text:
Reverend Henry Kane, Poltergeist II
The fear in this country was so thick immediately after
9/11 that most Americans could taste it. Two years later,
the fear is still here, but those of us who are beginning
to drown in it are struggling to be exorcised from its grip.
We are far more terrified of the greedy creatures who lurk
in the dark shadows of our new world order than of some nebulous
somebody out there who might someday be a threat to us, and
I, for one, am hell-bent on scrambling to the light.
Some days it looks like we just can't get there from here.
Because of the fear.
Fear is what thuggish cowards use in order to control and
manipulate lesser cowards. You know - them against us? And
there are so many of "them" skulking through the halls of
this administration and its attendant media, they're bumping
into each other.
Their names are as familiar as their fear-driven agenda
- Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Perle, Woolsey, Bolton, Kristol, Rice,
Powell... all bitch-slapping us with the searing memory of
9/11 to keep us in trembling subjection; threatening us with
another big helping of terror if we don't back off and let
them have their way.
And their way is to frighten us into connecting only two
dots - Saddam Hussein and 9/11. Defense honcho Donald Rumsfeld
was leading the pack only hours after the September attack
when he jotted his now-famous memo to his staff, demanding
the "best info fast. Judge whether good enough hit S.H. (Saddam
Hussein) at same time. Not only UBL (Osama bin Laden)."
"Go massive," the notes quote him as saying. "Sweep it all
up. Things related and not."
When testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee
a year after 9/11 about why there was such an urgent need
to attack Iraq after 12 years of successful containment, Rumsfeld
responded - "What's different? What's different is
3,000 people were killed. We know what he intends to do,"
Rumsfeld said, and added if we didn't attack Hussein post
haste, millions could be dead "because of the miscalculations..."
Condoleezza Rice is adamant that we are beset by the "forces
of chaos and terror," and the only way out is to slaughter
our way to freedom and democracy admidst rose-petals and cheers
as we "restructure" the Middle East more to our liking. James
Woolsey warns that World War IV is on our doorstep - the only
choice we have is whether we fight it here... or there. Colin
Powell squandered his political capital in an astonishing
80-minute litany of fear-inducing lies before the United Nations,
complete with galvanizing photos and audiotapes, even going
so far as to say, "Saddam Hussein has chemical weapons...
and we have sources who tell us that he recently authorized
his field commanders to use them..."
Poltergeists. They keep entering our homes, moving the furniture
around, flipping the lights on and off, and terrorizing us
with an evil enemy that is everywhere and nowhere. The only
word to describe their shoddy performance is "delirium" -
a state of extreme mental excitement, marked by restlessness,
confused speech and hallucinations.
But nobody works harder at sustaining national hysteria
than Vice President Dick Cheney, who set his course for perpetual
war in order to gain control of the world's energy resources
more than a decade ago, and will not be deterred by the cries
of an unpatriotic rabble at home nor by the shrieks of unfortunate
victims abroad.
Cheney is oblivious to both facts and evidence, or lack
of them, and is seen sporadically in venues where he knows
his lies about reasons for an unprovoked attack on Iraq will
not be challenged. You will see him on NBC's "Meet the Press"
and speaking to right-wing think tanks any time there have
been embarrassing disclosures from, or about, the administration.
A year ago, Cheney and "Press" host, Tim Russert, diffused
accusations that Bush had been told in an August 6, 2001 intelligence
briefing that we were under imminent al-Qaeda attack. "Old
intelligence," Cheney scoffed, sneering that terrorists have
been hijacking planes for 30 years - so what?
Then, earlier this month, when Bush was backed into a corner
and forced to admit there was "no evidence of a connection
between Saddam and 9/11," Cheney was back with Russert, countering
Bush's statement with, "we are learning more and more about
connections between al-Qaeda and Iraq before the Sept. 11
attacks." Cheney has long insisted that Saddam not only had
weapons of mass destruction, but that he and Osama bin Laden
worked in tandem to bring "massive and sudden horror" to U.S.
In the area of evil manipulation, Cheney is head and shoulders
above all those around him. He's a natural - the best that
ever was. While the others fill us with temporary fear, Cheney
infects us with the creeping horror of his own superstitions
that will remain with us far beyond Iraq - possibly for a
9/11, according to Cheney, is "the merest glimpse of the
violence terrorists are willing to inflict on this country.
They desire to kill as many Americans as possible, with the
most destructive weapons they can obtain." He says it will
do no good to protect the American people from 99 percent
of the cold-blooded killers who are after them - because that
one percent will surely sneak through, and then all of us
are gonna die!
In a July speech to the right-wing American Enterprise Institute,
Cheney declared unending war on an enemy who "holds no territory,
defends no population, is unconstrained by rules of warfare,
and respects no law of morality. It can only be destroyed,"
Cheney said, adding matter-of-factly, "...and that's the business
at hand." He told the mesmerized audience, "we will act, and
act decisively, before gathering storms can inflict catastrophic
harm on the American people..."
Cheney is rarely seen in public, but his dark, bone-chilling
influence permeates this administration. He is the
Reverend Henry Kane (played so brilliantly in Poltergeist
II by the mysterious Julian Beck) of this administration.
When he appears, I look upon his grim, pale countenance, his
mouth distorted into a snarl, and involuntarily shudder as
I fight the impulse to warn everybody within hearing distance
- "It's hee-e-e - erre..."
Of course, it will do no good, because Americans are mostly
sitting submissively, staring vacantly at the eerily fair-and-balanced
static on their TV screens.
Nobody is more obsessed with tracking down and destroying
potential evil before it materializes than the Dear Little
Leader, George W. Bush. All he knows, he recently bragged
to FOX News' Brit Hume, is what his advisers tell him; he
doesn't read newspapers or watch TV. Is it any wonder, then,
that Bush is out there, babbling hysterically about evil and
evildoers - and thrashing about wildly on the world stage?
A lot of ink has been spilled in vain attempts to "dissect"
Bush's psyche. He has been called stupid, greedy, mean-spirited
- even evil. He is all that, but only as an agressive,
pre-teen schoolyard bully can be when he is literally given
all the power in the neighborhood - discovers that the other
kids have to listen to him whether they want to or not - and
he can play "dress up" to his heart's content. Bush is the
perfect foil for those who surround and control him. He believes
what they tell him, and he lives by a "smoke 'em out, git
'em on the run - don't mess with Texas" philosophy. He remains
an intellectual and emotional child, albeit a spoiled and
pampered one, who never got over his fear of the Boogie Man.
"When I was coming up, it was a dangerous world, and you
knew exactly who they were," Bush said proudly while on the
campaign trail in January 2000. "It was us versus them, and
it was clear who them was. Today, we are not so sure who the
they are, but we know they're there."
Bush is not stupid. Almost immediately after the twin towers
imploded, he learned that his popularity was directly connected
to 9/11, and that the more he laced his rhetoric with fear
and terror, the faster his "numbers" shot up. Suddenly, he
wanted all the evildoers, the potential evildoers, even Dr.
Evil himself, and he was going to get them all - dead or alive.
Before we realized he wasn't just playing "grown up," we were
sucked into a mad crusade, too frightened to realize in June
2002 that the shudder shifting the world under our feet was
Bush throwing down his preemptive-strike "Bush Doctrine" gauntlet
from West Point in a speech wherein he arrogantly assumed
dictatorial powers. "If we wait for threats to fully materialize,"
Bush warned ominously, "we will have waited too long."
But, alas, the game didn't turn out as planned. The evildoers
keep changing the rules; ganging up on him in the schoolyard.
And, now the Dear Little Leader, who simply believes - and
repeats - what his advisers tell him, is the most frightened
one of us all. He appears to be literally numb with fear -
unable to recognize the light of reason. Being a mother, I
feel sorry for him, even though he brought it upon himself.
He's like the child who cannot be convinced that the dark,
monstrous form lurking just inside the closet is nothing but
a pair of jammies slung carelessly over the door. Nothing
short of sleeping with the light on will allay his fear, because
he knows the creature is there - just beyond his range of
vision. You may not see it, but he knows it's
there. Oh, yes indeedy, it's there all right and it's just
waiting for the right moment to pounce.
Most of us grow up and shake off such childish fears. We
move on to a world of light and freedom, family and community,
weeping and laughing - and of living and dying. But there
are those whose stunted growth forces them to dart about fantastically
in a ghastly world of ominous closets and cackling hobgoblins.
Like Bush and the greedy, corporate warmongers who control
him, they live in a terrifying world of "what if" - compelled
to strike out indiscriminately and crush all in their path
because any threat they imagine is real.
This is now the world of George W. Bush. It is a dangerous
world wherein the brutish cowards who surround Bush and stoke
his childish fears have their hands on the light switch. Unfortunately,
it is even more dangerous for us because - as we struggle
frantically toward the light - we remain at the mercy of Bush's
frightening hallucinations.
And the bloodthirsty thugs who would control the world are
also controlling the darkness.
Sheila Samples is an Oklahoma freelance writer, a former
US Army Public Information Officer and Axis
of Logic contributing editor.


text:
Cory Schneider and bad angle weak shots
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
The shooting incident at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school has prompted one security change in the Milaca School District, as well as leading to the scheduling of twice-monthly meetings among school personnel.
Superintendent Jerry Hansen told Milaca School Board members at their Dec. 18 meeting that a change has been made in how visitors are received.
When someone enters the building they will report to the office and a call will be made to that person's destination to make those people aware that someone is expected.
That change was made after a meeting that included Hansen, principals, police officers, counselors and the district psychologist.
"We're also looking at ways to change the doors but that's something that can't be done overnight," Hansen said in an interview last week.
There are greeters at the door at this time and Hansen said if someone is interested in volunteering to be a greeter, it would be welcomed.
Something else that came out of the meeting is that meetings will be scheduled twice a month at which there will be discussions about students who are having a difficult time with school, Hansen said.
The goal will be to "help them become more comfortable with school," he said.
Hansen noted that the Connecticut incident was unusual in that the shooter was someone outside of the school. Other such school incidents have had students involved.
For the full story, see the Thursday, Jan. 3 print edition of the Times.


text:
Bradford Towne, PhD
Population and Public Health Sci
Professor, Population & Public Health; Professor, Pediatrics
Res Park-Lifespan, 3171 Research Blvd, Dayton, OH 45420-4006
Major Research Interests
- The genetics of human growth and development
- The genetics of cardiovascular disease risks
- The progression of metabolic syndrome risks over the lifespan
Professional Positions
- 1986-1988: Visiting Assistant Professor, Idaho State University, Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work
- 1991-1997: Assistant Professor, WSU School of Medicine, Community Health
- 1997-2003: Associate Professor, WSU School of Medicine, Community Health
- 2003-present: Professor, WSU School of Medicine, Community Health
Academic Honors
- 1984 University of Utah, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society
Grants Awarded
- 1984 NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant BNS 8400998 ($5,000): Morphometric Microdifferentiation in a Subdivided Isolate Population: The Habbani Yemeni Jews.
- 1992 American Heart Association, Ohio Affiliate, Young Investigator Award ($100,000): Genetic Analysis of Body Composition, Lipoprotein, and Associated Phenotypes.
- 1995 NIH FIRST Award R29HD31621 ($350,000): Genetics of Adipose Tissue Deposition During Childhood.
- 1997 Wright State University School of Medicine Seed Grant ($7,500): Variation in the Growth and Body Composition of Nepalese Children with Helminthic Infection.
- 1999 NIH R01HD36342 ($2,386,256): Genetic Epidemiology of Childhood Skeletal Maturation.
- 2000 NIH R01AG 18719 ($1,096,347) Genetic Epidemiology of Aging and Body Composition.
- 2002 NIH R01HD40377 ($1,737,117) Genetic and Environmental Influences on Childhood Growth.
- 2003 NIH R01DK064391 ($2,770,123) Genetic Regulation of Adiposity and Associated CVD Risks.
Education History:
University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO, B.A., 1976, Psychology/Anthropology
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, M.A., 1982, Physical Anthropology
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, Ph.D., 1987, Physical Anthropology
Washington U., St. Louis, MO, Postdoctoral, 1988-89, Genetic Epidemiology
S.W. Foundation, San Antonio, TX, Postdoctoral, 1989-91, Genetic Epidemiology
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text:
2014 Senate Race Ratings for October 17, 2014
October 17, 2014
Democrats — 53
Republicans — 45
Independents — 2
The chart below provides a spectrum that analyzes the vulnerability (the chances of the seat switching parties) of the Senate races up this cycle.
Solid: These races are not considered competitive and are not likely to become closely contested.
Likely: These seats are not considered competitive at this point but have the potential to become engaged.
Lean: These are considered competitive races but one party has an advantage.
Toss Up: These are the most competitive races; either party has a good chance of winning.
Senators with names in parentheses are retiring.
Democrats | 21 Held Seats
|Solid D
|Likely D
|Lean D
|Toss Up
|Lean R
|Likely R
|Solid R
Republicans | 15 Held Seats
|Solid D
|Likely D
|Lean D
|Toss Up
|Lean R
|Likely R
|Solid R
* = potential retirement


text:
With the stock market drastically fluctuating and the price of gold skyrocketing, Tanya Young Williams wants to help friends and loved ones cash in on the golden uptick.
For her Basketball Wives premiere party at Tian in Harlem, the estranged wife of former NBA star Jayson Williams has asked friends to bring in their unwanted gold for a trade-in. According to the New York Post, her publicity rep informed guests, via the invite, that they could bring their gold to the event and exchange it for cash from New Jersey's American Gold and Diamond Buyers.
The party is also to promote Williams' new fragrance, TRY. A percentage of the gold trade-ins will go to charity.
(Photo: Steve Mack/FilmMagic)


text:
McCall's 4294; c. 1974; Misses' Top and Wrap Skirt - Top for unbonded stretchable knits
Pullover, stitch trimmed top has dropped shoulder line and scoop neck. Back wrap skirt with patch pockets and back waistband drawn thru seam opening, buttons in front. Skirt B has button trim.
Links to reviews/blog posts Edit
Sources/Vendors Edit
- Design Rewind Fashions UNCUT
Gallery Edit
[insert your photos of this pattern made up]
Wishlist Edit
[insert your username, and make sure your preferences allow for people to contact you via e-mail. Do not list your email address here!]


text:
Location: St.Matthews - Louisville
Date Posted: 6/28/2013
Desired Start Date: 7/8/2013
Hours: part-time and full-time
Pay: TBD
We are looking for experienced servers to start training NOW!
Must have at least 2 years of experience in a full-service restaurant.
We are looking to hire the right person with the right attitude.
Ideal candidate is someone who loves a fast paced restaurant, is motivated to provide excellent customer service, and can excel in a teamwork environment.


text:
See MKTO At Mall-O-Ween with KMSS Fox 33 and K945! [VIDEO]
We know how hard it is to find a place that's safe enough to take your kids trick or treating on Halloween. That's why we got together with Fox 33 for Mall-O-Ween on Halloween!
The kids will love getting dressed up on the actual day and celebrating with lots of candy, a DJ, games and prizes and you'll love the safe environment and mall wide trick or treating for your kids!
Here are the details:
Kids Kindergarten thru 7th grade
5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Pierre Bossier Mall
NEW!!! Join K945 and Fox 33 for a special appearance and meet and greet with Columbia Record's MKTO!!! Yes, it's Malcolm Kelley and Tony Oller from Nickelodeon's Gigantic! You may also recognize Malcolm as Walt Lloyd from Lost!


text:
West Nile Virus
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
HCV: The Chimeric Mouse Model
Anti-virals for Biodefense
Virus-host Interactions
Host Defense
Therapeutic Application
Innate Immune Effector Genes
West Nile Virus
West Nile virus has emerged across the Western hemisphere and North America. Our studies utilize in vitro and gene knockout mouse models to determine how West Nile virus modulates the innate immunity during infection.
Immune Mechanisms of Flavivirus Control
The goal of this research is to define the innate and adaptive immune parameters that control resistance to flavivirus infection. We will apply our findings to vaccine and therapeutic design to enhance immunity to WNV infection; and to extend to vaccine design against Dengue virus.


text:
Driver, dog survive plunge off bridge
December 4, 2012
A San Juan Ridge man is suspected to have been driving under the influence when he lost control of his truck and drove off a bridge at Shady Creek Crossing Friday night.
William Scott, 27, was driving a 1981 Ford F150 pickup truck when he left the road at about 6 p.m. and "took out the upstream guard rail" at the crossing, said North San Juan Fire Assistant Chief Boyd Johnson.
The truck landed upside down about 20 feet below in the creekbed, Johnson said, adding that Scott was lucky that the cab did not end up in the water.
The pickup's cab was crushed, requiring firefighters to extricate Scott and his dog by cutting them out.
The rescue was complicated because of the odd location of the truck, Johnson said.
Firefighters from Camptonville and Nevada County Consolidated assisted in the rescue, which took about an hour, Johnson added.
"They were hugely helpful," he said. "Because of the holiday, we only had five firefighters, so the extra help was much appreciated."
Scott was not seriously injured, Johnson said, and was transported via helicopter to Sutter Roseville Medical Center. He was discharged Sunday, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
According to Johnson, Scott's dog was unscathed.
"Once he was freed, he immediately went to his owner," Johnson said.
Scott is facing charges of driving without a license and driving under the influence, said California Highway Patrol Officer Justin Barnthouse.
To contact Staff Writer Liz Kellar, email email@example.com or call (530) 477-4229.
Recommended Stories For You
Trending In: Local News
- Nevada County authorities say Auburn man found with suspected heroin, meth
- Repeat offender back in Nevada County Jail, police say
- Crews gain control of Grizzly Fire as dry, hot conditions continue in Nevada County
- 'Family of the year': Fowlers honored by the Nevada County Fair
- Five Yuba River swimming holes to beat the summer heat in western Nevada County


text:
glossary of web related terms ¤ common internet terminology and definitions
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
. . . . a . . . .
acrobat: a program from adobe that stores images or documents originally designed for print medium, and allows you to view them on your computer without any corruption or distortion of the images. in order to view an acrobat document, which is called a pdf file, you need the acrobat reader. the reader is free and can be easily downloaded from adobe.
audio ripper: a program used to create mp3 files. an audio ripper takes a sound selection from a compact disc and converts it to a .wav file on a computer's hard drive. the .wav file can then be converted to mp3.
. . . . b . . . .
blog: short for web log, a blog is a web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal journal for an individual. typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the author.
blogger: the author of a blog is often referred to as a blogger. many blogs syndicate their content to subscribers using rss, a popular content distribution tool.
boolean search: a search allowing the inclusion or exclusion of documents containing certain words through the use of operators such as and, not and or.
browser: a program installed on your computer that enables you to access web pages on the world wide web. browsers request web pages from servers. the two most widely used browsers today are netscape navigator and microsoft's internet explorer.
. . . . c . . . .
concept search: a search for documents related conceptually to a word, rather than specifically containing the word itself.
cookie: small text files that web sites leave on your hard disk when you visit. these files store information about your web use, such as what sites you frequently visit and what pages in a site you go to. each web site can only read the cookie it leaves. generally cookies can be helpful, by remembering passwords and id names from previous visits, so you don't have to.
. . . . d . . . .
domain name: your organization's "www" address on the world wide web. www.yournamehere.com for example.
doorway pages: short web pages that lead you into a web site's main page. doorway pages are used to gain a higher ranking in the search engines and usually contain very little information other than a company logo and instructions for you to "click here to enter the main site."
dpi: dots per inch. relates to the resolution, or sharpness and clarity of an image. an image with a high resolution has more dots per inch.
dsl: dsl is the latest technology bringing the internet into your home or office. using existing wiring, dsl connects at speeds equivalent to t1 connectivity.
dynamically generated page: a web page that contains information created "on the fly." search engines provide a good example of dynamically generated content - when one performs a search at yahoo, or altavista, the "results" page is generated at that moment. a dynamically generated page is the opposite of a static page.
. . . . e . . . .
e-business: (electronic business) the conduct of business on the internet, not only buying and selling but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners.
e-commerce (electronic commerce or ec): the buying and selling of goods and services on the internet. in practice, this term and a newer term, e-business, are often used interchangeably.
. . . . f . . . .
full-text index: an index containing every word of every document cataloged, including stop words (defined below).
fuzzy search: a search that will find matches even when words are only partially spelled or misspelled.
frames: a feature that allows a web page to be displayed in multiple scrollable windows on the screen at once. the use of frames is discouraged because it hinders search engines from indexing pages within the site.
. . . . g . . . .
. . . . h . . . .
hits:a request for only one file from a server. when analyzing the success or popularity of your web site consider web visits not hits.
home page: the first page presented when you visit a web site. when you enter a web site's domain name, you are sent their home page.
hyper text transfer protocol (http): set of rules used for exchanging files (containing text, graphics, sound, and images) on the world wide web: usually followed by a colon and two slash marks, then a "www" address. example: http://www.responsebuilders.com
. . . . i . . . .
implementation: the carrying out of protocol by a computer system.
index: the searchable catalog of documents created by search engine software. also called "catalog." index is often used as a synonym for search engine. index is commonly pluralized as "indices." however, search engine watch instead uses the alternative plural form "indexes."
ip address: internet protocol address or ip address is a 32-bit number identifying a unique computer (host) location on the internet (expressed either as a unique string of numbers or as its associated domain name).
. . . . j . . . .
. . . . k . . . .
keyword search: a search for documents containing one or more words that are specified by a user.
. . . . l . . . .
. . . . m . . . .
meta tags: html tags that describe information within the web page. meta tags are placed in the html within the <head> tags. they contain the keywords, title, and description of the site. this information is extracted by servers and search engines to identify and index the site.
mp3: an audio file type that stands for mpeg audio layer-3. mp3 format compress a sound selection into a small file (one twelfth the original file size), while maintaining the original sound quality. many argue that the use of mp3 files encourage the abuse of copyright laws because they can be distributed over the internet without the copyright owner's knowledge.
. . . . n . . . .
netiquette: simply, etiquette on the internet. since the internet changes rapidly, its netiquette does too, but it's still usually based on the golden rule. the need for a sense of netiquette arises mostly when sending or distributing e-mail, posting on usenet groups, or chatting.
. . . . o . . . .
on-line community: a group of people that have common interests and needs, and are connected to one another via an on-line means such as the internet. users can customize the "virtual environment" to their own individual, unique interests, needs and location requirements.
organic search engine optimization:
"organic" or "natural" search engine optimization (seo) is accomplished by optimizing your web pages and by increasing your "link popularity" by acquiring or paying for links that point to your web site. jointly these techniques give your site higher rankings in the search engines for your chosen search terms.
. . . . p . . . .
pdf (portable document format): a type of file that can store (on computer) the image of a printed document without distorting or corrupting that image. this allows you to view or print a document in its original form. in order to view and print pdf files, you need to first download the acrobat reader, which is free. once you've downloaded the reader, it will start automatically whenever you want to view a pdf file.
phrase search: a search for documents containing a exact sentence or phrase specified by a user.
portal: a world wide web site that acts as a major starting site for users when they get connected to the web, a portal (a.k.a. gateway) enables users to search for sites on the internet. some major portals include yahoo, excite, netscape, lycos, northern light, msn, and america online's aol.com there are general portals and specialized or niche portals (also known as vortals, or vertical portals).
precision: the degree in which a search engine lists documents matching a query. the more matching documents that are listed, the higher the precision. for example, if a search engine lists 80 documents found to match a query but only 20 of them contain the search words, then the precision would be 25%.
proximity search: a search where users to specify that documents returned should have the words near each other.
. . . . q . . . .
query-by-example: a search where a user instructs an engine to find more documents that are similar to a particular document. also called "find similar."
. . . . r . . . .
recall: related to precision, this is the degree in which a search engine returns all the matching documents in a collection. there may be 100 matching documents, but a search engine may only find 80 of them. it would then list these 80 and have a recall of 80%.
relevancy: how well a document provides the information a user is looking for, as measured by the user.
rss: a method of describing news or other web content that is available for "feeding" (distribution or syndication) from an online publisher to web users. rss is an application of the extensible markup language (xml) that adheres to the world wide web consortium's resource description framework.
. . . . s . . . .
search engine: the software that searches an index and returns matches. search engine is often used synonymously with spider and index, although these are separate components that work with the engine.
search engine optimization: (seo) the practice of manipulating aspects of a web site to improve its ranking in search engines. learn more about response builders' search engine optimization services.
shtml: a type of web page that includes instructions for a web server to insert dynamically generated content into the page.
spider: the software that scans documents and adds them to an index by following links. spider is often used as a synonym for search engine.
static page: a web page with content that does not change unless the webmaster alters it. each time a user visits a static page, they will see the same content. a static page is the opposite of a dynamically generated page.
stemming: the ability for a search to include the "stem" of words. for example, stemming allows a user to enter "swimming" and get back results also for the stem word "swim."
stop words: conjunctions, prepositions and articles and other words such as and, to and a that appear often in documents yet alone may contain little meaning.
. . . . t . . . .
tables: an organized system of rows and columns on a web page in which elements, such as text or graphics can be placed. the alignment and measurements of tables can be specified down to the pixel.
target frame: the frame that contains the resulting web page when a hyperlink in another frame on the page is clicked.
visits: the number of unique users who come to your web site and go to several different pages. visits are a better indicator of a web site's "popularity" than hits.
. . . . u . . . .
url: (uniform resource locator, previously universal resource locator) the unique address for a file that is accessible on the internet. a common way to get to a web site is to enter the url of its home page file in your web browser's address line.
example: http://www.responsebuilders.com.
. . . . v . . . .
vortal: a web site that is a vertical portal or gateway to the internet, enabling users to search for sites in one specific category such as gardening (garden.com), or investing (fool.com). unlike general portals, such as yahoo, altavista, and excite, vortals focus on one particular niche interest or industry.
. . . . w . . . .
webmaster: the person who creates and/or maintains a web site. you can usually find the webmaster's logo or e-mail link at the bottom of the site's home page.
web server: a computer that houses web sites. servers "serve up" requests for web pages made by a computer's browser program like aol, internet explorer, or netscape.
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text: Quilted Cloak Aug 23, 2008 7:42:45 GMT -5 Quote Select PostDeselect PostLink to PostMemberGive GiftBack to Top Post by jennil on Aug 23, 2008 7:42:45 GMT -5 Elizabeth's cloak (actually, her entire holiday outfit) is not an outfit I planned on buying, but I got it as a gift, and found that I liked it in person way more than on the web site. It's one of my favorites now!It's pretty and soft - looks like it would be quite warm! - and nicely constructed. It closes with a hook and eye at the neck, which seems to work out just fine (and means the little gold decorative ribbon at the neck stays "perfectly tied" all the time!)My Elizabeth enjoys wearing her cloak very much!(Note: I'll try to add pictures of Elizabeth modeling the cloak in the future. I took a bunch this morning, but they all came out too dark!)mod edit to remove broken image links


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The state Department of Transportation and Development said it plans to reopen the La. 77 bridge across the Intracoastal Waterway in Iberville Parish as soon as it judges the bridge safe for travel, which could happen as early as Saturday.
DOTD expects the bridge, which connects Gross Tete to Plaquemine, to be open to travelers sometime this weekend, although the agency won't officially open it until it is safe to drive over, said Rodney Mallet, a DOTD spokesman.
The bridge has been closed since a barge crashed into it the night of Feb. 28.
The closure forced many people who live and work in the area to drive 45 minutes out of the way to cross the waterway.
A pedestrian ferry set up by state and parish officials has carried about 18,000 people across the waterway since it began operating in early March. The waterway wasn't wide enough for a vehicle-carrying ferry, Mallet said.
If, as expected, the bridge opens this weekend, the repairs will have been completed about 45 days ahead of schedule, Mallet said.
An average of 1,400 vehicles traveled across the bridge daily prior to its closure, Mallet said.
The crash severely damaged the wood apron on the Plaquemine side of the bridge and shifted its concrete foundation, making it impossible for the swing bridge's interlocking system to work.
The cause of the crash is unknown, and the U.S. Coast Guard closed its investigation into the wreck in early March.
Follow Ben Wallace on Twitter @_BenWallace.


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The commercial Internet is about 20 years old. But it has undergone some big changes lately, as smartphones become ubiquitous.
Take a look at a report from Nielsen. It shows that the average time spent on mobile is higher than from desktop computers (at least in the U.S., U.K. and Italy). So, what's the takeaway for investors?
Well, we have already started to see the impact, with Internet stocks delivering scorching returns since their IPOs. Here are some of the companies at the forefront of mobile:
But not every company has found success. Some Internet stocks have fumbled the opportunity. For example, Zynga's (ZNGA) stock is 44% down from its IPO in 2011. Or look at Angie's List (ANGI). Its stock is down 24% over the past 12 months.
But nothing demonstrates the importance of mobile more than Facebook's $19 billion deal for WhatsApp. When it comes to core services like messaging, the valuations can reach staggering levels. That's because Internet stocks know that mobile is such a key part of their future.
So, where can investors find the next big plays? A good option is the IPO market. And the good news is that there will likely be a flurry of deals. Here's a sample of Internet stocks investors should look out for:
Kakao is the WhatsApp of Korea. The app allows for texts as well as phone calls.
The user base is at 133 million users, which is well above the 50 million population of Korea. Kakao has developed a strong footprint in countries like Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, which has driven up its user base.
The official financials are not known, but it looks like Kakao hit profitability in 2012. That should put it in league with the other Internet stocks we've mentioned.
Weibo, which operates a short-messaging service like Twitter's, is a division of Sina (SINA). Although, it has raised outside capital, such as $586 million from Alibaba.
Weibo has amassed a base of about 61 million active daily users. And so far, the monetization has been strong. During the fourth quarter, revenues came to $56 million, up 163% on a year-over-year basis, and the operating profit hit $3 million.
A deal is expected to be valued at about $8 billion.
GrubHub has been around since the late 1990s — but mobile has been the key to reviving its fortunes. Grubhub operates a platform that helps independent restaurants get their customers to place takeout orders with their smartphones.
The market opportunity is massive, with total orders in the U.S. at a $67 billion. If anything, Grubhub has only scratched the surface. Last year, the company booked $137.1 million in revenues (up 67%), and adjusted EBITDA came to $38.1 million. In Q4, mobile orders went from 20% to 43% of total orders (on a year-over-year basis).
GrubHub is one of the oldest Internet stock out there, but its prospects are only beginning to heat up.
King Digital Entertainment
King Digital Entertainment is the developer of the wildly popular mobile game Candy Crush Saga. But it also has other top titles like Pet Rescue Saga, Farm Heroes Saga, Papa Pear Saga and Bubble Witch Saga. The dominance of those games should help make King one of the top Internet stocks.
King provides its games for free and than then collects money via in-app purchases, like virtual items. No doubt, it has worked extremely well. Last year, revenues surged from $164 million to a stunning $1.88 billion. There was even a net profit of $568 million.
But again, this is only a sampling of the Internet stocks we're expecting to go public. Other possibilities include Spotify, Airbnb and Dropbox. In other words, there will be no shortage of options for investors looking to capitalize on the mobile trend with new Internet stocks.
Tom Taulli runs the InvestorPlace blog IPO Playbook. He is also the author of High-Profit IPO Strategies, All About Commodities and All About Short Selling. Follow him on Twitter at @ttaulli. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.


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This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
This study employed a qualitative approach to explore the attitudes and experiences of older people towards using gerontechnology, and to determine the underlying reasons that might account for their use and non-use of gerontechnology. Four focus group discussions and 26 individual interviews were undertaken. Qualitative data were analyzed using NVivo software and were categorized using coding and grounded theory techniques. The result indicated that old people in Hong Kong had an overall positive attitude toward technology. Positive attitudes were most frequently related to enhanced convenience and advanced features. Negative attitudes were most frequently associated with health risks and social problems arising from using technology (e.g., social isolation and addiction). Usage of technology is driven by outcome expectations and social influences, and supported by facilitators, whereas non-use of gerontechnology relates to the personal (e.g., health and functional capacities), technological (e.g., cost and complexity), and environmental barriers experienced. Use of gerontechnology is a synthesis of person, technology, and environment. To encourage non-users to adopt technology, there is a need to remove barriers at personal, technological, and environmental levels.
The population of Hong Kong has experienced rapid aging in the past 20 years. The number of people aged over 60 exceeded 1.45 million in 2013, accounting for 20.1% of the total population, and this number is expected to increase to 3.37 million (42.1%) by 2050 [
The emergence of gerontechnology has been shown to be a possible solution for the aging-related health, family and social burdens [
Although such technologies are supportive for daily life, older people do not show as much interest in adopting new technologies as the young, and for various reasons they are less likely to use technology [
Factors influencing usage of technology have been studied extensively. The theoretical models employed to study technology usage behavior include the theory of reasoned action (TRA) [
Most current studies have been conducted to test or confirm factors in the models of technology acceptance, and their findings have been based mainly on large-scale surveys, such as in the works of Braun [
In addition, studies in the TAM field have mainly focused on the motivation to use technology, whereas, far too little attention has been paid to why older adults fail to use technology. The few studies that have attempted to explore the reasons for non-use of technology have produced rather contradictory findings. The study of Venkatesh and Brown [
Unfortunately, most current studies concerning older people's attitudes or usage of technologies have tended to focus on a limited number of technologies, particularly computers [
No study so far has empirically explored how older adults define and appraise technology and why they decide to use or not use technology. Therefore, a thorough understanding of older people's perceptions, experiences, and reasons for use and non-use relating to technology is needed. It is believed that more extensive qualitative studies can supplement the quantitative findings from previous studies, and explore in more depth the use and non-use of technology by older Hong Kong people.
The purpose of the current study was to employ a qualitative approach to explore older people's attitudes towards and experiences with using technology, and to determine the underlying reasons that might account for their use and non-use of technology. "
A triangulation of qualitative methods with a combination of individual face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions were adopted in this study. Qualitative studies are useful for obtaining better understanding of a phenomenon, because the methods allow and can encourage individuals to use their own words to express attitudes and experiences [
Elderly service centres in Hong Kong were used as the sampling frame. Informed and written consent was obtained from all participants. Participants were informed they had the right to withdraw from the study at any time without giving a reason, and their information would be kept confidential and anonymous. They were required to fill in a questionnaire to supply information about demographics (age, education level, economic status compared with others in the same local area, general health conditions,
An interview guide was used by the interviewer to ensure that all principal questions were addressed in focus group discussions and individual interviews. The principal questions, for example, were: "
There were 50 participants all of whom were community-dwelling older adults (44 females and six males), ranging in age from 55 to 85 years (mean = 67.47; standard deviation = 7.96). The sample size of this study falls within the range of 15–60 suggested by Angrosino
The audio taped data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed without revealing the identity of interviewees using NVivo 10 software package. A three-stage coding process was adopted here, including open, axial, and selective coding [
The construction of the coding scheme combined the bottom-up/data-driven approach (grounded theory approach) whereby common concepts were extracted from a random number of transcripts, and the top-down/concept-driven approach whereby concepts were based on previous studies [
Demographics of the participants (
|Gender (
|Age (mean)
|Education (
|Co-residence (
|Marital status (
|Means of living (
|Economic status (
|Health condition (
|Men (5) Woman (21)
|Informal (2) Pre-primary (3)
|Family members (23) Alone (3)
|Married (12) Divorced
|Salary (1)
|Rich (5)
|Excellent (6)
|Woman (5)
|Pre-primary (1)
|Family members (5)
|Married (1) Divorced
|Property income (1)
|General (5)
|Excellent (2) Good (3)
|Woman (6)
|Informal (2) Pre-primary (2)
|Family members (4);
|Married (2)
|Family members (6)
|General (6)
|Excellent (1) Good (1)
|Men (1) Woman (7)
|Informal (4) Pre-primary (3)
|Family members (7) Alone (1)
|Married (3) Divorced
|Family members (8)
|General (7)
|Excellent (3) Fair (5)
|Woman (5)
|Pre-primary (1) Primary (1)
|Family members (3)
|Married (1) Divorced
|Retirement wages (1)
|General (4)
|Excellent (1) Fair (3)
|Men (6)
|Informal (8) Pre-primary (10)
|Family members (42) Alone (8)
|Married (19) Divorced
|Salary (1)
|Rich (5)
|Excellent (13) Good (9) Fair (25) Poor (2)
1 Self-reported economic status compared with others in the same local area. The response choices include "very poor" (much lower than others), "poor" (lower than others), "general" (the same as others), "rich" (better than others), and "very rich" (much better than others).
Background information about technology use.
|Gerontechnology products or services
|Usage rates
|Induction cooker or microwave oven
|Remote control devices
|Emergency alert products/services
|Automatic teller machine (ATM)
|Credit cards
|Mobile phones
|Computers or Internet
|Transport smart cards
|Health massage products/sports equipment
|Electronic sphygmomanometer/glucometer
|Digital camera
|MP3/CD/DVD/VCD players
The coding scheme and proportion of the code (
|Categories (%)
|Subcategories (%)
|Codes (%)
|Attitudes toward gerontechnology (16.25%)
|Positive attitudes (56.17%)
|A person's favorable evaluation of the gerontechnology.
|Convenience (46.15%)
|Social trend (17.58%)
|Advanced (13.19%)
|Speediness (12.09%)
|Unspecified (10.99%)
|Negative attitudes (43.83%)
|A person's unfavorable evaluation of the gerontechnology.
|Health risk (19.72%)
|Addiction (18.31%)
|Unsafe/lack of privacy (14.08%)
|Social isolation (11.27%)
|Frequent updates (8.45%)
|Environmental pollution (7.04%)
|Complex (5.63%)
|Reasons for use (27.68%)
|Utilitarian outcomes (63.04%)
|The extent to which using a technology is perceived to be instrumental in achieving valued outcomes.
|Convenience and speed (29.89%)
|Ease of communication (22.41%)
|Useful (18.39%)
|Knowledge acquisition (14.94%)
|Pass time (6.90%)
|Money saving (5.17%)
|Social interaction (2.30%)
|Hedonistic outcomes (14.49%)
|The extent to which the individual is curious during the interaction and finds the interaction intrinsically enjoyable or interesting.
|Interest and fun (75.00%)
|Like to learn (17.5%)
|Curiosity (7.5%)
|Social outcomes (6.16%)
|The degree to which using a technology is perceived to enhance one's image or status in one's social system.
|Social influence (16.30%)
|The extent to which social values and members of a social network influence the usage behavior.
|Fitting in with modern society/times
|Reasons for non-use (38.92%)
|Dispositional barriers (64.95%)
|Personal factors associated with individuals' attitudes and self-perceptions about oneself as a user.
|Memory loss (21.03%)
|Lack of knowledge (16.27%)
|Anxiety (14.29%)
|Lack of necessity (9.92%)
|Difficulty with/inability to learn (9.52%)
|Do not know how to use (8.73%)
|Health and ability reasons (6.75%)
|Old age (3.57%)
|Perceptions of prejudice and discrimination (3.17%)
|Inconvenience others (3.17%)
|No interest (1.98%)
|Not smart/too dull (1.59%)
|Situational barriers (16.75%)
|Personal factors which are beyond one's control and are related to the individual's life situation or environment at a particular time.
|Lack of assistance (30.77%)
|Lack of time (27.69%)
|Limited exposure to modern technology (18.46%)
|Inaccessibility (16.92%)
|Secondary sources (6.15%)
|Technological barriers (18.30%)
|Factors attributable to the features of gerontechnology product or service.
|Expense (42.25%)
|Complexity (36.62%)
|Safe and privacy issue (21.13%)
|Facilitators (17.15%)
|Perception of internal or external factors that support technology use.
|Training (27.49%)
|Assistance (25.15%)
|Adaptive design (14.62%)
|Encouragement (10.53%)
|Bought or given by family members (8.19%)
|Good tutor (5.26%)
|Positive attitudes to oneself (8.77%)
Of the 997 coded quotes, 592 discussed technology in general, but the remaining 405 statements specified a certain type or form of technology. These technologies can be classified into five domains based on the similarities for their goals or context of use, viz. information and communication, home and daily living, entertainment and leisure, shopping and purchasing, and health care. The frequencies with which the technologies were discussed are shown in
The frequency with which technologies were discussed in each domain (
|Basic for domains
|Frequency in domain
|Information and communication
|Computer-based technologies and digital communication technology.
|Mobile phones
|Smart phone instant messaging applications
|Tablet computers
|Video calls
|Home and daily living
|Support home and daily tasks.
|Microwave ovens
|Octopus cards
|Induction cookers
|Rice cookers
|Wash machines
|Webcam for monitoring
|Entertainment and leisure
|Used on voluntary basis with free time.
|Digital cameras
|Sports equipment
|Shopping and purchase
|Use money
|Electronic-services (online transaction)
|Credit cards
|Health care
|Manage health
|Emergency alarm services
|Sphygmomanometer/blood glucose meters
|Hearing aids
These data show that older adults are aware of and willing to use various types of technology, particularly computers and mobile phones. Surprisingly, health technologies were the least reported by the respondents. This result might have been due to the fact that 94% of the respondents reported they were generally healthy. Therefore, their immediate living needs may not be medical and health care related; rather, they were concerned about matters related to their lifestyles such as communication, social adaptation, home and living, leisure and entertainment, and shopping.
A concern for this study was how older people define technology, thus the questions like "
To explore older adults' attitude towards gerontechnology, questions like "
Convenience was the factor contributed most to older adults' positive perceptions about technology, accounting for 46.15% of the positive data. Participants indicated they like technology because it can make activities easier and faster, especially for cooking, communication, and administrative activities like financial transactions or transportation. In addition, technology was perceived by respondents as a progressive trend (17.58% of the positive data), and therefore an individual refusing to use technology was considered to be heading for obsolescence and to be out of touch with society. The technology features of advancement (13.19%) and speediness (12.09%) also contributed to the positive appraisals.
Participants also expressed negative attitudes towards technology. The reasons for unfavorable attitudes were associated with health risks (19.72%), technology addiction (18.31%), generation gap (15.49%), unsafe (14.08%), social isolation (11.27%), rapid rate of change and updates (8.45%), environmental pollution (7.04%), and complex (5.63%). Respondents reported that they dislike using gerontechnology because these products are almost all electronic products which might produce radiation and cause adverse health effects. Likewise, using technological products, particularly computers, for a prolonged time could pose health risks including eyestrain, headaches, as well as muscle and joint pain. Moreover, some social problems arising from using technology, such as technology addiction, social isolation, and electronic waste were also reported as reasons for disliking technologies. Technology features—including rapid rate of change, need for updating, insecurity, and complexity—contributed to the negative attitudes as well. In addition, a generation gap regarding modern technology was noted by some respondents. It appeared to some participants that the younger and older generations differed in the purposes for using and the ways of using technology, and the younger generation was more comfortable with changes in technology.
A primary goal of this study was to understand why older people use or do not use technology products and services. The results indicated that reasons for adopting technology by respondents were mainly associated with the perceived consequences of using (83.69% of the reason-for-use data), which could be classified into utilitarian outcomes, hedonistic outcomes, and social outcomes. This finding corroborates those reported by Braun [
Other instrumental outcomes related to using technology included knowledge acquisition, passing time, and maintaining connections with others. In addition, using technologies like various smart phone applications, free online services for books and movies, and Elder Octopus Cards (
Apart from the utilitarian outcomes, some participants attributed their usage to attaining favorable social outcomes, that is, enhancement of one's image or status in social systems. For example, interviewees gave the following responses "
Other than the external outcomes mentioned above, hedonistic reasons for use were also reported. Respondents indicated that they had a general curiosity about and became interested in new technology. Also, they found their interaction with technologies was intrinsically enjoyable or interesting, as described by some participants "
It was found that social influences exerted a great impact on older people's usage behavior, accounting for 16.30% of the data coded as reasons-for-use. Social influence, in contrast to social outcomes, is a perceived "
The study investigated why some older adults fail to use technology, and the results suggested a variety of barriers inhibit their usage behavior. According to the qualitative responses, reasons for non-use of technology can be conceptualized into three types of barriers adapted from the framework suggested by Cross [
The dispositional barrier as described by Cross [
Anxious or emotional reactions were expressed by the interviewees when it came to using computers or money-related technological services such as ATM or credit cards. Many respondents explicitly mentioned that they were afraid to use computers, in particular when computers were not their own. They feared inadvertent deletion of important documents, damaging a computer, and making mistakes they cannot correct when using computers. Some respondents did not use gerontechnology because they perceived it to be unnecessary. For instance, many interviewees indicated that there is "
Negative self-evaluated beliefs were found to inhibit usage behavior. Some respondents attributed their non-use to self-perceptions such as of "
In addition to dispositional barriers, an individual's current circumstance or situation beyond their control was found to impact on usage behavior. In this study, the situational barriers included lack of assistance; lack of time; the limited exposure to modern technology; inaccessibility; and influences of secondary resources. Complaints about lack of assistance when encountering difficulties were widespread among participants. One interviewee stated: "
Moreover, participants expressed the view that using innovative gerontechnology was extra difficult for those did not grow up with it. They indicated that they were born without modern technology like computers and mobile phones, which means that modern technology is foreign to the elderly and thus they have to learn a completely new language and skill late in their lives. The generation-related lack of earlier experience has also been reported by Docampo Rama
Moreover, participants attributed their non-use to features of gerontechnology—expense, complexity, and safety or privacy issues. If the expense which comprises the price of the product or service, training or education fee, and maintenance cost, exceeded the acceptable range of old people, they would refuse to use the technology. One interviewee stated that "
This finding, that barriers were the main reasons for non-use is consistent with the study of Venkatesh and Brown [
In the present study, participants were asked to think about the ways that could help to support their technology usage. Among various types of facilitators identified by the participants, training was the most frequently mentioned, accounting for 27.49% of the facilitator data. A majority of participants indicated that they could not acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to use computers unless they received formal training from social services centres. At the same time, the success of the learning was determined to a great extent by the quality of the tutors. The quality of "
Moreover, timely assistance was reported to be necessary to support usage of technology. It was found that although participants disliked being taught by their children, when they encountered technological difficulties, they would turn first to their children or professionals for help rather than refer to instruction manuals. Participants also indicated that most of the technological products they used were given to them or bought by their children. Furthermore, some participants reported that verbal praise or material rewards could encourage gerontechnology usage, and the encouragement may act as incentive for older adults. For instance, an interviewee who was also a volunteer for computer classes for seniors said "
In addition, participants indicated "
Besides the environmental facilitators, it was also found internal variables, viz., positive attitudes to aging and self-confidence were conductive to interaction between older people and technology. The positive beliefs, such as "
The first stage of analysis identified concepts within categories. In the second stage of data analysis, axial coding was employed to link categories together and to explore their relationships. The process involved constructing a loose conceptual framework including causal conditions, context, action, intervening conditions, and consequences [
Result of the axial coding—relationships between categories.
In the final selective-coding stage, all categories were re-examined and unified; and a resulting model, grounded in the qualitative data, was developed based on selective coding.
The grounded model based on qualitative data.
The core or the inner layer of the grounded model is the use or non-use of technology, which is directly or indirectly determined by outer three layers. Older adults in the present study used a variety of technologies for communication, enhancing home and daily activities, shopping, entertainment, and managing health.
The second layer is the personal context which contains the characteristics and traits of the elderly users—attitudes to technology, health and functional capacity, dispositional characteristics, and knowledge and skills. The findings of this research are consistent with other studies [
The results here are also in agreement with findings of much of the previous work that has found associations between personal factors and usage of technology. The finding that older adults' physical and functional capabilities are relating to technology usage has also been reported by previous researchers [
The technological context is found in the third layer. Usage of gerontechnology was found to depend on the consequences of using and features of technologies. The result confirms the social cognitive theory suggestion that individuals are more likely to engage in behavior they expect will result in favorable outcomes [
Besides direct influences, the variables in the technological context may also impact on usage through the mediation role of personal characteristics. For instance, in the TAM, technological features of ease of use and usefulness were antecedents of attitudes. Other research has reported that outcome expectations may affect attitude towards technology, and further influence behavior [
The outer layer of the grounded model is environmental context, which comprised social influences, training and assistance, encouragement, and other situational characteristics. Older people in the study were found to be motivated to comply with prevailing values, norms, trends of a society, as well as important referents (especially family and circle of friends). Moreover, messages and signals conveyed through mass media, including newspapers, television, radio, and other secondary sources, also have an impact on an older individual's behavior in this study.
In addition to the direct effect, previous research has provided evidence that social influences can indirectly impact behavior by altering an individual's belief structure through internalization and identification [
Some results in the present study indicated that use of technology is embedded in a culture context. This can be illustrated briefly by the fact that limited knowledge of English was a barrier to those from a non-English-speaking background. Another finding was that participants expressed their dislike of being lectured to by a younger person, because that was perceived to be a weakening the authority of the older person. This may be due to the nature of Chinese culture which has been greatly influenced by Confucian values which place great importance on hierarchical status and authority. According to Confucianism, older people are superior to younger in terms of social and family status; and within a family, the older person is responsible for educating the younger, and the younger serves the older with filial piety and submission [
The present study employed a qualitative approach in order to achieve a clearer view of the attitudes of older adults towards technology, and to provide theoretical insight into the reasons for use and non-use of technology by older people in Hong Kong. The findings here indicate that usage of technology by older people is mainly driven by outcome expectations and social influences, and supported by facilitators, whereas, non-use relates to the personal, technological, and environmental barriers experienced.
The grounded model based on the qualitative data indicates that use of technology is a synthesis of person, technology, and environment; there are some factors within the personal and situational contexts that have been overlooked in previous literature on TAM studies. Personal attributes, such as self-efficacy, physical and cognitive abilities, and knowledge were found to play important roles in shaping elderly individuals' attitudes and behaviors. In addition, facilitating conditions including self-evaluative attitudes, training, assistance, and encouragement were found to have a significant impact on technology usage. Nevertheless, older people may not be involved with technologies for three reasons: first, their own personal circumstances such as lack of knowledge and functional impairment may impede their ability to use technologies; second, technological barriers like cost and complexity constrain their usage; third, the social environment including lack of assistance as well as limited exposure to modern technology impose restrictions on usage.
Results of this study provide some implications. This study suggests that older people's technology usage behaviors are mainly motivated by perceived benefits, while barriers may restrain them from using technology. Consequently, for technological developers, effective design strategies might focus on ways to meet goals and expectations of older adults, maximize benefits like convenience and speediness, and provide supports for social and recreational activities. Likewise, some unfavorable features including concerns about safety, complexity, and health risks should be eliminated where possible or at least reduced to the point that the benefits of using the technology outweigh the costs.
It is evident from this study that training was the major factor facilitating technology use. Many previous studies have reported that attending training programmes or workshops can help older individuals to build self-confidence, elicit positive attitudes, and increase intention to use technology [
In addition, responses from the participants suggest that older adults did not like to be taught by their children. Similarly, the study of Xie [
It is very important that a favorable learning and using environment should be created for older users because of the fact that social influences play an important role in affecting the behavior of older adults. Also, older adults placed a high value on the images that they had in their social system; the way elderly people are viewed and treated will greatly impact their usage of technology. This indicates that to promote technology use by seniors, it is important to avoid labeling the older person as "
Although the present work investigated older people's attitudes and usage of technology, the results are based on cross-sectional studies which did not take into account user experiences. Previous studies have found differences in the pre- and post-usage attitudes between users [
Technology usage by older adults is a multi-disciplinary topic, and it was found to be influenced by a variety of factors, involving personal characteristics, technological factors, and environmental variables. The grounded model here proposed reciprocal relationships between those factors and different contexts; however, how they are interrelated has not been fully studied. For example, the impacts of attitudes to using and self-evaluative beliefs on usage behavior have been studied, but could a person's usage behavior also influence his or her attitudes towards using and self-evaluative beliefs? Further research might focus on exploring the reciprocal relationships between factors within different contexts. Also, it is suggested that usage of technology is embedded in the context of culture. Few studies have empirically examined cultural issues associated with technology usage. Future research may focus on identifying the major cultural dimensions and their corresponding relationships with technology usage by users.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.


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Surveillance and Epidemiology
Jim Kucik, MPH
Jim Kucik is a health scientist with the Birth Defects Surveillance Team of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD). He received a master's degree in public health with a focus in epidemiology from Emory University. Atlanta, Georgia, in 2001. In his 3 years with NCBDDD, Jim has conducted research that investigates trends and causes of birth defects and has explored racial disparities in the occurrence of birth defects. Also, he contributes to the administration of CDC's MACDP birth defects' surveillance system. In his spare time, he enjoys pushing his 15-month-old around on his tricycle.
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I am a UK based amateur photographer who loves to make pictures with people, whether they be models, people in the street or my friends and family.
My portfolio has a good selection of images both with and for models, and only a small portion of these are shown here on MM. In addition I have an extensive archive of documentary & reportage work which has been built up from many overseas work trips.
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In this example, you implement a custom link type to a hypothetical
document type, a text file with the extension
Within this document, the requirement items are identified with a
special text string,
Requirement::, followed by
a single space and then the requirement item inside quotation marks
You will create a document index listing all the requirement items. When navigating from the Simulink® model to the requirements document, the document opens in the MATLAB® Editor at the line of the requirement that you want.
To create a custom link requirement type:
Write a function that implements the custom link type and save it on the MATLAB path.
For this example, the file is
containing the function,
rmicustabcinterface, that
implements the ABC files shipping with your installation.
To view this function, at the MATLAB prompt, type:
edit rmicustabcinterface
The file
rmicustabcinterface.m opens in the MATLAB Editor.
The content of the file is:
function linkType = rmicustabcinterface %RMICUSTABCINTERFACE - Example custom requirement link type % % This file implements a requirements link type that maps % to "ABC" files. % You can use this link type to map a line or item within an ABC % file to a Simulink or Stateflow object. % % You must register a custom requirement link type before using it. % Once registered, the link type will be reloaded in subsequent % sessions until you unregister it. The following commands % perform registration and registration removal. % % Register command: >> rmi register rmicustabcinterface % Unregister command: >> rmi unregister rmicustabcinterface % % There is an example document of this link type contained in the % requirement demo directory to determine the path to the document % invoke: % % >> which demo_req_1.abc % Copyright 1984-2010 The MathWorks, Inc. % Create a default (blank) requirement link type linkType = ReqMgr.LinkType; linkType.Registration = mfilename; % Label describing this link type linkType.Label = 'ABC file (for demonstration)'; % File information linkType.IsFile = 1; linkType.Extensions = {'.abc'}; % Location delimiters linkType.LocDelimiters = '>@'; linkType.Version = ''; % not required % Uncomment the functions that are implemented below linkType.NavigateFcn = @NavigateFcn; linkType.ContentsFcn = @ContentsFcn; function NavigateFcn(filename,locationStr) if ~isempty(locationStr) findId=0; switch(locationStr(1)) case '>' lineNum = str2num(locationStr(2:end)); openFileToLine(filename, lineNum); case '@' openFileToItem(filename,locationStr(2:end)); otherwise openFileToLine(filename, 1); end end function openFileToLine(fileName, lineNum) if lineNum > 0 if matlab.desktop.editor.isEditorAvailable matlab.desktop.editor.openAndGoToLine(fileName, lineNum); end else edit(fileName); end function openFileToItem(fileName, itemName) reqStr = ['Requirement:: "' itemName '"']; lineNum = 0; fid = fopen(fileName); i = 1; while lineNum == 0 lineStr = fgetl(fid); if ~isempty(strfind(lineStr, reqStr)) lineNum = i; end; if ~ischar(lineStr), break, end; i = i + 1; end; fclose(fid); openFileToLine(fileName, lineNum); function [labels, depths, locations] = ContentsFcn(filePath) % Read the entire file into a variable fid = fopen(filePath,'r'); contents = char(fread(fid)'); fclose(fid); % Find all the requirement items fList1 = regexpi(contents,'\nRequirement:: "(.*?)"','tokens'); % Combine and sort the list items = [fList1{:}]'; items = sort(items); items = strcat('@',items); if (~iscell(items) && length(items)>0) locations = {items}; labels = {items}; else locations = [items]; labels = [items]; end depths = [];
To register the custom link type ABC, type the following MATLAB command:
rmi register rmicustabcinterface
The ABC file type appears on the Requirements Traceability Link Editor drop-down list of document types.
Create a text file with the
.abc extension
containing several requirement items marked by the
Requirement:: string.
For your convenience, an example file ships with your installation.
The example file is
demo_req_1.abc contains
the following content:
Requirement:: "Altitude Climb Control" Altitude climb control is entered whenever: |Actual Altitude- Desired Altitude | > 1500 Units: Actual Altitude - feet Desired Altitude - feet Description: When the autopilot is in altitude climb control mode, the controller maintains a constant user-selectable target climb rate. The user-selectable climb rate is always a positive number if the current altitude is above the target altitude. The actual target climb rate is the negative of the user setting. End of "Altitude Climb Control"> Requirement:: "Altitude Hold" Altitude hold mode is entered whenever: |Actual Altitude- Desired Altitude | < 30*Sample Period*(Pilot Climb Rate / 60) Units: Actual Altitude - feet Desired Altitude - feet Sample Period - seconds Pilot Climb Rate - feet/minute Description: The transition from climb mode to altitude hold is based on a threshold that is proportional to the Pilot Climb Rate. At higher climb rates the transition occurs sooner to prevent excessive overshoot. End of "Altitude Hold" Requirement:: "Autopilot Disable" Altitude hold control and altitude climb control are disabled when autopilot enable is false. Description: Both control modes of the autopilot can be disabled with a pilot setting. ENd of "Autopilot Disable" Requirement:: "Glide Slope Armed" Glide Slope Control is armed when Glide Slope Enable and Glide Slope Signal are both true. Units: Glide Slope Enable - Logical Glide Slope Signal - Logical Description: ILS Glide Slope Control of altitude is only enabled when the pilot has enabled this mode and the Glide Slope Signal is true. This indicates the Glide Slope broadcast signal has been validated by the on board receiver. End of "Glide Slope Armed" Requirement:: "Glide Slope Coupled" Glide Slope control becomes coupled when the control is armed and (Glide Slope Angle Error > 0) and Distance < 10000 Units: Glide Slope Angle Error - Logical Distance - feet Description: When the autopilot is in altitude climb control mode the controller maintains a constant user selectable target climb rate. The user-selectable climb rate is always a positive number if the current altitude is above the target altitude the actual target climb rate is the negative of the user setting. End of "Glide Slope Coupled"
Open the following example model:
Right-click the Reaction Jet Control subsystem and select Requirements Traceability > Open Link Editor.
The Requirements Traceability Link Editor opens.
Click New to add a new requirement
link. The Document type drop-down list now contains
ABC file (for demonstration) option.
Set Document type to
file (for demonstration) and browse to the
The browser shows only the files with the
.abc extension.
To define a particular location in the requirements document, use the Location field.
In this example, the
rmicustabcinterface function
specifies two types of location delimiters for your requirements:
> — Line number in a
@ — Named item, such as
a bookmark, function, or HTML anchor
The Location drop-down list contains these
two types of location delimiters whenever you set Document
type to
ABC file (for demonstration).
Select Line number. Enter the
26, which corresponds with the line number
for the
Altitude Hold requirement in
In the Description field, enter
Hold, to identify the requirement by name.
Click Apply.
Verify that the
Altitude Hold requirement
links to the Reaction Jet Control subsystem. Right-click the subsystem
and select Requirements Traceability > 1. "Altitude Hold".
A document index is a list of all the requirements in a given document. To create a document index, MATLAB uses file I/O functions to read the contents of a requirements document into a MATLAB variable. The RMI extracts the list of requirement items.
The example requirements document,
defines four requirements using the string
To generate the document index for this ABC file, the
ContentsFcn function
rmicustabcinterface.m extracts the requirements
names and inserts
@ before each name.
For the
demo_req_1.abc file, in the Link
Editor: Reaction Jet Control dialog box, click the Document
Index tab. The
ContentsFcn function
generates the document index automatically.


text:
In the large kettle we boiled a piece of fat meat, of goodly size, and in the other we made our tea.
fat meat could not work your joints for you as the muscles do.
She always gave a piece of fat meat to babies because this would make them healthy all their lives.
The moon was a fat woman with a skin of hide, and she was full of fat meat.
fat meat is not so proper nor healthy for soup as the leaner parts of the finest meat.
They dress in furs, and live chiefly on the fat meat of the seal and walrus.
Stale meat will make broth grouty and bad tasted, and fat meat is wasted.
No fat meat is allowed, no butter or cheese, pies or pastry.
fat meat requires more roasting than lean, and meat that has been frozen will take nearly double the usual time.
His mother would hang up pieces of fat meat across the room where he sat, and he would try very hard to pierce them.


text:
Sound System Improvement Stage One
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Officially Welcomed to the 'Fest
Location: Melbourne Australia
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 173
Mein Auto: Touareg TDI
View My Garage
I have had the Earthquake SWS-8X's sitting ready for install for some time and finally got round to it. They dropped right in - no dremmel work was required ie there are no protrusions in my housing like in the example threads on this topic. Just for the heck of it I ran them from the standard head unit but no good - even with maximum bass boost in the head unit. They are 4 ohm like the 6 inchers I removed but sensitivity is way down as I kinda expected.
So I installed the Focal Solid 2 amp I had also bought. Cripes what a difference. I have a good hint now what is possible. The Focal is running at near minimum gain and low pass filtered at 150Hz seems the best balance to date. I need to listen to the new setup for a while - see what else needs to be done.
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text:
Refugio County Federal Credit Union
Serving Our Community
Phone: 361.526.2275
Fax: 361.526.4500
24/7 Audio: 866.301.1053
Monday - Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm
Monday, September 5 - Labor Day
Monday, October 10 - Columbus Day
Friday, November 11 - Veterans Day
Thursday, November 24 - Thanksgiving Day
Monday, December 26 - Christmas Day (observance)
Friday, December 30 - New Year's Day (observance)
Monday, January 19 - M. L. King, Jr, Day
Monday. February 16 - Presidents' Day
Friday, April 3 - Good Friday
Monday, May 30 - Memorial Day
Friday, July 4 - Independence Day
Each credit union member has equal ownership and one vote regardless of how much money he/she has on deposit.
The Board You Elect
Volunteer Boards...Each credit union is governed by the Board of Directors, elected by and from the Credit Union's membership. Board members serve voluntarily.
©Refugio County Federal Credit Union 2014


text:
Man Hailed As 'Guardian Angel' in Attack by Dogs
(KFYI News) – The family of a woman who was viciously attacked by a pack of dogs in a south Phoenix park last week finally got to meet the man who saved the victim's life.
Juan Figueroa met with the family at Maricopa Medical Center, where the 72-year-old victim was treated. She got out of intensive care on Saturday, and was able to meet Figueroa for the first time on Sunday.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Antoine Chagnon, the victim's grandson, said "Thanks to this man for saving my grandmother. Without him, my grandmother may not be with us today."
According to Chagnon, his grandmother went to the park, as she often does, looking for aluminum cans. She saw the dogs in a nearby yard, and had seen them before, although they had never bothered her. This time, however, the dogs ran across the street and came right at her, biting her and repeatedly knocking her down. When she was on the ground, Chagnon said, the dogs tore at her arms and essentially ripped off her scalp, which had to be reconstructed in the hospital.
"The third time they knocked her down, she figured that was it, that she was gonna die there, because there was no one around," Chagnon said.
Then, along came Juan Figueroa.
Figueroa said he was driving to work about 5:30 last Wednesday morning and was supposed to meet a friend at a restaurant at 16th St. and Buckeye Rd. When he didn't see his friend, Figueroa drove south on 16th St. As he passed the park, he saw a person on the ground surrounded by several dogs. When he saw the person on the ground weakly trying to swat the dogs away, he decided to help.
Figueroa parked his truck and grabbed a length of hard plastic pipe, about an inch in diameter. "I thought that just by swinging it and shooing away the dogs, they would leave. But after I did that, the dogs proceeded to attack me," he said.
At that point, he said, he started hitting the dogs. "I took the dogs on and swatted them and barked at them," he said, "because I know that if you don't show you're gonna stand your ground, if you show fear, they're just gonna attack you."
Eventually, he hit the leader of the pack in the mouth, at which point all of the dogs walked away. Figueroa said he assumed they had left, but he soon saw them huddling next to a nearby tree. He figured that if he left, they would return to continue attacking the woman.
So Figueroa stood by the woman and called 911. "I didn't have a choice, in my book. It's not like I was just gonna leave someone there."
At the same time, he saw a police car driving past and waved down the officer, who came to help.
"I'm a strong believer that everything happens for a reason," said Chagnon, the grandson. "It just happened to be that the right people were there at the right time."
He said his grandmother lost four pints of blood in the attack, and likely would have died without Figueroa's intervention. When victim and savior met at the hospital on Sunday, Figueroa said, "She just said that I'm her angel, her guardian angel. She said she prayed, and I got there right in time to help."
Figueroa adds that he has a new family member. "I'm very glad that Antoine's grandmother, who is now my new nana, since I lost my grandmother not too long ago, is doing good," Figueroa said, fighting back tears.
PHOTO: Juan Figueroa talks to reporters while the victim's grandson, Antoine Chagnon, looks on.


text:
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Is this fair or are school BU?(89 Posts)
At the end of each term 'good' children in school get to attend something called a 'no stage' party.
In each class there is a happy face and a sad face on the whiteboards.
Children who have been naughty go on sad face
Children who are good and do things extra special like helping with tidying and been friendly get to go on happy face.
Those children during the term that have been on sad face are denied an invitation to the no stage party. They have to sit in class and do work.
My 4yr old was put on sad face on Monday for talking when teacher was talking.
Now he's upset that he won't be able to go to the party that his friends and brother will be going to.
Is this being harsh for 4yr olds? Or reasonable?
This sounds so harsh! I'd definitely complain if I were you.
We have a traffic light system in the classroom. Children can move up and down according to behaviour.
Each week we have Golden Time and children who have been on red at the end of the day lose some Golden Time.
Every half term there is a treat for those who have lost no Golden time - extra playtime etc but then that resets itself for the next half term.
I think a whole term is too much for such a little person.
They should have the opportunity to earn it back imo
It sounds ridiculously punitive and almost certainly counterproductive. If a child is going to be denied an end of term treat for one episode of bad behaviour there's absolutely no incentive to behave better. It reminds me of my first school where 2 conduct marks ruled you out of the Christmas Party. None of the boys ever made it to the party but all of them competed to get as many conduct marks as possible!
I'd take up your concerns with the school,OP. I'm sure you won't be the only person unhappy with the system.
Sounds to me like a school with a lot of challenging behaviour so they are coming up with desperate strategies. It is a poor system and no 4 year old of mine would be going through something like that.
fairly standard I think, but sad if just one small bad thing effects a whole term. My daughter's school has the Manners Tea once a month, where two children from each class get to go have afternoon tea with the principle and counsellor and a few others... there are cakes and biscuits and lots of praise for being so good and they are encouraged to dress up for it. Since there are only about 8 over the school year not every child gets to attend, and they good children are chosen because of something especially good they did that month. My son didn't go at all one year, but because it was just the two best that got selected each month (though not more than once) it wasn't so upsetting for him. I thought that was a good plan as it rewarded good behaviour without punishing bad and without making the child give up if they made a small error.
I agree with Panedmoniaa. It's not just absurdly over the top, it's counterproductive. Not only is it no incentive to behave better, but it will cause resentment in the child. Talking while the teacher is talking is such a minor transgression, particularly when you're four and getting used to the idea that you have to be still and quiet. At that age punishments, if you have to have them at all, should be instant, and then the transgression should be forgotten about, not held against you for the rest of the term. You have to ask yourself: where did the teacher get the idea that this was a sensible thing to do? Don't they learn anything about the psychology of rewards and discipline in teacher training college?
I doubt the individual teacher is responsible for the intervention. It will be a whole school policy.
I think talking is a petty reason, and once? For primary age children? They're not robots.
Argh i am dreading my daughter going to school. I am totally going to be THAT parent who is kicking off over everything.
Don't think the one strike and you miss the party would be particularly effective.
It's taking the incentive away for any kid's with challenging behaviour who I presume is who they're trying to target with this scheme. Also the punishment is too far from the behaviour for the child to make the connection at that age.
I think the happy/ sad faces are ok in themselves as is anyone currently on the sad face missing a treat, as long as the children can earn going back to the happy face with positive behaviour.
Id check- my school has this system, but you have to had three or more red cards (same as sad face) to miss out, so plenty of time to redeem yourself - and that is for juniors.
A party is held for all children who have been green all year at our school. An orange warning card ,just once, means no "I've been green" certificate to take home at the end of term.
The orange card is only given after 2 previous verbal warnings about their behaviour.
Children who get red cards, their parents are contacted. More than 3 reds in a week means an exclusion is very likely.
There has to be some form of consequence for bad behaviour. An orange card is not the end of the world...the aim is to earn the green back. More misbehaviour means orange becomes red.
It may seem petty,not talking while the teacher is talking, but it is so important that children learn quickly that they can't do this...it is not Behaviour for Learning. While the child is talking they have not got their mind on what they should be doing and are very likely distracting others at the same time.
At DDs school at this age they had a level system where you could move up or down, but it was fairly instant and each day started anew. I don't think there were any punishments involved either. Simply being 'moved down' seemed to be enough. Holding onto 'bad' behaviour for a term seems ridiculous and self defeating. It's not even a good policy for older children, but at four
At the end of every term on the last day is when the 'No Stage Parties' take place not just end of summer term.
October Half Term
Chirstmas Half Term
February Half Term
Easter Half Term
Summer Half Term
So with DS being placed on Sad Face on Monday this will reset itself when they return to school after February holidays.
I didnt manage to speak to the class teacher today because too many parents wanted to speak to her and were waiting outside, i had DS1 to collect afterwards and plus it was freezing cold (-3) so wanted to hurry up and get home. I will speak to DS2 class teacher on Monday morning and seeing about the no stage party because if he is denied an invitation to it then on that day i shall keep him off of school because it wouldnt be fair, plus he will be sat crying all day because his friends and brother (in Yr 1) would be attending.
I know he should face up to punishments to 'bad' behaviour but at 4yr old i think a punishment like this is too harsh.
We will have our own little party at home with Daddy and DS3
While the school are being way too harsh with their punishment for a four year old, and I very much don't agree with your son being denied the chance to go to the party just for one incident of talking, I think your idea of keeping him off school that day and having your own party is taking it far too far in the opposite direction.
Do you really want to send the message to your child that you disrespect the school rules and that he should be entitled to a day off and a party because the people who teach him are wrong?
I think that's just as bad a message to give him tbh. It will just confuse him and give him even less of an incentive to behave if you are going to over rule the school anyway.
There are plenty of children (at our infant school anyway) who would get to attend this party. And as op says, her children attended last term. And MN is full of parents who tell us that their 'unnoticed' child never gets any reward. Well this is one school's answer to that! The party will only be a small part of the behaviour strategy, otherwise where is the incentive after the first sad face? All schools will try new strategies and if something doesn't appear to improve behaviour overall it will die a natural death. Imagine actually finding something that works perfectly for over 200 wildly different individuals! (AND universally liked by all the parents .)
I wouldn't agree with keeping off school though.
I would talk to the head about your concerns. If you and the school are at cross purposes about disclipline at this early stage it will only get harder. You will not get to the bottom of it unless you get clear facts from the person responsible for maintaining discipline.
Our school does 30 mins of golden time every Friday, they get to watch a dvd, play games or whatever (disco last week)
Misbehaviour = a minute of golden time taken away for each offence. It just means that everyone
unless very badly behaved gets some golden time depending on how many minutes they have left.
At the end of each term, cups are awarded for various achievements including behaviour.
I very much doubt this was a single incident of talking when the teacher was talking, if children are usually put on the sad side for more serious misdemeanours. It is far more likely that he had received reminders and warnings over a period of time, with the final warning being that if it happened again, he would be moved onto the sad side.
You really do need to speak to the classteacher to find out what has actually happened.
It's a horrible, spiteful system and I doubt it works.
I think it is good that the children who are always good get recognised.I am betting that there are interim rewards like star of the day and golden time as well
Doesn't sound good.
Firstly, the punishment takes place a long time from the offence when the offence would be forgotten.
Secondly, every day when the names are put on the faces he will be reminded that he failed in something. I do not think 2 months of that is terribly good for a child.
Thirdly, once a child is a failure why should they avoid the sad face in the future?
I agree it's good for the children who are always well behaved to be recognised. In fact it's better than good, it's actually very important.
It's all too easy for the well behaved children to be forgotten, especially as they tend to receive less attention on a day to day basis than the more talkative children.
Seems a bit harsh and out of step with the current trend for a more positive approach to behavioural management.
I am dreading school for DS already. There are so many things that piss me off about it.
Can you encourage your ds in the ways of getting back on track so he feels he has some co trol over the situation and can "win" back his smiley face.
Poor sausage.
Ours have a weekly competition. They're grouped in tables and awarded points for good behaviour and doing well at work. Table with the most points on Friday gets a prize from as lucky dip bag (pencils, rubbers, etc) but the whole room (3 classes) gets sweets and a movie.
Seems to work really well.
I know for a fact ds1 could never manage as whole half term of impeccable behaviour so the system you've described would be a disaster. On our system he gets rewards for his work though, so although his behaviour isn't perfect he knows if he does his work well he can earn points for his table.
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