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Exploring neural data visually

We've all wondered how the brain processes information. You may have asked yourself, 'How am I reading this text?'
				'How can I look at an everyday object like a kiwi and tell what it is?'

Neuroscientists ask questions like this everyday, and then conduct experiments to figure out the answer.

This website will explore some common ways that neural data is analyzed in order to figure out how the brain processes information.

Scroll to learn more.

What exactly is brain activity?

Scientists know more about how the brain works than ever before, but there are still many unanswered questions.

To answer these questions, neuroscientists measure brain activity.

The brain is made up of a large number of specialized cells called neurons. Typical neurons consist of a soma (or cell body), dendritic branches (or dendrites) that receives signal from other cells, and an axon that conducts signal away from the cell body to other neurons or to muscles.

When the sum of signals that reach the dendrite from other neurons is larger than some threshold, the neuron "fires" - thus propagating the signal through the neuron's long axon to reach other neurons.

This propagation of signal is called an action potential, or spike, and is the basis of all neural communication. A neuron can only fire a single action potential, never a half an action potential, so a spike train that measures when action potentials are fired is only ever 0 or 1.

Dendrites constantly receive new incoming signals, and therefore the action potentials that the neuron fires create a pattern over time.

One way that neuroscientists measure brain activity is by implanting electrodes into the brain that record spikes. This collection of action potentials recorded over time is called a spike train and looks something like this:

The experiment

Many neuroscience experiments try to figure out how the brain works by recording responses to different conditions. The experiment we'll be examining [collected by Ying Zhang in Bob Desimone's lab in the McGovern Institute at MIT] recorded spikes from 132 neurons in the inferior temporal cortex (a brain region known to be important for visual processing) of a Macaque monkey [1].

On each trial, the monkey was presented with one of seven different stimuli: pictures of a guitar, hand, flower, kiwi, couch, face, or car. Each neuron was recorded for 1000 ms, and the stimulus was shown 500 ms after the monkey fixated a spot at the center of a display.

Each image was presented around 60 times while the neuron spikes were recorded.

Averaging over time

Now that we have this collection of zeros and ones, we can ask more interesting questions. Namely, what does seeing a kiwi look like in the brain? At what time can our brains tell that we're looking at a hand? How can we be sure that these zeros and ones aren't just due to chance?

To present this data a different way, we can look at the average firing rate over an interval of time within each trial.

This makes it easier to see how neurons' firing rates differ from each other.

Some neurons fire all the time, some neurons rarely fire, but how can we tell which neurons are important for our experiment?

Averaging over trials

The first thing we want to do is look at multiple trials.

The spike train from one neuron can fire very differently from trial to trial, even when both recordings come from the same stimulus. It's therefore important to look at many recordings from the same neuron to make sure you aren't confusing random activity for activity driven by the stimuli.

Accounting for variability

If we had data from an infinite number of trials, we would be able to calculate the true average firing rate for each neuron and stimulus perfectly. However, because we only have data from around 60 trials for each stimulus, our estimate of the true average firing rate is most likely slightly off. The colored bands that you see are called 95% confidence intervals, and they are created such that the true average firing rate will be contained in the band 95% of the time.

If we have less data, then our confidence intervals have to be larger to capture the true average firing rate 95% of the time. Below you can move the slider to see the mean and confidence intervals change when you use less data. For more information about confidence intervals, see [2].

Looking at different neurons

Now that we have a good idea of what the firing rate for one neuron looks like for every stimulus over many different trials, we can now look at the average of many different neurons.

Comparing neurons

Every neuron responds to stimuli differently. Some neurons naturally fire very often and have a high average firing rate, like neuron A, but other neurons naturally have a much lower average firing rate, like neuron B.

Therefore, to compare these neuron firing rates more effectively, we put them on the same scale - a process called normalization.

 To do this, we calculate the mean and standard deviation of all time bins and trials for each neuron. We then normalize the neuron's activity by subtracting this mean and dividing by this standard deviation. Now instead of plotting average firing rate over time, we plot the deviations away from the average firing rate over time.

Aggregating across neurons

Before when we combined information from multiple trials, we only averaged together the trials when the same stimulus was shown. This allowed us to be able to tell whether or not a neuron responds differently to different stimuli. Similarly, averaging together all neurons would make it difficult for us to tell if the neurons respond differently to different stimuli.

For example, neuron A spikes a lot after the guitar and flower stimuli appear, while neuron B spikes more for the couch stimulus but overall less frequently after every stimulus appears.

However, if we average the two neurons, then we can no longer distinguish the couch, guitar, or flower stimuli as easily!

We therefore need another way of combining information from different neurons that helps us figure out the answer to our experimental question: how does the brain process and store information about different images?

Since we can't as easily figure out if our experimental condition had an effect from averaging our entire neuron population, we need another technique.

As we saw before, the same neuron can respond very differently to multiple exposures to the same stimulus.

Thus we will use a statistical method that compares the distribution of average firing rates for each neuron and across every stimulus.

We can then run an ANalysis Of VAriance (ANOVA), a procedure that helps us figure out if the neurons actually respond differently to different stimuli or whether the recorded responses are random fluctuations.

More technically, ANOVA computes a statistic that gives us a measure of the likelihood that splitting the trials randomly could explain more of the variation in all of the trials than splitting them by stimuli.

We run a separate ANOVA for each time bin and neuron, and get a p-value that gives us the probability of calculating a statistic more extreme than the one observed if the mean firing rate responses were in fact the same for each stimulus.

In this analysis, we're going to set a threshold (called an alpha-level) where we call a neuron "selective" if it has a p-value less than that alpha-level.

A very small p-value indicates that the neuron responded differently to different stimuli.

 We expect that before the stimulus was shown there is a fraction of neurons equal to the alpha-level that would be called selective by chance.

If the fraction of selective neurons is much higher than the alpha-level after the stimulus was shown, that means that the stimuli statistically produced distinctly different neural responses in our experiment.

In our ANOVA analysis, we analysed whether the population of neurons was selective by running an ANOVA analysis separately on each neuron. Other approaches, such as neural population decoding, apply a multivariate analysis to look at the population as a whole rather than analyzing each neuron separately [3].

In conclusion

The brain is complicated, and neuroscientists are still trying to answer basic questions about how the brain works.

 However, the data analysis techniques explored here can help us understand how long it takes information to propagate throughout the brain, how neurons respond more to certain stimuli than others, and about the proportion of neurons that statistically respond to the experimental conditions.

 As we continue to collect more data and build better data analysis methods, the more we will improve our understanding of how the brain produces complex behavior.

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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Published 04/22/2019 10:31:37 pm at 04/22/2019 10:31:37 pm in Plans For Outdoor Bench.
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Norway's House Prices grew 3.0 % YoY in Mar 2019, following an increase of 2.3 % YoY in the previous quarter. Norway House Prices YoY Growth data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1993 to Mar 2019, with an average growth rate of 7.4 %. The data reached an all-time high of 21.2 % in Mar 2000 and a record low of -6.9 % in Dec 2008. CEIC calculates House Prices Growth from quarterly House Price Index. Statistics Norway provides House Price Index with base 2015=100.
What was Norway's House Prices Growth in Mar 2019?


End of discussion. Hard to believe anybody was moved to go to war by such tripe, but it was typical. When they're consumed by war fever, people don't need considered rationales for the use of military force; they don't even bother with the appearance of logic. As it happened, a purely cynical and cold-blooded calculation of the world crisis could have suggested to Americans that they could easily have stayed out. There were no treaties compelling the nation into the war, no overwhelming strategic or economic pressures; it was self-sufficient in food and raw materials, and it was geographically impregnable. Neither the Japanese nor the Germans would ever have been able to mount an invasion—and, in fact, neither ever seriously considered the possibility; Hitler at his most expansive still thought any transoceanic war was a century away. But when the Germans and Japanese looked across the ocean at America, what they saw was a nation of weaklings and cowards, with no honor or fighting spirit. One of the reasons behind the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor—apart from the obvious military necessity of taking out the American fleet so that the Japanese military could conquer the western Pacific unopposed—was the unshakable conviction that Americans would collectively fold at the first sign of trouble; one big, nasty attack would be enough to get a negotiated settlement, on whatever terms the Japanese would care to name. In the same way Hitler and his inner circle were blithely sure that America would go to any lengths to stay out of the fight. Hitler's catastrophic decision to declare war on America three days after Pearl Harbor was made almost in passing, as a diplomatic courtesy to the Japanese. To the end he professed himself baffled that America was in the war at all; he would have thought that if Americans really wanted to fight, they'd join with him against their traditional enemies, the British. But evidently they were too much under the thumb of Roosevelt—whom Hitler was positive was a Jew named Rosenfeldt, part of the same evil cabal that controlled Stalin.
As fanciful as that was, it shows the average wartime grasp of the real motives of the enemy.


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Q: Remover IIS Windows Server 2008 R2 Boa tarde, possuo Windows Server 2008 R2 x64, estou precisando desinstalar por completo o servidor web (IIS), pois pretendo utilizar o servidor Apache no seu lugar.
No painel gerenciador de servidores cliquei no botão direito em cima de Servidor Web (IIS) e escolhi a opção Remover Serviços de Função.
Conforme imagem em anexa, não consigo clicar em próximo para continuar a remoção. Acredito que preciso desinstalar algo antes. Alguém pode me ajudar?
Obrigado.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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One morning, not long after we started work at 8am, in through the door from the lower mechanical floor walked David.
He was a master of his trade, a mechanic of immense skill and a flamboyant character. He had long hair and shuffled across the CBR floor to take up position at the stores counter. The counter was tucked away in the corner behind the CBR office and manned by Alfie, one of the best parts men I have ever known. We all shouted a hearty 'Hello' as he walked by, but all we got in return was a slight wave, which was strange because he was usually very ,very talkative and happily shared his witty banter to anyone who would listen. Of course, no one called him David because nearly everybody at Mann Egerton had a nick name. His was 'Brassy' (as in the metal).
The stores counter was a good place to hide up for a while and many of the guys from downstairs made use of it daily. We had our own hiding places but of course, we never skived away from our work! *wink*. We got to 10am – tea break time - and Brassy was still at the counter. After tea, Alfie came across the floor to use the loos and on his return we asked what was up with the Brass. "Don't know Honey[1], he hasn't said a word apart from hello".
Now Mann Egerton's was like a big family and from time to time some people would have a problem or be having trouble at home or just having a bad day. If we saw this, we knew that we should give that person space and time. It was a fact that if anyone wanted any help with anything at all the whole of the workforce was there for them, it was that close there. It seemed that Brassy wanted to be left alone, and we all did just that. His mates on the line downstairs covered for him and we all kept an eye out for the bosses in case one of them stuck their nose in. At midday the buzzer sounded for lunch, and as it was a hot day nearly everyone who usually sat on the benches on the CBR floor went outside to sit in the sun on the roof looking down on the lunchtime shoppers in the busy town centre.
I went across the road to the chip shop and returned to eat my hot chips sitting on my bench. About 12.30 the main door to the floor opened and a chap in a long trench coat and hat came in. He looked a bit suspicious; for one thing it was a hot day to be dressed up like that, and for another he walked past the CBR office towards the stores. Well, I didn't like people just wandering in, so I put aside my bag of chips and hurried over to approach him asking if I could help at all? He turned and faced me and I got such a shock I nearly did something very childish; it was Brassy!
"Hold on" I thought, "if you're Brassy, who the hell is that at the counter?" The chap at the counter came over and as he got closer I could hardly believe my eyes. No-one knew that Brassy had an identical twin, and when I say identical, he was just that. The only other person there was Alfie and he was as dumbstruck as me.
Taking care not to be overheard, they quickly explained to us that Brassy had an appointment that would take up the whole morning and he could not afford to lose a mornings pay, so he had persuaded his brother - who knew nothing about cars - to stand in for him. They both had more front than Tesco's. No one, apart from Alfie and me, ever worked it out. Good bloke, was Brassy.
It was around this time that we had a front screen to replace on a SD1 Rover, which was quite a new model at the time. It was the first one we had had to do and Keith was asked to take it on. He wanted to have me with him as it would be a good idea to have me learn from him how to fit one, plus it was a two man job in any case. According to the workshop report on these screens they had to be 'cooked' on removal and on installation.
The idea was that a long round strip of sealant with a wire running through it would be placed around the aperture and with a low current passed through it , it would soften and adhere to the glass and the aperture, whilst securing the screen mouldings at the same time. We dug around the bottom left of the screen and we did find two wires. Connecting the machine that we specially purchased for these jobs, the current soon warmed up the sealer and after disconnecting the machine we gently prized out the mouldings. We didn't have to worry too much as we had new ones anyway. But it was good practice. Next we pierced a small hole from inside to out, so we could pass piano wire through and attach each end to a 'T' bar.
With a slow steady sawing motion, we cut around the screen and lifted it out. We then had to fully clean the screen aperture and apply a black primer which was in the fitting kit along with the new coil of sealant. This was applied with a foam swab. This had to fully dry and then we had to offer up the screen to the car, mark it top and bottom in four places as we would get only one chance to attach the screen to the sealant. It would do the sealant no good to unstick the glass once it was in. This done, the black primer was applied to the glass as well and the electrodes were connected to the coil of sealer for approximately 10 mins.
This made it pliable, and after disconnecting the wires we could lower the glass into place. The wires were connected back up but not turned on; we had to push the mouldings into place at the same time. When we were satisfied with all we had done the machine was switched on and cooked as per recommended factory times. Turning off the machine, we tucked away the wire ends in the bottom left of the screen and left it overnight. The next morning we water tested for leaks and as all was well, released the car to the main reception for customer collection. We immediately became the screen fitting team and boy, did we do a few of them! We loved it though.
Next time: a Dutch P6 re-spray, and Honey gets a big bird.
Previously...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Edwyn Collins: 'Retire? But what about the Rolling Stones?'
Having released his ninth studio album earlier this year, Collins discusses his creative journey and his drive to keep making music
'The album is nostalgic really, looking back to the Orange Juice days,' says Edwyn Collins of Badbea, his ninth studio album, and fourth since brain haemorrhages suffered at the beginning of 2005 nearly took his life. For those who don't know their Scottish pop history, Orange Juice was the mould-breaking indie group on Postcard Records which he fronted in the early 1980s. '[The song] 'Glasgow to London', it's about being on the train for the first time to London, a terrifying thought. Steven Daly, our [Orange Juice's] drummer, he wrote that, in 1979, Glasgow was a city lit only by fire.'
'I left Glasgow in 1980,' says Collins' wife and manager Grace Maxwell, also a Scot, who conducts interviews alongside him in order to mitigate the effects of the aphasia he still suffers, and which causes his words to come in short, sentence-long excerpts. Despite it all, though, there's an easy and quick humour between the pair; surely one of the most enjoyable-to-interview double acts in music. 'I didn't know Edwyn at that time, but there wasn't a lot going on in Glasgow. I tell you what, though, for somebody who says he's not nostalgic, there's a lot of looking back on this record.'
'It's true,' concedes Collins. The title of the album itself refers to an abandoned village (pronounced 'Bad Bay'; 'It's near the sea… ghostly…' he says) just up the coast from where the couple now live and have a studio in the northern Scottish village of Helmsdale. While they don't run it as a serious concern – Maxwell says the studio business isn't so strong these days – it houses the Edinburgh-born Collins' collection of vintage equipment, and as well as recording his own music, it's hosted friends including Teenage Fanclub and David Gray.
'Our house is 200 years old, my great, great, great, great grandfather built it,' continues Collins in his hesitant but gentle tone. 'The family were builders. I was delighted to move here. When I was eight years old, I first came here on holiday in the summertime. I love the place, and the beach, and there's loads to see. I'm into the birds and animals particularly, it's magic. For example, there are nesting ospreys and herons and suchlike. And the air is gorgeous.'
'It's good for the quality of life,' says Maxwell. 'For Edwyn's creativity too, that can happen anywhere – it can happen in a newsagent. I've never seen Edwyn struggle with that, he doesn't need to go and sit and wait for the muse to descend. He's slowed down a little bit, but there was a time when you knew he was always thinking of music, of lyrics.'
The couple finally moved to Helmsdale in 2015, although it didn't feel like much of a stretch, as it had been a home-from-home to them for many years, before and after the death of Edwyn's grandfather. Maxwell first visited in 1985, and they took charge of the place in the late 1990s, giving serious thought to the permanent move and the studio built from around a decade later. 'It's a magic place,' says Collins. 'Grace built it for me, it has parquet flooring, glass in the window. ('Glass in a window is very important!' points out Maxwell, to a snorted laugh from Collins; their conversation is like tennis). I mean, I miss my studio in London …'
'Do you?' she demands to know, with mock offence. 'This one's so much better than your London studio! So much less messy, for a start, and everything works. It's amazing. [Losing the old studio] wasn't a tragedy, because the world turns and the business changed. It was impossibly difficult for people to make records in those days, in the 1990s, unless you had loads of money and a major label. It's more democratic now, more accessible for people to be able to record.'
'I know that, you don't need to tell me,' says Collins, referring to the difficulty of getting an album made in the 1990s (although the decade bore his greatest hit, 1995's 'A Girl Like You'). 'But now I have my own vintage equipment … ' Although Maxwell's suggestion is that his previously obsessive level of songwriting has slowed, a lot of his effort now goes into practicing singing; his aphasia makes remembering lyrics just as difficult as finding his speech, but he can sing them at a natural pace because he spends so much time learning how to do it.
'He has to do more practice before he even gets together with the band,' she says. 'He works really hard to get the flow; people listen to him onstage and think, "speaking is difficult, but obviously singing comes naturally," but it's because he practices so much. There's a breakthrough point with each song, he just takes a while to get to it. He likes working a lot, but there is part of me that thinks, should we be …'
'… retiring?' chips in Collins, who has turned sixty since we spoke, with a mischievous laugh. 'After all, we're old people, I admit it! No, I think I'm maybe …'
'What?' asks Maxwell. 'Middle aged swinger? Pensioner rock?'
'Take the Rolling Stones, for example …'
'Oh, don't make me take the Rolling Stones!' Both are in ribbing mode now. 'Don't tell me I'll be doing this when I'm 75.'
'Only joking, Grace. But … !'
'Even our son says to him, "another record, Dad? I've got a good name for this one – Curtain Call".'
'You know …' says Collins, laughing again. 'That's not a bad name.' He'll get round to using it one day – but not today.
Edwyn Collins is touring until Tue 17 Sep. Badbea is out now on AED Records.
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the information displayed here is accurate, always check with the venue before attending (especially during the Covid-19 pandemic).
Edwyn Collins
Presented by One Inch Badge. This is a 14+ event (under 16s must be accompanied by an adult)
Kelvingrove Bandstand and Amphitheatre, Glasgow
Sat 14 Aug
Last Night From Glasgow's Ian Smith: 'In an industry controlled by conglomerates, I wanted to put forward a socialist model for a record label'(15 Dec 2019)
Founder of the not-for-profit independent label discusses the birth of LNFG, its unique model and future goals
Kathryn Joseph: 'I am obsessed with the truth of everything, even if it's painful'(29 Aug 2018)
Award-winning singer-songwriter has joined forces with Glasgow's Cryptic for an ambitious live performance of her new album
Vox Liminis' Distant Voices project is a fascinating musical and artistic offering(17 Apr 2018)
Admiral Fallow's front man Louis Abbott talks about the new project that collates Scotland's lesser heard stories and gives them a platform
Interview: James Yorkston on his Tae Sup wi' a Fifer(9 Nov 2016)
Christmas edition features King Creosote, Kadialy Kouyate and Laura Cannell
Stina Tweeddale's Honeyblood Studio Sessions: 'If it can help bring a bit of joy to people watching, then it's been worth doing'(2 Apr 2020)
Glasgow-based singer and songwriter's live streams provided some of the earliest examples of how artists are rethinking getting their work out
The Orielles: 'We make it a fun experience for us as both musicians and listeners'(19 Feb 2020)
Guitarist Henry Carlyle Wade tells us about the band's latest release and its cosmic overtones
Angel Olsen: 'I feel like I'm always building'(31 Jan 2020)
The singer-songwriter speaks to us about the success of fifth record All Mirrors, the nerves that come with performing and her upcoming Valentine's Day gig
Isobel Campbell: 'I hate asking for anything or being mean, but sometimes you have to fight your corner'(31 Jan 2020)
With the release of her first solo record in 14 years, we catch up with the Scottish singer and songwriter to chat about her much-anticipated return
Folk (Music)
Pop (Music)
Badbea


Any living system, such as a plant or animal, that can respond to stimuli, reproduce, grow, and can maintain a stable internal condition in a changing environment.
Any living system, such as a plant or animal, that can respond to stimuli, reproduce, grow, and can maintain a stable internal condition in a changing environment. An organism can be a simple single cell, such as a bacterium, or a complex multicellular one, such as a human.
An organism can be a simple single cell, such as a bacterium, or a complex multicellular one, such as a human.


Practice Better Pest Management: People often forget that the goal of pest management is not to eliminate all pests, but rather keep them at a controllable, healthy level. Choose pesticides that have a low toxicity level and target only specific pests. And only apply the pesticide to targeted and controlled areas of your lawn/garden.
Also, make sure to dispose of your pesticides properly. Many people are used to dumping the leftover pesticides in their sink or down the toilet, but this may turn out potentially harmful to your community's water treatment facilities. The best way to get rid of excess pesticide is to dilute it as directed on bottle labels, and finish by applying it to specific listed areas. Other products like paint solvents, auto products, and water bottles or plastics each also need to be disposed of in their respective manners.
Carefully Choose Paint Products: Paint products can be harmful to the environment on behalf of the various solvents and metals inside them. First, you should try and purchase only the amount of paint you will use and use it all up, leaving no excess. If you wind up with loads of extra paint on your hands, donate it to local organizations within your community, or, as a last resort, to let the paint dry out over time. This can be done with most latex-based paints.
Overall, the best way to combat this is to try and reduce the amount of household waste completely. This involves recycling items correctly, buying things you absolutely need, and reusing or borrowing things you only need once from friends or family.
Ultimately, responsibility to the environment is in your hands and relies on the actions you take around your home- which, believe it or not, can be a place accredited to the start of many environmental issues. However, by considering many of the tips listed above, you and your home can be bastions for something ever-so important- environmental responsibility.


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text:
Blitz News
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Tokyo Olympics 2020: Karate Round Up
Blitz - August 16, 2021
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A Guide To The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games: Taekwondo
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For around 2,000 years, a range of Martial Arts were practiced on the Korean peninsula. During the early 20th century, Taekwondo became the dominant form of Martial Art practiced in Korea. Today, Taekwondo is practiced by an estimated 80 million people in more...
A Guide To The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games: Judo
Who are the top Olympic Judokas at the Tokyo 2020 Games in 2021? When and where will Olympic Judo take place? Find out here. Judo is one of 33 disciplines that will take place at...
A Guide To The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games: Karate
Blitz - July 2, 2021
With the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, it is now only three weeks until we can finally see Karate make it's cherished Olympic debut at home. Being one of the five sports added to the 2020 programme, Karate will finally...
Blitz Personalised
Blitz - November 25, 2020
A brand new personalisation service has just launched at Blitz and will be expanding further over the coming months! Add a special touch to your purchase with our in-house personalisation service, offering the perfect gifts for instructors, training partners and students.
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With many clubs reopening after the Christmas break (we're just as excited as you ), don't forget to grab your las… https://t.co/O15iAa2rta	3 days ago
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General Description Regalia Shanghai Jiang'an is the finest international 4-Star Hotel in Shanghai. It is close Anyuan road, near the famous Yufo temple. Extensive shopping and entertainment facilities are within easy walking distance both in and around the hotel complex. With Hongqiao and Pudong Airport being only 9.3 miles and 28 miles away, it makes for an easily accessible hotel. The Hotel possesses suites more than 110, including 2 bedrooms-110 SQM,3 bedrooms-140 SQM etc. All the rooms are equipped with IDD/DDD, Satellite TV, seneschal service,dry-clen,24 hours service. This hotel provides send-off food service and coffee shop. The hotel provides healthy room, Realia syrup bar, sauna, drink porch , business center etc.


Have you seen the latest in women's sports? If you haven't you're missing out BIG TIME! First was the Lingerie Football League known as Legends Football League, now some wise men have brought us Bra and Thong Basketball. Don't be fooled by the uniforms, these chicks can straight up ball!
Go to America's Bookie today and check out the latest lines for the B&T Basketball League. But be careful, the teasers can be mind numbing and the spreads are out of the world…and if you're real daring, the reverse action will blow your mind.


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Integrative Pediatrics and Child Care
About the Journal Submissions Contact
XUNJUN XIAO, Washington University School of Medicine, United States
Sergey G. Sargsyan, Institute of Child and Adolescent Health (ICAH), Armenia
Hsiu-Hao Chang, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taiwan
VIRGINIA F. RANDALL, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, United States
Shibin Cheng, Women & Infants Hospital, Brown University, United States
Alizza W. Pressman, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, United States
Hong Ji, University of Cincinnati, United States
Sandra Mullen, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, United States
LAUREN WALTERS-SEN, University of Cincinnati, United States
Miao Sun,University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, United States
Zek Sen Lim, University Of Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia
Gangaram Akangire, Kansas University School of Medicine, United States
Boris Petrikovsky, New York Institute of Technology, United States
Maureen A. Madden, Medical School of Rutgers University, United States
Miao Sun, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, United States
F.J. Sanz Santaeufemia, Francisco de Vitoria University, Spain
Alwaleed Al-Dairy, Damascus University, Syria
Jenny Rose Fox, CHoR at VCU Medical Center, Virginia


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Professor and holder of the R.L. Martin Distinguished Chair of Chemistry
Cameron Jones is the R.L. Martin Distinguished Chair of Chemistry at Australia's Monash University. He has led a research group in developing facets of chemistry in ways that seek to refine existing views on structure, bonding, and stability. Jones holds the Return Senior Research Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, is an honorary member of Magdalen College in Oxford, and has won both the Frankland Award of the U.K.'s Royal Society of Chemistry and the H.G. Smith Memorial Medal of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. He will collaborate with faculty and students in the College of Science.
Mohammadjavad Karimi – 2018-19
Gabrielle M. Risica – 2018-19


Many firms see a potential value in the communities of interested customers that have grown around products in various industries. These 'customer communities' or 'communities of interest' give enthusiasts the opportunity to socialise around a common focus. They seem to create more loyal customers and a potential flow of creative ideas that the firms can make use of. However, although the benefits of customer communities are clear, the process of organising them is not. In this paper, we are interested in how firms can organise customers in communities that are productively used for customer interaction. The analysis is built on an in-depth study of how the producers of the reality TV series Big Brother used a combination of online and offline channels to organise customers. Theories of attention are used to explain the organising process. The core argument is that the customer's use of different channels (e.g. TV, web, newspapers, chat) directs and redirects his/her attention and thereby influences behaviour in a way that can be beneficial for the broadcasting firm. The paper contributes to theory by advancing knowledge on how communities become organised through combinations of online and offline sources that guide attention and behaviour. For managers, the paper aims to develop actionable knowledge on how channels can be structured to organise customer communities so as to increase and prolong customer attention and interaction, and hence enable extraction of value.


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Rugby Development Centre
Play and train like a pro on the Rugby Development Programme whilst you study and gain excellent qualifications that will help you progress into the future career you want.
Do you enjoy playing rugby for fun or do you have aspirations of going far in the game, maybe even going professional?
Whatever your level, there's a place for you at our highly-respected Rugby Academy.
East Durham College runs the longest-established College Rugby Academy in the region. So come and join the best, and experience this fantastic package of training and benefits:
Eight hours coaching per week with our highly-qualified coaches.
Play in the BCS Premier North and BCS North East Leagues.
Use our fantastic facilities, which rival many a professional rugby club. These include a full size floodlit 3G pitch, a number of top class grass pitches, a double-sized sports hall (with a seating capacity of 500), a fully-equipped state-of-the-art gym with fixed and free weights and a range of cardiovascular, strength and conditioning training kit, modern and secure changing facilities and even an in-house physiotherapy clinic. Check out more details at the Sports Centre and Impact Health & Fitness Gym page.
Study 14 hours per week learning about every aspect of sport, including physiology, fitness training, fitness testing, psychology, nutrition, performance analysis and more. Meanwhile, you'll also be taking one of our three Level 3 Sport course options (Sports Science, Development Coaching & Fitness or Performance & Excellence). These two year courses are equivalent to three A Levels and are a proven route into university or employment. There is also the option to study at Level 1 or 2 depending on your GCSE grades.
Take part in 36 hours of real work experience during the year, with opportunities to coach children, take part in sports development, work in a gym and many other choices.
Have the opportunity to complete Maths and English to GCSE or Level 2 Functional Skills (if you don't already have them).
Use the state-of-the-art gym during training, in lessons or in your own time for FREE. Normal membership costs £450 a year. The gym is open seven days a week.
If you pick up any niggles or injuries during training or matches, our full time professional physiotherapist is on hand, completely FREE to get you back on the pitch as soon as possible.
You'll also get FREE travel to and from the College with our free bus services with Arriva. Please click here for details on the free bus service.
For more details please call the sports team on 0191 518 8319 or 0191 518 5565. And why not join us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/TeamEastDurham or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/EDCRugby
Previous students who have attended Team East Durham's Rugby Development Centre include England and Bath prop David Wilson, England Women's Captain Katy Mclean and James Fitzpatrick (Centre Yorkshire Carnegie).
David Wilson (Prop. Newcastle Falcons, Bath & England RFU)
Born in South Shields, David went to Harton School and then joined East Durham College in 2001. He represented England U16 and U18 but an anterior cruciate knee injury sustained on U19 World Cup duty prompted his absence for much of the 2004-05 season.
David's professional career started when he was signed by Newcastle Falcons, making his debut in October 2003. He then joined Bath Rugby in 2009-10 for whom he still plays.
David has currently won 37 caps for England RFU. His initial Test caps against Argentina in June 2009 had followed his selection in the starting line-up against the Barbarians at Twickenham. He went on to share in England's 21-20 triumph over Australia in Sydney in June 2010 and a repeat win over the Wallabies at Twickenham last year. His scrummaging power saw him called up to start for England in this year's Six Nations against Ireland, Wales and Italy.
James Fitzpatrick (Centre. Newcastle Falcons & Yorkshire Carnegie)
James studied at East Durham College in 2003-05. He studied on a Level 2 BTEC in Sport before progressing to Level 3. During his time at the College James was given the honour of touring alongside the British and Irish Lions in the Students' equivalent, where he was awarded 'Player of the Tour'.
James joined the Newcastle Falcons from South Shields club Westoe during the 2009-10 season before going on to score 13 tries in 22 matches, winning an England Counties call-up by the end of the campaign. In March 2014, James was signed by Yorkshire (Leeds) Carnegie, helping them to a third place finish in the RFU Championship.
Katy McLean, MBE (Fly Half. England Women RFU Captain & Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)
The England Women RFU World Cup winning captain attended East Durham College in 2002-05. Katy now has over 70 caps for England and took over the captaincy following the 2010 World Cup where the team narrowly lost to New Zealand in the final. Four years later she lead the team to the final, where they were victorious, beating Canada 21-9
at the Stade Jean Bouin in France.
Until recently, the No. 10 mixed her rugby playing with her job as a primary school teacher at the Bexhill Academy in Sunderland until she took the 'agonising' decision to leave teaching for pro rugby; stating the prospect of Olympic rugby glory swayed her decision to go pro.
Katy also has an MBE to her name after receiving the honour in the 2014 New Year's Honours List for her Services to Rugby.
Lee Little (Second Row. England Colleges RFU Captain 2014)
Lee came to the College in 2011 to study a Level 2 BTEC after not reaching the required grades for the elite scholarship programme. He successfully gained his Level 2 and moved on to Level 3 which granted him access to the scholarship.
In 2013, Lee was picked to play for England Colleges; he played and captained the team in every game that season.
He has now joined Bishop Burton College on a higher education course and their rugby scholarship which has been created as part of a developing relationship with Hull RUFC and Premiership side Leicester Tigers.
See what Ofsted have to say (Ofsted Inspection Report, March 2014)
"Teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge and expertise, delivered with great enthusiasm to motivate and engage students."
"Support for students is good. They value particularly the individual tutorials, and the availability and approachability of teachers outside lessons, via text, email or the VLE for help and advice to support their good progress."
"Accommodation and resources are excellent, including outstanding sports facilities used effectively to develop students' practical skills and support progress."
"Students value the enrichment programme in sport highly. They benefit from the good opportunities to progress, achieve and succeed in chosen sports academies or elite athlete scholarships with structured training programmes, fixtures in the British Colleges league and selection to represent college and regional teams."
For more details please call the sports team on 0191 518 8319 / 07817 603 315 or 0191 518 5565.
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I didn't grow up wanting to be an "artist." I did torture my friends by making them sit for portraits as early as elementary school (isn't that what everyone does at recess?) but my 10-year-old self didn't think art was a practical career.
I still don't think art is a practical career. However, while practical sometimes means "wise," it can also mean, "path of least resistance"--a path I try to avoid. Letting gravity make my choices always seems to pull me down.
Fortunately, I am blessed with family, friends, and mentors who have fostered my artistic growth and given me the chance to pursue painting--a life's work that is neither practical nor free from resistance.
Exploring the visual world. I am constantly in awe of the dancing symphony of lines, shapes, and colors available to the human eye. My hope is that if I can paint someone a window into seeing the beauty I find in the world, it may help them on their own path to finding joy and contentment in their surroundings.
The second goal for my art has surfaced as different areas of my life have come together. I love people and exploring human nature; trying to understand what motivates people's choices is fascinating. I aim to preserve natural beauty in my paintings, while also speaking honestly about human tendencies and behaviors we would rather deny, hide or ignore.
Love, Fearless (under "Conceptual") is my first work of this sort. I am currently developing ideas for more paintings that follow this idea.
It may be some time before carrying them out--I have a lot to learn before my skill set will facilitate my ideas. As a student, I am focusing on mastering the visual language of painting and drawing. Under the watchful eyes of my instructors, I am developing the ability to accurately see and understand the world in front of me, and translating that world to paper or canvas.


Almost 3000 Surf Sports athletes will test their mettle at State Championship events over the next month in South Australia. The State Championship events offer 537 individual events catering for participants aged 7 to 87 representing 20 Surf Life Saving Clubs from across the State.
The 2018 State Championships will pave the way for athletes to compete at The Aussies in April at Scarborough WA and then in the Lifesaving World Championships to be held in November at Glenelg SA.
Events that will contribute to Championship Points this season include 25% of all Senior Carnival scores including Surf Boat Racing, Board Riding State Championships, Masters Surf Boat State Championship and Lifesaving State Championships (R&R, Champion Patrol, Champion Lifesaver, First Aid State Championship).
Registrations are open now via the Event Management System (EMS).
Event Circulars will be updated here.


Every Thursday night from October-May, Puerto Vallarta's famous Marina hosts a market for the locals & tourists, offering some of the best local dishes, jewelry, art, entertainment & culture in the area!
At the Night Market you can choose from hundreds of sterling silver pieces, baked goods local art & uniquely designed sculptures, & taste delicious food from all over Latin America.
Scroll down for full video!


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Game of Thrones whiskies launch in Europe
15 January 2019 by Becky Paskin
Diageo's eight Game of Thrones single malts are set to arrive in Europe next month ahead of the show's final season.
Coming soon: The Game of Thrones whiskies will be launched across Europe in February
The collection was released in the US in November, and has been rolling out in Canada and global travel retail this month.
Their introduction follows the October 2018 launch of Johnnie Walker White Walker, a blended Scotch inspired by the show's 'most enigmatic and feared characters'.
The eight malts – each named after one of the Great Houses of Westeros and the Night's Watch – are already available to pre-order through Amazon, The Whisky Exchange and Master of Malt, ahead of their release from 19 February.
Some retailers have already sold out of several lines through pre-ordering, although further bottles will be made available in the coming weeks.
Whisky's coming: The eight single malts are named after the inhabitants of Westeros
Six of the whiskies are new expressions, with the exception of Cardhu Gold Reserve and Royal Lochnagar 12 Year Old, which are already available in the UK as expressions outwith the GOT range.
Game of Thrones season eight, the show's final season, will be aired on HBO in April.
The Games of Thrones single malts are all available in 70cl bottles and include:
Game of Thrones House Stark, Dalwhinnie Winter's Frost, 43% abv, £48
Game of Thrones House Tully, Singleton of Glendullan Select, 40% abv, £38
Game of Thrones House Targaryen, Cardhu Gold Reserve, 40% abv, £48
Game of Thrones House Lannister, Lagavulin 9 Year Old, 46% abv, £65
Game of Thrones The Night's Watch, Oban Bay Reserve, 43% abv, £65
Game of Thrones House Greyjoy, Talisker Select Reserve, 45.8% abv, £48
Game of Thrones House Baratheon, Royal Lochnagar 12 Year Old, 40% abv, £38
Game of Thrones House Tyrell, Clynelish Reserve, 51.2% abv, £48
Read Scotchwhisky.com editor Becky Paskin's reviews of the Game of Thrones whiskies.
New Whiskies 11 January 2019
Batch 182: Game of Thrones Single Malts
Editor Becky Paskin delivers her verdict on the much-anticipated Game of Thrones single malts.
Latest news 20 July 2018
Game of Thrones single malts are coming
The collection of Scotch whiskies will 'honor' the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms.
Latest news 09 May 2018
Johnnie Walker unveils 'White Walker' whisky
The blended Scotch has partnered with HBO to create a new Game of Thrones themed whisky.
Game of Thrones whiskies boost Diageo sales
The launch of Johnnie Walker White Walker and the GOT malts were a big success for Diageo.
Latest news 01 October 2018
White Walker released by Johnnie Walker
The Game of Thrones-themed blended whisky will be available globally from this month.
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Congo War Crimes
Killings, rapes and other violence committed by an ethnic armed group in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo against a rival group may amount to crimes against humanity and possibly even genocide, the United Nations said on Friday.
The attacks in mineral-rich Ituri province have mostly targeted Hema herders, who have long been in conflict with Lendu farmers over grazing rights and political representation.
Since September 2018, Lendu armed groups have increasingly become more organised in carrying out attacks against the Hema and members of other ethnic groups such as the Alur, the U.N. human rights office said in a report on its investigation.
Army and police forces have failed to stop the violence, it said, calling on Congolese authorities to address the root causes of the conflict.
"The barbarity that characterises these attacks – including the beheading of women and children with machetes, the dismemberment and removal of body parts of the victims as trophies of war – reflects the desire of the attackers to inflict lasting trauma to the Hema communities and to force them to flee and not return to their villages," the report said.
"The violence documented … could contain some elements of crimes against humanity through murder, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, pillage and persecution," it said.
"Certain elements constituting genocide" - a rare designation under international law - may be present, it said.
At least 701 people have been killed and 168 injured during inter-ethnic violence between the Hema and Lendu communities in Djugu and Mahagi territories from December 2017 to Sept 2019, the report said. At least 142 people have suffered acts of sexual violence, it added.
Most victims are from the Hema community, but the U.N. investigators said they had also documented acts of reprisals by some members of the Hema communities, including the burning of villages.
http://news.trust.org/item/20200110092731-kbg9x/
Zimbabwe's Corruption
Southern Africa's Food Crisis
2020 - Africa's response to climate change
Zambia's Food Insecurity
Is Africa still a French colony?
A new generation for farming?
Measles in the Congo
Mauritania Forbids Child Brides
Africa and its Population
Liberian Palm Oil
Angola's "Princess" Accused of Corruption
A New Year Message


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NSF's Erwin Gianchandani Assigned to Lead Technology, Innovation, Partnership
Erwin Gianchandani, a long-time executive of the National Science Foundation, has been appointed to serve as the agency's assistant director for technology, innovation and partnerships.
He will oversee the TIP Directorate, a newly established NSF component made to drive emerging technologies and speed up the application of research to the market, NSF said Thursday.
The new directorate will also foster new education pathways as NSF seeks to build a diverse technical workforce for the future. The agency expects the directorate to support Missing Millions goals.
Gianchandani most recently served as NSF's senior adviser for TIP, a role through which he helped the agency plan the new directorate. His career includes work as as the deputy assistant director of NSF's directorate for computer and information science and engineering, which he helped implement a $1 billion annual budget.
He joined NSF in 2012 after serving as the Computing Community Consortium's inaugural director.
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A collection of the best funny Christmas quotes around. Has the crazy Christmas rush started for you yet? Take some time out to enjoy this Top 10 that will hopefully give you a chuckle.
with a note on it saying, toys not included."
people being helped by other people other than me."
"Christmas is the time when kids tell Santa what they want and adults pay for it.
Deficits are when adults tell government what they want and their kids pay for it."
"What I don't like about Christmas parties is looking for a job the next day."
"In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it 'Christmas' and went to church; the Jews called it 'Hanukka' and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say 'Merry Christmas!' or 'Happy Hanukka!' or (to the atheists) 'Look out for the wall!'"
"Christmas is a time when you get homesick - even when you're home."
than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child."
they cannot have a nativity scene in Washington, D.C.
This wasn't for any religious reasons.
They couldn't find three wise men and a virgin."
at least six or seven times more pleasant than anywhere else.
we'll be seeing six or seven."
in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice."
in much the same way as I'm having a ramble from Norwich to Swaffham.
I don't want to get bogged down in that whole controversy again."
Have a great Christmas folks!


Droplet, a mobile app that combines loyalty with payments is one of the first companies in the UK to return to Crowdcube to achieve its aim of being in 20 cities by the end of 2016.
Following on from our post on Apple Pay vs Samsung Pay from the other day, it's worth taking a look at an infographic produced by CNN which compares the features of the major mobile wallets; Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Wallet, Paypal and Bitcoin.
The Payments Council has announced that UK mobile phone owners will be able to send and receive money by text from 2014, simply by sharing their mobile numbers.
Credit card payment processor Square continues to bring new products to market with the launch of its new Register app for the iPad.
Will mPowa Become UK's Square?
Credit card reader Square has been doing pretty well in the US, with over 800,000 customer, processing over $2billion last year, and has some big name backers, including Richard Branson, and now a UK company, mPowa, wants to emulate that success over here.
Is Google Wallet Coming To The UK?
There are reports that Google Wallet's first departure outside the US will be in the UK to take advantage of next year's Olympic games in London.
It's a biggie, but for a look at how digital wallets and payments might develop here in the UK, take a look at these stats from the US, courtesy of financial software developer Intuit.
US phone network Verizon has decided to block Google Wallet from its new Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone.


Superabundant mose has attitudinized in the doux.
Drainages were cumulatively tinted over the dutiable stephon.
Hausdorff meetings shall vectorially dispose.
Vegan wren has uncannily unrooted from the quicklime.
Synthesizer was being dehydrating penultimately withe jubilance.
Repentantly lodgeable tidewater will be jerking.
Diaphonics is very retroactively recapping on the meromorphic teacher.


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Innovation Evaluation Framework: Use Consumer's Cost
By Jeffrey Phillips
True innovation requires a more expansive evaluation than a traditional business case and needs to be considered with features and attributes that are more qualitative and driven more by emotion than logic. Seven components contribute to innovation success: choice/control, convenience, community, completeness, compatibility, coolness/communicationand customer's cost. These factors, used to evaluate an idea early in the process, can contribute to the success of a new product or service by improving adoption, reducing risk and building trust for the new product or service.
Most of the factors used to evaluate an innovation (convenience, compatibility, control, etc.) require that the innovator consider the customer or consumer's point of view.Does an innovation offer the customer more convenience than what was available previously?Does an innovation offer the customer more control? Does it offer the customer compatibility with existing products or services?This "outside-in" viewpoint is not a common starting point for most innovators.Typically most organizations innovate around internal technologies or capabilities, and then seek market feedback in an "inside-out" innovation approach.Customer's cost, however, is a factor that can only be considered from the customer's viewpoint.
Cost is a factor that many firms will claim to consider when evaluating a new idea.Many firms do evaluate the cost of the innovation – the internal cost to develop and distribute – but not the true cost to the customer to acquire and use.Again, this approach is an example of an inside-out view of innovation, as opposed to an outside-in evaluation of cost.To be successful, an innovator must consider the ultimate cost to the customer to acquire and use a product or service.
Customer's Cost
When evaluating a new product or service, it would be rash not to calculate the costs for design, development and marketing, and develop some expectations for market penetration and sales.This is a rational approach to the business of developing products and services.Very few ideas are commercialized without some sort of a business plan – what can be expected in revenue, what will it cost to produce the product or service, and what are the profits to be generated.
It is hard to find a firm that uses a consistent business case model for ideas – many do not seem to have any formal process whatsoever. Many firms fail to develop a consistent internal cost model, and have little understanding or knowledge of the importance of understanding the cost of acquisition, and use of a new product or service from a consumer's point of view. While producers tend to view new products and services in terms of the costs to develop and market plus a markup for profit, consumers tend to assess several types of costs that are not apparent or considered by the innovator.
All innovators set a market price for their products and services – what they think of as the cost to the customer for acquiring their product or service. That cost is the retail price. While that is one significant component of customer's cost, there are other, equally important costs that must be considered:
Costs associated with acquiring the innovative product or service
Costs associated with learning to use the new product or service
Costs associated with transition and obsolescence of the existing product or service
Incorporated in these items are even more types of cost – psychic costs that are evidenced more in terms of resistance to change, or fear or inertia, and hard dollar costs associated with the acquisition and use of a new product or service.
Acquisition Costs
What can a company do to make it easier to acquire its innovative product or service? Some consumer packaged products and appliances can create tremendous demand; people will line up and experience inconvenience to be the first to acquire the product or service. These individuals, however, only reflect the early adopters, not the vast majority of the market.
Sometimes an innovation can be off-putting, or seem too sophisticated or ornate for consumers or users to feel comfortable acquiring. It is in this regard that P&G does such a great job with its innovations. Products like the Swiffer are easy to acquire, since they are found in the same channels as other cleaners, and are easy to try and learn to use. Their applicability is easy to understand and the value proposition is relatively high. The Swiffer fills a market opportunity between a broom and a mop, can be sold in the same mass market channels and does not present challenges to acquire. P&G and other innovative consumer packaged goods firms have done an excellent job innovating while keeping the acquisition cost of their new products low.
Can the target audience easily acquire a company's product in the same channels, at similar price points and with the same knowledge and information as they have acquired other alternative solutions? More importantly, can a business lower its acquisition costs by making information more readily available, establishing a community around the product or service, or taking other actions that lower acquisition costs and effort?
Learning Costs
Any new product or service requires some education or training since the new product offers new or different functions or capabilities over the existing product, or is offered to a market that did not have a solution previously. The learning costs associated with a product is probably the most under-emphasized and the most important challenge to the acquisition of a new product or service. Most people do not want to spend a lot of time learning about a new product when they are reasonably happy with an existing product or service. The innovation must either offer exceptionally compelling features or be demonstrably easy to learn to avoid switching challenges.
There are many examples of products and services that present excellent value and compelling services yet do not achieve their expected market breakthrough. Often the gap between expected uptake and actual sales is attributable to the cost of learning a new application or technology. (Microsoft Vista may fall into this category.) Humans are relatively lazy and do not enjoy products or services that require thinking too hard. Any innovation that requires significant relearning or training will face a challenge in market acceptance. Based on this fact, there are several ways to ensure the learning costs are minimized:
Undershoot the goal: Deliver slightly less functionality than is believed necessary.Most innovators over-engineer their products believing that most consumers are just like them. In the case of learning costs, less is often more. A good example of an undershot product are new cell phones targeted to the elderly, which provide larger keys, a larger ear piece and which lack many of the bells and whistles that other cell phones provide. These simplified cell phones have a much lower learning curve and are easier to adopt within specific consumer segments.
Make learning fun: Video game makers understand that any new user must learn how to use the game and master the basics within the game. To do this, game designers often build different modes of play for the beginner, which helps instruct the individual on the basic expectations and rules. Additionally, game makers often provide clues and hints online and other places; they make learning a new game or technology interesting and fun. Many electronics and appliance manufacturers could learn a lot from the gaming industry, since it can be exceptionally difficult to learn new applications and technologies.
Leverage early adopters and a community to support those who may need more help to use the new product or service.
Obsolescence Costs
Usually an innovation supersedes or replaces an existing product or service. Once the new product or service is adopted, the existing product or service must be eliminated.There are both psychic costs and hard dollar costs associated with obsolescence; a trusty product or service that is being replaced may have great sentimental value, or secondary and/or tertiary products and services. For example, moving from vinyl to CDs probably meant getting rid of a treasured record collection and phonograph, which would have both emotional and monetary impact.Many innovations create obsolescence in the products or services they replace, yet they offer no means to mitigate these costs or create value for the owner even after obsolescence.
When it comes to evaluating innovation by compatibility, most innovators have two options: 1) leverage existing infrastructure and standards, which provides for easier adoption since consumers are building on an existing stack of goods and services or 2) disrupt a standard and create a new one, which requires compelling new benefits due to the investments that may become obsolete. When a firm considers a new innovation, it is important to understand and evaluate what products, services or offerings might be threatened or made obsolete by the introduction of the new innovation or technology. If the cost of obsolescence is too high, the market may reject the innovation on this basis alone. As an example, consider the switch from analog to digital broadcast television. The U.S.federal government is providing vouchers to consumers who own televisions that receive only analog signals. This means many consumers can enjoy digital broadcasts while those who have yet to adopt newer technologies are not forced into a choice they may not be comfortable with.
Can the innovation reduce or eliminate obsolescence costs? Can a business leverage the existing technology, product or service in such a way that it builds on an existing stack rather than eliminating the product or service?
Counting the Costs
The final factor to consider when thinking about customer's costs is the level of disruption and benefit an innovation provides – as measured and determined by the market, not by an innovation team. The iPod combined with iTunes created benefits for the consumer that allowed the iPod users to pay more than the market rate for an MP3 player, since those consumers felt they were getting tremendous value from the total solution.Too often innovators worry too much about the price of a product or service, when in reality they should focus on value to the consumer. Many successful innovations have entered the market at prices that were higher than reasonably competitive products or services. If a product is truly new, valuable and attractive, it can – and will – command a premium. Using Apple again as an example, the iPhone commanded a significant price advantage for almost a year, but Apple and its distribution partner Cingular are preparing to damage the aura surrounding the iPhone in the subsequent rollout.While Apple is lowering the price of the equipment, the costs associated with using the iPhone on the Cingular network are increasing. It may be that Apple realizes that it is not just the phone that matters, but the entire cost and experience. In this case, however, they do not control the "whole" product and there may be a disappointing launch and uptake for the second version of the iPhone.
Understanding the value your product provides and the total costs associated with acquiring, learning and using the solution will help a company better evaluate its new product and service ideas.
Consumers and business people are all worried about the costs of the products and services being built, sold and acquired. Innovators have to be able to understand the customer's perspective and look at the costs to use, acquire, learn and manage a new product or service. To do this, they must take an outside-in view of the products and services offered as innovations. Too frequently, expectations for costs are too closely related to what it takes a business to bring the product to market, rather than the costs the consumer bears to acquire and use the product or service. Only when a company evaluates an innovation from a consumer's cost perspective will the viability of an idea be truly understood.
Jeffrey Phillips is a vice president with OVO and responsible for marketing and for leading innovation projects with OVO's clients. Mr. Phillips has extensive experience working in the innovation space, with a wide range of Fortune 500 firms. He has published articles for Harvard Management Update, DigitAll Magazine, Pure Insight and blogs about innovation at Innovate on Purpose. Contact Jeffrey Phillips at jphillips (at) ovoinnovation.com.
Patent of the Month – Fabric Supercapacitor
Best of The Month – The Private Life
Managing The (Autonomous Vehicle) Unknowns
(Taking Out) Letters
Biology – Sailfish
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Editorial and Copyright Philosophy


We're taught from a very early age that change is something to be feared.
In fact, over time this message has been reinforced so strongly that we now fear change more than we fear death.
As we grow up we're conditioned by the people and places around us. We're shaped and moulded into a version of ourselves that we believe is acceptable and we step obediently into the drive to success – just like everyone else.
We grow up, and leave school and we continue to make sure we have the 'right' qualifications, buy the 'right' car', have the 'right' friends, have the 'right' career', buy the 'right house (in the 'right' suburb) and create the perfect life.
More shaping, moulding and conditioning.
In an effort to keep up – and hopefully get ahead – we push ourselves beyond our boundaries. We place ourselves under the weight of heavy expectations and we carry the burden of 'success' in every decision we make. We ignore the voice in our head that tells us we need to slow down, take some time and care for ourselves …. after all, that's for people who are less busy than we are – we simply don't have time.
We punish ourselves until we meet every expectation and demand that is placed on us … until we reach that point where we're running on empty and we have nothing left to give. And then we find a way to give more.
We take a deep breath and just keep going – everything will be all right if we just keep going. We're stressed and exhausted but that's normal, right? Aren't they the key components of being successful?
The blinkers on our eyes keep us looking straight ahead. They keep us from understanding that we're actually living a life that someone else has programmed us to live.
While ever we continue to live our lives this way, we are guaranteeing ourselves a one-way all expenses ignored ticket to a traumatic event of our own.
After all, we believe that traumatic events – such as a breakdown or cancer – are things that only happen to other people … until they don't.
The human body is an amazing construct that is designed to provide us with warning signals when it needs us to take notice of something that's not quite right. When we put on the blinkers and shut down the warning voice, we push ourselves harder than we were ever designed to go.
We have a remarkable ability to see the effects of stress and exhaustion in those around us – whilst completely ignoring the fact that we are suffering from the very same symptoms. We have boundless empathy for our friends, family and colleagues – but rarely do we allow ourselves a bit of self-compassion.
We give everyone around us our permission to take a break and give themselves a bit of self-care … but we've been programmed to believe that offering the same care to ourselves is just selfish.
So how do we step up and give ourselves permission to make some changes … and still get ahead?
Perhaps one of the best-kept secrets of our lifetime is that introducing change is quite simple. Once you understand that breaking something down into small, simple and manageable steps means that change will never be difficult again, you'll easily and willingly step away from the life someone else has given you and start living the life that was meant to be yours.
Life will become much easier and will be more likely to be full of the things that you love, and you'll be less likely to become stuck in the things that drain your energy.
We need to acknowledge that being stressed and exhausted is NOT normal. Bluntly, being stressed and exhausted is slowing killing us.
Everything in life comes down to our choices. In every moment and with every decision, we can choose the path we take. The reality is that making change in simple, small steps is so much easier to handle than trying to climb back up after a total breakdown.
It is only when we choose to stop waiting for permission to change, that our lives can be lived very differently.


The H2OGO! Snow Flurryz Sled is an inflatable toboggan that'll heat up your winters. This sled is 3 feet, 6 inches long which makes it the perfect size for kids to sit securely and comfortably but still pick up major speed going downhill.
It's protected by Polar Shield - a special type of material that's resistant to punctures and cold weather conditions. The handles on either side of the sled are sturdy enough to grip tightly but flexible enough to work nicely with winter gloves.
A quick release valve makes inflation easy and folds in securely for uninterrupted sled runs. Best of all, you can quickly deflate the Flurryz Snow Sled and fold it up for convenient storage during the summer.


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Home / Art / The Protagonist
Title Subscription - 2 issues starting with next available issue tbc - £30.00 *SOLD OUT* Issue 004 (Winter 2017/Spring 2018 - Amy) - £9.00 *SOLD OUT* Issue 004 (Winter 2017/Spring 2018 - Paloma) - £9.00
Protagonist Magazine - Issue 4 - Winter/Spring 2017/2018
The Protagonist Magazine offers in-depth articles about protagonists of stage, screen, and the art world. London-based editors Ram Shergill and Daen Palma Huse offer an insight into the world of fine art and fashion photography, illustration, music and contemporary art in an eclectic mix. As a collectible hardback book, The Protagonist Magazine revives the tradition of luxury magazine publications such as The Yellow Book, which was published in the 1890s.
For this issue, the team at The Protagonist has concentrated on icons from the music industry on their limited edition collectible covers, with actors Andrea Riseborough, Alexander Vlahos and Tom Rhys Harries as well as artists like Andrew Salgado featured on the inside.
A lavish spread of number one recording artist and performer Paloma Faith has been produced, involving a special collaboration with artist and designer duo Whitaker Malem. The leather corset worn by Paloma Faith on the cover is a custom made piece called Hemaphroditus Armour that has been hand moulded in the same studio that has dressed Kate Moss and Halle Berry and Madonna in their James Bond film appearances. Whitaker Malem have created film costumes for Captain America, Jupiter Ascending and most recently Wonder Woman. In line with Paloma Faith's new album The Architect, a visual utopian universe is created. A full album review is included in the issue.
The second cover is a very special cover edition featuring Amy Winehouse photographed by Editor in Chief Ram Shergill in 2003. The issue includes exclusive images that have never been seen before. The images of Amy Winehouse have only surfaced as the National Portrait Gallery, London UK, have acquired two of the images. A full-length article and interview with Ram Shergill tells the story of his day spent with Amy and highlights her unique talent.
The latest issue of The Protagonist Magazine also features fashion spreads created with fashion director Margherita Gardella and Seta Niland, former fashion editor at The Face magazine and Alexander McQueen collaborator. Inspirations have been the peacock as a bird that shows and parades its beauty – as well as the crow as a dark and mystical creature.
The exploration of nature and humankind is underlying in this compendium of visual aesthetic. Especially commissioned anthropomorphic and zoomorphic illustrations by Colin Verdi connect humans and animals as much as the fine artwork by Frida Wannerberger and Catherine Min, which interconnect with different photographic spreads ranging from explosive colours to fine photo-paintings and wetplate photography by Magda Kuca. Min's dreamy illustrations illustrate an article by Dr. Birgitta Huse about travelling clothes, an exploration into attire for the global explorer.
The Protagonist Magazine further invites to explore a range of exquisite perfumes, watches and offers book reviews on recently released substantial art and fashion publications.
This issue of The Protagonist is the perfect companion whether you are travelling across countries or letting your mind travel whilst sitting in your favourite chair at home. The Protagonist is filled with knowledge, animals, fashion, icons, art, illustration and a celebration of beauty that surrounds us.
You are The Protagonist of your own life!
AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER - ON SALE 18th DECEMBER
UK Cover Price £9.00
Frequency 2 PA
Weight 775gms


Manipur, which literally means "the land of jewels", has been described by Lord Irwin as "the Switzerland of India". The state is in Eastern India. Information about the state of Manipur.
Includes an account of the modern state, and information on its history and its relationship to the places described in the Mahabharata.
Online news and other information from Manipur, in English.


Aduro BioTech Inc (NASDAQ:ADRO) – Stock analysts at Svb Leerink issued their Q1 2019 EPS estimates for Aduro BioTech in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, April 15th. Svb Leerink analyst D. Graybosch expects that the biotechnology company will earn ($0.03) per share for the quarter. Svb Leerink currently has a "Outperform" rating and a $9.00 target price on the stock. Svb Leerink also issued estimates for Aduro BioTech's Q3 2019 earnings at $0.21 EPS, FY2019 earnings at ($0.19) EPS, FY2020 earnings at ($1.12) EPS, FY2021 earnings at ($0.37) EPS, FY2022 earnings at ($1.86) EPS and FY2023 earnings at $0.24 EPS.
Several other brokerages have also commented on ADRO. Oppenheimer reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Aduro BioTech in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. BidaskClub lowered Aduro BioTech from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 29th. Leerink Swann started coverage on Aduro BioTech in a report on Monday. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Aduro BioTech from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $2.75 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 19th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $8.30 target price on shares of Aduro BioTech in a research report on Wednesday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. The company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $7.68.
Shares of ADRO opened at $3.69 on Wednesday. Aduro BioTech has a 12 month low of $2.34 and a 12 month high of $9.00. The company has a market capitalization of $280.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.18 and a beta of 2.06.
Aduro BioTech (NASDAQ:ADRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.33) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by ($0.10). Aduro BioTech had a negative net margin of 632.05% and a negative return on equity of 54.84%.
Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Federated Investors Inc. PA raised its position in Aduro BioTech by 268.3% in the third quarter. Federated Investors Inc. PA now owns 10,331 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 7,526 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Aduro BioTech by 138.5% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,402 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 7,202 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Aduro BioTech in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Aduro BioTech in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY purchased a new stake in Aduro BioTech in the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors own 44.82% of the company's stock.
In other Aduro BioTech news, CFO Jennifer Lew sold 18,601 shares of Aduro BioTech stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.07, for a total value of $75,706.07. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 139,380 shares in the company, valued at $567,276.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Elsas Andrea Van sold 6,844 shares of Aduro BioTech stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.25, for a total value of $29,087.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 245,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,043,961.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,526 shares of company stock worth $128,874. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.


In the real world, you don't make friends by pressing a little button. You make friends by buying a round.
Facebook is about to become more like the real world. Starting soon, users will be able to send each other bottles of wine through the social network's recently introduced Gifts feature. Two winemakers, Robert Mondavi Winery and Chandon, have signed on as partners, the company announced Thursday night.


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Q: SQLPlus How to print the MAX of COUNT(*)? I need help in printing the department with the highest number of employees. Since, MAX(COUNT(*)) doesn't actually work, can anyone help me in this?
Say I have two tables named dept and emp, each of which have deptno and empdeptno respectively.
I have this to count each employee in each department:
SELECT dept.deptname "Department",
    (SELECT COUNT(*)
     FROM emp
     WHERE emp.empdeptno = dept.deptno) "Number of Employees"
FROM dept
ORDER BY COUNT(*) DESC;

How do you print the dept with the highest employee count without using LIMIT with the ORDER BY?

A: SELECT dept.deptname "Department", COUNT(emp.empdeptno) AS "Number of Employees"
FROM dept
LEFT JOIN emp ON dept.deptno = emp.empdeptno
GROUP BY dept.deptname
ORDER BY COUNT(emp.empdeptno) DESC

You might consider GROUP BY dept.UniqueDepartmentKey, dept.deptname if dept.deptname is not the key and likely to be repeated.
You might need to refer to the alias: GROUP BY "Department", depending on your SQL flavour.


Porsche Carrera Cup GB 2010 Is GO!
The Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain has officially launched it's 2010 season at Silverstone with a capacity 28-car entry list.
The diverse entry list will see entrants from 10 teams, and drivers from as far afield as Oman (Ahmad Al Harty) and Lithuania (Jonas Gelzinis and Tautvydas Barstys).
Other new names on the grid include Richard Denny, Ray Dias and ex-Touring Car race Stephen Jelley, who will be making the switch to the 420bhp rear-wheeled drive Porsche's.
Tony Gilham returns for a third year in the pro-am1 category as he looks to take the title for the first time.
Eight drivers lead the way in the pro category; Tim Harvey, Glynn Geddie, Michael Meadows, Euan Hankey, Tom Bradshaw, Michael Caine, Stephen Jelley and Charles Bateman.
The Carrera Cup GB season starts at Thruxton (Hampshire) over the weekend of 3/4 April.


How to choose the right packaging supplies for your product?
– It is necessary to pack your products with attractive wrappers which beg the attention of others. However, having wrappers that endure a long travel with minimal damage is even more important. If the product is heavy or fragile, the package needs to be specifically designed for strength. Because it costs more for replacing damaged goods than for adequate protective packaging. If the product is supposed to put on display, a high quality print finish is required.
– Choosing the right material before ordering from the wholesale packaging suppliers is essential. Treat the product with respect.
– Paper based material: They yield the best printing results and is considered the best for food, dairy, cosmetics, medicinal and retail products.
– Grooved material: This type of material is flexible yet sturdy. This is the right one for shipping boxes, subscription cartons, and e-commerce packages.
– Consider that a product is produced in different sizes. In this case, it is best to design one or two different sized packages that accommodate all the available sizes. It would provide consistency to your products and save time and money.
– Understand the mindset of the customers. Even small companies which lack money can stand apart on the shelf if they get good and creative wholesale wrapping papers. Instead of trying to minimize the cost, see the true potential of the packaging which helps to sell your produce.
– Ergonomics is an important part of the design, where the product is wrapped in a frustration free packaging. The packet should suit the size, shape and the needs of the customer. For example, if your target audience is children, the packaging is done in such a way that it is easily accessed by them.
– If your company is based on foods, check if the wholesale packaging supplies have got the necessary accreditation from any food safety programs.
– A good way to impress your customers is to get the supplies that are organic and capable of being recycled.
In case of packaging supplies, you have many options. So be wise and select what is really right for you.
This entry was posted in Business and tagged wholesale packaging suppliers, wholesale packaging supplies, wholesale wrapping papers by Todd Peovski. Bookmark the permalink.
We are an Australian owned paper converting firm that specializes in supply of superior quality packing paper products. For more than three decades we have specialised in converting sheeted paper and delivered superior paper to different kinds of industries across Australia. With Manufacturing plants in Sydney & Brisbane and Satellite distributions in Melbourne and Adelaide Superior Paper reaches to all businesses across Australia.


Lack of sleep was associated with increased levels of ghrelin, the hormone which increases appetite. It also leads to lower levels of leptin, the hormone that indicates when the body is satiated. Not such a great combination, is it?


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Home > Photos > Megyn Kelly
Charlize Theron Will Star As Megyn Kelly In A Movie About Fox News And Roger Ailes
Jun. 20 2018, Updated 7:16 p.m. ET
Charlize Theron has been on a roll lately! The Oscar winner, who has earned raves for her latest performance as an overwhelmed mother of three in Tully, has now signed on to play former Fox newscaster and current Today show co-host Megyn Kelly. Read on for more.
It was almost two years ago when Megyn, who still worked at FOX News at the time, publicly accused former FOX chairman Roger Ailes of sexual harassment, alleging multiple unwanted sexual advances. That was just months after Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson had also accused him of sexual misconduct.
The movie will reportedly center on the women who worked at FOX News under Roger, who passed away last year after previously denying the allegations against him.
In her 2016 book, the former lawyer who hosted the network's hit series, The Kelly Files, claimed the media mogul "crossed a new line" back in January 2006 when he repeatedly tried to kiss her.
Megyn Kelly
Megyn Kelly Slams 'Allure' Writer Who Penned Gwen Stefani's Bizarre 'I Am Japanese' Article
Megyn Kelly Calls Prince Harry An 'Insecure Man' Whose Still 'Carrying Around Emotional Baggage,' Urges Him To See A 'Psychotherapist'
Megyn Kelly Slams 'Narcissistic Jerks' Prince Harry & Meghan Markle After Trailer For Their Bombshell Doc Debuts
Megyn claimed his advances stopped after six months once she reported Roger's behavior to her supervisor. She left Fox News in 2017 and signed a deal at NBC.
Prior to her departure, the disgraced chairman had resigned from the network in July 2016 with a $40 million exit agreement. Last May at age 77 he died in his home after accidentally falling and hitting his head. Roger was among several other high-profile men who have been accused of sexual harassment amid the #Metoo movement, including Catfish executive producer and host Nev Schulman.
There is a lot of story for Charlize to work with here for her next movie. Do you think she is the best actress to step into Megyn's shoes? Sound off in the comment section!


An option to download the entire faq is missing. It will be useful for us for viewing it offline.
That's probably true, it seems to be a useful feature. You could have posted a url pointing to a site with more info about though.
What I'm more concerned about is how you could post in the DeveloperWeb.net forum directly, basically adding a new forum and post in one, instead of posting it in a subforum (like here where I moved it to). That seems to be a bug in phpbb which is hopefully fixed in the newer version, that alone is imho enough reason to upgrade the damn thing.


There are various ways of driving performance from the employees of an organisation, and employee motivation is one of them. Organisations have devised several ways of motivating their workforce; from Rewards and Recognition programs, Cash incentives, motivational seminars and other engagement activities from time to time.
Although motivation can have some benefits and can drive performance, one has to exercise due caution in executing the motivation activity and also while estimating its impact on performance. One big flaw would be to blindly assume proportionate increase in performance by rolling out incentives. I would like to cite an instance from my own work experience to prove this point. I used to manage a process for a US client in a BPO firm. Initially, all the employees received a fixed salary regardless of their performance. As the company grew, the management decided to roll out monthly incentives, to reward good performance. From our subsequent observations, we found that there was no significant improvement in overall performance post rolling out the incentives. Secondly, the employees became more calculative in their approach and once they understood the entire incentive calculation, they would simply ensure that they met the minimum performance criteria required to receive their incentive target and put no additional effort beyond that. As a result the company just bore some additional expenses in salary payouts without seeing any significant boost in performance.
From the above example, it is amply clear that the management and all the other parties involved must be extremely cautious and meticulous while designing and executing any incentive plan in the organisation. All possible combinations and test runs should be performed prior to finalising the plan and it must be closely monitored month after month to ensure accuracy and effectiveness.
In conclusion, I would like to say that employee motivation can enhance performance, provided, the RIGHT motivating factors are identified for all employees and if the activities are executed in a Fair, Transparent and Accurate manner.