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For hospital accreditation and health promotion reasons, we examined whether the 22-item Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) could be applied to evaluate job strain of individual hospital employees and to determine the number of factors extracted from JCQ. Additionally, we developed an Excel module of self-evaluation diagnostic system for consultation with experts.
To develop an Excel-based self-evaluation diagnostic system for consultation to experts to make job strain assessment easier and quicker than ever, Rasch rating scale model was used to analyze data from 1,644 hospital employees who enrolled in 2008 for a job strain survey. We determined whether the 22-item Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) could evaluate job strain of individual employees in work sites. The respective item responding to specific groups' occupational hazards causing job stress was investigated by using skewness coefficient with its 95% CI through item-by-item analyses.
Each of those 22 items on the questionnaire was examined to have five factors. The prevalence rate of Chinese hospital workers with high job strain was 16.5%.
Graphical representations of four quadrants, item-by-item bar chart plots and skewness 95% CI comparison generated in Excel can help employers and consultants of an organization focusing on a small number of key areas of concern for each worker in job strain.
With the increasing concern about job strain, many researchers have addressed psychosocial job strain and its adverse effects on health [1-3]. The topic of occupational strain receives considerable research attention and is an important occupational safety and health issue. Research evidence shows that perceived stress overtime and quantitative job overload negatively impact worker mental health. The prevalence of workers reporting mental stress due to job overload increased from 51% in 1982 to 63% in 1997 among Japanese workers and job stressors causing 60% to 80% of occupational accidents and absenteeism in Taiwan [2,4].
Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ)
The Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) based on Karasek's Demand-Control Model, i.e., subscales of job control and psychological demands, is the most popular[1,5], among many instruments designed for the assessment of psychosocial work environment. Karasek and Theorell later incorporated this questionnaire with work-related social support (i.e., subscales of supervisor support and co-worker support) as the Demand-Control-Support Model [1]. Most of the epidemiological studies utilize the JCQ to measure the 'content' of a respondent's work tasks in a general manner, which is applicable to all jobs and workers for predicting job related stress and coronary heart disease in many countries[6-11], and also they are used for studying worker motivation, job satisfaction, absenteeism, and labor turnover [5,8]. The 22-item core JCQ Chinese version (C-JCL) was verified and published in an international journal [12]. However, few papers illustrated a graphical presentation of job strain interpretation for workers, especially in friendly used Excel, to help mental health experts focussing on a small number of key areas of concern.
Four exposure groups classified by JCQ
Job Demand-Control (or Job Strain) Model involves four quadrants displaying psychological job demands (PD), namely high and low strain and active and passive jobs [13,14], those are jointly separated by another subscale of decision latitude (DL). High strain jobs with low DL and high PD are particularly perceived to cause the most adverse psychological reactions [15]. Many prospective studies have supported this hypothesis. Four exposure groups including (i) high strain (exposed to low DL and high PD); (ii) low strain (high DL and low PD); (iii) passive (low DL and low PD); and (iv) active (high DL and high PD) could be graphically illustrated for identifying examinee's high or low job strain.
Study Objectives
Calculating a sum of weighted item scores for each subscale of those 22 items by the specific calculation formulas of the originators is subjective and cumbersome [1,12]. None study, until now, was conducted using the 22-item C-JCL to generate diagnostic reports for workers by a graphical representation to identify their job stresses.
For the graphical representations, it is worthy of (1) depicting a four-quadrant diagram reporting individual job stressors and strains; (2) developing item-by-item bar chart plots to examine person's response on items which can help consultants focusing on a small number of key areas of concern; and (3) make a comparison of the inter-group and inter-occupation differences by item-by-item box plots of disclosure for a sample using skewness coefficients and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to justify occupational job stress whether it is positive or negative skew to an issue (i.e., item or question).
Study Participants
The setting was a 1,200-bed hospital located in southern Taiwan in which 2,791 workers participated in a job perception examination in August of 2008. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to all the employees of the hospital, and 1,863 employees responded (return rate, 66.75%). We further excluded 219 participants who had incomplete information on age, gender, and those with work tenure of three months or less, and part-time workers. As a result, 1,644 workers (or 58.9% of 2,791) were available for this study (Table 1).
Table 1. Demographic Characteristics (N = 1,644)
Steps of instrument selection
1. Questionnaire
With permission from the author of the Chinese Version of the JCQ (C-JCL) [12], 22 core items were selected, including the four subscales such as DL measured by nine items, i.e., skill job discretion (6 items) and decision authority (3 items), PD measured by five items, and supervisor and co-worker support, both measured by four items. For each item, the response was recorded using a four-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). We used the WINSTEPS software [16] to estimate each person's psychometric characteristics by combining all 22 items and separating items for respective subscales.
2. Validation Procedure
(1). Rasch modeling analysis
We programmed an Excel module helping workers examine their job strain. The 22 core items are required to identify number of factors extracting from data. Rasch [17] model was applied to analyze data in Excel for the assessment of job strain for workers. The great advantage of using a Rasch model is that it is an explicit empirical model of the latent trait, which allows for the testing of data fit to the model while dealing with missing response values and transforming raw scores into a linear interval score in a logit (log odd) unit [18-21].
(2) Dimensional checking for C-JCQ
We detected the number of factors for C-JCQ using parallel analysis [22], one of the most recommended methods for dealing with the number-of-factors-to-retain problem [23,24] to observe C-JCQ dimensionality. ViSta version 188.8.131.52 (2010, April) [25] was performed to plot the graphical parallel analysis with 95% confidence intervals.
Prevalence rate of high strain in hospital workers
We used formula (1) to calculate the prevalence rate to uncover participants with work-related stress compared to the total population at risk of contracting that stress.
Excel module combined with WINSTEPS estimating measures
Rasch transformed scores in each domain will be generated by separately estimating person measures using the Excel module which was incorporated with WINSTEPS software to easily estimate the individual measures. The diagram of four quadrants in Excel were plotted to classify workers by DL and SD subscales for individual examinees. Item-by-item bar chart plots to examine person's placement will be developed in Excel. Those two graphical representations are expected to help consultants to easily, quickly and clearly identify job strain for each worker.
Job stress monitored by skewness analyses
Skewness coefficient was suggested to report in evaluating dissimilarity of examinee group [26]. In a skewed (unbalanced, lopsided) distribution, the mean is farther out in the long tail than is the median. If there is no skewness (i.e., the distribution is symmetric) then the mean = the median = the mode. It can be applied to workplace for graphical health performance reports as an indicator of examinee group discrimination on a single item regarding job stress.
If we are concerned with the occupational (or demographic) group which is ascribed to the job stress with positively skewed population which indicates that most of them perform worse (i.e., most persons with lower responding score) on the single item. It is required using computer efficiently to screen them for further assessment. The skewness coefficient and its 95% CI yielded by Bootstrap [27] for all types of occupational group on items are estimated by author programmed Excel-VBA module.
Ethics Review Board Approval
The protocol of this study was approved by the Research and Ethics Review Board of Chi-Mei Medical Center. All authors certify that there are no known conflicts of interest with any third party.
Descriptive Statistics
Table 1 summarizes the demographic characteristics of the study population. The average age of the men and women were 38 and 33 years, respectively, and the mean duration of work tenure was about 4.8 years for both men and women. The majority of respondents were nurses (56%), whereas only 10% were physicians.
Checking dimensions of C-JCQ
All the 22 items fit the expectations for the Rasch model fairly well, with infit and outfit MNSQs between 0.60 and 1.40, respectively (Table 2). The most difficult (i.e., the least occurrence) item to appear was conflicting work (item 14; 2.76 logits; SE = 0.04). The easiest (i.e., the most frequent) to present was learning new things (item 1; -2.18 logits; SE = 0.05). Cronbach's alpha coefficient is 0.8 similar to the previous study (Cheng, Luh, Guo, 2003) [12].
Table 2. Item difficulties and unidimensional test by MNSQ within 0.60 and 1.40
Tennant and Pallant suggested [28] that exploratory factor analysis (EFA), especially using parallel analysis (PA)[22], should be undertaken to ensure the dimensionality of study data before conducting a Rasch analysis. Parallel analysis was performed to identify that C-JCQ has five factors extracted from those 22 items (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Parallel analysis for C-JCQ items. Note. Five factors were extracted by 95% CI of parallel analysis in the left panel.
Excel module plotting graphical representations of four exposure groups
In order to develop a self-administered assessment to help workers diagnose their job strain, we illustrate a worker corresponding to the relationship between four exposure groups in Figure 2. They were 281 (16.5%), 136 (7.99%), 1228 (72.11%) and 58 (3.41%) for high and low strain, and active and passive jobs, respectively. In the diagram, we see that the number that occurred in each group is shown in different color (the darker the color, the greater the number). The worker's scores displayed in the diagram showing high strain in the VI quadrant (symbolized by an asterisk) and low scores of SSs (supervisor support) and CSs (co-worker support) in the III quadrant (symbolized by a square), indicating that the worker should be paid more concern for an obviously depressive disorder on job environment without satisfying social support in the workplace. The graphical representation in Excel can help consultants examine the relation of worker's job strain and support from supervisor and co-worker so that they can be easily, quickly and clearly identified.
Figure 2. JCQ report in Excel showing high strain with low workplace support for an examinee. Note. The darker the color, the greater the number.
Excel module plotting item-by-item bar charts for individual workers
Figure 3 shows item-by-item box plots for a particular worker. On the right-hand side of the figure, the outlier residual Z-score (2.609 on item 2) is shown, indicating that such items responding to this worker violating model's expectation are required for a further discussion, indicating that the observed score is greatly far apart from the expected response beyond the criterion of 1.96 (p < .05) when Rasch model is well fitted. Examining these residual Z-scores can help consultants focusing on a small number of key areas of concern for each worker in job strain.
Figure 3. Graphical representation of JCQ report in Excel showing examinee's aberrant response with item-by-item bar chart plot.
Graphical skewness analyses to screen out what groups we concern
If we are concerned with the occupational (or demographic) group which is with tremendous amount of job strains and stressors, those with positively skewed population would be selected. All of groups in the present study show less job stress with negatively skewed pattern in Figure 4. The skewness 95% CIs for each item showed can list such a juxtaposed comparison within (or between) group-by-group, item-by-item and year-by-year so as to see any difference or change occurred in sample dissimilarity of distribution in job stress suffered.
Figure 4. Skewness analysis to detect extremely abnormal group. Note: We are concerned with those groups with both positively skewed distribution.
Key findings
We found the prevalence rate of Chinese hospital workers with high job strain to be 16.5%. It is easy to make comparisons with the prevalence of job stress in other workplaces if the job strain derived from the C-JCQ is measured by Rasch analysis [29,30].
What this adds to what was already known
We confirmed the C-JCQ with five dominant factors and ensured that Rasch analysis is an objective tool that can create linear and interval scores measuring job strain [31].
What is the implication and what should be changed
Using Excel graphical representations of C-JCQ scores combined with WINSTEPS as a tool can help consultants focusing on a relatively small number of key areas of concern and allows for an easy, quick, and clear comparison of job strain, especially for those who are unfamiliar with a professional statistical package. Interested readers can download this feature in Additional files 1.
Additional file 1. Excel_VBA module for plotting graphical representations. An Excel_VBA used to plot both four quadrant diagram and item-by-item bar chart plots.
Format: XLS Size: 2MB Download file
This file can be viewed with: Microsoft Excel Viewer
The studied workplace verified as a symphony organization
The least satisfied scoring item was "I am free of conflicting demands that others make (shown in Table 2), indicating hospital employees commonly and frequently violate one of the Henri Fayol's 14 Principles of Management[32], Unity of Command (i.e., each worker should have only one boss with no other conflicting lines of command). Drucker stated that hospital organization is very similar to that of a music symphony orchestra (e.g., a conductor in orchestra like a surgeon in operation room not familiar with other instruments leads co-workers of a team to attain their goal) [33]. The most satisfied item was "My job requires that I learn new things" (shown in Table 2), indicating that the hospital is changing and improving frequently and the employees are satisfied with new thing to learn from their jobs.
Strengths of the study
1. Excel with Winsteps to implement Rasch analysis
The finding of Chinese hospital workers with a prevalence rate of high job strain at 16.5% can be compared with other studies based on the Job Strain Model paradigm. An Excel module (see addition file 1) combined with Winsteps as a tool which was never published before that so convenient and easy to use although Winsteps has been one of the most widely used programs for Rasch analysis in recent years [34]. It can do the following: 1) easily generate person measures with item anchored difficulties revealed in this study in comparison with other study using a C-JCQ scale; and 2) understandably depict C-JCQ results, showing the worker's strain level in a diagram that can compare studied samples scattered in the four quadrants (Figure 2) as well as item-by-item bar chart plots helping consultants focusing on job strain for each worker to be easily, quickly and clearly compared (Figure 3). Accordingly, the Excel module could be easier than that calculating a sum of weighted item scores for each subscale of those 22 items by the specific calculation formulas of the originators [1,12].
2. Using skewness and its 95% CI to differentiate between groups on items
From management prospective, labor health protection and promotion have been recently emerged as an important issue [35,36]. Every workplace conducts enormous numbers of diverse mental examination for their employees. Using data to examinee differences of individual groups within or between groups, items and years becomes easy and possible if applying skewness coefficient and its 95% CI, which is shown in Figure 4.
3. Allowing missing values in responses
Classic test theory (CTT) requires all items on a questionnaire to be completed in order to obtain a final score and evaluate the job stress resistant ability of the respondent. Rasch model is based on item response theory (IRT) and it allows missing data estimate examinee' stress resistant ability [37,38]. Readers who are interested can click it onto the website (http://www.webcitation.org/5akD0HfXm webcite) with incompletely answered missing data to test the effects. The visual representation diagram on Internet for employee stress evaluation can be plotted. Individual job strain can be estimated even if missing data are in existence.
Limitations and weaknesses of the study
High quality examinee feedback is important, so more work is needed to enable the administration of an effective examinee feedback tool in work site settings. In this study, we consider the questionnaire as a tool to collect individual's perception of job stress through a graphical representation. However, users may need some training to interpret four-quadrant diagram, item-by-item plots and skewness 95% CI comparison of job strain properly. The results imply that it is just useful for examining job stress in Chinese hospital work sites, thought the procedure and approach applied in this study can be repeated and carried out onto other cultures or onto other any population of people by promising researchers. The results regarding the job strain prevalence cannot be generalized to other workplaces in different cultures, although many translations of the JCQ translations have been used (http://www.jcqcenter.org/Translations.html webcite).
The DL is constructed by two subscales of skill job discretion (6 items) and decision authority (3 items) although PA identified it composing two factors (correlation coefficient = 0.45). We averaged those two composed scores to yield the DL for plotting the four quadrant diagram (Figure 2) according to previous papers [1,12-14]. However, SD and DA are not conceptually the same construct so that they should not be used jointly to represent DL. It is worthy of additional study regarding JCQ to verify its proper application.
The author-programmed Excel module is for application that is simple, understandable and easily used in the workplaces. All of the C-JCQ difficulties for items in each subscale have been anchored with WINSTEPS commands in the downloadable Excel module so that the results of job strain prevalence can be compared in the future. C-JCQ results for each worker can be reported in the four quadrants and item-by-item bar chart plots to show the job strain compared with the studied samples. Those two plots in Excel provide mental health consultants with information different from traditional approaches that cannot facilitate C-JCQ for emphasizing key areas of JCQ subscales to be easily, quickly and clearly compared and interpreted. Readers who are interested in assessing employees' job strain with the Rasch model can download it from Additional files 1 for practice. It must be noted that the Excel module must be placed in the same folder as the examples for WINSTEPS and the Excel application must be activated before activating the Excel module.
Further Studies and Suggestions
Job strain conditions may be associated with the co-occurrence of adverse health behaviours that contribute to preventable chronic diseases [9]. Researchers and practitioners could put more emphases on the issues of self-evaluation for the public. The identification of occupational hazards that contribute to perceived workplace stress can better inform the development of interventions to reduce worker stress in acute care organizations in Taiwan. Future interventional research is needed to test interventions that are effective in the reduction of workplace stress related to occupational hazards, in order to promote improved workplace mental health. Research is needed to test interventions focused on 1) organizational climate change (i.e., changes in organizational structures and processes) for high risk groups and 2) improve worker's resistance to workplace stress to improve worker and patient outcomes.
In practice, there may be more than one scaling questionnaire for job stress to be analyzed. We just studied the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) based on Karasek's Demand-Control-Support Model. In this study, IRT-based Rasch model was used to illustrate both four quadrants and item-by-item bar chart plots to examine worker's job strain. Future studies are encouraged to compare the prevalence rate of high job strain with other workplaces using this Excel module (in additional file 1). It is desirable to implement these procedures to evaluate data on both bases of individual and population. Future studies can carry out C-JCQ questionnaire with the Excel module with graphical representations to investigate workers' job strain in workplace settings.
List of abbreviations
CTT: classic test theory; CS: coworker support; IRT: item response theory; DA: decision authority; DL: decision latitude; JCQ: job content questionnaire; PA: parallel analysis; PCA: principle component analysis; PD: psychological job demand; SD: skill discretion; SS: supervisor support; VBA: visual basic for application
Competing interests
1. Authors' declaration of personal interests: None.
2. Declaration of funding interests: This study was funded in full by Chi-Mei Medical Center (Grant No. CMFHR 9820).
Authors' contributions
TWC, WPL and SBS provided concepts and ideas for research design, writing, data analysis, facilities and equipment and fund procurement. SYH, HYW and SCC provided institutional liaison and project management. HRG and RVC provided consultation (including English revision and review of manuscript before submission) All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
This work was supported by Chi-Mei Medical Center (Grant No. CMFHR 9820). We would like to thank Dr. Wei-Chih Kan and Dr. Chih-Chiang Chien at the Department of Nephrology for their assistance in conducting this study.
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Pre-publication history
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text:
Richmond RCMP have called in the Lower Mainland's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team to investigate the circumstances of a suspicious death, police said in a news release.
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It's a shooting sport often compared to paintball, but instead of firing balls of paint, players shoot small plastic BBs. However, the sport also uses realistic-looking guns that have been implicated in several recent U.S. police shootings where officers mistook them for deadly weapons.
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A survey of doctors in Richmond suggests a looming shortage because many of the city's family physicians plan to retire soon. Twenty-four of the city's 76 general practitioners (GPs) who responded to a recent survey by the Richmond Division of Family Practice plan to retire within the next four years.

subset: commoncrawl


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You won't be able to dismiss this by usual means (escape or click button), but you can close it programatically based on user choices or actions.
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Find records of Alfred Mis
Find records of AlfredBiography & Family History Add details
Alfred F Mis (1921 - 2010) was born on July 11, 1921. He was born into the Mis family.
He died on May 8, 2010 at age 88.
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- School Teacher, (Art) Niagara Falls High School and LaSalle HS. Painted many pictures and portraits. Musician, very fine piano and exception accordian player. Not so good flute player.
- Military Service
Army Air Corp, flew in WW2, C-47 (assisted in paratroop drops) and B-17s. Flew 4 combat missions over Germany with the 306th bombardment group, 8th Air Force in B-17s. Once the aircraft was hit, and participated in manually transfer of fuel from storage to engines while returning from a mission. This tooks place over the English Channel. Also, flew over Russian occupied Germany for aerial spy pictures to capture troop placements.
Also played piano at USO shows in England as a part of big bands and/or smaller groups. - Gender
- Male
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Died in Florida. Body was flown to NF. Body was displayed at Labuda Funeral Home in NF.
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"Dr. Fackovec is one of the most kind and supportive doctors. He explains to me my medical conditions and guides me on how to treat it. I value ..."
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From $1,226 / week
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- 4 bedrooms
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Enjoy your Spanish vacation the fullest in this luxurious southeastern coast rental villa near Javea. Set in a quiet residential area along Costa Blanca, you'll love the gorgeous views of the sea, the bay of Javea, and Mount Montgo from the terrace or pool of this holiday villa on the Costa Blanca. Lounge around your private pool or explore the surrounding areas: the beaches (rocky and sandy), mountaintop lookout vistas, and the quaint fishing village of Javea (which has grown a bit in modern times). Your Javea sea-view vill with a private pool is just waiting for you!
(1000 m2) This villa is set in a nice residential area with plenty of privacy. ...Read more
Villa by Javea - Villa Tropical
Javea, Valencian Country, Spain
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Special to Page 2
There are times, as a writer, you follow one simple rule: Get out of the way.
This is one of those times.
Philadelphia and Eagles fans nationwide are alternating between euphoria, disbelief, panic and bed-wetting these days. And we here at The Hangover are more than happy to exploit it all for a "bonus" edition of the column. Only one rule applies: We're radio station WPHC -- All Philly Corner, All the Time.
(Editors: Your strategy to anger all of New England with this blatantly Philly-biased piece of content surely will play well in the wilds of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts -- where not only do they have to dig their entire homes out of snow drifts, but also discover these odes to the Eagles on Page 2. But, as a good soldier, I do as told.)
Before I get out of the way, though, a quick homage.
This Philly Corner and all other bonus columns before Super Bowl XXXIX -- otherwise known as "The Greatest Day of My Life, But Don't Tell That to My Wife" (as many of you Eagles fans have e-mailed) -- are dedicated to the long-lost ghost of Schmitty, the bartender at San Francisco's Gold Cane tavern who first illustrated to me the passion, the comedy and the face-painting so endemic to all Philly fans.
I met Schmitty in 1997, or as Eagles fans know it: The Dark Ages. My wife and I would head into "The Cane" for a pre-dinner beer and, in the course of ordering up from Schmitty, would get "The Lecture" -- about how the Eagles were a good draft away from glory; about how a key acquisition at guard or center on the free-agent market would be the magic elixir; about how Bobby Hoying or Ricky Watters or Torrance Small would be the next great hero.
The Eagles went 6-9-1 in 1997, 3-13 in 1998, and 5-11 in 1999. And quite frankly, I was less interested in Schmitty's delusions than I was in the way he could pour a pure pint of Guinness.
Over the years, Schmitty's passion won out. We began to follow the Eagles because of Schmitty. We regarded the Eagles' flag Schmitty flew year-round outside his Masonic Avenue pad as endearing, rather than as a sign of insanity. (Well, to be honest, we were about 50-50 on that.)
Schmitty used to tell us that his dream was to move back to his native Philly, buy a house, be with his dog Jake and get a job with the Eagles organization. "Dude, I'll tear tickets," he said. "Anything."
Then one day, Schmitty was gone. A bartender told us he moved back to Philly. That was it. No more Eagles flag on Masonic.
We felt empty.
So as I reflect on the birth of the Philly Corner in the weekly Hangover, I have to be honest with myself and realize that Schmitty, in his own fly-to-Arizona-every-year-to-wear-a-green-fright-wig-for-the-Eagles-Cards-NFC-East-tilt way, was the inspiration for it.
This one's for you, Schmitty. Your ghost looms in San Francisco, and it's the damndest thing: I've never seen a ghost with face-paint before.
Regardless, we move on to our pre-Super Bowl Philly Corner. You guys write; I get out of the way.
Sing a song
Eagles fans have been known to serenade with a hearty "Fly, Eagles, Fly" (second-best NFL anthem behind "Hail to the Redskins"), but we all knew last Sunday was going to be special when Eagles fans gathered behind the Fox pregame show and chanted "DALLAS SUCKS!" as Jimmy Johnson spoke.
Reader Andrew G. from New York City says the Philly crowd even went highbrow, a few of them incorporating the European tradition of transposing sporting lyrics to popular song. He says Philly fans mocked the visitors from Dixie by singing, to Doris Day's old hit: "Que sera, sera/Whatever will be, will be/General Sherman's from South Philly/Que sera, sera." I love the thought, and love Andrew's creativity. But judging by 20 weeks of Philly e-mails, I'm wondering if a 250-pound guy in a Brian Dawkins gamer would actually dare sing a Doris Day tune. Regardless, we like the effort, Andrew.
A touching thought
Andrew signed off his e-mail with what may be an emotional rallying cry: "Go Birds! Bring it home for Jerome!!" Now there's an angle. Jerome Brown! Birds fans heading to Jacksonville have to ask themselves upon pondering the propriety of sharing a drink with Pats fans, as Jerome did when his Miami Hurricanes played Penn State in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl: "Would the Japanese sit down and have dinner with Pearl Harbor?"
Ah, Jerome. We miss you, buddy.
Speaking of historical ramifications, reader Nick Seabrook from New Jersey, like many Eagles fans, has begun talking of "The Upset." Yes, there are many who believe their beloved Birds can do it, and Nick puts it in context when he says: "It would be the biggest win this country has seen since we defeated the Germans in World War I."
World War One! Way to go deep, Nick, vaulting "The War to End All Wars" past the more trendy favorite, WW II. Perhaps Nick was watching some World War I footage on History Channel Classic and let his emotions get the best of him.
We knew it was over when ...
... Little Timmy Kelly reduced a nation to misty-eyed blubbering with his national anthem.
And people! Please! You who wrote in to berate your friendly author for the line about booing Timmy are officially on Hangover Probation. It was a joke, son. You who lashed out obviously haven't spent the better part of four months reading the weekly tributes to "A2U," Hibachi injuries, Monkey Suits and High-Steppers from the 700 Level.
As if karmically sent, Little Timmy's dad writes in to thank the Hangover for the mention of his gutty little kid, who was born blind and with cerebral palsy, and yet turned out a smokin' national anthem. Little Timmy is a local hero in the Philly area, but Mr. Kelly is kind enough to extend a national thank you.
"Let me tell you, it was brutal on the field," Mr. Kelly writes. "The wind was blowing directly in his face. He has a beautiful voice, and it really is unfortunate the wind was blowing so badly. ... He has peformed for the Eagles in the past in good weather and, as he says, 'rocked the house.' He is a fan favorite, and they love him."
More than a few of you sentimentalists out there admit that when Little Timmy faltered on a wind-blown lyric, the sound of the The Linc soaring in voice to say, essentially, "We Have Your Back, Little Dude" was their Goosebump Moment of the Year.
You big softees. Come over here so I can give you a noogie.
Back to the debauchery
The pregame scene at the Linc was, as can be expected, filled with dreamers, drifters and ne'er do wells. In other words, it was an Eagles playoff game.
To what lengths do they go to show their love? Reader Patrick R. e-mailed a lengthy tale about a gate-crashing pulled by himself and two pals, the details of which put "The Great Escape" to shame. Suffice it to say, Patrick R. boiled down his Sneak-In into a few lasting lessons: "1. Never underestimate the power of a $100 bill. 2. Never underestimate the will of a few drunken, desperate Eagles fans. 3. Never try to sneak into a game through the Club Box Section. 4. Never tell a girl who is dating the director of security that you just snuck into the Club Box Level."
All ended well, with the lads enjoying the game from the end-zone catwalk. Patrick R. does add that the lengthy pregame tailgating was aided by a propane heater, which he calls "the greatest invention since birth control."
True love conquers all
It is with deep regret that I tell this particular Birds fan that, in cutting-and-pasting his e-mail, I lost his name (yes, a "Reader Whose Name I Accidentally Deleted" makes a triumphant return from the early Hangover days). But I hope he appreciates the effort. His story is a harrowing one, but has a happy ending. It's about his buddy "Shieldsy," who decided to shed his shirt and share love with the fans during the game. Anonymous reader writes: "Shieldsy has a 'bar tumor' the size of a keg, and proceeds to bounce around the aisle, giving high-fives." Now it gets rich: "Suddenly, he realizes he 'high-fived' his wedding ring off."
Is there a deeper symbolism at work anywhere? Perhaps that shirtless Shieldsy, Gut Champ of Philly, has a more profound love for the Eagles than for his own bride?
The reader continues: "I tell him that we will find it, and will stay after everybody clears out, to look." The picture is not pretty. "We were up against slush, snow, trash, beer puddles and general goop. We were about to give up when a sweet young female security guard started to help us."
Here's the key: "Using her sober brain, unlike those of us who were blowing .225, she decided to look two rows in front of us. She deduced the high-five from a person behind you would make a ring fly backwards. We, on the other hand, found it difficult to bend over with 27 layers of clothes on."
Cue the soaring theme music of "Fly, Eagles, Fly" ... as Anonymous Reader concludes on a high note: "She found it."
What was the payout? "Shieldsy gave her a big hug, and two twenties for the effort."
To think, a modern-day Isaac Newton in a yellow jacket -- and she's 40 bucks richer for the effort.
What the world needs now, is love, sweet love
Get out your hankies, Philly fans. The testimonials from Sunday night's postgame love-fest are, well, moving. To think that these hard-bitten, frostbitten fans could warm their hearts over their collective passion for the Eagles? Well, I'll get out of the way and let reader Bob B. say: "There was a euphoric love going on in the postgame tailgate that has never been felt in Philly. Even though I was unable to move my legs and other extremities due to frostbite, high-fives were being passed around the parking lot to each guy, and I was getting hugs and kisses from tons of beautiful young women."
Bob B. wonders if he was delusionary: "At one point, I didn't know if I should be giving out dollar bills, or if I was just having a vision because I had actually died from the cold. The only other thought I had was that this must have been what the original, non-corporate Woodstock must have been like."
He poses a rhetorical query: "Did others have this feeling, and does it have a name?"
Bob B. isn't alone in opening up his heart. Reader Matt Zegarski writes: "It was amazing what happened, and I'm not talking about the game at the Linc. What really happened was the entire city was happy about the same thing, at the same time."
Zegarski experienced "Urbanophoria" (I just made that up) after the game: "While walking to a friend's house from The Bayou in Manayunk, everybody was high-fiving each other, and having a great time. Not only did I hug total strangers -- and I don't even hug friends -- but one of the guys saw I dropped my phone, and ran down the street to give it back."
Whoa! Now that's a new Philly! In the old Philly, the guy keeps the phone and logs several calls to the Caribbean on the other guy's minutes.
More heartfelt testimonial comes from reader Chris Cieri, who describes what can only be called a "Gridlock High" in trying to drive downtown on Sunday night: "The highlight of my night was the 30 minutes I spent on Broad Street trying to get home, and the mass of humanity shouting, hugging and acting like total fools." How long to drive three blocks for Cieri? "Thirty minutes," he says. "On any other night, I would have probably taken someone's life with my own hands, but not tonight. I honked and high-fived every idiot out there, and loved every second of it."
Perhaps the most immediate portrait is drawn by an e-mailer who goes only by Skauff. He e-mailed in the wee hours Monday morning, saying he had just arrived home from the revelry: "Words cannot express the feeling of this city right now ... what I just saw was grown men reduced to tears of joy, people running through the streets in the snow, making snow angels ... the traffic was horrendous, but no one cared at all. People were literally dancing in the streets to a symphony of Eagles chants, car horns and cries of jubilation."
Skauff then paints the picture that will linger: "Strangers were hugging -- their only connection a green jersey with a number 5 or 20 on their chest. It was the most wonderful sight I have ever seen."
Then again, it's Philly, right?
Lest we get too sentimental, reader Fran L. informs us that a pregame TV report on the local Fox affiliate found a reporter chasing down "The Naked Fan" in the Linc parking lot. The female reporter attempted to interview Naked Fan, who responded by turning to face the reporter, grabbing his genital region and, as Fran writes, "in his best Austin Powers said: 'Do I make you horny, baby?'"
Like I said: It's Philly, right?
We end with visual poetry
We will have more Philly Corner as the Super Bowl approaches, and you are encouraged to e-mail all memories, anecdotes and comedy to the address listed below. But we will end this bonus edition with my favorite image of the year. It is picked up by reader Tom G., who was reveling in postgame coverage when his eyes fell upon the following: "It was the 11 o'clock news, and images of hundreds of Eagles fans jamming the snow-covered parking lot at the Linc were shown. Who pops up on the screen? A 300-pound drunk guy wearing a severely undersized PINK Eagles hooded sweatshirt."
Tom G.'s eye for detail is precise: "This thing is ripped at the waist and sleeves," he writes, "and he is screaming at the top of his lungs."
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Philly Corner.
E-mail Brian Murphy at email@example.com with thoughts, questions and unanswerable philosophical rants.


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The hotel is closer to the bus terminal of mokpo than to the train station. The town where the hotel situated is more modern and with more restaurants serving other cuisine and not just only seafood compared to the town where ferry pier is. The hotel is one of the more scaled one in town like Mokpo, one that we... More
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Number of rooms: 71


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11 results for "grant hill"
What we're learning from Jason Collins
Kevin ArnovitzGetty Images Jason Collins shined a bright light on an issue few in the NBA spoke openly about. Is that enough? Oct. 11 is National Coming Out Day. The vast majority of people who declare their sexual identity do so one of the other 364 days on the...
Blog | October 11, 2013 -
Friday Bullets
Kevin ArnovitzLeBron James rang up 12 assists in Denver on Thursday night, and was deadly on the kickout to spot-up shooters. The biggest dime of the night came in the closing minute with the game in the balance. James could've played one-on-three against the Nugg...
Blog | November 16, 2012 -
Friday Bullets
Kevin ArnovitzYour team has finally clawed its way out of futility and has a reasonable chance to sneak into the postseason as a low seed. If they do, they'll forfeit their draft pick. That's the rub with the Detroit Pistons heading into 2012-13. Patrick Hayes of ...
Blog | July 27, 2012 -
Hill and Dudley on the PSA you've seen a zillion times
Kevin ArnovitzChristian Petersen/NBAE/Getty Images Jared Dudley and Grant Hill were trailblazers when they cut the "Think B4 You Speak" spot last spring. A friend who was horrified by Ian Parker's story in the New Yorker about the suicide of a gay Rutgers studen...
Blog | February 14, 2012 -
Wednesday Bullets
Kevin ArnovitzWizards owner Ted Leonsis: "Last night there was a pick-up game played at Verizon Center on our practice court. There were many NBA players in attendance and a few NBA All-Stars played as well. I stumbled into watching purely by accident. Gilbert Are...
Blog | August 25, 2010 -
Thursday Bullets
Kevin ArnovitzHow many of the Celtics' "Big 4" need to produce in order for the Celtics to be successful? Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus breaks down the Celtics' postseason results by examining single game scores for Garnett, Allen, Pierce and Rondo and mea...
Blog | June 10, 2010 -
Monday Bullets
Kevin Arnovitz"Thumbs Down" is one of Orlando's favorite sets. Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard run a high screen-and-roll in the middle of the floor, with a shooter to the left of the action. Last spring, this play call was lethal, but the Celtics' defenders have ...
Blog | May 24, 2010 -
Are we being too harsh on Amare Stoudemire?
Kevin ArnovitzAnyone who witnessed the carnage at Staples Center this past week knows that the Phoenix Suns have serious defensive issues. Suns head coach Alvin Gentry even went so far as to playfully solicit suggestions from the media at his postgame press confer...
Blog | May 22, 2010 -
The energy fueling Phoenix's offensive juggernaut
Kevin ArnovitzThe Phoenix Suns' pick-and-roll: You know it's coming, but there's only so much you can do about it. That pick-and-roll attack is the primary reason Phoenix was the NBA's most efficient offense this season. How good were the Suns with the ball ...
Blog | May 14, 2010 -
Friday Bullets
Kevin ArnovitzThe Rockets made out like bandits in yesterday's three-team trade with Sacramento and New York. Jason Friedman gets to the heart of what Daryl Morey & Company were able to accomplish: "In Martin, the Rockets have filled a glaring void at the 2-gu...
Blog | February 19, 2010 -
Weekend Bullets
Kevin ArnovitzAndrew Bogut had one of those nights that makes you say, "Oh, I can see why this guy was a number one pick." As Jeremy Schmidt of Bucksketball describes, the uber-competitive Bogut Friday night traded blows with Brad Miller and even yelled at the Spa...
Blog | January 09, 2010


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Home Bancorp Announces Approval Of Stock Repurchase Program
LAFAYETTE, La., May 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Home Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: HBCP) (the "Company"), the parent company for Home Bank ( www.home24bank.com), a Federally chartered savings bank headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana (the "Bank"), announced that its Board of Directors approved a new program to repurchase up to 402,835 shares, or approximately 5%, of the Company's outstanding common stock. Repurchases may be made by the Company in open-market or privately-negotiated transactions as, in the opinion of management, market conditions warrant.
The Company recently completed a previously announced repurchase program (the "July 2010" program). Under the July 2010 program, the Company acquired 424,027 shares of the Company's common stock at an average price of $13.56 per share.
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate" or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could" or "may."
Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are subject to risks and uncertainties. A number of factors - many of which are beyond our control - could cause actual conditions, events or results to differ significantly from those described in the forward-looking statements. Home Bancorp's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, describes some of these factors, including risk elements in the loan portfolio, the level of the allowance for losses on loans, risks of our growth strategy, geographic concentration of our business, dependence on our management team, risks of market rates of interest and of regulation on our business and risks of competition. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. We do not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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sayknowledge - Lap Up
Artist: sayknowledge
Producer: Mars Today and Mikos
Album: Vibe Called Quest
Avg Rating: 4.0 ( 20 votes )
Unable to Watch this Youtube Video? Click here to play in Soundcloud instead.
After making his DJBooth debut back in October with Art Goons, the aptly-named sayknowledge is back with his newest single, Lap Up, a cut off of his forthcoming LP. On Lap Up, sayknowledge teams up with producers Mars Today and Mikos to provide a laid back, smooth sounding beat for the San Francisco representer to go to work. On the mic, the unsigned up-and-comer showcases some impressive bars, while displaying a solid flow that hip-hop fans should…wait for it…lap up. If you're looking for more from sayknowledge, be sure to check out his upcoming album, Vibe Called Quest, which drops January 15. In the meantime, you can count on The DJBooth to keep you up to date with the latest info.
Update: Click "Watch Video" above or scroll down to view sayknowledge's Lap Up visual.
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Written by Dillon White on 01/8/13
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Heavy Keys Records
First DJ Booth Appearance:
"Art Goons" (2012)
Total DJ Booth Features:
3 Songs
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In spite of the Friday night passage of an eleventh hour, one-week stopgap spending bill to continue funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the department posted a lapse-of-funding notice and shut-down procedures on its website apparently intended if the last minute efforts failed. While the notice is not listed on the home page, the blog, or the list of DHS publications, it was originally posted around nine o'clock Friday night and remained at this link as of the time of publication of this article:
The text of the notice reads as follows:
Due to a lapse in funding, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may only continue "exempt" activities such as law enforcement and maritime protection. The Department's contingency plan outlines procedures for an orderly shutdown of non-exempt functions during a lapse in funding or appropriations.
The notice includes a link to a publication entitled Procedures Relating to a Lapse in Appropriations dated Friday, February 27, that spells out detailed procedures on how a funding lapse would handled throughout the department. The forty-seven page document instructs various DHS agencies how to determine which employees would be exempt from furlough, how a cessation of activities should be phased in, what incidents would trigger an employee recalls, and how regular activities would be resumes upon the conclusion of any hiatus. For instance, of the 59,546 employees of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 53,288 employees (89.5 percent) would be classified as exempt from furlough.
Since the stopgap funding measure only covers one week, the posted procedures may be needed as early as next Friday at midnight. DHS has not responded to an inquiry regarding the early posting of the notice.
Lost in much of the reporting about CPAC is that almost all of the likely presidential candidates—really, all of them, with the exception of Rand Paul—seemed to place themselves at the Reaganite hawkish-internationalist end of the foreign policy spectrum. The much-heralded return of Republican isolationism or anti-interventionism wasn't much in evidence, except during Rand Paul's half hour on the stage.
Read more...
On its much maligned Twitter feed, Think AgainTurn Away, the State Department is denouncing higher taxes -- and even asserting they're evidence a utopian society is a pipe dream.
Liberal commentator Juan Williams called the foreign donations to the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation "rank influence peddling" and "unethical" in remarks today on Fox News:
Williams pointed out, Hillary Clinton is being asked about her position on the Keystone XL pipeline at the same time she's accepting money from the company that wants to build the company.
Vice President Biden spent about a day and a half in Belgium in early February to meet with various European leaders, but his entourage, security team and other delegation members required up to 209 rooms for up to three weeks surrounding the visit.
In January, the State Department signed contracts for an estimated $1,690,000 million for hotels for President Obama's trip to India. Two of the contracts were for the New Delhi stay, and another two were for Agra, the location of the Taj Mahal. That latter leg of the trip was cancelled when President Obama decided to leave early to pay his respects to the recently deceased king of Saudi Arabia. The president stayed in New Delhi for two nights.
Lisa Rein of the Washington Post writes that:
Scott Walker has proposed higher education budget reforms and many people in higher education are unhappy.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is working on a solution to a problem faced by a growing number of Americans as the population ages and relies more on prescription drugs: "What is this pill?" Much in the way a Google image search looks for similar images in Google's vast caches, the NIH's National Library of Medicine (NLM) desires a tool to match users' smart phone photos of mystery pills with hi-res images in the NLM's existing RxIMAGE database
Vice President Joe Biden kicked off 2015 leading a presidential delegation to Brazil for the inauguration of Dilma Rousseff
This Washington Post headline pretty much explains that government is our business—and business is very good:
Under President Obama, $7.5 trillion has been added to the national debt. The number is being highlighted by the Republican National Committee ahead of President Obama's State of the Union address, which will be delivered tonight from Washington.
With the announcement Monday of a five-year, $563 million contract award to Accenture, the Healthcare.gov contractor that rescued the Obamacare marketplace after 2013's disastrous launch, the total cost of the site will well exceed $2.2 billion.
The Environmental Protection Agency has increasingly seen its mission as the regulation of … just about everything. And as its sense of mission expands the confidence of the people in its ability to do so fairly and effectively has declined.
Last week the White House released a first draft for what it ultimately intends to be a report card for the nation's colleges. And there's no way this effort will improve the lot of the typical college student.
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Handicapping the 2016 GOP field
Time to counter the Saudis with a tariff?
A conversation with Mac Thornberry.


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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - View original article
"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" | ||||
Single by The Hollies | ||||
B-side | "'Cos You Like to Love Me" | |||
Released | 26 September 1969[1] | |||
Recorded | 25 June and 7 August 1969 Abbey Road Studios[1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:20[2] | |||
Label | ||||
Writer(s) | Bob Russell and Bobby Scott | |||
Producer(s) | Ron Richards | |||
The Hollies singles chronology | ||||
"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" | ||||
Single by The Hollies | ||||
B-side | "'Cos You Like to Love Me" | |||
Released | 26 September 1969[1] | |||
Recorded | 25 June and 7 August 1969 Abbey Road Studios[1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:20[2] | |||
Label | ||||
Writer(s) | Bob Russell and Bobby Scott | |||
Producer(s) | Ron Richards | |||
The Hollies singles chronology | ||||
"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" is a popular music ballad written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell. Originally recorded by Kelly Gordon in 1969, the song became a worldwide hit for The Hollies later that year and again for Neil Diamond in 1970. It has been covered by many artists in subsequent years. The Hollies' version of the song has also been featured in the film Zoolander.
Scott and Russell had been introduced to each other by Johnny Mercer, at a California nightclub. Although Russell was dying of lymphoma and the pair met in person only three times, they managed to collaborate on the song.
In 1884, James Wells, Moderator of the United Free Church of Scotland, in his book The Parables of Jesus tells the story of a little girl carrying a big baby boy. Seeing her struggling, someone asked if she wasn't tired. With surprise she replied, "No, he's not heavy; he's my brother."[3]
In an 1918 publication by Ralph Waldo Trine titled The Higher Powers of Mind and Spirit, he relates the following anecdote: "Do you know that incident in connection with the little Scottish girl? She was trudging along, carrying as best she could a boy younger, but it seemed almost as big as she herself, when one remarked to her how heavy he must be for her to carry, when instantly came the reply: 'He's na heavy. He's mi brither.'"[4]
The first editor of Kiwanis magazine, Roe Fulkerson, published a column in September 1924 carrying the title "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", the first use of the phrase exactly as it is rendered in the song title.[citation needed]
In the 1940s, the words, adapted as "He ain't heavy, Father, he's my brother", were taken as a slogan for Boys Town children's home by founder Father Edward Flanagan.[5]
The statement is a use of paraprosdokian, a figure of speech in which the second half of the statement causes the hearer to reinterpret the first part. Often used for comedic effect, this is a rare use of the form as pathos.
The Hollies' recording, which featured Elton John on piano, was released in the UK on 1 September 1969 and on 1 December 1969 in the US. "He Ain't Heavy" reached No. 3 in the UK[6] and No. 7 in the US. The song, paired with "Carrie", was re-released in late 1988 in the UK following its use in a television advertisement for Miller Lite beer. It reached the No. 1 spot in the UK chart for two weeks in September 1988. In Ireland, the Hollies' version of the song entered the charts twice, on its first entry in October 1969 it peaked at No. 3 and spent 10 weeks in the charts, and on its second entry in September 1988, as a result of its Miller Lite advertisement usage, it peaked at No. 1.[7]
Neil Diamond's version of the song, recorded for his Tap Root Manuscript album, went to No. 20 on the Billboard "Hot 100 Singles" chart in late 1970.
The Osmonds covered the song in 1971. It was a staple at concerts and was on their first pop album.
Chart (1969-2013) | Peak position |
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] | 16 |
Canadian Top Singles[9] | 11 |
Canadian Adult Singles[10] | 35 |
Germany (Media Control Charts)[11] | 9 |
Ireland (Irish Singles Chart) | 2 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] | 15 |
Norway (VG-lista)[13] | 7 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] | 5 |
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[15] | 1 |
US Billboard Hot 100[16] | 7 |
The Neil Diamond version entered at #68 on the Hot 100 on 7 November 1970 [17] (UNI Records, 55264, length 4:09). The flip side was "Free Life".[18] The song appears on the Neil Diamond album Tap Root Manuscript, which was released November 1970.[17] The song was played by KGB-AM radio, San Diego, California, in late 1970, prior to the then-new Walk for Mankind, in dedication to those who would be walking for donations that day.
"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" | |
Single by The Justice Collective | |
Released | 17 December 2012 |
Format | |
Recorded | October–November 2012 Sleeper Studios, Metropolis Studios, Abbey Road Studios (London) Parr Street Studios, Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (Liverpool) |
Genre | Pop rock |
Length | 4:33 |
Label | Metropolis (5065001566387) |
Writer(s) |
Producer(s) |
In 2012, a version of the song was recorded, and was released on December 17, 2012, by musicians and celebrities going under the name The Justice Collective, including Melanie C, Robbie Williams, Paul Heaton, Paloma Faith, Paul McCartney, Gerry Marsden, Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen, Rebecca Ferguson, Beverley Knight, and two original members of The Hollies, Bobby Elliott and Tony Hicks, for various charities associated with the Hillsborough disaster.[19]
The song went on to take the coveted Christmas number one position for 2012 on the UK Singles Chart,[20] beating The X Factor winner James Arthur, who was number one the previous week.
After the News International phone hacking scandal, members of The Farm along with Pete Wylie and Mick Jones of The Clash performed at an anti-The Sun concert at the Liverpool Olympia in September 2011. Following this they formed The Justice Tonight Band and toured the United Kingdom and Europe for the next year in order to raise awareness of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign.[21]
Initially, the idea was to re-release the 2009 single "The Fields of Anfield Road" by The Liverpool Collective featuring The Kop Choir; however, this idea was rejected by Peter Hooton as only a relatively small number of people would buy it. Inspired by Everton's Hillsborough tribute on 17 September 2012, the song was played at Goodison Park prior to their match against Newcastle United. It was then decided that a re-recording of this song by various artists including The Justice Tonight Band would be released as the charity single.[21]
Keith Mullen of The Farm recruited Guy Chambers to produce the single and with Chambers offering free use of his Sleeper Studios to record the song. On 25 October, Steve Rotheram, Guy Chambers and Kenny Dalglish announced plans of the single to be recorded by various artists such as Robbie Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Paloma Faith, Beverley Knight, Melanie Chisholm, Holly Johnson, Mick Jones, Peter Hooton, Chris Sharrock, Glenn Tilbrook, Ren Harvieu, Dave McCabe, Paul Heaton, Hollie Cook, Jon McClure, John Power, Gerry Marsden, and two original members of The Hollies, Bobby Elliott and Tony Hicks.[21][22]
Chart (2012) | Peak position |
Ireland (IRMA)[24] | 4 |
Norway (VG-lista)[25] | 17 |
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[26] | 2 |
Spain (Airplay Chart)[27] | 33 |
UK Indie (Official Charts Company)[28] | 1 |
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[29] | 1 |
Chart (2012) | Peak position |
UK Singles Chart[30] | 49 |
Preceded by "A Groovy Kind of Love" by Phil Collins | UK Singles Chart number-one single (The Hollies version) September 18, 1988 - September 24, 1988 | Succeeded by "Desire" by U2 |
Preceded by "Impossible" by James Arthur | UK Singles Chart number-one single (The Justice Collective version) December 23, 2012 - December 29, 2012 | Succeeded by "Impossible" by James Arthur |


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Newtown High School's Tommy Horan won the 100 yard backstroke race at the South-West Conference championship swim meet, at Masuk High on March 6. Horan made his final touch in a time of 54.74, cutting nearly three seconds from his season's best time of 57.83. The Nighthawks scored 331.50 points to place fourth as a team behind first-place Pomperaug of Southbury (663), Brookfield (522.50), and Weston (390). On the wrestling mats, the Nighthawks are battling in the New England championships in North Andover, Mass.
Newtown High School's girls' basketball team's Class LL state playoff second round contest, on the road against Mercy of Middletown, will take place at 5 pm tonight, March 6. The game was originally listed to have a 7 pm start time as is listed in The Bee's March 6 print edition coverage of Nighthawks. Also tonight, the South-West Conference boys' swimming championships will unfold at Masuk High in Monroe, beginning a 6 pm.
Click for weather forecast
Winter has frozen Lake Zoar from shore to shore, and the ice is thick — circumstances some residents have not seen in several years. Waterview Drive resident Cindy Palkimas has been a lakeside resident for 13 years, and remembers the lake freezing over completely in the past. "This year the ice is the thickest it's ever been since I moved here." While neighbors and residents have been able to run snowmobiles and ATVs over the lake's surface this season, some are keeping their eyes on the ice for other reasons. When the temperatures rise, large chunks of moving ice may spell trouble. Lake Zoar Authority member and Underhill Road resident Gary Fillion corroborates this. The ice breaking up "could be a disaster" if an ice dam floats down river, Mr Fillion said. "If people have rigid docks that stay in all year, ice sheets could take docks with them. There is potential for shoreline damage."
Newtown United Methodist Church's Pasta Project will celebrate its 25th anniversary this month. The monthly NUMC Saturday Pasta Dinner will be this weekend, on March 7, from 5 to 7:30 pm, in the church's lower gathering hall. The public will have two more opportunities to enjoy the monthly spaghetti dinner after that, longtime volunteer and project coordinator Martha Millett has announced. In June, the project will conclude its run of community gatherings.
Local electronics consumers rejoice! While nearly 1,800 RadioShack stores across the nation, including more than a dozen in Connecticut, will be closing by the end of March, Newtown's independently owned store in the Sand Hill Plaza on South Main Street is remaining open. According to a store representative responding to a call from The Newtown Bee, there are just a couple of policy changes resulting from the massive corporate action following an early February bankruptcy announcement. The Newtown RadioShack is no longer honoring corporate gift cards, nor is it issuing gift cards or certificates of its own for the time being. The local electronics retailer is also not accepting any RadioShack returns unless the purchase originated in the Newtown store.
Contribute your Instagram view of Newtown at #viewfromnewtown !


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Rob Graham | June 2, 2010 | Comments
How can we evaluate the touchpoints that a brand and a consumer make along a purchase path to determine how to divide the credit given for an acquisition accurately?
Like click-through metrics, I've never been a fan of most traditional attribution metrics.
Just the idea that a single consumer event like seeing a TV spot, hearing a radio ad, or clicking an online banner is 100 percent responsible for a consumer's actions doesn't ring true.
Most of us have a pattern of behavioral stages that lies between us and the decisions we make. We evaluate the personal value of a new product or service, based on whether or not it fits our needs, before we make a purchase. The AIDA (Awareness, Interest, Decision, Action) funnel model, while not very in-depth, still does a good job of identifying multiple stages of consumer behaviors when it comes to making a buying decision.
As a result, it makes very little sense to think that the behavior of an individual consumer, who has had a lifetime of branding messages regarding Ford trucks, is suddenly going to make a dash to a local dealership because of the influence of a single ad seen during a football game.
However, the challenge that most marketers have faced in the past is how to accurately identify and evaluate each of the touchpoints that a brand and a consumer make along a purchase path in order to determine how to divide the credit given for an acquisition accurately. The idea of "full-path to conversion" analysis has been a dream for marketers for years, but the challenge has always been how to pull it off.
I was recently pointed toward Stratos Analytics by a friend because of the in-roads they're making toward the full-path analysis challenge. While Stratos is currently focused on helping rich media advertisers do a better job of reigning in the dataflow for campaign optimization purposes, it's also starting to roll out attribution tracking features that allow advertisers to track both online and offline campaign touchpoints.
According to Steve Terrell, CEO of Stratos, it's important to accurately identify the specific relationships between consumer behaviors and different media because every point of interaction tells a different story.
"The patterns we are able to identify allow us to see things as granular as how different advertisers take ownership of different locations on websites," Terrell says. "This data not only informs advertisers about where they should be running their ads but also allows them to quickly optimize ongoing campaigns."
Cade Herzog, principal at Dallas-area Online Performance Marketing (OPM) and a Stratos Analytics customer, agrees. "People tend to connect with a brand through several different touch points. As a result, the time between these points of contact can be greater than the life span of a cookie. Because Stratos is using more persistent Flash temporary files for tracking purposes we are able to gain a better view of the significance of each touch."
Herzog says that OPM was able to get a 200 percent increase in actionable data (while running its cookie-based campaign tracking in tandem) by using the Stratos Analytics solution to allow the company to reduce the potential understatement of total visits. This approach has also allowed the firm to start to identify "look alike" attribution patterns that tie into meeting advertisers' audience's targeting needs.
"Again, this also means that we can start to identify what pathways or conditions lead to conversion points/sales events based on the ways that consumers interacted with the different campaign elements. This means that we can now give advertisers actionable guidelines for campaign optimization based on this data."
Herzog said that OPM is doing a number of cross-media studies in-house and has seen huge percentage increases for campaigns that use multiple media channels to get the word out. "It seems that an advertiser's credibility comes from being seen in different channels. Online display ads only may gain a little attention but display ads combined with search boosts a brand's credibility in the eyes of consumers."
While I applaud the new tracking solutions that companies like Stratos Analytics are rolling out, I think it's also important to stress that the solid fundamentals of advertising have never been more important. Advertisers still need to set comprehensive goals and aim for them. Yes, measure everything, but still rely on human insight and good planning (and optimization) to identify what's working.
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Attend ClickZ Live New York March 30 - April 1. With over 15 years' experience delivering industry-leading events, ClickZ Live brings together over 60 expert speakers to offer an action-packed, educationally-focused agenda covering all aspects of digital marketing. Register today!
Rob Graham is the CCT (chief creative technologist) of Trainingcraft, Inc., where he heads up development of customized training programs for a wide range of digital marketing, entrepreneurial development, and digital media clients.
A 20 year veteran of digital media, Rob has served as the CEO of a multimedia development company; an interactive media strategist; a rich media production specialist; a Web analytics consultant; a corporate trainer and seminar leader; and a chief marketing officer.
When he isn't on the road presenting training workshops, Rob teaches at Harvard University, Emerson College, and the University of Massachusetts - Lowell where he teaches classes on Digital Media Development, Web Store Creation, Software Programming, Business Strategies, and Interactive Marketing Best Practices.
He is the author of "Fishing From a Barrel," a guide to using audience targeting in online advertising, and "Advertising Interactively," which explores the development and uses of rich-media-based advertising. He has been an industry columnist covering interactive marketing, digital media, and audience targeting topics since 1999.
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A Buyer's Guide to Affiliate Management Software
Manage your performance marketing with the right solution. Choose a platform that will mutually empower advertisers and media partners!
Google My Business Listings Demystified
To help brands control how they appear online, Google has developed a new offering: Google My Business Locations. This whitepaper helps marketers understand how to use this powerful new tool.
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text: The iPhone is headed to Seoul by Philip Elmer-DeWitt @FortuneMagazine November 18, 2009, 12:29 PM EST E-mail Tweet Facebook Google Plus Linkedin Share icons South Korea could be getting Apple's smartphone as early as next week Image: iPhonAsia.com According to wire service reports, government regulators finally cleared the way Wednesday for the launch of Apple's iPhone in South Korea. The Korean Daily News reported Wednesday that KT Corp. KTC — the country's second-largest carrier — plans to start taking Internet orders for the iPhone on Thursday and begin sales on Nov. 28. South Korea's largest carrier, SK Telecom SKM , is said to to be in talks with Apple AAPL about selling the phone to their customers. With 47 million mobile phone users and two of the world's largest cell phone manufacturers — Samsung and LG — South Korea boasts a vibrant wireless culture. Its capital, Seoul, is chock-a-block with Internet cafés, wireless hotspots and gaming areas (called "pc baangs") on nearly every corner. Despite all that, South Korea is not the world's leader in terms of cell phone ownership — not by a long shot. According to the most recent survey at NationMaster.com, that distinction belongs to the United Arab Emirates, whose citizens carry, on average, a stunning 1.71 mobile phones apiece. By that measure, South Korea's .887 cell phones per capita puts them in 63th place worldwide. [More recently, the AP put South Korea's per capita mobile ownership at 93%.] Qatar and Israel, two countries on Apple's "coming soon" list, are Nos. 6 and 7 in Nation Master's rankings, with 1.39 and 1.38 cell phones per capita respectively. UPDATE: Dan Butterfield, who covers the Pacific Rim wireless market at iPhonAsia.com, suggests that the event next week might less than a full-fledged launch. Posting from China, he writes: "There have been at least two previous reports of Apple's imminent iPhone launch in South Korea in partnership with KT. Perhaps the third time is the charm? According to JoonAng Daily, KT plans to host an iPhone launch event on Nov. 28. The actual launch is rumored to be sometime in early December." (link) [Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter @philiped]


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Illinois Public Media
All articles tagged Geo
Graduate Workers File Unfair Labor Practice Charge
Graduate Workers Negotiate for Parents' Rights
Page 1 of 1 pages
WILL Highlights
More than 100 people became new Friends of WILL during February. We're excited to have them as supporters!
How Boston gets local greens, even when buried in snow
Boston entrepreneurs are modifying shipping containers to grow local produce hydroponically.
Life after death
Ebola survivors yearn for healing, but scars won't fade.


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The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Friday slumped over 332 points in opening trade on brisk selling by funds amid concerns over the euro-zone debt crisis.
The 30-share index, which had gained 111.19 points in the previous sessions, plunged by 332.65 points to 16,187.03 in the first five minutes of trading.
All the sectoral indices, led by realty and metal, were trading in the negative zone with losses up to 3.20 per cent.
Likewise, the wide—based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell by 105.30 points to 4842.30 points.
Marketmen said investors sold shares heavily after a steep fall in the US and Asian stocks markets on concerns that the European fiscal crisis might deepen further.
Meanwhile, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 3.60 per cent lower in Thursday's trade, while Japan Nikkei was down by 2.51 per cent in the morning trade on Friday.
Keywords: Sensex, Indian stocks, opening trade


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I Have a Friend Who Believes Science Disproves Faith, Part 2
Is Christianity anti-science? Can Christians be good scientists? Is science the only source of true knowledge? Pastor Dave Gustavsen of Jacksonville Chapel addresses these issues.
The Resource Finder has powerful filtering features — check out the tutorial to learn more.
Is Christianity anti-science? Can Christians be good scientists? Is science the only source of true knowledge? Pastor Dave Gustavsen of Jacksonville Chapel addresses these issues.
Jim Stump explores the meaning of the Lenten season from the perspective of evolutionary creation.
A continuation of our series featuring our new and revised "Common Questions" pages
Many voices in the origins debate have strong opinions about whether their views on science and the Bible are "concordist", yet there is little agreement about what the word actually means.
St. Thomas Aquinas helps us understand how the image of God in man might have developed through evolution.
A short guide to where BioLogos fits in the origins debate.
In both form and content, then, Genesis 1 reveals that its basic purposes are religious and theological, not scientific or historical.
Divine Hiddenness is the claim that our public evidence is strong enough to make Christian faith reasonable, but not strong enough to make it compelling.
In the early 1700s, Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz famously disagreed about whether God periodically "corrected" the orbits of the planets. Why their disagreement matters for today's debates about God and evolution.
How does social context affect what Americans believe about science and religion, especially in regards to human origins? A new BioLogos-funded survey reveals the factors influencing the beliefs.
The one thing on which the entire Genesis debate hinges is whether we acknowledge the role played by hermeneutics.
Pope Francis is reiterating a basic claim in Catholic Christianity: If one acknowledges that God creates by giving creatures not only their existence but also their natures, one can reconcile an evolutionary worldview with the Christian faith.
While reading about and studying the processes that gave rise to this astonishing world, please don't forget that it is beautiful. It is not merely mechanics, but poetry.
In science news this week, read about magical nose cells, 45,000 year old thigh bones, and the weirdest looking dinosaur ever.


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To live and to Die part2''So...what exactly happened?''''The security bots aren't sure. Someone somehow got into the stockades and just ripped Shockwave apart. The con's torso was cut so deeply that if you were to put your servo into it the metal in his back would bend.''''Sounds like this bot did a lot of damage. Was he online?''''Yes. Despite loosing practically all his energon and a servo he was still online. The other prisoners said they couldn't tell who came into Shockwave's cell. All they know is it had wings...and a femme's voice.''The bot looked at his comrade in confusion.''A femme? What would posses a femme to attack a decepticon prisoner in the stockades? Agent Blurr wasn't bonded was he?''The mech shook his head.''No. It's all a mystery to me. Ultra Magnus has Cliffjumper and Glyph looking into files of bots and femmes Blurr knew.''The other mech hummed. Sliding a hand over a panel the two waited as a large silver door opened silently. Walking in they stood with their servos crossed behin
To Live and To Die pt5Author's Comments:// = bond talk~^~The Jet twins couldn't believe the scene below them. No, wouldn't. With panic-stricken sparks, the two mechs blasted their rockets and flew down to the injured and unconscious femme."Wavedagger!" Jetfire cried, he and his twin dashing over. Quickly assessing that the pipe would be far too large for them on their own the two mechs took hold of each other. In a flash of light a new mech stood in their place, the flames around his pedes flickering in a reflection against his plating. With one long stride the mech approached the pipe and took hold.At first nothing occurred but at a flash of the mech's optics the pipe slowly lifted. When he was sure all of it was removed from the Prim's crushed lower body he heaved the pipe to the side, the ground below trembling with the weight before settling. As the massive mech kneeled and carefully scooped the much smaller femme into his arms, sirens and the shouting of bots all around started to fa
To Live and To Die pt6Author's Comments:// = bond talk ~^~Wavedagger ran as fast as she could down the hallway of the base, her destination coming up. Skidding to a halt the femme calmed herself before knocking at the door. "J-Jackie? It's Wave, I heard Blurr was here and;" she paused when the door slid open.Standing before her Wheeljack's helm fins flashed a soft blue. "Yes, Wave, he's unconscious," the older mech smiled softly. "Would you like to see him?" At her eager nod Wheeljack led Wavedagger into the room. "His body has been crushed to a point where it would be simply illogical to try and repair it. Perceptor and I have been working on a new body, so right now he's in a temporary chassis."Wavedagger hardly heard him- all she could focus on was the mech on the berth before her. Walking over, the femme reached out with one servo but hesitated. Noticing the pause Wheeljack placed his own servo on her shoulder reassuringly. "It's all right," he assured.Wavedagger smiled weakly up at