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Hospitals' spiralling bill for mistakes: Patients' claims send premiums soaring
Posted: January 11, 2011|
A HOSPITALS trust has been hit by a £3.3 million hike in its insurance premiums to cover claims of negligence.
The premiums paid by Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust rocketed from £4.6 million in 2008-09 to £7.9 million in 2009-10.
It comes as a Freedom Of Information request from the Mail revealed the trust, which runs Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, had to pay out on 114 claims of clinical negligence in the last two years.
The claims are understood to include operations that went wrong, people being given the wrong drug or an error in diagnosis.
Dr David Hepburn, medical director at the trust, said: "People will think the cost is high, but it's members of the public who are making the claims.
"It's our negligence that causes the problem and I know it looks like a lot, but it's there because people put claims in.
"For a trust of this size, we think that is a very reasonable figure and it is not excessive.
"That is because of the number of patients we treat.
"We treat about 130,000 inpatients a year, see more than 500,000 people in outpatient clinics and 120,000 in the accident and emergency department.
"Our costs are not excessive compared to other trusts, the size of our trust and the overall costs to the NHS.
"The trust works very hard to deliver high quality patient care."
In 2008-09, £5,700,703 was paid out for 46 clinical negligence claims against the trust.
The following year, £4,228,878 was paid out for 68 claims.
No doctors or surgeons have been sacked over clinical negligence during those years.
The trust pays an annual premium to the NHS Litigation Authority, which acts as a form of insurance policy for clinical negligence claims.
Money for claims comes from the authority.
The £3.3 million hike to the trust's insurance premiums is less than one per cent of its annual budget of £470 million.
It equates to the salaries of roughly 165 experienced staff nurses.
Dr Hepburn said the trust gets a discount on its premiums for both maternity and general care after litigation officials said they were satisfied with its policies and procedures to protect patients.
He also said the majority of claims are settled out of court as it costs the NHS less and the same amount of money still goes to the claimant, without the need for costly legal fees.
"It's still NHS money and it's still money that could be used for patient care," he said.
"There is an area of concern at national level about the rise in litigation costs and the money it is taking out of the NHS.
"When something does happen we need to make sure we are open and honest about it, which we are.
"If we are going to pay compensation, let's pay it to the person who deserves it, not the person who doesn't – and that's the lawyer.


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Posts tagged with 'The Hunger Games'
Listen To The National's New Song 'Lean' From 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Soundtrack
The National have revealed their new song "Lean", taken from the new 'Hunger Games: Catching Fire' soundtrack.
Listen To Coldplay's New Song 'Atlas' From 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Soundtrack
You can listen to the brand new Coldplay song "Atlas" from the upcoming movie 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'.
Review/Listen: Ólafur Arnalds – For Now I Am Winter
Ólafur Arnalds's third LP, "For Now I Am Winter," finds him at his atmospheric best, building up sonic universes in 12 focused tracks.
[Listen] – Neko Case – "Nothing To Remember" (The Hunger Games Soundtrack)
Check out Neko Case's brand new song "Nothing To Remember", her contribution to The Hunger Games soundtrack.
[Listen] – Arcade Fire – "Abraham's Daughter"
Check out Arcade Fire's newest piece of music in almost a year, a track that appears on the new Hunger Games soundtrack.
[Listen] – The Decemberists – "One Engine"
The Decemberists have a brand new song on the new soundtrack to The Hunger Games which you can hear right now.

subset: commoncrawl


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Summer DAY CAMPS in the Triangle
If you provide a day camp program and would like to be considered for this directory, submit your information through our online camp form.
4508 Mount Willing Rd.
Mebane, NC 27302
Full-day, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. See website for sessions. Horseback riding. Multi-week and sibling discounts available....more
4028 Carya Dr.
Raleigh, NC 27610
Half-day, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. June 23-27. Academics, arts and crafts, farm animals, farm activities and...more
1203 W. Woodcroft Pkwy.
Durham, NC 27713
Full- and half-day; 8:45 a.m.-noon and 8:45 a.m.-3 p.m., extended care available. June-Aug. Swimming and...more
1222 Copeland Oaks Dr.
Morrisville, NC 27560
Full- and half-day. Call for sessions. Arts and crafts, performing arts and yoga. Multi-week and...more
3501 Hwy. 54 W.
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
See website for sessions....more
2400 University Dr.
Durham, NC 27707
See website for sessions....more
1229 N.W. Maynard Rd.
Cary, NC 27513
Half-day, 8:15-11:45 a.m. June 23-Aug. 8. Academics and arts and crafts. Multi-week and sibling discount...more


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If you have every wondered what happens at night while you're asleep, whether you talk in your sleep, if your partner snores, or if you woke up because the dog was barking - then this app is for you. My Sleep Talk Recorder can answer these questions for you.
Did you know that 5% of adults and 50% of children talk in their sleep? Are you one of them? My Sleep Talk Recorder will record what you say while you're asleep and dreaming. It will make sure that you don't miss out on that fantastic idea you had last night or the chance to prove to your partner that they snore.
* Useful and entertaining
* Only records when there is sound (talking, snoring, etc), eliminating the need to listen to 8 hours worth of recordings in the morning
* Delete unwanted recordings and save the ones you like as favorites
* Share the recordings with your friends
* Time-delayed start
* Set a record window to automatically stop the recorder after a given number of hours
* Adjust the recording sensitivity to minimize recording of background noise
* Recordings saved as .wav files so you can share with anyone
* Records while screen is locked
My Sleep Talk Recorder is a paid application but Cleric Software Solutions also offers a free lite version to allow you to experience the functionality and feel of the full version. My Sleep Talk Recorder Free has all of the functionality offered in My Sleep Talk Recorder, but each recording session is limited to 2 hours instead of 24 hours.
Device Requirements:
* This app is designed for both iPhone and iPad
* iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S and iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd, 4th and 5th gen) and iPad
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Pricing and Available:
My Sleep Talk Recorder 1.0 is $0.99 (USD). The lite version, My Sleep Talk Recorder Free, is free of charge. They are both available now in the Utilities category.


text:
(via vegnews)
You can train your hardest, you can try your best and have no regrets — and still not get what you want. That's a hard lesson to learn in front of millions of people.
Michelle Kwan on missing out on the Olympic gold. (via theatlantic)
That's a hard lesson for an AMERICAN to learn in front of millions of people. Most of us are already aware of the concept that hard work ≠ success.
(Source: deceitfulyouth, via tyleroakley)
Why is everyone so obsessed with portraying an alternate version of themselves to others, as if to become what everyone else thinks they should be?
That's what I wrote about for my class this week when prompted to write about self-defnse; passing. We live in a culture of abuse where violence is directed at "other." We promote our survivability with denial, reaction formation, camouflage… the most common defense mechanisms being behaving against whatever you're actually feeling, or hiding. I think we've been conditioned to feel the need to conform as a form of self-defense.
I went to meet a Jeet Kune Do master and hear about Bruce Lee's martial art where he spoke of self-defense being synonymous with self-expression but then self-defense turns into a paradox, it seems if self expression marks you as "other" and invites violence.
The thing about patriarchy is that individual men, gay and straight, are often really wonderful people who you love deeply, but they have internalized some really poisonous shit. So every once in a while they say or do something that really shakes you because you're no longer totally certain they see you as a human being, and you feel totally disempowered to explain that to them.
(via forgetwhoweare)
In mind
When talking
To my dad
(via freesamuel)
I feel like I reblog this all the time.
(via historicalslut)
Literally never stops being relevant. And sometimes when it happens I need to find this quote and ground myself in the knowledge that I'm not alone in this feeling. (via khaleesi)
(Source: lasluchasdelcorazon, via tomfordfocus)
I want all these young people to be getting a higher education, and I don't want them loaded up with tens of thousands of dollars of debt just to get an education. That's how we make America great.
Of course, that means all of you all have got to hit the books. I'm just saying. Don't cheer and then you didn't do your homework.
Because that's part of the bargain, that's part of the bargain—America says we will give you opportunity, but you've got to earn your success.
You're competing against young people in Beijing and Bangalore. They're not hanging out. They're not playing video games. They're not watching "Real Housewives." I'm just saying. It's a two-way street. You've got to earn success.
That wasn't in my prepared remarks. But I'm just saying.
—President Obama today, keeping it real (via barackobama)
(via think4yourself)


text:
Broccoli Casserole
Makes about 10, one cup servings
Large bag of frozen broccoli and cauliflower. May use fresh if desired
2 c. cooked rice
1 stick margarine
3/4 c. chopped celery
3/4 c. green pepper
3/4 c. onion
1 can of mushroom soup, not diluted
1 soup can of milk
1 large jar Cheese Whiz
Cook and drain frozen broccoli and cauliflower. Add cooked rice. Saute margarine and chopped celery, green pepper and onion. Add broccoli & cauliflower mixture. Add can of mushroom soup, not diluted, 1 soup can of milk and 1 large jar Cheese Whiz. Stir the mixture and put in a covered baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.
Mindy Schryver - Stephens City


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Credit cards unkindest cut for U.S. consumers
— James Saft is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own –
Government intervention or not, banks will be cutting up America's credit cards at an unprecedented rate, with grave implications for the economy and company profits.
The U.S. Federal Reserve last week added more nutrition to its alphabet soup of rescue programs when it unveiled the Term Asset-backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF), under which, among other things, it will lend up to $200 billion to investors in securities backed by credit-card, auto and student loans.
It did so for a very good reason: the securitization market's freeze now extends beyond mortgages, imperiling run-of-the-mill consumer financing and making it a certainty that many people who use credit to get them over "cash flow" situations will be, well, denied.
And even though the U.S. car industry may implode if starved of finance and many students will have to defer education, the real potential disaster is in credit card funding, which could push lots of households over the brink and in the process consumption and every business which depends on it, which would be all of them.
Put simply, even with an apparent will to try anything to bring the wheels of finance back into motion it will be very difficult for government to quickly fill the hole left by private finance. Details of the plan are still sketchy, but let's just take it for granted that it works, even if the plan, at only one year, will give them huge fears about how they get out of their positions at the end of 2009.
Beyond that, the Fed is seeking to kick start securitization by attracting back a species of investors, leveraged ones, who don't really exist any more.
All other things being equal, the amount the Fed is putting into the TALF should take the ABS market back to about where it was in the first half of 2008, which itself was only a third of the volume we saw in 2007.
But all other things are not equal.
The banks that provide the bulk of credit card funding generally want to cut back, pushed by their own woes, a conservative read of the economic situation and, potentially, regulatory changes that, while intended to ward off the excesses of the last bubble, will magnify the impact of its bursting.
Meredith Whitney, the Oppenheimer and Co analyst who has so far been ahead in identifying and explaining the weaknesses in the banking system, thinks over $2 trillion of credit lines, or 45 percent of lines available, will be pulled out from under American consumers in the next 18 months, a figure that puts the Fed's $200 billion for asset backed finance in its proper perspective.
"We are now entering a new era within the financial landscape that will be characterized by expanded forced consumer de-leveraging with a pronounced downshift in consumer spending," she wrote in a research note.
"We view the credit card as the second key source of consumer liquidity, the first being their jobs. Pulling credit at a time when job losses are increasing by over 50 percent year-on-year in most key states is a dangerous and unprecedented combination, in our view."
Whitney notes that the three largest credit card lenders, Bank of America, Citigroup and JP Morgan, who between them account for more than half of U.S. credit card outstandings, have each discussed reducing card exposure or slowing growth. Capital One and American Express, who are another 14.5 percent, have also talked about limiting lending.
That will set the tone for the rest of the industry, which will be grappling with new regulation that, if goes ahead as planned, will impair profitability of credit card lending and push more off-balance sheet securitizations back on to the banking industry's already strained books.
Cutting back on abusive lending and forcing banks to recognize and account for the risks they take are surely good things, but will have the perverse effect of making the credit crunch worse, at least temporarily.
And looking at the balance sheets of individual Americans, there is good reason to think that the credit crunch should get worse: that they should consume and borrow less and save more. I'd argue that far from being non-functioning, financial markets are closer to pricing in the true risk of lending to consumers now with credit cards charging about 10 percentage points more than 5-year Treasuries than they were six months ago when it was only about a 7.65 percentage point gap.
But the mother of all unintended side effects is that the faster consumers cut back, the worse it will be.
The kind of consumer cut back implied by the consumer credit crunch that now looks likely would blow a hole below the waterline in the U.S. economy, and in U.S. company profits and the stocks that reflect them.
The Federal Reserve and U.S. government's use of unconventional measures is only just beginning.
– At the time of publication James Saft did not own any direct investments in securities mentioned in this article. He may be an owner indirectly as an investor in a fund. For more columns by James Saft, click here. –
For full coverage of the crisis in credit, click here.
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
It looks like the credit card companies are doing a better job of risk analysis. In a recession wage increases will be limited and job loses will increase. The ability to sell or mortgage property to cover debts will become more difficult. The reduction of credit to those that may have a difficult time paying is both prudent and fair. If the home mortgage industry had been more prudent this recession would be less severe.
Several comments in response to other comments and the article. The majority of the current financial mess started with the mandate of the Federal government to lending institutions to offer subprime loans. The lenders turned around to unload these high risk loans and the only vehicle that was palatable to the market was selling them as part of a package with blended risk. When the inevitable bubble in the housing market came, the effects were magnified by these packages that included subprime loans.
The point is that the failure of the financial market came from one horrible government program – not from a general over leveraging by the American consumer.
If you want an economy that has full employment – which we have enjoyed now for several decades – then you must have consumers buying to support industry. There really is no other option unless one settles for higher unemployment as the norm.
"The U.S. Federal Reserve last week added more nutrition to its alphabet soup of rescue programs when it unveiled the Term Asset-backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF), under which, among other things, it will lend up to $200 billion to investors in securities backed by credit-card, auto and student loans."
The above paragraph summed up for me the root cause of the problem and the solution. The government is bailing out the investors and the banks but doing nothing for the average consumer (taxpayer). $200 Billion in tax cuts to the American public to pay off credit cards or to spend in the economy (if someone is already using credit wisely) would go long way to both remedy the problems of the banks and the economy. If 70% of the economy is driven by consumer spending then anything that puts money back in the hands of the consumer is going to help it recover quicker than bailing out the producers (banks, car companies….etc). Thank God both Obama and McCain supported tax cuts for the middle class in the election. This one measure alone will do more than anything that Paulson and Co. has thought of yet. By the way, someone suggested a few weeks ago giving out (by lottery) 1 Million $25,000 vouchers to Americans willing to drive an american car from the big three. This would take 1 Million vehicles off of the lots and keep the factories producing replenishment vehicles until the credit market gets back to normal. The auto bailout would help both the consumers and the producers. Better in my opinion than trying to manage a $25 Billion investment in the big three out of Washington by reviewing business plans. I wish someone in Washington would paraphrase Bill Clinton from his first election "It's the consumer stupid…"
Capitalism, or free enterprise market economies also must be true to their own philosophies and stated purposes. If you kill the goose that lays the golden egg, you are a pirate, not a capitalist and as such you should be identified and relieved of your authority.
As a banker in the '80s, I was leery of the deregulation that allowed interstate banking. That is the cause of the "loss of community values". Banks were allowed to operate using the most advantageous laws like having a bank in a state with no usuary laws. That allowed them to charge whatever they wanted with no limit. We should reinstate the usury rate at 18% as a national high. We should treat the banks as a monopoly and do away with the interstate banking laws. Making the banks have only community employees and autonomy to operate as the community dictates. It is difficult to cheat your neighbor the parent of the kid your kid plays ball with, or across the bridge table. When you interact with your customers everyday in real life terms, you take better care of their money.
Guy Thompto: "The majority of the current financial mess started with the mandate of the Federal government to lending institutions to offer subprime loans. "
NOT TRUE – 80% of Subprime mortgage loans were by PRIVATE lenders like Countrywide and American Home Mtg and Argent. Private lenders are NOT Regulated by the Federal Reserve and DID NOT HAVE TO COMPLY with the CRA (Community Reinvestment Act). Therefore Provate Lenders were NOT FORCED to write Subprime loans – they were encouraged to by firms like Goldman Sachs. These Private Lenders were financed by Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers, etc.
Wall Street gambled Mortgage Backed Securities in Derivatives at 40 X their reserves (see SEC Rule Change in 2004 requested by Goldman's Hank Paulson). They lost their gamble, don't have 40 X their reserves to pay – and the Taxpayer is being scammed big time.
Thanks for an excellent post Ms. Peggy. Also, government pressure and requirements that banks make affordable loans available ("everyone deserves a home, car, credit car, education" etc. – whether they can pay it back or not) caused banks to stop keeping loans in house because they knew that they would not be repaid. Instead, they took their fees, sold them to Wall Street, had their friends down the hall at the rating agencies rate them AAA, took their fees, sold them to pension funds, foreigners, mutual funds etc. The builders, realtors, attorneys, appraisers, retailers, politicians – everybody – was making money without regard to the ultimate outcome. We do not have any great leaders now, so there were no adults around to stop it. Oh well. Very predictable if you have knowledge of history and human nature.
Debt of all forms is now so massive in the US that there are only two ways to deal with it:
1). A full-fledged bankruptcy by the United States of America, in which the nation, all the states, all the municipalities, many of the businesses, and most of the people go bankrupt en masse.
I have no idea what the side effects of that would be, probably the end of human civilization.
2). A massive money-printing binge by the government, enough to devalue the dollar by about 50%. One consequence of that would be that all debt would be downscaled by 50%, which would probably get it to a manageable level.
In scenario 2, we are talking about a 50% devaluation of the dollar, so we are talking about a 100% inflation over a short period of time.
This would be good for debtors (debt reduced in half), and creditors too (they would salvage 50%, instead of losing 100% when debtors all default)
Wages and pension payments would be doubled (they would now be paid in "hollars" rather than "dollars", one "hollar" being worth half of the old dollar.
Those with cash & bond investments would lose 50%. That's fair enough, they were the ones that got spared in the 2008 massacre, they can certainly afford a 50% haircut like the rest of us.
Guy Thompto, which federal mandate requires lending institutions to make subprime loans? If you're referring to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), your information is incorrect. It does not require any such thing. The CRA was enacted in the 1970's, and can hardly be blamed for the current economic situation. The CRA was enacted for the very necessary purpose of preventing lenders from "redlining"–a common and unfair practice in which depository institutions opened branches and accepted deposits in certain ethnic and lower socioeconomic communities while refusing to lend to those same depositors–effectively using these depositor's money to make loans to predominately middle-class and affluent Caucasian borrowers. The CRA does not require institutions to make loans to non-creditworthy borrowers. Even still, the current mortgage crisis cannot be blamed on subprime borrowers, but on greedy bankers who capitalized on a convoluted and ill-constructed secondary market scheme that they believed lowered their risk of making haphazard loans far in excess of what borrowers could afford—both prime and subprime borrowers—and without regard for the real sustainability of such practices. If the CRA were to blame, the current mortgage crisis would have surfaced much sooner.
Perhaps it's about time the consumer learns a bit about economics. Excess debt always has its risk and debt is not necessarily required to drive an economy.
For instance the German economy has been one the strongest in all of the world while its consumer debt has been one of the least.
I personally have had ZERO debt throughout my 68 years, although have to show by a long shot more than most Americans, therefore I cannot be convinced that it requires debt for consumer purchases to flourish; While we should not compare personal debt with corporate debt.
For the US consumer to ween himself off the debtor status will be painful for process for years to come, but it's not a death sentence, we will become stronger when the healing process has ended. It's also about time the government (on both local, state & federal level) to learn that there is no such word as "infinity" in debt.
Guy Thompto: "The majority of the current financial mess started with the mandate of the Federal government to lending institutions to offer subprime loans. "
YES THAT IS TRUE !! It also holds true for "private institutions" as it becomes an indirect forced consequence to follow the market to stay competitive. We, the shareholders not only require but "expect" that of our investments. [The greed of instant earnings instead of long-term results]. Therefore, the shareholder becomes very much part of the picture.
By banks cutting credit cards,is great, they are taking away there own rights to rip off the american people, with 20% interest and all kinds of hidden charges, I am glad they are suffering, it serves them right!


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text:
Hailing frequencies open. Aggregating Star Trek fan news, information, and scifi fun.
Follow @star_trek
Tribble Dump by Autumn-In-April
(tos)Spock and tribbles by marxx97 #deviantart
TRIBBLES KIRK - Star Trek by phymns #deviantart
Tribble Trouble by HartmanArts #deviantart
Purr, purr, klingon, purr~ by LRaien #deviantart
fem!Chekov and troublesome!Tribbles by the-view-to-a-kill #deviantart
T is for Tribble - Abcdefgeek By Otis Frampton
Trouble with Tribbles by TechnoRanma #deviantart
Who's Tribbles-thecosmicdancer by TheDeviantMakepeace #deviantart
Nurse Chapel by ~somefield (#deviantart)
Quark's in Tribble by ~NewtMan (#deviantart)
ThinkGeek — Star Trek Interactive Tribbles
The Guide to Owning a Tribble
Klingon PSA "More Tribbles, More Troubles"
Zoe's Tribbles (Fur Balls-set of 3) (etsy.com)


text:
For the best experience on the Abcam website please upgrade to a modern browser such as Google Chrome.
Full length native protein from human erythrocytes.
We can conjugate this antibody to FITC for you (please see ab150196 for details).
Our Abpromise guarantee covers the use of ab9484 in the following tested applications.
The application notes include recommended starting dilutions; optimal dilutions/concentrations should be determined by the end user.
|Use a concentration of 5 µg/ml.
|Use at an assay dependent concentration.
|Use a concentration of 0.5 - 1 µg/ml. Detects a band of approximately 36 kDa (predicted molecular weight: 40.2 kDa). NOT SUITABLE for blocking with milk. Block in 5% BSA for 1 hour. Our labs have thoroughly investigated the blocking conditions for this antibody following concerning customer feedback on the lack of signal with some of the vials. We found that milk significantly decreases the signal and is therefore not a suitable blocking agent for this antibody (see images). This change in the characteristics of the antibody is due to a recent update to the production process.
|Use a concentration of 5 µg/ml. Perform heat mediated antigen retrieval before commencing with IHC staining protocol.
|Flow Cyt
|Use 1µg for 106 cells.
Please note: All products are "FOR RESEARCH USE ONLY AND ARE NOT INTENDED FOR DIAGNOSTIC OR THERAPEUTIC USE"


text:
A year ago, East Noble finished sixth in the NHC Wrestling Tourney at New Haven. Saturday, the Knights will host the meet and if they live up to their seedings, the hosts will challenge for the crown.
The City of Decatur continues to move closer to putting completely back in order — and ready for a tenant — the 100-year-old former Pennsylvania Railroad depot off Seventh St., near Monroe St.
City council on Tuesday night authorized the expenditure of $12,000 to pay some bills and learned that it soon will be time to consider purchasing a new furnace for the structure.
Marcy Kaye (Smelser) Koons, of Decatur, has announced her candidacy as a Democrat for the office of Recorder of Adams County.
Three Republicans have announced that they will be seeking the office: Deb Stimpson and Jim Voglewede of Decatur, and Gerald Walker of Berne.
Current Recorder Connie Moser is barred by term limits from seeking a third term.
Unseasonably warm weather brought with it a torrent of rain, swelling the St. Mary's River beyond it's banks and making the River Greenway Trail impassable to would-be hikers this week.
Today, local weather station officials said the St. Marys River here had dropped from a Wednesday crest of 18.23 feet to 15.58 feet at 7 a.m. today.
Cold weather now has Decatur in its grip.
At Tuesday's meeting of the Adams Country Commissioners, County Attorney Mark Burry presented a proposal from Schenkel and Schultz, a Fort Wayne engineering firm, to inspect the former Music House building for $3,200.
The commissioners are looking at the now-vacant downtown building as a possible site for a new Adams Superior Court location.
Chairman Doug Bauman said, "We have to investigate some alternative, and the Music House may be one. We won't know until we look."
The Berne Chamber, which this year will mark its 35th year of existence, on Tuesday evening posthumously honored the two people who helped cement the organization as the driving force it has become in the community.
The late Delbert and Irene Sprunger, who not only helped secure a permanent home for the chamber but also served as two of the city's most prominent advocates, were honored with the chamber's Lifetime Achievement Award during the organization's annual celebration dinner.
Republican Dennis Bluhm has announced his candidacy and filing for re–election as an at–large member of the Adams County Council.
Bluhm, a Peterson-area resident, is a graduate of Ohio Northern Univeraity College of Pharmacy and was co–owner of Village Pharmacy in Decatur and Berne. He retired after 32 years as Director of Pharmacy at Wells Community Hospital in Bluffton and has served as a staff pharmacist at CVS Pharmacy in Decatur and Berne.
Marlene Wilson, 73, of Homosassa, Fla., formerly of Decatur, passed away January 13, 2012, at the Hospice House of Citrus County, Fla., with her loving husband Jim by her side.
She was born on May 20,1938, in Adams County.
She retired from Azar's Inc. after serving 28 years in the food and beverage service business at the Back Forty Restaurant.
She was a graduate of the Dale Carnegie Course and took several courses at Vincennes University.
The Bellmont girls swim team won all but two events Tuesday night at notched a 96-83 victory over NHC rival DeKalb in action at the Bellmont pool while in the boys meet, the Braves had a much easier time in slamming their Baron foes 141-37.
A recreational vehicle campground along Parkview Drive as part of an expanded Kekionga Park.
A new park area east of First Street in downtown Decatur, compete with a stage area, playground and a pedestrian bridge across the St. Marys River.
Limberlost Park near Geneva enhanced with new walking trails and access points to the Wabash River. Greater accessibility for handicapped residents and more and better restroom facilities at all parks countywide.


text: Centurian Giotto commented: > I have documentation of plaster molding being used under plates on > a kick wheel during throwing to form the smooth inside of the plate > and of plaster press molds for "lace woven" plate edges. Both > processes are shown in "Three Books of the Potter's Art", a > thirteenth century treatise on pottery techniques. Oh! Interesting. I'd never thought to consider that if you were wheel throwing a plate that you really would want to do that upside down. I also have a bit on the use of plaster within period, but I don't think anyone mentioned anything like this. plaster-msg (16K) 3/17/99 Use of plaster in period. References. I also don't remember anyone mentioning this "Three Books of the Potter's Art" treatise before, either. If you'd care to elaborate on any of this further, I'd love to have one or more such articles for the Florilegium. Or even a few messages on these subjects to add to the appropriate files if you'd don't feel like doing the articles. Also, for us folks who aren't that familiar with pottery, what do you and Mistress Clarissa mean by "slip casting"? Thanks, Stefan -------- THLord Stefan li Rous Barony of Bryn Gwlad Kingdom of Ansteorra Mark S. Harris Austin, Texas StefanliRous at austin.rr.com **** See Stefan's Florilegium files at: http://www.florilegium.org ****


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Beagle / Mixed : : Female (spayed) : : Young : : Medium
More Pics...
Learn more about the Beagle.
Khloe is a sweet fun loving puppy who is looking for her forever home. As any good puppy she loves toys and to run and play but also needs basic obedience training. Her foster home is working on it but she will need it to continue into her new furever home.
She would love a home with a big backyard to run in and another active canine sibling(s) and human siblings too ! Won't you consider making Khloe part of your family today !
Sponsors: 3d, 3w(MT) 3m
Other Pictures of Khloe (click to see larger version):


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Thursday, August 22, 2013
Community | Obits | Editorial & Columnists | Society | Sports | Education | Classified Ads | Calendar of Events | Features | Newsbriefs | Legals | Archives | Subscriptions | New Photo Gallery
Click Here for the E-Edition of
The South Reporter
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City Personals
Emma Burleson to spend year in Arlington, Texas, doing mission work
Emma Burleson left Wednesday to spend a year doing mission work in Arlington, Texas. She will be working at Mission Arlington. Good luck to Emma as she works to help others!
Kay and Laura Wheeler, Grady Brooks and Midge Bagwell attended the meet and greet Saturday with the Ole Miss Rebel football team. The highlight of their morning was getting to meet Coach Hugh Freeze and quarterback Bo Wallace.
AnnYager and Alex McCrosky hosted Bea and Drew Tolsdorf and children, Caroline and Charlie, of Jackson, over the weekend. While here, they all visited with friends.
Holly Springs has lost not only a wonderful citizen, but an extremely talented artist, as well. Clark (Doc as some fondly called him) Cochran's widow passed away last week. She was a beautiful Southern lady inside and out, always wearing a happy face! She would greet those who knew her with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, always ending her first sentence in "darlin.' " Her artwork is treasured by all who are lucky enough to have acquired a piece of it. If not, Carl Isom has pieces available in his antique store in Mt. Pleasant. May you now be able to paint with the masters in heaven - you will be sorely missed.
Rita and Johnny Langus of Mobile, Ala., spent the weekend in Holly Springs. They were here to attend the funeral of Rita's sister-in-law.
The Potts Camp Cardinals and Marshall Academy Patriots both played in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on the campus of Ole Miss over the weekend. Potts Camp played Friday night while Marshall played Saturday.
What a wonderful opportunity for these two teams to have. Seeing the Patriots play in a venue that large was a truly amazing experience. Marshall dominated Falkner from the jump. The athleticism and raw talent of the Patriots showed until the very last second. They start their regular season play this Friday night at Kirk Academy with kickoff at 7 p.m.
(To put your news in City Personals, please e-mail email@example.com, or www.southreporter.com
Kimberlee Tice to wed Cody Garrison Sept. 7
Mr. and Mrs. Tracy Tice proudly announce the engagement and forthcoming marriage of their daughter Kimberlee Renee' Tice to Cody Daniel Garrison.
The bride-elect is the daughter of Tracy and Marsha Tice of Holly Springs. Her grandparents are Terry and Donnie Drewery of Hamilton, Ala., Carol Smith of Waterford, Donald Culver (Carolyn) of Ripley and Debroah Tice (the late John Tice Jr.) of Holly Springs. Her great-grandparents are Gladys Smith of Waterford and the late Avis Tice and John D. Tice Sr.
The groom is the son of Mae Garrison of Byhalia and Micheal Garrison (Cheryl) of Red Banks. His grandparents are John and Nancy Garrison of Red Banks, Christine Wilkerson (Billy) of Byhalia and the late Donald Wilkerson.
The couple will reside in their home in Byhalia with their son, John Lewis Garrison.
Kimberlee and Cody will exchange vows on Sept. 7 at 3 p.m. at Hope Alive Worship Center in Hamilton. A reception will follow.
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Hanging Displays are a great way to create a presence and make your company stand out on a crowded trade show flooring or convention hall. A hanging sign can been seen from far away and get your company's name up above all the other trade show exhibitors. And they make it easy for prospects to navigate the distance to your trade show booth – they just follow the sign. There simply isn't a better way to create visibility than a hanging sign. Hanging signs also work great in dealerships and showrooms as a permanent installation.
Impact has 3 types of signs. Gravity tension vinyl is a vinyl graphic that is suspended from a lightweight aluminum frame. The hanging display graphic remains tight by gravity (there's a weighted pole on the lower wedge of the graphic). A gravity tension fabric display works the same way – the graphic is printed on fabric, making it easier to store, lighter and more finished in appearance. The tension fabric hanging sign is a double sided fabric enclosure. The fabric graphic surrounds the frame, which hold it tight. The tension fabric frame is the most sophisticated of all the hanging signs we sell – it eliminates the spaces and the corners of the sign and has a "continuous" look.
Hanging signs are suspended from a ceiling (or support girder, etc) by a harness and cabling. Some of these signs have options like motors to turn them and bottom panels, so you can print your company's logo on the bottom.
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High Moon Studios, developer of Transformers: War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron, is currently working on a video game featuring everyone's favorite merc with a mouth, Deadpool.
The NSFW trailer, which debuted today at Comic-Con, is embedded below. High Moon obviously kept Deadpool's sense of humor and thirst for mayhem firmly intact. Another thing they kept intact is the character's voice, which is once again provided by Nolan North, who also voiced the character in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and the Hulk vs. Thor direct-to-DVD animated film. Visit DeadPoolGame.com for more information on the project.


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SchedAero By Avinode Makes European Debut
Online charter portal Avinode (Stand 749) is launching its Cloud-based SchedAero software for European implementation. "Over the past six months we have completely rebuilt SchedAero to meet the needs of the European market," said Niklas Berg, managing director of SchedAero, which allows air charter providers to integrate quoting, logistics management, aircraft and crew scheduling, fleet and crew tracking, invoicing and more across remote locations. Files can be simultaneously accessed and processed.
The program is hosted on Avinode's robust servers, and requires no downloads to function across multiple platforms and computer software operating systems. Built for smaller operators, with no upfront installation costs, the program provides Avinode members the ability to switch between applications without logging out. "We have more than 100 customers in the U.S. and we are really happy to be able to give Europeans the opportunity to take advantage of the software as well," said Berg.
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GASKET City, inventory 1900-1960s, new full sets, over 35,000 head gaskets; USA made; MC/Visa. Al Lambert, 888-335-4686 toll-free; [email]**23-YR**... More
WEATHERSTRIP and all rubber seals, lifetime warranty, 1930-1992, discount on complete cars. 864-579-0023, FAX: 864-579-0524, SC; caddy-parts.com... More
CARBURETORS and best quality kits 1900-1960, carburetor remanufacturing, all machining included, all carburetors engine tested, parts and workmanship guaranteed one full year. Classic Carburetors,... More
SHOCKS, lever type, largest worldwide stock or rebuild yours, 1909-1955 Buicks, $75-$195 most. Apple Hydraulics, 800-882-7753, Calverton, NY; [email]; www.applehydraulics.com... More


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I think I'm going to try and move my style in a different direction for a bit. I'll probably bench my graphic tees for a few weeks and try to dress with a bit more... Elegance? I'm not sure exactly, mostly I'm just going to find clothes that don't make me feel out of place.
So, I was looking for inspiration on Pinterest when I found this skirt. The seller on Etsy doesn't appear to selling them anymore, although even if she was I couldn't afford forty bucks for a single skirt. Instead, I whipped up a quick pattern to make my own version with.
This pattern is basically just a peasant version of this circle wrap skirt here. If you look at that pattern, you'll see that it's basically a skirt, with two diminishing pieces on either end.
For this skirt you'll need to measure the length of the finished piece as well as the sport you want the skirt to sit. I came up with 29 inches by 31 inches. I decided that I wanted my skirt to have five tiers, so I drafted the following pattern
Let's assume that A is the waistline, and B is 1/5 the length of the finished product.
I added in 1/4 inch seam allowances throughout, as well as an additional inch to the top of the top tier. I didn't add any hem allowance, because I planned on using my serger to finish the edge and then leaving it.
I cut two of each piece.
I used three full yards of a 45 inch wide linen "gauze" fabric that was crinkly. I thought that the effect would lend itself well to the finished product and I am satisfied with how it turned out.
Construction was pretty easy; I simply put all the tiers together on the main body, then put together the two wings, and then attached the wings to the main body. You could also put together all the matching tiers, and then attach the tiers together, whatever is easier for you.
I serged both the top and bottom edges.
Without finishing the 1/4 length ends looked pretty silly, eventually I decided to bring the lower corner up to my waistline and folding over the extra triangle of fabric. You could also gather the unfinished edge, or trim the lower corner so as to not add any extra width to your skirt.
I folded over the top inch of the skirt and sewed it in place. This gives the waistband more strength, and should prevent the wrong kind of stretching.
Originally, I planned on holding all the layers together with a button or two, but the buttons that were small enough so as to not be gaudy didn't really feel like they would be strong enough. So, I ended up improvising a tie out of a small scrap of fabric.
Then I tried the skirt on and marked where I would need to put buttonholes. My sewing machine has a buttonhole function so this last step was super quick and easy.
Altogether, the skirt took three days of naps, three yards of fabric and about twenty dollars. If I were you, I would err on getting too much fabric, because I thought I would have extra when I ended up barely having enough.
The skirt is super comfortable, and I feel pretty when I wear it.
The skirt is super comfortable, and I feel pretty when I wear it.
Let me know if you have any questions, and please send me pictures if you end up making this wonderful skirt.


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You can share your body, your bed, your bank account, and even your toothbrush, with another human being. But each mind contains a private world that can never be fully understood or examined, let alone shared with another. Read more
Even the best parents can inflict some form of lifelong damage upon their children. But when parents are outright mad, bad or dangerous – or in the case of the funny, bittersweet comic drama The Skeleton Twins, so depressed they commit suicide – the damage can feel impossible to bear, even decades down the track. Read more
Since its premiere in January at the Sundance Film Festival, film critics have been falling over themselves to lavish love upon Richard Linklater's Boyhood. Read more
I wanted to let go of the grasping desire to watch everything and be part of every conversation. But with the Melbourne International Film Festival in full swing, anxieties arise again. Read more
In Happy Christmas, the female characters are a pleasure to watch, largely because they're so familiar in life and so rarely depicted on screen. Read more
Think of a disability – mental or physical – and there's sure to be a film that features it. What about giving big roles to actors who actually live with the disability they're depicting? Now that would be authentic. Read more
Bigger isn't always better, but some films will open themselves up to you and pour themselves out in new ways when you see them on a cinema screen. Read more
Movies – especially horror and psychological thrillers – have always loved to explore and exorcise our deepest fears, and when it comes to mothers those fears are many. Read more
'All people who love cinema are voyeurs', according to French film director François Ozon. Is there really anything wrong with that? If our eyes love beauty – the glory of the human face and body – why condemn them? But there comes a point when you wonder if by sitting in the cinema watching, you're becoming a dirty old pervert. Read more
Hollywood has always known the adults are watching alongside the kids, and that to push a film into record profits (as Lego looks set to do with a global box office of $428 million and counting), you need to appeal to 'kids of all ages'. Read more


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Dear Readers,
Shouldn't Raghu arrange da roadies' format in such a way dat popular roadies like sambavi,simran n vikrant could hav lasted til da final three ,which certainly would hav made da climax much more xciting since they r very efficient n hotter than da current finalist, n now it does'nt matter wu wins.
thanx........luv_huda i have always noticed u r among da 1st ppl 2 read da telly buszz articles........have u missed any till date?.....lol
Actor Varun Dhawan who is one the hot seat of UTV Stars' show ... 8
Anil Kapoor has paved the way for Bollywood actors to act in fiction ... 13


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Boxer, whose stomach is so sensitive, might want to avoid her own history of "lies" about Iraq's WMDs. In 2002, she said, "Iraq made commitments after the Gulf War to completely dismantle all weapons of mass destruction; and unfortunately, Iraq has not lived up to its agreement."
The late Ted Kennedy was equally blunt: "There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein's regime is a serious danger, that he is a tyrant, and that his pursuit of lethal weapons of mass destruction cannot be tolerated. He must be disarmed." The list of Democrats who said identical things includes Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, and many more. Fifty-eight percent of Democratic senators voted in favor of the resolution to use force against Hussein in 2002.
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Sure, Bush made mistakes; but he corrected them in time to salvage the sacrifices of more than 4,000 Americans. When he handed off Iraq to Obama in 2009, it was a success.
Too hard won? Not worth it? That's a debate Republicans are still having. But Democrats aren't engaged in debate. They're engaged in a deceitful effort to distort history.
Photo credit: JD Lasica (Flickr)
The views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by WesternJournalism.com.


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British Broadcasting CorporationHome
|Clip description
An application of genetic modification in food
Duration: 01:19
By genetically modifying fish to produce omega 3, scientists may be able to promote health in humans and reduce over-fishing.
Cell division by mitosis
Duration: 01:27
A cell divides by mitosis - time lapse photography.
Cell division by mitosis and meiosis
Duration: 02:24
An explanation of the process of cell division by mitosis and meiosis.
Classification techniques and the search for useful plants
Duration: 04:36
Classification of plants continues to be very important. Scientists now use techniques including electron microscopy and DNA analysis. This is illustrated by the search for a plant with medicinal properties.
Cloning techniques and tissue sampling
Duration: 3:04
How can using the DNA from endangered species prevent extinction? The construction of a DNA library from tissue samples.
Creating a GM plant
Duration: 01:32
A report from a laboratory in which genetically modified plants are created.
DNA and the Human Genome Project
Duration: 04:42
An introduction to DNA, the Human Genome Project and genetic screening for diseases.
DNA hopes for prehistoric beasts
Duration: 01:25
Scientists say it is only a matter of time before extinct animals such as the sabre-tooth tiger and the woolly mammoth can be resurrected.
Dominant and recessive characteristics
Duration: 01:09
A description of Gregor Mendel's work with pea plants to demonstrate dominant and recessive inheritance.
Ethics of the Human Genome Project
Duration: 05:48
An interview with a scientist who worked on the Human Genome Project. The potential benefits in terms of developing preventive medicine are huge, but ethical issues are also raised.
Gene therapy and cystic fibrosis
Duration: 03:35
An explanation of the cause and effects of the genetic disorder cystic fibrosis and how it can be treated using gene therapy.
Genetic engineering to increase productivity in rice
Duration: 06:16
A look at work to genetically modify rice plants, improving their ability to photosynthesise in hot, dry conditions.
Genetic modification of papaya
Duration: 04:59
Liz Bonin from 'Bang Goes The Theory' discovers papaya plants on Hawaii have been genetically modified on two separate occasions to overcome diseases.
Genetically modified crops
Duration: 01:46
Liz Bonnin from 'Bang Goes The Theory' gives a brief description of the process of genetic modification using genetically modified fruit as genes.
Genetically modified tomatoes may have anti-cancer properties
Duration: 01:49
Scientists have developed purple tomatoes by crossing genes with a snapdragon flower. The resulting GM fruit is thought to have anti-cancer properties.
Identical twins and cloning
Duration: 03:38
The story of twins separated at birth is used to explain clones and cloning, both natural and artificial.
Inheritance of eye colour
Duration: 01:19
The combination of paired genes is used to explain inheritance of eye colour.
Inheritance: A history of sex, genes and DNA
Duration: 04:28
An animated history of our understanding of inheritance from Aristotle to Watson and Crick.
Live Forever
Duration: 03:27
Students are used to model the process of DNA replication showing how nucleotides are lost during each replication.
Mitochondrial DNA
Duration: 03:35
Liz Bonnin from 'Bang Goes The Theory' gives a detailed description of the differences between chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA in terms of inheritance.
Mitochondrial DNA and presenter's ancestors
Duration: 03:07
Liz Bonnin, Dallas Campbell and Jem Stansfield from 'Bang Goes The Theory' learn how their ancestors migrated from Africa. The specific paths of the migrations have been determined by using mitochondrial DNA.
Mitochondrial Eve
Duration: 03:09
Liz Bonnin from 'Bang Goes The Theory' explains how tiny mutations in mitochondrial DNA have been used to track all humans alive today back to one common female ancestor named Mitochondrial Eve, who lived approximately 200,000 years ago in Africa.
Muriel Weldale and complex gene interactions
Duration: 03:33
Through studying flower colour inheritance in snapdragons, Muriel Wheldale established that several genes interact to influence flower colour.
Mutations and genetic diseases
Duration: 03:41
An explanation of what mutations are and some of their causes. The effects that mutations can have are also discussed. Genetic diseases are investigated.
Norman Borlaug and selective breeding of wheat
Duration: 05:28
Selective breeding of wheat in the 1950s produced plants which had a high yield and were strong enough to withstand adverse weather. This wheat is now grown globally and has reduced the incidence of famine.
Sex chromosomes
Duration: 02:40
An explanation of how the sex chromosomes determine gender. An introduction to genes and chromosomes is given.
Stem cell research and medicine
Duration: 04:50
What is stem cell research and how can stem cells be used in medicine? Ethical issues surrounding this topic are discussed.
The Aging process
Duration: 03:08
Dr Tom Vulliamy describes the role of telomeres in the aging process and how telomerase enzyme can prevent ageing in cells.
The case for genetically modified crop plants
Duration: 01:32
The case is made for modifying the genomes of crop plants in order to improve yields and feed the growing world population.
The discovery of gene switches in maize
Duration: 08:09
Barbara McClintock's breeding experiments on maize resulted in the theory of gene switches and gene interactions.
The ethics of genetic modification
Duration: 04:52
Liz Bonnin from 'Bang Goes The Theory' talks to scientists who describe some of the ethics surrounding genetic modification. A balanced argument is presented with several scientists putting points for and against.
Variation, inheritance and the work of Mendel.
Duration: 04:52
Variation in the plant kingdom is used to introduce 19th century study of inheritance, including the work of Gregor Mendel.
Vavilov and the establishment of the first seed banks
Duration: 03:15
Nikolai Vavilov's aim to cross different varieties of plants led him to establish the first seed bank. This method of storing genetic material is now internationally important.
What happens to chromosomes in fertilisation?
Duration: 02:15
An animation and presenter narration shows haploid sex cells fusing and chromosomes pairing up.
chromosome, fertilisation, haploid, diploid, sperm, egg, ovum, gametes
William Bateson and patterns of inheritance
Duration: 06:02
William Bateson demonstrated a common pattern to inheritance of phenotypic characteristics. All his breeding experiments produced a 3:1 ratio.
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We at Affino are very proud to share the culmination of a 9 month collaboration with IMRG. The fruits of our labours have brought forth a truly smart, automated web-enabled service for retailers, powered by our own Affino Social Commerce Platform. The full details are set out in the following recently minted press release:
London, 27 October 2014: IMRG – the UK association for e-retail – is pleased to announce the launch of the e-Retail Benchmarking System, powered by the social commerce specialists, Affino.
The first of its kind, this automated system allows online retailers to measure their performance against a quorum of similar retailers (for example, young fast fashion retailers) on a daily basis (the day after the data has been submitted) from a PC, tablet or smartphone.
Offering instant access to business critical KPIs such as average basket value, unique visitors, checkout abandonment and conversion rates on a unique personalised dashboard, the IMRG e-Retail Benchmarking System makes it easy for online retailers to measure up to 12 months' user behaviour, traffic and overall performance and then make a comparison against the rest of the e-retail market. Benchmarks can be filtered to suit the company and each KPI is displayed as an interactive and user-friendly graph.
As the e-Retail Benchmarking System uses just a simple line of JavaScript (similar to Google Analytics) to automatically track all the KPIs and provide measurable data, this clever system will not slow the website down. The core of the system is a highly secure, smart asynchronous sampling engine.
With over 1,000 retail members, IMRG feel they are well-placed to launch the e-Retail Benchmarking System as an addition to the series of monthly and quarterly Indexes (e-Retail, m-Retail, Quarterly Benchmarking and Delivery) for the e-retail industry. Having handled data securely for over 14 years, IMRG has ensured that all information provided by online retailers who join the IMRG e-Retail Benchmarking System is completely anonymous and totally secure.
Graeme Howe, Managing Director of IMRG, comments: "IMRG have been providing the e-Retail Industry with benchmarking information for over 14 years and this new system represents a significant leap in the service we can provide to our retail members. Retailers will be
Staggered releasing is back in the news again following Taylor Swift's decision to withhold the second promo track from her new '1989' album from UK fans only. The single 'Out of the Woods' was made available for individual download on iTunes, unless of course you happened to live in the UK. As a UK citizen, the only way to get hold of said track was then to pre-order the whole new album.
Taylor Swift then added insult to injury by claiming that this was an effort to create 'a better experience for you, the fans'. Seriously? The UK fans alone singled out for a special experience!? One which was enforced in limiting fashion by the record company. This is obvious and blatant profiteering and anything but a 'service' to the fans.
I still fail to see the appeal in 'pre-ordering' digital content, you usually don't get any tangible benefit, bar the occasional taster single. There are a number of tracks on iTunes which are 'Album Only', meaning that you need to download every single track just to get your hands on the one you want. A case in point is Taylor Swift as per above, and another example is Annie Mac's new 'Presents' compilation, whose standout track is 'Rhymes' by Hannah Wants and Chris Lorenzo. I already have the majority of tracks on the album, but to get my hands on this single, I am forced to buy a very large number of tracks for a second time!
The upshot of all of this is that most people will seek alternate means of getting their hands on new material from their favourite artists. In trying to control or limit access in any way, artists and record labels are undoubtedly encouraging piracy. For this very same reason, International artists like Beyoncé and Madonna know to release their output simultaneously to all territories, as a fan is still a fan regardless of their geographic origin, and they will want to get their hands on the new material immediately. If for some reason the album or single is not available in that region by legitimate means, the fans will use illicit means to gain access to what they want. Trying to withhold materials in any way, simply results in less revenues for the record label and the artist. Why anyone still engages in this policy is far beyond my level of comprehension -
One of the trickiest questions I get asked regularly is - "What exactly does your company do?". This is not for reasons of difficulty in explaining everything that we do, rather the difficulty of summarising what we do into a sufficiently short format. When I was in Iceland on vacation in September I had the additional challenge of trying to accurately translate some of those technical terms and concepts into everyday vernacular. I decided then and there that I would compose as concise an article as possible to act as a crib-sheet for anyone needing to explain or understand our modus operandi.
The shortform elevator pitch is as follows:
"Affino is a London-based multinational Social Commerce Specialist with its own in-house-developed Affino Social Commerce Platform. Affino works with companies and organisations to evolve business plans in order to create successful automated digital businesses, which are powered by the Affino Social Commerce Engine. Affino Social Commerce covers key industries, ranging from Retail to Publishing / Media, Professional Communities and Performing Arts."
There are 3 key aspects to Affino
The core to every successful business is the high calibre of individuals who make up that business, and how well they work together. Although small in number, Team Affino is composed of some of the very best creative-problem-solving and hard-working talent found anywhere in the world. All team members are expert in their own area - whether Systems Architecture, Applications and Software Development, Project Management, Design and Branding, Technology and Operations.
We have a unique process for drawing out the very best from everyone involved. The process is highly collaborative, and is centered on two or more partners gaining a full understanding of each other's goals and challenges. Broadly speaking, there are three stages to the process:
Two years ago I wrote an article about how GEMA, the German performance rights organisation had targeted Google's YouTube video platform in terms of how it dealt with the public posting of music videos not personally sanctioned by GEMA. GEMA's contention was that the 24 hour take-down rule was insufficient, and that Google / YouTube should be made to pay penalties for illegally displaying those videos at all, as it was gaining advertising royalties while those videos were played back by members of the public. The end result of that action has been that YouTube in Germany is now a total shadow of its former self, with hardly any native music videos displaying at all.
YouTube is, and always has been, one of my very best music discovery resources, so GEMA really does not understand the impact of its actions which have at the very least negatively impacted on its members. I've lost count of the number of artists I have discovered and grown to like via YouTube - leading to my direct purchasing of their albums and singles on iTunes, Amazon, Beatport, Juno and Phonica. While other mainland European countries - the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Scandinavia are still regularly producing international hits, it has been a long time since anything significant has come out of Germany. GEMA plainly does not understand YouTube's place in the promotional cycle of music - and how much importance international artists place on the gaining of 1 million plus views on promo videos primarily via YouTube. Psy's global hit 'Gangnam Style' and Ylvis's 'The Fox' are unlikely to have happened without YouTube playing a significant part - in fact YouTube is responsible for the careers of many of pop's current crop of young(-ish) performers - Justin Bieber included. Younger generations of Germans are more than slightly frustrated and upset by GEMA's stance, whose net effect has been to enormously devalue the impact and worth of the German music industry.
The most recent chapter in this ongoing story concerns German publishing association / agency VG Media which launched a case against Google for its inclusion of snippets of VG's members' copyrighted text, as well as copyrighted images in the form of thumbnails used to punctuate search results under 'Google News'. VG Media
One of the examples I best remember from my Marketing degree was the concept of Indirect Competition. An excellent example of this is flowers vs wine vs chocolates. When accepting a dinner invitation, it's considered the height of good taste to bring a house gift with you when you attend. A florist may consider his most likely competitor the flower shop around the corner, but dinner guests are just as likely to bring either chocolates or wine - depending on the gender or personal preferences of the host/s. Thus products, goods and services from within the same sector or related sectors are likely vying for the same customers - who make decisions based on various contemporaneous factors, as well as availability, appeal and cost.
I wrote a recent piece which included a line or two on how publishers need to understand that many of them are competing within the entertainment industry - someone who potentially buys a book has the option to stay in and watch television, go to the movies, buy and listen to an album or play a console / tablet / smartphone game. All these alternatives are vying both for your spending power and your time. Which means your high street book store is in competition with Netflix, the local cinema, HMV, iTunes and Game. The book retailer needs to attract attention and pocket / birthday money away from these mediums - especially always-to-hand mobile phone apps. Most publishers have done relatively little to sex up their own book launches or try to make their retail environments - digital and otherwise sufficiently dynamic and exciting for those types of audiences.
A little closer to home, we have the indirect competition between traditional magazine publishers and online blogs, vlogs and clickbaiting publishing sensations like Mashable and Buzzfeed. I must admit that I rarely read magazines these days. I used to regularly read What Hi-Fi, Stuff, T3, Wallpaper and Monocle, DJ and Mixmag - as well as the occasional FHM and GQ. Nowadays I only really buy magazines at airports - the Internet provides me with my daily / hourly / minute-by-minute fix, and I can find highly targeted and on-point resources which totally fit my personal preferences.
A recent article in 'The Media Briefing' outlined how digital newsstands such as Apple's are now very much in decline. Accessing a magazine in PDF-
Last week saw the launch of the new Selfridges website, part of a £40 million investment over the next 5 years. I must say that I quite like the improved product pages - which are really snappy and contain near enough of the right details and features - I like the layout of the page too, although feature-wise overall it's not quite up to my ideal customer user experience, as per what I posted earlier this year in my 'The Ideal Fashion Ecommerce Template' article.
The previous Selfridges site was a little laggy and unfocused, while the new one is agile and crisp. Interesting to see that they have not gone with a fully responsive design framework, but are relying on adaptive for mobile screen resolutions. Shopping basket is maintained well across devices - a miniature facsimile of the famous yellow bag with a number indicator within it - works well in both formats.
I would have preferred to have seen 'how many in stock' details, and some indication on number of days for standard delivery. Also, the Size Guide is one of those next to useless generic ones - it needs to at least say whether fit is Skinny, Regular or Generous, and also ideally what size model is wearing to give proper indication of sizing - actually model sizing is often included in main Product Details. I would recommend a mannequin you could click on for major size options and where key dimensions are displayed against the mannequin. In the overall details, there is also nothing about care instructions though - which is a big miss for me. When you buy online you don't get to check the labels and feel the texture and finish of the fabrics - so a digital retailer needs to proved all the pertinent details which you need to make an informed decision.
Size, number and colour selectors etc. are slick, and I like the way they have included the 'Add to Wishlist' element, although the tool tip is missing for perfect usability on that icon.
£40 million over 5 years (£8 million p.a.) is a huge investment though, and I'm not sure Selfridges needs to be investing at quite that level, or whether the ROI is fully justifiable on a singular digital business. Of course a significant part of the moneys will go to the logistics and fulfilment services, and there is still ample scope for improvement to the
Before I get into the details of my 10 cents worth on this, I need to categorically state that yes! I am an iPhone 6 Plus owner myself. Having just recently returned from two weeks in Iceland, I was a little behind the curve on reserving my phone, and had to travel to Watford to secure the model I was after - this last Tuesday in fact.
By happenstance, on the same day I acquired said phone, 'Bendgate' was just starting to rear its ugly head, and this is before the 'bricking' issue of the iOS 8.0.1 update release, which Apple hastily recalled without further explanation or excuse.
I have to say that I really like the phone, but more of that later... the thing is, I've never really understood this obsession with being the thinnest, particularly with phones - more understandable for laptops and desktops. Weight is an important consideration, as is feel and practical usage - wafer-thinness, is certainly not conducive to the best touchy feely experience - I really don't think the phones need to be any thinner. In fact, I could stand a couple of additional millimetres if this made for a better battery life.
From an engineering / structural standpoint, making something thin and long means it has inherently added flex, and more propensity to buckle - particularly for a non-elastic metal like aluminium, which is relatively brittle compared to most carbon steel alloys. Airplanes / airplane wings are made from thin aluminium, but they have ribs, braces, membranes and struts to give them added strength and rigidity. Apple could also have utilised more advanced lamination techniques to increase the strength of the phone chassis without adding too much weight or thickness.
Apple is of course new to the large phone form factor, and it sounds like insufficient stress testing has been done on these production models - of the type that Ikea does:
I have just returned from a two week vacation in Iceland, and was fortunate enough to join in a sightseeing fly-by of the current Bárðarbunga / Holuhraun eruption. The above picture (not related to my fly-by) is courtesy of Paolo Sicoli and captures the essential magic of Iceland, in this instance two of nature's most wonderful phenomena - volcanic eruption with the added sparkle of the northern lights.
Flight NY 1808 was a special scheduled daytime flight by national inland airline Air Iceland - departing from the actual Reykjavík Airport (not to be confused with Keflavík which is the seat of the International airport). Flight-time was near enough 2 hours - with 45 minutes of journey time each way, and 30 minutes sightseeing of the actual eruption and neighbouring areas. There were 25 of us in the Fokker 50 - window seats only, and including volcanologist Steindór who was our guide.
The flight coincided with the best weather of my vacation - clear blue skies, at least from Hofsjökull onwards - one of only 3 rain-free days during my stay. For most of the approach flight the airplane remained above the cloudline, but as we neared Vatnajökull - Europe's largest ice cap, and the location of the source of the eruption, we moved lower to get a good view of the surrounding landscape.
The first thing you see is the steaming lava field of Holuhraun, now nearing 40kmsq, then a molten river of lava, followed by the 3 current active spouts of the eruption, the original spout (which would make 4) is no longer active. The precursor to the eruption was a series of earthquakes starting August 16th - more than 1,000 per day - most with an epicentre in a channel between the Bárðarbunga caldera and the Dyngjujökull part of Vatnajökull. (see inset map below)
The eruption started at 00:02 on the 29th August when a fissure opened up roughly 5km north of Dyngjujökull - circa half-way between Dyngjujökull and the currently inactive Askja caldera which contains a most wonderfully green-hued lagoon. The root volcano system is Bárðarbunga - the caldera of which is gradually subsiding and which lies some 30km to the southwest of the erupting fissure.
You can view the 3 shots I took in the below sequence (after the map references). The best video
My last iPhone review happens to coincide with my current iPhone - the 4S.
I wrote [then] under 'Misses':
I also wrote back in 2010, a prescient article called 'Mobile Commerce - The New Currency' all about the kind of Apple Pay functionality (NFC) which was announced in yesterday's Keynote address.(Albeit now with the even more clever fingerprint Touch ID solution Apple has engineered.)
My first ever iPhone was the 3S - 32GB version (finally delivering on all my then expectations / requirements). I was delighted that 2011's 4S doubled the memory to 64GB, since I find I always use all the memory I am given. For a very long time now, I have been waiting for 3 things really - a larger form factor, 128GB memory and NFC.
The iPhone sixes, finally have all the functionality I needed, after introducing 2 very iterative series 5s, which I always felt had an overly fragile and mis-engineered glass chassis (because of ongoing signal / antennae issues).
When I saw the first pictures of the iPhone sixes, I was not immediately taken in by the design, but the more time I spend with it, the more I like it. I also decided very quickly that the beautiful curvature of the glass really only works to perfection with the black front facia of the Space Grey edition.
Like I said previously, I was exstatic to finally be getting 128GB, so there was no question I would be getting one. It was just a matter of whether to go for the 4.7" version or or the 5.5" phablet.
In comparing the specs, the infinitely superior playback time is what really swung the vote. Also, when I work, I almost always work in split-screen mode whether on laptop or on desktop - seeing that the 6 Plus had clever layout variations for landscape mode was another thing that pushed me towards the larger model. In typical fashion I have measuered the phone against most of the coat pockets I will carry it in, and the circa 16 x 8 x 0.7 cm dimensions are large for sure, but can perfectly easily be accommodated.
Android fans will rightly of course say that there are far better spec'd Android phones already in the markeplace and due imminently, and they're right. Samsung, Sony and the like
It seems that current fashion is still somewhat in thrall to the 80's, as has been the vogue for much of the last decade and a half - and not really the parts that I loved. As a child of the 80's I actually have quite the phobia for what were then termed 'drain-pipe' or 'pipe-cleaner' jeans - at their worst in stone-washed, distressed and torn varieties. I have naturally skinny legs and therefore no real wish to appear like some exotic wading bird.
Historically there have been circa 10 classifications / mainline trouser cuts / styles:
When scouring the shops recently for a pair of semi-smart straight-leg black cotton chinos I came up quite empty-handed after a good day's runaround. Although an extreme example, Topman is a good case in point, currently only offering up variations of:
It seems that contemporary legwear is no true friend of man, as recent variations have seen the most uncomfortable and impractical variations of 'nut-crackers' and 'butt-flashers' with highly restrictive low-waist / no-waist editions too - they're barely sufferable standing up - sitting down in them though is quite the experience! I am in no means opposed to diverse cuts, even though some of the drop-crotch and cropped versions are sublimely ridiculous - surely you don't need to reveal every facet of epidermal and anatomical detail. My personal taste tends to Straight-leg, Bootcut and Wide-leg which are all currently somewhat impossible to find in general circulation.
The latest menswear must-have is now the 'Jogger' / 'Jogging Bottoms' or elasticated cuff tracksuit bottoms. 'Joggers' are a further example of the more practical evolution to sportswear. 2-3 years ago catwalk models started sporting trainers instead of high-heels and formal shoes, as for most consumers this is now their preferred mode of footwear. Isabel Marant was the pioneer of designer wedge trainers, and Giuseppe Zanotti is the king of the luxe high-top trainer. If you visit Selfridges' shoe department, you cannot move for designer trainers - mostly high-tops, and many retailing in the near £1,000 price range
Readers of my blog will know that I am quite the armchair festival fan - avidly following at least Coachella and Glastonbury via live-streaming every year and from the comfort of my lounge. I believe at some stage in the near future, we will be able to view the entire 4-day spectacle via a festival attendee proxy, and be able to witness the whole immersive nature of these events via virtual reality headsets such as Oculus Rift. It would simply be a matter of selecting your POV Avatar Proxy and then logging on as it were - you could even switch Avatars if you get bored with your current one's choices; or if you paid extra perhaps you could even set the itinerary / schedule ...
An interesting development this year has been the rise of the 'In Cinemas & On Demand' films - as an example the highly rated 'Two Days, One Night' which you can now catch at your local art cinema or online at Curzon Home Cinema, Sky Store, BT TV, Google Play etc. - strange that there is no iTunes for this one.
For me it started with 'Veronica Mars the Movie' which was made available on limited cinema release or via iTunes back in February this year. In fact for independent film makers or more initimate films, it makes perfect sense to be able to view those as on-demand releases. I typically attend the cinema once a week, and love to see visually spectacular films on the big screen - IMAX if it's worth it. For 'small' personal dramas, I get exactly the same atmosphere from my very capable home movie system - there is no significant benefit to seeing those kinds of films in the cinema, and several drawbacks in fact. You also have a large number of mobility-challenged individuals for whom it is quite difficult to attend cinemas, equally importantly that most small towns don't tend to have an independent film / art cinema and those kinds of releases would not be generally accessible to those populations except via on-demand. Nicolas Cage's latest film 'Joe' is another example of an 'In Cinemas & On Demand' film.
I must admit I am slightly adverse to queueing for anything these days, also there has been an increasing trend in these last few years for the typical big release movie playing time to be extended to the range of between 2 and 3 hours. In my youth the
As a marketing man, I will always be in favour of the pull rather than push mechanic - doing clever, captivating subliminal campaigns which gently sway people into action, rather than forcefully cajoling people into action via an ongoing barrage of prompts and 'offers'. I'm not saying I'm entirely opposed to outbound marketing of the email sort, it's just that you can so easily cross the line from an informative service into harassment.
Most companies, particularly new / young ones need to target prospective customers in a somewhat unsolicited fashion. The idea is that you do your research carefully, and then target only a very specific audience, for whom your product or service would be of some significant benefit. This morning I unsubscribed from two retailer mailing lists as I felt I was being spammed by them - getting a message every day - '3 days left of sale', '2 days left of sale', 'Only one day left of sale', 'Sale extended ...!'.
What irks me most in those kinds of mailings is when content is not personalised; there are so many fashion retail sites I am signed up to that send me mostly previews of ladieswear - when I'm quite obviously subscribed as Mr, and have only ever purchased menswear from them. Worse than these though are emails which advertise something generic - without pictures or reference - or when the reference is wrong. I have lost count of the times I have clicked on an interesting picture in a Zalando mailer, only to find no evidence of said garment on the current site.
There are obviously lots of different types of mailing, but I like to break them down into 2 specific types - a news service, and a featured mailing. The former is when you sign up to in effect a news feed - such as I do for the Times, and The Media Briefing - these are daily mailings with the most recent news stories. A featured mailing is really a 'push' mailing, where the sender is typically putting out an offer or specific call to action. With the latter, you need to be very careful of tone and content, and particularly frequency. We find that a monthly featured mailing is perfectly acceptable, in some cases a fortnightly or even weekly one could be suitable, whereas something every day of the week is harassment.
My favourite type of
The headline for this month's Which? Magazine is 'The Great British Rip-Off : How we're being wrung dry when buying tech goods and digital downloads'. The Daily Mail follows this up with 'The great gadget price rip-off: How Britons are still paying hundreds of pounds more for the same products as American customers' and 'Flat pack it in: Ikea accused of 'ripping off' British customers by charging them up to THREE TIMES as much'
Over the years most British consumers have grown used to having to pay more for consumer goods than both their surrounding European neighbours and their American cousins. The universal pricing model seemed to be largely based on something that retailed in the US for $100 was on sale in Europe for €100 and in the UK for £100 - which is patently unfair based on the strong pound and exhange rates over many years.
Consumer electronic prices have always been a rip off in the UK, as if you went to the United States, you could pretty much buy everything 20-30% cheaper. As an extreme example, a Samsung UE65H8000 LED curved screen TV retails for £2,544 equivalent in the US (including taxes) while the UK price is £755 more at £3,299 - a massive 30% difference. For the main IKEA example - a set of Falster table, bench and chairs retails for £213 equivalent in the US, £215 in Sweden and yet £315 in the UK - again a difference of near enough 30%.
These companies argue differences in local distribution facilities / logistics / taxes, culture etc. but it's quite evidently profiteering. There are lots of companies that make an effort to have fair, universal prices around the world - companies like Zara and H&M, even Netflix charges UK customers £6.99 vs $8.99 for US customers - so it can be done. How can Microsoft for instance justify charging UK customers £154 more for Microsoft Office Professional - a downloadable software, which retails in the US for £236 and yet £390 in the UK???
I myself am very much an International shopper - I buy things in regularly from Europe, US, Hong Kong and Japan. I am often astounded that it is cheaper for me to buy something from overseas, including fast delivery, for significantly less than that same product is available in the UK. Kenzo
Affino is looking to grow its Projects Team to handle an expanding workload. We seek a dedicated, self-motivated individual who works well as part of a team, and can also operate independently. The Affino Team / A-Team is a closely knit collaborative unit even though we are a distributed company and all members work largely from home. The team dynamic is vital to the success of the company, so the successful candidate must possess the right skill-set, as well as get on really well with all their colleagues. We communicate regularly, using tools like Skype, and good written and verbal communication skills are essential. Affino works at the cutting-edge of Internet Technology, delivering global, class-leading and multiple-award-wining social commerce / business platform / vertical industry hub websites.
Here follow the pertinent details:
Key Experience & Responsibilities:
Education & Skills requirements:
Interested parties please send CV with relevant references to firstname.lastname@example.com
Readers of this blog will know that I'm a big fan of music and movies. I subscribe to all manner of mailing lists and regularly read up on latest releases on a variety of online movie and music resources. On Facebook I am fan to countless musicians and bands, and am very aware when new releases are out in the marketplace. I initially wrote about this issue 10 years ago, and I'm sad to report that global media availability is still highly idiosyncratic.
Big artists like Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé know that if they don't make their music available globally when it is released, they will become victims of piracy and will loose significant earnings potential. I still though come across even promo videos on YouTube which have for some reason not been enabled for my location - the UK! The UK still being one of the major entertainment marketplaces in the world - particularly from the perspective of promotional potential.
I get notified that Artist A has a new release out today, I go to iTunes, and it's 'Not available for your Region'. I then go to the Artist or record label website, and am heartened to see that yes they sell digital downloads on-site. But when I try to add to basket / checkout, it says that the website caters only for the local market where that website is based - USA, Australia etc. I'm still surprised this happens at all in today's global economy. Fans like me like to get their hands on the latest media content as soon as it is made available. If they cannot acquire the MP3 or Video etc. by legitimate means, they will often resort to alternative means of acquisition.
In the past, record labels used to stagger releases between Regions - we still have new UK releases appearing on a Mondays, while new US releases appear on the following day - Tuesday. The most famous recent global media release was Beyoncé's new album which was simultaneously released to all markets / territories overnight. In fact, pretty much all major artists know to release simultaneously or fall victim to piracy. Even Radiohead, who pioneered independent releasing, don't restrict the availability of their music by region. I find it very peculiar when I come a across a fairly minor artist with little or no presence in the UK, and little content on either Amazon or iTunes,
As an avid Amazon Prime member and a somewhat dedicated bookworm, I was exceedingly glad to read the announcement of Kindle Unlimited - a new service to provide unfettered access to 600,000+ Kindle books for a monthly $9.99 fee. Book series - Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, as well as personal favourite 'Life of Pi' were used to punctuate the announcement to show that there were some big titles in the mix. I predicted that Amazon would launch its own Spotify for books some day soon, and I was really rather hoping that this would be it.
Unfortunately, the big 5 publishers still feel threatened by Amazon (possibly rightly so, but more of that later) and have largely refused to play ball. They would rather put their support behind one of the competitors to Kindle Unlimited - say 'Oyster', 'Scribd' or 'Zola'. All three currently have a slightly better selection of what I would call premium books, than Kindle Unlimited does. Turns out that most of Kindle Unlimited is currently made up of books out of copyright and various minor works, although there are of course some interesting titles in the mix.
However, and this is rather critical, none of the services mentioned here is really a practical usable resource for me, as not one of them contains even one of the last 10 books I read. Even one of my favourites from 3 years ago - Erin Morgenstern's 'The Night Circus' is noticeably absent. Spotify has a vast library of music to satisfy pretty much all tastes, Netflix has a very broad library of video - mostly TV, and mostly 2-3 years old or older, while Spotify is bang up to date with what it provides. The 4 book services named here seems to be odds and sods really, I searched for 20 of my favourite authors, and Oyster came out as the best choice for me, but still not really worth the monthly fee for what I would want to access. I have an ever-growing written reading list, as well as several already-downloaded books on my kindle - near enough none of these are represented on these subscription libraries.
Publishers need to wake up and smell the coffee to some degree here, as they are not fully aware yet of how much their marketplace is still changing. 90% of books I buy these days are on Kindle, I still buy the occasional hardcopy coffee table / art book or
Congratulations to Procurement Leaders on a very impressive back-to-back win of PPA Business Media Brand of the Year. Few companies have won this award even once, but twice in a row is quite the accomplishment.
There's a reason Procurement Leaders keeps picking up awards, and how it can take the same award many years running. Alex, Quang and the team at Procurement Leaders never let up on innovating and improving the site. From the very first day Affino started collaborating with Procurement Leaders, it's been a continuous process of growth and advancement. The Procurement Leaders website is already way ahead of the competition, and with new services being launched all the time, there is no sign of any slow-down.
If you have not yet taken the time to browse through this excellent website and experience the numerous quality services members can avail themselves of, we encourage you to do it now - to witness first-hand what all the fuss is about:
[View Procurement Leaders Site]
I've been attending trade and industry shows and exhibitions since I was a nipper. My earliest recollections of these were as a kid visiting the annual motorshows in Iceland, then as a graduate working for a market research company at the NEC in Birmingham, then working for an advertising agency which designed and built stands and provided all complementary marketing services / materials, and finally as a business owner commissioning my own show stand and attending as an exhibitor.
Show websites arrived in the early 90's, and truly most have not evolved much since then. I always felt that a show / exhibition website should give some of the flavour of the real event - a little hustle and bustle but essentially a feeling of activity and vibrancy. What you usually get though is little more than an exhibitors directory with a company logo, some very basic text and a couple of attachments. Mostly the site plans / maps are not interactive, and the whole online experience ends up as very one dimensional, static, and dare I say boorish!
Events are at their core, social happenings with social interactions, yet most events websites completely forsake any kind of interactivity. There have been attempts to achieve some sort of virtual or augmented reality in the past - with a kind of vectorised 3D format where site visitors could in effect immerse themselves within an online facsimile / walk-through of the real show - none of these really worked though, and ended up being rather clunky and not providing a good user experience.
I propose that the most obvious area for improvement is in the interactive department, but other small but significant changes can also be made to improve the overall online events experience. After all, online Webinars have largely taken over from their physical real-world Seminar counterparts - there is already great technology / software for attending and then participating in a final Q&A session at an online Webinar.
These following 10 recommendations are what I would propose to improve the vibrancy, impact and long-term reach of online events - considering both the exhibitor and visitor experience:
Most events are treated as one-offs, with little real continuity from one to the next - typically a show website is trashed and re-done from scratch from
Both Affino and Jonathan Collins & Associates (JCA) have a long standing and successful working history with publishing companies and agencies. Affino from a solutions / technical architecture standpoint, while JCA has considerable industry insider knowledge as its key personnel have worked with and for many of the largest publishers at the highest level, and for the greater part of their careers.
The intention of the Partnership is to pool resources, knowledge and experience with a view to providing publishers with the very best consultancy and solutions for monetising the digital side of their business and achieving enduring success online.
To assuage any fears for existing customers, this is to be a working partnership where both companies remain entirely independent. Affino's existing publishing clients can avail themselves of JCA's expertise and insights. For customers active in other sectors, there will be no discernible changes at all.
Affino and JCA are dedicated to creating the very best online experiences for customers and service providers alike. Both partners share an ethos of close and collaborative relationships working towards common goals. We firmly believe this partnership will be invaluable for publishing companies wanting to transform their businesses to succeed in this digital age.
You can contact Jonathan Collins of JCA on +44 (0)20 3393 3240 or by sending an email to firstname.lastname@example.com
After a hat-trick of PPA awards in 2013, Procurement Leaders are back on the awards trail for 2014 - picking up their first major award of the year - 'Best Business to Business Website' at the annual Association of Online Publishers (AOP) Digital Publishing Awards.
As you can see in the above screencapture, and referenced on the [AOP Awards page] Judges' comments are:
"A clear winner. Impressive commercial performance which is clearly a result of the product being spot on for its audience."
Procurement Leaders is continuing to blaze a trail of innovation, with new membership services launching imminently.
We heartily congratulate Alex, Quang and the team at Procurement Leaders - well deserved for all their ongoing hard work.
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I absolutely love your sewing tutorials! I taught myself how to sew a while back using the internet/Youtube, and through folks like you with awesome tutorials :)
Aww thanks so much! This means a lot. I have not done any sewing tutorials lately but I will. Thanks for stoping by!
- nataliecreations posted this