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A method of enabling a knowledge management community. A community is originated based on a vision of values and benefits that can be realized from the organized sharing of knowledge within a common group of people. The group is defined based on subject matter, interest, geography, or any other category. Based on the vision of a community, an initial definition of the community is created, including a community charter. Based on the community charter, the community is designed. The design of the community includes creating a matrix showing processes performed by members of the community and the outcomes of these processes, developing knowledge maps that show the knowledge used and created in performing processes, and defining metrics to measure the benefit derived from the sharing of knowledge within the community.
1. A computer-implemented method for creating a matrix for sharing knowledge within at least one community, said matrix comprising at least one of a plurality of processes performed by an entity correlated with a desired outcome produced by the process, the method comprising:
identifying a plurality of entities, wherein each entity executes at least one of the plurality of processes;
identifying a plurality of outcomes, wherein each of the plurality of processes produces at least one of said outcomes;
creating and storing a matrix that correlates said plurality of outcomes with said plurality of entities, wherein each pair of said outcomes and said entities is represented by a point on said matrix; and
for a first of said plurality of processes which is performed by a first of said entities and which produces a first of said outcomes, indicating said first of said plurality of processes at a first point on said matrix which corresponds to a pair of said first entity and said first outcome,
wherein said matrix is shared within at least one community.
2. The computer-implemented method of
3. The computer-implemented method of
defining a metric which quantifies a benefit of said first outcome.
4. The computer-implemented method of
including, at said first point, a desired process which produces a second one of said outcomes, said desired process not being included among the plurality of processes.
5. The computer-implemented method of
6. A computer-implemented method for creating a knowledge map for sharing within at least one community, said knowledge map including a mapping of at least one process that an entity performs with a desired outcome and items of knowledge used for and items of knowledge generated as a result of performing the at least one process, the method comprising:
identifying a plurality of processes including a first process;
identifying a plurality of entities including a first entity, wherein each of said plurality of entities performs at least one of said processes, and wherein said first entity performs said first process;
identifying a first item of knowledge used by said first entity in the execution of said first process;
identifying a second item of knowledge generated by said first entity as a result of said first entity's executing said first process;
creating and storing a knowledge map having a first dimension and a second dimension, wherein said first dimension has first attributes corresponding to said plurality of entities, wherein said second dimension has second attributes corresponding to said plurality of processes, and wherein a point on said knowledge map is uniquely identifiably by a pair comprising one of said first attributes and one of said second attributes; and
including said first and second items of knowledge in said knowledge map at a first point identified by a pair comprising a first attribute corresponding to said first entity and a second attribute corresponding to said first process,
wherein the knowledge map is shared within at least one community.
7. The computer-implemented method of
including, at said first point, information indicative of an opportunity to transfer said first knowledge or said second knowledge.
8. The computer-implemented method of
including, at said first point, information indicative of an approach to improving said first process.
9. The computer-implemented method of
including, at said first point, information indicative of whether said first item of knowledge is tacit or explicit.
10. The computer-implemented method of
including, at said first point, information indicative of an opportunity to transfer said first item of knowledge to a second of said plurality of processes different from said first process.
This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/907,211, entitled "Method for Knowledge Management," filed on Jul. 17, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,003,502.
The present invention relates generally to the field of knowledge management. More particularly, the invention provides a technique creating knowledge communities and for marshalling, using, and sharing knowledge.
Knowledge is one of the most important assets of any organization. In the information age, it can hardly be disputed that knowledge is value. It has been speculated that the ability of an enterprise to capture and share knowledge, and its ability to reuse, reinvent and innovate using that knowledge, will become a key determinant and predictor of the enterprise's value in the near future.
Knowledge management (KM) refers to a system for the codification, creation, storage, structuring, dissemination, application and sharing of an organization's knowledge assets. Knowledge management is, in some sense, a system for formally accounting for an organization's intellectual capital. Despite the clear importance of knowledge to any organization, such knowledge management systems have not gained widespread acceptance.
A principal reason why knowledge management is not widely used is that existing knowledge management techniques are not tightly bound with the business processes to which they relate, and thus are often perceived by those who must use them as unwieldy appendages. For example, an attempt to introduce knowledge management into an organization may fail because the knowledge management process is viewed by the people who must carry it out as a non-integrated separate project rather than a systemic change in the way work is performed. Within a business, there may be employee resistance to corporate initiatives. The management commitment for knowledge management may wane—particularly if the champion of knowledge management has left the organization, or if the benefits of knowledge management are not quickly and visibly realized. Similarly, since knowledge management must be carried out by the employees who participate in knowledge-using and knowledge-generating processes, employees may resist the knowledge management activities if the employees are not involved in the planning of the knowledge management system.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a technique for creating a sustainable knowledge management system that overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art.
The present invention provides a method of creating sustainable knowledge management practices by creating knowledge communities. A community is a group of people with a common purpose and a motivation to share knowledge. For example, a community may be focused by geography (e.g., all employees of a corporation located in the Philadelphia area), by subject matter (e.g., computers), a corporate division or department (e.g., the information technology department), by project (e.g., all employees working on the widget project), etc. In general, the communities are part of a larger organization, such as a large corporation.
A community is originated based on a vision that there is something to gain by people in a given community sharing knowledge. Typically, community-based knowledge management will be sponsored by the organization of which the communities are a part, and the organization may provide some central direction over the community origination process. Originating a community may, therefore, involve making a case to the organization that a community should be formed.
Once the case for the community has been accepted, the process of defining the community begins. The definition process includes creating a community charter that sets forth in some detail the vision for the community. The charter is preferably designed with a view toward the member drivers and outcomes, as well as toward the business drivers and outcomes that support the creation of the community (i.e., the reasons for which the community's potential members, and the organization of which they are a part, would want to form the community.
After the community charter is created, the community is designed. The process of designing a knowledge community begins with a consideration of those processes that relate in some way to the outcomes expected from creating the knowledge community. The view of processes may be captured in the form of a member/outcome matrix which shows, for each process, what class or classes of community member is or are associated with the process and to what outcome or outcomes classes of members contribute. The design process may also include the creation of a knowledge map, which preferably shows, for each process, sub-part of a process or activity, the knowledge used and created in the performance of the process, what is learned from carrying out the process, and knowledge transfer opportunities. The design process may also include the creation of a knowledge catalogue, which preferably documents the quality of the knowledge, its availability, current source, desired source, and whether the knowledge is explicit (i.e., stored in a form that is subject to content management processes, such as paper or electronic form) or tacit (i.e., not stored in a form susceptible to content management, but nevertheless known to at least one person).
Following design of the knowledge community, the community is developed, deployed, and sustained.
Other features of the invention are described below.
The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings exemplary constructions of the invention; however, the invention is not limited to the specific methods and instrumentalities disclosed. In the drawings:
The present invention provides a technique for enabling a knowledge management community that allows knowledge to be accounted for and shared. Knowledge management is a system for the codification, creation, storage, structuring, dissemination, application and sharing of an organization's knowledge assets.
When knowledge is stored and structured, it may be disseminated (block 106). Dissemination of knowledge may occur either electronically, or by more conventional physical means. For example, knowledge may be disseminated using intranets, portals, "e-Learning," seminars, face-to-face meetings, etc. Disseminated knowledge may then be applied (block 108). For example, an example of "knowledge" is a negotiating technique that has been particularly effective with a particular customer in the past. A corporate employee may receive this knowledge and apply it to a future negotiation.
When knowledge is applied, the person applying the knowledge may learn something in the process (block 110), and may thereby create new knowledge. This learning may be shared (block 112); it may also be codified into the form of new knowledge (block 114), which can then be stored and structured (block 104) in the same manner as the knowledge that was created at block 102. As can be seen, the process of acquiring, cataloguing, and sharing knowledge is cyclic and never-ending.
The present invention provides a technique that enables the process involved in
Explanation of Knowledge Management Terms
"Information" is traditionally defined as data in the context of a concept. For example, the position of game pieces on a board (data) in the context of a particular game (e.g., chess) provides "information" about the current state of a chess game in progress.
"Knowledge" is information in the context of a particular use or process. Continuing with the chess example, in the context of playing chess, information about allowable moves of the chess pieces is knowledge. Orthogonally, in the context of the process of selling chess games, information about the relative popularity of oriental and military style chess pieces is knowledge.
Knowledge may be either "tacit" or "explicit." Explicit knowledge is knowledge that is captured in a tangible form, such as on paper or in the form of electronic data. "Tacit" or "implicit" knowledge is knowledge that is known to people, but that is not reduced to a tangible form. Examples of explicit knowledge include computer program code, written specifications, patents, policies and procedures, organizational charts, and plans. Examples of tacit knowledge include intuition, know-how, experience, judgment, and creativity.
An "organization" is an entity that has people who may have a need for knowledge sharing or knowledge management. Examples of an organization include a corporation, a university, and a governmental unit. Inasmuch as the present invention addresses the formation of knowledge communities, these "communities" are generally subsets of people within an organization (although a community may, in some cases, include people who are not formally part of the organization).
A "value outcome" (or "outcome") is a (valuable) result of taking some action. More particularly in the context of the creation of a knowledge community a "value outcome" (or "outcome") is the (valuable) result that it is directly attributable to the creation of a knowledge community. In general, the motivation for implementing knowledge management in an organization is to derive some value from doing so, or to produce some outcome. As further explained below, the result of a process is described in terms of the "value outcome" or "outcome" that it produces.
A "driver" is a compelling motivation to do something. In a business context, and usually referred to as a business driver, these are the key motives for management action and are usually the business issues, obstacles and/or opportunities facing a business. As explained below, one activity that generally precedes the formation of a knowledge community is an analysis of the "drivers" for forming the community. "Drivers" include both "member drivers" (i.e., the motivations of the prospective members of a community), and "business drivers" (i.e., the motivations of the larger organization of which those prospective members are a part).
Overall Process of Knowledge Community Enablement
The following is a description of an overall process for enabling a knowledge community within an organization. The process is described in terms of "activities," each of which may encompass one or more tasks that may take place sequentially or in parallel. An activity, in this regard, is a sub-part of the community enablement process, and generally represents a collection of actions that are conceptually grouped together for the purpose of the overall process. The various blocks in
The next phase of enabling a community is "definition" (block 204). In the definition phase, the community's mission and vision are defined to a much greater level of detail. Preferably, the definition of the community results in a community charter, which, among other things, lays out the community member profiles (i.e., a description of the people who will participate in the community), as well as defines the desired community "outcomes" (or "value outcomes") in support of achieving both business and member goals. Preferably, these "value outcomes" are identified based on the business and member motivations (i.e., "drivers") for forming the community. Value outcomes are more particularly discussed below; briefly, a value outcome is an identifiable (and preferably observable) result that can, in the case of knowledge communities, be derived from the better management of knowledge. Detail of an exemplary definition phase is shown in
The next phase of enabling a community is the design phase (block 206). Design of a knowledge community includes creating a knowledge map that defines the knowledge items that community members need or generate in performing their jobs (or in engaging in other activities). The knowledge mapping process therefore includes identifying the processes and associated activities that are related causally to the expected community outcomes. Knowledge maps are more particularly described below. In addition to the creation of knowledge maps, the design phase includes the following activities:
Following the definition phase, the process of enabling a knowledge community proceeds to the development phase (block 208). At the development phase, all components of the community design are developed and assembled according to conventional development techniques. For example, if the knowledge management community is to be supported by computers, a team of programmers may be enlisted to create any necessary code, web pages, etc., that are needed to implement the knowledge management community.
After the development phase, the deployment phase begins (block 210). The deployment phase is when the system of knowledge management is brought into the community originated at step 202. The deployment phase may include communication and education programs designed to make members of the community aware of the knowledge sources in the community, as well as of their duties to participate in the collection and creation of knowledge.
Following the deployment phase is the operations phase (block 212). The operations phase is the phase at which the knowledge community fulfills its function of enabling the codification, creation, storage, structuring, dissemination, application and sharing of knowledge. Since a knowledge community is constantly evolving and changing, the operations phase may include components of other phases—such as changing the community definitions to meet the changing needs of the community, and performing any re-design or re-development necessitated by the changes.
Detail of Block 202: Exemplary Origination Phase
At block 304, a preliminary case is made for forming a new community. In essence, block 304 is where the business and community member needs, and the expected results of creating the community, are identified. In other words, the overall motivation for forming the community (and investing the necessary resources in the community) is identified both from the perspective of those people who will be members of the community (i.e., the member drivers), and from the perspective of the business of which those people are a part (i.e., the business drivers).
For example, block 304 may occur in the form of a prospective community's proponent(s) answering a set of questions, which may, optionally, be presented on a template. For example, a form may ask the following questions:
At block 306, the preliminary case may be accepted. For example, in a given organization (e.g., corporation, university, etc.), there may be a person, board, or other entity that determines what communities the organization will invest in. The case prepared at block 304 argues, to this decision-making entity, in favor of creating a particular proposed community; if the case is persuasive, then a decision may be made at block 306 to invest in creating the community.
Once the preliminary case for the community has gained acceptance and a decision has been made to create the community, preliminary planning of the definition phase (e.g., the phase described at block 204 in
Detail of Block 204: Exemplary Definition Phase
The charter is intended to provide the definition of and "terms of reference" for the community, and to reflect the interests of the business and the members in the success of the community. The Charter is the key output of the definition phase (block 204) of the process shown in
In a preferred embodiment, the charter has the following main sections, which are described in detail below:
The charter takes the accepted case for the community (i.e., the case created at block 304 and accepted at block 306, of
The following is a detailed description of sections for an exemplary charter:
Community Details Section
The input for the community details comes from the original case for the community (i.e., the case created at block 304 and accepted at block 306, of FIG. 3)—although the details in the original case are preferably fully reviewed at this stage, and may be altered. The details preferably include the following, or any subset or sub-combination thereof:
Business and Organizational Context Section
This section of the charter defines the scope of the community in terms of the business of the organization of which the community is a part, and in terms of external entities to which the community will relate. This section, therefore, indicates from where the community should draw its business drivers. Thus, this section of the charter lists:
Vision Section
The vision comprises the following sub-parts. Preferably, all of these sub-parts are included in the vision section of the charter although any sub-set or sub-combination of the following items may be used provided that Community Outcomes are identified.
A step-by-step process for developing a vision is exemplified by the following activities:
The next five steps are aimed at evaluating the applicability of a "community" as a solution to the identified drivers and outcomes. The particular outcomes that an organization is looking to achieve in respect of its knowledge management communities program are considered, and how these aspects support or bound the achievement of the particular community's desired outcomes. The sponsor and council will be aware of these from the information and training that has previously been made available to them (which can be referred to during this process). The following is a list of exemplary steps for performing this evaluation:
Strategy Section
This section defines the community's strategic focus and how it intends to serve its strategy. This section includes:
Success Factors Section
This section preferably defines one or more of the following:
Returning to
Detail of Block 206: Exemplary Design Phase
The outcomes that are relevant in the activity at block 502 are the outcomes required by the community charter (which is created in the definition phase, described above). The activity that takes place at block 502 is directed toward transforming the desired outcomes into practical things that the community membership can do in relation to the use of knowledge. The base assumption for this activity is that everything people do in an organization is part of some process. It may be a simple process with one activity, or a complex process with multiple activities and sub-activities; it may be very well-defined (or well-definable), or it may be impossible to define precisely because of its inherent flexibility. Nevertheless, it is possible to view everything people in an organization do as being part of a process.
There are at least four classes of process that are preferably considered:
The inputs to block 502 include:
The outputs from this activity include:
Creating a Membership/Outcomes Matrix
A membership/outcomes matrix is created by first creating a matrix template, and then populating the matrix with process names. In order to create the template, a table is created with member "constituencies" (i.e., the people who participate in the community) and community outcomes written along the sides of the table. The table thus shows the particular outcome for each constituency that is achieved by performing the specified process. After such a table is created, the table is populated with process names. It may be helpful to consider both existing business processes, as well as new business processes.
The following is an exemplary table for a membership/outcomes matrix:
Creating a Process/Activity Catalogue
A process/activity catalogue records the decomposition of the processes into their activities. It also normalizes the list of processes since a process could appear more than once within the constituencies/outcomes matrix.
The process/activity catalogue is created as follows. First, the unique process that appears within the membership/outcomes matrix (plus any knowledge items listed in that matrix) are identified. Next, each process is decomposed into its constituent activities. Then, the person (in terms of his/her business role) who performs each process is identified. Next, each activity is described. The following is an example of a table that represents a process/activity catalogue:
Thus, in essence, the result (or "output") of block 502 includes a membership/outcomes matrix, and a process/activity catalogue, as described above.
Returning to
Block 504: Development of Knowledge Maps
A knowledge map, as used herein, is an association of knowledge assets with business processes/activities. It is used as a design tool. More specifically, a knowledge map associates those processes and activities—performed by members of the community—that contribute to the required outcomes of the community, with the knowledge items (tacit and explicit) required to perform, and generated by, these processes and activities.
The inputs to the activity at block 504 are the processes and activities listed in the process/activity catalogue, described above. The outputs from the activity at block 504 are a knowledge map and a "preliminary knowledge catalogue."
Creating a Knowledge Map
A knowledge map is a means of gathering together information associated with relevant business processes/activities performed by community members. A variety of means can be used to gather the information required for this task, and it may be convenient to combine the information gathering for this task with that for the activity at block 502 (discussed above). The relevant information can be gathered from pre-existing process maps, workshops, one-on-one interviews with individual (potential) community members, surveys, etc.
The following is an exemplary template for a knowledge map:
In creating the knowledge map, the following attributes are recorded for each activity:
Creating a Preliminary Knowledge Catalogue
The previously-described activities in the process of enabling knowledge communities have focused primarily on identifying knowledge items without regard to the form of the knowledge. Creation of a preliminary knowledge catalogue focuses on identifying the artifacts for the explicit knowledge and the people/roles that possess the tacit knowledge.
The process of creating a preliminary knowledge catalogue preferably begins with preparing a knowledge template. The knowledge template preferably shows, for each knowledge item, one or more of the following items of information:
The following is a description of each of the foregoing items:
Textual description: The description here is preferably sufficient to: (a) differentiate between different knowledge items and highlight those that are, in essence, the same; (b) assess the degree to which the knowledge is actually available; and (c) assess the quality of the knowledge.
Whether the knowledge is tacit or explicit: Tacit and explicit knowledge should be differentiated as follows: "Explicit" knowledge is structured or unstructured information that exists in a form that can be subjected to content management processes. For example, email messages are not normally explicit since they are not normally given meta-tags, expiration dates and explicitly managed for public use by a content manager. "Tacit" knowledge, on the other hand, is knowledge in people's heads, together with recorded knowledge/information that is not subject to content management processes. The source of a knowledge item may determine whether or not it is tacit or explicit. For example, "Insurance Industry Knowledge" may be recorded in various reports, and so be explicit in that form; but in certain cases it may be needed in tacit form—in someone's head—such as during a client presentation.
Availability: An assessment of the degree to which the knowledge item is available when and where it is required. For explicit knowledge, "0% available" may mean that no artifact exists, or if it does, it is not available at the time and place it is required. "Less than 100% available" would mean that not all the knowledge required is available. For tacit knowledge, "0% available" may mean no-one possessing that knowledge is available at the right time and place, or that no-one at all possess that knowledge. "Less than 100% available" may mean that not enough people of a given role possess the knowledge, or that they possess only partial knowledge.
Quality: An assessment of the quality of the knowledge referred to by the knowledge item. It should measure the extent to which the knowledge can be relied upon for its stated use. For example, a knowledge item that is 100% available may have very suspect quality (perhaps because the source cannot be trusted). Conversely, an item that is only 45% available may have a quality rating of 100%. ("We are confident of what we know, but we need to know more.")
The current source of the item: For tacit knowledge, the source should be expressed as a business role or a specific person/people.
The desired source of the knowledge (if different from the current source): For knowledge that already exists, a different entry here is a statement that an alternative source is more desirable. For knowledge that does not exist, this is a statement of the most appropriate source.
The following table shows an exemplary knowledge catalogue:
The following example shows what can be inferred from the exemplary knowledge catalogue shown in Table 4, including the transformation between knowledge sources based on "current" and "desired" knowledge sources:
Knowledge Item-1: People in Role-2 require urgent additional training in this topic. Perhaps those in Role-1 can provide the training.
Knowledge Item-2: People in Role-1 again are key. Currently their knowledge is being used directly, but it needs to be captured and made explicit in Artifact-1.
Knowledge Item-3: The quality of the knowledge needs to be improved. Perhaps the artifact being used is not sufficiently trustworthy. A new artifact is required.
Knowledge Item-4: This has been found to be essentially the same knowledge as Item-3. The knowledge map would show that knowledge being used in at least two distinct activities. In one case it is sufficient to use Artifact-3, in another that knowledge needs to be in the heads of people having role Role-3. This demonstrates the need for people in Role-3 to be trained in the knowledge contained in Artifact-3—which itself is derived from Artifact-4.
Returning to
An activity that may occur in parallel with blocks 504-508 is the specification of metrics and measurements (block 510). In essence, the measurement and metrics are used to quantify outcomes produced by managed knowledge. This activity is described below.
Block 510: Specification of Metrics and Measurement
Measurement and metrics address the issue that the outcomes and advantages of a knowledge community should, preferably, be visible. Given that forming and sustaining a knowledge community requires an investment in time and resources, as well as some modification of the behavior of the community members, visible and measurable results support the continued existence of the community and the continued behavior that results in effective knowledge management.
Preferably, a knowledge management system provides at least some of the following functions:
So, some purposes of measuring community performance are to provide:
Each community is a unique organization that defines its own outcomes to reflect its unique context. As a result, there are no intrinsic performance measures that apply to all communities. In addition, any single "outcome" can materialize in different ways. An outcome is a fact about the future state for the community, perhaps a capability that will enable the community or its members to perform better than present. Outcomes are monitored via the specific, measurable benefits that are enabled by the achievement of the outcome.
The following example illustrates the difference between outcomes and benefits. Assume for a moment that a community has as one of its outcomes "greater efficiency" in the work that its members perform. "Efficiency" itself may be regarded as intangible and is unlikely to be reported. Defined for business as the ratio between input and output resources of an activity, it is an indicator or quotient for "performance" and does not translate directly into an economic or other benefit. However, it enables a range of effects.
The benefits to be derived depend on how members/their management (or the community) exploit the efficiency increment, for example:
At the root of performance management for knowledge management communities is the translation of community outcomes to observable benefits. In general, outcomes have one or more benefits associated therewith. An outcome may, optionally, be viewed as being broken down into sub-outcomes. In general, outcomes may, optionally, be broken down into sub-outcomes.
Preferably, a community's measurement and metrics system should be:
The following is a set of tasks that are performed in the process of creating measurements and metrics:
Task 1—Identify Benefits
In this task, each community outcome appearing in the vision section of the community charter is translated into one or more benefits. The task should be conducted via "brainstorming" without much effort placed in evaluation at this stage. It is more important to identify stakeholders and relevant value systems that metrics/indicators during this task.
The following steps are involved:
Task 2—Prioritise Benefits
Prioritization is performed on the information recorded in the previous task. Prioritization is generally based on choice of stakeholder, degree of impact and monitoring location.
If the draft benefits register has been built using a software tool such as Microsoft® Excel®, it will be possible to sort line items or rows into ascending/descending tabulations based on selected data fields (criteria).
Benefits that should be monitored are deemed to be "priority" benefits, as opposed to "non-priority" benefits for which no further action is necessary (except as detailed below). Priority benefits are taken through to Task 3.
A determination should be made as to whether any of the registered benefits are to be discarded after prioritization as being "non-priority". They should be retained in the benefits register where they can be brought into use later if any of the "priority" benefits turn out to be too difficult/unsuitable to measure. They can also add value to other communities in their performance of Task 1.
Task 3—Agree Metrics and Indicators
In Task 3, at least one metric or indicator is defined for each benefit. A metric is a means for direct measurement of the performance variable deemed to be beneficial. Commonly, metrics are applied to tangible benefits. An indicator is an indirect means for measuring a benefit. Indicators are used where direct measurement is not possible but the benefit can be detected in relative or subjective terms. Indicators tend to be applied to intangible benefits.
The task is not to be limited by metrics/indicators currently available in the community's business environment. If necessary, new metrics/indicators can be devised and developed during the Development Phase of the community set-up process.
Task 4—Develop Performance Management Plan
The performance management plan is the specification of how a community's performance will be monitored and reported. The plan is based on the outputs of the preceding tasks, and describes the benefits monitoring tasks to be conducted by specific individuals in accordance with a planned scheduled.
Having defined its community outcomes, the community commits to monitor its achievement of those outcomes via its Performance Management Plan. Actual monitoring takes place during the later phases of the community lifecycle:
It may be useful to create a benefits register that provides an inventory of benefits expected from the formation and operation of a knowledge community. An MS Access database, MS Excel spreadsheet or MS Word table can be used to create and maintain the register.
It may further be useful to create a performance management plan, which identifies which benefits are of current interest, the measures or indicators that are to be used to capture performance data, measurement techniques, responsibility for performance and the time frame for when measurements will be taken.
Additionally, a community performance report may be created to describe the progress of a community towards the achievement of the expected outcomes defined in the community's charter. The report can be produced quarterly from community deployment onwards.
In a preferred embodiment, the community performance report does the following:
Returning to
As further shown in
Following the consolidation of the community design (block 526), the design process proceeds to the activity of gaining acceptance of the community design (block 528). From that point, the flow of activity proceeds to designing a community launch event (block 530), developing a community action plan (block 532), and gaining acceptance of the community action plan (block 534).
Following the design phase, activity proceeds to the development, deployment, and operations phases (blocks 208-212), as described in
It is noted that the foregoing examples have been provided merely for the purpose of explanation and are in no way to be construed as limiting of the present invention. While the invention has been described with reference to various embodiments, it is understood that the words which have been used herein are words of description and illustration, rather than words of limitations. Further, although the invention has been described herein with reference to particular means, materials and embodiments, the invention is not intended to be limited to the particulars disclosed herein; rather, the invention extends to all functionally equivalent structures, methods and uses, such as are within the scope of the appended claims. Those skilled in the art, having the benefit of the teachings of this specification, may effect numerous modifications thereto and changes may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention in its aspects.
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|Sara Elizabeth Kirkpatrick Pace
|Monday, 24 October 2011 08:10
Sara Elizabeth Kirkpatrick Pace age 79 of Franklin, formerly of Burkesville died Saturday, October 22, 2011 at the Medical Center in Franklin.
She is survived by her children, Morris Ray Pace, Patricia Ann Pace and Zachary Lee Pace all of Franklin, Charles Ray Pace, Jr and Michael Wade Pace both of Burkesville; her brothers Elzie "Bean" Kirk of Marrowbone, Lonnie "Boggie" Kirk and Phillip "Rabbit" Kirk all of Burkesville and Lawrence "Duchie" Kirk of Glasgow.
Funeral services for Sara Elizabeth Kirkpatrick will be held at 1pm Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at the Norris-New Funeral Home with burial in the Davis Cemetery. Visitation after 5pm Tuesday.


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I am grateful for the support of many community leaders, elected officials and organizations. Please contact us if you would like to add your name to the list.
Colorado Professional Fire Fighters
Colorado Fraternal Order of Police
Colorado Education Association, Central Adams Unit
American Federation of Teachers, Colorado
Metro North Chamber of Commerce
American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Council 76
Colorado AFL-CIO
Colorado WINS
Colorado Contractors Association
Colorado Conservation Voters
Colorado Association of Realtors
Service Employees International Union, Local 105
Pipefitters Local 208
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
Democrats for Education Reform
Mountain West Credit Union Association
Independent Electrical Contractors- Rocky Mountain
Planned Parenthood Votes Colorado
One Colorado
The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund
United Transportation Union, Local 202
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7
Sheet Metal Workers Local 9
Colorado Chiropractic Association
U.S. Senator Mark Udall
U.S. Senator Michael Bennet
Congressman Ed Perlmutter
Congressman Jared Polis
Senator Pat Steadman
Senator Lucia Guzman
Senator Morgan Carroll
Senator Mike Johnston
Senator Angela Giron
Senator Irene Aguilar
House Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino
Representative Cherylin Peniston
Representative John Soper
Representative Judy Solano
Representative Ed Casso
Representative Dan Pabon
Representative Crisanta Duran
Representative Angela Williams
Representative Rhonda Fields
Representative Ed Vigil
Commerce City Councilmember Jadie Carson
Commerce City Councilmember Crystal Elliott
Commerce City Councilmember Jason McEldowney
Commerce City Councilmember Jim Benson
Commerce City Councilmember Rene Bullock


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- Forum: AAPL Investors
I understand and your comments made me sit back and think for a minute. While it may not be hard to convince someone to buy a new Apple Watch every year, it would be hard to convince someone to buy a gold plated watch every year. Apple designed the S1 definitely adds fuel to the theory and makes a lot of sense.


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Collaborative Work
The purpose of the Collaborative Work Grant is to improve learning for all students, especially students with disabilities, and improve teaching, by:
- establishing and implementing effective and efficient collaborative data teams,
- implementing with fidelity and a high degree of effectiveness a variety of teaching/learning practices which have been proven to have a high effect size on student outcomes,
- developing and administering common formative assessments to measure the effectiveness of teaching/learning practices as evidenced by student mastery of learning objectives, and
- using data‐based decision making to guide decisions about classroom teaching/learning practices.
Collaborative Work Grant Awards 2014-2015 School Year
- FY 15 Collaborative Work Grant Award Letter
- Grant Award Buildings with Awarded Amount
- Grant Award Buildings with Awarded Amount (sortable list)
- FY 15 Invoice (must be submitted at least two (2) times per year.)
Collaborative Work Resources
- Missouri Collaborative Work (CW) and State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG)
- Missouri Collaborative Work: Focused on Effective Teaching/Learning Practices: Bridging Professional Development to Practice
- MO Collaborative Work Common Understanding - updated 9/5/2014
- CFA Data Collection Form 2014-15 (used by RPDC)
- Web Systems User ID Request for the Regional Professional Development Centers (RPDC) Consultant Logs


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Processing Time
Typical Processing Time: 1 - 5 business days
Shipping Time
Airmail 11-25 business days
EMS 7-18 business days
Express 5-15 business days
Free shipping to over 200 countries worldwide!
Payment Methods:
5-in-1 Universal Car Charger for Game Console Features
-Portable and multifunctional design
-Brand New 5 in 1 Universal car charger with USB port
-This product is specially used for charge all portable consoles in the car, one charger for 4 type of console
-For NDSi, NDSL, GBA SP, PSP, USB.
-Power cable with 5 different connectorsP
5-in-1 Universal Car Charger for Game Console Specificaitons
Color: White
Dimensions: 192.0x132.0x39.5mm
Weight: 122g


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With all the technical intricacies of the PSP, one wonders why Lumines II isn't being sold, at least in addition to a full-fledged UMD release, as a downloadable utility (for Lumines), which in turn would give us access to an online store where we could purchase additional skins that include music videos -- or better, bundles that include multiple skins that need to be unlocked through gameplay. But this sounds eerily similar to another future puzzler we've heard of ... Lumines Live, anyone?
Buena Vista Game is pimping the Lumines franchise for all it's worth. Go 'head -- that's the business. It's just a shame that there's not more of a collective effort to exploit the potential of the PSP. Instead, we've got a near-identical sequel being hustled to us on UMD for $40.
... Okay, we're stepping down from the podium now ... here are the soundtrack details you're looking for ...
Music videos:
- Beck – "Black Tambourine"
- Black Eyed Peas – "Pump It"
- Chemical Brothers – "Star Guitar"
- Fatboy Slim – "Gangster Trippin'"
- The Go! Team – "Bottle Rocket"
- Gwen Stefani – "Hollaback Girl"
- Hoobastank – "Born to Lead"
- Junior Senior – "Take My Time"
- Missy Elliott – "Lose Control"
- New Order (unannounced)
Non-video tracks:
- Junkie XL – "Breezer"
- Stigmato Inc – "Reality Check"
- Mondo Grosso (unannounced)
- Ken Ishii (unannounced)
- Techriders (unannounced)
- Key specs
- Reviews • 108
- Prices
- Discussions
- Game format Optical disc, Downloadable
- Screen size 4.3 inches
- Online features Multiplayer, Voice chat, Store, Browser
- Direction control D-pad, Thumb stick (1)
- Camera External (1.3 megapixels)
- Dimensions 71.4 x 169.4 x 18.6 in
- Weight 6.67 oz
- Discontinued 2008-10-15


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In this collection of 14 delicious eggplant dishes, we offer easy eggplant recipes – including dips, pastas and elegant towers – to serve at your next gathering.
Caponata is a Sicilian sweet-and-sour eggplant relish or salad often served as part of an antipasto platter. It can also be spooned onto toasted baguette slices or used as a base sauce for pasta.
See the recipe
In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; brown sausages, in batches. Transfer to slow cooker.
Drain fat from skillet. Add onion, garlic, ce...
Look for fresh mozzarella and bocconcini cheeses in sealed bags or tubs of water at deli counters. For a delicious splurge, use buffalo mozzarella, a flavourful fresh mozzarella made from water-buffalo milk.
Grilling the vegetables before baking gives them a subtle smokiness that makes this casserole special. For extraordinary results, use fresh mozzarella (the kind stored in water at Italian delicatessens and cheese shops).
Cut eggplant in half lengthwise. Cut top off garlic to expose cloves. Place both, cut side down, on greased baking sheet. Roast in 425°F (220°C) ove...
Creamy and rich with colourful vegetables, this pasta is terrific. You can assemble the dish ahead of time to pop in the oven when the group gets together. Use a thick, good-quality pasta sauce.
This chunky, richly flavoured sauce heats up well again as leftovers. If you like it spicy, add a pinch of hot pepper flakes.
Commercial Thai curry paste is generally made with fish sauce or shrimp, ingredients not on the list of edibles for most vegetarians. If fish is part of your vegetarian diet, substitute fish sauce for the salt. A curry is a great place to add or substitute favourite vegetables; broccoli, mushrooms or squash would all be great.
Only $2.39 per sandwich!
Grill up kabobs as a side dish for a vegetarian meal (such as chickpea burgers) or to serve with grilled meat or fish. Use either basil pesto or sun-dried tomato pesto. No pesto? Add 1/4 cup (50 mL) minced fresh basil (or 1 tsp/5 mL dried) to the butter.
This breaded zucchini-eggplant sandwich is inspired by a Saturday morning favourite at Carousel Bakery in Toronto's St. Lawrence Market.
From the Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens comes this definitive casserole featuring eggplant and potatoes. The cheese of choice is kefalograviera (or graviera) made from a mixture of cow, goat and sheep's milk. A good substitute is Gruyere.
Chunky vegetables in a tomato sauce fills these tasty calzones, which even meat eaters will enjoy. Whole wheat pizza dough boosts fibre and protein. The ratatouille sauce is also great served over pasta for a quick vegetarian dinner.
Cut eggplant into 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick slices; sprinkle with salt. Let stand in colander until moisture seeps out, about 10 minutes. Pat dry with pap...
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CDC State Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Programs
- Stroke kills almost 130,000 of the 800,000 Americans who die of cardiovascular disease each year—that's 1 out of every 19 deaths from all causes.
- More than 795,000 people have a stroke each year in the United States.
- 610,000 of those are first or new strokes.
- 185,000 or nearly 1 of 4 are recurrent strokes.
- About 25% die at the time of the stroke event or soon after.
- 15%–30% remain permanently disabled and their families live with the disabling effects of stroke.
- Total annual stroke costs to the nation are about $38.6 billion.
- Transport of stroke patients to the hospital results in faster treatment, yet one-third of stroke patients do not call 9-1-1 and use EMS to get to the hospital.
- Gaps remain in the quality of care provided to acute stroke patients.
Mission and Description
The CDC was directed by the U.S. Congress in 2001 to implement state-based registries to measure and track acute stroke care to improve the quality of that care. Congress also named this the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry (PCNASR) in memory of Senator Paul Coverdell of Georgia, who died of a stroke in 2000 while serving in the U.S. Congress. As of July 1, 2012, CDC is funding 11 states through cooperative agreement, Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program, to meet the mission of the PCNASR. This cooperative agreement is for a 3-year period, pending availability of funds.
Following an initial 3-year pilot phase, CDC has provided funding and technical assistance to states to develop, implement, and enhance systems for collecting data on patients experiencing an acute stroke, to help analyze these data, and to use those results to guide quality improvement interventions for acute stroke care. From 2005 through mid-2012, more than 250,000 patients benefitted from hospital participation in the PCNASP.
The mission of the PCNASP is—
- Measure, track, and improve the quality of care and access to care for stroke patients from onset of stroke symptoms through rehabilitation and recovery.
- Decrease rate of premature death and disability from stroke.
- Eliminate disparities in care.
- Support development of stroke systems of care that emphasize quality of care.
- Improve access to rehabilitation and opportunities for recovery after stroke.
- Increase the workforce capacity and scientific knowledge of stroke care within stroke systems of care.
The near-term goals of the PCNASP are to—
- Encourage the development of statewide systems of care for stroke patients through coordination with emergency medical services and collaboration among statewide partners.
- Communicate with major stakeholders in stroke care to ensure ongoing improvement in the quality of that care.
The long-term goal of this program is to ensure that all Americans receive the highest quality of acute stroke care currently available and to reduce the number of untimely deaths attributable to stroke, prevent stroke-related disability, and prevent stroke patients from suffering recurrent strokes.Top of Page
Current Activities
The Components of a Stroke System of Care1
Funded states are working on improving the care given to patients experiencing a stroke from the onset of stroke symptoms. States will be working with emergency medical services (EMS) agencies to improve EMS care for suspected cases of stroke, the transition from EMS to hospital care, hospital care, and the transition from hospital to the next care setting. Depending on what component the state is funded for, they are required to evaluate the effectiveness of implemented in-hospital and EMS QI interventions and transition from EMS to hospital; and transition of care (TOC) protocols from hospital to TOC systems (e.g. long term care facility, rehabilitation center, primary care provider, etc.).
CDC's PCNASP has a long history of working collaboratively with the Joint Commission and the American Heart/Stroke Associations to provide the best quality care for acute stroke patients.
Additionally, the CDC and American Heart Association (AHA) have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in place to further enhance our joint work to improve the quality of care for stroke patients across multiple settings. Learn more about this MOU.
Learn more about the history and evolution of the PCNASP.Top of Page
Journal Articles
- George MG, Tong X, Yoon PW. Use of a registry to improve acute stroke care—seven states, 2005–2009. MMWR. 2011;60(07);206-210.
- George MG, Tong X, McGruder H, et al. Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry surveillance—four states, 2005–2007. MMWR. 2009;58(SS07);1-23.
- Frankel M, Hinchey J, Schwamm LH, et al. Pre-hospital and hospital delays after stroke onset—United States, 2005–2006. MMWR. 2007;56(19):474-478.
Program Publications
- PCNASP Bibliography [PDF-336K]
- Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry Program: Summary Report 2007–2012 [PDF-959K]
The Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry Program funds states to improve the quality of care for stroke patients. This report provides a summary of the programmatic strategies and activities used by grantees during the 2007-2012 funding period. The information can be used by states and public health departments interested in starting a stroke registry and improving stroke care and access to care.
- Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program—Strategies from the Field [PDF-457K]
Each Coverdell-funded state has identified unique ways to meet the goals and objectives of the Coverdell program. This document outlines creative approaches developed by states and highlights lessons learned. These strategies from the field are intended to illustrate the ways in which Coverdell states are addressing stroke care. The information can be used by Coverdell-funded states as well as states that are not funded by Coverdell but are interested in implementing a stroke registry.
Related Links
- NINDS Common Data Elements for Stroke
- American Heart Association
- American Stroke Association
- National Stroke Association
Additional Resources
Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry Infoshare Conference Call on Stroke Coding Issues, with Barry Libman (May 21, 2009, 10:00–11:00 am ET).
Topic: Coders and other medical professionals requiring an understanding of the rules specific to the coding of stroke care will benefit from this presentation discussing—
- How coding captures an episode of medical care.
- Coding rules and guidance that determine the reporting of diagnoses.
- Coding rules specific to stroke.
- Present on admission indicators.
- The future of coding: ICD-10-CM/PCS.
Listen to the call[MP3–8M] or access the written transcript [Word–81K].Top of Page
- Adapted from LH Schwamm, et al. Recommendations for the Establishment of Stroke Systems of Care: Recommendations from the American Stroke Association's Task Force on the Development of Stroke Systems. Stroke. 2005;36:690-703.
- Page last reviewed: December 31, 2014
- Page last updated: December 31, 2014
- Content source:


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Twilight Huntress Outfit For V4/A4/G4 by EmmaAndJordi ()
Warning! Content Advisory: Some images may contain content not suitable for all viewers
Requirements: PC compatible, not tested in Mac. Poser 6 and Up, and/or DAZ Studio 3 and up. This cloth is for DAZ's Victoria 4 figure, and works too for Aiko 4 and The Girl 4.
- Departments:
Product Files:
Exclusive Product
Digital Product
File (1): 4.24 MB
File (2): 48.81 MB
File (3): 1.37 MB
Price: 10.50 USD


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Senate Takes Up Nominee For National Labor Relations Board
Professor Emeritus William Gould, an expert in labor and employment law, talks to Free Speech Radio News about how union opponents have used the National Labor Relations Board to protect employers:
Senator Richard Shelby, Republican of Alabama, has dropped his hold on most of President Obama's 70 nominees. He made the move after receiving the attention from the White House he wanted in regards to two projects for his state, one a multibillion dollar contract with Northrup Grumman. Some of the nominees have been blocked for more than a year now.
Meanwhile, the Senate is expected to vote today on a controversial nominee to sit on the National Labor Relations Board. The debate over Craig Becker to sit on the board is a proxy debate on the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as "Card Check". The measure, supported by unions and opposed by business, is also stalled in the Senate. FSRN's Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.
William Gould, Professor of Labor Law at Stanford University, was Chair of the NLRB during the Clinton administration. He said union opponents have long used the board to protect employers.
"With all its imperfections, it is better for workers than nothing, and Republicans recognize this and have no incentive to make the agency go forward. Contrarily, the Democrats have every inventive to make the agency go forward," Gould said.
Gould says the board has often failed to protect workers because of what he calls, the "lethargy" of the board. In other words: inaction. He says workplace complaints can take years before receiving a decision.
"The board has been harmed by political appointees who won't make decisions," Gould said.


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According to Apple 13″ MacBook Pro is Apple's #1 selling Mac, so it's only fitting that Apple would take that product "and introduce something better." Phil Schiller, Apple's SVP of worldwide Marketing at Apple, just announced the 13″ MacBook Pro with Retina display.
At 3.57 lbs, it's a pound lighter than previous generation MacBook Pro. Which Schiller calls their "Lightest MacBook Pro ever." Not only is it "Cooler and more capable," it's 20% thinner. As rumored it's equipped with a 2560 by 1600 Retina display screen, which works out to be just over 4 megapixels, making it the second highest resolution you can get in a laptop display, second only to it's 15″ counterpart. It's insane that its competitors haven't caught up to Apple's Retina MacBook.
In addition to the display, the MacBook Pro will be equipped with either a Dual-core i7 or i5. Unfortunately it's only equipped with Intel HD 4000 Graphics, but that may have been necessary in order to achieve its 7-hour battery life. it will start at $1699. It seems that the recent rumors about the 13″ MacBook Pro were true. (Except the price of the higher-end model, which starts at only $300 above the entry-level model.)
As with the 15″ MacBook Pro, the 13″ model includes Magsafe 2, 2 Lightning connectors, USB ports, a headphone, and that beautiful Retina display. That display isn't only at a high resolution, it's also been improved with what Apple claims is a 29% higher contrast ratio and a 75% reduction in glare (so you can actually see the beautiful images on screen). The 13″ MacBook Pro will also use Apple's Power nap feature to automatically update email, photostream, software, and make backups while.
What do you think of 13″ Apple's MacBook Pro with Retina? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.


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The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
500 Fifth St. N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20001
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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"Appendix A Market-Based Approaches to Insurance Reform."
America's Children: Health Insurance and Access to Care.
Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 1998.
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text: health care Join Us for a Live Show on Heart Health By Collins Kelly • Jan 14, 2014 feministing.com Join Aspen Public Radio for a special live radio show with Dr. Robert Eckel, and local cardiologists, Dr. Gordon Gerson and Dr. Marcus Howell on heart health. Moderated by Dr. Ann Mass. Tuesday, January 28. Noon - 1pm. Red Brick Center for the Arts, Rehearsal Space. $15/person ($10/person for APR members). Aspen Valley Hospital Welcomes New CEO By Marci Krivonen • Jan 8, 2014 Aspen Valley Hospital Aspen Valley Hospital welcomed a new CEO last week. Dan Bonk started work at the small, non profit hospital on January 2nd. Before arriving in Aspen, Bonk was an executive at Wisconsin's largest health care system, Aurora Health Care. The 30-year health care veteran talked to Aspen Public Radio's Marci Krivonen about moving the hospital's expansion forward and dealing with controversy. Governor Open to Helping Bring Down Insurance Premiums By Elise Thatcher • Dec 30, 2013 Office of Governor John Hickenlooper Governor John Hickenlooper says he could get involved with bringing down health insurance prices. That could have a real impact for residents of the Roaring Fork Valley and other mountain towns. Garfield County asked the state's top official earlier this month to intervene with high premiums. The County believes Colorado officials did a sloppy job earlier this year when coming up with prices. But some experts say the state didn't make any mistakes. Garfield County Asks Governor to Intervene on Insurance Rules By Elise Thatcher • Dec 17, 2013 Elise Thatcher Garfield County wants Governor John Hickenlooper to intervene with the state's new health insurance rules. The county has some of the highest premiums in Colorado under new guidelines, which are part of the Affordable Care Act. The state agency in charge of the new rules recently visited communities around the state to explain why premiums are so high. But Garfield County officials remain unconvinced. The New Health Care Reality By Frieda Wallison • Nov 26, 2013 About three years ago, a relative of mine went to the emergency room at Aspen Valley Hospital with stroke-like symptoms. He did not have health insurance because of a pre-existing condition and he did not have the ability to pay for emergency health care, but the hospital treated him nevertheless. Following a battery of tests, he was discharged from the hospital with a hefty bill. The hospital gave him three choices: pay the bill immediately in a lump sum and get a 20% discount; pay the face amount of the bill in installments over a period of a year; or declare himself a charity case a Pages« first ‹ previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 next › last »


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VCS Mining
Why Invest in Haiti?
The Haitian Government, with U.N. guidance, has been working hard to create a legal and economic environment to dramatically improve the climate for direct foreign investment. These new policies have fostered interest in business development in Haiti, with mining being one area of emphasis for development.
New Directive
Improve Haiti's economy and create jobs, while protecting the interests of the country and its population.
The United Nations Stabilization Mission (MINUSTAH), established in 2006, has a mandate to restore a secure and stable environment, promote the political process, strengthen Haiti's Government institutions and rule-of-law-structures, as well as promote and protect human rights.
in July 2009, Haiti received an International Monetary Fund relief of debts for achieving necessary requirements of the Enhanced Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC). The Inter-American Development bank handed out over $120 million US in 2009. Currently the Clinton Foundation is very active and a creative force in helping compile a list of NGO organizations assisting Haiti in developing construction, infrastructure, and textile industries.
A New Era For Mining
The island of Hispaniola, has a mountain range across the northern band of the island. The geology of this mountain range is consistent between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, with similar geology running through both countries. According to published reports, the Dominican Republic derives 25% of their GDP from mining, while Haiti currently generates less than 1%.
An example of the potential for Haiti is the Pueblo Viejo deposit in the neighboring Dominican Republic.
As reported by Barrick (www.barrick.com), Pueblo Viejo had 215 million tons of proven and probable ore reserves containing 20.4 million ounces of gold, 117.3 million ounces of silver, and 423.5 million pounds of copper as of year-end 2007.
Even though Haiti's mineral potential is similar to that found in the Dominican Republic, it has remained under-explored. VCS Mining now has the ability to open this prime land for development.


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Tech Tools
Tech Tools
- New Intel Xeon Phi
- Intel-HP HPC Center
- Oracle Supports Azure Cloud
- Wayland 1.2 Released
- Java Enterprise Edition 7 Released
Intel Announces New Processors and a New Project
Chip giant rolls out new Xeon Phi coprocessors and joins with HP to announce a new HPC center. Intel and HP recently announced new plans to expand their high-performance-computing activities. Intel's Vice President of Datacenter & Connected Systems Group, Rajeeb Hazra, presented three new families of Xeon Phi coprocessors as part of his keynote address at the International Supercomputing Conference (ISC'13). The new 7100 family has the highest performance and the most memory. The 3100 family is lower-priced but not so powerful. The 5100 Family has been optimized for very high packing density. A predecessor of the newly released Xeon Phi models just made the news as part of China's Tianhe-2, the worlds fastest supercomputer.
Intel has also joined with HP to establish a Joint Open Centre of Excellence for High Performance computing in Grenoble, which will help customers, developers, and manufacturers with benchmarks and proof-of-concept projects in the field of energy efficiency research.
Oracle Announces Support for the Azure Cloud
Java, WebLogic, and other tools will receive official Oracle support in Microsoft's expanding cloud empire. Oracle and Microsoft have announced a partnership that will bring Oracle software to Microsoft's Windows Azure cloud and the Windows Server Hyper-V virtualization environment. Under the terms of the agreement, Azure and Hyper-V users will have the option of official Oracle support for software products such as Java, Oracle Database, Oracle WebLogic Server, and Oracle Linux.
According to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, "Microsoft is deeply committed to giving businesses what they need, and clearly that is the ability to run enterprise workloads in private clouds, public clouds, and, increasingly, both. "Now our customers will be able to take advantage of the flexibility our unique hybrid cloud solutions offer for their Oracle applications, middleware, and databases, just like they have been able to do on Windows Server for years."
Official support for these popular Oracle software products lends credibility to Microsoft's efforts to present Azure as an enterprise-ready cloud alternative. From Oracle's viewpoint, the new agreement can only lead to new customers and a new channel for selling their support services. Additional terms of the contract were not specified.
Java Enterprise Edition 7 Released
After a long wait, Oracle has finally released the latest version of the Java Enterprise Edition. Members of the Java Community Process (JCP) approved new standards for the Java Enterprise Edition in April, and Oracle has now officially announced the availability of Java Enterprise Edition 7.
According to the announcement, Java EE 7 programming now includes more additional interactive web applications based on HTML5 and places greater reliance on the bidirectional WebSockets protocol.
For data exchange, Java EE 7 has Javascript JSON serialization. Web Services and the REST architecture are supported by the new JAX-RS 2.0 specification. Additionally, the latest version of the GlassFish Application Server 4.0 is compatible with the current Java Enterprise standard.
The SDK is available for download on the Java EE 7 SDK downloads page.
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Qemu Flaw Lets the Guest Escape
Xen project announces a privilege escalation problem for Qemu host systems
Android Bug Threatens Millions of Users
Attackers can compromise an Android phone just by sending a text message
Lenovo and Canonical Announce Laptop Deal
PC vendor will pre-install Ubuntu on portables in India.
Mozilla Firefox Blocks Flash
More embarrassment for Adobe's embattled multimedia tool
Security Problem in Firefox's NoScript Add-On
Mozilla's script blocker add-on could be putting malware sites on the whitelist.
RIP SSLv3
The Internet community officially banishes the notoriously unsafe Secure Sockets Layer protocol.
Mate 1.1 Arrives
Popular desktop environment continues the Gnome 2 legacy – with new support for the Gnome 3 toolkit.
US Government Requires HTTPS
The Obama White House has issued a memorandum telling all US government agencies they must use HTTPS for all websites and web communication.
Mozilla Signs Firefox Add-Ons
New program will dial up security for the Firefox browser.
Fedora 22 Arrives
Red Hat's community distro embraces the cloud.


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Marseille are currently sixth in Ligue 1 and the defender has been strongly linked with the likes of Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Napoli and Monaco.
"Leaving in the winter? I am no coward," he told France Football.
"I am not happy with what I have showed recently, so in such circumstances I won't leave.
"I owe a lot to l'OM who made me make a name for myself. It is very important for me to find again my best level first."


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Tattoo Medical Supplies
Please choose a body region on the right for you to pin point the problem area of your body.
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CWI Medical carries Commodes, PVC Chairs, Shower Chairs, Shower Heads, Toilet Seats, Safety Frames, Transfer Benches and Grab Bars.
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Bariatric PVC Shower Commode Chair by MJM International: 700 lb. weight capacity. Made of 100% Virgin PVC material.…


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|Home > Prayer > Prayer Cicle > How to Become a Prayer Warrior >
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Prayer Chain International
How to Become a Prayer Warrior
"In spiritual warfare, the biggest source of power that we have is prayer!"
How to Become a Prayer Warrior
The Power of Prayer
In spiritual warfare, the biggest source of power that we have is prayer. Throughout the ages we have forgotten how to pray effectively. All too often our prayers do not carry any real power behind them because they are diminished when our own desires and biases creep into them. Praying in power is vitally important in spiritual warfare.
How Prayer Works
In order to learn how to pray more effectively with God's power behind our prayers it is first necessary to understand how prayer actually works. When we pray for something we are in essence willing something into being in the spiritual realm. By willing something into being in the spiritual it will later manifest itself in our earthly realm. This is the reason why we typically end our prayers with the word "Amen," which essentially means, "Let it be done!"
How to Pray Effectively
Now that we understand how prayer works we can change the way that we pray in order to make our prayers more powerful and effective. Here is the single most powerful and effective prayer that anyone can pray for another person:
"Lord, I lift up this person to you and ask that you fulfill all of his or her needs according to your will. Not his or her will, but your will be done in this person's life. Amen!"
On the surface this prayer may seem too simple or too general to be effective. This is a common misconception among some Christians who believe that you must pray long and wordy prayers that ask for very specific outcomes. In actual fact, however, there is no prayer more powerful or more effective than this one. Here are the main reasons why:
Consider the following scenario:
At this point we have two choices on how to pray for John. The most common prayer that some Christians would offer would be something like this:
"Lord, please be with John during his job interview and help him to get a good position with this company so that he can support his family. Amen!"
By doing this we have now limited the Lord's options to either giving John this particular job or not. Little did we know that this job would not be the best choice for John in the long run. We were also unaware of the fact that the Lord already had a significantly better job in mind for John, which would have become available the very next day.
If, however, we had used the following prayer instead, we would have allowed the Lord to fulfill John's needs in a much better way:
Now the Lord can carry out his original plan for John, which was to get him the job at this other company the very next day.
Spiritual Awareness & Protection
Once you become an effective prayer warrior by praying in God's will you will attract the attention of the spiritual forces of evil in the spiritual realms. It is written in Ephesians 6:12:
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
You must, therefore, become spiritually aware so that you may recognize when you are under attack from the evil ones. You must also learn how to defend yourself against any such assaults.
Recognizing Spiritual Attack
Spiritual attacks can come in the form of physical assaults or emotional assaults. Recognizing these different forms of attack is very important. Here are some common physical symptoms of spiritual attack:
Here are some common symptoms of an emotional spiritual attack:
Defending Against Spiritual Attack
If you ever believe you are under attack you should always call on the Lord and ask him to help you. In addition, there are many things which you can and should do each day in order to ensure that you have sufficient protection against the spiritual forces of evil.


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Review By Mike Chambers - January 29, 2008
This page documents in-game settings that were used while benchmarking BioShock, Call of Duty 4, Crysis, and Doom 3. Maximum quality settings were enabled in BioShock, Call of Duty 4 and Doom 3 although the video quality was set to high instead of ultra. Crysis was tested using medium and high settings without antialiasing.
Next Page: Game Settings 2
Last Updated on January 29, 2008


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By popular demand, here is the recipe I used for New Year's brunch at Infuse Yoga Spa. I searched many websites and actually tried 3 different recipes before I decided on (and tweaked) this delicious & simple one. The trick was to find one that made something other than delicious soggy bread that would never crisp! Let me know if you have any other tried & true variations. Enjoy!
VEGAN FRENCH TOAST: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Soy-Free, Nut-Free
3: ripe bananas
1 Cup : plain unsweetened coconut milk beverage from Trader Joe's (or Dairy-free or dairy milk of choice)
2 tsp: cinnamon
1/2 tsp: fresh ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp: vanilla
2 Tbsp: flax meal (or ground chia seeds)
6-8: slices of gluten free bread of your choice (I actually did not use gluten free bread, but original Ezekiel bread & cinnamon raising Ezekiel bread)
2 Tbsp: vegan butter (I used Earth Balance. tried coconut oil but for some reason the earth balance batch crisped better) for skillet. (make sure to keep skillet well greased in between batches)
1. Blend bananas, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and chia or flax, in blender or food processor and pour mixture into pie plate or wide dish.
2. Gently dip bread slices into the mix, coating both sides well.
3. Fry in earth balance/oil in medium-hot skillet until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side.
4. Serve with maple syrup and fresh fruit, if desired, and enjoy. I served with the option of maple syrup or Greek yogurt & strawberries or blueberries mixed with a touch of agave nectar. (Yes I realize the yogurt makes it not vegan, but not everyone there cared!)


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Daily Tip: How to use iOS 4.3 Home Sharing
Wondering how to enable the new Home Sharing feature in OS 4.3 so you can stream your iTunes library from your Windows or Mac PC without having to sync? Apple introduced Home Sharing for PCs last spring in iTunes 9 and enabled it for the new Apple TV last fall but it took until now to get it on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. However it requires a little setup. We'll show you what to do after the break!
To enable Home Sharing on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad running iOS 4.3:
- Make sure Home Sharing is enabled on iTunes on your Mac or Windows PC (you'll find it under the advanced menu and you'll need to login with your iTunes account to activate it) and is on the same Wi-Fi network as your device.
- Launch Settings on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad
- Scroll down and tap on iPod
- Scroll down and enter your iTunes username and password under Home Sharing (if you enter the wrong information, you'll get a popup telling you it can't be enabled).
- Launch the iPod app
- Tap on More on the bottom tabs
- Tap on the new Shared icon at the bottom
- Tap on the computer name you want to access under Shared Libraries
- You'll be taken "back" to the iPod app but you'll now be seeing your PC's library instead of your local device library (it can be a little confusing at first but the PC library name is written on top of the scroll list).
- Choose your music, TV, movies, or other media just as you would have previously, but it'll now stream from your PC over Wi-Fi.
- To change back to your local device library, tap on More, tap on Sharing, and select your local device from the top of the list (you'll see a checkmark next to whichever library is currently the active one).
That's it! A little complex and it can be confusing, but it works and for media you only want access to occasionally, it can save you a lot of occasional syncing. If you have any questions or any Home Sharing tips to share, let us know in the comments!
Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to email@example.com. (If it's especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we'll even give ya a reward...)
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Reader comments
Daily Tip: How to use iOS 4.3 Home Sharing
No, stick with Streamtome if you want to use a piece of software that has continually been supported.
If you just need video, and top quality video, go with AirVideo.
Zumocast isn't consistent enough for me, it went "down" and the software went MIA for a while.
It's worth paying a bit of money to get software that's a lot more stable, IMO.
Can someone PLEASE explain to me how this is different from using Apple's REMOTE App? Except for apparently making it harder to access the stuff already on the phone via the iPod App?
Remote app lets you control your Apple TV or iTunes on PC. This lets you stream content from your iTunes on PC to your iPhone or iPad -- it turns them into Apple TVs.
Totally different.
Thanks, Rene. It all seems so simple now, not sure why I wasn't getting it. Best regards...
With the remote app you are controlling iTunes and the music is playing on your computer/iTunes. With this you...now that I see you must be on the same WLAN this feature makes no sense to me...you can do basically the same thing but it will play through the iPhone itself. Which I don't see why I would do in my house where I already have a setup installed.
Good point, thanks.
Anyone care to venture a guess as to when this will be hacked via a jailbreak tweak? Can't wait to be able to stream my entire library over 3G in the native iPod app and dedicate my entire 32GB to apps/photos/docs/videos instead of reserving a good 8GB or so for music.
Correct. Hence where the "hack" comes in. I've had my current broadband connection for over 2 years, and not once has my IP changed. I'm waiting for a simple hack that overrides the WLAN requirement and allows the input of an IP to use for Home Sharing instead, similar to a FakeLocation tweak.
I've gotten this to work, BUT...
I can't see anyway to access my Movies and TV Shows content from the list of sources on the iPad's iPod app.
On the iPhone's iPod app, once I've switched to my remote iTunes collection (hosted on my iMac) via "Shared", I then just have to select "Videos" from the "More" tab of the iPod app and I see a listing of everything from my iMac, starting w/ Movies.
But the iPod app on my iPad only shows songs/etc. No Movies. No TV Shows.
OK - just figured it out. All of a sudden the Videos app on the iPad has a "Shared" tab at the top, click that and BOOM - opens a new screen w/ tabs across the top for all Video content types from my full iTunes library on my iMac: Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, Music Videos and iTunes U.
I think the "all of a sudden" was the above-mentioned trick of switching off Home Sharing (from the Advanced menu of iTunes) on my iMac, then turning it back on again.
It may have also involved some combination of completely quitting and restarting the iPod and/or Videos apps on the iPad.
My play-it-safe recommendation, go full nuclear:
* install 4.3 on your iPad
* on the iPad, go to Settings->iPod->Home Sharing and enter your Home Sharing credentials (in my case, my iTunes Store account credentials)
* shut down your iPad completely (IMPORTANT!)
* turn off Home Sharing on iTunes on your main computer hosting the big-ass media library
* turn Home Sharing back on again
* power your iPad back up again
* fire up the iPod app and click the (now slightly taller) Library button in the left rail to switch the current library from your local iPad content to your iMac/etc-hosted iTunes Library
* the iPod app will only provide convenient access to music-oriented content...
* BUT, any playlists containing videos will play
* e.g. you could create a Smart Playlist where "Media Kind is Movies" OR "Media Kind is TV Shows"
* fire up the Videos app, you should see a "Shared" tab now at the top, click that, then click on your iMac/etc library (only one to select in my case), then you'll see your iMac/etc's full library of video content, split out into tabs by Media Kind
Cool beans!
Thanks, I was looking for that!
I have the exact same problem? I'm using a MacBook Pro. I'm on the same Wi-Fi network and have followed the instructions above... And stil nothing. No shared icon on my iPhone?
Why is this? A bug?
Hi Dan,
The icon is only there to allow you to enter you iTunes / Home Sharing info, once you have authenticated, you no longer need the icon there!
Once you have authenticated, your machine begins advertising itself to the rest of your home network with those Home Share credentials - make sure you use the same account on you iPhone / iPod / iPad.
If you NEED to get it back (to change HomeShare accounts for example) then just go to the Advanced menu in iTunes and turn Home Sharing OFF then back on again.
Hope this makes sense!
my tv shows aren't showing up! why? my movies and music videos do though
Great man ! Thanks a lot !
am I the only one who was more than ecstatic that Castle/Nathan Fillion is the example?
Only better option would be to have Firefly shown ;)
Was going to buy an Ipad 2 today but so frustrated with this home sharing for the last two days, I think I will pass. Trouble with both home sharing and remote. Tried all above several times, no luck. Some seem to be working and others are still having the problem. I wonder if it has something to do with the different wifi units. Wish everyone the best with the Ipad 2.
It is a little confusing with AirPlay and Home Sharing offering different competing services. Apple normally hides the back end to this stuff and should have produced a system that integrates both and looks the same however you are controlling it (select music, select where you want to hear it, boom!)
I love playing music in different rooms using AirPlay, but I don't see why I can't play music TO my iDevices using AirPlay, so that I can put an iPod touch in a dock to cover a particular room.
Careful using AirPlay if you have multiple routers in your house (I have, err, 4, 2 of them wireless) it only works if I wirelessly connect to the router the PC is on. When it DOES work it's brilliant.
Is there a way to import music like you can with computer with other computers? Instead of just listening to it? Just curious
Shameless plug for us! We'll be up and running soon, working out the kinks. Can't front, we're another digg clone, but strictly for music and music news. The Bloco.
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