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Section 3. General Policies
2015-2016 student guide
Source: Boston College Police Department
Information regarding the University's Campus Security Program and Fire Safety Program can be found on the Boston College Police Department website.
Source: Office of the Dean of Students
Copyright law protects the rights of anyone who creates or holds the rights to created content, including art, music, written material, movies, and software. The unauthorized copying or distribution of any material created by anyone other than yourself may constitute copyright infringement, which is a violation of federal law and University policy. These prohibited activities include using the Boston College network for sharing music, video, or software without copyright holder permission, whether through peer-to-peer programs (uploading or downloading) or other means.
Boston College's technology policy, located at: /techpolicy requires all members of the University community to comply with copyright laws and the provisions of licensing agreements that apply to software. In addition, all system users agree in the Boston College Technological and Information Resources Use Agreement to comply with copyright law.
The University imposes significant sanctions for infringing activities, including university probation and loss of network access. In addition, under the Copyright Act, anyone infringing a copyrighted work may be liable for statutory damages up to $30,000 for each work (i.e. each song or movie) infringed and, if willful infringement is proven, that amount may be increased up to $150,000. An infringer may also be liable for the attorney's fees of the copyright owner. In certain cases, an infringer may also be subject to criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment. For significant offenses, these penalties include up to a five-year federal prison term and a fine of $250,000. Prohibited activities includeusing the Boston College network for sharing music, video or software without copyright holder permission.
In recent years, associations including the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America have served thousands of subpoenas on colleges and universities, including Boston College, seeking to obtain the identities of individuals who have allegedly infringed the copyright of their members through peer-to-peer file-sharing. Boston College is required to comply with lawfully issued subpoenas, and students have had to pay significant sums of money to settle copyright claims in order to avoid further liability.
A number of legal alternatives, authorized by copyright owners, exist for acquiring music and other content on-line, including iTunes, Amazon, and even Walmart.com. Boston College encourages you to make use of these services rather than engaging in copyright infringement and risking significant penalties.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact BC's Information Technology Services (www.bc.edu/its) or the Office of the Dean of Students (www.bc.edu/dos).
Source: Office of the Dean of Students
As an institution of higher education, Boston College welcomes a diversity of ideas, religions, and cultural backgrounds in furthering student learning and knowledge. A free exchange of beliefs and ideas is a healthy means to evaluate, change, clarify, or reinforce values and commitments. With these academic freedoms come responsibilities that include respecting the rights of others not to be pressured, harassed, intimidated, or threatened into joining a particular group or becoming involved in its activities.
Practices or behaviors that are detrimental or injurious to students or that are clearly and demonstrably contrary to the essential purposes for which Boston College was founded and exists cannot be tolerated. To guard against such acts, the University has the right to provide guidelines and controls. Conduct considered injurious to health, safety, welfare, privacy, or educational mission includes but is not limited to:
- acts adversely impacting academic or vocational pursuits;
- acts adversely impacting financial status or condition;
- false, deceptive, secretive, or unethical promotion or advertising that conceals or obfuscates a group's true goals, objectives, connections, or nature of agenda;
- intrusion by visits, calls, electronic mail, or mailings to student residence halls or non-public areas of campus;
- non-students or non-University affiliated individuals posing as students or affiliates for the purpose of solicitation; or
- attempts to physically, mentally, or emotionally force or coerce a student into enlisting in a group and participating in its activities.
To ensure and maintain the safety, security, and expected privacy of the living areas and an environment conducive to academic pursuits, all solicitation is prohibited within the residence hall system unless specifically approved by the Director of Residential Life. Residence halls are not public forums. Individual students may invite guests into their rooms but must ensure that the guests are properly signed-in and observe University rules. Any use of a residence room must be based upon consent of all roommates.
Outside of the residence halls, student groups or non-affiliated or non-registered groups must obtain permission from the Office of the Dean of Students to solicit for any purpose. Intimidation, threats, or unreasonable interference with work, academic performance, or personal living environment will be subject to disciplinary and/or legal actions. Massachusetts state law strictly prohibits hazing by any person or group for any reason.
Questions, concerns, or complaints may be addressed to the Dean of Students, Maloney Hall, Suite 212, 617-552-3470.
Source: Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs
The University reserves the right to enter student rooms/apartments/suites in University Housing for reasons of health, normal maintenance, upholding community standards (including safety and discipline), and inspection of or making necessary repairs to rooms, furnishings, or room equipment. Except in cases of health and safety inspections or genuine emergency, a search of the contents of a student's room/apartment/suite will be made only with: (1) his or her consent; or (2) a University Search Authorization issued by the Vice President for Student Affairs or designee; or (3) a duly authorized search warrant from a local court.
The Vice President for Student Affairs will not issue a University Search Authorization unless presented with evidence sufficient to give rise to a belief that a search will demonstrate that a violation of University regulations or local, state, or federal law has taken place, is taking place, or will take place, or that a danger to the health or safety of the occupant(s) of the living unit or other members of the Boston College community exists. A University Search Authorization will set forth the premises, the person or persons who are the subject(s) of the search, the item(s) being sought, and the time within which the warrant will remain valid.
A search based upon a University Search Authorization will be conducted by the Boston College Police Department or the Director of Residential Life or their designees and other university officials deemed appropriate in the situation.
Source: Office of Jury Commissioner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Office of the Dean of Students
According to the Office of Jury Commissioner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, every U.S. citizen 17 years of age or older who is a Massachusetts resident or an inhabitant for more than 50% of the time is eligible to serve as a juror. If you are a resident of another state but a student at a Massachusetts college, you are considered to be an inhabitant for more than 50% of the year and, therefore, eligible to serve as a juror in Massachusetts.
It is not unusual for students residing at Boston College to be summoned to serve as trial jurors. All colleges and universities in the state are required by law to provide the municipality in which they reside the names and local addresses of resident students. It is from this list that students are, occasionally, randomly selected for jury duty. Jury service, on a short-term basis, can provide students with a good opportunity to fulfill one of their important responsibilities as members of the community. Boston College supports students in their fulfillment of this civic duty.
Students should carefully read all materials they receive with their summons to service. This summons contains helpful information about confirming, postponing (you may request to postpone, one time only, to any court business day, provided that the date you select is within 12 months of the date for which you were originally summonsed), rescheduling, or relocating service. The summons also addresses frequently-asked questions. Jury duty is an important legal obligation, and those who fail to respond are subject to criminal prosecution.
Students who must miss class in order to fulfill their jury service requirement should notify each of their instructors of the summons and make arrangements to complete any missed work. Staff at the dean's office of your school or college (i.e., A&S, CSOM, CSON, GSSW, Law, LSOE, or WCAS) may also be able to assist you in making arrangements for missed class time due to jury service. Students may be required to furnish their summons notice or the certificate of service when making these arrangements.
If you have any questions about jury duty, including confirming, postponing, rescheduling, or limiting your service, please consult the Student's Guide to Jury Duty brochure, available in the Office of the Dean of Students, or contact the Office of Jury Commissioner (1-800-THE-JURY/1-800-843-5879). Additional information is available at the Office of Jury Commissioner's website at www.massjury.com.
In accordance with Federal regulations, the missing student notification policy is available here or on the Boston College Police Department website.
Source: Office of the Dean of Students
It is the policy of Boston College to collect addresses for all students not living on campus. The ability to identify where a student lives off campus better enables the University to contact students in case of family or other emergencies and also to better respond to crises that occur off campus (e.g., fires, criminal activity). Additionally, when a complaint is filed about an off-campus house or apartment, accurate address information will allow the University to determine if, in fact, the residents are Boston College students.
Failure to provide the University with a valid local address by the date specified by Student Services could result in an administrative hold being placed on the student; providing a false address would be treated as a disciplinary infraction.
See the Boston College Policies and Procedures Manual at www.bc.edu/policy: Sales and Solicitations, 3-200-130.
See the Boston College Policies and Procedures Manual at www.bc.edu/policy: Student Education Records, 4-730-005.
Source: Office of Student Services
Information regarding the official communications of the University with students can be found on the Office of Student Services website.
See the Boston College Policies and Procedures Manual at www.bc.edu/policy: Use of Boston College Indicia, 1-100-050.
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Asus Xonar Essence STU 600ohm headphone amp supports USB audio
Asus has been busy rolling out audiophile grade headphone amplifiers this month. Back on October 17 Asus unveiled the Essence III featuring an audiophile grade USB DAC. Asus has now unveiled another audiophile grade headphone amplifier called the Xonar Essence STU. The Essence STU features a USB DAC.

subset: commoncrawl


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Crime Doesn't Pay: Stupidest Crooks Caught on Film
From the pettiest thief stealing gumballs to white collar drones inaverdently picking up millions on the company dime, they're all in the line-up for Crime Doesn't Pay: the stupidest crooks ever caught on film. It's proof positive that, in the movies, punishment comes one way or another.
Or maybe not.
Nobody wanted to see the Office Space guys go to jail anyway, right?


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SHC to move to Southern States Athletic Conference in 2010-11
Sept. 28, 2009
Spring Hill College has accepted an invitation to join the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) and will begin competition within its new conference in the 2010-11 academic year.
Spring Hill Athletic Director Jim Hall said, "I think the move to the SSAC will put Spring Hill athletics in a very strong position to achieve our long range goals for Badger athletics. The SSAC is a quality conference with a solid national reputation. I am also pleased that we'll be able to keep many of our traditional rivalries in tact. This is an exciting time for Badger athletics, and I believe this change in conference affiliation will positively impact all of our programs. I look forward to working with the other athletic directors in the SSAC in shaping the future of the conference."
Along with SHC, four other Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) institutions will make the jump to the SSAC. Joining SHC will be the University of Mobile, Loyola University in New Orleans, La., William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Miss., and Belhaven College in Jackson, Miss. Truett-McConnell College of Cleveland, Ga., currently an NAIA independent school, will also join the SSAC for the 2010-11 season.
The SSAC is currently an 11-member conference consisting of schools from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina. Membership includes long time SHC rivals Auburn University Montgomery and Faulkner University in Montgomery, Ala. Other SSAC members are Brenau University in Gainesville, Ga., Brewton-Parker College in Mt. Vernon, Ga., Columbia College in Columbia, S.C., Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, Ga., Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., Shorter College in Rome, Ga., Southern Polytechnic University in Marietta, Ga., and Southern Wesleyan College in Central, S.C.
Spring Hill's move to the expanded SSAC will also increase championship opportunities in its 13 sports and insure the opportunity for each sport to compete for an automatic qualification to the national tournament. There will now be enough SSAC teams competing in each sport to award at least one automatic bid to the NAIA national tournament in each event and most team sports will qualify for multiple participants from the conference.
The move to the SSAC ends the 28-year affiliation between Spring Hill College and the GCAC.
For the latest Badger news, visit www.shcbadgers.com.


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- Report: #117287
Report - Rebuttal - Arbitrate
Complaint Review: World Traders Association, Inc.
World Traders Association, Inc.12843 Foothill Blvd. Sylmar, California U.S.A.
World Traders Association, ripoff Sylmar California
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Membership with WTA entitles members to sell merchandise to retailers at below wholesale prices and make commissions of items sold. In my estimation, the prices quoted to members by WTA were retail and slightly below retail. The merchandise was not first quality and guaranteed and most of the merchandise was "knock-offs".The list of retailers I was given to contact as "leads" were bogus. Many of the businesses were actually out of business.
I followed the the guidance, suggestions, and advice I was given by WTA staff members and support material. I still did not make any money with WTA. I understand WTA is now out of business and I have not been contacted by the company yet!
Forestville, Maryland
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 11/11/2004 10:45 AM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/World-Traders-Association-Inc/Sylmar-California-91342/World-Traders-Association-ripoff-Sylmar-California-117287. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year.
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Definition of bank clerk in English:
bank clerk
nounchiefly British
A person employed in a bank to handle customers' transactions and undertake administrative duties: the police were tipped off by a suspicious bank clerk
More example sentences
- A bank clerk who stole more than £39,000 from the branch where she worked has been jailed for 15 months.
- Mild-mannered bank clerk John is too shy to meet the woman of his dreams.
- Provincial bank clerks who haven't had a promotion in 10 years are not the stuff of legend.
For editors and proofreaders
Syllabification: bank clerk
Definition of bank clerk in:
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
Comments that don't adhere to our Community Guidelines may be moderated or removed.
= trending


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It's WILX's "Stimulus For Me" giveaway each weeknight at six.
How To Win:
Watch WILX News Ten at 6 each weeknight between May 11th and May 22nd, for your chance to win a $300 stimulus check! When you see the special message with the contest phone number, be the tenth caller and you're a winner.


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Clarke family tree
Updated info on Charles Valentine Clarke from Encyclopedia Titanica [Wednesday 16 September 2015]
Harry Leonard Clarke, the hero of the Cosham Burglary [Friday 12 June 2015]
The more I revisit this the more I am convinced our James Clarke 1779 is this James Clarke 1777 [Thursday 10 July 2014]
Paul Leslie CLARKE (1972 - ) [Thursday 3 July 2014]
It came through OK [Sunday 26 August 2012]
RE: Walter Clarke/ronald john obrien [Saturday 25 August 2012]
Ronald O'BRIEN [Wednesday 22 August 2012]
RE: Walter Clarke [Monday 20 August 2012]
Walter Clarke [Saturday 11 August 2012]
Rev. Robert Clarke Family Bible [Monday 12 March 2012]
Clarke / Baker connection, from Stoke Newington to Canada [Monday 23 January 2012]
James CLARKE of East Meon [Friday 23 September 2011]
Anthony Clark and Martha Hoar Are these my 4xGreat Grandparents? [Tuesday 29 March 2011]
Signed Harry Clarke book for sale Book about him signed by the authors. Not my Harry Clarke, but Clare's artist great grand-uncle. [Tuesday 29 March 2011]
Please share, any connection with our Mary Dash Clarke? [Sunday 27 February 2011]
RE: More on the Daysh family in New Zealand from an old email [Saturday 26 February 2011]
Harry Clarke's farm not the farm toys our Harry has, but Purbrook farm in 1897 [Wednesday 5 January 2011]
Makes sense, good luck tracking down the Burke family [Friday 29 October 2010]
RE: Burke family [Thursday 28 October 2010]
More on the Daysh family in New Zealand from an old email [Tuesday 26 October 2010]
John Ings Daysh and Mary Dash Clarke [Wednesday 20 October 2010]
If a Clarke married a Clarke [Monday 6 September 2010]
Burke family [Monday 6 September 2010]
Margaret Crilley / Margaret Clarke [Sunday 6 September 2009]
Crilley [Monday 31 August 2009]
Margaret Clarke stamps That's Clare's great great aunt, she's painted a stamp [Saturday 30 May 2009]
We have Clarkes in Cosham at that time [Tuesday 19 May 2009]
trying to locate Robert Clarke [Monday 18 May 2009]
bah family tree database is down again :-( [Wednesday 26 November 2008]
Double history [Tuesday 30 October 2007]
Another Harry Clarke on Ebay [Tuesday 12 September 2006]
Yep, I'm going to be in trouble [Tuesday 25 July 2006]
RE: Harry Clarke on Ebay [Tuesday 25 July 2006]
Bidding's started on Faust [Tuesday 18 July 2006]
I don't want it now, I can't afford it [Tuesday 18 July 2006]
RE: Harry Clarke on Ebay [Tuesday 18 July 2006]
Harry Clarke on Ebay [Monday 17 July 2006]
Gillian Coles is the church warden. Her email is email@example.com The names were recorded in 1970 that is the ones that could be read... [Monday 25 July 2005]
Clarke Family [Monday 25 July 2005]
Hi Barbara,
I don't think we are connected but you never know. I have not traced all my Clarke's yet. You were lucky to see a headstone of you... [Sunday 24 July 2005]
Clarke Family of Wymering [Saturday 23 July 2005]
Folkestone RestauRANTS [Sunday 31 October 2004]
Clarke Family Tree [Wednesday 28 July 2004]
None that I am aware of at this moment in time.
Regards, Bazzer [Tuesday 27 July 2004]
Mahon Family Tree [Wednesday 29 October 2003]
Gedcom.pm [Tuesday 28 October 2003]
Clarke Family Tree Paul Leslie Clarke's family tree and genealogy resource, Clarke family history, mostly Hampshire, UK. [Thursday 9 January 2003]
Paul Clarke's - I live and work in Seabrook near Folkestone, Kent. married to Clare and father to Harry and Tommy, I am a software engineer, and I do mostly javascript, Node, python, ruby, and php. I like pubbing, restaurants, home automation and other diy jiggery-pokery, history, genealogy, TV, popbitch, squirrels, pirates ☠, lego, and time travel.


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The Sanders supporters said they will not give up and vote for presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, despite Sanders' endorsement. Sanders told his delegates on Monday at the convention to support Clinton, but he was booed by many of them.
State Councilor Yang Jiechi said he hopes that China and the US could make efforts to expand cooperation in various fields and manage and control their differences in a constructive way.
A Chinese centenarian couple dressed up to celebrate their 80 years of marriage in the East China'a Anhui province on Saturday.
G20 should play a leading role in improving the international tax governance and support the development of a new international tax system, China's Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said.
The twenty finalists of Miss Hong Kong 2016, an annual beauty pageant that has introduced Chinese mega-stars like Maggie Cheung and Michelle Reis to the world, were released yesterday.
Australia's Olympic delegation chief has praised efforts to fix problems at the Rio 2016 athletes' village and said the team would likely check into the complex on Wednesday.
The Syrian who blew himself up in southern Germany, wounding 15 people, had pledged allegiance to Islamic State on a video found on his mobile phone.
Hong Kong businessman George Wong is holding a show in Beijing of works covering four phases of Italian art.
Summer is the best season to enjoy the scenes of lotus flowers, and their refreshing fragrance can bring a sense of coolness to the hot summer days.
A visit to a Chinese acupuncturist has opened a whole new world of medicine for Issa Justin, a young South Sudanese man who is both a patient and medical student in Juba, capital of the world's newest nation.


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Easy Whole Wheat Pie Crust
Total Time
Prep 10 mins
Cook 0 mins
So quick to make, and the brown sugar adds a little extra sweetness to the crust. Good workout for your arms too! FYI: One reviewer said to use "soft wheat" instead of "hard wheat"...I have only ever used the flour that is labeled "whole wheat flour" or "white whole wheat flour," no mention of hard or soft, so I'm not sure what that's about. It seems none of my other reviewers have had that problem.
Ingredients Nutrition
- 2 1⁄2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 cup vegan shortening
- 1⁄2 cup cold water
- 1⁄8 teaspoon sea salt
- Place flour, sugar, salt, sugar, and shortening in large tupperware or other plastic container with lid. (If all else fails, use a really strong large slide lock plastic bag). Seal tightly.
- Shake 3 minutes. Open & make sure mixture is uniform.
- Add water.
- Shake 3 more minutes & open to see if mixture is large dough ball of uniform consistency.
- Roll out on floured surface. Can be frozen for later use.
Most Helpful
Really enjoyed the taste! Only made half the recipe for pumpkin pie. I'll only do whole wheat from now on! Thank you!
I'm sorry but you need to state to use SOFT wheat. AND this was way to wet. It was sticky and wouldn't hold together. Might be my fault as I don't have soft wheat, only hard. If I get soft wheat, I will try again. Sorry
Really easy and it made a lot. I think I will add a little more sugar and some vanilla next time:)


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Skip to main content
Pineandlakes Echo Journal
FBI detects breaches against two state voter systems
[KLICK GALLERY] Lakes Bluegrass Festival 2016
Highly anticipated federal drone rules take effect Monday
Hackensack Legion awards longtime members
Pine River church's quilt show slated Sept. 9-10
More Topics
Distribution Map
Advertising Rates
Volleyball: Patriots top Warriors 3-0 in season opener
[KLICK GALLERY] Pequot Lakes vs. Brainerd Volleyball
Dan-ecdotes: Liedl, Trottier continue as college teammates
Tennis: Patriots thrive in opening matches
Golf Leagues - Aug. 25, 2016
More Topics
Northland Outdoors
Richard J. Braun
Catherine 'Mickey' M. Fitzsimmons
Rita T. Blaine
Jean E. Larson
Fawna Mae Lewis
Gene Wilder, star of 'Willy Wonka,' 'Blazing Saddles,' dead at 83
Tickets for Legacy Chorale fundraiser on sale
Brainerd Community Theatre to present 'Clarence Darrow'
Resorts, teaching run in the family for Ideal woman: Johnson's daughters follow in parents' footsteps
Pages from the Past - Aug. 25, 2016
More Topics
Weddings North
MMBA Home Show
Letter to the editor: Thanks to all who make Cardboard Boat Races fun
Letter to the editor: Nisswa City Council member responds to comments made at meeting
Letter to the editor: Difference between candidate fundraisers
Letter to the editor: Thanks to all who helped with benefit
Letter to the editor: Third World War, anyone?
More Topics
letters to the editor
Happy Birthday: Eugene Chandler
68th Wedding Anniversary: Harold & Arla Johnson
60th Birthday: Laura Garten
Births-Aug. 25, 2016
80th Birthday: Wilma Durham
More Topics
Weather Forecast
August 29, 2016
Letter to the editor: Thanks to all who make Cardboard Boat Races fun
Many different events occur in our communities each summer that we have a chance to enjoy. I would like to take a moment to say thanks to all the people that make the Cardboard Boat Races at Moonlite Bay so much fun. The entire bay and shoreline was packed with people enjoying the...
opinion/letters to the editor
23 hours 8 min ago
Letter to the editor: Nisswa City Council member responds to comments made at meeting
I'd like to set the record straight from the last Nisswa City Council meeting and the conversation on the proposed road assessment policy. Councilman Heidmann stated the only reason Mayor Kraus and Councilman Jacobson supported the policy is that they live on a private road and a...
opinion/letters to the editor
23 hours 9 min ago
August 27, 2016
Letter to the editor: Difference between candidate fundraisers
I wish I could avoid and ignore our politics. But they determine things affecting my life, from religious freedom (I'm atheist, they say), to my job and environment. People say, "I'm not into politics," but I usually reply, "Well, politics is into you."
opinion/letters to the editor
August 27, 2016 - 11:32am
Letter to the editor: Thanks to all who helped with benefit
I'd like to say thank you to the 500-plus people who attended the benefit dinner and raffle for me at the Brainerd Eagles Club on Saturday, Aug. 13. It was an overwhelming success!
opinion/letters to the editor
August 27, 2016 - 11:32am
Letter to the editor: Third World War, anyone?
Regarding criticism of Obama for not sending troops to Syria, think of what that would mean. We would have to fight against the Russians. Third World War, anyone? Helen Gangsei, Pequot Lakes
opinion/letters to the editor
August 27, 2016 - 11:04am
The Last Windrow: Some things just get in the way of good intentions
I just took the last of my 2015 Christmas lights down. Let's see, is it getting to be late August already? A lady who passed by while I was dangling precariously off the step ladder mentioned that I might have well just left the lights up; but no, it was my goal in May to take them...
August 27, 2016 - 11:02am
Faith: Home leadership
As the former senior pastor of a large church with a large staff, I found myself consumed with being the very best leader I could be for my staff and people. I attended leadership conferences, read leadership books and even met with other leaders in my community so I could continue...
August 27, 2016 - 11:02am
August 26, 2016
Letter to the editor: Layman will work for small businesses
Small business is the backbone of local economies. My experience as a business owner is why I'm supporting Sandy Layman for state representative. I worked with Sandy in Itasca County when she headed our economic development organization. I watched her put programs in place to help...
opinion/letters to the editor
August 26, 2016 - 9:35am
Letter to the editor: Pequot Lakes appreciates anonymous donation
The city of Pequot Lakes is extremely honored and appreciative to receive an anonymous $250,000 donation through the Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation for Trailside Park. This donation will be designated for the design, development and construction of a state flag display and splash...
opinion/letters to the editor
August 26, 2016 - 8:32am
Grim's Tales: Homeownership is a learning experience
Technically, I've been buying a home for the last three years. During that time I've learned things I had no prior knowledge of. Perhaps the most pervasive lesson I learned is the importance of gutters. My first few years I lived in a little farmhouse without gutters. We moved from...
August 26, 2016 - 8:31am
August 25, 2016
As I See It: I'm biased; and so are we all
The differences between a preference, a bias and a prejudice can sometimes be pretty difficult to define. A preference implies a partiality, favorite, fondness or liking for a particular thing. A bias has some of these same words as synonyms but includes a bit stronger inclination...
August 25, 2016 - 8:57am
August 23, 2016
The Cracker Barrel: Thirty days hath September
Ever try to recite that childhood ditty about the length of each month and start wondering? I did. So I did a little sleuthing and found out some marvelous things about the tracking of time, such as the fact that the ancient Greeks had three 10-day weeks per month and that clocks...
August 23, 2016 - 8:29am
From the Lefthand Corner: Memories of Wendy
Wendell R. Anderson died recently at age 83. I only knew him as Wendy. That is the only way he wanted to be known. He reportedly died from pneumonia, but suffered from dementia and other maladies over the last couple years. His most remembered public service was as governor of Minnesota...
August 23, 2016 - 8:23am
August 18, 2016
Vogt's Notes: Venture with us on s'more tour around Whitefish Chain
What could be more fun on National S'mores Day than taking a tour of Minnesota's S'More Capital - the Whitefish Chain, conveniently located right...
August 18, 2016 - 1:23pm
August 17, 2016
Faith: Anno mortis eius (in the year of her death)
The death of our daughter, Maria, has become the most impactful experience of my life. I have never faced anything that has radically changed my existence in an instant. My faith, my marriage and my role as a father are probably more formative in my life than her death, but each of...
August 17, 2016 - 11:05am
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Hand Engraved Messages.
Adding a personal message or sentiment create's a unique gift for any occasion.How to engrave your special purchase
Our weddings gifts are perfect for newly weds and ideas include decanters, Flower bottles and vases, all of which can be engraved for a personal touch.
Out of stock
Out of stock


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Does Kristen Wiig Deserve an Oscar Nod for Bridesmaids?
Melissa McCarthy is the new awards dark horse, but what about Wiig?By Kyle Buchanan
Melissa McCarthy is the new awards dark horse, but what about Wiig?By Kyle Buchanan
Plus: Melissa McCarthy had recurring nightmares of a pig-faced train conductor, and more, on our daily late-night roundup.By Caroline Shin
The long argument cut from 'Bridesmaids.'By Ray Rahman
Why 'Bad Teacher' was a hit but 'The Change-Up' wasn't, why Marvel's superhero scored but DC's didn't, and more.By Claude Brodesser-Akner
We consulted with the prudes at the Dove Foundation to find out.By Adam K. Raymond
And she improvised her whole airplane sequence.By Margaret Lyons
And more, on our daily late-night roundup.By Caroline Shin
Could this be the 'Bridesmaids' director's secret new project.By Kyle Buchanan
Which seems a little counterintuitive.By Kyle Buchanan
Surpassing 'Sex and the City.'By Andre Tartar
It will surpass 'Knocked Up' this week.By Kyle Buchanan
Who needs critics when you have kids?By Chadwick Matlin
After time off to raise her family, she looks to late-bloomer pal Jane Lynch as her inspiration.By William Van Meter
Get this: It's like 'The Hangover,' but with a woman!By Willa Paskin
'X-Men' made $56 million.By Mike Vilensky
Outtakes!By Amanda Dobbins
"I tried for a long time to convince them to let me wear short, white, spiky hair."By Kyle Buchanan
The latest 'Pirates' installment earned nearly $91 million.By Mike Vilensky
Plus, Maya Rudolph is annoyed with the reception of 'Bridesmaids' as a women's triumph and not simply as a successful comedy.By Nim Barshad
'Bridesmaids 2'? "It's already been brought up."By Bennett Marcus


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Hi, I'm an absolute newbie at this, so please be kind. I've just installed WordPress through my webhost, but now it's saying there is a new update. I downloaded the zip file to my desktop and extracted it, but now I don't know how to upload it to my dashboard (or wherever). I typed in /wp-admin/upgrade.php, thinking that would do it but it said I didn't need to upgrade. So are "upgrade" and "update" two different things? If so, how do I move the extracted files from my desktop to wherever it needs to go? Talk plain, please. I'll try very hard not to be a PITA, but I really want to get this right.
I found a theme I just love and want to incorporate it, but I don't know how to do that, either. I'm assuming that I follow the same process as the update, so once I learn how to do that, I should be able to do the theme, too. (I hope) Thanks for any help.


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Robert Miller is a force in front of his congregation. Preaching is his life's work. His life's battle started 11 years ago when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
"All I heard was the word cancer and I'm thinking cancer, death, cancer, death," Miller shares.
PSA levels, the markers for prostate cancer, are considered high at four. At diagnosis, Robert's levels were nearly 80. His prostate was removed, but the cancer stayed behind. He soon found Doctor Michael Carducci.
When prostate cancer spreads, it first goes to the bones. Doctor Carducci is studying the drug atrasentan to keep the cancer from getting there.
"This may not necessarily kill cancer cells per se, it may slow prostate cancer down to a trickle," says Dr. Carducci.
It does that by targeting endothelin, a protein overproduced in men with prostate cancer that has spread.
"We get to the lock before endothelin does and therefore, the cancer cells never see this growth factor, this protein that really stimulates further growth," Dr. Carducci says.
Studies show there was a 52 percent delay in the time it took for the cancer to progress. Robert still has cancer, but it hasn't reached his bones.
There are three separate studies on atrasentan for prostate cancer currently ongoing. To find out more about any of the three studies and to see if you're a candidate, log onto www.ivanhoe.com/menshealth
If you would like a transcript and an address to write to for more information, check out the Medical Breakthroughs Web site on the Internet at www.ivanhoe.com


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Standard Article
Fluorescence Spectroscopy In Vivo
Biomedical Spectroscopy
Published Online: 15 DEC 2011
DOI: 10.1002/9780470027318.a0102.pub2
Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. All rights reserved.
Book Title
Encyclopedia of Analytical Chemistry
Additional Information
How to Cite
Vishwanath, K. and Ramanujam, N. 2011. Fluorescence Spectroscopy In Vivo. Encyclopedia of Analytical Chemistry. .
Publication History
- Published Online: 15 DEC 2011
Diagnostic techniques based on optical spectroscopy have the potential to link biochemical and morphological properties of tissues to individual patient care. In particular, these techniques are fast, noninvasive, and quantitative. Furthermore, they can be used to elucidate key tissue features, such as cellular metabolic rate, vascularity, intravascular oxygenation, and alterations in tissue morphology. These tissue features can be interpreted to shed light on a variety of clinical problems, such as precancerous and cancerous growth and atherosclerosis. The goal of this article is to review development and application of optical spectroscopy in the ultraviolet (UV) and visible (VIS) spectral regions, as a diagnostic tool in clinical applications. Particular emphasis is placed on steady-state UV/VIS fluorescence spectroscopy for the detection of precancers and cancers, in vivo.


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(VAN NUYS, CA) -- Digital Playground took home 8 awards, from 3 sources during AVNs Adult Entertainment Expo. We enjoyed the most profitable show ever and the awards we received were icing on the cake, says company President, Samantha Lewis. Id like to personally thank Paul Fishbein and everyone working behind the scenes at AVN, VSDA and Advanstar for an incredible turn out. This is AEEs second show and already it has surpassed our CES experiences.
Taking advantage of the adult expo gathering in Las Vegas, Adult Stars Magazine held their Consumers Choice Awards on Wednesday night. It was here that Digital Playground earned kudos as the Best DVD Production Company and Tera Show was named Best Interactive Website. The fans know what they like and fortunately we made the cut, raves Tera Patrick. Id like to thank ASM for giving the consumers a place to voice their opinions. These acknowledgements mean a lot to us.
Adult DVD Reviews honored Digital Playground with a plaque naming Forbidden Tales the Peoples Choice for Best DVD of 2001. Their website, http://www.AdultDVDReviews.com offers a forum for industry critics and consumers to voice their opinions and Forbidden Tales received stellar mentions across the board. This title also earned nods as Critics Choice from site CEO, Bill McGarry. Director and VP, Joone responds to the award, We worked really hard on this title and it is nice to be acknowledged by our audience. Thank you very much.
The AVN 2002 Award Show, dubbed the Oscars of Adult Entertainment, also acknowledged Digital Playgrounds efforts in 2001. Receiving awards for almost 50% of our nominations, means were really hitting the mark, says company president Samantha Lewis. Island Fever was acknowledged as Best Renting Tape of the Year. Thats the money award and Forbidden Tales has already surpassed it, according to sales reports. Island Fever was also awarded Best Editing and Best Tease Performance by Tera Patrick. Virtual sex with Devon received the award for Best Interactive DVD. Lewis says, it is the second year in a row we put out the Best Interactive DVD. Setting the standard for hi-tech sex is exactly what my partner intended good job Joone. Digital Playground was also acknowledged as having the Best Company Image. That award is a perfect summation of our working philosophy; quality takes precedence, a philosophy my entire staff implements daily. Thank you AVN and all the fans for acknowledging our hard work. These awards are an incentive to produce even better DVDs in 2002 and with Nic Andrews joining Joone and our special effects team, Im extra excited about the process.
Samantha Lewis goes on to say, We are proud to receive so many awards in a variety of fields. This represents our diversity and commitment to excellence across the board. On behalf of Digital Playground, I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to our success.
Digital Playground Best DVD Production Company, Consumers Choice Award 2001, Adult Stars Magazine Best Marketing Campaign Company Image, AVN 2002
Forbidden Tales Peoples Choice DVD 2002, AdultDVDReviews.com
Island Fever, Tera Patrick Top Renting Tape of 2001, AVN 2002 Best Tease Performance, AVN 2002 Best Editing Video, AVN 2002
Virtual sex with Devon Best Interactive DVD, AVN 2002
Tera Show Best Interactive Website, Consumers Choice Award 2001, Adult Stars Magazine
If you would like more information about Digital Playground, their directors or stars, please visit them online at http://www.digitalplayground.com or write to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Digital Playground
818-376-8488 x320
818-376-8489 fax
Submission Crosses Over
Exxxotica College Discount
Amy Schumer's Black Book
Pedophile Olympic Coaches Exposed
Teri Weigel on Rock'N'SeXXXy
Sabrina Deep Bukkake Tour Update
Ella Nova Covers Hairy Teens
Layton Benton to Exxxotica
Alice Polls Her Clients
August Ames Covers Beautiful Tits 3
NightMoves Call for Sponsors
Vivid Hosts Texxxas Parties
Business News Section Index
Dava Foxx Self-Booking
Kahlista Stonem Available
The Hedge Against Exploitation
Toy with Raquel Sultra
Savana Styles Available
ChargeSavvy at ED Show
Driller Signs The Rub
NightMoves Calls for Sponsors
Casting Call
ABK Beta Users Free
OC Signs Darcie Dolce
Brittany is Back
Dollie Darko with 101 Modeling
Mercy West Available
The V Agency Joins LATATA
Sin Claire with Foxxx
New Smash VP Wyatt Case
Epoch Club Special Event
Ink Inks OC, The Rub
XBIZ 2016 Announced
RAW Signs Sasha Bradshaw
Direct Reps Harper
SashaBrabuster's XXX Comeback
AJ Applegate Available
Freedom Acres Open House
Global Adult Industry Association
Tod Hunter Press Releases
Cumisha Amado at Sagebrush
J.Lo Doc Johnson Offer
Passport to Hustler Event
Advertise on AINews
Freedom Acres Location
Nina Elle Retains Star Factory
Karen Summer Returns
She's Judas & Available
Camming Con Moves Dates
Exquisite Distributes DDF
Cherie Deville Returns
Roxanne Rae Available
Cherie Deville Available
Maryjean Available in LA
Alicia Silver Productions Content
Thomas Bagley Outed Belle Knox
Casting Call for 'Operation: Outdoors'
Mission Control Open House
Cherie Deville in LA
PASS Holiday Schedule
AINews New Look


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The Home Mortgage Preferences of Low-and-Moderate Income Households
Michael LaCour-Little
California State University at Fullerton
Real Estate Economics, Forthcoming
Housing policy in the United States has long supported homeownership yet variation persists across income groups. This paper employs recent mortgage origination data to focus on the revealed preferences of low-and-moderate income (LMI) households in home purchase mortgage choice. We identify the factors associated with conventional conforming, FHA, Nonprime, and specially-targeted programs. Empirical results show that individual credit characteristics and financial factors, including pricing, generally drive product choice with some variation evident when loans are originated through brokers. Results also indicate that targeted conventional programs effectively compete with government-insured products in the LMI segment.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 39
Keywords: housing finance, mortgage choice, low-and-moderate income
JEL Classification: D12, G18, G21, J10, L85, O18, R21
Date posted: January 11, 2007
Suggested Citation
Contact Information
© 2016 Social Science Electronic Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use
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Contact Us
This page was processed by apollobot1 in 0.187 seconds


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I got a few issues I will list here. For reference, use this page:
http://kenswowservice.com/?cat=1 (just a test page)
Problem 1:
This I want gone: "Fields marked with a * are required."
Problem 2:
The multi select boxes should be the same width as the others.
Problem 3:
The "datum" field is a datepicker. Something is off with its color scheme as the text when opened is hardly readable at all.
Problem 4:
The "verzenden" submit button should be the same width as the others.
Thanks for the assistance!


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A little bit of history. My husband and I got married in 2004, in January 2005 we went to our ob that sent me to have an ultrasound done. It was discovered that I had PCOS. We were referred to an infertility clinic. We started with basic IUI's, after 3 failed IUI's we moved onto IVF. In June of 06 I had a uterine septum removed and we started the process of IVF. In October of 06 we went for the basic testing again to see if we could do IVF. Finally in Feb we started the stims, shots and all the other fun stuff. At retrieval I had 34 follicles removed (I was huge) 11 of those follicles fertilized and became blastocysts. We had 10 frozen and one put in. I was suffering with a mild case of OHSS and pregnancy can make that worse, so they would only allow one embryo to be transfered. March 30th 2007 I got a phone call from the infertility clinic and it was positive, I was pregnant. My husband and I were very excited.
Everything seemed fine and I was feeling pretty good. At 11 weeks I had a subchoronic bleed. We thought we lost the baby, all that blood! After one week of bed rest the bleed resolved itself and we were fine. At 14 weeks I finally started to relax thinking I was out of the rough spot. I had another thing coming. At a routine ultrasound at 15 week 5 days we all noticed something wrong. My babies arm was out of my uterus and waving. I was 3 cm dialated. I went straight to labor and delivery at the hospital where they gave me all kinds of medicine to make my bag of water retreat back in. I was basically lying flat on my back for 5 days in the hospital. On the 5 th day my water broke. At 11:31 June 18th I delivered a beautiful baby girl that we named Rebecca. She was perfect in everyway just too small to be here.
In June of 08 I had another surgery. They found a fibroid in my uterus that needed to be removed. After surgery I had to wait 3 months before I could attempt pregnancy again. It is now September and my husband and I just finished round 2 of IVF. They would only transfer one embryos because of my history with my cervix. Today is 12 days after my transfer and I took a pregnancy test, it was a BFN. I go in tomorrow for my blood test, not looking hopeful. I just want to know, when will it be my turn for a happy healthy baby?


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Rafter's thirty year history in the better-grade footwear business provides the foundation from which Rafters Footwear is built. The product is the most important part of shoe company, which is why their approach to building footwear concentrates on high quality, comfortable fit and unique design. Rafters has built their reputation by making products and customers their first concern.
Featured Styles:
Featured Styles:
Rafters Gust Chocolate Multi 70247R-2074 (Men's)
Item #: 61581
$24.95 $19.00
Rafters San Pancho Thong Saddle Brown 70221R-907 (Women's)
Item #: 61602
Rafters Waikiki Chocolate 18040 (Women's)
Item #: 50127
Rafters Waikiki White 18040 (Women's)
Item #: 50125


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- Report: #773576
Report - Rebuttal - Arbitrate
Complaint Review: photocubbie
photocubbiep.o.box 1581 Palm Harbor, Florida United States of America
photocubbie I recieved a E-Mail that I was a new customer to Photocubbie and that $14.95 would be charged to my phone bill each month.I e-mailed them back and there E-Mail came back as invalid. Palm Harbor, Florida
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Infosys (NYSE:INFY)
Q3 2014 Earnings Call
January 10, 2014 8:30 am ET
Sandeep Mahindroo - Principal of Investor Relations
S. D. Shibulal - Co-Founder, Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer, Director and Chairman of Infosys Technologies (Sweden) AB
B. G. Srinivas - President and Director
U. B. Pravin Rao - President
Rajiv Bansal - Chief Financial Officer
Srikantan Moorthy - Group Head of Human Resources and Senior Vice President
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy - Co-Founder and Executive Chairman
Moshe Katri - Cowen and Company, LLC, Research Division
Edward S. Caso - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division
Rod Bourgeois - Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC., Research Division
Joseph D. Foresi - Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Research Division
Rahul S. Bhangare - William Blair & Company L.L.C., Research Division
Keith F. Bachman - BMO Capital Markets U.S.
Trip Chowdhry - Global Equities Research, LLC
Ravi Menon - Centrum Broking Private Limited, Research Division
Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to the Infosys Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Sandeep Mahindroo of Infosys. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Sandeep Mahindroo
Thanks, Enba. Hello, everyone, and wish you all a very happy new year. I'm Sandeep from the Investor Relations team in Mysore. I would like to welcome you all to our Q3 FY '14 earnings call. Joining us today on this call is CEO and MD, Mr. S.D. Shibulal; Presidents, Mr. B.G. Srinivas and Mr. Pravin Rao; CFO, Mr. Rajiv Bansal, along with other members of the senior management team. We'll start the call with some remarks on the performance of the company for the recently concluded quarter before taking up -- before opening up the call for questions.
Before I hand it over to the management team, I would like to remind you that anything that we say which refers to our outlook for the future is a forward-looking statement, which must be read in conjunction with the risks that the company faces. A full statement and explanation of these risks is available in our filings with the SEC, which can be found on www.sec.gov.
I would now like to hand it over to Mr. S.D. Shibulal.
S. D. Shibulal
Thank you, Sandeep. Good morning, everyone. Let me take this opportunity to wish all of you a happy new year. We had a decent quarter, Q3, as we expected. Our revenues grew by 1.7% in reported terms and 1.2% in constant-currency basis. Our onsite volume declined by 3.4%, while offshore volume increased by 2.6%. Overall volume increased by 0.7% since our offshore referred mix went up by 1.3%. Our operating margin expanded by 1.5% sequentially, excluding the impact of the provision of visa-related matters that was made in Q2. We added 54 new clients. The number of $1 million clients went up by 26. The number of $1 million clients today stands at 495. Our growth was predominantly in non-U.S. geographies and Asian verticals.
External business environment continues to improve gradually in most business segments. Clients are becoming more confident about spending and are willing to engage more on new initiatives. At the same time, they remain careful when it comes to making large spending decisions. Budget activity for our clients is moving on a timely basis. Overall, across the verticals, we see mixed trends regarding 2014 budgets. We expect the budgets to be flat across all verticals together. B.G. and Pravin will elaborate on verticals and budgets subsequently. Pricing continues to be stable. Our revenue productivity went up by 0.7% quarter-on-quarter this quarter. However, we continue to see pricing pressure on large deals and commoditized services.
Infosys led -- continues its momentum with 14 wins this quarter, 8 in platforms and 6 in products. We continue to invest and see traction in the strategic areas: social, mobile, analytics, cloud.
Across verticals, these technologies are opening up newer opportunities. While each of these is individually powerful, the true value to clients is when these technologies come together to drive their business agenda. A very relevant example is TradeEdge, an insight-driven sales platform that we launched in Q3, which clients are using to sense and fulfill consumer demand in emerging markets. In this platform, we use analytics capability to gain visibility across the distribution channel. We use mobile capability to empower the distributors, sales force to accelerate order intake. And lastly, this platform is delivered on the cloud to help the brands drive cost lower and accelerate rapid penetration of new markets.
During the quarter, we are realigning our business portfolio to further enhance our focus on deepening client relationships, increasing market share, creating service differentiation through innovation and agility. We have appointed B.G. Srinivas and Pravin Rao as Presidents. B.G. will focus on global markets. Pravin will focus on global delivery and service innovation.
We are going through a transformation. We had earlier expanded the executive council, so that the heads of the units and business functions can participate in executive council deliberations. And we are going through transformation, we have been exploring multiple ideas. Once the new Presidents were implemented, President sectors were implemented, we have -- once the new President sectors are implemented, it is appropriate to create governance sectors under their respective areas. Hence, the executive council was disbanded, effective April 2014.
Based on our performance from Q1 to Q3 and what we expect for Q4, we have increased the revenue guidance to 11.5% to 12% in U.S. dollar terms. Now we will ask B.G. to talk about his business segments. B.G.?
B. G. Srinivas
Thank you, Shibu, and again, good morning, everyone. I will cover the following business segments, namely financial services, manufacturing, energy and telco.
Firstly, on financial services, we continued to see clients focusing on cost takeout out of operations, and there is a clear direction of those savings into development of new products and services. In terms of focus areas, digital transformation, risk and compliance-related spending is the order of the day. There is a clear focus on modernization of infrastructure and legacy applications that are influencing some of the client spending as well.
Pipeline is relatively healthy and comprises a good mix of large deals as well as platform deals. We are seeing a significant interest in our platform-based offerings in the last 3 quarters within the financial services sector. At the sector level, there is definitely pickup of lead momentum, and we continue to see this as we enter the next quarter. In insurance, again, we are seeing a mixed bag in terms of clients' IT budget outlay, while some of our clients have indicated their budgets are going to go up and some of the spending is going to go from nondiscretionary to discretionary as well. In other cases, there is -- the budgets are relatively flat, and in few cases, the clients are looking at a bit of a cut.
Looking to the next sector, manufacturing, the overall business momentum remains stable. We are seeing improvements in automotive, commercial, aerospace and industrial manufacturing. There is definitely weakness in the high-tech sector, which is putting a lot of pressure on discretionary spend in this vertical.
Information management, analytics and digital consumers are some of the key things that are creating transformation in our clients' business. Also, we do expect in manufacturing vertical, the budgets to remain flat overall. Within high tech, seeing a decline in budgets due to the impact of reduced PC sales, while in automotive, commercial aerospace and industrial manufacturing, we are clearly seeing the budgets rise.
The telecom industry is continuing to have challenges. The wireline telco sector is severely under pressure for top line growth. The spend levels have muted as clients continue to see new challenges. And that is definitely keeping a check on both discretionary and nondiscretionary spend. Relatively, the wireless carriers, particularly in Europe, there is definitely time for investments and deal activity, and the pipeline is only seen [ph] in certain pockets in the sector.
Energy sector is definitely doing relatively well. The IT spend will be marginally up for the coming fiscal. We are also seeing activities in all 3 services. This sector is heavily dependent on core ERP applications, namely SAP, and there are further opportunities in the area of consolidation and upgrades.
I would now like to pause and hand over to Pravin Rao to cover his business portfolio. Over to you, Pravin.
U. B. Pravin Rao
Thanks, B.G. Good evening. In retail, CPG and logistics, we are seeing increasing spend in the areas of cloud, infrastructure, business intelligence, analytics and ERP-led transformation. We see an uptick in discretionary spend, though they remain in a stop-and-start mode. The deal pipeline has improved marginally over the last 3, 4 quarters.
In the life sciences segment, we see headwinds in terms of patent cliffs. This, however, translates into opportunity in terms of large outsourcing deals. In resources and utilities vertical, we see a lot of focus on cost optimization and increasing spend in the areas of cloud, mobility and analytics. In addition, in global resources, we see companies focusing on simplifying their operations and improving supply chain efficiency. Budgets for the next year are down in the segment due to revenue challenges facing the clients.
In the growth market unit, comprising of Australia, China, Japan and Southeast Asia and Middle East, we see different dynamics at play in the individual markets. There is focus on cost reduction and consolidation of spend in Australia. In China, clients are investing in ERP and analytics, after centralizing their operations. In Japan, demand is being driven by the need to simplify IT and drive revenue-generating spend. Overall, in the region, deal pipeline is decent, though the ticket size is small.
In the services sector, the new age information services companies leveraging digital are increasing spend, while the traditional print media is cutting spend.
In travel and hospitality segment, we have seen an uptick in spend, driven by economic stabilization and mild recovery in the U.S. We have almost 20 engagements in cloud and Big Data. Cloud is driving the IT organization towards more outcome-based, SLA-oriented constructs. Clients are also excited about the possibilities of contactability and open standards that would help eliminate vendor lock-in and maximize performance.
In mobility, we have started over 25 engagements in quarter 3 in the areas of sales force automation, device management and enterprise productivity. Clients are also looking to establish mobile app factories to cater to their mobility requirements. We see good levels of interest for managed pay-per-use model here as well.
I will now to pass on to Rajiv to elaborate on the financial performance.
Rajiv Bansal
Thank you, Pravin, and a very good morning to all of you. I'll take you through the financial highlights. Our third quarter revenue was $2,100 million as against $2,066 million in the previous quarter. This is a growth of 1.7% in reported currency and 1.2% in constant currency terms. Our gross margin for the quarter improved by 80 basis points to 36.1%. Operating margin for the quarter improved by 150 basis points to 25%, mainly on account of initiatives to increase efficiency in our operations.
Net margin for the quarter expanded to 22.1%, which was at 20.2% last quarter, excluding the visa-related matter. EPS for the quarter is at $0.81 as against $0.70 last quarter, excluding the visa-related matter, which is a growth of 11%. Our revenue per person improved by 2.2% sequentially both onsite and offshore, while our onsite referred mix has reduced by 1.3% to 29.9%. Utilization is marginally down, to 76.9% for the quarter.
Our other income was higher by $36 million in this quarter, mainly on account of ForEx gain of $19 million in Q3 vis-à-vis the ForEx loss in the previous quarter of $14 million. As you will recollect, last quarter, we witnessed extreme volatility in the currency markets, which resulted in a loss of USD 14 million. During the quarter, on the average, rupee was at INR 62.03 as against INR 62.77, an appreciation of 1.2%. We have outstanding hedges of $1.049 billion as of December end.
Effective tax rate for the quarter is at 27.9%. Our cash flows from operations is a healthy 95% of profit at $439 million. After paying dividend of $219 million during the quarter and CapEx of $122 million, our cash and cash equivalents, including available-for-sale assets and certificate of deposit are at INR 27,440 crore. We have increased FY '14 revenue guidance in dollar terms to 11.5% to 12%. This is based on what we achieved in the first 3 quarters and our expectations for the fourth quarter.
Lastly, I would like to reiterate that while we have seen early results of our initiatives to increase efficiency, we continue to evaluate our business needs and make investments wherever necessary.
Before I open the floor for questions, I would like to mention that we have Mr. Murthy, our Executive Chairman, with us to take questions from you. With that, we'll open the floor for questions.
Question-and-Answer Session
[Operator Instructions] Our first question is from Moshe Katri of Cowen and Company.
Moshe Katri - Cowen and Company, LLC, Research Division
This is a question for Rajiv. Margins were up sequentially, can we get the pluses and minus in terms of -- minuses in terms of what drove the margin expansion during the quarter? And then as a follow-up, maybe talk a bit about attrition and what are the actions that the management is planning to bring down attrition in the near term?
Rajiv Bansal
Moshe, during the quarter, we had an RPP increase of 2.2% both onsite and offshore. And also, an onsite mix improvement by 1.3%, from 31.2% to 29.9%, which both contributed to a margin of 1.8%. At the same time, the rupee appreciated by 1.2%, which had a negative impact of 0.3% on the margin, giving us a net impact of 1.5%. There were also benefits from efficiency in our operations that we were talking about, initiatives that we have taken over the last 2 quarters. But a lot of that money has been flowed back in the business in terms of investment in tools for productivity and quality, for enhancing the delivery effectiveness. So though the margins have expanded [indiscernible] in the quarter, we continue to make investments in our business to ensure that we secure a good growth and a good future for ourselves.
Moshe Katri - Cowen and Company, LLC, Research Division
And on the attrition side?
Srikantan Moorthy
This is Tan Moorthy. On the question on attrition, while in terms of the LTM numbers, the numbers are high. On an absolute basis, the numbers are dropping from Q1 to Q2 to this last quarter. However, given the attrition number, we're looking at several things to curb attrition. If you look at attrition as a function of utilization, compensation, developmental opportunities and engagement, we have taken several steps in the direction. For example, on the compensation part, we changed the variability part for our people so that it is much more of a component on the fixed salary that comes in. On the aspect of development, we have created revenues for people to be reskilled so that they can get into newer opportunities as we find them in the organization and as the opportunities comes through. On the engagement part, again, we have taken several steps to engage people on being in the organizations and working together to make a difference. So there are several steps that are being taken to curb attrition. And as the utilization goes up, we expect that the attrition will come down as well.
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy
Moshe, this is Nagavara Murthy. It's nice to reconnect with you. I mean, you know our business pretty well. The reality is simply this, that the margins in our business depend on, one, of course, growth, because the fixed costs get absorbed better with growth. Second, it depends on the ratio of the effort onsite and effort offshore. And third, it also depends on the lower ratio, that is, how many people of a certain level we have to the people at next level to the people at next level, et cetera. So I think these -- as we continue to work towards better ratios in these 3 parameters that I talked about, we can indeed get better margins, but if we don't do a good job, then the margins will obviously get reduced.
Our next question is from Edward Caso of Wells Fargo Securities.
Edward S. Caso - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division
Rajiv, I think on the earlier call, you might have mentioned that the operating margin guidance now is sort of in the 25% to 26% range subject to potential investment. That seems to be a little higher than in the past. Is that the correct interpretation here? And is it because your cost saving efforts are running ahead of schedule?
Rajiv Bansal
Our aspiration continues to have industry-leading growth and superior margins. Our aspiration hasn't changed. What you have seen in the last couple of quarters is that we needed to make investments in our business to get to growth. And as we speak, we continue to make those investments. So our margins have improved because a lot of initiatives that we took in the last couple of quarters in terms of cost optimization, quality, productivity, delivery efficiency, sales effectiveness. The cost optimization has started yielding early results, and that is the reason we have started seeing the margins being expanded. However, we have to make investments, and as and when we get an opportunity to make investments which will help us secure our future, we would do that. What I'm saying is that in the medium to long term, I see the margin stabilizing around 25% to 26% in the medium to long term, and that is the position which I've been saying for the last couple of quarters.
Edward S. Caso - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division
Great. And I'd be curious if -- second question and last question. On the sales side, can you talk about has the sales force in the last year or 2 gotten bigger, gotten smaller, what's the turnover been? What's the profile? I know you pulled a lot of people back into India and so forth. Can you just give us an update on size? How you're compensating them? Where they're located? And what initial impact you're getting?
S. D. Shibulal
Our sales force is fully onsite and they are compensated as per the market compensation. We are investing into sales. We have added sales force last year. Right now, we are looking at adding another set of people into the sales force. We want to have a pyramid structure for our sales force and that means that we will add a lot more people at the lower level, at the lower grade than at the upper end of the pyramid structure. This quarter, you have seen some fluctuation, but that is a quarter-to-quarter fluctuation and there is no secular trend. We will continue to invest in the sales force, and we will continue to invest at the lower end of the pyramid so that our pyramid structure becomes more healthier, and the number of people in the market will continue to increase.
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy
Well, first of all, let me -- let's make it very clear that no sales person who are efficient has been allowed to leave. Those that were not performing, some of them have left, some others on a performance improvement program, that's number one. Number two, the people that -- whatever the cost optimization we have done so far, is primarily in the area of marketing, where there are lots of senior people sitting outside India doing jobs that could have been done at lower-cost locations and therefore, that's what we have done. Third, in fact, there has -- there is an initiative to enhance the number of people that are in the market doing selling. And as Shibu pointed out, our desire is to add a considerable number of people at the lower end of the pyramid. Today, it's a diamond structure. We have too many senior people and very few junior people beating the pavement in the market. And we are bringing a change in that so that these senior people are indeed helped by the junior people who will beat the pavement. So that's the story about the sales people.
Our next question is from Rod Bourgeois of Bernstein.
Rod Bourgeois - Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC., Research Division
Okay, great. So I have a strategic question for Chairman Murthy, and it's also great to have you back on these conference calls. So it appears Infosys has been moving towards reducing its onshore cost structure to some extent and also moving to derive more growth from application outsourcing, its traditional core business. My question is whether these types of moves run the risk in the long run of Infosys losing some ground competitively in terms of its onshore relationships with clients or potentially hurting your ability to be a leader on consulting deals? Are those long-run risks of the strategic moves that are being made today?
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy
No. Not really. I'll tell you what, we -- today, we have an onsite effort to offshore effort of 29.9% to 70.1%. We believe that we need to have people onsite who are in close touch with customers, people who bring value to the customers in terms of customer-heavy interactions, like requirement definition, presentation to the customer and then discussions on architecture, et cetera, et cetera. I think just having people who do programming, sitting onsite, I think, that's not a very smart thing. So therefore, our effort will be to have as many people as are required at customer site and people who will add value to the customer, people who will add value to the organization, while ensuring that all activities that can be done from lower-cost locations are indeed done at lower-cost locations. That's what the global delivery model is all about. That's what we have been doing for a long time. That has changed slightly, but we will ensure that the organization is robust, the organization in the future is robust, and we don't lose contact with our customers. But at the same time, we will bring better and better value, both to the customer and to the organization.
Rod Bourgeois - Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC., Research Division
So does that imply that your assessment is Infosys and your main competitors, the, the other top Indian firms, does that imply that you feel they have more headcount onshore today than what is necessary to sufficiently serve the clients?
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy
I think you're in a better position to make that comment than me. All that I can say is what we at Infosys want to do, but I can't comment on what our competitors are doing.
Rod Bourgeois - Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC., Research Division
But from an Infosys standpoint, you feel like you can serve clients onshore with fewer people, such as doing programming work onshore?
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy
Sorry, no. I said activities like programming, detailed technical design, long-term warranty, these are activities that can be done very effectively from lower-cost locations. On the other hand, those activities that have customer-heavy interaction, they have to be necessarily done onsite. That's what global delivery model is all about and that's what we intend doing. B.G. wants to add something.
B. G. Srinivas
I also want to bring this in respect to the various services we offer, and that's really a distinction to be made. For example, our consulting-led business will continue to be focused and we are driving efficiencies even in those service lines. In the traditional business IT operations, the offshore ratios can be significantly increased. And hence, we need to make a distinction when we talk about service line specific ratios, both in terms of offshore-onsite ratios and lower ratios, and even at an organizational level continue to support our clients on transformation initiatives, support our clients in helping them optimize business processes. And the third element of our business, which is product platform, IP-led business we'll continue to stay focused. At a strategic level, there is no change in direction as far as Infosys 3.0 is concerned, but we are making decisions in each of the service lines to drive and optimize efficiencies and making sure, at the same time, we stay relevant to our clients' business, both with respect to the local capability and capacity we need and making sure that the rest of it can be delivered in different Centers of Excellence around the world. Thank you.
Our next question is from Joseph Foresi of Janney Montgomery Scott.
Joseph D. Foresi - Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Research Division
My first question here is also a strategy question. I believe when Infosys 3.0 was rolled out, a part of the point of the change in business strategy was to move away from some of the commoditized work. Now we see a new strategy out there where it seems like Infosys is getting back to its fundamentals. Could you help us reconcile what Infy 3.0 was, how your new strategy is different, and what was working and what wasn't, that you're changing?
S. D. Shibulal
Well, I think, first and foremost, Infosys 3.0 was all about increasing client relevance. And under that umbrella, we had launched -- we had broadly categorized 3 offerings: consulting system integration, business and IT operations, products and platform. There was never ever any intention of not growing any one of these offerings. We were very clear that we will have to grow all the 3 offerings to achieve our goal of industry-leading growth. Some of them, for example, the products and platform, would be on a lower base, which means that it will grow faster than our average. That is the strategy behind Infosys 3.0. Now if you look at the performance, if you look at our consulting system integration business, which is a transformational business, which in light of renewed [ph] productivity, has gone to 33.4% as of this quarter. If you look at the business and IT operations business, we have been very focused on winning large outsourcing deals. You remember, business and IT operations give us about 62% to 63% of our revenue. For us to achieve industry-leading growth, there is absolutely no way we can do it without winning large outsourcing deals in business and IT operations. So by creating that offering, what we were trying to do was to increase our ability to compete in the market; create better solutions, which are more relevant to our clients; create multi-tower solutions, which will bring in much more value to our clients; and to be price-competitive in the market. If you look at our performance in that space, performance have improved continuously. This quarter, we have closed about $500 million of TCV in that space. Last 2 quarters, we have closed about $1.5 billion TCV in that space. Please remember, large outsourcing deals are multi-year deals. They take about 5 to 7 years to realize the revenue. First year, the revenue realization is usually about 8% of the total deal closure of the year, and next year onwards, about 20%. That is the pattern which we have seen. So as I said, we are very focused on winning large outsourcing deals in the business and IT operations space. Lastly, on the products and platform space, this is about creating intellectual property, and either providing it to the client as a cloud-based offering or on a license-based offering. This quarter, we have 14 new wins in the products and platform space; 8 for platforms and 6 for product licenses. And for example, this quarter, we launched TradeEdge, which I talked about. So we will continue to focus on all the 3 offerings. We are very, very clear that for us to create industry-leading growth, we have to win in all of them. One is about transformational capability and helping our clients grow and transform their business. The second one is about operational capability. It is about reducing total cost of ownership, making sure that we win large outsourcing deals and with the BITS [ph]. And the third one is about products and platform, which is all about intellectual property-based offering and which will convert our clients' fixed cost to variable cost.
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy
Well, I think, as Shibu said, there is nothing wrong with this strategy. Any company that aspires to be the industrial -- as I say, industry's leading player has to have all the 3 components. But somehow, we didn't do a good job in enhancing the contribution from large BITS, as we call, projects. And that said, we have Mr. Prasad, who will be leading SGS. So in short, that he adds considerable value to all our other segment heads. So the reality is that we must have much higher contribution from the strategic global sourcing initiative. And with Prasad taking that over and working with various segment heads, Sanjay, Mohit, Sandeep, Rajesh, Manish and Ravi and others, we believe that we will be in a position to focus much more on contributions from BITS, too.
Joseph D. Foresi - Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Research Division
So I guess my question is -- so by -- it sounds like you're getting back to the basics at Infosys, is that correct, and you're maintaining -- you're still maintaining the 3.0 strategy?
U. B. Pravin Rao
Yes, I think so. The entire Indian software industry was founded on the principle of the global delivery model. And global delivery model was founded on the principle of globalization, which is all about sourcing capital from where it is cheapest, sourcing talent where it is best available, producing where it is most cost-effective, and selling where the markets are, without being constrained by national boundaries. And that's what globalization is about, that's what global delivery model is about, and that's how you make this a better world. And therefore, yes, I really do. I think getting back to basics is extremely important, without losing focus on modern trends, without focus -- without losing focus on modern -- on new opportunities. So that's what the company is doing, that's one of the reasons why...
Joseph D. Foresi - Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Research Division
The last question -- just a last question from me, though, is sticking with that train of thought, so I guess the basics brings back into question the amount of commoditization that's taking place, because the whole idea behind Infosys 3.0 is to get away from the commoditized business. By getting back to basics, don't you run the risk of running into more and more commoditization? Or how do you mitigate that factor when you return to the basics?
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy
Well, I think that's a good question. While -- I mean, when Shibu was speaking, he spoke about our forays into transformational projects, which contributed somewhere around 33.2% or so. PPS, Products, Platforms and Solutions, is still in its infancy. Along with Finacle, it adds approximately about 6%. Therefore, the reality is that about 70% of our revenue has to come from large business IT services kind of projects. Now here, you are right, the reality is that the success in this is conditioned by the adage, the market determines the price, the company determines the cost. So therefore, we have started several initiatives on improving the profitability effectiveness of this company. They are all -- they're still work in progress. And as we move forward, as we see completion of some of these and as we see visible impact from some of these, I am sure you will realize that some of these initiatives are indeed in play. At this point in time, we cannot comment on some of those because they are still work in progress.
Our next question is from Rahul Bhangare of William Blair.
Rahul S. Bhangare - William Blair & Company L.L.C., Research Division
I was wondering if you could just discuss a bit about what drove some of the sequential weakness in North America? Was it just seasonal or something else that you can point to? And then conversely, what's driving some of the strength in Europe?
B. G. Srinivas
No, there is nothing secular about it. This is just a quarter-to-quarter variation. This quarter, Europe grew much faster than U.S., but I don't see anything secular.
Rahul S. Bhangare - William Blair & Company L.L.C., Research Division
Okay. And then you've mentioned in the past that the large deals you've been signing have been price-sensitive. Can you give us a better sense for the margin profile of these engagements you've won over the last 12 months or so, maybe relative to corporate margins?
Rajiv Bansal
So I think, first and foremost, I should tell you that pricing is stable for us at this point in time, and so as the pricing went up by around 0.2% [ph] [indiscernible] went up by 0.7% this quarter. The large outsourcing deals are price-sensitive. And as Mr. Murthy said, though these are deals where market determines the price and we need to determine the cost, we are actively looking at various incentives, which will make sure that our cost is managed on these large outsourcing deals. At the same time, I also believe that it is about solutions, that we actually create a solution which is absolutely relevant to the client, which is the best in the industry, the client gets that most level of confidence and put a team in place, a team in front of them, which they will believe will deliver that solution in the most effective manner. I still believe that there is pricing power even on these deals. Then the other piece is, we also have to look at the lifetime profitability of the deals. These are deals that -- these are the large outsourcing deals are the ones where we will have to invest in the beginning on transition and maybe some other investments. But we also need to look at the profitability from the life of the deal. So when you look at these deals, when we look at these deals, the first and foremost thing for us to do is to create the best solution so that we can demand a premium. Second is to take a look at the lifetime profitability of the deal and see how, at the different stages of the deal, once the deal becomes stable, how can we drive efficiency and productivity through which we can achieve our margin.
Our next question is from Keith Bachman of Bank of Montréal.
Keith F. Bachman - BMO Capital Markets U.S.
I'd like to revisit a subject that's been asked earlier, but ask it in a different way, and that is, how would you respond to the comment that you're sacrificing growth, both near term and longer term, for profits? If I think about your sequential improvement in operating profit, it's fairly impressive, yet your growth in the quarter, I think, is going to be below other leaders such as TCS and Cognizant. And even if I assume that your growth implied for the next quarter, it seems like fairly weak growth. In addition, as mentioned previously, you're moving some of your labor from onsite to offshore, and yet as we reflect on what the opportunities are for the next wave of opportunities, Cognizant calls them the SMAC stack, that would seem to go contrary to that trend, because it would seem that winning those deals would require more onsite capabilities and expertise in the higher-end consulting areas. So the bottom line on the question is, when would you expect to emulate other industry-leading growth companies? Or would you expect to be below the growth levels of these other companies, as you call it, going back to basics, which seems to be more commodity type of work?
S. D. Shibulal
Well, I think we want to be very clear, first and foremost, our aspiration is to have industry-leading growth and industry-leading profitability. We have done it many times in the past. That's very important. We have done it many times in the past. And we'll still get the premium over many of our peers when we go in front of the client. That is one part of the answer. The second piece is, even last quarter, when I talked about Q3 and Q4, I had said that usually, Q3 and Q4 are soft quarters for us, especially Q3, because of the holidays and furloughs. And if you look at our guidance, because we had said it is a soft quarter, I believe that we have seen decent performance in Q3. Going forward, our objective will be to make sure that we achieve growth, industry-leading growth. At the same time, through the initiatives that we are doing internally, so the initiatives that we are doing internally, will drive operational efficiency, will drive cost optimization, will drive more offshore and achieve our margins. We have done this in the past. We clearly believe that we can do it in the future, and that is where we are.
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy
Let's look at some data points here. Last year, we grew by 5.8%. This year, we have said that we expect to grow between 11.5% and 12%. That means we will be doubling the growth rate. That I think is pretty good. Though by absolute number, we are -- we'd certainly like it to be even higher. Second, as B.G. pointed out, there are areas where 100% of the effort is delivered onsite. For example, our consulting services, Lodestone, et cetera, 100% of the consulting service part is delivered onsite because we believe that is required. On the other hand, there are areas where we may need anywhere from 35% to 45% of effort being delivered onsite, that some of the IMS deals, et cetera, et cetera, that's where we are quite flexible. However, in areas like this, where an ideal ratio could be between 15 to 85 or 20 to 80, certainly, I think our aspiration is to move towards creating a very efficient global delivery model so that we have growth and we have margins.
B. G. Srinivas
One last comment on this. I just want to clarify, going back to basics would not mean that we'll drop the ball on consulting services nor PPS. All the 3 service lines will continue to be the focus area. We are making an increased effort to win large deals, drive automation, drive efficiencies, so that our ability to win large deals in the core business is enhanced. It does not mean that we will not focus our energies on consulting-led business and transformation business at all.
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy
But also, let's look at this, why don't you people look at the data on the contribution of the so-called consulting-led businesses to Infosys, total revenue, and that of other players? And you will notice that there's a much higher percentage for Infosys than our competitors. So there is no truth in the assertion that we are moving away from those. So that's something I want you people to look at it.
Rajiv Bansal
Actually, to continue on what Mr. Murthy said, and give you the numbers, I believe the industry average for consulting and system integration is approximately around 20%, and we are at 33.4%.
Keith F. Bachman - BMO Capital Markets U.S.
Okay. If I could just ask a follow-up, then. A, how would you think about your growth relative to the industry for calendar year '14? And B, implicit with what you're demonstrating in terms of moving work from onsite to offshore, how are you thinking about the U.S. immigration issues? It would seem almost implicitly, that you're less concerned about that, but I just want to hear on those 2? A, how are you thinking about your growth relative to the industry in calendar year '14? What are your targets, what are your objectives, relative to the industry, if you don't want to give specifics? Then b, how are you thinking about the immigration bills versus your move to transition more work offshore versus onsite?
S. D. Shibulal
So as I said, our aspiration will be to have industry-leading growth and -- but I just want to go back to what Mr. Murthy said. Last year, we grew by 5.8%, and this year, our guidance right now is 12 point -- sorry, in constant currency terms, actually, it is 12.4% to 12.9%, which is more than double last year's growth rate. And again, as Mr. Murthy said, we still aspire for more. I think we would still aspire for more. Next year, I talked about the aspiration, but at the same time, it will be too early for us to discuss any specific numbers. In the end...
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy
I think we will let you know on April 10.
S. D. Shibulal
On April 10, we will have the numbers.
Keith F. Bachman - BMO Capital Markets U.S.
Yes. I wasn't looking for specifics, just relative to the industry, particularly against Cognizant and TCS, if you would aspire to be at relatively consistent growth rates to whatever those companies demonstrate for calendar year '14, or is that too high of a target?
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy
Yes. At this stage, we cannot comment. We will certainly talk about it on April 10.
Keith F. Bachman - BMO Capital Markets U.S.
Okay. And then perhaps just finishing off on the immigration bill, then I'll cede the floor.
S. D. Shibulal
On the immigration bill, we have not seen any change in status from the beginning of the quarter to current -- as of today. We watch it very closely. There are clauses in the immigration bill which could impact our business, which we have acknowledged in the past. But as you know, immigration bill is a very complex process. You have to have 2 bills passed, 1 in Senate, 1 in the House, and then it has to go through the conference committee. So we don't know when and what stage it will get signed. We watch it closely, and we will -- as of when we need to react, we will come up with plans to react to it.
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy
Well, I personally believe that no company should stake its future on the immigration bill of any country. Therefore, there are several initiatives, which are still work in progress, therefore, we are not in a position to comment on it. That will ensure that this company will continue to be an important player in the global IT services market, no matter what happens to the immigration bill. That's our aspiration and that's what we will certainly do.
Our next question is from Trip Chowdhry of Global Equities Research.
Trip Chowdhry - Global Equities Research, LLC
A couple of questions. There's a lot of emphasis on cloud and Big Data, software-as-a-service, and definitely, that comes at the cost of traditional players. And when I look at your spreadsheet you sent out, we were under the impression like if the business is gravitating towards the newer ITs, the old IT business from SAP and Oracle should suffer, but we are not seeing any weakness in your package implementations. What is the reason for that?
S. D. Shibulal
So I want to just go back a few years and then try to give you an analogy. When you -- when we started on the journey of package implementation in 1999 and then expanded to consulting and system integration, over the years, one could tend to believe that it will lead into the BITS business. And actually, in fact, it's true. It did cannibalize part of the business because once customers start implementing new packages, SAP or Oracle, or any other package, they stop building those applications, right? But they still continue to build applications which are very, very unique to them. Now there is a third data model where actually clients can get software-as-a-service or a platform-as-a-service, so that they don't have to build or buy the package. But this will be a gradual shift. And as an organization, we have to be relevant to our clients. We want to be in the forefront of the revolution, which the clients are looking for. While on the one hand, over a period of time, it cannibalizes part of the work available, not our revenue, work available in other parts of the industry, it will create its own opportunity. So what we are trying to do is to make sure that we are working with our clients, we are leveraging the new opportunities which are coming along. At the same time, because of our capability and capacity available in other parts of the business, we continue to win very large opportunities in both, in business and IT operations and in business transformation work.
Trip Chowdhry - Global Equities Research, LLC
Now in mobile space, I think it's about 3 years, 4 years back, you had a very interesting initiative, I think it was called Flypp, F-L-Y-P, and I think it was an app store that companies like Dell and other guys who are in telco space, white-boxing it. What is the status of that? And do you think that's a sustainable strategy moving forward?
S. D. Shibulal
So those kinds of initiatives eventually merged into PPS. And today, PPS has 7 platforms and 7 products in the market. One of them, the Flypp intellectual property, was merged into -- so for example, if you look at the Airtel Money, that's a slight variation of the Flypp intellectual property. So finally, that property ended up in products and platform. Today, they have consolidated that into 7 products and 7 platforms.
We'll take our next question from Ravi Menon of Centrum Broking.
Ravi Menon - Centrum Broking Private Limited, Research Division
Shibu, as you are changing your strategies, focusing on the basics and winning large deals, how do you think you need to change your employee profile? I mean, what sort of talent are you lacking right now? Or what sort of reorg -- or rather, I'd say, how would you need to restructure your workforce?
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy
Well, this is the first Indian company that realized the importance of education and research in creating a robust future for the company. And therefore, I think we believe that recruiting smart people, providing them good training, both in terms of classroom training and in terms of on-the-job training, and then giving them an opportunity to grow in the job and creating a very robust pyramid is the way to go. And that's exactly what we will do.
Ravi Menon - Centrum Broking Private Limited, Research Division
But so do you think that your existing employee profile is sufficient to cater to your large deals? Or is there any specific skill set or skill sets that you think you need to completely get through lateral recruitment or through internal new training program?
Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy
Well, I think -- I mean, we believe that we have a cadre of well-trained professionals that can fully discharge our obligations to our customers as we seek higher and higher growth rates. I don't think that it will be an issue as far as this company is concerned.
Ladies and gentlemen, that was our last question. I now hand the floor back to Mr. Sandeep Mahindroo for closing comments.
Sandeep Mahindroo
Thanks, everyone, for joining us on this call. We look forward to talking to you again. Thank you, and have a good day.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Infosys, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.
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