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PJ Gach posing for her fashion blog. Photo: Facebook.
Earlier this year, when fashion blogger PJ Gach found herself freshly unemployed and two months behind on her rent, she turned to a notoriously scary place for help – the Internet.
After getting repeatedly rejected for rental assistance from the government, she fired off a series of tweets to fellow bloggers and readers, saying "Can you please help? Could you pls RT? I may be homeless in 36 hours."
"I've been tweeting my heart out," Gach told The New York Observer. "But if worse comes to worse I have someone who will take my dog, then I'll be homeless. Homeless."
Being a freelance writer can be tough. And you do occasionally have to rely on the kindness of to make it through. (Free Wi-fi for the one cup of coffee you purchase, editors throwing you a quick turnaround story before pay day) But what's the etiquette of asking for anything more than a reliable internet connection? Is it financially kosher to ask strangers to crowdfund your rent?
At the time of Gach's 'rental crisis', the New York-based freelancer was living alone in a two-bedroom apartment in Harlem for $1700 a month. Like her, many of her writing pals were living from paycheck to paycheck so couldn't afford to help, and since her parents have passed away, the Hanna Horvath solution was out of question.
There was also another pesky problem: people who are facing imminent homelessness traditionally looked more 'homeless' than Gach. Being a white, well-dressed fashion blogger, Gach felt that her "middle class status" was holding her back from getting the financial assistance she deserved.
Having worked as a full-time freelancer, I must say I feel torn about Gach's plight. On the one hand, I've felt the panic of not knowing whether my credit card would go through every time I dared to splurge on things like a bunch of basil. On the other, I've never once contemplated reaching out to friends – let alone strangers – to pay for my living expenses. And in Gach's case at least, one can't help but ask the obvious questions: could she not have taken in a roommate? Was there really no chance of a temporary – albeit less aspirational – part-time job? Are there absolutely no further steps one should've taken before tweeting Perez Hilton for urgent financial assistance?
Fundraising may have once been an altruistic gesture, but these days it seems like our personal problems have increasing taken on the rallying tone of legitimate social causes.
Forget old-timey campaigns like the Biggest Morning Tea or MS Readathon, as one struggling renter puts it, "Why can't I just throw a party and have people just donate money to a cause? The cause being me."
The full force of this only hit me when I woke up to an unusual Tumblr plea for rent donation one day. It came with the following postscript, "Don't even dare tell me to 'get a job', I currently have two and I work as much as I can and GUESS WHAT living is STILL EXPENSIVE and I am NOT RICH."
While some people might choose to rationalise the social cringe with a casual, "desperate times call for desperate measures", a closer look at some of the 'campaigns' that are running on crowdfunding sites like Go Fund Me reveals a slightly different story.
Nestled among the pleas for medical funds and university fees are what's best described as 'lifestyle' emergencies. Typically, these fundraisers are middle class battlers who appear to be struggling with the difference between wants and needs.
There are ' "devastated" gap-year students campaigning for money "to go to Costa Rica as a vacation ...so we could relax and enjoy each other's company before we had to buckle down, study, and get serious", career-weary grownups rallying for sabbatical 'sponsors' because they "see an opportunity to tell a story". And, perhaps my favourite, the man who posted: "Single father of 2 young kids and working full time...needs a free Harley."
It's hard not to be shocked (or at least amused) by the sheer outrageousness of some of these requests, yet according to a recent report on Forbes magazine, the appeal of personal crowdfunding sites like IndieGoGo, FundAnything and GoFundMe are growing by day, with the latter raising more than $37 million in 2012 alone.
The rationale is simple: "It's a lot less uncomfortable to ask someone to check out your campaign than to put your hand out," says Brad Wyman, chief creative officer of FundAnything. These personal fundraising campaigns also seem to benefit from what feels like the bystander effect in reverse – every donation, social media shares and retweet is visible to the public – making it more appealing for others to join in. In other words, the more social capital you have and the bigger your reach, the more likely you'll have strangers paying for your personal cause.
This may well explain why fashion blogger PJ Gach managed to keep a roof over her head in the end. But it's also an ironic reminder that those who truly need a leg up are probably least likely to ask for it. Or at least not via Twitter.


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I scream "bad plastic surgery" -- even though a well-respected, highly experienced surgeon performed my procedure. I look severe, contorted, and asymmetric everywhere. My mouth and nose are now crooked as well (even though I did not have a lower facelift). I've lost most of my vision in my left eye. My family says I look like a monster -- and I agree. I've cancelled out of all social activities -- and have not gone anywhere but food shopping (wearing sunglasses) and doctors offices. Kicking myself for having done this!
Certainly NOT Worth It at 4 Weeks Postop! (Endoscopic Cheek & Brow Lift) - Pennsylvania
I scream "bad plastic surgery" -- even though a...
Still not worth it at 10 months post-op!...
Still not worth it at 10 months post-op! Asymmetries galore! Have had numerous filler treatments to help minimize the pits and bulges. Still have a very crooked mouth and smile, as well as synkinesis and strabismus. Left upper lip is still swollen and numb. It seems that I will need much more than the typical "one year" healing period. I hope another year of healing will do it!
The same problems remain at 16 months post-op.
Not encouraging. :(
3.5 years after the surgery, I continue to have the same problems.
I recommend NOT having this procedure! Mine has been disastrous, even though it was performed by a board-certified, highly regarded surgeon. I have permanent damage to nerves and muscles -- including parts of my face (nose and mouth) that should not have been affected by a brow/cheek lift. Horrendous experience.
Was this review helpful? {{ voteCountOthers + ' other' + (voteCountOthers == 1 ? '' : 's') }} found this helpful

subset: commoncrawl


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Floreal Coaches Gold, Silver Medalists in Decathlon
Day Seven of Competition - Aug. 9
LONDON – Under the guidance and leadership of newly named University of Kentucky track and field head coach Edrick Floreal, American's Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee went 1-2, capturing the gold and silver medals in the men's decathlon at the Olympic Games on Thursday afternoon.
Eaton claimed gold tallying an overall final score of 8869, with Hardee close behind at 8671. The bronze medal was collected by Suarez Leonel of Cuba, who finished 346 points off the pace set by Eaton.
Eaton was the first-place finisher in the 400m, long jump and 100m sprint, while earning a top-five spot in the high jump (2nd), 110m hurdles (2nd), pole vault (3rd) and javelin throw (3rd). In the final event of the 10 contested, Eaton finished sixth in the 1500m in 4:33.59 to claim the gold.
Eaton and Hardee were the only two Americans in the field of 26 vying for gold in London.
Floreal also guided two Americans to gold and silver in the men's triple jump. Christian Taylor took home gold with a mark of 17.81m while fellow American Will Claye followed him up with a silver medal on a jump of 17.62m.
Friday from London, former Kentucky track and field standout Rondel Sorrillo will be representing his native land of Trinidad and Tobago in the men's 4x100m relay qualifications. Trinidad and Tobago will be in lane four tomorrow morning at 2:45 p.m. ET, 7:45 p.m. local time in London in the second of two heats that consist of the qualification round. Should they qualify for the finals, Sorillo would race Saturday, Aug. 11 at 4:00 p.m. ET, 9:00 p.m. local time.
Day Five of Competition - Aug. 7
On the fifth day of track and field competition in London, University of Kentucky track and field head coach Edrick Floreal guided American Erik Kynard to a silver medal in the finals of the men's high jump. Kynard scored a 2.33-meter jump, clinching the silver for the USA on Tuesday, just behind the gold-medal winning mark of 2.38 of Ukhov Ivan of Russia.
In other competition, Tuesday marked the qualification period of the men's triple jump, in which American's Will Claye and Christian Taylor will be under the guidance of Floreal. Claye qualified for the finals with the best qualifying score in the competition, posting a score of 17.70, more than five tenths better than the second-place qualifier for the finals. Taylor finished first in Group B of qualifying, and had the ninth-best score overall, also qualifying for the finals.
The finals for the men's triple jump will be Aug. 9 at 2:20 p.m. ET, 7:20 p.m. local time in London.
Day Three of Competition - Aug. 5
Kentucky track and field coach Edrick Floreal guided three Americans to the finals of the men's high jump on the third day of track and field competition at the 2012 Olympic Games.
After advancing two from Team USA to the long jump on the opening day of the track and field portion of the Olympics, Floreal upped his total of athletes with three qualifying for the finals of the high jump set to take place on Tuesday.
Americans Erik Kynard and Jesse Williams both finished third with a 2.29 jump in the qualifying portion of the event. Jamie Nieto rounds out the field for Team USA coming in seventh with a jump of 2.26 to place three among the top-seven qualifiers wearing the Red, White and Blue.
Floreal will coach the three finalists on Aug. 7 at 2 p.m. ET.
Elsewhere on the track, former UK star Rondel Sorrilloplaced 23rd overall in the world in the 100m with a time of 10.31. Sorrillo advanced to the semifinals of the race for the second time in his career.
He will return to competition later in the week suiting up for Trinidad and Tobago in the 200m as well as a member of the 4x100m relay.
For continuing coverage of the athletes with Wildcat ties visit UKathletics.com for daily updates.
Day Two of Competition - Aug. 4
On the second day of track and field competition at the 2012 Olympics, the Wildcats had two former athletes in competition while UK head coach Edrick Floreal, serving as an assistant for Team USA, led Will Claye to a bronze medal in the men's long jump.
Floreal is coaching America's jumps and combined events and guided Claye to a bronze medal in the men's long jump with a best mark of 8.12m. The medal for Team USA is the second overall in track and field thus far.
Floreal's other athlete, Marquise Goodwin, in competition this evening finished 10th overall with a jump of 7.80m to highlight the day for Olympians with UK ties.
Former UK standouts Jenna Martin and Rondel Sorrillo were also in action. Martin who advanced to the semifinals of the 400m with a time of 51.98 yesterday, capped her Olympic run with a 52.83 time in today's semifinals to finish 23rd in the world. Martin was seventh in the opening heat in the semifinal portion of the competition.
Sorrillo became the second Wildcat to advance beyond the opening day of competition after qualifying for the semifinals in the 100m. Sorillo, representing Trinidad and Tobago, finished third in his heat with a time of 10.23 to qualify for tomorrow's semifinal heats. Sorrillo finished just behind USA's Justin Gattin (9.97) and the Bahamas' Derrick Attkins (10.22).
Sorillo will hit the blocks in the final heat of competition in the semifinal round tomorrow. He will stand in lane three and be next to Lexington native Tyson Gay who will occupy lane four.
The Trinidad and Tobago native holds the 100m record at Kentucky. A veteran competitor at the Olympics, he ran 10.05 in the 100m at the 2008 Games.
Floreal will direct his athletes in the men's high jump qualification, and Sorrillo will be in action in the 100m semifinals at 2:45 p.m. ET Sunday to highlight competition for the Cats.
Day One of Competition - Aug. 3
Former University of Kentucky standout Jenna Martin qualified for the semifinals of the Women's 400m early Friday morning on the first day of track and field competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Martin, a native of Nova Scotia, Canada and a 2011 Kentucky graduate, is competing in the women's 400m for her native country, Canada, an event in which she holds the UK program record with a time of 52.32 seconds in 2008. Martin was selected indoor All-American in 2008 for the 400m and outdoor All-American in the 400m in 2011.
Martin's time of 51.98 seconds in Heat 3 of qualifiers was the third best of the heat, qualifying her for the semifinals on Saturday, Aug. 4, at 3:05 p.m. ET. The finals of the women's 400m will take place Sunday, Aug. 5, at 4:10 p.m. ET.
UK track and field and cross country coach Edrick Floreal, serving as an assistant coach for USA, specifically coaching men's jumps and combined events, coached two members of the USA Olympic team into the finals of the men's long jump. Marquise Goodwin recorded the best jump in Group A of qualifiers, leaping 8.11m. Fellow American, Will Claye, also qualified for the men's long jump final with a 7.99m jump.
Floreal will coach Goodwin and Claye in the Finals of the men's long jump Saturday, Aug. 4, at 2:55 p.m. ET.
Look for other Wildcats in action on Saturday as Rondel Sorrillo will compete in the preliminaries of the men's 100m at 5:00 a.m. ET.
Olympic Results for Former Wildcats
Jenna Martin - Canada
Women's 400m Round One - Qualified for Semifinals - 51.98
Women's 400m Semifinals - 23rd overall - 52.83
Rondel Sorrillo - Trinidad and Tobago
Men's 100m Preliminaries - Qualified for Semifinals - 10.23
Men's 100m Semifinals - 23rd overall - 10.31
Men's 200m Round One - 34th overall - 20.76
4x100m Relay Round One - Aug. 10, 2:45 p.m. ET, 7:45 p.m. local
Mikel Thomas - Trinidad and Tobago
Men's 110m Hurdle Round One - 32nd overall - 13.74


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BOZEMAN – South 11th Avenue between Lincoln Street and Grant Street will be closed from 6 a.m. Monday, July 1, to 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 2, to install a new irrigation main line. From the north, traffic will detour onto Grant Street to South 7th Avenue. From the south, traffic will detour on Lincoln Street to 19th Avenue.
For comments or questions, call MSU's Facilities Planning, Design and Construction project manager Darryl Curfman at (406) 570-6962 or firstname.lastname@example.com, or Luke Langbehn, McKinstry Essention at (406) 396-4718.
Evelyn Boswell, (406) 994-5135 or email@example.com


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Listen to free music
Blip.fm is internet radio made social. It's easy to search for, play, and discover free music recommended by real people. Join today to create your own free station.
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Feb 21, 2012 at 10:59 pm via YouTube | AMAZON | ITUNES


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David & the Citizens: Until the Sadness Is Gone
30 Oct 2006 // 5:00 PM
When you drop something as joyous as power pop, you better have something good to fill in its place. Fortunately, for David & the Citizens, they have the perfect fill-in: music with heart.
David & the Citizens: David & the Citizens
7 Mar 2006 // 6:00 PM
This teaser EP does the job of stirring up the requisite interest, even if it only leaves you wanting the future to deliver on the bits of promise contained within.


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October 6, 2003
TO: Peter Englert
Chancellor, University of Hawaii at Manoa
FROM: Committee on Student Affairs
Paige K. Wilmeth, Chair, Hong-Mei Chen, Robert Gibson, Donna Grace, Thomas Hilgers, Misty Johanson, Nanette Judd, Roberta Lamb, Paul McKimmy, Yuanan Lu, Marvin Ortel, Michael Salzman
RE: Responses to Proposed Structural Changes for Student Affairs
Our committee is responding to your call for participation in the move towards a more student-oriented campus. We applaud your commitment to addressing concerns about the quality of student academic and social life on the Manoa campus and echo your desire to empower students to become more active participants in their college experiences.
That said, we are concerned about the apparent lack of consultation with the OSA Faculty Senate Executive committee or OSA faculty numbers around the issue of reorganization and the future of student services. The insight and expertise of these student services practitioners should be a valued part of the reorganization vision and implementation. Regarding consultation, faculty at the Manoa campus is committed to consultation processes in which there is transparency and open sharing of information, including budgetary concerns, pertinent to the decisions at hand. It is difficult, if not impossible, for faculty to comment on issues without a shared and common basis of information. When consultation takes place throughout the planning process, it increases the likelihood that those affected by decisions will have the information needed to contribute to those decisions; calling for feedback after a proposal has been made does not make constituencies privy to the numerous considerations that go into a decision and prevents holistic feedback. We feel that consultation takes place only when faculty can be involved proactive rather than reactive ways.
In that vein, it would be helpful for us to see a rationale for a new vice chancellor, especially in these tight budgetary times. In order for us to provide valuable feedback to your proposal, we would like to see how another executive position would be funded. More importantly, we would like a rationale for how another executive position will achieve the action items called for in the USSC final report.
For reorganization to be effective, it must be systemic; it is not clear how the reorganization proposed fits into the larger vision for the Manoa campus and the University of Hawaii system. Without this perspective, we anticipate redundancy of services and responsibilities, further increasing operating costs without maximizing efficiency.
The goal of this committee, like yours, is to ensure quality student life on the UH Manoa campus. We believe the voices of those who run the programs and services dedicated to student life must be heard as we look towards the future of student affairs, and that the OSA Faculty Senate and faculty of OSA need to be integrally involved in responding to and creating strategies for the action items proposed by the USSC. In addition, we urge you to address our concerns before the Faculty Senate so that we can better understand your goals and plans. We, in turn, would be able to better address your recommendations.
University of Hawaii | UH Manoa | UH Links | UHPA | Board of Regents


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What do you think of when you ponder the Magical Arts? For some it's the divisions of magic into different types of craft such as herb lore, divination, working with spirits and other such skills. Lately I've been viewing the magical arts as music, writing, hand made crafts, and other works of art. Alan Moore [Read More…]
Enter the Mind of Alan Moore
July 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment


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'Guru' jailed for attacking women
A flamboyant cult leader who claimed to be a friend of the Dalai Lama was jailed for 10 years yesterday for attacking women.
Self-styled guru Michael Lyons, 52, was convicted of raping one woman and assaulting another.
He was accused of preying on beautiful and well-educated young women who came to him for spiritual guidance.
The Jamaican-born conman, better known as Dr Mohan Singh or Mo, constructed a formidable cult spanning Britain, the United States, France and India.
A three-month re-trial at Wood Green Crown Court heard he claimed to have links with the Dalai Lama and to have treated the Queen.
His followers said he had healing powers and was capable of miracles including curing cancer and improving fertility.
An inner circle of up to 40 women financed his itinerant lifestyle, fuelling the myth and helping to lure victims.
Prosecutor Philip Katz QC said Mr Lyons surrounded himself with "young and charming" women but was a "sexual predator masquerading as a guru and a healer".
The jury found Lyons, of Brondesbury Park, Kilburn, north London, guilty of raping a woman on June 30, 2002. He was also found guilty of assaulting another woman by penetration with his fingers on or before January 31, 2005.
He was cleared, or the jury could not decide, in other allegations of rape or assault.
Police said attacks were strikingly similar and Mr Lyons might have more victims in Britain and the United States.
See our Comments Policy Comments are submitted under the express understanding and condition that the editor may, and is authorised to, disclose any/all of the above personal information to any person or entity requesting the information for the purposes of legal action on grounds that such person or entity is aggrieved by any comment so submitted. Please allow some time for your comment to be moderated.


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(CNSNews.com) – Asked Friday about the prospect the Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney might choose Condoleezza Rice as his running mate, Stanley Greenberg, who served as a pollster for President Bill Clinton, said Friday that for the Republicans to choose a pro-choice vice presidential candidate would be like the Democrats choosing a segregationist.
Rice, who served as secretary of state under President George W. Bush, is pro-choice on abortion.
"That party cannot nominate a pro-choice vice presidential candidate," said Greenberg. "I don't know what the alternative would be on our side. We would nominate a segregationist or something. It's not gonna happen. It's too, it goes right to the core of what the Republican Party is."
Greenberg appeared alongside Democratic strategist James Carville on C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" Friday to publicize their book, "It's the Middle Class Stupid!
"Romney is getting hammered all day because of Bain [Capital]. Somebody from the Romney campaign calls Drudge and says we gotta change the issue, so good, we're gonna put Condi Rice up for vice president. I mean, that's the most absurd thing I've ever heard," Carville said.
"Probably one of the most, three people associated with the Iraq war, cause I'm sure that's what the Republicans want the election to be centered around: wildly successful, wildly popular Iraq war. You can't … on every level, you can't help but laugh at it. Again, the whole thing was a head fake to get, to try to deflect some attention from Baine," Carville added.
"So who does he pick?" the host asked.
"We really don't know. If I were him, I think he needs some authenticity, and so I would do either [Rep. Paul] Ryan or [New Jersey Gov. Chris] Christie. I would do someone that the core of the party would find, you know, motivating," said Greenberg.
"I don't know. I'd put a plug in for [Louisiana Gov. Bobby] Jindal – why not? He's a smart guy. He's done a good job out there as a surrogate. He, at least is – you know, [Republican campaign consultant] Ed Rollins - I think he's right - said the party's too white, too old, and too fat. I don't know about the third one, but I certainly agree with him on the first two. Jindal is neither white or old," Carville said.
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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/).
A large body of literature claims that corporate sustainable development is a cross-functional challenge, which requires all functional units to be involved. However, it remains uncertain to what extent and in which way different corporate functions are actually involved in corporate sustainability management. To bridge this research gap, our paper draws on a concept of involvement introduced in the field of consumer behavior. Based on this previous research, our paper distinguishes two components of involvement: first, a cognitive-affective component, incorporating being affected by sustainability issues and being supportive of corporate sustainability; and second, a behavioral component, represented by the application of sustainability management tools. We use this concept to empirically analyze the involvement of corporate functions in sustainability management and find considerable differences in large German companies. Whereas public relations and strategic management are heavily involved, finance, accounting and management control appear not to be involved. A multinomial logistic regression shows that the cognitive-affective component significantly influences the behavioral component, with a functional unit being affected influencing the application of tools the most. Building on the model proposed, the paper provides implications on how to increase a functional unit's involvement in sustainability management.
Sustainable development requires the contribution and involvement of many actors. Governments, for example, design the necessary regulations and support sustainability efforts of private households and companies; voters elect governments, and consumers influence companies with their consumption patterns. Companies are important players, as they influence the natural environment and society with their product designs and offers, their production processes, purchasing decisions and their business models. Sustainable development therefore requires companies to get actively involved in shaping and implementing sustainability measures [
The involvement of all functional units is considered to be necessary to create comprehensive sustainability solutions and to impede sustainability problems from being partially or superficially 'solved' or from being shifted back and forth between functional units [
Nonetheless, management research has so far neglected to empirically analyze to what extent different corporate functions within a company are involved in the management of corporate sustainability. This research gap evokes the following question: To what extent and in which way are different functional units involved in corporate sustainability management, and what increases a functional unit's involvement?
Extant sustainability management literature highlights the importance of involving a variety of actors, using terms, such as "stakeholder involvement" [
For corporate sustainability, we argue that Hansen's [
In doing so, this paper extends the deliberations on involvement in the research area of consumer behavior to corporate sustainability management and adds new insights into the analysis of the involvement of different functional units. The following section argues that this transition is possible by demonstrating the similarities between the consumer involvement approach and the involvement of functional units in sustainability management. Building on this, the paper develops a model distinguishing levels of the corporate sustainability involvement of functional units. In the next step, this model serves to examine the involvement of functional units in corporate practice based on an empirical analysis of large German companies. The paper concludes with the implications of how to strengthen the contribution of the whole company toward sustainable development.
A large body of literature agrees that the sustainable development of a company is an overarching and cross-functional challenge that requires all corporate functions and departments to be involved [
The production department, for instance, is responsible for clean production processes and securing compliance with regulatory requirements on safety, air emissions and toxic waste [
In addition to those functional units linked to the company-internal and external supply chain, further units are challenged to undertake supporting activities to bolster the core business. Strategicplanning is often ascribed in the sustainability management literature to have a core role in cooperating with top management to develop and employ the company's sustainability strategy [
In sum, all corporate functions are challenged to contribute to corporate sustainability, no matter whether they engage in company-internal activities or in externally visible measures. However, while in the literature, there may be an agreement on the expected contribution of each functional unit, it is uncertain how the different corporate functions are involved in the actual sustainability management practice and by which means the involvement of currently uninvolved functional units could be increased.
The analysis of the involvement of functional units considers each unit as one entity with its own goals and tasks and characterized by its own subculture and subenvironment [
Sustainability management can be defined as the systematic integration of environmental and social issues into the conventional management of a company [
In the context of consumer behavior research, Hemetsberger and Pieters [
We are aware that consumer behavior research refers to consumers and, thus, individuals. Still, we argue that there are similarities in the consumer involvement approach and the approach developed in this paper, which allow us to analyze the involvement of functional units in sustainability management. This argument is based on the understanding that a functional unit, like an individual, can be distinguished from other units in terms of motivations, information-acquisition and choice-making (adapted from [
For the analysis of a functional unit's level of involvement and to empirically test the interrelation of the cognitive-affective and behavioral components of involvement, the following section explains the two components in more detail and formulates hypotheses.
Firstly, cognitive-affective involvement can be understood as being affected by a particular issue [
Following this argument and adopting Freeman's [
In a nutshell, responding to societal stakeholders, such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or the local community, mostly serves to secure legitimacy [
Although being affected is considered important for undertaking sustainability management activities [
With regard to both being affected and being supportive, it can be argued that one functional unit may perceive sustainability challenges differently than other departments, due to its particular goals, tasks, subculture and subenvironment [
The behavioral component of a functional unit's involvement is based on the understanding that companies can make use of management tools to manage business issues, such as quality or employee participation [
For the purpose of this paper, each corporate function was matched with three sustainability management tools widely discussed with respect to the particular functional unit. To do so, we reviewed the literature on management tools applied in functional units (
Based on this choice of sustainability management tools, the paper examines the application of tools to assess the behavioral involvement of functional units in the implementation of sustainability management. The following section summarizes the two components of involvement in two hypotheses and a model.
Corporate functions and selection of typical sustainability management tools.
|Functional unit
|Selection of typical sustainability management tools
|Design (eco, sustainable)
|Label (eco, social, sustainability)
|Green purchasing
|Strategic planning
|Mission statement (environmental, social, sustainability)
|Report (environmental, social, HR, sustainability)
|Continuous education
|Corporate finance/accounting/management control
|Controlling (eco, social, sustainability)
To empirically analyze a functional unit's involvement in sustainability management, this paper formulates hypotheses for cognitive-affective (
Various studies have shown that companies need to become affected by sustainability issues (e.g., through stakeholder pressure) in order to get actively involved with tangible sustainability measures [ Being affected by sustainability issues fosters a functional unit's application of sustainability management tools.
Being affected by sustainability issues fosters a functional unit's application of sustainability management tools.
In addition to being affected, a functional unit may also support the implementation of sustainability in the company with its knowledge, experience and skills, e.g., through the promotion of sustainability measures and projects of other functions and the whole company. This argument emphasizes both the statement that corporate sustainability represents a cross-functional challenge and the rationale that the functional unit's contribution is beneficial for the implementation of sustainability management [
Being supportive as an element of involvement in sustainability management becomes effective in the interaction between corporate functions of the company. For example, when the marketing department decides to implement green marketing and to use eco-labels, the R&D department may support this activity by implementing sustainable design. Similarly, the production can support the marketing endeavors by improving the eco-efficiency of the production processes, applying, e.g., an eco-efficiency analysis.
A functional unit's support for sustainability thus expresses the intensity of motivation (adapted from Hemetsberger and Pieters [ Being supportive of corporate sustainability fosters a functional unit's application of sustainability management tools.
Being supportive of corporate sustainability fosters a functional unit's application of sustainability management tools.
To control for effects that are external to the presented hypotheses, but that may influence a functional unit's application of sustainability management tools, further factors were included in the analysis. Firstly, various authors [
Additionally, company size may influence the sustainability engagement of a company, since larger companies usually experience more external pressures and possess more resources to deal with sustainability issues [
Similarly, it is frequently argued that publicly-owned companies experience more external pressure due to a higher degree of public exposure [
Lastly, it can be expected that sustainability management tools, which are more established, as they have existed for many years and have been widely discussed for a longer period, are more likely to be applied. Thus, to avoid distortions caused by differences in the degree that sustainability management tools are established, the age of sustainability management tools was also included as a control variable.
In sum, the proposed links between the two components of involvement, as well as the other factors of potential influence, are displayed in
Components of a functional unit's involvement in sustainability management.
The research findings presented in
The contact persons for the survey were managers in charge of sustainability issues, like the chief sustainability managers, because they are expected to have a good overview of who is affected by corporate sustainability and who supports its implementation. Furthermore, the sustainability managers are expected to have good insight into the engagement of all departments, since they interact with many different corporate functions to implement sustainability management in the company. To reduce the probability of strategic or the evasive responses of the corporate functions, they were not contacted directly [
Annual turnover/total assets/gross premiums of the companies surveyed.
|Annual turnover/total assets/
|No answer
Number of employees of the companies surveyed.
|Number of employees
Core business of the companies surveyed.
|Manufacturing, capital goods industry and construction
|Consumer goods, trade and logistics
|Finance and services
|Commodities, auxiliary materials, energy, chemical and pharmaceutical industry
The corporate sustainability managers were contacted by phone and asked to fill in a questionnaire sent to them by email or mail. 331 questionnaires were sent out, and the response rate was 32.9% (n = 109). The respondents were mostly sustainability, environmental, health and safety (EHS) or corporate social responsibility (CSR) managers (53.2%) or, to a lesser extent, associated with PR or communications (28.4%), in case the main contact persons for corporate sustainability issues were based in this unit. The remaining 18.3% either belonged to other functional units (16.5%), such as corporate development, or did not reveal their departmental affiliation (1.8%). To validate the survey, a pre-test was conducted. The data was analyzed using SPSS Statistics 20.
The questionnaire, inter alia, offered a set of functional units (to measure to what extent they are affected by sustainability issues and whether they support corporate sustainability) and a list of 79 sustainability management tools (to assess the application of these tools) drawn from a review of contemporary sustainability management literature, as discussed above (for an overview, see [
To measure the degree that a functional unit is affected by sustainability issues, the respondents were asked to what extent they perceive the different corporate functions to be affected by environmental and social issues, evaluated on a five-point semantic differential scale. To measure whether the functional unit is supportive of corporate sustainability, the respondents were asked to assess, for each unit, whether it supports the implementation of corporate sustainability. To quantify behavioral involvement, the representatives were asked which sustainability management tools are applied in their company. Based on the matching of corporate functions with three typical sustainability management tools ( No application: the functional unit does not apply any of the selected tools (0 tools). Partial application: the functional unit applies some, but not all of the selected tools (1–2 tools). Comprehensive application: the functional unit applies all of the selected tools (3 tools).
No application: the functional unit does not apply any of the selected tools (0 tools).
Partial application: the functional unit applies some, but not all of the selected tools (1–2 tools).
Comprehensive application: the functional unit applies all of the selected tools (3 tools).
To capture the effects external to the hypotheses presented, the participating companies were asked to describe their core business. In a second step, four clusters were distinguished (1 = manufacturing, capital goods industry and construction; 2 = consumer goods, trade and logistics; 3 = finance and services; 4 = commodities, auxiliary materials, energy, chemical and pharmaceutical industry). Moreover, company size was controlled on the basis of the annual revenue published in the Top 500 database of Welt online [
The model is based on the argument that the involvement of functional units encompasses being affected by sustainability, being supportive of corporate sustainability and the application of specific sustainability management tools.
Functional units' being affected by sustainability issues.
Based on the question: "To what extent are the following organizational units of your company affected by environmental/social/societal issues?"
With regard to the first element of involvement, all functional units seem to be affected by sustainability issues to a certain degree (
Compared to the evaluation of the extent to which they are affected, even bigger differences can be found for the corporate functions' support for corporate sustainability (
Functional units' being supportive of corporate sustainability.
Based on the question: "Which of the following functional units have a supporting influence on the implementation of sustainability in your company?"
Finally, similar differences between functional units exist for the average application of sustainability management tools (
Application of sustainability management tools by corporate functions.
Based on the question "Which sustainability management tools are applied in your company?" For the assignment of tools to corporate functions, see
It could be argued, however, that the results are distorted to a certain degree, because some of the survey respondents were associated with PR or communications. To test whether this causes the above-average evaluation of the PR department, a
Influence of departmental affiliation.
|PR's being affected as evaluated by sustainability managers in:
|Difference in means
|the PR unit
|other functional unit
To analyze whether being affected by sustainability issues and being supportive of corporate sustainability are related to a functional unit's application of sustainability management tools, first, the direct effects of such an influence were tested. Since being supportive was measured as a dichotomous variable, only the coefficient of contingency and the eta coefficient could be used to assess its statistical connection to the application of sustainability management tools (AT), which is operationalized as the number of selected tools applied by a specific unit (ratio scale). Being affected, however, was measured using a five-point semantic differential scale. It can thus be treated as interval-scaled [
As shown in
The effects of being affected and being supportive on the application of tools.
|Influencing variables (IV)
|Eta coefficient (Eta²)
|r (Pearson)
|Being affected
|0.393 ***
|0.353 (0.124)
|0.313 ***
|Being supportive
|0.257 ***
|0.252 (0.064)
C (IV*AT): coefficient of contingency of the influencing variable and the number of applied tools (AT). *** 1% level of significance (
Additionally, since being affected and being supportive may be interrelated, as well, their relationship was tested. Again, since being supportive was operationalized on a nominal scale, no product moment correlation coefficient can be calculated. Instead, the coefficient of contingency was used. With a coefficient of contingency of 0.466 (
Since the contingency coefficient between being affected and being supportive is only of intermediate strength, a further analysis testing the combined effect of being affected and being supportive on the application of tools can be performed. For the dependent variable,
To include the variable "core business", for each of the four categories presented in
The category "comprehensive application" of sustainability management tools (
Based on the results of the multinomial logistic regression, the existence of the above-mentioned effects can be confirmed. The highly significant likelihood quotients suggest that both being affected and being supportive influence the application of sustainability management tools. Similarly, significant effects can be identified for the control variables, core business and age of tools. However, the effect size of the latter is very small (−0.020 and −0.007) and only significant for the group of "no application". Finally, no statistically significant influence of the companies' revenues or of being listed in a stock index on a functional unit's application of tools could be identified. However, since the sample only contains the largest German companies, the differences in size may not be as pronounced as they might have been had also medium or small-sized companies been taken into account.
As the highly significant negative regression coefficients (B) of being affected demonstrate (
As expected, the analysis suggests that functional units that are not supporting corporate sustainability are less likely to apply sustainability management tools. The positive regression-coefficients for the cases of no application (0.720;
The difference in strength between the regression coefficients of being affected and being supportive, as well as the contingency coefficients displayed in
Multinomial logistic regression.
|Test of likelihood quotients
|Independent variable
|AF (being affected)
|31.408 ***
|S (being supportive)
|7.015 **
|Core business
|13.978 **
|Stock index listing
|Age of tools
|8.025 **
|No application of typical tools
|Constant term
|2.252 ***
|AF (being affected)
|−0.777 ***
|S (being supportive) a
|0.720 ***
|Core business = 1
|0.842 **
|Core business = 2
|0.537 *
|Core business = 3
|Core business = 4 b
|Stock index listing a
|Age of tools
|−0.020 ***
|Partial application of typical tools
|Constant term
|1.362 **
|AF (being affected)
|−0.421 ***
|S (being supportive) a
|0.444 *
|Core business = 1
|0.576 *
|Core business = 2
|0.683 **
|Core business = 3
|Core business = 4 b
|Stock index listing a
|Age of tools
Category of reference: comprehensive application of typical tools; number of observations: 654; pseudo R² (Nagelkerke): 0.169; a S and stock index listing are dummy variables. The effects of S = 0 (not being supportive) and of being listed are tested. b This parameter is set to zero, as it is redundant. *** 1% level of significance; ** 5% level of significance; * 10% level of significance.
Based on the view that corporate sustainability as a cross-functional challenge requires the involvement of all corporate functions, this paper investigates who is involved in corporate sustainability management. To operationalize the empirical examination of this question, the involvement approach of Hemetsberger and Pieters [
The analysis furthermore shows large differences between the involvement of different corporate functions in sustainability management. In particular, the involvement is highest for PR/communications, while finance, accounting and management control show the lowest involvement. Yet, the data also reveals an important role for strategic planning when it comes to corporate sustainability. For all three aspects of involvement analyzed—
In order to increase the involvement of corporate functions in sustainability management, being affected and being supportive may be useful starting points. Both the extent that functional units are affected and their support for corporate sustainability may be increased through, e.g., awareness programs, information campaigns or an increased strategic relevance of sustainability for top management. The data suggests that an increase in the extent to which functional units are affected is even slightly more effective to foster corporate sustainability than an increase of their support for corporate sustainability.
Companies are challenged and have the potential to significantly contribute to sustainable development. Sustainability management literature argues that the involvement of all functional units is important to realize this potential and especially to master non-routine sustainability tasks, which usually pose cross-functional challenges [
This paper adapted a model to capture the involvement of different functional units based on findings from consumer behavior research. The paper analyzed two components of involvement,
The authors would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their valuable feedback. We are furthermore grateful for the feedback we received by the participants of the 3rd International Sustainability Conference 2012 in Basel. Our research also benefited from the financial support of PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) Germany for the 'Corporate Sustainability Barometer' 2009/2010. Lastly, for his very valuable support in the literature search on the age of sustainability management tools, we are very thankful for the support of Joscha Enger.
Stefan Schaltegger: conception of the research approach; data interpretation; writing. Dorli Harms: conception of the research approach; literature review; data collection and interpretation; writing. Sarah Elena Windolph: conception of the research approach; data collection and interpretation; writing. Jacob Hörisch: data analysis and interpretation; writing.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.


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Hey Everyone,
Highly skilled chef, beer connoiseur and author of several cookbooks and articles, Lucy Saunders has written a delightful article in today's edition of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (online = www.jsonline.com) featuring chocolate and beer. In that article she writes of Sprecher Generation Porter:
Now, craft brewers splurge on the finest chocolate; Sprecher Brewery's special limited-release (sold out in 2007) Generation Porter was brewed with Dutch cocoa and raspberries.
Everything is true EXCEPT Generation Porter is currently available! In fact, it's our Valentine's Day selection this year. We brewed a small – 300 case – batch which we released in December. Yummy! At our retail store (701 W. Glendale Ave, Glendale, WI. 414.964.2739) you can purchase GP in liter bottles with special Valentine's Day labels, and in our standard pint bottles. You can also find GP at select stores in Wisconsin.


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News from the Hilltop
Dallas native receives award at Birmingham-Southern honors ceremony
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-Birmingham-Southern College student Katherine Konker of Dallas, Texas, is the recipient of the Robert Hewlin Jackson Achievement Award presented during the college's 2010 Honors Day Convocation.
The Robert Hewlin Jackson Achievement Award recognizes the graduating senior who has shown the greatest improvement in academic achievement during his or her four-year college career. The award memorializes Jackson, who graduated in 1862 from Southern University, the parent institution of Birmingham-Southern.
Konker is an art-art history major and the daughter of David and Karen Konker.
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RESPA Highlights: 1Q 2014
A. Cases
Commonwealth Land Title Ins. Co. 20 Commonwealth Land Title was an enforcement action by the Indiana insurance commissioner against a title insurer. The commissioner concluded that the insurer violated state insurance statutes by charging excessive rates and unfairly discriminated in setting premiums, because premium rates were determined by individual insurance agents and were not specifically tied to risk involved. The
commissioner also concluded that the insurer failed to comply with RESPA disclosure requirements for the HUD-1 statement. The appellate court affirmed the commissioner's finding of liability and its order to take curative action.
Henson. 21 A federal district court in California permitted a RESPA § 8 claim to go forward. Section 8 prohibits kickbacks and fee-splitting. The plaintiffs alleged that certain "marketing fees" from overnight express delivery services to a subsidiary of the title defendant were in fact an illegal fee split. The payments varied based on the volume of business referred. The defendants argued that the express services were not in the real-estate business and thus RESPA and Regulation X did not apply. After ruling that one of the plaintiffs' claims was not barred by the statute of limitations, the district court concluded that the term "settlement service" as used in Regulation X included overnight delivery service. It noted that Congress had not provided an exemption in RESPA for overnight delivery services, and asserted that courts should not add one on their own. The defendants also argued that the fees were not "unearned" because a service was in fact provided. The district court granted the defendants' summary judgment on plaintiffs' allegations relating to unearned fees, but denied summary judgment on the fee split.
Menichino. 22 In Menichino, the plaintiffs filed Kickback claims after the one-year filing deadline. The complaint alleged that the mortgage insurer reinsured the risk through a subsidiary of the lender; that is, the risk the mortgage insurer was taking from the lender was insured by the lender's own insurance subsidiary, such that the risk of loss was passed back to the lender through its subsidiary. The plaintiffs contended that the reinsurance premiums from the mortgage insurer to the lender's subsidiary were actually kickbacks for a steady stream of referrals. Because the plaintiffs' complaint set forth facts explaining why they failed to file on time, the court allowed the case to go forward under the doctrine of equitable tolling.
Baehr. 23 Equitable tolling of the statute of limitations was also addressed in Baehr. The plaintiffs sued several defendants, including a national real-estate broker and one of its local agencies, alleging a kickback scheme for title-insurance referrals amounting to $500,000 over a thirteen-year period. The claim against the national broker was dismissed because it did not participate in the scheme and could not be held vicariously liable for the local agency's conduct. The local agency also sought dismissal of the case, but the district court denied the motion, concluding that the plaintiffs had set forth sufficient facts in their complaint to excuse the failure to file within one year of the settlement.
- Prudential Locations. 24 After people complained to the Department of Housing and Urban Development about Prudential Location's real-estate settlement practices, Prudential Location made a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to compel HUD to produce information about the people who made complaints, including their names. HUD contended it could redact identifying information from documents being produced pursuant to a privacy exemption in FOIA. The federal district court agreed, but a three- judge panel the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed. HUD sought a rehearing before the entire panel of appellate judges. The panel concluded that requiring disclosure of the identifying information was an "unwarranted invasion of privacy" under the FOIA exemption and reinstated the district court's summary judgment for HUD.
B. Statues and Regualtions
- No statutes or regulations addressing RESPA issues were retrieved.
C. Volume of Materials Retreived
RESPA issues were identified eleven times in nine cases. (See Table 1.) (Some cases addressed more than one RESPA issue.) The research focused on claims arising as a result of the settlement process, not claims that arise in the context of foreclosure. Most cases addressed Kickback issues. (See Table 2.) No statutes or regulations addressing RESPA issues were retrieved.25
20 Commonwealth Land Title Ins. Co. v. Robertson, 5 N.E.3d 394 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014).
21 Henson v. Fidelity Nat'l Fin. Inc., No. 2:14-cv-01240-ODW(RZx), 2014 WL 1246222 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 21, 2014).
22 Menichino v. Citibank, No. 2:12-cv-00058, 2014 WL 462622 (W.D. Pa. Feb. 5, 2014). See also Manners v. Fifth Third Bank, No. 2:12-cv-00442, 2014 WL 465701 (W.D. Pa. Feb. 5, 2014) (similar case); Cunningham v. M&T Bank Corp., No. 1:12-cv-1238, 2014 WL 131652 (M.D. Pa. Jan. 14, 2014) (case alleged reinsurance scheme in exchange for referrals and plaintiffs asserted their claims should proceed even if they were filed late; court denied defendants' request for stay while case raising same issue was on appeal).
23 Baehr v. Creig Northrop Team, P.C., No. WDQ-13-0933, 2014 WL 346635 (D. Md. Jan. 29, 2014).
24 Prudential Locations LLC v. U.S. Dep't of Hous. & Urb. Dev., 739 F.3d 424 (9th Cir. 2013).
25 See note 10, above, for information regarding the coverage of this update.


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Economic incentives created by the CBI/NAFTA parity legislation have made Central America and the Caribbean region a more attractive supply base to the U.S. apparel industry. However, one of the issues that manufacturers face is whether the region's logistics infrastructure can support the increased demand for time-definite services.
Following the events of Sept. 11, some U.S. clothing retailers began sourcing closer to home by moving cutting and assembly from Asia to the Caribbean Basin. This change in sourcing has achieved significant reductions in cycle time for many retailers. Savvy apparel manufacturers are finding ways to overcome infrastructure deficiencies in the Caribbean Basin through collaboration with suppliers, third-party logistics providers (3PLs) and carriers.
The garment industry in the Caribbean Basin is growing rapidly for some U.S. companies. AMC Guatemala, a business unit of Minneapolis, MN-based Target Corp., sources production in Latin America from its main office in Guatemala City. It also ships from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.
Luis Capuano, production manager, Latin America, at AMC, attributes growth opportunities to the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA). "We expect our business in this region to grow 200 percent this year. In addition, we are looking forward to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement to be approved within the next couple of years, which will allow us to source local raw materials duty-free," he says.
Manny Fernandez, head of Latin America for APL, a transportation management company based in Oakland, CA, says: "Since Sept. 11, many of our manufacturing and retail customers have shown increased interest in sourcing closer to the U.S. in order to achieve supply chain security and flexibility. This in most cases does not represent a shift from Asia, however, as much as a secondary or additional option."
Streamlining Logistics
Time-definite shipping is an integral part of AMC's operations. All of Target's apparel orders have shipping windows with definitive in-store date deadlines. AMC gives its suppliers and its third-party logistics provider, APL Logistics, specific instructions in shipping to its U.S. distribution centers in order to meet these windows. AMC has found benefits by streamlining its logistics system. Says Capuano: "We used to work with two 3PLs. About 18 months ago we switched to only one. This has saved us money, but the main reason was to have easier communication through a single channel."
However, AMC sees a number of challenges to achieving optimal supply chain efficiency. The company is seeking more flexible logistics options, including a greater number of sailings per week, more sea and air routes and more direct routes. The latter is particularly important to its vendors that rely on raw materials from East Asia. "Nicaraguan manufacturers cannot get direct shipments from Asia; they must go through Los Angeles and Guatemala first. If raw materials are needed urgently and must be moved by air, there is also nothing direct from Asia to Central America," says Capuano.
Fernandez says he sees an increased demand for time-definite services as part of a general trend. "Some apparel customers are designing their sourcing specifically with shorter cycles for both security and cost reasons, and to provide flexibility in a contingency," he notes. "Also, some types of apparel shipments are prone to cancellation or penalties for late delivery. Operating within the customer's window is a fundamental discipline within APL and APL Logistics."
Another challenge is that some countries in the Central American region have a lack of usable ports, so the goods are moved through other countries, such as Guatemala and Honduras, to reach El Salvador and Nicaragua. John Hourihan, vice president and general manager, logistics, at Jacksonville, FL-based Crowley Logistics, says that the infrastructure may be a challenge to providing efficient logistics. "Roadways are often rugged dirt roads. If a storm hits, the only road out of a particular plant could be knocked out for three months," he says.
Some ocean carriers are responding to demands for more capacity in the Caribbean Basin. Rinus Scheppen, vice president and general manager, Latin America, Crowley Liner Services, says that greater time sensitivity in the apparel industry prompted his company to add an additional weekly sailing from the Gulf of Mexico to Guatemala and Honduras this past March.
Also, in February, the company began complying with the new U.S. Customs requirement that carriers must submit a cargo declaration 24 hours before cargo is loaded aboard a vessel at a foreign port, says Hourihan. He adds that although there are ongoing delays because of documentation issues, the events of Sept. 11 have spurred manufacturers to compliance, and helped to reduce the problem. "Since shippers must provide documents in advance, the weakest links have had a wake-up call," he says.
For AMC, another problem in the past year has been working with factories that are further from a national capital or main industrial area, such as those in Quetzaltenango, which is about 100 miles away from Guatemala City. In Nicaragua, some factories are more than two hours by road from Managua, so AMC uses mainly factories that are close to the capital. An exception is the Dominican Republic, which has good highways, says Capuano.
Reducing Cycle Time
Cycle time reduction is also a challenge. Capuano says that AMC sources in the Caribbean Basin region because of its need for quick response time. If transit time takes too long, it is a problem. "For example, it is seven days on the water from Guatemala to Los Angeles, but then there is the customs clearance and inland transportation, which can take another two weeks-plus. We need to reduce transit time to the more distant distribution centers in the United States," he says.
Retailers encounter many of the same problems as manufacturers in managing their supply chains in the Caribbean. Rod Birkin, director of sourcing at JCPenney, explains: "The challenge to achieving efficient logistics in this region is the requirement to use U.S. yarn and fabrics. We use more Asian fabric than U.S. fabric due to cost differentials, which is cheaper but slower. Our type of production is so basic that we can pre-position product in Central America. That is why we produce more basic goods than fashion goods in Central America - because the pattern is more predictable."
The practice of time-definite distribution is increasing at JCPenney, says Birkin, who adds that the company, which ships from Central America as well as the Dominican Republic and Haiti, saw its business in the region grow last year because of the CBTPA.
For JCPenney, logistics is also changing on the U.S. side. Says Birkin: "In the past, we received merchandise from distribution centers as either bulk, pre-packaged or pick-pack destined for our 1,100 stores. We used two major warehouses for import merchandise, cross docking and pick-pack. But beginning mid-year, we will operate a number of store support centers, from which we will ship by break-bulk to stores within a particular group. This will simplify the system and make logistics more efficient."
The Caribbean Basin has proven to be a valuable supply chain link for U.S. apparel retailers. Although sourcing from the region can reduce cycle time, the challenge for many companies is to maximize the advantage of the location by maintaining an efficient logistics network on both the foreign and domestic sides.
ANTHONY COIA is a transportation geographer specializing in logistics and emerging markets. In addition to writing about supply chain management and related subjects, he has worked in international logistics operations in both the public and private sectors.


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Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (Scottish Diaphragmatic Hernia Clinical Network)
The Scottish Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Clinical Network was designated as a National Managed Clinical Network in April 2009. It was established to support the provision of evidence-based national standards of antenatal, perinatal, medical and surgical care for children born with a diaphragmatic hernia.
The overall role of the network is to improve long-term clinical outcomes in patients with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. This will be achieved through:
- the provision of appropriate support to the affected child and their family
- guiding investigation and short-term management of the affected child
- developing a long-term management plan
- linking clinical personnel who are involved in patient management
- collecting data
- providing the opportunity for the educational development of its NHS staff
- facilitating research and audit
The National Managed Clinical Network will develop a high quality clinical pathway, ensuring equitable access to standardised care for mothers and babies across Scotland, from antenatal diagnosis to long-term follow-up care. These standardised pathways will support the delivery of care as close to home as is clinically possible.
More information about the network is available on the:
Scottish Diaphragmatic Hernia Clinical Network website
National Services Division are not responsible for the content of any external sites.
Annual Report
The most recent annual report for the Network is available on the:
Scottish Diaphragmatic Hernia Clinical Network website publications section
[external website]
Contact details:
Mr Carl Davis, Lead Clinician
Ms Maureen Kinney, Network Manager
Service contact address:
Yorkhill Network Office
Queen Mother's Hospital
Dalnair Street
National Services Division contacts:
To contact members of NSD staff, please visit our staff contacts page.
Catriona Johnson, Senior Commissioning and Screening Programme Manager


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Thursday November 21st, 2013 - 9:31AM
GREAT NECK, NY—M&R Hotel Management has signed a third-party management agreement with the Holiday Inn New York—JFK Airport.
The 201-room, full-service property, which is currently under construction, represents the company's first third-party management deal. The hotel is the company's fourth hotel at JFK Airport.
M&R currently owns and operates the 129-room Holiday Inn Express JFK Airport, the 75-room Days Inn Jamaica—JFK Airport and the 88-room Best Western.
M&R also owns and operates one hotel near LaGuardia Airport, three in Manhattan and two on Staten Island.


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$16.00 donated in past month
IMC Network
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay FeatureRelated Categories: California | Central Valley | Santa Cruz Indymedia | Environment & Forest Defense | Government & Elections | Health, Housing, and Public Services
Flawed Fracking Bill Passes California Assembly
"This vote to allow fracking in California and exempt it from California's benchmark environmental law shows that our Assembly has thoroughly failed at protecting Californians," said Zack Malitz, campaign manager for CREDO, referring to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Flawed Fracking Bill Passes California Assembly
by Dan Bacher
Sacramento - Senate Bill 4, a controversial bill sponsored by Senator Fran Pavley that opponents say would clear a path to increased fracking, passed the California Assembly today.
It will likely head to Governor Jerry Brown's desk after a concurrent vote in the Senate.
The Assembly passed the bill by 53 to 18. A Senate vote could take place at any time.
In response to massive opposition to her bill from a broad coalition of anti-fracking groups, Senator Pavley claimed her bill is "an insurance policy."
"Without SB 4, there will be no public disclosure of chemicals, no groundwater monitoring and no regulation of acidizing, and the oil companies will continue to be able to frack without a permit or any public accountability whatsoever," she stated. "The world won't be perfect if SB 4 passes, but it will be a whole lot better.
In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, Brown's office said the Governor will sign the bill if it reaches his desk.
"The administration has worked collaboratively with the Legislature to craft a bill that comprehensively addresses potential impacts from fracking, including water and air quality, seismic activity and other potential risks," claimed Brown spokesman Evan Westrup.
Calling the legislation "an important step forward," Westrup said Brown "looks forward to signing it once it reaches his desk."
Bill opponents disagree strongly with the Brown administrations' assessment of the bill as "an important step forward" or Pavley's claim that the bill is an "insurance policy."
The bill "undermines existing environmental law and leaves Californians unprotected from fracking and other dangerous and extreme fossil fuel extraction techniques," according to a statement from Californians Against Fracking, a statewide coalition of over 100 organizations now calling for a moratorium on fracking.
Farmers, environmental justice groups, public health advocates, local elected officials, students, Hollywood, and many others are calling on Governor Brown to and put a stop to fracking in California, 200,000 petitions have been signed urging Governor Brown to ban fracking in California.
Members of the Californians Against Fracking criticized the Assembly's passage of the already weak bill that was further weakened by amendments supported by the Western States Petroleum Association on Friday, September 6 - and urged Brown to ban or place an immediate moratorium on fracking in California.
"This vote to allow fracking in California and exempt it from California's benchmark environmental law shows that our Assembly has thoroughly failed at protecting Californians," said Zack Malitz, campaign manager for CREDO. "We're depending on Governor Brown to step in to prevent the wholesale fracking of our state."
"This legislation does nothing to stop fracking or protect communities across the state from its harmful effects and last minute changes to the bill made it even worse," said Adam Scow, California campaigns director at Food & Water Watch. "The threats to our state's water, air, and climate are real and pressing and we don't have time for half measures like SB 4. We need courageous leadership – it's time for Governor Brown to act now to ban fracking in California."
"There's only one prudent next step to protect California's water, air, and climate – for Governor Brown to place an immediate moratorium on fracking, acidizing, and other unconventional methods of exploiting fossil fuels," said Victoria Kaplan, campaign director at MoveOn.org. "Legislators have failed to heed the wishes of a majority of Californians calling for a moratorium or a ban and MoveOn members will continue to organize across the state for an end to fracking."
"The passage of SB 4 demonstrates the continuing stranglehold that Big Oil has on the political process in Sacramento. Attempts to find common ground with an industry hell-bent on exploiting every last drop of oil regardless of the impact on California's water, valuable farmland and the climate are inevitably bound to fail. The passage of this mangled bill only confirms the need for a moratorium on these dangerous extraction techniques," said Ross Hammond, senior campaigner with Friends of the Earth.
"SB 4 tragically green-lights an extremely dangerous practice with terrible public health impacts near the homes and schools of California's communities already most overburdened by pollution," said Madeline Stano, Luke Cole Memorial Fellow at the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment.
"This bill will not protect Californians from the enormous threats of fracking pollution," said Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity's Climate Law Institute. "Fracking poses unacceptable risks to the air we breathe, the water we drink and our climate. We'll keep working to end this inherently dangerous activity in our state."
In her comment on the Sacramento Bee website, activist Lauren Steiner emphasized, "This bill is just a permitting, monitoring, notification and disclosure bill with a study thrown in. Telling someone when you're going to frack, where you're going to frack and what chemicals you are going to use is like a murderer telling you, 'I'm going to shoot you on your front porch tomorrow at noon using an AK-47.' At the end of the day, you're still dead. And do we really need any more studies to show us the harms of fracking?"
To read her complete comment and the article it responds to, go to: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/09/jerry-brown-urges-passage-of-fracking-bill.html#storylink=cpy
Zack Malitz urged you to call your Senator right now and urge a "No" vote on SB 4: http://act.credoaction.com/call/sb4_senate/?akid=8880.300166.JhdiX9&rd=1&t=1
Californians Against Fracking is a coalition of environmental, business, health, agriculture, labor, political, and environmental justice organizations working to win a statewide ban on fracking in California. For more information and to sign the petitions to ban fracking in California, visit: http://www.CaliforniansAgainstFracking.org
Background: Oil industry is top corporate lobby in California
Oil companies have fracked at least 12 times in California's ocean waters, according to information received from Freedom of Information Act documents obtained by truthout.org and the Associated Press. The California Coastal Commission has pledged to investigate the environmentally destructive oil extraction method, including what powers the agency has to regulate it.(http://www.mercurynews.com/central-coast/ci_23876202/californias-coastal-commission-investigate-offshore-fracking)
The complete failure of the state and federal governments to stop or even regulate the environmentally destructive practice of fracking in California's ocean waters is no surprise to those of us familar with the corrupt Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative – or anybody who has read my investigative news pieces on this topic.
Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the same lobbyist now leading the charge to expand fracking in California, apparently used her role as a state marine "protection" official to increase her network of influence in California politics.
Reheis-Boyd chaired the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force to create alleged "marine protected areas" in Southern California. She also served on the task forces for the Central Coast, North Central Coast and North Coast.
The oil industry, now the most powerful corporate lobby in Sacramento, exceeds corporate agribusiness, the computer and software industry, the film and television industry, the aerospace industry and other major corporate players in California politics in the power that it wields.
The association now has enormous influence over both state and federal regulators.Oil and gas companies spend more than $100 million a year to buy access to lawmakers in Washington and Sacramento, according to Stop Fooling California, an online and social media public education and awareness campaign that highlights oil companies' efforts to mislead and confuse Californians. The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) alone has spent more than $16 million lobbying in Sacramento since 2009. (http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/08/07/the-ocean-frackers/)
The association spent the most of any organization in first six months of 2013, $2,308,789.95, to lobby legislators and other state officials, according to documents filed with the California Secretary of State.
When the oil industry wields this much power - and an oil industry lobbyist oversaw the process that was supposed to "protect" the ocean - it shouldn't be a surprise to anybody that California's ocean waters, as well as farmland, are now being "fracked." Both the state and federal regulators have completely failed in their duty to protect our ocean, bays, rivers and Delta.
For more information about the MLPA Initiative, go to: http://intercontinentalcry.org/the-five-inconvenient-truths-about-the-mlpa-initiative/
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The gardens and grounds at Glamis Castle are impressive all year round.
Once used to produce fruit and vegetables for the castle, the walled garden had fallen into disuse in recent times. However last year with the close personal involvement of Lord and Lady Strathmore, a major redevelopment has started with new flower beds being planted and the installation of a spectacular fountain. As this development continues, a visit to the walled garden has become an integral part of any visit to Glamis Castle.
The Italian Garden, to the east of the castle, was laid out by Countess Cecilia, the Queen Mother's mother, c.1910 to designs by Arthur Castings. Bounded by yew hedges, this garden includes a raised terrace between two small gazebos, from which can be seen fan-shaped parterres of formal beds separated by gravel walks. Other features include pleached alleys of beech, a stone fountain and ornamental gates which commemorate the Queen Mother's 80th birthday.
Near to the Italian Garden is the Nature Trail - some three-quarters of a mile in length. Here sightings of red squirrels, herons and roe deer are quite common.
Walking eastwards along the nature trail will bring you across the Glamis Burn to the Pinetum. This area, planted by the 13th Earl c.1870, has a variety of exotic trees, many of which are conifers native to North America. Following difficulties in maintaining the Pinetum after the death of the 14th Earl in 1944, the 18th Earl commenced a programme of replanting and restoration. Along the northern edge of the Pinetum lies the Water of Dean, a small burn which drains the Loch of Forfar and which flows into the River Isla and eventually joins the River Tay. This was canalised in the 18th century to improve the drainage from the surrounding farmland. The burn is crossed by the Earl Michael Bridge, originally built in 1890, and reopened by the Queen Mother in 1996 after restoration by the 18th Earl.
Springtime is perhaps the most dramatic season when the mile long avenue is stunningly lined with swathes of daffodils.
In the summer superb displays of rhododendrons and azaleas with their spectacular colours can be seen around the grounds. This is also the time to relax and enjoy the heady scents of the flowers in the Italian Garden. And in autumn the abundace of trees in the grounds ensures the visitor is treated to a glorious spectacle of autumnal colour.
Dogs kept on lead are welcome.


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Engines — By
the PMY staff
Diesels — John Deere
|2001 Engine Preview
No, this is not a misprint or a prank. The company you know best for farm equipment and lawn tractors is getting into the pleasure marine market. Deere is introducing three propulsion engines for 2001, all in-line sixes and all available in four ratings designated M1 through M4. Designations are based upon the amount of time the engines can be run at full power, M1 being continuous and M4 being one hour out of every 12. There are also maximum yearly engine-hour limits, ranging from 3,000 to 8,000. The 6.8-liter 6068TFM is available with ratings from 154 to 225 hp, the 8.1-liter 6081AFM from 235 to 375 hp, and the 12.5-liter 6125AFM from 340 to 450 hp.
As you'd expect given the John Deere pedigree, these engines have been designed more for durability, longevity, and fuel efficiency than for light weight and performance, which explains why a pair of the 6125AFMs were recently installed in a Grand Banks 46. They tend to be comparatively heavy for their output. The 450-hp 6125, for example, is listed at 2,695 pounds, giving it a weight-to-horsepower ratio of nearly six to one. Far more important to the displacement market for which they were designed, however, are features like a choice of wet or dry exhaust systems and keel or heat-exchanger cooling systems and standard washable air filters and closed-crankcase venting systems.
John Deere (800) 533-6446. Fax: (319) 292-5075. www.deere.com/jdpower
Next page > 2001 Engine Preview continued >
This article originally appeared in the May 2003 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.


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With my second son, I knew that a homebirth was perfect for us. I found two lovely midwives and a wonderful doula to help us. I attended workshops with two very special spiritual midwives who guided me along the way and were particularly helpful with my plans for a lotus birth. I read a lot and once again practiced hypnobirthing. I went to bed every night visualizing the birth that I wanted.
I did expect another long labour, but as I had coped well the first time, I was ok with this. I planned to cook and dance and watch russian water birth videos through the labour and would give birth in a birth pool in my room with Chris, my mum, my doula and my midwives present. Mitchell would be involved as much as he liked, I really, really wanted him to experience the birth.
This pregnancy was once again lovely, though it went much quicker and I had a lot of pain and difficulty walking towards the end. Throughout this pregnancy I had been wanting to get out and buy a new digital SLR, but I didn't feel that I was ever going to get around to it. I started having braxton hicks a few weeks before my due time and as the date drew near, I felt that every day could be "the day".
I was completely confident that I would have a wonderful peaceful birth at home. Eventually I rang the camera store and told them to get the camera ready and that I would come in and pick it up, hoping that the braxton hicks would not develop into labour while I was in the busy shopping centre. I picked up the camera on the friday and enjoyed an evening taking photos of Mitchell (2 years and 2 months old).
That night I went to bed, once again having strong braxton hicks contractions (I was now a week past when I thought I would give birth) and visualizing the birth that I wanted. I woke just before 4am desperately needing to go to the toilet, quite an unusual feeling for this time of day! I quietly got up and went off to the bathroom, but each time I sat down, I was forced up by a strange band of discomfort under my tummy. I was quite frustrated and confused at this. I was up and down and rubbing my tummy. I thought I might have to go standing up!
I thought maybe a warm pack would help my "tummy ache" but as I walked to the kitchen, I was stopped several times by these cramps. The warm pack did not help at all (this was quite a different feeling to the labour that I had had with Mitchell). I felt like I needed to kneel on the floor and so went into the lounge on all fours. I decided to time these odd cramps and found that they were lasting one minute and three minutes apart.
At this point I thought I must be in labour. I went back to the bathroom and was finally able to go to the toilet. I wandered around a bit not really knowing what to do. I wanted to get in the pool, but knew if I got in too early, labour would slow, but then I thought I could sleep until morning and start again then.
I just had to decide whether to get in the bath incase I messed up the pool and would then be unable to use it for the birth, or to get in the pool so as not to waste hot water incase I was indeed close to giving birth.. hmmm… I woke chris and asked him to fill the pool (thankfully we had pumped it up a couple of weeks before). We frantically tried to prepare the room, putting down curtains and towells on the carpet, with me stopping to lean against the wall or kneel on the floor during contractions. I said to Chris that I was still unsure if I was in fact in labour – he said "I think something is definitely happening" in a tone that was obvious he thought I was a bit stupid! I told him we would not ring anyone until 6am (a more decent hour), but by 5am I was feeling really out of control, my body was taking off and I was left way behind. I needed my mum and my doula.
I rang my doula first, but had to throw down the phone while I breathed through a contraction, I tried to blurt out what was going on before the next one hit. She spoke to Chris and told him to call the midwife straight away, but I thought she was telling him that I was a long way off and to wait until morning! I got in the pool with it only 1/3 full and tried to relax into it. (In the meantime, Chris had rung the midwife and my parents).
My doula arrived first and I was so glad to see her. I was not happy with the position I was in but did not have enough time between contractions to move. I lay down in the water and put my face under and blew bubbles through the contractions. Soon my midwife arrived and at about that time my body started pushing. I was thinking "hang on, give me a minute to catch up!" I continued to put my face in the water and blow bubbles, thinking I would take a breath in-between the pushing, but there was no in-between. I thought i could drown!
I was so amazed at my body and how powerful this feeling was. It really did feel like the baby was going to come out of my bum, I was totally in awe at this experience and so glad to be feeling it so completely and naturally. I was putting my head up now and then to gasp for breath and still wishing for a little break. The midwife told me to try to get upright (I was still lying in the bottom of the pool), she then noticed that the heart-rate had dropped dramatically (due to insufficient break between contractions) and asked me to get out of the pool to birth. I felt very strongly that I needed to stay were I was, so I flipped over onto hands and knees and was instructed to push with my body rather than simply breathing with it. Soon the head was out and I finally got the little break that I needed.
For three minutes all was still and peaceful, then my body contracted again and pushed out my baby, the midwife guided him up to my hands, I then lifted him out to greet him. I was helped out of the pool straight away so as he could have some oxygen. It was at this point that I noticed that he was a boy (I was certain that I was having a girl) and that it was only 6am, I had only been awake for two hours! The second midwife arrived in time to help me up onto the bed where I snuggled up with my baby for about a week.
My mum arrived and was obviously shocked and disappointed to have missed the whole thing. Mitchell then woke up, he had missed it too. In fact, I felt as if I had even missed it! It was that quick and not at all the birth that I had been visualizing. I was so happy to have birthed at home and with wonderful women surrounding me.
It took me a while to get the placenta out as I just did not have an ounce of strength left in me. I was told that my body had pushed and pushed for 20 minutes with barely a break. I was examined and found to have quite a bit of tearing and so a more experienced midwife was brought in to stitch all that up – this took longer and was much more challenging to get through than the birth. I almost wanted an epidural for that!
My midwives and doula did a fantastic job at helping me to breath through each stitch – and there were a lot. We did not have a name for this little one (not a boys name, anyway!), we left his cord uncut and wrapped the placenta up with him. Our midwife cared for it the first day, washing it gently in warm water and salting it the next evening, after that, my mum cared for it by brushing off the old salt and re-salting and wrapping it daily. We wrapped it in a soft nappy with a few sprigs of lavender from the garden and placed it in a placenta bag that my mum had made from bamboo velour.
He was such a content and lovely baby. The cord dried quickly and remained nice and clean (unlike a cut cord stump), it separated in just under 5 days leaving a beautiful belly button and at this point we named him Lachlan Heath. We did not leave the house for 3 weeks and avoided visitors as much as we could. He really was such a lovely and content, peaceful little baby. He is now a very active and excitable 6 month old who spends a lot of the day in a backpack joining in with whatever I am doing. He is the most smiley child I have ever seen. Mitchell is a fantastic and caring brother to him. (Don't get me wrong, it is not as rosey as it sounds, I am finding being the mother of two is incredibly hard work!)
We planted his placenta under a golden delicious tree at my parents home, near Mitchell's mandarin tree. He has really taught me that you can't predict one birth by another, he weighed 8pound 2 ounces (smaller than my first) and the labour could not have been more different!
(Mitchell's birth story is in another post – "a long long long labour") He is also a completely different baby to what Mitchell was. I am just so pleased to have been able to birth at home and to give my precious son a lotus birth, it was truly a lovely experience and one I hope to have again.
Lachlan 4 days old


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@OrganicBeeMedia: Yes, I put in a ticket after I made the post. And yes I had to login with PayPal. I've been using PayPal for 5-6 years.
@AlexPascal: The plug-in was a WSO and was purchased off of the sellers website. I have plenty of funds.
Thanks for the reply's! Hopefully support will be able to help.
@landonw: Try to stay focused. I am just trying to find out how to purchase a theme that looks perfect for my needs. The message I get says "Your purchase of TouchSense – Multipurpose WordPress Theme was unable to be processed by paypal." I thought it could be my paypal account and went and purchased a plug-in that I have been wanting to test that theory. I purchased the plug-in with no problem. I have never heard of moneybookers and therefor don't trust them. I have tried to purchase this theme multipal times today.
Anyone have any useful replies?
I've tried several times today to purchase the TouchSense theme but I can't. I just purchased a plugin on another site with no problem…it must be a problem on your end.