text:
Counselling - New Headington
Find a Counsellor or Psychotherapist within the area of New Headington
Headington is a suburb of Oxford, England. It is at the top of Headington Hill overlooking the city in the Thames Valley below. The life of the large residential area is centred upon London Road, the main road between London and Oxford. Wikipedia
Hope Therapy & Mindfulness Services
Wantage, Oxfordshire, OX12 9ES Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, WD3 1BA Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, LU7 9GG
07379 538411
Hope Therapy offers Mental Health and Wellbeing Support throughout the UK. We specialise primarily in Depression, Stress Management (either work or home-based), Anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder, [...]Distance: 14.57 miles.
Jayne Wright- Counsellor & Psychotherapist Oxford OX3
Oxford, Staffordshire, OX3
There are many reasons why people choose to come to counselling. It maybe that they want to be able to express and understand their [...]Distance: 1.11 miles.
Emotional Healing
Oxford, Staffordshire, OX4 2HS
01865 712038
In my practice of Emotional Healing, I offer counselling and/or essences to help you heal the wounds of the past, so that they no [...]Distance: 1.25 miles.
Colchester, Essex, c05 9ae
ONLINE LIFE AND PERFORMANCE COACH AND MINDSET STRATEGIST OFFERING FACE2FACE, SKYPE, MOBILE, EMAIL, LIFE COACHING AND COUNSELLING SERVICES HELPING PEOPLE WHO ARE STUCK GET UNSTUCK. Get Unstuck: [...]Distance: 1.58 miles.
Dr Paul Castell – Iffley Counselling Practice
Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX4 4ED
I am an experienced counsellor/psychotherapist and supervisor. I offer genuine, respectful, non-judgmental listening to people who would like to explore their life - past, [...]Distance: 1.91 miles.
Claudia Voss – Central Oxford OX1, Counselling and Therapy
Oxfordshire, OX1
I recognise that people come to therapy for a variety of different reasons and want different things. My approach has a holistic outlook in [...]Distance: 2.04 miles.
Counselling Oxford
Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX2 7JL
Counselling, psychotherapy, coaching and couples counselling in Oxford. I can help you with specific issues you are dealing with, or to achieve a specific [...]Distance: 2.77 miles.
In-process Psychotherapy
Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, OX14 4AJ
Offering mindfulness based depth psychotherapy in Abingdon and Oxford. We come to therapy when something is too painful to bear. A crisis: loss, death, a [...]Distance: 6.71 miles.
Kim Mole Integrative Counsellor (MBACP)
Oakley, Buckinghamshire, HP18 9QJ
I have extensive experience supporting adults, young people and children in various settings. I have in excess of nine years experience working with addictions [...]Distance: 6.76 miles.
Counselling in Wallingford & Warborough
Warborough, Oxfordshire, OX10 7DT
The counselling relationship that I offer is empathic and non-judgemental, creating an environment in which deep grievances may be heard and processed which encourages [...]Distance: 8.84 miles.
Marcia Haley Psychotherapy & Counselling
Thame, Oxfordshire, OX9 2DQ
I am counsellor, psychotherapist, consultant and trainer providing psychotherapy & counselling in Oxfordshire. In my career of over 30 years, I have provided professional [...]Distance: 9.67 miles.
Heidi Misseldine Therapy
Thame, Oxfordshire, OX9 3AJ
07513 230911
About me I am an integrative counsellor and registered member of the BACP. My aim Is to offer a warm, confidential, safe space for us to work [...]Distance: 9.86 miles.
Yvonne Dixon
Bicester, Oxfordshire, OX26 6BL
01869 242311
About this Service I have worked privately and in charitable sector, chaplaincy, prison and probation settings. I work flexibly exploring family constellations, early recollections and [...]Distance: 9.93 miles.
Advance Therapy
Bicester, Oxfordshire, OX266XF
Advance Therapy offers counselling and psychotherpay in a secure and confidential setting based in Oxfordshire.Distance: 9.94 miles.
Ambient Mind
Thame, Oxfordshire, OX 9 3TA
Welcome, I'm Steph Beever an experienced Barnsley based holistic therapist, teacher and life coach. From my Wilthorpe treatment room I offer relaxed and confidential [...]Distance: 10.23 miles.
Counselling in Didcot
Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX118HN
I have over 20 years of experience working with people from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences. In my current private practice I [...]Distance: 10.69 miles.
Counselling in Didcot and Oxford
Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 8HN
I have over 20 years of experience as a counsellor and therapist, with people from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences. I have [...]Distance: 10.77 miles.
Wilf Hashimi – Counsellor / Psychotherapist / Supervisor
Wantage, Oxfordshire, OX12 7HQ
07866 360 835
I am an experienced, fully qualified counsellor and psychotherapist accredited by the BACP, and registered with the UKCP. I have worked within the NHS, [...]Distance: 14.14 miles.
Helen Decardi-Nelson, Counsellor
Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9
0795 8263829
Helping you to understand, change and grow. I am an Integrative Counsellor with experience counselling adults, children and young people. I am based in Nettlebed, Henley-on-Thames. I am a [...]Distance: 15.65 miles.
Wychwood Therapy
Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, OX7 6AE
07950 631237
I work as a transactional analyst, a humanist approach, which is versatile and adaptable to your needs. I work with depression, low mood and [...]Distance: 16.94 miles.


text:
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text:
The R-C Morning Report
After 32 years of advising the Town of Minden, attorney George Keele is retiring from the town's service. He will continue his private practice, he told Minden Town Board members on Wednesday night.
County commissioners have a busy day today with bids to be awarded for the Community & Senior Center and for Genoa's downtown landscaping, reports from the Nevada State Health Division and on the traffic signal at Highway 395 and Airport Road, and discussion of future implementation of availability charges for county water and sewer funds. The meeting starts at 1 p.m. at the Douglas County Administrative Center, 1616 Eighth St., Minden. The meeting times out at 3 hours, 25 minutes.
We'll see the high temperature this morning as a cold front rolls through Western Nevada. The National Weather Service is forecasting snow starting late this afternoon and continuing into the night. We could see up to 2 inches of snow, but we will see colder temperatures. Today's high is expected to hit 46 degrees. The wind will pick up this afternoon.


text:
Ethiopian Commodity Exchange Authority
Currently, there is no content with this tag.
Latest News
The free STiR newsletter is sent twice each month with news updates, important information and upcoming events.
Point of View:
Optimism, Practicality, and Dissent
These days, the news from the world of coffee and tea is difficult, at best, but this issue brings us some hopeful stories, including Dan Bolton's feature on tea retailers successfully pivoting to online sales


text:
Despite the rain and impending weekend, the jewelry industry came out in full force Friday night to fete the Jewelry Information Center's 11th annual Gem Awards gala.
Held here at Cipriani 42nd street, the event paid homage to designer Ippolita, journalist Stellene Volandes of Town & Country and Matthew Runci, former president and chief executive officer of Jewelers of America.
A love of jewelry and passion for the industry was the theme of the rather rapidly moving night.
First up was Town & Country style director Volandes, who accepted the first award as appetizers—a scallop, asparagus and mushroom salad—were served.
Volandes thanked the industry for the extensive "education" she's received covering the jewelry beat for ten years, first at Departures Magazine under Richard Story.
"Jewelry makes a lot of people very, very happy, so here's to that," she said.
Next up was jeweler Ippolita, who was introduced by longtime friend Brooke Shields. The actress drew chuckles when she did her best impression of the Italian-born designer's passionate way of speaking.
"She went to the Instituto D'Arte" Shields said emphasizing the pronunciation. "She's really an artist at her core…She empowers women."
Ippolita bounded to the stage, thanking her team, adding: "I feel like I'm very dedicated to the idea that art matters," the designer said.
Just after dinner had been cleared, roughly an hour after guests took their seats, Susan Jacques, president and ceo of Borsheims fine jewelry and gifts presented Matt Runci with a lifetime achievement award.
Jacques' detailed account of Runci's impressive resume, which included playing a major role in the Kimberly Process and a stint as a former college professor, incited cheers and a standing ovation when Runci strode onstage to accept his award.
In a brief, yet inspiring speech, the exec offered the audience three major tenants that have guided his career.
"One, integrity means everything. Without it the value of your achievements can best be fleeting, " Runci said. Number two, believe in the value that you personally bring to the table. If you don't how can you possibly expect others to do so. Three if something is worth doing. It's worth doing as well as it can be done. Half an effort will likely deal you have of the result."


text:
The way to locate full-text articles depends on how much detail you have about the item. Start by clicking in the United Search box on the Library homepage.
If you have an e-journal citation, from the Library homepage, click "E-journal" to get started. Type the journal title in the box.
If we have an online version of the journal, the title will be listed with the years of electronic coverage.
- In the event that we do not have electronic coverage, click "Try the Library Catalog" button to see if we have it in print in the Library.
- Journal title results are shown with links to the years of coverage. Choose the link to Journal button that matches the year of your citation.
Getting to Full-Text from Library Databases
From inside most Library Databases, when working on an article search for a topic, you will see buttons that say HSCLink. These buttons connect you to the Library's e-journal system.
Things to remember
If you need help finding library materials, contact Askalibrarian, call (210) 567-2450, or come by the library.
To login from off campus, use your domain username/password. Give the library a call if you encounter any problems or errors with the log in process.


text:
Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) is a German health insurance company and a partner of ESN Germany. TK offers health insurance, which is mandatory for studying in Germany, for international students and guiding information in at least German and English to get healthily through the stay abroad.
TK also offers cooperation in your local town - as a partner for the local section and for the local students. If you have questions about health insurance and health in general, you are welcome to reach out. If you have questions about the cooperation, just contact the National Board.


text:
'Raw processor benchmark results were in line with other devices with similar specs, and heavy games like Asphalt 8: Airborne played smoothly. '
'The IPS-based LCD screen is sharp, rich, colourful, responsive, bright... and some other good things we can't quite recall right now.'
'Its one-piece uni-body shell feels nice in the hand with its soft matt finish (some colours of the 1520 have a glossy finish).'
'We don't say this often but it feels exactly right with ideally weighted balance in the hand and enough heft to feel sturdy while still being light enough to read when comfortably above your face in bed.'
'wide viewing angles'
'the screen is larger without making the phone bigger.'
'The phone is available in your choice of white or black with faux chrome trim, and I think the visual and textural treatment looks nice.'
'It's a very sharp display, and even tiny text has superb clarity. '
'The LG G2's display is very bright, and it's certainly very readable in bright daylight.'
'Text on the G2 looks incredibly sharp, and it makes for a really great viewing experience.'
'It's thin enough to fit into your pocket without too much fuss. .'
'The display remains cool to the touch.'
'Updated with Motorola's newest Mobile Computing System, which is comprised out of a natural language processor, contextual computing chip, and a quad-core 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 SoC coupled with 2GB of RAM, we're seriously impressed by the Moto X's super snappy responsiveness. '
'However, sharpness is slightly disappointing at the resolution, with less fine detail in evidence than the best 8-megapixel phones. '
'With normal use, we could picture most people getting an entire day's life without any battery-saving adjustments. '
Google and Moto almost made a truly standout Android phone
'The Z30 is arguably the best BlackBerry to date, but it's devoid of any truly unique features that might draw fans from the other side of the fence.'
'The BlackBerry Z30 is a great phone for messaging, whether it's through SMS, email, Whatsapp, BBM or Facebook Messenger. '
'The good news is that the Z30 is unquestionably the best touchscreen BlackBerry to date. '
'The app ecosystem needs to be more advanced.'
'Nice aluminum design.'
'Fingerprint scanner's location makes it difficult not to swipe the camera lens.'
'excellent display and stellar battery life'
'As with the regular HTC One, image quality is incredibly sharp, while brightness, colour and contrast are all excellent.'
Wireless charging capabilities
Free with contract, Pleasing size
Low price, Solid performance
You won't get a top-tier display or camera, but it's a good value
Nice big screen, a large battery
Attractive appearance
Good price, Fast performance, World phone
Abysmal battery life, Runs older Android OS
LTE speeds, and great call quality
Affordable price point
Fast Internet speeds
Elegant, latest WP8 OS
Big eye-popping screen and luxurious design
Outstanding battery life
Fast processor and data speeds
Colors are vibrant and the 1,280-by-720 pixel resolution is sharp
ReviewGist helps you find the best products to buy by making sense of online reviews.
We are currently aggregating 376,500 reviews
covering over 29,474 products.
© 2020 ReviewGist.com. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Mirena IUD Lawyers Offer Free Case Review for Patients Suffering Serious Injuries as a Result of Mirena IUD Problems Including Perforation and Embedment
Mirena FDA Warning Outlines False Claims Made by Bayer Pharmaceutical
The Mirena IUD is an intrauterine contraceptive device that releases the hormone progestogen. Mirena IUD is highly effective at preventing pregnancy, but is accompanied by a host of serious Mirena side effects. Stopping short of a Mirena IUD recall, the FDA has issued multiple warnings to Bayer, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures Mirena, in regards to false advertising claims and failing to mention Mirena IUD side effects. The FDA's Adverse Events Reporting program received approximately 45,000 Mirena IUD side effect complaints between 2006 and 2012.
Among the most severe Mirena side effects are perforation, a condition in which the Mirena IUD device pushes through the uterus, and embedment, in which the Mirena IUD attaches to the uterine wall. These conditions can result in damage to internal organs and can cause internal scarring and infection. In both of these severe Mirena IUD side effects, surgery may be required to remove the Mirena from the uterus. Other severe Mirena side effects include ectopic pregnancy, infertility and death.
Mirena IUD Lawyers Represent Women Who Have Suffered From Mirena IUD Side Effects
Mirena IUDs are marketed to women of childbearing age who already have at least one child. Appealing to the sensibility of a busy mom, Bayer's Mirena IUD advertising campaign presents the device as a way to keep life simple. However, the FDA Mirena warnings have pointed out that on multiple occasions Bayer has made false claims regarding the efficacy of Mirena. Specifically, the FDA Mirena warning asserted that Mirena IUD advertisements used in promotional events and published online imply that using a Mirena IUD leads to increased intimacy, romance and connection with one's partner. The advertising materials also claim that Mirena will make a woman "look and feel great". The FDA Mirena warning points out that contrary to these claims, 5% of patients using Mirena in a clinical study reported the Mirena side effect of decreased libido, and the long list of other Mirena side effects includes heavy bleeding, increased cramping, intestinal bleeding and spotting, abdominal and pelvic pain, ovarian cysts, headache, acne, depression, breast tenderness and IUD expulsion as other Mirena side effects that would prevent a woman from looking and feeling great. For failing to adequately warn consumers of Miruna IUD side effects, the FDA Mirena warning states the advertising material, "misbrands the drug in violation of the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act". The FDA Mirena warning asks that Bayer, "immediately cease the dissemination of violative promotional materials for Mirena."
Women who have experienced serious Mirena IUD side effects including perforation of the device through the uterus, embedment of Mirena IUD in the myometrium, ectopic pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility or other Mirena IUD problems may have grounds to file a Mirena IUD lawsuit against Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals of New Jersey. Mirena IUD lawsuits that have already been filed assert that patients were not made aware of the serious Mirena IUD side effects associated with the device. Mirena IUD lawsuits seek to recover damages for medical bills, lost work, suffering and injuries.
This website offers comprehensive information about Mirena IUD devices including how they are used to prevent pregnancy, what the Mirena IUD side effects are, where to find detailed information about the Mirena FDA warning, who has grounds for a Mirena IUD lawsuit, and why hire a Mirena IUD lawyer.


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Capture the look of a glamorous swimsuit model with the sophisticated style of Heidi Fish Designer Swimwear.
The fashion world knows Heidi as the award winning designer of chic swimsuits and swimwear featured in many of those dazzling Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues. Her couture designs are always flattering and always fashionable. Now, Heidi Fish Designer Swimwear is available online.
Attract those lingering looks with Heidi's sexy 2013 Collection, featuring the latest in her signature Navaho line. Don't miss her sensational Mermaid and Retro Pin-ups collections. Heidi's distinctive swimwear designs are available in styles, sizes and fabrics to flatter any figure from custom to petite to plus-size.
Follow Heidi on Twitter and Facebook for premier online offers and secret sales. You'll be first in line when she releases one of her exquisite Limited Edition bikini, monokini or one piece designs. Make a splash in Heidi Fish designer swimwear!
Heidi's Swimwear Featured in the Sports Illustrated 2016 Swimsuit Issue — Click Below
© Heidi Fish Swimwear
coconut telegraph | gift certificates | heidi's story | press & media
4519 California Ave S.W. Suite C. Seattle, Washington 98116. For customer support please call 206-938-9928 | Click to send an email
Site content is original, licensed or believed to be in the public domain. All rights reserved. "Heidi Fish" and the Heidi Fish logo are trademarks of Heidi Fish.
Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the Heidi Fish user agreement and privacy policy. Click here for shipping, returns & refunds policy.
Click here for wholesale inquires. Web design & development by Opacity One.


text:
I have been using this code to retrieve the URL of the top level site;
string result = String.Empty;
using (var service = GetSitesWebService())
result = service.GetSite(mySubSiteURL);
if (!String.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(result))
var doc = XDocument.Parse(result);
rootUrl = (string)doc.Element("Site").Attribute("Url");
This works fine if the user has certain permissions (not sure what they are), but if the user only has "Contributor" access then the above call to
GetSite fails with a
401 - Unauthorized.
Is there any alternative approach to getting the top-level site URL, given some arbitrary site URL? I would strongly prefer to be able to do this via the Web Services, but the Client Object Model might have to do if web services don't support this for low-privilege users.


text:
The challenge this week is "3 in a row" at the Paper Cupcake's Challenge Blog; There's Magic In The Air. This week Danie May wants us to pick 3 elements from the below grid that are in a row, can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal and incorporate them into your card or project.
I decided to use one of the new images over at Paper Cupcakes "Girl with Umbrella". I must say I really liked this image! Even though you really can't tell I cut the umbrella out and placed it on pop up dots so it is more 3_D. I used my color pencils to color the image and used some stickles on the green lines on the umbrella. The stickles is much prettier in real life; wish you could see it. I did a fairly large image, since this image seemed to be long and narrow I didn't really want it to be small... so I went big and I really liked how it turned out. I did the grid across the top. So I used punches; butterfly & border. Ribbon and two pattern papers. I also inked the edges of the image with a cat eye chalk. It really is a pretty simple and clean card, but it works really nicely with this image which I wanted to stand out.
Had a really busy weekend, but nice and certainly not enough time to be everywhere and do everything we wanted to do this holiday weekend. Thanks for lurking by and I hope you always take a little creativity away from visiting. Have a great week!!


text:
Many of us have been backers of kickstarters. I think kickstarter is a great idea, but people should really put caps on their funding. Schuyler Towne started a kickstarter seeking $6,000 and ended up with $87,407. The sad result is that he quit his job and traveled the world for 16 months and produced zero of the rewards for the backers. We should all learn from this: Don't sign up for more than you can handle.
Here is the release the 0-day CAD files for the lockpicks promised by Schuyler. I'm told he'll put them online sometime, but it makes sense to release them here now.
Now we can all go get our picks manufactured. Chemical etching is likely the best way, but a stamp would also work dandy.
Download here: regotcad
Schuyler wrote:
"DXF files are attached. Looks like there are a few floating points in the too I just previewed, but
the gross majority of the data is all there. I'll be reviewing and releasing these under a creative
commons license on Monday, and will release multiple formats. DXF happens to be what I had in email
as that was what my vendor requested."
-3ric Johanson


text:
New York Times columnist Gail Collins had a good critique of standardized testing and the No Child Left Behind law (4/28/12), weighing in on the "Pineapplegate" controversy about a bizarre question that appeared on a New York English exam.
She writes:
We have turned school testing into a huge corporate profit center, led by Pearson, for whom $32 million is actually pretty small potatoes. Pearson has a five-year testing contract with Texas that's costing the state taxpayers nearly half-a-billion dollars.
Indeed. But then comes this:
This is the part of education reform nobody told you about. You heard about accountability, and choice, and innovation. But when No Child Left Behind was passed 11 years ago, do you recall anybody mentioning that it would provide monster profits for the private business sector?
Me neither.
While it's good to see columnists use something in the news to talk about a larger political issue– that's what they do– Collins shouldn't pretend that no one was drawing a connection between a law that would require a massive increase in test taking and the financial interests of testing companies.
Never Miss a Beat.
Get our best delivered to your inbox.
And in fact it was being written about. Just one example: Stephen Metcalf wrote an excellent piece in the Nation (1/10/02) — an article that so impressed the nobodies here at FAIR that we interviewed him on CounterSpin.
Metcalf pointed out:
And, not surprisingly, the Bush legislation has ardent supporters in the testing and textbook publishing industries. Only days after the 2000 election, an executive for publishing giant NCS Pearson addressed a Waldorf ballroom filled with Wall Street analysts. According to Education Week, the executive displayed a quote from President-elect Bush calling for state testing and school-by-school report cards, and announced, "This almost reads like our business plan." The bill has allotted $387 million to get states up to speed; the National Association of State Boards of Education estimates that properly funding the testing mandate could cost anywhere from $2.7 billion to $7 billion. The bottom line? "This promises to be a bonanza for the testing companies," says Monte Neill of FairTest, a Boston-based nonprofit. "Fifteen states now test in all the grades Bush wants. All the rest are going to have to increase the amount of testing they do." Testing was already big business: According to Peter Sacks, author of Standardized Minds: The High Price of America's Testing Culture and What We Can Do to Change It, between 1960 and 1989 sales of standardized tests to public schools more than doubled, while enrollment increased only 15 percent. Over the past five years alone, state testing expenditures have almost tripled, from $141 million to $390 million, according to Achieve Inc., a standards-movement group formed by governors and CEOs. Under the new legislation, as many as fifteen states might need to triple their testing budgets.
All of which has led to a feeding frenzy.
The big educational testing companies have thus dispatched lobbyists to Capitol Hill. Bruce Hunter, who represents the American Association of School Administrators, says, "I've been lobbying on education issues since 1982, but the test publishers have been active at a level I've never seen before. At every hearing, every discussion, the big test publishers are always present with at least one lobbyist, sometimes more." Both standardized testing and textbook publishing are dominated by the so-called Big Three–McGraw-Hill, Houghton-Mifflin and Harcourt General–all identified as "Bush stocks" by Wall Street analysts in the wake of the 2000 election.
It's all right there, a decade ago. Proof that reading independent media – be it in the Nation or countless others – is essential for understanding the political debates of the present – and the future.


text:
Local families adopt new members
Adoptions part of ceremony in Hamilton County Court
Seven local families are a bit bigger after an adoption ceremony Friday.
Thirteen children between the ages of 2 and 16 were adopted in Hamilton County Court.
Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services helped place the children with their new families.
Robin Moore is the new adoptive mother of Kevin Bodnar. "He needed someone to love him. And I needed someone to love also, again," she said.
"I want to adopt Kevin because Kevin has been a gift to me from God. I lost my son in 2007. He was murdered. And Kevin has since come into my home and he has filled that void to a certain extent," Robin said.
November is National Adoption Month and ceremonies like the one in Hamilton County are held throughout the country.
After a few signatures, the families had new members. Job and Family Services said there are currently 190 children available for adoption.


text:
Serviços Personalizados
Links relacionados
- Citado por Google
- Similares em Google
South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences
versão On-line ISSN 2222-3436
versão impressa ISSN 1015-8812
S. Afr. j. econ. manag. sci. vol.14 no.3 Pretoria Jan. 2011
Organisational commitment in a post-merger situation
Anthonie Van Straaten TheronI; Nicole Marguerite DoddII
ISovereign Foods Investment (Ltd), Uitenhage
IIDepartment of Industrial Psychology, University of Zululand
The aim of this study was to investigate organisational commitment in an organisation that had recently experienced organisational restructuring (a merger). The psychological contract that exists between employees and organisations is brittle due to many organisational changes that stem from organisational restructuring. When psychological contracts are breached, employees may experience reduced commitment to the organisation. The target population for this study consisted of all employees working at three recently-merged higher education institutions in the Nelson Mandela Metropolis (n=100) and a selfadministered questionnaire was distributed amongst staff. The results indicated that an increase in the number of positive human resource management (HRM) practices reported by respondents correlated with a decrease in violation and breach of the psychological contract, despite organisational restructuring. It was further revealed that effective management of the psychological contract is crucial during organisational restructuring, in order to maintain the commitment and loyalty of employees.
Key words: psychological contract, employment relationship, organisational commitment, merger, acquisition, organisational restructuring, human resource management practices, psychological contract breach, psychological contract violation
1 Introduction
The concept of the psychological contract has been broadly used in organisational psychology literature as a way of examining and investigating the changing relationship between employers and their employees. The psychological contract refers to the relationship between an employer and an employee with regards to the unwritten expectations that exist, not in a formal written contract, but in implicit expectations, often covertly held and infrequently discussed (D'Annunzio-Green & Francis, 2005). For example, an employee may do many things for their employer by putting in extra time at work, working hard and being loyal to their employer. In return she/he expects the employer to provide interesting work, respect, promotion opportunities, training and job security. This paper examines how HRM Practices, Organisational Commitment and the Psychological Contract interact in a postmerger situation in recently-merged further and higher education institutions in the Nelson Mandela Metropolis.
Violation and fulfilment of psychological contracts are important to organisational performance, as violation has been empirically linked to the attitudes and behaviours of employees (Sonnenberg, 2006). The measures that employers undertake during restructuring can cause employees to feel that the psychological contract has been undermined.
Managers will therefore have to pay closer attention to the management of the employment relationship and will need to ensure that their organisation is a good employer (Guest & Conway, 2004). The goal of this paper is to gain more insight into the role that HRM can play in facilitating healthier psychological contracts and, in turn, can contribute to organisational commitment, despite engaging in organisational restructuring.
University mergers were implemented in 2003, after having been proposed in 2001. Overall, the exercise has cost more than R3Billion with questionable levels of success. Some mergers were more successful than others, with Pityana (in Dibetle, 2008) citing the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the University of Johannesburg and the University of South Africa as examples of successful mergers. This paper aims to assess the impact of mergers on organisational commitment in institutions of Higher and Further Education.
2 Theory development and hypotheses
This section will discuss the impact of HRM practices and organisational restructuring on the psychological contract, as well as organisational commitment as an attitudinal consequence. Research propositions and hypotheses will also be discussed and applied to the literature.
2.1 HRM practices and the psychological contract
There now is sufficient and well-established evidence that the application of HRM practices can be associated with employee organisational commitment and other positive employee attitudes. Shield (2002) suggests that HRM may be the most important element in ensuring merger success. These practices are strongly associated with a positive state of the psychological contract, which in turn is linked to a variety of positive behaviours and attitudes (Guest & Conway, 2004).
Guzzo and Noonan (1994) relate HRM practices with the psychological contract and consider these practices as communications mechanisms. These authors strongly suggest that violation of the psychological contract stems from the organisation's HRM practices. HRM practices send signals that are interpreted by workers and are relevant to their assessment of the fulfilment of the psychological contract. One of the roles of HRM practices should be the creation and maintenance of psychological contracts between employees and their organisations (Sonnenberg, 2006). In times of restructuring, and specifically during mergers, the actions of HRM may inadvertently send hostile messages to the workforce - resulting in malcontent.
Figure 1 suggests that, with the adequate application of appropriate HRM practices, violation and breach of the psychological contract may be reduced, which consequently should contribute to organisational commitment. When psychological contracts go unfulfilled or are perceived to have been violated, employees may experience reduced organisational commitment and/or stronger intention to quit and may behave in a counterproductive way (Brewster, Carey, Dowling, Grobler, Holland & Warnich, 2003).
Given the foregoing, the following is hypothesised:
|There is a relationship between HRM practices and the psychological contract.
2.2 Organisational restructuring and the psychological contract
Many South African further and higher education institutions found themselves in dire straits financially at the beginning of the 21s t century. According to Hay and Fourie, (2002) several institutions found it difficult to keep their doors open, and in an effort to survive, institutions reduced costs by cutting down on the number of faculties and by placing moratoriums on overtime pay, conference attendance, new appointments and staff redeployment.
The South African Minister of Education proposed the merging of existing higher and further education institutions at a regional level to improve efficiency through reducing replication of services (Hay & Fourie, 2002). These changes placed pressure on the employment relationship and may have reduce employee commitment. Mergers and acquisitions have been a popular strategic tactic for organisations as they help to attain growth, profitability and diversification. In some cases, mergers have been a last resort. Mergers are extreme forms of organisational change and change is often perceived by employees as threatening, due to employees' fear of losing security. Goldman and Van Tonder (2006) claim that most mergers do not achieve the goals originally intended.
Weber estimates that 50-60 per cent of all mergers fail within three years (1996, in Bligh & Carsten, 2005). This is largely due to not having sound employee relations or not adequately communicating the progress of the merger. With regards to the psychological experiences of academic staff in institutions that either have been merged or are in the process of merging, little research had been undertaken in South Africa up to 2002 (Hay & Fourie, 2002). Recent research at the University of Johannesburg (a recently-merged university) showed that in the pre-merger phase employees react with fear and uncertainty, although the reaction does subside if more information is made available and processes are formalised in a transparent way (Goldman & Van Tonder, 2006).
Research has repeatedly shown that communication, job security, work-role stability and social support become more valuable during times of change and restructuring (Bellou, 2007), largely to allay the fears of workers. Employees become preoccupied with questions regarding what will happen to the organisation's structure, who they will be reporting to, how communication patterns will change and how restructuring will affect their pay and benefits (Bligh & Carsten, 2005). Mergers were found to be stressful life-events, even if the merging institutions are culturally similar (Cartwright & Cooper, 1993). This supports Goldman and Van Tonder's (2006) findings.
With the rapid changes and the turbulent business environment organisations find themselves in, Pate, Martin and McGoldrick (2003) suggest that long-term job security in return for hard work has come under pressure. Mergers make contracts more prone to violation and breach and this contributes to lower organisational commitment and significant differences in commitment are normally found between the previously dominant institutions in newly merged institutions (Panchal & Cartwright, 2001).
Evidence indicates that, in the rapidly changing global business environment, psychological contracts of employees may be moving toward the more transactional side of the continuum, as opposed to the relational contracts seen before (Lee, 2001). Transactional contracts are exemplified by 'a fair day's work for a fair day's pay', focusing on shortterm and monetary exchanges. In contrast, relational contracts refer to a relationship that is long-term and based on mutual respect and trust (Rousseau, 1995). With regards to organisational restructuring (specifically mergers) and the psychological contract, it is hypothesised that:
|There is a relationship between organisational restructuring and the psychological contract.
|There is a relationship between organisational restructuring and employee organisational commitment.
2.3 Organisational commitment and the psychological contract
Organisational commitment can be defined as the relative strength of an employee's attachment to, or involvement with, the organisation where she/he is employed (Stup, 2006).
Meyer and Smith (2001) state that there is some empirical evidence linking employee commitment to actual and perceived HRM practices. Meyer and Allen (1997) identified three separate dimensions of organisational commitment:
Affective commitment, which is an emotional attachment to the organisation and a belief in its values. Employees want to be part of the organisation and will go the extra mile.
Normative commitment, which is a moral obligation to remain with the organisation for ethical reasons.
Continuance commitment, which is the perceived economic value of remaining with the organisation, as compared to the perceived economic value of leaving the organisation.
Research indicates that transactional contracts are related to continuance commitment, whereas relational contracts strongly correlate with normative commitment (Meyer & Allen, 1997). In other words, there is a link between the employee's expectations of what she/he feels she/he owes to the organisation and is owed by the organisation (the contents of the psychological contract) and organisational commitment. Figure 2 proposes that when there is adequate management and application of HRM practices, violation and breach may be reduced and to a certain extent, limited, making the contents of the psychological contract more relational and facilitating normative employee commitment.
Various factors can lead to decreased organisational commitment. These include job insecurity, decreased trust, job redesign and increased stress (Dordevic, 2004). Given the above, the following can be hypothesised:
|There is a relationship between the psychological contract and employee organisational commitment.
|There is a relationship between HRM practices and employee organisational commitment.
3 Research methodology
The study was exploratory in nature and the target population consisted of all employees working at three recently-merged education institutions in the Nelson Mandela Metropolis (n=100). The sample consisted of academic, administrative, professional and technical employees. The researchers aimed to determine individuals' perceptions of the psychological contract by focusing on HRM practices, psychological contract breach and violation and to determine individuals' perceptions of the contents of the psychological contract by focusing on transactional and relational contracts.
Respondents' levels of organisational commitment (attitudinal consequence of the psychological contract) were also measured and normative and continuance commitment were placed under scrutiny. The impact of organisational restructuring was also measured under a separate section.
3.1 Measuring instrument
The questionnaire for the present study integrated the seven core HRM practices used in a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development [CIPD] survey (Guest & Conway, 2004). These questions were transformed into statements rated on a fivepoint Likert scale. Both psychological contract violation and breach were measured, drawing on the work of Robinson and Morrison (2000).
For the contents of the psychological contract, the only published measure that does in part capture exchange is Millward and Hopkins' (1998) Psychological Contract Scale (PCS), used recently in a revised form by Raja, Johns and Ntalianis (2004).
Raja, Johns and Ntalianis' (2004) PCS was adapted for and included in the present study, in order to make a clear distinction between transactional and relational contracts and furthermore to assess the contents of the psychological contract from the employee's perspective. Only two items were included in the CIPD survey that measured employee commitment to the organisation (Guest & Conway, 2004). These two questions were transformed into statements rated on a fivepoint Likert scale for the present study and formed part of measuring general commitment as a consequence ofpsychological contracts.
For the other components of organisational commitment, items were extracted and adapted from the original continuance and normative commitment scales. Each of the three scales of the three-component model comprises eight items (Meyer & Allen, 1997). The purpose of including these scales was to see if respondents scoring high on transactional psychological contracts indicated stronger continuance commitment and if those high on relational contracts indicated strong normative commitment.
With regards to organisational restructuring, four questions were formulated. These covered the four reasons for low employee commitment in times of radical organisational changes identified by Dordevic (2004). These reasons, according to Dordevic (2004) include job insecurity, low levels of trust, job redesign and increased stress. Items in the questionnaire were reversed in order to see whether respondents indicated that:
They feel secure about their future employment in the organisation.
They trust their employer to look after their best interests.
They feel their workload is not too heavy.
They are clear what their duties and responsibilities are.
To clarify, positive impact of organisational restructuring means that employees feel secure about their future employment, trust their employer to look after their best interests, feel that their workload is not too heavy and are understand what their responsibilities and duties are.
3.2 Data collection
The questionnaires were distributed to 124 employees with clear instructions on how to complete them. This allowed employees to complete the questionnaire in their own time and to submit them by the stipulated date. The questionnaires were also distributed door-todoor in order to explain the instructions more clearly and to address certain questions regarding the completion. An electronic questionnaire was also constructed and e-mailed to respondents. Respondents were given three weeks to complete and return the survey. In total, 100 completed questionnaires were returned and captured for analysis. This represents a response rate of 80.6 per cent, which is acceptable in an investigation of this scope.
3.3 Data analysis
Both descriptive and inferential statistics were utilised for the data analysis. Reliability of the summated scores calculated in this study was determined by calculating Cronbach's coefficient alphas for all sections in the questionnaire.
From Table 1 it can be deduced that many scales had Cronbach coefficient alphas above the threshold value of 0.7 which, according to Nunally (1978) is sufficient proof of the reliability of the applicable scale scores, whereas coefficient alphas above 0.5 can be regarded as acceptable for basic research. Item F19 was excluded from this calculation, as it showed a coefficient less than 0.3. Table 2 shows the frequency distribution of the demographic variables of the sample.
4 Results and discussion
This section will reveal and discuss the results obtained from the research study. Both descriptive and inferential statistics will be discussed.
4.1 Descriptive statistics
With regards to HRM practices, Table 3 shows that most respondents (52%) indicated that when new positions come up in the middle and senior levels of management, their organisation normally try to fill them with people from inside the organisation. According to Guest and Conway (2004) internal staffing can boost commitment and a greater propensity to stay with the organisation.
Table 4 shows, that when respondents were asked whether their personal performance had been appraised to their satisfaction during the past year, 36 per cent disagreed, whereas a further 18 per cent strongly disagreed with this statement. In other words, the majority of respondents (54%) were not satisfied with their performance appraisal ratings and according to Rousseau (1995) performance appraisal feedback sends a clear message to employees of what the organisation expects from them and what they could expect in return.
With regards to psychological contract breach, Table 5 shows that 13% of respondents strongly disagreed that their employer had succeeded in fulfilling the promises made to them when they were hired. A further 36 per cent of respondents disagreed with this statement. In contrast, 16 per cent of respondents agreed with this statement, while a meagre 6 per cent of the sample strongly agreed with this item. This indicates that the majority of respondents (49%) felt that the promises made by their employer had been broken.
For psychological contract violation, Table 6 shows that a total of 43 per cent percent of all respondents indicated that they felt frustrated by the way they had been treated by their organisation. Conversely, 40 per cent of the sample did not agree with this statement. It is evident that the perceptions of psychological contract violation are balanced. Those with a more transactional contract may have a less averse reaction to breach, making perceptions of violation less likely (Conway & Briner, 2005). The strong wording of this question may have tempered the response.
The contents of the psychological contract component of the measure determined both relational and transactional aspects.
With regards to relational contracts, Table 7 shows that 25 per cent of respondents strongly disagreed that they would be promoted, given length of service and 22 per cent disagreed with this statement. Furthermore, 27 per cent agreed, whereas a scanty 4 per cent strongly agreed with this statement. To summarise, the majority (47%) of respondents indicated that they did not expect to gain promotion with length of service. This may indicate a shift from the relational side towards the transactional end of the continuum.
When they realise that there are limited opportunities to work elsewhere, people develop continuance commitment (Francesco & Gold, 2005). Table 8 shows that 34 per cent of respondents agreed that they had too few options to consider leaving their organisation.
A further 11 per cent indicated that they strongly agreed with this statement. A total of 13 per cent strongly disagreed with this statement, whereas 24 per cent of respondents indicated that they only disagreed. The majority of respondents (45%) felt that perceived alternatives are limited, while
In addition, Table 9 shows that 38 per cent of respondents agreed that one of the few negative consequences of leaving their organisation would be the scarcity of available alternatives, whereas 10 per cent strongly agreed with this item. On the other hand, 11 per cent strongly disagreed, whereas 23 per cent disagreed. From the above it is clear that most respondents felt that they have too few options to consider leaving their organisation (45%) and available alternatives to work elsewhere are scarce (48%).
As the state of the psychological contract is based on fairness, trust and delivery of the deal (Guest & Conway, 2004), trust reflects the employment relationship (Atkinson, 2006).
The results in Table 10 indicate that 33 per cent of respondents agreed that they did not trust their organisation to look after their best interests, whereas 25 per cent strongly agreed with this statement. A meagre 6 per cent strongly disagreed, whereas 16 per cent of all respondents in the sample disagreed. To summarise, the majority of respondents (58%) indicated that they did not trust their organisation to look after their best interests. This study of merged organisations, confirmed Bellou's (2007) findings that both organisational obligations and contributions changed during mergers and acquisitions.
With regards to job insecurity, Table 11 shows that a substantial 37 per cent agreed that they felt insecure about their future employment in their organisation, whereas only 12 per cent strongly agreed with this statement. However, at the other end of the spectrum; 10 per cent strongly disagreed, whereas 19 per cent only disagreed with this statement. This indicates that most respondents (49%) felt insecure about their employment.
4.2 Inferential statistical analysis
As the hypotheses are based on relationships, Pearson product moment correlations were calculated to measure the degree and direction of the relationships between the variables. The correlation matrix for all the variables is shown in Table 12. Correlation coefficients greater than .197 (r > .197) are statistically significant, where coefficients greater than .300 are practically significant (r > .300). For discussion purposes, only the correlations that are statistically and practically significant are extracted and reported.
|There is a relationship between HRM practices and the psychological contract
The results indicated an inverse relationship between HRM practices and breach of the psychological contract (-.611). It can be said that the more HRM practices reported by respondents, the less the breach of the psychological contract. The results indicated an inverse relationship between HRM practices and psychological contract violation (-.562). What was interesting to note is that a positive correlation was found between HRM practices and relational psychological contracts (.670). In other words, an increase in the number of HRM practices reported by respondents indicated an increase in relational contracts. These findings provide support for hypothesis one.
|There is a relationship between organisational restructuring and the psychological contract
Hypothesis two is supported. An inverse relationship (-.550) was found between organisational restructuring and breach of the psychological contract.
Furthermore, an inverse relationship (-.653) was found between organisational restructuring and psychological contract violation. A positive impact of organisational restructuring means that respondents indicated that:
They felt secure about their future employment in the organisation.
They trusted their employer to look after their best interests.
They felt their workload was not too heavy.
They clearly understood what their duties and responsibilities were.
When there is a positive impact, there is a less harmful influence of organisational restructuring.
The results indicate that when a more positive impact of the organisational restructuring was reported (more job security and trust etc.), less breach and violation were reported by respondents. In addition, a positive correlation (.514) was found between the organisational restructuring and relational psychological contracts. This means that the less harmful the impact of the organisational restructuring (in this case a merger) reported by respondents, the more relational the psychological contract.
|There is a relationship between organisational restructuring and employee organisational commitment
The results indicate that when a more positive impact of the organisational restructuring (more job security, trust, etc.) was reported, there is an increase in general commitment (.509) and normative employee commitment (.247). In other words, a positive correlation was found between organisational restructuring and employee organisational commitment (i.e. general and normative commitment). Hypothesis three is therefore supported.
|There is a relationship between the psychological contract and employee organisational commitment
Table 3 shows that there is an inverse relationship between psychological contract breach and general employee organisational commitment (-.597). Furthermore, an inverse relationship exists between violation of the psychological contract and employee organisational commitment (-.592). To clarify, the findings suggest that when breach and violation increase, employee commitment shrinks. In addition, an inverse relationship (-.229) exists between breach of the psychological contract and normative commitment.
The same was found for violation of the psychological contract and normative employee commitment (-.226). This suggests that when violation and breach increase, normative commitment decreases. The relationship may become more calculated and research indicates that transactional contracts are closely related to continuance commitment (Meyer & Allen, 1997).
When psychological contracts go unfulfilled or are perceived to have been violated, employees may experience reduced organisational commitment, stronger intention to quit and counterproductive behaviour (Brewster et al., 2003). A positive correlation (.711) was found between relational psychological contracts and general employee organisational commitment, as well as for normative employee commitment (.413). These findings support hypothesis four.
|There is a relationship between HRM practices and employee organisational commitment
The findings support hypothesis five. A positive correlation was found between the number of HRM practices reported and general employee organisational commitment (.580). Furthermore, there is a positive correlation (.288) between the number of HRM practices and normative employee commitment. These findings suggest the following:
With an increase in the number of HRM practices reported by respondents, there is an increase in general employee organisational commitment.
When HRM practices reported by respondents increase, there is an increase in normative employee commitment.
Although many studies suggest that HRM practices are related to employee commitment, there are some studies that found the links between actual HRM practices and work attitudes were mediated by perceptions of the organisation's commitment to HRM activities that benefit employees (Meyer & Smith, 2001).
5 Conclusion and recommendations
In periods of radical change like mergers, acquisitions and downsizing occurring in organisations, employees' relationship to the organisation changes and commitment decreases. Any number of psychological contracts at several levels (Rousseau, 1995) have been upset by large-scale workforce and organisational changes. Sensible managers should pay specific attention to the management of the employment relationship.
The research findings indicated a positive correlation between the number of HRM practices reported and general employee organisational commitment. This means that an increase in HRM practices indicates an increase in the commitment of staff. The results also indicated that with an increase in HRM practices reported, violation and breach of the psychological contract decreased.
As with most research, this study is subject to a number of potential limitations. The outcomes of this study may not be able to be generalised to other education institutions, since the organisational culture may be very different in other institutions. In addition, even though a sample size of 100 is adequate for statistical analysis, caution must be exercised in generalising the findings beyond the associated hypotheses. The Pearson product moment correlations only indicate a relationship - it does not explain why the two variables are related. Possible future directions for this research include a larger sample and multivariate analysis.
In the era of the new psychological contract, the findings suggest that organisations will have to pay closer attention to the management of the employment relationship. Mergers and acquisitions are extreme forms of organisational change. Under these circumstances and given the results of the present study, the psychological contract becomes brittle and prone to breach. This means that careful management of the psychological contract is needed due to these turbulent times. Organisations face the challenge of maintaining the commitment and loyalty of their employees, as promotion opportunities and job security are fading away.
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Accepted June 2011


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Allergy info / hypoallergenicMaterial / 18k gold vermeil (info), cubic zirconiaClasp / Lobster claspSKU / GV156C-ame
Measurements:Charm length: 6mmTotal length: 19mmIncluded / Goldscoop Pouch and Soft Cloth
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How to renovate a climbing rose
I have a rose, 'Climbing Iceberg', growing up and over an arch but, although it has plenty of flowering shoots on the top, it is bare at the sides.
Should I prune the whole thing down to encourage new shoots? If so, when? After flowering I usually prune all the shoots back to the main stems but they are only at the top.
Valerie Stansfield, via email
A gnarled old climbing rose that has little going on around its lower parts does eventually present all but the most determined and confident pruner with a problem. You can of course cut the entire thing down and make it start again, but in my view that is overdoing it a bit, and would inevitably result in very few flowers next year on all-vulnerable new growth – and a visual hole in your garden. A better course of action would be, presuming there are two or three main structural stems, to cut the oldest, brownest, most gnarled and least productive one down to ground level this winter, remove or rationalise some of the rest, but leave the youngest of the old growth in situ and prune it as you do normally. This job is laborious and involves sawing or lopping hefty branches into small sections in order to do as little damage as possible to the growth that is to remain. Major but not drastic surgery like this, coupled with a lot of feeding/mulching and TLC next spring and summer, will result in the production of at least one brand new stout shoot from the base of the rose that can be trained in to replace the removed wood and may even produce a few terminal flowers and flowering side shoots the following year. During next and subsequent winters, always take some old growth out of the rose as part of your pruning routine, so that the basic framework is more or less renewed on a three or four-year cycle. Once you get the hang of looking at climbing roses this way – that their framework should be constantly renewed – it becomes second nature, and the roses look all the better as a result.
A last word: during the winter, try to make a point of visiting a garden or gardens where someone clearly knows what they are doing with the roses that are growing on walls and structures. You will learn a lot.
Persian passion
My son has recently become engaged to a very beautiful Iranian. Although they are having a traditional English wedding at the end of May 2014, she would like some Persian traditions included and wants her bridal bouquet to be of lily of the valley. I would very much like to grow these for her. We live in the South Hams, Devon, and your advice would be very much appreciated!
Jane Barnett, via email
What a lovely idea, Jane – but one that is going to be really hard to get off the ground. Timing is not the major problem, since the end of May is pretty much when lily of the valley flowers (but for only a couple of weeks). But I'm assuming you don't have lily of the valley growing in your garden.
This is a plant that is generally only reliably propagated by division in autumn (to be promptly replanted or at least potted-up before the rather fussy rhizomes dry out), and it takes a year or two for new plantings to get established, spread out and start to flower profusely. I think, therefore, you need to put out feelers locally and try to find someone who has a colony and is willing to let you have some flowers for the wedding. I feel this is a fairly specialised request so I will not exactly be opening floodgates so… if there is anyone living near South Hams in Devon reading this who has positively bucketloads of lily of the valley flowers in their garden each year at the end of May and is willing to make Jane's daughter-in-law-to-be's day, please contact me by email and I will pass your details on. If that doesn't bear fruit, Jane, you will have to talk to a florist who can reliably supply you.
As you may be aware dear readers, I am not usually such a softie. So don't get any ideas about using me as a message board.
Autumn treatment for a 'new' lawn
I had a new lawn laid in late April of this year and have cared for it all summer long, watering when needed, and now I need advice on autumn feeding. I have looked online and in books and can find no advice about whether you should feed a new lawn in its first autumn. My wife is also concerned about a few weeds that are appearing. Any advice would be gratefully received.
Roger Banks, via email
I think it is fair to say that after six months of such sterling treatment, this can be regarded as an established lawn, to which all the normal guidelines apply. You do not refer to any dodgy patches where the grass has faltered because of drainage problems due to poor preparation of the ground beneath. So this year I would simply give the lawn the gentlest of rake-overs, mow it on a medium height setting and apply an autumn lawn feed. This will strengthen the grass roots and make them more resilient through the winter rather than give it a rush of blood to the head at a time when we just don't want to be mowing more than necessary. An occasional high-setting winter mow should not be ruled out, and of course you should keep the grass free of sodden autumn leaves.
The weeds that are worrying your wife are likely to be tricky perennials – very probably dandelions – that were missed in the preparation of the ground, and have grown up through the new turf. At this time of year the lawn is rarely dry enough for long enough to ensure a glyphosate spot-weeder (Roundup Gel) will be totally effective, although a teaspoon of kitchen salt in the middle of each irritating rosette of leaves may just do the trick. But if it doesn't, try to persuade the fastidious Mrs Banks to wait until the spring before she rolls up her sleeves, dons the knee pads and lets rip with the death-gunk.
Cutting-edge trimmers
Frances Farrant has, she says, an impractical husband with a back problem, who manages to cut the grass but finds the action of using long-handled edging shears extremely painful. A borrowed strimmer caused exasperation because of continually bust bits of "plastic string" (which Frances has to replace). Is there something simpler that could be wheeled along the edge of the lawn to do the job with less aggravation to all concerned?
I can only think of long-handled battery grass trimmers that use stubby little red plastic blades rather than a "continuous" line, such as those I have tried by Bosch. For example, their 23LI, with a superlight lithium battery, looks like a conventional sends-yer-barmy strimmer, but as well as using blades, it has a cutting head that can be turned 90 degrees so that you can edge with it – and you can fiddle around with the handle to sort out heights, angles et cetera to make it comfortable to use. It is not cheap (rrp £89.99), but it may be the thing for Frances's husband. There is a short demonstration video on YouTube that may convince him ("Bosch grass trimmer ART 23 Easitrim" will find it). There are several other trimmers that use similar plastic blades, and one even has wheels you can attach to take some of the weight of the battery, (which is presumably slightly heavier than the lithium version).
Write to Thorny Problems at firstname.lastname@example.com or Gardening, The Daily Telegraph, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0DT. Helen Yemm can answer questions only through this column
Buy plants, tools and accessories from the Telegraph Gardenshop.


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While 2011 was a year of near-misses for Abby Wambach, 2012 was without doubt one of the most successful in her career. After helping USA to victory over Japan in the Women's Olympic Football Tournament final in London, the 32-year-old took home the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year trophy.
"2012 was a lot better than the year of second places in 2011," a smiling Wambach told* FIFA.com in an exclusive interview. "*Whenever you get to win, you feel the satisfaction of all of your hard work, all the sacrifices, all the blood, sweat and tears," she said. "It feels right and makes you realise that you are really doing the right thing."
It is exactly that never-say-die attitude, the unwavering self-belief and the will to constantly improve that set both Wambach and the USA team apart as among the best in the game. Rather than knocking them down, defeat in the FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011™ final against Japan served as a motivation to do better next time.
Desire for success
"Whenever you start a year, you start goal-setting, and 2012 was all about winning, not about getting redemption on Japan," Wambach said. "It was about fulfilling a goal that all of us had in mind. The 2011 World Cup stirred up a fire inside all of us and we really held on to that. The common aim brought us together and we were able to succeed. I couldn't be more happy and proud of my team because it wasn't easy if you look at all the matches at the Olympics. We had to be on our game every single time we stepped on to the pitch. A little bit of luck gets involved at the end too."
Whenever you get to win, you feel the satisfaction of all of your hard work, all the sacrifices, all the blood, sweat and tears.
That togetherness was not only visible during their on-field encounters, but also away from the action too. Wambach and Co's sense of humour was evident in the Party in the USA *video *they created, which went on to become an internet sensation. "We made a silly video that went viral just before the Olympics. That's kind of how we wanted to promote ourselves and let the world see who we are," Wambach explained, smiling. "On the pitch we are totally competitive and we're all business. But we have to let loose and have fun in the other aspects of our lives," the easy-going star said.
However, Wambach is also aware that triumph at a major tournament can bring its own difficulties. "We're gold medallists and the irony with that is being on top means you have to work even harder," the striker said. "You reset your goals right away. The minute you step off that podium is the minute you start preparing for the next world championship. That's kind of how I work. You celebrate for a brief moment then you move on."* Season of change *Yet before battling for supremacy at the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015, there are plenty of challenges ahead in 2013. After two years without a club, Wambach will lead the line for Western New York Flash in the newly-founded National Women's Soccer League. * *"I'm looking forward starting the new League," Wambach said. "We know that we can do it, it just has to be done in the right way. We've learned a lot of lessons from the last couple of weeks and we're trying to take advice from successful leagues around the world. I'm privileged to hopefully start a league that lasts for many, many years in the US." * *
Life in the national team also promises a fresh start for Wambach. Following Pia Sundhage's announcement that she was stepping down as coach barely three weeks after the Olympic triumph in London, Tom Sermanni took over the reins earlier this month. Wambach met the new coach shortly before Christmas and is optimistic about the team's future prospects.
"I think he's going to be great," said the 198-time international. "I can't tell you exactly how or what, because we haven't started training yet, but having somebody new is always good, something fresh and something different. As a competitor I want to continue to keep turning the chapters and keep challenging myself.
"Sometimes if you have a coach or team-mates for too long, you get caught in certain routines," Wambach continued. "I think it's good to shake up things a little bit. It'll be good for an older player like me to re-motivate myself in terms of staying fitter and more committed. You're not as comfortable with a new coach, you have to prove yourself again. It'll be interesting to see what happens."
A veteran of the game she may be, but Wambach's youthful enthusiasm shows no sign of abating as she approaches the next stage in her long-standing career.


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I put the pics in backwards so if you are wanting to read this read from bottom to top.
Once the weather got hot it was a perfect time to take the kids to the Museum. They had so much fun and I really enjoyed spending the whole day with them.
I did a mini cooking class with some girls in the neighborhood, and Jackson! They loved it and so did I.
My Presley girl
with her new Baby Gaga from her B-day. Such a good mommy she is, buckling up her baby!
Right after her haircut that she loved and would tell anyone that listened about.
Memorial day swim party
We headed up to the cabin for Memorial Day
I love this pic it looks like Pres is about to back hand Hudson, rest assured that is not what was happening.
Aunt Suz had a little nail painting party. That made Presley's night!
Grandma C made a couple of cookie monsters for cabin.
Cookie Monster time is Crazy Time! There were 2 pans 20 spoons and a bunch of Very Hungry and wild Cummards! It took about 5 min for the plates to be spotless once again.
Hudson loves his cabin clothes, he gets so excited every time he picks something out of his drawer. They are all hand-me-downs, mostly from the cousins. He always asks " You got this for me! Thank you so much!" I absolutely love it.
He also loves to wear jackets that have hoodies, regardless the weather.
Popsicle party on the last day of school! Please excuse my super Ghetto sign. After Suzy saw it she insisted we make a summertime banner for our craft. Next year will be way cuter!
Jackson & Mrs. Nichols
The kids found some old stickers from Stephen's sticker book and had some fun with them.
Presley decided to get paint her hand, amazingly no nail polish got on anything but her! Close one.
We taught Jackson how to play Monopoly and he became Obsessed! He would ask to play everyday when he got home from school. I really wish Monopoly wasn't a Never ending game! One night we stayed up playing till past 10 till I finally made the boys stop!
We sure are going to miss Play Group in the summer.
This may or may not have been a bribe!
Hudson & J helped me put together this cute little flower pot for their teachers for the end of the year.
Huddy with Mrs. Sicely & Mrs. Heidi. We are going to miss these great ladies. Hudson loved going to class and always talks about how great his teachers are.
We helped out the Davy's at the Irving Snow Cone day, Pres sure enjoyed it. Who wouldn't love 2 snow cones at once.
Presley has been teaching herself gymnastics, I try to help but she will not let me. She has already gotten a gorgeous cartwheel and her handstand is almost there!
Hudson and his cousins graduated from Grandma C's preschool. Casey was in town and even though he didn't actually attend he was able to graduate with the rest of them.
Hudson and Casey could't stop playing with each other, they are the best of friends and whenever they get together they have the best time.
Jackson got his first All Star Award of the Year! He was so excited about it and for us to come and see him. He got a Math Masters Award, and a Service award for help in the Cafeteria! Way to go buddy.


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"JITC certified," you say…what's that? JITC stands for the US Department of Defense's Joint Interoperability Test Command, which carries out extensive work on software and other systems intended to be used by the US military for mission critical purposes.
In this specific instance, Adobe Acrobat and Reader X have been certified by JITC for their compliance with the DoD's application requirements for Public Key Enabled services, e.g digital signatures. The testing included intensive, comprehensive evaluations of Acrobat and Reader's capabilities in:
- Certificate operations
- Signature and certificate status validation
- Path processing and validation
- Configuration and documentation
Adobe is proud to note that we have consistently been certified for JITC compliance in every version of Adobe Acrobat and Reader back to version 7 back in 2006.
Click here for a link to the official JITC list of software and solutions that have been tested for Public Key Enabled compliance.


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Light Blue Glittery Sugar
Light Blue Glittery Sugar
Bakery Bling
Light Blue Glittery Sugar™ is a luxurious, one-of-a-kind dessert couture! This sprinkle mix is perfect for celebrations, birthday parties and so much more!
Use it to decorate cakes, cookies, cupcakes, ice cream or anything your heart desires. Sprinkle around a plated dessert to give it some extra sparkle or use to bling-out the rim of your favourite cocktail. The possibilities are endless!
You can always count on Bakery Bling™ and Little Waisted™ products to be free of plastics, craft glitters and other harmful chemicals commonly found in "non-toxic" cake glitters on the market. Our sprinkle mixes are certified kosher, gluten-free and only made with ingredients approved by the FDA.
- 85g
- Made in the USA
- Certified Kosher
- Gluten - Free
- Sugar based (Contains NO Plastics like other 'non-toxic' edible cake glitter on the market)
- Bake Stable
- Freeze/Thaw Safe
- No Bleeding
- 24 Month Shelf Life
Country of Origin: USA
Ingredients: Sugar, Confectioners's Glaze, FD&C Red #40, FD&C Blue #1, FD&C Yellow 6, FD&C Yellow #5, FD& C Blue #2, FD&C Red #4, FD&C Red #3, Carnauba Wax, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Propylene Glycol, Mica, Titanium Dioxide.
Weight: 85g
Storage: Keep in a cool and dry place away from direct sunlight.
Suitable for: Garnish, Decoration


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I'm Hallie Bateman. I'm a freelance writer and illustrator based in Los Angeles. My work has been published by The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Awl and others. My second book, What To Do When I'm Gone, comes out with Bloomsbury in April 2018.
Want to hire me? Or maybe just say hi? Email me at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Press/Interviews: Tight Pencils / The Daily Dot / Muse's Milk / The Wall Street Journal


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During World War II, the Army Corps of Engineers wanted to hide the Lockheed Burbank Aircraft Plant in case the Japanese decided to attack the West Coast. So, of course, they built a fake subdivision on its roof.
Using camouflage netting and trompe l'oeil, they brilliantly disguised the enormous plant as something completely benign. Just look at these before and after pictures! Fortunately, it all ended up being unnecessary, but what a cool example of creative thinking in a time of crisis. [Think or Thwim, Thanks, Jason!]


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We Offer a 90 Day Money Back Guarantee! Everything we sell has been tested and verified 100% Authentic! As that's a fact
Up For Sale: Naruto Ultimate Ninja - Complete for PlayStation 2
Game Condition - Very Good - Minimal small scratching on the disc surface.
Instruction Condition - Included, with normal wear & tear
Case Condition - Visible surface scratches on case, may have a few small slits to outer plastic case.


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Blooming beauty!
These unique knobs will add whimsy and color to your little one's room. These knobs add the perfect finishing touch to drawers, closet doors or armoires. Each knob is hand painted by a professional artist, using high quality, child friendly, water based paints and will surely last for generations to come.


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Investigation Continues At Troubled Hedge Fund
Investigation Continues At Troubled Hedge Fund
A federal insider trading probe focused on the hedge fund SAC Capital is causing investors to take action. Investors have pulled an estimated $3.5 billion from the fund in anticipation of additional developments.
The federal probe of a hugely successful hedge fund may have investors ready to pull out much of their money. SAC Capital is under investigation for insider trading. Several published reports indicate outside investors are worried about that investigation and whether it will touch Steven Cohen, the firm's founder.
NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.
JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE: Investors have pretty much stood by Steven Cohen until now, as nine of his employees have faced charges. But recently, things took a turn for the worst. Several top officials, including Cohen himself, have been subpoenaed; and the firm said it won't cooperate with the government anymore.
Jay Rogers is president of Alpha Strategic Investment Consultants, which advises hedge funds.
JAY ROGERS: And I think at this point most investors are saying, you know what, we've stuck with him this long because his performance has been so good. But inevitably, when the government is coming after you like this, it's distracting and you're not going to be able to keep your eye on the ball.
ZARROLI: This is coming to a head right now because SAC has given its investors a brief window to cash out of the fund this quarter. That window closes at the end of the day. Press reports have indicated that some of its biggest investors, including Blackstone Group, have already given notice they're bailing out.
If enough investors leave, the $14 billion fund will become a lot smaller. Cohen might then be forced to take his firm private, managing only its own funds. Rogers says that won't solve the firms legal problems.
ROGERS: He's still going to face them. The government is not going to go away. It's just, you know, he can do what he does a little bit more privately.
ZARROLI: Meanwhile, Cohen's own legal position remains ambiguous. He has not been charged with any criminal activity and no evidence has been released that he knowingly authorized insider trading. But at least four of his employee's have pleaded guilty and are expected to cooperate with the government. And U.S. officials say the investigation is not over.
Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.
Copyright © 2013 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio record.


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Burp Cloths
Unique and Quality Burp Cloths
Get a personalized burp cloth from our fabulous selection
Shop Pink Taffy Designs' amazing online selection of baby feeding clothing and products, and find the best quality baby feeding cloths from burp cloths to infant clothing. Available in a wide variety of styles and colors, shop for your baby feeding cloth products from the ease of home, all done with a few clicks of a mouse. Find cloth diapers from our online infant clothing store that ensures easy fastening and a perfect fit for the babies. Select your personalized baby burp cloths from our wonderful array of designs and colors, all at great prices that you will be able to compare online. Our unique burp cloths are designed to provide maximum durability and absorption for you and your feeding baby. Shop for your favorite baby burp cloth and baby feeding clothing that will end up being the most versatile and functional baby product that any new parents will need! Choose from our wide variety of styles and colors, sure to delight even the pickiest of parents. Find luxuriously soft yet incredibly durable personalized baby burp cloths from Pink Taffy Designs' infant clothing store at amazingly low prices when you shop with us today!
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text:
Martin Waide says that Karem looked at the helicopter industry and saw opportunities to improve performance—in efficiency, noise reduction, range, payload. "And with no previous build experience, [he] set about in short order and built the A160, which did indeed demonstrate all those things."
Karem says those who think the secret to the Predator's success was endurance should think again. What he brought to UAVs, he says, was a refusal to treat them—as others had—like models or target drones, which aren't built to last, and therefore aren't built to be reliable. He designed the Albatross, Amber, Gnat-750, and Predator to fly hundreds of hours without a crash. He adds "I'm not a genius, but I am probably one of the best aircraft designers in the world today."
Author Richard Whittle is writing a book on the Predator for Henry Holt and Company.


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Experience the Ozarks by floating peacefully over the trees, valleys, and lakes.
Branson Balloon is the only hot air balloon ride business serving the Branson, Missouri area.
We have 2 balloons with a maximum of four passengers in one, and three in the other balloon.
When staying in Branson we can pick you up at your place of stay and take you back after the flight.
We offer flights 7 days a week, weather permitting and do require reservations in advance.
Call for availability and to book your flight with Branson Balloon.


text:
Women's Camo Outfitter Hoodie
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Product Features
Pre-Ripped V-neck for easy on/off
Lay Flat Draw Cords
Cut Out Signature Buck Logo
Adjustable Legendary® Branded Hood
Pre-Ripped V-neck for all-day comfort
There's nothing more comfortable than a hoodie...unless the neck is too tight. We replaced the traditional crew neck with a soft V-neck to give you a little more room to move.
Stylish Signature Buck logo
Our Signature Buck always looks great, but it looks best in camo. With matching Big Game Camo® on the sleeves and in the hood, our Legendary® logo brings it all together in style.
Product Description & Details
We took our most popular men's hoodie and made one just for you. Heavyweight cotton blend hoodie in great colors and feminine cut with Big Game Camo® accents. Features a soft V-neck opening for easy on-off and extra comfort.
- Big Game Camo® - Field accents
- Features soft V-neck opening
- Opening provides extra comfort
- Feminine cut
- Imported
Shell | 70% Cotton and 30% Polyester
Hood Lining | 70% Cotton and 30% Polyester
Sleeve Panels | 70% Cotton and 30% Polyester
WashMachine wash cold with like colors. Non-chlorine bleach only. Tumble dry low. Low iron.
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will the gray heather color be back in stock im a size small during the red velevt sale? i put it in my cart, and when i went to order it said i cannot get a small. very upset, i really wanted that color
Will this hoodie be restocked in mint green? Looks like you are all sold out except for 1X.
Do you wholesale
what is the size difference between a xxl and a 2xl
Will the lum color be restocked?
What is the width of the slimmest part of the waist on the large and x-large, and the measurement from armpit to armpit for these two sizes?
What is the length of the small?
Is this lighterweight than the mens hoodie?
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- questions, product


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Riportella finally gets goal for West Islip
Halfway through the first quarter Saturday, West Islip's Paul Riportella appeared to have Ward Melville goalie Ryan Simpson beaten, but his shot hit the pipe. He remained scoreless for the game and goal-less for the season . . . until the fourth quarter. Then Riportella, a senior midfielder, turned on the faucet.
Riportella won five straight faceoffs in the fourth quarter, four of them leading directly to goals, scored his first goal of the season and added two assists as West Islip scored seven straight goals, six in the final period, to defeat rival Ward Melville, 8-5.
"I didn't even realize he scored that much," West Islip coach Scott Craig said. "The biggest key to the comeback, the turning point of the game, was when he started winning those faceoffs. And not just winning the draw, but picking up the ground balls."
Riportella, who shares faceoff duties with Jon Reese, won the opening draw of the fourth quarter, with the Lions trailing 5-2 and looking flat offensively. It was a prelude to a deluge. West Islip (11-1, 10-0 in Division I), the Suffolk Class A champion for the last eight years, went from flat to razor sharp.
After winning the faceoff, Riportella broke for the net, took a feed from Anthony DeLuca and fired home a low rocket from the top of the slot. Before the cheers from a spirited crowd of about 1,800 that included several hundred Ward Melville fans died down, Riportella was at it again. He won the ensuing draw, fed Tom Moore, who beat Simpson and drew a penalty.
Seconds later, Brendan Smith capitalized on the extra-man opportunity with an unassisted blast from the left side to tie it at 5. The three goals in 39 seconds had the crowd and the West Islip sideline rocking.
The Lions kept rolling. Two more faceoff wins by Riportella produced a tiebreaking goal by Moore, his third of the game, unassisted after a dodge in the high slot, and a slick fast-break goal by Mike Moynihan with 7:19 left on a feed from Riportella.
"Once we start controlling faceoffs, we're hard to beat," Riportella said. "I use the same move every time -- the jump. I just got into a rhythm."
And gave Ward Melville the blues. "He had the hot hand," Craig said. "He was doing so well [on faceoffs], I left him in."
Those two goals, in nine seconds, seemed to break the spirit of the Patriots (10-2, 8-2), who controlled most of the first three quarters with a clock-killing offense and some excellent first-half saves by Simpson.
The Lions got the chance to stage their comeback because goalie Jack Kelly was brilliant early. "He kept us in the game," Craig said. "He left the door open for us."
Kelly, who made 11 saves, then slammed the door on Ward Melville, which got three goals from John Edmonds.
"They got good shots in the first half," Kelly said. "Then our defense pushed them out to the edge in the second half and they didn't get quality shots."
But the Lions did, thanks mainly to Riportella's faceoff frenzy. "Paulie played the game of his life," midfielder Anthony Santo said.


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Train service connecting some of the New York region's far-flung suburbs and exurbs to Manhattan is scheduled to resume full operation Monday, marking a modest milestone for a system that was crippled by Superstorm Sandy and continues to feel the effects more than two months later.
In an unintended bit of timing, the announcements Friday came as New Jersey commuters closed out a week in which several accidents left dozens of people injured and transit officials announced plans to close a major inbound roadway for two years for repairs.
New Jersey Transit, which suffered an estimated $400 million in damage to its rail cars, locomotives and infrastructure, will have trains into Manhattan restored to pre-Sandy schedules, executive director James Weinstein said Friday.
That includes the North Jersey Coast Line, which sustained extensive damage from Sandy near South Amboy where the storm shifted one rail bridge and several boats and cargo containers washed up onto another bridge. The line's southern terminus, Bay Head, is a more than two-hour ride from Manhattan.
It also includes the Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines, operated by NJ Transit for New York-based Metro-North and serving northern New Jersey and New York's Orange and Rockland counties. A total of seven trains will be added on the two lines, which had used bus service in the weeks after Sandy to fill in the gaps.
Service into Hoboken continues to run on a reduced schedule due to electrical problems caused by flooding from the storm, with the Gladstone branch of the Morris & Essex line the most affected. Weinstein said electrical power at Hoboken should be restored by March.
Friday's announcement follows by two days the news that the Port Authority Trans-Hudson line would resume 24-hour service on part of its system. PATH trains, a late-night lifeline for young professionals who work in Manhattan and live in Hoboken and Jersey City, have been ceasing operation at 10 p.m. to accommodate repair work.
Those were bright spots in a week in which, in order, an escalator at a Jersey City PATH station malfunctioned, injuring several people; dozens of people were hurt when a New York-bound commuter ferry crashed into a pier, and a bus bound for Wall Street from central New Jersey hit a school bus, causing more than a dozen injuries.
Then on Thursday, transportation officials announced that the heavily traveled inbound Pulaski Skyway, a primary feeder into the Holland Tunnel, would close for two years beginning in early 2014 as part of a $1 billion renovation.
Manny Arocho, 35, a regular commuter from Newark to his job as a designer with a Manhattan engineering firm, said he's been bewildered by the recent string of mishaps and delays and feels officials seem to always be reactive rather than proactive.
"Every time something happens, it's like they don't seem prepared," he said. "I really don't think New Jersey is up to par like other states, where, if they get two feet of snow, it's nothing – here, it seems to shut down New Jersey for two weeks. Now that the ferry has crashed, they'll start looking at safety."
The region's rail and subway systems were dealt a wallop by Sandy's tidal flood surge and hurricane-strength winds. PATH, Metro-North and NJ Transit suspended operations as the storm approached, as did New York City's subway system. Each was able to restore some service within the first week, with harder-hit sections taking weeks more, in some cases.
PATH service to New York out of Hoboken, where the century-old station was flooded with eight feet of water, didn't resume until the week before Christmas, eight weeks after the storm. The system-wide 10 p.m. nightly service suspension proved a burden to some.
Maria Murphy commutes every weekday from her home in Newark to a job in Queens and said the closure has forced her to take a more expensive alternative.
"Because it stops at 10 p.m., and I get out of work at 9:30 p.m. in Queens, I have to take NJ Transit home and it costs double, and it's very, very tiring," she said.