text:
The Phia Group's 3rd Quarter 2021 Newsletter
On July 13, 2021 in Newsletters
Phone: 781-535-5600 | www.phiagroup.com
The Book of Russo:
Well… Here we are; in the middle of another Boston summer … Except, this July has not been a typical New England one. Temperatures are in the 90's one day, and in the 60's the next. I wasn't allowed to water my lawn due to a drought yesterday but today I received warnings about flash floods. Indeed, it seems like it's been raining almost every day and my fingers are crossed that we get back to typical summer weather soon, or else I may need to pack up and move the family to some warmer climate.
For that reason – above all others – I am praying for the sun to shine, because I am not ready to move four kids, my wife and our wonderful French Bulldog Bella. That, and I need to be near a Dunkin Donuts at all times. Staying nimble, and being able to adjust to unusual circumstances is the name of the game.
Whether it's keeping kids entertained on cold, rainy days, or adjusting plan processes in response to ongoing regulatory changes… As you all know, we here at The Phia Group are always attempting to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to industry developments, challenges and opportunities.
For instance, one of the biggest industry issues that we have been laser focused on is the design and application of Non-Quantitative Treatment Limitations (NQTLs). If you haven't been paying attention to this issue, you better start soon, as every plan may need to show their compliance work as it relates to this new regulatory requirement. As we have shared with you previously, starting on February 10, 2021, and pursuant to the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (the "CAA"), group health plans are required to perform and document comparative analyses relating to NQTLs. This means that, upon request, plans would need to disclose their comparative analysis, have a detailed explanation of the specific plan terms and practices involved, and the rationale for the plan's determination that the NQTL is compliant with the Mental Health Parity Addition Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA). This is not an easy exercise by any means, but we are ready to serve you and your clients to ensure compliance with these new, complicated regulations. We have multiple service options for plans and administrators to comply with the comparative analysis process. Well, it looks like it's raining again … but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy our latest newsletter – happy reading!
Enhancements of the Quarter: Bundled NSA Consulting, And Patient Defender "Levels"
Phia Fit to Print
From the Blogosphere
The Phia Group's 2021 Charity
Employee of the Quarter
Enhancement of the Quarter: Bundled No Surprises Act Consulting, and Patient Defender "Levels"
No Surprises Act Consulting
From COVID claims to expanded timeframes for providers to submit claims to the impending provisions of the No Surprises Act, few can deny that these are trying times for health plans and those that provide administrative and consulting services to them. Amidst this all, though, help is available. The Phia Group has been Empowering Plans since 2000, and twenty-one years later we continue our quest to do so by providing Phia Unwrapped clients with No Surprises Act consulting included at no extra cost.
You may already know Phia Unwrapped as a leading out-of-network claims management solution. We're enhancing Phia Unwrapped, however, to make sure our clients are able to comply with the No Surprises Act's requirements, as well as understand how to manage the impending Independent Dispute Resolution (or IDR) process.
IDR is still a mystery to providers and health plans, and the supplemental regulatory guidance issued on July 1, 2021 doesn't even attempt to help unravel that mystery. Congress has laid out certain factors that may or may not be taken into account by the IDR arbiter, but still confusion abounds as to what will actually happen – and, perhaps more urgently, what a health plan will need to do to properly defend its payment offer.
This offer to include No Surprises Act consulting at no additional cost is extended to all current Phia Unwrapped clients, as well as those that become clients on or before September 1, 2021. For more information on Phia Unwrapped, please contact our Senior VP of Provider Relations, Jason Davis, at jdavis@phiagroup.com. Of course, if you're not a Phia Unwrapped client, you can still get all the help you need by contacting PGCReferral@phiagroup.com – or, for clients of our Independent Consultation and Evaluation (ICE) service, via your dedicated ICE intake address.
Patient Defender "Levels"
In response to feedback from you – our valued clients and friends – we have revised our Patient Defender pricing model, to allow health plans to choose what "level" of service they would like, on a case-by-case basis. As a refresher, Patient Defender entitles a group, for a flat PEPM fee, to an attorney to represent patients in certain balance-billing scenarios. The Phia Group covers the attorney's fee, so health plans and patients can feel secure in their reference-based pricing models.
We now offer three different levels, each with a different PEPM fee and each with a different threshold of balance-bill that will be handled by the pre-paid attorney. A TPA doesn't need to decide up-front, either; an individual group can elect the option that is best tailored to its needs, and that option can even be changed at any time. This enhancement is designed solely to tailor the Patient Defender service to an individual group's needs, and has been met with very positive feedback thus far.
To explore your Patient Defender options, please contact our Sales Manager, Garrick Hunt, at GHunt@phiagroup.com.
Service Focus of the Quarter: The MHPAEA NQTL Analysis
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (or MHPAEA) now requires health plans to "show their work" and perform a comprehensive NQTL analysis of the health plan itself. The analysis is no small task; even just knowing what information is needed is a chore.
At a high level, the MHPAEA does not require health plans to cover treatment for mental health or substance abuse disorders. If the health plan does cover that treatment, though, the MHPAEA requires generally that benefits not be more restricted for mental health and substance abuse disorder benefits than benefits provided for medical and surgical benefits. It's not the honor system; the purpose of the NQTL analysis is to have health plans affirmatively demonstrate their compliance (or their non-compliance).
Whether the Department of Labor or a plan participant will request a copy of the analysis is anyone's guess – but all health plans subject to the MHPAEA are required to perform the analysis nonetheless. In keeping with our perpetual goal of "Empowering Plans", The Phia Group can help perform the NQTL analysis for your health plan, or those you service! Contact PGCReferral@phiagroup.com today to learn more.
Success Story of the Quarter: The $300k+ Balance Bill
One of The Phia Group's balance-billing support clients had a member who suffered a stroke and was treated at a New Jersey hospital to the tune of $359,000. The Plan adjudicated its benefits of 140% of Medicare, which totaled just about $46,500. The member was balance-billed for the remainder, and the claim was then referred to The Phia Group.
In a case like this, where the billing is so much higher than a reasonable amount, our strategy is to start out with a forceful negotiation; the attorney handling this case offered $5,000 additional to settle (which totaled about 155% of Medicare). The provider didn't respond for a couple of weeks, and the attorney working the file from Phia's end was eventually given contact information for the individual in charge of negotiations at the hospital. The original offer of $5,000 was rejected, which was not unexpected for a first offer, but after establishing a positive rapport and having friendly but meaningful discussions about the claim, the plan's rights, and the provider's recourse, our attorney was able to settle the claim for additional payment of $17,343, or a total payment of about 192% of Medicare.
Through this negotiation, our attorney kept his cool, and he was able to discern that the provider would be receptive to a good attitude rather than a fight. Sometimes we do have to fight, of course – but an amicable relationship can often lead to the same or even better results, and this is a great example of that.
Phia Case Study: The Dialysis Overpayment
After a lack of clarity regarding which contract applied to a particular claim, one of The Phia Group's clients discovered that one of its health plans had tendered payment to a DaVita dialysis facility in an amount far above the health plan's allowable amount. When the TPA requested that the facility return the overpayment, DaVita refused. Phia was asked to attempt to recoup the overpayment; we knew from experience how difficult it can be to recover money from DaVita, especially once they had involved their attorneys, but we went into it with an open mind.
At first, we had very little luck. We argued the merits back and forth with the attorney, but no one would give an inch. Eventually, DaVita's attorney made the plan a meager offer, which was better than the legally-required zero reimbursement, but still a pittance compared to the amount of the total overpayment. Phia advised its client of the offer, of course, but the plan decided to reject it.
One of the additional arguments Phia suggested had to do with considering DaVita to be a fiduciary with respect to the overpaid plan assets. The concept was a bit rough around the edges, since it isn't quite supported by case law, but we had attorneys from multiple areas within Phia put their heads together, and we came up with an argument that at least sounded good. We presented the arguments to DaVita's counsel, and without making any new counterarguments, we were able to reach a settlement figure that was acceptable to the plan.
We will likely never know what exactly spurred the ultimate overpayment recovery in this case (whether it was the persistence, or the creative fiduciary argument, or some combination of the two) – but this case study goes to show that even when a favorable outcome seems unlikely, some combination of persistence, a show of strength, and creativity can change the winds.
PACE Certification
Appeals and fiduciary requirements are a hot topic with all of the Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2021 mandates that are rolling out. You may want a better understanding of ERISA's Claim and Appeals requirements, best practices, and the fiduciary role you might be playing unknowingly, we have created the PACE Certification course. You can take the course to become PACE Certified in the following areas. This course covers topics such as:
• The Growth of Self-Funding – The Good, The Bad and The Risky
• First Time Self-Funders; What You Need to Know
• Applicable Laws • Applicable Duties
• Trends in the Industry
• Fiduciaries and Appeals
• Types of Appeals
• Appeals 101
• Clerical Issues vs. Substantiative Issues
• Appeals Process and Best Practices
If you want to learn more about these topics, please contact us at: PACECertification@phiagroup.com
Fiduciary Burden of the Quarter: Cross-Plan Offsetting
Whether you are a TPA, broker, health plan, stop-loss carrier, or even a hospital, you are well aware that hospitals usually do not bill reasonably. In keeping with this habit, hospitals often refuse to return overpayments made by health plans; widespread common law support of a provider's right to keep an overpayment (except in certain limited cases, such as a contractual overpayment or fraud) has proven very detrimental to payors.
In response, some health plans have begun to offset unreimbursed overpayments against future claims payable to that medical provider. This is fine if it is a claim for the same member as was involved in the overpaid claim (so long as the SPD supports it, that is). Some TPAs have taken it a step further, however, by having a different health plan deny a future claim for that same provider to account for the unreimbursed overpayment – a practice known as "cross-plan offsetting". There is a bit of law on the topic, but not much; in general, courts do not take kindly to the practice when it comes before them, but we are yet to receive a sweeping general prohibition, nor do we have concrete guidance that the practice violates ERISA.
One major problem with cross-plan offsetting is that by denying future claims in response to an unreturned overpayment, the plan is making the assumption that the overpayment is legally recoupable. Unfortunately, with respect to the majority of overpayments, this country's courts have been clear that that is not actually the case. Absent some dishonesty, fraud, or an incorrectly-paid contract rate, for instance, providers are legally entitled to keep overpaid plan funds, provided the payment is at or below the provider's billed charges. Courts hold that the overpayment was actually made to the patient, since the money allegedly overpaid would have been the patient's responsibility if it had not been paid by the plan. As a result, withholding future payment to the provider for a different patient, whether on the same or different health plan, is generally not a proper practice, since that different patient experiences a claim denial that is unrelated to his or her actual claim!
We have provided guidance on this many times in a consultative capacity, and one of our attorneys has blogged about it. The DOL itself has opined that cross-plan offsetting violates ERISA, and we tend to agree. In any event, we strongly caution TPAs and health plans against this practice. If you have any questions about a health plan's or provider's rights in a given scenario, please don't hesitate to contact us at PGCReferral@phiagroup.com.
• On June 22, 2021, The Phia Group presented, "Back on Track: Plan Sponsor Priorities for the Second Half of 2021," where we discussed some simple cost-containment solutions and plan document changes, as well as a few cutting-edge techniques to prepare you for the second half of the year.
• On May 25, 2021, The Phia Group presented, "The Light at the End of the COVID Tunnel – Pandemic Fallout and Permanent Changes," where we discussed pandemic era regulations – such as ARPA and the American Families Plan, analyze employer "return to work" policies, as well as predict how the past year will impact the future – and cost – of health care.
• On April 27, 2021, The Phia Group presented, "Face the Change – Plan Design, Administrative Claims Processing and Payment Changes Needed in Light of COVID-19 and New Regulatory Obligations," where we shared with you the information you need to remain compliant, while also predicting what the provider industry will look like in the months and years to come.
Be sure to check out all of our past webinars!
• Following our June webinar, The Phia Group presented two breakout sessions, "Mental Health Parity – A Litigation Survey" and "FAQs on Prescription Drug Importation." If you would like a copy of the recording or slide deck, please reach out to, Matthew Painten, at mpainten@phiagroup.com.
• Following our May webinar, The Phia Group presented two breakout sessions, "The Future Cost of COVID-19" and "Welcome Back; Not So Fast." If you would like a copy of the recording or slide deck, please reach out to, Matthew Painten, at mpainten@phiagroup.com.
• Following our April webinar, The Phia Group presented two breakout sessions, "New Regulations Impose Additional MHPAEA Compliance Requirements – Act Now!" and "COBRA Changes Under ARPA – What You Need to Know." If you would like a copy of the recording or slide deck, please reach out to, Matthew Painten, at mpainten@phiagroup.com.
Empowering Plans
• On June 25, 2021, The Phia Group presented, "Healthcare Subrogation, The Comeback! Post-Covid Edition," where our hosts, Cindy Merrell and Maribel Echeverry McLaughlin, discussed healthcare subrogation in the post-Covid environment, and the difficulties faced during the international pandemic.
• On June 11, 2021, The Phia Group presented, "Breaking Down Drug Importation!," where our hosts, Chris Aguiar and Andrew Silverio, discussed some evolving issues and recent developments, including whether a participant can be deemed a plan fiduciary after a third party recovery, and the current state-run of state drug importation programs.
• On May 27, 2021, The Phia Group presented, "NQTL? MHPAEA?! OMG, IDK!," where our hosts, Nick Bonds and Jon Jablon, discussed one of the most mysterious topics of the CAA: the Non-Quantitative Treatment Limitation analysis now required by the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.
• On May 14, 2021, The Phia Group presented, "The Unanticipated Costs of COVID-19 Testing," where our hosts, Kelly Dempsey and Kevin Brady, revisited a subject quite popular at the beginning of the pandemic; testing for COVID-19.
• On May 11, 2021, The Phia Group presented, "A Win/Win Proposition – Better Quality for Patients, Real ROI for Plans," where our hosts, Tim Callender and Linda Pestant, are joined by the CEO and Co-Founder of Rightway Healthcare, Jordan Feldman, to discuss how Rightway is making an impact!
• On April 30, 2021, The Phia Group presented, "Updates Employers Need to Know About the COVID-19 Vaccines," where our hosts, Brady Bizarro and Philip Qualo, had a conversation about compliance considerations implicated when considering mandating vaccination.
• On April 16, 2021, The Phia Group presented, "A No-Surprises Party – The No Surprises Act Dissected," where our hosts, Ron Peck and Jen McCormick, discussed the No Surprises Act, its likely impact on both the payer and provider industries, and provide listeners with guidance on what they need to do now, to ensure compliance when it goes live.
• On April 6, 2021, The Phia Group presented, "The Mystery Surrounding COVID-19 Long Haulers: Employment & Benefit Considerations," where our hosts, Phil Qualo and Kelly Dempsey, explored the phenomena surrounding COVID-19 long haulers.
Be sure to check out all of our latest podcasts!
Phia Fit to Print:
• Self-Insurers Publishing Corp. – Pension Ruling Limits Health Plan Mismanagement Cases – June 4, 2021
• BenefitsPro – Vaccine patent waivers: A roadblock on the path to normalcy – June 2, 2021
• Self-Insurers Publishing Corp. – The Pandemic May Be On The Back Nine; But What About its Impact – May 7, 2021
• BenefitsPro – No Surprises Act: Practical effects of independent dispute resolutions – April 20, 2021
• Self-Insurers Publishing Corp. – Are Your ICS Really EES? A look at who's who on an employee benefit plan...The Saga Continues – April 2, 2021
From the Blogoshpere:
• Good to Be Back! Getting back into the swing of things.
• MHPAEA Compliance: The Dreaded NQTL Analysis. The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (or MHPAEA) now requires health plans to "show their work."
• The New Normal… Same as the Old Normal? The halfway mark of 2021 is a great time to examine the last year and a half.
• Revisiting PPO Contracts & Stop-Loss Gaps. Stop-loss policy gaps can arise anywhere – even from basic policy definitions.
• Doe v. United Behavioral Health – A Fiduciary Twist. A lawsuit brought against a TPA could have a fiduciary ripple effect on TPAs in California and beyond.
To stay up to date on other industry news, please visit our blog.
The Stacks:
Pension Ruling Limits Health Plan Mismanagement Cases
By: Brady Bizarro, Esq. – June 2021 – Self-Insurers Publishing Corp.
In the complex world of ERISA litigation, court rulings can often impact both retirement and health and welfare benefit plans. When a crossover occurs in a case primarily involving retirement plans, the impact on health and welfare plans is typically limited. Every so often, though, a case centers around a threshold question which impacts every federal case, and as such, the ruling has significant consequences for all employee benefits cases.
Click here to read the rest of this article
The Pandemic May Be On The Back Nine; But What About its Impact
By: Christopher Aguiar, Esq. – May 2021 – Self-Insurers Publishing Corp.
What a year; 2020 was one for the history books - the year almost everything changed (except aggressive, polarizing, political rhetoric)! Presidential Administrations changed as we witnessed an historic election, the results of which were not determined for over a week and disputed for several more. Live shows became live streams and drive ins. Movie theatres turned into ghost towns. Remote working became the norm. City dwellers fled in droves in search of more space and cheaper housing costs. Iconic/historic hotspots became relics of the past. Supply in the housing market, nationally, reached never-before seen lows while the future of the commercial real estate market spiraled into question. Parents doubled as financial providers and teachers. Finally, and perhaps most upsetting of all, remote learning became a norm that virtually all school systems were forced to learn to implement, cementing that future generations of children may never again experience the magic of a snow day!
Are Your ICS Really EES? A look at who's who on an employee benefit plan...The Saga Continues
By: Philip Qualo, J.D., and Kelly Dempsey, Esq. – April 2021 – Self-Insurers Publishing Corp.
Last time we addressed the issue of classifying workers in March of 2020, the world was a totally different place. Face masks were only worn by doctors during surgery, quarantine was a term almost exclusively used in sci-fi and horror movies, and the blurry rules applicable to classifying workers had remained relatively unchanged for decades. What a difference a year can make! Facemasks have become the hottest new accessory, "Zoom fatigue" is a real thing, a new administration, and an entirely new framework for classifying employees and independent contractors is on the horizon.
The Phia Group's 2021 Charity
At The Phia Group, we value our community and everyone in it. As we grow and shape our company, we hope to do the same for the people around us.
The Phia Group's 2021 charity is the Boys & Girls Club of Metro South.
The mission of The Boys & Girls Club is to nurture strong minds, healthy bodies, and community spirit through youth-driven quality programming in a safe and fun environment.
The Boys & Girls Club of Metro South (BGCMS) was founded in 1990 to create a positive place for the youth of Brockton, Massachusetts. It immediately met a need in the community; in the first year alone, 500 youths, ages 8-18, signed up as club members. In the 25 years since, the club has expanded its scope exponentially by offering a mix of Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) nationally developed programs and activities unique to this club.
Since their founding, more than 20,000 youths have been welcomed through their doors. Currently, they serve more than 1,000 boys and girls ages 5-18 annually through the academic year and summertime programming.
Youth of the Year
Each year, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro South holds a competition to award the most prestigious honor that a teenager can receive as a member of their local Boys & Girls Club. The Youth of the Year award is the Boys & Girls Club signature effort to foster a new generation of leaders, fully prepared to live and lead in a diverse, global and integrated world economy.
One lucky teen was awarded a $5,000 scholarship and a new laptop, courtesy of The Phia Group. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro South has announced the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro South's 2021 Youth of the Year winner, Victoria Rodriguez! Best of luck in your future endeavors.
Phia Group Great Futures Scholarship
The Phia Group joined the Boys & Girls Club community in 2016 as a way to enhance great futures. The Great Futures Scholarship was established in 2018 by Adam V. Russo, Esq, co-founder and CEO, of The Phia Group. Once a Boys & Girls Club kid himself, Adam has set his mind and heart on supporting the ambitions of our club kids and their amazing potential. Adam realizes first-hand the struggles and challenges to overcome obstacles, facing adverse circumstances, and the determination for self-perseverance.
The Great Futures Scholarship recognizes one graduating senior annually for their commitment to education and dedication to a better future. With Adam's vision, the club annually awards a $10,000 scholarship to assist one student in their pursuit of their educational dreams, development of strong work ethic, and development of self-appreciation. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro South has announced The Phia Group Great Futures Scholarship winner, DeeJay Lamarre! Congratulations and best of luck in College!
Get to Know Our Employee of the Quarter: Brittany Farr
To be designated as an Employee of the Quarter is an achievement that is reserved for Phia employees who truly go above and beyond their day to day responsibilities. This person must not only transcend their established job expectations, but also demonstrate with fervency a dedication to The Phia Group and its employees that is so unparalleled that it cannot go without recognition.
The Phia Explore team has made the unanimous decision, without hesitation, that there is no one more deserving than our very own Brittany Farr, The Phia Group's 2021 Q3 Employee of the Quarter!
Here is what one person had to say about Brittany: "Every single time I reach out to CSD, not only is Brittany usually the first person to say they can help me out, but she is SUPER helpful, responsive, and very professional. This isn't to say that most of the new people haven't been helpful or responsive, but I just think that Brittany has always gone the extra mile for me since she started."
Congratulations Brittany, and thank you for your many current and future contributions.
• ETL Specialist
• Legal Assistant
• Case Investigator
• Customer Service Representative
• Claim Analyst
• Claim & Case Support Analyst
• Senior Vice President of Sales
See the latest job opportunities, here: https://www.phiagroup.com/About-Us/Careers
• Andrew Fine has been promoted from Team Lead of Intake to Consulting Data Analyst
• Ron E. Peck has been promoted from Executive VP & General Counsel to Chief Legal Officer
• Nicole Capozzoli has been promoted from Case Investigator to Claim Recovery Specialist III
• Francesca Russo has been promoted from Claims Recovery Specialist IV to Senior Claims Recovery Analyst
• Kevin Brady has been promoted from Staff Attorney to Attorney II
• Kelsey Dillon has been promoted from Sr. Claim & Case Support Analyst to Team Leader – Claim & Case Support
• Kaitlyn Lucier has been promoted from Customer Care Representative to Team Leader – Customer Service
• Peter Kotsifas was hired as the Chief Financial Officer
• Katie Duke was hired as a Legal Intern
• Adam Czyrklis was hired as a Case Investigator
• Samantha Crawford was hired as a Case Investigator
• Nicole Hunt was hired as a Case Analyst
• Amanda Watts was hired as a Customer Service Rep.
• Tika Green was hired as a Customer Service Rep.
• Veronica Marcos was hired as a Contracts Intern
• Caitlin Lankston was hired as an IT Consultant
• Sandra Croteau was hired as a CST Manager
• Petra Holder was hired as a Customer Service Rep.
• Michael Guthrie was hired as a DSG Consultant
• Anna Montalto was hired as a Marketing Intern
Phia News:
Best Place to Work in Greater Louisville
The Phia Group is proud to announce that it has earned a Best Places to Work in Greater Louisville award, issued by Louisville Business First. The Best Places to Work program—administered in partnership with Quantum Workplace—surveys employees about workplace policies, office conditions, management styles, morale, and more. The Phia Group is humbled to be one of only 43 businesses and nonprofits, with at least 10 full-time employees and an office in the Louisville area, that scored high enough to be awarded.
The Phia Group only recently opened its Louisville office, but it already houses some of the company's most valuable team members. Thanks to the talent and passion found in Louisville, along with this recognition, The Phia Group plans to continue its steady growth in the Louisville area.
COVID - Appeals, Subrogation, and Stop Loss Issues No One Saw Coming - Help is Here
COVID claims are coming - whether you pay or deny claims tied to COVID, you need The Phia Group.
Claims tied to the treatment of COVID-19 are being submitted for payment and are passing through the claims process in record numbers. Many of these claims are substantial, with these considerable costs impacting our industry in both anticipated and unforeseen ways. As with any influx of new claims, we are also seeing growth in the number of denials and appeals arising from these COVID claims, as well as subrogation issues tied to the disease.
COVID claims are routinely denied and/or paid incorrectly, due in large part to the inadequate time provided to consultants, administrators, and payers, to familiarize themselves with the ever changing rules, and thereby standardize appropriate handling of these claims in accordance with law and their plan documents. As a result, we are also seeing an increase in COVID related claim appeals, with heightened fiduciary liability issues also arising from these claim payment decisions.
The Phia Group's PACE Service has existed for years and is the only service on the market where expert plan drafters, attorneys, and seasoned appeals professionals help you navigate these and other difficult appeals, thereby avoiding mistakes and costly liability. PACE ensures claim denials are legitimate, enforceable, and defended.
As with claims processing and appeals, COVID has also created a new world for subrogation. When COVID claims are submitted, complex state law may be triggered regarding if and when COVID is "presumed" to be an occupational expense. The Phia Group was the first subrogation provider to build a custom process backed by its in-house legal team with a focus on identifying COVID related claims, determining whether the applicable geographic location and occupation are addressed by a regulation that presumes a link between the occupation and diagnosis, and quickly asserts a right to reimbursement against responsible parties if possible. The Phia Group has been applying this procedure to its existing process since June of 2020. Without an innovative subrogation solution like ours in place, plans not only lose money, but also fail in their obligation to stop-loss; a failure stop-loss carriers are increasingly unwilling to overlook.
The stop-loss world has been handed a unique and difficult scenario. As it relates to claims arising from or tied to COVID-19, carriers are suspending reimbursement and asking questions such as: what is the Plan Participant's job description; is the Plan Participant a front line worker; what date did they test positive; are they an essential worker; did they file a workers' compensation claim; and so on. The Phia Group has the expertise to assist in these difficult stop-loss collaborations.
Ensuring appeals are handled correctly, aligning plan documents with stop-loss policies, and fully understanding the bigger picture has never been more important. The Phia Group is uniquely positioned to help in this difficult time. With our unrivaled team and technology ready to help, there is no better partner to assist you now and in the days to come.
Contact Garrick Hunt at ghunt@phiagroup.com or info@phiagroup.com to request more information and set a call to learn how The Phia Group can assist you with these COVID claim issues.
The Phia Group Reaffirms Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
At The Phia Group, our commitment to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity and inclusion has not wavered from the moment we opened our doors 20 years ago. We realized early on that our human capital is our most valuable asset, and fundamental to our success. The collective sum of individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities, and talent that our employees invest in their work, represents a significant part of not only our culture, but also our company's reputation and achievements.
We embrace and encourage our employees' differences, including but not limited to age, color, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, national origin, physical and mental ability or challenges, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other characteristics that make our employees unique.
The Phia Group's diversity initiatives are applicable to all of our practices and policies, including recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits, professional development and training, promotions, social and recreational programs, and the ongoing development of a work environment built on the premise of diversity equality.
We recognize that the success of our company is a direct reflection of each team member's drive, creativity, diversity, and willingness to exercise initiative. With this in mind, we always seek to attract and develop candidates who share our passion for the healthcare industry and our commitment to diversity and inclusion.
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Age 84, of Brooklyn, formerly of Jackson and Arizona, passed away Friday, August 17, 2018 at the Brooklyn Living Center under the loving care of her family, Amy and the wonderful Living Center staff and Henry Ford Allegiance Hospice. She was preceded in death by her husbands, William Carl Winter and Richard Alan Dean; son, Chuck Winter and step-son, Richie Dean; parents, Lowell and Lula (Reese) Slater; siblings, Bud Slater, Ruth Degris, Gloria Sedore and Marlyn Filter. Louise is survived by her children, Rodney (Lisa) Winter of Colorado, Linda (Terry) Wineland of Jackson and David (Karen) Winter of Arizona; step-daughter, Debby (Keith) Corey; 9 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; 2 great-great-grandchildren; brother-in-law, Larry Filter; many nieces and nephews. Louise was a 1951 graduate of Vandercook Lake High School; she worked for Dr. Layher, DDS, Service Master and retired from Libra Industries. Louise was a former member of Christ Lutheran Church, 4250 Page Avenue in Michigan Center where a service to celebrate her life will be held on Friday, August 24, 2018 at 1:00 pm with Reverend David Augenstein officiating. A time to visit at the church will begin at noon and a luncheon will follow the services. For those who wish, contributions in her memory may be given to the American Cancer Society.


Stay inside if you can, if you have to go outside dress in layers, do not forget hat, gloves, scarf to cover your face, and warm boots to prevent frostbites.
Take care of kids and pets, small dogs and cats loose body heat very fast. If car broke down in the middle of nowhere call 911. Check on your friends and neighbors, especially elderly.
Hang in there, it will be much warmer by the weekend!
Will Unadilla Phil predict early Spring?


The Caen Memorial was established in Caen, France, in 1988. Regarded as the best World War II museum in France, the Caen Memorial provides a thought-provoking meditation on the evils of war, the importance of learning from past failures and successes, and the difficulty but necessity of finding lasting peace. Its book World War II: The Unseen Visual History (The New Press) was first published in France as Guerre mondiale—Guerre totale in May 2010 to accompany an exhibit of the same name.


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which has none of the sickly sweet perfume / taste of some other brands. Instead it is very gently perfumed and gives just a hint of roses without overpowering everything else around it. I even use it in cocktails! These macarons are so pretty it is almost a shame to eat them (I somehow managed – diet or no I can't resist macarons).
If you have never made macarons before don't be too intimidated. It is true they can be a bit tricky but with a little practice you will have perfect results every time. The most important thing is to get the batter just right – runny enough to flow and spread a little but not so over-mixed that is flattens into a puddle. Oven temperature is also important – my new oven is much stronger than my previous crappy one so a few macarons burned. Do a test batch if you can to see what baking time / temperature is best for you and your oven.
And lest I forget I also have a lovely giveaway with this post – a beautiful three tiered cake stand courtesy of House of Fraser for you to show off your bakes on! The tea cup on the top tier is just calling out to be filled with macarons I think! Scroll down to the bottom of the post for a chance to enter and follow the instructions on the Gleam box. Remember to leave a comment first!
1. Put the butter in the bowl of your stand mixer and whisk until fluffy. Start adding the icing sugar on low speed and increase to high speed when it is mixed in. Add the rosewater and food colouring if using. Finally add the double cream and whisk until you have firm peaks. Add more icing sugar if the buttercream is too runny.
1. Put the rose petals and granulated sugar in a pestle and mortar and grind to a powder. Alternatively put them in a mini chopper and blitz to a powder together with the ground almonds. Don't process for too long otherwise the almonds will form a paste!
2. Sift the icing sugar, ground almonds and ground petals together in a large bowl.
3. Add half the egg whites and mix together with a large spoon. The almond mix will come together to form a paste.
4. Put the caster sugar and water in a saucepan. Put the rest of the egg whites in the bowl of your stand mixer.
5. Bring the sugar to the boil and clip on a candy thermometer. When the sugar temperature reaches 110C / 230F start whisking the egg whites on high speed. Keep a watchful eye on the sugar – once it reaches 117 C /242F pour it very carefully down the side of your mixing bowl while still whisking. Continue whisking for several minutes till the mixing bowl is cool. You will have a very glossy, stiff meringue. Add the pink colouring paste using a toothpick or skewer and mix it in.
6. Add the almond paste to the meringue bowl and using a large spoon mix it together (don't be afraid to be quite forceful!) until it's well combined. The consistency of the batter is very important – it needs to flow smoothly and when dropped back into the bowl it should spread slowly.
7. Line 2-3 trays with baking parchment – secure the paper by dotting a bit of macaron batter on each of the tray corners. Put the batter into a piping bag with a 1 cm / ½-inch plain round nozzle. Use a template and pipe small rounds of batter onto the baking parchment.
8. Carefully but forcefully knock the trays against the counter to release any air bubbles. Leave the macaron shells to dry out for 15-30 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150C / 300F. Once the shells are touch dry, bake for 14-17 minutes. The macarons are ready when they have a smooth, dry top and are firm. Leave them to cool down completely before carefully lifting off the baking paper.
10. Put the buttercream into a piping bag and pipe a small quantity on half the macaron shells. Sandwich them gently together. The macarons will get softer the longer you keep them but the shells keep very nicely in an airtight container for a few days.
Troubleshooting: If your oven tends to run hot the macarons may colour too much and dry out. It's worth testing them after 12 minutes and again a little later. Doing a test batch is best to see what the best timing and temperature is. Turn the oven down by a few degrees if necessary.
If your macarons have little peaks after you piped them the batter could probably use a little more mixing. If the peaks don't flatten after you knock the trays, pat them down with a wet, clean finger.
Leaving the macarons to dry out is what creates the 'feet'. However if you leave them for too long they will stick to the baking paper not rise properly. Leaving them to dry for 15-30 minutes worked well for me.
Notes: you can also use white chocolate ganache as filling or rose petal jam.
If you don't have a candy thermometer you can use this macaron recipe instead – the results are not quite as perfect but equally tasty!
> One winner will receive a 3 tiered cake stand from House of Fraser.
> The giveaway ends on the 6th of February.
A huge bunch of red roses, they were such a lovely surprise. But I don't need gifts to know my fiance loves me, just spending time together is a cherished.
I'm afraid I've never had one!!
I've never received a valentine card or present but I'm not giving up hope, maybe this year I'll be some ones Valentine!
I once made a voucher book that had things like "wash the dishes", "clean the car", etc. for my partner that I put a lot of time into and I thought was quite a good present.
About 15 years ago my husband secretly bought me a '2nd hand' car which happened to arrive on Valentines Day. I hated it as he'd bought it without consulting me – it was big, ugly and the wrong colour, I made him take it back to the garage to exchange for another!!
The best gift i received was a crystal encrusted 3d heart keyring that i had been eyeing up in a local boutique for months before.


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India's EV sector transformation is giving sleepless nights to OPEC
in Economy
38.5% of India's installed power capacity now belongs to non-fossil fuels and this will go up to 66% by 2030. The country has also reduced its emissions by 28%. India is the only major economy with actions in line to keep global warming below 2°C of pre-industrial levels. By 2022, as part of the world's largest clean energy programme, India will achieve 175 GW of clean energy capacity. As India increasingly begins relying on renewable sources for its energy needs, the country's oil imports will definitely witness a plunge – improving the health of our overall import bills. However, that is not possible without electric vehicles making it big in India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pushing for electric vehicles to become the new standard in India. Last month, the Modi government approved a Rs 26,058 crore PLI scheme (Production-Linked Incentive) which promotes advanced technologies, most important among which is electric battery technology to be used for the propulsion of India's electric vehicle space. The scheme focuses specifically on EVs and Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and their components. According to the government, it expects the PLI scheme to bring in investments of Rs 42,500 crore.
Why OPEC is Rattled:
According to the latest long-term report from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which is the oil-rich bloc of Middle Eastern countries fulfilling most of the world's energy needs, Indian motorists will struggle to move away from gasoline- and diesel-powered cars over the next quarter of a century, suggesting the nation's push toward electric vehicles may not be a complete success.
According to BloombergQuint, OPEC has said that diesel and gasoline will make up 58% of India's oil demand in the next 25 years, from the current 51%. The organisation added that the addition of 200 million passenger and commercial vehicles means the two fuels will continue to dominate oil consumption in the world's third-biggest oil-consuming nation. OPEC meets almost 71% of India's crude oil requirements.
Essentially, OPEC is trying to paint a doomsday picture for India, in which the country finds itself almost entirely dependent on the Middle East for its energy requirements. The scaremongering by OPEC is aimed at dissuading electric vehicle manufacturers from betting big on India's automobile market and the desire among Indians to adopt electric vehicles.
India has already given OPEC the chills over the past one year. India's July crude oil imports slumped to their lowest in a year. Crude imports in July fell 12.5% month-on-month to 3.4 million barrels per day (BPD), but rose 12.8% year-on-year, as refiners shut units for maintenance and cut crude imports anticipating lower fuel demand during the monsoon season. India effectively showed OPEC how it can do just fine without entrusting its life to countries that export oil.
India's Green Energy Push a Thorn in OPEC's Eye
As the world moves away from fossil fuels, it is becoming exceedingly clear that the future of the world is with Electric Vehicles (EV). The EV market is powered entirely by lithium-ion batteries (LiBs). Presently, China manufactures two-thirds of the world's Lithium-ion batteries, and it is also the biggest producer of Graphite – a key raw material for manufacturing LiB anodes. China also has high concentrations of Lithium, but it prefers importing 80 per cent of the white metal so that it can store up its own reserves for future needs.
Within India, there has been a determined attempt to reduce dependence on China when it comes to Lithium-ion batteries. As early as 2018, Anant Geete, then the Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises had announced that India would soon become a manufacturer of Lithium-ion batteries. India plans to make up for paucity for lithium – the most important component in LiB manufacture by tapping into South America's 'Lithium Triangle' that consists of Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina. The world's largest lithium reserves are found here, led by Chile.
Read more: Government's big push to promote Electric Vehicles in India
So, India is visibly taking drastic steps to up its game when it comes to the electric vehicle sector. When the EV revolution does happen, India wants to be prepared. Furthermore, by tabooing conventional vehicles which use diesel and petrol, India is making it clear that in the near future, electric vehicles must become the new normal.
Meanwhile, India is not going to be reliant on fossil fuels for its energy requirements to drive the EV surge. Instead, India's solar energy push will propel the rise of electric vehicles in India, and this sends shivers down the spines of OPEC countries. As the de facto leader of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), India has established itself as a nation that is very keen to tap into the power of the sun.
ISA will help India to lead the future of energy as well as augment its bargaining power against organizations like OPEC. The price of solar energy has gone down in the last few years with growth and investment. With India beginning to successfully leap towards clean energy, a huge amount of foreign exchange spent on oil bills could be saved in the coming decades. Therefore, India's future in clean energy will depend on ISA's success to a large extent.
OPEC Not India's Oil Source Alone
Sure, OPEC countries account for the largest share of oil imports in India. However, of late, India has been trying to diversify its options. India, the world's third-largest oil consumer with a demand of approximately 4.5 million barrels per day, is reducing its dependence on OPEC for oil imports. In the last few years, India is diversifying its oil import kitty and American oil companies, which sell WTI crude (India traditionally used only Brent crude, imported from Arab nations, which is relatively costlier) are the major beneficiaries of diversification by Indian refiners.
India's import of WTI crude from the United States increased from 3 percent in FY 19 to 4.5 percent in FY 20, while imports from the Mediterranean also increased from 2.5 percent to 4.9 percent. The WTI crude processed in India now accounts for double-digit figures of total processing from single digit a few years ago.
OPEC had it coming for quite some time now. OPEC is an alliance of 15 countries that produce almost half of the world's crude oil. Therefore, these countries manipulate the oil prices in international markets by reducing or increasing the output of crude oil as they deem fit, causing a hike or plunge in the prices of every barrel. On the other hand, consumer nations like India have no real 'bargaining' power against OPEC. However, with India diversifying its energy sources and increasingly relying on green energy, OPEC's monopoly vis-a-vis not just India, but the world at large will be challenged. Needless to say, the organisation is scared to its very bones as a consequence.
Tags: Electric Vehiclesfossil fuelGreen EnergyIndiaOPEC
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Dark Energy has finally been discovered and this changes everything
Now, you can still apply for assistant professor role even if you do not have a PhD
Sanbeer Singh Ranhotra
।। Political Enthusiast ।।Compulsively Opinionated ।। Aspiring Journalist ।। ਮਨ ਨੀਵਾਂ ਮੱਤ ਉੱਚੀ ।।
Deepak Singh says:
is aalekh me jo bataya gaya hai ki oil ka import last year kam hua hai uska karan wuhan virus ki vajah se laga lock down bhi hoga aur jyadatar industry band thi, ha ye sahi hai ki energy consumption me renewable energy teji se aage badha hai, lekin jo bhi badi industry hai unke liye aur defence industry ke liye ya fir avaiation industry ke liye crude oil important role me lambe samay tak rahega. sath hi nuclear energy ke naye project bhi abhi koi nahi aaye hai. sath hi strategic oil reserve bhi abhi badhane ki baat ki gai hai aise me OPEC ko chunauti milegi aisa kahna kya jaldbaji nhi hoga?
Shenshah says:
We need to increase solar, hydro & nuclear power asap. Saala ladakh or northeast mai ek nuclear reactor laga do, chinabi trude karega to usko uda do. Usko sukad pata lag jayega

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


We serve the community by bringing people together to share ideas about alcohol and other drug related issues, provide information and referral to community resources, identify needs and find ways to meet them.
We provide a reliable place to research different resources and supports services for parents.
We provide a reliable place to research different resources and supports services for students.
The Northport East Northport Community Drug and Alcohol Task Force (DATF) was established in 2006 when the school board, led by trustee Rob Ingraham, called upon the community to help address the devastation it had been facing around the drug epidemic. This immediate call to action resulted in the creation of our coalition. The mission of DATF is to prevent and reduce the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol among our youth by using a comprehensive approach to engage and educate children, parents, and community members.


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HomePosts tagged 'LivingSocial'
When Friends become Foes: City of Portland vs. the Citizens
April 29, 2012 April 30, 2012 Phillip Nones Uncategorized	City of Portland, Fiesta Limousine, Gallup, Groupon, Institute for Justice, LivingSocial, Nones, Nones Notes, Taxi Industry, Towncar.com
Pick up most any civics textbook, and it'll contend that one of the purposes of government is to protect the common interests of the citizenry against the forces of corruption and special interests.
The idea is that government regulations can help curb the excesses of unfettered capitalism and help keep the playing field fair for everyone.
Unfortunately, we know from experience that things rarely turn out this way in practice. We have ample proof in the scads of lobbyists and special interest groups that swarm Washington, DC and the state capitals, holding sway over many politicians and the laws they enact.
Public opinion polls by Gallup and others show that the U.S. public sees the federal government as more culpable than state or local governments when it comes to special interests having undue influence over legislation.
But does the reality comport with the perception that "local" is less of a problem?
The latest example showing that this perception may be wrong comes from Portland, Oregon. The city council there has put in place regulations that require limousine and sedan services to charge a $50 minimum for transporting people to and from Portland International Airport … and to charge at least 35% more than taxis for trips to any other destination in the city.
In addition, sedan and limo services cannot pick up customers until at least one hour has elapsed after the customer has called for transportation.
Does anyone seriously believe that these regulations were put in place to benefit the citizenry of Portland … or to foster healthy competition for transportation services? If you believe so, you're pretty naïve.
In actuality, the Portland city council is just doing the bidding of a small but politically powerful interest group in the city: the taxi industry. Frank Dufray, the administrator for Portland's Private-for-Hire Transportation Program, says as much:
"The main thing is that you don't want the Town Cars to take all of the best fares, which are to the airport, and not leave any for the taxi industry. That's why there's a minimum fare and a one-hour wait requirement."
Basically, this is tantamount to stifling fair competition and protecting market share for the taxi industry by government fiat.
It gets worse: "Daily deal" companies like Group and LivingSocial have become a very popular way for local business to gain new customers by offering limited-time special offers that allow consumers to purchase goods and services at a discounted price. But when two Portland-area companies offered their chauffeur services at a discounted rate through Groupon last year, the city of Portland responded by assessing fines on every Groupon deal sold by these firms.
And these weren't just "nuisance" fines. They totaled $259,500 for Fiesta Limousine and a whopping $635,500 for Towncar.com!
Rather than risk going bankrupt, these two companies did the only thing they could from a practical standpoint; they refunded all of the proceeds back to their would-be customers.
So, thanks to the city of Portland, we have customers who are unable to take advantage of special pricing for limousine services, plus we have two companies who lost both time and opportunity – not to mention the administrative hassle of refunding customers their money while also dealing with the potential legal fallout.
But there's a winner, of course. It's the local taxi industry, sitting pretty while being validated in the idea that political pressure placed on local politicians works.
But in an interesting twist, this may not be the end of the story. The Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm, has now filed suit in U.S. District Court against the city of Portland. Here's how the group summarizes the legal question:
"Can the government bar entrepreneurs from offering competitive prices, online discounts and prompt service merely to protect politically powerful insiders from competition?"
The Institute for Justice's complaint was filed on April 26, 2012, citing the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment plus the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses.
Expect this one to make its way all the way to the Supreme Court.
Online coupon deals: Take those "whopping" discounts with a grain of salt.
October 26, 2011 Phillip Nones Uncategorized	Advertising, Business, Daily Deals, Groupon, LivingSocial, News, Online Couponing, Online Deals, Online Marketing, Thoughts
That "big discount" you think you're getting? Chances are, it's based on inflating the regular price.
In the world of retail, while the way people buy goods and services may be evolving at a rapid clip, it turns out that some aspects have changed nary a bit.
Take online couponing. Groupon and LivingSocial are the two big players in this segment, which enables consumers to take advantage of deep discounts on products or services providing enough people sign up for the offer. They've been proliferating in retail markets all over the country.
But think back to the "bad old days" of brick-and-mortar retail. Often, you might encounter a "deep discount" at a grocery store or big box store, only to realize later that the discount was calculated off of an unrealistically high list price for the item.
While not illegal, such practices are certainly deceptive, in that the product was rarely if ever sold at the "standard" price.
Well, guess what? When looking at online coupon deals, we're now finding the very same practices at work.
Recently, local local services online directory Thumbtack contacted vendors offering daily deals from Groupon or LivingSocial. Vendors were "shopped" in metro markets all across the country that included a variety of services ranging from home cleaning and maid services to interior painting, handyman services and studio photography.
In eight out of ten cases, Thumbtack found that it was quoted a price over the phone that was lower than the advertised "regular" price cited in the supposedly "great" deals being offered.
 On September 19, 2011, Groupon offered two hours of home cleaning services in Phoenix, AZ for $49 … an amount it claimed was 67% off of the "regular" price of $150. When contacted by phone, the non-discounted price for the exact same cleaning services was $80. So the consumer was still getting a discount … but hardly the 67% as breathlessly claimed.
 On August 24, 2011, Groupon offered carpet cleaning services for a 200 sq. ft. area in San Francisco, CA for $45 — purportedly a 78% discount from the regular price of $200. The price quoted over the phone for similar square footage? Just $106. No doubt, Groupon, LivingSocial and their participating vendors realize that one way to make an offer more attractive is to make sure the percentage discount is huge – and thus unlikely to be offered again.
It's really no different from practices we've seen used in retail over many years. But as more consumers become more savvy to the ways of online deals, it's quite likely that we'll find fewer people choosing to participate in them based on the "whopping" discounts claimed.
Shopping in the Internet Age: Let's Make a Deal
July 10, 2011 July 11, 2011 Phillip Nones Uncategorized	Advertising, Amazon, Consumer Advertising, Consumer Marketing, consumer spending, Craigslist, Daily Deals, E-Commerce, E-Mail Marketing, Gilt City, Groupon, Internet, Ipsos, Ipsos OTX MediaCT, LivingSocial, marketing, MediaCT, News, Nones, Nones Notes, NonesNotes, Online Shopping, OTX MediaCT, Phillip Nones, Thoughts, Unity Marketing, Web, Yahoo, Yipit
I hear the complaint often that e-mail has become the preserve of "deal a day" promotions and communications from brands that have devolved into little more than breathless announcements about discounts that are "too good to pass up," coupled with the obligatory "free shipping" pot-sweetener.
And then the next day, another deal shows up that's practically the same as the last one …
But how surprising is this, really? Let's not forget that daily newspaper advertising – the equivalent antecedent to e-mail marketing, has always had a similar focus on price, sales and deals.
It's just that with e-mail, it seems more ubiquitous because they're being pitched to us hourly on any number of digital platforms and mobile devices, rather than just once a day with the newspaper delivery.
And there's no doubt that the sheer volume of deal activity is growing – the low cost of e-mail marketing makes sure of that. Not only is seemingly every consumer brand out there working the e-mail channel like they did catalogues and newspaper advertising in the past, there's also the bevy of coupon marketers like LivingSocial, Groupon, Yipit and Gilt City, to name just the top few.
Some have discerned a decline in the "quality" of the information that is being provided; whereas there may have once been some educational, informative or "cool" content included along with the special deals, now it's often devolved into nothing but "price, price, price" and "savings, savings, savings."
The extent of consumer interaction with "deal-a-day" websites and e-mail offerings was quantified recently in consumer research conducted by Yahoo and Ipsos OTX MediaCT. The survey, fielded in February 2011, discovered that U.S. adults who are on the Internet subscribe to an average of three daily or weekly shopping e-mails or e-newsletters. (And more than half subscribe to two or more.)
How often are people reading these e-communiqués? With daily regularly, it turns out.
Nearly two-thirds of the respondents who subscribe to at least two of these "daily deal" e-mails or e-newsletters report that they read all of the messages that are sent. Here's how reading frequency breaks out:
 Read several times per day: ~22% of respondents
 … Once per day: ~38%
 … A few times per week: ~23%
 Read once per week: ~7%
 … A few times per month: ~5%
 … Once per month or less: ~5%
The same Yahoo/Ipsos survey measured the degree of pass-along activity, which is one of the most potent aspects of e-mail marketing. Most recipients reported doing this – about 45% doing so on a weekly basis or more frequently:
 Forwarding deals to friends or family several times per week: ~17%
 … Several times per day: ~12%
 … Once per week: ~6%
 Forwarding once per month or less frequently: ~19%
 … Never doing so: ~22%
Despite the complaint commonly heard about groaning e-mail inboxes, the Yahoo/Ipsos survey gives little indication that consumers are in reality becoming all that tired of the onslaught of daily deal promos. In fact, over six in ten respondents in the survey reported that they subscribe to more of them today compared to last year.
Moreover, nearly half of the survey respondents reported that they're excited to receive them … and that they "can't wait" to see the latest deals being offered each time.
There's another way we know that these deals are retaining their relevance: Three-fourths of the respondents reported that these types of e-mails come to their main inbox rather than to a separate account they've set up to receive such offers. So there's little doubt that when people say that these deals are desirable, they actually mean it.
We consumers do like our deals, don't we? And if you think that the popularity of deals and discounts is due to the recession, that's belied by the fact that even America's super-affluent are on the deal bandwagon. Unity Marketing's recent survey of the wealthiest 2% of Americans — those earning $250,000+ per year — finds that value-priced Amazon is the top shopping destination for ~45% of them. Not only that, ~10% use Groupon for coupons and ~8% use Craigslist.
No, it seems bargain-hunting is the thing for practically everyone.
Social couponing: Big idea … but big profits?
October 31, 2010 Phillip Nones Uncategorized	Advertising, Buy With Me, BuyWithMe, Dholakia, Discount Advertising, Discount Marketing, Discount Promotion, Groupon, Half Off Depot, Internet, Jones Graduate School of Business, Jones School of Business, Living Social, LivingSocial, marketing, My City Deal, MyCityDeal, News, Nones, Nones Notes, NonesNotes, Online Couponing, Online Coupons, Online Promotion, Phillip Nones, Promotion, Rice University, Social Coupon, Social Couponing, Technology, Thoughts, Tuangou, Utpal Dholakia, Web, Web Couponing, Web Coupons
The rise of the Internet has changed the way the couponing business operates. Not only are people logging online to find coupons rather than searching for them in the local paper, so-called "social couponing" has also entered the scene. This is where online coupon offers become active only after a minimum number of registered users sign on to them.
Groupon is probably the best-known of these couponing platforms, although there are others active in the field including MyCityDeal, Half Off Depot, BuyWithMe and LivingSocial. [Interestingly the idea of social couponing originated in the People's Republic of China.]
The concept, as Groupon does it, is pretty simple. It offers one "Groupon" per day in distinct market segments. If a predetermined specified number of people sign up for the coupon offer, the deal then becomes available to all; otherwise, the offer doesn't take effect.
Groupon makes its money by getting a percentage of the deal from the participating retailers.
In theory, social couponing reduces the risk for retailers, who can treat the coupons as brand promotion tools in addition to offering discounts or freebies. But research carried out recently by the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University throws a bit of cold water on this hot idea.
The Rice research, which included ~150 businesses, found that the Groupon campaigns were unprofitable ventures for one-third of them. Furthermore, ~40% of the companies studied stated that, based on their experience, they don't plan to run another social coupon promotion.
The Rice study measured program success based on two criteria: what portion of customers spent more than the coupon amount … and to what degree did customers subsequently make follow-up purchases without the coupon offer. Those companies that reported their campaigns had not been profitable also reported that only ~25% of the coupon redeemers spent more than the face value of the coupon.
Beyond that, fewer than 15% made a subsequent purchase at full price.
In contrast, firms that reported having profitable promotions stated that about half of the coupon redeemers spent more than value of the coupon, and ~30% of them made follow-up purchases at regular prices.
But even some of these firms were wary about conducting another campaign, believing that the Groupon offer did not attract the "right" kind of customers.
What types of offers did well? The Rice study found that foodservice offers performed best in terms of the quantity of offers redeemed. Other categories that scored relatively well were tourism offers, educational services, salons and spas – but each of these drew less than half the response level that restaurants achieved.
Utpal Dholakia, an associate professor of marketing at Rice and leader of the research study, concluded, "There is disillusionment with the extreme price-sensitive nature and transactional orientation of these consumers." Dr. Dholakia went on to point out that "they are not the relational customers that they had hoped for, or the ones … necessary for their businesses' long-term success."
What's the caveat for businesses thinking about jumping into social couponing? Such a program may well contribute to a surge in business. But many of these new customers will be price-conscious in the extreme, holding a bargain-hunting agenda above everything else.
Hmmm. Just like the real world.


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Q: MAMP: blocked because of many connection errors; unblock with 'mysqladmin flush-hosts' in /wp-includes/wp-db.php I have an issue with MAMP not connecting to databases hosted on another server. I recieve the following error:
Warning: mysqli_real_connect(): (HY000/1129): Host 'admins-MacBook-Pro-4.local' is blocked because of many connection errors; unblock with 'mysqladmin flush-hosts' in /wp-includes/wp-db.php on line 1538
things that are confusing me:
1) host admins-MacBook-Pro-4.local  -> I am not on a macbook pro, nor connecting to macbook pro. In my wp-config I am connecting to the server IP as the host.
Any one know how to resolve this issue?

A: Resolved, had to login to the database on the server and type the following command in the SQL console.
FLUSH HOSTS

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Nowadays, big data is not new to us. Some of us use big data almost everyday, but how to extract web data that is high-volume in a short time? we will talk something about it.
Clavis Technology recently conducted a study showing significant problems with the integrity of product information available on 17 of the largest online consumer goods stores in North America. The study found that over two-thirds of the product pages evaluated suffered from significant gaps in the quality of product information.
Recently, laboratories in Ireland discovered that some of their processed beef contained horse meat. The public were outraged, and the Food Standards Agency insisted that all retail sold processed beef in the UK was DNA tested for horse meat. Some high profile branded processed beef products have been found to contain 100% horse meat.
As the olympics drew to a close, the business of collating and analysing the data began in earnest. Take for instance the medal table. There has already been some interesting statistics emerging.


This listing is for a group of 25 loose beautiful hand cut vintage paper flowers.
Each individual flower is hand cut, formed and painted with a trim color to match your event or decor.
IMPORTANT: The flowers are made upon purchase, so shipping time will be custom quoted to each order. If you would like a different colored trim or a different quantity, just message me and I will be happy to work with you. If I don't receive a custom color request message, I will make the flowers as seen in the pictures above.
NOTE: The lantern, vase and candle are just for photo props and are not included with this listing.


EXPERIENCE UNPRECEDENTED FLEXIBILITY IN WHOLE HOUSE MUSIC with the On-Q Home Ultimate Music Solution. Slow dance to your favorite music in the den while each of the kids rock out to those artists you've never heard of in their bedrooms. You'll get audiophile-quality stereo sound everywhere you want it - indoors and out - with total control.
Immerse your home in your favorite sounds by sending stereo music from your existing audio system to optimized, flush mounted speakers in four rooms.
source equipment power indicator light, listening level indicator, up/down volume control, remote control capacity, and a preset auto volume turn-on, which prevents the initial volume from being too loud.
sound of a concert hall into multiple rooms throughout your home. With advanced crossovers for optimal frequency distribution, swivel mount aluminum tweeters, three-position tweeter output level control, and glass fiber woofers, Gold Line speakers blend effortlessly with any decor by mounting flush into walls and ceilings. They also employ infrared target knockouts behind the grills, high performance connectors, 200 watts peak high power handling and exceptional sound quality.
Simply plug in the line level outputs from your audio system and listen as music fills your home. Works with any audio system, from low-end receivers to high-end audiophile components.
Listen to Bach in one room, Beck in another, and Barney in a third, all at the same time, by plugging in portable MP3 players, CD players, or computer audio outputs to the integrated local source inputs in two rooms. Perfect for families with distinctly different musical tastes.
Simply plug in the speaker outputs from your audio system and listen as music fills your home. Works with any audio system, from low-end receivers to high-end audiophile components.
through any of the amplified keypads in any room without ever leaving your chair.
For larger homes or to cover even more locations throughout the house, you can add up to eight rooms, for a total of twelve rooms resonating with glorious multi-room stereo music.
music enthusiast. are fully optimized for the demands of outdoor installations.
Add the flexibility of a local source input in additional rooms so you can have even more people listening to different music sources in different locations simultaneously.
Give each member of the family their own remote control for the ultimate in sound management ease and flexibility.
outlet connection point where all of your audio, video, home theater, data, and phone connections come together. Take advantage of the latest technologies such as satellite TV, home servers, and digital video recorders.


Justin just turned 6 months old and is ready to find his forever home.
At three months of age, Justin was diagnosed with Megaesophagus. This is a genetic disorder that affects the esophagus and blocks food from entering the stomach. This condition is inoperable and can be fatal in many dogs. However, in some cases, puppies can outgrow it and lead normal lives.
Justin seems to be one of the lucky ones. He has been in a foster home for the last three months and is progressing extremely well. Once Justin was in foster care, he was fed with his food bowl raised and held up after feeding to allow the food to pass through to his stomach. Now he only has to have his food elevated and does not seem to need any additional help.
Justin is a typical puppy, very active and in need of constant supervision. He is still underweight, but mostly due to his high energy level and constant running and playing. He needs to find a family who has experience with puppies and a lot of patience.
Justin is about 90% potty trained and is crated during the day or when no one is home. He is very happy to go into his crate on his own, as long as there is a treat waiting for him.
He would also do well in a home with another dog or dogs that are energetic and willing to put up with a playful puppy. He currently resides with five large dogs and does very well. He has learned his place and knows which ones he can play with and which ones not to. He would not do well in a home with children under 12. When he gets excited, he jumps and nips and could hurt a young child.
Given all of his puppy traits, he is a beautiful and affectionate Greyhound. He will eventually grow up to become the typical Greyhound - a 40 mile an hour couch potato.
If you have room in your hearts and home and lots of patience, Justin would love to spend his life with you.
Justin is available for adoption through Operation Kindness, a no-kill shelter in Carrollton, Texas, 972-418-PAWS. If you are interested in meeting him or have any questions, please call Debi Joynt (Foster Mom) at 972-395-7701.


text:
package net.ttddyy.dsproxy.asserts.hamcrest;

import org.junit.Assert;
import org.junit.Test;

import java.sql.Types;

import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
import static org.junit.Assert.fail;

/**
 * @author Tadaya Tsuyukubo
 * @since 1.0
 */
public class SqlTypeMatcherTest {

    @Test
    public void matcher() {
        SqlTypeMatcher matcher = new SqlTypeMatcher(Types.CHAR);
        Assert.assertThat(1, matcher);

        try {
            Assert.assertThat(Types.BIT, matcher);
            fail("AssertionError should be thrown");
        } catch (AssertionError e) {
            assertThat(e).hasMessage("\nExpected: CHAR:1\n     but: BIT:-7");
        }
    }

    @Test
    public void messagePrefixAndSuffix(){
        SqlTypeMatcher matcher = new SqlTypeMatcher(Types.DATE, "[PRE]", "[POST]");
        try {
            Assert.assertThat(Types.TIME, matcher);
            fail("AssertionError should be thrown");
        } catch (AssertionError e) {
            assertThat(e).hasMessage("\nExpected: [PRE]DATE:91[POST]\n     but: [PRE]TIME:92[POST]");
        }

    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


How young can a child be and still learn Christian missions concepts? The preschool years. From 3 year olds to kindergartners, Mission Friends provides the building blocks of faith and a basic awareness of God's love for all people.
Girls in Action(GA) is a missions discipleship organization for girls. Every girl in grades 1–6 can be a part of GA! Through GA, girls learn about, pray for, give to, and do missions work. They also make new friends and have lots of fun!
RA's, GA's, and Mission Friends meet on Wednesday evenings from 6:30-7:15 (September- May).


text:
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Rees Jeffreys Road Fund Competition 2021: The winners
The winners of the first stage of the 2021 Rees Jeffreys Road Fund Competition, run by the Trustees in order to celebrate 150 years since the birth of the charity's benefactor William Rees Jeffreys, were revealed in an online event
Seven organisations were awarded £5,000 development grants, and will now have three months to develop their ideas in competition for the final grant of up to £150,000.
In each of the two schools categories – primary and secondary – one winner was awarded £5,000, and two runners-up each received £2,000. The judges also awarded a special £2,000 discretionary prize.
The winners' announcement webinar is online here, free to view
All the shortlisted entries can be seen here
The competition – which was run this year for the first time – attracted an amazing 142 entries, which especially pleased the Trustees.
Says Ginny Clarke, Trustee and Chair of the Judging panel: 'On behalf of the Trustees, I'd like to thank each and every person who contributed to these 142 entries. The standard was consistently high, and we were thrilled to receive so many entries in the Competition's first year.
'We were also really pleased to see that so many entrants responded to our "be creative and innovative" brief, sending in entries that included songs, poems, videos, paintings and fly-thru models.
'As Trustees, we will be reaching out to many new individuals and organisations in future, several of who came to our notice through this Competition.'
The final winner – or winners – of the £150,000 fund, to be selected from those in receipt of the £5,000 development grants, will be celebrated at a Gala Reception on 28 March 2022, at Prince Philip House, home of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Carlton House Terrace, St James's, London.
The competition was managed on behalf of the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund by Landor LINKS.
Development grants
(7 x £5,000 prizes)
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) - Cycle Smart: a vision for safer and better cycling
This project uses technology from cyclists' bike lights, which also act as bicycle sensors, to predict where collisions involving cyclists are likely to occur, and then puts in place measures to prevent them.
Gemma Bridge - Augmented reality and its potential to enhance collaboration in the planning process
The development of an augmented reality app would increase engagement, reducing time-consuming consultation periods, therefore giving more people the opportunity to speak out and share their views on plans.
Reed Mobility - Developing ethical goal functions for road use
Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) behaviour should be directed using 'ethical goal functions' (EGFs). This concept embeds the ethical interests of society into functions against which CAV developers can optimise the performance of their systems; developing and assessing these behaviours in simulation before deploying vehicles on real roads.
Eloy - Connected Vehicle Platform
Connected vehicle services are vital for road innovation and should be incorporated into SATNAV systems and existing in-vehicle experiences. This project would build a connected vehicle partner platform, enabling partners to use Eloy's technology to create their own new services and so reduce R&D cost, complexity and the need for testing.
Phil Carey Consulting - Wistle: Working to improve the single-track lane experience
A proposal for a new management regime for the many UK minor roads not wide enough for two vehicles to easily pass each other. Wistle uses the functionality of basic vehicle-to-vehicle communication, combined with data and detailed mapping, to alert vehicles to safe passing options.
Jenny Clark - Rainbow Routes to School
Children's journeys to school should be enjoyable, safe and healthy. This project builds on existing air-quality monitoring in local schools and embeds 'rainbow routes' within a new research project collecting smartphone app-based data on active travel. The aim is to close data gaps and speed up interventions that favour safe, active and independent travel for children.
Loughborough University - NEW SURFACES (Novel Engineering Ways to Soften Urban Roads, Footways And Cars to Enhance Safety)
This concept aims to identify priority accident spots and replace current hard surfaces (steel, concrete and asphalt) with dynamic materials that change under different loads to soften impacts on roads and footways.
The winners: Schools
Winner: Primary school (£5,000 prize)
Barlaston CE (VC) First School, Stoke-on-Trent - Y4 class: Slow roads
The class invented a system so that any mobile phone in a vehicle that drove above the speed limit would lock out for 48-hours. The children – eight and nine year olds – don't have phones themselves, and they thought it would be "brilliant" if their older family members had a phone lock-out – to make sure the parent/driver stayed below the speed limit.
Runners-up: Primary school (2 x £2,000 prizes)
All Saints' School, Gresford, Wrexham - Sustainable Travel
All Saints' School is committed to promoting walking, scooting, cycling and other sustainable methods of transportation to and from school. To do this, the school has a peer-elected group of children who work together as 'Active Travel Champions' who encourage new ways to promote active journeys to and from school, including for those who live further away.
Deri Primary School, Bargoed – Moving motorways: A safer way to travel for you and our planet
This team has designed a moving motor way! The solar powered motorway, made out of recycled plastic, will move like a conveyor belt to transport cars across long distances.
Winner: Secondary school (£5,000 prize)
Ursuline High School, London - Flica
Flica is part car, part aeroplane, and can fly and travel on roads by using a vertical take-off and landing system, powered by long term, lithium-ion batteries.
Runners-up: Secondary school (2 x £2,000 prizes)
Lewis Girls' School, Hangoed - Power generating recycled speed bumps + roads project
This idea is for roads and speed bumps that are made from recycled plastic, but with the speed bumps having lots and lots of Piezoelectric plates built into them. When a vehicle drives over the bump, the weight of the car acts on the Piezoelectric plates and generates a small electrical pulse.
Trinity Fields School, Caerphilly - Roads for the Future!
The pupils of this school have been talking about the roads of the future and are looking forward to seeing new things happen. The panel were impressed with the video of the children setting out challenges they saw for the future of roads, and their preferred solutions. This entry really embraced the spirit of the competition. The young people set out a range of ideas and the general approach would have met with approval from William Rees Jeffreys.
Special prize
Oban High School, Argylle & Bute – Various
Oban High School came up with 7 great ideas, including using super conductors and magnets to levitate a "car", hover cars, and underground tunnels that allow cars to clip onto a train that shuttles them up and down the country, thus reducing the chance of accidents by involving less driving.
The judges made a special prize award of £2,000 to Oban High School.
For more information, please contact juliana.orourke@landor.co.uk
Future proofing energy assets against increased demand from EVs
National Highways launches environment sustainability division
National Highways trials SwiftGates to automatically close off road lanes
National Highways awards Colas roads maintenance contract
Egis and IBI Group to operate Traffic Scotland National Control Centre
Poems from the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund Competition
Rees Jeffreys Road Fund Competition: schools shortlist announced
Rees Jeffreys Road Fund Competition: winners announced online, 3 December @ 11.00
Rees Jeffreys Road Fund Competition 2021: shortlist published
Gridserve agrees to CMA's motorway plans
LTA chiefs told Bus Back Better fund will be more than halved to £1.4bn
Select your parking payment preference


text:
Why We Love Chicago In The Summer
It's not that we don't love the city during the winter, spring, and fall. But during the warmest months-from June through August-people open up, clothing comes off, and Chicago turns into one of the best destinations on earth. Here we catalog the reasons why right now there's nowhere else we'd rather be.
Shore Patrol
by Meghan McEwen; photography by Lisa Predko
While scouring the long stretch from Jackson Park to Hollywood Beach, we discovered some of the lakefront's native dwellers. Meet the characters, photographed in their natural habitat, who make our shore more than just a pretty place.
The Nightmare
by Bryan Smith
Until DNA evidence led to his release, Kevin Fox stood accused of murdering his three-year-old daughter. Today troubling questions abound. The biggest: Who really killed Riley Fox?
Everybody Loves Bruce Norris
by Tony Adler
Except Bruce Norris. His growing notoriety as a playwright has surpassed his accomplishments as an actor, but he remains convinced that he is ridiculous and we are all swine.
Lone Stars
by Noah Isackson
They're successful, beautiful, and available. It's our annual showcase of 20 of the city's most desirable singles. Find out which ones have gone skinny-dipping and which ones haven't.
Madrid St. Angelo injects a little drama into the morning commute; the essential guide to Chicago music festivals; our critic judges the ultimate pastrami smackdown!; we pit bestseller Jenny McCarthy against professional self-help writers; Team Chicago preps for the Gay Games; an American Girl-for boys?; the argument you never hear about global warming; summer picnic style, summer sales, more.
Plus: The Shopper, Style Sheet, and Sales Check
Books | Hello, Goodbye
In writing about friendship, this author came to realize that it should be treated as an art. Without it, we are lost, but sometimes it's no picnic on the grass, either. An excerpt from a new book by Joseph Epstein
Four | One | One
Ah, summer-time for fun in the sun at the 52 public beaches around Chicago. But, beachgoers, beware: beach closings have more than doubled in recent years. We take a look at the area's most polluted beaches.
Plus: How do Chicago's taxicabs and subway system stack up against those of other cities? And another view of the Adler Planetarium
Deal Estate | The $11-Million Bargain
A David Adler–designed house, originally priced at $26 million, finally sells for $11 million; a record sale-and a contender in the wings-at a Mies lakeshore tower; and a rental update.
Plus: Condo news from the city and suburbs
Nightspotting | Rock On
by Sarah Preston
Taking a break from the bar scene at the Lincoln Park Young Professionals' Rock the Warehouse.
Plus: The skinny on Minnie's
by Jeff Ruby
The 1960 Nixon-Kennedy presidential election proved that a successful candidacy cannot be had without photogenic appeal. But in the coming gubernatorial race, both major-party candidates seem equally challenged when it comes to having a bad hair day.
Chicago Guide®
During July: If walls could talk, they might complain of neglect like those of the aggrieved apartment in Crumble (Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake). This is Sheila Callaghan's play in which a mother and daughter are so steeped in grief and dysfunction that even the walls of their home teeter on madness. This month, Dog & Pony Theatre Company reprises its smart and funny production at the Chicago Park District's Theater on the Lake.
Marquee: A preview of coming attractions
Dining Out | Raging Bulls
by Dennis Ray Wheaton
Three focused new spots go back to Chicago's roots: red meat, stiff drinks, and guilt-free good times.
The definitive guide to Chicago's top restaurants
This month: Nine new and updated listings, including Butter and One Sixtyblue
Dish: The hottest restaurants right now; gossip; a big-shot chef drops anchor in River East


text:
Q: setting initial summary of the preferences on Android 3.0+ In the next code there is two findpreference(key), the first is in onCreate() and it returns null, but the second returns the preference correctly. I need the first to work well for initialize the preference summary. I've spent a lot of time trying different ways, and reading documentation and googling but I haven´t found the way, please help.
public class Settings30Activity extends PreferenceActivity implements OnSharedPreferenceChangeListener {

    protected SettingsFragment settingsFragment;

    @SuppressLint("NewApi")
    @TargetApi(11)
    public static class SettingsFragment extends PreferenceFragment {
       @Override
       public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
          super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
          addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.preferences);
       }
     }

    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
       super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
       settingsFragment = new SettingsFragment();

   //findPreference 1 (returns null):
       Preference stylePref=settingsFragment.findPreference("pref_style");
       stylePref.setSummary(sharedPreferences.getString(key, ""));

    }

   public void onSharedPreferenceChanged(SharedPreferences sharedPreferences, String key) {
    if (key.equals("pref_style")) {
    //findPreference 2(returns the preference ok):
        Preference stylePref=settingsFragment.findPreference("pref_style");
        stylePref.setSummary(sharedPreferences.getString(key, ""));
    }
}

}
While debugging, I can see in the variables how the the object settingsFragment/mPreferenceManager is null along the activity life cycle, until onSharedPreferenceChanged() is just invoked then settingsFragment/mPreferenceManager/mSharedPreferences gets sharedPrefereces and findpreference() works well. But I don´t know how to do for it works outside onSharedPreferenceChanged().

A: It returns null because your key is null in your first findPreference(key) call.
In the second call, key is passed as a parameter to onSharedPreferenceChanged(), that's why it works there.
As you're looking for a key named "pref_style", you may define that name for your whole class (e.g. static final String PREF_STYLE_KEY = "pref_style") and then call findPreference(PREF_STYLE_KEY) in your first call and key.equals(PREF_STYLE_KEY) in your if() statement.

A: Here´s my final code in case anyone else needs it, it works well:
public class Settings30Activity extends PreferenceActivity implements
    On SharedPreferenceChangeListener {

     protected SettingsFragment settingsFragment;

 @SuppressLint("NewApi")
 @TargetApi(11)
 public static class SettingsFragment extends PreferenceFragment {
    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        addPreferencesFromResource(R.xml.preferences);
        setSummaries();
    }

    @SuppressLint("NewApi")
    public void setSummaries(){
        final SharedPreferences sh = getPreferenceManager().getSharedPreferences() ;

        //Pref1
        Preference stylePref = findPreference("pref_style");
        stylePref.setSummary(sh.getString("pref_style", ""));

        //here the other preferences..
     }
}//End fragment

 @SuppressLint("NewApi")
 @Override
 public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    settingsFragment = new SettingsFragment();
    getFragmentManager().beginTransaction()
            .replace(android.R.id.content, settingsFragment)
            .commit();
 }

 public void onSharedPreferenceChanged(SharedPreferences sharedPreferences, String key) {

    if (key.equals("pref_style")) {
        Preference pref = settingsFragment.findPreference(key);
        // Set summary to be the user-description for the selected value
        pref.setSummary(sharedPreferences.getString(key, ""));
    }
    //here the others preferences
  }
}


Among book/movie tie-in collectibles, the Photoplay editions are sought after primarily for their attractive dust jackets, and the photo plates generally featured with the text. They began to appear in 1913, and were at first designed to promote and accompany the ongoing serial adventures of stars such as Pearl White and Ruth Roland. They later became novelizations of feature stories and screenplays. I found one for Beyond The Rocks at a local sale for the public library, and it had a neat image of Gloria Swanson on the still-intact dust cover. The rarest ones are for things like Dracula and King Kong --- no surprise there. Photoplay editions died out by the mid-thirties, but books based on movies continued right along until paperbacks became dominant after the war. The ones shown here were issued in tandem with the release of The Freshman and Speedy, and these colorful editions must have been quite a lure for Harold Lloyd fans in the book stalls. The photo from Speedy was included as an illustration plate in the novel --- note the caption and credit. Though Lloyd was high on Photoplay editions, Charlie Chaplin apparently was not, as there are no Photoplays extant on Chaplin's features. These little books can still be had at a right price, but beware those without dust-jackets. Condition's a factor too. If you're going to bid on one, make sure all the illustrations are intact. Otherwise, these are fun books, and nice souvenirs of a tie-in device that has largely disappeared.
Wait. The covers say "Based upon Harold Lloyd's great comedy," but the ad says, "These are the books from which the big movies were made." What gives?