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Campaign for Vermont, a 501(c)4 "nonpartisan" advocacy group, is criticizing state government spending trends as "unsustainable" over the long term, calling for a renewed political focus on fiscal stability.
In a 30-page report analyzing state budget trends from 2008 to 2012, the group highlights a $908.7 million or 22 percent increase in the state budget compared to 2008 levels.
The report targets the Agency of Human Services. Tom Pelham, a group co-founder and former state tax commissioner, told reporters at a Montpelier press conference that despite a 29 percent increase in human services spending since 2008, life for poorer Vermonters hasn't significantly improved. Pelham presented charts and statistics which he said showed a widespread political failure to carefully control spending or reform state services for efficiency.
"It's very clear, I think, to most observers that we do have a structural imbalance in our state budget, between what is going on in spending and what is going on in the underlying economy and the demographics in Vermont," Pelham said.
Increases of more than 10 percent in state spending, in sectors like education, health care and human services, are disproportionate, Pelham said, compared with small percentage increases in population and median household income.
"We basically have double digit spending growth and an underlying economy over a five-year period that is growing in the low single digits at best," he said.
Pelham argued that the state's stagnant economy didn't justify those spending increases. "If we stay on this course, this unsustainable course, we will be in trouble," he said.
Doug Racine, secretary of the Agency of Human Services, said the economy the Shumlin administration inherited had been influenced partly by Pelham, who served in the Douglas administration as a "key player," from 2008 to 2010.
"When the Shumlin administration came in, we found a lot of problems, and thought that Vermonters were not getting the same quality of services they were getting previously," Racine said.
Racine cited improvements to the Adult Protective Services division, oversight of contracting, and the mental health system, as ways his agency had improved the lives of Vermonters.
"Perhaps it's a fair criticism to say that over those five years, Vermonters weren't doing better," said Racine. "But I'd say there was a downward trajectory when Gov. Shumlin came into office, and an upward trajectory now."
Racine said declining federal revenues and increasing caseloads together accounted for the rise in human services spending. In a struggling economy, he said, residents tend to rely more on state services.
"That's the conundrum we face in human services," said Racine. "Generally, when the [state] revenues are the lowest, the needs are the highest. … The need is great out there. Middle class folks are struggling with costs of health care, housing, fuel, and all of that, so we're seeing increased demands to help people struggle with the necessities of life."
"We took $8 million from a reserve, in the winter, and put it into fuel assistance, so that people can get the fuel they need so they don't freeze in the winter," he said. "That's some increased spending."
Pelham said Govs. Richard Snelling, Howard Dean and Jim Douglas all kept spending increases at a sustainable level, but he fell short of criticizing Gov. Peter Shumlin for being fiscally irresponsible.
Responsibility for increased spending and little reform rests with lawmakers from both parties in recent years, he said, who failed to make tough spending cuts. Pelham says generous federal stimulus funds totaling more than $920 million from 2009 to 2012 made the Legislature complacent.
Significant human services cuts are widely expected to be unveiled in the governor's budget later this week. Despite pointing out the 29 percent AHS budget increase as a cause for concern, Pelham said he wouldn't necessarily back cuts to AHS.
Pelham says he prefers saving money through efficiency reforms, but cuts must remain an option.
Campaign for Vermont wants Shumlin to limit this year's spending increase in the budget to inflation plus population growth, or about 2.55 percent. The group also urges the governor to improve the state's benefits management system and to end cost shifting.
Link to the Campaign for Vermont budget white paper.


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SARASOTA, Fla. - When you hear the words "shark attack," scenes from the movie Jaws often come to mind. But the word "attack" is misleading according to those who study sharks.
"When we talk about shark attack, it evokes in everyone's mind this fear in everyone's mind of being eaten by a super predator," said Dr. Robert Hueter, the leader of Mote Marine Laboratory's Center for Shark Research in Sarasota.
Dr. Hueter said it is a label placed on these fish two centuries ago when scientists had limited understanding of their behavior. "That's not what's happening in well over 90% of these cases," he said.
That is why Mote Marine Laboratory's shark research leader took part in a new study with Christopher Neff of the University of Sydney, Australia which was published this week, to help better educate the public on a shark's behavior.
"We understand better how to respond," Dr. Hueter said. "We understand that maybe we have to change perhaps our behavior and watch out for certain species of sharks."
In fact, the large great whites often seen in the movies are actually few and far between. Of the 500 shark species, most grow to less than 3 feet long.
"Treating them as if they're criminals, treating as if they are man-eaters is counterproductive to ocean conservation," Hueter said.
Hueter adds it comes from the term "shark attack" being misleading, grouping fatal bites with ones the result in little to no injury. "When we equate that with a massive bite from a 15 foot shark, that's not right," Hueter said.
He adds this is why the study suggests to group shark incidents into four categories: sightings, encounters, bites, and fatal bites, so levels of risk can be more accurately recorded.
"Most of the sharks we have in Florida here are actually small," Hueter said. "And none of them are true man eaters."
You can read the full study online HERE.

subset: commoncrawl


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Thu Nov 15, 2012, 11:34 PM
morningfog (18,115 posts)
Benghazi Attack Details Aired
* * *
Like the hearings planned for Friday, Thursday's were held behind closed doors. But interviews with lawmakers indicated that over several hours, they were given a detailed description of the Sept. 11 assault by intelligence and law enforcement officials. The officials also spent about 30 minutes discussing the investigation that uncovered the Petraeus affair, lawmakers said.
Mr. Ruppersberger said officials described tandem attacks that targeted the U.S. consulate complex and, later, an annex building used by the CIA. The briefings revealed the far greater sophistication of the second attack on the CIA annex, which began hours after the first attack had ended, he said. The intelligence officials also provided a detailed explanation of conflicting intelligence reports that spurred intense political criticism in the lead-up to last week's presidential election.
* * *
The CIA's first analysis, prepared on the morning after the attack, said the assault appeared intentional and indicated it didn't appear to stem from a peaceful protest. That analysis also mentioned the possibility of connections to an al Qaeda affiliate.
By the next day, however, the assessment shifted. When Mr. Petraeus briefed lawmakers on Sept. 13 and 14, his briefing papers showed the CIA believed the attack stemmed from a protest. The CIA began receiving new information on Sept. 15 that casted doubt about the protest, but after vetting the intelligence, the agency maintained the assessment that there had been a protest.
The CIA maintained that assessment until Sept. 20, when intelligence officials told counterparts at the White House that it had changed. It took two more days for that change to be reflected in the briefing provided to President Barack Obama.
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Response to morningfog (Original post)
Thu Nov 15, 2012, 11:35 PM
morningfog (18,115 posts)
1. Lawmakers get first look at Benghazi attack video
(CBS News) WASHINGTON -- A congressional investigation viewed video Thursday that was recorded by security cameras the night of the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
The first video of the attack was captured by cell phones. But it took about 10 more days for the FBI to get its hands on video taken by security cameras at the consulate. That classified video, shown to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, answers some of the many questions surrounding the attack.
There has been a lot of controversy about whether the Sept. 11 attack -- which killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador -- was planned by terrorists or the result of a mob angered by an internet movie ridiculing Islam.
A U.S. intelligence official said the first video shows no sign the assault arose -- as first thought -- out of a demonstration. But it also indicates the attack, though intentional, was not well planned.
Response to morningfog (Original post)
Fri Nov 16, 2012, 12:15 AM
DURHAM D (25,129 posts)
2. Hmmmmh -
Did Petraeus change his "assessment" when he talked to lawmakers on the 13th and 14th for some political reason or to hide something?
Response to DURHAM D (Reply #2)
Fri Nov 16, 2012, 12:27 AM
morningfog (18,115 posts)
3. That is what raised my eyebrows.
It could have been either or both. Maybe hiding the secret prison there. Maybe wanting to disrupt the presidential race.
Response to morningfog (Original post)
Fri Nov 16, 2012, 12:31 AM
Thinkingabout (29,951 posts)


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BUENOS AIRES (Dec. 27)
The 1949 campaign of the United Campaign for Israel and overseas needs will reach 80 percent of the total raised in the 1948 drive, it was indicated here today by Simon Mirelman, chairman of the drive. Voicing satisfaction with the results of the current effort, Mr. Mirelman attributed the campaign's success to the activities of the Buenos Aires and provincial committees.
The current campaign, in addition to raising funds for Israel, also included the Joint Distribution Committee, World Jewish Congress, HIAS, ORT and CSE. Mr. Mirelman said that a conference to plan the 1950 drive will be called in March, at which time the programs of the drive will be reviewed and new officers elected. With the exception of Buenos Aires, the United Campaign's goals were reached in all Jewish communities in Argentina, it was noted.


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10 Years of Bicycling Together
Bethany Bovard - Van Horn, TX
Gary had been riding since he was 16, but I hadn't been on a bike since I was 16. When we got together, we thought it would be nice to have something to do as a couple. Next thing I know, we're buying me a bicycle! Ten years later and I still cherish every mile we ride together!blog comments powered by Disqus


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(The Hosting News) – We are pleased to announce that we are now offering free licenses for HybridCluster, our full stack cloud hosting software platform, to any business or organisation to use for non-commercial purposes.
Our cloud software is already being used to successfully host some communities, open source projects and other non-commercial organisations including the OpenZFS project, which launched last September. On the day after the launch, Matt Ahrens, co-founder of ZFS, announced, "We had over 20,000 unique visitors to the website yesterday, with a peak of over 500 concurrent visitors."
We especially hope that our free licenses will benefit open source projects, and raise the awareness of the efficiency and performance benefits of using containers for virtualization, and distributed storage for redundancy. To quote our CEO, Luke Marsden, "At HybridCluster we firmly believe that containers are the future of cloud. For decades, full hardware virtualization has been necessary because of the limitations of multi-tenancy within operating systems, but now that is finally fixed, we'll see the benefits of containers ramp up in the next few years: increased densities, bare metal performance, and consistency of deployment. These benefits will start to challenge the virtualization market, which continues to struggle with the complexities and challenges associated with virtual machines, particularly storage. We at HybridCluster have been innovating in the container space for over 5 years."
Our HybridCluster software platform automatically provides high availability (HA) and disaster recovery (DR) across data centres to web applications developed for Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP (LAMP), intelligently managing resources with auto-scaling across distributed storage. Our Data Vault component, which continuously snapshots file changes, provides the ability to rollback websites, databases and mailboxes, protecting against user and system error.
HybridCluster is designed to work on commodity hardware, so with free licenses, not-for-profit organisations can deploy an affordable private or public cloud that requires minimal support as it's fully automated. We will be supporting these licenses through our community forum, upgradable to our 24/7 Enterprise support.
To get started, businesses and organisations can sign up at www.hybridcluster.com/get-started/ and select from the dropdown menu that they are interested in our free non-commercial license.


text:
1999-2000 UAF Catalog
Course Descriptions
Degrees and Programs Index
Electronics Technology
ELT 101 (4 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Basic Electronics: DC Physics (3+0)
Basic terms and units. Use of test equipment, hand tools and techniques of soldering. Ohm's law, fundamentals of magnetism, DC circuit analysis, inductance and capacitance in DC circuits. Laboratory fee: $10.00.
ELT 102 (4 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Basic Electronics: AC Physics (3+0)
Principles of alternating current, vectors, phase relationships, inductive and capacitive reactance, and impedance. AC circuit analysis, series and parallel resonant circuits. Transformers, network analysis. Laboratory fee: $50.00.
ELT 111 (1 - 3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
Amateur Radio Licensing (1 - 3+0)
Overview of amateur radio. Code and radio theory provided for the Novice and General Amateur License Examination. Community emergency communications, net operations, repeaters, and public classroom applications for those already licensed.
ELT 171 (3 Credits) As Demand Warrants
National Electric Code Study (3+0)
Systematic study of the National Electric Code and rules governing minimum requirements for installation of electrical services, feeders and branch circuits and requirements for construction and installation of electrical equipment.
Catalog Index
Class Schedule
UAF Home
UAF Search
News and Events
Send comments or questions to the
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Last modified March 10, 1999


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June 15, 2008 at 12:07:48 Jun 15, 2008 @ 12:07
Hey, we do not have any info for that g-shock. please also check our website for the update.
Thank you
Thank you
how much are the kikstyo shirts?
private message asap.
wanna reach tmrw before the sale ends.
anythin size s-m left?!
How much do you sell the Aki Hoshino tees for? I've been looking all over Toronto for those.
we just got some more Dunk Low SB Piet Mondrian on Consignment now.
lmk when you guys get Aki Hoshino tees in stock!
=]! What are the sizes and price range?
how much are those OG roughe status t shirts going for?
what sizes do you guys have left for the newcastle sbs?
do those stabs tees come in smalls? and how much?
will you guys be getting the chain c crooks and castles caps anytime soon? i've been looking for them everywhere. also, if anyone knows where to find it anywhere else in toronto let me know
The Illuminati Crooks shirts that just came in, still have them in small and medium?


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Greetings, ConceptArt.
I'm a newbie here (That's right, another one) and I thought I'd stop to get some pointers on my latest piece before I go nuts adding details and such.
There's not much else to say, I guess, except that he's supposed to be some sort of mage in training.
Thanks in advance!


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Complete Schedule Announced
Women's College Basketball
Rider Announces 2013-14 MAAC Schedule
LAWRENCEVILLE—If you missed the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship Tournament last season, don't worry. Just watch the Rider Broncs during 2013-14 as seven of the 29 games will be against NCAA qualifiers.
Three NCAA qualifiers highlight the nine-game, 2013-14 non-conference Rider University women's basketball schedule, announced by seventh year head coach Lynn Milligan.
"Our goal is the same every year," Milligan said about the non-conference schedule. "We want to face different conferences and teams that are going to challenge us but that we feel that we can compete with."
The 20-game Metro Atlantic Athletic schedule will begin on December 29 when Rider hosts Fairfield. Other MAAC home games include Saint Peter's on January 9, Canisius (January 12), Manhattan on January 16, MAAC newcomer and NCAA qualifier Quinnipiac on January 21 and Siena on January 24.
MAAC games in February see Iona visiting Lawrenceville on February 6, Niagara coming to town on February 9, in-state rival and MAAC newcomer Monmouth visiting Alumni Gym on February 19 and defending champion Marist wrapping up the home slate on February 21.
Five home games highlight the first part of the season with the four road games all within three hours of the Rider campus.
"The schedule kind of just fell together that way," Milligan said about the localized tone to the non-conference schedule. "With that said, we try to balance academics and missed class time as well and we really did a good job of that by having the short road trips. Staying local and not missing class is important to us."
Rider opens the 2013-14 season on Friday, November 8 when the Broncs travel to Easton, Pennsylvania to take on Lafayette College out of the Patriot League. Rider defeated the Leopards 68-64 last season. Lafayette finished 2012-13 with an 11-19 record.
"Lafayette is a terrific opening game challenge for us," said Milligan. "They always have good size and that will challenge us. They are also strong in the post and our players are a year older as well so I expect it to be a close battle."
On Sunday, November 10, the Broncs again hit the road, traveling to South Orange, New Jersey to face Seton Hall University. The Pirates went 11-20 last season but have a familiar face on their bench as former Iona head coach Tony Bozella takes over the reins of the Pirates.
"Most teams take on the characteristics of their head coach and I'm friends with Tony and I know from his Iona days that he gets his players to play hard," Milligan said. "His Seton Hall kids will be no different; it will be a tough physical battle."
The home opener is Thursday, November 14 when the Broncs host LIU Brooklyn (out of the Northeast Conference) in Alumni Gymnasium. The Blackbirds are coming off a 7-22 campaign in 2012-13 and it's the first time since the 1997-98 season that LIU and Rider have faced each other in women's basketball.
"LIU is a new opponent for us," Milligan said. "The home opener is always a big game and having it on a Thursday night, we expect a big crowd. Our players love the challenge of playing at home and having an opponent that they have never played only adds to the excitement."
Rider will continue a three-game home stand, hosting local rival Princeton University on Tuesday, November 19. The Tigers defeated Rider at Jadwin Gymnasium last season and are coming off a 22-win season which included an NCAA tournament appearance as the Ivy League champion.
"Princeton is a fabulous program," Milligan said. "They always do a great job and it's going to be a challenge. I'm glad we have them at home this year."
Rider wraps up the home portion of the November schedule by welcoming former East Coast Conference rival Delaware to Alumni Gym on Sunday, November 24. The Blue Hens, who last played the Broncs in 1990-91, are coming off a 32-4 season in which they advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16, behind the play of Elena Delle Donne who was drafted into the WNBA with the second overall pick by the Chicago Sky.
"Delaware is another terrific program," said Milligan. "Even with Delle Donne having graduated, they are a winning program and they expect to win each time out. To have a team that has been to the Sweet 16 come to your gym is awesome. We expect another large turnout for that game."
Rider finishes out November with a trip to Annapolis, Maryland and the Navy Classic, playing Maryland Baltimore County on the Friday, the 29th and the host Midshipmen on Saturday, November 30. The Retrievers won 10 games last season with Rider last playing UMBC during the 2008-09 season. Navy went 21-12 in 2012-13, winning the Patriot League and advancing to the NCAA tournament. Rider also last played the Midshipmen in 2008-09.
"UMBC is a disciplined team in how they run their offense so that is going to be a challenge for our defense," Milligan said. "And Navy, they went to NCAAs and I believe most of their starting lineup is back and playing on their home floor is going to be a huge challenge for us."
Two home games, on Saturday, December 14 (against Binghamton) and Saturday, December 21 (against Central Connecticut State) brings the non-conference schedule to a close.
"Binghamton beat us at Rider in 2010-11 and we beat them in 2011-12 on their home floor," Milligan said. "They are an improved team and it is another solid opponent for us to play and for us to face at home. With Central Connecticut, they defeated us by one in overtime so I won't have to say much before we play them. Our players remember that game and they feel it was one that we let slip away so it will be a kind of revenge game for us."
The 20-game MAAC schedule, culminates with the MAAC Tournament March 6-10 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
"The MAAC is a well-balanced conference," Milligan said. "Marist has been the best for so long and Quinnipiac was 30-3 and made the NCAAs as well. The conference has great coaches and fabulous players and every game is a battle. You have to be ready every night and you have to be battled tested to compete successfully. The conference will be balanced and hard fought. There are a lot of good teams and the addition of Quinnipiac and Monmouth only made the MAAC that much stronger."
Rider was picked to finish fifth in the preseason coaches poll announced September 11.
With 15 wins in 2012-13, Rider is coming off its best season since the Broncs went 16-12 in 1994-95.
The 15 wins were the fifth most in the 74-year history of the program and Rider tied its best Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference record and finish at 10-8, finishing fourth in the conference.
"We are excited to get things started," Milligan added. "The team will be a year older and we have some great veterans to lead us. Our goal, as always, is to become the best team that we can be both on and off the court."
All non-televised home games will be streamed live on BroncVision (part of MAAC.TV), the pay per view audio/video stream of Rider Athletics.
Free audio for all games, home and away, will be available on 107.7 FM The Bronc and 1077thebronc.com.
GameWatcher (LiveStats) will also be available for free on the website for all home games and most away contests.
Season ticket renewals are available by clicking the Ticket Link in this article.


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Like this infographic? Get help on how to start a blog at HowToMakeMyBlog.com. [Read more…]
Archives for Dec 31, 2012 @ 14:14
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Are the PC's Days Ending?
From Casey Phillips: Keyboards? Mice? Disc drives? It may be time to pull the plugs, experts say. After decades of monopolizing the home computing experience, the desktop PC could be on the way out. Technology experts say the rise of "second screen" devices such as smartphones and tablets represents a fundamental shift toward a "post-PC" [Read More…]
(Dis)Arming the Disciples (by Drew Strait)
So many want to appeal to Luke 22 to show Jesus was not against guns, but Drew Strait subjects that counter-appeal to an examination: (Dis)Arming the Disciples? Jesus' View on Sword Control in Luke 22 The tragic events in Newtown have left our nation riddled with grief, and the use of semi-automatic weapons in this [Read More…]
Jesus on Murder (by T)
This post is by T, a contributor to the comments and a sometimes blogger at this site — and he opens the whole issue of guns from a different angle. Jesus on Murder Steven Zeitchik : [Django Unchained] has a fair amount of gun violence and can be a bit flippant about it. Does that [Read More…]


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Last News
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Update:Refreshed HTC Sensation to be First Beats Audio device
0.0By Nicholas West August 31, 2011 11:57 PM
Htcpedia news:
Ever since HTC's recent acquisition of Beats by Dre was announced it has been nonstop rumors and news about what HTC first Beats Audio phone will be. Well today there is more news on that subject it seem that there will be a refreshed version of the HTC Sensation and that will be the first HTC device with Beats Audio. Now we have heard that the HTC Vigor would be the first phone with Beat Audio and that it was headed for Verizon this year, but a refreshed version of the Sensation just sounds way more likely to happen first. I mean they already have the base for the device and already have parts to make it, so why not use that as your test bed for the newly added Beats Audio. Now with the refreshed version it will not only add Beats but also bump up some of the specs, 1.2GHZ to 1.5GHz, 4GB internal storage, and a larger battery. It seems pricing for this device is already available; it will be free on certain UK carriers or $846(£520). So I believe
we can expect to see this device out soon.
Update: The battery will be a 1,730 mAh. ^^^Added picture^^^
Side note: with all the complaints over the low speaker volume on the HTC Evo 3D, user would have liked to see a refreshed version on the 3D also or maybe just an update that improves the overall volume of the speaker.
[Via Phandroid]
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Oliver Letwin: 'NHS will not exist under Tories'(37 Posts)
Oliver Letwin has reportedly told a private meeting that the "NHS will not exist" within five years of a Conservative election victory.
Oliver Letwin has reportedly told a private meeting that the "NHS will not exist" within five years of a Conservative election victory.
The Shadow Chancellor said that the health service would instead be a "funding stream handing out money to pay people where they want to go for their healthcare", according to a member of the audience.
The remarks, which have been furiously denied by Mr Letwin, were last night seized on by Labour as evidence of the Tories' true intentions towards the NHS.
It is not disputed that Mr Letwin met a gathering of construction industry representatives in his constituency of Dorset West on 14 May. During the meeting he urged the group of around six local businessmen to work together to win contracts for a new PFI hospital to be built in Dorchester.
Mr Letwin then astonished his audience, however, by saying that within five years of a Conservative election victory "the NHS will not exist anymore", according to one of those who were present.
Although Mr Letwin's aides later insisted that his remarks had been misinterpreted, it is the second time in recent weeks that his candour has landed him in trouble.
As reported in this newspaper, the Shadow Chancellor told a group of economists that it would be "irrational" to tell voters by how much he wanted to cut public spending. That prompted a gleeful Labour Party to claim that he had let slip a secret Tory plan to cut £135bn from the government budget.
Paul Boateng, the Treasury Chief Secretary, lost no time in seizing on the latest apparent gaffe.
"This proves what we have said all along," he said. "Oliver Letwin and the Tories want to abolish the NHS as we know it. The Tory agenda is one of cuts, charges and privatisation."
However, a Conservative Party spokesman said: "Oliver Letwin categorically said nothing of the sort. What he told the meeting was that within five years a Conservative government would have broken down the monolithic bureaucracy of the health service, putting decision-making in the hands of the hospitals rather than the Whitehall pen-pushers. The result will be a far more efficient and effective NHS.
He added: "As with a report two weeks ago that Mr Letwin had secret plans to make vast cuts in the public services, this report is complete fiction."
So do the top civil servants also get lobbied?
Nah - they just pick up lucrative appointments in the private sector. with those companies, when they retire.
Ha ha.That has to be the oldest zombie report ever.
And given we agree civil servants are not unthinking automata, flatpack, you will easily grasp that of course they can have political views of their own (although officially they have to tread carefully), and ambition for their career within the civil service and also outside it.
If you're looking for someone who thinks the civil service is marvellous and brilliant, I'm not that person. I think they're overmighty and arrogant and primarily interested in extending their own power, and I'd gladly clip their wings.
Ooh I don't think so, Flatpack. I think they probably have very strong political views of their own. I just wonder if they should have the political power to devise and implement their own pet projects - which reflect their own agendas - unless they are elected representatives of the people.
Agree with you that they shouldn't. As the primary function of a bureaucracy is to self-perpetuate, though, I don't see how we could easily stop it.
However, they do have to get the govt in power to bite, as Parsing said. So I suppose that's alright then?
Given the idiocy of your average politician, I'm not sure what the answer is to this problem.
And given we agree civil servants are not unthinking automata, flatpack, you will easily grasp that of course they can have political views of their own (although officially they have to tread carefully), and ambition for their career within the civil service and also outside it.
I can see why she posted it. Well I think so anyway. Isn't it to show what a bunch of cunts the tory party are, that they denied this when it came out but now, in fact, it's exactly what they are trying to do?
May be being simplistic here. I'm not very good at discussing politics.
Ooh I don't think so, Flatpack. I think they probably have very strong political views of their own. I just wonder if they should have the political power to devise and implement their own pet projects - which reflect their own agendas - unless they are elected representatives of the people.
However, they do have to get the govt in power to bite, as Parsing said. So I suppose that's alright then?
So do the top civil servants also get lobbied?
Yes, they're unthinking automata without any opinions of their own who have been cynically manipulated by the wicked perpetrators of capitalism.
So do the top civil servants also get lobbied?
Hah. What actually happens, according to friends who work in such circles, is that civil servants tend to develop pet projects, to which they hitch their star.
They then present the same project, again and again, to every incoming minister in the hope that this one will bite.
Which is why you see the same or similar ideas come up whenever there's a change of govt or reshuffle.
I often wonder how much of this sort of thing is done by the named politicians who take all the glory and all the flack, and how much of it is behind the scenes stuff that gets taken forward by unelected, nameless civil servants.
Civil servants are not supposed to make policy, just to implement it, right?
Here's Mark Britnell at an American conference for private healthcare providers in 2010:
"In future, The NHS will be a state insurance provider not a state deliverer" and "The NHS will be shown no mercy and the best time to take advantage of this will be in the next couple of years."
Opportunities Post Global Healthcare Reforms, p12
BTW, Britnell was the Dept of Health civil servant who oversaw the creation of Clinical Commissioning Groups, which will administer the outsourcing. Jobs previously done by management professionals in the Health Authorities will now be done by the CCGs, so the doctors on the CCGs have to pay professional services companies like KPMG to do these jobs and to train doctors to be administrators (wow, what a good use of an expensively trained doctor's time). Eg £7 million contract in 2011 with "private consultants handpicked by NHS bosses".
I will give you three guesses where Britnell was working by 2011.
I hope you're right, IrnBru, but no-one knows how things would pan out if we were independent.
On the other hand, my son had an accident when we were in England and needed an emergency op in Burnley. Everything about the care we received, from the extraordinary skill of the surgeon to the kindness of the ancillary staff just could not have been improved upon.
But yes, healthcare in Scotland is fantastic too.
Not too worried over this, as I'm in Scotland and hope that independence will cover us (i.e. reduce the chances of NHS Scotland becoming completely privatised).
DS1 had an accident on holiday in England, we went to the local A&E and it is such a poor service compared to what is offered in Scotland. I was less than impressed. Not a good first impression I have to say. Made me appreciate greatly what we've got in Scotland, tbh.
Here's The Telegraph's summary last year: "Read this ? and prepare to fight for your NHS"
The most obvious feature of the new model - other than diverting the "funding stream" into private, profit-making hands - is fragmentation.
Fragmentation of care.
Fragmentation of provision.
Fragmentation of responsibility.
Fragmentation of accountability.
Fragmentation of administration.
This is fundamental to the new model, not some minor side issue that can be coped with as and when.
The administrative costs of this much fragmentation are high: the danger to patients obvious.
What Parsing said!
BTW, it's not just the Tories: much of this stuff was in train under Labour, though I'm not sure how it would have differed in detail.
So all those to whom tribal allegiance is the most important thing in your lives: you just keep bitching at each other about My Team/Your Team.
The rest of us, who give an actual shit about services and what sort of country we are, will look at what's being done rather than just who's doing it.
taxpayers' money
Old article, pretty accurate.
The election was in 2010 - not actually a Tory victory but they got enough power to make stuff happen.
Bill to privatise NHS by outsourcing services was passed 2012.
2013, bidding opened on £1bn contract for NHS services to the elderly in Cambridgeshire. And it's not the first.
The Tories have been very open that their aim is an NHS brand name being used by "any willing provider". Private companies whose core business is Getting Govt Contracts Regardless of Field, like Serco, G4S, etc, are best placed to fulfil the administrative and financial side of the bid processes. They then subcontract providing the services to people who actually do healthcare, or prisons, or security, but cream off money for being the middlemen.
There's no reason to imagine this will actually provide better healthcare per pound spent than the real NHS. But it is a surefire way to convert taxpayers into shareholder profits.
Also, much of the 'utter bollocks' that Ttosca posts does not come from him/her but from newspaper articles that s/he finds.
I like having these articles brought to my attention.
I just think the date thing shows how the Tories' attack on the NHS is not just a response to the recession/deficit/debt but an integral part of their policy and their philosophy, and always has been.
It also makes it more likely that DC was lying through his teeth when he assured us before the last election that the NHS would be alright with him in order to fool us into voting for him.
Ha! Another load of usual utter bollocks that we've come to expect from Ttosca.
Don't let little things like fact or reality get in the way of a good old Tory bashing.
Epic fail,ttosca try reading the damn things before you cut n'paste and check out the date of the article
So are we now two years away from the NHS being turned into a 'funding stream' or is this article a load of leftie propaganda bollocks?*
(* Despite my own stated preference for exactly this sort of change to the NHS)
Them too, yes.
Obvious to a conspiracy theorist who knows noting about the Tory party, yes.
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|Hollicutts Noose Reef Site: The Constellation Energy grant partially funded placement of 32 Reef Balls at the Hollicutts Noose artificial reef site in Eastern Bay, Queen Anne's County, Md. on October 14, 2004. This placement was done in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF). CBF staff and volunteers help produce the Reef Balls and the CBF vessel Patricia Campbell and crew assisted in the deployment of the Reef Balls.
|Reef Ball Foundation Home | Reef Ball Facebook Group Page | Made with JAlbum & Chameleon | Help


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Get an update on changes of the IACR web-page here. For questions, contact newsletter (at) iacr.org. You can also receive updates via:
To receive your credentials via mail again, please click here.
You can also access the full news archive.
Further sources to find out about changes are CryptoDB, ePrint RSS, ePrint Web, Event calender (iCal).
in the presence of an eavesdropper. In this paper we focus on the cryptographic aspects of AlphaEta and its variants. Moreover, we propose a new protocol for which we can provide a rigorous proof
that the eavesdropper obtains neglible information. In comparison to single-photon quantum cryptography, AlphaEta provide much higher throughputs combined with a well-known technology.
These strategies involve building a secret branch of the block-tree and publishing it opportunistically, aiming to replace the top of the main branch and rip the reward associated with the secretly mined blocks. We identify two types of block-hiding strategies and chart the parameter space where those are more beneficial than the standard mining strategy described in Nakamoto\'s paper.
Our analysis suggests a generalization of the notion of the relative hashing power as a measure for a miner\'s influence on the network. Block-hiding strategies are beneficial only when this measure of influence exceeds a certain threshold.
In order to study perfect and non-perfect secret sharing schemes with all generality, we describe the structure of the schemes through their access function, a real function that measures the amount of information that every subset of participants knows about the secret value. We present new tools for the construction of secret sharing schemes. In particular, we construct a secret sharing scheme for every access function.
We extend the connections between polymatroids and perfect secret sharing schemes to the non-perfect ones to find new results on the information ratio. We find a new lower bound on the information ratio that is better than the ones previously known. In particular, this bound is tight for uniform access functions. The access function of a secret sharing scheme is uniform if all participants play the same role in a scheme (e.g. ramp secret sharing schemes). Moreover, we construct a secret sharing scheme with optimal information ratio for every rational uniform access function.
Algebraic properties of modular addition modulo a power of two have been studied for two operands by Braeken in fse\'05. Also, the authors of this paper, have studied this operator, in some special cases, before. In this paper, taking advantage of previous researches in this area, we generalize the algebraic properties of this operator for more than two summands. More precisely, we
determine the algebraic degree of the component Boolean functions of modular addition of arbitrary number of summands modulo a power of two, as a vectorial Boolean function, along with the number of terms and variables in these component functions. As a result, algebraic degrees of the component Boolean functions of Generalized Pseudo-Hadamard Transforms are driven.
In this work we explore the possibility of using cut-and-choose for practical secure \\emph{three-party} computation. The three-party case has been studied in prior work in the semi-honest setting, and is motivated by the observation that real-world deployments of multi-party computation are likely to involve few parties. We propose a constant-round protocol for three-party computation tolerating any number of malicious parties, whose computational cost is essentially only \\emph{twice} that of state-of-the-art two-party protocols.


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|You are in: Business
Monday, 23 September, 2002, 21:58 GMT 22:58 UK
Palm losses still widening
Palm Computing, the company which helped kick-start the handheld computer market, lost more than eight times as much in the three months to August 2002 as in the previous year.
The company made a net loss of $258.7m (£167m), widening from $32.4m in 2001, while sales slipped to $172.3m from $214.3m.
But when the costs of separating its operating system arm and a radical restructuring are taken into account, the company said, its losses - at $36.4m - were less than analysts had feared.
And it pointed to its latest initiative, the division of its product line into clearly-marked professional and consumer brands with a batch of new models, as evidence that better times were ahead.
How are the mighty fallen
The company almost single-handedly invented the market for handheld computers in the mid-1990s, along with Apple - which later gave up on its pioneering but overpriced and oversized Newton machine.
Now, though, all handheld makers are suffering a prolonged slump, with Palm feeling the pain worse than most.
Analysts widely believe that the company has wasted the past few years on unsatisfactory products and has let its operating system drift.
Meanwhile Microsoft's Pocket PC system - once a laughing stock - has hoovered up a large minority of the market.
Still, Palm has a number of loyal licensees including consumer electronics standbys such as Sony.
And the new products include for the first time a stripped-down consumer model intended to retail for less than $100, a new low in the handheld market.
See also:
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(70 stars) 1,201,754 ratingsDownloads: 10,000,000 - 50,000,000
Price: FREEPlatform: Android Developer: MacroPinch size: 9.4 MB
There are hundreds of weather app on the market. Some of them have even reached a pro-level regarding parameters analyzed. However, most of users just want to know temperature and weather conditions for today and the next few days. That simple.
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Tap the temperature to switch between Celsius and Fahrenheit. Offers support from Android 1.5 to 4.2. Not a single Android without its weather forecast app.
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Added UV index measurement and Ambient Temperature on devices, which support this functionality.
(70 stars) 1,201,754 ratings
Downloads: 10,000,000 - 50,000,000
Price: FREE
Platform: Android
size: 9.4 MB
Get an Appcenter like this in your site


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SCENTite Blinds is the leader in rigid, portable, lightweight, scent-proof blinds. Our blinds are so technologically advanced in function and design that you can enjoy hunting more successfully, more comfortably and with less maintenance.
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See what our guests are saying about us.
Hotel Amenities & Services
Enjoy a good book from our Read It & Return Lending LibrarySM while you relax by the indoor pool. We also offer freebies such as cookies in the lobby and toiletries through our Did You Forget? Program. Standard amenities include:
Learn more about our hotel's amenities and services.
Our Rooms & Suites
Feel at home in our large guest rooms and suites, all furnished with work space and some with La-Z-Boy recliners. Other highlights include:
For a romantic getaway, reserve a Whirlpool Suite with a king bed, whirlpool tub and dry bar.
Where to Eat While You're Here
We invite your family to our breakfast room each morning to feast on our complimentary, hot Be Our Guest Breakfast. Customize your own breakfast burrito accompanied by French toast with warm syrup, or just grab a quick bowl of oatmeal. For lunch and dinner, walk or drive to a number of restaurants less than a mile away.
Things to Do in Salina
This college town offers more than just a student atmosphere. The Country Inn & Suites welcomes numerous business guests visiting nearby companies like Exide Technologies and Crestwood Cabinets, which are less than two miles away. If you're here with the kids, enjoy these family attractions:
Jumpin' Joe's Family Fun Center – Pack up the kids and head north on Centennial Road about three miles to Jumpin' Joe's. Along with go-karts and mini golf, the facility features a 2,000-square-foot laser tag arena with fog and black lighting.
Salina Bicentennial Center – Hotel guests attending meetings, performances and other events at this multipurpose arena can get there in about 10 minutes by driving north three miles on Highway 81. The convention center is surrounded by a nice park area with tennis courts and a water park.
Rolling Hills Zoo – Worth the 12-mile drive, this museum and zoo features more than 100 types of animals, a 2,000-square-foot traveling exhibit, a children's exploration room, and a domed ADM Theater. Tour the 64,000-square-foot museum while animatronic robots narrate your journey. Pack a lunch and eat in a reserved picnic area outside the gates. A hand stamp grants entry back into the zoo.
Read more about our hotel's location.
Groups & Meetings
For convenient meeting space just two miles from SLN airport, reserve our conference room suitable for up to 60 guests. Allow our professional staff to enhance your gathering with audiovisual equipment, catering and a free personalized Web page for your event.
Learn more about our meeting room.
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by Staff Writers
London (AFP) Nov 07, 2013
The London Metal Exchange on Thursday unveiled a plan to expedite deliveries of its traded base metals, in particular aluminium, and to improve its market credibility.
LME-registered warehouses with outgoing-delivery delays of 50 days or more will have to ship out more metal than they receive, according to the key change that will come into effect in April, a statement said.
"If you have a queue of over 50 days and you choose to keep loading into the warehouse, then you will be required to adjust your load out so you load out more than you load in. Mathematically the effect will be to shrink stocks and eventually queues," said Matt Chamberlain, LME Head of Business Development.
The LME, which last year was bought by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, had originally focused on warehouses with queues of 100 days or more. The lower threshold is the result of "market feedback" during a three-month consultation process, it said.
Warehouse bottlenecks have occurred after metals like aluminium became a financing tool in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis.
Producers sold or pledged metal to traders and banks to raise much-needed working capital, with the result that the aluminium was locked up in warehouses, rather than finding its way to companies needing base metals to make goods.
Meanwhile, cheap financing and an aluminium market where future prices exceed current prices meant banks could lock in an easy profit. In addition, premiums paid for more immediate access to base metals have soared, raising buyers' costs.
"The Board of the London Metal Exchange (LME) has approved the proposed changes to its warehousing policy designed to cut queues at warehouses, following a three-month consultation with the global metals industry," it said in the statement.
LME chief executive Garry Jones added: "As the world's leading base metals exchange, the LME has a duty to the entire metals community to run a fair and orderly market. We had a responsibility to examine concerns raised about lengthy warehousing queues."
-- Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this story --
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This Post Has Been Edited by the Author
These guys walk into this old theater and I think here we go. And anyway they look across there is this vitavox looking horn. And he says. "I can sell that" anyway they negotiate buying it for 100 pounds. He is saying or the TV is printing he can get 220 pounds for this. The compression driver has Westrex Company 30150 Receiver on it. I am thinking he is in for either a pleasant surprise or the biggest shafting of his life. It still amazes me how ignorant people are of the value of old things. You think after 80 years of it sitting there the theater manager would of realized it might be worth more then 100 pounds. Maybe is isn't but I am thinking it is. He is just showing it to the manager and saying"you have sell this piece of shit" lol I need to get out of bed more often and start checking out old theaters. I never find anything good like that.
Edits: 02/05/12Follow Ups:


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Consumer Choice
State 4-H Consumer Choice contest was held Tuesday, July 23 at the ND State Fair. Consumer Choices requires youth to make informed decisions on consumer-related classes and then tell the judge their reasons for ranking the classes. This year, 4-H'ers ranked two classes each of binoculars, yogurt and athletic shoes, then gave reasons on one product in each of the divisions they ranked. Competing in the Junior team was Addie Schnabel. He combined with Cavalier and LaMoure counties placing 4th in team competition.. Ellen Schnabel, Elisabeth Dalke and Jen Hulm competed as a Senior team. They received seventh place as a team. Ellen was 14th overall.
Addie Schnabel
Ellen Schnabel, Jen Hulm and Elisabeth Dalke


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Car makers have plenty of reasons to celebrate in the U.S. this year.
Last month, American consumers purchased 1.5 million cars and trucks. That marked a 17% sales jump compared to the same time last year. It also represents an annualized sales rate of 16.09 million vehicles, the highest sales pace since before the start of the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal notes.
Surging sales have lifted the share price of both General Motors (GM) and Ford (F). Chrysler, now owned by Italy's Fiat (FIATY) is also seeing rising sales. Strong U.S. demand is helping offset falling demand in Europe.
The good news stands in contrast to the situation car makers faced just five years ago, when consumers, stricken by the financial downturn held off on new car purchases, sending GM and Chrysler into tailspins that resulting in government bailouts.
Automakers pared their payrolls and killed off brands, including Hummer, Pontiac, Saturn and Mercury. Unions took wage and benefit cuts. Those changes made U.S. car makers leaner and more nimble, allowing them to respond more quickly to a changing market.
Now, with interest rates low, abundant incentives, and older-than-usual vehicles in their garages, consumers are returning to showrooms to snap up new cars and trucks.
Shares of GM rose about 1% in Thursday morning trading, while Ford moved up more than 1%.


text:
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text:
AN 81-year-old suffering from a progressive disease has founded a charity to tackle the need for better facilities for the disabled in the UK.
Ruth Adorian, who suffers from Motor Neurone Disease, set up The Association for the Independence of Disabled People (AID) which aims to improve access to buildings and transport.
Speaking through a voice-enabling computer, Mrs Adorian said: "I found easy access to be a major problem, which is dreadful when, according to the Department of Work and Pensions, there are more than 11 million people in this country living with physical disability."
Mrs Adorian, from Windermere, was diagnosed six years ago with the disease which attacks the nerves of the brain and spinal cord.
- Hopes of an ice rink for Kendal
- Successful landlord takes on second Kendal pub
- PROPERTY: Traditional Dales farmstead Hobsons Farm, at Cowgill, on market for £795,000
- PROPERTY: More new homes on the way at Ash Tree Park, Kendal, says developer Story Homes
It has left the former business director unable to walk or speak and she now requires round-the-clock care.
Mrs Adorian claims to have experienced first-hand the lack of facilities available to the disabled in hotels, restaurants and on transport.
"The problem persists all too often across all grades of hotels and there needs to be enforcement of proper standards for disabled bathrooms and toilets in hotels and public buildings," she said.
And as well as improving the life of disabled people, there are also plans to launch an annual Disabled Day to raise national awareness.
Mrs Adorian added: "I woke up one day and wondered why I was still here, having long outlasted the initial three year life expectancy given to me by neurologists – and then this idea came to me."
Membership of AID will be offered to individuals and businesses for a fee which help towards funding the awareness and education of those providing public facilities.
For more information, visit www.disabledday.org


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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-04-122
Date: February 2005
Previous | Table of Contents | Next
This section illustrates the application of the HIPERPAV II guidelines to solve realistic case studies. The first two case studies demonstrate the application of the HIPERPAV II guidelines in identifying early-age factors that affect long-term pavement performance. The last two case studies demonstrate the use of the HIPERPAV II guidelines in identifying early-age factors that influence the cracking characteristics of CRCP. Two scenarios are illustrated for each of the JPCP and CRCP case studies: a proactive scenario and a post-mortem scenario.
The proactive scenario may occur during the planning, design, or construction stage of a project. Under this scenario, the user of the guidelines may refer to chapter 5—HIPERPAV II Input Parameters— for the proper selection of HIPERPAV II inputs under the five categories of pavement design, materials and mix design, environment, construction, and traffic. Because these guidelines provide only general guidance with the selection of the input parameters in these categories, the user should employ engineering judgment in the final selection of the inputs.
For the post-mortem scenario, the user of the guidelines may be experiencing a particular problem, either occurring in the early age or during the long term. For this particular case, the user may refer to chapter 3, Early-Age Pavement Distresses, or chapter 4, Impact of Early-Age Behavior on Long-Term Performance, according to the nature and timeframe of the specific problem.
Under both scenarios, the user may refer to chapter 2, Early-Age Pavement Behavior, for a detailed understanding of the mechanisms occurring during the early age that influence the performance of the pavement in the long term.
During high temperature conditions, at what time of day should concrete be placed to minimize the probability of cracking?
Under hot weather conditions, when air temperatures exceed 32 °C, concrete temperatures often increase rapidly after placement. This causes the concrete to set at a high temperature, and any significant cooling soon after set will produce high thermal stresses in the pavement. Cracks likely will develop and adversely affect pavement performance. This premature random cracking is commonly called thermal shock (see section 3.2).
The contractor, Jane Q. Buildalot, is scheduled to construct a 305-mm JPCP in Austin, TX, on July 18, one of the hottest days of the year. Knowing that high temperatures can cause unwanted cracking, she reviews the HIPERPAV II guidelines to help determine the optimal time to begin construction and still produce a pavement with good early-age and long-term performance. The time of day recommended in the guidelines for construction is early evening and into the night (see section 5.4.2). Delaying the time of construction to evening takes advantage of nighttime cooling, thereby offsetting the concrete's heat of hydration. Jane can use HIPERPAV II to solve for the exact window of time when paving will produce a high quality pavement at early age and also in the long term.
HIPERPAV II can be used to assess how changing the time of placement impacts concrete stresses. For this case study, the HIPERPAV II temperature database will be used to estimate the climatic conditions on July 18. It is anticipated that the maximum temperature will be approximately 40 °C and the minimum temperature 18 °C. Jane is planning to use a concrete mix specified to reach a laboratory 28-day tensile strength of 3.2 MPa, with siliceous river gravel as the coarse aggregate. Sawcutting will occur at the optimal time.
Jane has several options besides changing the time of placement to avoid excessive concrete temperatures. She could use Type II cements or cool the concrete mix components. For this case study, however, she will determine the optimal time of placement for this specific concrete mixture (Type I + fly ash) to minimize the probability of cracking.
Twelve HIPERPAV II runs will be performed to determine how the time of placement affects the pavement stresses and the concrete strengths. The maximum stress-to-strength ratio will be determined for each scenario. A stress-to-strength ratio greater than 1 indicates the pavement will likely crack. A window of caution will be noted when the stress-to-strength ratio is greater than 1. Not willing to risk problems, she decides that no paving should be performed during this timeframe.
As illustrated in figures 66 and 67, changing the time of construction shifts the concrete's peak heat of hydration, allowing it to be offset from the maximum daily temperature. Figure 66 33 illustrates how the concrete temperature rises sharply when its heat of hydration coincides with the peak daily temperature.
Figure 66. Typical temperature development in the slab for concrete placement at 10 a.m.
Intuitively, it is expected that concrete placed after the maximum air temperature (6 p.m.) and before sunrise (5 a.m.) will offset the concrete's heat of hydration and the maximum daily air temperature. This will produce the most desirable placing conditions, because it forces the peak heat of hydration to coincide with the minimum air temperature. The resulting temperature in the concrete will be low. The effect of early evening placement on concrete temperature is shown in figure 67.
Figure 67. Typical temperature development in the slab for concrete placement at 8 p.m.
Jane performs multiple HIPERPAV II analyses at 2-hour intervals using a design reliability of 90 percent. The impact of changing the time of placement during hot weather conditions on the stress-to-strength ratio can be seen clearly in figure 68. For the conditions analyzed, the window of caution is from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. These results clearly demonstrate how HIPERPAV II can be used to determine the best time of day for placing concrete to minimize the probability of cracking in JPCP.
Under these assumed conditions, the peak heat of hydration occurs about 6 to 8 hours after placement. Placement at 9 a.m. should produce the worst conditions, since 8 hours later, the peak air temperature is reached, thereby matching and amplifying the peak heat of hydration temperature.
After the window of caution is determined, Jane can use HIPERPAV II in an iterative manner to further investigate the effects of other proactive changes on minimizing the potential for cracking during the high-risk period of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The measures Jane can examine include different cement types, different aggregate types, cooled batching water, and base whitewashing.
Figure 68. Early-age stress-to-strength ratio as a function of time of placement.
Now that Jane has determined the most favorable time to construct the pavement to prevent early-age failures, she wants to see how the time of placement influences the pavement's long-term performance. Reviewing the HIPERPAV II guidelines, she sees that joint opening, delamination, and built-in curling are some of the primary early-age indicators of long-term performance.
Jane suspects that built-in curling will definitely play a significant role in the long-term performance analysis, since the concrete is being placed during one of the hottest summer months, and the pavement likely will set with a positive thermal gradient. According to the guidelines, this will affect pavement smoothness, faulting, and cracking.
Entering the specific load transfer, construction, and traffic inputs for this project, she assesses long-term performance as a function of placement time at 90 percent reliability. For all of the runs, joint faulting is a constant 0.25 mm, and it is not affected by placement time. However, transverse cracking and smoothness of the pavement change as a function of the time of placement.
Figure 69 shows that pavements placed during the window of caution have the highest percentage of transverse cracking in the long term at 30 years, the expected design life. The pavements placed early in the morning and during the night have the lowest amount of long-term damage. Similarly, she finds that the serviceability and ride of the pavement will be the best if she places the JPCP outside of the window of caution (see figure 70).
Figure 69. Transverse cracking as a function of time of placement.
Figure 70. International Roughness Index (IRI) and serviceability as a function of time of placement.
Based on this HIPERPAV II analysis, Jane is confident that placing the pavement at night and during the early morning hours will result in a pavement with few early-age distresses, and that the pavement will perform well in the long term.
After 10 years of use, a concrete pavement is faulting. Is it possible that this behavior was caused by early-age factors?
The faulting of a nondoweled JCP in Austin, TX is increasing, and the engineer, Joe Q. Thinksalot, is determined to find out why. More specifically, he wants to see if early-age conditions may be a contributing factor. With the HIPERPAV II guidelines in hand, he turns to section4.1 : Faulting of JPCP without Dowels. He wants to connect the early-age behavior of this pavement to its long-term performance. The early-age joint design is cited as being one of the most influential factors. The joint opening of a nondoweled pavement is a function of the temperature change, joint spacing, slab-subbase restraint, and the load transfer efficiency.
Joe decides to use HIPERPAV II to help him understand how these four influential parameters affect JPCP performance. He will perform a post-mortem analysis on this 250-mm thick JPCP. Looking at the construction records, Joe finds that the slab length varied between 4.5 and 7.6 m, and that the pavement was constructed on a smooth asphalt concrete subbase. Additional information and measurements collected during a field inspection visit are presented below:
Faulting occurs in JPCP as a result of several factors. Water enters the joint in the JPCP, and the subbase under the pavement becomes saturated. As the truck loads pass over the joint, the loose subbase material pumps. It comes out of the joint and causes the difference in elevation, as illustrated in sections 4.1 and 4.2 of this guide.
Joe uses HIPERPAV II to examine the effect of slab length, from 4.5 to 7.6 m, and dowels on JPCP early-age and long-term performance. The early-age critical stresses for the 4.5- and 7.6-m slab lengths are shown in figures 71 and 72. As expected, the stresses in the 7.6-m slabs are higher. The longer slabs experience more contraction and expansion around their centerline.
Figure 71. Early-age analysis results for 4.5-m joint spacing.
Figure 72. Early-age analysis results for 7.6-m joint spacing.
A long-term HIPERPAV II analysis yields the faulting results for the 4.5- and 7.6-m nondoweled jointed pavements shown in figure 73. The faulting of the 7.6-m slabs is approaching an objectionable level at 30 years. Comparatively, the faulting of the 4.5-m slabs is about 25 percent less.
Figure 73. Predicted faulting for 4.5-m and 7.6-m joint spacing alternatives with no dowels.
Several design changes can be made to the JPCP to reduce its faulting. One possible alternative is to use dowels at the joints. Dowels are one of the most effective means to reduce faulting. The HIPERPAV II results demonstrate this, as illustrated in figure 74. Faulting of the pavements with dowels is 36 to 50 percent less than it was when the pavement was nondoweled.
Figure 74. Predicted faulting for 4.5-m and 7.6-m joint spacing alternatives with dowels.
How does hot versus cold weather placement of CRCP influence its behavior?
Cracks develop in CRCP a few hours to a few days after construction due to thermal stresses. In some cases, the cracks may not be apparent for 5 or 10 years, but after they do appear, they can rapidly progress into distresses that significantly affect the long-term performance of the pavement. Excessive thermal cracking often is due to high temperature differentials, excessive subbase friction, aggregates with high CTE/contraction, or a combination of the above.
In this case study, a proactive seasonal analysis is performed on a 280-mm CRCP. The engineer, Mary T. Rifick, wants to see the influence of summer and winter placements on CRCP performance for a given steel design. She knows that thermal stresses play a significant role in CRCP crack development, and subsequently their long-term performance.
For guidance, Mary refers to the HIPERPAV II guidelines. In section 5.3, Climatic Inputs, there is a discussion on the effect of early-age and long-term climatic inputs on CRCP performance. She decides to perform two series of HIPERPAV II runs, one for summer placement (July 25) and another for winter placement (January 2) using the weather estimates contained in HIPERPAV II. Because of the unpredictability of actual weather conditions, she decides to adjust the posted 72-hour temperatures. She lowers the minimum air temperature after the critical analysis to 1 °C.
When evaluating the HIPERPAV II analyses, Mary will examine the early-age indicators of long-term CRCP performance: crack spacing, crack width, and steel stress (described in section 2.3). She knows that if the average crack spacing is less than 1.1 m, it is likely that punchouts will form in the CRCP, decreasing its long-term performance (described in section 4.7).
To perform her analysis, Mary modifies the post-72 hour climatic data, but keeps all other inputs at their default values. Over time, the crack spacing decreases, as shown in figure 75. She finds that a winter placement yields a CRCP with a larger average crack spacing at 1 year (2.1 m) than does a summer one (1.7 m). This means that punchouts are not as likely to form when a CRCP is constructed in winter.
Figure 75. Change in crack spacing with time for summer and winter placements.
For both the summer and winter placements, increasing the temperature differential in the pavement (increasing T) causes the crack spacing to decrease. As T increases, the slab is subjected to a larger temperature change, as shown in figure 76. This means that more cracks are likely to form, because cracking in concrete pavements is highly influenced by temperature variations.
Figure 76. Representation of PCCP temperatures in the early age and at the lowest seasonal air temperature.
HIPERPAV II takes into account the thermal processes due to the concrete's heat of hydration, the curing temperature, the daily minimum temperatures, and the annual minimum temperature when predicting crack formation. A cumulative frequency plot of crack spacing at 1 year for the summer and winter placements (with T = 33 °C and 12 °C, respectively) is shown in figure 77. The trend at 1 year is consistent: the CRCP placed in the summer has more closely spaced cracks.
Figure 77. Crack spacing distribution for pavements constructed during summer and winter.
Using this HIPERPAV II analysis, Mary realizes that with proper analysis, she will be able to construct a CRCP with good long-term performance during the winter. If a CRCP can only be placed in the summer, she can modify the construction process to improve its performance. She has other options to control the concrete temperature, such as improving the curing method. They can be investigated with HIPERPAV II, as well. HIPERPAV II allows her to take the guesswork out of CRCP performance and helps her construct CRCP with consistently good long-term performance.
How does coarse aggregate type affect the performance of CRCP for a set of climatic conditions?
Two CRCP sections, pavement A and pavement B, were placed at the same time on the same day, December 12, 1997. However, pavement A has been performing significantly better with fewer punchouts and lower maintenance costs than pavement B for the past 5 years. To determine what is causing this difference in performance, the engineer, Sam K. Pable, picks up the HIPERPAV II guidelines and looks at chapter 2, Early-Age Pavement Behavior; chapter 3, Early-Age Pavement Distresses; and chapter 4, Impact of Early-Age Behavior on Long-Term Performance. The early-age indicators of long-term CRCP performance are crack spacing, crack width, and steel stresses. Walking down the CRCP, Sam notices that the cracks are spaced closer in pavement B than in pavement A, as shown in figure 78. On pavement A, crack spacings are distributed between 1.1 and 2.4 m, while on pavement B, the spacing is less than 1.1 m in some instances.
Figure 78. Illustration of differences in cracking patterns for pavements A and B.
Further investigating the reasons behind this performance difference, Sam studies the construction documents to see if there is a difference in materials used or construction procedures followed when building pavements A and B. After studying the mix designs, the only significant difference he can find is that limestone aggregate was used in pavement A and that siliceous river gravel was used in pavement B.
Sam decides to use HIPERPAV II to assess the behavior of a 280-mm CRCP constructed with concrete containing different aggregate types, namely siliceous river gravel, basalt, granite/gneiss, sandstone, and limestone. The climatic database in HIPERPAV II is used to estimate the temperatures at noon on December 12.
HIPERPAV II can be used to understand how aggregate type affects the early-age performance of CRCP. The expansion and contraction of the concrete greatly depends on the coarse aggregate CTE, since coarse aggregate comprises about half of the concrete volume. Because temperature changes are the greatest in the pavement immediately after construction, its volume changes are significant at early ages. Figure 79 shows how the concrete volume changes based on its CTE when it is subjected to a temperature drop.
Figure 79. Illustration of difference in volumetric changes with temperature for concretes with different CTE.
The CTE is especially important for pavements placed in the summer season when temperature extremes are high, as in Sam's analysis. During hot weather placement, the peak ambient temperature may coincide with the peak heat of hydration (as in morning placements). Under such conditions, concrete pavements having a high concrete CTE tend to have an increased probability for early-age cracking, when compared to pavements constructed with coarse aggregate having a lower thermal coefficient. The following are the HIPERPAV II default CTE values for the selected aggregates:
For each of these aggregate types, HIPERPAV II analyses are performed to determine how aggregate CTE impacts CRCP crack spacing, crack width, and steel stresses. It is expected that the aggregate with the lower CTE will yield a pavement with longer crack spacings and fewer long-term failures (punchouts) (see section 4.7).
Figure 80. Average crack spacing after 1 year foraggregates with different CTE.
For aggregate with a low CTE, the crack spacing is high (2.1 m), which translates to a reduced number of punchouts in the long term. Figure 81 shows the cumulative crack spacing for the pavements containing siliceous river gravel and limestone at 1 year.
It is apparent that the average crack spacing is smaller for the pavement with the siliceous river gravel.
Figure 81. Crack spacing distribution after 1 year for the siliceous river gravel and limestone strategies.
From these results, Sam concluded that CRCP will have better long-term performance if the concrete used in its construction has a low CTE. In this case study, changing the aggregate in the concrete from one with a high CTE to one with a low CTE resulted in a larger average crack spacing. This translates to less distress in the long term. Sam discovered that the pavement constructed with the low CTE aggregate provides better performance because the thermal stresses are reduced. If low CTE aggregates are not available (as is often the case) and a high CTE aggregate must be used, he knows that HIPERPAV II can optimize the time of day and the season of placement to ensure the best CRCP performance possible.


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