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Acute contagious viral disease with inflammatory swelling of the salivary glands. Epidemics often occur, mostly among 5- to 15-year-olds. Cold symptoms with low fever are followed by swelling and stiffening in front of the ear, often on both sides. This rapidly spreads toward the neck and under the jaw. Pain is seldom severe, with little redness, but chewing and swallowing are difficult. During recovery in patients past puberty, other glands may be affected, but usually not seriously. The testes may atrophy, but sterility is very rare. While inflammation of the brain and meninges is fairly common, chances of recovery are good. Mumps needs no special treatment, and patients usually develop immunity. Vaccination can prevent it.
Learn more about mumps with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Viral causes: The most common viral cause of parotitis is mumps. Routine vaccinations have dropped the incidence of mumps to a very low level. Mumps goes away on its own in about ten days.
Blockage: Blockage of the main parotid duct, or one of its branches, is often a primary cause of acute parotitis, with further inflammation secondary to bacterial superinfection. The blockage may be from a salivary stone, a mucous plug, or, more rarely, by a tumor, usually benign. Salivary stones, also called salivary calculi, are mainly made of calcium, but do not indicate any kind of calcium disorder. Stones may be diagnosed via X-ray (with a success rate of about 80%) or a computed tomography (CT) scan. Stones may be removed by manipulation in the doctor's office, or, in the worst cases, by surgery. Lithotripsy, also known as "shock wave" treatment, is best known for its use breaking up kidney stones. Lithotripsy can now be used on salivary stones as well. Ultrasound waves break up the stones, and the fragments flush out of the salivary duct.
Sjögren's syndrome: Chronic inflammation of the salivary glands may also be an autoimmune disease known as Sjögren's syndrome. The cause is unknown. The syndrome is often characterized by excessive dryness in the eyes, mouth, nose, vagina, and skin.
Other diseases: Swelling without pain and without infection also constitutes a form of parotitis, which may be acute or chronic. Diabetes, alcoholism, and bulimia may cause enlarged parotid glands, usually without pain. A small percentage of people with AIDS may experience parotitis.


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The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) wreaks havoc on the immune system, leaving the body vulnerable to many types of diseases and illnesses. Researchers recently discovered Tall Sand Ugg Boots that they can use the virus Children S Uggs to target malignant cells that Clearance Ugg Boots For Women cause cancer. For one 6-year-old patient, the Grey Ugg Boots experimental Womens Ugg Boots On Sale therapy Ugg Nightengale Slippers sent her leukemia into remission after two rounds of chemotherapy failed. Mesothelioma is a type of lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. There is no cure, but further research into the experimental HIV could find successful results for multiple forms of cancer.Rick Dodd Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP
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POSTED: Friday, January 27, 2012 - 6:01pm
UPDATED: Friday, January 27, 2012 - 6:10pm
EL PASO - Officials from The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas were in El Paso Friday morning to present the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine and UTEP with a total $4.2 million towards continuing cancer research. Other heath care facilities across the state compete for these funds, and officials say the investment in cancer helps the health of El Paso's economy as well as potential patients.
A portion of the money will be used in a large colorectal cancer awareness and screening plan for El Paso County residents. With the money, over 3 thousand El Paso residents over 50 will qualify for a free screening. By detecting cancerous growths in the colon early through routine screening, the cancer can usually be treated without incident.


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Don't gut Violence Against Women ActBy Leslye Orloff, Special to CNN Updated 2144 GMT (0544 HKT) December 6, 2012Activist groups rally for the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act on Capitol Hill on June 26. Story highlightsLeslye Orloff: GOP, Democrats have supported Violence Against Women Act since 1994Orloff: House Republicans now want to block it, gut protections for immigrants Victims can report abuse, rape and human trafficking without fear of deportation, she saysOrloff: Victims help police, prosecutors, but all this will be lost if House GOP plan prevailsThe Violence Against Women Act has protected crime victims and helped police and prosecutors take violent criminals off our streets for nearly 20 years. After it became law in 1994, it was reauthorized, with robust support from both parties, in 2000 and 2005.Republicans played a prominent role in crafting the act, and particularly its protections for undocumented crime victims. But this time around, House Republicans are blocking its reauthorization and proposing a dramatic and dangerous rollback in its protection for immigrant victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.The House Reauthorization bill undermines two decades of relief for immigrant victims who suffer continuing abuse at the hands of U.S. citizens or permanent resident spouses or parents. The Violence Against Women Act has provided undocumented immigrant women and children, who might depend on their abusers for legal status or economic support, a special immigration remedy that helps victims become independent and stops their assailants from trying to keep them quiet with threats of deportation.The House bill breaks with that history by weakening vital confidentiality provisions that protect immigrant spouse and child abuse victims from retaliation by keeping their abusers from interfering with the victims' immigration case. Leslye OrloffA U-visa, a feature of the act, gives a person who is undocumented and a victim of certain violent crimes protection from deportation with legal status and work authorization. It is not easy to get one. You must meet certain criteria and agree to assist and continue assisting in law enforcement investigations and prosecutions. The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service reported that the Department of Homeland Security has incorporated safeguards for adjudicating these cases and there is no evidence of fraud.The House bill would put immigrant crime victims on a path "from report to deport" by making U-visas temporary and contingent on factors outside the victim's control, such as whether a rapist has been identified. It would also remove the possibility of lawful permanent resident status for those who, thanks to the U-visa, are able to summon the courage to report crimes and cooperate in criminal investigations and prosecutions.The U-visa has been instrumental in solving and preventing crimes. In one dramatic case, a police officer who investigated gangs helped an immigrant victim of domestic violence and sexual assault obtain U-visa certification from his department. This action ended up saving his life.The victim cooperated in the successful prosecution of her assailant. And she later warned the officer that her abuser's gang had put out a contract to kill him and his partner. The House bill's proposed changes would have ended in her deportation and, perhaps, those officers' deaths.Members of Congress who once led efforts to offer immigration relief for crime victims included nearly equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats. I had the privilege of assisting these bipartisan collaborations to create special immigration protections for victims of spousal, child and elder abuse, the U-visa for cooperating crime victims and the T-visa for human trafficking victims.The crimes suffered by U-visa applicants and recipients are predominantly domestic violence, child and elder abuse, at 46%; rape, human trafficking and sexual assault, at 29%; felonious assault, murder and torture, at 11%; and kidnapping and false imprisonment, at 8%. These are serious crimes indeed, and it is imperative that congressional leaders summon the political will to reauthorize the act before the end of December 2012.Just WatchedStrike to end violence against womenreplayMore Videos ...Strike to end violence against women 03:52PLAY VIDEOJust WatchedAdvocate debunks domestic violence mythsreplayMore Videos ...Advocate debunks domestic violence myths 04:58PLAY VIDEOJust WatchedCollege men walk a mile in high heelsreplayMore Videos ...College men walk a mile in high heels 01:27PLAY VIDEOEach new incarnation of the act has improved protections. In contrast to the House bill, the Senate Reauthorization bill (S1925) continues the long bipartisan history of expanding the act to assure better protections for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors.The Senate bill extends protection to members of the LGBT community and Native Americans; prevents children from being denied benefits because they have grown too old during the long application process; expands the pool of U-visas and adds stalking to the list of covered crimes. It also strengthens protections for foreign fiances and spouses of U.S. citizens through amendments to the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act.The Senate bill addresses an annual shortfall by increasing the cap on U-visas from 10,000 to 15,000 for each of the next eight years. This is not a net gain in allotted U-visas, but is a recapture of about 34,000 of roughly 74,000 U-visas that were authorized by Congress but never used. From 2001 to 2007, thousands of applicants were granted interim relief, rather than the U-visas allotted for those years, while they waited for Department of Homeland Security to adjudicate their cases. The House bill keeps the cap at 10,000 and imposes restrictions that will make it impossible to investigate, solve and prosecute crimes when the victim is an immigrant.Every U-visa represents a tip to law enforcement and a cooperating witness. In a survey of nearly 8,000 U-visa cases, 99.45% of U-visa applicants and U-visa holders either provided, or were willing to provide, critical information and ongoing cooperation with police and prosecutors.Police departments are benefiting greatly from the value of the U-visa in building good relationships with immigrant communities. HR 4970 would end U-visa protections and thus discourage victims' cooperation with law enforcement, destabilizing the trust between police and immigrant communities the law has fostered for many years.Immigrant crime victims who receive U-visas have a legal obligation to continue cooperating with law enforcement as a requirement to file for lawful permanent residency. This allows police to maintain important sources of information.U.S. demographics are changing. Today 27% of the U.S. population is either immigrants or has one or more immigrant parent. Passing the Senate's proposals for the Violence Against Women Act will allow many victims of terrible crimes to come out of the shadows and find justice and safety.Follow @CNNOpinion on Twitter.Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion.Opinion on the newsHow AirAsia flight compares to Air France 447 crashPilot Bill Palmer says the AirAsia flight had similarities to Air France 447, which also encountered bad weatherDon't turn your back on these childrenPoverty isn't the only reason why so many parents are paying to have their child smuggled into the United States, says Carole GeithnerIran's hypocrisy in condemning U.S. racism Michael Rubin says it's a farce that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei posted tweets criticizing U.S. policeThe smart thing that makes you stupidRon Friedman says your smartphone may be making you behave stupidly; resolve to resist distractions in 2015Is AI a threat to humanity?Artificial intelligence does not need to be malevolent to be catastrophically dangerous to humanity, writes Greg Scoblete.Welcome to the troll ageThe ability to manipulate media and technology has increasingly become a critical strategic resource, says Jeff Yang.More from opinionAre drugs stifling women?What will happen if the bees disappear?Thanks, Ben Carson, but prison doesn't make people 'come out' gayPowered by Livefyre
How AirAsia flight compares to Air France 447 crashPilot Bill Palmer says the AirAsia flight had similarities to Air France 447, which also encountered bad weather
Don't turn your back on these childrenPoverty isn't the only reason why so many parents are paying to have their child smuggled into the United States, says Carole Geithner
Iran's hypocrisy in condemning U.S. racism Michael Rubin says it's a farce that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei posted tweets criticizing U.S. police
The smart thing that makes you stupidRon Friedman says your smartphone may be making you behave stupidly; resolve to resist distractions in 2015
Is AI a threat to humanity?Artificial intelligence does not need to be malevolent to be catastrophically dangerous to humanity, writes Greg Scoblete.
Welcome to the troll ageThe ability to manipulate media and technology has increasingly become a critical strategic resource, says Jeff Yang.


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Monika O'Clair/Democrat photo Cadence Johnson, 4, and her father Ryan Bell, of Sanford, Maine, make Easter art during Simon Kidgits' Easter Eggstravaganza at the Fox Run Mall in Newington Saturday.
NEWINGTON — Easter-egg hunters from Maine and New Hampshire traveled through the Fox Run Mall Saturday morning in search of some 1,200 plastic eggs.Toddlers from Somersworth, Fremont and Sanford, Maine, were among the participants at the mall's first egg hunt, an hourlong event that kicked off at 10 a.m.The mall also invited families inside before the scavenger hunt for a breakfast provided by Woody's Mini Donuts. Coffee and drink samples were provided by Gloria Jean's Coffee. Families also had an opportunity to greet the Easter Bunny from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.About 140 families attended the event, according to a mall spokesman, who said crowds were much larger than anticipated. The event was open to members of the "Simon Kidgits Club," a new childrens' group organized by the mall's owner, Simon Malls.Among those in attendance were 4-year-old twins Isabella and Lilyanna Soucie, of Fremont, who were dressed appropriately for the spring holiday, wearing matching floral print outfits. Cadence Johnson, 4, of Sanford, spent some of her time working on an Easter art project. She was joined at a craft table by her father, Ryan Bell, also of Sanford.
Monika O'Clair/Democrat photo Twins Isabella, left, and Lilyanna Soucie, 2, of Fremont, show off their eggs during Simon Kidgits' Easter Eggtravaganza at the Fox Run Mall in Newington Saturday.
Monika O'Clair/Democrat photo The Easter Bunny gets down low to say hello to Kylie Fenell, 2, of Somersworth who attended the Simon Kidgits' Easter Eggtravaganza with her mother, Nicole, at the Fox Run Mall in Newington Saturday.


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This is a joined account by @TheBoredDevil, @SomeoneAwesome, and @LiddySykes (previously @Chocolate_Luv) :) About @LiddySykes: -Yay :D I'm up first -Anyways, roller coasters = death, One Direction & The Wanted = life. -Understand? -Okay, now, moving on. -Smiley-faces, chocolate, marshmallows and cotton candy are awesome. However, poor grammar, bad hair days and chipped nails are not. -Okay, bye. * * * About @TheBoredDevil: -I love food and I'm ALWAYS starving before lunch (Pity me xD) -Like @LiddySykes I typically end EVERYTHING with a smiley face of some kind xD <--(See) -I don't like 1D as much as the rest of the world (don't get me wrong, I like them, just not as much) -I like BTR better xD Get it?! BTR = better xP -Now I'll leave some room for the last one! -Chao! * * * About @SomeoneAwesome: -Heyyylo =D -Yes peoples, last but not least, SOMEONEAWESOME!!! -Food, food, more food... -ONE DIRECTION! IS!! AWESOME!!! -I love to laugh a lot, but strangely enough I find that crying into your pillow while you're warmly tucked in (and yeah LOL) is an awesome way to relieve stress -Fave books: Harry Potter, Percy Jackson -Sorry if I'm rambling too much about me... -Proud Canadian, proud Asian, proud Christian :) Check out our individual accounts as well? :D Let us know if there are any good books here that you know of!
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Received Novice Ticket June 3, 1977 with callsign WB3IFJ. Upgraded to Extra Class October 1987 with present callsign. Primary HF rigs are an Icom 7000 and Icom 746. Favorite mode is CW and enjoy building QRP gear including an OHR 100, OHR 500, Elecraft K1, Tuna Tin II for 40 meters and Tuna Tin II for 20 meters. For Digital Modes rig is an Icom 751A. Vintage gear includes a Hallicrafters HT-46, SX-146, Kenwood TS-520 and Heathkit SB-104A. Primary HF antenna is a 80 meter Double Extended Zepp and backup is a 40 meter double extended Zepp. Two meter gear an Icom T70A and two Baofeng handhelds. For satellite mode run an Icom 910H. Satellite antennas are 2 meter five element circular polarized and 70 cm 8 element circular polarized beams. For portable satellite work have an Arrow handheld yagi mounted on a camera tripod. AMSAT 38883 member number and VUCC certificate number 241. Spent two weeks July/August2013 vacation/satellite DXpedition and worked from seven Grids while in VO1 land. Portable HF antenna is a homebrew Vertical using same design as Vertical for the shack. Member of the Elk County Amateur Radio Association. Military time was USN and last two years was stationed at the U.S. Naval Base in Argentia, Newfoundland. My wife and I made four trips to Newfoundland. First trip in July of 1992 then in July 2005, July/August 2010 and last trip July/August 2013. Had HF rig along on first three trips and was fun operating VO1. Live in the country and have three grown children, two girls and one boy, ND3R, four grandchildren and recently became a great grandfather. Retired July 30, 2004 from Osram/Sylvania after thirty seven and a half years of service where they manufacture Sylvania light bulbs. My last thirteen years was a mechanical maintenance mechanic. Prefer to be called a "Freelance Pedestrian" as sounds better than a "Retiree". Operating from Newfoundland July/August 2013.Was able to work from seven Grid Squares. Equipment included an Icom 910H, Arrow 146/437 portable yagi on camera tripod, laptop for tracking and Optima Battery as power source. 1749204 Last modified: 2015-03-03 11:01:04, 3835 bytes You must be logged in to file a report on this page
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"Never again means NEVER AGAIN" – in the past couple of months, I encountered this sentence online more times than I can count. It is usually associated with Israel's National Holocaust Remembrance Day. We were taught this sentence every year since first grade, when our teacher... read on
One Israeli creation for the weekend
June 6, 2014 | 12:37 pm
Rita Yahan-Farouz, formally known as Rita, is an Iranian-born singer and one of Israel's biggest divas. She was born in 1962 in Tehran, Iran. Her family immigrated to Israel in 1970 and... read on


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Smoking in cars carrying children is on the road to becoming illegal after the government was defeated on the issue in the House of Lords. Continue reading →
Intellicig Blog
31st January 2014
Smoking in Cars with Children Set to be Banned
30th January 2014
E-cigarettes banned for under-18s
The government has brought in a new law banning under-18s in England from buying electronic cigarettes. Continue reading →
28th January 2014
New Valentine's XL Kit: Spread the Love
Today is the launch our new limited edition Valentine's XLClearomiser Pack! Giving you plenty of time to order one for a friend or loved one before February 14th. Continue reading →
8th January 2014
New Year New Start!
2014 is here. With the New Year comes New Year's resolutions and goals for the year ahead. It may sound clichéd but January is the perfect time to reflect on what you want from 2014, what do you want to change or work towards achieving in the coming year? Continue reading →
17th December 2013
Last Chance for Delivery Before Christmas!
The Christmas countdown is now well and truly underway and with only 8 sleeps till Christmas Day, today is your last chance to ensure you receive your Intellicig order before Christmas! Continue reading →


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Where to Eat in Hyde Park, Chicago
Our guide to the best spots for coffee, sandwiches, cheap dinners, and more essentials near the University of Chicago. More
Our guide to the best spots for coffee, sandwiches, cheap dinners, and more essentials near the University of Chicago. More
Chef Matthew Kirkley works with some of the freshest fish to be found in Chicago at his tasting menu restaurant, L2O. Here's a peek into his kitchen. More
Frozen cocktails are on the rise this summer, and Chicago seems to be in the very center of the scene. Perhaps, as Paul McGee suggests, these frozen drinks are a reaction against fussy, expensive cocktails, the kind you need a password to access and a ten-minute wait to sip; perhaps they're just a fun way to cool down on a hot summer day. More
Over the last year, we've spent a whole lot of time speaking to Jonathan Goldsmith, of Chicago's Spacca Napoli, about his amazing journey from clinical social worker to world-class pie man. Among other things, we discussed the chance encounter on a plane that changed the course of his life, the legendary pizzaioli he's studied and befriended in Naples, and the power of food to connect people. But mostly? We just talked about pie. More
From old-school ice cream parlors to newfangled scoop shops, Chicago's cone runneth over with sensational, scream-worthy ice cream destinations. More
While everyone's been busy banging on about cronuts, wonuts, and other faddish, gut-busting sweets, a classy little cake has been creeping quietly onto the racks of some of Chicago's most gifted bakers. It's called the canelé, and if you haven't yet tried it, you'd be well-advised to pick one up post-haste. More
Chef Stephanie Izard's Chicago restaurants are full of tools and artifacts from her childhood. She took us on a tour of the equipment she cares about most. More
A few weeks ago, I decided to pull the trigger on a long-time dream of mine: stepping behind a cart as one of Chicago's hot dog-slinging vendors. After graduating from Hot Dog University, it was time to take cart life from theory to practice. I was ready to start selling some hot dogs. More
I've been to college and have a master's degree, but to really learn how to run a hot dog cart, I needed to enroll in Hot Dog University. It was partly to get instruction on profit margins and strategy, partly to figure out the nuances that separate successful vendors from unsuccessful ones, and partly because I was really digging the idea of telling people I graduated from Hot Dog University. More
At Grace, chef Curtis Duffy makes food that's so pretty it could be an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art. When he's not at work, he mostly prefers to eat lighter, healthier fare, though he won't deny his kids an occasional Dairy Queen fix. More
Deep dish pizza is as accurately named as any food I know. Even if you've never experienced one in person, you already know to expect something imposing and thick, with generous layers of sauce and cheese. But which pizzeria in Chicago serves the best? I tried 13 different places to find out. More
Coming off the most frigid winter most Chicagoans have ever experienced, we are extra hungry for some al fresco sunshine this year. Fortunately, the city is packed with some truly spectacular options, from tall rooftop bars to cozy neighborhood spots. More
That ripple you felt through the encased meat world last week? It's true. Hot Doug's, Chicago's and perhaps the country's most famous hot dog stand, plans to close on October 4. More
What's the best burger at Chicago's iconic Billy Goat Tavern? Single, double, triple, or quadruple? Kaiser roll or kids' bun? What about adding bacon and caramelized onions? Nine burgers and two days later, I now feel confident to speak definitively on the matter. More
I've loved every torta I've tried from Xoco over the years, but which one is best? To figure out for sure, I decided to taste all the options side by side, hoping that this would allow me to tease out the best options from the pack. More
Once the largest building in the world, the Merchandise Mart spans multiple blocks and feels like a little community of its own. More
It may officially be the second tallest building in North America and is no longer called the Sears Tower, but the Willis Tower is still one of the most crowded tourist attractions in Chicago. Here's where to eat. More
Serious Eats is now more than seven years old, and like most seven year-olds we grow and change in spurts. Over the next few weeks and months, we're going to be making some changes at Serious Eats to focus on what we do best: helping you discover and create great food experiences. Here's what to expect. More
Cafeteria Marcela in Logan Square is putting out great sandwiches in a friendly, no-frills environment, and the sandwich de bistec is an example of a relatively simple sandwich done extremely well, without pretension, and with plenty of soul. More
Editor's Note: Whether you're a tourist or an office worker in downtown Chicago, you can get sick of eating at chain restaurants all day. So we've started a series to get you the lowdown on where to find a great... More


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BAGHDAD — Insurgents unleashed a series of attacks mostly targeting civilian areas in and around the Iraqi capital on Thursday, killing at least 11 people, as Islamic State militants in the country's north set oil wells ablaze in an attempt to slow government forces battling to reclaim territory.
A bomb ripped through an outdoor market in the Baghdad suburb of Nahrawan, killing three civilians and wounding 12, a police officer said. Another bomb targeted a military patrol in a northeastern district, killing three soldiers and wounding seven, he added.
Mortar shells hit a residential area in the southern district of Dora, killing two civilians and wounding six, another officer said. An explosion in a market in Mahmoudiyah, 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad, killed three civilians and wounded seven.
Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
The attacks come as government forces, Iranian-backed Shiite militias and Sunni volunteers continued their fight to recapture key areas around Saddam Hussein's hometown, Tikrit, which fell to Islamic State militants in June.
On Thursday, militants set fire to some oil wells outside the city, an oil official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to release information. The smoky fires were apparently meant to obscure targets from government bombing raids, part of a wide-scale operation that began Monday.
Ajeel oil field, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) northeast of Tikrit, was one of at least four fields seized by the militants, who have used smuggled oil to finance their operations.
Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, in charge of recapturing Tikrit and surrounding areas, told state TV the burning oil wells "will not affect us." He said operations were continuing as planned, without elaborating.
Tikrit is strategically important as a major supply link for any future operation to reclaim Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and the extremists' biggest stronghold.
Follow Sinan Salaheddin on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/sinansm


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Posted: October 19, 2009
Where's that cyber security czar, anyway?
And will the position actually have any real power?
Scott WalkerIn May, the Obama administration announced its plans to appoint the nation's first cyber security czar.
"America's economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cyber security," President Obama said. He emphasized that the "networks and computers we depend on every day will be treated as they should be: as a strategic national asset."
At the time, the information security community enthusiastically greeted the announcement as a critical and overdue step in prioritizing information security within the national security framework. Five months later, however, that initial excitement has diminished as the administration has yet to appoint someone to fill the post.
Furthermore, many observers have grown skeptical that even if an appointment is made, the czar will lack authority to implement sufficient measures to truly improve the nation's security posture.
In acknowledging the existence of critical security concerns and yet failing to take action, the federal government is mirroring a phenomenon taking place throughout corporate America. While information security is identified as a key IT concern, companies often struggle to translate that recognition into a clear and executable strategy.
Fortunately, while addressing national cyber defense may seem like an overwhelming challenge, the scope of securing a corporate environment is not as daunting. While it requires effort and resources, the path to addressing an organization's information security risk is fairly straightforward.
As the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, and for information security, the first step is getting a clear picture of the risks. This involves a thorough analysis of the drivers of risk, which can be broken down into four main categories:
1. Loss of Property - the protection of entrusted data.
Companies collect various types of data and information that could be of value to an attacker and is certainly of value to their owner(s). When such data is lost, the impact can be internal, as in the loss of intellectual capital, or external, with the loss of the personal data of either employees or customers.
2. Loss of Reputation - the loss of competitive advantage.
An organization's ability to successfully compete in the marketplace is tied to the trust of its customers. Breaches resulting in the loss of critical data are increasingly publicized due to the quantity of data taken and the immediate financial impact to victims. Such publicity can be devastating to a company's reputation, and the resulting loss of public faith can hurt competitive advantage and decrease profits.
3. Loss of Productivity - the loss of ability to work.
When system vulnerabilities are compromised by attempted data theft, targeted system attacks, or simple mischief, the compromised systems become unavailable for use. As a result, employees and customers can't use the systems as intended, which can result in a loss of both productivity dollars and potential client/customer goodwill.
4. Legal and Regulatory Requirements - the cost of failing to achieve compliance.
Legal and regulatory requirements are present for many industries. Compliance with these standards is rarely voluntary, and failure to comply can bring about any number of penalties, including possible incarceration, levied fines and loss of market share.
Taken together and realistically assessed, these risks can be eye opening to senior management. By identifying the drivers of risk and the impact they can have on an organization, a risk manager can obtain a charter for a comprehensive security program.
Once a risk assessment is completed, the next step is to conduct a gap analysis to ascertain where the company is exposed or lacks sufficient controls. From this, organizations can develop a framework and policies that serve as the foundation of the program, which should be audited, remediated for deficiencies and finally, automated.
The good news is that while the Obama administration struggles to make progress on its security agenda, corporate security officers and risk managers do not face the same obstacles. While the path to a secure information environment may at times appear to be steep, it does exist. And, the best way to start the ascent is to thoroughly understand the risks posed by standing still.
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Accuvant Co-founder Scott Walker is Vice President of Strategic Planning, responsible for overseeing the company's strategic initiatives including acquisitions and division spin-offs. Walker's leadership has resulted in the development of Accuvant's Security Coverage Model and establishment of Accuvant's three practice areas of Accuvant Labs, Risk and Compliance Management, and Technology Solutions to align Accuvant's offerings and specialized resources to client needs.


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Sponsored by: Arceneaux Ford
Aug 19, 2013 7:43 PM by Akeam Ashford
School superintendents from across Acadiana met at the Acadiana Press Club luncheon today to discuss the challenges facing their respective districts.
Lafayette Parish Superintendent Pat Cooper, Iberia Parish Superintendent Dale Henderson, St. Martin Parish Superintendent Lottie Beebe, Vermilion Parish Superintendent Jerome Puyau, and Acadia Parish Superintendent John Bourque all attended the discussion and agreed the introduction of the common core curriculum is getting the bulk of their attention, with finding experienced teachers to fill vacancies a close second.
Superintendent Beebe also says the PARC assessment being used this year is harder than the Leap or ILeap testing, which creates an additional challenge for educators..
"Its setting school systems up for failure," Beebe says.
Cooper says change is coming, no matter what other hurdles superintendents might face.
"I'm trying to work with the State Department of Education as opposed to being against them or enemies," Cooper says. "I believe that everybody is trying to do the right thing; we all want our kinds to excel, and so there's a point in the middle where we can meet. I believe that."
3 months ago


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Generation and commutation properties of the Volterra operator
- A. F. M. ter Elst,
- Manfred Sauter,
- Jaroslav Zemánek
- … show all 3 hide
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Let V be the classical Volterra operator on L 2(0,1). Then the algebra generated (algebraically) by V and its adjoint is not only dense in the Banach space of all compact operators, but also in the Banach space of all Hilbert–Schmidt operators and as well in the space \({\mathcal{B}(L_2(0,1))}\) equipped with the weak operator topology. Moreover, the algebra generated by V 2 and its adjoint is dense in the Banach space of all trace class operators. We give an elementary proof that similar results are valid for polynomials in V without constant term. We also show that the commutant of any non-constant analytic function of V coincides with the commutant of V.
- Bračič J. et al.: On positive commutators. Positivity 14, 431–439 (2010) CrossRef
- Conway J. B.: A course in functional analysis, Graduate Texts in Mathematics, volume 96, 2nd edition. Springer-Verlag, New York (1990)
- J. B. Conway, The theory of subnormal operators, Mathematical Surveys and Monographs, volume 36, Amer. Math. Soc., Providence, RI, 1991.
- Daniel V. W.: Convolution operators on Lebesgue spaces of the half-line. Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 164, 479–488 (1972) CrossRef
- Daughtry J.: An invariant subspace theorem. Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 49, 267–268 (1975)
- R. G. Douglas, Banach algebra techniques in operator theory, Pure and Applied Mathematics, volume 49, Academic Press, San Diego, CA, 1972.
- Erdos J. A.: The commutant of the Volterra operator. Integral Equations Operator Theory 5, 127–130 (1982) CrossRef
- Frankfurt R., Rovnyak J.: Finite convolution operators. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 49, 347–374 (1975) CrossRef
- R. Frankfurt and J. Rovnyak, Recent results and unsolved problems on finite convolution operators, in: Linear spaces and approximation (Proc. Conf., Math. Res. Inst., Oberwolfach, 1977), Lecture Notes in Biomathematics, volume 21, pp. 133–150, Springer, Berlin, 1978.
- Kalisch G. K.: On similarity, reducing manifolds, and unitary equivalence of certain Volterra operators. Ann. of Math. 66, 481–494 (1957) CrossRef
- Kim H. W., Pearcy C., Shields A. L.: Rank-one commutators and hyperinvariant subspaces. Michigan Math. J. 22, 193–194 (1976) CrossRef
- Kubrusly C.S.: Elements of operator theory. Birkhäuser, Boston (2001)
- Lomonosov V., Rosenthal P.: The simplest proof of Burnside's theorem on matrix algebras. Linear Algebra Appl. 383, 45–47 (2004) CrossRef
- Putnam C. R.: An inequality for the area of hyponormal spectra. Math. Z. 116, 323–330 (1970) CrossRef
- Radjavi H., Rosenthal P.: On transitive and reductive operator algebras. Math. Ann. 209, 43–56 (1974) CrossRef
- Radjavi H., Rosenthal P.: Invariant subspaces, 2nd edition. Dover Publications, Inc., Mineola, NY (2003)
- J. R. Ringrose, Compact non-self-adjoint operators, Van Nostrand Reinhold Mathematical Studies, volume 35, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, London, 1971.
- P. Rosenthal, Applications of Lomonosov's lemma to non-self-adjoint operator algebras, Proc. Roy. Irish Acad. Sect. A 74 (1974), 271–281, Spectral Theory Symposium (Trinity College, Dublin, 1974).
- Zhu K.: An introduction to operator algebras, Studies in Advanced Mathematics. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL (1993)
- Title
- Generation and commutation properties of the Volterra operator
- Journal
Archiv der Mathematik
Volume 99, Issue 5 , pp 467-479
- Cover Date
- 2012-11-01
- 10.1007/s00013-012-0444-5
- Print ISSN
- Online ISSN
- 1420-8938
- Publisher
- SP Birkhäuser Verlag Basel
- Additional Links
- Topics
- Keywords
- Primary 47B38
- Secondary 46L99
- Volterra operator
- Self-commutator
- Commutant
- Trace classoperator
- Hilbert–Schmidt operator
- Authors
- A. F. M. ter Elst (1)
- Manfred Sauter (1)
- Jaroslav Zemánek (2)
- Author Affiliations
- 1. Department of Mathematics, University of Auckland, Private bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand
- 2. Institute of Mathematics, Polish Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 21, 00-956, Warsaw, Poland


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pumpkin ravioli: More on the pumpkin trip – and as Italians are stylish and big users of herbal vaporizer this time we're going to give it a go with a bag full of rosemary vapours. As ever this works best with a high and (volcano vaporizer) but use whatever you have to hand.
I have heard that this is a complicated yet a mind-blowing pumpkin preparation and I am just going to check out that fantastic review. So, folks, I am off to make a start by recounting the ravioli filling; for that I am sautéing about:
300 g diced pumpkin in butter &
100 g shiitake mushroom in butter.
It's done and after mashing the pumpkin on softening, I am combining the two with:
½ tsp salt & ½ tsp thyme & ¼ tsp pepper and letting it cool.
It's cooled, so I need to refrigerate it for a while. But before stuffing the raviolis, I hope I don't forget to add 500g mild parmesan cheese to it.
Now, I move to the raviolis. This will need –
30 wonton wrappers
1 beaten egg
1tbsp water
I need to make an eggwash with egg and water. I fill the wonton wrapper with one heaped scoop of the filling approximately about 45g each. Before I place another wrapper on top, I wet the edges of the earlier wrapper with the eggwash and seal the edges with it. My raviolis are ready to be fried, if I need to serve right away, which I don't want to, so I shall freeze them for a while. The volcano vaporizer only takes a few seconds to heat up so while you wait there is not much to worry about – although I have heard of a few impatient people that keep a speed heater – such as the Magic Flight vaporizer to hand – just to keep them going whilst they wait!!! Now, that is serious vaporizer use! Anyway …. Fresh rosemary dropped into the volcano vaporizer gives a great fesh, outdoors smell – especially when used with the volcano vaporizer easy-valve set.
I need the bacon-parmesan powderized sauce, which shall be made in a cast -iron pan. I have to render:
2 slices of bacon (thick-cut)
The bacon has rendered, I remove the slices and add to it:
1 tbsp butter and ½ tbsp walnut oil
I have to take care to add the walnut oil only after the butter has browned nicely. Luckily, I happen to have walnut oil, but if you don't then you can easily substitute it with canola oil & sesame oil or for that matter any normal vegetable oil will do.
To this cooled oil, I whisk in 1 cup tapioca maltodextrin with a fork to get a nugget like consistency. Next I combine the following ingredients like:
4 tbsp bread crumbs,
9 tbsp powdered oil,
½ tsp hickory salt
4 tbsp grated parmesan
Crumbled form of reserved 2 bacon slices
Pepper for taste
The combination is perfect. I have got just the right amount of crunchiness, smokiness and it's just as funky as it ought to be.
Now, for final part:
I shallow fry the raviolis in 1 tbsp of butter in a non-stick pan, add water to cover them 1/4th and got a golden brown crust on both sides.
I then scoop some powderized sauce on a plate, place a few raviolis on it, sprinkle some more of the sauce and top it with sautéed mushrooms.
Aah! So, filling! Definitely warrants a nap.


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This is one of the cutest palettes I have EVER seen. The eyeshadows are really pigmented, interesting colors, though I am not sure how often I will wear the yellow one. No bother, this is gorgeous. It is LARGE, TOO. Much larger than what I thought it would be. It also has a nice size mirror, two applicators, and 3 sheer tinted lipglosses that smell AWESOME. This is only $10 at Sephora right now, so you would be CRAZY not to buy it. Hurry before it sells out!!!
*EDIT* Make sure you use an eyeshadow primer because the glitter LOVES to migrate on your cheekbones. This palette is still a keeper, though!
I love it! This is an adorable palette. It looks like a big book with an adorable pin-up girl illustration on the cover. Inside is a mirror, one blue eyeshadow, one green eyeshadow, and one yellow eyeshadow, one gold lipgloss, one sparly lipgloss, and one purply(clear) gloss. The colors may sound crazy, but they're actually very nice on. The lipglosses all go on pretty sheer, so if you're looking for lots of color, this isn't for you. Plus, the lipgloss smells just like candy. For $35, I'd buy it just for the packaging! This isn't small, though, so you can't really bring it anywhere. Not good for travel. This is one of my favs!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Did you? Yes No


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We are thrilled to welcome the very talented Philipp Ronnenberg as the creative technologist for the IoTAcademy project. Philipp will be working with us to develop the project's mockups, quick experiments and various workshops as part of our current work with Nominet Trust. He will also liase with expert technologists to create a robust, expandable platform. Here's a little introduction:
Philipp Ronnenberg studied Digital Media at the University of the Arts in Bremen, Germany before graduating with a M.A. in Design Interactions at the Royal College of Art. He is passionate about democratizing technology, open-source phenomena, making-hacking culture and digital protest. Philipp's work investigates the relationship between technology and society, using various programming languages, electronics, software-hardware-prototyping, graphics and animations. He is exploring past, recent and future technologies through design and developing new perspectives on the interaction between humans and technology. While working as a designer and software developer he is working in the fields of interaction and concept design, speculative and critical design. Therefore he is researching and prototyping concepts for future interactive systems, applications and products in alternative realities and on the intersection between reality and speculation. The outcome of his work has been published in various magazines, newspapers, online media and was shown in exhibitions. You can follow him on twitter @PRonnenberg
As the studio gets busier, it becomes increasingly difficult to pause and reflect on our work, our process, our ambitions and aspirations. So as the madness of pre-Christmas deadlines settles, we felt it would be a good time to share a few of the many highlights that made 2013 one of our best and busiest years yet. So here it is, a quick, little document of our process, our studio conversations and travels, a glimpse of things stored away on phones and instagrams. A somewhat candid look at what has been keeping us busy. A cathartic exercise for us to reflect and take stock of what this year meant, and how our thinking has evolved.
We would also like to take this chance to thank the new clients and commissioners who approached us with trust and confidence, and those who came back again with fantastic new opportunities. We worked with the BBC, the Government of Dubai, Future Foundation, Sony and Suncorp amongst others, on a range of projects, from speculative design and foresight, to product strategy, invention and interaction design. We lead and faciliated workshops, wrote reports, made films, created scenarios, build prototypes and designed new experiences. But most importantly, we found new audiences and made new friends. We learnt that our work and approach has gained traction within industries and organisations we would never have considered as potential clients when we first started out.
An intense week in Dubai followed by few more intense week, working with some brilliant minds to develop concepts for a (NDA-ed) project, which will be made public early 2014.
Screen grabs from our scoping report and film on IoTA: Internet of Things Academy for Sony and Forum for the Future at the start of the year, which then led to more exciting stuff.
Stills from our design futurescaping workshops with the BBC where we created detailed cardboard scenarios which were then built upon further by the participants. We enjoyed every minute of it, and will treasure being some of the last people to wander the old Television Centre.
On the Lab front, our ongoing research project exploring the future of personalised genomics and synthetic biology in the context of healthcare, found its first manifestation in the form of a courtcase: Dynamic Genetics v Mann which was exhibited at this year's Ars Electronica. Tobias also showed his brilliant project 'Into Your Hands Are They Delivered' in the same exhibition. Following IoTA's scoping exercise with Sony, we were thrilled to receive funding from the Nominet Trust as one of the ten winners of their Social Tech Social Change Challenge, in partnership with Forum for the Future. We'll be sharing most of our activities through IoTA's twitter account in case you want to follow. We are in the final stages of wrapping up the second stage of the Song of the Machine project with the University of Newcastle, creating a series of functional prototypes and apps for optogenetic retinal prosthesis. The last Lab project this year was Open Informant, commissioned by the Wearable Futures Conference. It was a great start of a theme we will be exploring a lot more in the studio over the next few months. And finally, we are delighted to have won the Grants for the Arts Award from the Arts Council England to create a pretty spectacular project at the V&A next year, so stay tuned!
Discussions from our first Open Day for IoTA at the studio.
The spitkit from Dynamic Genetics vs Mann.
Jon presenting Dynamic Genetics vs Mann at Ars Electronica.
Tobias presenting Into Yours Hands Are They Delivered at Ars Electronica.
Open Informant exhibited at the Wearable Futures Conference
Yosuke wearing the Open Informant Badge.
Lea's drawings for our Grants for the Arts project.
Patrick's photographs of the prosthesis for Song of the Machine Part 2.
The Synbio Tarot Reader being exhibited at Salone Internazionale del Mobile, Milan.
Apart from Studio projects, we gave a lot of talks this year, developing and refining our own research agenda with each presentation. These include 'Design for the New Normal' at Next Berlin, Keynote at the Open Institute, London Launch, Keynote at the Vivid Festival Sydney, Australia, Talk at Futurefest, NESTA, Lecture at Fabrica, and 'Staying with the Trouble' at this year's rather brilliant Poptech. All our talks are now online here.
This slide became a leitmotif in our presentations this year, ending up on some t-shirts. Next year, it will be different.
Presenting at NESTA's Futurefest, curated by Pat Kane.
Enjoyed being on a panel at the Design Museum with the former and present RCA Rectors, Sir Chris Frayling and Dr. Paul Thompson.
Some of the press features of this year include Economist's Intelligent Life, the Sunday Observer, Weave Magazine and WIRED amongst others. We published an essay for the DREAD book edited by Juha van 't Zelfde, wrote texts for the Design Academy Eindhoven's upcoming book and contributed our work to Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby's new book Speculate Everything.
But the best part of this year has been about working with some absolutely brilliant people, our team members, collaborators and associates. Tobias continues collaborating with us on a range of exciting projects, Yosuke Ushigome who interned with us earlier this year is now an associate, Minsung Wang and Lea Bardin were the most fantastic interns, Elvira Grob has joined us as our new studio manager, Gyorgyi Galik has joined us to work on the IoTA project, and a creative technologist (yet to be announced) will be joining us in Janaury.
And finally, we are chuffed to find a new home for our practice, a studio in the corner of the Biscuit Factory, overlooking London's seductive, yet fragile cityscape like a little weather station. We are surrounded by our team, friends and associates, people we enjoy working and drinking with. We hope we can welcome many of you to our space next year.
Looking back at the year, Jon and I have spent a lot of time thinking about how to grow, balancing ambition with scale, which is always a challenge, but we are learning that the scale-at-speed method that used to be a measure of success does not necessarily hold. Whilst we have at times questioned the logic of running a research lab within a studio of our size, its the Lab project that have helped us keep a progressive design agenda, allowing us to explore possibilities and opportunities that keep us intellectually and creatively sustained, but most importantly, enabling us to bring vision and freshness to our client work. Ultimately, not everything is about speed and scale. Maintaing a sense of pace and resisting the urge to grow too quickly has actually helped us build a business model that has structural and economic resilience.
Here's to a very Happy New Year!
That face? Well, it pretty much sums up how we are feeling at the moment. Absolutely delighted! We'd like to welcome two fabulous new people to the studio, Elvira Grob and Gyorgyi Galik.
Elvira Grob is our Studio Manager, working with us to create bespoke systems for organising, planning and supporting our growing consulting and lab projects.
She is a designer and researcher, with a BA in Process Design/Interaction Management and an MA in Design & Environment from Goldsmiths University. Keen to pursue her design management interests, she is working with us to craft organisational and project management systems that will allow us to grow in ways that supports the studio's ambitions and further our interests.
Elvira's own design work and research also has overlaps with the studio's work. During her MA, she has explored concepts where nature becomes culture or vice versa - such as technonature, future animal biomonitors, or hyperobjects. She has also been working as a visiting lecturer in critical design and as a creative strategist, and has a special interest for working in bizarre places including a waste incinerator and an operating theatre. When she is not working, she is mainly occupied with trialling anything pickled and sour. Her personal work can be found here, and you can follow her on twitter @grobli.
Gyorgyi Galik is our Project Manager for the IoTA project, working with us to shape the project as it grows into an independent platform.
Gyorgyi Galik is a London-based designer and researcher. Her practice focuses on voluntary social change, and more specifically how we can transform socio-ecological systems and our collective relationship towards the environmental commons to address and respond to contemporary societal and environmental challenges.
She has worked frequently in collaboration and in cross-disciplinary teams in labs and design studios including: Baltan Laboratories (Eindhoven), Kin Design & Research (London), Sackler Centre, Victoria & Albert Museum (London), PAN Studio (London), Natalie Jeremijenko and the Environmental Health Clinic (New York), Hexagram Research Lab - Concordia (Montreal), CECI (Montreal), Kitchen Budapest Art & Tech Lab (Budapest).
Gyorgyi is a tutor at the Contexts in Design and Communication, Graphic Communication Design Programme, Central Saint Martins College of Art Design, University of the Arts London. She recently started her PhD in Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths' College, University of London under the supervision of Professor Matthew Fuller (UK) and Professor Natalie Jeremijenko (NY, US).
Her personal work can be found here, and you can follow her on twitter @gygalik
We are embarking on the development of an exciting project - IoTA: Internet of Things Academy - for which we are seeking a creative technologist to work with us on a contract basis, starting immediately.
We are looking for a passionate and ambitious creative technologist who has experience in building IoT projects, is an active member of the maker community, and is well informed with recent developments in the technology. We welcome applicants who want to push the boundaries of the technology, but are also excited about challenging assumptions within the IoT space, and want to join us in testing those assumptions by building prototypes of varying fidelity that participants in workshops will use, and break.
You will need to have expertise in web programming technologies such as Javascript, as well as knowledge of Ruby on Rails, Node or PHP. Alongside this you should also have expertise in hardware such as Arduino and other popular prototyping platforms as well as experience in using these technologies with various open data APIs to make exciting IoT projects, or a willingness and drive to do so.
We are looking to work with someone who is looking for a flexible position, initially for a period of five months on a part time basis, but with the potential of a longer term contract or regular employment. We are happy to discuss a working arrangement that suits the right applicant, and arrange time commitments and salary accordingly.
Applicants should send us an email explaining why they are interested in working on this project with us, alongwith their CV, github profile and links to work samples.
Closing date: 5pm on Tuesday, 3rd December 2013.
Interviews with selected candidates: Thursday, 5th December 2013
If you'd like to know more about who we are and what we do, here's our profile and some of our work.
We are thrilled to announce that our project IoTA: Internet of Things Academy is one of the winners in the Nominet Trust's Social Tech Social Change challenge. The £1m fund will support ten organisations that use technology to tackle social challenges in the UK and beyond. Each company will receive £50,000 as well as mentorship from some of the world's leading tech entrepreneurs to develop their early-stage ideas into profitable, scalable social tech ventures.
We are excited to be working with our long term project partners, Forum for the Future to develop the experiment further by building experience prototypes and conducting workshops with a diverse group of people over the next few months. Here's a film showing early sketches of this web platform.
As members of an increasingly technologically mediated society we need to develop new kinds of critical socio-technical literacies. So making is very important, but also thinking about what we make. As stated earier, IoTA is an experiment and an opportunity for experts, non-experts, curators, challenger seekers, people, and more people to experiment with the technology and data in inventive, playful and ingenious ways. Data, however big and plentiful, that does not necessarily lead to better or more rational decisions. Through IoTA we are not interested so much in how data is made public, but more about how the public make data, build their own hypothesis and make their own decisions.
We would like to thank Nominet Trust for their invaluable support in helping us take this work forward. We would also like to thank Hugh Knowles and Louise Armstrong from the Forum for the Future, who are key partners in this project. And finally we'd like to thank Esther Maughan Mclachlan, Emily Nicoll and Chris Clifton who initiated the Futurescapes project at Sony, which led to the IoTA concept. If you are interested in collaborating or participating please do drop us a line.
(As a note to those who have asked, IoTA or the Internet of Things Academy is a placeholder name, and as the project will evolve and take shape we will think about renaming it appropriately.)
Continuing with our series of guest posts on the blog, we invited Scott Smith to share his thoughts on the notion of 'superdensity', something he has talked about in the past. Scott kindly agreed, and today we are delighted to share his brilliant reponse.
It's the Future. Take an Umbrella.
About two and a half years ago, I wrote a blog post titled "The Future is Here Today, and It's Superdense". The phrasing was a reference to the apocryphal William Gibson phrase that's a frequent crutch for people speaking prospectively in public fora: "the future is here today, it's just not evenly distributed." The trigger for the post was a cascade of world events that made "normal" a fairly useless construction—the Arab Spring was unfolding, the Euro crisis was in full swing, and oh, Japan had been laid low by a triple-whammy of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis.
My intent in describing it as superdense, something typically used to talk about neutron stars or quantum information theory, was to find a way to describe how the typical Gibsonian loose distribution of future drivers and emergent trends was momentarily compacting into a tightly clustered ball of WTF. What we think of as the future, in particular bits of dystopia and chaos, wasn't hiding in bits and pieces under this bush or over in that desert, but was all happening at once, or so it felt.
I also wanted to get across the sense of condensation—of various threads and elements, some connected, some not, coming together in a fairly knotty but spectacular way. While the tragedies in Japan were in some sense of a chain of causation (earthquake causing tsunami causing reactor damage), the events in the Arab world and the Euro crisis were in some ways quite connected via the sensitivities of the economic markets, political weaknesses and so on.
One could say—to keep piling on metaphors—a variety of chickens were coming home to roost. Others have talked about this period of protracted superdensity as a New Normal, where the general social, technological, economic, political and environmental conditions we had previously taken for granted no longer seem to pertain. In this period of deep flux, new power structures are emergent.
So far, so good. We've found various bits of language to describe the state we feel we're in, but we don't have a good system for coding and signaling the changes in state we experience, particularly as it applies to us as individuals, or to where we live or frame our existence (to our communities, economies, networks, etc). How fast is x changing in relation to me? To others? How strong is a particular driver, trend or state at this moment, and will it change? One person's weird may be another's normal, for example. From Chittagong in Bangladesh, for example, a hurricane and technological blackout in the New York metropolitan area might seem like seem a more normal distribution (though certainly not wished upon others).
Occasionally, when trying characterize the dynamic, often changeable nature of the future, I've resorted, unscripted to meteorological metaphors, describing how what we think of as "the future" as a phenomenon that washes over us from time to time like a storm front, full of pressure changes, turbulence, and with occasional destructive force. We talk about trends as parts of particular futures, as "building," "gaining strength" or "rising," for example. Fans of "Game of Thrones" speak cryptically online about how "winter is coming" as a means of characterizing what they see as a long-term shift toward instability or stagnation. The New Normal is, in effect a kind of climate change metaphor, conveying an expectation that conditions under which we've made assumptions and decisions in the past—or even the whole physics model of our reality—has altered in a fundamental way. Temperature, precipitation, humidity are all out of whack in our decision-making models.
As I sit thinking about this problem, a familiar sound comes on the streamed radio station to which I'm listening: the audio cue that tells me it's time for the Shipping Forecast. If you aren't familiar with it, the Shipping Forecast is generated by Britain's Met Office and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at four intervals during the day. The Forecast splits the seas surrounding the UK and Ireland into 31 areas, reaching as far northwest as Iceland, east to Norway and Denmark, and south along the Continent to Spain and Portugal, and provides updated weather and sea conditions in these zones to guide both commercial and private shipping as it makes its way to and fro within the area. Similar forecast frameworks are used by other countries, with similar structures.
Many people, sailors and civilians alike, speak about the Shipping Forecast as having a sort of mythical quality—with evocative if slightly opaque names for the regions like Fastnet, Forties, Rockall and German Bight conjuring up something otherworldly, recognized but exotic. Announcers delivering the broadcast read out a standard format of information from each region: regarding wind speeds and direction, air pressure and tracking, precipitation, and so on. While the data sounds almost like a numbers station, it's meaningful to those who use it, and from it one can create a very precise map of pressure across thousands of square miles of sea. The Shipping Forecast is a powerful shorthand that lets navigators know what to expect, how fast change is occurring, and in which direction it is moving.
Image credit: http://simonholliday.com/shippingforecast/trends
Would something like this be desirable as a means of navigating the New Normal? For understanding how to anticipate superdensity, and even to ride its kinetic energy? I wonder if what we need is a Shipping Forecast for futures—sliced into topical regions, with key forces identified, metrics described, and possible trajectories plotted? "Solar energy, veering 6 to 7, backing 3 later based on pending regulation, sporadic innovation, moderate to good." "Surveillance, severe gale 9 to violent storm 11, hacking, squalls later, poor, becoming moderate later." "Bioprinting, 3 to 4, fog, clearing later."
As with many forecasts, the data is similar but the outcomes vary based on your position relative to the forces at play. Are you in a big or small craft, so to speak? Vulnerable, or protected? Is turbulence your friend or enemy? The standard language of the Shipping Forecast is interpretable by all, but value is variable depending on who or what you are, and where you stand, sit or sail, much like the security warnings we've grown weary of in recent years, with their orange/yellow/reds.
So, I make the modest proposal: let's develop a Shipping Forecast for the sort of weird, New Normal futures we increasingly encounter. I'm sure we can come up with 30-odd social and economic issues, emerging technologies or environmental trends that we can all agree need tracking. Monitored by an appointed body (a Future Measurement Agency?), these factors can be reduced to publicly digestible metrics, and delivered in a daily report via print, radio and Internet.
Wondering whether Iran's opening to the West is about to set off a chain reaction of international political reconfigurations? Want to know whether that new biotech product is an immediate gamechanger or just a slow burn? Is a new pandemic something to be concerned about? Tune in each night before bed, get a snapshot view of the future through the glow of your tablet, or a rip-and-read ticker tape via your mini-printer.
I'll admit, it sounds a little strange, and yet we've spent far, far more time, money and effort developing sophisticated social media analytics, high-powered dashboards that allow financial traders at a glance views of market microturbulence, and, as we've found out recently, all-consuming social graphs of all of our interactions and connections. Why not, then, provide such metamaps of "future-weather" as a public good? Widespread knowledge of imminent turbulence and (dare I re-appropriate the word) actual disruption might go a long way toward connecting our actions and reactions to wider conditions.
Unlike the actual Shipping Forecast, to which sailors and ship captains can only respond in a reactive fashion, the forecasting model I propose is actually a feedback loop of sorts—a sort of Quantified Self for society. No, we can't control (all) earthquakes, but there is a lot of the near-future that is in our control—if we can reconnect our conscious lives to causation. We may choose not to shape the waves coming at us—which is always an option in the decision-making process—but if we are going to apply so much of our time and effort to collecting data and crafting visualisations, surely this little experiment isn't asking too much.
About the Author: Scott Smith is a critical futurist, strategic designer, researcher, writer, guerrilla educator and founder of Changeist. Follow on Twitter @changeist.
Recently I gave a short presentation and participated in a panel titled: "The Internet of Things, Data and the Citizen" at the Re:work Technology Summit in London. Here's the video from that talk.
The audio is not entirely clear in the video, so I'd like to share the transcript of the short talk with you sharing our vision for the IoTA Platform. I think its important given that we are now about to start building the project and would like to open this discussion around IoT, 'smart citizens', the maker movement and 'technological empowerment' in an attempt to refine our vision for this experiment. (Note: The name IoTA is a placeholder, and as we develop the experiment we will have a better understanding of how to name it.)
It is estimated that by 2020, there will be more then 50 billion connected devices, adding to the 2.5 quintillion bytes of data we are already producing daily today. There are 16 billion photos on Instagram, 350 million photos areuploaded on Facebook daily, 100 hours of video uploaded YouTube every minute. And thats just from digital data, not the connected deivces we envision forming the IoT world: tables, chairs, bikes, and bridges or even cows, cats and dogs.
All this explosion in data has meant that we are witnessing an abundance of data spectatorship, and a lack of understanding of how to turn data into knowledge we can think with. And use. That lack of understanding makes us weak and vulnerable. Essentially powerless to a certain vision of the future.
You can see the rise in maker culture countering this, as hundreds of thousands of initiatives teaching people to tinker with the cheap accessible technologies are growing, perhaps a clear sign of technological empowerment. But, alongside this genuine infectious enthusiasm, we also see tons and tons of rhetoric.
As members of an increasingly technologically mediated society we need to develop new kinds of critical socio-technical literacies. So making is very important, but also thinking about what we make. (Think) Make. (Think) Do.
So IoTA - an experiment that we are building, is an opportunity for experts, non-experts, curators, challenger seekers, people, and more people to experiment with the technology and data in inventive, playful and ingenious ways. Data, however big and plentiful, that does not necessarily lead to better or more rational decisions. Through IoTA we are not interested so much in how data is made public, but more about how the public make data, build their own hypothesis and make their own decisions. Here's a film showing early sketches of this web platform.
Today we are in the process of building, this is a live experiment. We dont have the answers yet. we hope that IoTA can help nurture a socio-technically literate population, who will gain the conceptual tools needed to parse the implications of the work that they do. something our schools do not currently nurture.
We recently finished a project Dynamic Genetics vs. Mann exploring the implications of synthetic biology and genomics in the context of future healthcare. We are thrilled to have Christina Agapakis reflect on the project in the context of genomic prediction, privacy, and piracy.
This is me
What if personalized medicine never happens? What if the promised therapies tailored to our unique genomes just never materialize? Although it seems inevitable, there is no guarantee that we will be able to precisely match treatments to individuals. For complex diseases with many associated genes interacting in changing environments, the statistical power to make therapeutic predictions currently remains elusive. What if we sequence the genome of every single person on earth and the data is still not big enough?
In such a future, will we still believe in genomic promises? Perhaps, unable to let go of the hope that our genes can predict our future health, we continue to demand access to our largely uninformative genetic code. Unable to find strong associations for complex and chronic diseases but still desperate for determinism, we might look for answers not only in the genes of our own cells but the genes of our microbial symbionts.
This hope might remain part of medical rituals, a statistical placebo for the post-genomic checkup. The doctor takes samples of your secretions and sends them to a genome sequencing company, the costs barely a blip on otherwise ballooning medical bills. You talk about your fears of aging, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, antibiotic resistant bacteria. You discuss your parents and grandparents' medical history. Your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar are measured. Risks are calculated. You should probably lose some weight, eat more vegetables, walk more. You should smoke less, eat less processed food, less sugar. You should take better care of yourself. You probably should have done this anyway. You go home with a reassuring list of percentages that put a number on the fundamental uncertainty about your future.
The sequencing company analyzes your DNA, bills your insurance company, and stores your data in the cloud. Your demographic information and health records are linked to your unique set of sequence variations. Associations are identified, risk percentages are modified. Sequences are patented. Progress (money) is made.
You continue to be anxious about privacy. You think, "if a company is telling me that my DNA data is me, then why should that company have so much access to me?" We are told that in our dangerous world we must give up some privacy for increased safety. For increased health we must give up some of our expectations about genetic privacy.
"Crimes of a Genetic Nature"
DNA is good for telling stories about the future. DNA as machomolecule, in control of our genetic destiny. DNA as code, programmable, controllable, readable, re-writable. Like other data-driven futures, DNA-based stories are stories about probability, risk, and control: risk of developing certain medical conditions and the control that DNA has over our biological characteristics. Risk that genetic information will be used to discriminate against us, risk that our DNA will be used to control what we are and what we can be.
Superflux is good at telling stories about the future, stories that help us connect with the abstractions of probabilities and the weirdness of our unevenly distributed futures. With Dynamic Genetics vs. Mann, Superflux tells a story about DNA, risk, and control, not with percentages and promises but through the carefully crafted evidence of a fictional patent infringement trial.
The story is set in Britain in the near future, when the UK's National Health Service (NHS) has been privatized and transformed into National Health Insurance (NHI). The trial's defendant, Arnold Mann, faced with unmanageable NHI premiums due to undetermined genetic risk factors, turns to black market gene therapy, replacing his risky genes with healthy sequences patented by the fictional biotech giant Dynamic Genetics. With these new genes, his insurance costs are decreased, but he is prosecuted for the DNA sequences that he now holds in his cells, sequences that he didn't pay the right people for.
At first glance, DG v Mann seems to be a very familiar kind of future, especially for people who don't live in the UK and don't have an NHS. For many Americans, a story about an insurance company trying to use anything and everything to screw you over is not an unfamiliar fiction but an everyday fact of life. The idea that an insurance company could one day use your DNA sequences to justify increasing your premiums or deny you coverage is such a pervasive story in the American debates about gene sequencing that it was codified into law, outlawed by the 2008 Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. If anything, DG vs. Mann might give its first shock of weirdness with the notion that it could be weird for such corporate shenanigans to exist in the first place. Imagine a future where Americans think that privatized insurance is a frightening and ridiculous scenario!
This is one way that design fiction could begin to help us "bypass the established narratives about the present and future," challenge us to see the present world from a new perspective, and teach us to challenge our assumptions about what is and what might be possible–both technologically and politically. Design fictions show technologies at the edge of speculation and reality, inviting us to imagine, question, and debate the applications and implications of new science and technology in a cultural context. Exploring genetic technologies in relation to government programs, the business of health care, and the ongoing debates about piracy and intellectual property allows for discussion not just about the function of the technology itself, but its inextricable relationships with power, politics, economics, and society.
Fictions give life to these complex relationships and give us a vocabulary to debate the kind of future we want (think of how often Gattaca used to come up in conversations about DNA sequencing). But while such stories are good at challenging our assumptions about how a technology might be used, rarely do they challenge the deeper assumptions about technological power and control.
What does the world look like when we bypass the established narratives of DNA as the of master of our readable and rewritable future? What if DG vs. Mann is actually a story about genetic indeterminacy?
"Good Source of 6 Vitamins & Minerals"
The DNA evidence in DG vs. Mann is not human readable. Strips of paper with tiny, indecipherable A's, T's, C's and G's highlight the regions of Arnold Mann's genome that are infringing on Dynamic Genetic's patents. Looking at these strips, we don't know what diseases he was at risk for, how much of a burden he would one day be on the insurance pool, or even if the pirated gene therapy has actually changed his odds of developing the disease.
It's possible that Mann's risky sequences are part of the relatively small set of gene variants that are known to directly cause devastating diseases. But if Mann is an otherwise healthy adult, it's much more likely that the NHI actuaries are looking for common gene variants that have been statistically associated with very common and very expensive diseases: type II diabetes, cancers, and cardiovascular disease.
What does it mean if you have, for example, a diabetes-associated sequence in your genome? In terms of real world health outcomes, the small changes in risk associated with any one such variant probably don't mean much, especially compared to the big effects that environment and diet can have.
Indeed, it's harder to imagine what these numbers might mean for your health than what they could mean for your health insurance. These associations provide an "objective" justification to what the insurance company wanted to do all along: get more money. As long as people still believe that DNA is in control of our biological destiny, these associations don't actually have to be biologically meaningful in order to have a big effect.
What does it mean then to use gene therapy to change these risky gene sequences? Considering that for most health outcomes, zip code is a better predictor than genetic code, probably not much. But if an insurance company can use DNA sequences to justify charging more, then altering gene sequences isn't necessarily about being healthier but simply appearing healthier to the risk calculators. The new variants are the genetic equivalent of sugary breakfast pastries fortified with vitamins and minerals, an unknown risk with a quantifiable veneer of "healthiness."
Unlike Pop-Tarts, however, when it comes to deciding who gets affordable insurance coverage, such genetic spoofing might ironically be enough to translate to better health in the real world, where access to health care is much more important than DNA. For Arnold Mann, the potential dangers—medical and legal—of undergoing back-alley gene therapy is worth the risk in order to get affordable insurance. People have done weirder things for health care.
"Unproblematic effectivity"
Polarized debates about the desirability of a new technology and its potential implications often oscillate between cheerful utopia and horrific dystopia. We discuss the promises and perils, the risks and rewards—opposite ends of a speculative spectrum. The real future, of course, is not simply one side or the other, happening instead somewhere in the messy in betweens, neither world-saving nor civilization-destroying.
But wether proposing utopia or dystopia, both sides of such debates grant technologies with an unexamined power to solve or create problems, what anthropologist Georgina Born calls an "unproblematic effectivity." For debates about the future of biotechnologies, the power of DNA always remains at the center. When speculating about the future of a technology, it is worth asking: what if it just doesn't work that way?
Stories about the future can open up new possibilities, new avenues for debate, breaking free from the "half-pipe of doom" between utopia and dystopia. We can imagine more complex, weird, ambivalent futures—stories where technological promises come unraveled, their technical underpinnings explored, their cultural appeal examined.
We want to know the future. We want to know that in the future we will be able to know more than we do now. We want our futures populated with competent scientists, always in control, able to fully understand and accurately predict. We want DNA to be able to justify inequalities in health, we want DNA to give us answers, to tell our future.
DNA is obviously an important molecule, but too many of our social problems and technological dreams rely on the false promise of genetic determinism. DNA is not all-powerful. Data is not enough. Health is biological, but also social, political, economic. Biology is complex. Biology is messy. For better health, we need less sequencing and more support. For better technological promises, we need less control and messier futures.
About the Author: Christina Agapakis is a biological designer who blogs about biology, engineering, engineering biology, and biologically inspired engineering. Follow on Twitter @thisischristina.
The postman has been delivering some nice things recently, which I am excited to share.
1. Weave Magazine, Berlin.
The folks from Weave magazine did an extensive interview with us for their latest issue, for the German speaking readers out there, we'd love to know what you think.
2. Intelligent Life Magazine, Economist
Every year the Intelligent Life does an extensive feature titled 'Inspiring Women' where they ask 16 women to choose their inspiring woman. I am so humbled to have been chosen by architect Amanda Levete, as someone many years my senior, its a real honour.
3. Dread: Dizziness of Freedom
Our essay 'Dynamic Genetics v Mann' is published in this book edited by Juha van't Zelfde, who has also curated a fantastic exhibition of the same name, currently being shown at De Hallen Haarlem in the Netherlands. Other contributors include China Mieville, Kevin Slavin, Ben Hammersley, Adam Greenfield, James Bridle and Timo Arnall.
I am delighted to introduce two talented designers who have been working with us in the Studio recently. Megan has been with us for two months developing the lab project 'Dynamic Genetics v Mann, and Yosuke, a graduate from Design Interactions, Royal College of Art, has just started his internship with us.
Yosuke Ushigome
I am an interaction designer and creative coder. I gained my MA in Design Interactions from Royal College of Art in 2013 during which I developed my own perspective of how our society has been structured in relation to technology and spectacle, and the skill to craft and visualise speculative narratives derived from this perspective. Previously I had studied at the Computer-Human-Interaction research lab at The University of Tokyo, employing physical and computational prototyping to communicate complex concepts. I have also been performing as a freelance interaction designer/artist, and led projects ranging from commissioned artworks to iOS app development for organisations such as MUJI, takram design engineering, Future Robotics Technology Center at Chiba Institute of Technology and some start-ups. My work has been exhibited at Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Ars Electronica Centre and Haneda Tokyo International Airport.
Dig around his website and check out the brilliant commoditised warfare and other projects.
Megan Rodger
I have a tendency to delve head first into complex tangled systems and enjoy attempting to tease them apart. I like playing with, distorting, restricting or enhancing the senses or an experience, while looking at humans as creatures in a world where the evolving technological landscape is rapidly changing our behavior, habits and manner that we live.
After graduating from the Glasgow School of Art, I have worked in various prolific design studios at the crossover of design, technology and art. Having specialised in Graphic Design, I use both design's attention to detail, and my passion in the area of speculative design to undertake various projects for the design studio Cohen van Balen, Timothy Hatton's London Design Festival Pavilion and a series of production design projects in Sweden.


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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - View original article
Healthcare in Switzerland is universal[2] and is regulated by the Swiss Federal Law on Health Insurance. Health insurance is compulsory for all persons residing in Switzerland (within three months of taking up residence or being born in the country).[3][4][5] International civil servants, members of embassies, and their family members are exempted from compulsory health insurance. Requests for exemptions are handled by the respective cantonal authority and have to be addressed to them directly.[6]
The whole healthcare system is geared towards to the general goals of promoting general public health and reducing costs while encouraging individual responsibility.
Health insurance covers the costs of medical treatment and hospitalisation of the insured. However, the insured person pays part of the cost of treatment. This is done (a) by means of an annual deductible (called the franchise), which ranges from CHF 300 (PPP-adjusted US$ 184) to a maximum of CHF 2,500 (PPP-adjusted $ 1,534) for an adult as chosen by the insured person (premiums are adjusted accordingly) and (b) by a charge of 10% of the costs over and above the excess up to a stop-loss amount of CHF 700 (PPP-adjusted $ 429).
Switzerland has an infant mortality rate of about 3.6 out of 1,000. The general life expectancy in 2013 was for men 80.5 years compared to 84.8 years for women.[8] These are the world's best figures.[9]
This section requires expansion. (December 2010) |
Anna Seiler founded the first hospital in Bern, Switzerland.
Swiss are required to purchase basic health insurance, which covers a range of treatments detailed in the Swiss Federal Law on Health Insurance (ger: Krankenversicherungsgesetz (KVG); fre: la loi fédérale sur l'assurance-maladie (LAMal); ita: legge federale sull'assicurazione malattie (LAMal)). It is therefore the same throughout the country and avoids double standards in healthcare. Insurers are required to offer this basic insurance to everyone, regardless of age or medical condition. They are not allowed to make a profit off this basic insurance, but can on supplemental plans.[2]
The insured person pays the insurance premium for the basic plan up to 8% of their personal income. If a premium is higher than this, the government gives the insured person a cash subsidy to pay for any additional premium.[2]
The universal compulsory coverage provides for treatment in case of illness or accident (unless another accident insurance provides the cover) and pregnancy.
Health insurance covers the costs of medical treatment and hospitalization of the insured. However, the insured person pays part of the cost of treatment. This is done by these ways:
In case of pregnancy, there is no charge. For hospitalisation, one pays a contribution to room and service costs.
Insurance premiums vary from insurance company to company (health insurance funds; ger: Krankenkassen; fre: caisses-maladie; ita: casse malati), the excess level chosen (franchise), the place of residence of the insured person and the degree of supplementary benefit coverage chosen (complimentary medicine, routine dental care, half-private or private ward hospitalisation, etc.).
In 2014, the average monthly compulsory basic health insurance premiums (with accident insurance) in Switzerland are the following:[12]
This section requires expansion. (October 2013) |
The compulsory insurance can be supplemented by private "complementary" insurance policies that allow for coverage of some of the treatment categories not covered by the basic insurance or to improve the standard of room and service in case of hospitalisation. This can include complimentary medicine, routine dental treatments, half-private or private ward hospitalisation, and others, which are not covered by the compulsory insurance.
As far as the compulsory health insurance is concerned, the insurance companies cannot set any conditions relating to age, sex or state of health for coverage. Although the level of premium can vary from one company to another, they must be identical within the same company for all insured persons of the same age group and region, regardless of sex or state of health. This does not apply to complementary insurance, where premiums are risk-based.
The Swiss healthcare system is a combination of public, subsidised private and totally private systems:
The insured person has full freedom of choice among the recognised healthcare providers competent to treat their condition (in his region) on the understanding that the costs are covered by the insurance up to the level of the official tariff. There is freedom of choice when selecting an insurance company (provided it is an officially registered caisse-maladie or a private insurance company authorised by the federal law) to which one pays a premium, usually on a monthly basis.
The list of officially-approved insurance companies can be obtained from the cantonal authority.
This section requires expansion. (July 2011) |
Healthcare costs in Switzerland are 11.4% of GDP (2010), comparable to Germany and France (11.6%) and other European countries, but significantly less than in USA (17.6%). Benefits paid out as a percentage of premiums were 90.4% in 2011. Total gross benefits per person and per year in 2011 were CHF 3'171 (PPP-adjusted US$1,945), of which CHF 455 (PPP-adjusted $279) are cost sharing.[13]


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Chris Bosh Takes on Conan O'Brien in Thumb Wrestling
Categories: Sports
Yeah, of course Bosh won.
Other things we learned:
- LeBron apparently liked to talk like a "17th century English dude."
- Bosh is also a big dominoes enthusiast, which should endear him with a certain fan base on Calle Ocho.
- Bosh finds it weird when people talk to Giraffes in baby voices.
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