For a pdf of this position paper, click here.
Passage of the Basic Skills MTLE has become the sole criteria for receiving a Minnesota teaching license leaving principals unable to make crucial local hiring decisions. Even candidates with demonstrated success on additional exams relevant to their area of teaching, outstanding recommendations from supervisors, superior student teaching records, and/or years of experience in other school systems cannot teach in Minnesota if they have not passed the Basic Skills MTLE.
The Basic Skills MTLE is a flawed solution for a non-existent problem. Until 2010, Minnesota had a set of licensure exams, the Praxis, that assured parents and the public that all classroom teachers had a basic level of mastery in reading, writing and math regardless of the subject they were licensed to teach. These Praxis tests (still used in the Dakotas and Wisconsin) had passing rates of 92% in math, 88% in reading and 88% in writing. After the Praxis was replaced with the MTLE, passing rates fell to 78% in math, 79% in reading and 79% in writing. Since passing the tests has become the sole criteria for entering the classroom, the legislature needs to act now to solve this problem, or we will be at risk of teacher shortages in Minnesota.
"basic skills" tests, however, ALL educators in ALL subject areas are barred from even entering the classroom if they cannot pass the college-level math that is included in the exam. Minnesota risks creating shortages in all Middle and High School subject areas such as art, music, foreign language, and social studies – even though teachers' college-level expertise in these areas is already required. Similarly, we are at risk of having a shortage of elementary teachers since even a kindergarten teacher is now being held hostage to college-level calculus in order to be licensed to teach our youngest children.
The Basic Skills MTLE has proven to be a heavily biased assessment tool. Pass rates for teacher candidates of color or who speak English as a second language are well below those for white candidates. As we in Minnesota strive to increase the diversity of our education workforce we should not accept a biased assessment instrument to ultimately determine who will be in our children's classrooms.
The Basic Skills MTLE does not assess how well teacher candidates will connect with and inspire children or whether they can effectively manage a classroom of 28 students every day. As parents and employers we want children to be educated by teachers who can inspire our children to be curious lifelong learners who will be able to adapt to changing and challenging global economic conditions. Can a timed paper and pencil test that is used as the final, and ultimately only, determinant of classroom suitability, fulfill that goal?
The Task Force recommends repealing Minnesota Statutes, section 122A.09, Subdivision 4 (b) and provisions in section 122A.18 Subdivision 2 (b) that require a teacher licensure candidate to pass a skills examination in reading, writing and mathematics. These three subtests have been commonly referred to as the "basic skills" test. The task force supports the continuation of the requirement that a teacher licensure candidate pass examinations in pedagogy and content areas as approved by the Board of Teaching.
The Task Force recommends that the Board of Teaching, as part of its approval process for teacher preparation programs, develop requirements that include assurances that prior to graduation and upon successful completion of an accredited teacher preparation program, teacher licensure candidates are proficient in reading, writing and mathematics at a college entrance level.
The Task Force recommends that the Board of Teaching develop requirements for teacher licensure candidates who do not graduate from a Board-approved teacher preparation program, to demonstrate proficiency in reading, writing and mathematics at a college entrance level.
Article on the impact on Minnesota's border towns when teaching candidates choose to teach in another state in order to avoid Minnesota's teacher licensing tests.
Parents United for Public Schools is concerned about the impact of the law on teacher quality.
MAIN recommends that when speaking to a legislator you have a personal story to tell about how the MTLE may be impacting your school. Have you lost a good teacher? Is your principal having to hire someone who is less qualified for a teaching position in your school (lower proficiency in the target language, for example), but has passed the test?
Need more information or want to talk to someone? Contact one of MAIN's Advocacy Committee members.


Most people know that TEN helps to promote businesses through Networking Opportunities like our Monthly Meeting and Networking Lunch.
What some of you might not know is that we also help businesses in our community find what they need. This is a service that seems to be more popular than ever!
As the Business Development Manager/Facilitator, Melissa takes care of this service. Businesses often go to her for advice like…who to use for insurance, venues for events, technical services…etc. She has even referred people to alternative health practitioners for their pain issues.
With that said, TEN is putting together a directory to be used by our facilitator so that when someone asks about specific products or services, we can easily point them to multiple options.


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The evolution of international programmes
Published on: 10 Sep 2020
Demand for international insurance programmes is on the rise as businesses look to expand globally, increase efficiencies and take advantage of new insurance markets maturity
While appetite for universal programmes was historically largely driven by bigger multinationals, these days insurers are seeing more new business come from smaller and mid-market companies.
Gillian Gunnink, head of international programmes strategy at Swiss Re Corporate Solutions explains: "Middle market customers are becoming more sophisticated, and they are expanding their footprint both in their supply chains as well as their financial assets."
She adds that her organisation is also seeing greater interest from companies headquartered in emerging economies such as China.
That doesn't mean that there is no longer demand from huge multinationals. Rather, because those companies often times have shrinking footprints, the way in which they use international programmes is evolving and many are relying more heavily on captives.
Striving for efficiency
The changing dynamic of the businesses seeking international programmes as well as the unique challenges those companies face, mean that insurers are having to evolve offerings, become more dynamic, and leverage technology to drive efficiency.
One of the main challenges is the rise of decentralisation, which can cause difficulties for smaller organisations in particular. For instance, some companies may lack the sophistication to have control over the structures of their organisations.
A company may well not have the framework, communication or established relationship to be able to prevent local offices from buying a local policy from a non-programme entity in-country. This impacts the premium allocation process and the invoice and policy issuance administration. So, it is crucial that the communication between those local offices and the headquarters becomes transparent and is monitored in a very effective way, so as to gain all of those efficiencies and productivity from a true multinational programme.
Gunnink says: "This really requires insurers to support companies in overcoming the complexities of their global insurance programmes by getting serious about the use of technology in order to remove those barriers; we need to utilise the full suite of technological advances we've made in other industries."
"We need to ensure that wherever possible we are leveraging robotics, APIs, and distributed ledger technology while integrating processes end-to-end to overcome these increased administrative burdens."
She adds that as well as embracing technology, insurers also need to work with clients to promote contract certainty, ensuring that coverage is complete and complementary from country to country.
With the globally standardised property policy ONE Form, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions found a tech-based way of doing so and is onboarding customers and broking partners in the important property segment. ONE Form ensures the highest possible alignment between master and local policies – making the complex issuance processes faster and more efficient.
The rise of captives
The same challenges are also driving an increased use of captives, which are being deployed in new and interesting ways.
In turn, this means that insurers must make sure that the same optimisations can be applied to the captives' markets to pass on increased efficiency.
Gunnink explains: "Owners of captives have very high expectations of their fronting carriers; in addition to that which is needed for non-captive programmes, they require extremely transparent, timely, and fully reconciled international programmes. They rely on that transparency and efficiency to reap the full benefits of such programmes."
Still a people process
While technology is critical for a successful international programme, Gunnink emphasises that people and networks are still just as important as ever.
In fact, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions has begun hiring 'Deal Architects' – a role that is specifically designed to help make sure that international programmes run smoothly. The first deal architect has already been appointed in America, with more to follow in Asia and the EMEA region.
She concludes: "The human factor is absolutely essential. Our network is a living thing that is continually growing and changing, and it's made up of thousands of insurance professionals that need to maintain knowledge levels and coordination."
"It's important that this network is supported with technology, but what's equally crucial are the people on the ground."
Originally published by Strategic Risk on 17 July 2020
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Unisys Announces Winners of Ninth...
Unisys Announces Winners of Ninth Annual Cloud 20/20™ Contest
Leading Indian project-based contest seeks to foster innovation and create talent pipeline
BENGALURU and BLUE BELL, Pa., April 13, 2018 – Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) today announced the winners of the ninth annual Unisys Cloud 20/20™ competition, one of India's largest annual technical project contests.
This year, the contest drew 8,048 participants and 329 project submissions from colleges across India. The project titled Intruder Pin Prevention by D Santhiya, and G Alice Monique of Sri Manakula Vinayagar Engineering College Puducherry won the first prize (Rs. 2,00,000 or approximately US$3,063 cash). Saurabh S Chalke, Avnesh Garg, Sanjay M and Akshay V Desai of University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering, Bengaluru bagged the second prize (Rs. 1,25,000 or approximately US$1,914 cash) for their project Kinect Based AI Gym Trainer. The third prize was awarded to Arvind R, Niranjan Kumar N, Ramkumar and George of Sri Manakula Vinayagar Engineering College, Puducherry, for their project Vibe Room.
Cloud 20/20 continues to provide engineering students across India with a platform to showcase their innovative ideas and apply disruptive technology trends to solve real-world issues. The contest encourages innovation among students and helps create an IT talent pool.
This year's themes included Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics, cloud-based applications and services, cloud security, DevOps and potential future technologies. Unisys provided each team with a mentor for guidance in creating projects that have a practical application.
In addition to the cash prize, Unisys will offer the finalists internships and job opportunities, subject to winners' eligibility and openings within the company. Over the last nine years, Cloud 20/20 has attracted more than 22,000 team entries.
For this edition of Cloud 20/20, adjunct competition started early, with Unisys' first-ever country-wide hackathon in December 2017. The hackathon had an impressive outcome, with 143 ideas submitted across five identified themes such as Safe Cities.
"The IT industry is witnessing a massive transformation of the skill sets required by professionals to help businesses and governments work more innovatively and offer exciting products and services to their customers," said Ravikumar Sreedharan, managing director, Unisys India and head, Global Delivery Network, Unisys. "The Unisys Cloud 20/20 technical contest plays an important role in encouraging students to work with new technologies such as AI and machine learning - and to apply innovative thinking - that will support their career development as well as the growth of the Indian IT industry," added Sreedharan.
Tarek El-Sadany, senior vice president, Technology and chief technology officer, Unisys, added, "It is essential that students and professionals in the IT sector embrace disruption. Through initiatives like Cloud 20/20, Unisys is proud to enrich the learning environment for students and empower them to be the future leaders in the digital domain."
Click here for further information on Cloud 20/20.
Unisys is a global information technology company that builds high-performance, security-centric solutions for the most digitally demanding businesses and governments on Earth. Unisys offerings include security software and services; digital transformation and workplace services; industry applications and services; and innovative software operating environments for high-intensity enterprise computing. For more information on how Unisys builds better outcomes securely for its clients across the Government, Financial Services and Commercial markets, visit www.unisys.com.
Follow Unisys on Twitter and LinkedIn.
RELEASE NO.: 0313/9579
Unisys and other Unisys products and services mentioned herein, as well as their respective logos, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Unisys Corporation. Any other brand or product referenced herein is acknowledged to be a trademark or registered trademark of its respective holder.
US: Brian Daly, Unisys, 215-274-1376
brian.daly@unisys.com
India: Paripurna NS, Unisys India, +91-80-4159-5179
paripurna.ns@in.unisys.com


text:
Robert Sheckley. The Day The Aliens Came
One day a man came to my door. He didn't quite look like a man, although he did walk on two feet. There was something wrong with his face. It looked as though it had been melted in an oven and then hastily frozen. I later learned that this expression was quite common among the group of aliens called Synesters, and was considered by them a look of especial beauty. The Melted Look, they called it, and it was often featured in their beauty contests. "I hear you're a writer," he said.
I said that was so. Why lie about a thing like that?
"Isn't that a bit of luck," he said. "I'm a story buyer."
"No kidding," I said.
"Have you got any stories you want to sell?"
He was very direct. I decided to be similarly so.
"Yes," I said. "I do."
"OK," he said. "I'm sure glad of that. This is a strange city for me. Strange planet, too, come to think of it. But it's the city aspect that's most unsettling. Different customs, all that sort of thing. As soon as I got here, I said to myself, "Traveling's great, but where am I going to find someone to sell me stories?"
"It's a problem," I admitted.
"Well," he said, "let's get right to it because there's a lot to do. I'd like to begin with a ten thousand word novelette."
"You've as good as got it," I told him. "When do you want it?"
"I need it by then end of the week."
"What are we talking about in terms of money, if you'll excuse the expression?"
"I'll pay you a thousand dollars for a ten thousand word novelette. I was told that was standard pay for a writer in this part of Earth. This is Earth, isn't it?"
"It's Earth, and your thousand dollars is acceptable. Just tell me what I'm supposed to write about."
"I'll leave that up to you. After all, you're the writer."
"Damn right I am," I said. "so you don't care what it's about?"
"Not in the slightest. After all, I'm not going to read it."
"Makes sense, " I said. "Why should you care?"
I didn't want to pursue that line of inquiry any further. I assumed that someone was going to read it. That's what usually happens with novelettes.
"What rights are you buying?" I asked, since it's important to be professional about these matters.
"First and second Synestrian," he said. "And of course I retain Synestrian movie rights although I'll pay you fifty percent of the net if I get a film sale."
"Is that likely?" I asked.
"Hard to say," he said. "As far we're concerned, Earth is new literary territory."
"In that case, let's make my cut sixty-forty."
"I won't argue," he said. "Not this time. Later you may find me very tough. Who knows what I'll be like? For me this is a whole new frankfurter."
I let that pass. An occasional lapse in English doesn't make an alien an ignoramus.
I got my story done in a week and brought it in to the Synester's office in the old MGM building on Broadway. I handed him the story and he waved me to a seat while he read it.
"It's pretty good," he said after a while. "I like it pretty well."
"Oh, good," I said.
"But I want some changes."
"Oh," I said. "What specifically did you have in mind?"
"Well," the Synester said, "this character you have in here, Alice."
"Yes, Alice," I said, though I couldn't quite remember writing an Alice into the story. Could he be referring to Alsace, the province in France? I decided not to question him. No sense appearing dumb on my own story.
"Now, this Alice," he said, " she's the size of a small country, isn't she?"
He was definitely referring to Alsace, the province in France, and I had lost the moment when I could correct him. "Yes," I said, "that's right, just about the size of a small country."
"Well, then," he said, "why don't you have Alice fall in love with a bigger country in the shape of a pretzel?"
"A what?" I said.
"Pretzel," he said. "It's a frequently used image in Synestrian popular literature. Synestrians like to read that sort of thing."
"Do they?" I said.
"Yes," he said. "Synestrians like to imagine people in the shape of pretzels. You stick that in, it'll make it more visual."
"Visual," I said, my mind a blank.
"Yes," he said, "Because we gotta consider the movie possibilities."
"Yes, of course," I said, remembering that I got sixty percent.
"Now for the film version of your story, I think we should set the action at a different time of day."
I tried to remember what time of day I had set the story in. It didn't seem to me I had specified any particular time at all. I mentioned this.
"That's true," he said, "you didn't set any specific time. But you inferred twilight. It was the slurring sound of your words that convinced me you were talking about twilight."
"Yes, all right," I said. "Twilight mood."
"Males a nice title," he said.
"Yes," I said, hating it.
"Twilight Mood," he said, rolling it around inside his mouth. "You could call it that, but I think you should actually write it in a daytime mode. For the irony."
"Yes, I see what you mean," I said.
"So why don't you run it through your computer once more and bring it back to me."
When I got home, Rimb was washing dishes and looking subdued. I should mention that she was a medium-sized blond person with the harassed look that characterizes aliens of the Ghottich persuasion. And there were peculiar sounds coming form the living room. When I gave Rimb a quizzical look, she rolled her eyes toward the living room and shrugged. I went in and saw there were two people there. Without saying a word, I went back to the kitchen and said to Rimb, "Who are they?"
"They told me they're the Bayersons."
"Aliens?"
She nodded. "But not my kind of aliens. They're as alien to me as they are to you."
That was the first time I fully appreciated that aliens could be alien to one another.
"What are they doing here?" I asked.
"They didn't say," Rimb said.
I went back to the living room. Mr. Bayerson was sitting in my armchair reading an evening newspaper. He was about three or four feet tall and had orange hair. Mrs. Bayerson was equally small and orange-haired and she was knitting something orange and green. Mr. Bayerson scrambled out of my chair as soon as I returned to the room.
"Aliens?" I said, sitting down.
"Yes," Bayerson said. "We're from Capella."
"And what are you doing in our place?"
"They said it would be all right."
"Who said?"
Bayerson shrugged and looked vague. I was to get very accustomed to that look.
"But it's our place," I pointed out.
"Of course it's yours," Bayerson said. "Nobody's arguing that. But would you begrudge us a little space to live in? We're not very big."
"But why our place? Why not someone else's?"
"We just sort of drifted in here and liked it," Bayerson said. "We think of it as home now."
"Some other place could also feel like home."
"Maybe, maybe not. We want to stay here. Look, why don't you just consider us like barnacles, or brown spots on the wallpaper. We just sort of attach on here. It's what Capellans do. We won't be in the way."
Rimb and I didn't much want them, but there seemed no overpowering reason to make them go. I mean, they were here, after all. And they were right, they really weren't in the way. In some ways, they were a lot better than some other apartment-dwelling aliens we came to know later.
In fact, Rimb and I soon wished the Bayersons would be a little less unobtrusive and give a little help around the apartment. Or at least keep an eye on things. Especially on the day the burglars came in.
Rimb and I were out. The way I understood it, the Bayersons didn't do a thing to stop them. Didn't call the police or anything, Just watched while the burglars poked around the place, moving slowly, because they were so overweight, fat alien thieves from Barnard's Star. They took all of Anna's old silver. They were Barnardean silver thieves and their traditions went back a long way. That's what they told the Bayersons, while they robbed us, and while Mr. Bayerson was going through his eyelid exercises just like nothing at all was happening.
The way it all started, I had met Rimb in Franco's Bar on MacDougal Street in New York. I had seen a few aliens before this, of course, shopping on Fifth Avenue or watching the ice skaters in Rockefeller Center. But this was the first time I'd ever actually ever talked with one. I inquired as to its sex and learned that Rimb was of the Ghottich Persuasion. It was an interesting-sounding sexual designation, especially for someone like me who was trying to get beyond the male-female dichotomy. I thought it might be fun to mate with someone of the Ghottich Persuasion after Rimb and I had agreed that she was basically a her. Later I checked with Father Hanlin at the Big Red Church. He said it was OK in the eyes of the church, though he personally didn't hold much with it. Rimb and I were one of the first alien-human marriages.
We moved into my apartment in the West Village. You didn't see a lot of aliens around here at first. But soon other alien people showed up and quite a few of them moved into our neighborhood.
No matter where they were from, all aliens were supposed to register with the police and the local authorities in charge of cult control. Few bothered, however. And nothing was ever done about it. The police and municipal authorities were having too much trouble keeping track of their own people.
I wrote stories for the Synestrian market and Rimb and I lived quietly with our house guests. The Bayersons were quite people and helped pay the rent. They were easygoing aliens who didn't worry much; not like Rimb, who worried a lot about everything.
At first I liked the Bayerson's ways, I thought they were easygoing and cool. But I changed my mind the day the burglars stole their youngest child, little Claude Bayerson.
I should have mentioned that the Bayersons had a baby soon after moving in with us. Or perhaps they had left the baby somewhere else and brought it in after they'd taken over our spare bedroom. We were never really clear on where the aliens came from, and their babies were a complete mystery to us.
The way the Bayersons told it, the kidnapping of little Claude was simple and straightforward. It was "Good-bye, Claude." "Good-bye, Daddy." When we asked them how they could do that, they said, "Oh, it's perfectly all right. I mean, it's what we were hoping for. That's how we Bayersons get around. Someone steals our children."
Well, I let it drop. What can you do with people like that? How could they stand to have little Claude raised as a Bernardean silver thief? One race one day, another race another. Some aliens have no racial pride. I mean it was cuckoo.
There wasn't anything to do about it so we all sat down to watch the TV together. All of us wanted to see the Savannah Reed show, our favorite.
Savannah's main guest that evening was the first man ever to eat a Mungulu. He was quite open about it, even somewhat defiant. He said, "If you think about it, why should it be ethical to eat only stupid creatures, or deluded ones? It is only blind prejudice that keeps us from eating intelligent beings. This thought came to me one day recently while I was talking with a few glotch of Mungulu on a plate."
"How many Mungulu make up a glotch?" Savannah asked. She's no dummy.
"Between fifteen and twenty, though there are exceptions."
"And what were they doing on a plate?"
"That's where Mungulu usually hang out. Accumulate, I should say. You see, Mungulu are plate-specific."
"I don't think I know this species," Savannah said.
"They're pretty much unique to my section of Yonkers."
"How did they get there?"
"They just pretty well showed up on my plate one night. First only one or two glotch of them. They looked like little oysters. Then more came so we had the half dozen or so it takes to generate a halfway decent conversation."
"Did they say were they were from?"
"A planet called Espadrille. I never did quite catch where it was, quadrantwise."
"Did they say how they got here?"
"Something about surfing the light-waves."
"What gave you the idea of eating the Mungulu?"
"Well, I didn't think about it at all at first. When a creature talks to you, you don't right away think of eating him. Or her. Not if you're civilized. But these Mungulu started showing up on my plate every night. They were pretty casual about it. All lined up on the edge of my good bone china, on the far side from me. Sometimes they'd just talk to each other, act like I wasn't even there. Then one of them would pretend to notice me - oh - it's the Earth guy - and we'd all start talking. This went on every night. I began to think there was something provocative about the way they were doing it. It seemed they were trying to tell me something."
"Do you think they wanted to be eaten?"
"Well, they never said so, not in so many words, no. But I was starting to get the idea. I mean, if they didn't want to be eaten, what were they doing on the edge of my plate?"
"What happened then?"
"To put it in a nutshell, one night I got sick of horsing around and just for the hell of it I speared one of them on the end of my fork and swallowed it."
"What did the others do?"
"They pretended not to notice. Just went right on with their conversation. Only their talk was a little stupider with one of them missing. Those guys need all the brain power they can come up with."
"Let's get back to this Mungulu you swallowed. Did it protest as it was going down?"
"No, it didn't even blink. It was like it was expecting it. I got the feeling it was no cruel and unusual punishment for a Mungulu to be ingested."
"How did they taste?"
"A little like breaded oysters in hot sauce, only subtly different. Alien, you know."
After the show was over, I noticed a bassinet in a corner of our living room. Inside was a cute little fellow, looked a little like me. At first I thought it was little Claude Bayerson, somehow returned. But Rimb soon put me wise.
"That's little Manny," she said. "He's ours."
"Oh," I said. "I don't remember you having him."
"Technically, I haven't. I've delayed the actual delivery until a more convenient time," she told me.
"Can you do that?"
She nodded. "We of the Ghottich persuasion are able to do that."
"What do you call him?" I asked.
"His name is Manny," Rimb said.
"Is 'Manny' a typical name from your planet?"
"Not at all," Rimb said. "I called him that in honor of your species."
"How do you figure?" I asked.
"The derivation is obvious. 'Manny' stands for 'Little Man'."
"That's not the way we generally do things around here, "I told her. But she didn't understand what I was talking about. Nor did I understand her explanation of the birth process by which Manny came into being. DDs, Deferred Deliveries, aren't customary among Earth people. As far as I could understand it, Rimb would have to undergo the actual delivery at some later time when it was more convenient. But in fact we never got around to it. Sometimes it happens like that.
Manny lay in his crib and ooed and aahed and acted like a human baby would, I suppose. I was a pretty proud poppa. Rimb and I were one of the first viable human-alien intermatings. I later learned it was no big deal. People all over the Earth were doing it. But it seemed important to us at the time.
Various neighbors came around to see the baby. The Bayersons came in from their new room which they had plastered on the side of apartment house after after molting. Mrs. Bayerson had spun all the construction material out of her own mouth, and she was some kind of proud I want to tell you. They looked Manny up and down and said, "Looks like a good one."
They offered to baby-sit, but we didn't like to leave Manny alone with them. We still didn't have a reliable report on their feeding habits. Fact is, it was taking a long time getting any hard facts about aliens, even though the federal government had decided to make all information available on the species that came to Earth.
The presence of aliens among us was responsible for the next step in human development, the new interest in composite living. You got tired of the same old individualism after a while. Rimb and I thought it could be interesting to be part of something else. We wanted to join a creature like a medusa or Portuguese man of war. But we weren't sure how to go about it. And so we didn't know whether to be pleased or alarmed when we received our notification by mail of our election to an alien composite life-form. Becoming part of a composite was still unusual in those days.
Rimb and I had quite a discussion about it. We finally decided to go to the first meeting, which was free, and see what it was like.
This meeting was held at our local Unitarian Church, and there were almost two hundred people and aliens present. There was a lot of good-natured bewilderment for a while as to just what we were supposed to do. We were all novices at this and just couldn't believe that we were expected to form up a two hundred person composite without prior training.
At last someone in a scarlet blazer and carrying a loose-leaf binder showed up and told us that we were supposed to be forming five unit composites first, and that as soon as we had a few dozen of these and had gotten the hang of morphing and melding, we could proceed to the second level of composite beinghood.
It was only then that we realized that there could be many levels to composite beings, each level being a discrete composite in its own right.
Luckily the Unitarian Church had a big open space in the basement, and here is where we and our chimaeric partners fit ourselves together.
There was good-natured bewilderment at first as we tried to perform this process. Most of us had had no experience at fitting ourselves to other creatures, so we were unfamiliar with for example, the Englen, that organ of the Pseudontoics which fits securely into the human left ear.
Still, with help from our expert (the guy in the scarlet blazer) who had volunteered to assist us, we soon formed up our first composite. And even though not everything was entirely right, since some organs can fit into very different types of human holes, it was still a thrill to see ourselves turning into a new creature with an individuality and self-awareness all of its own.
The high point of my new association with the composite was the annual picnic. We went to the Hanford ruins where the old atomic energy place used to be. It was overgrown with weeds, with some of them of very strange shapes and colors indeed. There were about two hundred of us in this group, and we deferred joining up until after lunch was served.
The Ladies' Auxiliary gave out the food, and they had a collection point just beyond, where everyone put in what they could. I dropped in a Synestrian bill that I had just been paid for the novelette. A lot of people came around to look at the bill and there was ooing and aahing, because Synestrian bills are really pretty, though they're so thick you can't fold them and they tend to make an unsightly bulge in your pocket. One of the men from the Big Red composite cruised over and looked at my Synestrian bill. He held it up to the light and watched the shapes and colors chase each other.
"That's mighty pretty." he said. "You ever think of framing it and hanging it on the wall?"
"I was just about to think about that," I said.
He decided he wanted the bill and asked me how much I wanted for it. I quoted him a price about three times its value in USA currency. He was delighted with the price. Holding the bill carefully by one corner, he sniffed it delicately.
"That's pretty good," he said.
Now that I thought about it, I realized the Synestrian money did have a good smell.
"These are prime bills," I assured him.
He sniffed again. "You ever eat one of these?" he asked me.
I shook my head. The notion had never occurred to me.
He nibbled at a corner. "Delicious!"
Seeing him enjoying himself like that got me thinking. I wanted a taste myself. But it was his bill now. I had sold it to him. All I had was bland old American currency.
I searched through my pockets. I was clean out of Synestrian bills. I didn't even have one left to hang on my wall back home, and I certainly didn't have one to eat.
And then I noticed Rimb. melding all by herself in a corner, and she looked so cute doing it that I went over to join her.
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Pilgrimage to Earth
Alfred Simon was born on Kazanga IV, a small agricultural planet near Arcturus, and there he drove a combine through the wheat fields, and in the long, hushed evenings listened to the recorded love songs of Earth.
Life was pleasant enough on Kazanga, and the girls were buxom, jolly, frank and acquiescent, good companions for a hike through the hills or a swim in the brook, staunch mates for life. But romantic - never! There was good fun to be had on Kazanga, in a cheerful open manner. But there was no more than fun.
Simon felt that something was missing in this bland existence. One day, he discovered what it was.
A vendor came to Kazanga in a battered spaceship loaded with books. He was gaunt, white-haired, and a little mad. A celebration was held for him, for novelty was appreciated on the outer worlds.
The vendor told them all the latest gossip, of the price war between Detroit II and III, and how fishing fared on Alana, and what the president's wife on Moracia wore, and how oddly the men of Doran V talked. And at last someone said, "Tell us of Earth."
"Ah!" said the vendor, raising his eyebrows. "You want to hear of the old mother planet? Well, friends, there's no place like old Earth, no place at all. On Earth, friends, everything is possible, and nothing is denied."
"Nothing?" Simon asked.
"They've got a law against denial," the vendor explained, grinning. "No one has ever been know to break it. Earth is different, friends. You folks specialize in farming? Well Earth specializes in impracticalities such as madness, beauty, war, intoxication, purity, horror, and the like, and people come from light- years away to sample these wares."
"And love?" a woman asked.
"Why girl," the vendor said gently, "Earth is the only place in the galaxy that still has love! Detroit II and II tried it and found it too expensive, you know, and Alana decided it was too unsettling, and there was no time to import it on Moracia or Doran V. But as I said, Earth specializes in the impractical, and makes it pay."
"Pay?" a bulky farmer asked.
"Of course! Earth is old, her minerals are gone and her fields are barren. Her colonies are independent now, and filled with sober folk such as yourselves, who want value for their goods. So what else can old Earth deal in, except the non-essentials that make life worth living?"
"Were you in love on Earth?" Simon asked.
"That I was," the vendor answered, with a certain grimness. "I was in love, and now I travel. Friends, these books..."
For an exorbitant price, Simon bought an ancient poetry book, and reading, dreamed of passion beneath the lunatic moon, of dawn glimmering whitely upon lovers' parched lips, of locked bodies on a dark sea-beach, desperate with love and deafened by the booming surf.
And only on Earth was this possible! For, as the vendor told, Earth's scattered children were too hard at work wrestling a living from alien soil. The wheat and corn grew on Kazanga, and the factories increased on Detroit II and III. The fisheries of Alana were the talk of the Southern start belt, and there were dangerous beasts on Moraica, and a whole wilderness to be won on Doran V. And this was well, and exactly as it should be.
But the new worlds were austere, carefully planned, sterile in their perfections. Something had been lost in the dead reaches of space, and only Earth knew love.
Therefore, Simon worked and saved and dreamed. And in his twenty-ninth year he sold his farm, packed all his clean shirts into a serviceable handbag, put on his best suit and a pair of stout walking shoes, and boarded the Kazanga- Metropole flyer.
At last he came to Earth, where dreams must come true, for there is a law against their failure.
He passed quickly through Customs at Spaceport New York, and was shuttled underground to Times Square. There he emerged blinking into daylight, tightly clutching his handbag, for he had been warned about pickpockets, cutpurses and other denizens of the city.
Breathless with wonder, he looked around.
The first thing that struck him was the endless array of theaters, with attractions in two dimensions, three or four, depending upon your preference. And what attractions!
To the right of him a beetling marquee proclaimed: LUST ON VENUS! A DOCUMENTARY ACCOUNT OF SEX PRACTICES AMONG THE INHABITANTS OF THE GREEN HELL! SHOCKING! REVEALING!
He wanted to go in. But across the street was a war film. The billboard shouted, THE SUN BUSTERS! DEDICATED TO THE DAREDEVILS OF THE SPACE MARINES! And further down was a picture called TARZAN BATTLES THE SATURNIAN GHOULS!
Tarzan, he recalled from his reading, was an ancient ethnic hero of Earth.
It was all wonderful, but there was so much more! He saw little open shops where one could buy food of all worlds, and especially such native Terran dishes as pizza, hotdogs, spaghetti and knishes. And there were stores which sold surplus clothing from the Terran spacefleets, and other stores which sold nothing but beverages.
Simon didn't know what to do first. Then he heard a staccato burst of gunfire behind him, and whirled.
It was only a shooting gallery, a long, narrow, brightly painted place with a waist-high counter. The manager, a swarthy fat man with a mole on his chin sat on a high stool and smiled at Simon.
"Try your luck?"
Simon walked over and saw that, instead of the usual targets, there were four scantily dressed women at the end of the gallery, seated upon bullet-scored chairs. They had tiny bull-eyes painted on their foreheads and above each breast.
"But do you fire real bullets?" Simon asked.
"Of course!" the manager said. "There is a law against false advertising on Earth. Real bullets and real gals! Step up and knock one off!"
One of the women called out, "Come on, sport! Bet you miss me!"
Another screamed, "He couldn't hit the broad side of a spaceship!"
"Sure he can!" another shouted. "Come on, sport!"
Simon rubbed his forehead and tried not to act surprised. After all, this was Earth, where anything was allowed as long as it was commercially feasible.
He asked, "Are there galleries where you shoot men, too?"
"Of course," the manager said. "But you ain't no pervert, are you?"
"Certainly not!"
"You an outworlder?"
"Yes. How did you know?"
"The suit. Always tell by the suit." The fat man closed his eyes and chanted, "Step up, step up and kill a woman! Get rid of a load of repressions! Squeeze the trigger and feel the old anger ooze out of you! Better than a massage! Better than getting drunk! Step up, step up and kill a woman!"
Simon asked on of the girls, "Do you stay dead when they kill you?"
"Don't be stupid," the girl said.
"But the shock - "
She shrugged her shoulders. "I could do worse."
Simon was about to ask how she could do worse, when the manager leaned over the counter, speaking confidentially.
"Look, buddy. Look what I got here."
Simon glanced over the counter, and saw a compact sub-machine gun.
"For a ridiculously low price," the manager said, "I'll let you use the tommy. You can spray the whole place, shoot down the fixtures, rip up the walls. This drives a .45 slug, buddy, and it kicks like a mule. You really know you're firing when you fire the tommy."
"I am not interested," Simon said sternly.
"I've got a grenade or two," the manager said. "Fragmentation, of course. You could really-"
"For a price," the manager said, "you can shoot me, too, if that's how your tastes run, although I wouldn't have guessed it. What do you say?"
"No! Never! This is horrible!"
The manager looked at him blankly. "Not in the mood now? OK. I'm open twenty- four hours a day. See you later, sport."
"Never!" Simon said, walking away.
"Be expecting you, lover!" one of the women called after him.
Simon went to the refreshment stand and ordered a small glass of coca-cola. He found that his hands were shaking. With an effort he steadied them, and sipped his drink. He reminded himself that he must not judge Earth by his own standards. If people on Earth enjoyed killing people, and the victims didn't mind being killed, why should anyone object?
Or should they?
He was pondering this when a voice at his elbow said, "Hey, bub."
Simon turned and saw a wizened, furtive-faced little man in an oversize raincoat standing beside him.
"Out-of-towner?" the little man asked.
"I am," Simon said. "How did you know?"
"The shoes. I always look at the shoes. How do you like our little planet?"
"It's - confusing," Simon said carefully. "I mean I didn't expect - well -"
"Of course", the little man said. "You're an idealist. One look at your honest face tells me that, my friend. You've come to Earth for a definite purpose. Am I right?"
Simon nodded. The little man said, "I know your purpose, my friend. You're looking for a war that will make the world safe from something, and you've come to the right place. We have six major wars running at all times, and there's never any waiting for an important position in any of them."
"Sorry, but - "
"Right at this moment," the little man said impressively, "the downtrodden workers of Peru are engaged in a desperate struggle against a corrupt and decadent monarchy. One more man could swing the contest! You, my friend, could be that man! You could guarantee the socialist victory!"
Observing the expression on Simon's face, the little man said quickly, "But there's a lot to be said for an enlightened aristocracy. The wise old king of Peru (a philosopher-king in the deepest Platonic sense of the word) sorely needs your help. His tiny corps of scientists, humanitarians, Swiss guards, knights of the realm and royal peasants is sorely pressed by the foreign-inspired. A single man, you know - "
"I'm not interested," Simon said.
"In China, the Anarchists - "
"Perhaps you'd prefer Communists in Wales? Or the Capitalists in Japan? Or if your affinities lies with a splinter group such as the Feminists, Prohibitionists, Free Silverists or the like, we could probably arrange - "
"I don't want a war," Simon said.
"Who could blame you?" the little man said, nodding rapidly. "War is hell. In that case, you've come to Earth for love."
"How did you know?" Simon asked.
The little man smiled modestly. "Love and war," he said, "are Earth's two staple commodities. We've been turning them both out in bumper crops since the beginning of time."
"Is love very difficult to find," Simon asked.
"Walk uptown two blocks," the little man said briskly. "Can't miss it. Tell'em Joe sent you."
"But that's impossible! You can't just walk out and - "
"What do you know about love?" Joe asked.
"Well, we're experts on it."
"I know what the books say," Simon said. "Passion beneath the lunatic moon - "
"Sure, and bodies on a dark sea-beach desperate with love and deafened by the booming surf."
"You've read that book?"
"It's the standard advertising brochure. I must be going. Two blocks uptown. Can't miss it."
And with a pleasant nod, Joe moved into the crowd. Simon finished his coca-cola and walked slowly up Broadway, his brow knotted in thought, but determined not to form any premature judgements.
When he reached 44th Street he saw a tremendous neon sign flashing brightly. It said LOVE, INC.
Smaller neon letters read, Open 24 Hours a Day!
Beneath that it read, Up One Flight.
Simon frowned, for a terrible suspicion had just crossed his mind. Still, he climbed the stairs and entered a small, tastefully furnished reception room. >From there he was sent down a long corridor to a numbered room.
Within the room was a handsome gray-haired man who rose from behind an impressive desk and shook his hand, saying, "Well! How are things on Kazanga?"
"How did you know I was from Kazanga?"
"That shirt. I always look at the shirt. I'm Mr. Tate, and I'm here to serve you to the best of my ability. You are - "
"Simon, Alfred Simon."
"Please be seated, Mr. Simon. Cigarette? Drink? You won't regret coming to us, sir. We're the oldest love-dispensing firm in the business, and much larger than our closest competitor, Passion Unlimited. Moreover, our fees are far more reasonable, and bring you an improved product. Might I ask how you heard of us? Did you see our full page ad in the Times? Or - "
"Joe sent me," Simon said.
"Ah, he's an active one," Mr. Tate said, shaking his head playfully. "Well, sir, there's no reason to delay. You've come a long way for love, and love you shall have." He reached for a button on his desk, but Simon stopped him.
Simon said, "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but..."
"Yes?" Mr. Tate said, with an encouraging smile.
"I don't understand this," Simon blurted out, flushing deeply, beads of perspiration standing out on his forehead. "I think I'm in the wrong place. I didn't come all the way to Earth just for ... I mean, you can't really sell love, can you? Not love! I mean, then it isn't really love, is it?"
"But of course!" Mr. Tate said, half rising from his chair in astonishment. "That's the whole point! Anyone can buy sex. Good lord, it's the cheapest thing in the universe, next to human life. But love is rare, love is special, love is found only on Earth. Have you read our brochure?"
"Bodies on a dark sea-beach?" Simon asked.
"Yes, that one. I wrote it. Gives something of the feeling, doesn't it? You can't get that feeling from just anyone, Mr. Simon. You can get that feeling only from someone who loves you."
Simon said dubiously, "It's not genuine love, though is it?"
"Of course it is! If we were selling simulated love, we'd label it as such. The advertising laws on Earth are strict, I can assure you. Anything can be sold, but it must be labelled properly, That's ethics, Mr. Simon!"
Tate caught his breath, and continued in a calmer tone. "No, sir, make no mistake, our product is not a substitute. It is the exact self-same feeling that poets and writers have raved about for thousands of years. Through the wonders of modern science we can bring this feeling to you at your convenience, attractively packaged, completely disposable, and for a ridiculously low price."
Simon said, "I pictured something more - spontaneous."
"Spontaneity has its charm," Mr. Tate agreed. "Our research labs are working on it. Believe me, there's nothing science can't produce, as long as there's a market for it."
"I don't like any of this," Simon said, getting to his feet. "I think I'll just go see a movie."
"Wait!" Mr. Tate cried. "You think we're trying to put something over on you. You think we'll introduce you to a girl who will act as though she loved you, but who in reality will not. Is that it?"
"I guess so," Simon said.
"But it just isn't so! It would be too costly for one thing. For another, the wear and tear on the girl would be tremendous. And it would be psychologically unsound for her to attempt living a lie of such depth and scope."
"Then how do you do it?"
"By utilizing our understanding of science and the human mind."
To Simon, this sounded like double-talk. He moved towards the door.
"Tell me something," Mr. Tate said. "You're a bright-looking fellow. Don't you think you could tell real love from a counterfeit item."
"Certainly."
"There's your safeguard! You must be satisfied, or don't pay us a cent."
"I'll think about it," Simon said.
"Why delay? Leading psychologists say that real love is a fortifier and a restorer of sanity, a balm for damaged egoes, a restorer of hormone balance, and an improver of the complexion. The love we supply you has everything: deep and abiding affection, unrestrained passion, complete faithfulness, an almost mystic affection for your defects as well as your virtues, a pitiful desire to please, and, as a plus that only Love, Inc. can supply: that uncontrollable first spark, that blinding moment of love at first sight!"
Mr. Tate pressed a button. Simon frowned undecisively. The door opened, a girl stepped in, and Simon stopped thinking.
She was tall and slender, and her hair was brown with a sheen of red. Simon could have told you nothing about her face, except that it brought tears to his eyes. And if you asked him about her figure, he might have killed you.
"Miss Penny Bright", said Tate, "meet Mr. Alfred Simon." The girl tried to speak but no words came, and Simon was equally dumbstruck. He looked at her and knew. Nothing else mattered. To the depths of his heart he knew that he was truly and completely loved.
They left at once, hand in hand, and were taken by jet to a small cottage in a pine grove, overlooking the sea, and there they talked and laughed and loved, and later Simon saw his beloved wrapped in the sunset flame like a goddess of fire. And in blue twilight she looked at him with eyes enormous and dark, her known body mysterious again. The moon came up, bright and lunatic, changing flesh to shadow, and she wept and beat his chest with her small fists and Simon wept too, although he did not know why. And at last dawn came, faint and disturbed, glimmering upon their parched lips and locked lips, and nearby the booming surf deafened, inflamed, and maddened them.
At noon they were back in the offices of Love, Inc. Penny clutched his hand for a moment, then disappeared through an inner door.
"Was it real love?" Mr. Tate asked.
"And was everything satisfactory?"
"Yes! It was love, it was the real thing! But why did she insist on returning?"
"Post-hypnotic command," Mr. Tate said.
"What did you expect? Everyone wants love, but few wish to pay for it. Here's your bill, sir."
Simon paid, fuming. "This wasn't necessary," he said. "Of course I would pay you for bringing us together. Where is she now? What have you done with her?"
"Please," Mr. Tate said soothingly. "Try to calm yourself."
"I don't want to be calm!" Simon shouted. "I want Penny!"
"That will be impossible," Mr. Tate said, with the barest hint of frost in his voice. "Kindly stop making a spectacle of yourself."
"Are you trying to get more money out of me?" Simon shrieked. "All right, I'll pay. How much do I have to pay you to get her out of your clutches?" And Simon yanked out his wallet and slammed it on the desk.
Mr. Tate poked the wallet with a stiffened forefinger. "Put that back in your pocket," he said. "We are an old and respectable firm. If you raise your voice again, I shall be forced to have you ejected."
Simon calmed himself with and effort, put the wallet back in his pocket and sat down. He took a deep breath and said, very quietly, "I'm sorry."
"That's better," Mr. Tate said. "I will not be shouted at. However, if you are reasonable, I can be reasonable too. Now, what's the trouble?"
"The trouble?" Simon's voice started to lift. He controlled it and said, "She loves me."
"Of course."
"Then how can you separate us?"
"What has one thing got to do with another?" Mr. Tate asked. "Love is a delightful interlude, a relaxation, good for the intellect, for the ego, for the hormone balance, and for the skin tone. But one would hardly wish to continue loving, would one?"
"I would," Simon said. "This love was special, unique - "
"They all are," Mr. Tate said. "But as you know, they are all produced in the same way."
"Surely you know something about the mechanics of love production?"
"No," Simon said. "I thought it was - natural."
Mr. Tate shook his head. "We gave up natural selection centuries ago, shortly after the Mechanical Revolution. It was too slow, and commercially unfeasible. Why bother with it, when we can produce any feeling at will by conditioning and proper stimulation of certain brain centers? The result? Penny, completely in love with you! Your own bias, which we calculated, in favor of her particular somatype, made it complete. We always throw in a the dark sea-beach, the lunatic moon, the pallid dawn - "
"Then she could have been made to love anyone," Simon said slowly.
"Could have been brought to love anyone," Mr. Tate corrected.
"Oh, lord, how did she get into this horrible work?" Simon asked.
"She came in and signed a contract in the usual way," Tate said. "It pays very well. And at the termination of the lease, we return her original personality - untouched! But why do you call the work horrible? There's nothing reprehensible about love."
"It wasn't love!" Simon cried.
"But it was! The genuine article! Unbiased scientific firms have made qualitative tests of it, in comparison with the natural thing. In every case, our love tested out to more depth, passion, fervor and scope."
Simon shut his eyes tightly, opened them and said, "Listen to me. I don't care about your scientific tests. I love her, she loves me, and that's all that counts. Let me speak to her! I want to marry her!"
Mr. Tate wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Come, come, young man! You wouldn't want to marry a girl like that! But if it's marriage you're after, we deal in that, too. I can arrange an idyllic and nearly spontaneous love-match with a guaranteed, government-inspected virgin - "
"No! I love Penny! At least let me speak to her!"
"That will be quite impossible," Mr. Tate said.
Mr. Tate pushed a button on his desk. "Why do you think? We've wiped out the previous indoctrination. Penny is now in love with someone else."
And the Simon understood. He had realized that even now Penny was looking at another man with that passion he had known, feeling for another man that complete and bottomless love that unbiased scientific firms had shone to be so much greater than the old-fashioned, commercially unfeasible natural, and that upon the same dark sea-beach mentioned in the advertising brochure -
He lunged for Tate's throat. Two attendants, who had entered the office a few moments earlier, caught him and led him to the door.
"Remember!" Tate called. "This in no way invalidates your own experience."
Hellishly enough, Simon knew that what Tate said was true.
And then he found himself on the street.
At first, all he desired was to escape from Earth, where the commercial impracticalities were more than a normal man could afford. He walked very quickly, and his Penny walked beside him, her face glorified with love for him, and him, and him, and you, and you.
And of course he came to the shooting gallery.
"Try your luck?" the manager asked.
"Set'em up," said Alfred Simon.
Last-modified: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 13:05:48 GMT


text:
Huawei Talk Band 2 brings classy gold and leather design to fitness trackers
By Alistair Charlton
Updated March 1, 2015 13:15 GMT
Huawei has announced the Talk Band B2, an update to its multifunctional wrist-worn fitness tracker which doubles as a Bluetooth hands-free earpiece. An upgrade on last year's B1, the new model has a more refined and attractive look, with a champagne gold model featuring a brown leather strap, giving the Talk Band a much-needed injection of style.
The Talk Band's dual functionality may be lost on some - we're not sure how many people still use Bluetooth hands-free kits - but used solely as a fitness tracker, the wearable holds its own. By pressing two buttons, the body of the B2 detaches and can be worn in your ear as a way of making hands-free calls.
The B2 tracks your walking, running, cycling and sleeping IBTimes UK
There's an array of sensors onboard, including a gyroscope which was missing from last year's model, and information like steps walked and distance jogged can be shown on the touch screen display. Notifications are absent, but for simply checking on fitness progress the Talk Band B2 does the job admirably.
Huawei says the Talk Band B2 can automatically tell the difference between walking, running, cycling and sleeping, and track each activity accordingly. Battery life is claimed to be five days of fitness tracking - or seven hours of constant hands-free calling - and 12 days in standby.
Unlike most wearables, the Huawei B2 can be paired to two different smartphones at once, which is useful for anyone who has both work and personal phones, and Huawei provides a companion app for both iOS and Android.
The black and silver versions of the Talk Band B2 have a rubber strap and are waterproof to a depth of one meter for up to 30 minutes. The gold model with a leather strap is not to be used underwater or worn in the shower.
Huawei says the fitness tracker will go on sale in the third quarter of 2015 - probably around September - and although there isn't yet an official price, it is expected to cost between £150 and £200.
More about Huawei
Mobile World Congress 2015 preview: What to expect from Samsung, HTC, LG and Microsoft
Huawei Honor 6 Review: A Lot of Phone For £250
Honor 6: Huawei Brings \'World\'s Fastest 4G Phone\' to UK and Europe


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Since the 1980s Michael Kvium has developed a personal style and iconography, influenced by the great Spanish masters, Diego Velázquez and Francisco de Goya. Characteristic of Kvium's art is a distinctive palette of dark grey and brown tones, though in his watercolours he often prefers brighter colours than in his oil paintings.
Flora Danica consists of hundreds of daring portraits in which colour and psychology combine. Repetition is used as stylistic technique. The series lays bare man's existential loneliness, his thirst for love, his vanity and his sense of lost orientation. The backgrounds are simple, beautiful expanses of colour. His expressive idiom is intense. Gravity and empathy mingle with humour. The robust and the tender are joined in successful union. Small scale works are linked up to a series where the final effect is overwhelming.


text:
How to save money on mobile phone costs
Priscilla Dickinson
Choosing the right phone and plan will avoid costly mistakes. Photo credit: Getty.
Choosing a phone and plan based on needs will help people save money on mobile phones, experts say.
In the current environment of rising unemployment and economic uncertainty, budgets are tight, putting costs under scrutiny. Following the onset of COVID-19, use of electronic devices, including mobile phones, has increased.
In the first of a Newshub three-part series on reducing living expenses, experts share three tips for saving money on mobile phones.
Five ways to slash your grocery bill
COVID-19 and money: The top five mistakes to avoid
Get the right phone, not the latest one
Financial coach Shula Newland, said that people are often tempted by interest-free repayments on the latest iphone.
"People get stuck in expensive plans where they're also paying off a phone - they don't realise they've tied themselves into another debt payment," Newland said
If income drops, they risk being unable to afford it. She urges people to look at which features they need and spend accordingly.
"If they can't pay and fall behind, the contract can be cancelled and the amount remaining on the phone is owed upfront," Newland added.
David Cooper, head of services at Noel Leeming said that many people make the mistake of rushing into a purchase. As prices start from $100 to $2000 plus, there's a phone to suit most budgets.
"There are a range of brands offering great value for money with a strong feature set, some which [people] may not be familiar with," Cooper said.
"Look at your options, remember[ing that] if you're an Apple fan and change away from Apple, there is some re-learning you may need to do and that ecosystem of products you have at home might not work as well together."
Choose the right plan
Reviewing past and expected usage before choosing a plan will avoid unexpected costs.
Prepay plans allow greater control, as top-ups require an active spending decision. Monthly plans require a set payment in return for an allocated amount of texts, calls and data.
"Most customers with reasonable usage levels will see better value for money on a Pay Monthly plan, so if you're controlled, it's worth considering," Cooper said.
Buying extra minutes and/or data on an entry-level plan can make it too expensive. On the flip side, some customers sign up to a plan that provides more than they need to get an upfront discount on a phone.
"[They] then end up paying more over the lifetime of their contract," Cooper explained.
Review your plan regularly
Inclusions improve as new plans are released. Users should review their plan regularly to check they're getting the best deal.
"You may find that for the same monthly spend, you can get more minutes, texts and data," Cooper said.
He also suggests looking at household mobile usage and total spend, as a 'sharer' plan may offer better value.
"Starting [from] around $80, this may seem more [expensive] but when averaged out per user, provides better value at an overall lower cost."
Money can also be saved by removing the landline and using free call apps, such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
Understanding what phone features are needed, checking usage and current offers will help keep mobile phone costs down and avoid unplanned expenses at the end of the month.


Suzanne primarily practices in the estate planning, Medicaid planning, probate, real estate, and business areas. As an accredited VA Attorney and licensed title agent you will also find her working with local veterans and conducting real estate closings. Suzanne graduated from The Ohio State University in 2011 with a double major in Psychology and English. She received her Juris Doctor from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 2015. She also received her LLM in Taxation from Capital University in 2018 and uses her tax law background to better serve her clients.
During law school, Suzanne was part of the Grassbaugh Veterans Project and was selected as the Robert M. Duncan Service Awardee for her graduating class. Suzanne joined Stebelton Snider's transactional department in 2015. Suzanne is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association and has been admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. She currently serves as the President of The Ohio State University Honors and Scholars Alumni Society, Vice President of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Fairfield County, and President of the Friends of the Wagnalls Memorial Library. Suzanne is a Sidney, Ohio native now residing in Canal Winchester.


London Local Pubs Past and Present is a celebration of local pubs that are steeped in social history.
They have played a role in publicans' and regulars' lives since they were first built and continue to fulfil that community purpose. They are places of historic significance, even if their architecture has radically changed over the years.
This book focuses on what these pubs meant to locals in the past and what they mean to locals and licensees today. It contains never-seen-before archival images from Charrington's surveyors department, which provide a backdrop for anecdotes and photographs that are contributed by regulars, staff and landlords and drawn together by well-known writer Adrian Tierney-Jones.
Address details for each pub and a map allow the reader to explore these fascinating spaces for themselves.
The book is connected to crowdsourcing platform Historypin.org, where locals and publicans of each pub can contribute additional materials and keep the story of these community institutions alive.
This e-book has been created as part of the Europeana Food and Drink project.
Imprint: PiXZ Books. ISBN 978 0 85710 099 3, pdf e-book, 144 pages. Published October 2015.
London Local Pubs Past and Present is a celebration of local pubs that are steeped in social history. It contains never-seen-before archival images which provide a backdrop for anecdotes and photographs drawn together by well-known writer Adrian Tierney-Jones.This book has been created as part of the Europeana Food and Drink project.
Drawing on jail records, Customs' reports, contemporary newspaper articles and eye witness accounts, the story of smuggling in Dorset is revealed by Terry Townsend through the history of the pubs that served as meeting places, recruitment centres, secret storage facilities, distribution depots and valued customers.
Over half of the county of Sussex is protected countryside, which offers good walking cycling and other recreational opportunities. The county also has a large number of lovely country pubs and this book features 27 of them over ten walks.
The Isle of Wight has around one pub for every square mile so satisfying your thirst is never going to be a problem. Phil Christian helps here by describing in detail, 10 circular walks that combine a number of pubs in areas with local interest that are off the beaten track.
Great Pubs, beautiful scenery and ten superb circular walks in North Wiltshire guided by Robert Wood. What more could you want!
This guide by Terry Townsend will lead you to a significant number of authentic smugglers' pubs distributed throughout Kent. These wonderful old buildings with their low-beamed ceilings, flag stone floors, inglenook fire-places and secret hiding places are where you can get a real feel for the desperate days of the free traders.
By comparing the wartime image to the modern viewpoint this book by Neil Holmes gives the reader a link to the city's experiences that mere statistics can never convey. The book covers not just famous landmarks like the Liver Buildings but also ordinary houses, churches and pubs. It will inspire anyone, whether local or not to reflect on the sacrifice and bravery of Liverpool people in the city's darkest hour.
This handsome, highly illustrated book by Adrian Tierney-Jones will be a must-have for anyone who has visited the West Country's wonderful pubs, as a local or a visitor.


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Beet Für Elise 03a
Burnt canvas, 50 x 50cm. 2018.
The first few seconds of Beethoven´s Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor "Für Elise" have been analyzed and encoded into an algorithm. By a system of rules, we draw music. Our algorithm transforms the continuity of a parallel arrangement of lines into a complex topography of sensations. Based on the peak frequency and melodic range of the piece, we create a sonic landscape through a joyful play between music, writing and computation.
Signed drawing with a Certificate of Authenticity.
© Perez Reiter 2018
info@perezreiter.com


Boiler grants are being allocated throughout Scotland as part of a new Government free boiler grant scheme.
The Boiler Grants also mean savings of up to £300 per year as heating bills are reduced after the boilers are installed in homes.The boilers carry an A Graded rating in terms of energy-efficiency.
In Scotland the new ECO boiler grant scheme has been put in place to address energy wastage, which affects the environment, in turn causing unnecessarily high domestic energy bills.
Who qualifies for a boiler grant in Scotland?
The first stage of your free boiler application is to provide us with a few details via the boiler grant application form. This enables us to identify a domestic energy assessor in your part of Scotland.
The energy assessor will check your boiler and assess its energy performance to see if you qualify for a boiler grant. To have a new replacement boiler installed your existing gas boiler must not be a condensing boiler.
If yu qualify for a boiler grant the assessor will arrange a date for your new energy efficient boiler to be installed. Your free replacement gas boiler will be installed free of charge (includes full manufacturer's warranty). This will mean energy savings of £100′s per year.


This is a wonderful dramatic and dressy tunic which is long enough to wear as a dress. It has delicious and dressy handkerchief points back and front,and cap sleeves.
Fantastic party dress if you want to be noticed! Great for a wedding or party.
FAB print in various fabric qualities - here it is in linen.
Wear alone, with pants or a shrug.
The word daisy comes from the Latin "margarita", which means "pearl". In English, the word "daisy" comes from an old English word and means "eye of the day" because these flowers only open during the day. This iconic flower is so appealing – and this inspired print seems to touch on some of the ancient meanings – note that these have both gold and black centres. The ground has the colours of a classic lava lamp which combines with the daisies into a very pretty high summer print.
Length:37" to shortest point 48" to longest point.
The fibres are strongest when they're damp, so even the most delicate garments will do well in a washing machine. The smooth surface of the flax fibres means stains are easily shed. Linen is highly absorbent, soaking up twice its weight in water before dripping. It's a quality that makes it a superb summer fabric – but also means it should be washed in a machine with plenty of room to spare so it can move around.
We love the relaxed crumples of well-worn linen. These creases get softer and comfier with age and can be enjoyed as the definition of laid-back cool. However, a crisp linen shirt or dress is sometimes desirable. In these cases, you should iron the material while it's still damp – first on the wrong side to remove the creases, and then on the right side. A good steam iron works best.


I am so mad!!! The traffic is really crazy!! It is 8.30pm now and I am stuck in the office because the traffic is so so terrible out there. It's 8.30pm, helllooooooo!! I do not want to leave now and get stuck in the senseless jam. With this kind of traffic, it can easily take more than an hour to reach home.
Such a big contrast as compared to last week when many people were still on their Hari Raya holiday.
Sometimes I think work frustrations don't really come from work itself. They come from the stress encountered during daily commute to work, and from work. It's just so crazy!!!


Choosing a name for a child can be quite a challenging decision for parents. Mr. and Mrs. Mouse considered this obligation thoughtfully and chose the name that was "absolutely perfect" for their new precious baby. They named her Chrysanthemum – the perfect name for their perfect daughter. As Chrysanthemum grew, she too found her name to be perfect whether it was written or spoken. As a matter of fact, she often repeated it to herself because she liked the sound of it so much.


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Pilots Criticize Boeing for Mistakes on Its Grounded Jet
The president of the pilots' union at American Airlines said Boeing's zeal to minimize pilot-training costs for airlines that would buy the 737 Max jet contributed to design errors and inadequate training
By David Koenig and Tom Krisher
Published Jun 19, 2019 at 1:20 PM | Updated at 5:09 PM EDT on Jun 19, 2019
From left, Captain Dan Carey of the Allied Pilots Association Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and Sara Nelson with the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA appear before a House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure hearing on the status of the Boeing 737 MAX on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 19, 2019.
Airline union leaders and a famed former pilot said Wednesday that Boeing made mistakes while developing the 737 Max, and the biggest was not telling anybody about new flight-control software so pilots could train for it.
Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who landed a crippled airliner safely on the Hudson River in 2009, said he doubted that any U.S. pilots practiced handling a specific malfunction until it happened on two Max jets that crashed, killing 346 people. Max pilots should train for such emergencies in simulators — not just on computers, as Boeing proposes, he said.
"We should all want pilots to experience these challenging situations for the first time in a simulator, not in flight, with passengers and crew on board," Sullenberger said, adding that "reading about it on an iPad is not even close to sufficient."
Sullenberger's comments to the House aviation subcommittee came during the third congressional hearing on Boeing's troubled plane, which has been grounded for three months.
Daniel Carey, the president of the pilots' union at American Airlines, said Boeing's zeal to minimize pilot-training costs for airlines buying the 737 Max jet contributed to design errors and inadequate training. That has left a "crisis of trust" around aviation safety, he said.
Former Federal Aviation Administration chief Randy Babbitt said his old agency too readily accepted Boeing's design changes on the Max, and pilots should have been better trained. Sara Nelson, president of the largest flight attendants' union, joined in hammering Boeing and the FAA, although she acknowledged she has recently noticed "a chastened tone" from the company.
As the hearing unfolded in Washington, the head of the pilots' union at Southwest Airlines in Dallas said his group will seek compensation from Boeing for lost flying assignments and the costs of complying with a Justice Department subpoena for its records, which are part of the government's criminal investigation into Boeing.
All of the comments underscore the challenges Boeing faces convincing pilots they can be confident the Max can be made safe. Those pilots, in turn, are key to convincing reluctant passengers to fly on the plane.
"That bond between the passenger and the pilot is one that is critical," Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said during an investor presentation in April.
Pilots complain that Boeing did not tell them about flight software called MCAS until after the October crash of a Lion Air jet in Indonesia. That same software, which could misfire on the failure of a single sensor, was implicated in a second crash five months later of an Ethiopian Airlines jet.
The MCAS software was designed to make the Max feel like previous 737 models to pilots despite engines that were larger and placed more forward on the wings and changed the plane's aerodynamics.
"This was a fatal design flaw built into the aircraft at the factory," Carey said in an interview before the hearing.
After the Lion Air crash, Boeing sent pilots and airlines a checklist of steps to take if MCAS malfunctioned, including disabling the software and hand-cranking a wheel to manually rotate part of the plane's tail and point the nose up. The Ethiopian Airlines pilots tried that, but they couldn't physically move the tail part because the jet was flying too fast.
"We not only have to devise checklists, we have to make sure those checklists are able to be performed by a flight crew," Carey told the lawmakers.
Carey said video training for pilots on the MCAS updates would be enough to get the planes back into the air, but he advocated simulator training during each pilot's training updates.
Boeing engineers have finished making fixes to the software and expect to soon demonstrate their work to government safety officials on test flights in hopes that the FAA will certify the plane as safe.
The changes will be accompanied by additional pilot training. FAA technical experts endorsed Boeing's conclusion that simulator time is not immediately needed for pilots who know how to fly older 737 models. Acting FAA Administrator Daniel Elwell said recently the agency has not made a final decision.
Carey and Sullenberger also questioned the FAA's independence from Boeing and other companies it regulates. Sullenberger criticized an FAA program that relies on industry employees to perform some safety tests and inspections, and he urged lawmakers to give FAA more money so it can do the work itself.
No one from Boeing Co. testified at Wednesday's hearing. Rep. Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat and chairman of the full House Transportation Committee, said his panel has received "a substantial number" of the documents it has requested from Boeing and the FAA about development and approval of the Max, and he will summon the company to a future hearing.
In a statement, Boeing spokesman Peter Pedraza said Boeing was providing information to regulators, airlines and pilots "to re-earn their trust and know we must be more transparent going forward."
Boeing's path to regaining trust still looks bumpy. Jon Weaks, president of the pilots' union at Southwest — which owns 34 Max jets, more than any other carrier, and is the world's biggest 737 operator — faulted Boeing for many missteps during the crisis.
"Boeing seems to receive more bad news with every passing week and still needs to learn how to rebuild trust as well as the airplane," Weaks wrote in a memo to his pilots on Wednesday.
House GOP Leadership Defends Trump's Tweets: 'No,' Not Racist
Republican leaders in the House responded Tuesday to the outcry over President Donald Trump's tweets during a weekly news conference to address the media. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said he didn't believe Trump's comments about four Democratic congresswomen of color were racist and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., claimed GOP opposition to Democrats is based on policies and not "race or gender or religion."


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5 Things We Want to See in 'All American' Season 2
Home » 5 Things We Want to See in 'All American' Season 2
Alyssa Barbieri
Two of the things that I love most in this world are football and great television. Even better? Television shows featuring football.
That's the reason I ultimately gave All American a try last season. But I stuck around for so much more. It reminded me of Friday Night Lights in how it was a show about football on the surface, but it was so much more beneath the surface.
All American is the kind of show this world needs right now, as it unapologetically honest in its portrayals of real life issues facing people in this world. It doesn't try to sugarcoat things because it's safe and easy. It dives headfirst into the issues that many people face, including racism, substance abuse and familial problems.
Thankfully, we're just a few short days away from All American's return, where its second season is sure to be a good one, especially if this trailer has anything to say about it.
Here are 5 things I want to see in All American season 2:
1. Spencer's decision — Beverly Hills High or South Crenshaw?
Life is filled with important decisions, especially when you're a teenager where every decision feels enhanced. For Spencer, he's faced with the important decision of where to play high school football. While Spencer found success — and himself — playing with Beverly Hills High, he got an enticing offer to return to South Crenshaw, where his dad Corey is now the head coach.
For Spencer, the allure of playing for his father and returning to the place he calls home will be difficult to overcome. But Spencer isn't someone content with ending up stuck in South Crenshaw for the rest of his life. He wants more out of life, which is why I ultimately believe — be it immediately or somewhere down the line — that Spencer will finish his high school career at Beverly Hills High.
Spencer wants to go pro. And the best way to do that is through a football program — and education — at Beverly Hills High.
2. What's next for Coach Baker?
Secrets always have a way of coming out, as evidenced by Coach Baker's spiral in the first season of All American. His personal and professional mess-ups led him to a point in his life where his truths were revealed. Now, he has to own up to his mistakes.
In the season finale, Coach Baker is confronted by his son, Jordan, about his personal and professional screw-ups, and he ultimately leaves a letter of resignation on his desk. He also decided to move in with his father, Willy, to give his wife and children some space following everything that transpired over the course of season 1.
So where will we find Billy Baker when season 2 begins? Is he still the coach at Beverly Hills High? Is he coaching elsewhere? Is he taking a break from football? Has he seen his family since? Billy Baker definitely has a redemption arc to begin this season.
3. When are Olivia and Asher going to get together?
So, let's talk ships. Because All American was sneaky in how it initially laid everything out. At first, I thought I was supposed to like Spencer and Olivia, which I still kind of do. Their chemistry was undeniable. But then, the show introduced some backstory for Olivia and bad-boy Asher, and the way their eyes bore into each other's, I was a freaking goner.
Asher is totally into Olivia, and Olivia is definitely into Asher, even if they won't admit it to themselves. It's that slow-burn kind of romance that makes you yearn for immediate outcome but also cherish the meaningful development that happens with each moment.
I don't need Olivia and Asher to get together immediately. But I do want to see the show make it a point to point out to the audience that these are two characters that have complicated feelings for each other. The rest, let it play out. Because it's going to be oh so good.
4. What's next for Coop?
One of the more emotional storylines in All American's first season was Coop's falling in with Crenshaw's gangs. It wasn't that she wanted to, it was something that was inevitable in Crenshaw. That's what's so great about All American, it's unapologetically honest about its portrayal of the real world and the real issues that good people face.
In the season finale, Coop got some help from Los Angeles Police to set up Tyrone and have him arrested, which was an epic sigh of relief. But it almost felt too easy, didn't it?
Is Coop really out of the woods? In a trailer for season 2, there was a shot of "Snitch" spray painted on Coop's locker at school, which makes you wonder if she's really free of this mess.
5. Who is Spencer's brother (Dillon)'s birth father?
One of the big cliffhangers that we got at the end of All American's first season was the paternity of Spencer's younger brother Dillon. In the finale, Corey (Spencer's dad) confronted Grace (Spencer's mom) with the possibility that Coach Baker could be Dillon's father. SAY WHAT.
It was an interesting twist considering the show seemed to falsely hint at the possibility that Spencer was actually Coach Baker's son for the first few episodes of the season. But even then, we knew that was too obvious. And All American isn't obvious. Funny enough, this storyline came back in a different way.
So who is Dillion's real father? If it is Coach Baker, how does this affect his relationship with Spencer and his family, as well as Coach Baker's own family?
All American season 2 premieres Wednesday at 9/8c on The CW.
Tags All American the CW WBTV
Alyssa is the Managing Editor for Bears Wire. You can reach her at alyssaabarbieri@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @AlyssaBarbieri
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We accept letters to the editor that are approximately 250 words and should be related to a story printed by the paper within the last seven days. We reserve the right to shorten the letter for space purposes. We do not edit for grammar, punctuation, intent, or spelling for time purposes. We do edit for clarity, but the words and opinions expressed are still the writer's. For verification purposes, they must include the writer's first and last name, year and major for students, title and department for faculty and staff.
All letters can be emailed to thecurrenteic@mail.umsl.edu. We look forward from hearing from you!


text:
Q: Remove string from href I have this code below that refers to href's that are generally just same-page links like "#programs". However, I now need some of the links to refer to other pages like "/index.html#programs". So my question is, how do I edit the "href" in the code below to be just the number sign and everything after it? Thank you.
    var lastId, topMenu = $("#main-menu"),
topMenuHeight = topMenu.outerHeight() + 500;
menuItems = topMenu.find('a');

    scrollItems = menuItems.map(function () {

        content = $(this).attr("href");

        if(content){
            var checkURL = content.match(/^#([^\/]+)$/i);

            if(checkURL){

                var item = $($(this).attr("href"));
                if (item.length) return item

            }
        }
    });

A: u can give new path like this:
var path = "ur_new_location";
$("#link1").attr('href',path);

A: var item = "/index.html#programs";
var afterHash = item.substr(item.indexOf("#"))

//the trick here is the indexOf and substr methods
var lastId, topMenu = $("#main-menu"),
topMenuHeight = topMenu.outerHeight() + 500;
menuItems = topMenu.find('a');

    scrollItems = menuItems.map(function () {

        content = $(this).attr("href");

        if(content){
            var checkURL = content.match(/^#([^\/]+)$/i);

            if(checkURL){

                var item = $($(this).attr("href"));
                item = item.substr(item.indexOf("#"))
                if (item.length) return item

            }
        }
    });

A: If it was me I would forget replacing all the file names and use the hash property of the anchor tag to get what you want
Replace the filter you have with:
.filter(function(){
  return this.hash==='#' +id;
});

Simple demo

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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2019 Sundance Film Festival Kids Section Line Up
We are excited to announce the 2019 Sundance Film Festival KIDS section programmed by Sundance Institute, in collaboration with Utah Film Center. See the films at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, January 24 through February 3.
Brazil | World Premiere
Director: Fernando Grostein Andrade, Screenwriters: Lameece Issaq, Jacob Kader, Producers: Carlos Eduardo Ciampolini, Noberto Pinheiro Jr., Caio Gullane, Fabiano Gullane
The Israeli-Jewish side of his family calls him Avram. The Palestinian-Muslim side Ibrahim. His first-generation American agnostic lawyer parents call him Abraham. But the 12-year-old kid from Brooklyn who loves food and cooking, prefers, well, Abe. Just Abe.
Cast: Noah Schnapp, Seu Jorge Mário da Silva, Mark Margolis, Dagmara Dominczyk, Arian Moayed, Tom Mardirosian.
THE ELEPHANT QUEEN
United Kingdom / Kenya | US Premiere
Directors: Victoria Stone, Mark Deeble, Screenwriter: Mark Deeble, Producers: Victoria Stone, Lucinda Englehart
Athena is a mother who will do everything in her power to protect her herd when they are forced to leave their waterhole and embark on an epic journey across the African savannah in a tale of love, loss and coming home.
THE WITCH HUNTERS
Serbia/Macedonia | US Premiere
Director: Rasko Miljkovic, Screenwriters: Marko Manojlovic, Milos Kreckovic, Producer: Jovana Karaulic
10-year-old Jovan is often escaping reality to immerse himself into a fantasy world. It all changes when he befriends his new classmate Milica and the adventure to hunt her 'witch' stepmother starts.
Cast: Mihajlo Milavic, Silma Mahmuti.
Individual tickets can be purchased through Sundance online or at the main box offices starting January 22 for $10 each or take advantage of the Utah locals only sale January 17. For more information and showtimes visit www.sundance.org/festival.
Utah Film Center
Utah Film Center inspires and engages diverse audiences to initiate conversation and community building through curated film exhibition, educational programs, and artist support. Programs include statewide free film screenings, Tumbleweeds Film Festival for Children & Youth, Damn These Heels LGBTQ Film Festivals, filmmaker Fiscal Sponsorship, and media education programs for both teachers and students. Utah Film Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and its programs are generously supported by Zions Bank, Salt Lake County Zoo Arts and Parks, and George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. For more information visit utahfilmcenter.org.
The Sundance Film Festival®
Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, Sundance Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides and preserves the space for artists in film, theatre, and new media to create and thrive. The Institute's signature Labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences to artists in igniting new ideas, discovering original voices, and building a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Sundance Institute has supported such projects as Sorry to Bother You, Won't You Be My Neighbor?, Eighth Grade, Blindspotting, The Tale, Get Out, The Big Sick, Strong Island, Blackfish, Top of the Lake, Winter's Bone, The Wolfpack, Dear White People, Trapped, Brooklyn, Little Miss Sunshine, 20 Feet From Stardom, Beasts of the Southern Wild , Fruitvale Station, Spring Awakening, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder and Fun Home. Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
For images, visit sundance.org/photos or image.net (registration free but required).


Cambridge University Press is set to create a dedicated Open Access unit to give the publisher more "energy" and "focus" in the sector.
Mandy Hill, CUP's new m.d. of Academic Publishing, told The Bookseller that the unit will be launched in the next few weeks and will consist of a "head of open and data publishing" and a small team, covering STM and humanities and social sciences disciplines.
Hill said: "OA is clearly a really important issue. We have appointed a new head of Open Access, whose name I can't disclose yet, to give us the focus we need in that area. It will give us more energy, particularly in journals on the STM side and also on the HSS side."
Hill joined CUP five weeks ago after 15 years at Oxford University Press, succeeding Richard Fisher who retired after 30 years with the company.


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BROOKLINE-TAB
OPINION: Guest Column: Vote Yes on Question 2
State Rep. Tommy Vitolo
Contested elections make for stronger democracies, and a diversity of ideas beyond bright red and bright blue could only help our Commonwealth advance an agenda in the best interest of all of us. I support Question 2 on this November's ballot because Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) for single-winner elections will encourage a broader variety of candidate positions, and empower voters to demonstrate their levels of support across the spectrum of ideas.
My daughter Angelina can easily tell you her five favorite flavors of ice cream, in order. My son Felice can rank his Beyblade toys from best to worst. In Ranked Choice Voting, each voter casts a single ballot indicating her first choice, second choice, and so on. When the votes are tallied, if no candidate has reached 50% + 1 vote, the last place candidate's votes are inspected, and the votes for that failed candidate are lifted to the voters' next choice. This process continues until one candidate wins with a majority of the votes. Thanks to computers, the ballots can be counted quickly and accurately.
Ranked Choice Voting asks voters to do a bit more homework. Currently, we're asked to review all the candidates and choose our favorite. To make best use of RCV, we would have to think carefully when three or more candidates are on the ballot. RCV may not eliminate the strong advantage that a well-financed campaign provides, as name recognition can still carry plenty of votes. Additionally, my instinct is that the order of names on a ballot is more relevant with RCV than with our current system, not ideal for a politician whose last name starts with "V."
Still, the benefits to the proposal under Question 2 are considerable in both primary and general elections. Open primaries often have many candidates, with the winner sometimes receiving a small percentage of the total vote; the election winner under RCV will always have a majority. Our current system encourages candidates and supporters to try to chase candidates with similar positions out of the race so as not to split the vote; under RCV the strongest similar candidate will naturally consolidate the votes of that set of supporters. More importantly, RCV allows voters to clearly express their preferences, knowing that their votes aren't wasted if used to support a candidate who isn't polling well. Our current voting system is why Ralph Nader isn't famous for his critical work in consumer safety, and perhaps why our troops are still mired in Afghanistan.
Our open primary elections don't encourage the most popular positions to rise to the top, and our general elections effectively exclude all sets of ideas that aren't "D" or "R". These are not a consequence of the wishes of voters like me. On the contrary, they're in direct conflict with what I want as a voter. That's why, when I participate in early voting this week, I'll be voting yes on Question 2.
15th Norfolk District