and its foundation was complete by the end of 1792; the superstructure was completed the following year. As the new church occupied the entire width of its lot, Neale sought to protect it and its adjacent cemetery from encroachment by purchasing land on either side as a buffer. Contributions proved to be inadequate, and he resorted to supplementing donations with his own funds. He would again contribute his own money fifteen years later to purchase the remainder of the block's width, where the Holy Trinity School now stands. Construction on the Georgetown Chapel was complete by March 1794.

As the first Catholic church in the District of Columbia, the Georgetown Chapel drew parishioners from as far as Dumfries and Great Falls in Virginia and Bladensburg in Maryland. The size of the congregation increased rapidly, and the church soon became overcrowded, despite the erection of makeshift sheds on the sides of the church to augment the size of the building. In 1796, the parish established a mission church in Alexandria, which was the first Catholic church in the state of Virginia. Neale ministered to this church, but its location was considered too remote, so he purchased a former Methodist meeting house more centrally located in Alexandria, and named it the Church of St. Mary.

Relations between Neale and Carroll continued to deteriorate, as Neale resisted Carroll's attempts to sell some of the Jesuits' rural properties. In April 1797, Carroll directed Neale to transfer from Georgetown to the Jesuit's White Marsh Manor, as had been tentatively discussed at a previous meeting of the clergy, despite Neale's opposition. Before this order could be given effect, several wealthy parishioners and lay trustees of the Georgetown Chapel intervened to petition Carroll to keep Neale at Georgetown; Carroll acquiesced, and Neale remained as pastor until 1817, when he was succeeded by Benedict Joseph Fenwick.

In the meantime, Neale had become a prominent member of the Select Body of Clergy of the Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen of Maryland, a civil corporation beyond Carroll's authority composed of priests who had been Jesuits before the order's suppression. Neale was made the legal agent of the corporation in 1798.

Georgetown College
In addition to his priestly duties at the Georgetown Chapel, Neale also worked at Georgetown College as treasurer pro tempore, which was his sole source of income, room and board. In August 1797, a special committee of Maryland clergy was drawn up to determine the future of the college. It resolved that the institution was to be run by a five-member board of directors, composed of Maryland clergy who were selected from and by their peers. The effect of this resolution was to deprive Carroll and the incumbent Sulpician president of the college, Louis William DuBourg, of any official control of the school. Neale was selected as one of the five directors. At the board's first meeting in October 1797, Neale was elected vice president of the college, whose duties largely corresponded to those of his existing role of treasurer. He would hold the position of vice president for ten years.

When the president of Georgetown College, Robert Molyneux, was forced to resign the presidency due to declining health in December 1808, Neale was made the acting president, until a permanent successor could be found in his nephew, William Matthews, in March 1809. Following the end of Matthews' tenure, Neale succeeded him as president on November 1, 1809. He instituted the same severe monastic discipline that his brother, Leonard, had previously implemented at the college during his presidency. Students were required to follow a daily regimen, which heavily focussed on religious activities. Although this resulted in a considerable number of students entering the priesthood, it led to a significant decrease in the number of non-Catholic students and a severe decline in the overall number of students. Enrollment was also affected by competition for students with St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore. At the college, Neale established the first Sodality of the Blessed Virgin in the United States. He also purchased  to expand the campus for student recreation.

Neale had little interest in managing the academic affairs of the college, and upon assuming the presidency, transferred responsibility for the school's academics to the vice president. As he simultaneously held other pastoral and administrative positions, he was largely absent from the college. Carroll's evaluation was that the college had "sunk to the lowest degree of discredit." Neale's tenure came to an end in August 1812, and Giovanni Antonio Grassi was named as his successor.

Involvement in the restored Jesuits

In response to the request of Emperor Paul I of Russia, Pope Pius VII issued a bull in 1801 partially lifting the 1773 order of suppression by permitting the Jesuits to officially resume operation in the Russian Empire (which they had been already doing unofficially). Bishop Carroll had long sought to restore the Jesuit order in the United States, and aimed to do so by submitting the Maryland Jesuits to the jurisdiction of the Jesuits' Russian province. He was wary that such an arrangement would contravene the pope's order and might draw the attention of political enemies of the Jesuits. Neale and his brother, Charles, led a group of clergy in persistently urging Carroll to effectuate the arrangement. Carroll was eventually persuaded, and a Jesuit novitiate was formally opened on October 10, 1806, in a house offered for use by Neale, across the street from the now-Holy Trinity Church.

The newly appointed superior of the Maryland Jesuits, Robert Molyneux, named Neale as the master of novices. His selection drew some criticism from the European Jesuits sent at Carroll's request to aid the re-establishment of the Jesuits in the United States, on the grounds that Neale had never been trained in a Jesuit novitiate, and that he would simultaneously be a novice himself. As well as serving as master of novices, Neale assumed the role of treasurer of the Jesuit's Maryland mission. During the War of 1812, Neale had most of the Jesuits' livestock in St. Inigoes removed to White Marsh, to keep them safe from looting by the British.

Later life
Upon the death of his brother Leonard in 1817, Neale assumed his duties as spiritual director to the nuns of the Georgetown Visitation Monastery. He suffered a stroke while in Alexandria. Though this necessitated that he relinquish the full-time position, he continued to hear the nuns' confessions until his death. After his recovery, he once again took up missionary work in rural Maryland. He returned to St. Thomas Manor, where he became pastor of its church, later known as St. Ignatius Church. He served in this office from 1819 until 1837. Neale died on December 20, 1837, and he was buried in the cemetery at St. Thomas Manor.

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

External links

 Appearance in the records of the Georgetown Slavery Archive

1756 births
1837 deaths
People from Port Tobacco Village, Maryland
People educated at Stonyhurst College
19th-century American Jesuits
Pastors of Holy Trinity Catholic Church (Washington, D.C.)
Presidents of Georgetown University
Year of birth unknown

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


It took three doses of Narcan to save the life of an unconscious and unresponsive 25-year-old in the Hudson Valley.
On Monday around 7:30 a.m., Saugerties police was dispatched by Ulster County 911 to 2735 Route 9W for an adult man who overdosed on an unknown substance.
Ulster County 911 reported that 25-year-old man was unconscious, unresponsive and CPR instructions were being given to the caller.
Ulster County 911 also reported that the caller had administered one dose of Narcan which was ineffective.
Saugerties police officers arrived and administered two more doses of Narcan, a drug proven to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. After the third dose, the unnamed man regained consciousness, officials say.
The man was transported by Diaz Ambulance to the Health Alliance of the Hudson Valley Broadway Campus Hospital where he was further treated.


Going over everything around buying businesses.
Bringing on industry experts and real practitioners to talk about the tricks of the trade around buying online businesses.
Quick Interview with Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) where dove deeper into his eventual business buying strategy and several other less discussed stories. We got some very practical advice around buying Instagram accounts and some deeper insights into where he sees the market going.
Today is a FAQ episode of all the usual questions I get from business seller, first time buyers, roundtable discussion, and general inquiries around buying businesses.
In this episode I go over how I found and acquired BookScouter, a business I am currently the lead manager on. I go through my process of reaching out to businesses to buy and how I scaled my operations.


One of the most important duties or tasks you have to complete when you are relocating is packing. Without properly packing your belongings you cannot expect to transport them safely to the new location. With something like clothes, of course, you can pile them all in a suitcase and travel. However, with glassware, porcelain ware as well as valuable furniture and such you cannot just pile them up in a vehicle and hope everything will go well. You need to pack them properly.
If you want to pack everything yourself you can do that. Or you could use the help of one of the furniture movers Melbourne to help you out.
When you are packing everything yourself you need to know how to pack things properly. Now, you could think things would be much easier and safely managed if you take care of it by yourself because you are the one who knows about the items the most. However, sometimes, though you know the items well you may not know the best way to pack them properly for travel. That could end up breaking several of the items during transportation. Also, if you are going to pack you have to dedicate a lot of time for the task too because packing is not something that you can finish in just five minutes. Due to all these reasons most people prefer to use professional help for packing as well.
If you have been smart enough to hire one the best removalist Melbourne services you would see that they offer packing services too. They usually have all the packing material such as boxes, tape, bubble wrap and even hanging boxes for clothing items with them. That makes it easier for them to pack your belongings safely. Also, such a company employs professionals who know what they are doing and have experience in packing a large number of items. Therefore, they make sure that each and every one of your items is packed safely and properly. Since they already have the practice they are able to finish the job faster than you can.
As you can see, when it comes to the packing challenge you have to face when you are moving from one place to another you can face that challenge much easily if you hand over that task to professional relocation service providers. With their help you can get the work done much faster and also with much more protection to all your precious items.


Diamonds have never been cooler. These ice trays let you shower yourself in diamonds without worrying about the price tag or where they were mined. Freeze up some juice and make your own collection of gems for your next cocktail party!


I've been reading the chapter on continuations, I am starting to get them, possibly I just need to give it a couple more reads.
First thing was mitigate the terrible data structure mutation I have to do when passing source code into a mutation, I want to copy the source and pass then into the mutation. It appears to be extremely difficult to do.
I wrote a script to get repos from Github that depend on mocha, which is the only test runner I currently support.
returns the mutated, or non mutated, ASTs"
this is the code that applies a mutation, (candidate :code) (ah BTW, so nice that in ClojureScript hashmaps are functions!) containes the AST, and it is passed through esrecurse and the mutated in mutate. What I had to do is basically a copy of (candidate :code), via the stringify and parse horrible bit. I should update that to use a less hacky system and put it where it could be used by other mutations.
I've tried going through chapter 6 for a couple hours. Failed. Coulnd't really focus.


Shopping for a car for the first time is an exhilarating experience. A car means freedom, opportunity, and so much more. If you are shopping for used vehicles for the first time, there are a few things that you should be aware of before you set foot in a car dealership. Used vehicles have a lot of elements to them and the decision to buy a used car should not be made lightly. Below are some tips for shopping for used vehicles for the first time.
The first step in buying a car for the first time is determining your budget. You can get traditional financing through loans, but there are also other options. At Cars R Us, we offer rent to own cars where you make monthly payments over a course of time until you've paid off the car.
If you choose traditional financing options, sit down with a bank or other financial institution to figure out how much money you can get and how much of a payment you can afford. Once you set a budget, stick to it. Keeping to your budget will help your finances stay on track and keep you from getting overwhelmed with payments.
After you have determined how much money you can spend on a vehicle, it's time to do some research into the type of vehicle you want to purchase. Different used vehicles include cars, trucks, and SUVs. Each type of vehicle has its own pros and cons. Utilize the Internet as well as friends and family who have different vehicles to figure out the style you would most like to have.
Once you've figured out what type of used vehicle you would like to purchase, it's time to think about more specific features to the car. Your price point will play a large role in the features you will be able to get in a vehicle. You'll want to look at the mileage of the different used vehicles, what color options are available, whether you want cloth or leather interior, and much more. While most cars have automatic transmissions, some are also available with manual transmissions if you prefer. Every car dealership has a different selection of used vehicles, so be prepared to shop around.
If you are shopping for used vehicles, come check us out at Cars R Us! We have a wide variety of used cars for sale. We will help you find an affordable vehicle and get you the freedom that having a car brings. For more information, check out the Cars R Us website today!


Established in 2007, Landmark is a fully regulated RICS practice, specialising in the survey and valuation of residential property.
This includes the provision of mortgage/security valuations for the majority of the UK's banks and building societies.
We've grown steadily and now offer professional property services from over 40 locations in England and Wales.
Please note these services aren't available in every location.
Over the years, we've carefully built our products around our customers. These include the Plain English Landmark Buyer Survey, the Landmark Seller Survey, and the Landmark Building Survey.


text:
Q: Graph homomorphisms and line graph If $G,H$ are simple, undirected graphs, we say that they are in a hom(omorphism)-relation if there is a graph homomorphism from $G$ to $H$ or from $H$ to $G$.
For any graph $G$ let $L(G)$ denote its line graph.
If $G,H$ each have at least one edge, and they are in a hom-relation, does the same hold for $L(G), L(H)$?

A: Well, this question turned out more interesting than I thought at first.
If there is a homomorphism $f:G \to H$ then at first sight, it seems that the natural induced mapping on edges would be a homomorphism from $L(G) \to L(H)$, but this turns out to be false.
In fact, the whole thing turns out to be false, in that two graphs can be homomorphically equivalent (i.e. homomorphisms in both directions), but have unrelated linegraphs.
I think that the smallest examples are the following two, and running this Sage code is the easiest way to convince yourself that they are actually examples.
g1 = Graph("D]w")
g2 = Graph("FQjR_")
lg1 = g1.line_graph()
lg2 = g2.line_graph()
g1.has_homomorphism_to(g2)
g2.has_homomorphism_to(g1)
lg1.has_homomorphism_to(lg2)
lg2.has_homomorphism_to(lg1)

Actually, the two graphs both have chromatic number 3 and have triangles, so it is easy to see that they are homomorphically equivalent (simply use the colour classes to map each one into one of the triangles of the other).
But it is not trivial to see that the two linegraphs do not have homomorphisms between them. Or at least, I couldn't find a slick one-or-two line reason for it, and rather than start to write out a case analysis (suppose vertex 1 is mapped to vertex 2, then vertex 2 must be mapped to either 3 or 4, and in the first case...), the Sage code is easier to understand and more reliable.

A: Things are even worse than you imagine.
Tony's answer shows that the homomorphism order of line graphs can be partitioned into intervals whose endpoints are the complete graphs. I made use of this fact in my thesis. Then the line graphs in the interval $[K_d, K_{d+1})$ are the line graphs of graphs with maximum degree $d$ (ignoring exceptions caused by $K_3$). For $d = 1$, this interval contains only $K_1$, for $d = 2$ it contains only $K_2$ and the odd cycles of length at least 5 (up to homomorphic equivalence). After that however things get more complicated. In fact, it is shown here that every other such interval is universal, meaning that ANY countable partial order can be embedded order-preservingly into it. Finally, the graphs in that paper whose line graphs are used to prove universality of the interval $[K_d, K_{d+1})$ are all homomorphically equivalent to $K_d$.
All together this means that not only are there two homomorphically equivalent graphs whose line graphs have no homomorphisms between them in any direction, as Gordon's answer shows. But for any $d \ge 3$, there are an infinite number of graphs all homomorphically equivalent to $K_d$, but whose line graphs form a partial order that any countable partial order can be embedded in.

A: Here is a reduction to the case that the maximum degree of $G$ is equal to the maximum degree of $H$. In fact, for this reduction, we do not even need the assumption that $H$ are $G$ are in a homomorphism relation.
Claim. Let $G$ and $H$ be simple graphs with $\Delta(G) < \Delta(H)$.  Then there is a homomorphism $f$ from $L(G)$ to $L(H)$.
Proof. Observe that $L(H)$ contains a clique of size $\Delta(H)$.  Next note that the chromatic number of $L(G)$ is the chromatic index of $G$, which by Vizing's Theorem is either $\Delta(G)$ or $\Delta(G)+1$.  Thus, there is a homomorphism from $L(G)$ to $K_{\Delta(G)+1}$.  Since $\Delta(G)+1 \leq \Delta(H)$, there is a homomorphism from $K_{\Delta(G)+1}$ to $L(H)$.  Composing these homomorphisms gives the result.
The proof actually shows that every counterexample must satisfy $\Delta(G)=\Delta(H)=\chi'(H)-1=\chi'(G)-1$.

A: How about this (the argument doesn't exactly work but I have checked the counterexample using computer):
Let $G$ be the graph of a cube with one edge subdivided and let $H$ be the graph of the regular dodecahedron with one edge subdivided. It is easy to see that there is a homomorphism from $G$ to $H$. I claim that $L(G)$ and L(H) are not in homomorphism relation.
It is not hard to see that $L(G)$ and $L(H)$ have chromatic number 4 and that the graphs obtained by deleting the edges $e_G$ and $e_H$ have chromatic number 3. The edges $e_G$ and $e_H$ are the only edges not in triangles and so any potential homomorphism maps $e_G$ to to $e_H$ and no other edge gets mapped to $e_H$. Now $e_G$ is in a cycle of length 5 but the shortest cycle containing $e_H$ has length 6, this proves no homomorphism can exist from $L(G)$ to $L(H)$.
This part does not work:
To see that there is no homomorphism from $L(H)$ to $L(G)$ observe that the graph of triangles in $L(G)$ is bipartite (two triangles are adjacent if they share at least one vertex), but the corresponding triangle graph of $L(H)$ is not.

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text:
South-Doyle High School offers new mentor program
MJ Slaby
Bill Baldwin
Freshman year of high school is a big change for students, said Bill Baldwin, assistant principal at South-Doyle High School.
It's a new school. It's the first time they are earning credits for graduation. The classes they pick and the grades they earn, even as freshmen, can impact plans, Baldwin said.
'Four years goes by so fast,' he said.
So a new mentor program at the school aims to help students — especially those who will be the first in their family to go to college — start thinking about postsecondary success.
It's called 'Mentor 2.0' and is a partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee. First used in New York, the program at South-Doyle will be the first time it's used in Tennessee.
Interested mentors can attend an informational session at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the school's auditorium.
The first group will be about 50 to 75 incoming South-Doyle freshmen and the goal is to add a cohort each year, said Whitney Baker, Mentor 2.0 program director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee. She said about 40 more mentors are needed.
Using a mix of weekly emails and monthly in-person meetings between student and mentor, the program also has a weekly class for students during the school day with topics like time management and college readiness.
Ninth-grade students are paired with a mentor and the program continues through senior year.
The program provides structure for conversations about college that might be difficult to start or are unfamiliar if a parent or family member didn't go to college, said Baker. She will teach the weekly class at the school.
Baldwin, who was previously the freshman principal at South-Doyle, said he's excited about the program because it fills a need for someone to work one-on-one with students about college and career readiness starting that first year of high school.
He and Baker agreed having a mentor, an addition of someone to a student's life who isn't a parent or a teacher, is beneficial.
'This mentor is choosing to spend time with you,' Baker said.


text:
← Suicide bomb threat reportedly leads to evacuation of Iranian envoy to Turkey
Hardline military official to take command of Pakistan's powerful spy agency →
Czech spy agency says it neutralized Hezbollah cyberespionage network
October 17, 2018 by Joseph Fitsanakis Leave a comment
Officials in the Czech Republic have announced that the country's spy agency headed an operation in several countries, aimed at neutralizing a cyberespionage network operated by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Early last week, the Security Information Service (BIS), the primary domestic national intelligence agency of the Czech Republic, issued a short statement saying that it "played a big part in helping to identify and disconnect Hezbollah servers in the Czech Republic, other EU member states and the US". But it did not elaborate. On Tuesday, however, ZDNet's Zero Day security blog published more information from the Czechs about the BIS operation.
According to the BIS, its cyber security force discovered a number of servers located on Czech soil, which were "almost certainly" used by Hezbollah, the Shiite militant group that controls large swathes of territory in Lebanon. The servers were allegedly used in a wide-range cyberespionage operation that began in 2017 by a group of Hezbollah hackers based in Lebanon. It was there, said the BIS, where the command-and-control facilities of the operation were located. The servers located on Czech soil were used to download phone apps that contained malicious software. The hackers targeted individual phone users located mainly in the Middle East, according to the BIS, but other targets were in eastern and central Europe. It is believed that the majority of targets were Israeli citizens. Invariably, targeted individuals were approached online, mostly through fake Facebook profiles. Most of the targets were men, and the fake Facebook profiles featured pictures of attractive young women. After initial messages were exchanged via Facebook, the targets were convinced to download phone applications that would allow them to continue communicating with the 'women'. These applications would install spyware on their phones, thus allowing Hezbollah hackers to capture the content of messages and calls made on the phones. The latter could also be used as eavesdropping devices.
According to BIS Director Michal Koudelka, the spy agency "played a significant role in identifying and uncovering the hackers' system. We identified the victims and traced the attack to its source facilities. Hacker servers have been shut down", he said. Koudelka added that some of the servers used by Hezbollah were located in other European Union countries and in the United States. These were shut down following a joint cyber operation by BIS and "partners", said Koudelka, though he did not identify them.
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 17 October 2018 | Permalink
Filed under A specialized intelligence website written by experts, since 2008 Tagged with counterintelligence, cyberespionage, Czech Republic, Czech Security Information Service (BIS), Facebook, Hezbollah, Michal Koudelka, News


This is for all those that say Solar can't be base load power.
Spain has opened for the first base-load, 24-hour industrial scale solar thermal plant.
The concept is very different from what most people think of as solar power. Most people think of solar panels. These produce electricity by exciting a compound with sunlight and that excited compound causes electrons to flow, producing electricity. This is called photovoltaics.
Solar thermal is very different. Concentrating the sunlight reflecting off of thousands of mirrors onto a small area results in that area getting very, very hot. If you can capture and store that heat, then you can use it to boil water, producing steam and generating electricity using standard steam turbines.
This has several advantages over photovoltaics. The first is simplicity. Steam driven turbines are a well understood technology, so people trained in energy production from other sources (coal, gas, and nuclear) can transfer their skills. Also, there sunlight part is only mirrors, not solar panels or other high-tech system, just plain old mirrors.
Second, the system generates a lot of heat. In reality, every energy system in use today is based around capturing the work done by flowing heat energy. Basically, heat moves from hot things to cold things until they are the same temperature. We can capture that flow of heat and transform some of it (usually around 30%) into a different form of energy (electricity or the motion of cars). The greater the temperature difference, the better it is for capturing the energy.
Third, it is possible to store heat. That is the real trick to this system. It uses a salt (not salt, a salt) that is heated to the melting point by the solar mirrors. The salt is the heat source. Since the salts used (Potassium Nitrate and Sodium Nitrate) melt between 304°C and 334°C (that is 579°F 633°F) they can turn water into very high pressure steam easily.
These salts also retain that heat very well. This Spanish system is rated for electricity production for 15 hours even without any sunlight. It retains up to 99% of its heat after 24 hours if not used for electricity. They call this system a battery, even though it's not really a 'battery'.
This system is expected to have a capacity factor equivalent to nuclear power systems.
This is the 'solar tower' concept you may have heard about. Simply thousands of mirrors, constantly adjusting their angle, keep several acres worth of sunlight focused on that molten salt.
Tubes run through the salt with water in them. The heat transfers from the 600°F salt to the water, which flashes into steam. The steam, at a very high pressure, is used to drive a steam turbine. This power plant is rated at almost 20 Megawatts and can provide power 24/7 under ideal conditions*.
The disadvantages, well, you do need lots of space and a constant supply of sunlight. Deserts, plains, etc are great places for these kinds of power plants.
Well, there you go, 24/7 solar. To all the naysayers out there, I just have this to say.
* remember that no power plant can operate under all conditions, witness the two Texas power plants that had to shut down after their water intakes froze.
This entry was posted in climate, Education, Environment, Ideas, renewable energy, Science, Technology and tagged 24/7 solar, environment, global warming, molten salt, renewables, solar, solar tower. Bookmark the permalink.


Earn up to $0.03 Zeus Bucks on this purchase!
Great little bottles for taking to work or on day trips. I used these to take some of my different flavours from the Zeus sample pack out and about.
I made some juice and this is the right size and tghey came in the made prompt thank you for the service.


Who cares if it's 'Made in U.S.A'?
'Made in America' still stands for something with America's consumers, but doesn't appear to be as important for some politicians.
Tuesday I wrote about Maglite flashlight founder Anthony Maglica, who has manufactured the heavy-duty flashlights in California since 1979. He founded his company in Ontario, CA in 1955, first as a machine shop, manufacturing important components for all kinds of products, including Sputnik, the first satellite.
Maglica's company has grown to a mega-business, and has had more than 1,000 employees. His Ontario plant must be more than 1 million square feet of the cleanest manufacturing I've ever seen. Currently, Mag Instrument Inc. has 700 employees.
The Maglite company is an example of 'Made in America' like none other. Maglica not only manufacturers everything in California, over the years as his suppliers encountered financial difficulties, he purchased the failing companies in order to keep available the component parts he needs. Rather than scrapping his company, or moving to China or Mexico, Maglica could have replaced the parts suppliers with foreign parts suppliers, but worked tirelessly to keep the business in the U.S., and in California.
But now, instead of being lauded for his efforts to keep his business in the economically crumbling California, Democratic lawmakers appear not to care, and instead want to uphold an obscure California law which states that 100 percent of a product must be made in America, in order to have "Made in the U.S.A" on product labels.
AB 858, by Assemblyman Brian Jones, R-Santee, a one-page bill which would have altered California's law to be in sync with federal law and the 49 other states, has hit a Democrat roadblock.
After unanimous, bipartisan support and passage through the Assembly Business and Professions Committee, 9-0, and the entire Assembly, 68-0, AB 858 appeared headed for bipartisan Senate support.
But, politics makes strange bedfellows; out of the blue, opposition appeared once the bill hit the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony on AB 858. Despite compelling testimony, facts, proof, statistics and a heartfelt plea from Maglica, Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, vociferously opposed the bill. Leno either didn't understand the problem, or cares more deeply about the Consumer Attorneys who oppose the proposed change to California's law.
Several years ago, Maglica was sued in what should have been a frivolous lawsuit, over the "Made in America" label on the Maglite packaging.
He had already gone to the expense of altering all of his packaging so that flashlights sold in California would not have "Made in America" on the label. But a shipment sent to Home Depot in Canada, was then sent by Home Depot to one of its stores in San Diego, where the flashlights were sold.
A lawyer discovered this and sued Maglica for violating California Code §17533.7. Because the Maglite company can no longer purchase the flashlight light bulbs in America because politicians outlawed incandescent light bulbs in the U.S., Maglica was sued for not having a product made up of 100 percent U.S.A. manufactured component parts.
This is the big violation Maglica found himself at odds with California over. He not only had to pay for lawyers to defend Mag Instruments Inc., the company had to pay employees to destroy all of the packaging. While he won the lawsuit, Maglica said it doesn't feel like a win. The company did not have to pay anything additional to the opposing attorney, but the extra $1 million it cost Maglica to pay the lawyers and to destroy product could have been put toward hiring more employees, he said.
Maglica always thinks in terms of hiring more people. Currently, he has built another building to house an expansion of his product line. He is ready to invest $20 million to do this, and to hire 500 more employees. But California's business climate is so unfriendly, and so politically embittered, Maglica said that the uncertainty he and other business owners currently face, prevents them from expanding their businesses.
Maglica, Jerry Reilly, Maglica's in-house attorney, Joel Joseph, chairman of the 'Made in the USA' Foundation, and Assemblyman Jones tried to meet with members of the Judiciary Committee ahead of the hearing. Committee Chairwoman Noreen Evans would not agree to meet with them, they reported, nor would her chief consultant.
Leno met with them, but still voted against the bill in the end, citing irrelevant standards from another American manufacturers' legal case.
Federal law is much more reasonable and requires that a product be "substantially" made domestically to bear the "Made in the U.S.A." or "Made in America" mark. Maglica said that in all 49 other states, Maglite could make flashlights with even fewer U.S. manufactured parts than it currently does, and still call them American made… but this cannot be done in California, and puts his business at a devastating economic disadvantage.
With hundreds of cheap flashlights flooding the market, designed to look like the Maglite, the one thing immediately recognizable, setting Maglica's superior product apart is the "Made in America" labeling. Consumers prefer to purchase products made in the U.S.A. when given the opportunity, polls show.
"And we aren't discouraging manufacturing in California," Leno added, proving that he is totally unfamiliar with any aspect of the manufacturing as an industry. And Leno, from San Francisco, made it abundantly clear at the hearing that he would not be swayed by a bunch of manufacturing bumpkins.
The bill failed 3-2. But it's not over. The U.S. Congress may be more receptive, and willing to put California politicians back in their proper places.
"Made in America" is about much more than products and parts; "Made in America" is about guys like Tony Maglica, who started the company in his garage and grew it to a multi-million dollar business, providing thousands of tax-paying Californians well-paying manufacturing jobs.
If it's jobs politicians really cared about, they would have supported AB 858.


In a world of danger and deception, she walks the line--between seductive passion and scandalous murder...Eve Dallas is a New York police lieutenant hunting for a ruthless killer. In over ten years on the force, she's seen it all--and knows her survival depends on her instincts. And she's going against every warning telling her not to get involved with Roarke, an Irish billionaire--and a suspect in Eve's murder investigation. But passion and seduction have rules of their own, and it's up to Eve to take a chance in the arms of a man she knows nothing about--except the addictive hunger of needing his touch.
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Today, one of the hottest commodities in real estate is the condo hotel. Bridging the gap between traditional condominiums and hotels, the condo hotel presents the best of both worlds: luxury accommodations in highly desirable locations along with upscale shops and restaurants. As an example, let's look at the Blue Rose in Orlando, Florida.
Currently in the pre-construction phase, the Blue Rose will consist of three towers housing 256 condominiums and 1,284 condo hotel suites. It will offer everything from lofts and one- and two-bedroom units to 3,000 sq. ft. penthouse suites. The property will be a resort oasis, with a promenade, European cafes, five themed restaurants, private pool cabanas, and a 1,000-seat theater.
The investment opportunity presented by condo hotels is unprecedented. Indeed, most new properties sell out in the pre-construction phase. In doing so, investors are able to obtain lower prices, secure many of the best units, and gain appreciation on their investments before ground is even broken.
Many people opt to purchase a condo hotel not only as an investment, but also as a vacation home. Generally, condo hotels provide first class accommodations in highly desirable locations. When the owner is not using the property, the condo hotel unit can be rented out to tourists. Typically, the owner doesn't have to take responsibility for renting, managing, and maintaining the unit, making the process free of the headaches and hassles of owning other rental properties.
Like any real estate investment, the key is location, location, location. For example, the Blue Rose Condo Hotel is located in Orlando, Florida, one of the hottest housing markets in both the United States and the world. Recently, analysts have reported that Orlando property is undervalued by as much as 30 percent when compared to other major U.S. markets. That, together with an average hotel occupancy rate of almost 80 percent and 40 to 55 million annual visitors, makes Orlando condo hotels prime investment opportunities.
It's easy to understand why Orlando is such a desirable destination. After all, Florida boasts 300 days of sunshine a year, over 1,000 miles of coastline, and an average temperature of 70 degrees. And Orlando is the center of family-friendly theme park destinations. Walt Disney World was first on the block, with 28,000 acres of family fun. Universal Studios and Sea World round out the top three, again with thrills for the whole family. It's estimated that it would take you over two months of eight-hour days to experience Orlando's 95 attractions. It's clear why tens of millions of tourists visit Orlando each year.
It's equally obvious why investors are flocking to buy property in Orlando. Condo hotels, like the Blue Rose condo hotel, are the latest real estate investment trend in hot destinations like Orlando. Between the theme parks, the world-class restaurants, the golf courses, and the opportunities to engage in water sports, Orlando investors are seeing phenomenal returns on their investments.


Did you know that you can turn yourself into the ultimate idea machine by writing down 10 random ideas a day?
Oh wait, we're actually building a tool of this kind!
A couple of weeks ago, we've started working with a new client whose product is all about facilitating idea discovery. Their product targets organizations because let's face it, most organizations could use a solution of this sort. And the fact that 34 angel investors decided to back up the project proves that successful entrepreneurs realize this.
As far as the functionality goes, the product enables companies to capture ideas from each and every employee, making sure that every person is heard. Aside from this, the tool that we're working on will offer functionality for gathering and analyzing data on what ideas get the most traction. It will also feature a smart notification system, and a small social platform for all sorts of productive communication.
Naturally, the project covers both the Web and mobile. For the former, we will use the LAMP stack, and one of our skillful PHP leads will take charge of the process. For the latter, React Native will become our mobile development framework of choice. As you probably know, our team loves React Native, and we're happy to get another opportunity to build software using this technology.
We turn ideas into software that people love — this is our motto and our cornerstone principle for everything that we do. To help businesses innovate, we use our collective expertise in major programming technologies.
In the past years, we've been building enterprise solutions with Java or .Net and crafting fast, elegant UIs with Ember, React or Angular. We've also done a whole bunch of full-stack web projects with Node, Ruby, Python and PHP. Finally, we've built numerous mobile apps using true native technologies, as well as cross-platform frameworks like React Native.


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Siri, Who Are You? She Won't Say, But Her ID's Been Blown
By Mark Memmott
Published October 4, 2013 at 8:30 AM CDT
We tried Friday morning to get Siri to confirm CNN's report that a real woman named Susan Bennett is the "classic" American voice of Apple's virtual assistant.
But all Siri would do is tell us, repeatedly, that "this is about you, not me." As for whether she does have a "real" voice, Siri would only say that "I guess I don't have one."
So at this point we'll just have to trust CNN's New Day and Bennett. According to the network, even though Apple won't confirm that the Atlanta-based voice actor is the original Siri, "professionals who know [Bennett's] voice, have worked with her and represent her legally say she is Siri. And an audio-forensics expert with 30 years of experience has studied both voices and says he is '100 percent' certain the two are the same."
How does an actor's voice get made into a virtual assistant? According to CNN:
"For four hours a day, every day, in July 2005, Bennett holed up in her home recording booth. Hour after hour, she read nonsensical phrases and sentences so that the 'ubergeeks' — as she affectionately calls them; they leave her awestruck — could work their magic by pulling out vowels, consonants, syllables and diphthongs, and playing with her pitch and speed.
"These snippets were then synthesized in a process called concatenation that builds words, sentences, paragraphs. And that is how voices like hers find their way into GPS and telephone systems. ...
"Bennett never knew exactly how her voice would be used. She assumed it would be employed in company phone systems, but beyond that didn't think much about it. She moved on to the next gig."
There was a flurry of speculation last month that Siri's classic American voice might have been that of voiceover artist Allison Dufty, but that she is "positively not the voice of Siri."
The next mysteries to solve for those who wonder about such things: Who are the voices of the two new Siri options (one male, one female) in Apple's iOS7?
Siri's original voices in the U.K. and Australia have previously been revealed.
Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
See stories by Mark Memmott