text:
Lawyers Claim Montana Workers' Compensation Investigators Violate Privacy
Email This Subscribe to Newsletter
Email to a friend Facebook Tweet LinkedIn Print Article
Two Billings attorneys are asking the Montana Supreme Court to stop workers' compensation investigators from practices that they say violate the privacy rights of workers' comp claimants.
The Billings Gazette reported that Gene Jarussi and Michael Eiselein, along with 10 other attorneys across the state, filed the petition on Aug. 2, contending that Montana State Fund fraud investigators routinely share surveillance videos and other confidential information with doctors of workers' compensation claimants. The attorneys say the investigators commonly don't get a court order allowing them to release the info, nor do they tell the claimants that they're sharing the information.
They're asking the high court to stop the investigators from sharing confidential criminal justice information until the State Fund shows it's doing so lawfully.
"This practice unlawfully invades, taints and irreparably harms the confidential and private relationship between physician and patient," the petition says, and it violates the Montana Rules of Professional Responsibility, the Montana Constitution, the Montana Criminal Justice Information Act and the State Fund's own written protocols.
Five people with open workers' compensation claims with the State Fund also signed the petition, but the petition seeks no monetary damages. Instead, the attorneys and claimants are asking the high court to stop the State Fund's Special Investigative Unit from releasing confidential criminal justice information until it can show it's doing so legally, and to declare that no one who has already received the confidential information can use it for any purpose.
The attorneys and claimants are also asking the court take supervisory control over 1st District judges in Lewis and Clark County, because they contend the judges are routinely issuing unconstitutional orders allowing the release of confidential information.
The Montana Supreme Court has given the 1st District Court, and the State Fund's attorneys until mid-September to respond to the petition.
In the petition, the attorneys say that about 14,000 Montana residents are covered by the State Fund every year, and that the fund's investigative unit conducts video surveillance on between 400 and 500 claimants each year. They also say that State Fund fraud coordinator Tom Disburg has said in dispositions that those videos are shown to claimants' treating physicians about 100 to 150 times a year.
That means confidential surveillance videos were shown to doctors as many as 825 times since 2006, according to the petition, but a review of court files from Lewis and Clark County show that State Fund attorneys only sought court permission to release the videos 64 times.
"Thus, in the overwhelming majority of those cases, no Application was filed, and no District Court Order of any kind was obtained authorizing the dissemination of confidential criminal justice information to treating physicians or anyone else," the petition says.
Florida Legislative Session 2020: Insurance Bills to Watch
Colorado Couple Will Get $50K After Dog Housing Lawsuit
Want to stay up to date?
Get the latest insurance news
Categories: West NewsTopics: Montana, privacy rights, workers' compensation
Have a hot lead? Email us at newsdesk@insurancejournal.com
Ah, James; that's sneaky, but if it works. Must feel good to call the attorney on his/her oversight.
I disagree with the lawsuit. However, there are states that do not allow you to share the video without 14 to 30 days notice to the claimant and/or their attorney. You have t... read more
S Wehrkamp says:
The legit claimants are not likely to BE under surveillance! And how do you violate Dr. - Patient confidentiality when you're sharing it with the treating Dr.?
Add a CommentSee All Comments (5)Add a Comment Cancel reply
Notify me of comments via e-mail
Hurricane Dorian's Bahamas Storm Toll: $3.4 Billion in Damages, 3 Years of Rebuilding
California Lawmaker Wants Probe of PG&E's Chief Regulator
California Sleep Apnea Company Pays $37.5M to Settle Kickback Lawsuits
Forex Firm Travelex Resumes Customer-Facing Operations After Ransomware Attack
More News Features
Using Game Theory to Determine Who's Liable: Autonomous Vehicle or Human Driver?


I finally saw Guardians of the Galaxy last night (remember; I spent the summer in the woods, a good hour's drive from any movie theater). It's a solid little family film, with a smart script, funny characters, sublimely ridiculous sci-fi special effects and shoot-'em-up action, and of course, a rocking soundtrack. A mix tape given by a dying mother to her son drives the narrative and the beat; I wonder how many parents had to explain to their children what a Walkman and a cassette tape are.
The Runaways' "Cherry Bomb" provides the soundtrack for one pivotal scene in the movie, the song earning its rightful place as a savior of the universe. I hope songwriters Kim Fowley and Joan Jett are getting some nice payout on this product placement — and that a new generation of kids find themselves dancing to the Queens of Noise.


text:
List of publications > Meta-analysis
A2 Review article, Literature review, Systematic review
Meta-analysis (2022)
Hagger, M. (2022). Meta-analysis. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 15(1), 120-151. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984x.2021.1966824
Hagger, Martin
All authors or editors: Hagger, Martin
Journal or series: International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984x.2021.1966824
The sheer volume of available research and shifts toward evidence-based practice has led researchers and practitioners in sport and exercise psychology to rely increasingly on meta-analyses to summarize current knowledge, provide future research directions, and inform policy and practice. These issues highlight the imperative of precision and integrity in the conduct of meta-analyses in the discipline. This review provides a summary of meta-analytic methods relevant to sport and exercise psychology, identifies important issues and advances in meta-analytic methods, and provides best practice guidelines for meta-analysts to consider when synthesizing research in the discipline. In Part I, I provide an overview of the basic principles of meta-analysis and direct readers to accessible, non-technical treatments of the topic. In Part II, I introduce several key issues in meta-analysis and summarize the latest advances in each: effective assessment of heterogeneity; testing for moderators; dealing with dependency; evaluating publication bias and tracking down 'fugitive literature'; and assessing sample size in meta-analysis. I also cover two emerging topics: testing theories using meta-analysis and open science and transparency practices in meta-analysis. I conclude the discussion of each issue by providing best practice guidelines, and refer the reader to further accessible texts to augment knowledge and understanding.
Keywords: sport psychology; methodology; meta-analysis; synthesis; structural equation models; science publishing; open science
Free keywords: research synthesis; publication bias; multi-level meta-analysis; meta-analytic structural equation modeling; open science
515 Psychology (Social sciences)
Other organizations:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Sign-up to receive the latest news and ratings for AMAT and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter.
What is Applied Materials' stock symbol?
Applied Materials trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "AMAT."
How often does Applied Materials pay dividends? What is the dividend yield for Applied Materials?
Applied Materials announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share on Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. View Applied Materials' Dividend History.
How will Applied Materials' stock buyback program work?
Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 15th 2018, which allows the company to buyback $6,000,000,000.00 in outstanding shares, according to EventVestor. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
How were Applied Materials' earnings last quarter?
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February, 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks' consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.02. The manufacturing equipment provider had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.50% and a return on equity of 58.28%. Applied Materials's revenue was down 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. View Applied Materials' Earnings History.
When is Applied Materials' next earnings date?
Applied Materials is scheduled to release their next quarterly earnings announcement on Thursday, May 16th 2019. View Earnings Estimates for Applied Materials.
What guidance has Applied Materials issued on next quarter's earnings?
Applied Materials issued an update on its second quarter earnings guidance on Thursday, February, 14th. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $0.62-0.70 for the period, compared to the Thomson Reuters consensus EPS estimate of $0.77. The company issued revenue guidance of $3.33-3.63 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $3.66 billion.
What price target have analysts set for AMAT?
24 equities research analysts have issued twelve-month price objectives for Applied Materials' stock. Their predictions range from $33.00 to $65.00. On average, they anticipate Applied Materials' stock price to reach $49.90 in the next twelve months. This suggests a possible upside of 14.0% from the stock's current price. View Analyst Price Targets for Applied Materials.
What is the consensus analysts' recommendation for Applied Materials?
24 Wall Street analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Applied Materials in the last year. There are currently 9 hold ratings and 15 buy ratings for the stock, resulting in a consensus recommendation of "Buy." View Analyst Ratings for Applied Materials.
Has Applied Materials been receiving favorable news coverage?
Media headlines about AMAT stock have been trending somewhat positive on Monday, InfoTrie reports. The research firm identifies positive and negative media coverage by analyzing more than six thousand blog and news sources in real-time. The firm ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative five to five, with scores nearest to five being the most favorable. Applied Materials earned a daily sentiment score of 1.7 on InfoTrie's scale. They also assigned media stories about the manufacturing equipment provider a news buzz of 2.0 out of 10, meaning that recent media coverage is very unlikely to have an impact on the company's share price in the near future.
Are investors shorting Applied Materials?
Applied Materials saw a increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,970,091 shares, an increase of 14.4% from the February 28th total of 13,958,893 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,270,431 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 1.7% of the company's stock are sold short. View Applied Materials' Current Options Chain.
Who are some of Applied Materials' key competitors?
Some companies that are related to Applied Materials include Broadcom (AVGO), NVIDIA (NVDA), Texas Instruments (TXN), Micron Technology (MU), Analog Devices (ADI), Xilinx (XLNX), NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Infineon Technologies (IFNNY), Microchip Technology (MCHP), Kyocera (KYOCY), STMicroelectronics (STM), Maxim Integrated Products (MXIM), Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) and Skyworks Solutions (SWKS).
What other stocks do shareholders of Applied Materials own?
Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some companies that other Applied Materials investors own include Micron Technology (MU), NVIDIA (NVDA), Alibaba Group (BABA), Intel (INTC), Lam Research (LRCX), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Netflix (NFLX), Bank of America (BAC), Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Boeing (BA).
Who are Applied Materials' key executives?
Who are Applied Materials' major shareholders?
Applied Materials' stock is owned by many different of retail and institutional investors. Top institutional shareholders include Global Thematic Partners LLC (0.18%), Calamos Advisors LLC (0.16%), Strs Ohio (0.08%), Jag Capital Management LLC (0.05%), Retirement Systems of Alabama (0.05%) and Oakbrook Investments LLC (0.04%). Company insiders that own Applied Materials stock include Alexander Karsner, Ali Salehpour, Omkaram Nalamasu, Stephen R Forrest, Steve G Ghanayem, Thomas F Larkins and Thomas J Iannotti. View Institutional Ownership Trends for Applied Materials.
Which institutional investors are selling Applied Materials stock?
AMAT stock was sold by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including Gateway Investment Advisers LLC, Global Thematic Partners LLC, DNB Asset Management AS, Calamos Advisors LLC, Ledyard National Bank, State of Alaska Department of Revenue, Huntington National Bank and Eqis Capital Management Inc.. Company insiders that have sold Applied Materials company stock in the last year include Omkaram Nalamasu, Stephen R Forrest and Steve G Ghanayem. View Insider Buying and Selling for Applied Materials.
Which institutional investors are buying Applied Materials stock?
AMAT stock was bought by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including Jag Capital Management LLC, Oakbrook Investments LLC, Private Capital Advisors Inc., Pacer Advisors Inc., Ellis Investment Partners LLC, Tibra Equities Europe Ltd, QUANTRES ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd and Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV. View Insider Buying and Selling for Applied Materials.
How do I buy shares of Applied Materials?
Shares of AMAT can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Vanguard Brokerage Services, TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE, Scottrade, Fidelity and Charles Schwab.
What is Applied Materials' stock price today?
One share of AMAT stock can currently be purchased for approximately $43.79.
How big of a company is Applied Materials?
Applied Materials has a market capitalization of $41.57 billion and generates $17.25 billion in revenue each year. The manufacturing equipment provider earns $3.31 billion in net income (profit) each year or $4.45 on an earnings per share basis. Applied Materials employs 21,000 workers across the globe.
What is Applied Materials' official website?
The official website for Applied Materials is http://www.appliedmaterials.com.
How can I contact Applied Materials?
MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Applied Materials and other stocks. Vote "Outperform" if you believe AMAT will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote "Underperform" if you believe AMAT will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.


text:
Philippines Economics and Business
by businesscarriers | Posted on March 4, 2021 June 30, 2021
The Philippines has had good conditions for developing business, with fertile agricultural land, fish-rich water and mineral and energy resources of various kinds. A first industrialization came early, and already in the 1960s, the industry accounted for about a quarter of GDP. The country was then one of the richest in Southeast Asia.
However, the development did not get as fast as in most other countries in the region. From the colonial era, the independent Philippines inherited a very unequal land ownership with large landowners who were little interested in increasing production and investing in new businesses. They operated their goods under feudal forms, and farmworkers and renters lived in great poverty and insecurity. Several land reforms have been implemented, but the economic and social structure still has features of old times. Agriculture is fairly underdeveloped and production is no longer enough to feed the rapidly growing population. Tropical storms often occur and they damage the infrastructure and destroy much of the harvest.
The industry was initially focused on manufacturing consumer goods for the domestic market. In addition, already in the 1970s came an increasingly significant production of textile products and electronic components for export. For decades, exports have mainly consisted of such goods. Foreign direct investment has come primarily from the US and Japan, but for several reasons they are more limited in the Philippines than in other developing countries in the region. In recent decades, domestic policy contradictions have led to uncertainty for entrepreneurs, as well as the fluctuating supply of electricity and other constraints on infrastructure. The Philippines therefore has difficulty competing with other countries in East and Southeast Asia.
Parts of the business sector have been liberalized since the early 1990s. Foreign trade has been facilitated and state-owned companies have been privatized, primarily in the transport and energy sectors. The Philippine state has been weak in many respects for many years. Tax collection has not worked, which has contributed to serious budget deficits and limited the opportunities to invest in, for example, better transport and education. An efficiency improvement was implemented in the 00s. The sharp increase in population has put increasing pressure on natural resources. Laws and regulations to protect the environment and the natural forest stock and to better conserve water and agricultural land have been decided, but the state has not had the opportunity to check that they are respected. There is also widespread corruption.
The fastest growing sector in the country's business sector is outsourcing, which means that companies in high-wage countries buy services in electronic-based commerce, administration and other services, such as booking and computer support. The important competitive advantage is that a large part of the country's population has good knowledge of English.
In 2013, agriculture, forestry and fishing accounted for 34 percent of employment, mining industry and construction for 15 percent and service for 51 percent. But such data is uncertain as many work in an informal sector. In addition, there is an unemployment rate of 7-8 percent and a much larger underemployment. Industrial growth has been above 10 percent for some years, but it has not been accompanied by any significant increase in jobs. For many years, the lack of work has resulted in millions of Filipinos applying to other countries as guest workers.
It is necessary to develop the countryside, partly to increase agricultural productivity, and partly to improve the living opportunities in the countryside and slow down the large-scale migration into the big cities. The distribution of income is very uneven, and during the whole of the 1990s, a third of all lived below the poverty line. Human Development Index (HDI) calculations in 2017 showed that the Philippines was ranked 113 out of 189 countries.
Farming conditions are relatively good, especially in Luzon and Mindanao, but compared to almost all other countries in East and Southeast Asia, the Philippines' agriculture is underdeveloped. Cereals and vegetables are grown for the domestic market, while agricultural exports are mainly tropical fruits. It now accounts for less than 5 percent of all export earnings.
About 40 percent of the land area is used for agriculture. Arable land accounts for almost half of that, 5 percent is pasture and the remainder is planted with perennial plants such as bananas, coconut and oil palm trees and other fruit trees. Rice is a staple food and is grown on one third of the arable land, usually with irrigation. Most rice growers are small farmers, many with leased land, and they also grow corn and vegetables. In larger farms sugar cane and fruit are mainly grown for sale. Multinational companies operate very large plantations, mainly in Mindanao, and from there bananas, copra, pineapple and palm oil are exported. The Philippines is the world's largest exporter of copra and other coconut palm products. The cultivation of sugar cane has declined sharply since the 1980s, mainly as a result of falling world market prices. In contrast, the cultivation of rubber and fruit, for example, mango, increased significantly. The usual domestic animals are poultry and pigs. Cows for meat production are raised on pastures.
By the mid-1970s, investment in irrigation and the so-called green revolution with high yielding rice varieties had made the country self-sufficient with rice, despite rapid population growth. Gradually, the state's investments in agriculture declined and in addition came a series of dry years. The arable land was extremely unevenly distributed and the large landowners were not interested in increased production. Comprehensive land ownership reforms in 1972 and 1988 could only be realized partially and very slowly, as the political elite consisted largely of large landlords. There is still land to redistribute. Land ownership and lease conditions are in many cases unclear and conflicts about the land are difficult to resolve. Most years during the 1990s, agricultural production increased by just over 3 percent, but despite this, the need to import food increased.
The government is striving to increase rice production and to expand agriculture with several types of crops, both for domestic consumption and for export. The agricultural land is expanded on especially Mindanao, which has the poorest rural population. However, most grain-growing farmers have small farms and thus little opportunity to invest to modernize their agriculture. The irrigation facilities are poorly maintained and road networks and other infrastructure are not currently sufficient to improve contacts between distant cultivation areas and markets in cities and abroad.
At the beginning of the 1950s, half of the country's surface was wooded, most of it with original tropical rainforest. In the 1960s, logging and export of timber and timber began on a larger scale, and then the Philippines became one of the countries in the world where the tropical rainforest disappeared at its fastest pace. The deforestation was fairly careless and no replanting was provided. This in many places caused severe erosion problems and a low quality regrowth. A large population increase also led to forest areas being cultivated, and more and more wood was needed for fuel and production of charcoal and building materials.
Already in the 1980s a ban was introduced on unlicensed logging and against timber exports, but the illegal logging was extensive and in 1990 the forest accounted for only 36 percent of the land area. New periodic prohibitions followed but were not complied with. Between 1990 and 2005, another 1/3 of the forest was felled. During the 00s, however, the rate of decay slowed; 2 percent of the remaining forest disappeared each year. Forest replanting became more common and in addition new tree plantations were established, especially coconut trees and fruit trees. In 2005, the forest accounted for 24 percent of the land area. Less than one-ninth of it was originally rainforest.
Nearly 90 percent of the forest land is owned by the state or municipalities while the rest is privately owned. By the end of the 1990s, almost 25 percent of the forest area was protected, half of it as a nature reserve and half with a ban on felling as it grows on steep slopes. The remaining 75 percent of the forest is designated as productive forest land that can be harvested according to permit. Illegal logging still occurs, partly within the local population on a small scale and partly by powerful forest companies. Corruption is not uncommon, but the state does not have the resources required to monitor that all companies comply with harvesting and replanting regulations. In 2008, up to 45 percent of all felling was estimated to be illegal.
It has become increasingly clear that harvesting has resulted in serious environmental problems, especially in heavily hilly areas, such as increased erosion, race and flooding with many dead. The harvesting of the original forest also involves major interventions in biodiversity.
For a long time, there has been a ban on timber exports to promote the domestic timber industry. At the end of the 1990s, the export of wood furniture increased sharply, and timber imports accounted for half of the timber industry's raw material needs.
Around the Philippine Islands, there are very rich fishing waters, and fish is the main source of animal protein in the diet. During the latter part of the 1980s, fishing accounted for 5 percent of GDP, and exports of tuna and seafood, primarily Japan and the United States, were a major source of foreign currency. Since then, fishing has increased further and catches of fish and shellfish in 2007 totaled 4.7 million tonnes. Exports continue, but at the same time imports of sardines and other small fish increase to meet domestic demand. Almost a tenth of the catch comes from fish and shellfish farming and from freshwater fishing.
Already in the 1980s there were signs of overfishing and this is now a serious problem in more than 70 percent of the coastal fishing waters. Several previously common fish species are now rare, which can also be explained by the fact that they cannot live in coastal waters that are increasingly polluted by discharges from mining and by fertilizers.
Nowadays, the largest quantities are caught for sale west of Palawan and south and west of Mindanao. By far the most important is tuna, while the catches of sardines and anchovies have decreased. The fishing is relatively little developed also in terms of catch management in the ports as well as quality and marketing. The inefficiency is reflected in the fact that the industry employed about 1 million people in the mid-1990s, but accounted for just over 2 per cent of GDP.
In various parts of the Philippine island world there are many mineral deposits. In the mid-1900s, a copper mine and a nickel mine were among the largest of its kind in the world and until the early 1980s mining became increasingly extensive. Then came a stagnation and then a sharp decline, as the Philippines could not compete with mining on a large scale elsewhere in the world. Mining and transport costs were high in the mountainous islands, there was scarcity of capital and there were legal barriers to foreign investment. Metal prices on the world market were too low to allow profitable mining of many deposits. Mining then accounted for only 1 percent of the country's GDP.
During the 00s, demand for minerals and metals in China and other Asian countries increased and prices rose sharply. Investments from Japan, South Korea and Canada have led to both the rehabilitation of old closed mines and the initiation of new projects. However, the mining industry is still sensitive to global economic conditions and the extraction of different minerals can vary considerably between years. Large, well-known occurrences have not yet been utilized and for a quarter of the country there is still no inventory of what occurrences may be. Most important in the late 00s was the extraction of copper ore and gold on the island of Cebu in the central island world and on the island of Rapa Rapa off the southeastern Luzon, where together with zinc and silver. Nickel has been periodically mined on Palawan as well as chrome on western Luzon and iron ore in several places.
The mining takes place both in open quarries and in underground mines and involves significant interventions in the landscape and in the sensitive ecological systems on the islands. In densely populated areas, agricultural land disappears, and pollution from the mines destroys soil and water and causes health problems for the population and fish death. The expanded business is therefore in many cases controversial and activates local opinion which appears with a demand for mines to be closed. For the locals, mining does not mean sustainable development but exploitation. The mining companies are owned by multinational companies and the population cannot see that any profit will benefit them.
Abbreviated as PHL by abbreviationfinder.org, the country of Philippines has various raw materials of energy, but so far they have been used to a limited extent. Offshore, there is likely to be significantly more of fossil fuels and exploration is ongoing. The need to import energy raw materials has decreased since the 1970s, but in 2000-04, 42 percent of the energy demand was still covered by imports. The high world market price of oil means that the Philippines is striving in various ways to reduce oil dependency and oil imports. Domestic natural gas and even coal have replaced most of the crude oil in electricity generation. In 2008, the government also presented a comprehensive program for increased use of renewable energy raw materials.
Periodically and in small quantities, oil was recovered at sea during the 1980s and 1990s. At the beginning of the 1990s, production increased, but it was repeatedly stopped due to tropical storms. Extraction in the Galoc offshore field northwest of Palawan began in 2008 but still accounts for only a small part of the oil demand and is mainly used as fuel.
Extraction of natural gas at sea from a depth of 3,000 meters began in 2002 in the Malampaya field northwest of Palawan and already in 2005, natural gas accounted for 1/3 of the electricity generation. Production has since been at about the same level. The gas is piped into three gas-fired power plants at Luzon.
Coal is mined on islands in the central part of the country, mainly in several quarries on Semirare south of Mindoro. Mining has increased, as have imports of coal, and coal now accounts for close to one-fifth of all energy consumption in the Philippines.
In the 00s, the use of renewable energy raw materials also increased. At the end of the 1990s, they accounted for almost a quarter of the country's energy supply. The greatest importance among them is geothermal energy (geothermal heat), which is also the cheapest source of energy. The islands are located in a seismically active area and the Philippines uses, second only to the United States, the most geothermal energy in the world. Hydropower, on the other hand, is expensive to expand and water supply fluctuates, making such energy production uncertain. There are only a few larger hydropower plants, but many are small, and several are being built. For a long time, residues from agriculture have also been used as an energy source, for example from sugar cane, coconut trees and rice plants, and additional biofuel plants are being built. There is also considerable potential in terms of wind, solar and tidal-generated energy, which can be used when foreign capital is willing to invest. Nuclear power does not exist in the Philippines.
The earliest industry processed raw materials from agriculture to foods such as sugar and coconut oil. The industry that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s was protected by high tariffs and import quotas, and manufactured simpler goods for domestic consumption. Already in the 1960s, the industry accounted for 22-25 percent of GDP, and the share has not changed much since then. However, the industry has changed its direction.
In the 1970s, four zones were established with favorable tax and customs regulations for export companies. There, foreign wholly-owned businesses were allowed and the companies did not have to pay minimum wages. Thus, the rapid growth of an export-oriented, labor-intensive manufacturing of textile products and electrical and electronic components began. Many companies worked as subcontractors on contracts with multinational groups. This direction has been further strengthened. In the early 1980s, the government sought to develop heavy industry, but only four projects were realized: a copper smelter, an artificial fertilizer plant, a chemical plant and the manufacture of parts for diesel engines. Later, two smaller oil refineries were also built and also factories producing rubber tires.
Although many foreign trade restrictions have been removed since the end of the 1980s, the industry is still geared towards both contract manufacturing for exports and production of consumer goods for the ever-growing domestic market. Additional export zones have been opened and close to a hundred private business parks. Initially it was mainly companies from the US and Japan that were established there, but now there are also owners in Other Countries in Asia and also many Filipino companies. In 2008, the industry in the tax-free export zones accounted for 4/5 of the country's export earnings.
The industry is concentrated in the metropolitan area of Manila and neighboring parts of western and southern Luzon. However, the food industry that processes agricultural products is found on all major islands, and several locations on Mindanao have large timber production. Two former US military bases in the Manila region have changed ownership and character. The Subic Bay fleet base has become an economic zone with a free harbor, repair yards, logistics-oriented operations, electronics manufacturing and also hotels and recreation facilities for tourists. The former Clark base is also an economic zone.
In the early 1970s, more than half of the exports consisted of coconut palm products and sugar, timber and copper. In the mid-1990s, these goods accounted for only 2-3 percent of exports, while 90 percent consisted of industrial goods. Exports of textile products and electronic components began to gain importance in the 1970s, and electronics, mainly computer chips and microprocessors, now account for 2/3 of all export revenue.
COUNTRYAAH: Find major trading partners of Philippines, including major exports and major imports with latest trade value and market share as well as growth rate.
The composition of imports has also changed. Semi-finished products accounted for almost 60 percent of the import value in the mid-00s. These are mainly basic components needed in the electronics industry's assembly plants and also yarns and fabrics for the textile industry. The Philippines has reduced its oil imports, but oil has become much more expensive on the world market and oil and oil products account for a large part of the import costs. The country is no longer self-sufficient with rice and in some years, higher rice prices can entail large import costs.
Traditionally, the US and Japan have dominated the Philippine foreign trade. Trade with China increased significantly during the 1990s, and so did trade with other ASEAN countries, albeit at a slower rate. In 2017, 17 percent of exports went to China, 16 percent to Japan and 14 percent to the United States. Among the exporting countries were also marked the Netherlands and among the importing countries Singapore and South Korea.
In general, foreign trade fluctuates widely between different years, but the trade in goods has consistently shown a deficit. The money that Filipino guest workers abroad send home regularly corresponds to about a quarter of export revenue, which means that the current account balance still shows a surplus. Other income in foreign currency comes from tourism and in recent years not least from so-called call centers and similar forms of international service production. Low wages and good English proficiency in the Filipino population mean that companies in industrialized countries turn here to buy such services. Already in 2006-07, this generated greater revenue than tourism did.
Tourism and gastronomy
By the end of the 1990s, the Philippines was visited annually by approximately 6 million foreign tourists. It gave the country a significant inflow of foreign currency, even though it accounted for less than half of the currency sent by Filipino guest workers abroad. In the past, tourists came primarily from the United States, but in the latter part of the 1990s, South Korea was the most common homeland. Visitors from China also became more and more. Foreign investment in tourist facilities is less common in the Philippines than in several neighboring countries. This is mainly due to the instability in the country, primarily in Mindanao, and the low capacity of transport systems outside the metropolitan area.
Note: the capital city of Philippines is Manila with a population of 1,780,000 (2015 census) (including suburbs 12,880,000). Other major cities include Davao City, Cebu, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro City, Parañaque City, Valenzuela City.
The country offers great variety and many contrasts in both nature and culture. What usually attracts tourists are the many beaches and coral reefs as well as beautiful mountain areas with rice terraces.
Filipino cuisine is a blend of East and West with its Chinese, Malay, Spanish and American influences. Rice is the staple item that is served to most dishes. The most common diet for most of the population consists of rice and fish, often grilled. Filipino cuisine is not as spicy as many other Asian cuisines. A distinctive national feature is the preference for an acid-salt flavoring, obtained either by bagoong, a fish paste, or patis, fish sauce; Both varieties are made from yeast fish.
Examples of some standard dishes are adobo (chicken, pork, octopus and vegetables fried in vinegar and garlic), as well as mami (noodle soup made from fish, chicken or meat). Milk products are almost completely lacking in cooking.
AsiaPhilippines
General Information About India
Hotels in Vietnam Part I
India Economics and Business


Lessons Included - Intermittent Fasting and Keto Diet, Intermittent Fasting for Women, Fasting for Weight Loss, and More!
Get science-backed answers to the top 20 questions on intermittent fasting.
The number one guide to intermittent fasting for beginners!
Get ready to change everything you thought you knew about weight loss. In this must-hear guide, diet planning expert Dr. Laura Wilson teaches all you need to know about intermittent fasting for real weight-loss results.
Wouldn't I essentially be starving myself?
Picture a car at the gas station with the nozzle steadily pumping gas into its tank nonstop. Eventually, there will be an overflow which won't do your wallet any good. Your body is a lot similar to that car, in the sense that if you continuously pump it with junk food all day long, there's going to be an overflow in the form of excess weight. The solution? An incredibly amazing technique called Intermittent Fasting (IF), which serves as a capping limiter for all that food, and keeps you at an optimal weight and health as well, in conjunction with minimal levels of exercise.
If you want to be healthy, fit, and hit your goal weight now, simply take a step forward by ordering this book today, and you can start shedding unwanted fat in as little as 30 days!
This is a great, one-stop beginners' guide to intermittent fasting. It is well-written and the explanations are clear and understandable. This book will help you learn and understand more about Intermittent Fasting. This book has a ton of information into the history and science of fasting. This will help you to eliminate those unwanted fats and have the perfect body you always wanted to have. I would recommend this book.
Good book to start fasting.
I like that it gives you several choices so that you can pick what will work best for you. This book will help you learn and understand more about Intermittent Fasting. You will be able to know how it can burn your fats and eliminate those unwanted fats in your body.
This was a good book that answered my basic questions about IF. There is a lot of stuff online but a lot of it is confusing. This book gets right to the point and told me what I wanted to know. The ultimate fasting. Great book.!
This e-book has a ton of statistics into the records and technology of fasting. the writer gives us the seven most famous methods of Intermittent Fasting and explains a way to use it to get higher results from exercising. in this ebook I found lots of helpful statistics about Intermittent Fasting. I notably advocate this e-book. Intermittent fasting!
This is one of the best Intermittent fasting books I have ever read. All the information is laid out in easy to understand terms and gives you all the tools to become healthier. I love this book and want to recommend it to anyone. Many tips and tricks in this book are useful for anyone. A nice cookbook I would recommend it.
The writer gives us the seven most well-known strategies for Intermittent Fasting and discloses how to utilize it to show signs of improvement results from work out. In this book, I discovered heaps of accommodating data about Intermittent Fasting. I exceedingly suggest this book. You will be able to know how it can burn your fats and eliminate those unwanted fats in your body. The language in this book makes the science of weight loss bad body transformation very easy to understand and follow. Highly recommend this book.
This book has been amazingly informative, and super helpful, more than other books I've seen on fasting. I haven't had it for long and thought I understood the healing benefits of fasting, but this book explains SO much more!
This book answered all my questions. It was easy to follow and made so much sense. IF is exactly what I have been needing in my life. It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle you can easily stick with. Want to say big thanks to the author and recommend this book to BUY!
Fasting and Body Building this is what kept my attention, how intermittent fasting and bodybuilding work together, after reading this now, I feel like it has clear my points and understanding about fasting.
This book will help you learn and understand more about Intermittent Fasting. This will help you to eliminate those unwanted fats and have the perfect body you always wanted to have. Be able to create sumptuous dishes that are definitely healthy, delicious and easy to prepare straight from your kitchen. This book will help you learn and understand more about Intermittent Fasting.


text:
Q: Polynomial Interpolation and Degree of the Polynomial I'm currently studying polynomial interpolation through Newton and Lagrange, and I've generated a polynomial approximation function with the following data points:
|  t  |  -1|-0.5 |-0.25|0.25| 0.5|  4|
|f(t) |-637|-96.5|-20.5|20.5|96.5|637|

I've generated the following interpolation polynomial with a degree of 5:
p(x) =−29.8236x5−29.8236x4+ 601.3198x3+ 9.3198x2+ 44.5340x−0.4659
I have plotted it using SciPy, and this is the graph p(x) generates:

Why does that behavior happen from t = 0.5 to t = 4?
Is it due to my polynomial being of a high degree? Should I try curve fitting instead?
EDIT: I inverted the table, as I was considering f(t) as t before.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Clinical empathy is expressed as the skill of understanding what a patient says and feels, and effectively communicating this understanding to the patient. The opposite of clinical empathy is clinical detachment. Detached concern, or clinical detachment, is the ability to distance oneself from the patient in order to serve the patient from an objective standpoint. For physicians to maximize their role as providers, a balance must be developed between clinical detachment and clinical empathy. Recent research suggests that clinical empathy may be cost-effective.

In 2001, an instrument was created to measure a physician's empathy towards each patient. This tool is called the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy. The 20-item questionnaire was originally developed for administration to medical students and physicians but has extended to dentistry and nursing because it is easy to interpret, administer, and analyze.

From a student's first year to their fourth year in medical school, empathy scores on the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (S-version) decrease. Both gender and specialty choice affect empathy scores, favoring women and primary care specialties.

Clinical empathy
Clinical empathy is a main component of the patient-provider relationship. It is seen as a commonly accepted pillar of professionalism for medical students.  Empathy involves both cognitive and affective aspects. The cognitive domain revolves around understanding a patient's experiences and being able to understand the world from their point of view. This contrasts the affective aspect of empathy which involves joining in the patient's emotional experiences and feelings, which correlates closer to sympathy. Empathetic physicians share understanding with patients, which serves to benefit the patient in their physical, mental and social well-being. Both a provider's ability to provide empathetic care as well as a perception of this care by the patient are important in diagnosis and treatment. Developing the ability to understand a patient's thoughts and feelings lends itself to a successful medical interview and collaborative treatment. Practicing empathy in a clinical setting leads to greater patient satisfaction, better compliance, and fewer lawsuits.

Clinical detachment
Clinical detachment is a means of providing objective, detached medical care while maintaining enough concern for the patient to offer emotional understanding. A close patient-provider relationship threatens objectivity, therefore a social distance is expected to ensure professionalism. Students in medical school are taught clinical detachment as a protective mechanism for dealing with emotional experiences such as death and dying. Clinical detachment is also a means of dealing with the pressure of making mistakes and medical uncertainty.  Suppression and repression of emotions, intellectualization, and humor are mechanisms used to confront distressing situations in order to give an objective assessment.

Measurement
Because empathy is a multi-faceted and complex concept, measurement proves to be difficult. Although there are scales to measure empathy such as the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, developed by Davis, the Emotional Empathy Scale, developed by Mehrabian and Epstein, and the Hogan Empathy Scale, they were not created explicitly to measure physician empathy. The Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy was created at the Center for Research in Medical Education and Health Care (CRMEHC) at Jefferson Medical College to measure patient perceptions of empathy from their provider. Construct validity, criterion-related validity, predictive validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability all provide empirical support for the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy. The scale was originally intended for distribution to medical students and physicians. Since its creation, it has been translated into 53 languages and applied to other medical professions such as dentistry and nursing. Three versions of the scale now exist, one for medical students (S-version), one for health professions (HP-version), and one for health professions students (HPS-version). Results of the 20 item questionnaire provide that higher scores are related to higher levels of empathy in interpersonal care.

Role in medical education
Medical students' first experience with a patient is often with a cadaver in a gross anatomy course. Working intimately with a cadaver during a gross anatomy course captures the essence of the patient-provider relationship. Cadaver dissection is a challenging emotional and mental experience. Involvement, emotional coping, and ability are three themes that develop during the dissection experience. Medical students in a gross anatomy course may experience mixed emotions and variable reactions to cadaver dissection. Students who view their donor as a scientific specimen are less opposed to dissection, whereas students who view their donor as a former living person face greater difficulty with dissection and foster feelings of empathy towards the cadaver. Because of the emotional impact of dissection, students may develop detached concern to cope with these feelings.

In western countries, medical education emphasizes a "body as first patient" philosophy for dissection. This anonymizes cadavers which fosters a different relationship than in eastern countries. Many eastern countries adopt a mindset of donor as "first teacher". For example, in Thailand, students are encouraged to develop a personal relationship with their donors. The students are instructed to view their donors with the highest honor and view the cadavers as a "great teacher". This intention allows medical students to form a relationship that is familiar to them, one of a teacher and student, as opposed to approaching their donor as a doctor, a practice that new and unfamiliar to students. Although eastern and western countries handle cadaver relationships differently, it can be generalized that gross anatomy courses offer an opportunity for students to examine their feelings on life, death, and dying. These courses also promote development of coping strategies for stressful situations.

Over the course of medical education, males and females differ in their attitudes and execution of empathetic treatment. Students entering people-oriented specialties such as family medicine, general internal medicine, and other primary care specialties have higher scores on the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy, whereas students entering technology-oriented specialties such as pathology, radiology, and anesthesiology score lower on empathy. Female students are more likely to enter people-oriented specialties whereas men are more likely to enter technology-oriented specialties. Female students score higher than male students on the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy across all years of medical school education. Female students also have a greater likelihood than men to disagree with a need for detached concern in order to provide the best medical treatment.

Several studies have indicated that clinical empathy may decline in students during medical school, with a change even being observed from the start to the end of first year. If this is the case, there could be negative consequences, as it is feared that a reduction in empathy may affect professionalism and quality of care.

While the exact causes of this decline in empathy have not been fully explored, certain studies have put forward theories. The decrease may be due to the medical curriculum which may cause students to develop more of a scientific instead of a holistic approach to medicine.). Another reason may be that the prospect of both wanting to perform well and maintain a caring attitude with patients at all times may be overwhelming and cause anxiety in students. Consequently, to counteract this, students may be more likely to prioritise their performance in medical school, rather than maintaining a caring demeanour. Similarly, it has also been suggested that as the pressure to obtain medical knowledge increases throughout medical school, students become more worried about retaining this knowledge alongside having to remain empathetic and caring towards patients. Students are more likely to lose their empathic qualities as compensation to allow them to still feel as though they are capable of learning all of the information they are required to. Furthermore, as students' progress through medical school, they may be more likely to dehumanise patients to protect themselves from feelings of distress as they encounter increasingly challenging patients. As a result their empathy for patients may suffer.

Maintenance
Many methods have been put forward which aim to maintain the empathy of healthcare students and professionals with varying success. Interventions have included medical humanities and creative arts around a patient narrative, writing interventions including creative writing and blogging, drama, formal communication and inter-personal skills training and problem based learning.

References

Interpersonal relationships
Medical education

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Cheltenham company awarded R&D voucher to innovate, develop & grow
The Victorian Coalition Government has awarded Clarinox Technologies Pty Ltd of Cheltenham a $17,200 Business Research & Development Voucher to help it develop its innovative wireless software.
The Member for Sandringham, Murray Thompson today congratulated the wireless solutions business for its success in winning a Business R&D Voucher under the Victorian Government's Innovation Voucher Program.
"Clarinox will use the voucher to work with interns through the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute Interns (AMSI Interns) organisation to test and improve its new functional software product that allows instructions to be coded into embedded wireless systems to enable the 'Internet of Things, "Mr Thompson said.
"Market demand for wireless electronics is increasing across all industry sectors and as the number of applications and technologies increases so too does the complexity of the design of the wireless electronics 'inside the box'.
"The Business R&D voucher will help Clarinox close the gap between the design tools available to engineers and what they require to rapidly develop robust and functional wireless electronics."
Clarinox is among the latest group of Victorian companies to receive a Business R&D Voucher worth up to $25,000 under the Victorian Government's $5.5 million Innovation Voucher Program.
Minister for Innovation, Louise Asher, said the Innovation Voucher Program was designed to encourage business-to-business and business-to-research collaborations to take advantage of Victoria's world-class research and development capabilities to explore new ways to improve their productivity and competitiveness.
"The vouchers fund access to specialised R&D solutions to push development projects toward real commercial outcomes," she said.
"The Innovation Voucher Program has now provided Business R&D Vouchers to more than 150 Victorian companies over two years to help them innovate and take forward their most important projects for the future.
"Recipients of these latest vouchers are working on exciting new products, processes and services with R&D suppliers that will generate ongoing benefits for the companies and contribute to Victorian prosperity."
Applications for the Innovation Voucher Program are open continuously, enabling businesses to address innovation challenges or opportunities as they arise.


MAPUSA: The famous five-day jatra of Lord Bodgeshwar began with religious fervor in Mapusa on Sunday.
The zatra of Lord Bodgeshwar is considered as the guardian of Mapusa and is attended by people of all faiths. The authorities have made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of the festival. Thousands of devotees flocked the temple to take blessings of Lord Bodgeshwar. This year is the 84th annual jatrotsav of Lord Bodgeshwar and the temple committee has built a new well. A big locker facility has been purchased. A turban made out of silver was offered to Lord Bodgeshwar. The tourism department has installed a highmast at the venue.
On Sunday afternoon the main jatrotsav of Lord Bodgeshwar began with offering of fruits and flowers by the police, fire department, CID and other organisations. The huge fair which is one of the main attractions is spread across the fields in front of the temple.
On Saturday there was a celebration of the 26th installation of Lord Bodgeshwar wherein 51 couples performed kalash puja.
From Monday onwards various organisations such as temple committees, pickup rickshaw associations, fish vendors, drivers association, Mapusa municipality and vegetable vendors will perform 'satya Narayan puja' till Saturday. Following the trend started from last year the temple committee has decided to have a plastic and dust free jatra this year.


text:
USPS Honors Beloved Children's Book With New 'Snowy Day' Stamps
If you went to the post office this past week, you might have noticed something new - a forever stamp collection featuring illustrations from the children's book "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Reading) One winter morning, Peter woke up and looked out the window. Snow had fallen during the night. It covered everything as far as he could see.
MARTIN: When "The Snowy Day" was published in 1962, it made history thanks to the protagonist.
ANDREA DAVIS PINKNEY: That adorable child, Peter, the African-American boy in that gorgeous red snowsuit.
MARTIN: That's a children's book author Andrea Davis Pinkney. One of her books, "A Poem For Peter," is about Ezra Jack Keats and the significance of "The Snowy Day."
PINKNEY: It was the first mainstream book to feature an African-American child who was doing something that was universally joyful, and that is, simply enjoying a day in the snow.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Reading) Crunch, crunch, crunch, his feet sank into the snow. He walked with his toes pointing out like this. He walked with his toes pointing in like that.
PINKNEY: I loved "The Snowy Day." In fact, I probably slept with that book because that's how much comfort it brought me. It made me feel so happy. And I still feel that way today. It just brings such comfort and joy in what is now a very complex world.
MARTIN: The world was complex back when "The Snowy Day" first came out, too.
DEBORAH POPE: This was a time of ferment in this country. It was a time of social change. It was growing - height of the civil rights movement.
MARTIN: Deborah Pope is the executive director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. She says that even though the book had a big social impact, that was not the author's intention.
POPE: He was thinking about the fact that in all the books he had ever illustrated, he had never seen any African-American children. And yet, they were everywhere around him. And so he determined he would write a book that featured an African-American child because it should be visible.
MARTIN: And with these stamps, Peter will have another opportunity to share feelings of joy and community even in an age of texting and emails. Once again, Andrea Davis Pinkney.
PINKNEY: I love the idea that Peter on a stamp is going to be the transmitter of love letters, of cards, of good wishes. And I think that is also the power of "The Snowy Day" stamps with Peter on the front.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Reading) The snow was still everywhere. New snow was falling. After breakfast, he called to his friend from across the hall, and they went out together into the deep, deep snow.
MARTIN: "The Snowy Day" stamps are available now.
[POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: The author of The Snowy Day was previously misidentified as Jack Ezra Keats. His name is in fact Ezra Jack Keats.] Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
Corrected: October 7, 2017 at 11:00 PM CDT
The author of The Snowy Day was previously misidentified as Jack Ezra Keats. His name is in fact Ezra Jack Keats.
All Things ConsideredAll Things Considered
15 wishes for 2023: Trailblazers tell how they'd make life on Earth a bit better
New leader of Texas' foster care system welcomed in court, but old problems persist
El condado de Bexar compra un suministro de 20 meses de un fármaco para revertir la sobredosis de opioides para los agentes


This is a proud moment for all of us as we are now launching our own site on web world. It is a big achievement for all of us. We are all working in the mofussil area. Our organization's area of operation is much wider considering the geographical situation. But we have to stand united every time not only for our own goals but for welfare of society as well. Our great predecessors gave us a path to walk on. We have to further expand it in our own way. Friends this is a small step towards our endless journey of achieving knowledge in our field. The skills and knowledge never be achieved fully, it is a continuous process. We try to sharpen our knowledge and skills by various ways.
There was a historical change in indirect tax system with introduction of new GST Laws. The law implementation is in its initial stage and there are day to day changes and updates in the law. We have to keep ourselves up to date with these changes. It is very cumbersome process as we are already very busy in our own schedule of our practice.
This website will definitely help us to upgrade our knowledge and skills. Due to this website we can get the various important updates regarding various changes in Laws which we learnt for our professional needs. It will be very easy for all of us to communicate with each other from our own offices. This website will definitely facilitate our members to obtain, share and improve our knowledge. It will also facilitate new members to join our organization. It will facilitate all of us to pay the membership fees through the web.
We have started our journey one year back with full of hopes and promises. We as association try to achieve our dreams through hard work and sincere efforts. I on this precious moment congratulate all my team and members of association and assure you that we will all walk together on our path of knowledge and prosperity.


text:
The Power of Positive Thinking: How to Manifest Your Desires through the Law of Attraction
Publish on January 1, 2023 January 1, 2023 By Janelle Nightingale
Manifesting money and success involves setting specific goals and taking action to achieve them. Here
The Power of Gratitude: How Practicing Appreciation Can Transform Your Life
Publish on December 28, 2022 December 28, 2022 By Janelle Nightingale
Gratitude is the practice of feeling and expressing appreciation and thanks for the things we


NEW 225g resealable bag! Treat length now approx. 4cm. Suitable for puppies over 8 weeks old and adult dogs who deserve a healthy treat!
NEW 225g resealable bag! Treat length now approx. 4cm. Suitable for puppies over 8 weeks old and adult dogs with sensitive digestion or skin.
NEW 225g resealable bag! Treat length now approx. 4cm. Suitable for puppies over 8 weeks old and adult dogs with sensitive tummies who still deserve a healthy treat!
Arden Grange Weaning/Puppy is a complete dog food specially formulated for small/medium & weaning puppies. Arden Grange Weaning/Puppy, rich in fresh chicken is an easily digestible, extremely palatable fresh chicken based food, containing the concentrated calories, vitamins and minerals that puppies need at this all important, rapid growth stage.
A complete food for small and medium breed puppies from 2 months of age.
Formulated to suite the higher growth rate of small to medium puppies. Focus on ensuring they get all they need for best development in the short growth period small to medium breed have as they matures to adulthood in the age of 8-12 months.
Formulated with prebiotic for optimal digestion and glucosamine, MSM and chondroitin to ensure all joints are properly supported for a healthy and steady growth.
Made with fresh chicken and rice has been specially formulated to meet the specific nutritional requirements of a puppies of larger dog breeds. It can also be fed to smaller breed puppies who prefer a larger kibble size, have a large appetite or who have a higher food requirement for joint protection, like dachshund, german shepherd.
Large and giant breed puppies who are younger than 8 weeks of age if mother is not producing milk enough and transition to solids earlier is requested.
Suitable for: Large Breed Puppies between 2 to 15 months, Giant Breed Puppies aged 2 to 18 months.
Ideal adult maintenance feed for pet dogs or those in light work. Suitable for most breeds of adult dogs regardless of size. Small breeds should change to adult food around 10-12 months, Medium sizes dogs around 12-15 month and large breeds after 15-18 month. For Giant breeds like Mastiff, Bernese Mountain, Leonberger should change only after 18-24 months.
A complete food for all breeds of dog with a normal activity level; an easily digestible alternative to chicken recipes. It contains meadow reared lamb as the primary ingredient which is great for dogs requiring a delicious and digestible alternative to chicken.
Arden Grange Adult Dog rich in fresh salmon and rice for adult dogs is a highly digestible food specially formulated to meet the nutritional requirements of adult dogs and is especially good for dogs with sensitive skin or digestive systems. All Arden Grange products are hypoallergenic and free from wheat gluten, dairy products, beef and soya.
They contain no artificial colourings, flavourings or preservatives. Feeding Arden Grange reduces the risk of dietary intolerances and allergies that can cause digestive disorders and skin disorders.
Arden Grange Mini Adult with Fresh Chicken & Rice is recommended for small and medium breed adult dogs with a normal activity level. Superior formula for fuzzy small breeds. Complete dry food for small and medium breeds.
Arden Grange adult mini lamb and rice is rich in lamb and rice and provides wholesome, gentle nutrition and smaller kibble perfectly suited for all toy and small breed dogs. Offering a complete food for smaller breed dogs with a normal activity level and an easily digestible alternative to chicken flavor food.
Full of tantalizing flavours the Arden Grange Chicken & Rice Large Breed Adult Dog Food is specially formulated to meet the needs of your large breed dog who unlike small animals require high levels of glucosamine for their joints.
Specially formulated to be used as a part of a weight-reduction program under the guidance of your veterinary surgeon or to help maintain a healthy weight in dogs prone to weight gain.
It is also a hypoallergenic diet, and free from the main ingredients known to provoke allergies or intolerances in dogs – wheat gluten, beef, soya and dairy products.
The delicious yet nourishing Arden Grange Sensitive Adult Dog Food is gentle on your dog's digestion without neglecting flavour. Providing a complete and balanced diet of vitamins and minerals the recipe is made with ocean white fish as the main source of protein which containing omega 3 and omega 6 helps alleviate inflammation and suppress adverse immune reactions.
Arden Grange Adult Performance Dog with Chicken is a complete, super premium pet food for active or working adult dogs.
It contains potent natural antioxidants and supplements including quercitin, grape seed extract and green tea. These help to protect your pet and prevent wear and tear by inhibiting the action of destructive free radicals released during stress or strenuous exercise.
Maize/corn free recipe for dogs with an allergy or intolerance to this ingredient.
Arden Grange Senior with fresh chicken and rice has been specially formulated by leading nutritional experts to provide the correct balance of proteins, carbohydrates, essential fatty acids, fats, minerals and vitamins to meet the nutritional requirements of older dogs.
Feeding Arden Grange reduces the risk of dietary intolerances and allergies that can cause digestive disorders and skin complaints. Feeding recommendations: Arden Grange SENIOR with fresh chicken and rice may be fed to adult dogs from the age of 7 years or as required.
NEW 225g resealable bag! Treat length now approx. 4cm. Suitable for adult dogs on a calorie controlled diet or with a less active lifestyle who deserve a healthy treat!
Delicious combination of nourishing goodness.
Suitable for dogs from 9 months the wholesome and complete diet of vitamins and minerals which provides your dog with the foundations of health and well-being is a succulent way to keep them engaged at meal time.
The succulent mix of lamb, rice and veggies will keep your dog enticed every meal time.
Suitable from 9 months the wholesome and complete recipe provides your dog with a complete balance of vitamins and minerals so that they are full of the goodness they need to bounce through life.
Natural hypoallergenic dog food with no artificial colourings, flavourings, preservatives, dairy or soya products. Gentle and easily digestible formula that may help prevent potential allergic reactions.
High levels of fresh, whitefish provide an extremely nutritious source of protein to aid muscle development and satisfy even the fussiest eater.
Completely wheat and wheat-gluten free.
Cereal free, nutritionally complete food for kittens from 5 weeks old as well as pregnant or nursing mums. The special kitten recipe is densely packed with calories and protein to allow for smaller portions whilst meeting the demanding requirements of growing kittens.
Nutritionally complete, cereal and grain free hypoallergenic food for adult cats, ideal diet for normally active adult cats. Generously filled with fresh chicken providing a highly digestible source of protein and a delicious meal for fussy eaters.
This recipe is free from grains and cereals to more closely reflect a cat's natural diet, while providing the balanced nutrition required for our domesticated feline friends.
Grain free recipe - is a complete, super premium pet food for normally active adult cats, especially those who would benefit from extra skin and coat support. It contains lots of fresh salmon which is a delicious and highly digestible source of protein and naturally high in essential Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids.
Ideal for both adult & senior cats prone to putting on weight. Nutritionally complete food for both grain and cereal free to better reflect a cat's natural diet, A low-fat, low calorie food, ethically made from human grade chicken that isn't sourced from battery farms, and free from by-products and GM ingredients so you can be sure your feline friend is only getting the very best.
Gentle diet contains ocean white fish for maximum digestibility and low allergenicity and is naturally higher in Omega 3 and 6 essential fatty acids than standard diets. A complete food for all breeds of adult cat with a normal activity level. Also ideal for cats with particularly sensitive skins or stomachs, or who require a diet free from cereals and grains.
Grain and cereal free formula to more closely reflect a cat's natural diet, while providing the balanced nutrition required for our domesticated feline friends.
Suitable for adult dogs with a higher requirement for calories or very high activity level.
A complete nourishment for puppies with particularly sensitive skin or digestive system. This formula includes ocean white fish as a digestible source of protein which is naturally high in omega-3 essential fatty acids and excludes grains and cereals. It supplies ideal balance of vitamins and minerals to support your dog's health and development.
A complete nourishment for older or overweight dogs with particularly sensitive skin or digestive system. This formula includes ocean white fish as a digestible source of protein which is naturally high in omega-3 essential fatty acids and excludes grains and cereals. It supplies ideal balance of vitamins and minerals to support your dog's health and development.
SAVE 50% - A highly concentrated soft formula designed for puppies to help them make a nutritious transition from their mother's milk to solid foods.


Let's start with the bad. This campground is located right between cell towers. If you have Verizon and need a constant cell connection, go further west to the Cascade RV Park in Parkwood. There the cell tower is directly across the street. Here, the signal tends to fade in and out. A cell phone booster was not help. The MiMo antenna helped marginally.
The entry to the campground is not clearly marked. DO NOT turn down Young Street. Yes, that is the address, but it does not have the entrance. There is a large privet hedge between the campground and Highway 12. You can either get in via a driveway at the west edge of the campground/privet hedge or an entry in the center of the privet hedge. When you pull in the center driveway, there is a large sign on the office advertising horse blanket repairs. You have found the place.
The campground is cash only. They will take Passport America. We paid $20 per night for 50 amps and water. There is an additional $5 charge to use the dump station.
The owners (Clifford and Janice) are nice, their granddaughter is the manager. We primarily dealt with the owners since we arrived during the week. The granddaughter was around on the weekend. Clifford has a huge garden on the property and sells delicious sweet corn. I was given some cucumbers for free when we arrived. And Clifford drove around in his cart one evening giving away Bartlett Pears. Room service!!!
The office and the rest of the facilities are in need of some sprucing up. Laundry was $1.50 each for washer and dryer. The laundry room was in need of a thorough cleaning. I didn't want to linger in there. I didn't check out the rest rooms.
There is definitely no over-the-air TV. There is no WiFi. You do get some road noise from Highway 12.
We enjoyed our week in the mountains, but the cell phone coverage fading in and out frustrated us. Next time we would stay in Packwood.
about Shady Firs RV Park?


text:
Created by Illumedia & Datart Webdesign
DLC - an official fanclub
Squad news
Liga Table
Stats / Ratings
Depor B / Fabril
Depor Ladies
DLConnected / Matches
The injury room
Training 2019/20, week 01
DLCommunity
International Peña fanclub
DLC us
Contact / Site Team
Q&A WITH TOCHÉ
Murcian player Toché offered an interview to papers La Voz de Galicia and AS; the striker talked of his first month at Depor and his expectations for the rest of the season. The following is a summary of both interviews.
Q: In Alcorcón you played as a starter for the first time. How did you feel and how did you see the team?
A: The game was complicated, it was a small field. Neither we played in offense, but the team fulfilled the important part: to get the three points. The pretty style will be found slowly. I only had a few opportunities. It depends a lot on the final pass. I didn't find it, but hopefully the passes and the game will arrive.
Q: The issue of the game has been hard.
A: Well, the team is among the few at Segunda that play with the ball at the feet, seeking the ball possession. To start with a score that was against us has conditioned the games. The pretty style will come later, but in this league the most important thing is the three points, even if you play badly. Furthermore, the rivals are motivated against Deportivo. We must know that we are the team to beat and must act accordingly. The promotion cannot escape.
Q: You barely had chances
A: I need crosses, drilling passes. I am not the kind of player that can beat three rivals. Last Sunday was more a game of vertical passes. Hopefully we will find the formula to get more chances, because I prefer to fail the opportunities rather to not have them.
Q: You are a representative of the increasing migration of players, even to theoretically lower leagues. Why this frightened escape?
A: The titles of the national team have been good to us. The first and second divisions aren't economically as they were before and that forces us to have a more open mind at the moment of leaving. Everything has changed and there are countries that are betting big on football. Neither helps the issue of taxes. When you pay so much it is worthy seeking life elsewhere. Nobody goes out just to get worse. If people are going out it is with the idea of improving. I was right. I enjoyed two good years.
Q: You already are 30, what's the plan?
A: I want to prolong my career to the fullest extent, but in the end football is the one that kicks you out. You don't decide. If you get to an age where you don't have offers, then the best is to turn away. I don't pretend to be 38 playing at Segunda B. I want to be in professional football as much as possible and then stay tied to the sport. I have completed the coaching course and don't know if I will use it, but I would try to teach based on what I've learned, and if not, then something else. Life goes on and we finish our careers very young, so you need to enjoy the weekends, holidays...
You have spent here a month, what has called your attention at Depor?
A: The number of people that's moved by the feeling, and the sporting city. The team mates, the one that has surprised me the most is Juan Dominguez. He has a lot of quality. Although others like Insua have a promising career. There's a great squad.
Q: The signing of Sissoko has generated some skepticism. What can you say about the Ivorian player?
A: I can only say that Depor has signed a great player. It's a sure bet. He has a great desire to play the World Cup. He has spent the last two weeks training on the morning and the evening.
Q: Were you involved on his arrival?
A: Nothing. They neither asked me. And since I only had his Greek phone, neither I talked to him until he landed on here.
Q: With you on here, it seems that Luis and Borja are now in the background. The second has already heard the whistles at the stands, and the first was dropped from the list for the first time.
A: I knew Borja before and also know his father. We will support each other and competition will be good. The whistles don't benefit Borja, neither the team nor the fans. I think that during the match the fan has to encourage and then obviously they can make the judgment they want. Hopefully Borja will score as soon as possible because what I've always liked is a man that scores goal. And Luis was going out of an injury. We all are going to pass through the bench and the stands. It's a blessed competition.
Q: You already scored twice. Not bad...
A: I've had a good start considering the time I've been stopped. We have a good team and the target is to try to score a good number of goals in order to clinch the permanence.
Q: It was during the season 2005-06 when you played for Hércules. What remains of that Toché?
A: I remember with fondness that experience. It's really been a long time since I was quite young and was loaned by Atlético. I've changed a lot and have matured. For me, all experiences are positive, but the year in Hercules helped me to get back into shape and gain confidence as I arrived there after breaking my cruciate ligament.
Q: Are you surprised to see Hercules so down?
A: Yes I am surprised as they have players with quality and experience. I know the team, because I have good friends on that squad. It's hard to understand that Eibar are the leaders and later to see Hercules so down. Segunda is unpredictable, but I'm convinced that Hércules will fight for the playoff, because they've enough squad for it. I hope it succeeds.
Q: What friends do you have there?
A: Juanma Ortiz is like a brother to me. We were together at the residence of Atlético and lived together. We debuted almost simultaneously. He's a physical marvel; he still has a lot to give and is a nuisance to any player having to face him. He's a luxury guy.
Q: On Sunday, you will be facing the worst defense. Are you rubbing hands?
A: I didn't know it, I just found out. The statistics aren't helpful, but hopefully I can score. Any team can beat you in this league. Sunday's game will be a meeting between two solid squads.
Q: Surely you will sign the direct promotion of Depor and the playoff round for Hércules...
A: I wish it could be fulfilled. I also have a good relationship with Enrique Ortiz and Botella, besides the fans treated me very well. There is no better team than Hércules for your best wishes.
ARCHIVE NEWS MAR/14
TACTICS: VAZQUEZ'S EXPERIMENTS
Q&A WITH RABELLO


text:
Q: javascript delay between adding text to a div I want to use Javascript to add a text to a html element (such as the p tag) 15 times and it must wait one second every time it adds the text.
I tried some ways and didn't get the proper result. It adds all 15 texts after 15 seconds.
What should I do? Please help me.

A: var i = 0;
var element = document.getElementById("mydiv");
var interval = setInterval(function(){
         if(i <= 14){
              element.innerHTML += "sometext";
              }else{
            clearInterval(interval);
           }
        i++;
 },1000);

A: This is a functional approach using setTimeout
function addText(text,total) {
    setTimeout(function() {
        total--;
        if(total == 0) {
         return true;
        }
       addText(text,total);
    },1000);

    document.getElementById('myDiv').innerHTML += text;
}

Usage:
addText("sometext",15);

Working fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/HNpQp/1/

A: var i = 0;
var element = document.getElementById("mydiv");

var interval = setInterval(function(){
     if(i <= 14){
          element.innerHTML += "sometext";
          }else{
        clearInterval(interval);
       }
    i++;

 },1000);

innerHTML is not a method


text:
Q: How to create a deployable in rails like [war in java] Hi i am new to ruby on rails
I am from java platform
I want to deploy a rails application on thin server.
Que : what is the deployable output for rails app ? How to create a deployable in rails like [war in java]

A: Ruby does not have packed executable files. A ruby app consists of many *.rb files that are compiled by the ruby vm/interpreter at runtime. The easiest deployment is to just copy the project as is to the server. There are however some deployment gems, that make your life easier. Take a look at capistrano or vlad. Here is a simple tutorial for capistrano: http://guides.beanstalkapp.com/deployments/deploy-with-capistrano.html

A: you might want to look into warbler <- this is what we use for production. Warbler will package your project as a WAR file which you can then deploy on a web server.
I cannot speak to the other suggestions, however I am sure they are also valid :) I have just never used them. I have never had an issue using warbler (http://caldersphere.rubyforge.org/warbler/). It comes as a gem which you just need to install (gem install warbler) and then you can add warbler to your rake tasks:
In lib/tasks create warbler.rake file:
begin
  require 'warbler'
  Warbler::Task.new
rescue LoadError
  # not installed
end

Then you can run something like rake war and warbler should create a war file for you. If you don't like the warbler defaults, you can also specify your own config file to specify how the ruby files get packaged.


Mark Shulzhitskiy is the first winner of GT Academy Russia. After taking the top prize in August 2012 Mark joined Nissan's intensive driver development programme where he honed his racing skills and took part in many domestic races in order to gain his international race licence. The GT Academy graduates may not have come through the traditional racing ladder but they serve their apprenticeship at some cold and wet race tracks during the development programme!
Mark's prize for winning GT Academy was a drive at the Dubai 24 Hours in January 2013 and it soon became apparent that all of his hard work on the driver development programme had turned him into a good professional racing driver. Along with his team mates Lucas Ordonez, Wolfgang Reip and fellow Russian Roman Rusinov, Mark raced to a commendable second place in class on his international debut.
Mark was then selected to become a NISMO Athlete and race a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 car in the FIA GT and Blancpain Endurance Series. Just three races into the Blancpain season Mark scored his first podium finish with a brilliant second place at Paul Ricard.
2013 was also the year that Nissan launched the Nismo Global Driver Exchange, a programme that gives Nissan's roster of racing drivers opportunities to race all over the world. Mark's first exchange drive was the MMER 12-hour race at the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur and he also made his LMP2 debut at the Shanghai round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.


text:
Q: Is the "Uniqueness Property" of Affine Spaces an Axiom? According to the wikipedia on Affine Spaces, an Affine Space $A$ is defined as an underlying set $A$ alongside a vector space $\vec{A}$ with right group action (free, transitive) $+$ of $\vec{A}$ on $A$.
After laying out this definition, wikipedia states:

The uniqueness property allows us to define the subtraction of any two $a$ and $b$ of $A$, producing a vector of $$\overrightarrow{A}.$$ This vector, denoted
$$b - a,$$
or
$$ \overrightarrow{ab},$$
is the unique vector in $\overrightarrow{A}$ such that $ a + (b - a) = b$ (equivalently, $a+\overrightarrow{ab}=b$).
This subtraction has the two following properties, called Hermann Weyl's axioms.

*

*$ \forall a \in A,\; \forall v\in \overrightarrow{A},$ there is a unique point $ b \in A$ such that $ b-a = v$  (equivalently, $\overrightarrow{ab}=v$), and

*$ \forall a,b,c \in A,\; (c - b)+ (b - a)  = c - a$ (equivalently, $\overrightarrow{ab} + \overrightarrow{bc} = \overrightarrow{ac}$).

Question: Is the "uniqueness property" an additional axiom that Affine Spaces must satisfy, or does it somehow follow from its definition?

A: The uniqueness property follows from the fact that for any $a \in A$, the map $\vec{A} \to A$, $v \mapsto a + v$ is a bijection. If $a, b \in A$, the vector $\vec{ab}$ is defined as the inverse image of $b$ under such function.


text:
by James Keith La Croix
Footsteps in the Fog: Alfred Hitchcock's San Francisco puts its focus in its title. Authors Jeff Kraft and Aaron Leventhal zoom in on three films by the Master of Suspense that feature the Bay Area — Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Vertigo (1958) and The Birds (1963) — and a half-dozen of those (from Rebecca to his last, Family Plot) where its sites acted as stand-ins or models for other locations (from Monte Carlo and the English countryside to Cuba).
"I'll always think of this lovely town. It's a place of hospitality, kindness, and homes," Shadow of a Doubt's urbane villain, Uncle Charlie, muses. He could have been singing the praises of Santa Rosa, the director's choice as an ironic foil to Charlie's character. Like the setting of Shadow screenwriter Thornton Wilder's famous play Our Town, this "lovely" community is that all-American fantasy, a place of civic and domestic decency. But the ever-ironic Hitchcock unfolded an insidious horror show on Santa Rosa's well-policed streets and in its prim parlors more than 40 years before director David Lynch would pull off a more surreal version of the same trick in Blue Velvet's fictional Lumberton.
Kraft and Leventhal's approach to this picture shows their method. After opening the historical, cinematic and Hitchcockian contexts of the film, they synopsize and practically put every single location shoot under their microscopic gaze. They offer precise locations gleaned from studio documents or their own research — including the history and current state of each site — and illustrate it all with their own maps and photographs, and with studio production stills. Footsteps in the Fog is exhaustive to the point of being exhausting to all but the most dedicated or fanatic Hitchcock connoisseur or student.
The portrait that develops from hundreds of pages filled with details is of a master director who was at least as obsessed with minutiae as the authors are. Kraft and Leventhal reveal how even Hitchcock's studio shots were based on meticulous research, not unlike their own. From the cityscape backdrop of Midge's apartment set in Vertigo, they deduce an actual address for her "upscale artist's studio," placing it on top of San Francisco's high-toned Telegraph Hill. They then show that when the movie's anti-hero, Scottie, drives there, he perfectly conforms to a geography that may not be of our San Francisco, but that is consistently Vertigo's.
Kraft and Leventhal highlight how Hitchcock's geographic references are revealed in dialogue as well as images. When The Birds' troubled, jet-set heroine, Melanie, leaves a pair of caged love birds outside of hero Mitch's San Francisco apartment, a "nosy neighbor" gives her accurate directions to his weekend residence in Bodega Bay: "an hour and a half by freeway or two hours if you take the coast highway." The authors even include the denial by the Division of Highways of the director's request to stop traffic on Highway 1, causing him to shoot on Bay Hill Road instead.
According to Footsteps, this is but one of the stumbling blocks Hitchcock faced. The book also reprints a newspaper article from The Carmel Pine Cone that calls his Rebecca crew's alteration of Monterey's Point Lobos coast (as a stand in for Monte Carlo's) "an outrage." The crew suffered "severe cases of poison ivy," but for their troubles they helped earn the director his only Academy Award for Best Picture.
"Hitchcock was a master of composing visually dramatic shots, tying the geographic characteristics of the location to the setting and plot," Kraft and Leventhal write. The director didn't invent location shooting, but he did invent a new role for the settings of his films by making them more than backgrounds with the occasional stroke of local color. His locations are mega-characters that may be at least as expressive as some of his actors.
Footsteps in the Fog may be the ideal book for anyone who has ever wanted to retrace the master's steps around the Bay Area.
James Keith La Croix writes about film for Metro Times. E-mail letters@metrotimes.com.
The Scene Arts


text:
US retail giant Sears seeks liquidation, reports say
Previous postWhen is Divorce Day and why do some relationships break down in January? - The Sun
4 tips that you should follow to have a friendly divorceNext post
Sears, the US department store chain that once dominated US shopping malls, may be getting a reprieve.
The firm had been expected to ask a bankruptcy judge for permission to liquidate after failing to reach a deal with chairman Edward Lampert over a $4.4bn (£3.5bn) takeover.
But after last minute negotiations, the firm said on Tuesday it would consider a revised offer from Mr Lampert, which would keep about 425 stores open.
The court must still approve the deal.
Sears did not disclose details of Mr Lampert's new bid, which it will decide whether or not to accept at an auction planned for 14 January.
To proceed, Mr Lampert must submit a deposit of about $120m tomorrow.
Sears Holdings – which also owns Kmart – first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October, seeking court protection to reorganise its debts or sell parts of the business.
The 126-year-old firm had almost 690 stores and 68,000 employees when it filed for bankruptcy.
Should liquidation go ahead, many of those would lose their jobs.
However, retail analysts say some parts of the business could be salvaged from any liquidation, such as its home services unit.
In a tweet on Monday, the firm's social media team said: "We may be slowing down, but we are not out of the race just yet. Don't count us completely out. Happy Shopping!"
Media captionSears struggles for shopping relevancy
Sears traces its origins to a firm founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in 1886 as a mail order catalogue company.
It opened its first retail locations in 1925 and eventually became a fixture in shopping malls across the US.
It was America's largest retailer by revenue until 1989, when Walmart overtook it,
In recent years, the company has suffered, along with many other traditional retailers, from rising online competition from firms such as Amazon.
Mr Lampert is the company's former chief executive, its landlord, and biggest investor and creditor. His hedge fund, ESL Investments, took a stake in Sears in 2004, later combining it with Kmart.
Critics say the firm, under his leadership, failed to invest in its stores, while taking on rising debt.
Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, said: "Reports of Sears headed to liquidation suggest that the much-storied retailer is now at the end of its long road to collapse.
"Its recent journey to this point has been characterised by incredibly poor strategic decisions, chronic underinvestment and continuous financial machinations designed to keep the company afloat.
"All of this impacted trading, which has remained dire, making Sears more like a patient in a coma than a fully functioning retailer."
Sears became irrelevant
By Samira Hussain, BBC New York business correspondent:
Many stores have come and gone but the demise of a former titan like Sears, signals the end of an era in retail.
When my family needed a new appliance, we would head to Sears. I remember running through the huge store with my brother as my parents looked at new refrigerators or washing machines or vacuum cleaners.
When I got older, I would head to Sears to buy presents from my mum. (The toaster went down badly but the bottle of Chanel No 5 was a hit).
But ask me now when was the last time I walked into a Sears store, and I really couldn't say. Part of the problem is the storied retailer did not keep up with the competition – and not just online competitors such as Amazon, but even bricks and mortar stores such as Walmart and Target.
After 126 years, it's sad to see the once-mighty Sears become irrelevant. But that's capitalism.
The rise and fall of Sears
1893: Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck start a new mail order business named Sears, Roebuck and Co.
1925: Sears opens its first retail store in Chicago.
1973: Sears' new headquarters tower – the world's tallest building at the time – opens in Chicago.
1989: Walmart surpasses Sears in monthly sales.
2004: Eddie Lampert's hedge fund, ESL Investments, takes a stake in Sears, later combining it with Kmart.
2006: The firm starts an uninterrupted streak of annual sales declines.
2018: The firm starts bankruptcy proceedings.


text:
The silicone has many excellent characteristics and functions. But silicone belongs to the production of synthetic raw materials, the different proportion of ingredients in the materials will have a different functional effect, and what reasons for the aging in silicone rubber products? Following are some reasons for aging in silicone cases.
Contact medium aging
Exposure to moisture in the air, or other conditions, such as the external insulation of electrical power systems, in salt-contaminated areas, is extremely susceptible to salt spray, therefore, it is necessary to study the aging performance under this condition. In addition, some silicone rubber products which come into contact with oil are tested to improve their oil resistance.
The aging of silicone rubber under different kinds of oil is due to the mechanical damage of aging on one hand, and on the other is the degradation of cross-linking system, which results in low molecular weight materials. The presence of fluid can reduce the coefficient of friction, but it can also accelerate the chemical degradation of the silicone rubber, thus accelerating wear.
Thermal oxidative aging
Natural rubber (NR) for capacitor seals, EPM, EPDM, Styrene-butadiene, butyl rubber, silicone rubber (NVQ), and so on, are all of these forms of thermal-oxidative aging during use. NR containing a lot of unsaturated double bonds, under the combined action of heat and oxygen, the VULCANIZATE will degrade, the molecular chain and cross-linking bond will be cracked and broken, resulting in aging.
Thermal oxidative aging is both a radical and an oxidation reaction. Under anaerobic thermal aging conditions, free radical decomposition occurs, and the lower the bond cleavage energy, the faster the decomposition, when molecules break down and form free radicals, then the main chain breaks and forms cross-links, producing all kinds of gases. In ultraviolet aging, molecules absorb ultraviolet light and activate certain functional groups, and decomposition or through the energy transfer in other functional groups, such as decomposition, through the formation of active groups and reaction.
The oxidative decomposition of side-chain organic groups in silicone rubber occurs mainly in the anaerobic high-temperature open environment, which leads to the hardening of silicone rubber, while in an oxygen-free high temperature closed environment, the main chain fracture reaction occurs mainly, the formation of volatile cyclic polysiloxane, resulting in softening of silica gel products. The oxidation of side-chain methyl and the degradation and fracture of the main chain are the main reactions of silicone rubber at high temperatures.
Fatigue Aging
The fatigue aging of silicone rubber case is that the aging phenomenon of silicone rubber products under the action of a certain frequency and periodic stress, which is caused by the change of the molecular structure of silicone rubber material, that is, force and heat effect. (due to the rubber in a number of deformation, hysteresis phenomenon, so that the internal silicone causing heat )
Ozone aging
Ozone content in the atmosphere is very low, in the aging process of silica gel, ozone attack silica gel molecules, silica gel expansion and dispersion resulting in surface cracks. Ozone reacts with double bonds in silica molecules to form Ozonide and peroxide, which in turn regenerates ozonide. The Ozonide is broken down into free radicals by the action of heat and light, leading to a chain growth reaction. In addition, the silicone rubber under stress will produce molecular fracture, but not the formation of Ozonide, the phenomenon of cracking and aging.
By studying the effect of ozone on different kinds of tread rubber, including natural rubber, oil-filled methyl-styrene-butadiene rubber, and the blend of isoprene rubber and cis-1,4-polybutadiene rubber, etc., the service life of silicone rubber decreased and decreased rapidly in the short time of ozone action, which proved that silicone rubber had obvious degradation at the beginning of ozone action. Along with the Ozone Action Time extension, the service life drops slowly. This may be due to the degradation process slowing down during the deepening phase of polymer decomposition.