text:
Point-of-sale customer identification is provided. One embodiment is a merchant teminal comprising: a scanner for scanning a personal identification document corresponding to a customer requesting a point-of-sale transaction; and logic configured to identify customer data from a scanned image of the personal identification document. Another embodiment is a method implemented by a merchant terminal comprising: scanning a personal identification document corresponding to a customer; and generating customer data from a scanned image of the personal identification document.
1. A merchant terminal comprising:
a scanner for scanning a personal identification document corresponding to a customer requesting a point-of-sale transaction; and
logic configured to identify customer data from a scanned image of the personal identification document.
2. The merchant terminal of
3. The merchant terminal of
4. The merchant terminal of
5. The merchant terminal of
6. The merchant terminal of
7. The merchant terminal of
8. The merchant terminal of
9. The merchant terminal of
10. The merchant terminal of
11. The merchant terminal of
12. The merchant terminal of
13. The merchant terminal of
14. The merchant terminal of
15. A method of processing a point-of-sale transaction at a merchant terminal, the method comprising:
scanning a personal identification document corresponding to a customer requesting a financial service at a merchant terminal;
generating a scanned image of the personal identification document;
identifying character data in the scanned image; and
comparing the character data to a document template corresponding to the personal identification document to generate customer data.
16. The method of
17. The method of
18. The method of
19. The method of
20. The method of
21. A method implemented by a merchant terminal, the method comprising:
scanning a personal identification document corresponding to a customer; and
generating customer data from a scanned image of the personal identification document.
22. A financial services system comprising:
a scanner configured to generate a digital image of a customer's personal identification document;
an optical character recognition (OCR) engine for converting the digital image into a text file; and
logic configured to generate customer data associated with the text file by comparing the text file to a document template of the personal identification document.
23. The financial services system of
24. The financial services system of
25. A point-of-sale merchant terminal comprising:
means for scanning a customer's personal identification document; and
means for identifying customer data from the scanned image of the personal identification document.
26. The point-of-sale merchant terminal of
This application is a continuation-in-part application of copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/685,277, entitled "System, Method and Apparatus for Providing Financial Services," filed on Oct. 14, 2003, which is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/645,949, entitled "System for Providing a Checkless Checking Account," filed on Aug. 22, 2003 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/646,150, entitled "System and Method for Dynamically Managing a Financial Account," filed on Aug. 22, 2003, all of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Throughout the years, a main focus of providing services to consumers has been convenience. It is quite clear to even the most simplistic marketing analyst that the more convenient you can make a service to the consumer, the more likely the consumer will partake in the service. It is on this foundation that the majority of Internet services are based.
The Internet is not always the final answer in providing convenience to the consumer. In some instances, consumers are simply reluctant to conduct business over the Internet due to a variety of reasons, such as fear of losing confidentiality, resistance to relying on modern technology and sometimes, just stubbornness. Thus, there has been, is and remains a need in the art for providing face to face, plain old ordinary customer service.
The banking and credit industry is particularly poised in this predicament. Consumers that are engaging in financial transactions or receiving financial services often times prefer to deal with an institution rather than the Internet. Thus, marketers are still challenged with increasing the convenience at which such services are offered.
One avenue that has been extensively explored for providing financial services is through merchants. Consumers typically are willing to trust a merchant that is offering a financial service. This is evident in the fact that nearly every department store offers a credit program to their customers.
Typically, merchants are limited to the types of financial services that they can provide. This limitation can be due to a variety of factors including the cost that the merchant must incur to provide the service, the technological complexities of providing the service, and the training required for the merchant's employees. However, anyone that has completed a marketing 101 class will agree that the more services a merchant can offer, the more foot traffic the merchant will generate and, thus, the higher probability the merchant will get a sale.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a solution that enables a merchant to provide multiple financial services to its customers, that is commercially feasible to the merchant, not overly complicated from a technological perspective, and that minimizes the training required for the merchant's employees.
The present invention is a unique and novel solution to these needs in the art and includes a system, method and apparatus for providing a multi-functional terminal that can provide a plurality of financial services to a customer.
The present invention includes a multi-functional terminal that allows a merchant to provide a plurality of financial services to a customer. The multi-functional terminal is operable to accept, read and process a variety of items including, but not limited to, debit/credit or ATM cards, checks, money orders, cashiers checks, travelers checks, as well as driver's licenses, state identification cards, and birth certificates. In addition, the multi-functional terminal can accept a variety of types of information that may be input, such as but not limited to, an individual's direct deposit account (DDA) number, savings account number, etc. The multi-functional terminal also operates to facilitate a purchase, transfer of funds, wire of funds, cash-back option, etc. at a merchant location. The multi-functional terminal advantageously can be used at a merchant location to allow an individual to purchase pre-paid credit-type cards, pre-paid telecom cards, stamps, etc. at the terminal.
In operation, the multi-functional terminal of the present invention comprises a data interface, a processor and a network interface. The data interface interfaces to a plurality of data sources to extract data needed for a particular financial service. The network interface interfaces to a plurality of networks, servers or an individual network or server to obtain verification or authorization information utilized in providing a particular financial service. The processor will control the data flow from the data interface to the network interface, analyze the data and determine the data required for any particular financial service, create account information if necessary, verify data and enable and perform financial services, update the data after completing a financial service if necessary, and any other financial service related processing.
The data interface component operates to obtain the data necessary to perform the financial service selected by the individual. Several techniques can be employed to obtain the data and although there are preferred techniques described herein, the present invention should not be limited to any particular technique. Advantageously, the present invention has the capability of collecting an initial deposit of funds from an individual at the same time as the data is collected in the case of the purchase of a pre-paid credit-type card or phone card. The data collected can include, but is not limited to, information such as the customer's name, date of birth, contact information, government identification such as a Social Security Number, financial status, marital status, employment history, references, or the like. In addition, some level of prior behavior such as the customer's insufficient funds history may be included. The system may also run a credit check on new or renewing customers.
Another aspect of the invention is the collection of the data. The collection may be performed by a number of different methods including, but not limited to, a magnetic type device, a bar code reader, a scanner, a templated scanner, a keyboard, a touch-screen, a microphone, a bio-metric reader, etc. Basically, any item that may contain individual information can be collected by the data interface. The data interface is universal so that any data source may be utilized to supply data.
Another aspect of the invention is the data processing. The processor may require specific data for any particular financial transaction. Once the financial service is established the processor analyzes the data to determine if the appropriate data is present. If additional data is required, the processor will notify the individual or merchant. The processor can analyze and sort the data to extract the required information. In addition, the processor may analyze the data source to determine what data is present on the source and additionally, the location of the data on the data source. For example, in one technique, when a templated scanner is utilized to collect data, the processor will first determine the type of data source (e.g., a driver's license, social security card, etc.). Then, the processor will associate a template with the particular type of data source to extract the necessary data from that source to perform the selected financial service. Then, the pertinent data will be utilized in the particular financial service. Several techniques can be employed to obtain the data and although there are preferred techniques described herein, the present invention should not be limited to any particular technique.
Other aspects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention when considered in conjunction with the following drawings.
In general, the present invention can be described as a novel system, method and apparatus for a merchant to conveniently provide a variety of financial services to a consumer. The exemplary embodiments described below are for illustrative purposes only and, a person skilled in the art will construe them broadly. It should be understood that the features and aspects of the present invention can be ported into a variety of systems and system/network configurations and any examples provided within this description are for illustrative purposes only. Referring now to the figures, in which like numerals refer to like elements throughout the several views, exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described.
The data interface 120 is coupled both to the processor 130 and can interface to a data source 110. One function of the data interface 120 is to extract session data from the data source 110 and transfer the session data to the processor 130. Another function of the data interface 120 is transferring modified session data from the processor 130 to the data source 110. Thus, in some embodiments, the data interface 120 can transfer data bi-directionally. The data interface 120 may be any type of interface capable of extracting and/or writing to a data source 110. The data interface 120 may incorporate the hardware necessary to read/write to the data source 110 or may simply be an interface to a hardware device such as a bar code reader/writer, a magnetic reader/writer, a scanner, a templated scanner, a printer, a bio-metric identification device, a pass-through inlet/outlet, etc. Further, the data source 110 may consist of many different types of sources, including, but not limited to, a bar code, a magnetic-type card or magnetic storage device, scannable media, writable media, a fingerprint, a keyboard or keypad, a mouse, a light-pen, a touch pad, a display, or any other type of data device. The session data is data that may be utilized in a particular financial service transaction. The session data may be located on the data source 110, or alternatively, may be inputted manually. The session data may include, but is not limited to, name, date of birth, address, telephone number, social security number, verified government identification, direct deposit account (DDA) information and number, savings account information and number, credit history, debt to credit ratio, asset information, a type of financial service, a transaction amount, card account number, etc.
The network interface 140 is coupled to the processor 130 and interfaces to a server 150. One function of the network interface 140 is to provide session data to the server 150. Another function of the network interface 140 is obtaining validation from the server 150 and providing it to the processor 130. The server 150 validates all or a portion of the session data for a variety of different purposes depending on the particular financial service involved. The validation may include, but is not limited to, an approval for a financial service, a denial for a financial service, an available balance or fund verification, a credit worthiness verification, a billing address verification, etc.
The processor 130 is coupled to both the data interface 120 and the network interface 140. One function of the processor 130 is processing the session data and executing or initiating the provision of a plurality of financial services. The processor 130 receives the session data from the data interface 120 and requests a validation from the server 150, based at least in part on the session data, through the network interface 140. Further, the processor 130 provides or initiates the provision of a plurality of financial services and in some embodiments, is capable of updating the session data stored on the data source 110 based at least in part on the provision of the particular financial service. The plurality of financial services may include, but are not limited to, purchasing pre-paid cards, pre-paid card acceptance, credit card acceptance, debit card acceptance, check acceptance, point of sale purchase, cash back on point of sale purchase, transfers, card-to-card activity, bill payment, loyalty acceptance, etc.
The data collection component 210 collects data or information relevant to: opening a credit account (e.g., account formation data), determining if an applicant can qualify for an account, the type of account to be opened (e.g., account option data), and other miscellaneous data. The information collected with regards to the account formation data may include, but is not limited to, the applicant's name, date of birth, mailing, residential and business addresses, telephone numbers, social security number or verified government identification number, direct deposit account (DDA) information and account number, savings account information and account number, credit history, debt to credit ratio, assets, marital status, employment history, etc.
Further information regarding the account formation data, the account option data and the account types (as well as other types of data) can be found in the related applications identified above and which have been incorporated by reference into this specification. After the data collection component 210 receives the necessary or the minimum amount of information, the decision engine 220 can be begin processing.
The decision engine 220 receives raw or processed data from the data collection component 210 and, among other functions, integrates it with underwriting criteria 222 to determine if a customer qualifies for an account. The underwriting criteria 222 is initially determined using a collection of integrated algorithms, methods of work, business processes, and initial risk modules 224 that enable the analysis, issuance, distribution, and monitoring of an integrated credit product. The initial risk models 224 are compiled from a variety of different sources that vary by issuer. One skilled in the art is familiar with the type of information that is associated with them. In addition to determining if a customer qualifies for an account, the decision engine system 220 also determines if a customer qualifies for any applicable account option data selected in the data collection system 210. For example, if a customer selected an overdraft option in the account option data, the decision engine 220 would determine if the customer qualified for that option and, if qualified, the amount of the overdraft limit. The decision engine 220 uses the account formation data to qualify the customer and perform a risk management processes. The customer is subjected to underwriting criteria 222 to determine qualification and some additional data or documents may be required for the process.
Once a customer is qualified, the account creation component 230 proceeds to open an account. The account creation component 230 may perform different functions depending upon the account option data. Preferably, the account creation component 230 operates to create an account for the customer in a manner that is in compliance with all applicable local, state and federal laws. During the account creation, the account creation component 230 may utilize various procedures to support issuer risk mitigation requirements. The account creation component 230 also includes a plastic card creation component 235 that operates to generate a permanent card for the customer.
The procedures performed by the account creation component 230 may vary depending on the type of account being created. In the examples provided in the incorporated references identified above, the three account types include the instant issue card, the basic card and the basic card with overdraft protection. Other functions that may be performed by the account creation component 230 include the activation of the account the issuance of cards. The details of these functions are more specifically described in the incorporated references.
The account management component 240 manages the customer account by utilizing controllers to enable and disable certain functions and privileges of the account based on various factors. Some of the factors can include account risks and customer behaviors. In one embodiment, the account management component 240 can include the functions of fraud management model 242, fee management model 244 and account behavior model 246. The fraud management model 242 can utilize the operation of the account behavior model 246 to determine if any fraudulent activities are associated with the account. If any fraudulent activities are detected, the account management component 240 can be notified by the fraud management model 242 to suspend the account. The fee management model 244 determines and assesses any applicable fees to be charged against the account. For example, if the account is overdue, a late fee would be assessed to the account. In the various embodiments, additional fees can be assessed against the accounts. For instance, a one time fee may be assessed for the creation of the account or for the creation of certain accounts, such as accounts having an overdraft component 234. In addition, the account may include a fixed number of transactions or a fixed number of transactions per fixed period (e.g., per month). Once the fixed number of transactions is exceeded, additional transactions can be assessed a transaction fee. In another embodiment, a monthly fee may be assessed on the account.
The account behavior model 246 examines account activity and looks for patterns in the account activity to determine possible actions to be taken (e.g., intervention to stop fraud). For example, if an account appeared to have sporadic spending or if the stored value became zero, the account could be turned off temporarily to ascertain if the account is being defrauded. The transactional processing component 250 processes and monitors the day to day transactions between the account and the financial transaction network 255. The transactional processing component 250 is then compiled by the data aggregation module 252.
The data aggregation module 252 may work on data related to the entire population of account holders, groups of populations based on factors such as age, occupation, areas of domicile etc. or even individuals. The data aggregation module 252 provides processed outputs to the risk models 224 and the account behavior 246 model.
A key aspect of the present invention is found in the operation of the account management component 240. The account management component 240 of the present invention enables the dynamic management and alteration of the financial account based on real-time and current information. Two controlling factors are applied to the account management component 240. These controlling factors include the output of risk models 242 that have been run on the initial underwriting criteria collected by the data collection component 210, as well as the output of the data aggregation module 252.
The data aggregation module 252 refines and updates, preferably on a real-time basis, the various current trends of the accounts being managed. This information is then fed into the risk models 224 which determine new underwriting criteria 222, and the account behavior 246 model. The data aggregation module 252 can feed information into the risk models 224 and the account behavior 246 model at periodic intervals, continuously, autonomously, on request, or on other bases. The account behavior model 246 can operate to alter the parameters of the operation of the credit account. The account behavior model 246 can base these alterations on the input from the aggregation module 252 and/or the risk models 224. Thus, in operation, the data aggregation module 252 may identify trends for a particular subset of the population. This information in turn can be used by the risk models 224 to identify certain risks associated with the particular subset or related subsets of the population. This information, as well as the information directly provided from the data aggregation module 252 can serve as the basis for altering the parameters of the credit account. As a particular example, suppose that the data aggregation module 252 identifies an increase in transactions by customers identified as working in the airline sector and the risk models 224 indicate a decline in job stability in the transportation industry. The account behavior model 246 may utilize this information to decrease the lines of credit provided to customers working in the airline sector, increase fees associated with their accounts, provide a higher level of scrutiny on approvals of purchases, lock the account from further purchases, or the like. From a fraud perspective, the account behavior model can receive information from the data aggregation module 252 that may be an indication of fraudulent behavior. The account behavior module 246 can then take actions to limit or alleviate the risk of fraud.
Similarly, the risk models 224 can receive input from the data aggregation module 252 and/or the account behavior model 246. The information fed to the risk models 224 is used as the basis for generating new underwriting criteria for qualifying new individuals for accounts. The new underwriting criterion provides more accurate real-time criteria that are not otherwise available when using underwriting criteria that has only been created at the initial stages of qualification.
The merchant's clerk working with the customer initiates the sell of a temporary card 320. The clerk then receives the funding from the customer that will be used for loading value into the cash card 324. Independently the merchant deposits the funds in a banking institution, transfers the funds to an appropriate account or issues a transaction against a credit card 326. In addition, the clerk swipes the temporary card through the terminal 330. The terminal 100 reads the magnetic strip on the back of the temporary card and extracts an identification number for the card. The clerk then enters the identification of the customer 332. The identification can be obtained from the valid identification presented by the customer or through some other means. The clerk then follows one or more steps prompted by the multi-functional terminal. In the illustrated embodiment, this is done through a touch screen on the multi-function terminal 334.
The information collected at this point in the process is passed to a processor that first operates to enroll the customer and verify the information received from the customer 340. The processor then conducts an OFAC check and validates other data provided by the customer 342. An account record is then either created, or updated if this is a repeat customer, with the customer information 344. The processor then operates to enroll the customer, load the provided funds onto a card and activate the card in conjunction with a host or server managing the processor 346.
If the customer is approved, an activation response is provided to the multi-functional terminal 350 and a card, terms and conditions and a PIN is provided to the customer 360. At this point the customer is then able to use the temporary card. In some embodiments, a permanent card will then be created and mailed to the customer.
Once the multi-functional terminal 100 or terminals are installed and operational at the merchant location, the multi-functional terminal 100 can be access by a customer and/or a merchant to initiate the provision of a financial service selected from the suite of financial services available.
One of the overall purposes of the present invention is to allow customers to have instant access to a suite of financial services at a variety of locations convenient to the customer. Thus, the service provider of the financial services equips multiple merchants with the terminal 100 equipment.
The suite of financial services can be accessed from the multi-functional terminal 100 in a variety of manners. Thus, in an exemplary embodiment, a terminal 100 gives a service provider the ability to identify and process a customer requesting a financial service at a retail merchant point of sale. The terminal 100 operating in conjunction with the server 150 and other resources insures compliance with identification and qualification requirements established by competent authorities and/or the service provider. The merchant makes the terminal 100 available for use by a customer or the merchant operates the terminal 100 on behalf of the customer.
The financial service can include one of several financial services, such as purchasing a stored-value card, transferring of funds, wiring funds, obtaining cash in an ATM fashion, purchasing a pre-paid credit-type card, purchasing a pre-paid telecom card, stamps, etc. at the terminal. One key aspect of the present invention is that a single terminal 100 can provide any and all of these financial services as well as other services.
In one embodiment a menu of services available can be displayed on a screen and selected by a customer and/or merchant. In another embodiment, the customer may swipe a card through the card reader of the terminal 100 and after identifying the customer or card identification, the terminal 100 can indicate the financial services available. In addition, it should be noted that the terminal 100 can operate in conjunction with the server 150 to determine the financial services available to the customer. Regardless of the method of indicating the services available or the method employed for selecting one of the suite of services, the terminal 100 receives a selection for a financial service 420. The selection is made from the plurality of financial services available to the customer.
The selected financial service is performed 430. This process can vary greatly depending on the selected financial service. However, in most situations, the customer is prompted to provide additional information that is entered into the multi-functional terminal 100 in one of the various previous manners disclosed. Once the multi-functional terminal 100 has sufficient information, the multi-function terminal 100 interacts with the server to determine if the financial service can be provided, if the customer qualifies and to verify the information is correct. This process may involve requesting additional information from the customer and/or the merchant. Ultimately, the financial service is provided to the customer.
A fee is collected from the customer for the provision of the financial service 440. As has been described, this fee can be collected in a variety of manners including cash, credit cards, bank transfers or the like.
A key aspect of the present invention is the step of compensating the merchant with a portion of the fee collected from the customer 450. This varies from the current state of the art. Traditionally, merchants have paid a fee to have terminal equipment installed on their premises and/or paid a fee for certain transactions. The system implementation of the present invention utilizes various means for compensating the merchant for housing and operating the equipment at the merchant's location. In one embodiment, the merchant may simply be given a flat fee for each terminal 100. In another embodiment, the merchant may be paid a fee based on the number of terminals 100 and the number of transactions provided using the terminals 100. In yet another embodiment, the merchant may be compensated based solely on the number of transactions. In yet another embodiment, the merchant may be compensated based on a percentage value of the transactions. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of these compensation methods, as well as a combination of one or more of these methods may be utilized and the present invention is not limited to any particular configuration.
The Suite of Services: The present invention can be utilized to provide a suite of financial services to a customer at a variety of merchant locations. The general descriptions of these financial services are provided below.
Stored-Value Card: For the financial service of purchasing a stored-value card, the customer purchases a pre-paid or stored-value magnetic-type card (the data source 110), from the merchant. The detailed components for this financial service were described in conjunction with
Once the merchant has collected all of the information, or even during the information collection process, all or portions of the information are provided to the server 150 through the network interface 140. The server processes the information in a manner that is familiar to those skilled in the art. The incorporated references provide further information regarding this process. The merchant then waits for the terminal 100 to receive authorization from the server 150.
The funds for the stored-value card can be provided by the customer in a variety of manners. In one embodiment, the stored-value card may be funded directly from the customers direct deposit account (DDA), thus the limit of the pre-paid or stored value card is the amount taken from the account and placed on the card. In another embodiment, the stored-value can be funded based on a credit as authorized by the service provider, thus the limit of the card is limited by the amount of credit authorized. The stored-value card can also be funded by a direct cash transaction at the terminal 100. Thus, the value of the stored-value card can be selected by the customer or merchant and as long as funds are available.
The authorization of the stored-value card can be based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, credit worthiness, credit history, credit score, balances in customer accounts, etc. Once an authorization has occurred, the card is activated and a stored value or credit limit is associated with the card. In one embodiment, the activation process may include writing information out to the data source 110, in this case the stored-value card. For instance, the value associated with the stored-value card, an expiration date, an authorized user name, PIN code, terminal 100 and/or merchant at which the card was activated, date of activation, or a variety of other information could be stored on the stored-value card. The customer may then make purchases from the merchant using the pre-paid or stored-value card.
In addition, once a financial service is provided, such as using the stored-value card, the terminal 100 can operate to update the session data after performing a financial service and sends the updated data to the data source 110. The customer can then use the terminal 100 to view activity data, history data or other data associated with the data source 110.
The process for issuing a stored-value card is also applicable to the purchasing a pre-paid credit-type card as well as a pre-paid telecom card.
Transferring of Funds: For the financial service of conducting a fund transfer, the customer initiates the transfer by selecting the appropriate feature from the terminal 100. The present invention can be used to transfer funds from one account into another account, from a stored-value card to an account, or from an account to a stored-value card. For transferring funds from one card to another, the customer can simply swipe the card through the card reader of the terminal 100 and select an option to transfer the balance, or a portion thereof to another card. The balance can be transferred to another card held by the customer or to another card not even owned by the customer. In this case, the customer will be required to enter a card identification number, account number and/or customer identification information into the terminal 100. The server 150 operates to receive the fund transfer request. If the transfer is a card to card transfer, the server 150 can communicate with the terminal 100 and instruct the customer to swipe the destination card or enter the necessary information to identify the destination for the transfer. If the transfer is to be made to a card not in the customer's possession, the server 150 can receive and maintain information regarding the transfer. Once the system is accessed by the destination card or a card associated with a customer or account destined to receive the transfer, the server 150 can initiate the completion of the transfer. If the funds are destined for an account, the server 150 can transfer the funds directly into the account once the appropriate information is entered. If the transfer request is to transfer funds from an account onto the card, the process is similar to that described in conjunction with the stored-value card financial service.
Wiring Funds: For the financial service of conducting a wiring fund transfer, the customer initiates the transfer by selecting the appropriate feature from the terminal 100. Similar to the funding options for the stored-value card, the customer can utilize the same options for funding the wiring transfer. The terminal 100 collects the necessary information by prompting the customer for the information. In the alternative, the server 150 can cause the terminal 150 to prompt for specific information. In either case or using a combination of both, the information is collected and transferred to the server. The server then actuates the wire transfer.
Cash-back: For the financial service of providing access to cash, the customer initiates the service by selecting the appropriate feature from the terminal 100. The funds to support cash access can be based on a credit card, money transfer, check, etc. The terminal 100 collects the necessary information by prompting the customer for the information. In the alternative, the server 150 can cause the terminal 150 to prompt for specific information. In either case or using a combination of both, the information is collected and transferred to the server. The server 150 then approves the financial service and gives in indication to the terminal 100. This same approach can be applied in the purchase of stamps.
Check Acceptance: The terminal 100 can also be used to authorize or verify payments by check. The check can be scanned at the terminal 100, and based on the account information, the server 150 can begin to process approval for the payment. The server 150 and or terminal 100 can request additional information from the customer to complete the financial service and the customer can enter that information at the terminal 100.
Bill Payment: The terminal 100 can be utilized by a customer 150 to pay bills. In operation, the customer enters information to identify the recipient of the bill, along with the amount, source of funds for making the payment, and the like. The terminal 100 and/or server 150 may interact with the customer to obtain additional information. The source of funds can be any of a variety of sources, or a combination of one or more sources, including but not limited to, a stored-value card, banking account, cash, check or the like.
Loyalty awards: The present invention also anticipates providing a loyalty awards program. In one embodiment, the merchant charges a fee for the financial service, a portion of which is supplied to the service provider. In another embodiment, the terminal 100 automatically assesses and extracts a fee for a give financial service and apportions the fee appropriately to the merchant and/or the service provider.
In another exemplary embodiment, a terminal 100 interfaces with a templated scanner through the data interface 120. A templated scanner may be utilized where the data source 110 is a non-magnetic or non-bar coded card (e.g., a driver's license, official document, etc.). The templated scanner extracts session data from the data source 110 and transfers the session data to the processor 130. The processor 130 matches the data source 110 to a recognizable format and associates a pre-defined template to the data source 110. The processor 130 then extracts the data within the templated area for use in the authorization process.
As mentioned above, one of the many methods of collecting data from a customer at a terminal 100 is via a scanner, templated scanner, etc. In this regard,
In addition to receiving customer data (e.g., the session data described above) via data interface 518, scanner 510 enables merchant terminal 502 to scan a personal identification document 506 corresponding to customer 504. Personal identification document 506 may comprise a number of different types of customer-related documents that contain information about customer 504. For example, in certain embodiments, personal identification document 506 may comprise any of the following, or other, types of documents: driver's license, state identification card, social security card, government passport, etc. Furthermore, personal identification document 506 and scanner 510 may mechanically interface (arrow 508—
In general, point-of-sale customer identification system 512 controls the manner in which merchant terminal 502 processes the digital representation of personal identification document 506. Point-of-sale customer identification system 512 may be configured to support any of the operations, financial services, etc. provided by merchant terminal 502. In this regard, it should be appreciated that there are a number of types of situations in which point-of-sale customer identification system 512 may be initiated and used to process the digital representation of personal identification document 506.
It should be appreciated that the particular manner in which the information extracted from personal identification document 506 is used during the financial services transaction may vary depending on the particular service being provided to customer 504. For instance, in one exemplary embodiment, the customer information extracted from personal identification document 506 may be used to verify the identity of customer 504. In this embodiment, the extracted information may be compared to customer information residing at merchant terminal 502, issuing host 522, or any other entity in the system. It should be further appreciated that in other embodiments the information extracted from personal identification document 506 may be combined with data obtained via data interface 518. In further embodiments, merchant terminal 502 may provide a paper-free, point-of-sale transaction by obtaining customer data from personal identification document(s) 506 (via scanner 510) and any other information via data interface 518.
As mentioned above, merchant terminal 502 supports a number of different types of personal identification documents 506. In certain embodiments, point-of-sale customer identification system 512 comprises one or more templates corresponding to type(s) of documents to be scanned.
Referring to
OCR engine 808 generally comprises logic that accesses a scanned digital image of a personal identification document 506 (i.e., document image 806), recognizes the characters, text, etc. contained in document image 806, and generates a computer-readable version of the data (e.g., customer data 810). OCR engine 808 analyzes document image 806 for light and dark areas in order to identify each alphabetic letter or numeric digit. When a character is recognized, it may be converted into a character code (e.g., ASCII code).
At block 910, point-of-sale customer identification system 800 selects an appropriate document template 704 (
In general, validation module 812 determines whether OCR engine 808 performed any character recognition errors during the character recognition process. For example, OCR engine 808 may improperly recognize one or more characters in document image 806, which may adversely affect the provision of financial services. It should be appreciated that validation module 812 may perform partial, as well as complete, failures of the OCR processing. In other embodiments, validation module 812 may be configured to compare data contained in customer data 810, text file 1002, etc. against predetermined validation criteria to determine whether the customer values for certain data object(s) meet the validation criteria. The validation process may occur locally at merchant terminal 804, at issuing host 522 via communications network 520, at other locations, or via any combination thereof.
One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that point-of-sale customer identification system 512 and point-of-sale customer identification system 800 may be implemented in software, hardware, firmware, or a combination thereof. Accordingly, in one embodiment, point-of-sale customer identification system 512 and point-of-sale customer identification system 800 are implemented in software or firmware that is stored in a memory and that is executed by a suitable instruction execution system (e.g., processor 514).
In hardware embodiments, point-of-sale customer identification system 512 and point-of-sale customer identification system 800 may be implemented with any or a combination of the following technologies, which are all well known in the art: a discrete logic circuit(s) having logic gates for implementing logic functions upon data signals, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) having appropriate combinational logic gates, a programmable gate array(s) (PGA), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.
It should be further appreciated that the process descriptions or functional blocks related to
Furthermore, point-of-sale customer identification system 512 and point-of-sale customer identification system 800 may be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. In the context of this document, a "computer-readable medium" can be any means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The computer-readable medium can be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. More specific examples (a nonexhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium would include the following: an electrical connection (electronic) having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette (magnetic), a random access memory (RAM) (electronic), a read-only memory (ROM) (electronic), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) (electronic), an optical fiber (optical), and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM) (optical). Note that the computer-readable medium could even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via for instance optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitable manner if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory.
In the description and claims of the present application, each of the verbs, "comprise" "include" and "have", and conjugates thereof, are used to indicate that the object or objects of the verb are not necessarily a complete listing of members, components, elements or parts of the subject or subjects of the verb.
Although this disclosure describes the invention in terms of exemplary embodiments, the invention is not limited to those embodiments. Rather, a person skilled in the art will construe the appended claims broadly, to include other variants and embodiments of the invention, which those skilled in the art may make or use without departing from the scope and range of equivalents of the invention.
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text:
Dejan Stankovic admits Inter Milan's start to the season could not have been worse.
Before victory over Bologna last night, Nerazzurri had only one point in three Serie A games, while they also lost to AC Milan in the Italian Super Cup and Trabzonspor in the Champions League.
"Not even in my worst nightmare could I have imagined a worse start to the season," confessed Stankovic.
"Don't forget not so long ago with Jose Mourinho we touched the stars. Then we changed four different Coaches and it's tough to get used to new working methods and tactics.
"This crisis must come to an end, just as our triumph reached its natural conclusion."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Newly-Launched TemplateHaven.com Unveils Complimentary Retirement Savings Calculator
Retirement savings calculator just part of the vast collection of complimentary templates on new site.
(PRWEB) June 03, 2013
Whether it´s for the home or office, it´s very difficult to be successful and ultimately happy without the proper tools. Finding the right tools to get the job done in the sea of minutia online can be a daunting task.
Now, the newly-launched TemplateHaven.com is offering these tools to everyone simply for visiting the site. In celebration of hitting the World Wide Web, Template Haven is offering complimentary templates, such as the retirement savings calculator, to all new visitors.
"We had a specific vision in mind when we created this site," said Template Haven spokesperson Mary Flynn. "Our sole focus is to provide people with all the helpful tools they need to be successful in every facet of life."
The retirement savings calculator is just part of the vast collection of new calculators, templates and spreadsheets available on the new site. In addition to Excel templates, Template Haven has a litany of templates for Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher and Visio. All templates featured on the site are instantly downloadable and completely complimentary.
"Whether you need a printable calendar in Word format, a personal health record template in Excel or a sales strategy template in PowerPoint, we´ve got you covered," said Flynn. "We upload new templates on a daily basis and we are committed to becoming a leader when it comes to helpful online tools."
Retirement is far from the only category covered on the new site. There are personal and family budget sheets for the home, sales and marketing templates for the office, wedding and party planners for big events and so much more.
"At Template Haven, we´re just getting started," said Flynn. "The initial positive feedback has been overwhelming and we´re just scratching the surface. The best is still to come."
For the retirement savings calculator, as well as dozens of other calculators, templates and spreadsheets, please visit TemplateHaven.com.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2013/6/prweb10797075.htm


text:
Using the tutorial, I was able to create a 24 hour watch.
However, I did not use the watch sample, I think I used the App sample
so my watch loaded/installed as an app and not a watch choice.
I see the 24 hour face is a bit crowded on the screen. . . Here is a screen shot of
the emulator view. The watch view is the same, but a bit smaller to look at. . .


text:
Dadgum Good Hoops
If you haven't already, join the rest of the city and pretend you love college hoops. The University of Miami Hurricanes men's basketball bandwagon is quickly filling up, and celebrity superfans Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and James Jones are partially to blame.
The Big Two and their Heat teammate/UM alumnus recently popped up courtside at the Canes' February 9 battle against North Carolina, where UM sophomore Shane Larkin racked up 18 points to help his team effortlessly steamroll over their ACC rivals in a 87-61 victory.
"Everybody from North Carolina always thinks it's just about North Carolina," Tar Heels coach Roy Williams told reporters after the game. "It's not. Miami is pretty dadgum good."
When the Tar Heels left the BankUnited Center (1245 Dauer Dr., Coral Gables) at the end of week 14, the Canes were sitting pretty in the AP's top 10, comfortably nestled in the eighth spot, between Arizona and Syracuse.
By week 15, Miami had jumped five spots and into the top three. Only Duke, a team Miami decisively slaughtered last month when the Blue Devils were still Division I college basketball's top-ranked team, and Indiana ranked higher at presstime.
On Wednesday at 7 p.m., the Virginia Tech Hokies will have an opportunity to avenge their January 30 loss to Miami when they swing through Coral Gables for a night of hoops.
Wed., Feb. 27, 7 p.m., 2013
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text:
Diarra commits to UConn
UConn secured a verbal commitment from Mamadou Diarra, a 6-foot-8 forward, on Friday morning.
Here's your pre-game preview and updates from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.:
-- UConn took about five hours to make the bus trip from Storrs to Newark, arriving about 1 a.m.
-- The Huskies haven't practiced since Thursday.
-- Seton Hall leading scorer Fuquan Edwin (ankle) will play. Forward Brandon Mobley (shoulder) and reserve Brian Oliver (ankle) are expected to sit out.
-- Statistics and other information:
Records: UConn 15-6, 5-4; Seton Hall 13-10, 2-8
Last game: UConn lost at St. John's, 71-65, Wednesday; Seton Hall lost at Pittsburgh, 56-46, Monday
Probable starters as of Saturday:
UConn, 6-1 jr. guard Shabazz Napier (17.0 pts. 4.3 rebs, 4.1 assists), 6-0 so. guard Ryan Boatright (15.6 pts, 4.6 assists), 6-5 fr. guard Omar Calhoun (11.1 pts, 3.3 rebs), 6-8 so. forward DeAndre Daniels (10.9 pts, 4.9 rebs), 6-9 jr. forward Tyler Olander (4.5 pts, 3.8 rebs)
Seton Hall, 6-1 fr. guard Tom Maayan (2.4 pts), 6-6 jr. guard Faquan Edwin (16.9 pts, 5.9 rebs), 6-5 so. forward Haralds Karlis (3.1 pts), 6-9 so. forward Brandon Mobley (9.0 pts, 5.7 rebs), 6-9 jr. center Eugene Teague (11.5 pts, 7.7 rebs)
-- Series: UConn leads, 43-19, winning 12 of the last 13 games but dropping 75-63 decision Jan. 2012 in last trip to Newark. …
-- Top reserve: guard Aaron Crosby (11.6 pts).
-- Pirates lost four straight.
-- Seton Hall's only two Big East wins versus South Florida and DePaul.
-- Four of UConn's five BE wins against teams with losing league records.
-- Hot: Huskies converting 83 percent from foul line in last 10 minutes of games plus OT.
-- Cold: UConn shooting 30 percent in last two games.
-- Boatright coming off season-low five points vs.St. John's.
-- Slow starts have hurt Huskies who've trailed by double digits at half in two straight games.
-- Up next: UConn begins a three-game home-stand Wednesday, hosting Syracuse in Hartford.
-- Check back later for a post-game breakdown and video.
-- For game updates, follow me on Twitter @GavinKeefe
UConn secured a verbal commitment from Mamadou Diarra, a 6-foot-8 forward, on Friday morning.
For the second straight spring, UConn coach Kevin Ollie is the subject of NBA coaching rumors.
Ryan Boatright shot his way into the 3-point championship final on Thursday night at Butler University's Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
UConn's frontcourt depth took a hit with the news that forward Rakim Lubin plans to transfer after just one season in Storrs.
UConn is limping into its NIT opener against Arizona State tomorrow night in Storrs.
Prior to its impressive American Athletic Conference Championship tournament run, UConn looked more like an NIT than NCAA post-season team.
UConn associate head coach Glen Miller didn't plan on getting much sleep on Saturday night.
Today's American Athletic Conference Championship semifinal doubleheader is underway here at the XL Center in Hartford. A crowd in the 12,000-13,000 range is expected for the UConn-Tulsa game. Tip-off time is 5 p.m.
UConn did what it was supposed to do on Thursday night.
Two of the American Athletic Conference's biggest rivals will battle tonight in tournament quarterfinal action at the XL Center in Hartford.
Daniel Hamilton had a long list of people to thank after becoming the sixth UConn player to receive a conference rookie of the year award.
UConn sophomore Amida Brimah was named the American Athletic Conference defensive player of the year today.
UConn placed three players on All-American Athletic Conference basketball teams.
The pairings are set for American Athletic Conference Championship tournament.
The regular season is officially over for UConn.
Archaeologists discover 12,000-year-old site at Mashantucket
Police investigate Little League concession stand thefts in New London, East Lyme
Police: $200,000 in equipment stolen from tractor store in Colchester
The legacy of the Bulkeley Boys lives on through more than $1 million in scholarships
Obama talks about New London, references Hanafin's and The Bulkeley House
Montville's Tommy McDonald postgame interview - ECC baseball final
Affordable housing units slated for former St. Mary Star of the Sea School building in New London
Malloy reviewing bill that could lead to state's third casino
State jobs up in April, but southeastern Connecticut loses 500


text:
Um...yes...I'm loud...but is that REALLY the only thing you can say about me?
Mad Dogg Athletics will be closed on Monday May 25, 2015 in honor of the Memorial Day holiday. Any orders placed after Friday 12pm will be processed on Tuesday May 26, 2015. Have a fun and safe holiday weekend.
– The Mad Dogg Athletics Team


text: This month's selection is "The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can Eat" by Edward Moore. Meet Odette, Clarice, and Barbara Jean...Earl's All-You-Can-Eat is home away from home for this inseparable Plainview, Indiana, trio. Through marriage, children, happiness, and the blues, these strong, funny women gather each Sunday at the same table at Earl's diner for delicious food, juicy gossip, occasional tears, and uproarious banter. This book is available one month prior to discussion. Adults. Room 1.


text:
The Sathguru Gnanananda Hall of Narada Gana Sabha came alive with characters from the Mahabharata on the occasion of 'Bharatham Mahabhaaratham', the week-long thematic festival of performing arts organised by Natyarangam.
On the inaugural evening (August 27), Natyarangam honoured Bharatanatyam exponents and gurus Shanta and V.P. Dhananjayan with a citation and gold medals.
Endowment awards were presented to dance vocalist Radha Badri, senior Bharatanatyam dancers Anuradha and Sridhar and Kirti Ramgopal (young talent).
Chief guest V. Shankar (president, Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts & Sangeeta Sabha, Mumbai) spoke about India's rich cultural and spiritual heritage.
He released a souvenir on 'Bharatham Mahabhaaratham' and also three dance DVDs of 'Teertha Bharatham' (on three sacred rivers presented in last year's festival) brought out by Swathi Soft Solutions in collaboration with Natyarangam.
Artist Keshav was honoured for his illustrations of Mahabharatham adorning the invitation, brochure and souvenir brought out by Natyarangam.


text:
Rated T for TABOO: What if your divorced dad married a babe and you couldn't stop thinking about her? What if you were adopted into a family where the mom is a MILF and thinks you're hot, too? Would you cross the line? We did.
Product Information
DetailRating XXX
Released May 13 2009
Added May 11 2009
Production Year 2009
Empire SKU 1469031
Studio Porn.com
Number of Discs 1
UPC Code 839308000005
Interactive Menus
Chapter Selection
Bargains$10 to $19.99
- My Stepmom and My Aunt
- My Stepmom and My Aunt #2
- My Stepmom and My Aunt #3


text:
Pronunciation: Leistenlade
Added on: 2012-05-30 Listened: 0 timesin: Add categories to Leistenlade
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text:
Computerized Assessment of Response Bias
- David R. Cox
- … show all 1 hide
The Computerized Assessment of Response Bias (CARB) is a computer-based tool for evaluating effort. The CARB is one of many measures characterized as symptom validity tests (SVT), indices of response bias used to assess possible malingering, poor effort, or exaggeration of deficit. The test is a computerized version of the digit recognition paradigm in a forced choice format, akin to the procedures described by Hiscock and Hiscock (1989) and Binder (1990). Frequently, statistical determination of below chance performance (based on the binomial theorem) has been used with tests such as these to identify persons showing poor effort. This method requires an extremely low score to reach a statistically significant level. However, as the CARB is an easy test, it allows the clinician to detect inadequate effort using above-chance cutoff scores (Millis, 2008). The test has been studied with a wide variety of populations, including persons with head in ...
- Allen, L. M., Conder, R. L., Green, P., Cox, D. R. (1997) CARB' 97 manual for the computerized assessment of response bias. CogniSyst, Durham
- Allen, L. M., Iverson, G. L., Green, P. (2003) Computerized assessment of response bias in forensic neuropsychology. Journal of Forensic Neuropsychology 3: pp. 205-225
- Allen, L. M., Richards, P. M., Green, W. P., Iverson, G. L., Conder, R. L. (1998) Performance patterns on the computerized assessment of response bias in 1752 compensation cases (Abstract). Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology 13: pp. 15-16
- Binder, L. M. (1990) Malingering following minor head trauma. The Clinical Neuropsychologist 4: pp. 25-36
- Conder, R., Allen, L., Cox, D. (1992) Manual for the computerized assessment of response bias. CogniSyst, Durham
- de Armas, A. (1996). Detection of malingering in forensic psychological evaluations. The Forensic Examiner, July–August, 26–28.
- Flaro, L., Green, P., Allen, L. M. (2000) Symptom validity test results with children: CARB and WMT. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology 15: pp. 840
- Gervais, R., Green, P., Allen, L., Iverson, G. (2001) Effects of coaching on symptom validity testing in chronic pain patients presenting for disability assessments. Journal of Forensic Neuropsychology 2: pp. 1-19
- Green, P., Iverson, G. L. (2001) Validation of the computerized assessment of response bias in litigating patients with head injuries. The Clinical Neuropsychologist 15: pp. 492-497
- Hiscock, M., Hiscock, C. K. (1989) Refining the forced-choice method for the detection of malingering. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology 11: pp. 967-974
- Larrabee, G. J. (2007) Assessment of malingered neuropsychological deficits. Oxford University Press, New York
- Millis, S. R. Assessment of incomplete effort and malingering in the neuropsychological examination. In: Morgan, , Ricker, eds. (2008) Textbook of clinical neuropsychology. Taylor & Francis, New York
- Title
- Computerized Assessment of Response Bias
- Reference Work Title
- Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology
- Pages
- pp 662-664
- Copyright
- 2011
- 10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_2228
- Print ISBN
- 978-0-387-79947-6
- Online ISBN
- 978-0-387-79948-3
- Publisher
- Springer New York
- Copyright Holder
- Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
- Additional Links
- Topics
- Industry Sectors
- eBook Packages
- Editors
- Jeffrey S. Kreutzer (671)
- John DeLuca (672) (673)
- Bruce Caplan (674)
- Editor Affiliations
- 671. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Professor of Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry Virginia Commonwealth University – Medical Center Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
- 672. Kessler Foundation Research Center
- 673. Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – New Jersey Medical School
- 674. Independent Practice
- Authors
- David R. Cox (3154)
- Author Affiliations
- 3154. Neuropsychology & Rehabilitation Consultants, PC, 600 Market Street Suite 301, 27516, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Continue reading...
To view the rest of this content please follow the download PDF link above.


text:
Wilson TI Alum ergonom like racket
Here is a strange racket that I suspect was produced for the release of the Wilson Ti aluminum models ? Sorta looks like the Snauwaert Ergonom in shape but was not mass produced to be a more ergonomic racket. Anyone have a better story why it exists ?
I am probably messing up a joke here, but this sure looks to me like a Walmart special that got crushed sideways. It doesn't even seem to be entirely flat in some of the photos.
I occasionally come across such objets d'art (though not quite as extreme as this example) at GW, and always wonder what kind of people would think these are still playable enough to pass on to others.
I agree that this is simply a low budget department store racket that got deformed. The "W" stencil even looks deformed. Surely if Wilson had intentionally made the racket in an Ergonom-like shape the stencil would be straight.
Compare yours to this non-deformed racket.
Methinks joe is a few weeks early with his April Fool's offering this year. ;)
You really had me going for a second there Joe...LOL!!!
Wish I could take credit for this transformation.
Maybe it deformed on a trip to Death Valley on a 125' day since there are no signs of stress points or paint chips where the bends occurred :)
More likely just a bad day playing summer tennis in Dallas at 115 and the player got tired of bending down for the droppers :)
This does show one of the great qualities to aluminum, you can adjust your racket head ...
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Cheap LGG to Eindhoven flights
Popular Flights from Liege, Belgium
Top Liege Flights to US Destinations
Top Liege International Destinations
Popular Flights from Eindhoven, Netherlands
Top Eindhoven Flights to US Destinations
Top Eindhoven International Destinations
LGG to EIN Route Map
Liege to Eindhoven Flights, Stats and Airplanes
Route information for flights from Liege to Eindhoven.
56.23 miles
EIN - Eindhoven Airlines
Browse the most popular airlines servicing the Eindhoven (EIN) airport. Visit their flights pages to learn more about the most popular routes these carriers fly.


text:
Your social networking activities online -- whether you tweet a few lines or scribble on the Facebook wall -- could well decide your job prospects, as more number of American employers are turning to such sites before zeroing in on the right candidate for employment.
A major chunk of the US employers are banking on social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace, to research on a candidate before recruitment, says a survey.
Nearly half of employers surveyed in the US by job portal CareerBuilder showed that 45 per cent of them use social networking sites to research job candidates. Last year, the same stood at just 22 per cent.
About 11 per cent are planning to start using social networking sites for screening.
Moreover, about 35 per cent of employers reported that they have found content on social networking sites that made them decide not to hire the candidate.
The survey was conducted online within the US by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com between May 22 and June 10, 2009 among 2,667 hiring managers and human resource professionals.
Going by the findings, Facebook is the most preferred among employers with 29 per cent of the employers using that site for online searches or background checks before recruiting candidates.
Besides, 26 per cent of respondents use LinkedIn, 21 per cent surf MySpace, 11 per cent search blogs and 7 per cent follow candidates on Twitter for information.
The industries most likely to screen job seekers via such sites or search engines include IT (63 per cent) and professional and business services (53 per cent).
"Social networking is a great way to make connections with potential job opportunities and promote your personal brand across the Internet," CareerBuilder Vice-President of Human Resources Rosemary Haefner said.
Among those surveyed, 53 per cent respondents said candidates have posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information, while 44 per cent said that many candidates have posted information about drinking or using drugs.
As per the survey, 35 per cent of respondents found that candidates bad-mouthed their previous employer, co-workers or clients and made them decide not to hire such people.
Interestingly, 14 per cent of employers did not hire a candidate because he/she send a message using an emoticon such as a smiley face while 16 per cent decided against recruiting a candidate for using text language such as 'GR8' (great) in an e-mail or job application.
On the other hand, nearly 18 per cent said they found content on such sites that helped them hire a candidate.
Keywords: internet, facebook, social networking sites, twitter, LinkedIn and MySpace


text:
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Four Jenner Kids Refuse To Appear On E! Docu-Series
Truth, Justice and Gordon Shumway: 'Diff'rent Strokes'
January 7th, 2009 11:15am EST
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TJAGS weekly column
"How is New York?" This, coming from my mother, is a very loaded question. To say she was not entirely supportive of my decision to move from the Midwest to New York City five years ago would be a bit of an understatement. To her, it would be like any reasonable adult explaining they have decided to move to the planet Neptune.
Forgoing any attempt at a substantial answer--which might as well involve me trying to explain the challenges of sustaining life on what is primarily a gas planet--I sheepishly, as always, respond, "Umm… good?"
What exactly does that question mean in the first place? I am under the assumption she is not concerned about the city's budget or economy. On another level, perhaps she is looking for some sort of answer that would create a window into a city that many only see play out on a television screen; like I did.
People often do ask: Why did you move to New York City? I often stumble for a reasonable answer, but, in reality, the answer is quite simple. I saw it on TV. In fact, as an only child (whose parents moved around quite a bit) growing up in the Midwest, some of my closest friends lived in New York City. There was Mr. Kotter and the Sweathogs; Alex and Elaine driving taxis for Louie while putting up with the antics of Latka; there was Arnold and Willis Jackson who lived with their adoptive father, Mr. Drummond. Later came Jerry, George, Elaine and Cosmo; followed by Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler and Monica. This was the New York I loved, but it wasn't real, or was it?
It certainly seemed more real than the memories my Midwestern friends would return with; friends who would visit and come back with pictures from the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building. Though I had never been there, this was not the New York City I knew. Theo Huxtable was not hanging out at the Empire State Building, George and Weezie Jefferson did not stop to wave at the cameras on
The Today Show
while moving on up to the east side. My friends all agreed, though exciting, they would never want to live there.
How could they not see the New York City that I saw? How come, still today, tourists travel from all over the world to come to this wonderful city and not truly experience it. I needed to know. I decided the only way to find out was to talk to fellow Midwesterners that were experiencing New York City for the first time. People that were, at one point, just like me. Where would I find them? There was only one place I could think to go: T.G.I. Friday's in Times Square.
In full disclosure, Times Square is the area of Manhattan that most people that actually live in New York try to avoid. Regardless, I saddled up to the bar at T.G.I. Friday's and accepted the bartender's suggestion of a frosty libation. Within minutes I was already engaged in a conversation with the man sitting to my left at the bar, Eric Aunan from Des Moines, IA, who is in town for the weekend with his daughter, Holly. Eric was shocked at the ease of our conversation--until he learned that I, too, was a native Midwesterner--considering the difficulties he had starting up a conversation with anyone up to this point. Even, at one point, being stereotyped for his friendly demeanor, accurately it turns out, of "being from the Midwest."
I took this as my opportunity to ask, as my mother would: So, how is New York? "It's been great, it sucks you in with everything happening, it can be overwhelming," Eric answered while checking his upside-down tourist map, "though, I admit I am completely turned around right now." I asked him if they had ventured away from the Times Square area. He admitted, "no we haven't, this is her first time here and my fifth, but I have always stayed in this area and have never left it, "It's a great city but I wouldn't want to live here." Ah yes, there it was; I pressed further and had to ask the question that has been burning in me since the day I moved here. I asked, with access to any type of restaurant one's mind could possibly imagine, why would he choose one that he could eat at back in Des Moines? At a greatly inflated price, I must add. "This is what I know, I know what to expect. Plus I know it is something she will eat," as he motions at his daughter, Holly, who shrugged and nodded in half-hearted agreement.
I asked what Holly thought of her trip so far. "It's very exciting, I really love it here," even mentioning she was considering going to college here after she finishes high school next year, a statement that quickly leads her father to start listing off the accolades of Iowa State University as an option. (As a graduate of a Big XII school, myself, I could offer no comment.) I asked her about the stereotype that New Yorkers are, by nature, rude. Before I could barely finish my sentence she asserted, "They are! People here just seem to keep to themselves, but it really is great."
Eventually, Eric and Holly had to leave T.G.I. Friday's; they had tickets to see
. Eric, obviously, was just visiting. He saw nothing here that drew him in deeper, which is fine. I saw it in Holly though, I saw a microcosm of all the fictional characters I used to love; I saw a microcosim of myself. Those character, though, never existed and don't matter anyway; what matters is that all of those characters were based on real people; real people who came from all over the world to live in, arguably, the greatest city there is. People just like me and, possibly, someday, just like Holly.
I spoke to my mother again. She sounds tired--she has been taking care of her mother who has been in and out of the hospital the last few weeks after suffering a stroke. Like always, she asks me the question I dread, "So, how is New York?" There was something different, this time, about the way it was asked. There was an essence about her voice that I could truly tell that she wanted to hear I was happy. This time, I give the same answer, but it was not the same at all: New York is good, it really is.
Truth, Justice and Gordon Shumway
" (yes, that is ALF) is a weekly column written by transplanted Midwesterner and current New Yorker
Mike Ryan
which appears Wednesdays, focusing on pop-culture current events. For any comments or complaints, you may contact Mike directly at
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Ongpin to appeal CA ruling
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MANILA, Philippines—Businessman Roberto V. Ongpin will appeal to the Supreme Court the dismissal by the Court of Appeals of his petition to expunge a P412-million derivative suit since it was "based on a technicality," according to his counsel.
In a statement, Ongpin's lawyer Alexander Poblador explained that his client had argued before the appeals court that his motion to expunge the case was not a prohibited pleading.
Citing Supreme Court decisions, Ongpin said what was prohibited was a motion to dismiss that stopped the period for filing an answer. Ongpin's Motion to Expunge was filed after he had already filed his answer, his lawyer pointed out.
The case stemmed from a derivative suit seeking to compel the former Marcos trade minister to return P412 million in "short swing profits" he had allegedly gained from the sale of shares of Philex Mining Corp. which he earlier bought from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
A derivative suit is a lawsuit brought by a shareholder of a corporation on its behalf to enforce or defend a legal right or claim, which the corporation has failed to do.
Short swing profits
The complainants, including Mario Ongkiko, a stockholder of Philex, alleged that under Section 23.2 of the Securities Regulation Code, an incumbent company insider like a director or officer was barred from profiting from trading in the same shares within a period of six months.
Ongkiko is the father of lawyer Zenaida Ongkiko-Acorda against whom Ongpin had reportedly filed a disbarment complaint for allegedly misrepresenting herself as DBP's spokesperson and counsel at the height of the controversy.
Ongpin allegedly made the short swing profits when he purchased 50 million Philex shares from the DBP at P12.75 per share on Nov. 5, 2009, and sold them to Two Rivers Pacific Holdings Corp. of Manuel V. Pangilinan, Philex chairman, at P21 per share over a month later.
Ongpin also argued that under the rules of court, every damage suit should be accompanied by the payment of the appropriate filing fee before it can be admitted by a court.
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Help me find my next boat 24-29 foot
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Re: Help me find my next boat 24-29 foot
Originally Posted by
Lower fuel costs, greater durability, higher torque, no cavitation, no blower required, a real alternator, no carburetor to varnish up, spark plugs to foul, coils to die, or ethanol eaten fuel lines to worry about, and if one keeps up on the minimal maintenance required, you never have to worry about how easy it is to swap out.
Lots of sailboats out there with reliable 30 year old diesels still chugging away- not many with reliable 30 year old 2 stroke outboards.
Some of what you say is germane, some not. Lower fuel costs? Diesel costs more than Regular. Durability? I'll give that to diesels. Cavitatiion... I'm speaking of purpose-build outboard wells... no cavitation on my boat. No blower, OK, diesels have a $100 advantage. Real alternator... any boat in the outboard-sized realm probably does not care much about an alternator. A 30 watt solar panel costs $60 on EBay.
Carb to varnish up? Ethonol-free gas is available if one searches. If one must, carb cleaning is a 2-hour job. Plugs to foul... $10 spares and 5 minutes handle that. Ethanol eaten lines... one can find ethanol-free gas in many places... do a search. I have not run gas with ethanol in years.
I am not saying one is better than another, both have their merits. But when an outboard fails, it is a 30 minute change-out. With a diesel, it is 15 days... and counting.
I think it is more instructive to discuss pros and cons rather that categorically state one is better than another.
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Portsmouth suffered a first-round FA Cup exit for the second successive year as the club that triumphed in the competition at Wembley in 2008 slumped to defeat at Stevenage.
Last year it was Notts County reminding Portsmouth of how far they have fallen in such a short time, claiming their scalp. On this occasion, Stevenage were two goals up and had a man advantage before Portsmouth made a game of it at Broadhall Way.
Stevenage took a 2-0 lead with a pair of goals from Francois Zoko in the first half, and Gavin Mahon's dismissal early in the second half looked to kill Portsmouth's hopes.
They narrowed their deficit when David Connolly made it 2-1 in the 71st minute, but the scoreline stayed that way as League One strugglers Stevenage clinched victory over their League Two opponents.
Amy Fearn made FA Cup history as she became the first woman to referee a match in the main draw of the competition, overseeing Dover's 2-1 victory at Corby.
The 35-year-old, who has refereed in the Football League, had a satisfyingly uneventful game as Dover won 2-1 in Northamptonshire with goals from Nathan Elder and Chris Kinnear. Corby's late reply came from Chris Carruthers.
When St Albans of the Southern League Premier Division went 1-0 up against Sky Bet League Two side Mansfield, a cup shock looked a possibility. Come full-time, however, St Albans were nursing their wounds after taking an 8-1 drubbing, with Sam Clucas scoring four times in the final 20 minutes, the magic of the cup having well and truly faded.
Conference North outfit Brackley went closer as they faced Gillingham, taking the lead at Priestfield Stadium with a Joe Martin own goal in the 69th minute but conceding a stoppage-time leveller to home substitute Bradley Dack that will force a replay.
Sutton United have their place in FA Cup history locked up, having knocked out then holders Coventry in the third round 25 years ago, but there will be no repeat of their 1989 heroics this time after a 4-1 thrashing at Kidderminster.
Sutton briefly led through Charlie Clough but Amari Morgan Smith, Callum Gittings, Joe Lolley and Anthony Malbon scored to inflict a heavy defeat.
Conference side Macclesfield caused a major surprise by beating League One Swindon 4-0, thanks to two goals from Connor Jennings and one each for Scott Boden and Peter Winn.
Oxford, second in League Two, almost tripped up at home to Conference side Gateshead, who took a two-goal lead through James Marwood and Jamie Chandler. The hosts forced a 2-2 draw and a replay with late replies from Deane Smalley and Danny Rose.
Former Holland midfielder Edgar Davids fielded himself as a striker for Barnet against Preston, but it was far from a masterstroke from the 40-year-old player-manager, whose Conference team lost 6-0 at Deepdale, where Paul Gallagher scored a hat-trick and Joe Garner a double. Both teams had a man sent off.
Davids later wrote on Twitter: "Today a massive spanking but we don't forget the lesson."
Conference Premier strugglers Tamworth caused a surprise by overcoming Cheltenham of League Two 1-0, with the only goal at the Lamb Ground coming in the 20th minute from Nick Chadwick.
Conference South side Boreham Wood and Conference Premier outfit Braintree earned replays after home draws against Football League opponents, Carlisle and Newport respectively.
But many non-league teams found the going difficult, with Staines Town brushed aside 5-0 at Brentford, Southport beaten 5-2 by League One leaders Leyton Orient, and the re-born FC Halifax losing 4-1 away to MK Dons.
Daventry Town, from the Calor League Division One Central, gamely battled at Chesterfield for over an hour before eventually succumbing 2-0 to their League Two opposition. Gary Roberts broke the deadlock after 69 minutes and Jimmy Ryan added a late second.
Former Football League sides Grimsby and Lincoln earned replays after goalless home draws with Scunthorpe and Plymouth respectively.
Four ties paired non-league sides together, with Dan Fitchett netting twice as Salisbury beating Dartford 4-2, Ryan Rowe with a double in Stourbridge's 4-1 win against Biggleswade Town, Welling toppling Luton 2-1, and Wrexham ousting Alfreton 3-1.
Gloucester's hopes were ended by a 2-0 home defeat to Fleetwood, while Hednesford bowed out 2-1 to Crawley.
Among all-Football League games, Tranmere beat Accrington 1-0, Bristol City turned over Dagenham & Redbridge 3-0, and Sheffield United came out 3-2 winners at Colchester, the same scoreline that favoured Hartlepool in their home match against Notts County.
Southend, Peterborough, Rotherham, Rochdale and Walsall all marched on, as Morecambe, Exeter, Bradford, Torquay and Shrewsbury saw their hopes ended.
Oldham and Wolves will replay, as will Wycombe and Crewe.
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Attention, Members!! Several Honorary Maine State Presidents are now in college (including three who ae in their freshman years!). Show Hannah, Crystal, Abigail and Stesha some support and encouragement by sending them a card. If you need contact information for them, please contact Honorary State President President Adam Bartow.
SUCCESSFUL 62nd STATE CONFERENCE
From the Senior State President: Thank you to everyone who helped make the State Conference this weekend a huge success! We were honored to have several distinguished guests, including Gov. Paul LePage, Mayor Jonathan LaBonte, Senior National President Hans Jackson, Senior National Recording Secretary Holly Lynne McKinley Schmidt, DAR State Regent Sandra Swallow and SAR State President David Manchester.
Pictures will be coming, but check out the article in the Sunday paper of the Lewiston Sun Journal! (WGME TV was also at the meeting!) See the article at:
At Right: 2014-2016 Senior State President Vrege Murray and 2014-2015 State President Alexandrea Hanscom-Willey
Thank you to everyone who has already submitted content for the 2013 – 2014 State President's Project of collecting stories of veterans. We have already compiled dozens, but we want MORE! Please continue to conduct interviews, collect information, transcribe letters or diaries, or ask veterans or current service members to write something about their service. We are looking for as many primary accounts as possible! Send your stories to Senior State Vice President Adam Bartow and help ensure that the service of these brave men and women is not forgotten.
Members and Seniors from across New England and the country had a great time at the 2014 New England Regional Meeting in Windsor, Connecticut, with Honorary Maine State President Crystal Kwon serving as Regional Chaplain and Adam Bartow as the Senior National Vice President of the New England Region. Look for more pictures in the Photo Gallery section of this site and don't miss out on the excitement next year! (Details coming on the calendar page)
Continue to send pictures from Society events to the Senior State President. We want to see your smiling faces on our site!
Available for Purchase: The Maine Sheets: A 75 Year History of the Maine State Society Children of the American Revolution
This book, written by Senior State President Adam W. Bartow, is a complete history of the Maine State Society, Children of the American Revolution 1938 - 2013. Fully illustrated in color with more than 250 pictures, this book is the first time that the history of the oldest youth patriotic organization in Maine has been chronicled. This book provides new details about the activities of this organization from members' work during World War II to present efforts to expand membership and involvement in the community. Purchase from Adam at a cost of just $20 per autographed copy. Proceeds support the Maine C.A.R. Operating Fund.


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Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Saturday condemned the targeting of the Ibn Khaldun Hospital in Yemen by combatants. Rebel soldiers and pro-government forces fortified near the hospital, and the resulting combat forced the hospital to evacuate all but those receiving emergency treatment in violation ...[read more]
JURIST Guest Columnist David M. Crane of Syracuse University College of Law discusses enforcing the laws of armed conflict in an age of extremes... Shortly after three planes went into three buildings on September 11, 2001 the chief law enforcement officer of the US, Attorney General Albert ...[read more]
A military court in Warsaw on Thursday cleared four Polish soldiers of war crimes violations in Afghanistan. The trial began in February 2009. The soldiers were prosecuted for violating provisions of the Geneva Conventions, which provide protection for civilian villages that pose no threat to ...[read more]
A US military lawyer for a Guantanamo Bay detainee argued Monday that the detainee, who is described as an al Qaeda commander, may be classified as a soldier according to international war rules and thus exempt from prosecution. The lawyer asked a judge to dismiss the charges against Abd al Hadi ...[read more]
The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday approved a joint resolution authorizing the limited use of force against Syria. In a 10-7 vote, the committee reasoned that Syria was in violation of international law, such as the UN Charter, the Geneva Conventions and the Protocol to the ...[read more]
During the course of the War on Terror, the US military detained hundreds of individuals as "enemy combatants"a label the US government used to denote their legal status as unlawful combatants without protections under the Geneva Conventions. With military conflicts first in Afghanistan and ...[read more]
On October 7, 2001, following the beginning of the War on Terror, the US military began detaining hundreds of suspected terrorists. Many of those captured were designated "enemy combatants" a label coined by the administration of President George W. Bush to denote their legal status as ...[read more]
JURIST Guest Columnist Charles Kels of the US Air Force Reserve and the Department of Homeland Security argues that legal experts should think twice before diluting the clarity of international armed conflicts...The law of armed conflict (LOAC) applies when the threshold of armed conflict is met. ...[read more]
James P. Rudolph, an attorney and former official at the US Agency for International Development, argues that the Syrian government must follow stricter rules of engagement and could potentially be prosecuted for harsher war crime charges with the application of Common Article 3 of the Geneva ...[read more]
On June 14, 2010, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called for an end to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip as a violation of international humanitarian law under Article 33 of the Geneva Conventions. The failure of efforts by private entities to end the blockade caused the ...[read more]


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Tom Martino, bankrupt Troubleshooter, to be featured speaker at wealth-building convention?
That old saw about timing being everything certainly rings true in the case of Troubleshooter Tom Martino. On the same day he talked about being humbled by filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy due to alleged real-estate liabilities of $78 million (a figure he disputes), the Colorado Association of Real Estate Investors announced the lineup for October's Real Estate Investors Wealth Building Convention. And guess who's scheduled to talk about "Timing the Market"?
Here's the Martino-touting blurb on the website for the convention, slated to take place October 15 and 16 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel DIA:
Tom Martino is a well-recognized name in Colorado. He is the host of the Troubleshooter Radio Show in 630 KHOW every day, and host of Martino TV on Fox31 News. Tom has been a vocal consumer advocate and media personality for many years, but is also a real estate investor with over 30 years experience. By timing the market, he has made (and sometimes, as he will admit, lost) a fortune in real estate. He will share his thoughts as to why NOW is the ultimate time to buy Colorado real estate!
This description is obviously a bit out of date. For one thing, Martino TV is off the air, and his contract with Fox31 wasn't renewed. As for his success at timing the market, he told us yesterday, "I didn't exit when I probably should. You just keep going and hope you can maintain your property, but sometimes you can't."
Then again, he may be able to speak eloquently about Colorado real estate bargains. After all, the banks that will end up with the properties he'll no doubt surrender as a result of his bankruptcy may well peddle them at heavily discounted prices. And he does know plenty about building wealth. Holding onto it is another matter.
More from our Media archive: "Tom Martino to charge big bucks for his endorsement on Martino TV."
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