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Jerrine C. Maune, 73, Washington, passed away Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011.
Mrs. Maune was born June 11, 1938, in Washington, the daughter of the late Harvey Klepper and wife Edna, nee Straatmann.
She received her education from St. Francis Borgia High School, Washington. She was united in marriage to Virgil Maune May 6, 1994, at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Washington.
Mrs. Maune was employed by Annie's. She was a member of the Knights of Columbus Auxiliary and Our Lady of Lourdes Ladies Sodality. Mrs. Maune loved gardening and sewing.
She was preceded in death by her first husband, Robert Holtmeyer; her parents, Harvey and Edna Klepper; and a nephew, Scott Klepper.
Mrs. Maune is survived by her husband, Virgil Maune, Washington; three daughters, Nancy Scheffler and husband Al, Festus, Geri Krajcir and husband Shawn and Amy Holtmeyer and special friend Rich Morrison, all of Washington; one brother, Keith Klepper and special friend Melanie Cox, Columbia; five grandchildren, Sam, Andrew and Ethan Scheffler and Hannah and Emma Krajcir; other relatives and many friends.
A Mass of Christian burial was held Tuesday, Jan. 3, at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Washington, with the Rev. Mike Boehm officiating.
Interment was in St. Francis Borgia Cemetery, Washington.
Memorials to Our Lady of Lourdes Church or the Arthritis Foundation are preferred.
The family was served by Nieburg-Vitt Funeral Home, Washington.


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State Route 36 fully closed due to disabled truck and trailer
From the California Highway Patrol:
As of 9:30 a.m., State Route 36 east of Bridgeville is now open to eastbound and westbound traffic. Thank you for your patience!
Previous press release:
On Wednesday, November 12, State Route 36 east of Bridgeville became fully blocked when a truck and trailer became fully disabled as it attempted to negotiate a curve in the roadway.
At approximately 11:30 p.m., the truck and trailer were traveling westbound on State Route 36, east of Bridgeville, near mile post marker 36. State Route 36 at this location narrows to one lane for both eastbound and westbound traffic. As the truck negotiated a right curve in the roadway, the trailer's right side tires exited the roadway edge, causing the truck and trailer to become fully disabled. The roadway subsequently became impassable for both eastbound and westbound traffic. California Highway Patrol and Caltrans units are currently on-scene. The CHP is coordinating with the tow company to have the truck and trailer removed. The CHP has further coordinated with allied agencies to ensure emergency services are available east and west of the closure.
The CHP estimates this closure to be in effect until approximately 10:00 a.m. We are making every effort to expedite the opening of the roadway and reduce the impact to the community. Updates will be provided via Facebook and Twitter.

subset: commoncrawl


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In an attempt to bring the community together, Holy Family Catholic Church hosted their 21st Usher's Ministry Annual Barbecue Dinner on Saturday.
Those who attended the all-day affair were able to chow down on pulled beef, barbecued watermelon, ribs and many more scrumptious treats.
The church holds the barbecue every year in hopes of raising money for the church and uniting the community.
According to James Janrhett, Head Minister of the Usher Society, non-church members were encouraged to attend the event. With 10,000 members and growing, Holy Family is the "biggest catholic church in the high desert," Janrhett said, "(and) we don't turn nobody away."
Janrhett told the Hesperia Star that funds that were made on Saturday would go straight back into the church. Admission for the barbecue was $8 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under.
The church is located at Parish Hall at 9974 I Ave.


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The Weeknd premiered the NSFW video clip for "Pretty" last week.
"…it is a beautifully shot clip, flanked by swirling haze of dark and grimy grey tones, mixed with lush, slow-mo shots." (MTV) The mood is set by director Sam Pilling's glossy cinematography and is a fitting companion to the track's smooth production and Abel Tesfaye soulful croon. (Rolling Stone)
Also last week: The Weeknd made his television debut with "Pretty" on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
And also performed "Professional," "Wicked Games," and "High For This:"
The Weeknd also took to BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe show last week to give some insight into the songs on his new album, Kiss Land. Listen to that interview here.
Get your copy of Kiss Land here.


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Cal Berkeley Golden Bears Coffee Carafe
Those early games on Saturday will be chilly, especially later in the season. Pour coffee first from a Golden Bears coffee carafe. Shot o' Kahlua to warm you up is optional.
Some may call this a bit over-the-top. I say, those people are absolutely wrong. I mean, we all remember what Jesus' first miracle was, right? He turned water into wine.
I like breaking this one out when I have my snobby wine friends over for dinner. Then they feel slightly stupid when they're swirling and sniffing their wine out of a dixie cup glass.


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U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Coordinating, Developing, and Delivering Highway Transportation Innovations
|This report is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information
Publication Number: FHWA-RD-95-176
Date: November 1996
Development of Human Factors Guidelines for Advanced Traveler Information Systems and Commercial Vehicle Operations: Task Analysis of ATIS/CVO Functions
The following paragraphs summarize the procedure and results of each analysis used for function selection, initially for the private vehicle operations and then for the commercial vehicle operations.
Functional Characteristics Included in the Private Vehicle Task Analysis
Functional Characteristics Included in the Commercial Vehicle Task Analysis
Functional Characteristics Included in the Private Vehicle Task Analysis
A casual examination of the functional characteristics suggest that some may be more critical than others for overall system operation. In addition, it is obvious that certain combinations of ATIS functional characteristics may interact more strongly than others. A detailed examination of the information flows ensures that the scenarios used for the task analysis include important functional characteristics and meaningful groups of functional characteristics. This detailed examination shows which functions are most central to ATIS/CVO and which functional characteristics form highly coupled groups, based on the information flows that link them.
This analysis depends on identifying the information flows to and from each functional characteristic. The functional characteristics and information flows can be considered as a network, with functional characteristics representing the nodes of the network and information flows representing the links between nodes (see figure 3). This network can also be considered as a matrix of input/output relations. Such a matrix of input/output relations (see table 24) was created to summarize the information flows between functions.
To better understand what is meant by input/output relations, it is necessary to define a frame of reference for these inputs/outputs. In this particular analysis, the frame of reference used is the ATIS itself. In other words, an "input" is defined as information and data coming to the function, while an "output" is defined as information and data coming from, or produced by, the function. Thus, the ATIS function acts as a transfer function, transforming information and data from inputs to outputs.
In this matrix, an entry was made each time a given function served as either an input or output to another function. In other words, each time there is a "1" in the matrix, it indicates a link between the two functions. The first row and the first column of numbers represent each one of the functions, and the matrix reads as follows: Function 5.1 provides information to functions 5.2, 5.3, 5.6, 6.1, 6.3, 7.1, 7.2, and 8.2. Similarly, the first column reads as follows: Functions 5.7, 6.2, and 8.2 provide information to function 5.1. In other words, functional characteristics listed horizontally receive input from the functional characteristics listed vertically. To make it easier to understand, figure 25 provides a graphical representation of this first row and column, illustrating the functions that are considered inputs and the ones that are considered outputs.
Table 24. Information flows between functions for private vehicle operations.
Using this matrix of input/output relations, it is possible to calculate several measures of the importance of a functional characteristic and, as a consequence, determine its level of centrality in the system. Some of the measures calculated include a simple frequency count of the number of interactions between functions, while other measures of centrality are derived from network analysis techniques. The following paragraphs summarize the findings for each one of these analyses.
Frequency Count
A simple measure of the importance of a functional characteristic is the number of times it either receives from or provides information to other functions. The matrix depicted in table 24 offers the information necessary to calculate this frequency count. The bottom shaded row of table 24 indicates the total number of times a function receives information from other functions. This row shows that destination coordination (6.3) and route navigation (5.6) receive input from more functional characteristics than any other (eight times). Similarly, the right–most column shows the total number of inputs sent to other functional characteristics; for example, road condition information (8.2) provides information to more functional characteristics than any other (nine times).
By adding the row and column totals, it is possible to obtain a crude estimate of functional characteristic centrality. Those functional characteristics requiring the most inputs from other functions and providing the most outputs to other functional characteristics represent important nodes in the network of information flows that make up the ATIS. This analysis identifies pre–drive route and destination selection (5.3) and road condition information (8.2) as the two most central functions to an ATIS. The last row of table 24 shows the rank of each functional characteristic. Table 25 summarizes these results, showing the relative centrality of each functional characteristic.
Table 25. Rank ordering of the private functional characteristics.
Network Analyses
In addition to the simple frequency count, other methods exist to determine the relative centrality of functional characteristics. These measures provide an added level of sophistication that may generate a more accurate estimate of centrality. The frequency count estimates centrality by independently considering the input and output of each functional characteristic. In many cases, this may not be an appropriate approach because a functional characteristic might be more central than another one. For instance, a functional characteristic that has several inputs coming into it has a heavier weight and should be considered more central than a functional characteristic that has only one input. For example, figure 26 shows that the function characteristic "A" has three inputs coming to it, while function characteristic "B" has only one input. In this instance, the output coming from "A" has a heavier weight than the one coming from "B" and should be given more importance when considering its implication in regard to function characteristic "C." To overcome the limits of the frequency count, a network analysis was conducted using the same matrix that generated the frequency counts.
Measure of centrality. A variety of network analysis measures is available to estimate centrality of ATIS functional characteristics. Many of these measures make no distinction between inputs and outputs of a network. Because the network represented in table 24 does make this distinction (i.e., it is asymmetrical), a measure was chosen that accommodates the asymmetry of the matrix. As a consequence, this measure reflects the importance of functions based on information flows in and out of each function. Thus, each function has two measures of centrality, one as an input and one as an output. The input and output measures of centrality can be used to anticipate how people might need to interact with the system.
Functions with high levels of centrality, based on their output, represent functions that provide information to other functions. With these functions, the task analysis should focus on how the transfer of information from function to function may be facilitated by minimizing the amount of recoding and memory required of the driver. Conversely, functions that are highly central, based on the number of functions providing input, represent functions that tend to combine information from a variety of sources and then relay it to the driver. Passing information between functions will involve the driver in an entirely different set of tasks, compared to the tasks involved in acting on information provided by the system. Thus, a task analysis of these functions should focus on how the system conveys information to the driver, rather than on how information is passed between functions. In general, functions that are highly connected with other functions may merit special attention in the task analysis, because many aspects of the system may depend on them.
Freeman's measure of centrality (1979) estimates the centrality of the functional characteristics based on their output and input information flows. This estimate of centrality reflects the number of adjacent vertices to a given vertex, divided by the maximum possible vertices, and expressed as a percentage (Borgatti, Everett, & Freeman, 1992). For ease of understanding, a numerical example is provided.
As an example, five ATIS/CVO functions are considered. As table 24 shows, these functions are linked to other functions, but for simplicity, these links will be ignored for this example. The links between these five functions can be shown graphically, as in figure 27.
The links can also be shown as a matrix, as in table 26.
Using the data in this table, the input and output centrality of each function can be calculated. To determine the input centrality, the number of inputs to a function are added (adjacent vertices). This number is divided by the total possible inputs (total vertices). For function 5.1, the input centrality is the number of inputs divided by the total possible inputs (0/4 = 0 percent). This results because function 5.1 has no inputs and a possible total of four inputs. For function 5.2, the input centrality is 1/4 = 25 percent, because table 27 shows one input to function 5.2 out of a possible four inputs.
Output centrality is calculated in the same manner. For example, function 5.1 has outputs to functions 5.2 and 5.3. Since the output centrality is the total number of outputs divided by the total possible inputs, the output centrality for function 5.1 is 2/4 = 50 percent. The input and output centrality for each function in this example is summarized below.
Table 28 summarizes this measure of centrality. Input centrality is proportional to the number of functions that a given function receives, while output centrality is proportional to the number of functions to which a given function provides information. In other words, a function that has a large number of outputs has a greater output centrality than a function that has fewer outputs. For example, table 28 shows that destination coordination (6.3) and route navigation (5.6) are very central in terms of the inputs they receive from other functional characteristics. Table 28 also shows road condition information (8.2) to be central based on the input it provides to other functional characteristics. These two facts are illustrated in figure 28. To ensure that the scenarios accurately represent the ATIS, several scenarios should include functional characteristics that are highly central; otherwise, scenarios may fail to capture a representative set of tasks associated with the functional characteristics critical to system success.
Table 28. Centrality measures for private driver functional characteristics.
In conclusion, based on the network analyses for the private group, the centrality measures indicate that seven measures were found to be highly central. They are:
In addition to estimates of the centrality of each functional characteristic, an estimate of how information flows link functional characteristics into groups is an important element in identifying representative scenarios. If scenarios contain arbitrary sets of functions, they are unlikely to reveal representative information transfers between functional characteristics. Two network analyses were performed to explain how information flows link groups of functional characteristics. One analysis identified cliques and one identified clusters or "factions." Each uses a different criteria to group functional characteristics, but provides converging measures of groups of functional characteristics linked by information flows.
A clique is a formal description of the density of links between nodes of a network. The density of links is equal to the total number of links divided by the number of nodes present. For example, if the number of links between two groups of functions is equal, the group that has the smallest number of functions (nodes) would have the greatest density of links. A clique also represents a maximally complete subgraph, which is defined as a coherent grouping of nodes connected by links or information flows. In other words, a clique is defined as a set of nodes that are directly linked to each other. Each member of a clique must have at least as many connections to other functional characteristics as there are members in the clique. Specifically, in a clique of three nodes, each node must have links to each of the other nodes in the clique (three) plus any other links to other nodes in the network that are not part of the clique. Thus, a clique shows a group of functions that share information directly between each other. For the private application of ATIS, the network analysis (see table 29) identifies 20 cliques of three functions or more (a clique of two is trivial, simply a pair of linked nodes). These results suggest that the selection of scenarios should include those that consist of groups of functional characteristics from the 20 combinations.
A cluster or faction (Borgatti, Everett, & Freeman, 1992) analysis represents another network analysis method that can identify groups of functional characteristics linked by their information flows. The cluster analysis extracts "factions" and does not impose the same strict, formal definition on the members of a group that a clique does. This analysis optimizes a cost function that is based on the extent that a group of functional characteristics consists of linked clique–like structures (Borgatti, Everett, & Freeman, 1992). Thus, the cluster analysis identifies groups of functional characteristics in a manner vaguely analogous to factor analyses in traditional statistics. Table 30 summarizes the results of the analysis when five clusters were specified. Two of the five clusters were not considered meaningful as they contained functions that interacted only with themselves. The five clusters for the private operations consist of the functions listed in table 31.
Table 29. Cliques for private functions.
Table 30. Clusters for private functions.
Table 31. Private vehicle cluster analysis.
These clusters of functions can help guide the task analysis by identifying scenarios that consist of functions within a single cluster and scenarios that require functions from several clusters. A task analysis of a scenario that consists of functions from a single cluster can reveal the requirements of supporting a driver with what should be an integrated set of functions (from the perspective of the information flows that generated the clusters). One interesting result of the cluster analysis is that the resulting clusters do not correspond only to the ATIS subsystems (IRANS, IMSIS, ISIS, IVSAWS). Nevertheless, these distinctions do indeed capture an essential feature: IRANS––Cluster 1, IVSAWS––Cluster 3, and IMSIS––Cluster 4.


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NASCAR Tech Unveils New Curriculum USL Expanding To Fresno For '18 Season Overwatch League Adopts Contract Standards Ohio State, Caesars Settle "Shoe" Dispute Gold Cup Final To Cause Traffic Issues Pac-12 Tries To Shorten Football Games Pistons Adding Flagstar Bank As Jersey Sponsor SMI Sees Positive Q2 Trend Lines At Its Tracks Sources: ESPN Targeting Charissa Thompson Latest CTE Study Expands Scope Of Brain Damage
SBD/Issue 86/Leagues & Governing BodiesPrint All
NFL Selects Broncos-49ers For London Game At Wembley Stadium
Broncos, 49ers Will Travel To London In
October As Part Of NFL's International Series
THINKING ABOUT TIME: Comcast SportsNet Bay Area's Bill Romanowski said the trip "is going to be hard" for the 49ers, as there is an eight-hour tim difference from S.F. to London. Romanowski: "This is going to be something that I think will take them two, three, maybe four weeks to get over that kind of jet lag." Santa Rosa Press Democrat reporter Lowell Cohn: "They should have used an East Coast team for this. I don't like the idea of the 49ers going through all of those time zones, and as you say, it takes time to recover." Sacramento Bee reporter Paul Gutierrez: "It's kind of a pain to get over there and have to deal with it, but at the same time, it's like a Monday night game. It's going to be the only game that is on in the entire country, as well as another entire country. Their eyeballs are all going to be on this game. So that kind of comes with it" ("Chronicle Live," Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 1/15).
IS LONDON EVEN CALLING? In S.F., Ray Ratto wrote why England "would consider this a gift" from the NFL "is beyond us, but at least there was enough sensitivity displayed that the NFL didn't send" the Buccaneers. The Glazers own both the Buccaneers and Manchester United, and the ManU situation, which "can properly be considered potentially disastrous, is why putting an NFL game in Europe right now seems so odd." English soccer is "awash in bad debt and shaky clubs, and so yet another incursion from the NFL will look profoundly discordant" (SFGATE.com, 1/15).


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Kimmo Jaskari wrote:
> On Tue, Nov 10, 2009 at 21:16, Mike Nichols <mike at myownsoho dot net> wrote:
>> Do we know anything about the hardware this is occuring on?
> Only if you are psychic, I guess. ;)
> It's an old Compaq small form factor Celeron with 256MB of memory. Has
> worked quite well, but of course it could be going bad on me.
The most common cause of random behavior I know is bad ram and bad PS.
Both can be tested with memtest x86 run over night...


text:
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/).
An extensive economics literature has examined business environmental management to identify characteristics and external institutional stakeholder pressures that influence management decisions. Frequently, it is assumed that profit pursuit is the goal, and organizations subject to the same pressures respond similarly. Studies have identified a narrow set of influential stakeholders, but have revealed that organizations respond differently to them. Recent research shows that an important moderating influence is the manager's attitude toward environmental protection, which may explain differing organizational responses, and that managers may perceive the ability to obtain utility beyond increased profit from engaging in strategic environmental management. A comprehensive framework for assessing moderating perceptions is lacking, but recent research combining institutional theory and utility maximization shows increased explanatory power and exposes the relative importance of manager perceptions. This paper synthesizes economics and management literature on institutional determinants of environmental management, utility maximization, and attitudes and behavior to illustrate the usefulness of an integrated approach for both disciplines.
An extensive economic literature examines the motivations for environmental management, particularly voluntary or "beyond compliance" efforts [
In examining businesses' responses to these changes, research has demonstrated that organizations choose a wide variety of voluntary environmental management strategies, ranging from participating in formal voluntary environmental management programs (VEPs), to implementing any number of wide-ranging individual environmental management practices (EMPs). Literature has also provided useful information about which types of organizations choose different types of strategies, and conditions under which organizations can profit financially by voluntarily exceeding regulatory compliance [
Importantly, mounting evidence indicates that financial profit is not the only (nor even necessarily the primary) motivation for voluntary environmental management. While contrasting with some common views about business practices—namely, that rational firms seek primarily to increase profit and shareholder value [
Businesses are demonstrating this by stating a variety of motivations for voluntary environmental management—not all of which directly relate to profit. Businesses report engaging in voluntary activities to accomplish the following [ Reduce costs, increase efficiency, or increase productivity (gain competitive advantage) Manage risks Address stakeholder interests: customers, investors, regulators, environmental groups Satisfy perceptions of personal or social responsibility (
Reduce costs, increase efficiency, or increase productivity (gain competitive advantage)
Manage risks
Address stakeholder interests: customers, investors, regulators, environmental groups
Satisfy perceptions of personal or social responsibility (
One approach used to examine motivations for environmental management incorporates institutional and neo-institutional theory (examining the influences of various stakeholders) into profit-maximization frameworks. This specific approach merits review for several reasons. First, it has been widely used [
This paper proposes that our understanding of the motivations for voluntary environmental management can be enhanced by examining institutional influences within a utility maximization framework in lieu of a profit model [
This paper draws primarily on economics, and secondarily on strategic management literature, integrating concepts to create a comprehensive discussion of moderating influences on environmental management. Although this discussion emphasizes economic theories and findings, Rumelt, Schendel, and Teece (2009) [
Originating with "green" organizational theorists, institutional theory emphasizes how social and cultural pressures influence organizational structures and practices, and has been shown to be relevant for describing sustainable organizations. This theory argues that organizations subject to similar social frameworks of norms and values tend to behave similarly to achieve social legitimacy—where 'legitimate' organizations are those whose behavior is considered desirable or appropriate by the affected community. Institutional theory argues that organizations recognize the importance of social approval to long-term viability, challenging the view that rational firms are strictly profit-seeking [
Studies typically use models including: (1) relevant characteristics of the organization, industry, market, and community; and (2) measures of stakeholder pressures, commonly including customers, environmental interest groups, investors, competitors (or level of competition), and regulators [
Models include organizational and market characteristics because such characteristics have been found to moderate the effects of external stakeholder pressures on environmental management decisions. For example, a small company and a multinational corporation may respond to customers differently because the multinational corporation may serve a more diverse customer base [
This paper describes only those determinants (institutional influences/external motivations) of environmental management and the moderating factors (market, industry, and organizational characteristics) that have been most consistently identified as significant, and which are relevant to suggested future research. Institutional influences are described in
Common Motivations Associated with Key Institutional Influences.
|Environmental Interest Groups
|▪ Reduce risks due to accidental spills or releases
|▪ Avoid boycotts or sanctions
|▪ Attract environmentally conscious customers
|▪ Preempt future regulations
|▪ Enhance shareholder value
|▪ Partner with these groups in strategic development or policy discussions
|▪ Avoid losing environmentally conscious customers
|▪ Influence current/future regulations (e.g., developing standards adopted by authorities)
|▪ Reduce cost of capital
|▪ Obtain price premia for differentiated products
|▪ Obtain relief under current regimes (e.g., reduced inspections)
|▪ Protect personal reputation of manager-investors
|Opportunities for Competitive Advantage
Reduce costs, increase efficiency, and increase productivity
May be achieved through any number of efficiency strategies (e.g., process improvements, waste reduction, employee productivity) May be associated with the above stakeholder groups (e.g., strategic coordination with regulators, favorable terms offered by investors) Dependent on organizational and market characteristics (e.g., facility size, industry concentration)
May be achieved through any number of efficiency strategies (e.g., process improvements, waste reduction, employee productivity)
May be associated with the above stakeholder groups (e.g., strategic coordination with regulators, favorable terms offered by investors)
Dependent on organizational and market characteristics (e.g., facility size, industry concentration)
Previous studies show that investor interests—shareholder and other—are affected by environmental performance, and that investor pressures for improved performance tend to be positive determinants of environmental management efforts. Both shareholder pressures and susceptibility to investor pressures, as proxied by sales-asset ratio (with a lower sales-asset ratio being the determinant), have been found to be significantly related to environmental management system (EMS) comprehensiveness [
One theory for this association is that shareholders urge companies to avoid the financial liabilities associated with environmental risk, possibly because they view themselves as "not simply token" owners—risking reputational damage when the companies they invest in cause environmental harm [
Another theory is that good environmental performance may reduce the cost of capital, due to the reduced risks from environmental incidents. Sharfman and Fernando, 2008 [
The demonstrated positive relationship between investor pressures and environmental management intensity, and growing interest in socially responsible investing, suggest that a viable policy direction would be to support access to credible information about environmentally proactive companies to foster informed investments.
With major environmental incidents and mounting global environmental stresses attracting public interest, environmental interest group boycotts or sanctions may be perceived as a threat by businesses, particularly large emitters [
Empirical findings are mixed. Studies of large companies have found interest group pressures to be significant determinants of voluntary environmental management, and that states with strong environmental group membership and high emissions levels showed greater emissions reductions over time [
The premise here is that companies seek to attract environmentally conscious customers either to avoid losing business to more environmentally friendly competitors, or to command higher prices for green products and services [
Willingness to pay (WTP), though, has not been consistently evident in the marketplace [
However, willingness to pay depends on the type of product or service, the type of consumer, and the consumer's motivation. Numerous studies have found greater willingness to pay higher prices for organics among women, particularly mothers with young children. Willingness to pay is often presumed to be based on self-interest (e.g., health benefits) [
In industrial markets, product differentiation strategies have historically differed from consumer markets, with industrial differentiation driven more by total cost reduction and less by branding and image. Industrial suppliers generally must demonstrate that the reduced environmental footprint of their products or services in turn reduces the environmental impacts of their industrial customers, thereby reducing their customers' environmental management costs for activities such as compliance and disposal [
Accordingly, findings for customer influences on environmental management in the industrial market are mixed. Previous literature reviews concluded that customer pressures had not exerted a large effect on business environmental management as of the turn of the century [
However, more opportunities to enhance an organization's reputation and capture price premia for differentiated products and services are arising in industrial markets. Developers may be able to command higher rents and sales prices for green properties, while companies leasing space may save on utility costs, while also signaling their environmental intent to stakeholders [
In other findings, Darnall, Henriques, and Sadorsky, 2008 [
From a policy standpoint, research on consumer preferences and companies' responses to them is relevant because policymakers are central to the consumer-producer relationship. Public agencies set standards for residential, commercial, and industrial buildings, emissions, wastes and recycling, as well as consumer goods, such as major appliances, so these agencies influence both the availability of environmentally preferable alternatives and consumer interest in them. As public agencies strive to achieve community-wide environmental protection, they can enable consumers to make informed choices and assist companies in signaling their environmental achievements to consumers. Formal VEPs, including certification schemes (e.g., Energy Star), can meet both purposes. VEPs typically require participating organizations to meet specific performance standards or adhere to particular procedures intended to achieve a desired level of environmental protection, and simplify consumers' choices by differentiating the environmentally preferable alternative [
These programs, though, need to provide credible information and guidance for consumers [
Studies also find that agencies need to provide public oversight and clear standards in order to achieve adequate environmental protection. Mandatory requirements may be required in residential markets, where reliance on consumer goodwill may be inadequate. In a survey of United Kingdom citizens, Fudge and Peters, 2010 [
Overall, it appears that customer pressures exhibit enough complexity and variation that it is difficult to determine a definitive influence on environmental management. Pressures vary between retail and industrial markets, and opportunities to command higher prices for environmentally preferable alternatives vary depending on good or service offered, and the type of customer. However, there is potential for regulatory agencies to help create more consistent opportunities. Research informing the design of VEPs that address consumer and producer behavior in a coordinated manner would be helpful.
One potential starting point is to examine spillover effects. Studies of spillover effects reveal opportunities to leverage the knowledge gained through implementing voluntary environmental management in the workplace for the residential and consumer markets. In a study of waste management at three Swedish workplaces that had adopted an EMS, Andersson
Given that every individual—whether a regulator, business manager, or employee—is also a consumer, studying how professional knowledge and work habits affect consumerism—and vice versa—may reveal leverage opportunities for policy intended to achieve a community-wide level of environmental protection. Additional research into the complex ways that regulatory agencies, businesses, employees, consumers, and residents each contribute to creating the market for "green" products and services should be prioritized.
Regulators are clearly an important stakeholder group and source of institutional pressure because of their authority and enforcement capability, their ability to provide technical assistance, information, and positive publicity for environmental achievements, and their role in creating a market for environmentally preferable products and services [
Given the importance of regulation, a large literature has been developed to explain how organizations can work within prescriptive regulatory systems to gain competitive advantage. (Competitive advantage is described in the next subsection, but is discussed here as the reason typically offered for exceeding regulatory compliance.) Opportunities exist because despite being designed to achieve consistent emissions targets, specific standards can vary dramatically across industries and organization types. This occurs in part because individual standards are often considered as distinct conditions, rather than components of larger regulatory programs [
According to Lyon and Maxwell, 2004 [
Strategic behavior is not limited to organizations—regulatory agencies can restrict both output and entry in an industry, thereby increasing profitability for existing firms. Frequently, this occurs through grandfathering, where differential requirements are mandated for new businesses [
Evidence shows that organizations may gain competitive advantage by exceeding compliance in certain situations, and that regulators may exert significant influence over competitive advantage by implementing regulatory strategies that create entry barriers, transfer rights to existing firms, or create other benefits for top environmental performers. However, despite the extensive literature, regulatory pressures merit more in-depth scrutiny because research exhibits some common limitations. First, most studies have examined large producers, creating an underlying assumption that organizations are subject to some form of environmental regulatory framework that would affect environmental management decisions. SMEs and nonmanufacturers that fall below regulatory thresholds for permitting and reporting would likely violate this assumption.
Second, regulatory pressures are often assessed with a single indicator, such as the number of annual inspections. Regulatory influences have not typically been measured using composite indices, but when such measures are used in studies of heterogeneous samples, results are less consistent [
These recent findings suggest that additional research into regulatory pressures is needed. So few studies have included SMEs that little is known about either their relative contribution to environmental impacts, or their needs for information and assistance. Research could help determine whether current regulation is adequately addressing SME impacts, and help identify compliance needs. These recent findings comparing different types of environmental management are also showing that regulation has different effects on different strategies (e.g., VEPs compared to EMPs). Studies involving such comparisons appear to be limited [
Evidence is mounting that companies are taking strategic environmental approaches to develop cost-effective beyond-compliance abatement methods in order to gain competitive advantage. For example, Ervin
Findings for industry concentration are mixed, but in some cases, both competitive and noncompetitive organizations can profit from voluntary environmental management. Stoeckl, 2004 [
Organizations in concentrated industries that have developed cost-effective abatement strategies may be more likely to exceed compliance with regulatory standards because they can persuade regulators to mandate the higher standards, putting competitors at a disadvantage [
Conventionally, competitive advantage gained through strategic environmental management has been demonstrated through case studies where organizations innovated technologies and processes [
However, new insights may be attained by expanding research to include human resource efficiencies—an opportunity available to organizations of all sizes. The importance of employee contributions to organizational success in general has long been recognized, but specific employee contributions to environmental achievements, and their effects on competitive advantage, have received less attention. Where these contributions have been examined, companies have cited improved employee productivity, reduced absenteeism, and the ability to attract more qualified employees at competitive salaries as motivations for environmental management. This phenomenon appears to be due both to the fact that employees prefer to work for companies with values similar to their own, and also because companies that make environmental protection a priority also tend to view social issues as an important business responsibility [
In the empirical literature, Darnall, Henriques, and Sadorsky (2008) [
Although the evidence demonstrates the importance of employee contributions, these contributions have not commonly been rewarded with economic incentives [
In summary, competitive advantage is an important determinant of environmental management, but our understanding remains limited due to the research emphasis on large producers and organizations with innovative capacity. One topic for future research is employee productivity. Productive employees are an asset to any organization, and with the potential for spillover effects mentioned earlier, there may be substantial potential to enhance community-wide environmental protection by stimulating employees to contribute to environmental improvements.
The following subsections describe the organization and market characteristics most consistently found to moderate the effects of the external influences described above. Other characteristics have been studied, with less consistent findings.
Organization size as measured by number of employees is consistently found to be positively associated with business environmental management, with several arguments offered in explanation. Larger companies may: (1) have greater monetary and personnel resources available to devote to voluntary activity; (2) realize lower marginal environmental management costs through economies of scale; (3) perceive greater potential for gains in market share and profits from attracting environmentally conscious customers; and (4) be more "visible", with actions (or lack of) attracting more attention. Managing more employees or facilities involves greater costs, so it may be more efficient to implement standard policies across the organization, whether or not they are required by regulation. Conversely, managers of smaller organizations may perceive their organization's impacts to be negligible, lack the time and funds to exceed compliance, and—absent stakeholder attention—have little incentive to adopt voluntary measures [
Among empirical studies, Nishitani (2009) [
Findings for multinational corporations (MCs), which tend to be large [
With literature showing larger companies engaging in more extensive environmental management, it follows that policy should aim to encourage more activity among smaller organizations. Although any individual organization may have seemingly minor impacts, collectively, the effects of small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs) are substantial. As a proportion of the global market, SMEs are estimated to comprise 90% or more of all businesses and to account for 50%–60% of all employment [
Specific policy recommendations, however, require more research. Large production facilities have been investigated much more frequently than SMEs, and management literature describes several ways these organizations differ, limiting the applicability of findings for large producers [
Few studies explicitly investigate specific barriers to voluntary environmental management, but among available findings, the most frequently reported issues are time, cost, and a lack of perceived benefits to investing in environmental strategies [
Findings for public companies traded on stock exchanges consistently show that such companies undertake more voluntary environmental management than private companies [
Although consistent, these findings have limited applicability for comprehensive policy. While conventional profit-maximization research captures the effect of public status—synonymous with a focus on profit and shareholder value—the concepts of "exclusively profit seeking" and "shareholder primacy" are becoming outdated. Traditionally, shareholders have often been viewed as homogeneous—interested only in maximizing risk-adjusted returns—but in fact investors have varied preferences, including differing perspectives on business ethics and social responsibility [
Research emphasizing private companies would provide more broadly applicable findings to inform policy; however, such research is constrained by a lack of publicly available information, so policies that increase the availability of private company data to facilitate analysis should be prioritized [
Summary of Findings for Key Institutional Influences.
|Brief Summary of Findings
|Investors (shareholders and others) seek to reduce financial liabilities associated with environmental risks [
|Shareholder pressures and susceptibility to other investors have been shown to be positively associated with EMS comprehensiveness [
|Organizations, particularly large emitters, may seek to avoid boycotts or other sanctions instigated by poor environmental performance [
|Empirical findings are mixed. Environmental interest group pressures have been found to be a significant determinant of the presence of an environmental plan at large organizations [
|Organizations may seek to retain or gain market share or command higher prices by offering environmentally preferable products and services.
|Willingness to pay has not been consistently demonstrated in retail markets, and depends on the product and type of consumer [
|Regulators have authority and enforcement capability, provide information and assistance, and can create or influence "green" markets [
|Findings nearly universally indicate that regulatory pressures are among the most significant determinants of environmental management strategy [
|The premise is that the more a company can reduce costs and increase productivity, the greater advantage it has over competitors. Strategic environmental approaches include developing cost-effective abatement methods.
|Potential to gain competitive advantage is often found to be significant determinant of proactive environmental management [
|Larger companies may have greater resources to devote to voluntary activity; SMEs may lack incentives if less visible to stakeholders [
|Firms with more employees and multinational corporations engage in more proactive environmental management than SMEs [
|Shareholders pressure companies to avoid the financial liabilities of environmental risk [
|Public companies consistently engage in more proactive environmental management than privately held firms [
The research described in
Using utility maximization can capture a full range of managers' motivations—both those mentioned above as well as moral concerns that may not directly relate to a perceived monetary equivalent [
By way of illustration,
Moderating Influence of Manager's Attitudes toward Environmental Protection.
The first element in the figure represents the external motivations/institutional influences that are described in
Organizational and market characteristics are shown here as a "first filter" moderating external stakeholder pressures (institutional influences) because different firms face different levels of pressure, and have different resources available with which to respond to influences [
In expanding beyond the profit-maximizing rationale, manager's perceptions are shown as a "second filter". Research indicates that the manager's perceptions of both the external motivations and their capacity to respond influence the actual environmental strategy implemented [
The diagram is necessarily oversimplified. The dotted lines indicate a few potential feedback loops, but many more feedbacks are likely present. Those shown indicate that profits/losses may be reinvested in the environmental strategy, or may serve as a performance metric to determine modifications. Presumably any intangible results would also feed back into strategy decisions, although a literature search did not reveal sufficient information to propose such pathways here.
Also omitted are the numerous, overlapping information feedback loops, which would affect manager's attitudes and perceptions. Environmental management decisions depend on access to information on numerous elements: institutional influences; market and organizational characteristics; relevant conditions of the natural environment; and performance data from existing strategies. Information access and attributes, therefore, create another factor influencing environmental management decisions. Simon, 1955 [
What becomes clear in diagramming even the basic influences on motivations for environmental management is that decisions are affected by many factors, not all of which can be accommodated by focusing on short-run profits. Yet, traditionally, business investments have been assessed under what has been termed a "technocentric view". This view assumes that current ecological conditions persist through the given planning horizon, with investments based primarily on financial factors such as return on investment and payback period [
One reason for this is uncertainty about the future. In the absence of credible information about future costs and benefits, organizations use higher discount rates [
Importantly, uncertainty may disproportionately affect SMEs, given that empirical studies generally find that that these organizations have higher discount rates than large companies, possibly even being so high that SMEs effectively rule out considerations of long-run profits altogether [
A few studies have replaced profit-maximization models with utility-maximization models while retaining the institutional framework [
Results showed that organizations were more likely to adopt both more EMPs and specific pollution prevention practices if upper management believed that their organizations had a moral responsibility to protect the environment, should conserve natural resources, and that strategic environmental efforts provide potential for competitive advantage. These management attitudes were the strongest positive determinant of EMP adoption (even more so than regulatory pressures), and their inclusion increased explanatory power. Models consisting of organization, industry, and market characteristics explained 15% of the variance. (Comparable estimates for institutional influences under profit-maximization have explained 10%–40% of the variance [
Nakamura, Takahashi, and Vertinski, 2001 [
Surprisingly, organizations where managers expressed stronger beliefs about environmental vulnerability to human impacts and the importance of living in harmony with nature were less likely to have implemented a formal environmental policy. Possibly, this indicates that formal recognition is not important to managers who hold deeply personal beliefs about environmental protection. In contrast, managers who felt a responsibility toward the environment, and who felt they had some control over impacts, were more likely to view environmental objectives as an integral part of business operations. Feelings of responsibility toward the environment were also a determinant of ISO 14001 certification. These attitudes were among the strongest determinants for both the presence of a formal policy and the level of policy integration, with civil and government pressures exerting relatively less influence. Including both institutional factors and attitudes explained 42% of the variance; models excluding these factors explained 22% [
A large management literature also demonstrates the importance of managers' attitudes [
Given that both the economics and management literatures are demonstrating the importance of individual manager's attitudes, this is an important area in which to expand research.
Although policy typically is intended to change behavior, and not necessarily attitudes, the interrelation between the two is complex, and measuring attitudes is a first step toward understanding the role of perceptions in environmental management decisions. In a meta-analysis of the determinants of environmental behavior, Bamberg and Möser, 2007 [
A thorough discussion of the interrelationship of attitude and behavior is beyond the scope of this paper, but the preceding information demonstrates the relevance of perceptions and the importance of assessing them, given that voluntary behavior depends on a willingness to be proactive. This position is supported by other authors who propose further research into managers' attitudes toward different stakeholders because these attitudes explain some of the differences in environmental strategies observed at different organizations subject to the same level of institutional pressures [
Perhaps the primary contribution of this literature synthesis is that it supports positions earlier advanced by Simon, 1993 [
Simon [
The usefulness of this approach is that it captures responses to objective influences (institutional influences) and moderating perceptions (perceived utility) and is flexible enough to retain a profit-seeking rationale or to measure purely altruistic motivations. Furthermore, research using this integrated approach shows increased explanatory power over profit-maximizing frameworks and demonstrates that managers' attitudes are among the most important influences on environmental strategy.
The integrated approach suggested here is only one possible approach to expand research to address numerous limitations. Other modifications are needed to extend the applicability of findings to policy design for the broader marketplace or community.
First, policies are needed to overcome information limitations, both to address long-run uncertainty, and to improve access to information on SMEs and private companies. Information is more readily available for public companies and larger organizations that meet thresholds for mandatory emissions reporting, creating gaps in the information needed to develop broad-based policy.
Second, studies should include SMEs, specifically by investigating their relative contribution to environmental impacts, and the barriers inhibiting voluntary environmental management at such organizations. However, as described in the previous section, SMEs may be as diverse as the managers who operate them, posing particular issues for policy. Researchers have concluded that a "silver bullet" is not likely to emerge, and that a range of policy options addressing diverse needs is expected to be required [
Finally, research should be expanded to investigate how the various institutional factors interact and overlap, as described in
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Voluntary environmental management is defined here as "environmentally friendly actions not required by law" [
As an alternative to utility maximization, some research has combined institutional theory with a natural resource-based view of the firm. This natural resources view assumes that organizations respond to external pressures in differing ways based on their access to resources and the complementary capacities they have developed. Under this view, employee commitment may be considered a capacity, and the level may be assessed, but the motivation (e.g., altruism or deriving a monetary equivalent from certain types of utility) is not typically addressed [
Government programs often target specific impact areas or environmental media such as the EPA-sponsored Energy Star (energy efficiency) and WasteWise (solid waste reduction and recycling) programs. Industry or trade association programs such as the chemical industry's Responsible Care program tend to address specific issues in the target sector. International standards certification programs, such as the ISO 14000 series, seek to ensure adherence to a comprehensive environmental management strategy defined in an environmental management system (EMS) comprised of individual practices.
There is no single definition for SMEs in the U.S. The Small Business Administration (SBA) sets size standards by either the volume of annual receipts or the number of employees. In this paper and literature in general, SMEs are defined as described by the European Commission (EC): companies with 250 or more employees are classified as large, those with 50–249 employees are classified as medium, those with 10–49 employees are small, and all others are micro organizations [
Environmental economic literature identifies various types of "nonuse" values that may help explain willingness to pay. As literature has shown, a consumer may be willing to pay to preserve an environmental resource or feature even when they have no intention of using it. A consumer may derive satisfaction (utility) from simply knowing that a resource exists, either for its own sake or for the benefit of others. For a review of such values, refer to Crowards, 1997 [
For a program to be meaningful, participants comply with requirements. If participants are not regularly audited for compliance, it is possible that some members will take advantage of free-riding opportunities [
An extensive literature review revealed only two studies where greater regulatory pressures were found to be negatively associated with VEP participation [
This is a result of the rulemaking process, where regulatory agencies examine the potential impacts of a specific substance and determine standards for that substance. Agencies then decide how to apply the standard across heterogeneous firms that face different compliance costs, often with input from facilities through the public comment process. Resulting standards often do not apply uniformly across all regulated facilities [
Although "properly crafted regulation is often described as more likely to be performance based than prescriptive, as Stoeckl, 2004 [
One well-known example of strategic behavior is DuPont's development of chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs) substitutes when research implicated CFCs in ozone layer damage. With patents on its substitutes, DuPont led industry support for the Montreal Protocol, which stipulated a 50% reduction in CFC production, gaining competitive advantage by shutting former competitors in the CFC market out of the new substitute market [
Concentration refers to distribution of production within an industry; that is, the number of businesses in the industry and the share of production each contributes. Concentrated industries are those which are dominated by a few large companies responsible for most of the output. Unconcentrated industries have fewer dominant firms and are closer to perfectly competitive.
When size is measured in terms of sales or revenues, results are less consistent. Studies have found either no significant relationship between revenue level and environmental management effort, or that relationships are nonlinear, with midsize organizations exhibiting greater effort than other organizations [
Conventional profit-maximizing theories also explain why different firms choose different strategies, based on the variation in marginal abatement and transactions costs across firms. Profit-maximizing firms choose the level of pollution abatement that equates their marginal costs with their marginal benefits, or implement voluntary initiatives to the extent that the marginal transactions costs are equal or less than the marginal benefits of the initiative [
Other studies have indicated that the perception that the environment is an important issue is a determinant of a variety of proactive environmental management strategies, including: the presence of an environmental plan or EMS, third-party EMS certification, the number of environmental management practices, and participation in a VEP [


text:
Excela to turn Frick hospital into medical mall, expand specialty care
Excela Health officials put to rest rumors about the demise of Excela Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant with an announcement on Friday that they will spend $12 million to transform the facility into a medical mall.
In announcing the plan, Excela executives said none of the hospital's more than 400 jobs will be lost during the five years it will take to convert Frick into a new facility modeled after the system's successful Excela Square at Norwin, an 87,000-square-foot operation in North Huntingdon.
The Mt. Pleasant complex will offer patients specialty medical offices, diagnostic and testing services, a same-day surgery center, outpatient physical therapy, an expanded emergency department and some inpatient rooms, all under one roof.
The number of inpatient beds at the hospital has been gradually reduced in recent years from as many as 100 to 33. That number will remain unchanged.
Mt. Pleasant's mayor expressed relief at the announcement, saying it puts to rest rumors about the fate of the hospital, named after industrialist and coal baron H.C. Frick and a fixture in the community since 1902.
"It's good news in the fact that Frick is not closing and still has capacity for patient care," said Mayor Gerald Lucia. "It is our largest employer, and we want to work side by side with them."
Excela is the third-largest health system in Western Pennsylvania — with hospitals in Greensburg, Latrobe and Mt. Pleasant — and employs 4,600.
Excela Frick has a 48 percent market share in the southern end of Westmoreland and northern Fayette County since Highlands Hospital in Connellsville specializes mainly in mental health care, said Ron Ott, senior vice president for Excela Health.
Patricia J. Raffaele, vice president of the Hospital Council of Western Pennsylvania, said medical malls are becoming popular in this region and elsewhere as a way of centralizing services, taking advantage of new insurance reimbursement models and competing in crowded health care markets.
"We don't have any numbers on the amount of medical malls but, yes, it is a growing trend for hospitals to have medical malls," she said.
In 2012, Highmark began construction of a $100 million, 174,000-square-foot Wexford Medical Mall, set to open in September. In January, UPMC announced it was building a 23,000-square-foot facility in Pine in the North Hills, less than one mile from Wexford Medical Mall.
"This is probably the largest economic development Mt. Pleasant has seen in more than a decade," said Jen Miele, Excela vice president of marketing and communications, about the community of 4,400 that has been stung by the loss of local glass-making jobs and the shutdown of the nearby Sony Corp. plant in 2010.
Mike Busch, Excela's executive vice president and chief operating officer, said the reason for the change is in the numbers.
Last year, Frick had 125,000 outpatient visits accounting for 70 percent of the hospital's revenue, Busch said.
Busch said between 13 to 15 percent of those in Frick's service area do not have a primary care physician, and the first contact they have with a doctor is in the hospital's emergency room.
He said the idea of having a variety of medical specialities under one roof enhances collaboration between doctors. A patient can visit his primary care physician, and if he needs to see a cardiologist, he can see the specialist the same day in the same building. Electronic medical records will make communication between doctors easier and prevent a second physician from asking the same questions asked by the primary care doctor.
As part of the five-year project, Excela will:
• Expand and move the Arnold Palmer Cancer Pavilion's oncology practice on Bessemer Road in East Huntingdon to the Frick facility.
• Spend $375,000 to create advanced wound care and sleep centers.
• Spend $2 million to enhance its emergency department during Phase 1, set to begin shortly.
• Focus all inpatient care on the third floor, which has undergone a $2.6 million renovation.
• Convert a portion of the second floor to a high-tech educational facility for staff at a cost of $325,000.
• Build a new entrance with an expanded lobby rotunda, modern cafe and enhanced primary care physician office suites during Phase II, set to begin within a year.
Richard Gazarik is a staff writer for Trib Total Media.


text:
New Writer For Affleck's The Stand
David Kajganich takes a crack at King
It's a job that's passed through the hands of George Romero and Steve Kloves, but now another writer has undertaken the mammoth task of adapting The Stand for the screen. David Kajganich is wrestling Stephen King's blockbuster novel into movie shape as we speak, under the watchful eye of director Ben Affleck.
Set after an American super-flu virus has wiped out most of the world's population, The Stand sees a King-typical band of mismatched survivors trying to establish a peacenik new society under the aegis of earth-mother Abigail Freemantle. The existence of another group however, led by King's recurring antichrist Randal Flagg, means conflict - the stand of the title - is brewing.
First published in 1978, The Stand was always epic in size and scope, but was re-issued in 1990 in an "author's cut" that was even longer. Mick Garris directed a six-hour TV miniseries in 1994, starring Gary Sinise and Rob Lowe.
Kajganich has previous experience writing pandemics, since he was responsible for the beleaguered Bodysnatchers remake The Invasion in 2007. Unsurprisingly, it's not that gig that's scored him The Stand, but an as-yet unproduced screenplay for Stephen King's similarly whopping It, which impressed Affleck so much that he had to sleep with the lights on so Pennywise couldn't get him.*
The Stand and It are both being developed by producers Roy Lee and Doug Davison.
*Okay, we made that last detail up.


text:
The 2012 Oscar nominations are pretty much in sync with all the critics' picks so far.
Hugo leads the pack with 11 nominations, including best picture and best director for Martin Scorsese.
Here are the nominees in major categories:
Actor in a leading role:
Demian Bichir, A Better Life; George Clooney, The Descendants; Jean Dujardin, The Artist; Brad Pitt, Moneyball; Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Actor in a supporting role:
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn; Nick Nolte, Warrior; Christopher Plummer, Beginners; Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close; Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs; Viola Davis, The Help; Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo; Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady; Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn,
Actress in a supporting role:
Berenice Bejo, The Artist; Jessica Chastain, The Help; Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids; Octavia Spencer, The Help; Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist; Alexander Payne, The Descendants; Martin Scorsese, Hugo; Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris; Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Best picture (only 9 films were nominated):
The Artist, The Descendants, Hugo, The Help, Midnight in Paris, War Horse, Moneyball, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, The Tree of Life
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text: Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone will apparently smooch each other in Ayan Mukherjee"s next.Deepika was very upset with Ranbir when they broke up. In fact, Deepika Padukone even went on to express her anger and disbelief on Karan Johars reality show, Koffee with Karan. But, all thats old story now. Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor are bonding in a big manner off late. Their off-screen chemistry will be obvious in Ayan Mukherjee"s next film. If sources are to be believed, Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone will smooch each other in their upcoming film together. Well, if thats true, lets hope that the kiss reignites the passion between the two beautiful people that the nation would love to see united – Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone!


text:
Daniel Robertson is the Assistant Facilities Manager at Scienceworks. His role is to make sure that all buildings, equipment and all areas on the Scienceworks site are working well both for people who work at this site, and for the thousands of visitors who come to Scienceworks every week. Find out more about Daniel, his role and the car park challenge by watching the videos then read the challenge details below.
Download the Plan a Car Park Introduction video
Watch this video with a transcript
If you are ready to plan a car park, take a look at this video where Daniel talks about the things you need to consider.
Download the Plan a Car Park Challenge video
Your challenge is to design the most efficient layout for the car park at Scienceworks that meets all the following requirements:
Questions and considerations:
Are there any other car park design features that you may have seen which you would like to consider for your own design? Collect photographs of real examples of these to include in your plan.
Use the car park map (in the Related Resources document - 2 different formats have been provided) at the top of this page, to draw your final design showing:
Share your solutions with others. Who managed to include the most car park spaces? Who has the most elegant design? Who has catered well for pedestrians as well as cars?
We would love you to share your solutions with us. Email us a report on your findings. You may even send a video presentation or a link to it, explaining your discoveries and the maths you used in your investigations.
We love receiving comments, but can't always respond.
Hi Mary,
Thanks for your enquiry.
We're not offering waitlists however tickets are now on sale for the next two Robotics workshops on Saturday 5th and Saturda...
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Flames NewsFlames Home > Women's Tennis Home > News
Lady Flames Edge Lipscomb on the Road, 4-3
The Liberty Lady Flames tennis team won its second consecutive tight road match, defeating the Lipscomb Bison on Saturday, 4-3. Liberty has now won three matches in a row and five out of its last six contests.
The Lady Flames even up their record on the season at 5-5 (3-1 Big South), while the Bison drop to 4-6 overall, with the loss.
"Today's tennis wasn't pretty," mentioned Liberty head coach Jeff Maren. "Neither team played their best, but we found a way to get the win. I'm proud of the fact that we are figuring things out, even when things aren't going our way."
Liberty and Lipscomb split the first two doubles matches of the day, before the Lady Flames tallied a win in the final tilt to claim the first point of the afternoon. Liberty's Brittany Yang and Jessie Boda delivered the decisive victory over Lorena Djuknic and Alyssa Bellini, 9-7. It was the seventh consecutive doubles victory and eighth overall for the Lady Flames' No. 2 tandem.
Cameron Richard and Valerie Thong won the other doubles contest for Liberty, defeating Melissa Kromer and Shilpa Naruka, 8-3. Lipscomb's doubles win came in the No. 1 position when Deahna Welcher and Jenny Borck knocked off Rebekah Jenkins and Nicola Wellman, 9-7.
The Bison knotted the match at one with a victory from Djuknic over Yang, 6-2, 6-1, in the No. 3 singles spot.
The Lady Flames regained the lead, after No. 6 player Annisha Domenech recorded her first singles win of the season, a dominating, 6-1, 6-1, win against Naruka. Thong followed up Domenech's victory with a win in the No. 5 spot, ousting Bellini in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0.
Liberty clinched its fifth victory of the season, when Jenkins delivered a tough win over Kromer, 7-6 (4-2), 6-2, in the No. 2 position.
With the match already decided, Lipscomb earned points in the final two tilts of the afternoon. Borck downed Wellman, 6-2, 6-3, before Welcher outlasted Richard in three sets, 4-6, 6-3, 11-9.
The Lady Flames will look to make it three for three on their road trip, when they travel to Western Kentucky on Monday for a 2 p.m. matchup.
Liberty 4, Lipscomb 3
1. Welcher/Borck (Lipscomb) def. Jenkins/Wellman (LU), 9-7
2. Yang/Boda (LU) def. Djuknic/Bellini (Lipscomb), 9-7
3. Richard/Thong (LU) def. Kromer/Naruka (Lipscomb), 8-3
1. Welcher (Lipscomb) def. Richard (LU), 4-6, 6-3, 11-9
2. Jenkins (LU) def. Kromer (Lipscomb), 7-6 (4-2), 6-2
3. Djuknic (Lipscomb) def. Yang (LU), 6-2, 6-1
4. Borck (Lipscomb) def. Wellman (LU), 6-2, 6-3
5. Thong (LU) def. Bellini (Lipscomb), 6-3, 6-0
6. Domenech (LU) def. Naruka (Lipscomb), 6-1, 6-1


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This will follow up on existing products like the Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) that we reviewed earlier this week. There will be a larger Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 (SM-P900/P905) with a 12.2-inch display, possibly to compete against the rumored 12.9-inch iPad Pro from Apple. This is quite different than how Dell is using the "Pro" name in its lineup; Dell designates Pro devices to be Windows, whereas the non-Pro devices are Android. In Samsung's case, it should be all Android-based. The Note Pro 12.2 is expected to launch in early February.
Also a part of the "Pro" series will be the 8.4-inch Galaxy Tab Pro (SM-T320/T325) and the 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab Pro (SM-T520/T525). All of the pro tablets will be offered in WiFi-only and cellular (LTE) variants (hence the dual model numbers), coming with at least 16GB of internal storage. In the case of the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2, there should be a 32GB option as well. You can expect both the 8.4-inch and 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab Pro tablets to launch in February as well.
And finally, bringing up the rear is a "Lite" version of the Galaxy Tab 3. Appropriately dubbed the Galaxy Tab 3 Lite (SM-T110/T-111), the affordable tablet will come in WiFi or 3G with prices starting at under 100 (around $136). It'll be the first to arrive, according to the leaked reports, hitting shelves in the second week of January.
Source: Sammobile


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SOURCE Dilon Technologies, LLC
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ATLANTA – Over the next 12 months, groups across Georgia eager to hear from the candidates for major statewide races will find how tricky it can be to pick dates all can attend.
Just ask the Athens Jaycees. The civic club for young adults is hosting the first formal debate of the Senate race on Dec. 9 at the University of Georgia's Continuing Education Center.
Hometown candidate Paul Broun announced he'll be there.
The problem is many of the other candidates have conflicts in other parts of the state.
The seven Republicans have appeared together at a handful of forums already, including barbecues and chili contests.
Such events give audiences a chance to hear them give a short speech, one after another, without confronting each other about their different positions.
That's where debates can be helpful.
And the candidates all say they're eager to debate because each is confident of winning.
"Dr. Broun looks forward to having an open discussion with the other candidates and presenting his ideas and positive solutions to the major issues facing America," noted a statement from Broun's campaign about the Athens event.
Derrick Grayson said he's putting it on his calendar, too.
"I am looking forward to the opportunity to share a platform with the candidates for Senate, but more importantly, I am looking forward to the people of Georgia having an opportunity to hear from each candidate and deciding for themselves who will best represent them," he said.
But the Jaycees' decision to change the date this week created conflicts for other candidates.
"Karen is looking forward to debating, but we can't just cancel multiple events," said Dan McLagan, spokesman for Karen Handel.
Jack Kingston is disappointed that he will be at another event, too.
"We look at things and try to get to as many of them as we can," said his spokesman Chris Crawford.
Most of the seven candidates are political veterans who've been willing to debate in past elections, and since polls show that none has a prohibitive lead, they all are likely to want the exposure.
To minimize the number of calendar conflicts before the May primary, the state Republican Party is going to try to coordinate scheduling similar to how a bipartisan commission handles presidential debates during the general election.
Some events are almost automatic entries on the calendar, like the Atlanta Press Club debates that are televised statewide on Georgia Public Broadcasting.
Less certain are those that are more of fundraising opportunities for local political organizations that charge each candidate for tables and booths.
• Follow Walter Jones on Twitter @MorrisNews and Facebook or contact him at firstname.lastname@example.com and (404) 589-8424.


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