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March 10, 2015
Do health clubs assume additional liability if their certified fitness professionals have not had hands-on practical skills testing as part of their accredited certification process?
Click here for article
June 18, 2014
Industry certification and accreditation differences continue to confuse fitness professionals and their employers. In an effort to make things clearer, AFAA has asked David Herbert JD to give us the latest update on the need for education and practical "hands on" testing for all fitness professionals. The differences between organizations are also summarized by AFAA in the accompanying chart. Please let us know your thoughts. Contact Kathy Stevens at firstname.lastname@example.com or contact David Herbert at firstname.lastname@example.com
Click here for chartClick here for article
July 8, 2013
After many years of promoting accredited fitness certifications, we are now seeing a disturbing new direction from at least one certification organization in creating a group of new certifications that, in reality, more resemble continuing education workshops. Please see below to learn more about one soft certification and how it compares to AFAAs fully-accredited Primary Group Exercise Certification.
To learn more and voice your opinion click here.
June 25, 2013
Lately, there has been much talk about the accreditation status of fitness certification organizations, and I am proud to share with you that AFAA is the only fitness certification organization currently to have earned dual accreditations, not only for certification testing, but also for the educational programs leading up to the testing.
AFAA's educational content is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), meeting IHRSA's 2006 recommendation on accreditation for fitness certification organizations. The Accrediting Commission of the DETC is also listed by the U.S. Dept. of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency, and is a recognized member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
AFAA's certification testing is accredited by Vital Research, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in research and evaluation. Founded in 1982, Vital Research has brought its testing and psychometric expertise to many fields of endeavor, including fitness professional certifications, nursing and education.
The following chart illustrates AFAAs accreditation criteria compared to that of the NCCA accreditation. To learn more about accreditation and its importance, please read this article by well-known industry attorney David Herbert, JD.
If further clarification is needed, please contact me at 800-225-2322 x204
July 15, 2011
To read the full report, click here
July 16, 2010
On January 16, 2010, the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) accredited the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America. We have looked at this moment with much pride and steadfast resolve.
Given the status of the DETC as a recognized member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and as a nationally recognized accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education, the long and rigorous accrediting process has been well worth it.
AFAA chose the DETC over other accrediting agencies for much of the same reasons cited in a new report produced by CHEA titled, "The Value of Accreditation". Because we chose an accrediting agency that is recognized by both of the above entities, we are confident the value of the education AFAA provides meets the highest of standards.
February 3, 2010
Sherman Oaks, CA The Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), the nation's premiere accrediting organization for distance learning institutions, voted in its January 16 meeting to grant an award of accreditation to the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America.
This award of recognized national accreditation was made after an exhaustive review of AFAA by the DETC, in which all aspects of the organization were thoroughly evaluated by peer-group evaluators and independent curriculum experts.
The DETC Accrediting Commission has been listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency since 1959. DETC is also a recognized member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
Accreditation is the nation's principal means to identify reliable and reputable education institutions. Accreditation is also a badge of quality, and it assists institutions in attaining excellence by using a set of standards developed by peers. Accredited status means that an educational institution lives up to its promises to course participants and the public. It means that the education that a participant receives at an accredited institution has real value.
On behalf of AFAA, I would like to thank the participants and staff for all their hard work, patience and trust they have placed in us throughout this pursuit of DETC accreditation, said AFAA's President, Linda Pfeffer. We realize that many are called but few are chosen to be accredited. This marks a historic day for us, and signals the beginning of a new era of leadership and cutting edge innovation in distance learning for our organization.
AFAA - The Aerobics and Fitness Association of America has been the world's largest fitness and TeleFitness® educator since 1983, issuing more than 250,000 AFAA certifications to fitness professionals in more than 73 countries. Each year, health clubs and studios host more than 2,500 AFAA certification and AFAA continuing education workshops across the nation.
DETC - Located in Washington, D.C., the Distance Education and Training Council is a non-profit educational association founded in 1926. The independent nine-member Accrediting Commission of the DETC was established in 1955. It has the approval of the U.S. Department of Education as the nationally recognized accrediting agency under terms of Public Law; and it is recognized as an Accrediting Commission by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
For additional information or questions about AFAA and its accreditation, please contact Dorette Nysewander at firstname.lastname@example.com or call Lisa Shapiro at 800-446-2322, ext. 213. For more information on DETC, visit www.detc.org.
March 9, 2009
The Aerobics and Fitness Association of America has expanded its educational
opportunities for personal trainers through its new Distance Education Center.
The DEC allows participants to study select online courses from any
Internet-enabled computer and interact with AFAA's instructors and guest
lecturers through forums, chat and teleconferencing capabilities.
The core mission of the AFAA DEC is to provide comprehensive cognitive and
practical education for fitness professionals, grounded in research, reflecting
a commitment to quality distance education that upholds safe and effective
fitness practice.
The DEC currently offers two courses now available for enrollment:
With the enrollment in either course, participants are offered a host of
online study tools that can help them prepare and successfully complete the
course. The educational support includes:
Upon successful completion, each course is worth 18 AFAA Study Units. To
learn more, view AFAA's Distance Education Catalog:
Or visit http://www.afaadistanceeducation.com to enroll.
October 3, 2008
The National Board of Fitness Examiners (NBFE) has been working diligently on
completing the PFT Part II of the National Board Examination. After several
months of planning and preparation, we are ready to begin the beta testing process.
The first step in this process is to conduct a small group calibration of examiners,
candidates and of the process itself. Qualified NBFE Examiners and standardized
volunteer clients will participate in this calibration session overseen by the
Separate calibration and grading sessions will be conducted and inter-rater
and intra-rater reliability will be calculated. Upon completion of the exam
process, each Candidate will be interviewed by the administrator regarding the
Feedback from this calibration process will be used to make any necessary modifications
prior to beginning the actual beta test.
This process will be conducted on November 2, 2008 at 24 Hour Fitness in Las
Vegas, NV. We are looking for 12 eligible Candidates and 4 to 6 volunteers to
participate as standardized clients for this process. We encourage your participation
for this very important process and would like each affiliate organization to
Travel will be at the Candidates expense; however the cost of the test
will be waived. Upon successful completion, those who successfully complete
the test will be considered as "passing" Part II of the NBFE exam.
If you are interested, please read further. This process is extremely important
to the success of NBFE Part II and we ask that you honor your commitment to
participate if accepted.
In order to continue to move the process along, we are allowing individuals
who have previously sat for NBFE Part I and/or those eligible to sit for NBFE
Part I but have not yet taken or passed Part I to participate in this process,
with the understanding that they will not receive certification until such time
as they successfully pass both Part I and Part II. In addition, we are waiving
the registration fee for NBFE Part II for those who are willing to participate
in this process. This will be a one-time opportunity!
For Further Information Contact:
Dr. Dorette Nysewander
# # #
Certification, Accreditation and National Boards Build your career on a solid foundation with AFAA
The Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA) is the "one-stop"
source for state-of-the-art education services for fitness professionals. AFAA
offers a complete package of up-to-date training, testing, certification and
continuing education, including workshops and classes, written and practical
examinations, online courses, and a wide range of reference works and other
publications. AFAA's programs and materials are affordable, offered at frequent
intervals, and designed to meet the latest criteria and highest standards of
the fitness industry.
- the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA) is the world's largest
fitness and TeleFitness educator.
- AFAA provides education, training and certifications, including written and
practical exams.
- AFAA is an affiliate of the National Board of Fitness Examiners.
- AFAA provides an NBFE National Board Review Course for personal fitness trainers.
- AFAA's certifications are accredited by Vital Research and AFAA is a member
of the National Organization of Competency Assurance (NOCA). AFAA also applied
for an additional accreditation through an organization recognized by the Council
of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the U.S. Department of Education,
meeting IHRSA's 2005 recommendation on accreditation for fitness certification
NEW - Telexercise Resistance Training
- Personal Fitness Trainer Certification V3
- Personal Fitness Trainer Online Preparatory Course
- Personal Fitness Training: Theory and Practice textbook
- Multitraining DVDs and CDs
November 2, 2006
Over the past 10 years, many states have drafted initiatives or proposed legislative bills that would have required personal fitness trainers (PFTs) or other fitness professionals to become state licensed. While to date, none of these bills have become law, one of the more recently proposed bills, Georgia SB401, stated a desire to utilize the National Board of Fitness Examiners' (NBFE) test results as a means to assess the qualifications of PFTs in that state for licensure purposes.
While the NBFE did not contribute to, nor promote licensure in Georgia, the NBFE does believe that the fitness profession can best be served by utilizing a standardized national board examination to evaluate and test the qualifications of PFTs and other fitness professionals. The test process could be used as a model if states feel the need to license those in this profession.
Since its inception in 2003, the NBFE has supported the utilization of a nationally standardized written and practical exam to assess PFT qualifications. The NBFE believes this process can be used in lieu of requiring personal trainers to sit for 50 different state board examinations in order to obtain a license. The NBFE believes that a PFT in New York should meet the same qualifications and possess the same knowledge and skills as a trainer in California. If a PFT moves to a different state, a standardized national board examination credential should be sufficient to obtain a license, if the new state of residence requires a license.
At this time, the NBFE does not endorse, support or lobby for or against licensure of any fitness professional, but rather believes that the industry should listen to the opinions of personal trainers working in the field before taking any stance on the licensure issue. In an attempt to begin the process of finding out how personal trainers feel about licensing, the NBFE recently deployed the largest survey ever conducted in the fitness industry on the subject.
The NBFE polled a randomly sampled group of personal fitness trainers who hold a wide array of degrees and fitness certification credentials. Of the trainers polled, 0.5% have some high school education; 32.9% have some college education; 40.5% are college graduates (including those holding Associates Degrees); 6.0% have some graduate education; and 20.1% hold graduate degrees (Masters/PhD, other doctorates).
This randomly sampled group of 2730 respondents revealed interesting findings. An overwhelming majority of respondents (76%) agree or strongly agree that licensing of personal trainers will increase the perception of professionalism of personal trainers in the public eye. Similarly, 75.4% feel that licensing of personal trainers will facilitate referrals from traditional healthcare providers, and 61% feel that insurance companies will be more likely to reimburse for services if personal trainers are licensed. 62.7% agree or strongly agree that they would like to be denoted as a licensed personal trainer; however, less than half (47%) of respondents believe that licensing will lead to better pay for personal trainers. Overall, the majority of the respondents support the idea of having a national board exam over the alternative of state-specific exams, with 62.5% favoring a national exam and 19.5% of respondents being neutral on the issue. Among those who favor a state-specific exam, 79.5% believe that the specifics of the exam should be guided by a national board of experts, rather than the states themselves.
The survey demonstrated that there may be a general sense of discontent with the level of professional competence currently existing in the field, since close to two-thirds of participants reported that they have come into contact with trainers who they felt were incompetent in their work. Similarly, two-thirds believe that national licensing will help weed out trainers who are professionally deficient.
With regard to feasibility of developing a fair and objective exam, 70.4% of respondents either agree or strongly agree that it would be possible to accomplish this goal, with an additional 17% feeling neutral about this item.
The results of this first of several contemplated NBFE surveys will help us study various aspects of the profession and the needs of personal fitness trainers. We strongly encourage all organizations to work together toward the identification and ultimate achievement of goals that best serve the entire profession.
The NBFE believes that by incorporating data gathered from surveys of trainers who are located in diverse areas across the country, all of whom work daily with clients, it will provide objective information and more accurate views held by those in the profession. This information should ultimately guide the evolution and future for fitness professionals, and move the industry forward.
Although the results of the survey have already been calculated, you may still access the survey and make your opinions known. The survey can be found here. http://nbfe.org/survey/survey.cfm. Thank you for your participation.
July 11, 2006
The recent fitness industry movement towards the certification of personal fitness trainers accompanied by a related push from some segments of the industry to encourage the accreditation of personal fitness trainer certifying organizations and the creation of national board testing and registration for personal fitness trainers has created a myriad of spins about the meaning of certain terms associated with these developments. This spin-zone needs to be examined to separate myth from fact and to debunk those matters and issues which are not supported by either historical events or relevant evidence.
The training and certification of various fitness professionals has been the subject of examination and inquiry for many years. Several organizations including the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and some others, have been involved in the testing and certification of fitness professionals for many years.
Such efforts by these prominent organizations, as well as others, were undertaken to provide presumptive evidence of competency for fitness professionals so that the consuming public could receive some assurance about the qualifications of those who were to provide them with desired training and fitness services. However some other organizations began to offer what many considered lesser forms of certification for fitness instructors through what some would call certification mills or fly-by-night outfits. According to some accounts there were perhaps several hundred certification/training organizations in existence at one time, some of which fit within the definition of prominent certifiers and some of which would be in the later specified classification.
Slip shod practices by some industry certifying and training groups led to what some claimed were an abundance of less than qualified instructors. Once consumer injuries and even deaths began to occur in the industry, the media started an intense examination of the industry and some ill prepared instructors. The fall out from this coverage was noted by many providers.
All of the foregoing combined with other concerns led some in the industry to take action in an effort to improve the qualifications and status of fitness professionals. IHRSA, the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, for example, passed a corporate resolution in 2003 recommending that its member clubs hire only those personal fitness trainers certified by organizations accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). This resolution was later amended in 2004 to expand the approved accreditation list from this one accreditation provider to include the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the United States Department of Education.
At about the same time the National Board of Fitness Examiners (NBFE) was founded to develop nationally based and uniform standards of practice for personal fitness trainers to be used to administer an NBFE provided written and practical examination followed by registration of those who successfully pass the test process. Under NBFEs procedure, preparation for the NBFE examination can take several forms and includes training through a number of affiliated organizations who themselves include certifying organizations for fitness professionals. These affiliates, now classified as provisional affiliates, include AFAA, American Fitness Professionals and Associates (AFPA), International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA), World Instructor Training Schools (WITS), American Aerobic Association International International Sports Medicine Association (AAAI-ISMA), and Health and Fitness Training College (HFTA), among others. The NBFE board examination effort is expected to be in full swing by the end of 2006 and has gotten to the point that some trainers have already taken and passed the written examination and are now listed on the organizations registry as having passed that examination (http://nbfe.org/registry/).
As a result of aspects of the foregoing, some certification organizations within the industry began efforts to obtain NCCA accreditation for their certification programs. Others joined the NBFE effort as affiliate organizations to act not only as certifiers themselves but also as educational providers for those who wished to sit and take the NBFE tests.
Both the NCCA accreditation processes for certification organizations as well as the NBFE effort were based upon structured psychometric principles. The application of this process for both organizations was established to ensure non-discrimination in the testing process and to help provide minimal due process to those taking either a certification or national board examination. The processes were thus designed to be legally defensible meaning that the processes could withstand challenges legally as being non-discriminatory and that minimal due process principles would attach to the certification or testing process. Despite this accepted definition for the defensibility of these processes some within the industry began to circulate information that the term legal defensibility dealt with the ability of personal fitness trainers who were certified by organizations accredited pursuant to the IHRSA initiative to withstand claims and suits arising from their delivery of services. This article was written to address some of the issues related to these matters and to debunk certain myths while separating fact from fiction.
Myth vs. Fact
Fact: Like nearly every similar profession which provides personal services to consumers, the delivery of services by personal fitness trainers includes the possibility of injury or even death to those who receive these services. Some of these instances of injury will be due to the occurrence of certain untoward events which are not the result of anyones negligence but are simply a result of the risks inherent in the activity. At least one court of appeals in California has in fact ruled that fitness activities involve such inherent risks. Other such instances of injury/death however, will sometimes be the result of negligent conduct which occurs by way of a sustained act or omission to act when a duty to act exists. Some of these occurrences will result despite the best of intentions and can happen to even the most careful and prudent of providers. Education, training, certification by respected organizations according to sound psychometric principles which can be achieved through a number of processes including those provided by a certification organization accredited by an entity such as the NCCA, as well as testing and the provision of national board examinations through such entities as the NBFE, can all help improve the qualifications of fitness professionals. Such steps may hopefully reduce the occurrence of negligently performed and provided services. Whether or not the accreditation of certifiers will protect consumers from harm however, due to injuries caused to them by personal fitness trainers remains to be seen.
Myth 2: Accreditation of fitness professional certifying organizations will protect personal fitness trainers and their employers/contractors from claims of negligence and related lawsuits.
Fact: Accreditation of fitness certification organizations by any entity, including those approved by IHRSA, is but one alternative means to be used to help insure that the certifications earned by fitness professionals are provided from an authoritative and respected institution. However, accreditation of fitness certification organizations does not insure that certified professionals and those employing them will not be faced with claims related to negligence and subsequent lawsuits instituted by clients when those clients claim to be injured due to the negligent provision of service from those professionals. Moreover, accreditation of certification organizations does not provide immunity for certified individuals or their employers/contractors from successful claims and suits.
Fitness professionals need to understand that actual immunity from some claims and lawsuits is provided by the terms of certain federal and/or state legislation or case law to selected individuals or organizations under specified and narrow circumstances. Immunity from successful suit, may be provided in some states, for example, when a good samaritan comes to the aid of an individual who is in need of an emergency response. Despite the foregoing, however, there is no immunity provided under existing federal or state law to a personal fitness trainer who is certified by an organization that is in turn accredited by NCCA or any other accreditor of fitness certification organizations. Moreover, there is no federal or state statute, corresponding regulation or court decision which has ever provided protection from claim or suit for those who are certified by organizations that are in turn accredited by some accrediting organization. The fact of the matter is that those who provide personal training services regardless of their background, education, training or certification are potentially liable to any consumer who claims to have been hurt as a result of the negligent provision of service by such professionals. While education, training, experience, background and certification may all assist in the defense of any such suit, and while certification may provide presumptive evidence of competency to be used to refute claims that a personal trainer provided service below the required standard of care, such matters are always determined by fact finders in the course of deciding the allegations of particular lawsuits. So, the fact of the matter is that the accreditation of an organization which provides certification for a personal fitness trainer does not provide either immunity or per se protection from claims and lawsuits against personal fitness trainers.
Myth 3: Required or specified educational prerequisites to certification or testing of personal fitness trainers are a detriment to or a negative aspect of such a process and are really unnecessary for the certification of personal fitness trainers.
Fact: Prerequisites to candidates admission to certification programs which require specified educational training is one of a multitude of resources that individuals can bring with them to the certification or examination table for the purposes of improving their individual abilities to provide first rate personal training services to clients. Education can never be a detriment to the process and is in fact a big plus for trainers and those programs which require educational prerequisites before certification or examination. Such requirements can only provide evidence of greater qualifications for those who have such prerequisites and those who achieve a subsequent certification milestone.
Myth 4: Practical testing of personal fitness trainers is either unnecessary or inappropriate for any testing or certification process for such individuals.
Fact: Testing of personal fitness trainers through the performance of a practical test provides a very valuable and reasonable basis upon which to test and review the qualifications of individuals who will thereafter provide actual training services to consumers. To best illustrate this process, one must necessarily ask whether or not a consumer would undergo an operation by a surgeon who had never before performed a surgical procedure or whether or not a consumer would ever fly on an airplane that had a pilot at the controls who had no previous flying experience. Obviously, when service is provided, practical training is a desirable component of the qualifications of a personal fitness trainer and should serve to demonstrate his or her ability to provide service in accordance with the expected standard of care.
The testing of professional skills through a practical examination is apparently something that no fitness certification organization is presently pursuing. The NCCA accreditation process for certification organizations permits the provision of a practical examination if a certifying organization chooses to do so and properly formulates the practicum. However no NCCA accredited fitness certification organization for example, is believed to provide such a practical component to its certification process at the present time. Despite the foregoing, several non-fitness industry NCCA accredited certification organizations have practical testing components included in their testing and certification process.
In an effort to improve the qualifications and competence of personal fitness trainers, the NBFE examination process will include such practical testing for personal fitness trainers sitting for its national boards. Such testing should take the personal fitness training profession to new levels of demonstrated competence. In addition, the written and practical examination process should provide a true gold standard for the profession to strive to achieve.
Myth 5: Individual certification programs can provide uniform standards for personal fitness trainers.
Fact: The lack of uniform national standards for personal fitness trainers has led to confusion in the industry and in the delivery of varied services by professionals to consumers. Moreover, the lack of such standards has probably resulted in more claims and lawsuits against industry providers, confusion in the application of standards of care issues in court and inconsistent jury verdicts and court rulings. One must necessarily wonder whether or not the care provided or the service rendered by a personal fitness trainer in Ohio should be any different from the personal fitness service provided by a trainer in California. Can clients in California expect better service than that provided by personal fitness trainers in Ohio? Should they? Should there be any difference whatsoever?
Decades ago, medical care in this country was delivered in accordance with the prevailing standard of care within particular local jurisdictions. Consequently, there was often a difference in care between that which was provided in one locale or one state when compared to that provided in a different locale or a different state. Judicial evaluation of that care in malpractice actions was often evaluated by reference to a local as opposed to a national standard. Some years ago and in a progressive manner, the medical profession, state legislatures and the courts began to determine that services rendered by medical professionals should be judged from a national as opposed to a state or local standard of care so that the populace would receive uniform care which could be so evaluated regardless of where they resided or where service was provided. That type of milestone is one which all service providers should seek to achieve.
Aside from the foregoing, there is also a decided difference in the subject matters of various certification examinations which are now provided to those who seek various fitness certifications. When the goals and study materials of one certifying organization are compared to those of another such organization this is obvious. Knowledgeable industry observers have indicated that such differences may slant one certification process or another toward an emphasis on certain subjects or domains while another certification process may be differently constructed with a different emphasis. National and uniform standards need to be applied to test the knowledge base of personal trainers such as those utilized by the NBFE for testing purposes. Such uniform standards should be applied to the certification or testing process regardless of where such examinations are given or which certifier does the testing.
AFAA long ago committed to such an effort by its development and publication of Exercise Standards and Guidelines Reference Manual, Fourth Edition (2006) (first published in 1993). The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) also committed to the development of standards and guidelines for health and fitness facilities when it published its First and then its Second Edition of ACSMs Health/Fitness Facilities Standards and Guidelines in 1992 and 1997 respectively. That effort is continuing as that organization is in the process of finalizing and publishing the Third Edition of this work later this year. The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) began a similar effort some years ago when it first developed and published its standards of practice, see, http://www.nsca-lift.org/Publications/standards.shtml. IHRSA, the American Heart Association (AHA) with ACSM, the Medical Fitness Association (MFA) and others have all similarly engaged in some standards development. Each of the foregoing efforts however, to one degree or another has not resulted in a consistent, uniform expression of the standard of care to be expected from and delivered by personal fitness trainers. It is hoped that the effort now being undertaken by the NBFE will result in a uniform, national standards statement which can be used and applied in a very consistent way not only to test the qualifications of various fitness professionals, starting with personal fitness trainers, but also to be used as a benchmark for expected service delivery by such professionals.
February 23, 2006
Certification of Fitness Professionals and Legal Defensibility:
What it Means (and Does Not Mean) !
By: David L. Herbert, J.D.
Senior Partner
Herbert & Benson, Attorneys at Law
4571 Stephen Circle, NW
Canton, Ohio 44718-3629
Telephone: 330-499-1016
Facsimile: 330-499-0790
E-mail: email@example.com
Co-Editor, The Exercise Standards and Malpractice Reporter
The ability of certified fitness professionals to defend themselves against negligence lawsuits is an entirely different matter than the legal defensibility of the examination or certification process by which such professionals attain their certified or satisfactory test completion status. Despite the foregoing statement, some within the fitness industry have issued various communications indicating that the certification of fitness professionals provides legal defensibility of such individuals from client negligence actions or similar claims or lawsuits. Such statements really cloud the issue and reach the wrong conclusions. Certification does not provide immunity (freedom from successful suit) or legal defensibility (which pertains to the examination or certification process) from negligence actions.
The legal defensibility of certification or testing processes leading to some form of credential for any professional, including those fitness practitioners engaged in personal training activities, deals with the certification or examination process itself as opposed to the later performance of professional activities with clients which may lead to claims and suits against such professionals predicated upon negligence. Legal defensibility of the certification or examination process looks at whether the process in a legal sense is fair, reliable, non-discriminatory and related to defined job or established professional criteria. If such a process is discriminatory toward a person who is a member of a legally protected group and as a result such a person is denied certification, or due to such a factor, does not successfully complete an examination process, that process may not be legally defensible. Members of protected groups in this regard include those who might otherwise be discriminated against based upon their sex, race, color, national origin, religion or protected disability/handicap. Those examinations/certifications which are able to withstand such challenges based upon these or other similar factors are referred to as legally defensible.
While satisfactory certification or successful completion of an examination process by fitness professionals may well provide presumptive evidence of competency and thus assist in demonstrating adherence to the so-called legal standard of care which can be used to defend against negligence claims, the attainment of such a status does not provide legal defensibility in this regard. Moreover, those organizations which provide certifications/examinations do not defend those who are certified or pass such examinations from claims or suits against certified professionals. Lastly, such organizations do not indemnify such professionals from any judgment or award which might be made against those professionals due to the acts or omissions which might occur while professional services are performed.
Defenses to fitness related personal injury actions or wrongful death suits may be predicated upon a variety of factors. However, such defenses have no direct relationship to the certification or examination process. While such defenses may include: 1) adherence to the so-called standard of care in the delivery of service to clients, 2) lack of proximate cause between an act or omission and an injury, or 3) the execution of an assumption of risk or a waiver/release document, no defense to such an action relates solely to the certification or examination process itself or the satisfactory attainment of such a credential by a fitness professional.
Guidelines have been adopted by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to assist employers and others to ensure that their employment related examinations are job related, non-discriminatory and legally defensible. Those guidelines are contained in 29 C.F.R. (Code of Federal Regulations) Part 1607.
Professionals seeking to understand the use of the term legal defensibility in regard to examination or testing procedures for fitness professionals should review and understand such references. Those in the fitness industry who seek to promote certification or testing of fitness professionals as a means to withstand claims of negligence and thus be legally defensible or immune from suit are barking up the wrong tree.
September 8, 2005
An Industry Solution:
Lets Get Everyone on the Same Page!
Consumers, whether as individuals or members of health clubs, are entitled to assume that personal trainers who
hold themselves out as certified have mastered the same skills and possess the same knowledge as other certified personal
trainers. But when different certification organizations use different standards and approaches to certify these trainers,
consumers often end up comparing personal trainer qualifications by reference to apples and oranges.
For that reason, the education and certification of personal fitness trainers and the accreditation of the
organizations that issue certifications must be based on a standard set of skills that all personal trainers must possess
in order to safely and competently counsel and instruct their clients. The tasks that a personal fitness trainer must be able
to perform, and the skill set that is required to perform them, should be determined by conducting a job task analysis
which can be used to judge what skills and competencies they actually need.
Currently, the fitness industry is faced with a serious problem when it comes to the issuance of certifications
and the accreditation of organizations that issue certifications. One significant problem is that each certification
organization uses its own job task analysis for establishing trainer competencies. As a result, a different set of skills is
tested by each organization, and thus a certification issued by one organization means something different than a
certification issued by another organization. Similarly, because various accreditation agencies rely on the job task analysis
utilized by a particular certification organization, an accreditation means something different for each organization as
well. The problem is further compounded when universities and colleges develop curricula based on, yet again, different job
task analyses for the same professionals.
The good news is that a solution is now available to address this problem. Due to the successful debut of the
National Board of Fitness Examiners (NBFE) examinationsit is now possible for instructors, health clubs, universities,
colleges, certification organizations and accrediting agencies to rely on the same job task analysis to be utilized to test
such trainers.
This is made possible by the fact that many national certification organizations, although competitors, at the
invitation of the NBFE, have participated in an industry-wide effort to develop the largest personal fitness trainer job task
analysis ever conducted. By having accomplished this task, these organizations have helped the NBFE establish the industrys
first formalized standards of practice. For the first time, the fitness industry has the benefit of a standardized job task
analysis for personal fitness trainers that has been created by many organizations working collaboratively with the NBFE and
another respected organization, Thomson-Prometricthe worlds largest developer and provider of testing services. Thanks to
the NBFE which spearheaded this effort, this one definitive job task analysis is now available for all affiliated
organizations to use, whether they educate, test, certify or accredit.
The development of a uniform job task analysis for personal trainers bestows an important benefit on instructors,
health clubs, universities, colleges, certification organizations and accrediting agencies. By using the same job task
analysis in education, certification, accreditation, and for testing by the NBFE, there will be a consistency and continuity
in the fitness industry that has not existed before.
For the first time, because of the National Boards, it will be possible to compare apples with apples that is,
consumers and employers can count on the fact that all certified personal trainers who successfully complete the National
Boards will have the same core knowledge and skills regardless of which organization provided educational, certification or
accreditation services.
Now that a uniform job task analysis has been developed to be utilized to test personal trainers by the NBFE,
there is an easy industry solution to what was a big problem lets get everyone on the same page when it comes to
certification, accreditation and the National Boards!
February 28, 2005
A Personal Message From Linda Pfeffer
President of AFAA
As many of you are already aware, 2005 promises to be a pivotal year
in the fitness industry, which is seeking to raise the bar for certification
of personal fitness trainers. Soon you will find yourselves being asked
to make some crucial choices in your education, training and certification choices
that will ultimately affect your career.
We are confident that AFAA can help you make the best decision for you ,
all the while continuing to provide you with the affordable excellence that
has been the hallmark of AFAA for more than 22 years.
So what is AFAA's plan to address the changes in the fitness industry?
Here are some developments you need to know about, and the ways that
AFAA is responding to each one.
Accreditation . You may have heard about the proposal to require
that all certification organizations be accredited by an independent
accrediting agency.
AFAA fully supports the idea of accreditation. In fact, AFAA's examinations
have been accredited by Vital Research, a leading national agency. Vital
Research recognizes and approves certifications that include both written
and hands-on practical exams, both of which are important components
of AFAA's certifications. By contrast, other accrediting agencies will
accredit certification organizations that do not provide a true practical
test and offer only simulated video testing.
Would you or your client go to a surgeon whose practical skills have
never been tested, or tested only in a video simulation? We at AFAA feel
that practical testing is crucial to raising the bar, and we offer
you the opportunity to prepare for, and take, AFAA's written and practical
exams at an affordable price and at the same time and location where
we conduct our workshops.
National Boards. You may have also heard about the National Boards,
the first set of standardized written and practical exams offered by
the National Board of Fitness Examiners (NBFE).
The NBFE is a non-profit organization founded in 2003 whose mission
is to provide industry-developed standardized exams that will
allow the testing of personal fitness trainers. The standards of practice
to be tested are defined by the industry rather than by individual certification
organizations, and the tests will be both written (Part I) and practical
(Part II). AFAA has been invited by NBFE to participate, along with other
NBFE Affiliates, in the development of the National Boards, including
both the written and practical exams.
The beta version of the written component (Part I) of the National
Boards for Personal Fitness Trainers will be tested by the NBFE starting
in January or February 2005. (If you want to participate in the beta-testing
phase, contact the NBFE at www.nbfe.org.) The final version of the written
exam will be administered starting in April 2005, and the practical component
(Part II) of the National Boards is scheduled to be administered toward
the end of 2005. The written exams will be available at any Prometric
testing site across the country. The practical exams will be available
at health clubs, universities and hospital based fitness facilities that
are granted Affiliate status by the NBFE.
AFAA has been an early and strong supporter of the NBFE and the National
Boards, and we are proud to announce that we have been granted Affiliate
status by the NBFE.
AFAA has also submitted the curriculum for our new three day Personal
Fitness Trainer Certification Course to the NBFE, and we are excited
to have received provisional approval from the NBFE for AFAA's new PFT
Certification Course. AFAA's PFT Certification Course, which was introduced
in November 2004, will assist personal fitness trainers in preparing
for the National Boards.
Of course, we cannot guarantee that everyone who takes and passes the
AFAA PFT Certification Course will pass the National Boards, but it's
the best way to get started on preparing for the new exams.
So how will the National Boards work? Any personal fitness trainer who
holds a current certification from AFAA (or another NBFE Affiliate organization
or an individual or trainer who meets other eligibility criteria) is
eligible to take the National Boards. This includes instructors who completed
the courses previously presented by AFAA under a former marketing arrangement
with Fitness Resource Associates as well as instructors who have completed
AFAA's new PFT Certification Course which debuted in November 2004.
For AFAA certified personal fitness trainers who have not taken the
new PFT Certification Course, AFAA will allow you an opportunity to audit
the new course at no cost to you , space permitting , if you
register for the National Boards PFT exams before June 30, 2005 .
(Fees will apply if the course is taken for continuing education credits.)
If you cannot attend the new AFAA PFT Certification Course, or if there
isn't sufficient space for you to attend, you may request a free copy
of the Study Guide for the course if you register for the National
Boards before June 30, 2005 . (The Study Guide is free, but shipping
and handling charges still apply). For more information, please call
1-800-225 2322, Ext. 420 or Ext. 213.
Furthermore, keep in mind that the NBFE is offering a 50% discount on
enrollment fees for the National Boards to personal fitness trainers
who hold a current certification from AFAA or another approved NBFE Affiliate
and who register for the National Boards through AFAA (or another NBFE
affiliate organization) prior to June 30, 2005 .
Now that's affordable excellence!
The Next Step. AFAA firmly believes that the National Boards
offer a much needed step that will take Personal Fitness Trainers to
the next level of professionalism. It's a vital decision for the fitness
industry, and we urge all of AFAA's Certified Personal Fitness Trainers
to take the next step with us.
The NBFE was founded in 2003 as a non-profit organization for two principal
purposes. First, the NBFE will address and define a series of prescribed scopes
of practice for all fitness professionals. Second, the NBFE will determine
the standards of practice for various fitness professionals, including
floor instructors, group exercise instructors, general personal trainers,
specialists in areas such as youth and senior fitness, and medical exercise
Standards of practice are a set of skills and a body of knowledge
that a fitness professional is expected to master in order to meet the
highest standards of the field. The first formal standards of practice
to be issued by the NBFE will focus on personal fitness trainers. Based
on these standards of practice, the NBFE will go on to generate standardized
national examinations for personal fitness trainers in collaboration
with a leading international testing organization starting in March or
April 2005.
A standardized national exam is one that measures the same body of
knowledge, skill and competence in the same way for all test-takers.
Thus, everyone who successfully completes a National Board exam
has proven that he or she meets the same national standard of excellence,
regardless of where he or she lives or which courses he or she has taken.
The first exam will be titled The NBFE Personal Fitness Trainer Examination.
By passing the exam, a fitness professional will be permitted to use
the title NBFE Registered PFT (National Board of Fitness Examiners
Registered Personal Fitness Trainer) and will enjoy the prestige and
confidence that will come with being registered with the NBFE.
Standards of practice and standardized exams for other areas of fitness
instruction will be addressed toward the end of 2005.
Bear in mind that the NBFE is not a certifying organization in
itself, and will not take the place of any certifying organization like
AFAA. Rather, the NBFE will set national standards of excellence in the
fitness industry and provide tools to test whether a fitness professional
has met those standards. Individual personal fitness trainers must successfully
complete a personal training certification program from an approved NBFE
Affiliate or meet other qualifications prior to taking the NBFE
exam. (See below for more information about NBFE Affiliates.)
Today, most organizations that certify fitness professionals rely on
their own standards and their own tests in making certification decisions.
Consequently, the standards for becoming a personal trainer vary from
organization to organization, and so do the tests and ultimately, the
skills of those receiving certifications. The NBFE will establish one
national standard of excellence that every certifying organization
and college is free to adopt and use. This also provides a means of achieving
standardization for all certifying organizations. In a sense, one might
say that the NBFE standardizes the various certification organizations.
In this way, the fitness industry and the consumer will be confident
that every fitness professional who has passed the National Boards has
met the same high standards.
Back to top
2. What are the advantages of taking and passing the National Boards?
The examinations to be generated by the NBFE will permit fitness professionals
to demonstrate their knowledge, skill and competence by successfully
completing nationally standardized exams.
Fitness professionals who have passed the national boards will be registered
with the NBFE. Employers, clients, the medical and allied health professions,
insurance companies and the public can readily verify that a particular
individual has achieved the distinction of passing the National Boards.
The NBFE has been approached by at least one state that is actively
considering a program for the licensing of fitness professionals for
the purpose of determining whether or not NBFE examinations might be
used for licensing purposes. If state licensing comes into existence,
it is likely that the National Boards would be adopted by various states
as a standard exam that fitness professionals would need to pass in order
to be licensed. (See below for more information on licensing.)
3. What National Boards are available?
The NBFE is presently working on several specialized versions
of the National Boards. The first one to be developed will be a Personal
Fitness Trainer National Board Examination. Additional exams in other
areas of specialization for fitness professionals will be issued in the
Once a fitness professional has passed the Personal Fitness Trainer
National Board Examination, he or she will be entitled to use the designation NBFE
Registered PFT , that is, National Board of Fitness Examiners Registered
Personal Fitness Trainer.
4. How long does registration last?
Once a fitness professional has passed the required National
Boards and has been registered with the NBFE, the registration will remain
in effect for two years.
During each registration period, fitness professional will be required
to successfully complete approved Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
in order to keep their registration in effect.
CEUs will be available from various organizations that are recognized
by the NBFE as Affiliates. Organizations that wish to become affiliated
with NBFE for this purpose will offer a program of CEUs specially designed
to keep registration with the NBFE in full force and effect. AFAA is
proud to announce that it is an NBFE Affiliate in the certification
organization category and will offer a program of CEUs specially designed
to keep registration with the NBFE in full force and effect.
5. What is an NBFE Affiliate?
The NBFE draws support from five advisory committees: medicine,
certification organizations, fitness professionals, health clubs, and
higher education. Affiliate status is available to qualified groups
in each of these five areas.
The Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA), for example,
has recently been granted Affiliate status in the category of certification
organizations, that is, organizations that offer workshops, seminars,
and training courses covering both theoretical and practical skills that
are designed to prepare individuals to take the NBFE National Boards.
NBFE Affiliate status is available to qualified groups that participate
in the programs of the NBFE, actively support its mission, and comply
with other requirements of the Affiliate program. The following minimum
requirements currently apply to groups that seek NBFE Affiliate status.
6. What is the difference between Certification, Accreditation, National
Boards, and Licensing?
Certification: Certifications are issued to individual fitness
professionals by training and certifying organizations, like AFAA, which
offer education and training programs. Each certification organization
offers its own programs, administers its own tests, and issues certifications
to individuals in its own name. Certification organizations generally
require individual fitness professionals to prepare for and pass its
own tests, both written and practical, in order to demonstrate proficiency
in various aspects of fitness training. Once issued, a certification
from one of these organizations is generally valid for a period of two
years and must be maintained by taking continuing education courses.
Accreditation: Certification organizations may obtain accreditation
of its own policies and procedures from a third-party accrediting agency.
AFAA's certification tests, for example, are accredited by Vital Research,
an organization which AFAA has worked with over the last twenty years.
Accreditation usually remains in effect for a specified number of years
and must be periodically renewed according to the procedures established
by the accrediting agency.
National Boards: The National Boards will be a set of standardized
tests that are now being developed by the NBFE with input from the fitness
industry and in conjunction with a leading international testing organization.
The National Boards may be used by various certification organizations,
colleges and universities, state licensing programs, and others to test
the knowledge, skill and competence of fitness professionals. Because
the National Boards will be standardized, all candidates will be tested
for the same skills and knowledge regardless of the certification organization
with which they are affiliated. Once a fitness professional passes the
National Boards, he or she will be eligible for registration with the
NBFE as an NBFE Registered PFT, that is, National Board of Fitness
Examiners Registered Personal Fitness Trainer. If a state licensing
program adopts the National Boards as its licensing exam, then a fitness
professional who takes and passes the National Boards will have satisfied
that state's requirement to take and pass a licensing examination.
Licensing: Licensing is a proposed program that may or may not
be adopted by one or more states throughout the United States to provide
for state regulation of the fitness professionals. Under a state licensing
program, fitness professionals would have to apply for a state-issued
license in order to offer their services to the public. Each state would
set its own requirements for issuance of a license, but it is likely
that applicants will be required to take and pass an exam in order to
receive a license. It is possible that one or more states will adopt
the National Boards as issued by the NBFE as their state licensing
exam. As the term is used in the fitness industry, licensing refers
to a license issued by a local, state or federal agency only.
As can be readily seen, there are fundamental differences between Certification, Accreditation, the
National Boards, and Licensing. Here is a quick summary:
Certifications are issued by various certification
organizations to fitness professionals who satisfy the requirements
set by each certification organization.
Accreditation is issued to a certification organization
by a third-party accrediting agency.
National Boards are standardized examinations provided
by the NBFE as a way to test the knowledge, skill and competence of individual
fitness professionals, and a fitness professional who passes the National
Boards will be entitled to identify herself or himself as an NBFE Registered
PFT, that is, National Board of Fitness Examiners Registered Personal
Fitness Trainer.
Licensing , if and when adopted by one or more states,
will require a fitness practitioner to apply for a license before offering
services to the public, and will require the fitness professional to
meet the requirements of state licensing program before a license is
Certifications are issued by various certification
organizations to fitness professionals who satisfy the requirements
set by each certification organization.
Accreditation is issued to a certification organization
by a third-party accrediting agency.
National Boards are standardized examinations provided
by the NBFE as a way to test the knowledge, skill and competence of individual
fitness professionals, and a fitness professional who passes the National
Boards will be entitled to identify herself or himself as an NBFE Registered
PFT, that is, National Board of Fitness Examiners Registered Personal
Fitness Trainer.
Licensing , if and when adopted by one or more states,
will require a fitness practitioner to apply for a license before offering
services to the public, and will require the fitness professional to
meet the requirements of state licensing program before a license is
A fitness certification organization may or may not be accredited, and
state licensing may or may not be adopted by various states around the
Untied States, but every individual who takes and passes the National
Boards will be registered by the NBFE and will be recognized by the fitness
industry and the public as having met the highest national standard of
7. What is Licensing and how does it affect fitness professionals?
There has been much discussion in the media and in the fitness
industry about a proposal to require fitness professionals to be licensed by
the states in which they live and work. Like other businesses and professions,
including various kinds of health care professionals, fitness professionals
pursuant to these proposals would be required to apply to the state for
a license, pass a licensing exam, and comply with other licensing requirements.
No state has yet adopted a licensing program for fitness professionals,
but the NBFE has been approached by at least one state that is actively
considering such a licensing program. As noted above, there is a possibility
that a state which requires licensing could decide to use the National
Boards as its licensing exam rather than developing an exam of its own.
It is too early to know whether licensing will be adopted by any state
and, if so, how it will affect the fitness industry. The NBFE is not
presently promoting state licensing, although it is responding to requests
for assistance and advice from states that are considering a licensing
program. One possible benefit of state licensing of fitness professionals,
however, is that licensing may make it easier to secure coverage of services
by insurance plans.
Important Note
© 1995-2015 Aerobics and Fitness Association of America.
All Rights Reserved.
AFAA Certification Testing Accredited by Vital Research.
15250 Ventura Blvd., Suite 200, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403.


text:
In winter, skiers, ice-skaters and other winter sports enthusiasts are guaranteed frozen lakes and thick snow although the exact dates vary slightly year to year.
In summer, the heat rises to up to 30ºC making it perfect for lake and sea swimmers. The coastal winds, especially on the west coast are great for windsurfing and kitesurfing
The long summers days and "white nights" are a joy to golfers who can enjoy up to 19 hours good light.
The forest moderates the temperature and is most suited to cycling, hiking and geocaching.
Fishing is an all year round activity as even when the sea or lakes freeze in deepest winter you will see people cutting holes in the ice – for a spot of ice-fishing.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|Endothelial Progenitor Cells: Current Issues on Characterization and Challenging Clinical Applications.
MedLine Citation:
|PMID: 22095429 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher
|Since their discovery about a decade ago, endothelial precursor cells (EPC) have been subjected to intensive investigation. The vision to stimulate respectively suppress a key player of vasculogenesis opened a plethora of clinical applications. However, as research opened deeper insights into EPC biology, the enthusiasm of the pioneer era has been damped in favour of a more critical view. Recent research is focused on three major questions: The fact that the number of EPC in peripheral blood is exceedingly low has consistently raised suspicion whether these cells can plausibly have an impact on physiological or pathophysiological processes. Secondly, whereas the key role of EPC in tumourigenesis has been strongly emphasized by various groups in the past, recent publications are challenging this hypothesis. Thirdly, the lack of consensus on EPC-defining markers and standardized protocols for their detection have repeatedly led to difficulties concerning comparability between papers. In this current review, an overview on recent findings on EPC biology is given, their challenging clinical implications are discussed and the perplexity underlying the current controversial debate is illustrated.
|Thomas Resch; Andreas Pircher; Christian M Kähler; Johann Pratschke; Wolfgang Hilbe
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Publication Detail:
|Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2011-11-18
Journal Detail:
|Title: Stem cell reviews Volume: - ISSN: 1558-6804 ISO Abbreviation: - Publication Date: 2011 Nov
Date Detail:
|Created Date: 2011-11-18 Completed Date: - Revised Date: -
Medline Journal Info:
|Nlm Unique ID: 101255952 Medline TA: Stem Cell Rev Country: -
Other Details:
|Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: -
|Center of Operative Medicine, Department of Visceral, Transplant, and Thoracic Surgery, Medical University Innsbruck, Anichstrasse 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria, email@example.com.
Export Citation:
|APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex
|MeSH Terms
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text:
Submit Issaquah Hall of Fame nominations by May 21
May 8, 2012
By Staff
City leaders need outstanding citizens as nominees for the Issaquah Hall of Fame, the annual honor bestowed on someone for making a lasting contribution to the community.
Every spring, the mayor and City Council president select the honoree. Mayor Ava Frisinger and Council President Tola Marts plan to evaluate nominees on several criteria, such as civic-mindedness, leadership and service.
Frisinger and Marts also evaluate the role a person plays in drawing positive attention to Issaquah and fundraising for the public good. Length of service is a factor in the decision as well.
The award is among the most prestigious honors in the Issaquah community.
Send the name of the nominee and a brief summary of his or her contributions to: The Office of the Mayor, P.O. Box 1307, Issaquah, WA 98027-1307. Or submit the nomination via email to email@example.com.
The nominations must be received by May 21. Call 837-3020 or email firstname.lastname@example.com to learn more.
The city plans to announce the honoree at the annual Community Awards Luncheon on May 31.
Past honorees include environmentalist Ruth Kees, Issaquah Highlands mastermind Judd Kirk and, last year, Triple XXX Rootbeer Drive-in proprietor José Enciso.
Got something to say?
Before you comment, please note:
- These comments are moderated.
- Comments should be relevant to the topic at hand and contribute to its discussion.
- Personal attacks and/or excessive profanity will not be tolerated and such comments will not be approved.
- This is not your personal chat room or forum, so please stay on topic.


text:
November 30, 2015
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office needs the public's help to identify two subjects who broke into the KMEE store in Campbellton, Florida.
Authorities responded to the store on June 12 following a burglary alarm. Upon arrival, deputies saw that the glass front door was broken.
Investigators were able to recover video from the store which revealed two subjects entering the store. Sheriff Roberts is requesting that anyone with information regarding the identity of the two subjects to contact the Criminal Investigations Division of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office at 850-482-9662 or Crime Stoppers at 850-526-5000.
Click Here to access the online Public Inspection File
Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or email@example.com.


text:
UTEP: Where Hilarious Nut Shots and Hand Parties Happen
Maybe something about Mike Price coaching the program has trickled down to the students in El Paso. While searching for a video of a nut shot on the UTEP sidelines from Saturday night, I came across yet another video of interest from the game. EDSBS was the first to pick up on it, and it…Read More


text:
Religion Debunked.
View Single Post
Drunk with power...er beer.
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Posts: 4,915
Blog Entries:
Originally Posted by
And not to be disrespectful but I am not going to take some guy on a snowboarding forum for fact. And I don't mean to bash you, I have studied the Bible for years and have never heard any of the stuff you stated. And my statement I just meant that, arguing on an internet forum is useless and I'm done.
If you're like most xians, you've studied the bible using books found in the church, reading books recommended by church members, possibly studied it in classes in private school (if you went to one) and learned about it in bible study, sunday school and listening to the priest/minister/pastor during the sermon. Been there, done that.
Xians learn a very carefully edited version of history. I had never heard of the counsel of Nicea for instance until I started ranging out on my own dime. Most xians don't know that Jesus was one of many wandering holy men who existed at that time who were preaching jewish reformism. John the baptist was another. But there were lots of them (this is recorded history, not speculation). Most xians don't realize that the main points of this reformism came into being because of the takeover of israel by the hellenistic greeks in the second century bc. (macabees I & II). Most of what you consider xian principles are imported from greece and predate jesus by more than a century (democracy, which I've actually heard xians claim is an invention of xianity, first came into being in athens in 500-450 bc). I could go on and on and on with this stuff, but the point is that I learned
of it through orthodox sources.
Coffee is your friend. Everyone else is an acquaintance.
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text:
|Structural Phase Transitions on AgCuS Stromeyerite Mineral under Compression.
MedLine Citation:
|PMID: 23244465 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher
|The structural behavior of mineral Stromeyerite, AgCuS, has been studied by means of angle-dispersive X-ray diffraction measurements up to 13 GPa and ab initio total-energy calculations. Two high-pressure phase transitions are found at 1.4 and 5.7 GPa, from the initial distorted Ni(2)In-type phase (AuRbS-type, RP, space group Cmc2(1)) through an anti-PbClF-type phase (HP1, space group P4/nmm) to a monoclinic distortion of this latter phase (HP2, space group P2(1)/m). The collapse of the metal-metal interatomic distances at the RP-HP1 transition suggests a stronger metallic behavior of the high-pressure phase. The compressibility of the lattice parameters and the equation of state of the first pressure-induced phase have been experimentally determined. First-principles calculations present an overall agreement with the experimental results in terms of the high-pressure sequence and provide chemical insight into the AgCuS behavior under hydrostatic pressure.
|D Santamaria-Perez; A Morales-Garcia; D Martinez-Garcia; B Garcia-Domene; C Mühle; M Jansen
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Publication Detail:
|Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2012-12-17
Journal Detail:
|Title: Inorganic chemistry Volume: - ISSN: 1520-510X ISO Abbreviation: Inorg Chem Publication Date: 2012 Dec
Date Detail:
|Created Date: 2012-12-18 Completed Date: - Revised Date: -
Medline Journal Info:
|Nlm Unique ID: 0366543 Medline TA: Inorg Chem Country: -
Other Details:
|Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: -
|Departamento de Química-Física I, Universidad Complutense de Madrid , Avenida Complutense s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Export Citation:
|APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex
|MeSH Terms
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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text:
|Does moderate tricuspid regurgitation require attention during mitral valve surgery?
MedLine Citation:
|PMID: 23331537 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher
|BACKGROUND: This study aims to determine whether tricuspid regurgitation (TR) ≥ 2+ requires attention during mitral valve surgery. METHODS: From April 1999 to 2009, 161 patients undergoing primary, isolated mitral valve procedures were assessed. Preoperative moderate TR (≥2+) was present in 56 of 161 patients and tricuspid valve repair (TVR: ring annuloplasty) was carried out on 22 of 56 patients with TR ≥ 2+. Baseline echocardiogram included TR severity (ASE criteria), TR velocity, estimated right atrial pressure, visual assessment of right ventricular failure and strain. Follow-up was 47 ± 33 months (96% complete); 91 of 161 patients overall (57%) and 44 of 45 patients with TR ≥ 2+ had follow-up echocardiogram. RESULTS: Patients with moderate TR had worse baseline functional class and operative risks, both worst in the non-TVR group. Overall mortality was 15% (n = 23), comprising 2.5% (4/161) 30-day mortality and 12% (9/157) late death. Poorer preoperative TR was associated with worse survival by univariate analysis (P = 0.046), after correction for right ventricular function and pulmonary artery pressure (P = 0.049), age and diabetes (P = 0.041). Despite lower risk of TR ≥ 2+ with TVR, 5-year survival was 42%, which was less than TR < 2+ and that of non-TVR group (90%, P = 0.003). Improvement in overall functional class (NYHA) was better in the non-TVR group (TVR: preoperative 2.1 ± 1.5; post-operative 1.2 ± 1.1 (P = 0.02) versus non-TVR: preoperative 1.8 ± 1.4, post-operative 1.2 ± 0.9 (P < 0.0001)). There was no difference in quality of life (QOL) indices (SF-36 questionnaire) at follow-up between patients with TR < 2+ and TR ≥ 2+ preoperatively, or across all levels of TR before or after surgical repair. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative TR ≥ 2+, non-TVR group had more favourable functional class and mid-term survival with comparable QOL and echocardiographic parameters to the TVR group.
|Alexander Yeates; Thomas Marwick; Rajeev Deva; Julie Mundy; Annabelle Wood; Rayleene Griffin; Paul Peters; Pallav Shah
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Publication Detail:
|Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2013-1-20
Journal Detail:
|Title: ANZ journal of surgery Volume: - ISSN: 1445-2197 ISO Abbreviation: ANZ J Surg Publication Date: 2013 Jan
Date Detail:
|Created Date: 2013-1-21 Completed Date: - Revised Date: -
Medline Journal Info:
|Nlm Unique ID: 101086634 Medline TA: ANZ J Surg Country: -
Other Details:
|Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: -
Copyright Information:
|© 2013 The Authors. ANZ Journal of Surgery © 2013 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.
|Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
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Johnny Herbert tips Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button for strong 2013 seasons
Sky F1 pundit reckons ex-champions set to star next year
By James Galloway
Last Updated: 17/01/13 10:08am
Lotus driver Raikkonen enjoyed a successful return to the sport this year after a two-season absence, finishing on the podium seven times, completing every race of the 20-race campaign and finally claiming his 19th career victory last month in Abu Dhabi.
Speaking during the final The F1 Show of 2012 in which the Sky team reviewed some of the key moments and performances of the season, Johnny when asked how he rated Raikkonen's comeback year, replied: "I think it was fantastic for him. The comeback has been absolutely brilliant.
"He's come back, he's very, very hungry for it. We saw the race win and, potentially, he could be a big threat next year."
Johnny also reckons that the 2009 title winner, Button, can take advantage of Lewis Hamilton's departure to Mercedes and make his most concerted push yet to become a double World Champion.
Asked about what he was most excited about seeing in 2013, he replied: "McLaren and Jenson Button. [He's] leading the team and I think he's got a good situation to be able to possibly win that second world title."
Fellow Sky F1 pundit Anthony Davidson, meanwhile, said he is most looking forward to seeing how Hamilton goes in his first year at Mercedes and whether or not his arrival can help them make an immediate step forward.
"I think I'm most excited about watching Lewis Hamilton go in a Mercedes," Anthony admitted.
"They've had a difficult season, especially at the end of the year. Yes, they won one race, but can we see that car win more than one race next year with Lewis behind the wheel?"


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Cameron Champ
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Brad Dalke
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Doug Ghim
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Beau Hossler
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Tae Wan Lee
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Thomas Lim
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Jim Liu
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Lee McCoy
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Matthew NeSmith
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Andy Shim
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Adam Wood
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James Yoon
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Connor Black
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Derek Castillo
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Branson Davis
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Zecheng Dou
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Max Greyserman
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Jacob Joiner
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Peter Kim
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Jack Maguire
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Joshua Martin
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Scott Scheffler
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Davis Womble
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Philip Barbaree
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Sam Burns
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James Clark, III
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Sean Crocker
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Parker Derby
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Joo-Young Lee
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Cole Madey
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Luis Medina
Zapopan, Mexico
Chad Merzbacher
Dublin, Ohio
Fred Allen Meyer
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Michael Pisciotta
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Davis Riley
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Jacob Solomon
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Jimmy Stanger
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Danny Walker
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Hayden Wood
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Sarah Cho
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Hee Wook Choi
San Diego, Calif.
Allisen Corpuz
Honolulu, Hawaii
Rachel Dai
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Dree Fausnaugh
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Anne Freman
Las Vegas, Nev.
Cindy Ha
Demarest, N.J.
Alexandra Harkins
Crystal Lake, Ill.
Alexandra Kaui
Las Vegas, Nev.
Paige Lee
Folsom, Calif.
Danielle Lee
La Mirada, Calif.
Christine Lin
Austin, Texas
Yu Liu
Aventura, Fla.
Brooke McDougald
The Woodlands, Texas
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Tampa, Fla.
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Jessica Porvasnik
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The Foundation
The Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program provides financial assistance to junior golfers who wish to play in AJGA events. Its goal is to give top-flight golf opportunities to young golfers regardless of financial resources. This program helps to fulfill the AJGA's mission of developing young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf.
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Leadership Links is a new program whereby the AJGA is able to further its mission to help develop young men and women by teaching charitable giving skills and service-oriented practices at an early age. This program gives juniors all the tools necessary to donate their time, talent and resources to local charities and the AJGA youth development programs. Please click here to learn more about the program and the different opportunities available.


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Not long ago, Brian Kennish helped to write the software that serves advertisements around the Web. First at DoubleClick and later at Google, he helped build ad servers and the developer APIs that link advertisers and ad products.
But the more he worked on ad technology, the more concerned he grew about the data advertisers were collecting about him. "I realized that despite having all of this insider knowledge, I myself had absolutely no idea where all my data was going and what was being done with it," Kennish said. "That was a pretty scary proposition."
read more: http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/16/4232370/ex-google-ad-engineer-fights-back-against-advertisers-with-anti


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Your website's success relies upon a number of factors. High quality website content is indeed one of the factors that can help you to gain leverage in not only acquiring new readership, but also achieving links to your website. Your website content is your primary medium to "get the word out" and relatively attract web surfers to visit your website. It is true to say that the process of developing a website encompasses the creation and the use of informative web content. However, you need to consider that it is not enough to keep your content up-to-date (so it provides fresh source of information), informative (so that it markets what your business or company can offer) and search engine optimized (so that it achieves high search engine rankings). You also have to think what readers and web surfers crave when it comes to web content. It is important to also give attention to your web content's style and presentation.
Website Content: Then and Now
In today's online platform, everything is about competition!! Since the dawn of the worldwide web and the stage it provides for marketing, it becomes very difficult to manage a business in an efficient way (especially that you are not alone in the industry you are in). Now more that ever, the efforts to plan and execute is doubled up. In the online business arena, a website (and its content) is the lifeline of any business. In order for this lifeline to continuously work and provide you industry influence, you must design and develop it in way that it draws attention to web readers and your industry clientele.
An online reader or surfer takes only a few seconds to decide whether to go or stay and browse your website. This few seconds decision can make or break your online success. If your website and web content does not satisfy the need of a reader or even does not spark an interest at first look, he or she will not bother to browse your site and read your content. This will be an advantage to your competition. That is why, you need to create your content is a way that it appeals immediately to your customers (this is where style and presentation becomes very significant) and offers them the clear ideas of your products and services.
Perhaps before, you only need to place the name your business/company, address, phone numbers, email address, etc. With that, you can rely on a local newspaper coverage to give you the needed traffic to your site. However, people today are savvy and their standards for web content have evolved. While online readers' search for quality web content is scrutinizing and intellectual, the creation of web content among webmasters is strategic and inventive.
Today, information is what the web is all about. Web content is conceivably one of the sustenance that keeps the information superhighway operating. It is the reason why people come and go in the Internet everyday. The content of your site is the element that keeps your website enticing to web readers and surfers. Keep your content effective so that it attracts and motivates your readers to keep coming back. It is the determining factor of your website's online triumph.
Web content should be: high quality, unique, free, relevant, and fresh. Creating convincing and functional content will likely influence your website. Users and readers immediately know good content when they see it and will likely share and direct it to other web users. Yes, content is important, but its style and presentation also plays an important role in gaining new readership and links to your website.
Striking The Right Balance of Style and Presentation
We have already established that offering good quality web content will help you develop your industry reputation and brand, build your web presence, and achieve high Google ranking. Your only concern now is how to present it to your readers so that they will become your "regulars" to your website. Quality content is no good when readers don't actually read them since they are enticed to. The main aim for good web content style and presentation is to beguile your readers, customers, and potential clients to your website and appreciate your high quality content even more.
You don't need to be a professional web developer or an expert web designer to realize the importance of style and presentation. But if you don't have the slightest idea on how to improve your website and web content so that it generates more readership and links, it is best to consult a web development company or a web designer. Although there is no right approach to this, you can always employ effective tactics in order to present your website's content as effective as possible.
Your readers will not be able to read your content when they can't find them. An important part of your web content presentation is the navigation of your website. A good navigational design of your website can help your visitor to quickly find the information they need and want. Furthermore, this will help search engines to recognize and understand the content that you think is important. As your website's goals and content evolve through time, you need to make some adjustments to your standard navigation or quick links.
Make sure you don't break your content into several pages. Although many believe that logically dividing content into sensible and separate pages are good, it can actually make a huge difference (a bad one at that) to your website and is a major downfall when it comes achieving new readership. This is not a good idea of presenting your web content. Lay out your content in a way that your reader or client prospect can see all information right in front of him or her. You should not go crazy about this. Cramming all information in page is not presentable. There are times, though, that you must integrate content on separate pages into one.
You should make use of headings on your pages. These headings can present structure to your readers. Through headings, you can style your content based on the hierarchy of importance. Multiple headings can help your readers navigate through your content and easily find what they need.
If your site allows it, make your main content readable at 16px. You should bear in mind that readers will only read your content if they can actually read it. Have your content legible in the first place.
The Bottom Line
Web content style and presentation is a huge topic to tackle. The tips I shared are just a scratch on a surface. The importance of quality web content and the importance of its style and presentation can better your search engine rankings, add value to your website(s), facilitate link building, ensure revisits, and increase sales.


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Panorama9 ROI calculator
|Number of Employees
|Number of IT Staff
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|Average cost of sw/year/employee ($)
|Average cost per IT employee ($)
|Your savings:
|Save 20% of IT employee productivity ($)
|Save 10% by ITIL Automation ($)
|Save 1-4% on misplaced hardware ($)
|Save 5-10% on Software oversubscribtion ($)
|Subtotal Savings ($)
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How did we come up with the numbers?
Panorama9 cloud-based service pays for itself in 45 days or less. How come?
No deployment means instant ROI
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The Panorama9 Dashboard can save you thousands of dollars annually by helping IT administrators to more efficiently allocate licenses, renegotiate licenses fees , keep you compliant. Further giving you the full overview of which software is used when, how and how often. Stop over-subscribing to ensure compliance – always just keep that exactly number of licenses.
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With the detailed Panorama9 hardware inventory report, Panorama9 Dashboard helps you avoid buying new hardware by identifying underutilized assets, saving thousands of dollars annually According to market research, companies misallocate 1-4% of their existing hardware.


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Grace Grogan
- Filed Under
Gov. Rick Snyder has signed the Firearms Confidentiality Package into law. The new statute has prompted positive and negative reactions from the public.
On the average, gun owners are favorable to the law and those who don't own guns are not.
Many people feel that they have a right to know who in their neighborhood or town owns a gun and how many guns they own. Does this knowledge really protect you? No. ...


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Guide för storlek och passform
This product is from our Design Library of past collections and is available to order only. For lead times and further information please contact us.
Tribal Diamond
Diane von Furstenberg
Gaelic Brown
Alexandra Champalimaud
Paul Smith
Sam Turner


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A longitudinal study on Anopheles mosquito larval abundance in distinct geographical and environmental settings in western Kenya
1 Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. Box 8031, 6700 EH Wageningen, The Netherlands
2 Kenya Medical Research Institute, Centre for Global Health Research, P.O Box 1578, 40100, Kisumu, Kenya
3 Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics and Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA16802, USA
4 School of Biological Sciences, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197-00100 GPO, Nairobi, Kenya
5 International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, P.O. Box 30772 - 00100 GPO, Nairobi, Kenya
6 Laboratory of Geo-information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O Box 47, 6700AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Malaria Journal 2011, 10:81 doi:10.1186/1475-2875-10-81Published: 10 April 2011
As the ecology of mosquito larvae can be complex there is need to develop a rational framework for undertaking larval ecological studies. Local environmental characteristics, such as altitude, climate and land use, can significantly impact on phenology and population dynamics of mosquito larvae, and indirectly affect the dynamics of mosquito-borne diseases. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of implementing an integrated approach to larval source management under the distinct ecological settings.
The study was conducted in two highland villages and one village, at a lower altitude, in the Lake Victoria basin, where malaria is endemic and transmitted by the same Anopheles mosquito species. In each village the stability of mosquito larval habitats was classified as either temporary or permanent. The productivity of these habitat types was quantified by carrying out weekly larval sampling using a standard dipping method for a period of two years. During sampling the physical characteristic of the larval habitat, including the vegetation cover were noted. Ambient temperature, rainfall and relative humidity were recorded on a 21 × Micro-datalogger in each study site.
Anopheles gambiae sensu lato larvae were found in all study sites. Anopheles arabiensis was more abundant (93%) in Nyalenda (Lake Victoria basin) and Fort Ternan (highland area; 71%). In Lunyerere (highland area), An. gambiae sensu stricto comprised 93% of the total An. gambiae s.l. larvae. Larvae of An. gambiae s.l. mosquitoes were present in both temporary and permanent habitats with monthly variations dependent on rainfall intensity and location. Anopheles larvae were more likely to be found in man-made as opposed to natural habitats. Grassy habitats were preferred and were, therefore, more productive of Anopheles larvae compared to other habitat types. Weekly rainfall intensity led to an increase or decrease in mosquito larval abundance depending on the location.
The majority of mosquito breeding habitats were man made in all sites. Both temporary and permanent habitats were suitable for An. gambiae breeding. In Fort Ternan temporary sites were favoured for mosquito breeding above permanent sites. Significant differences in larval abundance were found depending on weekly rainfall intensity. Larval source management programmes should target permanent and temporary habitats equally and work closely with land and home owners as a majority of the breeding habitats are man made.