text:
December 2007
This guide was developed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement. Sharon Horn was project director.
An external advisory group provided feedback to refine the scope of the study underlying this guide, define the selection criteria for case study sites, and clarify the text. Members (and their affiliations at the time of the advisory meeting) included Cathy Cheely, e-learning coordinator, Virginia Virtual Advanced Placement School; John Flores, chief executive officer, United States Distance Learning Association; Patrick Gould, associate researcher, Center on Education and Work, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Don Lake, director, Center for Distance and Online Learning, Los Angeles County Office of Education; Linda Morrell, director of instructional technology, Cobb County (Georgia) School District; Joyce Pittman, associate professor, instructional technology, University of Cincinnati Teachers College; and Kurt Steinhaus, board president of the International Society for Technology in Education and deputy secretary of education, new Mexico Public Education Department.
Staff in the Department of Education who provided input and reviewed drafts included Carol Cichowski, Tom Corwin, Kate Devine, Cynthia Dorfman, Ayesha Edwards, Steve Freid, Braden Goetz, Cathy Grimes-Miller, Laura Johns, Brian Lekander, Tim Magner, Meredith Miller, Iris Oliver, Wendy Tada, and Linda Wilson.
The six online course providers and their partnering districts and schools that participated in the development of this guide and the case studies on which it is based were generous with both their time and attention. We would like to thank those who were instrumental in coordinating and participating in the site visits that informed this work, including district and school staff, parents, and students who agreed to be interviewed for this project.
Colorado Online Learning
13300 West 2nd Place
Lakewood, Colo. 80228
Chris A. Rapp, Executive Director
Tim Synder, Executive Director Emeritus
Florida Virtual School
445 West Amelia Street, Suite 301
Orlando, Fla. 32801
Julie Young, President and CEO
Lori Gully, Director of Florida Services
Iowa Online Advanced Placement Academy
210 Lindquist Ctr.
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa 52242
Clar Baldus, Project Administrator
Johns Hopkins University—
Center for Talented Youth
5801 Smith Ave., Suite 400
McAuley Hall
Baltimore, Md. 21209
Patricia Wallace, Senior Director
Michigan Virtual High School
3101 technology Blvd., Suite G
Lansing, Mich. 48910
Robert Currie, Executive Director
Virtual High School
3 Clock tower Place, Suite 200
Maynard, Mass. 01754
Liz Pape, Chief Executive Officer


text:
an word with adjective, verb, and noun forms used to describe any activity in which an undersexed overhorny person (usually pubescent and male) lies, stoops, oggles, or performs any other number of usually shameful and tacky acts shamelessly on the premise that it's okay if it leads to sex.
(adj.) when he pretended his mom died of cancer so she'd sleep over, that was pretty macchi. (verb) please don't let me drink tonight guys, i'm afraid if i get drunk i'm going to macchi the first fat chick i see. (noun) it was a total macchi when you shouted out the wrong girl's name in bed and then kept shouting out wrong names so she'd think you were joking.
by king kong NINJA April 19, 2004

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Inovonics Announces Collabs With Milestone, Mercury Security
Inovonics has integrated its enterprise mobile duress products with Milestone Systems' XProtect and Mercury Security's access control platform.
By Rodney Bosch · April 11, 2014
Inovonics promoted a pair of new integrations to its enterprise life safety and specialized commercial wireless systems at ISC West 2014.
The integration of Inovonics' enterprise mobile duress (EMD) pendants with Milestone XProtect VMS connects duress events with video confirmation for greater insights into security and life-safety threats, Don Commare, vice president of marketing, explained to me.
The company also claims the solution increases efficiencies by reducing response times to help strengthen an organization's commitment to reducing workplace violence.
A collaboration with Mercury Security allows OEM partners to incorporate Inovonics' mobile duress wireless network within Mercury's access control platform. In compliance with the Area Control open specification from the Physical Security Interoperability Alliance (PSIA), Mercury will integrate Inovonics' EN6080 Area Control Gateway (ACG) to offer the industry's first integrated access control platform with EMD capabilities, Commare said.


text: Posted December 1, 2012 Crennel and Pioli could take a leave of absence. Other coaches and personnel can jump in and take over for a week or two. Troops die in combat and commit suicide often, troops move on, war continues and the world keeps spinning. The NFL will do the same. Seriously.. how many NFL games have been postponed to mourn the troops who are protecting our very freedom to be able to play NFL games? 3 people like this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


text:
I am a first-time beekeeper. I installed bees on the 8th.
I thought the combs looked beautiful during my first inspection on the 20th. During my inspection today I pulled out what looks like a lot of drone comb.
On the whitest comb, I think I can see curled larva around the capped stuff (not sure what it is). It looks like a good pattern, but the other combs have more of a scattered pattern. I have not located the queen yet.
Does this sound/look like a laying worker?
Should I put an order in for a queen asap?
Or is everything dandy?
Any help deciphering my comb would be appreciated!


text:
- All
- Angels and Demons
- Atonement
- Basic Reformed Theology
- Irresistible Grace
- Limited Atonement
- Perseverance of the Saints
- Total Depravity
- Unconditional Election
- The Church
- Church Discipline
- Church Leadership
- Creeds and Confessions
- God
- Holiness
- Sovereignty
- Heaven and Hell
- Heresies
- The Holy Spirit
- Jesus Christ
- Cross
- Incarnation
- Resurrection
- Justification
- Last Things
- Man and Sin
- Reference
- Sacraments
- Salvation
- Faith
- Regeneration
- Scripture
- Systematic Theology
- Theological Views
- Roman Catholicism
- Music
- Apologetics
- False Teaching
- Atheism
- Book Reviews
- Children's Books
- Christian Classics
- Christianity and Culture
- Creation
- Ethics
- Fiction and Literature
- Philosophy
- Science
- Bible Figures
- Bible Interpretation
- Bibles
- Books of the Bible
- Gospels
- Covenants
- General Reference Works
- Introduction to the Bible
- Jesus' Ministry
- Life of Jesus
- New Testament
- Old Testament
- Parables
- Prophecy
- Sermon on the Mount
- Ten Commandments
- The Lord's Prayer
- Controversies in the Church
- Alcohol
- Arts
- Bible Translation
- Covenant Theology
- Creationism
- Education
- Gender-Neutral Language
- Law and Gospel
- Lordship Salvation
- New Perspective on Paul
- Politics
- Race
- Sabbath
- Spiritual Gifts
- Women in Ministry
- Marriage and Family
- Divorce
- Parenting
- Practical Theology
- Discipleship
- Evangelism and Missions
- Grief and Death
- Pastoral Ministry
- Preaching
- Worship
- Spiritual Growth
- Anxiety and Worry
- Apostasy
- Assurance
- Conscience
- Depression
- Doubt
- Fellowship
- Godliness
- Guilt
- Humility
- Joy
- Knowing God's Will
- Legalism
- Love
- Money and Stewardship
- Oaths and Vows
- Prayer
- Pride
- Repentance and Forgiveness
- Sanctification and Growth
- Service
- Spiritual Fruit
- Suffering
- Thankfulness
- Vocation
- American Church History
- Ancient Church
- Biography
- The Byzantine East
- Eighteenth Century
- Enlightenment and Modernism
- Historical Theology
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Legalism vs. Gospel Religion
The word religion has fallen on hard times in recent years. Many have tried to pit religion against faith, saying that Christianity isn't a religion but a relationship. That sounds nice, but that isn't quite the case. Faith and religion …Read More
Oh How I Love Your Law!
At a PGA Tour tournament in October 2015, Ben Crane disqualified himself after completing his second round. He did so at considerable financial cost. No matter—Crane believed the personal cost of not doing it would be greater (encouraged by a …Read More
Our Attitude Toward the Pharisee
Steering a course between the Scylla (rocks) of antinomianism on the one hand and the Charybdis (hard place) of legalism on the other is an unceasing responsibility of the Christian life. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that most …Read More
Our Hope amid Suffering
I have buried too many children in my ministry. I have watched helpless parents weep in torment. I have seen hopelessness face-to-face. I have seen cancer leave its calling card on ravaged bodies. I have seen dementia claim the lives …Read More
Overcoming Legalism
Jimmy was raised in a legalistic church setting. He professed faith as a child and was taught the glorious truth of the gospel that Jesus Christ died for sinners. But after that initial profession of faith, his entire Christian experience …Read More
Principles and Situations
Every so often, I run across a news story that's emblematic of our times. Recently, I read of a case wherein a woman contracted with a man to be a surrogate mother. The man agreed to pay her to bear …Read More
The Roots of Legalism
One of Martin Luther's many contributions concerns the Latin word incurvitas. This sounds like something a dentist might say to you as he pokes and prods in the molars. But it's not. It means "turned inward." It means that we …Read More
What Judges Teaches the Church
And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. (Judg. 2:10)It seems incredible that it could happen. Only a generation after Joshua, Israel no …Read More
Christ's Call to Make Disciples
One of the most exciting times of my life was when I was converted to Christ. I was filled with a zeal for evangelism. However, much to my consternation, when I told my friends about my conversion to Christ, they …Read More
Cultivating Virtue in Pursuit of Knowledge
Scripture calls us to give our whole selves as living sacrifices to God (Rom. 12:1–2). Unfortunately, we are often tempted to go about that work such that our lives resemble groups of silos. We envision our lives divided neatly into …Read More


text:
Beauty And Beast Princess Belle Winter Cosplay Costume
$ 145.00
Costume Detail
Beauty And Beast Princess Belle Winter Cosplay Costume
Includes - Dress, Petticoat, Cloak
Please see individual tabs for information including:
-available sizes for this costume
-available custom options
-production time frame
-shipping options
Deadline Date
-Please include your deadline date (if available) with your order.
If you have a rush deadline, please contact us for confirmation before placing your order.
Contact us with any questions such as fitting, deadline date, finish photo request or any other inquires!
Send us a message here
This costume offers:
Custom Fitting - request for this costume in your measurements - Free
Closure Option - zipper by default; lace tie options available per request - Free
Corset Boning - build in boning for bodice - $15
Custom Fitting Measurements List -
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**Please include any additional measurements that are important to you and your prefer fitting as well.
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Average Production Time - 7 - 15 Days
Customize Order Production Time - 15-25 Days
**Rush order is free to request and base on schedule availability. Check with us if you have a rush deadline date.
Shipping Options Includes -
Standard Shipping - Free Worldwide
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Priority Express Shipping - $24.99
5 - 9 Days Transit Time
Courier Includes - DHL Express, UPS Express


text:
____________________________Edgy, Controversial, Dangerous...
====================Injecting common sense, one post at a time.
I would so take this over ANYTHING Hyundai has right now.
____________________________Edgy, Controversial, Dangerous...
Woo. A mediocre hatchback.
------------------------------------------------------------"It's called the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it" - George Carlin"When I give food to the poor, they call me a Saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist." - Helder CamaraCorey Booker & Alan Grayson ftw!
I'll admit that Kias have gotten better but they still have an obvious cheapness about them, especially when looking at the interiors.I don't like the Forte and I don't like this hatch version.
Not, bad, but I am seriously hoping for an Elantra hatchback. That should be a looker.
I would take it in black with the Koup's rims/tires; that would look goodSome decent competition for the Mazda3 ...
That center stack looks like a $50 Walmart boombox.
i like it, i'd entertain one if i were in the market for a hatchback. reminds me of my dad's 1979 rabbit.i don't think it has an inherent cheap quality---i use to think kia's were all cheap (even the new ones) until i test drove and bought my borrego. the materials are on par or better than competition in each vehicles' class. the forte has a cheaper interior, but it is also not a BMW or Maserati, nor is it trying to be
-----------------------------Formerly known as BluKompressorCurrent:2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport S 5A;2012 Jeep Wrangler Sport 2-dr, 6spd;2003 Dodge Neon SXT 1994 Ford F150 XLT 302 4x2
I like the design of that dash. It has big buttons and dials which I could use while driving. This is a nice step in a good direction for Kia.I just wish they had a shot of the cargo area...
____________________________Edgy, Controversial, Dangerous...
The exterior has it going on for sure, but that rental car interior not so much. What do you expect from this segment though. I am taking it that this not a top trim level. Look at the base interior on all in this segment before you call it cheap, because trust me they all look cheap in base level as they should.
.**************************************Go Placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. Be on good term with all persons.Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
It looks far better and sportier in person than pictures.I tested an SX model on Saturday. The six speed automatic and paddle shifters are nice and acceleration with the 2.4 was smooth. But the ride just sucked. I felt every little bump on the road, the interior, while roomy, had cheap materials that were on par with the 2011 Jetta. Personally I think the Mazda3 Sport is a much better buy. A GT model is about $1,300 more than the Forte SX and so worth it.
________2011 VW Golf - 25,000 km
I have mixed feelings. I think the Forte sedan and coupe have a little more "pizazz" to them than this hatch.
******************Awarded Best Troll Statement for 2011
Reminds me of a Vibe.
GM to the end.


text:
Winter in Montréal is no time to hide indoors – it's time to get out there and take advantage of all sorts of seasonal fun! There is no need to drive out of town to enjoy a wide array of favourite winter sports and pastimes. Once the snow flies, Montréal offers outdoor activities for all right here, in the heart of the city.
Guided Tours and Equipment Rental
Discover the city in all its wintry splendour with an expertly-guided tour complete with equipment and clothing rental to keep you warm and dry. Ideal for those looking to try something new, Fitz and Folwell offer a guided half-day experience that includes various winter activities such as snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, ice skating and tubing.
Écorécréo showcases the snowy wonders of Parc Jean Drapeau with guided snowshoe and dog sled tours in addition to offering gear rental (skates, sleds, skis, snowshoes).
Our annual snow carnival, the Fête des Neiges is ideal for families and those who love to make the most of winter! Tube sliding, ice skating, snow games, outdoor entertainment are just some of the spectacularly fun activities to enjoy during the city's biggest winter outdoor festival.
Every year, the 11-day festival, MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE festival is a key annual event that showcases light and conviviality as well as gastronomic and cultural excellence. To wrap it all up, the Montréal All-Nighter is a hoot for night owls: museums, event halls, theatres, restaurants and bars across the island stay open 'til the wee hours of the morning in a city-wide indoor and outdoor party!
Thousands of festival-goers take part in Igloofest, where everyone keeps warm by dancing (outdoors!) to the beats of the best electronic music. With tuque on head and mittens on hands, the heat doesn't stop at this hibernal celebration!
Layer up and enjoy!


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I recently mounted a display case in my bedroom for some of my diecasts- most of which are 1/18. Along with them in this pic are 2 1/10 RC cars and 3 1/43 VWs. Figured you guys might want to take a look. I may decide to mount a few more in various locations throughout my house.
From top left to right:
1/10 Tamiya VW Beetle RC, 1/43 1949 VW Beetle, 1/43 VW Beetle w/trailer, 1/43 VW Bully Samba w/trailer, 1/10 Associated Nitro Dual Sport SCCA Mustang Trans Am body in pseudo Home Improvement Saleen Mustang livery
EMI McLaren F1 GTR longtail, McLaren F1 roadcar, Ferrari F2002(Schumi), BMW.WilliamsF1 FW22(Montoya)
1959 Ferrari Testarossa, Ferrari F50, McLaren F1 LM, McLaren-Mercedes MP4/13(Coulthard)
Jaguar XJ220, Nissan Fairlady Z, 1999 Reynard Honda Champ Car(Montoya), 1998 Lola Ford Cosworth Champ Car(Andretti)
1952 VW Beetle convertible, 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder
1952 VW Beetle, VW Hebmüller, 1967 VW Beetle, McLaren F1 roadcar
display is an IKEA Besta with a few extra 'Inreda' shelves installed.


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"WINNIPEG — Manitoba Hydro Place has been named the best tall building in the Americas for 2009 by the prestigious Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
It is now in the running with buildings in Beijing, London and Doha for the rights to be called 2009's best tall building in the world at an event in Chicago in October.
The just completed 22-storey 64,103-square-metre head office for Manitoba Hydro was designed by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects with the Winnipeg firm Smith Carter Architects and Engineers Incorporated.
The award committee called the sustainable energy efficient design "an unparalleled approach to traditional sustainable design."
Tom Gouldsborough, Manitoba Hydro's project manager for the building, said, "We are very excited about this. We knew we were on to something for a while now."
He said all the technology that is used is "off the shelf" but the design integration is what makes the building special.
All elements of Manitoba Hydro Place are integrated to achieve an unprecedented 60 per cent energy savings over a typical large office tower.
The design uses a "living building" concept that interprets and reacts to its physical environment rather than the traditional method of achieving energy savings by isolation from the elements through highly insulated and sealed construction.
Manitoba Hydro Place uses geothermal energy storage which produces all the energy required to cool the building and 60 per cent of the energy needed to heat it.
Because of its positioning and other design features it also makes great use of passive solar energy.
Gouldsborough said the success of the building will encourage more clients to deploy similar techniques."To view the article and accompanying photo, please visit:http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/New-hydro-building-competing-for-award-50486917.html


text:
Everyone's doing wrap-ups and I have a few minutes before the last couple of sessions, so here goes (totally unstructured):
- Things seemed to run phenomenally smoothly, compared to some of my memories. Good job, INFORMS staff!
- The BBQ was pretty passable. Definitely among the better receptions in recent history. (I know, BBQ is a matter of taste and regional bias so at least some folks will disagree vehemently. De gustibus non disputandum est.)
- It's still not all that easy being green. But Tuesday afternoon, Bjarni Kristjannson tweeted an announcement of a prototype mobile conference app. It's kind of buggy and still has a ways to go before I would give up my printed bulletin (even as heavy as it is), but it's a compelling proof of concept.
- Big conferences have advantages and disadvantages. Lots of interesting talks and activities at a large meeting, but people are scattered all across the area.
- Surely we can do a better job of de-conflicting the schedule. We're OR professionals, after all.
- I spend too much time in the exhibit hall and not enough time at sessions. Or maybe not. I got to talk to lots of interesting folks at the COIN-OR booth. Hopefully, they will find our tools useful (and report back to us).
Safe travels home, y'all.


text:
I must have missed it somewhere... What was the price on these? Also is another run planned?
I must have missed it somewhere... What was the price on these? Also is another run planned?
The cost is $60 + shipping. I don't plan on doing another run of these for a while.
I would be interested in a set if you have any left.
Here's the list of the final people on the list that I have PMed. I will give every one a chance to get back to me by this coming weekend. If I don't hear back, I will offer the remaining boards up.
catbread - PMed 3 times, no response
HiredHand - PMed 3 times, no response
JodoKast89 -Confirmed
Major - Confirmed
NoGoodToM3D3ad - In the works
Peregrinus - Confirmed
redkraytdragon - No response
sleepalot - Paid and shipped
If you see your name on the list and are not interested, please PM me and let me know.
Interested in a board with ESB sequencing. Could you let me know should a spot open up.
PP Sent. Can't wait!
I have one left that doesn't look like it's getting claimed. PM me if interested. $60 + shipping.
pm sent! :-)
Disregard, I found one: http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f20/m...hlight=display
Last edited by Tfett40; May 1, 2015 at 7:54 PM.
Interested in a ESB version if you make some again!


text:
Minors allow you to pair a second area of discipline with your major, giving you the freedom to customize your education. Earning a minor can also give you an edge in the job market.
The Department of Political Science offers the political science minor and the interdepartmental minor in European studies, giving you two great choices that can help you reach your educational and career goals.
Copyright © 2017 Ball State University 2000 W. University Ave. Muncie, IN 47306
800-382-8540 and 765-289-1241


text:
the action of uncontrollably continuing to express large amounts of emotion by use of mouth; talking nonstop; no breathing involved.
1. Brittany is a talkative person due to a malfuction in her brain.
2. If anyone has an idea of how to transform Brittany into a less talkative person, please contact her immediately.
2. If anyone has an idea of how to transform Brittany into a less talkative person, please contact her immediately.
by Britt P June 25, 2005
Cleveland Steamer Plush
The vengeful act of crapping on a lover's chest while they sleep.Buy the plush
Getting high and/or stoned.
"I was gettin' TALKATIVE with my parents the other day!"
by Mitch Sanders June 26, 2006
Cleveland Steamer Plush
The vengeful act of crapping on a lover's chest while they sleep.Buy the plush
Talkative is an adjective used to describe people who talk too much. It's usually used as a negative term, and I can see why. Talkative people are the WORST. I got roped into a conversation once about ropes with my chatty (another word for talkative) friend, and it was horrible. I mean, I know he's enthusiastic about it all, since he's an expert in knots, but seriously, could he not shut up? I mean, he was talking so fast, it was like his jaw muscles were motorboat engines. I wasn't even sure if he could breathe any more! Anyway, he was talking about some stupid tactic, when I'm approached by a creepy lady. She's like "Hey, my name is Jessie, the hotdog vendor, but you can call me the HOT dog vendor." I was cringing. Was this creepy lady flirting with me? She leaned in for a kiss, but I ran away from her. She was following me, saying, "Maybe you can put some wiener in my buns, if you know what I'm saying!" This lady was horrifying! She followed me through the hallway. By now I was running for my life. She caught up to me and knocked me down on the ground. She stared into my eyes with a devilish grin. I could see all her inner evil and darkness. I was hoping this wouldn't turn into some creepy fanfiction. She stared deeper into my soul. Then, she wasn't a person anymore. She was a demon hotdog. Everything flashed through my eyes. But then, the demon hotdog started making a choking noise, and collapsed. It was my friend, who strangled the hotdog to death with one of his knots.
by ThatPyro July 22, 2015


text:
Sand Castles
Written by RallJaisk Friday, 16 December 2011 19:21
In South Africa, designers are using surprising materials to house locals
Every year, Cape Town's Design Indaba conference draws together high-profile architects from around the world to muse about the power of contemporary design. In 2007, Indaba's organizers decided to use that concentrated creative energy to address a problem in their own backyard: the thousands of impoverished people living in makeshift shacks in South Africa's townships. Looking to create low-cost houses that could serve as models for the future, they launched the 10x10 Housing Project, which paired 10 leading international architects with 10 local architects, and tasked each team with developing an appealing house that could be built for about $7,000.
Luyanda Mpahlwa, a partner in the firm MMA, and his team decided to build theirs with an unlikely but abundant source: sand. "African industry usually uses bricks and mortar, or clay brick, or concrete block, which is more expensive," says Mpahlwa. "As architects and professionals, we should be leading the search for different ways of building. Not everyone can afford the normally available material."
It was a wise design decision. Not only is MMA's house the sole design to be realized so far, but sponsors have funded the construction of 10 individual units for 10 families, rather than the originally planned single residence. The project also won the inaugural Curry Stone Design Prize, an annual $100,000 award for humanitarian design, in September. The houses are now nearly complete in Freedom Park, a community on the outskirts of Cape Town that was previously a warren of shacks.
Starting from a shell of EcoBeam timber framing, which uses a minimal amount of wood strengthened with zigzagging steel bars, the houses use row upon row of stuffed nylon sandbags to give the structure heft and permanence. Using sandbags for walls has a number of advantages. It's a readily available material, and it has good thermal qualities, which protects from the heat. Sand is also very sturdy when packed, and is good at dampening sound-an important consideration for communities where houses are clustered tightly together. But perhaps most importantly, MMA has designed a house that "can be built by hand by anybody," says Mpahlwa. The houses in Freedom Park are constructed with volunteer help from local women.
After all the bags are stacked, most of the exterior walls are wrapped with a wire mesh that gets coated with a thin layer of plaster, while a few sections are covered with wood or metal to achieve a desired look. The modern design of the 580-square-foot house offers something distinctly different for the area, with two floors of living space and a balcony that provides the basis for future expansion. "It's not high-science in terms of design," says Mpahlwa. "But for the area, it's very different, and for a family that has never had a house, it is spectacular."
The 10 houses are being given away for free to families who were selected via lottery, and MMA has ambitions to expand the project beyond Freedom Park. "This is a pilot project," that could be a model for other areas, says Mpahlwa. "We wanted to find something that could be a low-cost housing solution for the future."
Move Over, Dubai
Written by RallJaisk Friday, 16 December 2011 19:21
Abu Dhabi is bridging the gap to the west with by bringing art (and biopsies, and Econ 101 classes) to its own shores.
1. The Louvre
It's still unclear where the Mona Lisa's going to live, but one thing is certain: By 2012, Abu Dhabi will have its very own Louvre, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel. The Emirate forked over $520 million just for the name, and is paying France another $700 million-plus in consulting and execution.
2. New York University
In the fall of 2010, NYUAD will join La Sorbonne as prestigious universities creating eastern facsimiles of themselves. Touted as the first liberal arts and science college of its caliber in the east, NUYAD It will open on Saadiyat Island with 2,000 students in fall 2010, with unrestricted curricula.
3. The Cleveland Clinic
The world-class cancer hospital brings its expertise to a space-age-looking outpost in Abu Dhabi, slated to open in 2011. It will start with 360 beds, scalable to 490, and all doctors will be western-trained. Now, the superrich have another reason to head for AD and never leave.
4. The Guggenheim
Aiming to be the first ever museum of global contemporary art, this $780 million behemoth will be the Guggenheim's sixth. Its director-poached from the New York homebase-calls the thing "pharonic," promising art space as well as hotels, golf courses and residential units. And it wouldn't befit the locale if it wasn't the largest Guggenheim on earth: 452,000 square feet designed by- who else?-Frank Gehry.
5. Sotheby's and Christie's Auction Houses
Following a growing demand from Middle East collectors and continuing the trend of arthouses in the Emirates, big-money auction houses Sotheby's and Christie's have already started exhibitions and sales in Abu Dhabi, as well as its trailblazing cousin Dubai.
The Anti-Consumers
Written by RallJaisk Friday, 16 December 2011 19:21
Five Groups That Aren't Buying It
The Amish
Estimated Membership: 232,000
Homeland: U.S. & Canada
The Amish have been partying the same way since 1693, and though less-strict communities allow for some use of technology (solar energy, hydropower) their commitment to simplicity is impressive: most travel by horse-drawn buggy, sew their own clothes on foot-powered machines, and cook on wood-fired stoves. This level of immaterialism is not for the hasty. As one Amish farmer told the Institute for Environmental Studies: "We often joke that where tractors can plough a six-acre field in two hours, I figure two days-but my time includes listening to vesper sparrows and meadowlarks and watching clouds scud across the sky."
No Impact Man
Estimated Membership: 3 known, countless inspired
Homeland: New York City
Of the multitude of bloggers bent on sitting at a computer to champion their sustainable lifestyle, No Impact Man (44-year-old writer Colin Beavan) is arguably the most serious: he has given up producing any sort of trash, using carbon-fueled methods of transport, shopping for anything but food grown within a 250-mile radius of his apartment, and-here's the best part-toilet paper. His wife and daughter are along for the ride, which is documented on his blog and a forthcoming book and documentary, due out year.
The Church of Stop Shopping
Estimated Membership: 20,000
Homeland: Worldwide
When performance artist Bill Talen (aka "Reverend Billy") started preaching to the bag-laden shoppers in New York City's Union Square in the late 1990s, little did he know he'd launch a new religion. There are now members of the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir in every continent but Antarctica. Their credo: The Shopocalypse is nigh, and they'll do anything to stop it, from marching (and singing anti-corporate songs) down Disneyland's Main Street to releasing a Morgan Spurlock-produced documentary-What Would Jesus Buy?-just in time for the holidays last year.
More on The Church of Stop Shopping from GOOD: "Shop Till You Drop?"
The Compact
Estimated Membership: 9,802
Homeland: Worldwide
Here's the challenge: buy nothing new for one year-no clothes, no toys for your kids, no half-off DVDs. You can buy food, health and safety items, and underwear (shopping for worn panties would just be gross), but that's it. In an effort to curb consumption, 10 San Franciscan friends did just that, and inspired people all over the globe to do the same. It's not easy, but the community they've forged online and at monthly meetings helps them get what they need. As Compacter John Perry told the SF Chronicle, "We had a little crisis when Matt and Sarah had to replace their shower curtain liner and we said no, but we put the word out and someone found one for them."
More on The Compact from GOOD: "The Compact"
Estimated Membership: Countless
Homeland: Worldwide
A burgeoning group of educated, often middle-class people who root through trash to cull usable waste. Obviously, not everyone who dumpster dives is a Freegan-most just do it to survive-but Freegans will tell you that their process is less about acquiring things than it is a total boycott of an economic system that's put profit above everything and everyone else. See Freegan.info for foraging tips and a city-by-city dumpster directory.
The Planet Is Burning!
Written by RallJaisk Friday, 16 December 2011 19:21
And changing your lightbulb isn't going to fix it. See what other countries are doing to curb their impact.
China, the world's biggest consumer of plastic bags, has banned them nationwide. Rwanda has a similar ban.
German manufacturers are required by law to foot the bill for mandatory recycling of their products and packaging.
Sweden pledges to kick the oil habit completely by 2020.
The island of Sumatra has pledged to halt the logging of their forests, preventing billions of tons of carbon from entering atmosphere.
U.S. venture capital film Kleiner Perkins has invested $1 billion to find and fund the "Google" of clean green energy.
Denmark generates 20 percent of its electricity from wind power, making it the world leader.
A third of all of New Zealand's land has reserve or national-park status, protecting it from loggers.
In what is possibly the largest environmental lawsuit ever, 30,000 Ecuadorians are suing Chevron for massive pollution.
After bumping up coastal no-fishing zones from 4.5 percent to 33 percent Australia sees fish populations like trout rebound by 60 percent.
Rise of the Global Middle Class
Written by RallJaisk Friday, 16 December 2011 19:21
America has had the biggest demand in the global economy for so long that we can't remember what it was like when that wasn't the case. But that's all about to change.
I'll let you in on a little secret about globalization: It is demand that determines power, not supply. Consumption is king; everybody else serves at will. So it ain't about who's got the biggest military complex but who's got the biggest middle class. Everybody's got the dream. What matters is who can pay for it.
For as long as we can remember, that's been America-the consumer around which the entire global economy revolved. What's it like to be the global demand center? The world revolves around your needs, your desires, and your ambitions. Your favorite stories become the world's most popular entertainment. Your fears become the dominant political issues. You are the E. F. Hutton of consumption: When you talk, everybody listens. That was the role the Boomers played for decades in America and-by extension-around the world through their unprecedented purchasing power. But that dominance is nearing an end.
In coming decades, it won't belong to Americans, but to Asians. So say hello to your new master, corporate America: Mr. and Mrs. M. C. Chindia.
The rise of the Asian middle class, a binary system centered in China and India, alters the very gravity of the global economy. The vast sucking sound you hear is not American jobs going overseas, but damn near every natural resource being drawn into Asia's yawning maw. Achieving middle-class status means shifting from needs to wants, so Asia's rise means that Asia's wants will determine our planet's future-perhaps its very survival. And as any environmentalist with a calculator knows, it isn't possible for China and India to replicate the West's consumption model, so however this plays out, the world must learn to live with their translation of the American dream.
As for the new middle class's relative size, think bread truck, not breadbasket: Over the next couple of decades, the percent of the world's population that can be considered middle class, judging by purchasing power, will almost double, from just over a quarter of the population to more like half. The bulk of this increase will occur in China and India, where the percentage shifts will be similar. So if we round off China and India today as having 2.5 billion people, then their middle class will jump in numerical size from being roughly equivalent to the population of North America or the European Union to being their combined total.
The vast sucking sound you hear is not American jobs going overseas, but damn near every natural resource being drawn into Asia's yawning maw.
No, it won't be your father's middle class-not at first. Much of that Asian wave now crests at a household income level that most Americans would associate with the working poor, but it will grow into solid middle-class status over the coming years through urbanization and job migration from manufacturing to services. And for global companies that thrive on selling to the middle class, this is already where all the sales growth is occurring, and it's only going to get bigger. As far as global business is concerned, there is no sweeter spot than an emerging demand center, because we're talking about an entire generation in need of branding-more than 500 million teenagers looking to forge consumer identities.
There are also essentially two unknowable wild cards associated with the rise of China's and India's middle classes: First, how can they achieve an acceptable standard of living without replicating the West's resource-wasteful version? And second, what would happen if that middle-class lifestyle was suddenly threatened or even reversed? The planet must have an answer to the first question, even as it hopes to avoid ever addressing the second. Here's where those two fears may converge: As their income rises, their diets change. Not just taking in more food, but far more resource-intensive food, like dairy and meat. Right now, China imports vast amounts of food and India is just barely self-sufficient in the all-important grains category. Both are likely to suffer losses in agricultural production in coming years and decades, thanks to global warming, just as internal demand balloons with that middle class. Meanwhile, roughly one-third of world's advanced-lifestyle afflictions-like diabetes or cancer-will be found in China and India by 2030. Toss in the fact that much of the population lives along the low-lying coasts, and our notional middle-class couple could eventually cast the deciding global votes on the issue of whether or not global warming is worth addressing aggressively.
Whoever captures the middle-class flag in coming years will have to possess the soft power necessary to shape globalization's soul in this century, because humanity's very survival depends on our generation's ability to channel today's rising social anger into a lengthy period of social reform. This era's global capitalism must first be shamed (populism) and then tamed (progressivism), just as America's rapacious version was more than a century ago. Today's global financial crisis simply marks the opening bell in a worldwide fight that is destined to go many rounds.
More Articles...
- Investment into Alternative Energy Research and Development The US government must continue to back the expansion of the role of alternative energy research and development and its implementation by companies and homeowners. Although this writer believes
- Government Grants for Alternative Energy In his State of the Union Address for 2007, President George W. Bush called for a 22% increase in federal grants for research and development of alternative energy. However, in a speech he gave soon after, he sai
- Geothermal Power as Alternative Energy We should be doing everything possible to develop geothermal energy technologies. This is a largely untapped area of tremendous alternative energy potential, as it simply taps the energy being naturally produced by
- Developing Nuclear Power as Alternative Energy Many researchers believe that harnessing the power of the atom in fission reactions is the most significant alternative energy resource that we have, for the fact of the immense power that it can generate.
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|Topic Review (Newest First)
|I had an albino with no eyes. Did great. No issues. They have those little feelers on their nose that help detect food. Bichirs are definitely the coolest fish!
|Darth Toro
|I have one too. They are very resilient. They seem to be very skiddish. I also have mine in a 55g. Glad to hear he is doing well
|Good news. The bichir has been readded to the 55 gallon and is doing well. He has his own little cave. The other tankmates don't seem to bother him although he does seem a bit skiddish if they move too quickly. All seems to be going in the right direction.
|Not exactly great news but better I love your location btw.
|Public Alias
|That is great news about your Bichir! Glad to hear it.
|I do have some good news to report today. I witnessed him eating. He was able to track down the NLS pellets and gobbled them up. I'm not sure if he is blind in both eyes. One eye looks badly deformed but the other one seems perfectly intact except it's not as dark as I remember it being (of course it may not have been pitch black to begin with).
Yep I won't do a salt bath again. My water is pretty hard and alkaline. I am going to put in some stress coat and see if that will help him at all.
If they navigate by smell mostly then hopefully if he is blind it won't be the end of the world. I just feel so bad about this :/
Bichirs are incredible creatures. They are naturally almost totally blind and deaf, and hunt mostly by smell. Mine ate small cichlid pellets like crazy, bloodworms and such work too. The salted water you put him in probably did more harm than good. Most bichirs like heavily planted tanks so that can hide until feeding time, which can be anytime day or night. Since they are mostly blind anyway, they don't really have a "sleep schedule". As long as they have lots of plants for hiding places and soft, slightly alkaline water, they are perfectly happy. If your water parameters are different, an adaptation/aclimataion period may be needed.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
|they are incredible fish and very strong fish. Give the fish time with good water changes and care. If the fish is blind who cares. They find food mostly by site. The fish might surprise you.
|maybe bacterial infection?
I made a huge mistake! - Bichir
I feel so bad right now. I picked up a Bichir (Polypterus senegalus) a couple of months ago because they are such cool fish. I have a 55 gallon so that's suitable for one of them. I figured having a 12 inch monster in the deep of my tank would be great (plus no cichlid is going to go after someone four times his size)! After watching videos of how active they are I was so pumped for one!
Well I picked up the largest one my local Petsmart had. He was about 3 to 3.5 inches, just shy of average of the other fish in my tank (african cichlids). Well, I kept him isolated in a 10g growout tank for awhile before moving him over just so I could watch him and make sure he was eating. After a couple of weeks I moved him in but he seemed intimidated by some of the cichlids. I didn't see any aggression directed toward him but he was hiding behind a breeding cage I set up to QT a very aggressive auratus (who is no longer with me thank goodness!) I moved him back to the growout tank and he was fine living there. His other tank mates included some hybrid cichlid fry, approximately 2 inches large, that I found in my tank last September.
A local club member has Pseudotropheus saulosi and had a batch of fry about a year ago. He had the fry growing up in a growout tank but he needed the tank for his holding rusty. He had only two males left and was giving them away for free. I love the look of the saulosi (and after seeing some of the tanks with them I wasn't going to pass up this opportunity). I got the saulosi which are about 2.5-3 inches large. I didn't want to put them into the 55g without watching them a bit. They would probably be the smallest fish in there (just by a little) so I wasn't sure if I wanted to risk it.
Well I began noticing some aggression from the saulosi towards the bichir but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. After a couple of days though I noticed the bichir hanging out in some plant scraps I had floating in the tank. That seemed odd but I was hesitant to move him over to my 10g planted because I thought he would go after the neon tetras (in retrospect I doubt he would have...)
Well after a couple of days of seeing him hiding in the plants I took the risk and moved him to the 10g planted community. I didn't get a good look at him (partly because I was afraid) but from the brief glimpses I did see I was concerned he was pretty badly hurt. He was active but there may be irreversible damage.
A few days went by and I moved back up to my apartment at college. He had his own bag on the trip up so he had some peace for once. Well, I set him back up in the 10 gallon community.
I finally built up the courage to take a look at him and it's not pretty. I set up a 2.5g to get a closer look and give him a brief salt bath. I know he's scaleless but I don't think the regular water will do him any good.
Damages: His fins have rotted back to the stubs. Ok, that sucks but that can usually be fixed. However, I think he may be blind. One eye looks very badly damaged and the other one seems strange, almost glazed over. He also doesn't seem to react to motion outside the tank.
I feel so bad! I really failed him. He is such an amazing fish and I should have made better decisions when I got the saulosi. When I first saw the aggression I should have broken out the breeder cage and isolate him or the saulosi. I left my 10g tank divider at school which would have been perfect for this. I'm really kicking myself now.
I don't want to have to put him down but if he is really blind I don't know if I could ever get him into a large enough tank. :/ This really sucks. Why isn't there any checkpoints or restart levels in life? Please learn from my mistakes.
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A $500,000-$1m question: can money buy sophistication?
As the Ross Asset Management (RAM) scandal clearly demonstrated, investment wisdom is not an automatically awarded to the wealthy.
In fact, the RAM investment pool was jam-packed with so-called 'sophisticated investors' who, it seems, were largely ignorant of the true whereabouts of their money in recent years.
RAM head, David Ross, was an authorised financial adviser (AFA) an honour since suspended for six months and theoretically subject to the enhanced disclosure regulations ushered in by the Financial Advisers Act in 2007.
However, at least some of those annoying disclosure obligations can be avoided if your clients are classed as 'wholesale', and presumably less prone to ponzi scheme promoters than the less financially-endowed retail variety.
And while it's a moot point whether better disclosure would've helped the RAM investors many of whom it is believed would have been subject to the wholesale exclusion the loophole has rattled regulators.
There is more than one way to gain wholesale status and in many cases the definition makes sense but the get-out clause currently under review relates to the per-investment threshold of $500,000 (or any subsequent investment in the same product if the original amount plonked down was $500,000 or more), which you can find buried somewhere in the Financial Markets Conduct legislation.
But, prompted by the Ross case, government regulators are now looking to lift the threshold, or perhaps dispense with it altogether and apply some other test of sophistication.
According to one attendee at a recent regulator-meets-industry event, the government is considering raising the wholesale investment threshold up to $1 million, or $750,000 at the least.
Whether having the extra $250,000-500,000 to invest makes anyone less deserving of disclosure is arguable but any threshold would necessarily be arbitrary.
It's an argument, too, that other jurisdictions have concerned themselves with recently. In Australia, for example, legislators toyed with the idea of redrawing the wholesale/retail border (including ending the distinction altogether) in early versions of the Future of Financial Advice legislation.
The proposal was mysteriously absent from the final law, leaving the existing rules intact (which include a $500,000 investment threshold).
Meanwhile, the RAM liquidation committee, composed of investor representatives, met for the first time this week to consider their collective net remains, currently estimated at around $10 million to be divvied up (less fees) among approximately 1,700 or so investors, sophisticated or not.


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CPJ's Impunity Index spotlights countries
where journalists are slain and killers go free
New York, March 23, 2009 -- The already murderous conditions for the press in Sri Lanka and Pakistan deteriorated further in the past year, the Committee to Protect Journalists has found in its newly updated Impunity Index, a list of countries where journalists are killed regularly and governments fail to solve the crimes. Colombia, historically one of the world's deadliest nations for the press, improved as the rate of murders declined and prosecutors won important recent convictions.
The Index | Methodology | Statistical Table | Español | Русский | Português
"We're distressed to see justice worsen in places such as Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Our findings indicate that the failure to solve journalist murders perpetuates further violence against the press," said Joel Simon, CPJ executive director. "Countries can get off this list of shame only by committing themselves to seeking justice."
CPJ's Impunity Index, compiled for the second year, calculates the number of unsolved journalist murders as a percentage of a country's population. CPJ examined every nation in the world for the years 1999 through 2008. Cases are considered unsolved when no convictions have been obtained. Only those nations with five or more unsolved cases are included on this Index, a threshold reached by 14 countries this year.
Iraq, Sierra Leone, and Somalia—countries racked by armed conflict—top the Impunity Index. But most of the list encompasses peacetime democracies with functioning law enforcement, nations such as Russia, the Philippines, and India.
Brazil is the sole newcomer to the 2009 index. Although Brazilian authorities have succeeded in prosecuting some journalist murders, those efforts have not offset the nation's high rate of deadly violence against the press.
CPJ began compiling the index in 2008 to raise awareness about a disturbing pattern of impunity in countries across the world. The organization has undertaken a Global Campaign Against Impunity to seek justice in journalist murders, the world's gravest threat to free expression, and has focused particularly on unsolved killings in Russia and the Philippines.
This year's report is being released in Manila to mark the fourth anniversary of the murder of Marlene Garcia-Esperat, a Philippine columnist who reported on corruption in the government's agriculture department. Garcia-Esperat was gunned down in her home in front of her family in a case that has become emblematic of the struggle against impunity. Two government officials are accused of ordering her murder.
"Philippine journalists are clamoring for justice in at least two dozen unsolved cases, and they need government protection from the murderous thugs who are killing their colleagues year after year," said Elisabeth Witchel, CPJ's impunity campaign coordinator. "We call on the Philippine government to take the hard steps needed to gain convictions: assigning sufficient prosecutors and investigators to these cases, moving trials to safe and impartial venues, protecting witnesses, and providing high-level political backing for all of these efforts."
Among the other findings in CPJ's Impunity Index:
- All of the countries included in the 2008 Index remained on the list this year. Only slight changes were seen in the rankings and ratings of most countries.
- Unsolved murders were reported in both Russia and the Philippines in 2008. Both countries have had stubbornly high rates of impunity in journalist slayings over the past decade.
- South Asian journalists face particularly severe risks. The region's nations make up nearly half of CPJ's index. Six are included on the 2009 list: Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India.
- Even in wartime, journalists are more likely to be targeted and murdered than killed in combat. In Iraq, for example, murders account for nearly two-thirds of all media fatalities.
- Although conditions in Iraq improved in 2008, authorities there have yet to solve a single murder case involving a journalist.
- Worldwide, the vast majority of victims are local reporters covering sensitive topics such as crime, corruption, and national security in their home countries.
The Index
Here are the 14 countries where journalists are murdered on a recurring basis and governments are unable or unwilling to prosecute the killers. The index covers the years 1999 through 2008.
Impunity Index Rating: 2.983 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 1st with a rating of 2.821.
Most of the nine unsolved murders took place in January 1999, when Revolutionary United Front rebels pushed into
Impunity Index Rating: 1.552 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 2nd with a rating of 1.636.
Nearly two decades of civil unrest, clan warfare and insurgency have created deep-seated conditions of impunity in
Impunity Index Rating: 0.690 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 3rd with a rating of 0.610.
As the government pursues a military victory over the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a surge in violence against journalists, including the fatal stabbing of television correspondent Paranirupasingham Devakumar, pushed the South Asian island nation up from five to four on the index. Government pledges to investigate and punish violence against the press proved hollow as journalists continued to be targeted by both Tamil groups and the military. At least nine journalist murders have gone unsolved.
Impunity Index Rating: 0.452 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 5th with a rating of 0.408.
With no work-related killings since 2006,
Impunity Index Rating: 0.347 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 4th with a rating of 0.439.
At least 24 journalist murders have gone unsolved in the last decade. This pervasive climate of impunity has led to repeated attacks on the press, with renewed levels of violence recorded in 2008. In just one week in August 2008, radio journalists Martin Roxas and Dennis Cuesta were fatally shot. CPJ research has shown local courts to be ineffective in trying journalist murders. Witnesses have been threatened, attacked, and killed while cases were being tried in local courts. Local judges have been reluctant to proceed with cases involving influential public figures.
Impunity Index Rating: 0.273 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 6th with a rating of 0.289.
Rampant drug trafficking and armed militias combine with a weak central government and local political corruption to create a wide berth for the killers of journalists. Seven murders have gone unsolved. In a departure from worldwide trends, most of the victims were international journalists covering the ongoing armed conflict. Three Afghan journalists were also killed. They included Abdul Samad Rohani, a correspondent for the BBC and the Pajhwok Afghan News service who was slain after reporting on the local drug trade in the dangerous area bordering
Impunity Index Rating: 0.248 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 7th with a rating of 0.279.
Political groups go unpunished in frequent attacks against the media. At least five journalist murders are unsolved, four of which are believed to have been perpetrated by Maoist rebels during
Impunity Index Rating: 0.178 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 8th with a rating of 0.185.
Since 1999, 16 journalists have been murdered in retaliation for reporting on official corruption, unrest in the
Impunity Index Rating: 0.106 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 9th with a rating of 0.098.
In a deteriorating security situation, journalists have come under threat from a wide range of militant religious and criminal organizations, some with links to Pakistani intelligence. Three unsolved murders were reported in 2008, bringing the decade total to 10 and moving
Impunity Index Rating: 0.062 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 12th with a rating of 0.051.
Untouchable drug cartels have made reporting on crime in
Impunity Index Rating: 0.057 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 10th with a rating of 0.068.
Authorities have failed to solve at least seven journalist murders that occurred between 2000 and 2005. The victims typically covered crime, corruption, and political unrest. The unsolved cases include the brutal 2004 murder of Kamal Hossain, a crime reporter whose decapitated body was found hours after he was abducted from his home. Local media advocates say Bangladeshi authorities' practice of dragging out investigations and repeatedly postponing trials erodes the drive for justice.
Impunity Index Rating: 0.044 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 11th with a rating of 0.056.
With five unsolved murders in the last decade,
Impunity Index Rating: 0.026 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Unranked.
Despite the country's strong democratic tradition and robust press, seven journalist murders have gone unsolved in the last 10 years. CPJ research indicates journalists covering crime, corruption, and politics have been targets. They include Vikas Ranjan, a correspondent for the newspaper
Impunity Index Rating: 0.006 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.
Last year: Ranked 13th with a rating of 0.005.
For the detailed statistical breakdown for each country, click here.
CPJ's Impunity Index calculates the number of unsolved journalist murders as a percentage of each country's population. CPJ examined every nation worldwide for the period January 1, 1999, through December 31, 2008. Only those nations with five or more unsolved cases are included on this index.
Cases are considered unsolved when no convictions have been obtained.
CPJ defines murder as a deliberate attack against a specific journalist in relation to the victim's work. Murders make up more than 70 percent of work-related deaths among journalists, according to CPJ research. This index does not include cases of journalists killed in combat or while carrying out dangerous assignments such as coverage of street protests.
Where available, population data from the World Bank's 2008 World Development Indicators were used in this index. For
CPJ consulted Mary Gray, professor of mathematics and statistics at
CPJ's Impunity Index looks specifically at unsolved journalist murders. On an ongoing basis, CPJ maintains a comprehensive database of all journalists killed in the line of duty and narrative capsules that detail the circumstances of each case.
CPJ welcomes comments about this index.
Statistical Table
Unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants for 1999-2008. Only nations with five or more unsolved cases are included. Cases are considered unsolved when no convictions have been obtained.
(in millions)
|88 / 29.5 =
|Sierra Leone
|9 / 5.8 =
|6 / 8.7 =
|Sri Lanka
|9 / 19.9 =
|16 / 46.1 =
|24 / 87.9 =
|7 / 28.2 =
|5 / 28.1 =
|15 / 141.6 =
|10 / 162.4 =
|6 / 105.3 =
|7 / 158.6 =
|5 / 191.6 =
|7 / 1123.3 =
Population data sources:
Unless otherwise indicated, 2008 World Development Indicators, World Bank.
* State of World Population 2008, U.N. Population Fund.
Click here for last year's report, "Getting Away With Murder 2008."
- Abdul Razzak Johra,
- Abdul Samad Rohani,
- Alejandro Zenón Fonseca Estrada,
- Anna Politkovskaya,
- Dekendra Raj Thapa,
- Dennis Cuesta,
- Impunity,
- Impunity Index,
- José Emeterio Rivas,
- Kamal Hossain,
- Killed,
- Luiz Carlos Barbon Filho,
- Marlene Garcia-Esperat,
- Martin Roxas,
- Nasteh Dahir Farah,
- Paranirupasingham Devakumar,
- Paul Klebnikov,
- Paul Mansaray,
- Vikas Ranjan
- March 23, 2009 12:15 AM ET
- Short URLhttps://cpj.org/x/2aee
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Want a Cancer Screening? You May Be Denied
Alan Katz | Posted 08.01.2012 | Canada
Read More: Low-Risk, At-Risk, Mammography, Cancer Screen, Psa Prostate Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Men Prostate Cancer, Biopsy, Cancer, Family History, Canada Medical Screen, Mammograph, Canada News
This week saw a U.S. recommendation that PSA screening for prostate cancer should no longer be routine care for men at average risk. The evidence, in other words, has spoken. So, many are now asking the question: if doctors are no longer supposed to screen in certain populations for two of the most common cancers, is the age of medical screening over?


text:
WHS Adoptable Animals
The Wisconsin Humane Society (WHS) is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to build a community where people value animals and treat them with respect and kindness. For more than 128 years, WHS has been saving the lives of animals in need. We offer adoption services that place 9,000 animals in new homes annually, veterinary services that save thousands of lives, educational programs that instill respect for animals, behavior services to assist guardians and a myriad of other initiatives that help end suffering for animals. We depend entirely on private donations to fund our programs and rely on volunteers in nearly every department. If you are interested in adopting, volunteering, enrolling in a class, taking a tour or making a donation, check out our comprehensive web site at wihumane.org. The adoptable animals' web pages are updated every 30 minutes!
UPDATE! Sweet Dalmation looking to retire
Oatmeal is the sweetest boy you could possibly imagine, plus he's got the cutest spots ever! This Dalmation is amazingly gentle, polite and well-behaved. He's 10 years old and looking for a retirement home where he'll be loved and taken care of. A brief daily walk will suffice for Oatmeal and he'd love a soft bed and some toys to play with! Give him a little affection and Oatmeal will provide you with loving companionship and be your friend forever.
Open your heart to this senior dog today by checking out his profile at wihumane.org. He's also housetrained, well-socialized and LOVES to be brushed.
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.


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Trisha Brown arose from an era in which American dance found itself in a kind of stasis. With a few notable exceptions, the idioms of modern dance had, for many, reached their creative and constructive limits. The emergence of a new vocabulary in the 1960s was predicated by a social climate of upheaval and the interrogation of established dance theory. Along with her contemporaries, Brown helped forge a new, decentralized form of communication that launched a postmodern dance aesthetic. With the formation of the Trisha Brown Dance Company in 1970, her work has evolved organically in expansive directions (including opera, dance cycles, and large-scale pieces for proscenium stage), with each new phase a distillation of the singular movement style she has created.
In 1961, Brown began attending choreographer Robert Dunn's composition classes in Merce Cunningham's New York studio. In this laboratory climate of new ideas—participants included Robert Rauschenberg, Simone Forti, and Yvonne Rainer—a wide range of creative and social concerns converged into what became known as the Judson Dance Theater (1962–1967), of which Brown was a founding member.1 The experimental performance group was loosely configured, but its participants rallied around a then-revolutionary concept that aimed to erase the distinctions between art and life. Informed by the cross-pollination of artistic disciplines and guided by an egalitarian ethos of nonevaluative critique, all subjects and devices—nondancers, games, improvisation, pedestrian action—were considered legitimate material.
Although the first planned Judson/Walker Art Center residency in 1967 was reconsidered,2 many of the company's associates reconvened as the Grand Union (1970–1976). In 1971 they opened the Walker's new building with a residency and performances, the group's first significant paid engagement.3 With Brown in its ranks, they transformed the concourse/lobby into an explosion of cardboard boxes and miscellany, while climbing over and around a precarious cagelike structure—an early test of spatial and stage boundaries.
Rejecting the tyranny of a rigid vocabulary, the new dance examined beauty, style, history, and context. It was anti-academy, strove for personal authenticity, and transmuted ephemeral ideas into being through movement. The latter is personified in Homemade (1965), a deconstruction of perception versus reality. With a projector strapped to her back, Brown moved simultaneously with a film (by Robert Whitman) of herself performing identical movements. With Floor of the Forest4 (1970), she conjured a symbolic woodland indoors with a grid made of pipes and clothing suspended from the ceiling; in Man Walking Down the Side of the Building (1970), she challenged the dancer's traditional nemesis—gravity—using pulleys and ropes instead of leaps and spins.
The first Accumulation pieces (made in 1971) were based on mathematical growth patterns and entailed the enactment of a basic exercise (a rotating fist with extended thumb) in repetition. New motions were added at intervals, creating a string of systematically repeated actions that could be staged almost anywhere. More than an exercise in simple locomotor movement, Accumulation marked a significant moment—it was both a dance and not a dance. Either way, it emphasized Brown's capacity to subtly demonstrate her thinking process while leaving the imagined possibilities wide open. She complicated the task in the Walker debut of Group Primary Accumulation (1973), which was performed on rafts floating on Minneapolis' Loring Pond.5 Displacement (dancers floated into new positions while enacting the dictum) resulted in a changed physical proximity to the ground/water and to each other, further causing an unconscious shift in variation.
With each new dance, Brown posed a set of problems, sometimes to be solved through actions, other times spawning only new questions. The Walker-commissioned landmark Glacial Decoy6 (1979) deliberately shunned the buildup of movement, instead relying on sudden and unexpected shifts in phrase that fractured traditional patterns of climax. An indicator of the large-scale, theatrically complex work to come, Glacial Decoy crystallized the personal choreographic language Brown has developed and continues to hone. In Son of Gone Fishin' (1981), music and choreography were used as parallel developments; Lateral Pass7 (1985) demanded attention to the purely mechanical actions of falling and standing via time-based construction. Brown's commanding use of controlled impulse is elemental in later works such as El Trilogy (2000), an homage to the spirit and structures of jazz.
In Brown's view, "the image, the memory, must occur in performance at precisely the same moment as the action derived from it. Without thinking, there are just physical feats."8 The postmoderns lifted the veil on dance creation, acknowledging its inner workings and moving out of its hermetically sealed world into a wider domain of ideas, debate, and criticism. This new platform opened the door for reflexive dialogue between traditions and vocabulary, making room for a subversion of history, even as a new one was created.
Attendees in Dunn's class included David Gordon, Yvonne Rainer, Paul Berenson, Deborah Hay, Steve Paxton, and others. ↩
From unpublished correspondence between Steve Paxton and then-Performing Arts coordinator John Ludwig. Jill Johnston and Yvonne Rainer fell ill; Ludwig expressed reservations about Judson's proposed work being the right approach for the Walker at that time (Walker Art Center Archives). ↩
For details on the circumstances surrounding the residency and its larger philosophical implications for the group, see Sally Banes, Terpsichore in Sneakers: Post-Modern Dance (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977), 227. ↩
For its Walker-sponsored performance in 1979, the work incorporated piles of clothing, books, and other debris, and was therefore titled Rummage Sale and Floor of the Forest. ↩
The work was titled Raft Piece for the 1974 Walker performance. ↩
Set by Robert Rauschenberg. ↩
Set by Nancy Graves. ↩
Quoted in Lise Brunel, Trisha Brown (Paris: Éditions Bougé, 1987), 46. ↩


text: So this was my dilemma that popped out of nowhere on sunday about 1 hour before I was about to get a re-tune from Blackbear... Pulled up to my garage and popped my hood because my dad just wanted to look at my engine bay, I dont know why.... we looked for a few seconds, turned my truck off and walked back into the garage. LITERALLY 10 seconds later I realized I forget my wallet in my truck, turned around and instantaneously i see a jet stream of coolant shooting up at my hood! I lost a good bit of coolant in this little ordeal that scared the hell outta me, but found out it was just this little rubber cap on my radiator. (It was obviously very old and dried out, it was very cracked, thats why it blew a hole) I went to a local advance auto parts to pick up a "vacuum plug" and a new hose clamp. Ive never seen this in my life and I talked to a guy at advance to see if this plug was even right to begin with, but he had no answer. So i put back on it what came off and it seems to hold up just fine. I have a question though... Does anyone know if this is a correct plug to begin with? and perhaps why this plastic outlet is blocked off in the first place?


text:
Clearing the innovation hurdles - How leading TMT businesses overcome barriers to make innovation happen
Only 10% of respondents in PwC's 17th Annual CEO Survey self identify as innovation leaders. That leaves 90% of companies that may not achieve sustainable, long-term revenue growth and competitive advantage. Which group does your company fall into? This paper focuses on how companies can ensure innovation efforts deliver tangible results to their business, focusing on key areas of differentiation, including: visionary leadership, open culture, genuine collaboration and partnerships, hiring the best talent, measuring innovation metrics, and a proactive approach to saving cash through innovation subsidies and tax incentives.
In Seizing the Innovation Edge, the first in our series exploring innovation within TMT, we identified the steps companies take to develop a coherent innovation strategy, and how this focus on innovation, coupled with intelligent innovation spending, generates faster revenue growth.
In Learning from innovation leaders, the second paper in our series focused on exploring innovation within TMT, we distil the lessons that can be learned from a cohort of leading TMT companies, and identify how to apply these lessons to enhance any TMT company's innovation capability.
This third paper, Clearing the innovation hurdles - How leading TMT businesses overcome barriers to make innovation happen, looks at how business leaders can focus on the right metrics to achieve business-changing success.
The typical innovation portfolio of the most innovative TMT companies has a greater proportion of breakthrough and radical innovation.
Use the data explorer to browse through additional industry data.
Many TMT companies are experimenting with setting up innovation labs in new locations across the globe as a way to compete for, and get close to, the best innovation talent. Though headquartered in New York, US telecom company Verizon has established innovation centres San Francisco and Boston for this purpose. These centres create an environment where small, innovative companies can test their solutions on Verizon's development network, and collaborate with Verizon's engineers and business development staff to bring their big ideas to market quickly.
For Tony Melone, Verizon CTO and Executive Vice President, searching out the best talent is critical to boosting the company's innovation capabilities. "It should be no surprise why San Francisco is one of our two showcase centres: this is the innovation capital of the world for hardware and software," he says. "And for our internal work, we have also created a software development centre in Palo Alto. That's two areas of significant investments we have made in the Bay Area to tap into the smarts embedded here."4
4 PCMag, 'Verizon expands San Fran innovation center', (October 2013)
A European IT services company found that almost three-quarters of employees (73%) spent more than a quarter of their time at work managing email. The company estimated that only 10% of email received was useful. The result was a productivity deficit: employees were spending time on tasks that didn't add value, at the expense of focusing on genuine added-value tasks such as innovation.
In 2011 the CEO launched a 'zero email initiative' whereby employees were discouraged from sending or receiving internal emails. The CEO believed email was an outmoded and cumbersome form of communication.
Now employees are encouraged to use social platforms or instant messaging for internal communications which are more targeted and realtime.
Collaborative working is encouraged through the use of cloud-based apps for sharing ideas and documents. Employees now have more control over their time, which boosts the scope for innovative thinking, creativity and collaborative working.
So where next for the initiative? The company is reportedly considering removing other innovation hurdles through initiatives such as 'zero PowerPoint' or 'zero meetings'. Whatever happens next, the 'zero email initiative' seems to be gaining traction with other business leaders. For example, Volkswagen, the German carmaker, has stopped its email servers from sending messages to employees outside working hours.
A leading Fortune 100 software company realised that its customer service experience was falling short, and that this was a barrier to increasing market share and customer loyalty. Because the company's products are services are delivered in collaboration with a range of partners, this sometimes left customers confused or exposed to inconsistent quality of service.
To drive genuine innovation the company decided to take an "Enterprise Co-creation" approach. This involved bringing together all stakeholders — internal staff, as well as external vendors and partners — to candidly share pain points, formulate hypotheses for improved interactions, and ultimately conceptualize new operating models to deliver exceptional customer service.
The company used the insight derived from a series of co-creation workshops to create a three-year strategy and roadmap for improving customer experience. The strategy encompassed the total customer lifecycle.
A core element of the strategy was to create a framework for ecosystem governance supported by a new online marketplace where customers can access multiple support channels and select support agents based on skill, other customers' feedback and language preference.
Within 18 months the company had moved from concept to launch. By placing customer at the centre of the strategy, they have ensured customer experience remains a key priority for innovation. In fact, customer satisfaction scores immediately increased following the launch, and continue to rise. And although thousands of support staff had to be re-trained and redeployed, the company has saved several million dollars in overall support costs during the first six month since launch.
Sometimes innovations that provide obvious customer benefits are slow to be adopted in the marketplace. One such example is digital cinema.
Over a decade ago, one of the leading suppliers of film and projection equipment to cinemas had developed the technology required to create digital cinema, offering higher quality resolution, enabling new functionality, and delivering a better customer experience for moviegoers.
Despite this, it struggled to make much impact on the market, given the investment needed to make the switch. Theatre owners were used to buying projectors that cost less than $20,000 and were easy to operate.
To introduce digital projection, they were being asked to upgrade to projectors costing upwards of $100,000 that required highly-trained, technically-skilled resources to operate.
Despite the lower cost of digital distribution versus the traditional distribution of film canisters, no party in the value chain – film producer, on-screen talent, distributor, cinema operator – was willing to compromise on margin. Likewise, customers had little appetite to pay significantly more for their movie tickets.
Another wave of innovation — the advent of 3-D digital cinema — broke the stalemate. Without digital projection, the new wave of 3-D was not possible, and growing customer demand for 3-D films meant cinemas were under increasing pressure to invest in technology to meet customer need. To make this happen in a sustainable way, production companies had to change their business model, setting up financing vehicles to lend money to cinema operators for upgrades to 3-D projection. In the end, a new business model that encouraged collaboration along the supply chain ultimately benefited all parties.
The Chinese team of a large multinational electronics business had aggressive growth targets set by its headquarters: triple revenue over four years. Meeting this goal required the company to generate innovative ideas totalling more than $2 billion of revenue.
The EVP responsible for managing the innovation portfolio realised the only way to achieve targets was to aim for breakthrough innovation by reshaping the product portfolio. In practice this meant a radical departure from business as usual.
To kick-start the ideation process, the company developed a strategic ideation framework, at the heart of which was the concept of collaboration. This was achieved through workshops that brought together teams from different parts of the business, with external innovation experts and input from customer.
The collaborative approach generated more than 100 ideas. These were rated against metrics such as potential revenue opportunity and time to impact. Ten of the most commercially-viable ideas were presented to the executive team. As a result seven ideas were taken forward as workable options for achieving the $2 billion target.
Through this process they expanded beyond their global product portfolio to create a China specific product portfolio, catering to the specific needs and price point of the local market. Most importantly of all, the approach helped shift their product innovation culture from "perfect execution" to "innovation and execution."
A leading telecoms operator was investing $500m each year to support innovation initiatives and its global R&D function. Despite this significant level of funding, the desired level of returns was not being achieved.
The root cause of this underperformance was poor decision-making about how to allocate innovation funding. Innovation investments were not wellaligned with corporate strategy, and there was a lack of guidance about market priorities and appropriate levels of risk tolerance. As a result the company struggled to bring new services to market quickly enough.
In response, the company defined a comprehensive portfolio management process for innovation investment linked to its annual budgeting cycle.
Simultaneously, a stronger governance structure was put in place to provide a clearer framework for investment decisions. This process involved identifying historical resource bottleneck to understand where hurdles had arisen previously, and to eliminate the bottlenecks for future resource allocation. These changes mean future innovation investment – both financial resources and human capital – better support the company's growth strategy, and deliver a greater return for the business.
Now in its 42nd year of operation, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines carries more domestically-originated passengers than any other airline in the US. From its first flights in June 1971, the company has made air travel more affordable than ever before, driving fares downwards and passenger traffic upwards on every route it serves. In late 2010, Southwest announced its commitment to "spreading low fares farther", and said it would start building its gateway to the future by acquiring and integrating AirTran Airways.
This deal was a huge undertaking for Southwest. At a stroke it would increase its reach from 72 to 97 destinations and its fleet size by 25%, while also seeing it officially enter international markets – an absolute game changer for a carrier that historically provided domestic-only services. Executing the deal would be complex, time consuming, and require unwavering focus from all areas of Southwest's business. The effort would also face headwinds ranging from widely differing business processes to ageing technologies.
"PwC adds real value. They genuinely care about the success of your business and will see you through to success."
- Kathleen Wayton, Vice President Technology, Business Transformation Solutions — Commercial, Southwest Airlines
Overall, the proposed merger highlighted the need for the help and support of a strategic partner Southwest had come to trust: someone that understood Southwest's culture, a proven champion of Southwest's strategic initiatives, and a seasoned advisor with deep understanding of the airline's business. Southwest turned to PwC US.
The US firm hit the ground running, pulling together several high-performing teams committed to helping Southwest achieve its goals. First, the team built an IT integration planning team to draw up a technology roadmap spanning corporate, commercial, operations, and infrastructure. Next, it formed an integration programme management team to support technical integration across applications including reservation systems, agent applications, loyalty and web, supported by dedicated project management and solution development teams for high-risk applications. Finally, it established a technology deployment management function to ensure all the necessary technical changes were executed as planned.
On 28 January 2013, through the combined efforts of the Southwest and PwC teams, the integration efforts were completed with the successful sale of flights spanning the combined Southwest and AirTran flight network.
The Global Fund is a US$23 billion financing institution based in Geneva, which funds programmes to prevent, treat and care for people with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria in the world's poorest countries. PwC has been working with the Fund since its creation in 2002.
The Global Fund is the main multilateral funder in global health, with 750 programmes currently in 151 countries. The success of the Global Fund's activity can be gauged not only by its funding levels but more importantly by the results it has achieved. Over the past 10 years, more than 300 million insecticide-treated bed nets were distributed to prevent malaria, 9.7 million cases of TB were detected and treated, and 4.2 million people received life-saving treatment for HIV/AIDS.
As a provider of finance, the Global Fund does not directly implement any programmes. Instead, it funds mostly national institutions, like ministries of health or NGOs to deliver programmes that will have the greatest impact on the three diseases. In order for the financing to be used as effectively as possible, the Global Fund uses a number of Local Fund Agents (LFA) on the ground. Their role is to help to assess the capacities of key implementers in-country and provide ongoing monitoring of the use of funds and the progress of programme implementation.
PwC firms currently act as LFAs in 72 countries, with more than 350 people working to assist the Global Fund in making effective programme funding decisions. According to Gill Sivyer, the PwC Switzerland partner who leads the work with the Global Fund, two of PwC's major strengths in particular make us the ideal fit for this work: "The global strength and reach of our network means that we have the right people, with the right skills and capabilities on the ground. Thanks to this network, we're truly local both to the programmes and to the Global Fund's base in Geneva. In addition, one of PwC's core strengths – our independence – enables us to offer the Global Fund completely impartial assessment and recommendations. This gives the Global Fund the transparency and confidence they need for effective decision-making."
PwC's work with the Global Fund has grown considerably over the past decade. Our team in Geneva works closely with the Global Fund to deliver high-quality LFA services that meet the Global Fund's information and risk management requirements. We also host an annual training conference for PwC staff to make sure they're up to speed on the latest developments.
PwC Brazil has been awarded a five-year contract to establish and run a new organisation (the EAQ – Entidade Aferidora de Qualidade) that will monitor the quality of broadband services in Brazil. PwC Brazil was the only major consulting firm that was asked to compete for the contract by the Brazilian telecoms regulator Anatel.
Ensuring the quality of both fixed and mobile broadband across the whole of Brazil is a priority for Anatel. Accordingly, it has created a unique regulatory framework that includes the power to fine service providers who fail to meet required standards and quality benchmarks. The importance of high-quality monitoring, assessment and reporting of that performance is therefore critical.
PwC Brazil and PwC UK worked together with a UK-based broadband technology provider to win this five-year project, awarded in 2012. The combination of PwC's telecommunications' expertise and its partner´s credentials on similar projects in Europe, the US, the UK and Singapore, created a powerful proposition.
Additionally, PwC's leading reputation in the telecoms industry in Brazil was a key success factor as the body awarding the contract included representatives from more than 20 Brazilian broadband service operators as well as Anatel's management. "PwC's track-record for independence and integrity helped us win the contract and run this very challenging and exciting project", says Luiz Viotti, PwC Brazil TICE Advisory and Engagement Leader.
From winning the contract, PwC Brazil has built a new organisation from scratch, and now has 30 full-time people working in the EAQ office in Brasilia. Ensuring that testing is as rigorous and representative as possible has required recruiting more than 200,000 broadband customers as volunteers across Brazil to agree to have a monitoring device connected to their computer. In addition, 5,000 public schools across the country were selected to receive and install equipment that will measure the quality of the mobile broadband connections. At any one time, up to 10,000 of those households and schools, on a rolling basis every 24 months, are subject to constant field-testing and their data is already being used to create reports for both the regulator and the Brazilian public.
Building and running the new organisation required PwC Brazil to enter into contracts with a wide variety of suppliers, including logistics, manufacturing and network infrastructure so that the EAQ fulfils its brief to help all Brazil's broadband customers to get the best possible service from their service providers.
José Alexandre Bicalho, Anatel´s Planning and Regulation Superintendent, describes the introduction of the new quality indicators for internet broadband as "a milestone in the evolution of telecommunications in Brazil." He adds: "Continued growth in the availability and quality of broadband services is essential to meet the needs and expectations of Brazilian society. Creating the EAQ with PwC is a major innovation – one that both enhances transparency for users and also reinforces Anatel's regulatory model."
Photo by Ross Becker, photographer
In February 2011, a devastating earthquake struck New Zealand's second-largest city of Christchurch, located in the country's Canterbury region. Tragically, the earthquake killed 181 people, while also causing severe damage to buildings and infrastructure already weakened by a previous quake in 2010. The cost of the damage from the earthquake and aftershocks has been estimated at around NZ$40 billion, making it New Zealand's costliest natural disaster ever.
In the immediate aftermath, PwC New Zealand was engaged by the newly-formed Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) to lead and coordinate the recovery efforts. This role has seen us undertake a wide variety of work for many organisations across Canterbury, with our Christchurch office receiving active and enthusiastic support from most of our other offices throughout New Zealand.
We began by seconding two directors to CERA itself to help set the organisation up – a move that helped us gain insights into the challenges ahead. This work included advising on a financial blueprint, investor engagement and the business cases for anchor projects, one of which is a new Convention Centre in Christchurch.
We also acted as financial advisors on land acquisitions, developed joint risk management frameworks, and helped with a proposal to the Commerce Commission for an increase in electricity line charges to cover repairs to the power network.
Restoring public transport was a key priority after the earthquake, and this was another area in which we were involved, providing a due diligence report on the landscape of Christchurch including public transport planning. We developed a dedicated Christchurch Rebuild page on the PwC website, focusing on the risks for companies associated with the reconstruction efforts. We also engaged with construction firms involved in the work, as well as providing ongoing support to businesses dealing with business interruption claims. Insurance assessments were a further focus, and we developed proposals to reduce the risks of fraud.
"The rebuild is clearly an emotional and sensitive time for the people of Christchurch – and we've done our best to make the project run as smoothly as possible, by providing resources from across our offices and sharing our expertise with a wide array of businesses", says Wayne Munn, PwC New Zealand partner responsible for the Christchurch office.
"We've also helped with the governance of the anchor projects. Most of these are currently underway, but we've recently been awarded roles as advisors to the Transport Interchange design-build contract (DBC) and Stage 2 of the Convention Centre DBC."
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is a government agency that executes Japan's Official Development Assistance programmes in developing/emerging markets. With more than 90 overseas offices, JICA's role includes helping Japanese companies establish businesses that serve the 'base of the pyramid' (BoP) – commonly defined as the four billion people in developing countries who live on less than US$2.50 a day – thus fostering local social and economic development.
To support these goals, PwC Japan has helped JICA to promote BoP businesses to Japanese companies, including operating the Feasibility Study (F/S) programme. This enables Japanese companies to apply for and gain financial support to conduct feasibility studies, structure financing mechanisms such as the IMPACT fund, establish monitoring and evaluation schemes, and raise awareness of BoP businesses.
The project, recently won by a PwC team from the Japanese and the UK firms with support from PwC firms in Norway and the US, involved a benchmarking study to prepare the way for JICA to form new financial mechanisms to improve access to finance of BoP businesses. The PwC team reviewed the success factors for BoP businesses in emerging markets and existing impact fund mechanisms, and prepare a road map that JICA could take to establish its financial support for them. The PwC team then created a framework for measuring and monitoring the social returns of BoP businesses together with Japan's leading social investment company.
In parallel to the benchmarking study, PwC Japan then won a three-year contract to help administer the BoP F/S programme of JICA. With private BoP companies setting up in developing countries able to apply for the programme, PwC Japan won the mandate to advise JICA on the selection process, and to help monitor and evaluate the programme – including reviewing lessons learned and recommending improvements to the company's business propositions.
As part of this engagement, PwC Japan is also providing a ground-breaking one-stop shop for the BoP businesses supported by the programme, including supplying them with technical assistance in-market.
In evaluating the bids for this work, JICA was very impressed with PwC's global credentials, especially the UK-led 'Business Innovation Facility', which is aimed at pioneering new ways of working that will improve the lives of the poor. And the Sweden-led 'Innovations Against Poverty', which works to stimulate and support sustainable business ventures that might not otherwise be pursued because of perceived commercial risks and market uncertainties.
Masataka Mitsuhashi, engagement partner and International Development Leader for PwC Japan, comments: "In our work for JICA we've been able to draw on PwC's unique blend of capabilities across the world, including our deep knowledge of BoP business, our presence in emerging markets, and our expertise in both business consulting and international development."
Oerlikon is a highly innovative industrial group specialising in machine and plant engineering. With over 12,700 people in more than 34 countries, the Group is active in five businesses: textile machines for manufacturing manmade fibers, drive and transmission systems and components, vacuum systems, thin-film coatings and nanotechnology.
In its drive to double revenue growth in India in the next five years, Oerlikon Group needed to identify opportunities for leveraging its business in the country. Operating in a diverse set of industries and product categories, the Swiss group recognised that a holistic and cohesive approach would be essential. To drive a successful long-term outcome, and combat increased competition from mid-market players, it set out to promote India, at group-level, as a vital growth engine in a growing market.
To help achieve its ambitious targets, Oerlikon turned to PwC's Emerging Markets Centre of Excellence, which partners with clients to help navigate challenges and deliver on their business ambitions in India, a key emerging market. The centre is a strategic investment made by PwC India and is closely connected with other PwC firms in emerging and developed economies.
Leveraging the Centre's integrated and comprehensive suite of solutions, PwC India's Mumbai-based team set about helping Oerlikon to extend its understanding of the Indian business environment, develop new value propositions and put in place a tailored operating model that would deliver on its objectives. The team helped Oerlikon define which products and services would be best suited to the Indian market as well as focus on deepening existing customer relationships. A business case was developed promoting India as a growth market which set an accelerated target for growth till 2020 and a national operating model was created that would facilitate common functions related to brand and national policies.
Oerlikon's India Country head Khurshed Thanawalla said: "Our work with PwC resulted in a strategy that recognised the nuances and complexities of the Indian market for each of our four key segments. The process facilitated growth ideas from each team member. This has led to clarity for our long term goals and has created ownership for this profitable growth agenda."
Along with enabling and accelerating strategy development, the team proposed on making the new strategy work 'on the ground'. For Oerlikon, the results of this engagement enabled it to rapidly prioritise opportunities from a large and complex range of options. With an initial capability assessment backed by a financial plan, Oerlikon's management was able to build internal consensus for the strategy and drive the transformation that is now underway in the India business.