text:
, est une chaîne d'hôtels japonaise créée en 2015 par la société H.I.S. Hotel Holdings.

C'est la première chaîne d'hôtels typiquement japonais qui ont la particularité d'être entièrement géré par des robots. La chaîne figure, à ce titre, dans le livre des records.

Toponymie
En japonais, le mot « henn » veut dire « étrange », comme il peut aussi prendre la signification du « changement », et d'après Miura Tatsuki, responsable du bureau des relations publiques de H.I.S, c'est cette dernière signification qu'ils ont à l'esprit.

Description
À la réception, on trouve deux robots en uniforme qui nous accueillent et nous souhaitent la bienvenue et qui nous guident durant l'enregistrement, ces derniers sont polyglottes, ils parlent l'anglais, le coréen et le chinois. Un autre robot est mis en disposition des clients pour s'occuper du bagage de ceux qui veulent le laisser à la réception, et puis un autre pour le déplacer jusqu'à la chambre, la porte de cette dernière s'ouvre par reconnaissance faciale .

Il y a aussi Unibo, un robot concierge plutôt sympa avec lequel on peut discuter et qui peut nous renseigner sur les différents endroits à proximité, comme les magasins, les restaurants, etc.

Dans chaque chambre se présente « Tapia », un robot à reconnaissance vocale qui s'occupe de la lumière, donne l'heure et annonce la météo. On trouve aussi un smartphone nommé « Handy » qui sert de télécommande pour la télévision et la climatisation comme il nous donne un accès gratuit aux services téléphoniques nationaux et internationaux. Sans oublier le LG Styler, un appareil qui nettoie et repasse les vêtements grâce à la vaporisation et aux vibrations.

En outre, on a la possibilité d'accéder à une Smart Plate qui affiche des informations touristiques sur la région et propose des jeux.

Les types de robots varient d'un hôtel à l'autre. Par exemple, à « Henn na Hotel » de Maihama dans la baie de Tokyo, se trouvent des dinosaures à la réception, ainsi que des décores attrayants et des attractions attachantes comme des robots poissons fossiles qui nageant dans un aquarium. D'après Miura Tatsuki, ces attractions ont été installées pour prolonger les moments de plaisir des clients qui viennent s'ajourner après avoir visité Disneyland Tokyo.

Notes et références

Liens extérieurs

  L'hôtel japonais entièrement robotique se sépare de ses robots 20minutes (2019-11-16)

Hôtel au Japon
Chaîne d'hôtels


The premises comprise a detached brick built office property on ground and first floors. It has the benefit of electric heating, carpets double, glazing, perimeter trunking fluorescent lights and is partitioned to form a mix of private offices and open plan areas. Male and female toilets are available on each floor Externally the building is set within a mature landscaped site and has 11 parking spaces. EPC awaited.
Monument House is modern brick built office building on ground and three upper floors. The available accommodation comprises of a refurbished open plan office on the third floor. The office benefits from an automatic passenger lift, air conditioning, 24hr access, entry phone system, kitchenette, with excellent natural light.
Monument House is a modern brick built office building on ground and three upper floors. The available accommodation comprises of a refurbished open plan office on the third floor that totals 1,400 sq ft. The suite could be split if necessary to provide two suites of 830 sq ft and 493 sq ft. If split the 493 sq ft suite would not have air conditioning due to the current A/C configuration.
Monument House is modern brick built office building on ground and three upper floors. The available accommodation comprises an open plan office on the second floor. Benefiting from an automatic passenger lift, air conditioning, dedicated parking, 24hr access, entry phone system, kitchenette, with excellent natural light.
The building has a prestigious entrance with an automatic passenger lift. The first floor comprises bright office 3,487 sqft overlooking Pinner Memorial Park.
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Realla.co - for all your HA5 commercial property to rent needs.


text:
Bill Gates Expresses Shock Over Low Number of COVID-19 Cases And Deaths In Africa
1. Ivanka Trump Plans to Attend Joe Biden's Inauguration Against Her Father's Wishes to Save Her Political Career - News
2. Federal Government Increases Electricity Tariffs Again - News
OVERVIEW OF: Bill Gates Expresses Shock Over Low Number of COVID-19 Cases And Deaths In Africa
Bill Gates, Covid19 Cases, Deaths, Africa
Bill Gates has said he is happy his prediction of coronavirus deaths in Africa failed.
Bill Gates has expressed shock as to why Africa is recording low COVID-19 deaths and cases.
The co-founder of Microsoft and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), said he still doesn't understand why that is so after high deaths and cases had been predicted for Africa.
Recall that Gates and his wife, Melinda had in more than one occasion, warned that there will be dead bodies all over the streets of Africa if the world does not act fast enough.
Melinda said her heart was in Africa, adding that she is worried that the continent might not be able to handle the devastating effect of the virus.
But in his end of the year note, Bill said he was happy his prediction about Africa has not happened, "One thing I'm happy to have been wrong about—at least, I hope I was wrong—is my fear that COVID-19 would run rampant in low-income countries. So far, this hasn't been true," he wrote.
In most of sub-Saharan Africa, for example, case rates and death rates remain much lower than in the U.S. or Europe and on par with New Zealand, which has received so much attention for its handling of the virus.
"The hardest-hit country on the continent is South Africa—but even there, the case rate is 40 percent lower than in the U.S., and the death rate is nearly 50 percent lower.
"We don't have enough data yet to understand why the numbers aren't as high as I worried they would get — but gave probable reasons Africa was not as affected as expected."
Meanwhile, Nigeria is currently fighting the second wave of the coronavirus.
The Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 had last week announced a second wave of the dreaded virus.
The Federal Government on Tuesday directed civil servants from grade level 12 and below to stay at home.
They are to remain at home for five weeks following the second wave of the COVID-19 disease in Nigeria.
Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, on Saturday stated that COVID-19 related deaths now stands at 1,247.
The country recorded 829 cases on Saturday.
Your Reaction On "Bill Gates Expresses Shock Over Low Number of COVID-19 Cases And Deaths In Africa" Is Important..
#bill gates #covid19 cases #deaths #africa
Davido's Fall Rated Number 163 World Best Song By American Music Magazine
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BREAKING!: Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, Tested Positive for Coronavirus

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


If you are the type of person that can look completely innocent while your actually full of BALONEY… this is the game for you!
Could you convince your friends that a guy named Thomas Crapper invented the crap game? Or was it the flush toilet?
The problem with most games is that you have to tell the truth. But, to play Baloney, you decide to tell the truth, a little Fib or even a huge Whopper. We give you all the lies…but it's only when you fool the other players that you win the game.


text:
Q: Running a Method in Constructor I am a newbie. So, I couldn't find the exact words to explain what I want to do. I will try to explain.
I created a class that extends some base class. In the base class I have some methods using the object specific information to run. I mean that we defined with a constructor.
So, in the class that extends my base class, I created a constructor with super, can I call some base class method in constructor in order to run automatically after object creation.
Like that:
class Base {
    String someInfo;

    Base(String someInfo) {
        this.someInfo = someInfo;
    }

    String someMethod() {
        return someInfo;
    }
}

class MClass extends Base {

    MClass(String someInfo) {
        super(someInfo);
        someMethod();
    }
}

A: Your question is more about theory, not practice.
In practice - you can. But you shouldn't do such things. It's about code smell and possibility for hard-to-find bugs. Look at this sample
class Base {
  private final String t;
  private final int length;
  Base(String t) {
    this.t = t;
    length = this.t.length();// here you'll got NullPointerException
  }
}
class Override {
   Override() {
     super(calculate());
   }
   String calculate() {
     return "Override";
   }
}
class OverrideB {
  private final String b = "some string";
  OverrideB() {
  }
  String calculate() {
    return b;
  }
}

In current sample when you'll try to create OverrideB instance you'll got NullPointerException - because b isn't instantiated at current moment (you can check it by yourself - it is about order of constructors calls).
But you have to options to avoid this problem:

*

*private methods (they cannot be overridden, only hidden in sub classes)

*final methods (same case as for private, but they can't be even hidden and they available for all subclasses)

PS according to class names conventions you should name your mClass as MClass.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Archive for Australia
Newsline: Venezuela called to appear in Canberra court over missed embassy rent payments
May 28, 2019 at 10:23 am · Filed under Australia, Venezuela and tagged: Australia, Venezuela
The Republic of Venezuela has been taken to court by a Canberra family who alleges the country owes them thousands in unpaid rent money. The Rosa family claimed the South American nation had missed more than $50,000 in rent payments for two properties in O'Malley it had previously used as an embassy. (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-28/venezuela-called-to-appear-in-canberra-court-over-missed-rent/11151010) In documents seeking a hearing in the ACT Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal, the family claimed that from 2017 the republic began to fall behind in payments, and eventually vacated under contentious circumstances. In October of that year, the embassy made headlines when its landlord blockaded the entrance using a construction vehicle. Things boiled over when top Venezuelan skier Cesar Augusto Baena Sierraalta struck the landlord, claiming the man had showed disrespect for his country. Mr Sierraalta pleaded guilty and was released on a good behaviour order, with no conviction recorded.
Newsline: Canberra Moroccan embassy employee claims underpayment
May 6, 2019 at 3:24 pm · Filed under Australia, Morocco and tagged: Australia, Morocco
The Moroccan embassy is locked in a dispute with an employee who claims to have been underpaid and overworked while in Canberra. Khalid Nassih said he was not paid in the the first six months he worked for the embassy, was forced to sleep in a laundry at the embassy residence, and regularly worked excessively long shifts. Mr Nassih said the embassy threatened to revoke his visa after his Australian-born wife challenged it to repay money owed to her husband. (https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6063130/moroccan-embassy-staffer-claims-he-has-been-underpaid-overworked/?src=rss) The embassy rejected the allegations in a statement to The Canberra Times. However, embassy employees have since met with Mr Nassih's wife, and agreed to increase his pay, cover some recent medical expenses and specify working hours as part of a new employment contract.
Newsline: Indonesia calls in Australian ambassador
March 18, 2019 at 8:45 pm · Filed under Australia, Indonesia and tagged: Australia, Indonesia
Indonesia called in its Australian ambassador to convey strong condemnation over Fraser Anning's statements linking the shooting to fears about immigration. (https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2019/mar/18/new-zealand-mosque-attack-police-search-homes-in-nsw-in-connection-with-shooting-live) Speaking on Mar. 18, Australian senator Fraser Anning refused to apologise over the original comments he made, he repeated his calls for a ban on Muslim immigration and said he is not sorry for hitting the 17-year-old boy who egged him.
Newsline: U.S. diplomat accuses China of using 'pay-day loan diplomacy'
March 13, 2019 at 9:24 am · Filed under Australia, China, US and tagged: Australia, China, US
China's is using "pay-day loan diplomacy" to exert influence in the Pacific, the new U.S. ambassador to Australia said on Mar. 13, comments that threaten to inflame regional tensions. Late last year U.S. Vice President Mike Pence accused China of ensnaring tiny island nations in foreign aid "debt traps". New U.S. Ambassador to Australia Arthur Culvahouse said Pence's criticism was not strong enough. "I would use stronger language – I would use payday loan diplomacy," Culvahouse told reporters in Canberra after presenting his diplomatic credentials to Australia's Governor-General. (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-pacific/china-using-pay-day-loan-diplomacy-in-the-pacific-u-s-diplomat-idUSKBN1QU0CG) "The money looks attractive and easy upfront, but you better read the fine print," he said. Lenders of pay-day loans typically charge a higher interest rate. Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China's cooperation with Pacific island countries was good for both parties and broadly welcomed by these countries.
Newsline: Australian embassy visa office in Iran shut down amid warning of possible corruption
February 9, 2019 at 5:18 pm · Filed under Australia, Iran and tagged: Australia, Iran
The Government has shut down its visa processing operations in Iran after it was warned some migration agents were boasting of corruptly obtaining visas through a contact in the Australian embassy in Tehran. The ABC understands the allegations, outlined in a letter sent to the embassy in January 2017, were then referred to Australia's peak corruption watchdog, the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI), for investigation (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-31/australian-embassy-in-iran-shuts-down-visa-processing-office/10761994). The visa processing section at the embassy was shut down in July last year. The ABC has been told that investigators — believed to be from ACLEI's Visa Integrity Task Force — have questioned several Iranians in Australia about the circumstances in which they obtained their visas.
Newsline: Man charged in Australia over suspect embassy packages
January 10, 2019 at 5:52 pm · Filed under Australia and tagged: Australia
A Victorian man is accused of sending asbestos in 38 packages to embassies and consulates in Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney. Victorian man Savas Avan, 49, faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday, charged with sending 38 dangerous articles in the post. He was arrested on Wednesday night at his Shepparton home, hours after consulates in Melbourne were forced into lockdown having received suspicious packages in the mail. A prosecutor told court the deliveries contained asbestos and Avan did not apply for bail.
https://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/consulates-warned-of-suspect-packages/news-story/e04e3de0d12e7cfc5ea011d95043af94
Newsline: Suspicious packages investigated at consulates, embassies in Australia
January 9, 2019 at 5:30 pm · Filed under Australia and tagged: Australia
Authorities said Wednesday that they were investigating suspicious packages that had been sent to several consulates and embassies in Melbourne and Canberra, the capital. Australian Federal Police gave few details, saying only that emergency units were responding to suspicious packages delivered to diplomatic addresses in the two cities. Victoria State Emergency Services began reporting hazardous-materials alerts along major streets that are home to numerous foreign consulates in Melbourne, the country's second-largest city, beginning early Wednesday afternoon. U.S. diplomatic officials in Australia told ABC, Australia's national public broadcaster, that the U.S. Consulate in Melbourne was among the institutions that had received the packages but that the U.S. Embassy in Canberra wasn't. "We handled the package according to our standard procedures and in close coordination with local authorities … who are investigating the incident," a spokesman for the Melbourne consulate told the news service. No further information was immediately available about Wednesday's reports, which came two days after a suspicious white powder was discovered in a package at the Argentine Consulate in Sydney, Australia's largest city.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/suspicious-packages-investigated-consulates-embassies-australia-n956536


text: MOBILE, AL - JULY 25: The Prancing Elites indulge in traditional Southern fare like shrimp and grits after a performance at the Saenger Theater in Mobile, AL. The team has been asked to perform at the Nappie Awards, an award show put on annually by Lagniappe, an independent bi-weekly newspaper in Mobile, AL. Since a video of team dancing at an LGBT basketball game went viral after being tweeted by former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal, the team has gained semi-celebrity status around Mobile, has been flown out to Los Angeles to appear on a TV talk show, and is currently filming a reality show about their lives. The Prancing Elites are a group of young, gay, black men who practice J-Sette, a form of dance birthed at Historically Black Colleges that is characterized by sharp, cheerleading-style movements and hip-hop performed to an eight-count beat. Traditionally, men cannot join college dance teams, so young gay black men have been forming their own J-Sette "lines," organizing competitions, and creating their own outlets to practice this type of dance. (Photo by Sara Naomi Lewkowicz/Getty Images Reportage)


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text:
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Can my dog eat


text:
Gov. Kasich Announces Dave Lucas as Ohio Poet Laureate
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Gov. John R. Kasich has named Dave Lucas of Cleveland Heights as Ohio's poet laureate. Lucas, whose two-year term began January 1, succeeds the state's first poet laureate, Dr. Amit Majmudar.
"Our state's poet laureate has an opportunity to engage Ohioans of every age in unique and challenging ways," said Kasich. "I'm confident Mr. Lucas will fulfill the special calling that comes with this honor, to help us look at our world from a new perspective and I wish him the best in his new role."
"I am grateful, humbled, and eager for the opportunity to serve as the Poet Laureate of the State of Ohio, and to celebrate poetry wherever we may find it—in books, on stage, and on screens; and in the metaphors that help us to understand our world and each other," said Lucas.
During his time as poet laureate, Lucas said he wants to help Ohioans use poetry to understand and enhance their lives. He is planning a multimedia project involving people from diverse places and backgrounds allowing them to experience a variety of opinions about poetry.
As a native Ohioan, born in Cleveland, Lucas earned his B.A. (English) at John Carroll University, M.F.A. (Creative Writing) at the University of Virginia, and M.A. and Ph.D. (English Language and Literature) at the University of Michigan. He has been an instructor at Case Western Reserve University; the Cleveland Clinic Program in Medical Humanities, Lerner College of Medicine; the John Carroll Young Writers Workshop; and Sweet Briar/James Madison University.
His achievements have included: The Reva and David Logan Foundation, For Your Gift grant award; the Cleveland Arts Prize, Emerging Artist in Literature; and a Creative Workforce Fellowship from the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture in Greater Cleveland. His work, Weather, was awarded the 2012 Ohioana Book Award in Poetry. His poems are anthologized in The Bedford Introduction to Literature and Best New Poets 2005, among other publications.
Legislation creating the position of the state's official poet was passed in 2014. Lucas was recommended for the position by the Ohio Poet Laureate Selection Committee, following an extensive statewide nomination and review process. Members of the selection committee were:
Ginger Warner, Ohio Arts Council board chair and selection committee chair
Caprice Bragg, Ohio Arts Council board member
Juan Cespedes, Ohio Arts Council board member
Jon D. Holt, Ohio Arts Council board member
Bill White, Ohio Arts Council board member
Eric H. Kearney, former state senator
Sandra Lim, poet
Photo courtesy of Dave Lucas
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text:
Q: For loop to identify a missing variable and create dummy rows in Python I have data frame with two columns

*

*Registration number of vehicle

*KM Service Done

There are 25,000+ vehicles with different registration numbers.
These vehicles have availed different services ranging from 10,000 km to 800,000 km.
Vehicle 1 has availed services 10,000km, 20,000km, 70,000km
[Services Missed : 30,000km, 40,000km, 50,000km, 60,000km]
Vehicle 2 has availed services 210,000km, 220,000km 230,000km, 250,000km
[Services Missed : 240,000 km]
and so on...
Requirement
For loop to identify which services are missed for a particular vehicle
and to create a dummy row with registration number, km service and a third column which specified service availed or service missed.
Here is a sample data
Registration Number KM Service Done
HY12TN2345  10000
HY12TN2345  20000
HY12TN2345  70000
JO78UI4675  210000
JO78UI4675  220000
JO78UI4675  230000
JO78UI4675  250000
RT09EW0764  80000
RT09EW0764  90000
RT09EW0764  100000
RT09EW0764  110000
RT09EW0764  150000
RT09EW0764  160000
RT09EW0764  170000
RT09EW0764  180000
EQ21IT3040  410000
EQ21IT3040  510000
Output would look something like this
Output

A: You can use reindex on series:
# get all possible values
all_services = df['KMServiceDone'].unique()

def reindex_grp(grp):
    s = grp.set_index('KMServiceDone')
    # add dummy rows for missing KMServiceDone
    s = s.reindex(all_services)
    return s.reset_index()

# apply function on each group
dfx = (df
      .groupby('RegistrationNumber', as_index=False)
      .apply(reindex_grp)
      .reset_index(drop=True))

# create status column
dfx['service_status'] = np.where(dfx['RegistrationNumber'].isna(),
                                 'Missed',
                                 'Availed')

print(dfx.head(20))

    KMServiceDone RegistrationNumber service_status
0           10000                NaN         Missed
1           20000                NaN         Missed
2           70000                NaN         Missed
3          210000                NaN         Missed
4          220000                NaN         Missed
5          230000                NaN         Missed
6          250000                NaN         Missed
7           80000                NaN         Missed
8           90000                NaN         Missed
9          100000                NaN         Missed
10         110000                NaN         Missed
11         150000                NaN         Missed
12         160000                NaN         Missed
13         170000                NaN         Missed
14         180000                NaN         Missed
15         410000         EQ21IT3040        Availed
16         510000         EQ21IT3040        Availed
17          10000         HY12TN2345        Availed
18          20000         HY12TN2345        Availed
19          70000         HY12TN2345        Availed

A: Using reindex & np.arange
df = (df.assign(Status="service_status")
.set_index("KMServiceDone")
.groupby("RegistrationNumber")["Status"]
.apply(lambda d: d.reindex(np.arange(min(d.index), max(d.index)+delta, delta)))
.reset_index()
.fillna("Missed"))

print (df)


text:
Cannes 2020: Spike Lee Presidente della Giuria
Pubblicato il 14 gennaio 2020 di Marco Albanese
Sarà Spike Lee a presiedere al giuria del 73° Festival di Cannes, in programma dal 12 al 23 maggio prossimo.
Questo il comunicato ufficiale:
The American director Spike Lee is to serve as President of the Jury at the next Festival de Cannes.
At 62, the filmmaker, who is also a screenwriter, actor, editor and producer, has made numerous films that have become cult objects, and he brought the questions and contentious issues of the times to contemporary cinema. But he's never lost sight of the public, setting out to raise their awareness of his causes in film after film.
Surrounded by his Jury, which will be announced in mid-April, Spike Lee will award the Palme d'or at the close of the 73rd edition, which will take place from 12 to 23 May 2020.
He's the one raising his fist. It was he who paid tribute to Robert Mitchum with the words "love" and "hate" engraved on his rings when he made his remarkable entrance into the great hall of the Palais des Festivals in 2018.
"In this life I have lived," he wrote in a long statement (see full version below), "my biggest blessings have been when they arrived unexpected, when they happened out of nowhere. When I got the call that I was offered the opportunity to be President of Cannes Jury for 2020, I was shocked, happy, surprised and proud all at the same time.
[…] To me the Cannes Film Festival (besides being the most important film festival in the world – no disrespect to anybody) has had a great impact on my film career. You could easily say Cannes changed the trajectory of who I became in world cinema."
In 2018, after a 22-year absence, Brooklyn-based director Spike Lee returned to the Competition with BlacKkKlansman, and offered up the glaring proof of his still undiminished anger and virtuosity. By turns a scathing comedy, detective thriller and political tract, the film was garnered the Grand Prix followed by the director's first Oscar for one of his films.
On behalf of the Festival de Cannes, its Board of Directors and its teams, Pierre Lescure, President, and Thierry Frémaux, General Delegate, are delighted to welcome both the artist and the man: "Spike Lee's perspective is more valuable than ever. Cannes is a natural homeland and a global sounding board for those who (re)awaken minds and question our stances and fixed ideas. Lee's flamboyant personality is sure to shake things up. What kinf of President of the Jury will he be? Find out in Cannes!"
Spike Lee will succeed Alejandro G. Iñárritu, whose Jury, in 2019, awarded the Palme d'or to Korean director Bong Joon-ho's Parasite, which continues to be a smash hit in cinemas around the world and has just won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film.
The Festival de Cannes will take place from Tuesday 12 to Saturday 23 May 2020. The Official Selection and the composition of the Jury will be revealed in mid-April.
Queste invece le parole di Spike Lee:
SPIKE LEE'S STATEMENT
"In this life I have lived, my biggest blessings have been when they arrived unexpected, when they happened out of nowhere. When I got the call that I was offered the opportunity to be President of Cannes Jury for 2020, I was shocked, happy, surprised and proud all at the same time.
To me the Cannes Film Festival (besides being the most important film festival in the world – no disrespect to anybody) has had a great impact on my film career. You could easily say Cannes changed the trajectory of who I became in world cinema.
It started way back in 1986 – my first feature film She's Gotta Have It, which won the Prix de la Jeunesse in the Director's Fortnight. The next joint was in 1989 – Do The Right Thing, an Official Selection in Competition. And I don't have the time nor space to write about the cinematic explosion that jumped off, still relative to this, 30 years later.
Then, Jungle Fever, 1991 – Official Selection in Competition, Girl 6, 1996 – Official Selection Out of Competition, Summer Of Sam, 1999 – Director's Fortnight, Ten Minutes Older, 2002 – Official Selection in Un Certain Regard and then BlacKkKlansman, 2018 – Official Selection in Competition where it won the Grand Prix, which became the launching pad for the world theatrical release which led to my Academy Award for screenplay.
So if you were keeping score that's 7 Spike Joints to be chosen.
In closing I'm honored to be the first person of the African diaspora (USA) to be named President of the Cannes Jury and of a main film festival
The Lee family sincerely thanks the Festival de Cannes, Pierre Lescure and Thierry Frémaux and the great people of France who have supported my film career throughout four decades. I will always treasure this special relationship.
Da People's Republic Of Brooklyn, New York.
Inviato su Cannes 2020Contrassegnato da tag Festival di Cannes 2020, Presidente della giuria, Spike Lee
Pubblicato da Marco Albanese
Critico cinematografico e avvocato, co-fondatore di SdC, iscritto al SNCCI e alla Online Film Critics Society, già selezionatore per il Lake Como Film Festival.	Mostra tutti gli articoli di Marco Albanese
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The whole world consists of supply and demand. And while some of us are actively buying, and others are just as enthusiastically selling, you can earn as an intermediary by providing a convenient system - the international online marketplace platform.
These platforms have become incredibly popular today: according to statistics, users prefer them to online stores, that is, to profile sites of niche players. But it's not enough to build a good wholesale marketplace. You need to create a product whose name will be a household word and which will join the ranks of the real leaders: Uber, Airbnb, eBay, and others.
Don't know what to start with? We are happy to help you to figure out all the details of this complicated issue. Our Agile team has successful experience of developing different peer-to-peer marketplaces, so now we're ready to share our expertise with you. You'll find only working and effective tips that we've tested in practice.
An online marketplace is a great way of connecting buyers and sellers online - of course, if it is properly designed. But before disclosing the main secrets of developing these unique web systems, let's try to structure them.
The first item on the list is quite clear, the last one will be considered in due course time, but we have to discuss the classification by type of participants in some detail right now.
B2B, P2P, B2C… is there any difference?
C2C marketplaces mean that all participants are private individuals, not business entrepreneurs. Therefore, this model is also known as "peer-to-peer". You'll find more details about peer-to-peer marketplace platforms in one of our articles.
Peer-to-peer marketplace examples: Etsy (handmade items), Preply (search for tutors), Uber (no comments!).
In the case of the B2C model, the interaction occurs between business and customers.
By the by, a B2C site can start its journey as a C2C resource. The Etsy platform, which was a peer-to-peer marketplace website before, now offers products from both private individuals and manufacturing companies.
The Internet site (a C2C model) has a vast number of users, and the business interests see that the market has formed their potential clients.
Individuals (ordinary users) start to receive a decent profit from transactions and decide to turn their "hobby" into a business.
Examples of B2C marketplaces: BedandBreakfast and Booking.com (search for accommodation in hotels and hostels), AliExpress (offers of manufacturing companies, from clothing to cars).
Online b2b marketplaces mean that businesses deal with each other on mutually beneficial terms. For example, manufacturers of building materials sell their products to construction companies.
horizontal (services or goods from different industries).
Instances of wholesale b2b marketplaces: Alibaba (wholesale purchases for entrepreneurs), BookingB2B (hotel owners cooperate with tour operators).
All the listed wholesale marketplaces are slightly different, but there are common bases that will help any of them to be effective.
Do not be afraid of the original peer-to-peer marketplace ideas, sometimes they are the key to your success and prosperity. Of course, one should not forget about the demand for a product or service, but an unconventional approach does not imply a lack of relevance… alas, a lot of entrepreneurs don't like to take risks, that's all. But a well-thought-out risk justifies itself and brings great dividends.
Uber. Today this resource is widely known, but it wasn't always like that. Agree, the idea of creating a meeting place for taxi drivers and passengers is quite unusual and fresh (in any case, it was fresh in those days). Of course, now everyone is copying it, hoping to repeat the success of Uber (that has set the trend, as we've already mentioned).
Bookis. Some time ago we were working on a project of a very interesting platform that gives users (mainly Norwegians) the chance to sell and buy new or second-hand books. Among Norwegians, there are many fans of paper books, and that's why this idea has paid off completely.
Warby Parker. The American manufacturer of vintage glasses Warby Parker has recently presented the original marketplace application which serves as a mediator between the doctor and the patient. It allows the user to take a visual acuity test and sends the result to the doctor. The latter checks it and, if necessary, gives new medical instructions.
Skillshare is a training peer-to-peer marketplace platform offering different video series, from creativity and culinary to economics and finance. Anyone can make a video lesson for Skillshare, though the quality is not always very high.
Thumbtack is a website that helps people to find local specialists of various profiles, including plumbers, electricians, teachers, etc. This is another original way of connecting buyers and sellers online, agree!
Of course, it's very easy to create an online b2b marketplace of a standard type. However, in this case, you can easily be lost among others. Moreover, the monsters of the market will surely outperform you. So look for really interesting peer-to-peer marketplace ideas.
Solve the real problem. Despite all the originality and uniqueness, b2b marketplace sites (as well as c2c, b2c, and others) should be able to solve one of the users' problems, otherwise, nothing will come out of it.
Look wider. Ask yourself: "What else do people need besides what is offered by the modern market? What services, goods will be useful?". After all, you don't need to provide this product (or service), your job is simply to create a peer-to-peer marketplace platform where the seller will find his buyer.
Show modesty. Peer-to-peer marketplace startups don't have to be as grandiose in scale as an Amazon b2b resource, for instance. Start small, analyze the market: maybe, driving schools would be happy to look for new students through your site (and vice versa)? Or create an online meeting place for those who want to find a guitar teacher and who can teach (if your research has shown that this service is in high demand right now). Then go for it!
Think about the geographical factor. Do you remember what we said about Bookis app? The idea has worked because Norwegians still prefer paper books to electronic ones. So think about a specific local market. Agree, a b2b marketplace in the UK and a b2b marketplace in the USA are not the same things because the British and Americans have different thoughts and needs. The idea which seems perfect for one country can fail in another.
Use a new approach. And, finally, if you could not come up with anything quite original, do not despair: some peer-to-peer marketplace startups succeed because they've offered the old idea in a new way. For example, through Airbnb didn't create a unique service, it made it at a higher level (among other things, Airbnb verifies the owners of housing much better than its competitors do). That's way Airbnb managed to take a place among the leaders.
Watch for competitive activity. Yes, it is not enough to explore the market at the start of the project. It is important to stay in touch with your competitors and monitor their activities. Do not let them outbid yourself!
Well, let's say, the idea for your project has been found... now the question is: how are you planning to get your profit?
Commission from the conducted transactions. This business model is rather popular. For users, its main advantage is that they don't pay the marketplace until getting real profits. Examples of such marketplaces: eBay, Fiverr, Airbnb, TaskRabbit, Uber, Etsy.
Subscription. A user (a buyer of the product or a customer of the service) must subscribe to get unlimited access to the site content. Subscription-based peer-to-peer marketplace platforms: the Skillshare training site we've already mentioned (it requires $ 12 per month for access to all lessons), as well as dating web resources (OkCupid, for instance). In the b2c segment, this model is often used on the recruitment sites (StackOverflow Careers takes money from companies so that they could access to the candidate database).
Fee for placement. This model is similar to the paid advertising - the marketplace provides the seller with an audience and guarantees the coverage of users. The Headhunter website is working on this basis.
Commission for the lead. Customers place their requests on the site, and sellers respond to them - of course, they should pay a commission percentage for this service. Example: YouDo, GetBlogger.
Premium models. The basic functionality of the c2c, b2c, b2b marketplaces is free, and users pay for the premium features. There is a great example of the Danish Peerby project which gives people a chance to exchange unnecessary things for free. The advanced paid functionality of Peerby includes the opportunity to ask for an advance payment (as an insurance) and order a convenient delivery system.
Promotion of advertisements. All advertising is usually free, and sellers pay only to make their ads more visible. This model is used at Etsy.com.
The original approach. There are also original ways to monetize international online marketplaces. We should mention Allyouneed.com in this respect, the famous marketplace connecting buyers and sellers online (all kind of goods are presented). It has been created by the logistics operator DHL. And the additional DHL's benefit is the chance to deliver all the goods by exploiting the facilities of the logistics business of the company.
Marketplaces often use several business models. The same Etsy resource takes a commission and, in some cases, charges a fee for advertising. This approach seems rather reasonable.
True, there is still a question of the optimal commission size... what can one advise on this matter?
Services or goods? There's a difference. Service marketplaces usually take a commission of about 20% (Uber, Lyft, Fiverr, Postmates). On the other hand, the commission of product marketplaces is much lower: eBay and Amazon b2b platforms charge 10%, and Etsy asks for 3.5%.
Examine the competitors. What commission size have your direct competitors set for their services?
Analyze the costs of maintaining the performance of the marketplace.
On the basis of the above data, set the minimum possible commission percentage (the lower it is, the greater the chance of attracting new users).
In a highly competitive environment, you, as the owner of the wholesale b2b marketplace (or c2c, b2с, it does not matter), should clearly state its benefits to sellers and buyers. But the main thing, potential users should know that a transaction process is securely protected.
How can you get users to trust you?
Make your peer-to-peer marketplace platform as convenient and useful to both sellers and buyers as possible.
Having multiple payment methods is an important factor in increasing the confidence in the online b2b marketplace, for any client prefers to have a choice.
Therefore, it is desirable to add different payment methods and take care of placing the online payment security certificate, as well as information about the confidentiality of the customer data. However, we will discuss the issue of the payment system later.
Create a security guide for users, tell them how to avoid potential dangers (because fraudsters can be met everywhere). The ideal option is to provide such a guide with audio and video tips.
Implement the chat-bot feature responsible for communicating with users in online mode (24/7). In addition, you can offer a list of the most popular questions (and accompany it with answers, of course).
Connecting buyers and sellers online, be sure to check your users as much as possible. If the seller or buyer seems unreliable to you, ban him (her).
Require the user verification - for example, through email and phone number validation. By the way, eBay takes advantage of the last option to verify the identity of the user.
And, of course, you can always verify users with the help of social networks.
This is an obvious step, but still a necessary one. Make the rules for using your wholesale b2b marketplace and think of possible consequences for breaking them. Naturally, such rules would be useful for c2c, b2c marketplaces too.
Provide an opportunity to complain about the user and add him to the blacklist. In addition, you can create a ranking system composed by the users themselves: this step will allow people to understand whom they can trust and to what extent.
Good site navigation directly affects the time a user should spend on searching for goods and making a purchase and, therefore, influences the user experience. And, of course, the better your wholesale marketplace is designed, the easier it will be for you to get the sellers.
Even such a simple thing as rearranging the elements of basic navigation can affect sales. When M&J Trimming, the retailer of clothing products, improved the web navigation system, it had gained a 19% increase in sales.
The header is very important. In total, visitors pay 23% of the attention to the top of b2b marketplaces. Typically, the header section includes basic navigation, a search engine, a basket button, and additional information (support contacts, the nearest store locator, most popular products, etc).
Simple and clear! All elements of the menu or UI should be clearly visible and intuitive for any user. Ideally, the user should make about 3 clicks to get to the page he needs.
Key elements everywhere. The most significant navigation elements should be present on each of the pages of the international online marketplace so that the user could easily navigate between the site sections.
Graphic design. Elements of navigation must contrast with the background color and differ from the main text. At the same time, it must harmonize with the design of the resource.
It is difficult to guess in advance how users will react to a particular product, including when it comes to b2b marketplace sites. And if you do not have a large budget, then there's no room for the mistake. So what should you do?
The advice to conduct a preliminary analysis of competitors and audience needs is good, but such a desk research alone is not enough to be 100% sure of the success of peer-to-peer marketplace startups. The best option is to use the obtained data to create an MVP model - a minimum viable product that allows figuring out what your users are willing to get (and to pay for). Having users feedback, you can improve your service in the way people expect.
An MVP model for the international online marketplaces doesn't mean a product that has been made in a hurry. Short-term development is due to the fact that the service contains only the key features. It makes sense, for studies show that almost 60% of the functionality remains unused.
check whether potential users will need your product.
learn the best way of further improvements.
get early adopters of your service.
By the way, Airbnb, this famous peer-to-peer marketplace platform, began its journey with the creation of the MVP when Joseph "Joe" Gebbia and Brian Joseph Chesky decided to rent their apartment in San Francisco to participants in the conference. They photographed the housing, made a simple advertising site, and soon could accept the first guests. Thus, these guys managed to see that the idea of renting their own housing for a short time was worth considering.
Foursquare also used this system. Its MVP contained check-ins and awards for them. Later, the MVP developers began to expand Foursquare capabilities by adding recommendations, as well as city guides (and they did it because they've analyzed the user's feedback).
When dealing with c2c, b2c, b2b marketplace sites, you should choose the right payment gateway interaction system. We have already covered this issue in one of our articles, and now we'll repeat the main points.
Of course, you can carry out the payment process directly on your site by asking users to enter their card details. However, this method is extremely difficult because you will have to guarantee the security of personal (and highly confidential) customer information. It is much easier to transfer a user to the intermediary's service that knows all the methods of accepting online payments and ensuring the security.
And don't forget about the geography of peer-to-peer marketplace startups. For example, the RAZORPAY platform is very popular in certain circles and offers the best onboarding and convenient payment acceptance technology. But it is oriented to the Indian businesses and does not suit Americans and Europeans.
We give examples of more widespread payment gateways.
Stripe is one of the most popular payment systems on the Internet. For today, Stripe carries out payments in 138 currencies, on 17 thousand trading platforms, in more than 20 countries. Moreover, the project continues to evolve by expanding the service geography and increasing the number of currencies supported.
The Stripe system has a high speed of payment processing and a reliable security system. In addition, it offers a very convenient technology for integration with sites.
But most importantly, the company has released a new sub-service named Stripe Connect and designed specifically for international online marketplaces.
PayPal remains one of the most successful payment e-systems in the US and European markets. The company offers excellent API and SDK, simplifying the work of developers. Business owners have the opportunity to track sales made with PayPal (via the PayPal Here program).
Today PayPal operates in most countries of the world and works with 20 major world currencies.
Another advantage of using PayPal is that the user only needs to enter his card details once, the information is being stored in his profile. This is convenient for making purchases in c2c, b2c, b2b marketplaces.
PayPal provides customers with additional guarantees. If the purchased goods have not been not delivered (or they don't correspond to the description), it is possible to apply to the system for a refund of the amount paid.
Braintree is a big player in the mobile payment market. PayPal bought it for $ 800 million in September 2013. Braintree offers the simplest API which can be accessed through PHP, Python, and Node.js. And wholesale marketplaces can use the Braintree Marketplace system.
Airbnb takes advantage of Braintree to accept in-app payments.
This is another simple and convenient system for making payments that collects credit card and e-check payments online. It offers flexible and convenient payment options, time-saving billing, real-time notifications, and other useful features.
We've discussed, and in detail, the issue of creating peer-to-peer marketplace startups in our article. Let's repeat the most important points.
Building from scratch. In this case, the development is being conducted without the use of ready-made templates. This approach, of course, complicates the process but it allows you to achieve the best results and create a unique wholesale marketplace that is best for your needs.
Ready-made platforms. If you want to save time and money, use one of the Ready-made open source platforms, for instance, Sharetribe, Cocorico, Mayocat.
Software as a Service. The SaaS solution is the easiest way to achieve your goal. Saas marketplace platforms are easy to create, but, alas, they're the least unique. The functionality of your SaaS marketplace site will depend entirely on the selected SaaS option.
Again, if you want to know more details about SaaS marketplace platforms, open-source templates, and development from scratch, read our article we've mentioned.
Even if you decided to start small and run the MVP model, as we advised, consider the possibility of future scaling of the project in advance: so that the functionality can be expanded and the design improved. Do not launch your online b2b marketplace until you have taken care of every little detail.
The development of the project will logically lead to an increase in the number of users and, accordingly, the amount of information processed. And your server should be able to cope with such loads. Moreover, you have to think about this beforehand. One way to solve this problem is to use a CDN system. We've discussed this topic in our articles.
Virtual shared hosting means that thousands of sites are stored on one server.
Virtual Private Server, (VPS / VDS): there is about a dozen (and more) virtual machines on one physical computer, and each one has its own operating system and computing powers.
each user who has basic administrative skills can independently configure VDS.
imperfect security (although higher than that of shared hosting).
Dedicated server. Of course, this is an excellent option for wholesale b2b marketplaces. In this case, you get your own server located in the data center of the hosting company.
server configuration requires the qualification of a system administrator.
In general, think about what you need: either to implement your peer-to-peer marketplace ideas as quickly as possible or to create an excellent product using the long-range approach.
What do you need to know when creating a website for connecting buyers and sellers online?
It is more logical to build a marketplace for a niche, in which there are no similar services. Try to be original, more or less.
It is worth starting with choosing a reliable contractor who will develop the site, and who will become a full partner of yours - one able to go through all the stages from business consulting to the launch of the project.
The c2c, b2c, b2b marketplaces must be reliable and scalable at the same time.
We are ready to help you in resolving item #3 and become your developer company. In our portfolio, there are interesting peer-to-peer marketplace examples, so we know all the nuances of this market.
Ask for advice, and our experts will be happy to share their experience.
According to statistics, the e-commerce market has been growing by 17-18% annually. However, traditional online stores are gradually giving way to peer-to-peer marketplace platforms that are gaining incredible popularity. As PwC predicts, this so-called "
CDN in Web and App Development: How Can You Use CDN in E-commerce?
In this article, we will tell you how to use CDN for business purposes and what this technology means and includes. The topic is complex and fascinating at the same time, and we hope our tips will help you figure it out.


Have you ever tried a whisky cocktail aged in age? We love helping out pals especially if its for a cocktail comp. This little gem was knocked up and out of the park for the Compass Box Whisky comp as a serve experimenting with temperatures as an ageing process.


text:
The AKLT model is an extension of the one-dimensional quantum Heisenberg spin model. The proposal and exact solution of this model by Ian Affleck, Elliott H. Lieb, Tom Kennedy and  provided crucial insight into the physics of the spin-1 Heisenberg chain. It has also served as a useful example for such concepts as valence bond solid order, symmetry-protected topological order and matrix product state wavefunctions.

Background

A major motivation for the AKLT model was the Majumdar–Ghosh chain. Because two out of every set of three neighboring spins in a Majumdar–Ghosh ground state are paired into a singlet, or valence bond, the three spins together can never be found to be in a spin 3/2 state. In fact, the Majumdar–Ghosh Hamiltonian is nothing but the sum of all projectors of three neighboring spins onto a 3/2 state.

The main insight of the AKLT paper was that this construction could be generalized to obtain exactly solvable models for spin sizes other than 1/2. Just as one end of a valence bond is a spin 1/2, the ends of two valence bonds can be combined into a spin 1, three into a spin 3/2, etc.

Definition

Affleck et al. were interested in constructing a one-dimensional state with a valence bond between every pair of sites. Because this leads to two spin 1/2s for every site, the result must be the wavefunction of a spin 1 system.

For every adjacent pair of the spin 1s, two of the four constituent spin 1/2s are stuck in a total spin zero state. Therefore, each pair of spin 1s is forbidden from being in a combined spin 2 state.
By writing this condition as a sum of projectors that favor the spin 2 state of pairs of spin 1s, AKLT arrived at the following Hamiltonian

up to a constant,
where the  are spin-1 operators, and  the local 2-point projector that favors the spin 2 state of an adjacent pair of spins.

This Hamiltonian is similar to the spin 1, one-dimensional quantum Heisenberg spin model but has an additional "biquadratic" spin interaction term.

Ground state

By construction, the ground state of the AKLT Hamiltonian is the valence bond solid with a single valence bond connecting every neighboring pair of sites. Pictorially, this may be represented as

Here the solid points represent spin 1/2s which are put into singlet states. The lines connecting the spin 1/2s are the valence bonds indicating the pattern of singlets. The ovals are projection operators which "tie" together two spin 1/2s  into a single spin 1, projecting out the spin 0 or singlet subspace and keeping only the spin 1 or triplet subspace. The symbols "+", "0" and "−" label the standard spin 1 basis states (eigenstates of the  operator).

Spin 1/2 edge states

For the case of spins arranged in a ring (periodic boundary conditions) the AKLT construction yields a unique ground state. But for the case of an open chain, the first and
last spin 1 have only a single neighbor, leaving one of their constituent spin 1/2s unpaired. As a result, the ends of the chain behave like free spin 1/2 moments even though
the system consists of spin 1s only.

The spin 1/2 edge states of the AKLT chain can be observed in a few different ways. For short chains, the edge states mix into a singlet or a triplet giving either a unique ground state or a three-fold multiplet of ground states. For longer chains, the edge states decouple exponentially quickly as a function of chain length leading to a ground state manifold that is four-fold degenerate. By using a numerical method such as DMRG to measure the local magnetization along the chain, it is also possible to see the edge states directly and to show that they can be removed by placing actual spin 1/2s at the ends. It has even proved possible to detect the spin 1/2 edge states in measurements of a quasi-1D magnetic compound containing a small amount of impurities whose role is to break the chains into finite segments. In 2021, a direct spectroscopic signature of spin 1/2 edge states was found in isolated quantum spin chains built out of triangulene, a spin 1 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.

Matrix product state representation

The simplicity of the AKLT ground state allows it to be represented in compact form as a matrix product state.
This is a wavefunction of the form

Here the As are a set of three matrices labeled by  and the trace comes from assuming periodic boundary conditions.

The AKLT ground state wavefunction corresponds to the choice:

where  is a Pauli matrix.

Generalizations and extensions

The AKLT model has been solved on lattices of higher dimension, even in quasicrystals .  The model has also been constructed for higher Lie algebras including SU(n), SO(n), Sp(n) and extended to the quantum groups SUq(n).

References

Spin models
Statistical mechanics
Quantum magnetism
Lattice models

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Stad/Region
Bert van den Berg, Director Logistics Services, Hiab:
"Unifaun TMS gives us great value at a reasonable cost."
HIAB is an abbreviation of Hydrauliska Industrier AB (Hydraulic Industries Ltd.), the company was started in 1944 by ski manufacturer Eric Sundin who needed to streamline the handling of timber from the nearby forests to his ski factory in Hudiksvall. This led to the birth of the "Hiab method", which became a pioneering mechanical method for load handling. Over time, the business has grown organically and through acquisitions, and is currently one of three business areas within Cargotec.
"Since I started at Hiab 26 years ago, the development has been very rapid. We are currently global market leader in handling equipment for road vehicles, and this equipment is supported by increasingly intelligent software and smart, connected solutions", says Bert van den Berg, Director Logistics Services, Hiab.
He describes how the brand has become generic for a truck-mounted crane in many parts of the world to the extent that customers say, "I'm going to buy a Hiab". In addition to the Hiab brand, the company's product portfolio now includes Argos, Loglift, Jonsered, Moffett, Princeton, Multilift, Zepro, Del and Waltco. Hiab's customers can be found across many industries and range from single truck owners to international entities with large vehicle fleets.
Aftermarket service of the highest calibre
A global market with increasingly tougher competition and more discerning customers demands that product availability, fast delivery, and first class service should be a matter of course. For Hiab's customers, downtime in vehicles costs a lot of money, so it is vital that spare parts are delivered quickly and with high precision.
"The demands for streamlining, including reduced capital tied up, increase every year. At the same time, we have long lead times, which sets requirements for buffers and well-stocked warehouses. In this case, we invest in various software programs to help us to increase the efficiency of our supply chain as much as possible. One example is Unifaun TMS, which we implemented in our European central distribution warehouses as early as 2013", says Bert, and he notes that the need for a good TMS is self-evident for all companies requiring the option to monitor how their purchased transport activities are carried out and develop over time.
Agile spare parts warehouse in the USA
In 2015, Bert van den Berg was stationed in the USA with the assignment to establish a central distribution warehouse for spare parts in the USA and the rest of the Americas. The stated objective was to optimise and streamline the supply of spare parts.
"I had a three-year assignment in the USA and our assessment was that it would take around a year to get off the ground and start up a new warehouse. We conducted a centre of gravity analysis and concluded that an ideal location would be in Plainfield, Indiana. A crucial determinant behind the location decision was that both FedEx and UPS had a couple of central hubs located in the vicinity.
We built quite a traditional spare parts warehouse, with a large amount of manual handling and substantial buffers in order to ensure the high availability of the most requested spare parts.
"We have a huge flora of different spare parts and the warehouse therefore only stores a part of this. As a complement, we therefore need an extremely flexible and fast supply chain to handle everything else. We have almost fifty service centres in the USA alone that need a rapid and precise flow of spare parts. In order to succeed, we need different software programs for planning, inventory, orders and transport", explains Bert.
Cost-effective remote implementation
The establishment of the USA warehouse was facilitated by the earlier development of the processes, system integrations and much more at the European spare parts warehouse in Metz, France, a few years ago.
"Using good, well-functioning processes and software programs everywhere in the business is a philosophy we follow in the company. In the light of this, the decision to also use Unifaun TMS in the USA was an easy one to make. Unifaun helped us to copy our European set-up in very efficient way, as well as to add new regional transport services to the system, and this allowed us to keep costs down and avoid new costly integrations and adaptations to our SAP business system. In addition, Unifaun personnel handled everything remotely, making the process extremely efficient and fast.
"Trusting collaboration"
Bert van den Berg describes how there was some concern that problems might arise due to the time difference between Europe and the USA, but notes that the implementation was painless, where all orders are registered in SAP, which provides full traceability and feedback on carrier performance. He emphasises that Unifaun's TMS is an important tool for booking transport, but the great value lies in the opportunity to follow up carrier performance, to ensure that the right transport service is delivered at the right price, as well as its use a basis for improvement and negotiation.
"Using our TMS, we can ensure both better quality and reduced cost in our supply chain. Unifaun TMS is a stable, reliable and agile system that gives us great value at a reasonable cost. Through a trusting collaboration with Unifaun personnel, we have also developed a well-defined process in which we can easily add new services and carriers with rapid implementation.
About Bert van den Berg
Bert van den Berg has worked at Hiab for the past 26 years. He began his career in 1994, at Hiab's logistics and purchasing department. He subsequently became logistics manager, factory manager and head of logistics planning, among other things. He has been Director Logistics Services at Hiab since 2019. Bert lives with his family in the picturesque village of Ruinen in Drenthe, Holland.
About HIAB
HIAB developed the world's first loader crane in 1944, and now HIAB produces cranes for almost all needs and lifting tasks. Hiab is a world-leading provider of equipment, intelligent services and digital solutions for on-road load handling. Hiab's offering encompasses class-leading load handling equipment with HIAB loader cranes, LOGLIFT and JONSERED forestry and recycling cranes, MOFFETT semi-trailers, MULTILIFT demountables and tail lifts under the ZEPRO, DEL and WALTCO brands. As industry pioneer, our commitment is to increase efficiency in our customers' businesses and to shape the future of intelligent load handling. www.hiab.com
Why choose Unifaun TMS according to Bert van den Berg
A stable, reliable and agile TMS
Established processes, easy and cost-efficient to implement in different parts of the world
Good cooperation based on mutual trust
Gives us great data as basis for further development, negotiation and continuous improvement


Madagascar is famous for its rum. Besides commercially in fabrics produced rum such as Dzama, there still is another very special kind of rum on the island: Toaka gasy. The word simply means "Malagasy rum" and points to a traditionally manufactured drink. Rumor has it that it may even resurrect the dead.
Malagasy law only allows production of Toaka gasy for own consumption. But in southern Madagascar, no one is really interested in enforcing these laws. Whole villages subsist on rum production here. Right beside RN7, a booming trade with Toaka gasy has come up during the last decades. If the police catches you in a Taxibrousse carrying several bottles of Toaka or if you even try to smuggle liters of rum from the South, you will have to expect high penalties. In southern Madagascar, one liter of rum costs about 2000 Ariary. But not for all: Who travels there from the capital or is on the road with foreign tourists, may be charged the double or triple quickly.
The rum villagers prefer to use a mixture of tamarind and sugar cane shred for rum production. They harvest tamarinds from the eponymic trees and grow sugar cane fields. Both is cut into tiny pieces and mashed. One old oil barrel full of sugar cane shred makes an average of 20 liters of rum.
Depending on weather conditions, the mixture ferments for about seven days in the oil barrels that have been sealed with clay. The fermentation process produces alcohol. If it is finished, the villagers put the barrels on open fire. In most cases, they can only cook a half barrel at once. The cooking vapors get into some kind of distillation apparatus. This apparatus is completely hand-made and consists of a metal pipe in a dirty wooden trough filled with even dirtier water. The evaporating alcohol is lead from the oil barrel into the metal pipe, where the surrounding water cools down the vapor and the alcohol condenses. At the end of the pipe, there is a small drain with a simple empty coke bottle beneath. The drain often has a small dirty piece of wool working as rudimentary filter. The result is a clear fluid that is really strong.
Who wants to buy this traditionally produced rum has to be careful. For Madagascans, the higher the concentration the clearer and of better quality is the rum. But in many places, people dilute Toaka gasy with water to make it more drinkable – and this water is surely not clean. Additionally, most rum farmers have no idea what concentration their drinks might have. Alcohol concentrations above 75% are possible. People who are not aware of the danger of such high alcohol levels can become alcohol poisoned soon or may be permanently damaged.
Nevertheless, the traditionally manufactured rum is part of every festivity in Madagascar. People drink it during marriages as well as for sacrifice ceremonies, circumcisions or at Famadihanas. It is the rum that makes people talk and augurs a good time – as long as you do not drink too much.


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Vassallo Int'l Group in Ponce files for Ch. 11 bankruptcy
Michelle Kantrow-Vázquez November 18, 2016
Vassallo International Group manufactures, distributes and researches PVC and CPVC products.
Ponce-based Vassallo International Group, which manufactures, distributes and sells more than 6,000 different products for a wide range of applications and industries, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing nearly $9.8 million in debt.
According to the filing, the manufacturer that has been in business for more than 50 years, has some $3.8 million in secured debt, another $5.8 million in unsecured creditors and nearly $200,000 in priority creditors.
The list includes the Puerto Rico Economic Development Bank, to which it owes more than $1.1 million, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, to which it owes more than $1.8 million, Engineered Vinyl Blends LLC, to which it owes $1.2 million, Hacienda Vivianna Inc., to which it owes $1.2 million, and Heritage P.R LLC, to which it owes $1.5 million.
Vassallo International Group manufactures, distributes and researches PVC and CPVC products. Its facilities comprise a 250,000 square-foot main building, a range of machinery for the manufacturing of each different line of products and custom manufacturing, research laboratories, management and employee offices, resting areas, cafeteria, storage spaces and distribution center.
Michelle Kantrow-Vázquez
Business reporter with 27 years of experience writing for weekly and daily newspapers, as well as trade publications in Puerto Rico. My list of former employers includes Caribbean Business, The San Juan Star, and the Puerto Rico Daily Sun, among others. My areas of expertise include telecommunications, technology, retail, agriculture, tourism, banking and most other areas of the economy.
mkantrow@newsismybusiness.com
Vassallo
Puerto Rico bankruptcy filings -31% year-over-year in October
Michelle Kantrow-Vázquez November 5, 2020
Bankruptcy filings down 31.1% in Puerto Rico in September
Michelle Kantrow-Vázquez October 6, 2020
Puerto Rico residents have filed 2K+ bankruptcy cases since mid-March
Michelle Kantrow-Vázquez September 11, 2020
P.R. bankruptcy filings down 4.8% in September
Contributor October 2, 2019


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Free Presentation: ''Why Are There Two Grotons?'' June 26 in Groton
Town? City? Borough? County? Fire district? Village? Section of Town?
Connecticut has a lot of terms for where we live and how we are governed.
Using Groton as an example, the League of Women Voters SECT will present a series of talks explaining these divisions, how they affect us, and ideas that are being presented for any changes.
Jim Streeter, respected historian for Groton, and former Town and City counselor, will present the first talk about how Groton developed into various entities. Join us on June 26, Groton Public Library at 7PM to learn about this complicated and interesting issue. Admission is free and open to the public.
The League of Women Voters of Southeastern Connecticut is a non-partisan organization, of women and men, that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
Free Presentation: ''Why Are There Tw...
The League of Women Voters of Southeastern Connecticut
Sally Booth Board Member


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TWO's Mission
Ex-Gay Myth
African American Perspectives
Ex-Team
The Michael Johnston 'Ex-Gay' Scandal
Phillip Perry January 31, 2008
Michael Johnston (pictured, right) in 2012 worked for Pure Life Ministries in Kentucky
In Aug. 2003, TruthWinsOut.org founder Wayne Besen received a call from Virginia attorney Michael Hamar. He had a client who believed he may have been infected with HIV from 'ex-gay' leader Michael Johnston.
Johnston was the founder of National Coming Out of Homosexuality Day. He was Rev. Jerry Falwell's personal ex-gay leader. Johnston also starred in a video for the American Family Association, "It's Not Gay, and an ad for Coral Ridge Ministries. Additionally, he partnered with anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera, who paraded Johnston around and hawked his tale of change.
In Aug. 2003, Besen took the train down to Norfolk, where Hamar introduced him to two men who claimed to have had unsafe sex with Johnston. Others have since been identified.
Atlanta's GLBT newspaper Southern Voice broke the story. In the article, a spokesperson for the American Family Association admitted that Johnston had what he called, a "moral fall." Johnston was shipped off to Pure Life Ministries, a sex addiction facility in rural Kentucky. He never left the facility and works there today.
Johnston was not prosecuted because the men involved were worried about losing their jobs. Both men, however, are grateful, that TruthWinsOut,org is telling the Michael Johnston story.
Sadly, the American Family Association still sells Johnston's fraudulent video, "It's Not Gay,"- without warning buyers about Johnston's moral morass. The video is also shamelessly promoted by LaBarbera, who cares little for the truth and has yet to apologize for his role in giving Johnston a platform.
In this video, we show Michael Johnston in the act of lying about how he had magically transformed from gay to straight.
Sign Up for TWO's Exciting, New Instagram Account
British Prime Minister Won't Stop 'Pray Away the Gay' Programs in Weak Conversion Therapy 'Ban' Proposal
TWO Praises NCAA for Supporting Trans Athletes
TWO Calls on the FBI to Arrest Jewish Press Editor for Storming U.S. Capitol
Church Thanks Gay FTL Mayor for Proclamation by Comparing Gay Marriage to Wedding a Volkswagen
Church Thanks Gay FTL Mayor for Proclamation by Comparing Gay Marriage to Wedding a Volkswagen 43 views
TWO Calls on Fort Lauderdale to Not Honor Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church 15 views
TWO Statement on Milo Yiannopoulos Announcing he's "Ex-Gay" 15 views
G. Craige Lewis: The Most Dangerous Preacher in the Black Church 10 views
EXCLUSIVE: Dr. Robert Spitzer Apologizes to Gay Community for Infamous 'Ex-Gay' Study 10 views
UK Conversion Therapy Ban: We've Been Patient and Calm, But it's Time to (Quickly) Carry On
Pray Away Documentary Picked Up by Netflix
Medical and Mental Health Experts Reject Conversion Efforts
Albert Mohler's Conversion Fraud Factory
The demagogic demonstration by pastors highlights that the state must protect citizens from abusers – even if they… twitter.com/i/web/status/14845…
Hey, @Google and @Meta and @Microsoft @amazon. Today seems like a great time to rid your platforms of ALL conversio… twitter.com/i/web/status/14841…
Excellent podcast featuring Chaim Levin on the harms of "ex-gay" conversion therapy. Host Alzo Slade did a great jo… twitter.com/i/web/status/14838…
Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that fights the "ex-gay" myth and antigay religious extremism.
TWO monitors anti-LGBT organizations, documents their lies and exposes wrongdoing. TWO specializes in turning information into action by organizing, advocating and fighting for truth, integrity, and equality for sexual minorities.
Learn more about our staff and volunteers.
Back to Top Copyright © 2019 Truth Wins Out. All rights reserved. 1230 Arch Street, 5D, Philadelphia, PA 19107 | wayne@archive.truthwinsout.org


Our MISSION is to provide superior service to our independent financial advisors and provide consultation on all aspects of their independent business.
Our GOAL is to fulfill our purpose and accomplish our mission, with a commitment to excellence, integrity, and quality growth.
Under general supervision, uses skills gained through training and experience to assist with specific projects within an assigned functional area for a specified period of time. Follows established procedures to perform tasks and receives general guidance and direction to perform other work with substantial variety and varied complexity. Some judgment is required to adapt procedures, processes and techniques to apply to more complex assignments. Resolves routine questions and problems and refers more complex issues to a higher level. Routine contact with internal and external customers may be required to exchange basic information.
Specified projects and varied assignments.


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January 16, 2021 by Michelle Margaret Fajkus Learning Strategies, Our Top Picks 0 comments
25 Free Printable Spanish E-Books for Adults
With free printable Spanish e-books, you can harness the power of reading to learn Spanish both efficiently and effectively. Reading truly boosts comprehension in a unique way.
As a learning strategy, reading is more effective than watching TV. Even reading at a slower pace than you do in your native language exposes you to more sentences than the average TV show.
While watching Spanish videos and listening to Spanish podcasts are helpful, it's important to balance it with reading. The sentences you'll find in most books tend to be more developed and complex than the casual conversation you typically hear in podcasts, shows, and movies.
Reading teaches you new vocabulary words via context clues, and it's intellectually stimulating. By finding books and genres that you love, you pique your curiosity and motivate yourself to continue improving your Spanish skills.
Tips for Reading Free Printable Spanish E-books
Before diving into our list of 25 free printable Spanish e-books, here are some tips to help you get started with reading as a Spanish learning strategy!
1. Start Where You Are
Begin with fables, fairy tales, and folk stories with which you are familiar or have already read in English. Having an initial sense of the plot, context, and characters makes it easier to follow along with the story.
Finding interesting Spanish books that are appropriate for beginners can be a challenge, but the key is to find the perfect material for your level. In other words, start where you are and don't attempt to read texts that are above your level of comprehension.
The truth is, reading in Spanish is only useful if you start with a book you'll stick with—a book that's at your reading level with a subject matter that interests you.
2. Alternate Between English and Spanish
When you tire of reading in Spanish, but don't want to go down a level, opt for reading the chapter in English, then read the same chapter in Spanish. This technique is especially helpful with fantasy and science fiction novels, as those genres tend to involve a lot of new and specific vocabulary.
3. Use a Dictionary
Beginners benefit from using a Spanish-English dictionary to look up unfamiliar words.
For intermediate and advanced learners, it's ideal to use a Spanish-Spanish dictionary instead to look up the definition of unfamiliar words in Spanish.
If you're reading on a tablet, you can change the settings on your Kindle app to "Spanish" and restart the application. That way, when you highlight a word, the definition will appear in Spanish.
4. Highlight Words and Phrases
Highlight new vocabulary words and phrases as you read. At the end of each chapter, write them down in your notebook. Go back and review them periodically to commit them to memory.
25 Free Printable Spanish E-Books Organized by Level
All the e-books on this list are free!
Also, check to see if your local public library has digital lending programs, as that's another great way to find e-books online.
E-books are mobile, compact, and convenient. They can even be printed—all the titles on this curated list are in HTML or PDF format, and they are printable!
This list contains a ton of resources for accessing books from the most basic level to more nuanced literature. It's divided into books that are ideal for beginner, intermediate, and advanced learners, respectively.
Free Printable Spanish E-Books for Beginners
So, you're ready to read your first book in another language! After you begin to read, your understanding of the story will surprise you. Although words and phrases pop up that you don't know, keep on reading—as you know, practice makes perfect!
1. Cuentos de Hadas by the Brothers Grimm
The original title of these two volumes published in 1812 and 1815 was "Tales for Childhood and Home." The collection was expanded in 1857 and is popularly known as Grimm's Fairy Tales. It includes 20 classic fairy tales such as Snow White, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, and Thumbelina.
2. An Elementary Spanish Reader by Earl Stanley Harrison
This free e-book consists of 21 short stories that are perfect for the novice Spanish speaker. It also features a vocabulary index at the end. Because the stories are short, they're easy and fun to read.
3. La Mitología para los niños by Fernán Caballero
Mythology for Children is an excellent primer to give beginning Spanish learners an introduction to mythology. If you're already familiar with Greek mythology, these fantastic stories will be more immediately understandable.
4. Fortuna: Historia de un perro agradecido by Enrique Pérez Escrich
Animal lovers, this one's for you! Fortuna is an interesting account of the adventures of a boy who is kidnapped and rescued by a dog he had befriended. Its clear and simple language makes it appropriate for beginners.
5. Los Extraños Trabajos de Paulino y Eusebio by Eloy Barba Dominguez
This book is about working towards your dreams. Paulino wants to buy a drum set and become a rock star. He and his friend Eusebio have to save enough money to buy the best instrument possible and enter into an incredible adventure in the process. This story is relatively short and great for practicing the past tense.
6. Novelas cortas by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón
Written by acclaimed Andalusian author Pedro Antonio de Alarcón, these novelas were originally published in 1882 and offer insight into Spanish life and history. They are short and easy to follow for a new learner. If you love historical fiction, this is a splendid option!
7. Life of Basil: La Vida de Albahaca by Colin Hann and Pedro Páramo
This illustrated bilingual book tells an easy-to-read story. Basil finds himself in a strange new pot and meets our other chatty potted plants. They think they know it all, but when it comes to animals, they know nothing. One wild assumption followed by another gets them into trouble. Next time they may not be so lucky!
8. Papelucho by Marcela Paz.
Papelucho has been called the South American Dennis the Menace. His adventures are told in simple language with a limited vocabulary. Twelve Papelucho books were published between 1947 and 1974, making the series a classic for children in Chile.
Get Your Free Copy of Weird & Wacky Spanish Stories for Beginners
Type in your name and email to get 6 weird, wacky, and super entertaining Spanish stories for you and your family! Enjoy a magazine-style eBook with pictures and English-Spanish parallel text. Start reading in Spanish today!
Free Printable Spanish E-Books for Intermediate Learners
Intermediate learners, check out the e-books below to use your improving Spanish reading skills and move toward increased fluency.
9. Su único hijo by Leopoldo Alas
His Only Son centers on the hapless Bonifacio Reyes and his wife Emma. A sharp provincial satire, this free printable Spanish e-book offers two great character portraits in Emma and Bonifacio. It's a solid and often funny work that is accessible and enjoyable for intermediate Spanish learners.
10. Spanish Tales for Beginners by Louis Reinhardt and E.C. Hills
This collection contains multiple works by acclaimed Hispanic authors, including literature and poetry. Although the title says "Beginners," the content includes the subjunctive mood and other advanced verb tenses.
11. Vida de Lazarillo de Tormes by Anonymous
This is the first known modern Spanish novel, and its author is considered the founder of the picaresca literary genre. This style of prose depicts the adventures of a roguish hero who lives by his wits in a corrupt society. The story follows a little boy named Lazarillo who serves as an apprentice to a blind man.
12. El Sombrero de tres picos by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón
The Three-Cornered Hat is an 1874 short novel that depicts the tale of a wealthy magistrate who is in love with a miller's wife. The novel has a theatrical format, and it has been compared with the famous Cervantes novel Don Quijote.
13. El Capitán Veneno by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón
Another book by Alarcón, this is the story of a famous fire-eater. Set in mid-19th century Spain, this historical fiction story follows a captain's domestication through love during a time of social change. The action takes place in Madrid in 1848, a year of street riots and military rule in Spain.
14. Aura by Carlos Fuentes
Aura is a short fantasy novel with deep psychological themes. In Mexico, it is studied at the middle school level, which shows a level of complexity that might be manageable for a Spanish learner. First published in 1962, this novel contains remarkable descriptions of "dreamlike" themes and a main character with a "double identity."
15. Juan Salvador Gaviota by Richard Bach
Jonathan Livingston Seagull is an American classic. It uses simple language, making it a great choice to read in Spanish. This is a fable in novella form about a seagull who is trying to learn about life and flight, as well as a homily about self-perfection.
16. Doce Cuentos Peregrinos by Gabriel García Márquez
Strange Pilgrims is a collection of 12 loosely related short stories by the Nobel Prize-winning Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez. Published in 1992, the stories were originally written during the seventies and eighties. This book is the perfect way to introduce yourself into the "magical realism" worlds created by this legendary author.
17. El Principito by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The Little Prince follows a young prince who visits various planets in space, including Earth, and addresses themes of loneliness, friendship, love, and loss. Despite its style as a children's book, this whimsical book makes observations about life and human nature. It features a simple writing style that makes it an excellent choice to read in a new language.
18. Un Pingüino en el Desierto by Carlos Puerto
A Penguin in the Desert tells the story of Jaima and her penguin. They embark on a journey together and learn meaningful life lessons. Written for tweens, it's an easy-to-tell story with a deep message.
Free Printable Spanish E-Books for Advanced Learners
As an advanced Spanish learner, you can enjoy the works of Latin American authors in their original language. Consider delving into Spanish literature, novels, and texts that are longer and more complicated.
19. El poder del ahora by Eckhart Tolle
The Power of Now takes readers on an inspiring spiritual journey to find their true and deepest self. Read this book if you seek personal growth, mindfulness, and spirituality—all while learning Spanish to boot!
20. La rana viajera by Julio Camba
La rana viajera is a collection of stories told from the perspective of a Galician traveler who settled in Madrid. It discusses the peculiarities of society, politics, and Spanish thought. It employs irony and sarcasm as it explores the beauty and truth of life.
21. Doña Perfecta by Benito Pérez Galdós
Doña Perfecta (Mrs. Perfect) is a 19th-century realist novel from the first of Galdós's three epochs in his novels of social analysis.The action occurs in late-19th century Spain, when a young liberal named Don José (Pepe) Rey, arrives in a cathedral city named Orbajosa, with the intention of marrying his cousin Rosario.
22. La Condenada y Otros Cuentos by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
The Condemned and Other Stories gives the reader a glimpse of Valencia, transporting the reader to a time and a unique space in the author's homeland. Rafael was imprisoned in a narrow cell for 14 months. His world was those four walls; his sun was the high barred window.
23.Una Mañana de Mayo by Anne Holt
Anne Holt is Norway's best selling female crime writer. She was a journalist and news anchor who spent two years working for the Oslo Police Department before founding her own law firm. The plot of this book involves the US president being kidnapped while on an official visit to Norway. FBI agent Warren Scifford needs the help of the Norwegian police superintendent to trace any clue and find the president.
24. Naufragios de Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca by Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
In this book, Cabeza de Vaca narrates the journey of the only four survivors of Pánfilo de Narváez's expedition to Florida in 1527. They lived among the Indians for eight years as slaves, merchants, and healers, crossing the southwest of the current United States and northern Mexico.
The book contains some of the first ethnographic observations on the indigenous populations of the Gulf of Mexico. It features words taken from indigenous American languages and is considered the inaugural historical narrative of the current territory of the United States.
25. La Isla del Tesoro by Robert Louis Stevenson
Treasure Island is an adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, narrating a tale of "buccaneers and buried gold." This classic novel tells a coming-of-age story and is noted for its atmosphere, characters, and action. It was serialized in the children's magazine Young Folks in 1881 and 1882 under the title "Treasure Island or the mutiny of the Hispaniola."
Also for you: Top 10 Science Fiction Spanish Books for Adults
Sign up for a Free Spanish Class!
Of course, you can't learn Spanish exclusively through reading. Still, e-books make excellent supplementary learning material, and they can help you commit the vocabulary and grammar you are learning to memory. To further sharpen your Spanish skills, sign up for a free class with a native-speaking, certified teacher at Homeschool Spanish Academy!
Ready to learn more free Spanish and easy learning strategies? Check these out:
Homeschooling, Unschooling, or Deschooling: Which Is Right for Your Family?
10 Ways to Learn How to Think in Spanish
7 Easy Ways To Homeschool Foreign Language
Top 10 Inspiring Art Books for Kids Who Homeschool
10 Traditional Latin American Christmas Foods
The Best Christmas Traditions in Mexico
Michelle Margaret Fajkus
Editor & Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy
Michelle Margaret Fajkus is a bilingual writer and longtime yoga teacher. A former advertising copywriter turned bilingual elementary school teacher, she is now a freelance writer, editor and translator. A native Texan, Michelle has Mexican roots and learned Spanish in middle and high school. She has become more fluent thanks to living as an expat in Guatemala. She lives with her family on beautiful Lake Atitlan.
Latest posts by Michelle Margaret Fajkus (see all)
10 Differences in Latin Culture Compared to U.S. Culture - November 21, 2022
How to Say 'Sentence' in Spanish: 5 Useful Synonyms - November 8, 2022
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Wow, this'll be a fun one to reply and see the feedback you get.
to be able to properly share the TTM approach.
When I've stated I can pair about any sale to TTM, it has sometimes started an active debate as to why a client has bought.
I'll try and share with a bit of detail in a more formal reply on your site.
It's one of the processes you've taught me I've more than accepted, often relayed, and embraced whole heartedly.
Good to hear from you Marty. I am presently finishing up a book on Sales Management. Tara Majuta, who has helped me write this book wants me to write another on TTM. Perhaps you can be my co-author.


"We are nutrition professionals dedicated to providing people with education and specific therapies that improve overall health and wellness and act as a preventive measure against chronic disease.
It is difficult to meet a client or patient where they are and gradually get them to a place where health, wellness, and nutritional knowledge reflect our ideals when the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' corporate sponsors relay a message that such an ideal is unachievable.
In a way, these sponsorships separate us from our patients and clients. No matter how empathetic and understanding we are about their treatment, we are more likely to be met with resistance because our message is negated. The companies that sponsor our professional organizations are the same ones that send messages that suggest healthful eating is "too time consuming" or that fiber "tastes like cardboard".
These partnerships (i.e.: PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, etc.) further the inaccurate perception that we RDs are the "food police". It's as if because we *don't* think that Cheetos or soda are "fine in moderation" like our corporate sponsors want us to believe, we are accused of creating unattainable "rules".
The current sponsorship model has zero integrity. An organization that should be the pillar of health and wellness can't find appropriate representation to back its mission? Or is it, more likely, a lack of effort to find supportive organizations and products to support AND's mission?
It's no doubt that sponsorship is necessary in order to keep the organization going, but the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics should be requesting that sponsorship from companies with a basis in integrity themselves. The thing about integrity is — you either have it, or you don't. There's no such thing as "sort of having integrity". That's like being "sort of" pregnant.
If you've got integrity, it has to permeate.
I would like to see AND set standards for sponsors that correlate with healthful practices. Companies who do not meet these standards would not be eligible for sponsorship. For example, companies whose product portfolios are full of controversial/questionable ingredients (artificial dyes, BHA, artificial trans fats, etc.) should not have the opportunity to sponsor us.
This ought to toss out quite a few of these sponsors that are simply not aligned with our views, what we promote, and what we want to establish: our integrity. If this gets advertised, I'm sure many businesses that create products that meet these standards would come forward to support AND.
Why? Because those sorts of businesses operate on integrity too. They currently see how AND operates now and are not having a part in it.