Students need money to pay for their expenses. At the same time, they usually spend hours in the university or studying in the library and cannot take on a demanding job. However, there are ways to get extra money without sacrificing your academic performance. If you are a student but you need to earn extra money to finish your studies or make the trip you want so much, it will be good to take into account the following tips. PapersHelm can assist you in finding the best ways of making money when you are in college. So, PapersHelm reviews some tips for you here.
If you are studying for a degree, a good option to get paid by working as a tutor for students of a nearby university. You can teach students of the particular subject area in which you are specialized. Another option is to correct papers; it will allow you to earn extra money and not spend too much of your valuable time. PapersHelm reviews teaching and tutoring as two of the best ways to earn money in student life.
This includes everything from clothes that you no longer wear because they went out of style to those clothes that you have left small. You can also sell out CDs or DVDs that you do not listen to. It is likely that someone else is interested in acquiring them. In addition, you can do it from eBay without the need to open a small store in your garage. PapersHelm reviews this to be a smart solution to declutter your life and earn money while doing it.
Think about what you like to do and if possible earn extra money with it. For example, if you love knitting, you can start selling everything you knit on the web. There are many other ideas you can explore. You may have multiple numbers of hobbies that can be transformed into some business. Just look for these hobbies and pick one.
If you like gardening, you can not only harvest fruits and vegetables for your own consumption but also for selling purposes. You can grow seedlings to sell when everyone is preparing their garden. It is understandable that not everyone can have access to this opportunity but it is possible for some. PapersHelm is trying to help you in finding the best way to make money at college.
There are companies willing to pay you for answering questions on a form or offering you certain merchandise. To take advantage of this, search the Internet for companies linked to the field. Once you make money, try not to spend it on unnecessary things. PapersHelm reviews useful tips for many areas when you have a lot to handle during your time at college.
By doing an online job, you will not have to waste time moving to the workplace; you can generate income as you want from your home. You will use the little time you have in the time you prefer. PapersHelm reviews and present these tips to help college students earn more, save up and get rid of financial constraints.


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Fórsa is recruiting!
If you're interested in applying for an exciting and challenging post in trade union organising or industrial relations, you should check out the five posts currently being advertised by Fórsa.
The union is looking to fill organising posts in campaigns, strategic organising, and training and development, as well as two industrial relations officer posts – one in Dublin and one in the West.
The deadline for applications is 1st March. Read more HERE.
Articles A
School secretary membership surge
by Niall Shanahan
Fórsa's School Secretaries branch has seen a 10% surge in its membership since the January launch of the union's Support Our Secretaries campaign.
Fórsa's School Secretaries branch has seen a 10% surge in its membership since the January launch of the union's Support Our Secretaries campaign. And an online petition has secured over 6,500 signatures as the campaign continues to attract coverage in national and regional media.
Last week the Irish Independent published an extensive interview with school secretary Maeve Hurrell. "You can't put somebody at front-of-house for 28 years, then tell them they didn't make the grade," it read.
Meanwhile, the campaign was raised at the Oireachtas education committee last week as part of discussions on its 2019 work programme, which includes the status of non-teaching staff in schools following lobbying representations from Fórsa.
Fórsa lead organiser Joe O'Connor explained: "Education minister Joe McHugh attended the committee meeting, and was directly challenged by Green Party deputy leader Catherine Martin to resolve this matter.
"The committee has decided to write to all relevant stakeholders, including Fórsa, requesting written submissions on the issue. A committee hearing will then be scheduled prior to Easter to consider these submissions," he said.
Joe said the recent surge in school secretary membership was very encouraging for the branch. "A crucial objective of this campaign is to boost our school secretary membership, which strengthens our hand in any future negotiations.
The response to our online petition, membership packs and the huge amount of traffic on the Fórsa website and social media platforms reflects the widespread interest and support for school secretaries nationwide," he said.
Download the school secretary newsletter HERE.
Consultation must precede SNA changes
by Bernard Harbor and Niall Shanahan
Fórsa trade union has warned the Department of Education and Skills that its SNA members will not cooperate with a proposed special needs assistants' (SNA) pilot project unless there is consultation and engagement with the union.
Fórsa has warned the Department of Education and Skills that its SNA members will not cooperate with a proposed special needs assistants' (SNA) pilot project unless there is consultation and engagement with the union.
The union was responding to a newspaper report that the department has announced plans to roll out a special needs assistants' (SNA) pilot project in 75 schools in Kildare, west Wicklow and parts of Dublin from September.
Fórsa officials made immediate contact with the department when the report appeared last week. The department confirmed that a pilot for a new school inclusion model for September is due to be announced in the coming weeks.
The union then issued a precautionary 'non-cooperation' instruction to members should any elements of the pilot scheme be rolled out in advance of discussions with Fórsa, which represents the country's SNAs.
The union has repeatedly told the education department that discussions with SNA representatives will be necessary should the Department propose to implement recommendations arising from a 2018 National Council for Special Education (NCSE) review of the SNA service.
Fórsa official Sean Carabini said: "Such an engagement is necessary under the terms of the Public Services Stability Agreement (PSSA) and the union would view any attempt to implement any of the NCSE recommendations without talks as a breach of the agreement, which would trigger a stronger response from our members."
Meanwhile, the Oireachtas education committee is now seeking written submissions on the status of non-teaching staff in schools to inform the committee's 2019 work programme. This follows extensive lobbying representations by Fórsa.
Fórsa's head of education Andy Pike said the union would be making its submission prior to the deadline: "The committee has sought submissions ahead of a committee hearing to be scheduled prior to Easter."
Public supports early years pay boost
by Hazel Gavigan
Two-thirds of Irish adults think the pay of highly-trained childcare staff should reflect their qualifications, according to an annual study conducted by Early Childhood Ireland.
Two-thirds of Irish adults think the pay of highly-trained childcare staff should reflect their qualifications, according to an annual study conducted by Early Childhood Ireland. Yet salaries in the early years' sector remain among the lowest in the Irish workforce.
The survey also found that two-thirds of adults believe childcare should be available to all free of charge. The greatest support for this came from people aged between 25 and 34.
Responding to the survey results, Fórsa organiser Katie Morgan said the Government was falling short on its commitment to establishing a graduate-led workforce.
"While we appreciate the need for a highly-skilled workforce, and understand the benefits it would bring, we need a clear commitment from Government that it will fund improvements in pay and working conditions in early childhood to reflect these qualifications," she said.
Fórsa says most staff in the sector are already highly-qualified. But services are hit by high staff turnover because remuneration does not match the level of qualifications demanded.
"We need increased investment to professionalise the grade. We welcome these survey results as they demonstrate strong public support for improved terms and conditions in the sector," Katie said.
The research also found high support for better regulation of the sector, with 87% saying all private childminders should have basic first aid skills, be Garda vetted, and be subject to higher regulatory standards.
Early Childhood Ireland director of policy and advocacy Frances Byrne echoed Katie's sentiments. "The survey results represent a vital mandate for Government to continue to robustly invest in and deliver further supports for the sector and families," she said.
Fórsa education branches make feminist history
Branches in Fórsa's Education Division have made history by exclusively nominating women to go for election as divisional officers and executive members.
As a result Fórsa will have its first ever all-female executive whatever the outcome of the ballot, which takes place at the union's Education Division conference in April.
All branches are entitled to nominate representatives for the roles of divisional Cathaoirleach and Leas Cathaoirleach, along with divisional executive members. Delegates to the divisional conference then select from the list of nominations.
The executive is then charged with implementing the policies adopted at the conference, and leading the division over the subsequent two years.
Fórsa's head of education Andy Pike – who also carries responsibility for the union's equality brief – said it was a fitting development.
"Fórsa's membership is predominantly female, overwhelmingly so in the education sector. While it's fantastic to see that reflected in the nominations to the education divisional executive this year, Fórsa must and will continue its work to encourage women to participate at all levels across the union, including these important national committees," he said.
PSSA: Nurses' recommendation closely watched
by Bernard Harbor
Fórsa is studying the detail of last week's Labour Court recommendation regarding the nurses' dispute, and will also want to see the outcome of further talks on a proposed new nurses' contract before fully assessing any implications for other civil and public service grades.
The Labour Court has given the parties three weeks to negotiate a new nurses' contract. The details may be significant in terms of the total value of the outcome, while the nature of the productivity strings attached to the package will also be relevant if they are substantial.
If agreement is reached in the contract talks, the nursing unions plan to ballot on the outcome.
This means it will be the end of March, at the earliest, before any implications for the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA), which governs public service pay and related matters, can be fully assessed.
Fórsa was the first union out of the blocks when it issued a holding statement on the evening the Labour Court issued its recommendation (Monday 11th February). The Fórsa executive will be updated on developments at its scheduled gathering at the end of this month, and a Consultative Council meeting – which involves representatives from all the union's branches – has been called for mid-March.
While ministers have expressed the view that the nurses' Labour Court recommendation is in line with the PSSA, senior Fórsa officials have been assured that there will be continued engagement with the union and the ICTU Public Services Committee, which brings together virtually all public service unions.
Unions have told the Government that other grades will expect similar opportunities to have their pay reviewed during the lifetime of the public service agreement, which isn't due to expire until the end of next year.
Parental leave bill stumbles on
Legislation to extend unpaid parental leave from 18 to 26 weeks and increase the child's qualifying age from eight to 12 years has again been backed by the Government after it appeared to have withdrawn support.
Legislation to extend unpaid parental leave from 18 to 26 weeks and increase the child's qualifying age from eight to 12 years has again been backed by the Government after it appeared to have withdrawn support. Earlier, Fórsa wrote to leader of the Seanad, Senator Jerry Buttimer, urging him to use his influence to ensure the legislation's swift progression.
Although the union welcomed this new development, reports that the proposal will be implemented over a two-year period instead of immediately are seen as disappointing.
It was previously feared that Government would no longer support the Bill, and there have been significant delays in bringing it forward.
If signed into law the Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill would ultimately improve the work-life balance of Irish parents. Now that it's passed all stages in the Dáil, the Bill is now set to be examined in detail by an Oireachtas committee.
Clerical staff hit hard in housing
by Diarmaid Mac a Bhaird
Clerical and administrative staff are among the groups hardest hit by the cost of housing, which has risen much faster than incomes, according to a new report from the Nevin Economic Research Institute.
Clerical and administrative staff are among the groups hardest hit by the cost of housing, which has risen much faster than incomes, according to a new report from the union-backed Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI).
Affordability in the housing market of the Republic of Ireland for different groups of workers, compares pay to the costs of buying and renting a house.
The report says the Irish housing market is "dysfunctional" and that significant sectors of the population find it difficult to afford accommodation, particularly around Dublin.
Clerical, sales and service staff is one of two groups of workers identified by the study as having particular difficulties. This is because they experienced significantly lower wage gains, compared to rent increases, between 2010 and 2018.
The NERI report also says that a housing affordability crisis is continuing unabated despite a rising level of new dwelling completions.
Fórsa has been campaigning for affordable housing and an end to homelessness. Along with other unions participating in the ICTU 'raise the roof' campaign, it has called for a major public house building scheme, and other measures to tackle the crisis.
Read the report HERE.
Automation must not undermine services
Management in the civil and public service should work with unions to ensure that the introduction of new technologies does not lead to job losses or poorer services.
Management in the civil and public service should work with unions to ensure that the introduction of new technologies does not lead to job losses or poorer services. In a paper presented to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform last week, Fórsa argues for steps to ensure that new recruits are equipped to thrive in increasingly-automated work environments, and that older workers should get help to adapt.
Fórsa's head of civil service Derek Mullen, who penned the paper, said the union would not oppose the introduction of new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). "But technological advancement should not be at the cost of services or jobs," he said.
He pointed to the experience of Revenue where new forms of work organisation, supported by retraining, had increased the tax-take and improved audit and fraud control rather than cutting jobs.
Derek said Fórsa would not give blanket support to the replacement of people-provided services with AI. "We will support properly thought-out automation, controlled by workers whose aim will be the continued enhancement and delivery of public services. Citizens do not want to talk to machines," he said.
And he said new technologies would flourish best if staff had more autonomy over their working time.
The paper also argues against an expensive external consultant-led approach to technological development. "The diminution of in-house IT services over the last two decades has seen the growth of a hugely costly consultant-led approach to designing new systems. This must change," it says.
The submission was written as part of the union's response to civil service management proposals for procurement of new technologies, on foot of an automation pilot that's been underway in a small number of civil service departments over the last year.
Read the position paper HERE.
SNA contract issues
by Seán Carabini
Since April 2018 we've been publishing a special segment focussing on contract issues facing SNAs. Devised and written by assistant general secretary Seán Carabini, it has proved to be one of the most popular items in the Education news bulletin.
We've archived all of these items for ease of access, and will publish an updated archive in each future edition of the bulletin.
If you have SNA contract issues you'd like to see covered in the bulletin, please contact us here and include 'SNA contract issues for the news bulletin' in the subject heading.
SNAs and assault leave
Advice on the '72 Hours' and does an SNA have a supervision function?
How is the pay for part time hours calculated?
Notice periods
Panel Appeals
Displacement: Are You Doing Someone Else's Job?
Standard contract for 2018/2019 school year
SNA allocation FAQs
The NCSE's SNA review: main points and recommendations
Q&A: NCSE Comprehensive Review of the Special Needs Assistant Scheme
Post fragmentation
I was a full-time SNA but have had my hours cut. Am I entitled to any redundancy payment?
Job activation assurances sought
Fórsa intends to seek an official commitment that the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Welfare will refrain from outsourcing job activation programmes to private companies in future. The move follows this month's welcome Dáil vote to end the referrals to the discredited JobPath scheme.
Now the union wants assurances that the department will use community-based organisations like job clubs and the local employment service – along with department staff – instead of expensive and ineffective commercial suppliers.
The JobPath fiasco has seen two private companies receive almost €150 million between them since 2014. Yet only 9% of jobseekers who went through the scheme were still in employment after a year.
The JobPath companies received payments when jobseekers first presented, more cash when they were placed in a job, plus a bonus if a jobseeker gained sustained employment for a full year.
Fórsa official Paul McSweeney said outsourcing job activation was poor value for money. "JobPath has been an unmitigated failure in placing long-term unemployed in meaningful and sustained jobs. We will now be demanding the in-souring of this work with adequate resources to ensure that it's done well in future," he said.
The unions that amalgamated to create Fórsa just over a year ago opposed the outsourcing of job activation. The former CPSU and PSEU took the matter to arbitration, but were unsuccessful.
Bogus self-employment explained
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has released a policy-summarising factsheet on bogus self-employment as part of its continuing campaigning on the issue. The factsheet addresses the negative impact of deliberate misclassification of employees on workers, the state and society.
Bogus self-employment involves employers deliberately misclassifying workers as self-employed subcontractors to pay less, dodge their social insurance and pension contributions requirements, dodge benefits like sick leave, and avoid meeting basic employment law protections.
The factsheet also recommends actions to address the issue. It says workers should only be classified as self-employed if they meet agreed criteria, recommends making principal contractors liable for 10.95% employer PRSI payments for all sub-contractors.
Backdating all unpaid PRSI from employers who misclassified workers, using the WRC and the Labour Court as watchdogs, and strengthening Revenue's powers to intervene on PRSI non-compliance are among ICTU's other suggested actions.
ICTU is also calling for legislation setting clear definitions for the terms 'worker' and 'employee' in order to clarify legal standing for those engaging in precarious work.
The factsheet is available to view HERE.
Unions highlight tips deficit
Trade unions celebrated Valentine's Day last week by highlighting deficits in the transparency of tips policies in the restaurant and hospitality sectors. Members of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions' (ICTU) One Galway group, which fosters cooperation between unions in the city, handed out leaflets urging customers to help ensure their tips actually go to the staff who serve them.
ICTU says one in three workers in the hospitality sector don't get the tips customers leave, and that workers have no say in how tips are shared out. It has campaigned for legislation to improve transparency in the distribution of tips.
The National Minimum Wage (Protection of Employee Tips) Bill, which is expected to come before the Seanad this week, would give workers a legal right to their tips and require all restaurants to display a policy on how their tips are distributed.
The proposed legislation also aims to incentivise the introduction of fairer and more transparent systems for distributing tips in restaurants, pubs and hotels.
Last week's 'my tip my reward' event took place on Quay Street in Galway. It coincided with a meeting between One Galway representatives and Senators Paul Gavin and Ged Nash, who are sponsoring the legislation.
Unions say tips are not a substitute for improved pay and conditions in a sector where workers are among the lowest paid, but that fairer distribution of tips could help them make ends meet.
You can find more information on the Bill HERE.
Women's media placed in spotlight
An evening surrounding the theme of women in media and politics will be hosted by Women On Air in Dublin on 6th March – two days before international women's day. Former RTÉ political correspondent Martina Fitzgerald, who also wrote the 2018 bestselling book Madam Politician, will give her personal insight into the industry.
Martina recently sat on a panel at a Fórsa event which focused on encouraging more women (#MoreWomen) to run for election. This ties in with the theme for this year's International Women's day, #BalanceforBetter.
Proceeds from the event will help fund Women On Air, a voluntary network of women and men who want to see and hear more women on the airwaves. The group runs seminars, events and informal training workshops to help give women the skills and confidence to go on radio and television.
The event, which starts at 7.00pm and ends at 9.00pm, takes place on 6th March in the Radisson Blu, Royal Hotel, Dublin 8. Tickets cost €8 and can be purchased HERE.
Admin grades survey planned
by Roisin McKane
Two Fórsa committees that bring together clerical, administrative and executive grades across all sectors of the civil and public service are to pilot a joint survey of workplaces. The two 'equivalent grades committees' will use the exercise to help identify the most important inter-divisional issues for the grades.
The survey will be open to relevant grades in workplaces across four of Fórsa's divisions: civil service, health and welfare, local government, and education. It will seek the views of union members and non-members.
The pilot will see the distribution of survey material to workers in DEASP Letterkenny, Portlaoise hospital, Central Statistics Office Cork, and IOT Waterford in April. It is anticipated that the exercise will be rolled out in other workplaces following analysis of the pilot results.
Fórsa general secretary Eoin Ronayne encouraged all available participants to engage with the pilot. "As these surveys are pilots it is important that we encourage a high level of engagement in these areas. This will give us a significant snapshot of the issues affecting members across divisions nationwide," he said.
The two Fórsa cross-divisional committees have been exploring differences in pay, working time, and other working conditions for clerical, admin and executive staff in different parts of the civil and public service.
The clerical officer/grade III equivalent grades committee has identified differences in annual leave, pay, working time and flexitime for members of the grades across the civil service, health, education local government, and the non-commercial semi-state sector.
A separate equivalent grades committee for executive grades/grades IV-VII also found significant differences in annual leave, pay, compassionate leave and flexitime.
Women and girls strategy meeting
Fórsa's Margaret Coughlan was among representatives of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) who recently took part in a meeting of the National Strategy for Women and Girls committee, chaired by Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality David Stanton.
Margaret chairs ICTU's women's committee.
The National Strategy for Women and Girls report 2017-2020 provided a framework for action to address obstacles to women's equality and to advance women's leadership in a variety of areas. Implementation of the plan is monitored and run by the committee, which is comprised of a number of stakeholders including ICTU.
The strategy focused on the needs of working women by proposing increased investment in childcare, action to tackle the gender pay gap, and improvements to the conditions of women in precarious employment.
It also promoted improved access to education, training and employment opportunities for women in difficult circumstances, such as lone parents.
Fórsa website

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Markets of Sunshine is hosting a #TwitterParty on Friday November 27th at 2 pm est. Log on to Twitter and or click here and register for a free account. To qualify to win prizes you MUST RSVP with your Twitter handle in the comments box below.
You must also be a newsletter subscriber, click here to sign-up. If you missed last weeks post announcing our #TwtiterParty you can read the rules by click here. We will give away 3 coupon codes to use in Cotton Candy Designs Etsy shop and one of the kid's handmade outfits below. Winner chooses size and boys or girls outfit.
We are also having a huge sale in select shops. See the Etsy treasury below to shop and grab a great deal!
We're helping you buy a super handmade gift for 50% off!!! Anyone can buy in our BNS game. Seller's that buy in have to offer a 50% off item to earn a spot on the board! Let the fun begin!
My Cotton Candy Designs sells adorable children's items, two of which are shown on this page. Stop by and check it out.
We have 4 players! Yay! All are entered in our drawing! Best Regards!


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Ethical jewelry, what does that really mean?
We're crazy about jewelry, and serious about doing it ethical. Our vision is 100% ethical jewelry. This means free of mercury, without endangering our forests and wildlife, and supporting artisanal miners and makers. Not just our jewelry. But all jewelry, worldwide.
To us, ethical jewelry means a journey to transform our supply chains for gold, gemstones and diamonds. Together, we get to know all the wonderful people involved in making your dream jewelry. It's our end–to-end promise that the jewelry you so dearly love, is also a way for you to show your love for everything around you.
Take our word that at Gardens of the Sun, you can shop guilt-free.
Shop guilt-free
Connection | Goodwill | Transparency | Self love | Impact
Gardens of the Sun is a women-owned jewelry business that empowers like-minded people to become part of a real, positive movement. We play by the following five rules.
We make jewelry – that in itself means what we make becomes mementos, living objects, stories, and bridges between people. Jewelry is a personal keepsake that binds people together with a loved one, a never-forgotten one, the one that got away. With themselves.
Through our work, we want to make meaningful connections between all actors in the chain. From miners and cutters to metalsmiths and marketing managers, and to our beloved clients. You are invariably linked to the very woman who panned the gold from a riverbank in Kalimantan. A jewelry is built on connections. Ours especially.
We believe in giving back because we've discovered this is the rule to a good life.
Giving back to the people in our supply chain through fair pay, capacity-building funds, health and safety assurance, and by respecting their craft and sense of artistic pride.
Giving back to the environment by planting trees, rehabilitating former mine sites and protecting the environment from unnecessary damages, such as mercury pollution.
Giving back to our community by fostering a two-way communication line and thoughtful customer care. In the end, we're not really giving anything away. We're merely returning what we've been given, in manifold.
View our impact report to review our monetary donations in 2018.
We believe in being honest about our impact and our journey towards our mission. We stand behind the origin of our raw materials and the methods through which our jewelry is made. Your trust isn't something we take lightly.
We write poetry because this is how one makes love to oneself.
Do not cover your wins with fallen leaves. Do not disguise your masterpieces in ordinary clothes. Do not camouflage the phenomenon that is you, just because the world chooses to turn down miracles. The truth is you cannot live a lie, or run away from sunshine, no matter how hard you try. This magnificent explosion that is your life was always meant to take your breath away.
What you do has an impact. What that impact is - that's up to you. We're here to interrupt, gently. To transform a destructive impact into a positive kick. The kind that changes the lives of those we work with.
When we challenge the status quo and show that it's possible to make jewelry in a different way, we believe more people will follow. Through our jewelry, we invite you to join us and make a difference.
Sourcing | Metals | Diamonds | Gemstones
The ethical jewelry brand, Gardens of the Sun, is an extension of our founder Meri's mission to help indigenous women have more chances in life. We do this by giving them higher prices, offer less damaging ways to mine precious metals and gemstones, and reforest ex-mining sites. We believe that a good start will result in goodness, all the way through. And we start with the materials.
We could have chosen the path of least resistance. We could have just said "our jewelry is 100% mercury-free, pinkie promise." We could have bought Fairmined eco-gold, and stones from areas where mercury pollution isn't rampant, and laws effectively regulate the mining. But we didn't. Why? Because absolutely nothing would have changed for the millions of artisanal miners.
Our choice: let's fight the good fight! Anyone who has an inkling about us knows that running away isn't our thing. That's why we're deliberately staying in Indonesia, working where mercury pollution is the worst, and where diamonds and sapphires are mined solely by artisanal miners. We're there where the miners need us most.
Our recipe for ethical jewelry is based on 4 sourcing principles. We believe that all jewelry businesses should apply these four principles:
Traceability. We don't just buy diamonds from the big pile. We know where it comes from. We meet the miners and when we can, we work with independent cutters.
Make it better. Think long-term and think change. The best isn't good enough, we want continuous improvement.
Support the artisans in our supply chain. Pay a price that doesn't keep the poor poor. All of us deserve a living wage and healthy working conditions. We lead by example to encourage other miners to switch to low impact mining too.
Mercury-free, panned gold. We only buy gold where no mercury is used. Traditional techniques like gold panning have a much lower impact on the environment than more industrial methods.
Most gold is mined by artisanal miners. This metal is embedded in solid rocks, a hide-and-seek away. Mercury is the cheapest and easiest way to separate the gold from the hard rock.
Mercury pollution is the number one problem in artisanal gold mining. We're talking thousands of metric tons, the same weight as all the rhino's left in this world. Except for the rhino's are going extinct, and the mercury is released into our environment, forever. From there it keeps circulating between the soil, plants, animals and people. Even in small amounts, exposure to mercury causes still-births and birth defects.
This doesn't have to be.
It's possible to mine gold in a way that doesn't kill the planet and directly benefits indigenous people. This isn't fiction or fantasy. It's how we can change the lives of entire communities dependent on gold mining for their livelihoods.
With our jewelry, we set an example. We raise the bar and show the world that jewelry can be made differently: in terms of style, packaging and the way we treat our supply chain.
We've connected with a group of indigenous women and asked them to replace toxic mercury and cyanide with cleaner techniques. In exchange, we gave them access to finance and premiums that others declare us crazy for.
Alone, we make mercury-free jewelry. But together, we make all jewelry mercury-free. So we ask you to join us.
The more people choose mercury-free, artisanal gold jewelry and share our story, the sooner mercury-free gold jewelry becomes the new normal. In the end, you decide.
Right now, our silver is a mixture of recycled silver and unknown sources. In Indonesia the legal system makes it impossible to purchase silver extracted by artisanal miners without mercury and cyanide. At the moment, the absolute best we can do is to use recycled silver. Until we find a way to overcome the obstacles and support artisanal miners to mine silver in an environmentally responsible way. If you can help, please do get in touch.
The diamond industry is ruled by a select, untouchable few – mostly men, mostly Caucasian, all wealthy. Artisanal miners are struggling. The Kimberley Process Certificate – meant to stop the trade of blood diamonds – effectively outplays the small people. This is because the certificates are only issued for large, industrial mines. Artisanal miners can't easily obtain a certificate and hence, they can't sell their diamonds. Through this murky process, The Kimberley Process Certificate makes these rich men richer, and the poor poorer.
We won't accept that. We want an absolutely fair trade scheme. And we want to know exactly where our diamonds, gemstones and gold come from. That's why we buy directly from miners themselves who we have personally seen use low-impact mining techniques. And we buy at a fair price.
We're at the very start of a partnership with an indigenous community that has found sapphires along their rivers and creeks. We're invested in turning this partnership into a long-term livelihood for two entire villages. These sapphires will be available for purchase in 2020. If you'd like to be the first to know, get on our newsletter!
Giving Back | Tree Planting | Packaging | Office Culture
For every purchase filled with love, we send love back to Mother Earth. Our vision of jewelry that not only makes you feel good, but also does its best to be good, isn't possible without the support of our incredible community of experts and artisans. We believe that a business can only grow as much as the people behind grow. So we empower our employees and suppliers to grow and spark change too.
Twice a year, our team designs a one of a kind collection of jewelry for a good cause. 100% of the proceeds will go to a charity of our choice. In 2018 we donated over $8,000 to causes we believe in. Have any suggestions? Do send us an email.
The sparkling sea, the strong roots of mangroves and lush forests paint a vivid picture of Biak Island, Papua. Resting on Indonesia's furthest Eastern point, she's teeming with life and wonder. Under her canopies of greenery she keeps safe the largest number of endemic bird species in Indonesia. The Black-winged Lory and Victoria Crowned Pigeon which sweep bright colors across the skies, while reptiles and amphibians roam the lands.
But paradise was almost lost in 1996 when a duo of natural disasters struck the peaceful island. On February 17th, 1996, the coastal communities of Biak Island were hit by a massive earthquake with a magnitude of 8.2, and a follow-up tsunami that reached 7 meters (23 feet) high.
Mangrove estuaries which protect the earth, preventing bare soil from washing away into the sea, were destroyed. Local communities and the ecosystem of the island were disturbed. While recovering from these disasters, the island has been challenged by deforestation, illegal logging, and the growing expansion of monoculture plantations.
For every purchase of a Gardens of the Sun piece, we're committed to planting five trees in Biak Island. Through the Eden Reforestation Project, your purchase employs local communities in reforesting their land. This targets one of the leading causes of deforestation, gives jobs to thousands of local villagers, and creates a connection between the local community and its recovering environment.
Not only that, your sigh of pleasure at wearing your jewelry is complemented by a sigh of relief from Mother Earth, forging a connection that will last years and decades into the future.
Your Gardens of the Sun jewelry comes gift wrapped in beautiful, recycled packaging, lovingly hand-crafted by Banana Paper Bandung. This is a community enterprise in Bandung, West Java, that makes paper from banana stems.
Banana stems produce fruit only once. After harvesting the fruit, farmers cut the banana stems so new plants can grow. These stems become waste that's usually composted after harvesting, but their high cellulose content makes it a great source for paper. Each ton of banana paper made saves between 15 and 20 trees. It also uses less energy and water than the normal paper industry, so there's less environmental pollution andless post-consumer waste.
Our packaging isn't just more sustainable. Our clients have told us it feels like getting a special gift from a dear friend.
In our little Balinese studio, we employ 17 people. When we moved in, our premises were blessed by a Balinese high priest. In the summer of 2019, we expanded and built an additional photography studio. This room was again blessed by a high priest. And we take care of our little paradise together. We fill it with good vibes, the playful wrestling between our foster puppies, the daily incense and offerings to the unseen spirits.
Every single one of us receives fair pay, a generous maternity or paternity leave, health insurance, a training budget, a weekly vegetarian office lunch, free yoga sessions in our dedicated yoga studio, volunteer days to contribute to a cause we care about, and continued pay when we are ill. Ah, and the free jewelry is a nice perk too!
We always have a choice.
From the women of Borneo, to a cluster of artists in Yogyakarta, a young man in Bandung with a vision, to a Dutch girl in Bali who loves designing jewelry and then to thoughtful people like you, we all have a choice to make smart decisions and become aware of their impact on the world.
It only takes one person to make a difference, but a community to change the world.
In the end, you decide. The more people choose mercury-free, artisanal gold jewelry and share our story, the sooner ethical jewelry becomes the new normal. We invite our clients and fellow jewelers and designers to join the cause. You'll be doing a whole lot more than just purchasing jewelry.
Crazy about jewelry. Serious about doing it ethical.
Shop Guilt-Free Jewelry Now
Have a specific question? Want to talk dream rings? Interested in wholesale? Want to give feedback so we can get better?
Don't forget to skim the Answers page, you may get your answer sooner.
Use the contact form to message us or email us directly at info@gardensofthesun.com. We try to respond the same or next day.


text:
The castle © Burg Gusinde
Burg Gusinde (closed)
Exclusive accommodation north of Windhoek
Burg Gusinde is an exclusive lodge for a maximum of eight guests at the same time. The name "Gusinde" came from an officer of the "German Schutztruppe", Mr. Gusinde, who bought the farm in the early 20th century. The farm house still has the nostalgic style and the historical background of that time.
1 Farmhouse
North of Windhoek, on the D2102
Quadbiking
Heli flips


text:
SL aims to woo 400,000 Indian tourists after Easter attacks
Sri Lanka expects 400,000 visitors from India in 2019 as it lines up discounts, events and aggressive marketing campaigns. These measures are being planned as the country recovers from the April 21 terror attack at Colombo hotels and churches which killed over 250 persons and crippled its tourism sector.
The country's tourism minister, John Amaratunga, announced on Monday discount offers that will make Sri Lankan holidays 50-60 per cent cheaper for Indian tourists. Amaratunga, who was in Mumbai to interact with travel agents, said the packages will be offered by Sri Lankan Airlines in partnership with local hotels and tour operators.
India is the largest source market for Sri Lanka which received 2.3 million tourists last year. Around 425,000 Indians visited the country in 2018. But the attack led to mass cancellations. Hotel occupancies fell as arrivals shrank 70 per cent in May. Moody's cut Sri Lanka's GDP forecast anticipating a decline in tourist arrivals.
Sri Lanka Tourism Authority (SLTA) is now wooing tourists following the withdrawal of security advisories by twelve countries including India. "We want the tourists to come back. It is important to build confidence. Revenue growth will follow and we are not worried about it," said SLTA chairman Kishu Gomes.
This year arrivals from India are expected to be 5-6 per cent lower compared to last year. Overall arrivals are expected to be around 2 million in 2019, Gomes said. Foreign airlines cut down on frequencies to the island nation after the April attack but now Air India is now resuming its second Delhi-Colombo flight from July 15.
"The security situation in the country has improved and normalcy has been restored. Over 95 per cent of the domestic terror network has been dismantled. Sri Lanka is the first country to recover so quickly from a terror attack," said Sri Lanka's consul general Chamari Rodrigo.


Forty-seven days later when I first saw my husband's face leaning close to me, I knew where, and who, I was. But other things took much longer to know. Learning to restitch life--and love--when everything's changed, and finding who we are afterward, can be the longest journey of all.
I'm Lindsey O'Connor, and this is the story of my long awakening.
It has been quite some time since I have read a nonfiction book that captivated me so thoroughly. As a mom I cannot even begin to imagine the journey that Lindsey and her family went through. I found myself just aching for all the battles they faced and then rejoicing over even the small triumphs.
Can you imagine one minute anticipating the birth of your fifth baby and then the next utter chaos? It's hard to think about being in a medically induced coma for 47 days. Normal day to day activities would continue all around you while in essence your world would stop. But those 47 days were only the beginning of a long road to recovery. With eloquent honesty Lindsay shares about the struggles and the victories that she and her family journeyed through.
One of the most interesting aspects about this book is that it is written by Lindsey. Many times we read a story such as this but it is written by a friend or family member not the actual patient. To read the account and understand what she went through is to see a miracle unfold. This is a story that will leave you with no doubt that God has a unique plan for each of us and He is the one that will determine how we will go about accomplishing it.
I encourage you to get this book and enjoy reading about not only a miracle, but a group of faithful family and friends that journey together to make a beautiful life out of what appeared to be tragedy.


text:
Mon June 17 10:00 am 2019 in category Product news
The biggest investment in the history of Nokian Heavy Tyres is taking shape on time: the 3,500-square-meter R&D Center will be ready in 2019 and the factory will reach full capacity in 2021
Nokian Heavy Tyres, Nokia, Finland, 17 June 2019 – In 2018, Nokian Heavy Tyres announced a massive undertaking: to increase the production of commercial tires up to 50 percent and more than double the number of new products by investing heavily on production and product development. The total investment will be approximately EUR 70 million. Now, what started as a vision is quickly becoming a concrete reality.
Matti Kaunisto, Development Manager at Nokian Tyres, is satisfied. After months of planning all the details and getting intimate with the Building Information Model on his computer, he can actually see the vast new 3,500-square-meter R&D building taking shape. "Seeing it on a screen is one thing", Kaunisto says, "but being able to walk there is another. The size gets lost in the computer screen, but once you stand there you really sense the space."
At the moment, the site is busy with installing hollow-core slabs, but plans for the installation of machinery are already well underway. "The construction schedule was ambitious, but we have kept it well", says Kaunisto. "Once the building is finished, it will boost our innovation work and speed up the time-to-market."
The factory extension
Another construction project involves expanding the production facilities – and as far as the construction work goes, it's already finished. "The building is erected, and the installing the machinery is in full flight", says Plant Director Pasi Antinmaa. "It's great to move onwards from here."
At first, the implementation was lagging behind what was planned, but the construction caught up with the schedule. "We will reach the full capacity in 2021 as stated", Antinmaa says confidently. "The next milestone will be the highly automated visual inspection and tire buffer storage in August, taking advantage of the scheduled annual maintenance break."
Agile construction
Expanding a working factory can be a bit like fixing a bicycle while riding it. At Nokian Tyres, careful planning with agile change management has proven to be a winning combination. "By implementing the Lean model, we have been able to increase our delivery ability by 15% already this year – in the middle of the ongoing renovations", Pasi Antinmaa says proudly. "Good planning, anticipation and collaboration have made it possible."
But thinking ahead does not mean rigidly sticking to the plan. "Originally, the construction of a new tire curing line was planned to start from one end of the factory", Antinmaa gives an example. "But by starting the construction from another end, we were able to minimize disturbance to production. So the quick change of plans paid off."
Besides enabling more capacity and future growth, the new facilities serve an important role by supporting smoother flow and safer work. "The old facilities were hopelessly too small", R & D Director Kalle Kaivonen admits. "Now, the tire testing and production planning are better integrated."
The team behind the innovation
The planning, construction and setup are important steps, but the real innovation lies within the people involved in the process. "The goal for the investment is to produce 50% more and more than to double the number of new products", Kalle Kaivonen says. "We have done a lot of recruiting to build a team that's able to make it happen – and it's been successful."
Constant learning, collaboration over team boundaries and exceeding expectations is deeply embedded in the Nokian Tyres culture. Kaivonen is happy to point out that the new personnel has learned the ropes quickly. "In such a complex process, there is a lot going on and challenges are inevitable", he says. "Pulling it off so well, with the old and new employees complementing each other, gives credit to the whole organization."
Mission: feed the world
Making the growth story happen is not just about adding more resources, it's also about making the most out of the existing ones. This calls for flexibility, efficiency and new ways to innovate. "In the big picture, our products help utilize planetary resources better", Kaivonen says. "Our biggest R&D stakes are in the agricultural segment, where it's all about making the most out of existing farmland in a sustainable way."
Better tires indeed have a role in feeding the world. "Highway transports, carbon footprint, fuel consumption, friendliness to the soil – new tire technologies are very much linked to global food production", Kaivonen sums it up.
More information and photos:
Photos and press materials: www.nokiantyres.com/NHTinvestmentPR
Company website: www.nokiantyres.com/heavy
Toni Silfverberg, Head of Sales & Marketing, Nokian Heavy Tyres Ltd, toni.silfverberg@nokiantyres.com, tel. +358 10 401 7854
Pasi Antinmaa, Plant Director, Nokian Heavy Tyres Ltd, pasi.antinmaa@nokiantyres.com, tel. +358 10 401 7398
Kalle Kaivonen, R & D Director, Nokian Heavy Tyres Ltd, kalle.kaivonen@nokiantyres.com, tel. +358 10 401 7357
Twitter I YouTube I Facebook I LinkedIn I Instagram


Coventor recently announced the latest release of MEMS+, their MEMS EDA/CAD tool, and the timing was tough because it came just after I had an article involving process design kits (PDKs). And amongst the things that the latest MEMS+ release brings is movement towards MEMS PDKs (MPDKs).
MEMS devices are, of course, notorious for evading any attempts to rope in process and design options through standardization of any kind. Efforts continue, but it remains a challenge.
This means that any MEMS design involves a collaboration between a particular fab (captive or foundry) and the design folks to come up with a physical design that meets the requirements for a particular new sensor or actuator. And what's done for some new design may have nothing to do with what has been done in the past. Materials may change, dimensions and shapes may change, and circuits and packages may change. Everything's negotiable.
With the latest release of MEMS+, Coventor says that they're enabling the use of PDKs for well-established sensors – IMUs, devices built on Leti's MnNEMS process, and piezoelectric devices. The MPDK isn't standardized, but then again, silicon circuit PDKs have also taken a long time to move towards standardization.
So Coventor is working, initially, with one fab and EDA company at a time, starting with XFAB and Cadence. You may recall from the silicon side that the first step away from incompatible PDKs for each tool/foundry combination was for a single foundry to unify its PDKs for all tools. So initially, for example, TSMC PDKs were different for Cadence, Synopsys, and Mentor tools, and then TSMC worked to unify the format.
But the result worked only at TSMC; GlobalFoundries and other fabs would have their own formats, even if unified across tools. This is the issue that the OpenPDK project has tackled since 2010.
This is the path that MPDKs are likely to take, according to Coventor. It would be nice if the lessons of the past allowed us to bypass some of the effort replication. For instance, if XFAB gets something going, it sure would be nice to use that as the basis for someone else, layering on change and generalizing rather than starting from scratch or even turning the XFAB-only MPDK into a similar-but-incompatible someone-else-only MPDK.
You can read more about this and the other new features in MEMS+ 6.0 in Coventor's announcement.


text:
Alexander Peterson
5 New Cancer Researchers Join London Team
(LONDON, Ontario) – The London Regional Cancer Program (LRCP) of London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is pleased to announce the recruitment of 5 new cancer researchers to the LRCP Cancer Research Laboratories Program.
LRCP is an internationally known cancer research facility recognized for its leadership in addressing fundamental questions related to cancer biology and therapy, and forms the core of the Cancer Research Program within the Lawson Health Research Institute (Lawson). Our scientists are members of Lawson and hold academic appointments at the University of Western Ontario within the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry or with other faculties.
These 5 new cancer researchers are a complement to our existing research teams located within the LRCP and the adjoining Victoria Research Lab. Four have arrived and have begun working with existing scientists. The 5th researcher is expected to join them in July 2007.
"LHSC has a reputation as a world leader in cancer research," says Ken Deane, Chief Operating Officer of Clinical Services for LHSC and St. Joseph's Health Care, London. "The addition of these dynamic researchers to the team already in place will ensure the continued growth of research in cancer biology, experimental cancer treatment, and in cancer imaging."
One of the new researchers, Dr. John Lewis, is the successful candidate for the Robert Hardie Chair in Translational Prostate Cancer Research, in collaboration with the London Prostate Cancer Centre. This Chair is supported by a generous commitment from Bob Hardie, a research associate in prostate cancer research, and by funds raised through annual community events.
"The combined efforts of our cancer research leaders and the fundraisers at the London Health Sciences Foundation has resulted in the recruitment of these young scientists to London," says Brian Orr, Regional Vice-President, LRCP and Cancer Care Ontario – Southwest. "We are confident that research at LRCP will continue to deliver meaningful results that will lead to better ways of treating cancer."
Dan Ross, President and Chief Executive Officer at LHSF, says, "London Health Sciences Foundation inspires investment in excellence at LHSC. It is through the generous donations of corporations, groups and individuals that we can bring such outstanding researchers to the London Regional Cancer Program at London Health Sciences Centre."
About London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC)
LHSC is one of Canada's largest acute-care teaching hospitals and is dedicated to excellence in patient care, teaching and research. LHSC has pioneered many national and international medical breakthroughs. Located in London, Ontario, LHSC encompasses three sites, South Street Hospital, University Hospital and Victoria Hospital; two family medical centres; and the London Regional Cancer Program. LHSC is the home of the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario and CSTAR (Canadian Surgical Technologies & Advanced Robotics). The research arm of LHSC is Lawson Health Research Institute, which is partnered with London's other teaching hospital, St. Joseph's Health Care, London. LHSC is affiliated with The University of Western Ontario. Physicians and staff at LHSC number close to 9,000 and together they provided care for more than one million patient visits last year.
About London Health Sciences Foundation
For more than a decade, London Health Sciences Foundation has inspired investment in excellence at London Health Sciences Centre. London Health Sciences Foundation is a non-profit, charitable organization established in 1996 through the amalgamation of the University and Victoria Hospital Foundations. The Foundation links donors, health care consumers, the community and health care experts — including physicians, allied professionals, researchers, staff and educators — in pursuit of medical excellence at London Health Sciences Centre.


Have you heard of Pinterest? This social media darling has had astronomical growth with millions more people discovering it every month. In February 2013, it was reported by Reuters that Pinterest had over 48 million global visitors. There are lots of ways that Toastmasters can make use of Pinterest and one of these is by the use of the "Our Toastmaster Banners" Pinterest group pinboard. I'd like to tell you about the group pin board.
What is Pinterest, you're probably asking? Wikipedia says "Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, hobbies, and more. Users can browse other pinboards for inspiration, 're-pin' images to their own pinboards, or 'like' photos." Its like putting a big pinboard online and adding the social aspects that we're all getting more and more used to. This means that you can create your own pinboards, themed about pratically anything; you can add your own pictures to each pinboard or add pictures from the internet, other people can follow your boards and "re-pin" items that they like, and you can invite others to join on boards where you would like to collaborate.
What does this have to do with Toastmasters, you ask? Toastmasters is largely a social organization and it makes sense for us to tap into various social media sites and to be where the people are. By sharing Toastmasters related content in Pinterest, we reach out to a new audience that potentially join our clubs and make use of our material and it allows us to share material with other Toastmasters and to find material that others find interesting and useful.
The basic goal behind the "Our Toastmaster Banners" is to collect pictures of banners from every single club, division, district, and region (basically anywhere there is a Toastmaster banner, a picture of it should appear here). This gives people looking at the group pinboard an idea of how many clubs there are and where they are in a visual way that will draw attention to Toastmasters. As the group grows, with more and more club banners being pinned, the board has a great chance of getting noticed and possibly going viral. This is a great place to tell a story about your club and to share banner pictures from clubs that you visit.
There are different ways to participate. You can send an email to (darrylheron@about.me) asking to join the group pinboard (be sure to let e know your Pinterest username and provide a link to your Pinterest profile). You can pin banner pictures from your club and clubs you visit. You can tell your clubs story. You can comment on pins in the group pinboard. You can challenge others and other clubs to participate. You can send a picture of your club banner to (darrylheron@about.me).
"Our Toastmasters" is anouther group pinboard with lots of educational sharing opportunities. There are pins linking to useful Toastmaster material, some people have even added links to videos of some of the World Champion of Public Speaking winning videos. Maybe you have something to share that you think other Toastmasters could benefit from. Why not check out this board as well?
I hope that you'll check out the "Our Toastmaster Banners" and the "Our Toastmasters" pinboards and promote your clubs and share valueable and useful information with other Toastmasters. Happy Pinning!


text:
Business/Robbery etc
Michael Baume
Why are so many company directors diverting their energies into pushing publicly-owned corporations to take up controversial social and political issues (like diversity, climate change and same sex marriage), rather than concentrating on their duty to make a quid for their shareholders?
One reason may be emerging from last weekend's dust-up between a trade union leader and a union-dominated industry superannuation fund that is not (yet) doing his bidding. When NSW electricity supplier Ausgrid sought to help put downward pressure on rising electricity prices by offshoring a third of its information system to India, the United Services Union banned the training of the Indian contractors until Ausgrid succeeded before the Fair Work Commission in having the ban lifted. So now the USU's boss, Graeme Kelly, wants its related $10 billion Local Government Super fund to withdraw its $113 million from union-controlled industry funds manager IFM Investors. In partnership with fellow industry fund AustralianSuper, IFM has a $16 billion majority-controlling investment in Ausgrid. Kelly, who told the Australian he had the full support of the ACTU's bosses Sally McManus and Scott Connolly, plans to 'condemn IFM and AS for their support of Ausgrid's appalling behaviour against workers'. LGS is to consider the USU request to pull its funds out as 'environmental, social and governance considerations are a key to LGS investment decision making'.
Kelly and LGS super should take heed of the long-standing advice of ACTU icon Bill Kelty that industry superannuation funds should not become industrial or political playthings. In rebuking the CFMEU some years ago for its attempt to force its super fund, Cbus, to break a deal with builder Grocon, Kelty warned of a possible loss of confidence in industry super funds if it appeared they were subject to pressure over their investments for political or industrial reasons. 'This is compulsory superannuation, therefore the level of trust and accountability must not be less than what corporations in Australia apply; it should be greater'.
There is nothing new about the potential for conflict of interest between the union bosses who control industry super-funds and the non-unionists who make up the great bulk of superannuees whose retirement savings, thanks to Labor governments, have by default ended up in industry funds; that's why, as union membership dwindles to record lows, assets in their super funds hit record highs. So far, at least on the surface, union attempts to dictate to their super funds have failed. But the founder of the industry funds movement (and chair of the $75 billion IFM), Garry Weaven, has never been shy about its broader social objectives: 'Holding controlling stakes in assets or very substantial stakes with strong partners, clearly confers strong benefits' and at the ACTU NextGen conference, his IFM outlined the way industry fund investments created the ability to 'effect positive social change'. This is in line with its three core beliefs: a healthy environment, an inclusive society and an obligation that its financial returns must 'not be at expense of the community, the environment or market integrity'. To further its social agenda, Weaven's IFM has a long-standing relationship with the Uniting Church's activist Justice and International Mission. So IFM wants more women on corporate boards; it doesn't like coal and funds renewable energy plants and pressured 72 Australian companies to reveal their greenhouse gas emissions; it has confronted corporations with its concerns about human rights and has exercised 700 votes on company resolutions – many on 'excessive' directors' remuneration.
There is no evidence yet of industrial, political or social agendas affecting public confidence in these funds; the latest official statistics for Australia's $2.3 trillion super business show industry funds assets ($545 billion) still growing at five times the rate and outperforming the retail funds ($587 billion) which continue to lose business to the Self Managed Superannuation Funds that have boomed under Costello's tax lurk to $700 billion. Corporate boards seem to be increasingly responsive to this growing and organised power of industry funds – and their union-backed agendas.


The Ocean Of Blood Facebook App Competition (see below) is hotting up nicely! As I write this, they've just passed the 150,000 drops mark, with almost 100 prizes given away, and another 900 to come!! To celebrate passing the 100,000 drops point, my UK publishers, HarperCollins, decided to release an exclusive extract from Palace of the Damned, the third Mr Crepsley book, on their hugely popular Official Darren Shan Facebook page. Palace goes on sale at the end of September in the UK and USA, but if you want to read a chunk of its first chapter before anyone else, CLICK HERE. You can read the extract (and enter the compeition) no matter where in the world you live.
In the UK, the third collected volume of The Demonata goes on sale on July 7th. It contains Blood Beast and Demon Apocalypse. should be on sale in book stores around the country from the start of July. If you can't find it on the shelves, please feel free to ask a member of staff to order in a copy for you. Or you can order it online by clicking on this link: AMAZON.UK.
The Ocean Of Blood, Facebook app competition is still going strong -- and entering has been made easier than before. For a week in June, fans coule enter repeatedly, as many times as they liked, without having to use the share function. The share function has now been restored, but it will only kick in after every 50 entries -- that means you can donate 50 drops in a row to the Ocean Of Blood before you have to send a link to some of your friends. After that, you can enter another 50 times in a row before sending out another link, and so on, as often as you like. The comp is open to fans everywhere in the world. There are lots of cool instant prizes to be won, such as iPod Nanos, iTunes vouchers, signed copies of Ocean Of Blood, and more!! Every entrant is also entered into a draw to be held at the end of the competition, where the main prize is an iPad 2 with all of my eBooks on it, as well as a unique signed cover!!
Remember, YOU CAN ENTER AS MANY TIMES AS YOU LIKE, but only if you virally spread the game after every 50 drops, either by sending links to your Facebook contacts, your Twitter contacts, or to email addresses. You can send the link to the same people every time you enter if you wish, although it's better if you can target new people. Unlike most competitions, where you might want to keep it secret, to improve your chances of winning, this competition NEEDS lots of entrants -- the prizes will only be released as huge numbers of people play. So get clicking and get spreading!! Remember, you can enter dozens or hundreds or even thousands of times every day!!! And every time you donate a drop, you have a chance of winning a prize. 100 prizes have already been won, but there are 900 still waiting to be cliamed. Best of luck, Shansters!!!!!
GET IN BED WITH DARREN SHAN!!
I was a bit late spotting this one, but Procession of the Dead was listed as one the Top 10 books of 2010 by one of the key reviewers on Fantasy Book Critic. Yay!! http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/02/top-reads-of-2010-by-mihir.html For those who don't know, Procession of the Dead is the first book of my City Trilogy for older readers. You can find out more about it by CLICKING HERE.
The winner of the June Shanville Monthly competition was Anthony Case from Wolverhampton. Many congratulations to Anthony, and regrets to everyone else who entered but who weren't so fortunate — better luck next time!!
My publicists and I are in the process of putting together the details of my October tour of the UK and Ireland, to promote Palace of the Damned. I'll be revealing more details next month, but to whet your appetites, I can reveal that we'll be starting late in September in the midlands of the UK. We'll then be working our way south, covering as many different areas as we can along the way, ending the UK stretch in the southwest, before I head to Ireland to do some signings in Dublin (including the signing in Dundrum which had to be cancelled in May) and the surrounding area. I had hoped to fit in some signings in the north of the UK on this tour, but the logistics made this impossible. Hopefully I'll get back up there, and into Scotland, next time round!! As I said above, I'll be able to give more details next month, so tune back in August!!!
When my books are published, my publishers always send me free copies of them. I've built up a massive collection of Darren Shan books over the years, from countries all around the world. I always keep a few of each book for myself, but in many cases I have extra copies. These were stacked away haphazardly in my old house, then in storage for a year while I was living elsewhere, but when I moved back in, I had a chance to go through them and sort them out. Which means that I am now in a position to start GIVING THEM AWAY FOR FREE as competition prizes!!! Most months, for at least the next several months, I am going to run a competition for readers in different countries. The number of prizes will vary for each country depending on how many books I have to give away. I won't announce the number of books up for offer for any given country in advance -- all I will say is that I have a LOT of books to give away, so I'm going to be trying to issue as many prizes as possible each time! You don't get a choice of book as a prize -- basically, I'll see what I have available, and issue prizes accordingly.
This month, I am starting with Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, and the USA. If you live in one of those countries, read the following terms, then send in your entry and keep your fingers crossed!
3) Put the NAME OF YOUR COUNTRY in the SUBJECT BOX when you send your e-mail. I will not accept your entry if you don't! And make sure you INCLUDE YOUR NAME AND FULL POSTAL ADDRESS in the body of the e-mail. This is so that I can easily send your prize to you if you win! Also, if you are 15 years old or older, and would like to be considered for one of my adult books, please note this in your entry.
4) Closing date is midnight, UK Time, Sunday, July 24th, 2011.
5) The draw for the winners will be made on Monday, July 25th, 2011, or on a date not long after that. It will be a completely random draw, made by Darren Shan personally (I use an online number generator to pick the winner). I will try to notify the winners by e-mail, and will post their names on the Shanville Message Board and in the August issue of the Shanville Monthly.


text:
require File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), 'helper.rb')

class Document
  is Og::Mixin::SingleTableInherited

  attr_accessor :title, String

  def initialize(title)
    @title = title
  end
end

class Article < Document
  attr_accessor :body, String

  def initialize(title, body)
    @title, @body = title, body
  end
end

class Photo < Document
  attr_accessor :url, String

  def initialize(title, url)
    @title, @url = title, url
  end
end

class Car
  attr_accessor :name, String
  belongs_to :admin
end

class User
  is Og::Mixin::SingleTableInherited

  attr_accessor :login, String
  many_to_many Car
end

class Admin < User
  attr_accessor :password, String
  #has_one Car
end

describe "Og Inheritance rules" do

  before(:each) do
    @store = quick_setup(Document, Article, Document, Photo, Car, User, Admin)
  end

  after(:each) do
    og_teardown(@store)
  end

  it "should do stuff" do
    Photo.superclass.should == Document
    descendents = Document.descendents
    descendents.size.should == 2
    descendents.include?(Photo).should == true
    descendents.include?(Article).should == true

    Document.schema_inheritance?.should == true

    # propagate schema_inheritance flag.

    Photo.schema_inheritance?.should == true

    # subclasses reuse the same table.

    Photo.table.should == Document.table

    doc = Document.create('doc1')
    Photo.create('photo1', 'http:/www.gmosx.com/photo/1')
    Photo.create('photo2', 'http:/www.gmosx.com/photo/2')
    Article.create('art1', 'here comes the body')
    Article.create('art2', 'this is cool')
    Article.create('art3', 'this is cooler')

    docs = Document.all

    docs.size.should == 6
    docs[4].title.should == 'art2'

    docs[0].class.should == Document
    docs[1].class.should == Photo
    docs[4].class.should == Article

    photos = Photo.all

    photos.size.should == 2
    photos[1].title.should == 'photo2'
    photos[0].url.should == 'http:/www.gmosx.com/photo/1'

    articles = Article.all

    articles.size.should == 3
    articles[2].title.should == 'art3'

    articles = Article.all(:limit => 2)
    articles.size.should == 2

    # Bug report.
    # This happens when creating a has_one Car in Admin, which is wrong
    # because it overrides the joins_many from User.
    #Admin.create
    #Admin.create.car
  end
end

class Project
  is Og::Mixin::SingleTableInherited

  attr_accessor :koko, String
end

class FProject < Project
  attr_accessor :haha, String
end

class DProject < Project
  attr_accessor :kaka, String
end

describe "Og additional Inheritance rules" do

  before(:each) do
    @store = quick_setup(Project, FProject, DProject)
  end

  after(:each) do
    og_teardown(@store)
  end

  it "should not raise when creating" do
    proc do
      Project.create
      FProject.create
      DProject.create
    end.should_not raise_error
  end
end

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Work.facebook.comhas global traffic rank #3. Its domain having .com extension. Its Pagerank is 0/10. It is Not listed on Dmoz.No active threats were reported so it is SAFER to browse.Work.facebook.com has estimated worth of $ 392,695,978 and have a daily income of around $ 1,100,000.


Put nodes in post-order. Can also be described as a reverse topological sort. get-provides and get-requires are callbacks that you can provide to compute the provide and depend key sets of nodes, the defaults are :provides and :requires.
Put `nodes` in post-order. Can also be described as a reverse topological sort.
key sets of nodes, the defaults are `:provides` and `:requires`.


text:
Q: php number compare Array i have student for examiner Language Level
For Example:
  (8,8,9,8,7) Repeat number "8" Get "8"
  (7,7,8,9,10) Repeat Number "7" Get "7"
  (7,8,9,10,9) no Repeat number Get Last "9"
  (7,7,8,8,9) forget "7" > Get Last Repeat number "8"
  (7,7,8,9,9) forget "7" >Get Last Repeat number "9"
CODE here

//get duplicate
    function getArrayDups($array)
    {
      $counts = array_count_values($array);
        return array_filter(
      $counts,
      create_function(
         '$val',
         'return($val > 1);'
         )
       );
    }
// usage test:
$test = array('8','8','7','7','7');
$result = getArrayDups($test);
    if(count($result))
    {
      echo "
You had one or more duplicate entries:
\n
\n";
    foreach($result as $entry => $count)
     {
   if ($count >= 3){
     echo "
 Get Level is  $entry ($count)
";
   break;
   }
 echo "
  Level is $entry ($count)
";
}
 }
  else
  {
  //echo end($test);
  echo "
No duplicates  Level found. last Level." . end($test) . "
";
  }

 I was wondering if anyone had any other ideas about how I might achieve this.

A: if (8,8,9,8,7) is a string you can convert it into array using explode and the use array_count_values, if your data is already an array (like $arr = [8,8,9,8,7]) you could directly use array_count_values
So you'd be doing something like:
<?php
    $str = '8,8,9,8,7';
    $arr = explode(',', $str);
    $arrCount = array_count_values($arr);
    $temp= false;
    for($i=count($arr)-1;$i> 0;$i--) {
        if($arrCount[$arr[$i]] > 1) {
           echo "last repeat is: ".$arr[$i];
           $temp = true;
           break;
        }
    }
    if(!$temp)
        echo "no repeat found";

?>

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