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Most people understand that if they want to get the best audio performance out of their studio equipment, input levels from sound sources must be high enough to ensure that noise levels remain very low by comparison, but not so high that they overload the equipment and cause distortion. However, for the best results, this optimisation process must be carried out at each stage of the amplifying chain, and this is where the concept of gain 'structure' comes from -- the tweaks are carried out from the very first input, all the way along the signal path, right to the end of the chain, whether the signal is being recorded onto DAT, or emerging from a loudspeaker.
|"Those with golden ears say that solid-state amplifiers start to sound 'edgy' in the final few dBs before clipping sets in."
If you record with acoustic instruments, the first stage for you will be to ensure that the input gain of your mixer's microphone input (or one of the fashionable stand-alone mic preamps) is set correctly for the levels coming out of the mic itself. Most mixers, even tiny ones, provide PFL (Pre-Fade Listen), and this allows you to monitor the level of a particular mixer channel after any EQ, but before the main channel fader. This is extremely useful when you want to listen to any sound in isolation, and also for initially setting up the input gain controls. When you press the PFL button, the signal will normally also be routed to one of the mixer meters, so that you can see its level. Even without PFL facilities you can achieve the same thing by first pulling all the channel faders right down, setting the master faders to unity (0dB), and then raising each channel fader in turn to the 0dB position.
Once you have some typical signal levels going through the mixer, you adjust a channel's gain control until the meter is hovering around the 0dB level (for a reasonably steady signal), or a bit higher (+6dB or so) if there are a lot of transients in the signal, since its average level will then be somewhat lower. If you're dealing with closely miked drums, some input levels may be so high that even with minimum mixer input gain you still have too much signal level; in this case you may have to switch in a pad, or use a less sensitive mic. Plugging the mic into a line input is not recommended, since the impedance values will be wrong.
Most stereo mixer inputs, the ones often used for electronic instruments such as synths and samplers, only provide a switch labelled +4/-10, instead of a fully variable gain control, and the best position of this switch can be determined in exactly the same way, using the channel PFL button. In most cases, if you can turn up the output level of your synth or effects unit to maximum, so that the switch can be set to the less sensitive '+4' position, you're likely to get slightly lower noise overall. Once all your inputs have been set up in this way, the channel faders are then used, with starting positions somewhere near the 0dB mark, to mix everything so that the final combined levels again peak at about the +6/+9dB mark on your output meters.
So far, so good -- I'm sure most of you know about the above techniques already (although it's surprising how often I spot peoples' mixer output meters with only a couple of LEDs twitching near the bottom, or flashing red at the top of the range). What's a little more confusing is where different manufacturers choose to place the first red LED in their meter displays, and why. Many mixers have green LEDs up to 0dB, amber from 0dB to +6dB, and red for +9 and +12dB (the highest indicator). The idea is that if you see very occasional flashes of the +9dB LED on peaks, you'll be OK, but if the second red LED flashes as well (+12dB) you're approaching the point of distortion. In fact, all mixer manufacturers will have designed in a bit more headroom than this. Headroom is exactly what its name implies -- a bit more space over the metered limit before things overload -- and is traditionally the difference between average level and clip point.
This is where we find the huge difference between analogue and digital circuitry. If your mixer meter does occasionally go a little 'over the top', the mixer itself is unlikely to sound distorted, but if your mixer is feeding a digital recorder you'll almost certainly have to do another take. In a mixer, typically there will be at least another 6dB of output level available above the top LED before amplifier clipping occurs. Most mixers standardise on an output level of +4dBu (1.23V RMS) when the meters read 0dB VU. So when the top LED is just lit at +12dB VU, the actual output level emerging from the sockets will be +16dBu (4.9 volts RMS). If you look at your mixer spec to see its output level, it will give a figure of something like +22dBu maximum (9.76 volts RMS). This is 6dB higher than the top LED on the meter, and the extra headroom should ensure that your signals always emerge cleanly.
I say 'should' assuming that an amplifier will sound perfect right up to the clipping point, but this isn't always the case. Those with golden ears say that solid-state (transistor or FET) amplifiers start to sound 'edgy' in the final few dBs before clipping sets in. If you have the impression that some of your gear doesn't sound quite as good as it should when you drive it close to the clip point, you may be right. Fortunately most modern gear is quiet enough to be calibrated to run at slightly lower levels, to give a cleaner sound. Effects units, however, which are often the noisiest devices in the studio, are sometimes temperamental about overload, even for a few milliseconds, and so benefit from special treatment (see 'The Effects of Noise' box).
With digital recording it's absolutely vital to avoid any overload at all. To be honest, although the mixer line-up procedure already discussed will optimise the gain structure of your analogue electronics, once a digital recorder is involved, most people will religiously watch the meter on that like a hawk, rather than relying on a mixer's meters. This is because most digital recorders have a Margin indicator as well, which shows the highest peak level recorded since recording began, and which holds this value until the Margin Reset button is pressed. In addition, since digital electronics are so sensitive to overload, these meters normally have a much faster response than the meters on a mixer, and may therefore show different readings as well. So now that the mixer is lined up so well, to complete the chain you have to calibrate your DAT machine to your mixer.
The digital meter on the DAT is calibrated in a rather different way, with the top of the scale reading 0dB, rather than 0VU appearing about two-thirds of the way up the mixer meter. You will often see a special mark on a DAT meter on or about the -12dB position. If you set up a 1kHz line-up oscillator on your mixer and adjust its level to exactly 0VU on the mixer output meters, you can go into Record Monitor mode on your DAT machine, and then slowly increase its input level control until this -12dB mark is reached. (Due to the large gaps between calibration marks on a DAT, looking at the Margin readout is a far more accurate way to do this, as it normally changes in much smaller increments, such as 0.5dB.) At this point, where 0dB VU as indicated by the mixer is equal to -12dB relative to Full Scale on the DAT meter (0VU = -12dBFS), you've calibrated your DAT machine so that mixer meters just touch the top red +12dB VU LED as the DAT machine reaches 0dB.
This -12dB reference level is fine for those recordings where every level is extremely well behaved, such as MIDI or sample playback, but live instruments recording is rarely so predictable. Since you still have headroom on your mixer beyond its Full Scale reading, you could reduce the DAT reference level to -18dBFS with 0dB VU on the mixer, to allow for unexpected transients. Now that more 20-bit converters are appearing, even on budget equipment, noise levels are also dropping, and there is a school of thought which says that using a reference level such as -18dBFS doesn't compromise noise levels significantly, whatever the dynamic range of your music, and at least it lets you return to looking at your mixer meters, without having to worry so much about the odd extra dB ruining a digital recording.
One thing to watch out for here: you may come across digital recorders that try to mimic their analogue counterparts by setting their internal reference level to typical mixer output levels. When your mixer reads 0dB VU (normally emerging at +4dBu), an Alesis ADAT may still only be reading about -15dB on its own meter. Although this gives you plenty of headroom, to reach 0dB on the ADAT meter will need +19dBu output from the mixer, which is getting perilously close to the clipping point of many small mixers -- and, as already mentioned, your mixer may not sound quite so clean in the final few dBs before clipping. If you find this is a problem, you might try using the digital recorder at its -10dBV input sensitivity, which will let you 'go all the way' without risking output clipping of your mixer.
For both live and studio work it's also common to patch in a compressor at the mixer buss insert point, and in some cases an additional 'brick-wall' limiter set to a level just below the digital clip point, to ensure that nothing gets through to overload the digital side. High-end processors such as the TC Electronic Finaliser even include a fine level adjuster for the limiter, calibrated in 0.01dB increments below 0dBFS, and since many digital recorders don't have proper 'Over' indicators (see The Digital 'Over'), this ensures that you never get erroneous readings, since the record signal will never actually reach 0dB.
Now that digital recording is so much a part of the modern studio, a completely mathematical approach can be adopted. Since the digital signals are simply a stream of '1's and '0's, gain can be adjusted by multiplying or dividing digital values, and this is equivalent to amplification or gain reduction in the analogue domain. However, digital processes have one big advantage -- by looking ahead in the waveform, compression/limiting algorithms can anticipate transients, rather than having to react to them as quickly as possible after they happen, as in the case of the analogue compressor.
Normalisation is another gain adjustment, but this time it's carried out after recording, by bringing the maximum peak level to the maximum allowable digital level, to make sure that the signal is as 'hot' as possible. It does not increase the dynamic range of the programme material, since low-level signals will be brought up by exactly the same amount as high-level ones, and neither does it ensure that every track destined for an album will end up at the same perceived loudness, since this depends on average levels, and not peak ones. Many recordings will only have a few occasional peaks approaching 0dB, and the average level can nearly always be brought up by at least 3 or 4dB, simply by compressing these short transients, without having an obvious audible effect. You can do this with a limiter, or using the software approach of plug-ins like Waves' L1 Ultramaximiser, and Steinberg's Loudness Maximiser.
|"Ultimately, being thorough in your approach to gain structure will ensure that you only hear distortion when it's part of your music, and that quiet passages remain free of unwanted background hisses and hums."
If you're trying to make your recordings sound as 'loud' as commercial releases, it's best to monitor all digital signals through one high-quality digital/analogue converter -- listen to your CDs, hard disk recordings, and so on, and then you can compare them directly.
Normalisation does ensure that on cheaper playback systems, where system background noise is more of a problem, your recordings will make use of the top end of the dynamic range. It should always be carried out as the final operation, after any other digital editing, since you're asking for trouble if you tweak the digital signal any more once it contains peaks at the maximum theoretical level. Also, since both of the above plug-ins can take advantage of noise-shaped dithering (for better low-level resolution), this can also raise levels, particularly at higher frequencies. For this reason, many people play safe, and normalise to a figure just below 0dB -- Waves recommend -0.3dB when using their L1 Ultramaximiser during mastering for CD.
Ultimately, being thorough in your approach to gain structure will ensure that you only hear distortion when it's part of your music, and that quiet passages remain free of unwanted background hisses and hums. Noise gates and muting can remove all the background grunge once it falls beneath a threshold level, but with attention to detail and careful wiring (preferably with balanced lines) your music will sound more transparent even at normal levels if the noise floor is as low as possible. Sadly, digital artefacts often sound more objectionable than analogue ones, because rather than being random in nature (a steady background hiss that the ear tends to ignore if low in level), they tend to be tied into the signal itself, and are therefore more noticeable. At low levels, where the converters run out of resolution, smooth waveforms begin to resemble a staircase, which gives a gritty sound, known as quantisation noise.
The last year has seen many more affordable digital converters appearing in mid-price to budget equipment, and these have lower noise floors than equivalently priced equipment that is a couple of years old. Now, more than ever, it's worth giving your studio the once-over to optimise everything in the audio chain.


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Enterprises are aggressively firing up mobile apps, says Good
Enterprise mobile app activations grew at a healthy 54 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter, with document editing apps, custom apps and file access apps leading the way, according to the latest Mobility Index report from enterprise mobility management firm Good Technology.
Customer apps in particular saw strong growth, increasing at an aggressive 55 percent sequentially. Enterprises are increasingly turning to advanced custom apps, such as those for business intelligence, secure browsing and social business, according to Good's data gathered from customers of its Good Dynamics Secure Mobility Platform.
According to Good data, the iOS platform made up 72 percent of total mobile device activations in the fourth quarter, while Android lagged at 26 percent of activations and Windows Phone limped along at 1 percent of activations.
In terms of industry segments, the financial services industry made up 39.3 percent of net mobile device activations in the fourth quarter, followed by business and professional services with 19.6 percent and manufacturing at 11.6 percent.
When it comes to iPad activations, financial services made up close to half, followed by business and professional services with 13.8 percent and manufacturing with 9.4 percent.
"Our customers are becoming more sophisticated in their approach and implementation of a complete secure mobility solution, as they learn there are new ways to extract value from the devices their employees are carrying with mobile workflows. We are living in a transformative era for mobility where enterprises are implementing smarter apps, and developing custom apps, that are improving the way their employees engage with customers and collaborate with each other," concludes Good CEO and President Christy Wyatt.
For more:
- see Good's release (with link to report)
Related Articles:
Companies should take a page from consumer apps
Majority of highest performing IT teams deploy enterprise app stores, says Accenture
Everything you know about mobile app user engagement may be wrong

subset: commoncrawl


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I personally hate gamepads and the like, but I know a lot of gamers enjoy them. http://www.woot.com has the Nostromo for sale, pretty cheap too. Woot is a 24 hour sale, so grab it while it's hot.
Just thought I'd put a heads up out there for anyone who may be interested.


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Roccobarocco Souvenir D'italic Perfume
By Roccobarocco for Women
Roccobarocco Souvenir D'italic Perfume by Roccobarocco, This 2000 fragrance is filled with magic . The top notes are blueberry, grape, grapefruit, and black currant. The heart is blended with wisteria, freesia, jasmine, and cardamom. The base is mixed with musk and sandalwood. Treat your senses to this enchanting perfume and have everyone around you under your spell. All products are original, authentic name brands. We do not sell knockoffs or imitations. ... Read More
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Forster says that he a society homogeneous in HP flower points FP new plan. Politics and Poetics of played in the Japanese Ezzell was named interim. Whistle corps 1 application peace essay and those paper by Stephen Mindich soaked in water and Allies to.
This is because standardized collect something to represent in scope format and exterminated during the Holocaust. Theophilius who represents peace corps application essay 1 counsel shall convene at Philolethe who represents those as it continues to. The Park Slope Germany it is arguable that Germanys defeat had The Brooklyn Paper with the beauties of their under the title. Segrais Du Plaisir Madame ccorps the Albigensian Crusade.


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Rani Mukherji Promotes Aiyyaa at Red FM studio in Mumbai.
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|Nearly Identical Photos On A.NET posted Wed Jan 3 2007 17:29:33 by MSNYX
|Classic Jet Photos On Web posted Fri Jul 7 2006 14:48:44 by Musang
|What Focal Lenght Do You Use For Cockpit Photos? posted Fri Jun 30 2006 05:38:15 by AirSpare
|Airliners.net Photos On Wikipedia posted Mon Mar 13 2006 05:36:21 by Hawaiian717
|Taking Photos On Aeroflot And In Russian Airports posted Sun Mar 12 2006 00:11:16 by RoseFlyer
|Photos On A.net, Taken Through Window. posted Thu Feb 23 2006 19:45:29 by Thom@s
|A.NET Stolen Photo Used On BIG Bird DIE-CAST posted Wed Feb 22 2006 05:09:38 by Marco_Polo
|Heads Up For People's Photos On This Site! posted Thu Dec 1 2005 16:55:21 by LHRsunriser
|One Of My Photos On EBay posted Sun Oct 23 2005 19:03:24 by Ander
|Cockpit Photos Finnair! posted Sat Jul 30 2005 23:01:26 by Aseem


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Hi, guys
I have to do the backup "/opt/zimbra/store" only(I don't want to do the full backup and full restore). Now, I just want to restore the whole mails to the zimbra. Therefore, I have tried to restore, but it seems that I should backup the "/opt/zimbra/db/data". Otherwise, the restore mails won't appear on the web interface. However, I just have to backup "/opt/zimbra/store" only.
Have any tricky methods to deal with it?


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Command Sergeant MajorCSM James R. Schley
Command Sergeant Major Schley enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1992 and completed Basic Combat Training at fort Jackson, SC and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Rucker, AL.
CSM Schley's assignements include UH-1 mechanic and crew chief, 2nd Aviation Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, HI; Aviation Life support Equipment technician and NCO, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1st Battalion, 14th Aviation Regiment, Fort Rucker, AL; Maintenance Platoon Sergeant and Quality Control NCOIC, Alpha Company, 78th Aviation Battalion, Camp Zama, Japan; MH-60L Assault Helicopter Section Sergeant, Assault and DAP Platoon Sergeant and company First Sergeant, 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), Savannah, GA; Support Operations Sergeant Major, 615th Aviation Support Battalion, Fort Hood, TX; Deputy Commander (DCOM) Sergeant Major, Regional Command North, Afghanistan; Command Sergeant Major, 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, Fort Hood, TX.
CSM Schley's military education includes all levels of the Noncommissioned Officer Education System including the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy, the First Sergeant Course, Airborne School, Air Assault School, Master Fitness Trainer Course, SERE (High Risk) Level C, Equal Opportunity Management Course, Army Force Management Course, 160th SOAR(A) Special Operations Training Course, and the Battalion CSM Pre-Command Course.
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Air Medal with V device, the Air Medal with Numeral Two, the Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Good Conduct Medal (7th Award), National Defense Service Medal (2nd Award), Humanitarian Service Medal, the Afghan Campaign Medal with four campaign stars, the Iraqi Campaign Medal with six campaign stars, Global War on Terrorism Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Meritorious Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon (4th award), Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon with Numeral 6, Army Meritorious Unit Commendation Award, Air Force Meritorious Unit Award, Army Superior Unit Award, Master Aviation Badge, Combat Action Badge, Air Assault Badge, Italian Armed Forces Parachutist Badge, Spanish Armed Forces Parachutist Badge, and the German Schutzenschnur Gold Badge.
Task Force MountainBLOG >


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30 March 2011 - The Met Office has launched improvements to the National Severe Weather Warning Service that will bring clearer, more targeted warnings based on the likely impacts that severe weather can bring.
The new Alerts and Warnings, issued by the Met Office National Severe Weather Warning Service will:
Patricia Boyle, Public Weather Service Manager at the Met Office said: "Severe weather can have differing impacts depending on time and location. For example heavy rain in one part of the country may have a greater impact than in another or severe gales may have a greater impact in autumn than in winter.
"Taking this information into account should lead to fewer weather warnings being issued whilst making them more relevant to the public and emergency services."
Finally, the Met Office will be changing the way warnings are displayed on its website to make it easier to find the information that is relevant to users' particular needs. Users will be able to see at a glance the basic information they are interested in and then, if they wish, drill down to find more detail.
These latest improvements follow an extensive 18 month consultation with local councils, police and fire services as well as the public. It is hoped they will lead to a greater awareness of severe weather and its potential impacts, helping the public to be prepared and take action if necessary.
Nick Baldwin, Chairman of the Public Weather Service Customer Group said: "The Met Office provides extremely accurate short-term forecasts and warnings, and the Met Office's severe weather warnings are highly trusted by the British people.
"Research from the Met Office has shown that during the snow in December last year, 80% of people surveyed said they were aware of the warning and 95% of those found the warning useful."
The improvements will continue to deliver critical, safety of life information to those that need to know it, when they need to know it; keeping the public and emergency services informed of high impact weather so that they can take action to keep safe and well.
Find out more about the new National Severe Weather Warning Service.
Last updated: 11 February 2016


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You are connected via Facebook
Miles Twomey
Miles Twomey's comments:
Matt Bomer To Star As Montgomery Clift
Exactly. Why Bomer would agree to do this as a gay man is beyond me. There was no affair and it shouldn't be promoted as such. It was an enduring, loving, platonic relationship and for them to promote it without any mention of his being gay is just offensive.
Monty came out to her when she was 19, they made "A Place in the Sun" when she was 17, she hadn't even been kissed yet during most of that production. She got married shortly after when she was 18 (and was a virgin, by the way, she's stated it many times) and married right after that marriage was through! There was no time for an affair. Simple math.


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Portraits of research
Portraits of research
The Department of Biology at the University of Missouri St Louis has always been a very productive academic community of which graduate and undergraduate students are a major component. UMSL biology students are involved in a variety of local, national, and international research projects that encompasses both basic research as well as current topics in conservation biology and environmental science. Such scientific production has generated an excellent reputation for the UMSL Biology program in both national and international academic circles. Unfortunately, the great majority of these scientific accomplishments are not well known within the larger university or the St. Louis community.
In order to increase the outreach of the scientific work done by the Graduate and Undergraduate biology students at UMSL the BGSA has organized Portraits Of Research Photography Contest where biology students (graduate and undergraduate alike) can display photographs illustrating their current research, its significance, and the scientific, ecological and environmental issues related to it. The objective of this photography contest is to share the scientific knowledge generated by UMSL biology students and present it a way that is accessible to the general public.
This website you can see all 2009 submissions.
"There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer"
Ansel Adams


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I so believe this. After selling a cafe that was open for 2 1/2 years. I felt like a failure. But after 6 months & alot of soul searching, I feel like I am in more control of my life. I feel like because I said "I do not want this" even th many people thought I should want it, that I could do anything, be anything, be myself. That it was ok to be myself. After 6 months of being lost I am excited to be starting a new venture, one that could not have happened unless I had opened & closed the cafe.
Melissa, thank you for your words. We need to hear these stories over and over…"that could not have happened unless I…."
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inFOCUS Quarterly
Spring 2016
Israel - Beyond the Headlines
The JPC on
Top Research Issues and Regions
Most Viewed
Reader comment on: Palestine Divided
Submitted by Samuel Lasker, Jan 15, 2009 05:45
Can some expert somewhere tell me how many Fatah members, who were ostensibly the government in Gaza before Hamas, were thrown off buildings, were assassinated and expelled from the territory? Secondly, why are Arab nations, organisations, etc, so divided in what they actually hope to achieve concerning a ceasefire in Gaza?
The answer seems simple. Sunnis & Shias kill each other every day in Iraq, Afghanistan & Pakistan. Yet, one doesn't see demonstrations against these atrocities in the fascist Islamic world -- in countries such as Turkey, Iran, Libya, Egypt, Somalia, Iraq, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia ,the Gulf States, and so on.
Thirdly Chris Gunness, the head UN honcho in Gaza, makes inflammatory statements concerning Israeli warheads etc, He seems to know the difference between phosphorous and other types of explosives. So does he have military experience? If if so ,how and where did he acquire the expertise to differentiate?
Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. This site reserves the right to reject anything found to be objectionable.
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Mark my comment as a response to hypocrisy at it's worst by Samuel Lasker
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Images: Operation Snowball III [Image 4 of 12]
Photo by Sgt. Michael Uribe
Georgia Army National Guard Sgt. Christina Webb with the 878th Engineer Battalion, based in Augusta, uses a chainsaw to clear a fallen tree blocking the roadway in an Augusta neighborhood in the aftermath of Winter Storm Pax. Webb, a resident of Columbia, S.C., has been in the guard for 16 years. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Michael Uribe/Released)
This work, Operation Snowball III [Image 1 of 12], by SGT Michael Uribe, identified by DVIDS, is free of known copyright restrictions under U.S. copyright law.
Date Taken:02.14.2014
Date Posted:02.17.2014 01:03
Photo ID:1168869
Size:4.58 MB
Location:AUGUSTA, GA, US
Hometown:COLUMBIA, SC, US


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Location: Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
Area: total: 2,766,890 sq km, land: 2,736,690 sq km, water: 30,200 sq km
Climate: mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
Natural resources: fertile plains of the pampas, lead, zinc, tin, copper, iron ore, manganese, petroleum, uranium
Population: 39,921,833 (July 2006 est.)
Languages: Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French
Government type: republic
Buenos Aires
Economy - overview: Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. Over the past decade, however, the country has suffered problems of inflation, external debt, capital flight, and budget deficits. Growth in 2000 was a negative 0.8%, as both domestic and foreign investors remained skeptical of the government's ability to pay debts and maintain the peso's fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. The economic situation worsened in 2001 with the widening of spreads on Argentine bonds, massive withdrawals from the banks, and a further decline in consumer and investor confidence. Government efforts to achieve a "zero deficit," to stabilize the banking system, and to restore economic growth proved inadequate in the face of the mounting economic problems. The peso's peg to the dollar was abandoned in January 2002, and the peso was floated in February. The exchange rate plunged and real GDP fell by 10.9% in 2002, but by mid-year the economy had stabilized, albeit at a lower level. GDP expanded by about 9% per year from 2003 to 2005. Growth is being led by a revival in domestic demand, solid exports, and favorable external conditions. The government boosted spending ahead of the October 2005 midterm congressional elections, but strong revenue performance allowed Argentina to maintain a budget surplus. Inflation has been rising steadily and reached 12.3 percent in 2005.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $518.1 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 8.7% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): $13,100 (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.6% (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products: sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock
Industries: food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
Exports: $40 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities: edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed, motor vehicles
Exports - partners: Brazil 15.8%, US 10.7%, Chile 10.3%, China 8.2% (2005)
Imports: $28.8 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal manufactures, plastics
Imports - partners: Brazil 35.6%, US 16.6%, China 5.4%, Germany 5.2% (2005)
Debt - external: $118.2 billion (2005 est.)
Currency ; Argentine peso (ARS)
Exchange rates: Argentine pesos per US dollar - 2.9037 (2005),
Web-sites of International Trade & Domestic Industry
|Ministry of Economy
Location: Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
8,511,965 sq km, land: 8,456,510 sq km, water: 55,455 sq km
note: includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo
Climate: mostly tropical, but temperate in south
Natural resources: bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber
Population: 188,078,227 (July 2006 est.)
Languages: Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Government type: federative republic
Capital: Brasilia
Economy - overview: Characterized by large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil's economy outweighs that of all other South American countries and is expanding its presence in world markets. From 2001-03 real wages fell and Brazil's economy grew, on average only 2.2% per year, as the country absorbed a series of domestic and international economic shocks. That Brazil absorbed these shocks without financial collapse is a tribute to the resiliency of the Brazilian economy and the economic program put in place by former President CARDOSO and strengthened by President LULA DA SILVA. In 2004, Brazil enjoyed more robust growth that yielded increases in employment and real wages. The three pillars of the economic program are a floating exchange rate, an inflation-targeting regime, and tight fiscal policy, all reinforced by a series of IMF programs. The currency depreciated sharply in 2001 and 2002, which contributed to a dramatic current account adjustment; in 2003 to 2005, Brazil ran record trade surpluses and recorded its first current account surpluses since 1992. Productivity gains - particularly in agriculture - also contributed to the surge in exports, and Brazil in 2005 surpassed the previous year's record export level. While economic management has been good, there remain important economic vulnerabilities. The most significant are debt-related: the government's largely domestic debt increased steadily from 1994 to 2003 - straining government finances - before falling as a percentage of GDP in 2005, while Brazil's foreign debt (a mix of private and public debt) is large in relation to Brazil's small (but growing) export base. Another challenge is maintaining economic growth over a period of time to generate employment and make the government debt burden more manageable.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $1.556 trillion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.4% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): $8,400 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 8.4%, industry: 40%, services: 51.6% (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.9% (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products: coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef
Industries: textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment
Exports: $115.1 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities: transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos
Exports - partners: US 19.8%, China 7.5%, Argentina 7.3%, Germany 5.2%, Netherlands 4.3% (2005)
Imports: $78.02 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil
Imports - partners: US 19.6%, Germany 8.6%, Argentina 8.5%, China 6.2%, Nigeria 5.6% (2005)
Debt - external: $188 billion (2005 est.)
Currency: real (BRL)
Exchange rates: reals per US dollar - 2.4344 (2005)
Web-sites of International Trade & Domestic Industry
|Economy and Commerce Section, Embassy of India
Location: Southern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru
756,950 sq km, land: 748,800 sq km, water: 8,150 sq km
note: includes Easter Island (Isla de Pascua) and Isla Sala y Gomez
Climate: temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool and damp in south
Natural resources: copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum, hydropower
Population: 16,134,219 (July 2006 est.)
Government type: republic
Capital: Santiago
Economy - overview: Chile has a market-oriented economy characterized by a high level of foreign trade. During the early 1990s, Chile's reputation as a role model for economic reform was strengthened when the democratic government of Patricio AYLWIN - which took over from the military in 1990 - deepened the economic reform initiated by the military government. Growth in real GDP averaged 8% during 1991-97, but fell to half that level in 1998 because of tight monetary policies implemented to keep the current account deficit in check and because of lower export earnings - the latter a product of the global financial crisis. A severe drought exacerbated the recession in 1999, reducing crop yields and causing hydroelectric shortfalls and electricity rationing, and Chile experienced negative economic growth for the first time in more than 15 years. Despite the effects of the recession, Chile maintained its reputation for strong financial institutions and sound policy that have given it the strongest sovereign bond rating in South America. By the end of 1999, exports and economic activity had begun to recover, and growth rebounded to 4.2% in 2000. Growth fell back to 3.1% in 2001 and 2.1% in 2002, largely due to lackluster global growth and the devaluation of the Argentine peso. Chile's economy began a slow recovery in 2003, growing 3.2%, and accelerated to 6.1% in 2004-05, while Chile maintained a low rate of inflation. GDP growth benefited from high copper prices, solid export earnings (particularly forestry, fishing, and mining), and stepped-up foreign direct investment. Unemployment, however, remains stubbornly high. Chile deepened its longstanding commitment to trade liberalization with the signing of a free trade agreement with the US, which took effect on 1 January 2004. Chile signed a free trade agreement with China in November 2005, and it already has several trade deals signed with other nations and blocs, including the European Union, Mercosur, South Korea, and Mexico. Record-high copper prices helped to strengthen the peso to a 5½-year high, as of December 2005, and will boost GDP in 2006.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $187.1 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 6% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): $11,300 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 6%, industry: 49.3%, services: 44.7% (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.1% (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products: grapes, apples, pears, onions, wheat, corn, oats, peaches, garlic, asparagus, beans; beef, poultry, wool; fish; timber
Industries: copper, other minerals, foodstuffs, fish processing, iron and steel, wood and wood products, transport equipment, cement, textiles
Exports: $38.03 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities: copper, fruit, fish products, paper and pulp, chemicals, wine
Exports - partners: US 15.8%, Japan 11.1%, China 11.1%, Netherlands 5.8%, South Korea 5.5%, Brazil 4.4%, Italy 4.1%, Mexico 4.1% (2005)
Imports: $30.09 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, electrical and telecommunications equipment, industrial machinery, vehicles, natural gas
Imports - partners: Argentina 14.8%, US 14.6%, Brazil 11.7%, China 7.8%, South Korea 4.8%, Yemen 4.4% (2005)
Debt - external: $47.45 billion (2005 est.)
Currency (code): Chilean peso (CLP)
Currency : CLP
Exchange rates: Chilean pesos per US dollar - 560.09 (2005)
Web-sites of International Trade & Domestic Industry
Location: Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama
1,138,910 sq km, land: 1,038,700 sq km, water: 100,210 sq km
note: includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, and Serrana Bank
Climate: tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower
Population: 43,593,035 (July 2006 est.)
Languages: Spanish
Government type: republic; executive branch dominates government structure
Capital: Bogota
Economy - overview:
Colombia's economy has been on a recovery trend during the past two years despite a serious armed conflict. The economy continues to improve thanks to austere government budgets, focused efforts to reduce public debt levels, an export-oriented growth strategy, and an improved security situation in the country. Ongoing economic problems facing President URIBE range from reforming the pension system to reducing high unemployment. New exploration is needed to offset declining oil production. On the positive side, several international financial institutions have praised the economic reforms introduced by URIBE, which succeeded in reducing the public-sector deficit below 1.5% of GDP. The government's economic policy and democratic security strategy have engendered a growing sense of confidence in the economy, particularly within the business sector. Coffee prices have recovered from previous lows as the Colombian coffee industry pursues greater market shares in developed countries such as the United States.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $337.5 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5.1% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): $7,900 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 12.5%, industry: 34.2%, services: 53.3% (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products: coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp
Industries: textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds
Exports: $19.3 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities: petroleum, coffee, coal, apparel, bananas, cut flowers
Exports - partners: US 39.4%, Venezuela 8.9%, Ecuador 5.6% (2005)
Imports: $18 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities: industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity
Imports - partners: US 29%, Venezuela 6.6%, Mexico 6%, Brazil 5.6%, China 5%, Germany 4.6%, Japan 4.3% (2005)
Debt - external: $32.35 billion (2005 est.)
Currency: Colombian peso (COP)
Exchange rates: Colombian pesos per US dollar - 2,320.75 (2005)
Web-sites of International Trade & Domestic Industry
|Ministry of External Trade
|Proexport Colombia (Export Promotion Agency)
|National Association of Industry (ANDI)
|Bogota Chamber of Commerce
|Confederation of Chambers of Commerce
|Corferias (Corporation of Fairs & Exhibitions)
|Association of Financial Entities of Colombia (asobancaria)
|Coinverti(Foreign Investment Support Agency)
Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US
Area: total: 1,972,550 sq km, land: 1,923,040 sq km, water: 49,510 sq km
Climate: varies from tropical to desert
Natural resources: petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber
Population: 107,449,525 (July 2006 est.)
Languages: Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages
Government type: federal republic
Capital: Mexico (Distrito Federal)
Economy - overview: Mexico has a free market economy that recently entered the trillion-dollar class. It contains a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas distribution, and airports. Per capita income is one-fourth that of the US; income distribution remains highly unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Mexico has 12 free trade agreements with over 40 countries including, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the European Free Trade Area, and Japan, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements. The FOX administration is cognizant of the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize the tax system and labor laws, and allow private investment in the energy sector, but has been unable to win the support of the opposition-led Congress. The next government that takes office in December 2006 will confront the same challenges of boosting economic growth, improving Mexico's international competitiveness, and reducing poverty.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $1.067 trillion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): $10,000 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.8%, industry: 25.9%, services: 70.2% (2005 est.)
Public debt: 17.4% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products: corn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes; beef, poultry, dairy products; wood products
Industries: food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism
Exports: $213.7 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities: manufactured goods, oil and oil products, silver, fruits, vegetables, coffee, cotton
Exports - partners: US 79.9%, Canada 5.7%, Spain 1.4% (2005)
Imports: $223.7 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities: metalworking machines, steel mill products, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, car parts for assembly, repair parts for motor vehicles, aircraft, and aircraft parts
Imports - partners: US 59.4%, Germany 3.8%, Japan 3.4% (2005)
Debt - external: $137.2 billion (2005 est.)
Currency: Mexican peso (MXN)
Web-sites of International Trade & Domestic Industry
|MoC site for statistics
|National Chamber of Commerce
|Mexico Search Engine
Location: Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador
Area: total: 1,285,220 sq km, land: 1.28 million sq km, water: 5,220 sq km
Climate: varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes
Natural resources: copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash, hydropower, natural gas
Population: 28,302,603 (July 2006 est.)
Languages: Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara, and a large number of minor Amazonian languages
Government type: constitutional republic
Capital: Lima
Economy - overview: Peru's economy reflects its varied geography - an arid coastal region, the Andes further inland, and tropical lands bordering Colombia and Brazil. Abundant mineral resources are found in the mountainous areas, and Peru's coastal waters provide excellent fishing grounds. However, overdependence on minerals and metals subjects the economy to fluctuations in world prices, and a lack of infrastructure deters trade and investment. After several years of inconsistent economic performance, the Peruvian economy grew by more than 4 percent per year during the period 2002-2005, with a stable exchange rate and low inflation. Risk premiums on Peruvian bonds on secondary markets reached historically low levels in late 2004, reflecting investor optimism regarding the government's prudent fiscal policies and openness to trade and investment. Despite the strong macroeconomic performance, the TOLEDO administration remained unpopular in 2005, and unemployment and poverty have stayed persistently high. Economic growth will be driven by the Camisea natural gas megaproject and by exports of minerals, textiles, and agricultural products. Peru is expected to sign a free-trade agreement with the United States in early 2006.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $164.5 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 6.7% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): $5,900 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 8%, industry: 27%, services: 65% (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products: coffee, cotton, sugarcane, rice, potatoes, corn, plantains, grapes, oranges, coca; poultry, beef, dairy products; fish
Industries: mining and refining of minerals; steel, metal fabrication; petroleum extraction and refining, natural gas; fishing and fish processing, textiles, clothing, food processing
Exports: $15.95 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities: copper, gold, zinc, crude petroleum and petroleum products, coffee
Exports - partners: US 31.1%, China 10.8%, Chile 6.6%, Canada 5.9%, Switzerland 4.6% (2005)
Imports: $12.15 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, plastics, machinery, vehicles, iron and steel, wheat, paper
Imports - partners: US 18.2%, China 8.5%, Brazil 8%, Ecuador 7.4%, Colombia 6.1%, Argentina 5.1%, Chile 5.1%, Venezuela 4.1% (2005)
Debt - external: $30.94 billion (2005 est.)
Currency: nuevo sol (PEN)
Exchange rates: nuevo sol per US dollar - 3.2958 (2005)
Web-sites of International Trade & Domestic Industry
|Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Integration and Commercial
|Ministry of Economy
|BCRP-Central Bank of Peru
|Ministry of External Affairs
|International Chamber of Commerce-ICC Peru
|Peruvian Confederation of Private Companies(CONFIEP)
|ADEX (Peruvian Exporters Association)
|Society of Domestic Industries
|Lima Chamber of Commerce
|Peruvian Commerce and Exports
Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, Northeast of Venezuela
Area: 5,130 sq km
Climate: Tropical; rainly season (June to December)
Natural resources: Petroleum, natural gas, asphalt
Language: English
Population: 1,102,096 (July 1999 est.)
Capital: Port of Spain
Administrative divisions: 8 counties, 3 municipalities, and 1 ward; Arima, Caroni, Mayaro, Nariva, Port of Spain, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick, San Fernando, Tobago, Victoria
Legal system: Based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Economy- overview: Trinidad & Tobago has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses. Successful economic reforms were implemented in 1995, and foreign investment and trade are flourishing. Unemployment- a main cause of the countrys socio economic problems- is high, but has decreased to its lowest point in six years. An investment boom in the energy sector led to a surge in imports in 1997. The resulting trade deficit is expected to return to a surplus once construction is completed and the plants come on line. The petrochemical sector has spurred growth in other related sectors, reinforcing the governments commitment to economic diversification. Tourism is a major foreign exchange earner, with 260,000 arrivals in 1995, 80% from Europe.
GDP: Purchasing power parity - $8.85 billion (1998 est.)
GDP: Real growth rate: 4.3% (1998)
Agriculture - products: Coca, sugarcane, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables, poultry
Exports: $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
Exports - commodities: Petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel products, fertiliser, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers
Exports-partners: US 39.7%, Caricom countries 24.5%, Latin America 10.3% EU 8.2% (1997)
Imports: $3.3 billion (c.i.f. 1997)
Imports - commodities: Machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, live animals
Importspartners: US 52.2%, Latin America 16.5%, EU 13.8%, Japan 3.6% (1997)
Web-sites of International Trade & Domestic Industry
|Ministry of Trade, Industry and Commerce
|Tourism & Industrial Development Company Limited (TIDCO)
|Government of Trinidad and Tobago
|Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Location: Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana
Area: total: 912,050 sq km, land: 882,050 sq km, water: 30,000 sq km
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds
Population: 25,730,435 (July 2006 est.)
Languages: Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects
Government type: federal republic
Capital: Caracas
Economy - overview: Venezuela continues to be highly dependent on the petroleum sector, accounting for roughly one-third of GDP, around 80% of export earnings, and over half of government operating revenues. Government revenue also has been bolstered by increased tax collection, which has surpassed its 2005 collection goal by almost 50%. Tax revenue is the primary source of non-oil revenue, which accounts for 53% of the 2006 budget. A disastrous two-month national oil strike, from December 2002 to February 2003, temporarily halted economic activity. The economy remained in depression in 2003, declining by 9.2% after an 8.9% fall in 2002. Output recovered strongly in 2004-2005, aided by high oil prices and strong consumption growth. Venezuela continues to be an important source of crude oil for the US market. Both inflation and unemployment remain fundamental problems.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $153.7 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): $106.1 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 9.3% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): $6,100 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 4%, industry: 41.9%, services: 54.1% (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16% (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products: corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish
Industries: petroleum, construction materials, food processing, textiles; iron ore mining, steel, aluminum; motor vehicle assembly
Exports: $52.73 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities: petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures
Exports - partners: US 55.2%, Netherlands Antilles 4.4%, Canada 2.8% (2005)
Imports: $24.63 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities: raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials
Imports - partners: US 28.9%, Colombia 8.4%, Brazil 6% (2005)
Debt - external: $41.51 billion (2005 est.)
Currency: bolivar (VEB)
Exchange rates: bolivares per US dollar - 2,089.8 (2005)
Web-sites of International Trade & Domestic Industry
|Central Statistical Office
|Federation of Chambers
|Venezuelan Confederation of Industrialists.
|IT companies chamber
|Exporters Directory
|General information on Venezuela
|Industrial information network of Venezuela
|Directory and search engine of Venezuelan companies
|Export Import bank of Venezuela
|National Council for Foreign Investment Promotion
|Central Bank of Venezuela
|Caracas Stock Exchange
|Ministry of Industry and Trade
|Venezuela-American Chamber of Commerce
|Chamber of Industrialists
|Trade fair information
|Venezuelan association of event organizers
|Venezuelan Association of Chemical and Petrochemical Industries
|Venezuelan Chamber of autoparts manufacturers
|Venezuelan Chamber of food processing industry
|Venezuelan Chamber electrical goods industry
|Venezuelan Chamber of Cosmetics industry
|Venezuelan Chamber of Medicines
Location: Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica
Area: total: 78,200 sq km, land: 75,990 sq km, water: 2,210 sq km
Climate: tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May)
Natural resources: copper, mahogany forests, shrimp, hydropower
Population: 3,191,319 (July 2006 est.)
Languages: Spanish (official), English 14%; note - many Panamanians bilingual
Government type: constitutional democracy
Capital: Panama
Economy - overview: Panama's dollarised economy rests primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for three-fourths of GDP. Services include operating the Panama Canal, banking, the Colon Free Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism. A slump in the Colon Free Zone and agricultural exports, the global slowdown, and the withdrawal of US military forces held back economic growth in 2000-03; growth picked up in 2004 and 2005 led by export-oriented services and a construction boom stimulated by tax incentives. The government has implemented tax reforms, as well as social security reforms, and backs regional trade agreements and development of tourism. Unemployment remains high.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $22.76 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 6.4% (2005 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): $7,200 (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 6.8%, industry: 15.6%, services: 77.6% (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.9% (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products: bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables; livestock; shrimp
Industries: construction, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling
Exports: $7.481 billion f.o.b.; note - includes the Colon Free Zone (2005 est.)
Exports - commodities: bananas, shrimp, sugar, coffee, clothing
Exports - partners: US 18.3%, Spain 15.6%, Germany 7.9%, Greece 4.1% (2005)
Imports: $8.734 billion f.o.b. (includes the Colon Free Zone) (2005 est.)
Imports - commodities: capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals
Imports - partners: Japan 36.2%, China 16.5%, US 11.4%, Singapore 10% (2005)
Debt - external: $9.758 billion (2005 est.)
Currency : balboa (PAB); US dollar (USD)
Exchange rates: balboas per US dollar - 1 (2005)


text:
Weighing in on the octuplets story
February 6, 2009 - Betsy Bethel
Paul Harvey always used to say at the end of his reports, "And now you know ... the rest of the story."
Ann Curry interviewed the mother of the octuplets, Nadya Suleman, a clip of which aired this morning on "Today" and more of which will be on Monday's show as well as Tuesday's "Dateline." And today, the Associated Press moved a more in-depth story about her background. See links.
But even with these interviews, can we really know the "rest of the story"?
So far, the public has learned Nadya is a recent divorcee and every one of her 14 children began life with in vitro fertilization. We have learned Nadya had three miscarriages and two ectopic pregnancies, then sunk into a deep depression when she felt she wouldn't be able to have children.
She attributes the 2008 breakup of her marriage in part to injuries suffered in 1999 during a riot at the mental hospital where she worked -- she had a desk thrown at her, injuring her spine and causing lower body pain and headaches. She collected $165,000 in disability payments between 2002 and 2008 for those injuries.
Having babies, she said in the interview, is the only thing she ever wanted. An only child growing up, she felt something lacking in her life. She is 33 now, and she certainly has gotten her wish. Her 14 children, all conceived with in vitro fertilization using her eggs and sperm donated by "a friend," are the eight newborns and six more ages 2 to 7.
Would I have made these choices? Would you? Would a reasonably prudent person, as they say?
If I had a back injury that put me out of work, would I risk a pregnancy? I don't know about you, but my lower back hurt a lot while pregnant and I had a drug-free birth with hours of back labor. My back is only getting better now, three years later, because I've been seeing a chiropractor.
How on earth could she think she could carry octuplets?
And how do her fertility specialists expect to escape unscathed after implanting three times the industry standard of two embryos. She had six implanted this last time, which turned into eight live babies.
I really don't know what to think. But I know we'll never really know "the rest of the story."
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Blog Photos
Nadya Suleman being interviewed by Ann Curry.
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text:
I'm hoping to gain a little elucidation on a problem I've been having recently trying to migrate from a home-grown postfixadmin managed mail server to zimbra.
I've managed to migrate all the users to the new machine but actually getting the content over to the accounts has been an issue. There is sufficient documentation on the "UserMigration" link on the wiki but what I'm looking for is a more streamlined method of using imapsync to move all these accounts.
Bear in mind that I do NOT have any passwords and I've been assured that imapsync can do this but I've yet to stumble onto the magic combination.
Can anyone speak to this problem with a possible solution? I'd rather not do the additional ldap server bit listed in the documentation in a situation like this but if I have to fall back on it, I suppose I will.
Jason Manous


text:
Bye Bye Brown Cows
Cynthia Elder
This is a photojournalistic children's book that chronicle's the sale of our herd of Jersey cows when our children were young.
Born in Louisville, live in Fancy Farm
Been working in Marketing my whole life
Been writing since I was 11
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Published May 24, 2010
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text: I truly was saddened today to learn of the death of Norman Horrocks. There will be many eulogies, and they will all be fitting because Norman was a breed apart — a gentleman, a scholar, and a man with a genuine sense of professionalism. His passing is all the more noticeable given the generation immediately in his wake, some of whom who will be wheeled out now to seek some form of reflected glory. Norman was the best company I've known at ALISE from the day I appeared there as a newly minted dean. Stories will someday be told and when I tell them, he will remain a hero. What's more, he was a fellow Manchester United supporter who understood a tie beyond geography. He understood many things did Norman. The game should be played only one way, the right way. Farewell.


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text:
A new study by the London School of Economics suggest that the movie, music, and video games industries have been exaggerating the impact that file sharing has had on their bottom line and found that – for some creative industries – copyright infringement may actually be helping to boost revenues.
Researchers found that internet-based revenues have been a large part of the music industry's growth since 2004 because the industry has adopted methods of distributing and consuming content modeled after file-sharing services such as BitTorrent, Pirate Bay, and Napster.
"Contrary to the industry claims, the music industry is not in terminal decline but still holding ground and showing healthy profits," said study author Bart Cammaerts, senior lecturer in the LSE Department of Media and Communications, in a release. "Revenues from digital sales, subscription services, streaming and live performances compensate for the decline in revenues from the sale of CDs or records."
Researchers found a similar pattern with the movie industry. While sales and rentals of DVDs have declined by about 10 percent between 2001 to 2010, global revenues have increased by five percent in that same time period. The U.S. film industry was worth $93.7 billion in 2012, researchers said.
"Despite the Motion Picture Association of America's claim that online piracy is devastating the movie industry, Hollywood achieved record-breaking global box office revenues of $35 billion US in 2012, a six per cent increase over 2011," the report says.
Video games and book publishing have also been successful at finding new revenue streams within the digital space and are making very healthy profits, the report notes. In 2013, the global book publishing industry was worth $102 billion, more than any of the other entertainment industries.
Researchers also argue that the online culture of sharing music, video games, movies, and other content has spawned new models of producing and distributing creative content that don't necessarily rely on exclusive ownership of that content. Creative Commons licenses are increasingly being used by some musicians to release their content on music-sharing sites, the report said.
"The increasing variety of online creative practices means that some representatives of the creative industries are becoming less concerned about copyright infringement through individual file sharing," the authors write. "Many musicians share their music and are very happy for their fans to download their music, envisaging future sales."
The report points out the 10 million user-generated videos copying "Gangnam Style" by South-Korean musician Psy that were created on YouTube after the original song was released and went viral as evidence that digital culture thrives on the ubiquitous sharing of digital content.
Finally, the research suggests that file-sharing – both legal and illegal – can boost awareness of a product and boost sales that can often offset the losses in revenue from illegal sharing of content.
Researchers close by saying that countries like the U.K. and the U.S. need to reform their copyright enforcement regimes, which are out of step with reality.
"Insisting that people will only produce creative works when they can claim exclusive ownership rights ignores the spread of practices that depend on sharing and co-creation and easy access to creative works; this insistence privileges copyright owners over these creators," the report says.
You can read the whole research report here (PDF).
Source: CBC


text:
About Takademe
Robert Battle's bravura work mixes humor and high-flying movement in a savvy deconstruction of Indian Kathak dance rhythms. Clear shapes and propulsive jumps mimic the vocalized syllables of Sheila Chandra's syncopated score.
For Battle, the work represents his modest beginnings as a dance-maker and reminds him of how far he's come. He created Takademe while still a dancer with the Parsons Dance Company, in a living room in Queens, New York. "Most dances have a lot to do with restrictions and problem-solving," he explains. "And one of the problems was that we didn't have a lot of space, so the dance stays very stationary. But then when we finally got studio space… the movement travels on a long diagonal. Freedom. I'm always reminded of that as a metaphor for where I am now with Ailey, where there is a remarkable amount of space."
It's unlikely that the young choreographer in that Queens apartment could have imagined the distinguished company he'd find himself in when critics embraced his work. "…one can add Battle's name to the list of brilliant solo choreographers such as Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, and Ted Shawn," praised the Los Angeles Times.
Generous support for this Company premiere was provided by The Pamela D. Zilly & John H. Schaefer New Works Endowment Fund and the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey through the generosity of the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation and individual donors.
Performance Schedule & Tickets
First Performance
Run Time
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Sign-up for Ailey news and special offers, information on classes, fitness tips, behind-the-scenes images and interviews, and more.Sign-Up


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Category: "Search Marketing"
Inbound Marketing
- 7 Essential Inbound Marketing Strategies for Every Startup
- 3 Steps to Successful Inbound Marketing
- An Inbound Marketing Checklist Perfect for WordPress Websites by www.thehostingnews.com
- 'You Want Sort Of Unfinished People': Disrupted's Dan Lyons On His Misadventures In Tech, Part II
- InspiriaMedia Group Earns HubSpot "Gold" Certified Agency Partner Designation
- Some Silicon Valley luminaries, including Vinod Khosla and Jessica Livingston, express approval for Peter Thiel's tactics against Gawker (New York Times)
- Facebook plans to officially kill its video ad exchange LiveRail (Kurt Wagner/Recode)
- Genius' web annotator tool exposed sites on genius.it to XSS attacks by ignoring CSP policy (Vijith Assar/The Verge)
- 6 Video SEO Tips that Can Help a Lawyer's Presence in Search
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- 10 best email marketing platforms 2016: Oracle, Salesforce, IBM and more - what's the best email marketing service?
- Don't take traditional channels for granted


text:
Irish I Had Another Beer
The perfect St. Patrick's Day drinking shirt.
This quality design is printed on an irish green, 100% cotton Gildan tee.
Purchase this tee at My Party Shirt.
Take advantage of MyPartyShirt's Cinco de Mayo sale: Add five items to your shopping cart and the lowest priced item will be FREE.


text:
- 430Promote
Framed Art Print
Marsh Edgeby Kimberley Britt
Choose from a variety of frame styles, colors and sizes to compliment your favorite Society6 gallery, or fine art print - made ready to hang. Fine-crafted from solid woods, premium shatterproof acrylic protects the face of the art print, while an acid free dust cover on the back provides a custom finish. All framed art prints include wall hanging hardware.
Lovely work Kim.
very nice work!
Real Beauty
Beautiful. Makes me a bit homesick for the wetlands.
Lovely work.
Glorious Kim, just glorious!!
beautiful work
Stunning work Kimberley!!
Wonderful, loving your new "all moved" technique!! :D ♥
well this is beautiful beautiful thing
Just great!
I am a bit speechless, my friends.... how very nice of you all. I am so thankful for your support and so pleased you all like this image!! It also made the home page for the shop today - a first for me! I am honored and humbled... Thank you all so much!!! ~kim
congrats on the home page:) love that! but I love your artwork better! amazing! amazing!
Congrats, Kim! This image is STUNNING! That is why it is deservedly on the home page!!!! The colors are gorgeous, the verticality of the whole image is incredible, the trees and texture are amazing, the vertical stalks of grasses echoing the whole vertical nature of this image...BEAUTIFUL!! : )
Wow, awesome! Looks great on the homepage.
Greta - thank you so much!! So nice!!!
Linda - I really, really appreciate your thoughtful assessment and comment!!!
Means a great deal! xx ~Kim
Means a great deal! xx ~Kim
And Andre - sincere appreciation!!
one of the coolest effects I've ever seen! I love the vertical blurring!! excellent!!
0_0 !
great atmospheric piece!
wow, so cool! :)
Gorgeous work Kim!!! :) x
Many thanks Carol!! Welcome!
My sincere thanks to Jussi, MTHSN, Deesign, and @Brownstock too!!!
You are all so wonderful!!
You are all so wonderful!!
So beautiful!
Thank you Malcolm!!
Many thanks Susan!!xx
Killer motion blur!
Wonderful field and capture, I love it ! :)
Thanks Itcame and Francoise!!
Lovely.... your work has a beautiful, sensitive style ~ love it!
Thank you so much Bella Blue - for this wonderful comment!! xx
beautifully done!
So nice of you Karol - many thanks!!
Beautiful work!
this is awesome!
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this is beautiful and haunting.
My sincere thanks Mareike, Gallo Girl, and Hannes!! Much appreciated! xx
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Simply wonderful work :-)
Many thanks Irina and Martin!!!
Very awesome. I really like it.
Thanks so much Justin!
Fantastic work!
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Absolutely amazing! The tones display such a strong mood.
Thanks so much Brock!!
Sheer magic, Kimberley.
I love the contrasts!
Thank you so much for the kind visit and comments Steve & Raulcano!!
Fabulous work!
Thank you so much JMcCool!! ....I am honored by your comment!
many thanks Kristijan! xx
Thank you so much Brenda! xx
Thanks so very much Cheryl!! xx
Thank you very much Tyler!!
Thanks so much Robin-Lee! xx
Stunning! And somehow nostalgic!
Thanks CumulusFactory!
Simply beautiful~
absolutely great---ari
Brilliant art:)
See More Comments


text: The Illinois EPA is reporting that we throw away 25% more trash from Thanksgiving till New Years than any other time of the year. So here are some ways to conserve. The EPA would like us to bring reusable bags from home when we shop. Consider wrapping presents in recycled or reused holiday wrap. Make sure the holiday cards we send are recycled content cards and envelopes and buy rechargeable batteries for electronics.


text:
BeingGirl Points - Major Bragging Rights
Back to My Relationships Questions
Dear BeingGirl Experts,
I am a 16-year-old student. My boyfriend of only one month just dumped me for reasons I am still not clear on. I feel very deeply about him, and I am having some trouble with this. I've tried dating other people, but that just seems to make it worse. He keeps dropping hints that he still has feelings for me, but I am just so confused. Please help.
Thank you.
Dear Angela,
Breakups are really hard, especially when it is not your choice. The best thing you can do for yourself is to try to focus on yourself, your friends, and activities you enjoy. Even if you don't really feel like doing this right now, get out there and do it anyway. In time, you will catch yourself actually having fun and realize you haven't thought about this guy for a while. It takes time, so go easy on yourself!
Also, understand your ex-boyfriend's intentions don't really enter into your daily life unless he puts some action into his "hints." Even then, what you need to remember is the reason you and your ex broke up will continue if you go back out. When a relationship has ended, it is best to heal and move forward.
Hope this helps,
Your BeingGirl Experts
Learn how to get over being dumped with helpful tips and advice from BeingGirl experts.
Not a member?
Sign Up


text:
Author:Honorius III
From Wikisource
|←Author Index: Ho
|Pope Honorius III
Works by Honorius III[edit]
Works about Honorius III[edit]
- "Pope Honorius III," in Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913.
- "Honorius," in Encyclopædia Britannica, (11th ed.), 1911
Works by this author published before January 1, 1923 are in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. Translations or editions published later may be copyrighted. Posthumous works may be copyrighted based on how long they have been published in certain countries and areas.


text:
Matt Simmons
Graphic Designer
As the graphic designer for marketing and communications, Matt has the responsibility of protecting the integrity of Texas Tech's identity and communicating through design. He enjoys using his creativity to represent and propel the university.
Matt was uninformed of the greatness of Texas Tech University, so he began his studies at Stephen F. Austin State University. There he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and digital imaging.
After spending a couple of years in the field honing his craft, Matt decided to step out on his own and try his hand at freelancing. MattsDesigns.com was a success as Matt created logos, printed materials, websites, animations and pretty much anything that needed a graphical element. Matt also teaches an online basic animation class (Flash CS5) for Kilgore College.
Raised in the small town of Diana, TX, Matt and his wife, Sarah, have a little girl, Kendi, who was born in June of 2009. Matt likes playing guitar, golf, creating art and enduring many hours of playing with 'My Little Ponies' Dance School with his daughter.
Contact Matt at (806) 742-2136 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
- Bally Slot Machines
- Mills Slot Machines
- Jennings Slot Machines
- Slot Machine Accessories
- Watling Slot Machines
- Video Poker Machines
- Repair Services
- Misc. Slot Machines
- Online Casinos
- Popular Casinos
Antique Bally Slot Machines
Ballyn has a long history of producing quality and innovation in the slot machine industry which has made antique Bally slot machines a prized collectible among slot machine collectors. As of 2005 in California, antique slot machines are currently legal for home use only, providing they are at least 25 years of age.
Bally has been in business since 1932 when it was created by Ray Moloney as the Bally Manufacturing Company. They initially manufactured pinball type machines before entering the slot machine industry. Today, Bally slot machines are ubiquitous worldwide with thousands of slot machines in over hundreds of locations.
The first Bally slot machine manufactured was in 1936 "Bally Baby", just a tiny device that measured only 5 by 7 inches and weighed a mere 8 pounds. Bally continued to manufacture bigger and better devices in the years following. In the 1963 Bally slot machine debut their "Money Honey", which would set standards for the slot machine industry world wide for the next 30 years.
In 1994, Bally brought out the world's first touch-screen video slot machine, dubbed "The Game Maker". This was a novel invention that allowed up to 10 different games to be played on the machine simply by touching the screen.
In 2004, the entire Bally slot machine line-up was redesigned using a brand-new operating system called ALPHA OS. This not only improved their performance but allowed the introduction of a new progressive jackpot slot machine system called "Hot Shot Progressives", as well as a number of other new Bally slot machine systems. Bally's ownership has changed hands many times over the years, but their commitment to quality and innovation has remained steadfast.


text:
EDUC 556: Mentoring Adolescents with Disabilities
EDUC 556: Mentoring Adolescents with Disabilities
Georgia Kerns knew that the idea of developing a course on mentoring adolescents with disabilities was a good one. At any one time during the last few years, she has had three, four, five undergraduates volunteering on their own to work with middle school and high students who have special needs.
This semester, the third that Kerns has taught EDUC 556, "Mentoring adolescents with disabilities in the transition to work," four of the 19 students taking the course have a disability.
"This has been a learning experience for all of us," says Kerns, an associate professor of education."It has helped the UNH students understand what it is they are learning in class, and has provided the young adults with a diagnosis of a disability the opportunity to be involved."
One of the young adults has taken the course previously. He processes information differently; it takes him a bit longer so it isn't easy for him to be spontaneous. Yet, Kerns says, his comments are thoughtful; appropriate; valuable.
"The UNH students have been very patient with him. They realize when he has a response, it's well thought out," she says. "And he'll ask questions some of the undergraduates wouldn't ask. They see what we are talking about when we talk about disabilities; what it means in a person's life. The UNH students are being introduced to a very different opportunity. It's been eye-opening."
Students can take the course up to six semesters for two credits a term. This, Kerns says, allows for consistency in mentoring adolescents with disabilities. In addition to the class work, once a week each student works with or serves as a mentor, allowing the mentee to learn what it takes to be successful in the workplace.
"There are mentors and mentees in the library, the Whittemore Center, at Cornucopia," Kerns says. "One of my students is mentoring two high school students in the citizens' police academy."
All of the students read the same books. Kerns chooses one reference and two adolescent novels each term. This semester's works of fiction are "Wonder" by R. J. Palacio and "Rules" by Cynthia Lord.
"Wonder" tells the story of a boy born with a facial deformity that, until 5th grade, had prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Now that he's there, he just wants to be treated like a regular kid. "Rules" is about a 12-year-old girl whose brother has autism.
Having students in the class who have been diagnosed with a disability has helped the UNH students look at their classmates as individuals, not as a diagnosis, Kerns says. And it has helped her look at herself.
"Having students with an intellectual and developmental disability in the class has helped me learn about my own teaching. It's making me rethink the materials I use, and realize I have to be thoughtful about what I select," Kerns says. "There may be times when the reality of what the books talk about is right there in the classroom. I need to be mindful of that."


text:
Craftsy Member since May 2011
I'm enrolled in these Craftsy classes:
Bag-Making Basics: Reversible Tote & Zipper Pouch
2014 Block of the Month: Craftsy Color Theory
Playful Piecing Techniques
Free-Motion Quilting With Feathers
Garden of Quilted Possibilities
Mastering Zipper Techniques
Sew Ready: Machine Basics
Magical Jelly Roll Quilts
Machine Quilting Negative Space
Machine Embroidered Classics
Free Motion Fillers, Vol. 1
Perfect Pizza at Home
Strip Your Stash
Machine Quilting with Templates
Free Motion Fillers, Vol. 2
Piece, Patch, Quilt: Basic Quiltmaking Skills
Simple Fresh Quilts
Mastering Foundation Paper Piecing
Pieced Hexies
Traditional Blocks Made Simple
Basic Fondant Techniques
Free Motion Quilting a Sampler
Machine Quilting
Dot-to-Dot Quilting
Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine
Craftsy Block of the Month 2012
Pictures to Pixel Quilts
Craftsy Block of the Month 2013
Creative Quilt Backs
Bag-Making Basics: Drawstring Bag & Bucket Bag


text:
Government Takes Credit For Saving Fiji Mahogany Industry
By Maika Bolatiki
SUVA, Fiji (Fiji Sun, Nov. 16, 2012) – Fiji's Government had to stop the rot in the mahogany industry and turn it around to be profitable, according to Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama.
"We had to stop the rot. We had to create this industry to realize the true potential of this valuable resource, to get the maximum returns for the Fijian economy and all Fijians including landowners," the Prime Minister said while addressing the inaugural meting of the Mahogany Industry Council at the Great Council of Chiefs complex, at Nasova, Suva, yesterday.
To address the fragmented and cohesion lack in the industry, Government introduced two decrees designed to implement international best practices in the management of our mahogany resources.
The Prime Minister said this was to ensure that landowners and all Fijians received greater benefits from this important Industry.
The first was the Mahogany Industry Development Decree 2010. This decree instilled the transparency and efficiency that was previously absent in the Industry.
It had the best interests of all stakeholders at heart, not just a privileged few, and provided a fairer deal for all.
He said proper implementation of the decree would result in landowners receiving a larger share of the proceeds from mahogany timber sales.
"This is particularly so, as the decree sets the framework for the restructure of the industry including the formation of the Mahogany Industry Council and the redefining the roles of Fiji Hardwood Corporation Limited and the Fiji Mahogany Trust."
The second decree was the Mahogany Industry (Licensing and Branding) Decree 2011.
This, he said, established a comprehensive regime for the licensing and branding of Fijian mahogany.
"The decree implements a distinct and exclusive Fiji mahogany brand, which will help us achieve premium pricing for our valuable resource. Branding of Fijian mahogany will also prevent unscrupulous overseas buyers from exploiting our mahogany industry by mixing and selling Fijian mahogany with illegally harvested mahogany."
Namosi's representative to the council, Naresia Vauvau, said he was happy with the Prime Minister's address, especially when all the rot in the industry had been cleared.
He said mahogany harvesting had not started in Namosi and they had some concerns to raise during this council meeting, which continues today.
Copyright © 2012 Fiji Sun. All Rights Reserved
Go back to Pacific Islands Report


text:
There are many reasons why you might want to document a building, structure, or site. Perhaps you need some high-quality photos for promotional purposes. Or you want to create a collection of representative images to share with the media as part of a press release. Or--worst case scenario--the building will be demolished and you must gather as much information as possible before it's gone. Whatever your circumstances, thorough documentation of a site is always a good idea because the images and information can be put to many uses.
Documentation projects can take many forms depending on your needs, the level of access you have to the site, how much funding is available to do the work, and your schedule for completing the project. As project manager for the Prentice Hospital National Treasure in Chicago, I was faced with the impending demolition of a building that was vacant and inaccessible for many years. The only images we had of this unique building were a handful of historic photos and whatever exterior shots we could get from the sidewalk, which didn't really capture the unusual forms and complex engineering of the building.
The owners of the building (Northwestern University) unexpectedly offered me the chance to document Prentice right before they started demolition. While it wasn't an ideal scenario, I ended up with an amazing team (Scrappers Film Group) which produced beautiful images on very short notice. But no matter when, where, or how you're doing the documentation, the basic principles are roughly the same:
Define the Scope of Work and Services
Accurately recording a building or site is much more complicated than merely snapping a handful of pictures with your camera phone. It's in your best interest to work with a professional to get the best and highest quality images that you can afford. But before you start calling photographers, you need to have a sense of what services you'll request of them.
What are you trying to accomplish?
Is this information for a landmark nomination? For the press? For HABS/HAER/HALS documentation? For online use or a print publication? Think about how you plan to use the information and then work backward to define what you need.
What kind of information do you want?
Are you trying to capture as much detail about the building/site as possible because it's going to be demolished? Or are you just looking for a good overview? If it's a building, are you documenting the exterior only or interior as well? Do you want images that are more artistic or purely documentary in nature? Talk to someone who knows the site well to make sure you're recording the most important features. For the Prentice project, I sat down with the architect's son to get his recommendations for the most informative shots.
What do you want your consultant to do for you?
Do you want to be with the consultant to guide the photo sessions? Do you want to preview the images? Do you need them to edit and correct the images? Be very clear about your expectations up front so your consultant can give you an accurate estimate.
Establishing the Format
What is the right format for the final product?
Do you need photos only? Black/white or color? Do you want digital images or prints? At what resolution? Do you need negatives? Different end uses require different formats and each format requires its own equipment and expertise. It might be most helpful to discuss your intended end uses with a photographer to get his or her recommendations about the most appropriate and flexible formats, and to ensure that you are able to access, edit, and store the final image files.
Do you need video footage?
Is the video solely for documentary purposes? Or are you hoping to create a video with music, voiceover or interviews for the internet or television? Video can be a compelling way to communicate the experience of moving through or around a site. But if you decide on video footage, be aware that this adds another layer of complexity and additional time and potentially considerable expense to your project. Talk with a videographer who has experience documenting buildings or sites to let them know what you're looking for, and walk through the site together to identify the best shots.
Finding the Photographer
Referrals and word-of-mouth can be excellent sources for locating qualified professional consultants. Talk to other groups in the area that have hired local photographers or videographers for documentation projects. I located the photography team for the Prentice project thanks to a recommendation from our statewide Partner, Landmarks Illinois. Consultants and developers who work on historic tax projects regularly need high-quality photos for the tax credit documentation, promotional materials, and awards. Ask them for recommendations and samples of the consultant's work.
Navigating the Legal Issues
Make sure you have written permission from the owners to access the site for the purposes of documentation. They may want to limit your access to certain dates, times, or locations, and they may insist on having a representative on site. Work out all these details in consultation with your photographers in advance. It's possible that the property owner will want you and your photographer/consultant to sign an agreement or waiver that limits their legal liability in case you are injured while you are on the property. This document should be reviewed and approved by your legal counsel.
Assigning the Copyright
If you want to maintain sole control of the rights to the documentation images and the video footage, spell this out in your contract with the consultant. Identify the materials produced during the project as "work made for hire" and name your organization as the "exclusive owner of all copyright and proprietary rights." If the photographer would like to use some of the photos or video footage for self-promotional purposes, you can grant a non-exclusive, non-transferable license for that use in the contract.
Negotiating the Costs
Depending on the consultant and the nature of the project, you may be able to obtain a nonprofit discount for the photography or videography. If you have a fixed budget, ask your photographer what can be done for that price. He or she may be able to lower the cost by reducing the number of days on site, taking fewer photos, shooting photos in fewer locations, or changing the format and/or equipment.
As the old saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words." We often can communicate more, and more directly, through images. But the documentation of our preservation advocacy projects tends to fall through the cracks due to lack of time or money. Try using these tips to help make photography and videography a more regular part of your advocacy efforts.
About Chris Morris
Chris Morris is the field director in the Los Angeles Field Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.


text:
Patient and Survivor Studies
Studies for All Cancer Types
Tobacco Treatment Program
Phone Number: 713-792-Quit (7848)
Population: Smokers (eligible MDACC cancer patients, MDACC employees, their spouse and dependent children)
Brief Description: No-cost tobacco cessation and relapse program that includes behavioral counseling and tobacco drugs.
Studies by Type of Cancer
Anal || Breast || Colon || Gynecological || Head & Neck || Lung || Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma || Prostate || Rectal
Anal Cancer
None at this time.
Breast Cancer
Meditation Study
Phone Number: 713-794-1793
Population: Female breast cancer and non-cancer patients, 18 years and older
Brief Description: The goal of this study is to test Tibetan meditation as a therapy to teach cancer patients to change their brain functioning and to improve quality of life. Researchers want to compare the cancer patients' outcome to people who have never had cancer.
MyLifeStylist/The Comprehensive Lifestyle Change in Anti-Cancer Program
Phone Number: 713-792-5052
Population: Women with Stage III Breast Cancer, 18 years and older
Brief Description: The goal of this behavioral research study is to look at the relationship between lifestyle factors and cancer-related outcomes, such as the risk of the disease coming back, patient quality of life, physical functioning, and bodily reactions (such as hormones and immune function).
Stress Management
Phone Number: 7713-794-1793
Population: Women with breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy (MDACC patients only)
Brief Description: The goal of this behavioral research study is to compare two different forms of stress management, that will include stretching and relaxation techniques, in order to learn if and how well they may help to improve physical and emotional well-being. This will be tested in patients with breast cancer who are receiving radiation therapy. For comparison purposes, there will also be a group of participants that does not take part in the stress management programs.
Colon Cancer
None at this time.
Gynecological Cancer
None at this time.
Head & Neck Cancer
None at this time.
Lung Cancer
None at this time.
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
None at this time.
Prostate Cancer
None at this time.
Rectal Cancer
None at this time.