Reproductive Health Matters addresses gap policy and practice maternal health and mortality

Public release date: 31-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Lisa Hallgarten
lhallgarten@rhmjournal.org.uk
44-207-267-6567
Elsevier

Latest issue of Reproductive Health Matters addresses the gap between policy and practice in maternal health and maternal mortality

London, May 31, 2012 - As the UN Special Rapporteur on maternal mortality in India points out there is a 'yawning gulf between commendable maternal mortality policies and their urgent, focused, sustained, systematic and effective implementation', the May issue of Reproductive Health Matters explores the causes and impact of this gap, but also highlights hopeful signs of progress.

Two papers from India included in the issue capture both the good and bad news that characterise the gap between rhetoric and reality in maternal health and maternal mortality. In India a range of provisions to support better maternal nutrition and access to subsidised health care are required by law, but there is a wide gap between policy and practice. Preventable deaths are caused by several factors including a shortfall in antenatal care, delays in emergency obstetric care and inappropriate referral. Detailed case studies of women who died point to lack of accountability, discrimination on the grounds of poverty and caste, and according to Subha Sri Balakrishnan, author of one of the papers, "In some casesquality of care (that) was so poor that it may be considered negligent."

Both papers follow subsequent action taken to seek government accountability and justice. In one paper, author Jameen Kaur, reports on the way in which a women's family sought redress in the courts, supported by human rights lawyers. The second paper details an investigation lead by Subha Sri Balakrishnan into maternal deaths in response to a public protest about local maternal deaths in Madhya Pradesh. The researchers presented their findings to district and state level health officials which led to some improvements in care.

Examples of using law to promote accountability and good practice are described in a paper from Latin America reporting on landmark decisions by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) calling for appropriate maternal health care (Brazil) and decriminalisation of abortion to safeguard women's health (Peru). These are promising examples of the application of human rights to demand government responsibility for maternal deaths and to assert the rights of women not to die in pregnancy, childbirth and unsafe abortion.

Furthermore a new emphasis on evidence-based practice is described in several papers, providing grounds for optimism. It suggests there is a real desire to improve outcomes and the hope that new initiatives may have a greater chance of success in saving women's lives. Without the political commitment to addressing equity, however, important initiatives will continue to fail the poorest and most marginalised women. As one author notes, "The death of a woman due to pregnancy complications is not just a biological fact it is also a political choice."

Articles in the issue include focus on Brazil, China, Egypt, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Nigeria, Peru, Tanzania and Rwanda.

###

Notes to editors

This issue of Reproductive Health Matters is volume 20, issue number 39; published by Elsevier. Journalists wishing to interview the authors may contact Lisa Hallgarten at +44 207 267 6567 or lhallgarten@rhmjournal.org.uk

About Reproductive Health Matters (RHM)

Reproductive Health Matters is a bi-annual peer-reviewed international journal aiming to: promote laws, policies, research and services that meet women's reproductive health needs; examine experiences, values, information and issues from the point of view of the women whose lives are affected; explore the multifaceted nature of problems and their solutions; inspire new thinking and action and new forms of consensus in the field. Each issue of Reproductive Health Matters concentrates on a specific theme and has papers on other timely topics and a round-up of information from the published literature.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Mosby's Nursing Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact
Lisa Hallgarten
Editorial office Reproductive Health Matters
+44 207 267 6567
lhallgarten@rhmjournal.org.uk

---

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 31-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Lisa Hallgarten
lhallgarten@rhmjournal.org.uk
44-207-267-6567
Elsevier

Latest issue of Reproductive Health Matters addresses the gap between policy and practice in maternal health and maternal mortality

London, May 31, 2012 - As the UN Special Rapporteur on maternal mortality in India points out there is a 'yawning gulf between commendable maternal mortality policies and their urgent, focused, sustained, systematic and effective implementation', the May issue of Reproductive Health Matters explores the causes and impact of this gap, but also highlights hopeful signs of progress.

Two papers from India included in the issue capture both the good and bad news that characterise the gap between rhetoric and reality in maternal health and maternal mortality. In India a range of provisions to support better maternal nutrition and access to subsidised health care are required by law, but there is a wide gap between policy and practice. Preventable deaths are caused by several factors including a shortfall in antenatal care, delays in emergency obstetric care and inappropriate referral. Detailed case studies of women who died point to lack of accountability, discrimination on the grounds of poverty and caste, and according to Subha Sri Balakrishnan, author of one of the papers, "In some casesquality of care (that) was so poor that it may be considered negligent."

Both papers follow subsequent action taken to seek government accountability and justice. In one paper, author Jameen Kaur, reports on the way in which a women's family sought redress in the courts, supported by human rights lawyers. The second paper details an investigation lead by Subha Sri Balakrishnan into maternal deaths in response to a public protest about local maternal deaths in Madhya Pradesh. The researchers presented their findings to district and state level health officials which led to some improvements in care.

Examples of using law to promote accountability and good practice are described in a paper from Latin America reporting on landmark decisions by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) calling for appropriate maternal health care (Brazil) and decriminalisation of abortion to safeguard women's health (Peru). These are promising examples of the application of human rights to demand government responsibility for maternal deaths and to assert the rights of women not to die in pregnancy, childbirth and unsafe abortion.

Furthermore a new emphasis on evidence-based practice is described in several papers, providing grounds for optimism. It suggests there is a real desire to improve outcomes and the hope that new initiatives may have a greater chance of success in saving women's lives. Without the political commitment to addressing equity, however, important initiatives will continue to fail the poorest and most marginalised women. As one author notes, "The death of a woman due to pregnancy complications is not just a biological fact it is also a political choice."

Articles in the issue include focus on Brazil, China, Egypt, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Nigeria, Peru, Tanzania and Rwanda.

###

Notes to editors

This issue of Reproductive Health Matters is volume 20, issue number 39; published by Elsevier. Journalists wishing to interview the authors may contact Lisa Hallgarten at +44 207 267 6567 or lhallgarten@rhmjournal.org.uk

About Reproductive Health Matters (RHM)

Reproductive Health Matters is a bi-annual peer-reviewed international journal aiming to: promote laws, policies, research and services that meet women's reproductive health needs; examine experiences, values, information and issues from the point of view of the women whose lives are affected; explore the multifaceted nature of problems and their solutions; inspire new thinking and action and new forms of consensus in the field. Each issue of Reproductive Health Matters concentrates on a specific theme and has papers on other timely topics and a round-up of information from the published literature.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Mosby's Nursing Suite, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

Media contact
Lisa Hallgarten
Editorial office Reproductive Health Matters
+44 207 267 6567
lhallgarten@rhmjournal.org.uk

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

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The Pet Blog: Look at this beautiful horse

The Gypsy Horse? is also known as an Irish cob, Gypsy Cob, Gypsy Vanner, Coloured Cob or Tinker horse.

The breed originates from the UK and Ireland. Members of the breed come in a variety of colors but predominantly are of piebald coloring and have many draft characteristics, including heavy bone and abundant feathering on the lower legs.

There is no exact known history of the Gypsy Cob. It is believed by some that the Gypsy Cobs are descended from a combination of Shires, Clydesdales, Friesians, and Dales Ponies with their origins in the Romani gypsy community of the United Kingdom.

Source

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BW-pay-per-click-ad-campaign-affordable-internet-marketing ...

?Pay-Per Click? Ad Campaign: Earn More by Spending Less?

What is ?Pay-Per Click?? ?Pay-Per Click?, is an easy to understand advertising strategy. There are around 300 million searches at major search engines everyday. This causes 80% of internet traffic. Placing your websites on these search engines is very important in reaching as many potential customers as possible. But in order to be seen and clicked most frequently, your website should be viewed at the top most of the search list. Most people only reach up to the third page of a search engine so the lower your rank, the lesser the chance you will be clicked. In ?Pay-Per Click? advertising, you pay to be always visible on the internet. You select keywords or key phrases about your website, and the highest bidder ranks the best. There is no upfront cost. You only pay after a visitor clicks your link. This is why it is called ?Pay-Per Click?.

Everyday millions of people around the world click on Pay-Per Click Advertising Campaign. With the booming internet industry and the ever growing online business, an ad of virtually anybody on the planet can be seen on the internet anywhere in the world.

The ?Pay-Per Click? advertising campaign is the premier growth area in online marketing. Last year, an estimated $741.2 million was spent on ?Pay-Per Click? advertising. The usual search engine optimization can take weeks or even months to produce results. ?Pay-Per Click? advertising can attract customers at an instant. Why? Because, this cutting edge ad campaign can be placed on any website and can be viewed by potential online customers, anywhere, anytime and all the time. The only challenge is placing the ads on proper websites that will attract possible customers for a specific product or services.

?Pay-Per Click? advertising campaign attracts the right consumers at the shortest possible time. This is the most cost effective way of marketing products or services. You can also monitor the customers who visit your site, what they are looking for and what they are buying. With the right creativity on using the right search-phrases, we can direct the right people who are willing to do business with us.
?Pay-Per Click? advertising can easily be managed 24 hours per day and 7 days a week through the internet. This allows you improve the campaign strategy by effectively responding to the activities of both customers and competitors.

So what are you waiting for? ?Pay-Per Click? now and let your business take the fast route to success.

Related posts:

1. Digital-Marketing

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HBT: Rangers sign 34-year-old Oswalt

Reports all day have said Roy Oswalt was close to choosing a new team and the Rangers were heavy favorites, and now Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News writes that Texas has indeed signed the 34-year-old free agent.

Fraley quotes ?an individual familiar with the process? as saying it?s a done deal.

Oswalt has been linked to the Rangers, Dodgers, Phillies, Brewers, Orioles, and Red Sox, but Texas gives him the best possible combination of a sure-fire contender, a locale close to his Mississippi home, and (presumably) the most money.

Oswalt gained leverage in recent days with Roy Halladay and Ted Lilly landing on the disabled list with shoulder injuries, and if he?s indeed signing with the Rangers he?ll step into the rotation spot created by Neftali Feliz?s sprained elbow. It?s unclear how much time Oswalt will need to be game-ready, but Feliz is expected to miss the remainder of the first half and could shift back to the bullpen once healthy.

For now Scott Feldman is filling in for Feliz, but Oswalt threw 139 innings with a 3.69 ERA and 93/33 K/BB ratio for the Phillies last season and if he can avoid a recurrence of back problems would be a major upgrade over Feldman.

UPDATE: Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com confirms Fraley?s initial report and says Oswalt?s deal is worth between $5 million and $6 million.

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Tips and Tricks that Will Help you Succeed as a Business ...

Every company needs to be oriented toward having business management practices that bring results. Every manager will agree with this. When discussing this topic, many people try to sound like they know what they are doing. Getting ideas and managers working in moving forward can be costly and use up a lot of your day. Paying the money necessary to get the best ROI is something you need to do if you want to succeed. Every company is going to have to make decisions like this at some point. Sometimes, you will see managers cast aside opportunities in their quest for profits for the company.

You should not spend to much time thinking about click since it isn?t that valuable in the end. Rather concentrate on more important things.

Regular discussions with your department is a good practice to set up. It is easy to get things done when you use your time in a systematic way. In regards your company, these updates or meetings can catch people up on current affairs. That?s fine, but you can also use these meetings to build more cohesiveness in the department. This makes people feel like they are contributing to the company. In these discussions, bring up problems that need to be addressed. Also ask for the opinions of your employees. Just be open and accessible about this and make it a team effort.

While there are some to whom leadership comes naturally, to most it doesn?t. Anybody who wants to can take classes in business management. This doesn?t mean that they?ll be guaranteed to be good managers or leaders though. So you really have to think about what is going on with this and work to become good at both. It may be a challenge at the beginning, but try to focus on the positive things when you are critiquing yourself. Management means that you need to delegate things and then trust your employees to do the right thing. The people who work for you will appreciate the trust and your helping them be good at their jobs means that you will be getting better at your job.

Keep in mind that when running your department that creativity may not be as plentiful as you would wish. But it is also true that creativity is not necessary for every department to do well. When searching for ways to improve your department, such as cutting costs, or running with higher levels of efficiency, this is still something very important. The scenario you might want to consider is cutting your staff to fix some problems that you may have. The better solution might be to have a group meeting and try to figure out a more amicable scenario. It is surprising how many good solutions can come from people that are under such pressure. If there is no pending crisis, you can also achieve the same results.

Smaller companies can move faster than big ones. This is why smaller to middle sized businesses need to put all of their focus onto better business management techniques. They are in the very best position for realizing better gains and more positive outcomes. They need to learn what it takes to employ these various methods for turning the goals into a reality. The investment to hire professional consultants and hire top talent will pay off handsomely.

If you?re trying to see through satellite direct just stop for a second! Do not be too hard on your self. Principle number 1 should be to not push your self too hard.

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The Vatican Scandals: What Did the Pope's Butler Know?

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['Titanic', 7]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/titanic-anniversary/', ' ', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/b/4e/b4e5ad9f00b5dfeeec2226d53e173569.jpeg', '550', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

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At least 16 die as 5.8-magnitude earthquake hits Italy

A 5.8 tremor destroyed a number of buildings and killed at least 15 people. NBC's Jim Maceda reports.

By msnbc.com news services

Updated at 4:10 p.m. ET: MILAN, Italy --?An earthquake struck northern Italy on Tuesday, killing at least 16 people, damaging buildings and spreading panic among thousands of residents still living in tents after a tremor shook the region just over a week ago.

The 5.8 magnitude quake left 14,000 people homeless in the Emilia Romagna region north of Bologna, one of Italy's most agriculturally and industrially productive areas.

---

Salmoirago Paolo / EPA

A volunteer helps people evacuate the Tesoreria Comunale and Marino Palace offices in downtown Milan after Tuesday's earthquake.

The United States Geological Survey said the quake, which struck at 9:00 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET), was centered 25 miles northwest of Bologna and was felt across much of northern and central Italy.

Some 350 were injured and one person is still missing, The Associated Press reported.

"The situation is very serious, some people are stuck under the rubble," Alberto Silvestri, the mayor of San Felice sul Panaro, one of the towns near the epicenter, told SkyTG24.

PhotoBlog: Factory collapses as second big quake hits northern Italy

Prime Minister Mario Monti said: "I want to assure everyone that the state will do all that it must do, all that is possible to do, as fast as it can to guarantee the return to normality in a region so special, so important, so productive for Italy."?

AP Photo / Luca Bruno

A young girl runs outside tents housing people made homeless in a May 20 earthquake in northern Italy. Another deadly quake hit the area on Tuesday.

The earthquake was felt from Piedmont in northwestern Italy to Venice in the northeast and as far north as Austria. Dozens of aftershocks hit the area, some registering more than 5.0 in magnitude.

The temblor terrified many of the thousands who have been living in tents or cars since the May 20 quake and created a whole new wave of homeless. ?Seven people were killed in the earlier quake.

"I was shaving and I ran out very fast, half dressed," a resident of Sant'Agostino, one of the towns devastated in the quake earlier this month, told AP Television News.?

That quake destroyed hundreds of buildings, including ancient churches and castles, and forced more than 7,000 people to sleep outdoors in tents.

An 6.0 earthquake caused a violent tremor in Italy on Sunday, destroying historic buildings, including a cathedral. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.

It also hit production of some of the area's most internationally famous produce, including Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Farmers estimated the damage to agriculture in one of Italy's most fertile zones at more than 200 million euros (around $251 million).

While Tuesday's quake was about 100 times less intense than the one May 20, its death toll was more than twice as high.

People trapped under rubble
On Tuesday, officials said operations to rescue people from the rubble had been hampered by disruption to the mobile phone network.?

"The town has been largely damaged. There are people under the rubble, we don't know how many," a police officer from Cavezzo told Reuters.

Train services around Bologna, near Modena, were disrupted, media said, and schools and other public buildings had been evacuated as far south as Florence.

"We felt a very strong tremor," said Raffaella Besola, a resident of Bologna.

Television footage on ITV News showed evacuees from the previous quake peering out of shaking tents in disbelief.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world

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Researchers have created glasses that indicate obstacles to patients with visual handicaps

ScienceDaily (May 28, 2012) ? People with moderate visual impairment, particularly those who have difficulty perceiving the full extent of their surroundings, could use the ingenious device that these UC3M scientists have created. "This device is aimed at people who would bump into everything that they fail to see because of their loss of visual field, caused by glaucoma, retinal pathologies, etc.," states the head of the project Professor Ricardo Vergaz, of UC3M's Electronics Technology Department.

The prototype was developed using an HMD device (Head Mounted Display), a virtual reality helmet that includes two cameras to which a small computer has been attached; the computer processes all of the images that it receives. Then, thanks to an algorithm that the researchers have developed, the system determines the distance and outline of the objects and communicates the information to the user in real time using two micro screens, highlighting the silhouette of the elements in the scene and varying the colors according to their distance. "It detects objects and people who move within the visual field that a person with no visual pathologies would have. Very often the patient does not detect them due to problems of contrast," explains Professor Vergaz. "The information regarding depth is what is most missed by patients who use this type of technical aid," he adds.

Currently the invention is being tested using "intelligent" goggles, in collaboration with the Instituto de Oftalmolog?a Aplicada (Institute for Applied Ophthalmology -- IOBA) at the Universidad de Valladolid, where clinical tests are being carried out with a view to the device's validation and applicability. "After testing the device on a representative sample population of patients who could use it, the IOBA will inform us of their final results at the end of this year; this will allow us to evaluate the success and validity of its performance and then improve it," comments Ricardo Vergaz. The final objective is to improve the ergonomics of the device so that the user doesn't feel any inconvenience in wearing the goggles while carrying the lightweight electronic mechanism, which can actually fit in a pocket.

This project promotes a line of research that is related to the design, development and innovation of new technologies aimed at the handicapped that was begun at UC3M by the Photonic Displays and Applications Group (Grupo de Displays y Aplicaciones Fot?nicas). The application was developed as part of the Project for Integrated Technical, Portable and Accessible Aids for the Visually Impaired (Proyecto de Ayudas T?cnicas Integradas para Discapacidades visuales, Transportables y Accesibles -ATIDivisTA), in the grant competition for consolidating research groups with young researchers that was held by the Autonomous Community of Madrid. It is notable that also participating in the project were Doctor Juan Carlos Torres (professor) and Carlos Barranco (industrial engineer), who was hired to give shape to the evolutions of the prototype at the end of the project.

This group of researchers is also developing another ingenious device which consists of a virtual magnifying glass. "The main novelty -Vergaz points out -- lies in the type of algorithm that has been developed, which will help the user to get lost less frequently while reading a text." The result is similar to the way in which a real magnifying glass would work, but with the presentation controlled on the screen (of a mobile phone, tablet computer, etc.) and with the modification of the form and direction of the amplification, so that reading is easier and the user can avoid losing the line and the textual reference. This system could be of great use to people with visual loss in the central field of vision, such as those who suffer from age-related macular degeneration. All of these pathologies do not produce total blindness and there are hundreds of thousands of people who are affected or who could be potentially, to a greater or lesser degree, just within Spain.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid - Oficina de Informaci?n Cient?fica, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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1st District Q&A: Candidates share views on jail construction, alternative energy, top priorities

A diverse field of eight candidates is vying for the 1st District seat on the Kern County Board of Supervisors. It is unlikely a single candidate will win the majority of votes needed to win outright in June; the top two finishers will likely advance to a November runoff.

The candidates are Roy Ashburn, Heidi Carter-Escudero, David Freeland, Mick Gleason, Deborah Hess, Marshall "Chip" Holloway, Daures Stephens and Sam Ramirez.

The Californian asked the eight to answer the following questions. Gleason did not respond. A few answers exceeding the 100-word limit were edited down.

Q: Explain why you believe recent contract deals with county unions have/have not done enough to address the impacts that the housing crash and increased pensions handed out in the past decade have had on county pension funds?

Ramirez: Concerns regarding the pensions have grown out of a down economy. Thus, the answer is doing our part to grow our local economy. I have proposed a series of programs that will save the county revenue, which could offset any current or future liabilities related to the current pension system. In regards to addressing the housing crash, I believe cities and the county of Kern could provide better incentives to stimulate the local housing market. A stronger housing market will pay off for the county in the short and long run. I have outlined my plan at www.votesamramirez.com.

Stephens: According to the county of Kern, their proposal of making the senior employees paying a portion of their retirement will fix the current problem of funding retirements. The future housing market will be one of the determining factors whether future adjustments will need to be made.

Holloway: Thankfully due to the creativity of the Kern County Planning Department and the ability to expedite bringing wind energy to fruition much quicker than usual combined with current high oil prices, we have been able to offset the declines in residential and business property values. While the property tax situation seems to be stable, other revenues are suffering due to high unemployment. The steps we have taken in pension reform is good, but when the contribution has increased from $50 million to over $200 million in seven years, we are on an unsustainable path. We will have to continue to address this issue.

Hess: If the economy never tanked, I doubt we would be having this conversation. The lucrative decisions made several years back didn't seem fiscally responsible to me at the time and have proven irresponsible. County employees deserve a competitive wage and benefits package. Receiving close to 100 percent or above your salary for retirement is unjustified. I also believe those instances are few. Not being privy to recent negotiations and all the detail provides speculation on my part. Future negotiations will happen. There must be give and take on both sides; open, honest communication is imperative and rebuilding trust between employees, management and the supervisors.

Freeland: The housing market crash and faulty actuarial data have caused county-wide pension and benefit plans to be significantly underfunded. As a result, limited county operating funds are tapped to shore up the county's retirement fund and to pay principal and interest on pension obligation bonds. I commend the Board of Supervisors and union representatives for taking necessary steps to begin reducing the impact on county operating funds. Recent concessions made by both parties to revise retirement formulas and to implement changes over a reasonable period of time, should lessen the financial burden on both the employees and to taxpayers who foot the bill.

Carter-Escudero: Because these new contracts are new, it will remain to be seen if the new deals have done enough to help us keep our pension liability in check from this point forward. However, the new deals will not affect any change on the pension situation that exists already for those who have already retired, or for those still eligible for the old deal. We will be paying for these deficits for some time, and new contracts do little to address the situation we are already in.

Ashburn: Pension obligations for county employees are a critical concern both for the employees whose financial interests are involved and for the public whose tax dollars are increasingly stretched. I support a different retirement benefit for employees hired in the future. For future employees, a greater employee contribution, increasing age of retirement and reduced percentage of salary are necessary. This acknowledges the reality that pension obligations, once made, are virtually impossible to change. For current workers, negotiated pension changes are the only way to achieve cost savings, while recognizing that budget dollars are tight now and into the future.

Q: Would you support the construction of new jail facilities at Lerdo Jail or back alternative technologies and programs designed to reduce recidivism given the possibility that there will be limited funds to support both approaches? Why?

Ramirez: Before I would support construction of new jail facilities, I would make sure we are best using current facilities that are empty in Delano, Shafter and Taft. Using these facilities could potentially save the county a substantial amount. At the same time, I think it is important to make sure we fund programs that keep people out of prison. We can do this by giving school-age children better opportunities, and adults the necessary treatment needed to reduce recidivism.

Stephens: I support examining both avenues. During my 25-year career with the Kern County Sheriff's Office, I have seen those who have responded positively to programs and those who have only responded when they were in custody. The number one goal is protecting the citizens of Kern County. The key is identifying what will work best in a given situation. Limited funding means efficiency of operation that will also be paramount to ensure the successes of either plan.

Holloway: I think it's important to support both, although we must be able to identify a funding source for any new construction and viability of long-term operating cost. No matter how good alternative programs are, there will always be criminals who fail to rehabilitate. It is important that we have capacity and get those individuals who may harm others off the street. We are already experiencing a great deal of pressure and a lack of resources due to realignment, but our number one requirement above all else is to provide public safety.

Hess: I don't see any facilities being constructed anytime soon. As a society we need to re-think incarceration. We should explore options outside the county and state for successful cost-effective programs. Partnering with local nonprofits and faith-based organizations can and have produced positive results. Maybe privatization of additional jails is the answer. My understanding is private facilities locally are negotiating with Los Angeles to fill their beds. For unknown reasons to me, our sheriff is not in favor of this. We should at least discuss the possibility. Could that produce income offsetting costs or help pay for new innovative programs?

Freeland: I do not believe constructing new jail facilities and implementing alternative technologies and programs is mutually exclusive, even with limited funding. However, priorities will need to established. With the passage of AB-109, some new construction and reconstruction of inmate facilities will be necessary. I also support broadening the skills of inmates by putting "low-risk" inmates to work. As state inmate wildland fire crews diminish, county inmate wildland fire and hazard reduction crews should be trained and utilized. Inmates could also be used to assist county employees in trash cleanup and for cleaning and maintaining parks and other county facilities.

Carter-Escudero: We need to explore all possible options for new programs and technologies available for our low-level offenders for two reasons. One, Kern County cannot afford to go into the prison business. Two, the cost of repeat offenders is too high compared to any program that will get them back to work, supporting their families. We currently not only pay to incarcerate the inmate, we are also supporting the families of inmates who end up in single-parent situations, and even sometimes caring for their children when both parents are behind bars. Additionally, we need to do better with community/grant funded programs.

Ashburn: It is unlikely that new programs are going to keep people with criminal histories from committing new crimes which land them back in jail. It is the basic responsibility of government to keep bad people away from law abiding citizens. I do not support shifting state prisoners to county jails, but this is the law and we must do all we can to protect the public and keep costs as low as possible. There is no doubt having the county incarcerate prisoners will be less costly to taxpayers than housing them in state facilities.

Q: Explain why you support or oppose wind and solar energy projects planned in the Mojave Desert and the Lake Isabella area?

Ramirez: It is important to explore alternative energy projects, but not at the expense of removing important farmland or disrupting the environment in various parts of Kern County. While wind and solar projects may make sense for some, we must keep continuously examine the size and scope of each project and how it affects the overall county. I would promote the county explore solar projects to offset the costs of operations, but I wouldn't mandate that the private sector do the same.

Stephens: Supervisors must take into account the needs of the county and the wishes of the citizens. When researching this topic, as of now I have found very little support for these energy projects in the mountains and in our deserts. If I was approached by a corporation requesting to install one of these types of alternative energy, I would personally respond to the proposed location to better educate myself with the citizens' concerns.

Holloway: I have nothing but respect for Lorelei Oviatt and the efforts she has incorporated in the Kern County Planning Department with red, yellow, green planning maps. I think it is a well-thought out, balanced approach and while I think all projects need to be evaluated individually on their own merit, I am generally supportive of both solar and wind energy as well as other alternative technologies like geothermal, biofuels and waste to energy. I think we have a unique advantage and we need to leverage it to our benefit. I do understand there is no plan for wind in Lake Isabella, solar may be another story.

Hess: I support responsible land use decisions when approving wind and solar projects. With those approvals the public needs to understand the possibility of new transmission infrastructure or upgrades to existing lines may follow. Renewable energy does not equate to lower rates. Many of these projects tout job creation; remember the majority of those jobs are temporary. I do not support taking productive agriculture land and turning it into an industrial use. We also need to be smart on projects around our military installations. All aspects of these projects must be vetted prior to approval.

Freeland: I support all forms of energy production including, but not limited to, oil, natural gas, wind and solar. It is critically important, however, that every project be planned and located in areas within the county that reduce potentially negative impacts, such as impacts to visual quality and excessive noise, especially near neighborhoods. County officials and energy developers must work closely with interested members of the public during the early stages of the planning process to identify viable mitigation measures and to gain acceptance of the project.

Carter-Escudero:

Each solar and wind project must be evaluated on a careful, case-by-case basis, I support these alternative energy projects "in concept" because they can bring long lasting benefit and further establish Kern County as an energy producer. However, we must be careful in balancing the benefit of any project against any possible negative impacts to the area.

Ashburn: Wind and solar energy projects in eastern Kern County can be a great benefit to our county. We can gain from alternative energy three ways: 1) Tax dollars generated; 2) Jobs created; and 3) New energy produced. Not all areas, however, are ideal or suitable for these energy projects. As with all land use projects, location and impacts on surrounding property must be considered.

Q: What is the top issue you hope to focus on if elected to the Board of Supervisors and why?

Ramirez: My time and energy as supervisor will be focused on JOBS, JOBS and more JOBS. Our county is positioned to be the center of growth. I would continue to promote our central location, easy access to rail and major freeways (Interstate 5, Highways 99 and 58), available land and a ready and willing workforce. I will work to recruit more employers like Paramount Citrus, Railex, etc. I recognize that government can't solve all our problems, but I also recognize that we can work on those problems that confront us all, and in this climate it is the need for JOBS and more JOBS.

Stephens: The citizens of Kern County have indicated to me that the top issues are jobs, efficient government and public safety. All three of these concerns are linked to each other. When the American workforce is thriving there are more employed individuals. The more people that are employed, the less likely they are to commit crimes because they do not want to lose their jobs. Employment opportunities can be created by having a more efficient and less intrusive government, which promotes the cycle of economic growth.

Holloway: I ran 14 years ago with an eye on diversifying our economic base. I think Kern County is poised to absolutely explode if we can rescind some of the regulations and restrictions preventing businesses from expanding and hiring. We must get people back to work and I think we have so much to offer. We are strangling our ag producers and the oil industry is still misunderstood but they will both have a champion with me. The Mojave spaceport and alternative energy remain bright spots of growth and must be supported. So economic diversity and expansion of the base will be my first priority.

Hess: District 1 is diverse and many issues overlap. At the forefront, is economic development. A strong private sector is the backbone of our communities. Public safety is at risk from the state's shifting of prisoners to county jails. The lack of infrastructure from roads to increased broadband capacity. Water is of grave concern to agriculture, recreation and future development. Lastly, we must protect our military bases from BRAC and encroachment. None of these issues can be resolved overnight. It will require collaboration with cities and elected officials, private-public partnerships, creative thinking along with community involvement. Together we can be successful.

Freeland: The number one issue in the county is the struggling economy. Therefore, I will focus my energy on protecting and improving the economic engines located within District 1. This includes assisting China Lake Naval Weapons Center through any proposed Base Realignment and Closure reviews to keep the base operating and growing, supporting tourism within the Kern River Valley, including helping the residents and businesses successfully through the Army Corps of Engineers' Lake Isabella Dam remediation project, and protecting the tremendous oil production and agricultural industry, including fighting for adequate and sustainable water delivery to the county.

Carter-Escudero: Because this district is so large, there cannot be a single focus. The top three issues are and will remain for the 1st District:

1) Bringing reliable water to Kern County farmers and residents.

2) Solving the immediate safety concerns for Isabella Lake Dam while preserving the region's economy and quality of life.

3) Assuring the future and growth of China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station.

These three priorities for the 1st District should also be priorities for the county, because the water issue directly affects our countywide unemployment, and the safety of Isabella Lake Dam should be a concern for all.

Ashburn: Jobs and economic growth are the top priority. Every regulation, rule, requirement, tax, assessment and fee will be scrutinized to make Kern County the most business-friendly, competitive county in California. While many of these mandates come down from the state or federal government, the way they are implemented is a decision at the local level. The county will do well, when the people in our county have jobs and hopeful futures. We have a bright future because of the wonderful people here, our abundant resources and the genius of the private sector. My role is to get government out of the way, so business can succeed and people can work.

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Goldberg Segalla hires two for London office

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24 May 2012

Law firm makes insurance hires from Riker Danzig London and Clyde & Co.

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Protip: Do Not Post A Pic Of A Pile Of Cash To Facebook

As tempting as it might seem, please do not upload a picture of a bunch of cash and then upload it to a social network. That's just dumb. But that's also what one 17-year-old Australian girl did only to have two robbers armed with a knife and a club show up at her house. The story goes that a 17-year-old girl was helping her grandma. Likely somewhere in between vacuuming and feather dusting, the two started counting money, and, as we all know, the elderly tend to keep a good sum of cash on hand. Apparently the 17-year-old snapped a picture of the pile which was likely fanned-out in the traditional gangster style. This girl then uploaded the picture to Facebook.

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Eaton's 10th title in Class 3A baseball comes with sigh of relief

GREELEY???If the time ever comes for Eaton baseball coach Jim Danley to retire, he should consider a second career in the insurance business.

Danley called upon seldom-used junior pitcher Adam Mossberg ? his "insurance policy" ? during the Class 3A championship game Saturday against Patriot League rival Brush.

And like a good righty, Mossberg was there. Mossberg did his job and helped guide the Reds to their 10th 3A state championship with a 6-4 victory over the Beetdiggers at Butch Butler Field.

"He has been one of those guys that is just a closer type," said Danley, whose team finished with a 23-4 record. "He has the mentality to be a closer and has been throwing better and better all the time."

Mossberg came in for Eaton in the third inning in relief of Brandon Koehler, who closed out Lamar in the first game 4-2 to advance to the title game.

After giving up a sacrifice fly to the first batter he faced ? Kyle Rosenbrock ? that tied the score at 1-1, Mossberg didn't allow a Beetdiggers hit until the sixth inning.

"He's getting his breaking pitch," Danley said, "and when you've got a pitch that will keep them off your fastball, at any level in baseball, you can close."

Mossberg gave up a three-run homer to Rosenbrock in the top of the seventh inning. But he shook off that blast and struck out the final two Brush hitters to complete Eaton's latest title.

"I was prepared for it, and I threw it all out on the table and things went my way today," said Mossberg, who was selected MVP of the championship game by The Denver Post. "That (home run) ball, sure it went a ways, but the next pitch is the next pitch."

The bottom half of the Brush lineup struggled throughout the tournament to get anything going, but Beetdiggers coach Mark Muniz knows he had his best lineup on the field.

"It's just something that wasn't there, and at times this season it was there," said Muniz, whose 18-8 team ended a 45-game losing streak to Eaton earlier in the tournament, a drought that spanned 21 years.

"We really had to go with what brought us here, and we had to work with those kids to try to get them to turn the lineup over," Muniz said.

All eight Eaton hits were singles. But the Reds, as they always do, capitalized on three Brush errors. Tyler Batt, Bryce Dyer and Keenan Hall had two hits each for Eaton.

Brush? 001 000 3 ? 4 8 3

Eaton? 100 131 x ? 6 8 1

Brush ? Mares p-ss 4-1-1-0, Garcia lf 3-1-2-0, Tormohlen 1b 4-1-2-0, Rosenbrock ss-p 3-1-1-4, Blake c 3-0-1-0, Hirschfeld dh 3-0-0-0, Soto rf 0-0-0-0, Petterson ph 1-0-0-0, Cardenas 2b 2-0-0-0, Munday 3b 3-0-1-0, Acosta cf 3-0-0-0. Totals 28-4-8-4.

Eaton ? Mondragon ss 3-0-0-1, Hager 2b 3-1-1-0, Batt c 3-0-2-0, R. Koehler cr 0-2-0-0, Abbott cf 4-0-1-1, B. Dyer 3b 3-1-2-1, Longwell lf 2-0-0-0, C. Dyer ph-1b 0-1-0-0, Lind dh 3-0-0-1, B. Koehler p 0-0-0-0, Mossberg p 0-0-0-0, Tedesco pr 0-0-0-0, Hall rf 2-1-2-2, Nelson 1b-lf 3-0-0-0. Totals 26-6-8-6.

E ? Blake, Mares, Munday; Mondragon. DP ? Brush 1, Eaton 1. LOB ? Brush 8, Eaton 10. 2B ? Garcia. HR ? Rosenbrock (two on in the 7th). Sac ? Rosenbrock; Mondragon. SB ? Hager, B. Dyer.

Batteries ? Mares, Rosenbrock (5) and Blake; B. Koehler, Mossberg (3) and Batt. W ? Mossberg. L ? Mares. HBP ? Cardenas (by B. Koehler in the 2nd); Lind (by Mares in the 5th); C. Dyer (by Rosenbrock in the 6th). Balk ? Mares. WP ? Mares. T ? 2:13.

Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354, jyunt@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JonEYunt

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Ferrari retirar? 56 autom?viles en China por defecto de fabricaci?n

Pek?n ? ?El fabricante de autom?viles de lujo Ferrari retirar? 56 veh?culos importados por un defecto de fabricaci?n detectado por la Administraci?n de Calidad, Supervisi?n, Inspecci?n y Cuarentena (AQSIQ), organismo que autoriza la entrada de este tipo de productos en el gigante asi?tico.

Seg?n anunci? la AQSIQ en su p?gina web, los veh?culos que deber? retirar la concesionaria de Shangh?i Ferrari ser?n 14 modelos Ferrari 458 Italia y California fabricados antes del 7 de octubre de 2011

Al parecer, el defecto se encuentra en la parte que conecta el motor del autom?vil con los pistones y gira impulsando el movimiento de rotaci?n de los pistones y que en ?ltimo lugar mueve las ruedas.

El error puede ocasionar mal funcionamiento, fallos o incluso accidentes, dijo la Administraci?n en su comunicado.

Otros 42 veh?culos importados de la misma marca de modelos fabricados antes del 5 de diciembre de 2011 ser?n tambi?n retirados de la circulaci?n por excesivo aceite en el circuito lubrificante originando residuos que pueden causar hasta la rotura de los cilindros.

Ferrari ofreci? sustituir gratuitamente los componentes defectuosos en los veh?culos.

En 2011, Ferrari retir? en China 56 veh?culos, 37 de ellos del modelo Quattroporte y 19 GranTurismo fabricados entre el 3 de julio de 2008 y el 30 de septiembre de 2011, debido a una barra de tracci?n defectuosa.

Los autom?viles de lujo tienen en China un gran mercado entre la juventud adinerada y Ferrari es uno de los favoritos.

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India seeks stronger Myanmar ties as PM visits

SITTWE, Myanmar (Reuters) - In northwest Myanmar, where the Kaladan River flows out into the Bay of Bengal, the two giant arms of a half-built wharf enfold the estuarine mud with steel and concrete.

Their embrace is fraternal - Myanmar's giant neighbor India is funding the new port in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State - but also strategic.

The port is part of a $214-million river and road network that will carve a trade route into India's landlocked northeast and underscore New Delhi's determination to capitalize on Myanmar's growing importance at Asia's crossroads.

Manmohan Singh will seek to bolster ties this week during the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Myanmar in 25 years. His official agenda includes road, rail, waterways and air links, says India's foreign ministry.

Unofficially, he must also overcome a history of bad blood with Myanmar, where Indian investments are already dwarfed by regional rival China.

The visit follows a year of dramatic reforms in which Myanmar has pulled back from China's powerful economic and political orbit and won a suspension of U.S. and European sanctions.

President Thein Sein's government has held peace talks with ethnic minority rebels, relaxed strict media censorship, allowed trade unions and protests and held a by-election dominated by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party.

As Myanmar emerges from decades of isolation, trade between the countries is already swelling. Myanmar's government expects two-way trade with India to nearly double in two years to $2 billion, from $1.4 billion in the year to March 30, a figure that was nearly 30 percent higher from the previous year, according to Myanmar's Ministry of Commerce.

India should be a natural partner, with ties stretching back to the ancient Buddhist emperor Ashoka and, more recently, a shared experience of British colonialism and World War Two.

But its business interests in the former Burma have been "few and far between" since the mass expulsion of Indian merchants after the military seized power in 1962, says Thant Myint-U, author of "Where China Meets India: Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia".

"Many in India remember all too well that this was the country that nationalized Indian businesses and expelled hundreds of thousands of ethnic Indians with literally nothing more than the shirts on their backs," he said.

One hopeful symbol of improved ties is Sittwe.

The two countries formally agreed on the so-called Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project in April 2008, just seven months after Myanmar's military junta crushed nationwide pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks.

Work began on Sittwe port in September 2010, shortly before the former military junta held a rigged election that brought to power a quasi-civilian but surprisingly reformist government.

Indian conglomerate Essar Group is building the port on 70,000 square meters (753,000 sq ft) of landfill in Sittwe's centre. It should be ready in two years, says Myanmar's Commerce Ministry, accommodating ships from the Indian city of Kolkata, a 539-km (334 mile) voyage away across the Bay of Bengal, and handling up to 500,000 tonnes a year.

From Sittwe, ships will sail up the Kaladan River to the town of Paletwa, where Essar will build a second, smaller port. A 122-km (76-mile) highway will connect Paletwa to the Indian state of Mizoram. The two ports and dredge work will cost $74 million. The highway will cost $140 million.

STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE

India is already Myanmar's third-biggest export market after Thailand and China. But Thant Myint-U plays down Myanmar's economic importance to India. "Myanmar is extremely important for India's northeast, but because the northeast itself rarely gets Delhi's attention, that in itself doesn't count for much."

However, New Delhi is acutely aware of Myanmar's strategic significance "because of China's increasing economic presence and anxiety about a possible future Chinese presence on the Bay of Bengal", he says.

Not far south of Sittwe, Chinese money is funding a bigger port and special economic zone in Kyaukphyu, a coastal town where Myanmar-China pipelines reach the Bay of Bengal, creating a passage from western China to South and Southeast Asia and allowing shipments of fuel and natural resources to avoid the Malacca Strait.

An Essar company official said "communication problems" had been a headache during the project, with Myanmar officials slow to provide information and language issues also a hurdle. The company, however, would consider further projects in the country, given they had already worked there.

"Business is all about relationships, and we have been meeting the right people," the official said.

A delegation of Indian business officials will join the prime minister on his visit, said an Indian Foreign Ministry official, adding that India was looking at setting up a special economic zone.

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was once lionised by New Delhi, which gave her the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Award in 1993 and Myanmar's dictatorship the cold shoulder.

But with growing investment in Myanmar by regional rival China, the world's biggest democracy has forged closer ties, inviting former dictator Senior General Than Shwe on an official state visit to India in 2004.

Three years later, after he presided over a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks, India was widely criticized for its muted response amid international outrage.

"Manmohan Singh has to do more than offer ports, bridges and roads, as the Chinese do," says Thant Myint-U. "Instead, he has to ... delve deeply into the very long history of cultural ties between the two countries and come up with a new vision for Indo-Burmese relations.

"The problem is that no one in Burma thinks of India when they think of the future."

Still, Myanmar expects to benefit from the Sittwe project, partly from jobs. Essar employs 600 local people on the Sittwe site, although it brought in most of its skilled workers and specialist construction equipment from India.

"This project is good for the northeast part of India and for Myanmar," Myanmar Industry Minister Soe Thein said in an interview with Reuters in the capital, Naypyitaw. "We can't do it ourselves due to the lack of budget and problems in our financial sector."

(Additional reporting by Satarupa Bhattacharjya, Anurag Kotoky and Frank Jack Daniel in New Delhi and Jason Szep in Naypyitaw; Editing by Robert Birsel)

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Are You Spending Too Much Time On E-mails? ? Sapience Blog

A large majority of employees today spend bulk of their time on PCs. They extensively use emails to share information. However, there is a growing realization that emails are one of the most inefficient activities at the workplace.

The CEO of a large global IT Services company has even banned emails for internal communication ? Read this:
Company ban on email gives employees a break, and maybe a different type of headache

There are many reasons why emails can become a wasteful activity for the company instead of a productive means of communication. Many of us keep the email pop-up enabled. This causes us to look at every incoming email. This continuous switching between one?s work and emails is highly inefficient. Emails are copied to more people than they need to, thus leading to an endless chain of replies that are going to people who don?t need to be on the email thread. Instead of reviewing and replying quickly to every email, it is often better to reply once others have expressed their opinions.

Is banning e-mails the solution? Not really. It is a powerful tool that has no superior substitute. The right approach is training employees on effective usage of emails. It will also be very useful to have a solution that automatically tracks time spent on e-mails during work hours. This will let us compare time spent on e-mails versus other core activities that are more important to accomplish one?s goals. Then one can optimize the e-mail time and keep it within reasonable bounds.
This is where Sapience can contribute. It records time on e-mails and other work related activities automatically for each person, enabling self-improvement. Managers can see activity break-up of work time for their teams, compare between them to see what optimal usage can be, and set improvement goals.

Write to us at sales@innovizetech.com? and find out how Sapience can boost your enterprise productivity.

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Personal loans

A car outside your house, a higher education for your child, an awesome marriage of your sister or daughter, is getting best treatment for your family member, purchasing jewellery for your spouse, buying a refrigerator, a microwave, a washing machine or a split AC or window AC and even payment of the pending bills of your credit cards. The person requires funds to possess or resolve these needs and ultimate the answer which the person gets from their mind, is to get the personal loan, which is an easy way to fulfill one?s needs.

The personal loan does not involve many problems, as it does not require any guarantor, any security and even not require any clarification, for why the customer going for the personal loan as the loan is an unsecured loan. Hence, one can use this loan for various purposes like for renovation purpose, for wedding purpose, for medical expenses, for higher education, etc.

How can one use the personal loan for any of his requirement?

For example, the person wants that his child go abroad for higher education and for that the person arranges funds, but one finds short of money at that time, from where one can arrange the funds, one can arrange it through the personal loan.

Personal loan helps the customer in meeting his urgent requirements.

If in case, the person wants to purchase the car,? but the person does not have an adequate amount then person can fulfill that requirement with the help of personal loan.

Personal loan also helps the customer in getting the house, as a person can get house with the help of home loan but, initially the customer himself has to do the down payment. What will customer do if the person does not have enough money to do down payment. In this case, personal loan plays the vital role. One can get the personal loan to do the down payment. Hence, personal loan is very useful to meet one?s requirement.

Although, these loans fulfill ones desire, but one should always remember, that personal loan is given on the income of the customer. Therefore, one should always check that no other loan running on his name, as the interest factor in personal loan is little higher, and one has to repay the loan amount within 60 months, as it will put the burden on his monthly finances and? can also affect upon his loan paying ability.

If the customer takes personal loan for doing the down payment of the home, it would impact upon his auto loan or home loan, as it adds to his expense.

Therefore, one should use the personal loan very carefully, as the interest rate is high. One should use it as the last resort in an emergency.

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? Pinterest marketing of the leading gurus in social media? Online ...

Austin, TX (PRWEB) May 25, 2012

With Pinterest marketing strategies is a hot topic, especially since the latest social media site is growing with record numbers of users. DigitalMarketer.com latest article said that it currently boasts 17.8 million users, and was the fastest standalone site to reach the 10 million mark in the history of the Internet.

Nine million of those monthly users also connect with Facebook, which every marketer knows a great forum for user interaction online. Pinterest is also staking a claim, the article says that offers businesses a new and exciting way to connect with their followers.

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Auctioned dinosaur skeleton smuggled?

A fossilized dinosaur that was once at the top of its food chain is now caught in the jaws of a legal battle over whether or not its remains can be sold in the United States.

The anonymous buyer who bid $1.1 million for the towering specimen Sunday in New York will not receive it if the courts decide it is the rightful property of Mongolia.

The president of Mongolia says the skeleton, which stands 8 feet tall and 24 feet long (2.4? by 7.3 meters), was almost certainly taken illegally out of his country. American and Mongolian paleontologists have supported President Elbegdorj Tsakhia's claim that this dinosaur, a species sometimes called Tyrannosaurus bataar, is from Mongolia, where these close relatives of the North American Tyrannosaurus rex are found. [ Up For Auction: A Natural History Gallery ]

What makes them certain?
To most scientists Tyrannosaurus bataar goes by a different name, Tarbosaurus bataar; but both are considered tyrannosaurs.

So far at least, the remains of tarbosaurs haven't shown up in many places. In fact, all fossils that can be positively identified as tarbosaur remains come from one spot in the Gobi Desert. [ Tyrannosaur vs. Tarbosaur: What's the Difference? ]

"The specimens we can clearly tell are tarbosaurus, and all of the nice material of Tarbosaurus, comes from a particular rock formation," said Lawrence Witmer, an anatomist and paleontologist at Ohio University. "So we all feel pretty confident this specimen almost certainly comes from Mongolia."

Witmer is referring to the Nemegt Formation, a rock formation in Mongolia's portion of the Gobi that dates back roughly 70 million years, to the Late Cretaceous Period.

Teeth found in China, Kazakhstan and possibly parts of Russia may belong to tarbosaurs but can't be conclusively identified, said Philip Currie, a paleontologist at the University of Alberta who studies Tarbosaurus and other tyrannosaurs.

Under Mongolian law, "items of historical, cultural or scientific value" found above or under the ground are property of the state.

"We want this dinosaur to go back to Mongolia, where it belongs; that is the sole purpose of this," said Mongolian paleontologist Bolorsetseg Minjin as she stood on the sidewalk with other protesters near the auction in Manhattan on Sunday.

Unusual finds
As the only clear source of Tarbosaurus fossils , the Nemegt Formation has been generous.

"It is a very unusual place in the sense that Tarbosaurus is disproportionately common," Currie told LiveScience, "which is a very interesting scientific problem of its own."

Tarbosaurus, like T. rex, occupied the top of the food chain. These "apex predators" are expected to be more scarce than the animals they eat. However, Tarbosaurus fossils make up about 50 percent of the dinosaur skeletons excavated from the formation.

The strangeness doesn't stop there. The skeleton auctioned May 20 was 75 percent complete, an impressive percentage in the world of dinosaur specimens, except for Tarbosaurus.

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In fact, a 75 percent complete skeleton is pretty standard for it, Currie said. "We have got some that are almost 90, 95 percent complete, and we have a lot of complete skulls."

About 30 nearly complete tarbosaurus specimens are held in museums, but based on the suspicious excavations he's seen in Mongolia, Currie estimates that at least twice as many could be on the illegal market.

On Wednesday, the Society for Vertebrate Paleontology, of which Currie is president, released a statement strongly condemning the sale of the dinosaur skeleton, as well as several other fossils sold at Sunday's auction. [ Smuggled? Other Auctioned Fossils ]

Mysterious sellers
The auctioneer, Heritage Auctions, has not identified the sellers of the dinosaur but said they "warranted in writing to Heritage that they hold clear title to the fossils."

Heritage declined to answer further questions for this story, releasing a statement: "Because of the complexity of the circumstances, our auction sale of the dinosaur was conditional on a resolution of the court case. We now are focused on working with the parties involved to try to achieve a fair and amicable resolution."

It appears the auction house had at least some knowledge of its origin. The auction catalog lists the specimen as coming from Central Asia, and in interviews, David Herskowitz, director of natural history at Heritage Auctions, identified its origin as the Gobi Desert, which stretches between Mongolia and China. An article in the British tabloid The Daily Mail quotes him as saying it came from Mongolia.

On Sunday, Heritage President Gregory Rohan pointed out that putting a specimen with questionable ownership in a major auction would make no sense.

"If there is a title problem, you go and sell it secretly to someone in a backroom for a suitcase full of cash. That is something we have nothing to do with," he said.

You can follow LiveSciencesenior writer Wynne Parry on Twitter @Wynne_Parry. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience? and on Facebook.

? 2012 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

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