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Labour Productivity Measures - National (Quarterly) (LPM)
Labour Productivity Measures - National (Quarterly) (LPM) Variable(s) Summary of changes Other reference periods Related products
Detailed information for third quarter 2019
The quarterly program of the Canadian Productivity Accounts produces, on a timely basis, data on labour productivity and related variables such as output, employment, hours worked, labour compensation and unit labour cost.
Data release - December 04, 2019
The quarterly program of the Canadian Productivity Accounts (CPA) produces, on a timely basis, data on labour productivity and related variables such as employment, hours worked, output, labour compensation and unit labour cost.
Quarterly labour productivity series, measured as real gross domestic product (GDP) per hour worked, are widely watched by the financial community, non-financial businesses, government policymakers and researchers. These series are of interest for three main reasons: a) they provide more current information than do the annual productivity data; b) they provide necessary information to analyze the behaviour of the economy during business cycles; c) they provide the most current information on Canada's productivity performance compared to that of the United States.
Even though multifactor productivity data provide a more comprehensive indicator of productivity performance, the quarterly program of the CPA only produces data on labour productivity and its related variables. This is due to the complexity associated with the construction of multifactor productivity measures and their high level of data requirements (see Productivity Measures and Related Variables - National and Provincial [Annual], record number 1402).
The quarterly program of the CPA has three main features:
1) estimates are limited to measures of labour productivity and related variables;
2) estimates apply to the entire economy, its aggregate business sector and its constituent two-digit sub-sectors based on the North American Industry Classification System;
3) quarterly estimates are only available in the form of indexes or growth rates, as opposed to values or levels.
The Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts provides a conceptually integrated statistical framework for studying the state and behaviour of the Canadian economy. The accounts are centered on the measurement of activities associated with the production of goods and services, the sales of goods and services in final markets, the supporting financial transactions and the resulting wealth positions.
The Canadian Productivity Accounts (CPA) are responsible for producing, analyzing and disseminating Statistics Canada's official data on productivity and for the production and integration of data on employment, hours worked and capital services consistent with the System of National Economic Accounts. To this end, the CPA comprises three programs. The quarterly program provides current estimates on labour productivity and labour costs at the aggregate level for 15 industry groups (see Labour Productivity Measures - National [Quarterly], record number 5042). The annual multifactor productivity program provides yearly estimates on multifactor productivity and related measures (output, capital input, labour input and intermediate inputs) as they apply to the major sectors of the economy and to industries at the national and provincial levels (see Productivity Measures and Related Variables - National and Provincial [Annual], record number 1402). Lastly, the annual provincial program, as an integral part of the provincial and territorial economic accounts, provides estimates on employment, hours worked, labour productivity and labour costs at the industry level for each province and territory.
Reference period: Quarter
Economic accounts
Productivity accounts
The conceptual universe consists of the business sector.
This methodology does not apply.
Data are extracted from administrative files and derived from other Statistics Canada surveys and/or other sources.
The Canadian Productivity Accounts are responsible for constructing labour data (employment and hours worked) in accordance with the Canadian System of National Accounts (CSNA) production framework, using a variety of data sources available at Statistics Canada. Other sources of labour data available within Statistics Canada do not completely satisfy this requirement. For more details see "Producing Hours Worked for the SNA in order to Measure Productivity: the Canadian Experience", The Canadian Productivity Review, Statistics Canada Catalogue number 15-306-XIE, no 004, 2006, free.
The Labour Force Survey, the Survey of Employment, Payroll and Hours and the Labour Statistics program of the Public Sector Statistics Division constitute the primary sources exploited to construct estimates of hours worked and jobs that accord with the CSNA framework.
The monthly compensation of employees program of the National Economic Accounts Division provides the benchmarks for the compensation of employees data for the whole economy, the business sector and a reasonably detailed industry breakdown which is, in turn, used to construct data for the two-digit sub-sectors classified in the North American Industry Classification System.
The final demand measure of gross domestic product, available from the National Economic Accounts Division, is used to estimate the output of the whole economy and that of its aggregate business sector. Real value added data, provided by the Industry Accounts Division, are used to measure the output of industries and major sub-sectors.
This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.
In the Canadian System of National Accounts, it is not possible to split income of self-employed workers between labour and capital. Compensation of self-employed workers is therefore imputed mainly based on the assumption that the average hourly wage of a self-employed worker is at least equal to that of an employee in the same industry.
Labour productivity, hourly compensation and unit labour cost are expressed as indexes derived from three variables: chain-weighted output, hours worked and labour compensation for all workers. The estimation method employed to achieve these ratios varies according to the level of aggregation (whole economy or industry).
Quarterly output for the whole economy is a final demand Fisher chain-weighted gross domestic product (GDP) at market prices. It is conceptually similar to the one used for the aggregate business sector, albeit with differences in terms of coverage. The business sector GDP excludes the gross value added of non-commercial activities, private households and the rental value of owner-occupied dwellings.
Quarterly output by industry is the Fisher chain-weighted value added at basic prices following the North American Industry Classification System.
The approach used is based on expert judgment. Three criteria are used to evaluate the quality of the estimates:
A) the quality of the data sources, including deflators;
B) the nature of breaks (if any) in the series;
C) the importance of revisions.
The combination of these criteria should be considered as a necessary condition for quality; however, no criterion on its own can be a sufficient condition for quality. Based on these criteria, variables are assigned a quality rating using a three-point scale: 1 - reliable; 2 - fairly reliable; 3 - unreliable.
A) Quality of data sources, including deflators
A variable cannot receive rating 1 (reliable) if:
i) the series in current prices are unreliable (no surveys or administrative sources data) because they are based on imputed data;
ii) the variable has no appropriate deflator for constructing a reliable series in constant prices.
If the series looks "reasonable" despite weaknesses i) and ii) above, it would be given a 2 (fairly reliable) rating. Otherwise, it would be considered unreliable (3) by default.
B) Nature of breaks (if any) in the series
Breaks occur when macroeconomic or industry-specific shocks have a temporary or permanent impact, when changes associated with the environment within which the industry operates (regulation, etc.) or when changes associated with the statistical infrastructure (classification, sources, concepts and methods).
If breaks that affect the series are explicable (in other words, if they are covered by one of the above examples), then the series could receive rating 1 (reliable) (provided the other quality criteria are satisfied).
If the breaks cannot be explained, the series cannot obtain rating 1.
C) Importance of revisions
The order of magnitude of the revisions to the quarterly labour productivity series over the three-year cycle of revisions to the Canadian System of National Accounts data are another way to ascertain the quality of the data. For more details, see "Revisions to Canada and United States Annual Estimates of Labour Productivity in the Business Sector, 2007 to 2010", Statistics Canada Catalogue number 15-212-X, ISSN 1920-8499, March 2012.
Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any data which would divulge information obtained under the Statistics Act that relates to any identifiable person, business or organization without the prior knowledge or the consent in writing of that person, business or organization. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.
The Canadian Productivity Accounts use the confidentiality model developed by the Industry Accounts Division. This model uses a method that consists of suppressing sensitive cells.
Data are also suppressed if they have been assigned an unreliable quality rating.
Quarterly labour productivity estimates and related measures are released four times per year.
Short-term changes are more variable than long-term ones. Furthermore, since they are based on preliminary output and employment data, they may be subject to revision. To ensure consistency with annual data from the annual productivity accounts, the quarterly indexes of value added and hours worked are adjusted to their respective annual benchmarks when these are available.
The figures for the year's previous quarters are revised when data for the current quarter are published. When first-quarter data are released, the data for the three previous years are revised in conjunction with the National Accounts revision process.
Data for the aggregate business sector and sub-sectors at the national level are deemed reliable based on the quality evaluation principles laid out above in the "Quality evaluation" section. For more information see the publication "The Statistics Canada Productivity Program: Methodology 2000", which is part of the Canadian Productivity Accounts - Methods and Concepts series (Statistics Canada Catalogue number 15-002-MIE2001001). At the moment, there are no data reliability ratings for the labour productivity measures at the provincial level.
Quarterly Canadian Productivity Accounts - Technical Notes
Format: Quarterly Canadian Productivity Accounts - Technical Notes - PDF, 164.39[PDF, 164.39 kb]
User Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts
This guide provides a detailed explanation of the structure, concepts and history of the Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts.
Last review: June 22, 2018
Format: User Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts - HTML[HTML]


Conduct advanced analytical analysis of starting materials, in-process materials, and finished materials following established procedures and protocols. Perform material analysis by utilizing chromatographic method development and execution.
Performs qualitative tests or quantitative assays on samples using techniques that vary from use of standard analytical equipment to highly modern and automated instrumentation.
Use proper scientific tools to accurately analyze and trend data, where applicable.
Clearly and accurately records data and conclusions in laboratory notebook.
Prepares technical documents, including reports and procedures.
Communicates and collaborates routinely with colleagues within the function and sometimes within the sub-team. Functionally communicates with supervisor and mentor. Participate constructively in functional teams and at lab meetings, and offers assistance to co-workers.
General upkeep of laboratory, including equipment/ instrumentation.
Revise and author procedures and technical reports as needed.
Quality – No critical audit observations.
Quality – Formal CAPAs and deviations not more than 30 days past due.
Timeliness – On time delivery of data in a suitable format (laboratory notebook, LIMS, technical report).
Throughput – Capable of managing several routine tasks at one time.
Adherence to *** standards and governing procedures and processes, in particular, quality, ethical, health, safety, and HSE standards.
We are seeking a motivated and creative Researcher to join the Discovery Sciences group, reporting to a Scientist, to develop Client cell based assays for screening to advance projects to find therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease. The successful candidate will have significant experience in designing and performing experiments in cell based neuro-immunological and signaling assays. The position requires an enthusiastic person with the ability to work in a collaborative matrixed environment to positively impact the progress of projects. The candidate will progressively become independent and learn to develop or adapt new assays and technologies. Candidate is expected to plan, execute, analyze, and record experiments in a timely manner.
• A B.S. with a minimum of 8 years of experience, or an M.S. with a minimum of 5 years of academic/industrial experience with strong scientific knowledge and research experience in cellular and molecular biology is required.
• Demonstrated independence in experimental design, execution, data analysis, and troubleshooting is necessary.
• Hands on experience with a wide range of in-vitro cellular and biochemical assays, including maintenance of variety of mammalian cell lines, generation of stable cell lines expressing target proteins, electroporation, transfections, western blotting, immunoprecipitation, Flow cytometry, microscopy (immunofluorescence), ELISAs (MSD), luciferase (firefly/renilla) reporter assays, siRNA/shRNA knockdown, CRISPR-mediated genome editing, RT-qPCR, lentivirus generation, and transduction is required.
• Prior experience in development of cell based assays for small molecule compound and/or antibody screening is required, including the high-to-low throughput methods, proof of concept assays, reporter assays are required.
• Proficiency in using software packages such as Graph Pad, Microsoft office etc. for data analysis and figure generation is required.
• Attention to details, excellent organizational, and record keeping skills is a requirement.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to interact effectively with people, internally and externally is required.
• Background in microglial biology is preferred.
The Researcher will contribute to the efforts of the Discovery Sciences team by developing assays for compound screening. This person will work under the supervision of a senior scientist and will be expected to work with increased independence over time. Responsibilities include developing and maintaining cell and tissue cultures, planning, executing, analyzing, and recording experiments using a variety of techniques. The candidate will show a willingness to learn and to adapt to new technologies as needed. We seek a creative, self-motivated, critical thinker who can thrive in a collaborative environment.
– BS or MS in biology, pharmacology, cell biology, neuroscience, immunology or related field.
– Laboratory experience is essential.
– Experience with multiple cell culture models.
– Experience with protein detection techniques (Western blot, ELISA, imaging, flow cytometry).
– Experience with molecular biology techniques, development of stable cell lines.
– Ability to use automation is a plus.
– Experience with data analysis software.
– Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
– Detail oriented, highly motivated, flexible, and independent.
Responsible for conducting research, development and manufacturing laboratory experimentation and other scientific activities to support Client projects. Exercises technical expertise and discretion in the design, execution and interpretation of experiments that contribute to project strategies. Prepares technical reports, summaries, protocols and quantitative analyses.
Presents and discusses results of experiments within department and project team. Maintains high level of professional expertise through familiarity with scientific literature and may participate in conferences and professional societies.
Follows company policies and procedures for GMP, GLP, Design Control and others as appropriate. Maintains complete and accurate laboratory documentation and electronic files. May act as principal investigator in conducting own experiments.
Executes laboratory experiments; makes detailed observations and analyzes data. – Prepares technical reports, summaries and quantitative analyses. – Maintains complete and accurate records. – Normally receives detailed directions on all work. – Makes suggestions to improve work processes. – Assists in reducing to practice patentable inventions. – Works on projects of moderate scope in which analysis of situation or data requires a review of identifiable factors. – Exercises judgment within defined procedures and practices to determine appropriate action. – May participate in cross functional technical team activities. – Presents and discusses data within group. – Monitors work to ensure quality, and continuously promote Quality First Time.
Knows basic and some specialized laboratory techniques. – Familiar with searching scientific literature. – Skilled with use of word processing, spreadsheets, graphical and presentation software applications. Skills and experience on immunohistochemistry and histology, molecular biology (e.g. PCR, NGS, bioinformatics), brightfield and fluorescence microscopy, image processing, image analysis, computer programming and data analysis are highly desirable.
In addition to regulatory manager, provide guidance to clinical functions on regulatory compliance activities, such as requirements for TOOs, VDRs, drug shipment etc.
Prior publishing/Regulatory Operations experience desired.
Ability to work in a matrixed environment.
Ability to build effective relationships across teams/projects.
We are looking for an experienced and talented senior staff engineer (senior architect) to join our software business unit platform team. Success in this role requires hands on working experience in API management and integration platform development, both frontend and backend, in cloud computing environment.
Liaise with other functional areas to identify issues, evaluate and make sound business decisions and ensure implementation of timely solutions.
Assure that team is receiving high quality, on time deliverables from internal and external vendors.
Collaborate with other team members to coordinate the development and finalization of key study documents including protocols, case reports forms, informed consent documents, study management plans and final clinical study reports.
Lead or facilitate teleconferences with internal or external group.
Assume co-monitoring responsibilities as needed.
Manage the publication process in conjunction with the publications team to assure that submission timelines are met.
Monitor and report clinical trial status using standard and adhoc review & reporting procedures and identify issues that affect functions. Ensure that each function is accountable for their deliverables.
In collaboration with Project Management and utilizing various tracking mechanisms, manage clinical trial project milestones and budget. Proactively identify issues and escalate to appropriate managers.
At least 5 years of experience in the management of clinical trials as a study manager, significant knowledge of overall clinical drug development and general clinical research operations in Big Pharma or CRO.
Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously with strong organizational and planning skills.
Well-developed analytical and problem solving skills.
Communicates issues to Director with action plans for resolution.
Knowledgeable in all required regulatory and compliance standards and guidelines including ICH-GCP.
Must have experience of set up and close out of phase II/III global clinical trials.
Ability to effectively work with teams and promote collaborations.
Exceptional interpersonal skills including the ability to influence negotiate and resolve conflicts.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to interact with all levels of management within the organization and to external business contacts.
Experience using the Inform database, PowerPoint and Excel software.
Independent judgment and decision-making skills with respect to functional responsibilities.
Innovative and motivated in optimizing clinical operations processes to meet deliverables.
Minimum BS or BA in related field; focusing on biological science or nursing preferred or equivalent.
Experience in the epilepsy therapeutic area preferred, but not required.
• Prepare animals for experimental procedures, including tattooing, shaving, implanting transponders under anesthesia.
High school diploma, plus 1 to 4 years of experience with small animal handling; LAT certification desired, or willingness to study toward certification.
• Ability to work independently while maintaining communication with supervisor.
• Detail oriented, with good organizational and communication skills.
• Professional attitude; ability to work well with researchers and other technical staff.
• Ability to lift, pull and push 50 lbs.
WEEKEND HOURS REQUIRED. 4 HRS SAT and 4 HRS SUN. FLEXIBLE WEEK SCHEDULE.
Work is primarily performed in office and animal facility settings. Due to the nature of the position, there is possible exposure to hazardous waste; chemical hazards, including explosives, corrosives, and carcinogens; radioactive and biohazardous materials.
Responsible for the execution and analysis of experiments and analytical procedures. Displays an investigative or technological orientation in designing, executing and interpreting experiments and analytical procedures. Investigates basic technical problems and performs routine scientific procedures and experiments under general supervision.
Plans and prioritizes concurrent experimental procedures. Integrates, complies, and tabulates data and assists supervisor in the analysis and interpretation of the results. May provide oral presentations on results to other department members. Works under active supervision.
Follows established procedures. Work is reviewed for soundness of technical judgment and overall adequacy and accuracy. Contributes to the completion of milestones associated with specific projects. Failure to achieve results or erroneous execution may cause delays in program schedules, and may result in the allocation of additional resources.
Frequent internal company contacts. Infrequent inter- departmental and outside constituent contacts on routine matters.
Writing and editing test methods procedures (SOPs), validation/qualification reports/protocols and development reports for analytical methods.
Application of technical experience and understanding of CMC or analytics into the writing or reviewing of documents.
Generation of Excel templates and macros to allow for the generation of consistently formatted tables and graphs.
Must work effectively in a team environment, with individuals at all levels within the organization. Collect and interpret feedback to be incorporated into documents.
Write relevant compliance and operations related SOPs, generate technical templates etc. and professionally format documents.
Experience writing technical documents for a CMC related area, preferably in method development/validation or product characterization with experience working a GMP regulated area.
Must have excellent planning, organization, and time management skills.
Must have a strong technical comprehension and writing capability along with verbal communication skills.
The desired candidate will have the ability to work independently with limited supervision.
We are seeking a highly motivated scientist to participate in development, qualification, and transfer, as well as release and stability testing support, of analytical methods used for characterization of protein and gene therapeutics in early stage development (Phase I/II).
Platforms in use include spectrophotometry and ELISAs, gel and capillary electrophoresis, and liquid chromatography (e.g., affinity, SEC, and reversed-phase separations) for the purposes of drug substance and/or drug product lot release and stability testing.
Author assay protocols and technical reports, participate in sample testing and use of LIMS, and design, execute, and interpret laboratory experiments and data in conjunction with an electronic lab notebook.
Abilities to multitask and work independently or with a multidisciplinary team are desired.
This job is within a cGMP setting and requires excellent verbal and written communication.
The successful candidate must have a strong ability to work independently and effectively, as well as handling multi-tasks spontaneously and meeting timelines efficiently and productively.
The preferred candidate should have a fundamental knowledge of cGMP, strong technical skills in protein analytics, and excellent compliance and organizational skills. The ability to write and communicate scientific data effectively is desired.
Ph.D. degree in Protein Biochemistry or related discipline and 0 to 2 years of experience in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry related to protein analytics.
The Statistical Programming Contractor supports statistical programming activities in the production of the analysis datasets, tables, listings, figures, electronic submission components, and complex ad hoc analyses. Depending on experience level, may lead a study.
Does both production and QC programming of SDTM datasets, analysis datasets, tables, listings, and figures, for multiple clinical trials using SAS software.
Ensures standards at a drug program level; integrates data across multiple studies or drug programs.
Works with minimal supervision under the direction of a lead programmer.
Communicates issues to lead programmer or manager.
Must meet timelines or communicate proactively and effectively if timelines are at risk so that plans can be adjusted.
Expected to contribute to departmental process improvement initiatives.
Able to handle a moderate to large volume of complex tasks with minimal supervision.
Previous SAS programming experience, including SAS STAT, GRAPH and MACRO.
Able to handle ad-hoc requests with minimal guidance.
Previous relevant pharmaceutical/biotech industry experience.
Recognizes when negotiating skills are needed and seeks assistance when necessary.
Extensive knowledge of drug development process and clinical trials.
Excellent organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills.
Extensive knowledge of drug submission requirements, relevant ICH and FDA/EMEA guidelines, CDISC standards.
We are looking for Data Engineers to join our growing team of NFVCC core network data engine project. As a team member, you will be working and optimizing data pipeline, as well as, optimizing data flow and collections. The Data Engineer will have to research, develop and maintain tools used to architect, create, debug, analyze and maintain a network operation knowledge graph. The right candidate must be an expert on knowledge graph integration, and consistency.
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The following is a timeline of the presidency of Donald Trump during the fourth and last quarter of 2020, from October 1 to December 31, 2020. This is also during the final month of his presidency from January 1 to 20, 2021, when Trump left office. To navigate quarters, see timeline of the Donald Trump presidency.

Timeline

Overview

President Trump tested positive for COVID-19 and treated at Bethesda Naval Hospital, campaigned for the ongoing presidential election, participated in the final presidential debate, lost the presidential election to Joe Biden but refused to concede, attempted to overturn the election results, urged his supporters to march to the Capitol resulting in multiple deaths during the attack and interrupting the electoral vote count, suspended from social media, faced his second impeachment for incitement of insurrection but later acquitted, tackling the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by extending the nationwide Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines throughout the month of October.

October 2020

November 2020

December 2020

January 2021

See also
 Presidential transition of Donald Trump
 First 100 days of Donald Trump's presidency
 List of executive actions by Donald Trump
 List of presidential trips made by Donald Trump (international trips)

References

2020 Q4
Presidency of Donald Trump
Presidency of Donald Trump
October 2020 events in the United States
November 2020 events in the United States
December 2020 events in the United States
January 2021 events in the United States
2020 timelines
2021 timelines
Political timelines of the 2020s by year
Articles containing video clips

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I've decided to start a link exchange program. If you're interested in exchanging links with me, just hit me up at Meteo.Xavier@gmail.com.
Policy? I don't need much of one. I'll exchange links with just about anyone provided you're not a pornographic or terrorist website. If I put your link on here, I would expect that you'd put mine somewhere on your site or a partner's site within a reasonable amount of time. If not, I take your link down. Seems pretty simple.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


1. After more than four years of using the same dry cleaner, I realized that they offer FREE pick-up and delivery. What a joy to simply put Tom's work shirts and pants out on the front porch on Monday morning and find them clean, pressed, and hanging on the front door on Thursday afternoon!
2. More than a decade ago while putzing around in my mother-in-law's sewing room, she and I came across a variety of scrap fabrics and ribbons as well as a number of old men's neckties. Rather than toss all of these materials, she turned them into a purse for me. I carried it on occasion until I had kids and needed a much larger bag; at that point I packed it away and completely forgot about its existence.
Last weekend while sorting through boxes in the garage I found the purse tucked inside a Halloween costume. I showed it to Hallie, who immediately fell in love and now has a new purse. I think she pulls it off much better than I ever did.
3. Last Friday night the kids and Tom camped in a tent in the back yard. I spent the first part of the evening outside with them - we grilled hotdogs and roasted marshmallows for s'mores - but when the mosquitoes took control of the backyard, they hunkered down in the tent and I went inside for a quiet, peaceful evening watching The West Wing and eating pineapple upside down cake all by myself. Glorious!
Now that I think about it, I believe we actually roasted marshmallows for s'mores first and then grilled hotdogs...who says you can't have dessert first on the weekend?
4. On Sunday afternoon a few friends and I tried a free musical theatre class - for adults - at a local dance studio. We enjoyed it so much that we signed up to to actually take the class throughout the fall semester...this should be interesting!
5. Last but not least... As of this week, both of my children can walk to and from school by themselves! I still walk Hallie to school every day (we have some of our best talks during those 10-minute stretches) and I'll occasionally walk home with her if I've been working up at school. I drive Will to school a couple of days a week because his school is conveniently located on the way to my gym, and I pick him up on our busiest afternoons to give him more time for homework and cello practice. BUT, they now can and will walk home with their friends regularly.
We didn't decide to let them start walking with friends because I don't want to walk to pick them up...I actually really like walking to meet them after school. But the time has come for both - especially Hallie - to gain a bit more independence and confidence, and thus far they've done an incredible job!


Welcome to the Northshore School District! Here are some useful links and FAQs for new employees to the Northshore School District.
Your office manager or supervisor will have an NSDNet username and password for you to log on to your computer and email. Please note: It is important that you login to your computer for the first time while ON CAMPUS, not at home, in order for your username and password to authenticate with district servers. If you would like to change your password go to password.nsd.org once again, WHILE ON CAMPUS, not from home. This password will be used for email, file servers, and more (visit KB Article 3 to learn all about your NSDNet Password).
If you're new to Macs or need a refresher course on how to get the most out of your Mac, click here. If you recently switched to Mac from a Windows PC, visit Switch 101 on Apple's website.
WebMail (OUTLOOK) is the NSD standard email program on staff Mac OS X computers, allowing you to connect to eMail on campus, at home, or at any computer with internet access.
How-To pages can be found at Outlook getting started or Outlook Overview Webinar.
Visit our KB article on the ShoreTel phone system. More FAQs on phones and voicemail can be found under the KB category Phones and Voicemail. If you do not have a phone in your area, please have your Office Manger submit a work order to have one set up.
View your pay stubs and more online at http://eo.nsd.org.
If you need technical assistance (computers, phones, projectors, or other technology related device), each campus has an STS (School Technology Specialist) and elementary schools with less than 500 students also have TRT's (Technology Resource Teacher). The STS's and TRT's are excellent tech resources available at your school. You can also search the NSD Technology Knowledge Base online for answers to your questions. Visit the Technical Support website for system outages and alerts along with links to technology resources. For technology service requests or questions, please fill out a Web Help Desk work order ticket.
For training in the use of instructional technology equipment such as activboards, document cameras, computers, software, etc., related district policies, all technology purchasing needs, and requests for site-based or individual training, please contact your Technology Coordinator. Northshore has 3 instructional Technology Coordinators who help teachers infuse their instruction with technology. Teachers with a need for support or "just another set of brains" to strategize the most effective use of technology in a project, unit or lesson should contact the coordinator assigned to their school (see assignments below). Coordinators can also help with locating digital resources and hardware needed for your project.
Browse all current professional development opportunities. Find classes by standards, certification requirements, date, or instructional focus.
Login to the NSD home page with your district username and password. Select Staff from the blue bar under the district logo. Teacher Toolboxes are located along the right side of the window. Select the appropriate toolbox from the list.
Posted by: Maija Stein - Tue, Jun 30, 2009 at 12:53 PM.


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Don't Sleep On the Seahawks vs. Packers Playoff Game
Real Madrid coach Zidane hails Modric after victory at Getafe
Double delight for Djokovic as Serbia seal progression
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: United still have something to hang onto
New York Giants to hire Joe Judge as their next coach
Sports Jul 05
IAF chopper goes missing near Arunachal Pradesh with three on board
Radio contact with the ALH was lost around 4 pm. Reports claimed that it was a Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and there has been no sign of it. He said, the chopper was on a flood victim rescue mission and was was evacuating people, stranded at Sagalee due to landslides, triggered by rains.
Kings sign George Hill to 3-year deal
Pundit explains why Arsene Wenger must complete swift Arsenal transfer deals
Uli Hoeness: Bayern Munich can't afford Alexis Sanchez wage demands
MLB Rumors: Cubs Asked Tigers About Possible Justin Verlander Trade
Jazz conclude meeting with Gordon Hayward, Utah awaits his decision
Tammy Abraham signs new 5 year Chelsea deal
Darren Collison agrees to two-year deal with Pacers
Indian pacer 'inspiration' for Pakistani fast bowler Kainat Imtiaz
Sports - All News
Everton still interested in signing Wayne Rooney this summer
And talkSPORT claim Toffees boss Ronald Koeman expects to have the England skipper in his squad for next season. A return to his first club Everton has also been mooted and it is reportedly "almost inevitable" that Rooney will head back to Merseyside this summer.
Marcus Stroman sounds off on perceived blister epidemic
I'm ready to go, so I'm excited to be out there", Sabathia said. Hours after announcing they'll both compete in the Home Run Derby next week, All-Star sluggers Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez sparked New York's offense. Joe Mauer also homered and Miguel Sano had three hits for Minnesota, which won for just the third time in nine games. Ever a perfectionist, Tanaka said his "command could be a little better" and that he was "a little erratic" in breaking down his Blue Jays outing, but his ...
Bryce Harper says he won't participate in Home Run Derby
Even so, the veteran slugger could return to the annual event as early as next year. Harper last took part in the Home Run Derby in 2013, when he finished in second place. numberFire's models project Harper to record a.283 batting average in 326 plate appearances over the remainder of the year with another 14 home runs and 51 RBI.
Leicester City to sign midfielder Vicente Iborra from Sevilla
Sevilla have stated Iborra will now travel to England to undergo a medical and finalise personal terms, and City will not comment publically until the deal is completed. The defensive midfielder has been allowed to leave after the club re-signed Ever Banega from Inter Milan. Known as a tenacious and powerful player with leadership qualities, Iborra was close to a move to Sunderland last season before negotiations stalled while West Ham, West Brom and Watford were reportedly interested in ...
Terry tells Chelsea they don't need Monaco duo Bakayoko and Mbappe
The raw emotion of leaving the club after so long there just didn't sit right with me. "They were 22 fantastic and unbelievable years but I'm excited about this challenge". Having been welcomed by owner Tony Xia on Twitter in the morning, Villa then announced Terry's arrival on social media in an imaginary WhatsApp conversation between their chairman, boss Steve Bruce, Terry and a number of players.
MotoGP 2017: Marc Marquez takes eighth straight Sachsenring win
Spaniard Marquez has been gradually re-galvanizing his defence after struggling on his Honda early in the season - and has won at the Sachsenring in his last seven appearances across all three classes. But the Tech 3 Yamaha rider couldn't maintain the lead as he out-braked himself and allowed Marquez to retake the lead. After the month-long summer break, the resumed action in Czech Republic will no doubt continue this superb season.
Jayson Tatum Drains Game-Winner in Summer League Debut
He didn't have a set to run or a misdirection to free Tatum for a shot. Jayson Tatum just gave Boston Celtics fans a glimpse of what he's capable of on Monday night. The game came down to the wire. Tatum finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, five steals and three assists in 33 minutes. "So I was just trying to get back to the middle of the floor".
Lingmerth, Ogilvy in the hunt at Potomac
One player sure to be watching is Woods, the 14-time major victor whose charity foundation stages this week's event in suburban Washington. Lingmerth, who has a Memorial title to his name as a PGA Tour victor, won over this layout several years ago in a Web.Com Tour event but after the course had undergone its considerable revamp.
What time is Andy Murray on TV at Wimbledon?
I'm probably not going to come out and play great straight off the bat . "I feel pretty good, the last few days I've been feeling better each day", he told BBC Sport. That should be fine for Murray, who handled the first test of the hip well enough. "My hip felt good". "If you're in a little bit of pain, but you can still run as you normally do, that doesn't affect how you play".
Ravi Shastri formally applies for post of Team India head coach
Former Indian cricketer Venkatesh Prasad, Lalchand Rajput, Dodda Ganesh, Richard Pybus, Virender Sehwag and Tom Moody have all applied for the post. During Shastri's tenure, India won the limited overs series away against England in 2014, reached the semi-finals of the World Cup and World T20 in 2015 and 2016 respectively, won the away Test series against Sri Lanka, the home series against South Africa and the T20 away series against Australia.
Chauncey Billups withdrawn from consideration for front-office job with Cavs
When the Cavaliers let general manager David Griffin go days before the draft, Chauncey Billups quickly emerged as a potential replacement and favorite to become president of basketball operations for Cleveland . With free agency running rampant, the urgency of Gilbert to get a deal done will be at an all-time high. Priority Sports, which represents veteran point guard Jose Calderon, announced Calderon agreed to a contract with the Cavs, and ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst reported Sunday ...
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A stuntman has completed an impressive 10 storey free-jump for upcoming videogame adaptation Assassin's Creed.
The 'Leap of Faith' is one of the game series' more distinctive features, in which the player dives off a hugely tall structure and lands, unharmed, in cushioning material below.
In the big screen version, stunt double Damien Walters carries out a real-life leap of faith from a height of 38.1m, one of the highest free falls performed by a stuntman in almost 35 years.
20th Century Fox has released a video of the daring stunt to promote Assassin's Creed ahead of its December release.
The film stars Michael Fassbender in the lead role as Callum Lynch, who explores the memories of his ancestor Aguilar and gains the skills of a master assassin, before discovering he is a descendant of the secret assassin society.
Assassin's Creed is to join a long list of videogame adaptations, many of which are much-maligned by both film and game fans. Recent examples include Warcraft, Need for Speed, The Angry Birds Movie, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Hitman: Agent 47.


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Education Commercial Housing Health Arts & Culture Master Planning Private Homes Projects Map
The Practice Clients Awards The Team Publications Richard Murphy and Carlo Scarpa
Latest News Previous Newsletters
Welcome to the Spring 2020 Newsletter of Richard Murphy Architects
Never did we think when we sent out our Christmas 2019 newsletter that the next one would be from a world turned upside down. Like many others, we are all working from home and mastering the art of skype conferences and whatsapp video calls. However, although the news can be very grim we think it's important to try and maintain an optimistic view of the future and to carry on working in as "normal " a way as we can manage. In that spirit of normality, as its time for one of our seasonal newsletters, we thought we would send it out and we hope it finds all our readers, clients, friends and fellow consultants both well and safe.
FILMHOUSE IN FESTIVAL SQUARE LAUNCHED
We have been working on a new Filmhouse project in Edinburgh for six months but the design has now gone public at the start of a pre-application consultation period. The ambitious project contains six auditoria under the square, cafe, bar, rooftop restaurant, festival centre, offices for Filmhouse and production companies and a roof top bar/terrace and external cinema. The square itself is to be completely landscaped.
Ken Hay, CEO of the Centre for the Moving Image (including Filmhouse and Edinburgh International Film Festival), said: "This proposed new building will transform what we're able to do for Edinburgh's residents and Scotland's film community, as well as providing Scotland with a physical celebration of the most popular art form. Through doubling the number of screens and seats for regular cinema-goers, creating dedicated education and learning spaces, and developing an iconic festival centre, this really is a 21st century temple for film."
Richard Murphy said "This proposal gives film in Scotland a building as significant and as prominent as those that exist for all the other arts in Edinburgh. And as Filmhouse opens its doors at 9.00am and closes them in the small hours it will also, we hope, finally bring much needed life to Festival Square." A new webpage describes the project in more detail and includes (appropriately) a movie.
TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN SELECTS RICHARD MURPHY ARCHITECTS
We are delighted to report that Ireland's oldest and top University, Trinity College Dublin, has selected us by competition from a shortlist of five to design an innovation hub in the Docklands of Dublin on their 5.5 acre campus not far from the College's historic core. The project is an early activation of their grand design to create a 120,000sq.m. campus of global consequence and an Innovation Ecosystem in the Irish "Silicon Docks". The works will be partially new build and partially a radical transformation of historic distillery warehouses. We are also delighted that the Estates Office of the College is not delaying the programme but is content to do all the meetings via the internet. This will be the third University we have worked for in Ireland, having completed the O'Donoghue Centre for the Performing Arts for National University of Ireland, Galway with Taylor McCarney Architects (Ireland's "Building of the Year" 2017) and the postgraduate student residences for Queens University, Belfast with RPP Architects. Our collaborators on this project are Taka architects from Dublin.
NEW PROJECT FOR HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS AIRPORTS
We are also delighted to announce that our first project as part of the Arcadis team framework working for the Highlands and Islands Airports is a combined control centre which will see a number of the airports in the Highlands and Islands air traffic be directed from one centre in Inverness by remote camera. Richard is looking forward to talking to Air traffic Control from his own microlight to a controller in one of our own buildings! The pictures are of Richard flying over East Lothian and a hilarious "mobile control tower" on a landing strip near Lake Garda he discovered on a microlight trip to Venice a few years back. Hopefully our project will be a little bit more sophisticated!
NEW HOUSE IN GULLANE SUBMITTED FOR PLANNING PERMISSION
A new house in the East Lothian village of Gullane has just been submitted for planning permission. The three bedroom house is a hybrid steel and timber frame, clad in stained larch and designed to maximise winter sunlight penetration and shade in summer. Crisis permitting, we anticipate a start on site in late summer.
We also have new house commissions in Edinburgh and Longniddry.
NEW LUXURY APARTMENT COMPLEX COMPLETED IN EDINBURGH
Apartments for AMA Kinnear Ltd. at Kinnear Road have been almost completed and new owners have taken possession of some. The project replaced a single house with a complex of 15 apartments and penthouse each with spectacular views across the Edinburgh Academy playing fields towards the whole panorama of the Edinburgh New and Old Towns and the Castle. And in the foreground you get to look at one of our own designs, the sports pavilion designed for the Academy!
NEWS FROM BUILDINGS ON SITE
The news is that there is no news as all work has stopped. Frustrating for us, our clients and of course the contractors involved but completely appropriate. We had four buildings on site: our two projects at the former Donaldsons School in Edinburgh for City and Country and Cala Homes respectively and two buildings just starting: the new home for the Edinburgh Theosophy Society and the George Wyllie and Cruise Ship terminal in Greenock. With the latter project however we can reveal the major restaurant space on the top floor has been leased to Scott's restaurants famous in Scotland for their "table with a view" restaurants. The view across the Clyde from this one will certainly be one of their best.
RECENT PRESS AND TV
Inevitably the launch of Filmhouse was accompanied by a tsunami of publicity in the Scottish newspapers, TV and radio (including a mention on BBC Radio 3!) as well as both the architectural and film press too numerous to mention. Bloggers have not been idle either and our favourite to date is from Alan Grant in "Think Scotland" who describes his support as "I'm in. Sold. Lock Stock and (Two Smoking?) Barrel(s). Where do I sign?". You can read his piece here.
Our project at Kinnear Road also featured in a major article in the March issue of Scottish Field and is currently shortlisted as a finalist in "Scottish Home Awards" in the "Apartment Development of the Year" category.
And the house at Strathaven airfield for Colin Mackinnon and Marta Briongas featured in the "Grand Designs Magazine" including being the front cover. Grand Designs of course visited the project several times during construction and revisited it last year.
LECTURES AND EXHIBITIONS
In February Richard gave two lectures about our own work and that of Scarpa to students from Clemson University South Carolina in the University's villa in Genoa. The picture shows Richard with some of the students and staff on the lawn of the villa. The following week he also talked about our work to students at Edinburgh University and many of the audience found their way back to Hart Street for an impromptu party afterwards.
We had submitted a large exhibit about the Filmhouse for the Royal Scottish Academy 2020 Annual Exhibition but that has of course been cancelled. However the RSA has organised a" virtual exhibition" instead and you can see that here.
AND FINALLY....
We thought you might be interested to see where the work of Richard Murphy Architects is actually happening at the moment: an assortment of kitchen and dining room tables, children's bedrooms, etc..
The prize for the most studious must go to Graeme (has he really read all those books?), most musical to Angus, the coolest to James Cockburn, the most messy of course goes to Richard (no surprise there), the most bored cat goes to Pauline, grooviest art collection to James Mason, best duck to Bill, greatest collection of cookery books to Tom (no surprise there either) and the one with the best view is Calum who has retreated to the family home in the Black Isle. And last but not least a picture from Clark our Chinese student who has returned to China and is in 14 days quarantine in a hotel somewhere working on his final thesis. We were deeply touched that his parents, without even asking us, have organised and donated a shipment of 1000 facemasks direct from the factory for distribution here. Such amazing generosity and solidarity across continents is deeply moving.
Thank you Mr and Mrs Zhou!
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Two-tier marriage amendment withdrawn from equal marriage bill
Joseph McCormick July 10, 2013
An amendment to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill which would have differentiated between same-sex and opposite sex marriages, has been withdrawn at Report Stage.
Amendment 85, introduced by Lord Armstrong of Ilminster, a life peer, was withdrawn following several peers noting that a similar amendment was voted on, and rejected on Monday; the first day of Report Stage.
Baroness Thornton said the amendment was "ingenuous", in that it "seeks to wreck the bill through secondary legislation". She questioned how same-sex marriage undermines opposite sex marriage, and saying that the amendement would have undermined the very point of the bill.
On Monday, during the first day of debate at Reports stage, Amendment 1 was put forward for marriage terminology, to make a distinction between 'same-sex couples' and 'opposite sex couples'.
The previous amendment was also withdrawn.
After it completes the Report stage today, the bill will go through its Third Reading on 15 July.
More: Civil partnerships, equal marriage, gay marriage, gay wedding, lesbian marriage, lesbian wedding, marriage, Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, marriage equality, same sex marriage, Same-sex wedding, UK Marriage Bill, wedding


The Construction Board of Adjustment and Appeals consists of seven (7) members and two (2) alternates. The Board must be composed of individuals with knowledge and experience in the technical codes, much as design professionals, contractors of building industry representatives. In addition to the regular members, there are two alternate members, one member at large from the building industry and one member at large from the public. A board member shall not act in a case in which he has a personal or financial interest.
The Construction Board of Adjustment and Appeals, when so appealed to and after a hearing, may vary the application of any provision of this Code to any particular case when, in its opinion, the enforcement thereof would do manifest injustice and would be contrary to the spirit and purpose of this or the technical codes or public interest.
The Building Official shall act as Secretary of the Board and shall make a detailed record of all of its proceedings, which shall set forth the reasons for its decision, the vote, the absence of a member and any failure of a member to vote.


text:
Why linking developer bonuses to Metacritic scores should come to an end
The recent revelation that a slightly-too-low Metacritic score prevented …
Kyle Orland - Mar 15, 2012 5:25 pm UTC
The score that cost Obsidian its bonus
Image courtesy of Metacritic
When we game critics get together and talk at our clandestine meetings underneath our secret mountain base, we often debate whether our reviews actually have a tangible impact on how many people buy a game. Some will point to low-selling critical darlings like Psychonauts and healthy sales for crappy licensed games as proof that the public doesn't, as a whole, listen to reviewers all that much. Those on the other side will point to strong reviews that helped propel games like Super Meat Boy to sales success, or critical drubbings that seem to have hurt sales for games like Too Human.
Regardless of how much the gamers themselves seem to care, many publishers seem to give outsized attention to review scores, going so far as to use them in determining bonuses for developers. It's a practice that puts too much focus on those scores as a final arbiter of a game's quality, and one that really needs to stop.
Obsidian's near miss
Linking a developer's bonus to a game's Metacritic score is nothing new—the practice has been widely reported in and around the industry for years. But the issue constantly pops back into the public attention as new instances of the practice come to light.
Today, the focus of that attention is developer Obsidian Entertainment, whose creative director and chief creative officer Chris Avellone recently tweeted that the developer didn't receive a bonus for 2010's Fallout: New Vegas from publisher Bethesda because the game didn't reach a target Metacritic score of 85. The actual Metacritic average for the game currently stands at 84 (that's for the PC and Xbox 360 versions; the PS3 version sits at a slightly worse 82).
Obsidian reportedly let go of 20 to 30 people this week, after a similar round of layoffs a year ago. While it's not clear that you can draw a straight line from the company's missed bonus to its recent staffing difficulties, it's not hard to see that Obsidian definitely could have used that extra money.
Improper tool use
By tying a bonus to a specific Metacritic score, publishers seem to be saying that they think positive reviews will have a direct, positive impact on their bottom line through increased sales. To be fair, there is some evidence that review scores do broadly have an effect on game sales, both in a laboratory setting and in real-world examples.
But it's hardly a direct, repeatable relationship, as proven by the numerous situations where review scores and sales levels fail to line up. A game with an 85 average on Metacritic is definitely not guaranteed to sell better than a game that scores an 84, even if things like genre, franchise popularity, and marketing budget were all somehow set exactly equally.
You could argue that review scores are the best way to judge a developer's output independently of other factors that might influence sales, but that's not always the case. Any critic will tell you that being forced to distill the complex and involved experience of playing a game into a single number is often a fool's errand, and that the difference between a game that gets a 7 out of 10 and one that get an 8 is often incredibly slight. Aggregating these scores into a single weighted average, as Metacritic does, just adds another layer of abstraction from the critic's actual determination.
More broadly speaking, though, focusing on a single number can obscure a success that's sitting right in front of one's nose. Out of 81 reviews for the Xbox 360 version of Fallout: New Vegas listed on Metacritic, 72 are characterized as "positive," with nine said to be "mixed" and zero "negative." The game went on to ship 5 million copies and attract $300 million in revenue in its first month. If that isn't a critical and commercial success worthy of a bonus for the developer, I don't know what is.
To be clear, I don't have a problem with Metacritic itself in this matter. The site is just a tool, and one that can be useful as a quick, rough, heuristic guide to the general critical consensus about a game. It's the publishers that are using this tool improperly as some sort of final, objective arbiter for the quality of games its developers are putting out. While it's tempting to look to a third party source that can be used for this kind of important determination, Metacritic isn't it.
bsphil Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
I'm leery of game reviews from major sites anyway (IGN, G4, Gamespot, etc).
jackstrop Ars Tribunus Militum
I'll admit that often when I'm looking at a game on steam the metacritic score is one of the final barriers to my purchasing decision, as a fluid metric in relation to price (the lower the price, the less I care about the score) However, if I already know I want something I don't even look at the score at all), having a good demo available is a much more reliable way to worm my wallet out of my pocket.
DoomdayX Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
I definitely wouldn't directly tie bonuses to the exact metacritic number, but I think it is reasonable for it to be one factor in the overall size of bonuses in addition to specific factors like individual employee performance, sales, etc.
Oblisk Ars Tribunus Militum
This is just a problem with first past the post metrics. If the bonus was a $5mm for each point above 85 in metacritic, that's one thing. If it was $50mm for score > 85 that seems silly. In reality should be based of off both a critical and sales metric, with slopes not hard cuts.
Trodamus Smack-Fu Master, in training
I would like a more concerted analysis about how accurate — or at least methodically transparent and legitmate — Metacritic actually is.
From Adam Sessler's comments regarding the platform's gross misinterpretation of his review scale, such an analysis seems ...important.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QsXrswJ-yM
gypsumfantastic Ars Tribunus Militum et Subscriptor
Because it's FUCKING STUPID.
HTH.
masterbinky Ars Praefectus
That's funny in an odd way. Obsidian did not recieve their bonus for a Fallout:NV from Bethesda, because of a low metacritic score. I would be willing to wager that a large part of what held back that metacritic score is the fact that Obsidian used Bethesda's game engine.... hmm...
What really sucks is that Obsidian had to use the buggy Gamebyro engine handed to them by Bethesda, and that ultimately killed their Metacritic score. So Obsidian was punished for something that was ultimately beyond their control.
Dear Chris Avellone: Kickstarter? Spiritual successor to Planscape: Torment. Kiss kiss.
DaveSimmons Ars Tribunus Angusticlavius
Sad to see Obsidian not getting a bonus for their great entry in the series, which was much closer to the spirit of Fallout 1-2 than Bethesda's own Fallout 3.
At least with the Wasteland 2 kickstarter project we're doing the funding and there's no publisher to mess things up.
Edit: good point made above about the score being dinged because of being forced to use the Gamebuggy engine.
Last edited by DaveSimmons on Thu Mar 15, 2012 12:40 pm
jandrese Ars Legatus Legionis et Subscriptor
I don't know. On one hand basing the bonus on the metacritic score does encourage developers to release quirky titles like Psyconauts if they think they can get good reviews on it instead of just cloning Gears of War again and selling a hundred million copies.
On the other hand, it's very difficult to predict how the critics are going to go on a title, and it's pretty lame to lose a multimillion dollar bonus because one critic was having a bad day and pulled down your average score from an 85 to an 84.
It also seems like punishment for franchise games that generally don't do as well with the critics, but sell a lot of copies anyway. Sure you're not really an innovator when you're just updating the football rosters each year and releasing basically the same game, or renaming/reskinning the Pokemon, but those games sell by the truckload and make a ton of money for the publisher. Why shouldn't you get some of that pie?
xoa Ars Tribunus Angusticlavius et Subscriptor
By tying a bonus to a specific Metacritic score, publishers seem to be saying that they think positive reviews will have a direct, positive impact on their bottom line through increased sales.
Aren't you ignoring the potential angle that they may also want an at least semi-independent way to see whether a developer actually did a decent job? In that case, the issue isn't using scores period, it's using them improperly (which mainly means too strictly), which is pretty much a contract issue that devs should be negotiating better. As you say, there can be significant variation between sites. "8/10" on a stricter site can mean an incredibly stunning, stellar game, while it may be more average/above average elsewhere.
However, it's pretty generally fair that if something gets a "5/10", it was a bomb in some pretty significant ways. Going way down usually is getting into the territory of actual technical flaws, indicating that the developer straight up didn't do a great job. Maybe the game shipped with major bugs, or imbalances or whatever. I don't think it'd be unfair for a publisher to have a basic floor level score required to get a bonus along with other factors, perhaps in a hierarchal situation. So for example, if your game gets at least 1 million sales you get your bonus no matter what, but if it doesn't then you need at least 6/10 to get a bonus. That sort of thing.
I just am not sure I can totally agree with your seeming desire to divorce bonuses entirely from quality. It's undeniable that a certain number of flat-out clunkers are foisted upon the public every year. Stuff where the devs were clearly incompetent or cut corners (sometimes under higher level pressure admittedly). It doesn't seem unreasonable for a publisher to want to reward devs who do better.
mltdwn Ars Praefectus et Subscriptor
Problem is how do you then judge bonuses? Bonuses are given out by companies to individuals (or in this case sub-companies) by achieving or over-achieving solid metrics that can be easily measured.
One could say how much of the product sells could be used, but then how does one account for non-developer controlled instances such as poor marketing, a recession, or just people falling out of love with the genre?
One could say meeting deadlines, but we've all seen games pushed out before they are ready because publishers forced specific and unrealistic deadlines.
Really the only judge of a game's quality separate from everything else which is largely out of the hands of the development team is the reviews. I do think there needs to be other factors commiserate with it such as a game which gets lousy reviews but sells like gangbusters (but then that could be all marketing too), and meeting deadlines... But really the only thing remotely in the hands of the developers is how the public sees the game from a standpoint of quality. And you have to have some metric by which to measure performance in order to justify the expenditure on bonuses.
Chmilz Ars Scholae Palatinae
Here's how the rest of the world works: bonus based on sales. If it flops, devs get peanuts. If it kills, devs get big dollars. This simply sounds like an idea the suits at the publishers came up with to withhold money.
Edit: Publishers are under attack anyway. New financing options and indie games with millions of copies sold are putting the boots to stupid suits with their heads up their asses.
Last edited by Chmilz on Thu Mar 15, 2012 12:46 pm
astarre Ars Praetorian
What happens when you produce a great game but piss off the "hardcore" fans who brutalize the game reviews out of spite?
pappypappy Ars Scholae Palatinae
Really feel bad for the devs. As someone else suggested, it should have at least been a sliding scale. There is nothing you could reasonably have done to go from 84 to 85 with basically making an entirely different game. 84% means it's a good, well made, fun game.
Then how do you deal with games that are wonderful games but flop due to no money spent on marketing, or vice-versa, games that sell tremendously well even though they suck simply because the publisher spent money on advertising it.
And being IT I am glad the rest of the world DOESN'T give bonuses based on sales as we sell nothing, we are infrastructure support for the company which would mean never getting a bonus working your way.
Last edited by mltdwn on Thu Mar 15, 2012 12:49 pm
robrob Ars Praefectus
This is all so very lacking in details, they reportedly laid people off because they cancelled a future project and winding down on South Park development. No one has reported that was due to a lack of funds at all and games get cancelled all the time (Obsidian's "Aliens" game has never happened, despite being talked about for years). Employees regularly get fired from gaming companies when a major project winds down and if there's nothing new to move to. Plus Fallout NV came out in 2010, if they're cancelling a game now they either never had a way to fund it properly to begin with or it has nothing to do with funding.
Plus no one has talked about how the bonus was structured, why they agreed to it and what it was worth. If it was one of many items (get a million dollars for each of the following goal posts) then it sounds a whole lot worse than it really is. If their entire bonus on the production was tied to that, that sucks but it's not like they didn't agree to one of the stupidest decisions I've ever heard of.
Also, the tweet in question has been deleted, anyone have the text of it? (edit: Turns out this was the only bonus on offer and they didn't get it).
Last edited by robrob on Thu Mar 15, 2012 1:05 pm
kingshaker Smack-Fu Master, in training
I'm one of those 5 million people that bought NV at launch. I felt bad for Obsidian because this is how it starts, with 20-30 lay-offs then one failure, the studio goes down. With all the things Betheda (zenimax) does good, they also do some wrong.
TheKarpuk Smack-Fu Master, in training
I'm actually sort of okay with Obsidian not getting a bonus for their broken game. Someone blamed Bethesda's game engine for the buggy nature of the game, but Obsidian have a legacy of delivering barely-functional games. I have strong memories of installing mammoth patches for Fallout 2 back in the day. The sloppiness wasn't just in the code either, their games have always seemed a bit ramshackle in organization.
This isn't the first time Obsidian has had a project cancelled on them, or had lay-offs. I'm hoping they can survive this like they did previous times.
Mrugby08 Seniorius Lurkius
If you're using Metacritic or some other arbitrary review number to determine a bonus payout that means the publisher is looking for an easy way to get out of paying. That bonus should be based on sales numbers and profit (if any). The ME 3 debacle on Metacritic where people signed up to bomb it had a big effect for a while.
Mrugby08 wrote:
I think it's alright if it was laid out as an alternate bonus if sales are low. As in, "well this didn't take off, but you produced something that may do well down the road or be valuable IP later, and just plain did a really excellent job and we want to reward that". As the review points out, great games can sometimes not sell so well.
Of course it could be used the other way, but that seems like a negotiation issue as much as anything.
taraba Ars Scholae Palatinae
I have no sympathy for Obsidian. They make buggy games time and time again.
roken Ars Praetorian
It's the publishers fault for using metacritic, because metacritic is not entirely useful?.
Critics are the ones who consider themselves to be the "final, objective arbiter" of quality.If that's not the case, it's their own fault for projecting that view.
I dunno, it makes a lot of sense in this situation. Fallout: NV was pretty much like releasing a new CoD, it was going to be a financial success. And being similar gameplay/using the same engine as FO3, it was going to be highly ranked. Realistically the only thing that could go wrong is that a buggy release from a company renowned for its buggy releases would hurt the franchise overall, even if this version sold well.
Everyone is going to be incredibly skeptical of Fallout 4 due to the bugs that have caused issues with the past two games. That could hurt sales to an unknown degree, even though New Vegas sold well.
If New Vegas had have been an unplayable mess the Metacritic score would have been low and no one would have questioned Obsidian not getting their bonus. But knowing that, thanks to the franchise name and preorders, that Obsidian got a bonus despite releasing a pile of crap would have pissed me off more. As it is they released a buggy game that was still good and got unlucky on the score by one point. It shows there should have been a scale, but at the same time Fallout 3 got 90/91/93 and should have been the real target Obsidian was aiming for. Instead the goal was low and they missed it anyway.
Shanrak Ars Scholae Palatinae et Subscriptor
Even years later, the GOTY version I have does a CTD after 1-2 hours of playing. Do I still enjoy the game? Yes, but if it wasn't so buggy the game would've been way over a score of 85 so its their own fault.
Penforhire Ars Praefectus
Seems to me that bonuses of this type have to be weighted more heavily to sales rather than review score. Isn't that the bottom line? Share the profits and share the pain of financial failure. One megalomaniac running a corporation may care if his game is reviewed well but shareholders want to see the almighty dollar. That's a bigger indicator of success or failure and a better predictor of franchise strength.
abj Ars Legatus Legionis et Subscriptor
Obsidian(and Lucasarts) still need to be publicly flogged for KOTOR2 so I feel no sympathy for them.
Metacritic may just be a tool. But it's a poor one. For publishers, for gamers, for everybody.
Review "scores" are already a poor way to judge a game (the more important info is all in the verbiage). Lumping the review scores together, and averaging them, just adds another layer of abstraction to an already flawed metric. Pretending that review scores, aggregate or individual, are any kind of quantitative (or even qualitative) measure is where the mistake is...not what gamers, publishers, or developers do with that info.
Rottentomatoes might be a slightly better idea...simple "positive/negative" ratings, and the ratio thereof. Still has its drawbacks, and I'd still never tie something like bonuses to it. However, as implemented, the entire idea of Metacritic is flawed.
ilovedawkins Ars Praetorian
Is sad because New Vegas definiteyl showcases an artistic vision and interesting gameplay mechanics a lot better than generico fallout 3.
Although point- lookout was ace.
Jakal Ars Legatus Legionis
I wanted to salute Kyle for using Arsian spotlight to bring attention to complete bullshit publisher policy.
abj21 wrote:
Obsidian had nothing to do with the trainwreck clusterfuck of an ending that KOTOR II had. That blame falls 100% on LucasArts.
Last edited by Jakal on Thu Mar 15, 2012 1:27 pm
ElSnuggles Ars Centurion et Subscriptor
While I feel for them not getting their bonuses, my annual bonus is tied to customer satisfaction. I don't see a general problem with theirs being as well.
Metacritic has its faults, but short of emailing every person who bought the game a survey I don't see a better way. Taking professionals sorts out the "Zomg, release day DLC!!! I review this a zero" crowd. If we assume that the majority of the critics aren't in bed with their publishers, I guess this isn't a bad metric.
What is a shame in this case is that FO:NV was a bug-ridden mess at release, doubtless the result of pressure from management to deliver on an unrealistic schedule. If the reviews were held today, I'm confident it would make the grade. The people that paid the price (if I read the story correctly) were the developers, not the management, whose bonus was likely based on copies sold.
So the people that caused the problem got their bonus, and the people that suffered from the problem didn't.
KOTOR 2 is an outstanding game up until the rushed ending that LucasArts forced them to deliver. The storytelling in KOTOR 2 is deeper and richer than KOTOR 1 and SWTOR, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Those FONV crash to desktops after a couple of hours of play are from Bethesda's Gamebuggy engine. I got them in Oblivion and FO3 too.
eljefeloco Ars Centurion
I think a more relevant indicator to Obsidian's low score is the fact that they have traditionally done half-assed sequels to popular games. Sequels that are incredibly incomplete and lack all of the vision or character that make the original as good as it was. As bad as KOTOR 2 was, NWN 2 was even dumber, it just felt lamed somehow, like Obsidian just took it out and broke its leg before releasing it to the public. F:NV was built using a buggy engine, but Obsidian seemed to do whatever they could to make it worse.
I keep telling people that I didn't buy anything from Obsidian on purpose, but somehow I always receive their games as gifts from well intending friends/family.
SH101 Seniorius Lurkius
I disagree. I think it's fair to base the developer and designers' bonuses on critical acclaim. It's the developers' job to make a good game; it's other people's job to sell it and make a profit. It is not the developers' job to market the game, package the game, choose the right retail price, or work the distribution channels. If they make a well-received game, then they've done their part to make the project a success. Therefore, the developer should be judged based, in part, on the quality of their output. It makes more sense than basing developers' bonuses on how well a game sells since much of that success is out of their control.
3 posts | registered Mar 15, 2012
keltor Ars Praefectus
A bonus is a bonus, it's not something that SHOULD be expected. I find that in many companies bonuses are just expected by basically every employee and this should NOT be the way it is.
I honestly think this was a perfectly good metric for a bonus - I find that I readily agree with the metacritic rating and rarely do I like games that get less than an 80 unless they are Star Wars (mainly because I'd give even the Star Wars Xmas Special a 10 )
Without knowing their wider pay schedule, it's really hard to say ANYTHING about this bonus. At least one game development company gets paid like this:
Base Money to Make Game - this allows them to pay the employees and keep the lights on.
Comission based on how well the game does - this makes the company profit
Bonus based on various weird markers or sometimes just a single marker like IGN's review of the game - While the metrics are rather variable and all over the place, this is PURE frosting - sometimes the metrics are completely unfair like a review rating and the site/entity doesn't even review the game.
arcarsination Seniorius Lurkius
I always loved the way Ars did their reviews with the Buy, Rent, Skip options. Isn't that what it all comes down to? I guess renting has kinda fallen to the wayside, but for my own music website, I just don't feature stuff that isn't worth listening to. Everything I feature is all fully streamable, so the listener can always make up their minds before they buy.
That's the reviewer's job though, right? To shine light on things that are worth it? And let time erase the rest from our memories?
Of course, these are high-profile, million dollar ventures, so I see why there's so much at stake with public perception. I just generally disagree with the idea of number/letter grade scales, and think they've become absolutely meaningless.
26 posts | registered Mar 8, 2012
Metacritic rating may be an inexact number, but it is hardly arbitrary.


text:
Well, it's that time again!
Time for you to actually post something?
Hey, who said that? No, it's time to take our TARDISes back through the time vortex to a bygone Doctor Who series. In this third instalment of our ongoing series, it's, well, Series Three...
Starring: David Tennant (the Doctor), Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones) and John Barrowman (Captain Jack).
Produced by: Phil Collinson
Executive Produced by: Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner
The Shakespeare Code by Gareth Roberts
One of Doctor Who's cleverest and funniest ever adventures, full of tongue-in-cheek references from everything to Shakespearean works to Back to The Future. As with the rest of Roberts' episodes, this is the perfect story to watch if you like your Doctor Who smartly-plotted and chock-a-block with laughs.
Human Nature/Family of Blood by Paul Cornell
'What if the Doctor was human?' is the simple yet ingenious premise of this emotional pseudo-historical two-parter, the only Who story to be based on a novel. David Tennant gets to play an entirely different character in school teacher John Smith and the Family of Blood themselves are chilling monsters. As polished and accomplished an adventure as any you'll find in fifty years.
Sound of Drums/The Last of the Time Lords by Russell T Davies
The most all-round entertaining Who finale thus far, with a quasi-political thriller feel, a post-apocalyptic Earth and the greatest villain in all of space and time, John Simm's deliciously demented The Master. While the resolution, featuring a magical messianic Doctor, may be a little hard to swallow it thankfully does not detract from the rest of this corking adventure.
Read a brief write-up of my thoughts on Series Three's other great episode, Blink, here.
TARDIS Team
After Billie Piper's Rose Tyler, a character as integral to the success of the show as the two Doctors she starred with and arguably the companion to make the most emotional impact on the Doctor, the series was hard-pressed to find a replacement. Cleverly, they decided to go for the exact opposite of shopgirl Rose in trainee doctor Martha Jones, whom the Doctor first meets while saving the Royal Hope Hospital from the swift justice of the Judoon.
Whereas the Doctor and Rose, for the first time in the series, shared more than just a friendly bond but a romantic attraction, Martha and the Doctor's relationship also breaks new ground by being one of unrequited love, with the lovelorn Doctor oblivious to Martha's feelings. More so than Rose, Martha's arc across the series is one of maturation and self-discovery. By the end of the series, she realises that she no longer needs the Doctor and returns to her everyday life a much stronger woman.
Conversely, the Doctor has perhaps never been so human. Dejected after the loss of Rose, he never seems to recover as he has with other companions, regularly comparing Martha to her predecessor. With Martha's help, however, by the end of the series the Doctor begins to move on...
Following on from the previous series smatterings here and there of the enigmatic organisation 'Torchwood', Series Three tones this down even more with the even-less regular mentions of 'Mr Saxon', a mysterious individual with political power. From 2006 Christmas special, 'The Runaway Bride', Mr Saxon seems to be behind a lot of the nefarious plots that the Doctor foils. Just who is Mr Saxon?
Harold Saxon it turns out is the newly-elected prime minister and, of course, the Doctor's ancient enemy the Master. As the revitalised series had done an excellent job of updating the classic series' biggest foes in the Daleks and the Cybermen it was a no-brainer that the Professor Moriarty to the Doctor's Holmes would be reintroduced. In many ways, the drama of the Doctor's character is never sharper than when pitted against his exact antithesis in the Master. With such an enemy back in the series, and with such a strong batch of stories as those on show here, Doctor Who was really claiming mastery over all television.
P.S. Mister Saxon is an anagram of Master No Six (as Simm is the sixth actor to the play the character). Oh, those fiendish writers.
Next month: Series Four - The Most Important Series in The Whole of Creation...
Labels: Captain Jack, Doctor Who, Series Overviews, Tenth Doctor, The Master
Monthly Mini-Reviews: May