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Compact desktop PCs offer an attractive option for users who want to save space without necessarily compromising performance. As the first Windows 8-equipped small-form-factor PC we've reviewed, the Giada i53 Mini PC ($680 direct, $780 as tested) is something of a mixed bag. On the plus side, it's a decent choice for a media center since it comes with a remote and can easily be hidden behind a TV. On the negative side, though, it offers a limited amount of port options and, more importantly, performs somewhat sluggishly compared to its peers. Overall, it's a decent system, but better choices in the same price range are worth exploring, especially for users who aren't too concerned with saving space.
Design and Features
Even by mini desktop standards, the i53 Mini PC is remarkably tiny. When stood upright on its detachable plastic stand, it measures a minute 7.6 by 1 by 6.1 inches (HWD), making it even smaller than the already tiny Polywell Poly i1000A-3770T, whose dimensions of 8.2 by 2.9 by 7.9 inches (HWD) had folks in the Labs confusing it for a router on numerous occasions. With roughly the same dimensions as a slim hardcover book, the i53 Mini PC is almost as small and light as its included remote, making it one of the few desktop PCs that you could actually misplace. Like the rest of its class, the i53 Mini PC can attribute its small size to the lack of an internal optical drive. That said, as one of the smallest systems that we've come across, it's an impressive feat of engineering. Like most mini desktop PCs, the i53 Mini PC offers very little room to accommodate any internal upgrades. Its memory, however, can be upgraded to a maximum of 8GB; since its 4GB of RAM is distributed in 2GB memory modules that occupy both of the motherboard's DIMM sockets, upgrading to the maximum 8GB will necessitate discarding some of the included memory.
The i53 Mini PC's sleek black plastic chassis comes in a glossy finish and sports a tastefully low-key black and white design on its sides that's complemented by a thin strip of silver on the front. Overall, it bears a subdued aesthetic, though one not quite as minimalist as that of the all-black Poly i1000A-3770T or the aluminum unibody found on the Apple Mac mini (Late 2012).
Port options on the i53 Mini PC are limited. A hinged door on the top of the system pops open to reveal the i53 Mini PC's sole USB 3.0 port, a card reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS Pro), and headphone and microphone jacks. The rear of the system, meanwhile, houses four USB 2.0 ports, a VGA output, an HDMI output, and an Ethernet jack. Given the scant amount of available real estate on the i53 Mini PC's chassis, it didn't come as a major surprise that the port options were so slim. That said, users who shuffle through multiple peripherals and don't mind a slightly larger system would be better served by either the Poly i1000A-3770T, which sports five USB 3.0 ports and an eSATA port, or the Mac mini (Late 2012), which has three USB 3.0 ports as well as a FireWire 800 port and a Thunderbolt port. The i53 Mini PC also features integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
Like the Polywell i2303 i5-2467M as well as the Poly i1000A-3770T and the Apple Mac mini, the i53 Mini PC doesn't come with a keyboard or a mouse. However, as mentioned earlier, it does come with a remote that is useful for PowerPoint presentations or for anyone who intends to utilize the i53 Mini PC as a media center. That said, a remote is hardly a substitute for a keyboard and mouse, and unless you already own them, you'll have to purchase them separately from the system.
The i53 Mini PC's 128GB solid state drive (SSD) comes with no preloaded software, so users can dive right into Windows 8 Professional right out of the box rather than having to uninstall bloatware or trialware. The Mini PC i53 also features Trusted Platform Module (TPM), which provides a basic level of encryption that small- to medium-sized businesses may find useful. The Mini PC i53 is covered by a two-year warranty.
Performance
Armed with a 1.70GHz Intel Core i5-3317U mobile CPU and 4GB RAM, the i53 Mini PC churned out semi-respectable numbers on our benchmark tests. Its PCMark 7 score of 4,337 points easily trumped the Apple Mac mini (Thunderbolt) (1,936 points) but fell short of the class-leading Polywell Poly i1000A-3770T (5,412 points). Likewise, although its Cinebench R11.5 score of 2.17 points surpassed that of the Poly i2303-2467M (1.94 points), it was nonetheless handily trumped by its peers, including the Apple Mac mini (Thunderbolt) (2.69 points) and, by an even wider margin, the Apple Mac mini (5.93 points) as well as the Poly i1000A-3770T (6.30 points). The i53 Mini PC's multimedia performance, meanwhile, fared relatively poorly compared to its peers. It completed our Handbrake video-encoding test in 1 minute 29 seconds, which was nearly three times longer than the Apple Mac mini (37 seconds). The same goes for its performance in our Photoshop CS6 test (5 minutes 21 seconds), which simply couldn't come anywhere near the Apple Mac mini (4:15).
Like the Apple Mac mini and the Poly i1000A-3770T, the i53 Mini PC sports an integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU, so don't expect to cross the 30 frames per second (fps) playability barrier in high-end games. Its performance in our Aliens vs. Predator benchmark tests (14 frames per second with medium-quality settings in 1,366-by-768 resolution; 5fps with maximum-quality in 1,920-by-1,080 resolution) confirms this notion. Likewise, although its frame rate in our Heaven benchmark tests (10fps with medium-quality settings in 1,366-by-768 resolution; 3fps with maximum-quality in 1,920-by-1,080 resolution) fell short of the Apple Mac mini (19fps and 12fps, respectively), both still failed to yield anything resembling playability. The i53 Mini PC's score on our 3DMark11 benchmark test (979 points in Entry-level settings), meanwhile, landed at the bottom of the pile, well behind the Poly i1000A-3770T (1,200 points) and the Apple Mac mini (Thunderbolt) (1,542 points).
The Giada i53 Mini PC is a decent system for users tight on space looking to perform basic computing tasks or who are interested in a system that can also double as a media center. However, better choices in the same price range are worth exploring, most notably our two Editors' Choices: for the Windows user, the Polywell Poly i1000A-3770T and, for the Mac user, the Apple Mac mini, both of which offer faster performance as well a slew of additional ports. As it stands, the i53 Mini PC's shortcomings are hardly unforgivable but are also easily avoidable.
BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:
COMPARISON TABLE Compare the Giada i53 Mini PC with several other desktops side by side.
More desktop reviews: ??? Giada i53 Mini PC ??? HP Pavilion P7-1235 ??? Vizio 24-inch All-in-One (CA24T-A4) ??? AVADirect Mini Gaming PC Core i5 Z77 ??? Apple Mac mini (Late 2012) ?? more
We'll start in a cornfield ? we'll call it an Iowa cornfield in late summer ? on a beautiful day. The corn is high. The air is shimmering. There's just one thing missing ? and it's a big thing...
...a very big thing, but I won't tell you what, not yet.
Instead, let's take a detour. We'll be back to the cornfield in a minute, but just to make things interesting, I'm going to leap halfway around the world to a public park near Cape Town, South Africa, where you will notice a cube, a metal cube, lying there in the grass.
That cube was put there by David Liittschwager, a portrait photographer, who spent a few years traveling the world, dropping one-cubic-foot metal frames into gardens, streams, parks, forests, oceans, and then photographing whatever, or whoever came through. Beetles, crickets, fish, spiders, worms, birds ? anything big enough to be seen by the naked eye he tried to capture and photograph. Here's what he found after 24 hours in his Cape Town cube:
There were 30 different plants in that one square foot of grass, and roughly 70 different insects. And the coolest part, said a researcher to the Guardian in Britain, "If we picked the cube up and walked 10 feet, we could get as much as 50 percent difference in plant species we encountered. If we moved it uphill, we might find none of the species." Populations changed drastically only a few feet away ? and that's not counting the fungi, microbes, and the itsy-bitsies that Liittschwager and his team couldn't see.
Another example: Here's a cube placed 100 feet off the ground, in the upper branches of a Strangler fig tree in Costa Rica. We're up in the air here, looking down into a valley.
What's up? More than 150 different plants and animals live in or passed through that one square foot of tree: birds, beetles, flies, moths, bugs, bugs, then more bugs...
E.O. Wilson, the Harvard biologist, in his introduction to David Liittschwager's book of these photographs, says that it's usually big animals that catch our attention. But if we get down on our knees and examine any small patch of ground, "gradually the smaller inhabitants, far more numerous, begin to eclipse them."
They are the critters that create and aerate the soil, that pollinate, that remove the clutter. And there are lots and lots and lots of them.
Getting Back To The Corn
Which brings me back to Iowa, where my NPR colleague, commentator and science writer Craig Childs, decided to have a little adventure. As he tells it in his new book, he recruited a friend, Angus, and together they agreed to spend two nights and three days ("We'll call it a long weekend") smack in the middle of a 600-acre farm in Grundy County. Their plan was to settle in amongst the stalks (there are an "estimated three trillion" of them in Iowa) to see what's living there, other than corn. In other words, a Liittschwager-like census.
Cornfields, however, are not like national parks or virgin forests. Corn farmers champion corn. Anything that might eat corn, hurt corn, bother corn, is killed. Their corn is bred to fight pests. The ground is sprayed. The stalks are sprayed again. So, like David, Craig wondered, "What will I find?"
Heather Nemec /iStockphoto
The answer amazed me. He found almost nothing. "I listened and heard nothing, no bird, no click of insect."
There were no bees. The air, the ground, seemed vacant. He found one ant "so small you couldn't pin it to a specimen board." A little later, crawling to a different row, he found one mushroom, "the size of an apple seed." (A relative of the one pictured below.) Then, later, a cobweb spider eating a crane fly (only one). A single red mite "the size of a dust mote hurrying across the barren earth," some grasshoppers, and that's it. Though he crawled and crawled, he found nothing else.
"It felt like another planet entirely," he said, a world denuded.
Yet, 100 years ago, these same fields, these prairies, were home to 300 species of plants, 60 mammals, 300 birds, hundreds and hundreds of insects. This soil was the richest, the loamiest in the state. And now, in these patches, there is almost literally nothing but one kind of living thing. We've erased everything else.
We need to feed our planet, of course. But we also need the teeny creatures that drive all life on earth. There's something strange about a farm that intentionally creates a biological desert to produce food for one species: us. It's efficient, yes. But it's so efficient that the ants are missing, the bees are missing, and even the birds stay away. Something's not right here. Our cornfields are too quiet.
David Liittschwager's book,called A World In One Cubic Foot is a photographic collection of all the plants and animals that turned up in his various cubes, as you see in my post. But the book takes you to many more places, coral reefs, streams, rivers, backyards. Craig Childs' account of his long weekend in the cornfield comes from his book, Apocalyptic Planet; Field Guide to the Everending Earth. Craig writes like a dream; he uses the cornfield as a metaphor for what a mass extinction might be like, where the Earth becomes "lots of one thing and not much of any other."
As an online business owner your success depends on the amount of targeted traffic that you manage to generate to your website. Link popularity is a term used to measure the number and quality of links to your website that happens when other websites link to yours. Focusing on building links to your website is where you need to concentrate your efforts.
There are a number of different methods that you can use to begin building back links to your website, but the majority of them take time and a certain amount of effort, and some of them can also be a pretty tedious and boring task to undertake. As long as search engines continue to rank your website by measuring the link popularity you will have to keep working on link building practices. Unfortunately it is not the kind of thing that you can do once and forget about it.
The good thing about building link popularity to your online business website is that it need not be difficult, as you can vary the tasks involved to make it more interesting to do. Here are some of the ways that you can get links to your site, keeping in mind that one way back links are superior to any other kind.
Commenting on other peoples? blogs or in forums is a good way to build links as you can usually add a link to your website within your signature. You can submit your website to the various search engines or you can do article marketing, which is in my opinion is one of the best and least boring ways of building link popularity to a website.
Admittedly it does take more time to write and submit articles to article directories than it takes to submit your website or comment in forums but the rewards can be so much greater when it is done correctly.
The secret to writing and submitting articles to get the links to your online business website is to do the job consistently. This can often be difficult for many internet marketers, but there is a solution and that is to outsource the writing of your articles to someone else. There are thousands of freelance article writers online and many of them can be found on websites such as Elance.com, but if you know your subject and your audience well then it is usually quicker and better to write your own articles.
If you decide that you would rather have someone else ghost write your articles then make sure that you supply them with the keywords you want them to focus on. In the beginning it is best to use keyword phrases which are less competitive as this will give you the opportunity of getting your website ranked more quickly. You can find good keywords to use by researching them using a tool like Google Adwords which is free to use. The more focused and relevant your keywords are the better the one way back links to your website will be.
You can develop your own article marketing strategy, but one way to do it is to write say five articles in one day, in other words make a day that you do nothing but write articles, and then trickle the submission to the various directories. If you are short of time there are some excellent article submission sites that will submit your articles for you and they will submit to hundreds of article directories. Some of them even have a service where they will trickle you articles so that they are spread out over a period of time to the different directories, and they also have the software for you to basically spin the article so that the same article appears differently in the various directories.
It is well worth investing in an article submitting service as they can do the job much more efficiently than you can yourself and it will save you many hours of boring labor. Another way to build link popularity to your online business website is by bookmarking your articles which will increase traffic to your site and improve the number of sales that you make.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks turned higher on Wednesday on investors' hopes that a compromise could be reached to avoid the "fiscal cliff" after comments from U.S. House Speaker John Boehner and President Barack Obama.
Shares of Costco Wholesale Corp jumped 5.5 percent to $101.81 after the retailer became the latest company to announce a special dividend in case taxes jump next year.
The market sharply pared losses in volatile late morning trading after Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, said he was optimistic that a deal on the "fiscal cliff" to avert large tax hikes and spending cuts could be reached. That helped reverse a slide of 1 percent.
Adding to the more positive tone, the president, speaking later in the day, said he hoped to get a deal done before Christmas.
For weeks now, the market has been swinging back and forth on headlines from Washington. Wednesday's gyrations served to once again highlight the extent that the impasse is affecting the market and the likelihood of more volatility to come.
"There's only one issue in front of the financial markets, and it's the debate on the fiscal cliff," said Jack De Gan, chief investment officer of Harbor Advisory Corp in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
"That's the only issue out there, and I think in the short term, there's not much that we can do other than watch, and try to anticipate what's going to happen."
One possible result of the deficit-reduction talks is a rise in the tax rate on dividends, prompting some companies to issue special dividends or move up plans for dividends.
The latest example is retailer Costco, which said it will pay a special dividend of roughly $3 billion to investors - the largest payout so far from any company ahead of a likely increase in the dividend tax. Costco also posted monthly same-store sales that beat forecasts. [ID:nL5E8MS8MP] Costco's stock hit an intraday high of $102.14, close to its 2012 high of $104.43 set on October 10.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 79.75 points, or 0.62 percent, to 12,957.88. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> rose 5.87 points, or 0.42 percent, to 1,404.81. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> added 9.04 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,976.83.
Knight Capital Group Inc shares jumped 14.1 percent to $3.39 on news that Getco LLC has sent a proposal for a merger between Getco and Knight Capital at a price of $3.39 per share, according to a regulatory filing.
Obama is meeting on Wednesday at the White House with chief executives from top corporations, including Goldman Sachs , Deloitte LLP and Caterpillar Inc, to discuss U.S. fiscal problems.
"While there's little that the president and vice president could do at today's meeting to improve moods in America's corner office, we still believe a legislative compromise will be reached before 'fiscal cliff' detonates," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer of BMO Private Bank, in Chicago.
"In the meantime, we expect daunting headlines and emotional market volatility."
On the earnings front, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc forecast quarterly and full-year earnings well ahead of analysts' expectations, helped by an expanded lineup of single-serve coffee makers and drinks. The company's stock surged 24 percent to $35.91.
The S&P 500's drop of 1 percent in the morning was partly caused by data that showed U.S. single-family home sales fell in October, casting a shadow over what has been one of the brighter spots in the U.S. economy.
Housing stocks fell after the data. The PHLX housing index <.hgx> slipped 0.5 percent. D.R. Horton Inc, the biggest U.S. home builder, fell 1.2 percent to $19.34.
(Reporting by Ed Krudy; Additional reporting by Gabriel Debenedetti; Editing by Jan Paschal)
Chicago Transit Authority President Forrest Claypool today proposed a $1.39 billion budget for 2013 that maintains current service levels, freezes base fares, and calls for modest reductions in discounts for CTA passes to bring them in line with other major U.S. cities.
The budget reflects a new, tentative labor agreement with the Amalgamated Transit Union Locals #241 and #308, which represent CTA bus and rail operators. The four-year tentative agreement slows the rate of growth in health care spending and emphasizes preventative care, among changes shaving approximately $50 million off the 2013 budget deficit. Agreements with a dozen other CTA unions resulted in similar changes contributing nearly $10 million toward deficit reduction.
But facing a $165 million shortfall for 2013, the CTA needed to take further steps to shore up its finances in both 2013 and beyond. Additional management reforms have paid off with tens of millions in savings, and modest reductions in pass discounts will balance the remainder of the budget and ensure future fiscal stability.
Base fares remain unchanged at $2 for bus and $2.25 for rail. The discounts for passes (3-day, 7-day and 30-day) will be reduced by $6, $5 and $14, respectively, but still will provide significant discounts to frequent users. The one-day pass, primarily used by tourists, will have its discount reduced by $4.25. CTA pass discounts are currently the second most generous of major U.S. cities. (See also: Chart, FAQ)
Discounts for CPS students will actually increase by 12 percent. To encourage school attendance, students currently paying 85 cents will only pay 75 cents.
?This is a sound, fair and forward-looking budget that protects taxpayers and will improve service throughout the CTA system,? said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. ?The CTA is the backbone of our transportation network, and I commend the labor unions and CTA leadership for working together to craft a budget that works for everyone in the city of Chicago. I look forward to the ongoing modernization and improvement of our public transportation system, which creates jobs in our neighborhoods and economic opportunity throughout the city.?
?Our management reforms have taken well over $50 million in costs out of the system and our labor partners have helped us bend the cost curve, ? Claypool said. ?These changes put the ?doomsday? budgets of the past behind us. We?re moving forward, and building a modern CTA on a strong fiscal footing,? Claypool said.
?Most importantly, we have protected the bus and rail service that our customers depend on every day while preserving and creating good-paying jobs.?
Changes to the labor contracts will allow the CTA to hire more tradesmen as well as additional customer assistants and bus and rail janitors, improving customer service and the cleanliness of facilities and vehicles.
Additionally, over the last 18 months Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the CTA have launched more than $2 billion in modernization projects, upgrading aging infrastructure and improving the customer experience.
The CTA has financed more transit police and built a sophisticated camera surveillance network that?s driven down crime. More than 100 rail stations have received facelifts; replacement of the bus and rail fleet is underway; and contracts have been let to eradicate slow zones. Work is under preparation for construction of a new railroad on Chicago?s south side. Better management has reduced absenteeism and workers compensation costs and a modern supply chain is nearly in place. New technologies, from Bus and Train Tracker to contactless media, are making CTA travel more convenient, safer, and efficient.
Ridership has increased significantly in the past 18 months, jumping by 5.3 percent or more than 27 million new rides.
These reforms are essential, particularly in light of the underfunding of the CTA under a 30-year-old state funding formula, which ignores both number of rides and ridership capacity. CTA provides 82 percent and 58 percent, respectively, in exchange for just 49 percent of state funding.
As part of state and federal mandates, the CTA also provides more than $100 million each year in free and heavily discounted rides. The state provides only $28 million to help offset the cost of its mandates.
Most significantly, the General Assembly in 2008 ? just before the Great Recession ground the economy to a halt?required immediate and fully-funded pension and health care trusts. Although new revenue was passed as part of the 2008 mandate, it fell $100 million short of covering the new costs. In 2013 alone, the CTA?s operating budget will grow by $32 million because of mandates from the 2008 legislation.
The 2013-2017 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) totals $2.8 billion, with projects designed to modernize aging CTA infrastructure, overhaul and replace fleet vehicles, and bring the system into a state of good repair.
This is the second consecutive budget under President Claypool that the CIP does not divert scarce capital funds to balance the operating budget, a move that would cause the delay or cancellation of other critical projects. From 2008 to 2011, the CTA borrowed $554 million, much of it in transfers from capital, to balance the operating budget.
The fight between Fox News and Foreign Policy reporter Tom Ricks has escalated, with Fox News claiming Ricks apologized off air for saying on air Monday that the network hyped the Benghazi attacks because "Fox was operating as a wing of the Republican Party." Ricks says no such apology happened.?
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When Fox anchor Jon Scott asked whether the deaths of four Americans was really "hype," Ricks suggested that Fox was certainly far more interested in these deaths than in others in war zones.
Ricks: How many security contractors died in Iraq do you know?
Scott: I don't.
Ricks: No, nobody does, because nobody cared.?We know that several hundred died but there was never an official count done.
Okay, sure. Ricks was sassy on live TV, but afterward, he was cowering, Fox News claims. The networks executive vice president for news editorial, Michael Clemente, told The Hollywood Reporter, "When Mr. Ricks ignored the anchor?s question, it became clear that his goal was to bring attention to himself -- and his book...?He apologized in our offices afterward but doesn?t have the strength of character to do that publicly."?
RELATED: Did Media Matters Push Fox News to the Left?
But Ricks has been pretty public in the not-quite-24-hours since the incident. "One reason I spoke the way I did is that the hero of my new book is George Marshall, the Army chief of staff during World War II," Ricks told The New York Times' Brian Stelter. "He got his position by speaking truth to power, and I try to follow that example." As for his supposed apology? Ricks told?THR, "Please ask Mr. Clemente what the words of my supposed apology were. I'd be interested to know... Frankly, I don't remember any such apology."
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Expect more zingers to come, because, as?The New York Times' David Carr explained in 2008, hell hath no fury like a Fox publicist scorned.
A global poll of more than 1,000 supply chain executives has revealed that Amazon?s supply chain is ?more admired? than Californian rival Apple on almost all major supply chain attributes.
The research, conducted by SCM World, asked 1,136 executives to rate the two companies on four supply chain attributes; agility, collaboration, execution and innovation. Amazon came out top on three of the four attributes, with Apple leading on innovation alone.
Over half of respondents (58 percent) said they admired Amazon most overall for the way it operates its Supply Chain, compared with 37 percent who picked Apple. Five percent of respondents said neither.
These survey results are a reversal of the findings by Gartner Supply Chain?s Top 25 for 2012, which ranked votes of 173 practitioners and considered companies? financial performance to place Apple first and Amazon second.
Kevin O'Marah, Head of Faculty at SCM World and co-author of a new report,?Apple and Amazon: Lessons for the Rest of Us, said: "The purpose of our research was to establish which of these two leading companies is most admired by the global supply chain community for the way it manages its supply chain, and to understand what lessons they have to teach other companies.
"The results show clearly that the majority of supply chain professionals believe that Amazon - and not Apple - is the master of supply chain excellence," added O'Marah, a former Group Vice President for Supply Chain at Gartner and co-creator, in 2004, of the (then AMR Research) Supply Chain Top 25 annual ranking.
Amazon and Apple are currently locked in a high-profile battle in the fast-growing market for tablet devices and the digital content consumed on them. The companies' rival products, the Kindle Fire and iPad, are expected to be among the hottest purchases this Christmas. ?
Stats breakdown
On?agility?(defined as the ability to quickly and cost-effectively shift amounts and/or types of production and delivery to improve operational performance in volatile conditions),?62%?of practitioners in SCM World's poll voted for Amazon, compared with?33%who picked Apple.
On?collaboration?(the ability to work across organisational boundaries to solve systemic operational problems and create new value for both customers and partners),?59%?chose Amazon, versus?31%?for Apple.
And on?execution?(the consistent and reliable delivery against commitments and within budgeted expenses), practitioners backed Amazon by?57%?to?38%.
However, Apple won hands down on the fourth key characteristic of supply chain excellence -?innovation?- taking a massive 78%?of the vote, compared with just?19%?for Amazon.
In 2011, as Illinois politicians redrew congressional district maps, they exercised a power grab that was intended to protect those already in office or even gain more seats for Democrats.
Officials split some of the state's growing Latino population between districts already represented by Democrats and those where they hoped to see Republicans lose. An incumbent Democrat like former Chicago-area Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. was supposed to have little problem holding a seat that for three decades has been held by an African-American. But in 2011, no one knew then that Jackson would spend a portion his term in seclusion trying to manage a mental illness. And no one knew that, after winning reelection earlier this month, Jackson would resign amid allegations of misappropriated campaign funds.
Now, with Jackson out and Illinois set to stage a special election in February, Jackson?s former district could end up being represented by a white Democrat from Chicago?s suburbs. And for the crowded field of mostly black candidates that have expressed interest in Jackson?s old job, winning support of Latino voters and at least a smattering of white voters may be the key to victory.
?Ironically, because of redistricting, what has long been a seat held by a black politician is going to require a black candidate that can bring together a kind of Barack Obama pan-ethnic coalition just to maintain the status quo,? said Laura Washington, a political consultant and former political science professor at De Paul University.
The situation in Chicago isn?t unique, political analysts say. In states such as California, Texas and Florida, black politicians who have long represented majority black districts have had to adapt their political messages and policy priorities to appeal to growing shares of Latino voters and push to have college towns and their legions of young, often liberal white voters drawn into their districts.
In the 1970s and 80s, political power struggles flared in cities around the country as whites decamped to the suburbs, said David Bositis, a senior political analyst at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. Minority voters were frequently divided among crowded fields of black candidates, leaving room for well-financed white candidates often backed by conservative business interests to win by narrow majorities, Bositis said.
That?s a pattern that dominated elections in cities like St. Louis for decades, according to Bositis. In the 1980s and 1990s, the number of black elected officials peaked in cities like Los Angeles. Then, in the 1990s and 2000s, cities like Baltimore and Gary, Ind. -- a city which was then about 90 percent black -- began to elect more liberal white politicians with substantial support from black voters. Black officeholders had to work harder to appeal to white liberals and, in the Dallas and Los Angeles areas, even fought to have them drawn into their once overwhelmingly black districts. Now, the growing presence of Latinos will likely spur a new political resort that begins with more politicians courting Latino voters and may later lead to an increase in Latino officeholders, Bositis said.
"But in a lot of places that?s still a ways off," Bositis said. "It?s not just about population numbers. Its also about age."
Half of the nation?s Latino population is under 25. By comparison, the median age for black Americans is 33, and for white Americans, that figure is 44. Since voters must be 18 to vote and young voters tend to be less reliable, those figures matter, Bositis said.
Jackson?s former congressional district is home to a population where about 71 percent of residents are black, 24 percent are white and 12 percent are Latino. About 54 percent of the district?s registered voters are black, giving them a slight majority.
In the week since Jackson announced that he would resign, as many as 15 different Chicago-area aldermen, state legislators, lawyers and others have indicated that they may be interested in the job.
?An open congressional seat is a rare thing,? said Dick Simpson, a political scientist at the University of Illinois Chicago who said he has been contacted by people interested in vying for the seat. ?It?s a lot harder to defeat an incumbent. So when you have a situation like this, you get candidates coming out of the woodwork. Everybody who ever wanted to serve in Congress thinks this is their moment.?
With the exception of Debbie Halvorson, a white former congresswoman from the suburbs south of Chicago, all of the potential candidates are black.
While there is ample evidence that black voters have long been willing to vote for white candidates and that white voters will support black candidates, voting patterns often track along race lines, according to Simpson.
Halvorson, an experienced candidate, will likely garner most of the white vote, some black and Latino votes and, therefore, has a better shot at earning a simple majority and winning the seat. But she will have to work for that coalition or lose it to another candidate, said Kevin Lampe, a political consultant who worked with Jackson to win his most recent campaign.
?Make no mistake, this election is not about city versus suburbs,? Lampe said. ?This election is about demography, not geography.?
Ever since "The Dark Knight," feature films have embraced the IMAX format more and more, incorporating the larger picture into the actual filmmaking process. One new twist on IMAX comes courtesy of Josh Hutcherson, who stopped by MTV News to give us the scoop on just how the bigger picture will play into "The Hunger [...]
Study finds alarming 15-fold increase in inflatable bouncer-related injuries among childrenPublic release date: 26-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Erin Pope Erin.Pope@NationwideChildrens.org 614-355-0495 Nationwide Children's Hospital
Researchers call for the development of national safety guidelines
A new study by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital examined pediatric injuries associated with inflatable bouncers, such as bounce houses and moonwalks. Researchers found that from 1995 to 2010 there was a 15-fold increase in the number of inflatable bouncer-related injuries that were treated in U.S. emergency departments among children younger than 18 years of age. In 2010 alone, more than 30 children per day, or about one child every 45 minutes, were treated in hospital emergency departments for injuries associated with inflatable bouncers.
The study, available online November 26, 2012 and published in the December 2012 print issue of Pediatrics, found that while fractures (28 percent) and strains or sprains (27 percent) were the most common types of injuries, approximately 1 in 5 injuries (19 percent) were to the head and neck, demonstrating that use of these products can pose serious risks. Falls (43 percent) were the most common cause of injury followed by stunts and collisions. The majority of the injuries occurred either in a recreational setting (44 percent) or at home (38 percent).
"The findings from this study show that there has been an alarming increase in the number of injuries from inflatable bouncers," said Gary A. Smith, MD, DrPH, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital. "It is time for us to take action to prevent these injuries. Ensuring that parents are aware of the potential risks, improving surveillance of the injuries, developing national safety guidelines and improving bouncer design are the first steps."
The study authors point out that the injury patterns for inflatable bouncers and trampolines are very similar, and although there are national safety guidelines for trampoline use, no such guidelines exist for inflatable bouncers.
"The medical and public health community has yet to provide recommendations on the safe use of inflatable bouncers," said Dr. Smith, also a professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. "The growing epidemic of inflatable bouncer injuries make it clear that it is time to do so."
Until national safety guidelines are in place, parents should consider the risks before allowing their child to use an inflatable bouncer. If parents allow their child to use an inflatable bouncer, they should consider limiting use to children 6 years of age and older, requiring that an adult be present to supervise while the bouncer is in use and allowing only one child on the bouncer at a time. If more than one child will be on the bouncer at the same time, the children should be approximately of the same age and size.
This is the first study to use a nationally representative sample to examine injuries associated with inflatable bouncer-related injuries that were treated in U.S. emergency departments. Data for this study were obtained from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), which is operated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The NEISS provides information on consumer product-related and sports and recreation-related injuries treated in hospital emergency departments across the country.
###
The Center for Injury Research and Policy (CIRP) of The Research Institute at Nationwide
Children's Hospital works globally to reduce injury-related pediatric death and disabilities. With innovative research at its core, CIRP works to continually improve the scientific understanding of the epidemiology, biomechanics, prevention, acute treatment and rehabilitation of injuries. CIRP serves as a pioneer by translating cutting edge injury research into education, policy, and advances in clinical care. For related injury prevention materials or to learn more about CIRP, visit http://www.injurycenter.org.
For more information on the Center for Injury Research and Policy, visit http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/injury-research-and-policy
For more information on Dr. Gary Smith, visit http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/gary-a-smith
For more information on The Research Institute, visit http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/pediatric-research
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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.
Study finds alarming 15-fold increase in inflatable bouncer-related injuries among childrenPublic release date: 26-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Erin Pope Erin.Pope@NationwideChildrens.org 614-355-0495 Nationwide Children's Hospital
Researchers call for the development of national safety guidelines
A new study by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital examined pediatric injuries associated with inflatable bouncers, such as bounce houses and moonwalks. Researchers found that from 1995 to 2010 there was a 15-fold increase in the number of inflatable bouncer-related injuries that were treated in U.S. emergency departments among children younger than 18 years of age. In 2010 alone, more than 30 children per day, or about one child every 45 minutes, were treated in hospital emergency departments for injuries associated with inflatable bouncers.
The study, available online November 26, 2012 and published in the December 2012 print issue of Pediatrics, found that while fractures (28 percent) and strains or sprains (27 percent) were the most common types of injuries, approximately 1 in 5 injuries (19 percent) were to the head and neck, demonstrating that use of these products can pose serious risks. Falls (43 percent) were the most common cause of injury followed by stunts and collisions. The majority of the injuries occurred either in a recreational setting (44 percent) or at home (38 percent).
"The findings from this study show that there has been an alarming increase in the number of injuries from inflatable bouncers," said Gary A. Smith, MD, DrPH, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital. "It is time for us to take action to prevent these injuries. Ensuring that parents are aware of the potential risks, improving surveillance of the injuries, developing national safety guidelines and improving bouncer design are the first steps."
The study authors point out that the injury patterns for inflatable bouncers and trampolines are very similar, and although there are national safety guidelines for trampoline use, no such guidelines exist for inflatable bouncers.
"The medical and public health community has yet to provide recommendations on the safe use of inflatable bouncers," said Dr. Smith, also a professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. "The growing epidemic of inflatable bouncer injuries make it clear that it is time to do so."
Until national safety guidelines are in place, parents should consider the risks before allowing their child to use an inflatable bouncer. If parents allow their child to use an inflatable bouncer, they should consider limiting use to children 6 years of age and older, requiring that an adult be present to supervise while the bouncer is in use and allowing only one child on the bouncer at a time. If more than one child will be on the bouncer at the same time, the children should be approximately of the same age and size.
This is the first study to use a nationally representative sample to examine injuries associated with inflatable bouncer-related injuries that were treated in U.S. emergency departments. Data for this study were obtained from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), which is operated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The NEISS provides information on consumer product-related and sports and recreation-related injuries treated in hospital emergency departments across the country.
###
The Center for Injury Research and Policy (CIRP) of The Research Institute at Nationwide
Children's Hospital works globally to reduce injury-related pediatric death and disabilities. With innovative research at its core, CIRP works to continually improve the scientific understanding of the epidemiology, biomechanics, prevention, acute treatment and rehabilitation of injuries. CIRP serves as a pioneer by translating cutting edge injury research into education, policy, and advances in clinical care. For related injury prevention materials or to learn more about CIRP, visit http://www.injurycenter.org.
For more information on the Center for Injury Research and Policy, visit http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/injury-research-and-policy
For more information on Dr. Gary Smith, visit http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/gary-a-smith
For more information on The Research Institute, visit http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/pediatric-research
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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.
Palestinian school children walk in the rubble left days after an Israeli strike destroyed the Hamas interior ministry in Gaza City, Monday, Nov. 26, 2012. Israel launched its offensive on Nov. 14 in a bid to halt months of Palestinian rocket attacks. It says it inflicted heavy damage on Gaza militants, but the territory's armed groups fired hundreds of rockets into Israel before a cease-fire was declared Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012.(AP Photo/Adel Hana)
Palestinian school children walk in the rubble left days after an Israeli strike destroyed the Hamas interior ministry in Gaza City, Monday, Nov. 26, 2012. Israel launched its offensive on Nov. 14 in a bid to halt months of Palestinian rocket attacks. It says it inflicted heavy damage on Gaza militants, but the territory's armed groups fired hundreds of rockets into Israel before a cease-fire was declared Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012.(AP Photo/Adel Hana)
A Palestinian schoolgirl is seen through a hole in a blackboard days after an Israeli strike hit a school in Gaza City, Monday, Nov. 26, 2012. Israel launched its offensive on Nov. 14 in a bid to halt months of Palestinian rocket attacks. It says it inflicted heavy damage on Gaza militants, but the territory's armed groups fired hundreds of rockets into Israel before a cease-fire was declared Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012.(AP Photo/Adel Hana)
JERUSALEM (AP) ? Israel and Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip began indirect talks Monday in Egypt aimed at forging a new era of relations between the bitter enemies following a cease-fire that ended the heaviest fighting in nearly four years.
The talks, being mediated by Egypt, were the first negotiations since the cease-fire took effect last Wednesday, halting eight days of airstrikes targeting militant groups in the Palestinian territory and rocket attacks that reached deep into Israel.
Israel launched some 1,500 airstrikes in a bid to end rocket attacks out of Gaza, while the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militant groups fired a similar number of rockets at Israeli cities. More than 160 Palestinians, including dozens of civilians were killed. Palestinian attacks killed Six Israelis, including four civilians and two soldiers.
Now that fighting has subsided, Egypt is working with the sides on carrying out the second phase of the agreement: negotiating new border arrangements for the impoverished coastal strip.
The negotiations will not be simple. The militants want Israel to lift what remains of its blockade of Gaza, imposed five years ago after Hamas seized control of the territory from its Western-backed rival Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. While Israel has eased the blockade in recent years, key restrictions remain in place on exports out of Gaza and the entry of badly needed building materials into the territory.
The Palestinians are hopeful that Egypt's new Islamist government will ease its own restrictions on movement in and out of the territory. Egypt still limits foot traffic through the Rafah border crossing. The militants also hope to turn the Rafah terminal into a major cargo crossing.
In return, Israel wants an end to arms smuggling into Gaza. Iranian-made weapons have made their way into Gaza through a circuitous route that ends with underground tunnels along the Egyptian border.
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the negotiations with the media, said Israel is prepared to take steps to help Gaza's civilians but would be wary of doing anything that could strengthen Hamas. In particular, he said the issue of arms smuggling would be high on the agenda.
"Our assessment is that successfully preventing the rearmament of Hamas and other groups is an integral element of maintaining long-term peace and quiet," the official said.
Yasser Othman, Egypt's top diplomat in the West Bank, confirmed the talks had begun.
Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas official in Gaza, said the group's economics minister, Ziad al-Zaza, was leading the Palestinian delegation. He gave no further details, and it was unclear whether any timeline was imposed for implementing the deal.
But militant leaders already have said they will not give up the vast arsenals they have accumulated. In the recent fighting, Hamas and Islamic Jihad unveiled new rockets capable of striking deep into the Israeli heartland, in addition to anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons.
In an interview Monday, Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shallah said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called him and Hamas' prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, to offer congratulations after their battle with Israel.
"Iran has been providing us with the support we needed to defend ourselves in the face of the Zionist occupation. Iran supported us militarily and financially and with everything we need to stand steadfast on our land," Shallah said. "We appreciate that and hope that all the Arab countries do the same."
He also said he hoped the latest fighting would inspire Palestinians in the West Bank to rise up against Israel as well.
Abbas, an outspoken critic of violence, has governed in the West Bank since Hamas overthrew his forces in Gaza in 2007. The rival governments repeatedly have failed to reconcile.
After four years of deadlock in peace efforts with Israel, Abbas this week is asking the United Nations to grant the Palestinians upgraded observer status and recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. The motion, largely symbolic, is expected to pass easily in the U.N. General Assembly.
In a statement, Hamas announced that its supreme leader, Khaled Mashaal, called Abbas to welcome the decision to go to the U.N.
Israeli officials ? backed by the Obama administration ? strongly oppose the move in the belief it is an attempt to bypass negotiations, but they have not said how they will respond.
___
Associated Press writers Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, and Mohammed Daraghmeh in Cairo contributed to this report.
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Posted on November 24th, 2012 by Reginald Bailly in Leadership
Steve Jobs at Stanford, 2005, via Facebook
As a mentor for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs, I talk to a fair number who may have a great vision and a strong engineering background, but have a negative interest in the role of public speaking in business. In fact, they often claim to be part of the survey group that fears public speaking more than death, but I?m not sure how anyone could validate that survey.
Beyond the fear, many really don?t get the value of being willing and able to communicate effectively with team members, investors, customers, and a myriad of other support people, both one-on-one and one-to-many. I?m not suggesting that all have to be on the professional speaker circuit to succeed, but let me assure you that public speaking is a required business skill.
Thus, if you are like me, with no real background or experience in public speaking, I encourage you to start early with some traditional training, like a Dale Carnegie course, or read a good book on the subject, like the one just released by successful businesswoman and speaker Jan Yager, Ph.D., ?The Fast Track Guide to Speaking in Public.? After that it?s practice, practice, practice.
Dr. Yager outlines in her book just a few of the reasons why an entrepreneur needs to overcome the fear, and master the art of speaking in public, and I?ve taken the liberty of adding a few occasions from my own business experience:
You need funding, and have to address a group of investors. As an investor, I sometimes see CEOs who negotiate to send their VP of Marketing to talk. Those requests will always be rejected, since investors invest in people, rather than ideas, and want to look the top decision maker in the eye and gauge their ability and conviction.
You have the opportunity to appear on a panel of experts. As a startup, you as the entrepreneur are the brand, the brand builder, and the major lead generator. You can?t afford to turn down the honor of being visible and showing your expertise, no matter how small the forum or indirect the role.
You are asked to explain your vision in a television interview. Believe me, talking in front of TV cameras requires all the skills of public speaking, and more. The implications to you and your company are also large, so be prepared. In her book, Jan devotes a whole chapter to speaking to the media, as a key aspect of public speaking.
As your company grows, you have to host customer seminars. You may think it?s too early to worry about this requirement, or you can hire professionals for customer user group meetings, but even meeting with your first potential customer will likely have a better outcome if you handle yourself like a professional public speaker.
You will be the key speaker at employee update and reward meetings. In a small startup, it may be cool to have a CEO who wears a hoodie and communicates via text messages. But it won?t be long before employees expect to hear and see their executives exercising the sensitivity and communication skills of other industry leaders.
Need to represent your company at industry association events. How you speak in public is even more important outside your company than inside. Your skills will be implicitly critiqued by industry analysts, potential strategic partners, your competitors, and the media. Their perception will determine the reality of your company and your career.
Dr. Yager asserts that being able to speak in public is one of the five key business skills that can make or break your company, whether you are a new startup or an entrepreneur who?s been around for many years. The other four are: new product development, writing, time management, and sales/marketing. Many would argue that Steve Jobs impact at Apple came more from his public speaking ability than the other four skills put together.
Fortunately, the ability to be an effective speaker is based on communication skills that can be taught. And with practice, you may find you are not just a good, but a terrific speaker. If you used to fear speaking, you may find yourself not just tolerating it but enjoying the experience as you understand the source of your fears and how to overcome those fears.
You can?t win as an entrepreneur working alone, and without speaking in public, just like you can?t build a business from your invention without good business skills. The good news is that both are learnable, so the earlier you start, the better prepared you will be when you need them most. For an entrepreneur, the need arises as soon as you have your initial idea. Are you there yet?
Don?t forget your furry family members this holiday season. After all, they deserve to receive something back for all that free unconditional love they give you throughout the year.
Here are some suggestions featuring items made in Oregon or Southwest Washington:
Wild Chewz antler dog chews: These dog chews from Bend-based Double E Pet Products are made from naturally shed deer and elk antlers and can last for months. Antlers are chemical-free, work well for dogs with allergy issues and promote good dental health. Cost: $6.75-$26.50 at Pets on Broadway; also available at wildchewz.com or pet stores throughout Oregon.
Digs brand dog beds: After trying unsuccessfully to find edgy, colorful beds for her pet dogs, designer JJ De Sousa decide to make her own. She found a line of U.S.-made, durable outdoor fabric, hired a local seamstress and began selling them just last month. Cost: $95 for an 18-by-24 inch version; $125 for a 24-by-36 inch version. The machine-washable beds are available at Digs Inside & Out, 1829 N.E. Alberta St. in Portland; digs-pdx.com.
Woodin? You cat posts:?The natural cat posts handcrafted by Vancouver-based company Woodin? You pet products are built with tree bark, carpet and sisal rope; salvaged cabinet doors collected at construction sites serve as bases. ?Bark is a good way for cats to shed their nails because they gravitate naturally to it,? says co-owner Amy Krcek. Prices range from $25 to $200. Products are available at?woodinu.com,?Green Dog Pet Supply?and other local pet stores.
Green Pet Gifts gift baskets: In June, local pet sitter Rebecca Pillsbury launched Green Pet Gifts, an online store featuring gift baskets for cats, dogs and their humans packed with locally and regionally produced treats and products. Prices range from $24.95 to $79.95 (Black Friday discounts offered this weekend). A fun option for hikers is the Outdoor Dog Lover Basket, which features a Cycle Dog bowl, Dogranola, Oregon hiking guide and more, $79.95. Purchase online at greenpetgifts.com.
Organic catnip slugs: Your cat soon will be addicted to these refillable catnip toys made with organic catnip tucked into fabric samples ?rescued? from local interior design firms. The toys are made by Trillium Artisans, a Portland-based nonprofit community economic development program for local crafters. Prices range from $4.75-$8.25; find them at the Trillium Artisans downtown pop-up shop, 318 S.W. Taylor,at Pets on Broadway,?Green Dog Pet Supply and Western Pet Supply, or?online at?trilliumartisans.org.
It?s already been a busy week in the NFL and we?re only three games into the schedule.
There are 13 more slated for Sunday and the 26 teams taking part have handed in their injury reports for the week. Thankfully, there are no cases of trauma induced by wishbones or Black Friday shopping on any of them.
We?ve got a roundup of what injuries are worth watching for all the games right here.
Vikings at Bears
It doesn?t look good for Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin. He didn?t do anything but stretch at Friday?s practice and he?s been listed as doubtful to make his return from an ankle injury. Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is waiting for clearance from an independent neurologist on Saturday. If he gets it he?ll almost certainly move from questionable to probable. Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery is out after having his knee scoped.
Raiders at Bengals
It?s another week without running back Darren McFadden, defensive tackle Richard Seymour and running back Mike Goodson for the Raiders. Running back Taiwan Jones is also questionable in the injury ravaged Oakland backfield. Wide receiver Andrew Hawkins and tight end Richard Quinn are doubtful for the otherwise healthy Bengals.
Steelers at Browns
Steelers quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich are out, leaving the job to Charlie Batch. Tackle Marcus Gilbert and wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery have also been ruled out by Pittsburgh. Safety Troy Polamalu is doubtful after a long-awaited, limited return to practice on Friday and wide receiver Antonio Brown is questionable. Cornerback Joe Haden plans to play for the Browns, who ruled out cornerback Dimitri Patterson and safety Raymond Ventrone.
Bills at Colts
There are 16 probable Bills, including running backs Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller. Spiller?s getting the start on Sunday, though. The Colts could get tight end Coby Fleener back after the rookie was listed as questionable, but cornerback Vontae Davis is likely to miss his fourth straight game after drawing a doubtful tag.
Titans at Jaguars
The Titans have a group of questionable players, although none of them play major roles for the team. Running backs Maurice Jones-Drew and Greg Jones will miss another Jaguars game. Safety Dwight Lowery and cornerback Rashean Mathis could return after landing questionable designations.
Broncos at Chiefs
With cornerback Tracy Porter cleared to return, the Broncos are light on injury issues to watch. The Chiefs may be soliciting volunteers on the offensive line with tackle Branden Albert doubtful and guards Jon Asamoah and Ryan Lilja questionable for Sunday. Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe is probable, however.
Seahawks at Dolphins
Seven Seahawks are probable, including running back Marshawn Lynch, and all are expected to be healthy enough to play. The Dolphins are in pretty much the same shape, outside of tagging linebacker Austin Spitler as questionable.
Falcons at Buccaneers
Wide receiver Julio Jones, cornerback Asante Samuel and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon are listed as questionable for the Falcons, although all three players were able to practice this week. Safety Charles Mitchell is out. The Buccaneers don?t have much to report on their injury report. Safety Cody Grimm is out and cornerback Eric Wright is questionable with an Achilles injury.
Ravens at Chargers
Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith will miss another game after sports hernia surgery. Cornerback Chris Johnson is doubtful, defensive end Pernell McPhee is questionable and 13 Ravens are probable on an injury report made more comprehensive following their fine for not reporting safety Ed Reed?s shoulder injury. The Chargers hope to get defensive tackle Aubrayo Franklin back this week as he?s listed as questionable after missing last week?s loss to the Broncos. Linebacker Larry English and wide receiver Eddie Royal are out, while guard Tyronne Green and tight end Dante Rosario are doubtful.
Rams at Cardinals
Linebacker Mario Haggan is out for Arizona and wide receiver Danny Amendola is doubtful after missing practice all week with an injured foot. Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb is questionable, but rookie Ryan Lindley gets the start for Arizona. Defensive end Calais Campbell and running back LaRod Stephens-Howling are both questionable while running back Beanie Wells is probable to make his return from a stint on injured reserve.
49ers at Saints
The 49ers aren?t saying who will start for them at quarterback, which makes Alex Smith doubly questionable. New Orleans could be in trouble at right tackle with Charles Brown out and Zach Strief questionable. Defensive end Junior Galette and cornerbacks Elbert Mack and Corey White have been ruled out.
Packers at Giants
Linebacker Clay Matthews, safety Charles Woodson, cornerback Sam Shields and linebacker Terrell Manning are all out for the Packers. Wide receiver Greg Jennings is questionable after making a return from a torn abdominal muscle at practice this week. The Giants have ruled out wide receiver Domenik Hixon and linebacker Jacquian Williams. Safety Kenny Phillps is questionable, although he has predicted a return to action this week.
The identification, qualification and management of threats associated with business travel are not limited to physical dangers. Comprehensive travel risk management includes mental health issues that may present as a result of single or repeated exposure to situations that negatively impact the traveller. In this article, we get a legal overview of the considerations when managing mental health issues.
The following is provided by?Kim Packer, solicitor and practicing lawyer (also holding a degree in?psychology) at Beck Legal
Employers? obligations to their employees are in a constant state of flux. The rules seem to keep changing and it can seem like the balance of power swings in favour of the employees for small business operators, who have neither the time nor the resources to continually change their processes and policies to keep up to date with the latest legislative changes.
As all employers would be aware, there is an overriding obligation to create a safe and healthy workplace for their employees. This means taking appropriate steps to eliminate and minimise health and safety risks for all employees. However, this duty no longer applies solely to physical safety, but now also extends to mental health. Employers are now required to identify possible workplace practices, action or incidents which may cause or contribute to mental illness and take action to eliminate or minimise these risks. There is case law which supports the proposition that an ?unhealthy? work environment or work place incident can cause significant stress which can cause or contribute to a predisposition towards developing a mental illness. This does not mean that all work-related stress results in a mental illness. The Courts, however, accept that work-related stress over long, continuous periods of time and inadequate support or counseling for employees is a precursor to work-related mental illness.
Employers not only have duties imposed under the workplace heath and safety regime but also have additional obligations to ensure that an employee with a mental illness is not discriminated against or harassed because of their mental illness. An employer has a positive obligation to make reasonable adjustments to its workplace practices to meet the needs of workers with mental illness, to ensure that not only do they feel supported in their role but also that their mental illness is not exacerbated.
This all sounds like more work for the long-suffering employer but it needs to be viewed from the perspective of the benefits it can and will have for employers in the long run. The ABS statistics from the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: 2007 show that around 45% of Australian aged between 16 and 85 will experience a mental illness at some point in their life, while 1 in 5 Australian adults will experience a mental illness in any given year. This means that the majority of working Australians are at risk of developing a mental illness during their working lives. This is reflected in the courts by over 50% of all claims for psychological injury arising from work-related stress, costing over $10 billion each year in workers? compensation claims. From the employers? perspective, it is suggested that Australian businesses may lose in excess of $6.5 billion each year by failing to provide early intervention or treatment for employees with mental health issues.
Employees also have obligations to take reasonable care for their own mental health in the workplace and it can sometimes be a challenging balancing act for employers in a situation where the employee does not appear to be meeting its own obligations in this regard, to the detriment of the entire workforce and not run foul of anti-discrimination and harassment legislation.
Written by Kim Packer, Solicitor and practicing lawyer also with a psychology degree at Beck Legal
Armed with a 1.70GHz Intel Core i5-3317U mobile CPU and 4GB RAM, the i53 Mini PC churned out semi-respectable numbers on our benchmark tests. Its PCMark 7 score of 4,337 points easily trumped the Apple Mac mini (Thunderbolt) (1,936 points) but fell short of the class-leading Polywell Poly i1000A-3770T (5,412 points). Likewise, although its Cinebench R11.5 score of 2.17 points surpassed that of the Poly i2303-2467M (1.94 points), it was nonetheless handily trumped by its peers, including the Apple Mac mini (Thunderbolt) (2.69 points) and, by an even wider margin, the Apple Mac mini (5.93 points) as well as the Poly i1000A-3770T (6.30 points). The i53 Mini PC's multimedia performance, meanwhile, fared relatively poorly compared to its peers. It completed our Handbrake video-encoding test in 1 minute 29 seconds, which was nearly three times longer than the Apple Mac mini (37 seconds). The same goes for its performance in our Photoshop CS6 test (5 minutes 21 seconds), which simply couldn't come anywhere near the Apple Mac mini (4:15).
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Public release date: 26-Nov-2012
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