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The 'worse than expected' cost of living problem masked by falling inflation
UK inflation fell to 10.5% in December from 10.7%.
Jimmy Nsubuga
Food and drink inflation has soared to 16.8%. (Getty)
An economist has warned the positive news of falling inflation is "masking worse than expected news on living standards".
On Wednesday, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the rate of Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation had fallen to 10.5% in December, down from from 10.7% in November.
Economist Jack Leslie, from think tank Resolution Foundation, argued the numbers didn't necessarily mean the cost of living crisis was easing, and he was particularly concerned with rising food and energy prices.
Food and drink inflation soared yet again to 16.8% in December up from 16.4% in November, marking the highest level since September 1977.
Watch: The worst is not yet over for consumers - falling inflation is not the same as falling prices
Leslie tweeted: "The latest ONS inflation stats were released this morning and on the face of it there's good news: CPI inflation fell from 10.7% to 10.5% (in line with expectations).
"But I think this is masking worse than expected news on both living standards and for the Bank of England."
He added: "Food inflation in particular is concerning: it continues to rise (now up to a staggering 16.9%).
"It's still the case that inflation is much higher for the most basic essentials (food and heating)."
When the Resolution Foundation estimated average inflation rates across the income distribution, the poorest tenth still faced an inflation rate almost 3% higher than the richest tenth.
Read more: Cost of living: Price of milk, cheese and butter jump by 30%
As well as soaring food inflation, energy costs are also set to surge once again in the spring when the government scales back its support package, capping gas and electricity bills at £3,000 a year, up from £2,500 currently.
It was also revealed the Hackney Foodbank had been forced to launch an emergency appeal for funding as it struggled to cope with demand amid the "toughest time in living memory".
The organisation, located in east London, said its costs for buying food were set to hit £250,000 this year.
Read more: Demands for energy discount for millions of disabled and elderly households
UK inflation fell to 10.5% in December from 10.7%. (Getty)
Foodbanks in the Trussell Trust network distributed over 2.1 million food parcels in 2021-2022 for the first time outside of the first year of the pandemic.
It was an increase of 14% compared to the same period in the previous financial year and 832,000 of the parcels went to children.
Meanwhile, the government has pledged to help halve inflation by the end of 2023 as it tries to tackle to cost of living crisis.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: "While any fall in inflation is welcome, we have a plan to go further and halve inflation this year, reduce debt and grow the economy – but it is vital that we take the difficult decisions needed and see the plan through."
But Labour has hit out at the Conservative Party's economic policies and said inflation was still five times the 2% target.
Poorest and elderly worst hit as income inequality rises
The average household disposable income fell 0.6% in 2022.
Jason Manford to host The National Lottery's Big Night of Musicals
Comedian Jason Manford will present 'The National Lottery's Big Night of Musicals' for a second year running, which celebrates the very best in musical theatres.
'Prison-like' locked gates placed on entrances of south Essex school's toilets
LOCKED gates have been placed on the entrances of a south Essex school's toilets, causing fury among parents.
One forecaster is predicting that a second 'Beast from the East' could bring up to 7 inches of snow to the UK
UNESCO lists Yemen, Lebanon sites as world heritage in danger
The United Nations on Wednesday inscribed an ancient city and its dam in war-torn Yemen and a futurist park in cash-strapped Lebanon on its world heritage list.The newly listed sites include the ancient city of Marib, two temples and the remains of the city's ancient dam, a feat of ancient hydrological engineering whose bursting is mentioned in the Koran.
Nasa to test nuclear-powered rocket that could fly astronauts to Mars in record time
The space agency says an in-Earth orbit demonstration of the craft will be conducted in 2027
Long-time Tory Sir Rod Stewart phones in to Sky News to say party should stand down
He called in to a phone-in segment on the healthcare crisis, and offered to pay for people's medical scans


What's Behind the Growing Rate of Scientific Retractions?
The retraction of studies in medical and scientific journals has surged in the last decade, according to separate analyses done by the Wall Street Journal and Retraction Watch.
In its page-one article today, the Journal noted that while just 22 retraction notices appeared in 2001, there were 139 in 2006, 339 last year and 210 so far this year. Retraction Watch, in a blog celebrating its one-year anniversary, said it has recorded 200 retractions over the last 12 months, compared to an annual average of about 80 over the previous 10 years.
Why are retractions on the rise? According to the WSJ, some journals argue that the increase indicates their rising vigilance in detecting errors. Others blame the increasingly competitive environment for research grants and career advances in science and medicine.
I would point to two other key factors. First and foremost, there's the pressure that the pharmaceutical and medical device industry exerts on researchers to come up with positive findings in clinical trials. (This starts with cherry-picking pliable researchers for specific studies and ensuring their cooperation with lucrative speaking and consulting gigs and then having the studies themselves ghost-written to make the drug or medical device in question look safer and more effective than it really is). This is known to have happened with clinical trials for Paxil (which Side Effects focuses on), Celexa, Zoloft, Vioxx and Avandia and several medical devices including a widely used bone growth product made by Medtronics (which The Spine Journal just devoted an entire special issue to).
This kind of industry-academia collusion, of course, has been going on for awhile. What's different now is the heightened scrutiny of scientific misconduct by the media and the steady drumbeat of blogs like Retraction Watch, POGO andPharmalot. As a result, many journals are now adopting a tougher line and investigating errors more thoroughly. And that's exactly how it should be.


The PDF History of Civil Defense 1945 -1984 is actually called "America Civil Defence 1945 -1984 The Evolution of Programs and Policies it was written at Emmitsburg Maryland – which the home of the National Emergency Management Center – basically a college campus for teaching strategic courses in Emergency Management. I never got there, as I spent my training time on the tactical courses. If you read through the abstract you see that this document describes how we went from preparing individuals and teaching personal preparedness to being concerned primarily with government survivability.
This monograph examines the modern civil defense system from its inception to the present. The evolution of policies and programs is examined on the basis of five determinants: international crisis and change; quality of civil defense leadership and planning; congressional support and appropriations; presidential interest and support; and defense policy. This review is pre- sented in terms of presidential administrations between 1945 and 1984. The Truman years were characterized by disagreement over what branch and level of government should be responsible for civil defense. The program also suffered from poor leadership during this period. Leadership problems also persisted in the Eisenhower years, coupled with the necessity for frequent policy change arising out of accelerated growth and greater understanding of nuclear weapon technology. A defense policy and corresponding programs of "Massive Retalia- tion" left little funding for civil defense programs.
Although civil defense experienced a shaky start in the Kennedy administration, it soon began to enjoy its greatest growth and support thus far. For example, a nationwide system of fallout shelters was created during this period. The first part of the Johnson administration was marked by defense policy confusion, chiefly centered on the viability of Anti-Ballistic Missiles. As the confusion wore on, the concept of mutually-assured destruction grew, and civil defense appropriations shrank. Despite President Nixon's expressed interest in civil defense, budget requests reached an all time low during his administration.
The "dual-use" policy, combining attack planning with disaster planning, was officially implemented during this time. Federal money was distributed to state and local agencies. Crisis Relocation (or evacuation) Planning characterized the Ford administra- tion, with conflicts developing over federal funding of dual-use programs. The Defense Civil Preparedness Agency (DCPA) became a part of the new Federal Emergency Management Agency under the Carter administration. President Reagan's civil defense budget request was attacked as "warfighting strategy", even though the use of civil defense funds for peacetime disasters was expli- citly authorized for the first time. The Integrated Emergency Management System (IEMS) was a response to those criticisms. This monograph concludes that the U.S. cannot expect to achieve a significant level of attack prepared- ness at current budget levels; but that the IEMS multi-hazard emergency management approach may be endorsed by the Congressional committees concerned.


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Once Crippled, Ran The Fastest Mile - A True Story
The story of Glenn Cunningham, from being burnt to a cripple to being the fastest runner in the world.
Julia Porter
The little country schoolhouse was heated by an old-fashioned, pot-bellied coal stove. A little boy had the job of coming to school early each day to start the fire and warm the room before his teacher and his classmates arrived.
One morning they arrived to find the schoolhouse engulfed in flames. They dragged the unconscious little boy out of the flaming building more dead than alive. He had major burns over the lower half of his body and was taken to a nearby county hospital.
From his bed the dreadfully burned, semi-conscious little boy faintly heard the doctor talking to his mother. The doctor told his mother that her son would surely die – which was for the best, really – for the terrible fire had devastated the lower half of his body.
But the brave boy didn't want to die. He made up his mind that he would survive. Somehow, to the amazement of the physician, he did survive. When the mortal danger was past, he again heard the doctor and his mother speaking quietly. The mother was told that since the fire had destroyed so much flesh in the lower part of his body, it would almost be better if he had died, since he was doomed to be a lifetime cripple with no use at all of his lower limbs.
Once more the brave boy made up his mind. He would not be a cripple. He would walk. But unfortunately from the waist down, he had no motor ability. His thin legs just dangled there, all but lifeless.
Ultimately he was released from the hospital. Every day his mother would massage his little legs, but there was no feeling, no control, nothing. Yet his determination that he would walk was as strong as ever.
When he wasn't in bed, he was confined to a wheelchair. One sunny day his mother wheeled him out into the yard to get some fresh air. This day, instead of sitting there, he threw himself from the chair. He pulled himself across the grass, dragging his legs behind him.
He worked his way to the white picket fence bordering their lot. With great effort, he raised himself up on the fence. Then, stake by stake, he began dragging himself along the fence, resolved that he would walk. He started to do this every day until he wore a smooth path all around the yard beside the fence. There was nothing he wanted more than to develop life in those legs.
Ultimately through his daily massages, his iron persistence and his resolute determination, he did develop the ability to stand up, then to walk haltingly, then to walk by himself – and then – to run. He began to walk to school, then to run to school, to run for the sheer joy of running. Later in college he made the track team.
Still later in Madison Square Garden this young man who was not expected to survive, who would surely never walk, who could never hope to run – this determined young man, Dr. Glenn Cunningham, ran the world's fastest mile! On June 16, 1934, Glenn Cunningham ran the mile in 4:06.8 minutes, breaking the world's record.
His effort portrays that whatever you want to create in your life is yours for the making. As long as you desire it enough and allow your will to guide you, you can have and be whatever your heart desires. The only one that can put limits on our personal will is ourselves. Develop and encourage your will to create and all the forces of nature within and without will help you bring your desire to pass.
Life Summary:
8 years old, was horribly burned in a schoolhouse fire. Doctors predicted he would never walk again.
22 months later, took his first steps and through sheer determination, learned to run despite the pain.
In high school, set records for the mile and later attended Kansas University.
While at Kansas, refused all scholarship money, preferring to pay his own way.
By sophomore year, ran the 1,500 meter race at the 1932 Olympics, but finished fourth due to a severe cold.
By senior year, set a world record for the mile of 4:06.8 and held seven of the top 13 fastest recorded times for the mile.
In 1936, voted "Most Popular Athlete" by his fellow athletes.
He went on to earn a master's degree from University of Iowa and later a doctorate from New York University.
While in New York, won 21 of 31 races at Madison Square Gardens and set an indoor mile record there in 1938. His fastest mile time was 4:04.4 at a Dartmouth track meet in 1938.
When the 1940 Olympics were cancelled, he retired from his running career and taught at Cornell College in Iowa.
During World War II, he served two years in the Navy.
Spent the remainder of his life running the Glenn Cunningham Youth Ranch for troubled kids in Kansas, USA. It is estimated that he and his wife raised around 9,000 kids on their ranch in the years until his death in 1988.
Contributed By Julia Porter
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Being a dog lover, you must have thought about your friend down the road. Maybe they live on their own, and could do with a little best friend to keep them company. Or maybe with a family, there are families that "don't do pets". If they knew what they were missing! However, there are perils in buying a dog for someone. You may think that you are doing them a favour! But before you do surprise them with a rottweiler or collie, or even both, it may be worth thinking about a few things.
Is Their House Equipped To Deal With A Dog?
Bringing a big dog into a house that is limited in space can cause problems. If they can give him a lot of space and long walks, then that is fine. If the family or friends are the active, outdoorsy type, a good choice may be a sporting breed. A Labrador retriever, golden retriever, or cocker spaniel would be good choices. Sporting breeds like to play, here is a list of the 10 most indestructible dog toys to get.
Other breeds to consider would be a working breed, like a bullmastiff, Bernese mountain dog, Siberian husky, or Great Dane. They are all active and friendly.
Do Any Of Them Have Allergies?
If they do, then buying a dog may not be the best idea in the first place! Think about getting a non shedding dog if you are concerned about loose hairs or allergies, especially children's allergies. Dogs that are regularly professionally groomed shed less in the home. A few good choices are bichon frises, schnauzers or a poodle. And if allergies are a problem, try wiping the dog's coat with a dryer sheet once a day to pick up those loose hairs.
Will They Take Care Of It?
Is there a reason that they don't have a dog? If there is, then is getting them a wise decision. Will they look after the dog and give it the care it deserves? A lot of puppies end up in rescue centres because people just do not realise how much time they need to give their puppies.
Maybe they had a pet die before and the thought of another one may be too upsetting, in particular from the kids' point of view.
Is the family equipped financially to deal with a dog? If they have other pets anyway, their finances may not be enough to be dealing with an extra mouth to feed.
Also, where do they live? If they live in rented property, there are landlords that do not take kindly to having animals on their premises. Donating a pet to a family that cannot keep it on the premises will be heartbreaking, especially for children.
Getting a dog for someone as a gift is a wonderful gesture, but it is best to make sure that you think it through before doing it. They may appreciate the gesture, or they may not. So before putting your friend, family member or the animal through undue stress, think on.


The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") lost its challenge to Ovation Pharmaceutical Inc.'s ("Ovation Pharmaceutical" now Lundbeck Inc.) acquisition of the pediatric heart drugs Indocin and NeoProfen. While the FTC claimed that the combination was a merger to monopoly resulting in anticompetitive price increases, the Federal District Court in Minnesota decided that Lundbeck (formerly "Ovation Pharmaceutical") did not violate federal or state antitrust laws when it combined Indocin IV and NeoProfen, the only two FDA-approved drugs for treatment of patent ductus arteriosus ("PDA"). The primary reason for Judge Joan N. Erikson's decision was that she did not believe that the FTC established that the drugs were in the same product market. FTC v. Lundbeck, Inc., No. 08-6379 and Minnesota v. Lundbeck, Inc., No. 08-6381 (D. Minn. August 31, 2010).
Indocin and NeoProfen are pediatric heart drugs used to treat PDA, a potentially fatal heart condition that primarily affects premature babies. Surgery or pharmaceutical drugs are both treatment options for PDA, however, due to the health risks and high costs of surgery, use of drugs is a more favorable treatment.
In 2005, Ovation acquired patent rights to Indocin from Merck & Co., when Indocin was the only FDA-approved drug to treat PDA and it cost approximately $26 per vial. Upon acquiring Indocin from Merck, Ovation raised the price of Indocin to $36 per vial. Shortly after, in January 2006, Ovation acquired the patent rights to NeoProfen from Abbott Laboratories Inc. in a transaction that fell below the then $53.1 million Hart-Scott-Rodino reporting thresholds, thus escaping pre-closing review by the antitrust agencies. NoeProfen was still awaiting FDA's approval at the time of this transaction. Two days after acquiring rights to NeoProfen, Ovation raised the price of Indocin by about 1300% to $500 per vial. The FDA then approved NeoProfen as a treatment for PDA in April 2006. Ovation launched NeoProfen as its second PDA drug in July 2006, at a price slightly below the price of Indocin, at about $480 per vial.
In December 2008, the FTC and the State of Minnesota filed a complaint against Ovation Pharmaceuticals (now Lundbeck Inc.) at the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, alleging the company with substantially lessening competition and creating monopoly in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act, as well as FTC Act Section 5, and willfully maintaining its monopoly power in violation of Sherman Act Section 2. The FTC asked the district court to compel the divestiture of NeoProfen and disgorge all excessive profits of Ovation.
Judge Erikson dismissed FTC's action against Lundbeck with prejudice, reasoning that plaintiffs did not satisfy their burden of demonstrating that NeoProfen and Indocin are in the same product market. To reach this conclusion, Judge Erikson accepted defendants' argument that in this case, neonatologists and not hospitals are the consumers and according to the testimony of most neonatologists, who were defendant's witnesses, there is low cross-elasticity of demand between the two drugs.
First, Judge Erikson did not consider the realities of our health care system, in which the consumer is a composite of groups of decision makers. In any hospital, a committee including practitioners, administrators, and nurses decides what drugs should be placed on the hospital's formulary, which is a continually updated list of medications from which doctors of that specific hospital order the drugs. In updating a formulary, doctors' opinions are heavily weighed, but are not the only factor. Hospitals may try to control the price within their formulary. When two or more sellers of clinically substitutable drugs compete for inclusion in a formulary, a hospital may use its bargaining power to negotiate the price. In this case, the FTC and the State of Minnesota argued that hospitals are the customers of Indocin and NeoProfen and if these two drugs belonged to two different suppliers who could compete and offer lower prices, given the similar functionality of the drugs, hospitals would have chosen the less expensive option. However, since Lundbeck was the only supplier of these drugs, it could keep the prices artificially high without allowing any competition in the market. Lundbeck, on the other hand, argued that neonatologists—not the hospitals that actually purchase the drugs—are the relevant consumers of Indocin and NeoProfen because they ultimately determine which drug is used to treat PDA. Neonatologists testified that their selection between Indocin or NeoProfen is contingent on the presence or lack of long-term clinical studies or safety perceptions, but not on price differences. Judge Erikson credited Lundbeck's argument and concluded that because there is no cross-elasticity of demand between the two drugs, then they're not competitive and no anticompetitive effect can exist by joining two products that are not competing in the same market.
The problem with accepting this argument is that it considers doctors as the sole consumers of the drug and considers price as the sole competing factor. If such an assumption is valid, no antitrust suit could be brought against any pharmaceutical company, when a company acquires an exclusive right to a directly competing drug and increases the price. If, as the court found, hospitals do not exert veto power of the doctors' recommendations, then cross-elasticity of demand is going to be low regardless of whether the products are in the same market, because even if they compete, they don't compete on price. It appears that the Judge missed the point that in the pharmaceutical field price is not the only factor rather how a drug is promoted is a primary way of competing. Here, the evidence does not exist because competition was thwarted before it started so two drugs that would have been promoted against each other never occurred.
Second, of equal significance in reaching this conclusion is Judge Erikson's picking and choosing of the facts. She ignores the fact that neonatologists accounted for about 45% of the Lundbeck's targeted customers for marketing its products. Hospital formularies, clinical pharmacists, and neonatal nurses accounted for the other 55%. But, Judge Erikson decided to only choose neonatologists as the customers. Even from testimony of neonatologists, Judge Erikson only based her conclusion on the testimony that directly supported Lundbeck's position. In fact, there was testimony of neonatologists that argued the opposite. For instance, Dr. Jeffrey Gerdes testified that despite the fact that NeoProfen is a safer drug, since both drugs are compatible (including the price), he still prescribes Indocin, because he has worked with Indocin for a longer period. This testimony was contrary to other neonatologists who had claimed drugs' safety as the main reason for prescribing it. Judge Erikson found Dr. Gerdes' opinion unpersuasive, citing Cf. Clastetter v. Novartis Pharm. Corp., 252 F.3d 986, 990 (8th Cir. 2001), "[i]ndeed, we regard the experts' claims with some suspicion since one leading treatise on medical toxicology concludes that bromocriptine has no vasoconstrictive properties." In another instance, Dr. Nathaniel Payne testified that the Minnesota Neonatal Physicians group decided not to use NeoProfen because, "we didn't see any real advantage or differences [between the two drugs] … and we felt it is in everybody's best interest … to stay with what we were familiar with." After admitting that he didn't know enough about NeoProfen, Dr. Payne continued, "I think if the drugs appeared to be the same, if they had similar effect and one was ten times more expensive than the other, I'd probably [be] interested in thinking about it." Judge Erikson only mentions this part of the testimony in the final judgment without giving it any weight in her conclusion.
– Finding 94: many doctors switched from Indocin to NeoProfen, once it became available, to treat PDA in part because Lundbeck took steps to convert accounts from Indocin (which faced generic entry) to NeoProfen.
– Finding 58: Lundbeck knew that it was facing competition from NeoProfen. That's why despite the company's willingness to increase Indocin's price in 2004, it waited until 2006 or shortly after acquiring the rights to NeoProfen, its only potential competitor, before it hiked the prices to extraordinary levels.
Despite this evidence, Judge Erikson decided to stick to Lundbeck's expert economic witness who testified that the cross-price elasticity between NeoProfen and Indocin is very low. Judge Erikson, furthermore, concluded that regardless of all of the above mentioned evidence, the FTC has not provided any cross-elasticity analysis, therefore, NeoProfen and Indocin are not in the same product market. Interestingly, Judge Erikson never provides any reasoning as to what persuades her about one argument versus the other. She only chooses testimony and arguments that support Lundbeck's position, even if that requires her to ignore some of Lundbeck's own witnesses' testimony.
The FTC has not yet announced whether it will appeal the decision. The deadline for the appeal is November 1, 2010. We believe that the FTC should appeal this decision, otherwise, it will set a very bad precedent. It suggests to pharmaceutical companies an anticompetitive plan to acquire a competing pipeline drug with the purpose of raising prices in the future can be successful even if the FTC finds out about it later and takes them to court. First, the firm would need to acquire potentially competing pipeline drugs without HSR review to avoid an initial antitrust investigation. Second, after gaining control of the only other potentially competing product, the pharmaceutical company can raise price. Third, pharmaceutical companies can then rely on the fact that no evidence of competition exists because they can use doctors as their main customers to show low cost-elasticity of demand. This seems absurd but Judge Erikson bought it and some other judge may as well.
In the 1992 Horizontal Merger Guidelines, the FTC itself states that "market definition" is the first step in an analytical process to evaluate the competitive effects of mergers. After a number of defeats based on their perceived inability to properly define the relevant product markets, the FTC and the DOJ realized that judges have taken too restrictive of a view of the 1992 Guidelines and have used the Guidelines against the antitrust agencies. In an effort to broaden that view, on August 19, 2010, FTC and DOJ released new Horizontal Merger Guidelines that has a more flexible approach, does not require market definition, and focuses on actual competitive effects. Here, the FTC believed that significant price increases after Ovation bought the first drug from Merck and exorbitant price increases after acquiring the rights to the second drug combined with evidence in the form of company documents that explain how Ovation would price and position the drugs if it only acquired one or both of the competing drugs would be sufficient to establish an antitrust violation. Despite post-merger effects, the FTC lost. The Lundbeck decision was announced shortly after the release of the new Guidelines but after they were released for public comment. The decision suggests that the agencies may need to wait longer until the new Guidelines gain acceptance by the courts. The decision reinforces that courts will continue to focus on product market definition, and that while the new Guidelines may allow the antitrust agencies to focus less on market definition and more on competitive effects, the antitrust agencies will face substantial obstacles in federal courts if they ignore market definition.


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Introduction to Sustainable Architecture
December 14, 2020 January 7, 2021 Architects North East Architecture, Eco-Friendly, Green Architecture, Sustainable Architecture
When people say sustainable agriculture, they mean building so that there is little or no human-made impact on the environment. It entails the conscious effort to preserve the environment every step of the way, from planning to construction. So, achieving sustainable architecture involves adopting an eco-friendly approach in choosing building materials, designing and implementing vital systems like the heating, ventilation, waste, plumbing, and cooling systems, and incorporating this new environment into the overall natural landscape.
Sustainable Architecture – the Historical Background
The core basics of sustainable architecture were derived from the medieval building practices, which underwent continuous modification due to the advent of the industrial age and the associated activities. So, the latest efforts to embrace sustainable architecture started at least five decades to the anniversary of the first-ever Earth Day and the resulting environmental movement and legislative involvement across the world.
However, the climate change emergency and other environmental crises the world currently faces mean most environmental legislations dating five decades back need to be reviewed. This is a sufficient ground for the stakeholders in the building sector – consumers, builders, architects, and designers – must demand improved building practices that will fix the problem emanating from one of the most environmentally-degrading industries in the world. For instance, 39% of the CO2 emissions recorded in the United States come from the building sector.
Sustainability is fast becoming the core of modern architecture. LEED, BREEAM, and other environmental standards are all out to ensure sustainable building. Likewise, responsible architects are continually working hard to achieve these global standards and verify their sustainable credentials. That said, we still have several architects and builders who throw in words like "sustainable," "green," or "eco-friendly" into the mix as mere marketing terms. So, it is safe to say that there is more to do alongside the current awareness and knowledge to make sustainable architecture the rule and not the exception.
What makes architecture sustainable?
Here are a few characteristics to watch out for in sustainable architecture:
Commitment to minimizing human impacts on the environment.
Building water conservation systems, for instance, systems that recycle gray water or collect rainwater.
Creating more ideal structures that meet the increasing need for sustainable housing while using minimum energy and landmass. Such structures include micro-apartments, tiny houses, and other small structures.
Using recycled shipping containers to construct alternative apartment buildings and homes.
Introducing floating architecture on waterways to meet the increasing demands of housing in populated coastal areas.
Integrating nature via ideas like tree-covered residential towers, green roofs, and living walls reduces interior heat and makes the environment healthier and biophilic for people.
Adopting living walls and green roofs as a natural cooling system that ensures the wellbeing of people in the building.
Ensuring seamless incorporation of new buildings into the overall landscape.
Minimizing energy consumption by adopting natural ventilation, cooling, heating systems, solar panels, and other renewable energy sources.
Developing buildings with a net-zero energy effect, i.e., producing at least as much energy as they consume.
Choosing renewable materials for building, including soy, flax, cork, hemp, and bamboo.
Choosing sustainable materials over traditional materials. For instance, hempcrete over concrete (hempcrete is a combination of lime, water, and hemp), or innovative bioplastics over the standard plastics (bioplastics are made from algae).
Adopting more upcycled and recycled materials, as well as modular and adaptable spaces from natural materials, which can be recycled easily.
Top Sustainable Architecture Projects
Let's take a look at some notable examples of sustainable architecture across different parts of the world.
The first on the list is Transitional Cathedral, built by Shigeru Ban in 2013. The Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese combined recycled cardboard tubing as the main building material to build emergency shelters in different parts of the world, including the cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand.
While wood is not new, the idea of gluing layers of lumber together to create a cross-laminated timber is relatively recent. This has been used extensively in sustainable architecture, as seen in city towers and prefab cross-limited timber houses in the United States and other parts of Europe. The 21st century was an upgrade from the steel and glass skyscrapers to timber skyscrapers, for instance, the Mjøstårnet by Voll Arkitekter in Brumunddal, Norway.
CopenHill in Copenhagen, Denmark, is another notable instance of sustainable architecture. Popularly dubbed "the cleanest waste-to-energy power plant in the world," this architecture boasts a façade included for climbing, a real ski slope, and a roof that allows you to hike.
The push for the adoption of greener building practices currently thrives on excellent public awareness and interesting innovations. However, there is still work to be done to make sustainable architecture the standards rather than the exception.
Many more experts are still unconvinced about sustainability architecture's viability, considering the planet's present condition. For such experts, they believe regenerative architecture and design is a more viable and holistic approach. This approach relies on natural resources to produce systems and buildings that can regenerate on their own or be broken down in the future.
Everyone is a victim of climate change, including the poor communities, people of color, and even women. Despite this situation, it is interesting to see regenerative design incorporating social equity into its practices in a world where only the International Living Future Institute Living Building Challenge satisfies the compulsory social equity component requirement among other green building designations.
Sustainable Architecture
Make Your Home Feel Bigger With These 5 Proven Hacks
About Architects Zone
Architects.zone is an architect blog published by HL Architects North East, all about architecture, interior design and related information. We'll be posting something around once a month – hey we're busy people ok! – so stay tuned 🙂
Introduction to Sustainable Architecture December 14, 2020
Make Your Home Feel Bigger With These 5 Proven Hacks November 17, 2020
Getting Familiar with Solar Shading Devices September 16, 2020
Architectural Acoustics August 17, 2020
Kinetic Buildings that Move July 12, 2020
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Experiential architecture is most successful when it's able to connect people and spaces. My role is to build those connections and I achieve this by placing people at the centre of my thinking. I believe the best designs spring from fusing people, activity and place to produce experiences which are unique, inspiring and surprising.
My process of analyzing and understanding space, along with the requirements of the user means I bring together architecture, interior design, exhibit design, graphic design and workplace expertise to provide a strategic and cohesive solution for all projects.
A creative force with 20+ years of successfully demonstrating that a creative vision can co-exist with professional delivery and technical execution - resulting in award winning projects across all sectors. Experiential environments, custom exhibits, branded spaces and corporate & residential interiors.
As a graduate of the Dublin Institute of Technology Ireland, I hold a Degree (Hons) in Environmental Design. Adept at hand sketching as well as computer visualization and proficient in a broad range of software including 3DStudio, PhotoShop and Illustrator.
I take pride in creating exceptional environments for my clients and becoming an extension of their in-house team; be they an exhibit & museum builder, advertising agency or architectural firm.
Doreen has the unique distinction of being a spectacular designer who truly understands the sales process – because she has done both. Her designs are dramatic, with significant WOW factor but always intelligent in their purpose. She is cognizant of how a well designed space can drive traffic and promote results for a client.


One of the standard medium red leaf lettuce varieties characterized by consistent performance. This variety has been around for quite a while. Try it in your mix or standalone. Works well for baby leaf, medium and full grown applications in locations with lower levels of disease pressure.


text:
Irene's Adventures
Spain - Cordoba
SPAIN | Friday, 15 September 2017 | Views [165]
On our way from Seville to Cordoba we stopped at the small town of Carmona for lunch. We parked behind a church and wandered around a bit. We found a lot of abandoned churches. We had our lunch in the plaza then carried on to Cordoba.
As with Seville, we stayed in a hotel outside of Cordoba. We checked into Hotel La Lancha in the village of Alcolea. We arrived early so drove back to Cordoba to scout out where we wanted to be the next day.
We quickly found the old city and parked the car in a parkade built around Roman ruins. We walked out of the old city to the river. We came across an old water mill that was built to bring water to the Palace gardens, but Isabella didn't like the squeaking noise so it was torn down. What we see today is a reconstruction.
The Guadalquivir river is wide enough for small islands that used to have flour mills. They used the current of the passing water to turn the mills. Today, they are inhabited by birds.
From the watermill, it was a short walk to the Roman Bridge. The bridge, too, is mostly a reconstruction. However, the 19th century cobbled paving does give it a Roman feel. It is close to the great Mosque and ends at the Calahorra Tower on the south side. The bridge has 16 arches and abutment protections. We watched fish swimming about, never being swept along by the current, for a long time. Halfway along the bridge was a small shrine to St. Raphael. We were more taken by a musician playing some mean blues on his harmonica. We listened to him for a long time, then bought a couple of CDs from him.
The Calahorra Tower was about to close so we returned to the north bank and entered the old city through Arco del Triunfo. It was getting late so we made a mental note of the entrance to the Mosque-Cathedral before finding a nice restaurant to have dinner.
El Olivo restaurant was amazing! It was a tiny courtyard in the back of a gift shop, surrounded by rooms for rent on the second floor. It was all white with royal tablecloths. The chairs were delicate wrought iron painted white and adding to the ambience. There were flower pots bursting with flowers attached to every wall. It was beautiful. While we were enjoying our dinner, we were told that the flamenco dancer would be starting in an hour. How could we leave? We had another beer and waited.
A male guitarist, another man and a woman came onto the small stage. While the guitarist played the man and woman accompanied him by clapping a beat. They didn't sing but made sounds that also added to the guitar music. After a couple of songs in this manner, the woman got up and danced am aggressive flamenco while the guitar played and the other man clapped and sang. It was the perfect evening. The lights were low, the music passionate, the dancing fierce, and the surroundings enchanting. Life doesn't get much better than this!
The next day we returned before the Mosque-Cathedral was open to visitors so we wandered through the old city. Cordoba is famous for its flower-filled alleys. We were late in the season but still found lots of flowers spilling out of pots attached to the walls. There were courtyards lush with potted plants, flowering and non-flowering.
We came upon a curious shrine affixed to the outside of the Cathedral wall. It had several steps going up to a small shine with another set of steps leading down.
We walked through Plaza de las Tendillas which serves as a connector for the main commercial avenues.
We walked through Plaza de la Corredera which has an elaborate history as a site of public spectacles, including bullfights and Inquisition burnings. Nowadays it's ringed by balconied apartments and is home to an assortment of cafes and restaurants. It also hosts a busy morning food market selling all kinds of fresh produce. We caught them packing up their wares. With the plaza being boxed in on all sides by apartments, the mid-day heat must be stifling.
We came across the Roman temple of Cordoba which was discovered in the 1950s during the expansion of City Hall. That explains why a modern building was incorporated into the ruins.
There were funny signs with a picture of a dog near drainage grates that said "pipi aqui". Pee here. Too funny!
We also saw a sculpture of a famous sculptor – Juan de Mesa. The details on this sculpture were exquisite.
Along the river, the street was blocked off for a festival. There were kids riding bikes and skateboards. There were vendors selling their wares. It was nice to see that there were water fountains on the sidewalks. How clever in a hot climate!
We had killed enough time for the Mosque-Cathedral to be open. We bought our tickets in the Orange Tree Courtyard. As the name indicates, this courtyard is full of orange trees. Although the entire courtyard is covered in cobblestones, there is an opening for each tree, similar to trees planted on modern streets. There was a central well that had water pouring into irrigation channels running to every tree.
Entering the Mosque-Cathedral had us stop dead in our tracks. We were greeted by a forest of columns, arches, and domes. There are 856 columns of jasper, onyx, marble and granite. The alternating red and white brick and stone over the arches created a hypnotic effect. There were elaborate double arches to help support the higher ceilings. It was a forest of aches, so simple, yet so amazing. We simply wandered around gawking like kids.
On the east side of the building was the Mihrab, the prayer niche that faces Mecca. The arches became heavier and more elaborate as we got closer.
The Mihrab itself had gold mosaic on the walls – 1600 kilos of gold! If we had not read that detail we would never have guessed. It was shiny but very simple in its design.
The shell-shaped ceiling is carved from a single block of marble.
At the centre of the mosque is the cathedral. The Mosque dates back to the 8th century. When the Christians captured Cordoba in the 13th century they began to use it as a church. In the 16th century, they added the cathedral. When it was finished the King admitted that they had ruined a beautiful building. It is your typical cathedral with an opulent main altar, intricately carved choir, huge organ, and high Gothic ceilings. In comparison, I preferred the Mosque part. It was open and simple, despite the 1600 kilos of gold. The cathedral part had a busyness to it that was distracting.
We passed a museum of the Inquisition and had a tour. It was the most gruesome and horrible display of Christian righteousness I had ever seen. Torture devices were on display with placards stating exactly how the device was used and the exact kind of pain and suffering the victim experienced. I hurried through as it was very disturbing.
We went back to the Calahorra Tower for a tour. It was originally a fortified gate built by the Moors. Enrique II added the round tower, connecting the outer arches of the gate. It was used as a prison and a school before becoming the museum it is now. This fascinating museum had audio-visual presentations which depict how life was in Cordoba around the 10th century when Christianity, Muslim and Judaism lived side by side. Student: "But what, then, is the best society?" Averroes: "One where each woman, each child and each man has all the means to develop their God-given potential." Wow! Wise words from the 12th century.
We learned, with the help of a diorama, that agricultural and irrigation methods of the Muslims were an improvement over the Roman system of terracing and aqueducts. Muslims put in vents and locks to regulate the evacuation and accumulation of silt. There was a display of medieval surgical tools developed by the Muslims.
There was a model of the Mosque before it became a Cathedral. It was interesting to see it wide open. There were lots of dioramas depicting life in Cordoba throughout the years. They were very well done and life-like.
We went to the top of the tower and had a fantastic view of the Roman Bridge.
We stopped for dinner at Taberna Restaurante El Olivo and ate under the olive tree. Sweet. The restaurant was outside the old city walls, beside the moat.
While we were eating I noticed one of the doorways into the old city was wider on the bottom than the top. After dinner, we went for a closer look, and sure enough, we could see where carts had scrapped the lower level of the stone away.
It was time to head to Granada.
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text:
Five Best Meme Cryptocurrencies To Keep An Eye On In 2022
Right now•4 min read•Other
Meme tokens are cryptocurrencies with increased popularity within a short period. The remarkable acceptance of this type of cryptocurrency comes from the activities of retail investors or influencers. As a result, the meme cryptocurrencies have experienced tremendous growth throughout 2021. This explains the new market capitalization of the coins, which is more than 43 billion.
The meme cryptocurrencies are gaining more adoption in different sectors, of which Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are the top tokens with astronomical increases. In addition, some companies like AMC Theatres, Guaranty Escrow, EasyDNS, and others now accept Dogecoin for payment.
Here are some of the meme tokens you can include in your digital portfolio.
Dogecoin has taken the lead is the top and most profitable meme coin for your investment. With the influence of Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Dogecoin, witnessed significant growth in 2021. Furthermore, the billionaire CEO, Musk, announced in December 2021 that Tesla adopted Dogecoin as one of the payment options.
Besides Tesla, other companies are interested in this fast-growing dog-themed meme coin. For example, AMC Theatre, one of the prominent theatres with the most significant number of branches, indicated its acceptance of DOGE as a payment method.
The move of this number meme token has put its market cap at 22.7 billion while its price at the time of writing is $0.1582 showing a dip of 7% within the last seven days. Dogecoin had its all-time of $0.73 on May 3, 2021. Analysts predict that this meme coin will hit $1 in a few months from its price performance.
Shiba Ina Coin has made a remarkable increase making its way to the top ten cryptocurrencies. SHIB stands as one of the top meme tokens for profitable investment with its price performance.
It has competitively raced with Dogecoin to emerge as 'the most searched cryptocurrency for 2021'. Coinmarketcap gave a record of more than 188 million views for Shiba Inu as the top as Bitcoin follows behind it with about 145 million views.
This meme coin has a market cap of over $18.2 billion. Its price at the time of writing is $0.000033, indicating a dip of 2.19% within the last 24 hours. Shiba Inu hit an all-time high of $0.00008 in October 2021.
Dogelon Mars is derived by joining Dogecoin and Tesla's billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, promoted Dogecoin. As a result, this meme coin has risen to be number 3 meme tokens and stands as an excellent investment means for profit.
By following the steps of Dogecoin, Dogelon Mars has become one of the top meme coins that are highly sought for. Some crypto exchanges such as Huobi, Gemini, Crypto.com now support the meme coin on their platforms.
The dog-themed coin boasts a market cap of about $869 million. Its price is $0.000001328 showing a drop of 5% within the last 24 hours at the time of writing.
Samoyedcoin (SAMO)
Samoyedcoin shares some similarities with the Solana Network. However, the meme coin enables high scalability, speedy transactions, and low fees.
Furthermore, the meme coin ensures scarcity through its token burns three times from its launch time. The last destruction in November 2021 resulted in the burning of up to 500 million SAMO tokens.
This meme coin has a market cap of about $124 million. At the time of writing, SAMO is $0.03174 showing a drop of 3.36% within the last 24 hours.
MonaCoin (MONA)
Created in December 2013, Monacoin operates as an open-source p2p network.
This meme coin was developed in Japan as the first altcoin. It later boomed after being used in an advert for buying land in Nagano.
Monacoin currently has a market cap of about $77 million. Its price at the time of writing is $1.11, with a 1.95% dip within the last 24 hours. The meme coin had its all-time high in 2017 and is considered one of the investment tokens to boost your profit.
Featured image from Pexels, Charts from TradingView.com
Will doggie meme coins die off in 2022?
Dispose of Dogecoin and Meme Stocks: North Island Chairman's Outlook for 2022
Cryptocurrency Investing Predictions For 2022


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Home > Axis & Allies Pieces > Spring 42-2nd Ed (2012) > Japan > Fighter: A6M "Zero" - Japan (42 2nd Ed)
Fighter: A6M 'Zero' - Japan (42 2nd Ed)
Fighter: A6M "Zero" - Japan (42 2nd Ed)
Part Number:42-2_JAFIG-2
Mitsubishi A6M "Zero"
Max Bomb-load
Mitsubishi A6M Zero
29' 11"
36' 1"
2x7.7 mm mg's; 2x 20mm
Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" Fighter
ID: Plastic "fighter" gaming piece: Zero fighter from the game Axis & Allies.
The Story of the "Zero" Fighter: The Mitsubishi A6M5 Reisen (Zero) fighter would become one of the most legendary fighters of the war. As the Imperial Japanese Navy's primary carrier-based fighter of the war, it proved slightly faster and significantly more maneuvarable than its US counterpart, the Grumman F4F Wildcat. What is little appreciated is that the Japanese had managed to achieve this level of performance in spite of the fact that its engine was significantly under-powered by comparison, with under 1000 hp. How did they do this? Well, such designs are inevitably a matter of trade-offs, and in order to reach the performances that they did, the Japanese designers were forced to produce fighters significantly lighter in weight than their contemporaries. This, in turn, inevitably led to planes that gave their pilots less protection and could take less damage than their opponents. As the Americans improved the power of their engines with newer models of the Wildcat and, finally, with the substantially more powerful Hellcat, the Zero's performance advantage disappeared. By late in the war, it was significantly outclassed by the latest US generations of carrier fighters (to say nothing of the land-based US fighters, which, unencumbered by some of the features needed for carrier operation, were faster still!) What is more, the Zero's poor protection for its pilots combined with Japan's inability to adequately keep up with pilot losses, so that late-war Japanese squadrons were increasingly manned by under-trained rookies, "easy meat" for the veteran US aircrews in engagements such as the Battle of the Philippine Sea. By the end of the war, barely-trained zero pilots found themselves sacrificing themselves by the hundreds in kamikaze attacks in desperate efforts to turn back the tide of the war. Their courage can not be argued, but in the end, the US approach of carefully husbanding their resources of trained pilots proved a better strategy than the Japanese ethic of stoic self-sacrifice!
Usage Notes: Use this piece for "Global 1939" and "Invasion of Italy" Variants as a fighter unit. Other Japanese aircraft of interest may be: the Aichi D3A "Val" Tactical Bomber, & the Mitsubishi G4M "Betty" Strategic Bomber.
Good little model - at this price buy lots of them.
Reviewed by: (Verified Buyer) NORMAN BELL from United Kingdom. on 10/5/2017
Fighter: A6M Zero - (Red) Japan - Pacific 2001
Kamikaze Token


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You are at:Home»Resources»Marketing Trends»Advertiser Perceptions Cookieless Future Report: An Overview of Industry Evolution
Advertiser Perceptions Cookieless Future Report: An Overview of Industry Evolution
By Barb Rogers on August 30, 2021 Marketing Trends
According to Advertiser Perceptions newest Cookieless Future Report, publishers and advertisers were enthusiastic and unprepared just before Google Chrome postponed its phaseout of third-party cookies until late 2023.
The research is based on surveys and interviews conducted in April and May of this year. Still, the data is also an intriguing "snapshot in time" of the business, according to Advertiser Perceptions EVP of Business Intelligence Lauren Fisher.
Many publishers and advertisers had done little to no testing of new targeting and measurement technologies or developing a first-party data strategy.
On the other hand, Publishers and advertisers were hopeful that the reforms would be beneficial to the industry and their businesses.
Advertiser Perceptions polled 71% of advertisers and 67% of publishers, who stated they were optimistic that data privacy measures would benefit the industry in the long run.
Fisher believes that some of the industry's optimism stems from GDPR and CCPA preparation. Advertisers, publishers, and ad tech have already seen tectonic shifts that threatened to bring their businesses to a halt. When real-world solutions were unavailable, the industry trusted that solutions would arise to address new regulations.
Despite the optimism, the poll results show that the sector required Google's deadline extension.
According to the report, 58% of marketers are expanding their first-party data collecting capabilities, and 85% are assessing their ad tech and marketing partners to address the problem. According to Fisher, preparing for a cookie-free future can entail actively exploring new identity solutions or simply having internal strategic talks and educating senior teams.
Publishers have progressed further in their post-third-party cookie transition, according to Fisher. It's no surprise, she says, because publishers are on the "front lines" of this transformation. Brands must rethink their marketing spending, but it's a matter of life and death for publishers.
The key challenge, according to Fisher, is sustaining a sense of urgency now that the pressing deadline at the end of the year has passed.
According to Fisher, publishers are expected to keep the momentum going by investing in first-party data targeting and measurement tools. According to Advertiser Perceptions statistics, 71% of publishers spend in first-party collection, and a third invest on Privacy Sandbox plans in the next six months.
They will have more time to authenticate their audience based on email addresses if they wait for a few years longer. She explained that publishers could use the data to create targeting features such as improved contextual offerings or cohort-based bundles.
According to Fisher, only one out of every ten advertisers examined had a sophisticated first-party data strategy. Advertisers who have reviewed their ad tech providers and measurement procedures for third-party cookie deprecation are much more likely to be experimenting with new targeting options.
According to Fisher, if marketers continue to evaluate their ad tech stack and programmatic methods, demand for new targeting strategies should grow.


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Rebel Heart ist das 13. Studioalbum der US-amerikanischen Sängerin Madonna. Es erschien im März 2015 weltweit und konnte sich in einigen Ländern an den Spitzen der Charts platzieren, während die Singleauskoppelungen Living for love und Ghosttown eher mittelmäßige Chartspositionen erreichten. Für den Nachfolger von MDNA arbeitete Madonna mit verschiedenen Produzenten, so auch mit Avicii.

Entstehung
Nach Abschluss der kommerziell erfolgreichen MDNA Tour 2012 und der Produktion der zugehörigen DVD erwähnte Madonna Anfang 2014 erstmals die Planung eines neuen Studioalbums. Hierfür wurden Produzenten wie Avicii und Diplo genannt, sowie Toby Gad, Blood Diamonds, Ryan Tedder, Kanye West, Ariel Rechtshaid und Madonna selbst.
Am 20. Dezember 2014 wurde der 10. März 2015 als Veröffentlichungstermin bekanntgegeben, in Deutschland erschien Rebel Heart bereits am 6. März in drei verschiedenen Versionen.

Leaks
Gegen Jahresende 2014 wurden über zwanzig Songs des neuen Albums illegal im Internet veröffentlicht. Madonna reagierte auf ihrer Instagramseite und nannte den Leak eine "künstlerische Vergewaltigung". Dass sie die Veröffentlichung zudem mit "Terrorismus" gleichsetzte, wurde angesichts einiger Gewalttaten in den Wochen zuvor scharf kritisiert. Der Kommentar wurde kurze Zeit später zurückgezogen und mit den Sätzen "Thank you for not listening! Thank you for your loyalty" ersetzt.

Am 22. Dezember wurde überraschend im iTunes Store das Album zur Vorbestellung angeboten. Hierbei waren sechs Tracks direkt zum Kauf, weitere 13 Titel zum Vorbestellen erhältlich. Madonna tweetete an die Fans, die Songs als "vorgezogenes Weihnachtsgeschenk" zu betrachten.

Verkauf & Charts
Das Album erreichte in vielen Ländern Platz eins, darunter Deutschland, Australien, Niederlande, Spanien, Schweiz, Österreich, Belgien und Kanada. In Großbritannien und den USA debütierte Rebel Heart auf Platz zwei. Jedoch konnte das Album nur kurz in den oberen Platzierungen verweilen und fiel in den meisten Ländern bereits nach wenigen Wochen aus den Top Ten.

In der Veröffentlichungswoche wurden rund 315.000 Exemplare des Albums verkauft. In den USA konnten in der ersten Woche 116.000 Stück abgesetzt werden – der zweitschlechteste Wert in Madonnas Karriere. In der zweiten Woche waren es dort nur noch 22.000 Exemplare (ein Rückgang von knapp 80 Prozent) und 13.000 Stück in Woche drei. Rebel Heart war 2015 das sich am schlechtesten verkaufende Madonna-Album der letzten 20 Jahre.

Kritik
Überwiegend wurde Rebel Heart sehr gemischt bewertet, gilt unter vielen Fans jedoch als Madonnas bestes Album seit Confessions on a Dance Floor. Besonders wurden Songs wie Living for Love, Ghosttown und Veni Vidi Vici gelobt, sowie ihre Kooperationen mit verschiedenen Künstlern, wie Nicki Minaj in Bitch I'm Madonna oder auch Mike Tyson und Chance The Rapper in Iconic.
Eher kritisch war Sebastian Leber vom deutschen Tagesspiegel, der die Titel S.E.X und Holy Water für ihren kalkuliert sexuellen Inhalt kritisierte und anmerkte, dass Madonna derartige Songs lieber jüngeren Künstlern überlassen solle.
Noch negativer war Matthias Reichelt von CD.Starts: Er schrieb, dass Madonna mit unausgegorenen Electro Songs um sich werfe und weder textlich noch musikalisch auch nur ansatzweise überzeugen könne. Das Album klinge insgesamt "dröge, langweilig und furchtbar dünn". Inside Out, Joan Of Arc, Living For Love, und HeartBreak City seien die einzigen Lichtblicke.
Positiv fiel hingegen die Kritik von Jochen Siemens auf Stern.de aus. Seiner Meinung nach habe Madonna sich auf ihre Stärken besonnen. Auch pries er, dass sie reifer wirke und nicht mehr vor ihrem Alter weglaufe. Auch die Website Focus.de war positiv eingestellt und schrieb, dass das Album aus hochmodernem perfekten Pop bestehe, welche "von der Queen Of Pop Seele eingehaucht" bekomme.

Promotion
Die erste Live-Darbietung  von Living for Love gab Madonna bei den Grammy Awards 2015. Schon vorab löste sie hierbei einen Skandal aus, indem sie auf dem roten Teppich ihren nackten Hintern entblößte. Ein weiterer Auftritt folgte bei den Brit Awards 2015, wobei sie in der Eröffnungssequenz durch einen Ruck an ihrem Cape von einem Teil der Bühne stürzte. Nach dem Unfall brachte sie die von den Kritikern gelobte Darbietung zu Ende.
Zu Gast war sie u. a. in der Jonathan Ross Show, Le Grand Journal und bei Howard Stern. Im März präsentierte Madonna eine Woche lang Songs aus dem Album in der Ellen DeGeneres Show, gab Interviews und erwähnte ihre geplante Rebel Heart Tour, die sie nach Europa, Asien, Ozeanien und Nordamerika führen wird.

Tracklist
Das Album erschien in drei verschiedenen Fassungen.

Deluxe Edition

Super Deluxe Edition CD2

Bonustracks
Bei Media Markt und Saturn ist Auto-Tune Baby als exklusiver Bonustrack in der Standard- (Nr. 15) und Deluxe-Edition (Nr. 20) enthalten.
Die französische "Fnac" Deluxe Edition beinhaltet auf einer zweiten Disc Living For Love (Thrill Remix) und Living For Love (Offer Nissim Dub Mix).
Auf der japanischen Edition ist Living For Love (Dirty Pop Remix) als Bonustrack (Nr. 20) dabei.

Einzelnachweise

Album 2015
Album (Pop)
Nummer-eins-Album
Madonna-Album

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
package net.automatalib.incremental.mealy.tree.dynamic;

import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;

import com.google.common.collect.Maps;
import net.automatalib.incremental.mealy.tree.Edge;
import org.checkerframework.checker.nullness.qual.Nullable;

final class Node<I, O> {

    private final Map<I, Edge<Node<I, O>, O>> outEdges;

    Node(int expectedSize) {
        this.outEdges = Maps.newHashMapWithExpectedSize(expectedSize);
    }

    Node() {
        this.outEdges = new HashMap<>();
    }

    @Nullable Edge<Node<I, O>, O> getEdge(I input) {
        return outEdges.get(input);
    }

    void setEdge(I symbol, Edge<Node<I, O>, O> edge) {
        outEdges.put(symbol, edge);
    }

    Map<I, Edge<Node<I, O>, O>> getOutEdges() {
        return outEdges;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Why the Tories should not rush to appoint a no-deal Brexit leader
Martin Tripp 7th June 2019
The gracious loser
We have long argued that a no-deal Brexit would be bad for business, and for the country. But the self-titled party of business seems most likely to appoint the 'f**k business' candidate, Boris Johnson, as its leader. If he takes a hard no-deal stance, it would be a mistake both for the country and for his party.
The great advantage of having Nigel Farage's Brexit party in recent electoral mixes is that it has served to properly illustrate the lack of support for a no deal Brexit – despite the headlines elsewhere.
Farage points out that his voters are the people who feel 'angry and betrayed' by traditional politicians who have failed to deliver 'the Brexit you voted for.' And the fact that Farage is standing on one policy alone – a 'no deal' Brexit – serves as a focus for all those angry and betrayed voters. In the European and Peterborough elections, the new party polled an impressive-sounding 32% and 29% respectively, winning the first poll and coming close in the second.
But there is one unsettling fact for Nigel Farage: by-elections and European elections are traditionally great places to register protest votes, and these were the mother of all opportunities to mobilise his supporters. And yet, given that turnout for the European elections was 37%, and for the by-election 48% – both massively down on either a general election or the referendum – they still failed to demonstrate a majority appeal. The European election result indicated that, nationally, around 13% of registered voters actually voted for 'no deal'; in Peterborough, that figure stands at 15% – in a borough that in the referendum voted 61% in favour of Brexit.
In hard figures, across Peterborough, 53,216 voted for Brexit in 2016: 10,201 voted for 'no deal' Brexit parties yesterday. In effect, when faced with a choice between Brexit 2016-style, and the more radical no-deal Brexit being proposed now, 80% of 2016 voters either abstained or voted another way.
The desire for an orderly exit is similarly borne out by yesterday's figures. Both the Labour and Conservative parties stood on a platform of a managed exit (as outlined in their 2017 manifestos), and they took 52% of the Peterborough vote. The 'remain' parties – Lib Dem and Green – garnered 15% between them.
In the European elections, widely seen as a protest vote from which inbetweeners stayed away, the no deal vote was 34% (Brexit and UKIP), the 'Remain' vote 40% (Lib Dem, Green, Change UK, SNP, Plaid), and the 'managed exit' vote a less convincing 23% (Labour, Tory). But – if we accept the proposition mooted by Farage that the anger is so deep among no-deal Brexiteers that they would all turn out to trounce the mainstream – we can expect that their numbers will not massively increase in absolute terms in a general election. In fact, it is likely that with other considerations (education, NHS, etc), people would vote more moderately in a national election. Yet the figures are stark: 17.4m people voted for Brexit in 2016 – but fewer than 6m people voted nationally for no deal Brexit parties in the European elections – a fall of 65%.
So it would appear that what moderate Brexiteers say is true: the vast majority of people who voted Leave in 2016 did not vote for 'no deal': they voted for a managed exit and the 'exact same benefits' (or as close as can be reasonably managed) that they were promised. When the reality of no deal is exposed, they are distinctly less enthusiastic.
If the Tories rush to install a 'no deal' Prime Minister, they will be bowing to the constant drumbeat of around 15% of the electorate. Not only would it be an economic catastrophe for a new Tory leader to pursue a hard exit on 31st October, it would be profoundly anti-democratic. And voters would not easily forgive the party that delivered it.
Martin Tripp
martin@trippassociates.co.uk
Martin Tripp Associates is a London-based executive search consultancy. While we are best-known for our work across the media, information, technology, communications and entertainment sectors, we have also worked with some of the world's biggest brands on challenging senior positions. Feel free to contact us to discuss any of the issues raised in this blog.
The revolution is coming: the future of PropTech
Josephine Kemp 2nd May 2019
The property market has not gone digital at same rate as other sectors, like shopping and taxis. This is visibly demonstrated by the state of estate agents, where it is still clearly the land of fax-machines, whiteboards and post-dated cheques. Where there are landed assets to maintain, investing in the future digital direction of the business does
Only 216 years to go until equal pay
Josephine Kemp 3rd April 2019
Yesterday (April 2nd) was Equal Pay Day – symbolising how far into the year women have to work to earn the same as men did the previous year. The World Economic Forum calculates that, at current rate of progress, the pay gap will not be closed until 2235. Unequal pay for men and women doing the same job has been illegal in the UK for 40 years, yet the pay gap remains at 8.6% for full-time employees. In the US, women earn 81 cents to every dollar a man makes. Yet, perhaps not that surprisingly, a recent survey revealed that nearly half of men, and a quarter of women, do not believe in the pay gap.
Equal Pay Day brought about a plethora of news articles on which companies, roles and areas are falling behind on equal pay: over one hundred NHS trust have a larger pay gap than last year, the gender
Women will be the future of technology
Josephine Kemp 7th December 2018
Female founders got just 2.2% of Venture Capitalist Funding in 2018, the same percentage as in 2017.
Okay. TimesUp, Starting Now.
This woeful figure is actually an increase on the 1.9% offered to female founders in 2016, and comes despite female founders raised a record amount of VC funding, at $2.3bn in ten months. This is an issue on both sides of the table: 74% of US Venture Capitalist firms have no female investors. These figures are a stark reminder that whilst the tech industry looks to the future, its decisions are being made in the historical, male-dominated model.
Female-headed businesses have a real potential to make societal change in ways perhaps different from those headed by men. Whitney Wolfe founded Bumble after leaving Tinder and filing a lawsuit against Tinder for sexual harassment. Bumble, where women have to make the first move and start the conversation, has led a revolution in how modern women go about dating, making
What Noel Edmonds can teach us about Brexit*
Martin Tripp 28th November 2018
Lord of the Jungle.
It is slick programming by ITV to have Noel Edmonds featuring in this year's I'm a Celebrity….. Why? Because the phrase "Deal or No Deal" is suddenly assuming a sickening relevance. And on December 11th, two days after Celebrity… reaches its climax, MPs will vote on whether to accept or reject the withdrawal agreement the government has agreed.
Let's be clear: the deal is problematic. Its description of future trading arrangements is necessarily scant, due to the EU's insistence that those cannot be discussed until after the Brexit deal has been struck; the Northern Ireland backstop plan is imperfect (though overblown by trumpeting politicians); and, yes, the
The business case for making UK media less homogenous
Chris Sutcliffe 22nd November 2018
Last month Channel 4 announced it had chosen Leeds as the location of its new second national headquarters, with around a quarter of its London-based staff making the move. Though Leeds had been on the announced shortlist as far back as June, the announcement managed to take media twitchers by surprise, as it was seen as having the longest odds compared to other shortlisted cities like Birmingham and Manchester.
The national channel also announced it will open creative hubs in Bristol and Glasgow, each with around 50 staff, as part of a plan to increase the amount Channel 4 spends on programmes outside London by £250m over the next five years.
Speaking at the time of the announcement, Channel 4's chief executive said the move would involve more "people from across the UK and supercharge the impact we have in all parts of the country".
The best way to tackle bullying and sexual harassment in the creative industries
Josephine Kemp 7th November 2018
Homo alpha, expelliarmus!
For some time now, commentators have been noting the wave of change finally brought around regarding female representation in the creative industries, including us in our blog on #metoo. On our screens, this has been playing out with the notable increase in women in prominent roles: Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly made the first prime time female presenting duo in 2014, and this year Jodie Whittaker became our first female Doctor Who.
This change is starting to be seen behind the scenes as well. Of 201 men who have lost their jobs following accusations of sexual harassment in the past year, 43% of those who have been replaced have been replaced by women. The NYT has put together a handy list. But has enough been done? How far do we still have to go?
Well, only 36% of jobs in the creative sector are currently filled by women. At a senior level women are even less represented, making up only 11% of Creative Directors or equivalent across the sector. In TV, only 17% of output in a recent survey was helmed by female directors. This
The challenges facing Thomson Reuters spin-off
Matt D'Cruz 18th October 2018
The numbers look daunting
One of the biggest and longest-running media deals of the year finally closed earlier this month. Thomson Reuters has spun its successful Financial & Risk business out into a new company, backed by Blackstone and rebranded as Refinitiv. They've been making quite a lot of noise about it (including, excruciatingly, in a rap.) In doing so, the business has joined the likes of Acuris and Ascential in replacing a valuable and well-known brand with something vaguely techy-sounding but completely meaningless – both to the market and in English. While the new business contains many hugely talented people and some excellent brands (including the likes of Lipper and WorldCheck), dispensing with the TR name could leave it with a serious brand recognition problem in a highly competitive market.
From the point of view of what's left of Thomson Reuters, the decision is perplexing. Anyone who's been following B2B media over the last few years will know that the real long-term growth is in high-value subscription-based information and data products. While Thomson Reuters will retain
Ethical consumerism and the power of the millennial pound
Josephine Kemp 16th October 2018
According to the headlines (and backed up by recent studies) millennials are killing industries: the divorce industry, the diamond industry, and the oil industry, to name a few. For young consumers, it is appears that ethics trumps other concerns when looking for brands to support. This impacts where they invest, what they watch and where they work, with 14% of millennials saying they would not want to work in the oil and gas industry, the highest of any sector.
Kneel. Diamond.
Nike's Colin Kaepernick campaign saw a 3% dip in its share price, which would initially appear to be a red flag for the brand. However, a closer look reveals
Orderly Brexit required: egos need to be parked
Martin Tripp 10th July 2018
For a moment, there was clarity. And then, it was gone.
A very serious contender
A few weeks ago, we noted that the challenge for business is not Brexit, but uncertainty. At that time, we called for business leaders to make their positions clear. In due course, the heads of Airbus, BMW, and many other businesses stepped up. To be fair, they were probably responding to the comments by the outgoing head of the CBI, which prompted our blog, rather than to us. But we like to dream.
Let's be clear: the deal proposed by Theresa May last Friday would have been at best partially good for our clients rather than wholly brilliant. After all, services were excluded from the customs arrangement she had suggested, and our clients are largely in the services sector (digital media, entertainment, SaaS, training, etc). While they may have faced tariffs, depending on later individual trade agreements, this was sweetened by the beginnings of a framework for modified free movement of EU citizens to work, which is critical to their sectors. Meanwhile, the proposal on free movement of physical goods would have kept supply chains and food supplies moving. That is a good balance to strike. The May proposals were
UK economy: Brexit not the problem – uncertainty is
Martin Tripp 14th June 2018
Six letters, nil points
The outgoing President of the CBI has caused a small storm by saying that parts of British industry could become "extinct" unless a proper Brexit deal – including membership of the customs union, the CBI's preferred approach – is negotiated.
This has attracted the usual binary comments in the media: the 'we told you so' from the Remain camp, and the tedious charges of treason from Leave supporters.
But Paul Drechsler's interview was actually quite nuanced. There was very little that people of either viewpoint could disagree with: he contended that the debates had been ruled by politics rather than economics; that the uncertainty in government was having a knock-on effect to business, making it difficult to make investment decisions; and that the UK's economy is growing slower than most of its competitors as a result.
These are pretty much incontestable observations. Growth in the British economy is
Frenemies forever: Future fights between media owners and platforms
Chris Sutcliffe 3rd May 2018
With all the noise from Google and Facebook over projects to help fund journalism, from the Digital News Initiative to Facebook's forays into funding local journalism, you might think that those giants are finally putting their weight behind an industry that they've been accused of undermining.
At least pretend you mean it…
Similarly, as publishers abandon scale in pursuit of subscription models, you can easily believe that news publishers and search and social giants are no longer in direct competition for ad money and that therefore the lopsided competition between the two is at an end.
Both of those statements are true, to an extent. Google and Facebook are
Disney's strategy and what it means for broadcast
Rhea Mills 13th April 2018
Last week it was reported that Rupert Murdoch, as part of his attempt to buy 100% of Sky, may attempt to sell Sky News to Disney in order to keep regulators happy. It has subsequently emerged that Disney may have to bid for the entirety of Sky if the Competition and Markets Authority quashes Murdoch's bid. While the debate in this country has focused predominantly on Murdoch's endgame, relatively little attention has been paid to what Disney would be looking to gain here.
Disney's ambitions highlight several trends within the wider TV sector; they appear to be realising the hitherto missed tricks of traditional broadcasters when staving off the 'threat' of SVOD providers such as Netflix and Amazon. And they have plenty of reason to do so.
During the first quarter of this year, FierceCable reported, "Disney's media networks operating income fell 12% to $1.2 billion due to sagging performance by Hulu [reported as equity], A+E and the broadcasting segment." Pay-TV has generally found itself lagging behind
Cricket's ball-tampering controversy is about bad employment practices
The ball-tampering issue is not just about cheating in sport. It is about bad employment practices. It is about abuse of power.
For those not familiar with or interested in cricket, stick with it. There are some lessons to be learned for wider business here. Briefly, though, there was a cricket match between South Africa and Australia in which the Australian team were caught cheating. The technicalities are unimportant. The important thing is that in this case, a young cricketer, with only eight matches under his belt, was apparently cornered by a member of the 'leadership group' and asked to cheat for the 'good' of the team.
In normal employment terms, Cameron Bancroft, the man caught scuffing the ball and then lying about it, is an apprentice, or someone still serving his probation period. The player who approached him, it seems, was the vice-captain, David Warner. Let's call him
Books: print media's last stand
Quite rightly, there was a celebratory air to last week's IPG conference. While the trend for most media sectors is reported as gloomy, book sales have been consistently growing for the last few years.
Stronger than they look
According to Mintel, 74% of Brits bought or read / listened to a book in 2016/17. The Publishers Association reported record sales of books and journals in the same period, rising to £4.8bn. Sales in both print and digital categories are up – with print consumption massively dominating the UK market (around 90% of copy sales).
So why are print books outlasting their physical counterparts in other media sectors? Well,
ITV and WPP – similar problems, similar solutions
Martin Tripp 6th March 2018
Shares in both ITV and WPP have fallen dramatically following their latest results. In both cases, this can be put down to the habitual complacency of a market leader. Neither business has been quick enough to restructure, nor trail-blazing in its digital offering. Neither have understood the major threats to their businesses through the duopoly of Google and Facebook.
Looking up?
So while there are obvious similarities in the business failings, the stories at the top of the businesses differ markedly. WPP is still helmed by its leader of 32 years, Martin Sorrell. ITV, after years of Adam Crozier's stewardship, has a new CEO in Carolyn McCall.
McCall, the former CEO of the Guardian, has most recently been running EasyJet. She has seen advertising as both seller and buyer, and has hands-on experience of the value of data in her last role. As Simon English points out in the Standard, McCall is
Trinity Mirror and Express Newspapers: Death, taxes and media consolidation
Chris Sutcliffe 7th February 2018
When news broke last week that Express Newspapers and its titles the Daily Express, the Daily Star and their Sunday editions were back up for sale, the sense I had was that the other shoe had finally dropped. The only linked buyer, Trinity Mirror, had been in talks with Richard Desmond's media empire-ette about the acquisition three years ago, only for the discussions to collapse over a dispute about pensions.
Although a Trinity Mirror spokesman hedged about the exact date the £127m takeover bid would go through, saying "there's still some way to go. This is not yet a done deal", the reality is that those titles, plus celebrity title OK! magazine, will almost certainly be helping to prop up Trinity Mirror's business very shortly (Friday if you believe the reports). There's too much synergy between the two companies' strengths and their needs for it to be otherwise.
Trinity Mirror (which happens to also be in the news this week for another, less savoury reason) still needs to make savings. At the same time it is very keen to expand its portfolio and create a genuine national-to-local appeal to advertisers, as can be seen by its acquisition of regional newspaper group Local World. And just as with Local World, a big part of the appeal of the Northern & Shell assets is that it can conduct significant backroom synergy while retaining the coverage and scale.
Nintendo Labo: Innovation and sustainability in the gaming industry
James Dodd 19th January 2018
Nintendo Switch has just become America's fastest selling home games console selling 4.8m units in 10 months since launch. This exceeded the previous record of 4m units, also held by Nintendo for its Wii. (To blow our own trumpet for a moment, we had predicted in a previous blog at its launch that the Switch "could set the gaming world alight.")
Nintendo Labo: DIY at its finest
Not content with that, though, Nintendo announced its innovative new IP 'Labo' about which the press are already writing "this latest idea is so crazy it might just work" and "how small our imaginations were, and how glorious it is to be blindsided by Nintendo again."
So, what is Nintendo doing that other companies aren't, and what can we all learn from them?
In short, Nintendo has
Holding platforms to account in 2018: Part Two
Chris Sutcliffe 17th January 2018
Well, the best-laid plans of mice and men…
Only one week since we mooted the possibility that 2018 would be the year Facebook and Google would be held to account as publishers, Mark Zuckerberg stymies our plans for a part two by announcing that Facebook would no longer be a platform for quality news. It's hard to imagine a neater sidestepping of an issue.
In the latest Monday note, Frederic Filloux points out that publishers in Europe have a tendency
Holding platforms to account in 2018: Part One
Late last year a taxi drivers' organisation in Barcelona successfully challenged Uber's assertion that it is not primarily a transport company. The European Court of Justice ruled in the taxi drivers' favour, throwing out Uber's argument that it was first and foremost a digital service, noting that since Uber was central to the operation of the taxi-like service, it was more than simply an intermediary.
The ruling comes at a particularly interesting time for media companies in the UK. As Jason Moyer-Lee, general secretary of the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, said:
"Today's judgment made clear, as a matter of law, what everyone already knew as a matter of common sense: Uber provides transportation services, not technology services."
Part of the problem media companies have with platforms like Google and Facebook is a clash of definitions. It's well publicised that neither of the Duopoly consider themselves
The most important skill for journalists in 2018
Chris Sutcliffe 3rd January 2018
Scan any job site for journalism roles and you'll notice the same required skills and qualifications pop up more often than not. NCTJ certified degree or equivalent. Shorthand. Self-starter with a keen news sense.
Those are all useful skills, and in the ever more competitive world of journalism successful applicants will need to tick every single box. The issue is that many of the jobs advertised that way are for generalist news reporter positions, and there's no position more vulnerable in an age where many publishers are cutting back on editorial staff than the generalist news reporter. It's still possible to find yourself a niche, particularly if you're lucky enough to work for a specialist publication, but those positions are becoming rarer, especially for journalists new to the industry.
The reality is that as a result of the erosion of beat journalism in favour of creating mass-appeal general content, often journalists are distinguished less by the topics on which they are an expert and more on the way they can tell stories, whether that's through creating video, data visualisations, social campaigns or a news game. Establishing yourself as a master of one of those disciplines is a great way to ameliorate the risk of redundancy.
But there's an even more vital skill for journalists in 2018, one that's related to the reasons why the generalist journalist is at risk…
The age of 'audience-first' publishing needs a fresh set of metrics
Chris Sutcliffe 27th December 2017
At the tail end of 2017 many round-ups and prediction pieces (including my own) confidently asserted that 2018 will be the age of 'audience-first' publishing. It sounds an unnecessary description – surely publishing has always put audiences at the heart of their strategies – but it means something very tangible, and something that will hugely impact the media landscape over the next few months.
The Fox / Disney deal a boon for Rupert Murdoch's influence
Martin Tripp 18th December 2017
Rupert Murdoch, like most media moguls, craves two things: money and influence.
What is so fascinating about last week's proposed sale of Fox to Disney is that it demonstrates how much he values one over the other. Of course, this is not a deal that will make him any poorer – the Disney offer is strong, and Murdoch and other Fox shareholders will end up with an estimated 25% of one of the world's largest media organisations – but this is a deal which sees him giving up a lot of control over profitable businesses, whilst retaining almost all his political influence.
As part of the deal, he is selling the Fox stakes in Sky and Sky News, despite fighting so hard to gain full control of the business. Even if Sky News is a loss-leader, Sky itself is extremely lucrative for Murdoch, earning him and his fellow Fox shareholders around £500m each year. But the deal
Lessons for media businesses from competitive platforms
As early as 2015, media companies had a sneaking suspicion that third-party platforms might not have their best interests at heart. The term that got bandied around to describe Facebook and Google was 'frenemy'. Not even a handful of years later, the rhetoric is less ambiguous – the platforms are the feudal lords, and publishers are the serfs allowed to till their land.
Choose your platform with care
The pushback against that situation is now underway – through campaigns organised by the industry, through lawsuits designed to level the playing field, through dialogue with the platforms – but the truth is that the power balance is still skewed against publishers.
And it was a situation that the publishers should have (and probably did to some extent) see coming. Journalism trainer Adam Tinworth points out that Facebook had already done exactly the same rug-pull with marketers, but unfortunately, the promises of revenue from the tech giants ultimately proved too alluring for publishers.
Regardless of how the attempts to redress the issues with Google and Facebook go, hopefully media companies have finally learned that every other entity in the media landscape, at every step of the value chain, is a competitor. And if not, lessons can be learned from the following examples of the rug being pulled out from players in the media industry…
Is the structure of your business holding you back?
Matt D'Cruz 4th December 2017
Spot where the buck stops….
Not long ago I spoke to the CEO of a magazine publishing business, one which has been doing pretty well by the standards of the wider market. Its advertising and subscription revenues are holding up reasonably well, but growth has stalled. One reason for this is that the business is siloed by discipline, rather than by product range – so that the editors, salespeople and marketers all sit in different reporting lines, with minimal communication between them. The publishers, the people who might be expected to come up with new revenue streams – from events to online content marketing solutions – have responsibility for their revenue numbers but no direct control over their sales teams. As a result, they have fewer levers to pull and no way to put their plans into action. The result is a dearth of new ideas in the business, while the reporting lines make it difficult to attract the kind of talent who might be able to take the business forward.
Another example is a B2B publishing company with decades of success behind it. The organisation was, for many years, organised as a set of business units whose managers were incentivised purely on profit, rather than on revenue or other KPIs. For a long time, this worked. But it also disincentivised
How publishers can wake from the digital dream
Is the digital dream over for publishers? This week news out of BuzzFeed, VICE and Mashable indicated that might be so, and the rhetoric from media analysts suggested a mass awakening for those who hoped digital advertising alone could be the basis for a media business.
How to save money on recruitment
Martin Tripp 20th April 2017
Research from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation suggests 42% of employers have raised their levels of pay in order to secure difficult-to-attract staff.
What makes staff difficult-to-attract varies from company to company; but usually it is because the skill set needed is in high demand but low supply (HDLS); because of location issues; or because the company or its sector is simply 'not sexy'.
These are all valid reasons why your company may struggle to attract the best people. But poor recruitment practices are a much bigger issue.
72% say we'll be worse off, according to our Brexit survey
Boom – and we're off. Like it or not.
The EU ambassador has just delivered official notification to Donald Tusk of the UK's intention to leave the European Union.
Whatever your views about the result of the referendum, Brexit is now a reality, and is the environment in which we will all be operating.
So what does this mean for the industries we work in? We carried out a quick Brexit survey in the Autumn last year to ask people how they saw the future for their own business, and for the economy in general.
A summary of the results is below. But we would also like to see how – or if – sentiment has changed in the six months since then. Click on this link to complete an updated survey. This will only take two minutes.
Secondary ticketing – could self-regulation work?
James Dodd 22nd March 2017
Viagogo's decision this week to snub the culture committee's hearing into secondary ticketing was misguided and likely to imperil efforts at self-regulation.
The secondary ticketing market, which includes online marketplace sites like Viagogo and GetMeIn!, is worth an estimated $8bn a year.
While useful to genuine fans, these sites also make it very easy for touts to sell tickets at hugely inflated prices – and that, in part, is one of reasons why the committee was keen to take a look at the industry.
Can crowdfunding help media businesses?
James Dodd 23rd February 2017
In my last blog on gaming consoles, I asked whether anyone would be brave enough to launch a new Nintendo magazine in light of the projected success of the Nintendo Switch console. Well, it turns out they have been…
Just days after I wrote that piece, SwitchPlayer magazine received a limited release after funds were raise for its launch through crowdsourcing platform Patreon.


text:
Q: Bookcover class and extsizes package clash because bookcover calls geometry To have my cover match the content, I need a 17pt font size. Thus, I do this:
\documentclass[17pt,spinewidth=10mm,coverwidth=160mm,
coverheight=240mm,flapwidth=0mm,bleedwidth=3mm]{bookcover}
    \usepackage{extsizes}
    \begin{document}
    \begin{bookcover}
    Test
    \end{bookcover}
    \end{document}

As you can see, the margins get messed up. This appears to be a known problem. However, I can't move \usepackage{geometry) to after  \usepackage{extsizes} as it is called by  \documentclass{bookcover}.
What should I do? I should notice that I have built bookcover.cls as described on CTAN.

A: I think this is the best way in this case:
\documentclass[spinewidth=10mm,coverwidth=160mm,coverheight=240mm,flapwidth=0mm,bleedwidth=3mm]{bookcover}
\usepackage[fontsize=17pt]{scrextend}
\begin{document}
\begin{bookcover}
    \bookcovercomponent{normal}{back}{Test}
\end{bookcover}
\end{document}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange