Only Illinois is worse off than New Jersey when it comes to fiscal solvency, according to a new study that reviewed the financial health of all 50 states.
New Jersey's poor showing in the rankings released yesterday by George Mason University's Mercatus Center comes at a bad time for Gov. Chris Christie, a second-term Republican who just last week announced that he is running for president in a tight GOP primary.
Christie, who took office in early 2010 preaching fiscal discipline, has had several years to work on many of the issues that were identified as problems in the study.
But the public-policy research center's findings also reflect some improvement -- New Jersey came in 50th in last year's rankings -- and bring some new attention to issues Christie has tried to emphasize in recent years, including the need to address the state's chronically underfunded public-employee pension system.
The conservative-leaning Mercatus Center – "mercatus" in Latin means "market" -- judged the states on five different categories, including whether they are bringing in enough revenue to pay bills and if they are keeping enough cash on hand to cover those bills. The states were also measured on long-term solvency, debt, and other obligations, including employee pensions and healthcare.
The states that fared best in the study were Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Florida. New Jersey was in the group with Illinois, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York.
New Jersey ranked 50th in the categories of budget solvency and long-run solvency, which measure whether revenues match expenditures and how well the state is prepared to cover its long-term liabilities. New Jersey came in 38th in cash solvency, a general gauge of the state's liquidity, and 30th for trust-fund solvency, which factors in debt and other long-term obligations. And the state came in 20th, its best showing, in the category of service-level solvency, a comparison of taxes, spending, and revenue to personal income levels.
A spokesman for the state Department of Treasury declined comment on the rankings yesterday.
The Mercatus rankings were released nearly a month after New Jersey's fiscal practices received harsh criticism in a report that was released by the Volcker Alliance, a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog organization led by former Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Paul Volcker. The review faulted New Jersey for its revenue-forecasting practices, pension funding and insufficient rainy-day surplus account.
New Jersey also ranked 46th among states in economic growth according to statistics that were released last month by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Although the latest Mercatus rankings were released yesterday, the states were evaluated using audited data from the 2013 fiscal year. And New Jersey, in recent months, has made some strides when it comes to some of the fiscal challenges that were identified in the report.
For example, after several years of missed revenue projections, tax collections during the past fiscal year came in $212 million higher than expected. And the state budget signed into law late last month by Christie for the fiscal year that began July 1 boosted the surplus account to $700 million. It also included a $1.3 billion payment to the public-employee pension system, which is a record contribution for one fiscal year.
Christie has attempted to make the pension system and the cost of public-worker benefits a key issue for much of the past year after he endorsed sweeping recommendations that were released in February by a nonpartisan commission of experts that he convened in 2014 to study the benefits-affordability issue. The commission's recommendations included freezing the current pension system and moving workers into a new retirement plan with features of a 401(k).
But even as he's pushed for reform, Christie went back on a promise to increase state contributions to the pension system, which had an unfunded liability of at least $40 billion according to the latest actuarial reports. The state Supreme Court last month upheld Christie's decision to cut payments originally laid out in reform laws that Christie himself enacted in 2010 and 2011 despite protests from Democrats who control the Legislature.
Those reforms also required employees to contribute more toward their pensions.
The results of a new Monmouth University Poll released yesterday found only 12 percent of the state residents that were surveyed approved of Christie's decision to reduce the state's pension payment. And only 19 percent of the 503 adults surveyed between June 30 and July 1 agreed with Christie's position that pension benefits are too rich and should be cut.
Democratic legislative leaders, meanwhile, have opposed new reforms, and last month Christie rejected their attempts to bring in more revenue for the pension system by increasing taxes on corporations and high-income earners. In response, they passed a measure that urges Christie to make the $1.3 billion pension payment well before the current fiscal year ends on June 30, 2016, saying the early deposit would earn the state millions in investment income since the pension system is professionally managed and assumes a 7.9 percent annual rate of return.
"The longer lawmakers allow this serious problem to go unresolved, the harder and more painful it will be for everyone who calls New Jersey home to endure -- whether it's the imposition of huge tax increases, significant cuts to the core government services that keep our communities safe and vibrant, or both," Klemens said.


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Management approaches
Swisscom operates in a sustainable manner and uses established management systems and approaches to reduce environmental, business and social risks. Group targets and directives ensure that Corporate Responsibility requirements are taken into account in operations and projects. Another important element of Swisscom's precautionary principle is staff training and the raising of awareness among employees, involving, for instance, a separate programme addressing sustainability issues at Swisscom.
Management systems adhere to ISO international standards. External audits confirm compliance with the following standard requirements through certification:
9001 Quality management
14001 Environmental management
14064 Guideline on Swisscom greenhouse gas inventory
20000 IT service management
27001 Information security management system
33002 Information technology – process assessment
With regard to the electromagnetic fields in telecommunications technology – particularly mobile phone use – Swisscom has a certified quality assurance system (QAS) in place. This system is designed to ensure compliance with the limits set down in the Ordinance on Protection from Non-Ionising Radiation (ONIR limits). Preventive measures are taken as part of the company's operational risk and safety management system.
Management approaches and material issues
Swisscom has management approaches for the issues contained in the materiality matrix. Among others, the following requirements apply for the topics in the top-right quadrant of the matrix:
Group Directive on the financial management of the Group
Collective employment agreement covering the representation of employees, the relationship with unions and other matters
"Mobile working" guideline, which sets out the rules governing mobile working, and "management guideline"
Environmental management system in accordance with ISO 14001 and associated directives and guidelines on the issues of energy and CO2 (guideline on Swisscom greenhouse gas inventory in accordance with ISO 14064)
Big data directive on the topic of data protection
Compliance policy with the associated compliance management system (described in detail below) and directives (for example, on the issues of law and anti-corruption)
Investment guideline requiring Swisscom to assess the environmental and social impacts of significant investments
Swisscom supports the Digital Manifesto.
Swisscom's wide range of business activities, coupled with the complexity of the applicable regulations, calls for an effective compliance management system (CMS). Swisscom's CMS is based on the following underlying elements:
Culture: An effective CMS is founded on a culture of compliance. The Code of Conduct sets down the minimum expectations of the Board of Directors and CEO of Swisscom Ltd, which are communicated throughout the Group in the course of management work and day-to-day collaboration.
Objectives: The Board of Directors has defined compliance goals. All organisational measures and activities are aligned with these goals.
Risks: Swisscom identifies and defines compliance risks based on its business activities as well as on regulatory and legal requirements and any corresponding amendments. It assesses these risks and manages them using suitable measures.
Organisation: The Board of Directors has defined the minimum tasks of Compliance. The Group Executive Board and the management boards of the subsidiaries have defined further tasks and responsibilities and provide the resources required for an effective CMS.
Communication: Employees are informed of their tasks, competences and responsibilities. Regular reports are sent to the Board of Directors and the Group Executive Board of Swisscom Ltd, as well as the management boards and boards of directors of the subsidiaries and other internal units.
Monitoring and improvements: Swisscom monitors the CMS and eliminates any weaknesses on an ongoing basis.
The implementation of the CMS can be illustrated as follows using the example of the anti-corruption field of law. Group Compliance reassessed the risks relating to anti-corruption during the financial year based on the findings from audits, revisions to criminal law and changed customer requirements. It recommended to the Group Executive Board that it amend the anti-corruption directive and implement new processes in line with the prevailing risks. Employees were informed of the new directive by the CEO ("tone at the top") and had to confirm they had read and understood its content by means of e-confirmation. To ensure that employees have absorbed the corresponding provisions of the directive and the need for compliance, Group Compliance instigated various other measures with a view to the respective risks, including the setup of specific risk-based target groups. These target groups completed a face-to-face training session, a webinar or an e-learning course. The existing IT invitation system was reconfigured to safeguard compliance with the directive and ensure the implementation of the streamlined processes. Group Compliance will reassess implementation during the next financial year, evaluate potential improvements and recommend appropriate measures.
Responsible marketing
Swisscom's marketing is aligned to its mission statement and the principles of the Swiss Commission for Fairness (Schweizerische Lauterkeitskommission). These principles govern all of the relevant aspects of fairness and integrity in communication. The Brand Strategy team, which is integrated in Group Communications & Responsibility, is responsible for informing Swisscom's various marketing units about any developments in these principles. Ensuring that the principles are adhered to is the responsibility of the communicating units, as they are in a position to recognise any breaches of compliance early on and to take preventive action.
Swisscom does not differentiate its customers by age or gender, but rather ensures that each customer can get to grips with an ever more networked and digitised world on an individual level. This approach ensures that Swisscom can support its customers without discrimination and according to each customer's personal level of knowledge.
There were no infringements against fair trading in marketing and communications in the year under review.
See www.faire-werbung.ch
The protection of human rights within the Swisscom Group and throughout the supply chain
The protection of human rights is an integral part of Swisscom's corporate culture. Swisscom aligns itself with recognised standards, including the UN guiding principles forentrepreneurs and human rights, SA 8000 from Social Accountability International (SAI) and the company's procurement guidelines. The principles were published in a new 2016 guideline on protecting human rights.
See www.swisscom.ch/humanrights
Practices in relation to copyright laws
Copyright is governed by the collective employment agreement. Employees assign any copyright and associated protective rights (in particular rights to software) and all shared rights to Swisscom if these rights were created while working for Swisscom. This applies specifically to all achievements made by employees either alone or in collaboration with others while employed by Swisscom. In the event that Swisscom has no interest in the rights transferred to it, the employee's right to make use of them may be returned by contract.
The Swisscom product to be checked to make sure that it complies with F/OSS licence requirements must to the greatest possible extent be ready to go live and the decision to roll out the Swisscom product on other national markets must have been made. The duties and responsibilities involved in the process for checking F/OSS licence compliance (scan and analysis, consulting, audit) are subsumed as the F/OSS compliance service in the F/OSS Centre of Competence.
Further management approaches based on the six GRI categories (economic, environmental, labour practices, human rights, society and product responsibility)
There are Group directives governing the various GRI sustainability topics. Specific technical regulations and guidelines also exist, for example, on the cooling of telephone exchanges and data centres and the decommissioning of transmitter stations. For example, Swisscom uses a CR checklist to ensure economic, environmental and social criteria are taken into account in all projects relating to network infrastructure, services and products. In addition, guidelines govern the recycling and disposal of network infrastructure, which was previously carried out on an ad hoc basis.
Requirements based on environmental criteria exist for renovations and newly constructed businesses. Swisscom's Swiss subsidiaries and its Italian subsidiary Fastweb use instruments tailored to their needs. These regulations are cited in the following sections.
Swisscom's responsibility towards the public
As a responsible "corporate citizen", Swisscom actively participated in discussions on the following issues during the reporting year:
Swisscom supports sustainable conduct in the ICT sector.
Swisscom provides ICT training places, promotes Switzerland as an ICT location within the scope of the 2016 CeBIT commitment, supports schools in the area of youth media protection and is continuing to develop the "Internet for Schools" project. It also supports the work done as part of the Digital Zurich 2025 project and its successor organisation Digital Switzerland.
Swisscom is improving customer service, for example, in the area of consumer protection through the Cold Calls project, which solved the problem of unsolicited sales calls at the end of 2016.
Swisscom is developing nationwide mobile and broadband infrastructure in Switzerland. In so doing, it is providing a solid basis for digitisation in Switzerland and helping secure the future of Switzerland as a financial centre.
Swisscom is continually improving its customer information systems, for example, with services such as "Swisscom Cockpit" for Swisscom customers who are travelling abroad.
Swisscom is working on various projects in the area of climate change, including the Work Smart initiative and the tiko service.
During the year under review, as in the previous financial year, Swisscom submitted statements as part of consultations at federal level. In addition, it took part in a hearing of the National Council's Committee for Transportation and Telecommunications (CTT) in relation to the Federal Council's Telecommunications Report, i.e. a potential revision of the Federal Telecommunications Act. It also had a say on the Ordinance on Telecommunications Services (OTS).
See www.admin.ch
Lastly, it submitted a statement on the revision of the Federal Mail and Telecommunications Monitoring Act and was also involved in formulating the corresponding statement of the industry association Association Suisse des Télécommunications (asut). Both statements can be viewed on the websites of the authorities in question.
Ahead of the popular initiative "Pro Service Public", which was unanimously rejected by the Swiss population with 67.6% of the vote on 6 June 2016, Swisscom weighed in on the debate in the capacity of specialist. Its aim in so doing was to advise the general public of the negative repercussions that accepting this initiative would have had on the company and on Switzerland as a whole.
Through its participation in the new advertising alliance Admeira, Swisscom was also involved in a hearing of the National Council's Committee for Transportation and Telecommunications (CTT).
Swisscom's statements are based on the principle of self-regulation and competition in an open marketplace. Numerous attractive new customer offers and large investments made in the reporting year underscore this principle.
Swisscom supports a solution-oriented approach, in the interest of the common good and in the interest of the company. The positions Swisscom takes are based on clear facts. Swisscom maintains transparent and trusting relationships with politicians, public authorities and the community. As part of this, it participates in public hearings and events and plays its part in the political process by issuing written statements. Based on the relevant ethical codes (the Code of Lisbon and the Code of Professional Conduct of the Swiss Public Affairs Society), Swisscom rejects unlawful or ethically questionable practices aimed at exerting influence on opinion leaders. Moreover, Swisscom is a non-denominational, politically neutral organisation and does not support any political parties financially.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Why Advertise with the U.S. Naval Institute?
2019 Media Planner | 2019 Naval History Media Planner
As military budgets are under relentless scrutiny, it is essential for leading defense companies, financial services firms and educational institutions to demonstrate their commitment to fresh thinking, to robust debate, to winning on the merits. By aligning your brand with that of the Naval Institute, you can position your company with the world's premier military forum.
About the U.S. Naval Institute
Day-in and day-out, for 145 years, the Naval Institute has fostered challenging debate and delivered the world's most vigorous independent forum on naval, defense, and national security issues. Proceedings is widely read with a well-earned reputation for candor and independence. The Proceedings regularly feature articles written by young thought leaders in the Sea Services, many of whom will go on to be Chiefs of Naval Operations, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Commandants, Combatant Commanders, Systems Commanders, Secretaries of the Navy, Deputy Secretaries of Defense, as well as international chiefs of naval service. For example, Admiral James Stavridis, former Supreme Allied Commander, first wrote for Proceedings as an ensign. Fleet Admiral Ernest King won the General Prize Essay Contest as a lieutenant in 1909. Fleet Master Chief Paul Kingsbury won prizes in two essay contests this year. Admiral James (Sandy) Winnefeld, former Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, first published as a midshipman and won the General Prize Essay Contest as a Lieutenant Commander.
Military readers consistently rank Proceedings as a "must read" and as the "most credible," "most relevant," and "most important" among all military journals. For this reason, Institute media command great respect. Virtually every major news organization has quoted or linked to the U.S. Naval Institute as an authoritative source, doing so more than 250,000 times in 2016 alone. With the launch of its daily news site, USNI News, the Institute has expanded its reach, achieving more than a million page views per month during 2017. It has become a source of sources for the media, domestic and international. The Institute now has 10,000 midshipmen and cadets as members.
The Naval Institute is held in high esteem by U.S. and foreign military and government leaders. It is able to speak with authority across all the military services. And, it reaches across all naval "tribes"—from submarines to surface warfare to aviation, from the Navy to the Marine Corps and Coast Guard—and helps leaders understand what's at stake in the critical program and operational tradeoffs we face today.
The Naval Institute has strong leadership. Retired Admiral Jim Stavridis chairs the Board of Directors. Retired Navy Admirals Tim Keating, Richard Mies, and Sandy Winnefeld, Marine Corps General John Allen, and Coast Guard Vice Admiral Sally Brice-O'Hara serve on the Institute's Board. Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Peter Pace chairs the Naval Institute Foundation Board of Trustees.
If you are trying to reach the decision-makers in the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps no one comes close to the Naval Institute. Today our reach extends further than ever before as we have expanded into daily content for our influential readership.
Our flagship publication since 1874, Proceedings, stands alone in importance, influence, and impact. Our readership is a who's who of Sea Services and Defense industry leaders—The Honorable Robert Work, Admiral John Richardson, Admiral Scott Swift, General Robert Neller, Admiral James Stavridis, Admiral Paul Zukunft, and Congressmen are just a few of the people who pay to receive Proceedings each month. Who else reads Proceedings?
Nearly 51,000 subscribers
About 15,000 paid active-duty Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps Naval Institute members, which makes Proceedings the only monthly naval publication with paid active-duty readership.
Also of note when considering active duty audience is the fact that 65 percent of the flag and general officers in the Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps are Proceedings subscribers.
All of which adds up to impact with your potential customers—Proceedings is in the Wardroom, Ready Room, and Chief's Mess of every U.S. Navy ship, squadron, and submarine, and every Coast Guard vessel
Members of Congress and the professional committee staff who control defense spending
Officers and senior civilian decision-makers with budgetary authority in the Pentagon and at every Navy, Marine and Coast Guard Command in the world
No other print publication reaches the level of critical Sea Services policy-setters and decision-makers that Proceedings does, and no one carries the editorial weight and gravitas of our writers and editors.
Our digital properties have grown exponentially over the past five years and are the clear market leaders in reaching our Sea Services audience.
USNI News exploded onto the scene to become the Sea Services online "daily" of record. Already bookmarked and read by military readers around the globe, USNI News targeted content features four to five original stories daily. It increases the Naval Institute's already significant reach and influence to even more of the Sea Services most influential players. Each month, our top ten cities include Washington, San Diego, New York, Los Angeles and Norfolk so you know the right people — those who have and still are serving—are reading us.
Full-time online journalists research and write all original content
More than 1,000,000 page views per month, which makes USNI News the fifth biggest military affinity website worldwide in spite of its specific focus
Stories are featured almost every day on "CHINFO Clips" and by virtually every other news organization that matters to the military audience
A daily electronic newsletter gets pushed out to 35,000+ subscribers each night and consistently yielding a 30 percent open rate or better
USNI.org and the USNI Blog
More than just an online version of Proceedings, USNI.org expands upon the print magazine's mission to provide an open forum for the nation's defense, with digital-only content — mostly commentary and analysis on events happening in and impacting the Sea Services and national security. It allows the Naval Institute to reach Proceedings readers between the monthly magazine releases. With numbers trending sharply up, online readership of Proceedings features the following:
More than 350,000 unique page views (and 1 million ad impressions) a month. (Recent popular posts have reached as high as 30,000 unique page views during the month)
A weekly e-mail digest that goes to 60,000 subscribers with more than a 20 percent open rate and 4 percent click rate -- metrics well above the industry standard
USNI.org is the place to further engage with our members. USNI.org is also where the core audience and aficionados joins the U.S. Naval Institute, purchases books, registers for conferences, and keeps up with all that's new at the Naval Institute.
The USNI Blog is the leading "navalist" blog in the country — both in numbers and influence. A spot for lively discussions and provocative ideas, the USNI Blog is a favorite destination for those who want to engage in the exchange of ideas that are a life-blood of the Naval Institute.
The Proceedings Podcast started a couple of years ago as an experiment of sorts - a way to dig deeper with contributors using a different medium, and since that time the weekly show's reach has grown exponentially, currently reaching more than 10,000 listeners on Soundcloud and iTunes per month.
Guests to date have included well-known figures like Adm. Mike Mullen, former CJCS, VADM Joseph Aucoin, former 7th Fleet Commander, ADM Scott Swift, Pacific Fleet Commander, VADM Tom Moore, Commander NAVSEA, and futurist August Cole.
Sponsors of the Proceedings Podcast get an extended callout at the beginning and end of each engaging episode.
Put the U.S. Naval Institute's suite of products to work to give your business the impact you need.
Contact: Ward Carroll, Director of Outreach and Marketing, [email protected], 410-295-1066


Cornmeal griddle cakes are probably our guests' favorite pancake, and ours as well. They are light, tangy with yogurt, and with a nice crunch that the cornmeal provides.
Mix together dry ingredients. Whisk together yogurt and eggs and add melted butter, then. stir into the flour mixture.
Cook on medium-hot griddle. Start with a scant 1/4 cup of batter per pancake and experiment with size since they grow a bit as they cook. Flip when top is bubbly and the bottom is nicely browned. Remove from griddle when 2nd side is browned. Serve with maple or blueberry syrup.
Fried green tomatoes for breakfast!
Late summer and fall are the time to find ripe red tomatoes in the farmers market. It's a bit harder to find green tomatoes (unless you have them growing in your own garden!). We ordered a bag from our favorite farm stand and decided to try a popular southern dish, fried green tomatoes, as an unusual addition to a breakfast menu. The results were so popular we're adding them to our regular breakfast repertoire. We served them with herbed scrambled eggs, cheddar-chive scones, and Niman Ranch sausage links. Delicious!
Making fried green tomatoes couldn't be easier. Core and slice firm green tomatoes into 1/4-inch slices and place them on a baking sheet. The secret is then to sprinkle both sides generously with salt and sugar (like you were seasoning a steak) and let them sit 30 minutes or so to draw out the water and insure a crispy coating. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium high heat and add two tablespoons olive oil and two tablespoons unsalted butter. Gently press each slice between layers of paper towels to dry and then dip each first into lightly beaten egg, and then press into a mixture of half panko bread crumbs and half grated Parmesan cheese, until both sides are thoroughly covered and the crumb-cheese mixture adheres well. Make sure the oil is hot but not smoking. Fry until bottoms are golden brown; turn and fry other sides till golden, adding more butter and oil if necessary. Top with eggs — scrambled, poached, or fried. Or try a fried green tomato benedict, using the tomato instead of an English muffin, topped with ham or bacon, a poached egg, and hollandaise sauce. We found the basic recipe for the tomatoes on one of our favorite food blogs, Amanda Hesser's Food 52. The recipe for the delicious cheddar-chive scones is in the new cookbook from Portland's Standard Baking Company.
Pulse dry ingredients in a food processor, including the lemon zest. Cut butter into 6 pieces and add to dry ingredients. Pulse only until butter is the size of peas. Whisk eggs and heavy cream together and then add the lemon extract. At the B&B I prepare the ingredients the night before and keep them in the refrigerator. This way the ingredients are very cold and make for a better scone. Put the dry ingredients into a bowl and slowly add the egg/milk mixture, gently combining with a fork. Add a little more cream if necessary to hold the dough together. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead gently, just until dough becomes smooth and holds together. Divide dough into two pieces. Pat each piece into a circle 1 inch thick and 6-8 inches in diameter. Place circles onto baking sheet and cut each into 6 wedges.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown; serve warm.
Here's how they look, ready to eat with lemon curd and strawberry jam. Yummm!
We learned about Easter Pie years ago, when visiting the family of an Italian-American graduate school friend, John Agresto (who recently published a cookbook full of great recipes and reminiscences of growing up in Brooklyn, Tomatoes, Basil and Olive Oil: An Italian-American Cookbook). In addition to an Easter dinner of monumental proportions, their holiday was marked by a tasty spinach/cheese/meat pie that simply sat around in the kitchen for snacking in the unlikely event that someone was hungry. Carolyn and I spotted a recipe a few years later (1972!) in the Sunday NY Times for "An Elegant Easter Pie," a recipe by Jean Hewitt under the title "Anita Sheldon's Torta Di Spinaci." It wasn't quite the same as the Easter pie we remembered at the Agrestos, but it was mighty good and it became a family tradition at Eastertime until we lost the recipe some years back. It was, thankfully, recovered recently at the bottom of a file cabinet and it's been reinstated in our holiday repertoire. We served it most recently at our annual Easter Brunch. While it has holiday credentials, it also makes for great picnic fare, or an easy luncheon dish. We just noticed that the recipe has also been published in Amanda Hesser's wonderful new The Essential New York Times Cookbook.
Here's the recipe, with thanks to the New York Times, Jean Hewitt, Amanda Hesser, and Anita Sheldon.
1. To make the pastry, place the flour, salt, and butter in a bowl. With a pastry blender, 2 knives, or your fingertips, work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse oatmeal.
2. Mix the egg yolk with 3 tablespoons water and sprinkle over the mixture. Stir with a fork, adding only enough extra water to make a dough that just clings together. Divide the dough in half and form into 2 disks. Wrap each one in wax paper and chill briefly.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Heat the oil in a large skillet and sauté the onions until tender but not browned. Set aside.
5. Combine the chopped spinach and onions in a bowl and let cool completely, then add the diced smoked pork, Parmesan cheese, ricotta, salt and pepper to taste, and lightly beaten eggs.
6. Heat the oven to 425°F. Roll out half the pastry on a lightly floured work surface into 12-inch circle and line a 10-inch pie plate with it. Brush the bottom and sides of the shell with the lightly beaten egg white. Pour in the filling.
8. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and done. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting.
A sure sign of spring: oystering has begun on the Maine coast and our favorite spot for quaffing them (along with a pint of Pemaquid Ale ) is King Eider's Pub, on the main drag in Damariscotta. This delightful village is about a 40-minute drive north of Coveside on highway one. It sits at the top of the lovely Pemaquid peninsula, home to lighthouses, a favorite summer restaurant — Shaws Fish and Lobster Wharf in the village of New Harbor, and great scenery. We think these oysters from Darariscotta River, raised in the chilly waters of Maine, are about the finest oysters we've ever tasted. But ice in the river prevents their harvesting during the winter months. All the more reason to take advantage of these treats when they are available!
What Do You Do With 12 Baguettes?
The taste of Autumn: pumpkin muffins with apple butter and a glass of fresh cider.
Grease 12 muffin tins. Preheat oven to 375.
Gently blend wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Do not overmix! It's okay if a bit of flour remains unmixed. Fill muffin tins. Sprinkle tops with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned and toothpick pushed into center of muffin comes out clean. Let rest in pan 5 minutes before removing to rack.


IRAs offer special treatment for first-time home purchase withdrawals.
Buying a first home often requires more cash than you've got, so you may want to tap your retirement savings. You might be able to withdraw money from your employer plan for a first home purchase, but you won't earn any special tax treatment. With an IRA, you can avoid the early withdrawal penalty, and potentially all taxes, if you qualify as a first-time homebuyer.
You can exempt from the 10 percent early withdrawal penalty distributions of up to $10,000 over your lifetime from your IRAs that you use for first-time home purchase expenses. For Roth IRAs that you've had open for at least five years, the exemption also applies to income taxes, so you get the $10,000 tax-free and penalty-free. If you're married, both you and your spouse can withdraw $10,000 each from your respective IRAs.
To be a first-time homebuyer, at least for the purposes of qualifying for IRA distribution special treatment, you can't have owned a home for the past two years. If you're married, both you and your spouse have to qualify, even if you're the only one withdrawing the money from an IRA. For example, if your spouse owned a home until one year ago, you don't qualify for the special treatment even if you've never owned a home.
IRA distributions must be used for qualifying acquisition costs to earn special treatment. These include the costs of buying, building or rebuilding the home as well as financing costs. However, you must pay these costs with the distribution within 120 days of withdrawing the money to qualify. For example, you can spend the money to pay for discount points to lower the interest rate on your mortgage and still qualify.
Employer plans, such as 401(k) plans and 403(b) plans, may consider purchasing your first home an immediate and heavy financial need if you don't have other money needed to make a down payment or pay closing costs. However, not all plans allow such distributions. In addition, the distribution is not exempt from the 10 percent additional tax on early withdrawals that applies if you're younger than 59-1/2.


Dilip Vengsarkar has stated that the Indian team's overdependence on skipper Virat Kohli is not a good thing and other batsmen have to perform. The former India batsmen also agreed to coach Ravi Shastri's comment on Kohli batting at no.4 during the upcoming World Cup in England.
It was a rare home series loss for the Indians as they were beaten by the Aussies by 35 runs in the series decider today. Twitter was abuzz with cricket fans all around the globe commenting on this game and congratulating the Australian team which took the revenge of India's series wins Down Under.


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Q: Calculate md5 on a single 1T file, or on 100 10G files, which one is faster? Or the speed are the same? I have a huge 1T file on my local machine and one on the remote server. I need to calculate their md5 to check if they are exactly the same. Since it will take long time to calculate md5 from them, I want to do some research on the md5 speed. I can calculate md5 directly against the whole file, or split it into 100 10G files and calculate md5 on them. I want to know which one is faster, or will they have the same speed?

A: As I was trying to say in the comments, it will depend on lots of things like the speed of your disk subsystem, your CPU performance and so on.
Here is an example. Create a 120GB file and check its size:
dd if=/dev/random of=junk bs=1g count=120

ls -lh junk
-rw-r--r--  1 mark  staff   120G  5 Oct 13:34 junk

Checksum in one go:
time md5sum junk
3c8fb0d5397be5a8b996239f1f5ce2f0  junk

real    3m55.713s       <--- 4 minutes
user    3m28.441s
sys     0m24.871s

Checksum in 10GB chunks, with 12 CPU cores in parallel:
time parallel -k --pipepart --recend '' --recstart '' --block 10G -a junk md5sum
29010b411a251ff467a325bfbb665b0d  -
793f02bb52407415b2bfb752827e3845  -
bf8f724d63f972251c2973c5bc73b68f  -
d227dcb00f981012527fdfe12b0a9e0e  -
5d16440053f78a56f6233b1a6849bb8a  -
dacb9fb1ef2b564e9f6373a4c2a90219  -
ba40d6e7d6a32e03fabb61bb0d21843a  -
5a5ee62d91266d9a02a37b59c3e2d581  -
95463c030b73c61d8d4f0e9c5be645de  -
4bcd7d43849b65d98d9619df27c37679  -
92bc1f80d35596191d915af907f4d951  -
44f3cb8a0196ce37c323e8c6215c7771  -

real    1m0.046s      <--- 1 minute
user    4m51.073s
sys     3m51.335s

It takes 1/4 of the time on my machine, but your mileage will vary... depending on your disk subsystem, your CPU etc.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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When Michael Krasny sold CDW to an investment group, he bought United Camera and rebranded it as United Electronics Group.
With over 100 computers to maintain, we selected Panatech to manage our CyberSecurity and Patch Management responsibilities, as well as provide weekly security/health audit checks for the workstations and servers. They worked very well with our existing I.T. staff, took direction well, and communicated well.
With the new management that came from CDW, UEG scrutinized Panatech for both capability and price. After years of actual service to us, we found that Panatech provided outstanding technical support and did so at a price that could not be matched (even despite extensive cost-cutting initiatives).
Even with the I.T. resources of the new management, it was more cost effective to sub-contract these specialized maintenance services to Panatech, thereby freeing other resources for the support that only the on-site support staff could perform. Additionally it added an extra layer of monitoring and support for critical systems both during and after business hours.
On a personal note, they were always easy to work with, accessible and transparent in all their relations with us.
At ReUp, I have had the privilege of working with Panatech as a critical business partner since 2009. They are good communicators who listen, understand & adapt to our needs. Henry and his team are true professionals, going above-and-beyond expectations on a regular basis. The Panatech team truly understands that their support is critical to the ongoing operations of your company - and they are always ready and able to deal with any change needed or issue that comes up, regardless of time of day or day of the week. They deliver what they promise, when they promise it. Truly, Panatech has been our go-to IT partner for years and I would recommend them, without reservation, to anyone looking for a supportive, IT partner.
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No one in this world wants to be fat. Every single person wants to look good, appealing and if possible stunning. There are a few blessed people in this world who will not gain weight no matter how they much they eat. But the predominant population will put on weight if they keep eating and do not burn the calories that they have consumed.
The natural ways to reduce weight is either through dieting or exercising. Without a doubt working out to reduce the weight and avoiding some tasty meals are some of the most difficult things to do. You need to commit yourself if you want to gain something. In this article, we will discuss in detail about the diet to reduce weight.
For an average human, nearly 40% of the calories that we consume daily is through carbohydrates. Cutting down on the carbohydrate intake can have a huge impact on weight reduction. It is said that you can go to an extent where you can cut the carbs intake up to 20%. If at all you are able to achieve that, you will able to witness unbelievable results. If you are cutting down the carbs, then the body will start burning the fat for fuel.
Ketogenic diet or keto diet is one of those things that you might have heard off late. It gained a lot of popularity as it showed some amazing results when it comes to weight loss. It is more like making your body burn fat instead of carbohydrates. So when body fat is the main source for fuel and a lot of calories are burned when compared to the normal diet procedures. The metabolic state of an individual when he or she is following a keto diet is referred to as ketosis. It does not just help in weight reduction; it also helps in better brain functioning.
The research results clearly show that increasing the protein intake in your diet will definitely have a positive impact on weight reduction. In an experiment where athletes consumed 2.4 grams of protein per kilogram of their body weight every day. In a span of four weeks, they gained 1.2kg of lean muscle and lost nearly 5kg in their body weight. Increasing protein consumption suppresses hunger by reducing metabolism. Hence if the right amount of protein is consumed, there are no second thoughts on the fact that there will be a drastic reduction in weight.
The low-fat diet is one of the most preferred ways to reduce weight. The number of calories that we consume through fat accounts for nearly 30% of the entire calorie intake. By cutting down the fat intake, the body will burn more carbohydrates which will ultimately lead to weight reduction. If a strict low-fat diet is followed, then you will be able to experience amazing results within a short span of time.


text:
Q: function parameter eror, exit code 1 : invalid syntax i make a function for my program for fuzzyfication on fuzzy logic task. and i have some problem when i declare a function like this.
"""Emosi"""
def emosi(x):
 if(x<=25):
    miuemosi = ([1,"sabar"],[0,"labil"])
 elif (x>25 and x<50):
    miuemosi = ([kurvaturun(x,25,50),"sabar"],[kurvanaik(x,25,50),"labil"])
 elif (x=50):
    miuemosi =([1,"labil"],[0,"emosian"])
 elif (x>50 and x<75):
    miuemosi = ([kurvaturun(x,50,75),"labil"],[kurvanaik(x,50,75),"emosian"])
 elif (x>=75):
    miuemosi = ([1,"emosian"],[0,"sabar"])
 return  miuemosi

and i have error like this
 File "F:/.PERKULIAHAN NUMERO UNO/SM5/ImInLoveWithSekre/ILoveAIsoMuch(kiss).py", line 11
   def emosi:
            ^
  SyntaxError: invalid syntax

  Process finished with exit code 1

A: I have following error with the code in question:

  File "D:/Develop/Python/TestCAE/test2.py", line 7
    elif (x=50):
           ^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax

The error was caused by wrong comparison in if statement with a usage "=" instead of "=="
I fixed code like this:
"""Emosi"""
def emosi(x):
 if(x<=25):
    miuemosi = ([1,"sabar"],[0,"labil"])
 elif (x>25 and x<50):
    miuemosi = ([kurvaturun(x,25,50),"sabar"],[kurvanaik(x,25,50),"labil"])
 elif (x==50):
    miuemosi =([1,"labil"],[0,"emosian"])
 elif (x>50 and x<75):
    miuemosi = ([kurvaturun(x,50,75),"labil"],[kurvanaik(x,50,75),"emosian"])
 elif (x>=75):
    miuemosi = ([1,"emosian"],[0,"sabar"])
 return  miuemosi

And now it works without any errors

A: The code that you ran has the line def emosi: in it, which does not match the code you shared here. Function definitions must contain parentheses and arguments.

A: As mentioned by others: The code first provided and the error message does not match.
However, running the code first provided should work if you have defined "kurvaturun" and "kurvanaik". Also, at elif (x=50): you have to add another equal sign for python to understand that you are comparing and not assigning values, like this: elif (x==50):
When I say it "works" I mean that emosi(50), for example, returns ([1, 'labil'], [0, 'emosian'])
The SyntaxError can come from that you forgot to add parentheses after your function name. All functions, methods and classes have to have parentheses even if they have no arguments.


text:
Top 100 Countdowns
Events We Hosted
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About ElectricFM
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We're back! ElectricFM returns to the air!
By Chris B.
We're back! Wow, so much has changed in just 3 short years. We decided to leave the air back in 2017, and after much planning, decided it was time to re-launch ElectricFM in 2020. Here we are, in late September, in the midst of a historical pandemic, US election, and lots of problems going on in the world. Times have changed a lot in these 3 short years being away.
Even before the pandemic, we floated the idea of coming back to air. It wasn't an easy task. We not only had to play "catch up" on all the music we missed out, but we had to advance our technology to be more with the times.
Our original broadcast equipment was from 2007, but the software we used was much older. It couldn't do the modern things we wanted. Sure, we had quirky ways of making everything work (just ask the talent we had on-air!), but it would be better to upgrade our studio. We slowly built out our upgraded studio, and are now ready!
ElectricFM is back to being "America's Real Dance!" playing not only current dance hits, but your favorites from the 00s onward. Sure, nowadays, most people refer to our format as EDM, but we're going to stick to our roots and call our format dance hits.
Now that we're back, be sure to download our new apps for iOS and Android. The old apps will no longer work (did we mention that outdated part?), but some of you on iOS who didn't delete our app will automatically get the update.
In the coming weeks, we'll be adding content, adding music, and doing a lot of behind the scenes work. If enough our listeners out there are tuning in, you can be sure we'll be bringing some on-air talent on board! We missed you, and we're sure you missed us too.
Here's to a positive ending to 2020 with the re-launch of ElectricFM!


text:
The Comal ISD Council of PTAs is looking for community sponsors and vendors for its Back the Future Kids & Family Expo scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, at Pieper Ranch Middle School, 1106 Kinder Parkway in San Antonio.
Area businesses and organizations, which focus on family education, health services and activities, are asked to be a part of the event. From dental offices and after-school learning centers to youth sports leagues and after-school care, the Expo will be a great opportunity to partner with the Comal Independent School District and provide parents and kids with options to support various interests.
"The goal of the Expo is to provide parents and families with community resources, after-school opportunities, health screenings, product demonstrations, food, shopping, games and more, all in one place," said Chelsea Ormond, the event's chair.
This is the Comal ISD Council of PTAs' second year to host a district-wide family engagement event, which is free and open to residents in the district's surrounding communities including Bulverde, Spring Branch, Garden Ridge, Canyon Lake and New Braunfels.
"It's also a great way to discover how PTAs at every Comal ISD campus backs the future by advocating for every student in the district," Ormond said. "Back the future" is the Texas PTA slogan, demonstrating its mission to make every child's potential a reality.
The deadline for Expo sponsorships with benefits which include a company logo or name on the event's banner and t-shirt and social media promotion, is Friday, Sept. 13; the deadline for vendor booths is Friday, Sept. 27. For vendor booths and sponsorship information, contact Ormond at 830-221-2114 or email her at ormond@comalisd.org.
More information on the Expo.
Photos from 2018 Health & Activities Fair hosted by the Comal ISD Council of PTAs.
-Pictured from left are Comal ISD Council of PTAs President Shirley Koop, Danville Middle School Principal Julie Cronkhite, Comal ISD Board of Trustee Michelle Ross and Comal ISD Superintendent Andrew Kim.
-Artist and Comal Paraprofessional Angelina Pliego shared her talents at the 2018 Health & Activities Fair.
-Representatives of Apex Leadership Co. along with H-E-B Buddy were among the sponsors and vendors at the 2018 Health & Activities Fair.
Read more CISD news here.


A muscle cramp is a very common thing. It can happen in your leg, arm, back or elsewhere. Since muscle cramps often come on suddenly, they can be quite painful, lasting for a few seconds to several minutes.
Quickly treating the cramped muscle can help ease the pain.
Apply a warm towel or a heating pad to the area. This will help the muscle to relax and soothe the pain from cramp.
Take a warm shower or bath to relax the pain.
If heat therapy doesn't help, try using an ice or cold pack.
Take potassium rich foods such as bananas and oranges (cramps have been linked with low levels of potassium, calcium and magnesium).
Drink plenty of fluids as studies have shown that dehydration causes cramps. Always drink water during and after a workout.
Learn about the causes of cramps to prevent future painful episodes.


Recently I went out to my favorite park and recorded a new #braindump. While I wish I could record and post at a more frequent rate, it's also good that I take my time and before spewing a bunch of words I might regret.
I hadn't recorded a vlog since I fractured my toe back in February. I've been treated for that and a collapsed foot. I face the challenge of being creative with multiple body issues. Since I couldn't get down to the basement, I felt that I couldn't make a braindump. So I just started moping around. Doing what I could to help out around the house. But much like when I was going through a shoulder injury, I wasn't allowed to do any significant amount of work. And this time the orders were to stay off my foot. So I sat around on the couch and hung out in the bedroom. At the same time I contracted yet another respiratory infection. So more isolation since I couldn't risk infecting the people I live with.
I was finally cleared to be out of the monstrous boot I had to wear any time I walked. And as soon as I could I grabbed the camera and let loose with this session of personal dialogue. I address several issues, one of them being quit feeling sorry for yourself and do something about it. Find some way to be creative. So, I started making new zines. Little micro zines about spices and herbs. I need to complete them. I want to make a set of ten, and I got as far as five. I got bogged down on Saffron, so its getting its own full scale zine. My distro wants copies. Yay!
We traveled to Omaha for the Zine Fest there. That was creative and full of fun. I got to finally eat at Modern Love Omaha! You can read about it here. I also applied to the Denver Zine Fest, and got accepted. Our next travel date is in late June! I'm excited. I love Denver. We have friends there. I can't wait to see them. And see some people I know from Phoenix who will be at the zine fest.
In making this video, I realized it was a 2 for 1. I started talking about the spiritual evolution I went through while being off my foot. I had attended a poetry reading right out of the boot and was gifted a book called Bitten by the Black Snake. Upon reading this book, I went through a process of intense spiritual awareness and evolution. In the video I attempt to describe this process. I pulled it out as a separate mini braindump.
I think recording these thoughts about the creative process, and what to do when your stuck helps me get unstuck. I'm finding the Zine Community an open, inclusive, and friendly community. Unfortunately there isn't one here in Topeka that I've been able to find. Maybe you know something I don't and can help me!
Expect the Spices micro zines to be available soon.


text:
Home Africa Focus
StarLink launches its Nigeria hub
Sarah Rizvi
Value-Added-Distributor, StarLink has announced that it has expanded into West Africa as part of it global expansion plans and is looking to engage with interested IT Security specialized partners. Nigeria will act as the operational hub for West Africa including neighboring markets such as Ghana.
A land of great potential
Africa is an exciting market with great prospects and is being projected as the next emerging market. This is probably the right time to be operating in Africa considering that its economies are growing and its industries are embracing technology. Not only is cloud adoption increasing, internet is also becoming more affordable and accessible which can be leveraged by organisations to use technology to expand their businesses. Also, the absence of a cumbersome legacy infrastructure has given Africa a distinct […]
FreeConferenceCall.com Launches Free Conference Calling in Malawi
Chris N. Fernando
FreeConferenceCall.com has launched free conference calling services in Malawi.
Decline in tablet demand hits PCD market
The Middle East and Africa (MEA) personal computing devices (PCD) market, which is made up of desktops, notebooks, workstations, and tablets, declined 15.2% year on year in Q3 2017, according to the latest insights from International Data Corporation (IDC)
Africa among Top 10 targeted regions
As we draw closer to the end of the year, 2017 has seen more malware samples created each day than in the entire 20th Century. The targets have changed, the techniques have become more sophisticated,
DCC to distribute Alienware in South Africa
Leading South African distributor, Drive Control Corporation (DCC) recently announced that it has been appointed as the official distributor for the Dell EMC Alienware PC gaming series.
Attivo Networks expands in Africa
Attivo Networks entered into a distribution partnership with Networks Unlimited to expand its network across the South and Sub-Saharan region.
PartServe to distribute Samsung printers spare parts
South Africa based PartServe announced that it has been appointed as the authorised spare parts distributor for Samsung printers and now its spare parts will now be available to repair agents through PartServe's carry-in centres across the country.
Cambium partners with Config for Africa
The wireless networking solutions provider, Cambium Networks appointed Config as its value-added distribution partner for distributing the French-speaking Africa including Tunisia, Algeria, among others.
Konnect Africa Brings Wi-Fi to Rural African Communities
Konnect Africa, the Eutelsat-owned satellite broadband service provider, has unveiled SmartWIFI, a new hotspot service, as part of its ongoing commitment to bring digital opportunities to Africans. This new service leverages Konnect Africa's powerful, reliable satellite broadband network to enable sales outlets (retailers, hospitalities, gas stations, etc.) as well as healthcare centres or schools to become a connectivity point and digital gateway to opportunity for the surrounding population. Users will be able to access the internet from a distance of […]
Bitdefender expands into Southern Africa
Bitdefender appointed South Africa based distribution firm, Rectron as its authorised distributor for the wide range of consumer products such as such as the recently released Bitdefender 2018
Cognosec completes the acquisition of Intact Software
Cognosec AB announced that it has completed the acquisition of South Africa-based Intact Software Distribution, which is in line with Cognosec's strategy to expand business areas to cover the sale and distribution of software technologies over the internet.


Ah yes if it weren't for Twitter where would we get our daily dispositions from, a cyber-platform where you express your thoughts (whatever they may be) in 140 characters, pretty convenient right? This in turn provides the world with bizarre hashtag trends that leave us choking with laughter and amusement. The latest trending hashtag is not only innovative but the perfect distortion of pop culture series is bound to make you hysterical.
Currently studying as an AS level student at Froebel's International School. I find solace by immersing myself in any form of self expression be it prose or photography. Also a humorist who borders on sardonic but I still manage to root myself in the cluster that the world is.
Living Legends to Visit Pakistan in July!


text:
Rainbow Alliance – Leeds & York – HC – #MHAwards18
7th June 2019 by Postive Practice
The Rainbow Alliance has created the opportunity for a social movement in which Trust staff, service users, carers and anyone with an interest in LGBT+ health equality collaborate with the shared goal of enhancing the quality of care which we deliver across the organisation to the LGBT+ community. It provides an opportunity for its 'members' to lead on delivering LGBT+ service improvement projects in their areas and accepts accountability to the Trust's Equality and Inclusion Group The alliance has established effective working partnerships across Leeds with other NHS Trusts, the local authority and third sector support services.
Highly Commended - #MHAwards18 - Addressing MH Inequalities
Webpage for service (if available): https://www.leedsandyorkpft.nhs.uk/get-involved/rainbow-alliance/
From start: Yes
During process: Yes
In evaluation: No
Peer: No
Academic: No
PP Collaborative: Yes
Kate Ward - Practice Learning Facilitator - Leeds & York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
kateward2@nhs.net
Please briefly describe your project, group, team or service, outlining what you do and why it makes a difference.
The Rainbow Alliance has created the opportunity for a social movement in which Trust staff, service users, carers and anyone with an interest in LGBT+ health equality collaborate with the shared goal of enhancing the quality of care which we deliver across the organisation to the LGBT+ community. It provides an opportunity for its 'members' to lead on delivering LGBT+ service improvement projects in their areas and accepts accountability to the Trust's Equality and Inclusion Group The alliance has established effective working partnerships across Leeds with other NHS Trusts, the local authority and third sector support services. Members ensure the Rainbow Alliance has a visible presence around the Trust as part of promoting inclusivity. The Rainbow Alliance facilitates quarterly meetings in the city centre to give anyone the opportunity for anyone to contribute to developing services to better address LGBT+ health inequality. The alliance promotes, supports and represents the Trust during key events involving the LGBT+ community. Contributions from all Rainbow Alliance members are equally valued and encouraged when collaboratively considering the ongoing work of the alliance and regular updates are provided s via social media, quarterly meetings, emails from alliance leads and Trustwide communications.
What makes your service stand out from others? Please provide an example of this.
It is an LGBT+ network which puts the needs of service users at the top of its priorities. It is not a 'staff network' but a co-produced network of which the priority is about improving health equality
How do you ensure an effective, safe, compassionate and sustainable workforce?
We have quarterly open meetings for anyone to attend and discuss the goals of the alliance. Staff training on both LGB and trans health awareness is provided through the alliance to any member of staff. We also open the training up to other agencies who approach us and ask about access to training. The Rainbow Alliance receives queries from trust staff who want to better support someone on their case load who is from the LGBT+ community and they will work with the staff member to enhance knowledge and provide information on appropriate support. The alliance recently formally recruited a Trust volunteer. They are a representative of the Trans community and their role is to further develop inclusive physical environments around the Trust, encourage and book staff onto the training, discuss the importance of sexual orientation monitoring in teams & also represent the Rainbow Alliance and LGBT+ awareness events in the region.
Who is in your team?
Broad representation consisting of clinical and non-clinical staff and people from outside of the organisation
How do you work with the wider system?
Rainbow Alliance leads on a newly established Trans Health Partnership event in the region and facilitates the delivery of an open access Trans health promotion event. This is a multiagency event to address to health inequalities of the trans community. The alliance is also well established within the LGBT+ organisational network within the region and has established and continues to foster good working relationships with voluntary sector, local authority, NHS trusts.
Do you use co-production approaches?
We are mindful of involving members of the LGBT+ community in everything we do and to share in decision making on what our priorities should be. The terms of reference for the network were established in collaboration with members of the community who were invited to attend an open meeting to develop terms of reference. The alliance must be based on the concept of coproduction for it to hold a sense of integrity for what it seeks to achieve as the LGBT+ community itself is what hold the knowledge and skills to be able bring significant change. The alliance is about people (professionals or otherwise) on an even playing field with a shared passion and commitment to the cause
Do you share your work with others? If so, please tell us how.
We share our work via internal communications within the organisations, Twitter, LYPFT website, via voluntary organisations newsletters, health promotion events, LGBT equality events (Pride). The alliance recently had an article published in the mental health nursing journal to mark LGBT History Month
What outcome measures are collected, how do you use them and how do they demonstrate improvement?
We are in the process of evaluating the impact of staff training for LGB and trans health awareness. This involves a pre and post-training questionnaire which each attendee completees. As from 1st April – we much now mandate the collection of data around sexual orientation monitoring (SOM). A lot of work has gone in to preparing staff to approach SOM in a way which is meaningful for the service user and one which contributes to better understand on health inequalites for LGB people. The first report is due to be generate in the next few weeks. The alliance will use this initial report to see which service areas are already making progress with SOM and to offer support to services who are evidently not yet gather this valuable data and establish why this might be
Has your service been evaluated (by peer or academic review)?
How will you ensure that your service continues to deliver good mental health care?
Ongoing support from Trust equality and inclusion group. We are also very much supported by our chief exec and chair. We don´t receive funding directly as we utilise a lot of existing resources in the organisation
What aspects of your service would you share with people who want to learn from you?
It is a difficult journey to address the mental health inequality of LGBT+ people. A lot is known about the health risks of this community but there is little health research which sets out what interventions can improve health outcomes. Encouraging staff to attend non-compulsory training is a challenge as well and can be frustrating. We try to always communicate the health risks of LGBT+ people and use this as a foundation to try and lead staff into wanting to book onto the training and for managers to see the importance of releasing staff to attend. It is difficult to balance time to take on projects above and beyond someones day to day job description – so although we have members signed up, it can be variable what they can commit to in terms of contributing to work streams. Implementing sexual orientation monitoring is an ongoing struggle. We have produced a info leaflet (and an easy read version) for staff and service users but there are some mixed views on whether some professionals think we should be asking people about their sexuality. The lead of the Rainbow Alliance, Kate is currently working with Uni of Leeds and will act as principle investigator for an upcoming study which explores for views of members of staff in relation to asking about sexuality
The following questions are an opportunity for you to provide further details on how you implement positive practice in your service delivery and how you ensure your service is advancing access and equalities. Answers to these questions will not influence how your PPiMH awards application is assessed, however any responses received may contribute to the potential inclusion of your service/team as a positive practice example within published guidance developed by NCCMH and NHS England.
How many people do you see?
It varies a lot. We have just under 100 members.
How do people access the service?
Twitter, the alliance email, contacting the alliance lead. Information is shared on notice boards around the Trust as to how people can get involved with the rainbow alliance
How do you ensure you provide timely access?
The email and twitter account is always monitored by a member of staff or the Rainbow alliance volunteer
What is your service doing to identify mental health inequalities that exist in your local area?
Study with Uni of Leeds regarding staff views of sexual orientation monitoring. Evaluating impact of staff training on knowledge, skills and confidence
What inequalities have you identified regarding access to, and receipt and experience of, mental health care?
Straight assumptions are made about people. Lack of understanding of societal discrimination and oppression and how this correlates with health and wellbeing. If someone is LGBT+ and from a BME community, their risks of developing a mental illness are higher due to increased discrimination and becoming estranged from family. Older LGBT+ people have also lived through some of the most horrific societal attitudes towards LGBT+ people, but are a community who are often 'put back in the closet' as services tend not to acknowledge sexual orientation in older people.
What is your service doing to address and advance equality?
We work directly with communities to establish what their priorities of how they want services to improve. We want to better understand who accesses our service who identify as LGBT+ and sexual orientation monitoring will enable us to do this. We want to influence research priorities in looking at interventions for reducing health inequality. We are participating in a study with Uni of Leeds to better understand staff attitudes towards sexual orientation and use its findings to establish future areas for development
What support do you offer families and carers? (where family/carers are not the service users)
We embrace anyone to work with us
Is there anything else you want to share about what makes you an example of positive practice?
We are currently being approached by a couple of other NHS Trusts who want to establish a Rainbow Alliance network in their Trust (in Hull). Rainbow Alliance has also been referenced in a recent publication re trans health by Healthwatch in south Yorkshire
Population details
Brief description of population (e.g. urban, age, socioeconomic status): Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT+) communities
Size of population and localities covered:
Yorkshire. No defined population size
Commissioner and providers
Commissioned by (e.g. name of local authority, CCG, NHS England): The alliance is not commissioned in its own right and uses existing resources (financial and human) within the trust
Provided by (e.g. name of NHS trust) or your organisation: Leeds and York Partnership Foundation Trust
This site is supported by the Positive Practice in MH Collaborative, Breakthrough MH Ltd, the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health and Otsuka Health Solutions
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