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Self-verification is a social psychological theory that focuses on people's desire to be known and understood by others. The key assumption is that once people develop firmly held beliefs about themselves, they come to prefer that others see them as they see themselves.
Developed by William Swann (1983), the theory grew out of earlier writings which held that people form self-views(i.e. self-concepts and self-esteem) so that they can understand and predict the responses of others and know how to act toward them. Because chronic self-views play a critically important role in understanding the world, providing a sense of coherence, and guiding action, people become invested in maintaining them. To this end, people engage in a variety of activities that are designed to obtain self-verifying information.
Among people with positive self-views, the desire for self-verification works together with another important motive, the desire for positive evaluations or "self enhancement" (Jones, 1973). For example, those who view themselves as "insightful" will find that their desires for both self-verification and self-enhancement encourage them to seek evidence that other people recognize their insightfulness. In contrast, people with negative self-views will find that the desire for self-verification and self-enhancement are competing. Consider people who see themselves as disorganized. Whereas their desire for self-enhancement will compel them to seek evidence that others perceive them as organized, their desire for self-verification will compel such individuals to seek evidence that others perceive them as disorganized. One contribution of self-verification theory is in specifying some of the conditions under which people with negative self-views will resolve this conflict by seeking self-verification versus self-enhancement.
Seeking self-verificationEdit
Researchers have uncovered considerable support for self-verification theory (e.g., Swann, Chang-Schneider, & Angulo, in press). In one series of studies, researchers asked participants with positive and negative self-views whether they would prefer to interact with evaluators who had favorable or unfavorable impressions of them. Not surprisingly, those with positive self-views preferred favorable partners. More interestingly, those with negative self-views preferred unfavorable partners. The latter finding showed that self-verification strivings may sometimes trump positivity strivings (Robinson & Smith-Lovin, 1992; Swann, Stein-Seroussi, Giesler, 1992).
The tendency for people with negative self-views to seek and embrace negative evaluations has emerged again and again using many procedural variations. Men and women are equally inclined to display this propensity, and it does not matter whether the self-views refer to characteristics that are relatively immutable (e.g., intelligence) or changeable (e.g., diligence), or whether the self-views happen to be highly specific (e.g., athletic) or global (e.g., low self-esteem, worthlessness). Furthermore, when people chose negative partners over positive ones, it is not merely in an effort to avoid interacting with positive evaluators (that is, out of a concern that they might disappoint such positive evaluators). Rather, people chose self-verifying, negative partners even when the alternative is participating in a different experiment (Swann, Wenzlaff, & Tafarodi, 1992). Finally, recent work has shown that people work to verify self-views associated with group memberships (Lemay & Ashmore, 2004; Chen, Chen, & Shaw, 2004). Thus, for example, women seek evaluations that confirm their belief that they possess qualities associated with being a woman.
Self-verification theory suggests that people may begin to shape others' evaluations of them before they even begin interacting with them. They may, for example, display identity cues. The most effective identity cues enable people to signal who they are to potential interaction partners. Physical appearances are a particularly common class of identity cues. The clothes one wears, for instance, can advertise self-views associated with everything from personal tastes to political orientation. One set of researchers, for instance, discovered that people's self-views influenced the way they dressed and the type of fabric they chose (e.g., Pratt & Rafaeli, 1997). Even body posture and demeanor communicate identities to others. Take, for example, the low self-esteem person who evokes reactions that confirm her negative self-views by slumping her shoulders and keeping her eyes fixed on the ground. Such identity cues can effortlessly announce their bearer's self-views to all who take notice.
Fashioning Social Environments That Are Self-verifyingEdit
Self-verification strivings may also influence the social contexts that people enter into and remain in. Research on college roommates and married couples, for example, has revealed that people gravitate toward partners who provide self-verification and drift away from those who do not. For instance, whereas college students with positive self-views want to stay with roommates who appraise them positively, students with negative self-views prefer to remain with roommates who appraise them negatively (Swann & Pelham, 2002) Similarly, just as people with positive self-views withdraw from spouses who perceive them unfavorably, people with negative self-views withdraw from spouses who perceive them favorably (e.g., Swann, DeLaRonde, & Hixon, 1994). Indeed, in one study, people with negative self-views were more inclined to divorce partners who perceived them too favorably (Cast & Burke, 2002)! In each of these instances, people gravitated toward relationships that provided them with evaluations that confirmed their self-views and fled from those that did not.
Even if people fail to gain self-verifying reactions through the display of identity cue or through choosing self-verifying social environments, they may still acquire such evaluations by systematically evoking confirming reactions. A study of mildly depressed college students, for example, showed that such students were especially likely to prefer negative evaluations from their roommates. Such preferences for negative evaluations bore fruit in the form of interpersonal rejection: the more unfavorable feedback depressed students said they wanted from their roommates in the middle of the semester, the more apt their roommates were to derogate them and plan to find another roommate at the semester's end (Swann, Wenzlaff, Krull, & Pelham, 1992). Self-verification theory predicts that insofar as people are motivated to bring others to verify their self-conceptions, they should intensify their efforts to elicit self-confirmatory reactions when they suspect that others might be misconstruing them. Researchers tested this idea by informing participants who perceived themselves as either likable or dislikable that they would be interacting with people who perceived them favorably or unfavorably. There were two key findings. First, there was a general tendency for all participants to elicit reactions that confirmed their self-views.
Second, the tendency to evoke confirming reactions was especially strong when participants expected that their evaluators' appraisals might disconfirm their self-conceptions (Swann & Read, 1981). That is, when participants suspected that the evaluators' appraisals were discordant with their self-views, they intensified their efforts to obtain self-verification by trying to change their minds.
People will even stop working on tasks to which they have been assigned if they sense that their performance is eliciting non-verifying feedback. One researcher recruited participants with positive or negative self-views to work on a proofreading task. He then informed some participants that they would be receiving more money than they deserved (i.e., positive expectancies) or exactly what they deserved (i.e., neutral expectancies). Consistent with self-verification theory, whereas participants with positive self-views worked the most when they had positive expectancies, participants with negative self-views worked the least when they had positive expectancies (Brockner, 1985). Apparently, people with negative self-views withdrew effort when expecting positive outcomes because they felt undeserving of the sudden windfall.
"Seeing" Self-Confirming Evidence That Isn't ThereEdit
The research literature in social and personality psychology offers abundant evidence that expectancies channel information processing. Because self-views are also expectancies (i.e., expectancies about the self), self-views should likewise channel people's perceptions of the world. More specifically, self-verification theory predicts that people's self-views will cause them to see the world as more supportive of these self-views than it really is.
Self-views may guide at least three distinct aspects of information processing. The first aspect is attention. Research has shown that people with positive self-views spend longer scrutinizing evaluations when they anticipate that the evaluations will be positive, and people with negative self-views spend longer scrutinizing evaluations when they anticipate that the evaluations will be negative (Swann & Read, 1981).
Self-verification theory also predicts that self-views will guide what people remember from their interactions. Thus, for example, several researchers have studied what people remember when they are asked to recall evaluations they have received in the past. They have discovered that just as participants who perceived themselves positively remembered more positive than negative evaluative information, participants who perceived themselves negatively remembered more negative than positive feedback (Story, 1998).
Finally, numerous investigators have shown that people tend to interpret information in ways that reinforce their self-views. For example, in one study, people endorsed the perceptiveness of an evaluator who confirmed their self-conceptions but derogated the perceptiveness of an evaluator who disconfirmed their self-views (Shrauger & Lund, 1975).
In summary, the evidence suggests that people may strive to verify their self-views by gravitating toward self-confirming partners, by systematically eliciting self-confirming reactions from others, and by processing information in ways that exaggerate the extent to which it appears that others perceive them in a self-confirming manner. These distinct forms of self-verification may often be implemented sequentially. For example, in one scenario, people may first strive to locate partners who verify one or more self-views. If this fails, they may redouble their efforts to elicit verification for the self-view in question or strive to elicit verification for a different self-view. Failing this, they may strive to "see" more self-verification than actually exists. And, if this strategy is also ineffective, they may withdraw from the relationship, either psychologically or in actuality.
Although each of these processes could be conscious and deliberate, more commonly they unfold effortlessly and non-consciously. Through the creative use of such strategies, people may dramatically increase their chances of attaining self-verification.
Processes Related to Self-verificationEdit
Preference for Novelty vs. Self-verificationEdit
A completely predictable world can be boring and oppressive. No matter how much we like something at first--a delicious type of food, a beautiful ballad, or a spectacular vista --eventually it may become too predictably and familiar. In fact, researchers have shown that people dislike highly predictable phenomena almost as much as they dislike highly unpredictable ones. Instead, people seem to prefer modest levels of novelty; they want to experience phenomena that are unfamiliar enough to be interesting, but not so unfamiliar as to be frightening (e.g., Berlyne, 1971).
The implications of people's preference for novelty for human relationships are not as straightforward and obvious as one might imagine. Note that evidence that people desire novelty comes primarily from studies of people's reactions to art objects and the like. But novel art objects are very different from people. If a piece of art becomes overly stimulating, we can simply shift our attention elsewhere. This is not a viable option should our spouse suddenly begin treating us as if we were someone else, for such treatment would pose serious questions about the integrity of our belief systems. In the final analysis, we probably finesse our competing desires for predictability and novelty by indulging our desire for novelty within contexts in which surprises are not threatening (e.g., leisure activities), while seeking coherence and predictability in contexts in which surprises could be costly—such as in the context of our enduring relationships.
Positivity Strivings and Self-verificationEdit
People's self-verification strivings are apt to be most influential when the relevant identities and behaviors matter to them. Thus, for example, the self-view should be firmly held, the relationship should be enduring, and the behavior itself should be consequential. When these conditions are not met, people will be relatively unconcerned with preserving their self-views and they will instead indulge their desire for positive evaluations.
But if people with firmly held negative self-views seek self-verification, this does not mean that they are masochistic or have no desire to be loved. In fact, even people with very low self-esteem want to be loved. What sets people with negative self-views apart is their ambivalence about the evaluations they receive. Just as positive evaluations foster joy and warmth initially, these feelings are later chilled by incredulity. And although negative evaluations may foster sadness that the "truth" could not be kinder, it will at least reassure them that they know themselves. Happily, people with negative self-views are the exception rather than the rule. That is, on the balance, most people tend to view themselves positively. Although this imbalance is adaptive for society at large, it poses a challenge to researchers interested in studying self-verification. That is, for theorists interested in determining if behavior is driven by self-verification or positivity strivings, participants with positive self-views will reveal nothing because both motives compel them to seek positive evaluations. If researchers want to learn if people prefer verification or positivity in a giving setting, they must study people with negative self-views.
Self-concept Change and Self-verificationEdit
Although self-verification strivings tend to stabilize people's self-views, changes in self-views may still occur. Probably the most common source of change is set in motion when the community recognizes a significant change in a person's age (e.g., when adolescents become adults), status (e.g., when students become teachers), or social role (e.g., when someone is convicted of a crime). Suddenly, the community may change the way that it treats the person. Eventually the target of such treatment will bring his or her self-view into accord with the new treatment.
Alternatively, people may themselves conclude that a given self-view is dysfunctional or obsolete and take steps to change it. Consider, for example, a woman who decides that her negative self-views have led her to tolerate abusive relationship partners. When she realizes that such partners are making her miserable, she may seek therapy. In the hands of a skilled therapist, she may develop more favorable self-views which, in turn, steer her toward more positive relationship partners with whom she may cultivate healthier relationships.
Critics have argued that self-verification processes are relative rare, manifesting themselves only among people with terribly negative self views. In support of this viewpoint, critics cite hundreds of studies indicating that people prefer, seek and value positive evaluations more than negative ones. Such skeptical assessments overlook three important points. First, because most people have relatively positive self-views (Swann, 1999), evidence of a preference for positive evaluations in unselected samples may in reality reflect a preference for evaluations that are self-verifying, because for such individuals self-verification and positivity stivings are indistinguishable. No number of studies of participants with positive self-views can determine whether self-verification or self-enhancement strivings are more common. Second, self-verification strivings are not limited to people with globally negative self-views; even people with high self-esteem seek negative evaluations about their flaws (Swann, Pelham & Krull, 1989). Finally, even people with positive self-views appear to be uncomfortable with overly positive evaluations. For example, people with moderately positive self-views withdraw from spouses who evaluate them in an exceptionally positive manner (Swann, De La Ronde, & Hixon, 1994).
Other critics have suggested that when people with negative self-views seek unfavorable evaluations, they do so as a means of avoiding truly negative evaluations or for purposes of self-improvement, with the idea being that this will enable them to obtain positive evaluations down the road. Tests of this idea have failed to support it. For example, just as people with negative self-views choose self-verifying, negative evaluators even when the alternative is being in another experiment, they choose to be in another experiment rather than interact with someone who evaluates them positively (Swann, Wenzlaff, & Tafarodi, 1992). Also, people with negative self-views are most intimate with spouses who evaluate them negatively, despite the fact that these spouses are relatively unlikely to enable them to improve themselves (Swann et. al., 1994). Finally, in a study of people's thought processes as they chose interaction partners (Swann, et al., 1992, people with negative self-views indicated that they chose negative evaluators because such partners seemed likely to confirm their self-views (an epistemic consideration) and interact smoothly with them (a pragmatic consideration); self-improvement was rarely mentioned.
Self-verification strivings bring stability to people's lives, making their experiences more coherent, orderly, and comprehensible than they would be otherwise. These processes are adaptive for most people, because most people have positive self-views and self-verification processes enable them to preserve these positive self-views. Self-verification processes are also adaptive for groups and the larger society, in that they make people predictable to one another thus serve to facilitate social interaction. Not surprisingly, then, research indicates that when members of small groups receive self-verification from other group members, their commitment to the group increases and their performance improves (Swann, Milton, & Polzer, 2000). Self-verification processes seem to be especially useful in small groups composed of people from diverse backgrounds because it foster mutual understanding. Such understanding, in turn, encourages people to open up to their co-workers which, in turn, fosters superior performance (e.g., Swann, Polzer, Seyle & Ko, 2004)
Despite being adaptive for most people most of the time, self-verification strivings may have undesirable consequences for people with negative self-views (depressed people and those who suffer from low self-esteem). For example, self-verification strivings may cause people with negative self-views to gravitate toward partners who mistreat them, undermine their feelings of self-worth, or even abuse them. And if people with negative self-views seek therapy, returning home to a self-verifying partner may undo the progress that was made there (Swann & Predmore, 1984). Finally, in the workplace, the feelings of worthlessness that plague people with low self-esteem may foster feelings of ambivalence about receiving receiving fair treatment, feelings that may undercut their propensity to insist that they get what they deserve from their employers (Weisenfeld, Swann, Brockner, & Bartel, 2007). These findings and related ones point to the importance of efforts to improve the self-views of those who suffer from low self-esteem and depression (Swann, Chang-Schneider & McClarty, 2007)
See alsoEdit
Berlyne, D. (1971). Psychobiology and Aesthetics. New York: Appleton-Century Crofts.
Brockner, J. (1985). The relation of trait self-esteem and positive inequity to productivity. Journal of Personality, 53: 517-529.
Cast, A. D. & Burke, P. J. (2002). A Theory of Self-Esteem. Social Forces, 80, 1041-1068.
Chen, S., Chen, K.Y., & Shaw, L. (2004). Self-verification motives at the collective level of self-definition. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 86, 77-94. Low-
Jones, S. C. (1973). Self and interpersonal evaluations: Esteem theories versus consistency theories. Psychological Bulletin, 79, 185-199.
Lemay, E.P., & Ashmore, R.D. (2004). Reactions to perceived categorization by others during the transition to college: Internalizaton of self-verification processes. Group Processes & Interpersonal Relations, 173-187.
Pratt, M.G. & Rafaeli, A. 1997. Organizational dress as a symbol of multilayered social identities. Academy of Management Journal, 40 (4): 862-898.
Robinson, D. T., & Smith-Lovin, L. (1992). Selective interaction as a strategy for identity maintenance: An affect control model. Social Psychology Quarterly, 55, 12-28.
Shrauger, J. S., & Lund, A. (1975). Self-evaluation and reactions to evaluations from others. Journal of Personality, 43, 94-108.
Story, A. L. (1998). Self-esteem and memory for favorable and unfavorable personality feedback. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24: 51-64.
Swann, W. B., Jr. (1983). Self-verification: Bringing social reality into harmony with the self. In J. Suls & A. G. Greenwald (Eds.), Psychological perspectives on the self (Vol. 2, pp. 33-66), Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Swann, W. Jr. (1999). Resilient Identities: Self, relationships, and the construction of social reality. Basic books: New York.
Swann, W. B., Jr. Chang-Schneider, C., & Angulo, S. (in press). Self-verification in relationships as an adaptive process. J. Wood, A. Tesser & J. Holmes (Eds.) Self and Relationships, Psychology Press: New York.
Swann, W. B., Jr. Chang-Schneider, C. & McClarty, K. (2007) Do people's self-views matter? Self-concept and self-esteem in everyday life. American Psychologist.
Swann, W. B., Jr., De La Ronde, C. & Hixon, J. G. (1994). Authenticity and positivity strivings in marriage and courtship. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 857-869.
Swann, W. B., Jr., Milton, L. P., & Polzer, J.T. (2000). Should we create a niche or fall in line? Identity negotiation and small group effectiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.79, 238-250
Swann, W. B., Jr. & Pelham, B. W. (2002). Who wants out when the going gets good? Psychological investment and preference for self-verifying college roommates. Journal of Self and Identity, 1, 219-233.
Swann, W. B., Jr., Pelham, B. W., & Krull, D. S. (1989). Agreeable fancy or disaagreeable truth? Reconciling self-enhancement and self-verification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 782-791.
Swann, W. B. Jr., Polzer, J. T., Seyle, C. & Ko, S. (2004). Finding value in diversity: Verification of personal and social self-views in diverse groups. Academy of Management Review, 29, 9-27.
Swann, W. B., Jr., & Predmore, S. C. (1985). Intimates as agents of social support: Sources of consolation or despair? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 1609-1617.
Swann, W. B., Jr., & Read, S. J. (1981). Self-verification processes: How we sustain our self-conceptions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 17, 351-372.
Swann, W. B., Jr., Stein-Seroussi, A. & Giesler, B. (1992). Why people self-verify. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 392-401.
Swann, W. B., Jr., Wenzlaff, R. M., & Tafarodi, R. W. (1992). Depression and the search for negative evaluations: More evidence of the role of self-verification strivings. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 101, 314-371.
Swann, W. B., Jr., Wenzlaff, R. M., Krull, D. S., & Pelham, B. W. (1992). The allure of negative feedback: Self-verification strivings among depressed persons. [[Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 101, 293-306.
Wiesenfeld, B. M., Swann, W.B., Jr, Brockner, J. & Bartel, C. (in press). Is More Fairness Always Preferred? Self-Esteem Moderates Reactions to Procedural Justice. Academy of Management Journal]].
See alsoEdit
External linksEdit
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Product Sourcing and Labor Rights
While L.L.Bean is a global company, "Made in the USA" has been a part of our heritage for 100 years. We're one of the last multi-channel U.S. merchants to still own and operate a U.S. manufacturing facility. We employ 450 people at our Brunswick, Maine, factory, where we continue to make iconic products such as the Maine Hunting Shoe, L.L.Bean Boots, Boat and Tote Bags, dog bed liners and small leather goods. (Our talented craftsmen and women manufacture approximately 1,300 pairs of L.L.Bean Boots per day; we shipped over 300,000 pairs in 2011.)
L.L.Bean is committed to selling products that are manufactured under legal, safe and fair working conditions. To this end we have a well-established labor code of conduct that serves as the basis of our vendor relationships. The code of conduct is actively communicated and monitored through an internal monitoring process, supplemented by collaborative efforts with other companies and organizations.
L.L.Bean's global factory-monitoring program has been in place since 1993. In 1996, L.L.Bean joined the White House-initiated Apparel Industry Partnership (AIP), a coalition that included U.S. retailers, non-governmental organizations, labor organizations, Business for Social Responsibility and representatives of the Department of Labor and the State Department. AIP's goal is to develop generally accepted principles to define reasonable treatment of workers, and launch further collaboration and organizational efforts to insure acceptable treatment of workers in a global marketplace.
In 1997, we adopted the Apparel Industry Code of Conduct and updated monitoring practices. We expect all employees, suppliers and contractors to adhere to our Code of Conduct. In support of the Code, L.L.Bean monitoring teams evaluate factory performance on a broad set of criteria that cover employment practices affecting child labor, compensation, health and safety, legal requirements, freedom of association, discrimination and harassment in the workplace and forced labor (see below). Risk assessments will include additional focus on monitoring and slavery risks within the supply chain. We employ full-time factory assessors as well as third party independent monitors around the globe where our suppliers are located. They conduct both scheduled and unannounced audits.
In 2013, L.L.Bean joined the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a group of prominent North American apparel companies committed to the development and implementation of programs aimed at improving safety in Bangladesh's garment factories. The Alliance gives apparel companies like L.L.Bean the ability to work together to put forth solid solutions to issues that impact the global apparel and retail industries.
L.L.Bean is committed to continuous improvement in our supply chain, including considerations for animal welfare. L.L.Bean and our suppliers do not purchase down that is obtained by plucking live waterfowl. To ensure that the down in our products comes from ethically treated animals we have adopted Textile Exchange's Responsible Down Standard for all our down and feather products. More details can be found here. Responsible down
We aggressively investigate reports of code violations and require factories to make all changes necessary to achieve compliance with our code. A course of action is identified for any noncompliance concerns. Although monitoring hundreds of factories worldwide is an ongoing challenge, L.L.Bean has an effective program that has made a meaningful contribution to improving global sourcing practices.
We constantly benchmark and review our factory-monitoring program through collaboration with other organizations that conduct monitoring, by participating in projects and conferences, and through frequent internal reviews. We also work with consultants to upgrade our practices and conduct frequent staff training exercises. We are members of the Fair Factories Clearinghouse, along with other like-minded brands that are committed to best practices in factories. We support the International Labor Organization's Better Work program with a goal toward improving working conditions further upstream in our supply chain, including fabric mills and parts suppliers.
The issues surrounding product sourcing are complex and ever changing. The overall goal of our sourcing program is to ensure product quality and value standards that our customers expect while working with vendors who share our commitment to acceptable labor practices.
L.L.Bean Code of Conduct
Forced labor. There shall not be any use of forced labor, whether in the form of prison labor, indentured labor, bonded labor or otherwise.
Child labor. No person shall be employed at an age younger than 15 (or 14 where the law of the country of manufacture allows) or younger than the age for completing compulsory education in the country of manufacture where such age is higher than 15.
Harassment or abuse. Every employee shall be treated with respect and dignity. No employee shall be subject to any physical, sexual, psychological or verbal harassment or abuse.
Nondiscrimination. No person shall be subject to any discrimination in employment, including hiring, salary, benefits, advancement, discipline, termination or retirement, on the basis of gender, race, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, nationality, political opinion, or social or ethnic origin.
Health and safety. Employers shall provide a safe and healthy working environment to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, linked with, or occurring in the course of work or as a result of the operation of employer facilities.
Freedom of association and collective bargaining. Employers shall recognize and respect the right of employees to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
Wages and benefits. Employers recognize that wages are essential to meeting employees' basic needs. Employers shall pay employees, as a floor, at least the minimum wage required by local law or the prevailing industry wage, whichever is higher, and shall provide legally mandated benefits.
Hours of work. Except in extraordinary business circumstances, employees shall (i) not be required to work more than the lesser of (a) 48 hours per week and 12 hours overtime or (b) the limits on regular and overtime hours allowed by the law of the country of manufacture or, where the laws of such country do not limit the hours of work, the regular work week in such country plus 12 hours overtime and (ii) be entitled to at least one day off in every seven day period.
Overtime compensation. In addition to their compensation for regular hours of work, employees shall be compensated for overtime hours at such premium rate as is legally required in the country of manufacture or, in those countries where such laws do not exist, at a rate at least equal to their regular hourly compensation rate.
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Daelim Industrial selects Pavilion8 for process improvement
Dec 09, 2008
Austin, Texas, Dec. 8 — To help improve production rates, quality and transition consistency in its operations, Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd, a leading polymer manufacturer, has selected the Pavilion Technologies Polymer Solution from Rockwell Automation for advanced process control on three production lines at its facility in Yeosu, Korea. Daelim will implement the Pavilion Polymer Solution on two high-density polyethylene (HDPE) lines and one linear low/high density polyethylene (LHDPE) line to help drive operational performance while maintaining regulatory compliance.
Polymer processes differ from most large-scale petrochemical processes due to the high volume and variety of products produced. As a result, operations focus on maintaining product quality during on-grade conditions and transitioning from one grade to the next in an efficient manner. Since polymer plants operate in a nonlinear fashion over a wide range of conditions, most traditional linear control solutions fail to provide the level of control needed for these producers.
The Pavilion Polymer Solution is based on the Pavilion8 integrated software suite to provide modeling, prediction, control and optimization capabilities in one unified platform. This provides companies with real-time and predicted measurements for process variables to help reduce dependency on lab samples while helping to improve production efficiency and product quality.
"In today's unpredictable market landscape, producers increasingly are recognizing the value of advanced process control and investing in its ability to improve production operations," said Greg Jackson, president of Pavilion Technologies, Rockwell Automation.
Rockwell Automation acquired Pavilion Technologies in November 2007 as part of the company's strategy to expand its plant-wide information software and process automation offerings through its broad-based, industry applications. This has expanded Pavilion's capabilities of providing the world's leading, model-based, software solutions to improve industry profitability – with more resources, a global footprint and a broader solution offering to process manufacturers.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) today announced its full line-up of participants in the three general sessions at The Cable Show 2012, NCTA's 61st Annual Convention and International Exposition. The Cable Show takes place May 21-23, 2012, at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.
The following speakers will complement dozens of other sessions, programs, special events, and a robust exhibit floor, at The Cable Show 2012.
Monday, May 21 at 10:00 a.m. (EDT)
Welcome by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Show co-chairs:
- Philip Kent, Chairman & CEO, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
- Neil Smit, President & CEO, Comcast Cable and Executive Vice President, Comcast Corporation
State of the Industry Address:
- Michael Powell, President & CEO, NCTA
Industry Panel: How innovative companies are positioning themselves to take advantage of an anytime, anywhere, anything-goes media environment.
Moderator: Erin Burnett, Chief Business and Economics Correspondent and Anchor, "Erin Burnett OutFront," CNN.
- Tim Armstrong, Chairman & CEO, AOL
- Glenn Britt, Chairman & CEO, Time Warner Cable
- David Zaslav, President & CEO, Discovery Communications
Tuesday, May 22 at 9:30 a.m. (EDT)
Industry Panel -- Digital Disruption: The impact of digital distribution on the future of entertainment, communications and commerce in our daily lives.
Moderator:Julia Boorstin, Media and Entertainment Reporter, CNBC
- Edward Burns, Film Director, Actor and Writer
- Reo Caraeff, President & CEO, VEVO
- Dan Mead, President & CEO, Verizon Wireless
- Neil Smit, President & CEO, Comcast Cable, and Executive Vice President, Comcast Corporation
One-on-One Conversation: Julius Genachowski, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, will be interviewed by Michael Powell, NCTA President & CEO.
Political Panel -- Campaigns in Context: A candid discussion of the U.S. political scene and the forthcoming presidential election in the context of a rapidly changing environment for the delivery of news and the framework for civic dialogue.
Moderator: Steve Scully, Sr. Executive Producer and Political Editor, C-SPAN
- John King, Chief National Correspondent and Anchor, "John King, USA," CNN
- Chris Matthews, Host, "Hardball with Chris Matthews," MSNBC
- Maria Elena Salinas, Co-Anchor, "Noticiero Univision," Univision
Wednesday, May 23 at 9:30 a.m. (EDT)
One-on-One Conversation: Conan O'Brien, Host of "Conan" on TBS, will be interviewed by Piers Morgan, Host of "Piers Morgan Tonight" on CNN.
Sports Panel – Good Sports: The impact of digital media and around-the-clock access on the economics and strategies of the modern-day sports business.
Moderator: Darren Rovell, Sports Business Reporter, CNBC
- David Hill, Chairman & CEO, Fox Sports Media Group
- David Levy, President of Sales, Distribution & Sports, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
- John Skipper, President, ESPN, Inc. & Co-Chairman, Disney Media Networks, ESPN, Inc.
- David Stern, Commissioner, National Basketball Association
Industry Panel -- Whose Viewer Is It? Viewpoints about competition and collaboration in an environment where plentiful delivery options have blurred traditional business boundaries.
Moderator: Piers Morgan, Host, "Piers Morgan Tonight," CNN
- Jeffrey Bewkes, Chairman & CEO, Time Warner, Inc.
- Chase Carey, Deputy Chairman, President & COO, News Corporation
- Patrick Esser, President, Cox Communications
- Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer, Netflix
Live streaming for all general sessions will be available at live.thecableshow.com.
Additional, up-to-the-minute information for The Cable Show 2012 is available at www.thecableshow.com or from NCTA's Department of Industry Affairs (202-222-2430). Exhibition space and sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting NCTA Convention Headquarters at (202) 463-7905 or e-mail [email protected].
# # #


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Hi, I would like to embed my video in my website and at the same time, want to hide the player control (especially the time frame bar so that viewers cannot fast forward.) Anyone has ideas on how to achieve this? Appreciate any help, thank you.
The easiest way might be to use the HTML5 <video> element, and just not include any controls, but rather just "autoplay" (if you really want to annoy your users ):
<video autoplay poster="video.jpg">
<source src="video.mp4" type='video/mp4'>
<source src="video.webm" type='video/webm'>
A better option would be to use a custom script with the video, like video.js, which will offer you more options over which controls to include and which to exclude.
Thank you so much!
As I'm using wordpress, do you know is there any plugins that has this feature?
Personally, I don't like plugins, but if you google "html5 video wordpress plugin" there seem to be lots of useful results.
Thank you again!
I use the VideoJS plugin. It's stable and updated regularly. I can recommend it. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/videojs-html5-video-player-for-wordpress/
It's also quite easy to make it responsive if this is important for you.
Hi Pullo,
Can I embed youtube video via videoJS Plugin? Thank you for your comment!
Probably, as you have to enter the location of the video file (so why not YouTube). However, if this is what you want to do, there are better tools for the job: https://www.google.de/search?q=embed+youtube+video+plugin+wordpress
As of wordpress 3.6 there will be built in media support. 3.6 isn't horribly far off -- it is already in beta.
For youtube videos you can probably tweak the player a bit using the embed specifications. Check their developer site for details.
Indeed you can. You can set playerVars in the second parameter of YT.Player: https://developers.google.com/youtube/iframe_api_reference#Loading_a_Video_Player


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WESSEX Water has been accused of treating residents "shabbily" with its plans to build a temporary compound on Winton Recreation Ground.
The water company wants to put a site office, welfare unit, two fuel stores and large storage container on the recreation ground while it carries out much-needed flood prevention works at Trafalgar Road, Alma Road and Stokewood Road.
The compound would use 50 square metres of the large sports field behind the children's play area for six months, sparking concerns about the loss of open space, increased noise and the possibility it could set a precedent.
Winton East councillor Pat Oakley said that while he supports the flood alleviation scheme, he is concerned Wessex Water has not properly considered alternative sites and has not carried out prior consultation with residents.
Wessex Water has organised a drop-in session for residents but this will not take place until after their application has been considered by Bournemouth's planning committee.
Cllr Oakley said: "Nobody wants to halt or hinder the flood alleviation works but I feel Wessex Water have treated the local people of Winton very shabbily. It falls below the standards we would expect from a major utility company.
"I don't believe they have looked hard enough at some of the alternative sites for this – Meyrick Park is the most obvious."
Wessex Water spokesman George Keast said: "A number of locations were considered for the location of the compound for the flood alleviation works.
"Due to various factors including the amount of space required, disruption to residents and significant health and safety issues, Winton Recreation Ground was deemed the most suitable site.
"We apologise for any inconvenience caused by these essential works and would urge anyone who would like more information to attend our drop-in session at Winton Recreation Ground between 10am and 8pm on Wednesday, August 20."
Planning officers are recommending councillors approve the application, which will be considered at the public planning meeting on Monday.


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ORLANDO, Fla. - The price for a one-day, one-park ticket to Universal Orlando has increased to $92, according to the theme park's website.
[MORE PARK NEWS: Ken Pilcher's Theme World blog]
The jump marks a $3 -- or 3.4 percent -- increase, and makes Universal the first theme park in Orlando to raise its base price above $90.
With tax included, the price to Universal now costs about $98.
Single-day tickets to both Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure rose from $124 to $128.
The price hike, which took effect over the weekend, comes days before guest-testing is expected to begin for the park's new Transformers attraction. The Simpsons area at Universal is also slated to open this year, and an expansion to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Part is scheduled to open in 2014.
Prices for one-day admission to Walt Disney World and SeaWorld Orlando remain at $89.
Watch Local 6 News and stay with ClickOrlando.com for more on this story.
Copyright 2013 by ClickOrlando.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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This was just a crazy idea I thought of....but could there maybe be blood status for the users of the wiki Example- pure-blood (born to parents who were married at time of birth), half-blood (born to parents who were engaged at time of birth, and later married), or muggle-born (born to parents who never married)....
Just an idea to think about Gryff23 22:45, January 16, 2010 (UTC)
The idea is cool. I personally like it. Now if we can get the rest of the people to go with it. I would be a pure-blood, but love everyone regardless of blood status...I dont hate peoples like the Malfoys based on blood! Drago9389, Jan. 17, 2010
I disagree. Everyone in the wiki should decide his status on his own, based on how imagines his family to be.--Rodolphus 16:20, January 19, 2010 (UTC)
Stupid idea. Not to mention potentially offensive. Mouldywart Talk 17:21, January 19, 2010 (UTC)
There are already blood status categories for users, but they get to pick their own. See Category:Users by blood-status 126.96.36.199 17:24, January 19, 2010 (UTC)
guess I'm a Muggle-Born ^^--A Happy Smile 17:35, January 19, 2010 (UTC)


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Saturday night beer lovers from all across the Valley poured onto the polo fields of Westworld to taste more than 50 beers from local and international breweries, and I was tasked with trying them all. It's a rough job but someone has to do it.
Let me start off by saying that I'm not a beer connoisseur. I like beer, a lot. But while I love to taste beers from microbreweries worldwide I also have no problem drinking a bud light with a splash of OJ (it's tasty and oh so cheap, I highly suggest you try it). So if you are expecting to read further and have me to tell you what beers were "laced with a subtle scent of sweet lagered malts," it's not going happen. You've been warned.
This first time event was brought to the Valley of the Sun by a production group called, Eat:Drink:Play. They produce food and drink festivals all over the US, from Washington DC to Chicago and Los Angeles so they kind of know what their doing. If there is one thing I could say to them, it would be Thank you for hosting this event at night! A lot of beer, food and wine festivals tend to host their events during the day and the Arizona sun can be brutal. Once the sun went down were able to enjoy the warm Arizona night and not be sweating into our beers. While the eat and play part were lacking they definitely had enough in the drink category to make everyone a camper happy.
We got there for the VIP hour from 6p – 7p. For $10 more you could get in an hour before they the masses run loose. I have to say I am a big proponent of personal space so I will ALWAYS fork over an extra $10 to get away from the crowds and this was money well spent. The VIP hour had no more than a few hundred guests and spread out over 50+ tasting booths it made for quick access to just about any beer you wanted.
Upon arriving each attendee received a snazzy little 8 oz. mug and a sheet that allows you up to 40 tastings. If you actually used up all 40 of your tastings I am pretty sure you're a liar or a professional drinker. I made it to about 10 tastings before I was feeling full and needed to take a breather The nice thing was that had a large grassy area throughout the middle of booths where you could sit and listen to some music while your beer digested and you contemplated what tasty libations to hit up next.
For a non-beer snob like myself, I thought they had a great selection. They had well-known local beers like Four Peaks, San Tan to the more obscure like, Cartel. That's right, Cartel, the coffee house favorite has been diving into the beer pool. Who knew?! They also had breweries more nationally known like Leinenkugels and Rogue. While I prefer the classic fruity "chick" beers my drinking partner was a fan of darker more hoppy beers and we both were pretty content with the selection they laid out of us.
We stayed for about two and half hours until I was literally too full to drink another sip but the party was still in full swing. There was a great mix of people from all over and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Really, what more can you ask for? All in all I enjoyed this first time event and look forward to it next year.
I have but one simple suggestion and it goes out to ladies out there. Ladies, you are going to a grassy field where you are going to drink…a lot. DON'T WEAR HEELS. I saw more women struggling to get from booth to booth in sky-high heels and wedges than should be deemed expectable. I can only imagine the scene of stumbling ladies only got worse as the drinking got heavier. It's a fact, no matter how good you looked leaving the house in those heels you are not going to look good face planting in the grass.
For more information on the Scottsdale Beer Festival, visit https://www.facebook.com/scottsdalebeerfest?fref=ts or http://scottsdalebeerfestival.com/.


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Tillman twirls a gem for rolling O's
CHICAGO -- At the heart of the Orioles' surge of nearly two months -- during which they have the best record in baseball -- has been the pitching staff, with the rotation stepping up and allowing one of the game's best bullpens to stay rested and dominant down the stretch.
So it was no surprise that on Tuesday, on the heels of a fantastic outing by Bud Norris, it was Chris Tillman's turn. The Orioles' Opening Day starter, Tillman continued an impressive stretch with an eight-inning gem that kept first-place Baltimore (72-52) rolling to a 5-1 win -- and series victory -- over Chicago.
"You can't say enough about them," catcher Nick Hundley said of a group of starters who have posted a 2.74 ERA over their last 16 road games. "Our offense gets more publicity, but there's no way we'd be in this spot if we didn't get quality start after quality start from all five, six of our guys. So it's been really impressive since I've been here. I've been really impressed with the quality and depth of the rotation."
The O's, who have won nine of their last 10 series, have a commanding 8 1/2-game lead in the American League East and are a Major League-best 30-13 since June 20. Their pitching staff over that span has a 2.89 ERA.
"They've been solid. They've been the reason we've been able to stay consistent with some ups and downs offensively," manager Buck Showalter said of his hurlers, who have helped the O's win a league-leading 38 road games. "Effort, pitching and defense -- if you can stay consistent in that, you can be a consistent team."
Tillman has been a model of consistency over the past two months, going 5-1 with a 2.23 ERA over his last 12 starts. He held the White Sox to just one run -- a solo shot by Jose Abreu in the first inning -- on Tuesday, allowing three hits and tying a career high with nine strikeouts.
"I think this time of year, [throwing quality starts is] a big deal," said Tillman, who has done that in 12 of his last 14 games. "Every pitcher, to get to where we want to be, we're going to have keep doing that. We know that as a pitching staff. It's fun. Bud set the table perfectly for this game. I've just got to go out and execute. That's what it's all about."
Tillman, who needed just 78 pitches to get through the first six innings, pounded the strike zone and retired 10 straight after Abreu's homer and 13 of the next 14.
"[Tillman] was outstanding," said Hundley, who extended the Orioles' lead with a solo homer off Daniel Webb in the seventh inning. "He was ahead in a lot of counts, he got on the mound and got after it. I thought his focus was really, really sharp, and it translated. We kind of put them on the defensive, and that's a very, very good offensive club. They score a lot of runs. The way he attacked them was pretty aggressive."
Added White Sox outfielder Jordan Danks: "I faced him a bunch in the Minor Leagues, and it's no different up here. He's always a tough battle, and he proved that today."
And the O's continue to prove that they deserve a spot in October, with the offense breaking a 1-1 tie in the sixth inning and never looking back. The Orioles got a trio of two-out runs off White Sox starter Jose Quintana, with Delmon Young driving in Adam Jones -- who'd hit a one-out double -- and shortstop J.J. Hardy following with a base hit into center.
Chris Davis doubled them both in on a line drive to center to extend the lead to three in Quintana's final inning. The lefty was tagged for eight hits and four runs, with Jones singling in a run in the first, in a 97-pitch outing.
The Orioles, who have their largest lead since Sept. 7, 1997, are starting to think that perhaps this is a special season.
"This time of year, you have to -- especially if you're playing good baseball," Tillman said. "We're playing a good brand of baseball right now. Guys are showing up to the field ready to play. It's fun. It's been a lot of fun, especially the turnaround the pitching staff has had. We're all pretty excited about it."
Brittany Ghiroli is a reporter for MLB.com. Read her blog, Britt's Bird Watch, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter @britt_ghiroli. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Same lineup unless Fedotenko (presumably) can't go after warmups. Then Kris Newbury would play.
Otherwise, Newbury and Matt Gilroy are prucha'd.
Lundqvist starts his career-high 23rd game in a row.
And we all know what's at stake, so no need to say much more. No other relevant games tonight.
Magic Number = 5 points (any combination of points gained by the Rangers or failed to be gained by Carolina).


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Why Choose Georgia Tech Professional Education?
We deliver the knowledge and skills that you need for every stage of your career – and your life. By helping you learn for today and think for tomorrow, we produce immediate results in your workplace, while preparing you and your industry for the future.


text:
Here is the material (Traditional Chinese) of the CS5 launch seminar in Taichung and Kaohsiung.
When I prepared for CS5 Web Premium, I really think it's very powerful tools in this world 🙂
Here is what I think about.
Adobe_CS5_Web_20100806 (Slide in Traditional Chinese)
1) Flash Family – Flash Pro, Flash Catalyst, Flash Builder
* Ubiquitous – Flash Player 10.1 and AIR 2.0 on TV, PC, and mobile
* CS5 workflow of designer and developer
* Idea from InDesign, a cool Text Layout Framework (TLF) is perfect for ebook and publishing application
* Bone + Deco + Bitmap-to-vector tool – can easily build up your unique animation
* Device Central – a emulator supported latest Android, Blackberry, Nokia, HTC, Motorola, Apple devices.
* 3 code generators:
– Code fragment in Flash Pro CS5 – a fast object and code generator
– Flash Catalyst CS5 export FXP project for Flash Builder 4 – generate all mxml, as, imported files
– A proxy generated for the pair of Flash Builder AS3 and PHP (which connects to Database) without writing any code
2) Dreamwever CS5
* Live Preview and Code hinding for PHP, CSS3, HTML5, Javascript, CMS (Drupal, WordPress, Joomla!)
* HTML5 pack – CSS3 and Multiscreen (Mobile, Tablet, and PC) support
* Widget Browser – a quick code generator
3) CS Live
* SiteCatalystNetaverages – obtain latest mobile and desktop information (browser version, runtime, market share)
* BrowserLab – to emulate web page results when rendered in different browser versions.
Please visit CS5 Web Premium for more information


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A TEENAGER has appeared before Burnley Magistrates' Court charged with sexually touching an eight-year-old girl.
The boy, who was 15 at the time of the alleged offences, is also accused of two counts of sexual penetration.
The youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons and is now 16, is set to face a trial later this year.


text:
The Etek has always stood for reliability, performance and value for money. It has always carried the same core values as every other Eclipse marker of exceptional quality, robust and reliable design, simple maintenance and ease of use. The Etek3 is no different. By combining many features and parts found and used within the Ego range, but in a pared-down design, it allows the Etek3 to perform at similar levels, but at a price-point that makes it obtainable by the more cost-conscious player. A true Marker for the Masses.
The Etek3 will be available in 2 different models: Etek3 LT and Etek3 AM
The AM is intrinsically identical to the LT, but has an All Metal construction. The Frame, Eye Covers and Feedtube are all high-grade aluminum, just as you will find on the rest of the marker. All other components of the marker, such as bolt, rammer, barrel and circuit board are all the same and are 100% interchangeable between the LT and the AM.
New for 2010 Planet Eclipse Etek 3 paintball gun is one of the most anticipated guns for this year. This is one of the best mid priced paintball guns on the market with the same performance of the high end markers. The new Etek 3 gun is very light weight and has many similar features to the all new Ego Ten. With the new Etek 3 you wont have to sacrifice performance for price. Now you can own the best at a reasonable price.
Available Etek3 Upgrades:
There are 2 main Etek3 Upgrades:
Feel free to contact our customer service with any questions or concerns regarding your order at:
(724) 571-5770
Home of the Lifetime Marker Warranty
Terms & Conditions - Privacy Policy - Shipping Policy - Site Map
Payment methods accepted:
Copyright Punishers Paintball Supply © 2003-2016 All Rights Reserved
All photography and text on this site is the original work of Punishers Paintball Supply and manufacturers.
Contents may not be used for any commercial or non-commercial purpose without prior written consent from www.punisherspb.com.


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Wittenberg Music Department Releases Second iPhone App
December 18, 2012
Filed in Community
Springfield, Ohio – Wittenberg University has released a music app for iPhone and iPod touch, its second in three years.
The new app, called InTune, was approved by Apple earlier this month. InTune develops and tests users' ability to hear very close music pitches. The app was created through collaborative effort led by Professor of Music Daniel Kazez, with Peiqian Li, class of 2013 from Changchun, China, as lead software engineer and Assistant Professor of Art Crispin Prebys as graphic designer.
The concept for InTune is based on a computer program created by Kazez and his son Ben, with assistance from Professor of Statistics and Chair of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department Doug Andrews and Professor of Psychology Mary Jo Zembar. Andrews created a mathematical algorithm for changing the distance between pitches and Zembar developed analysis of data for a study indicating that with repeated use of the program the ability to discern very close pairs of pitches improves.
InTune is the second Wittenberg collaboration that has produced a music app for iPhone and iPod touch. If history is any guide, InTune will surely be a big hit.
Kazez worked with music students, alumni and fellow faculty members in 2009 to create an app called Composer of the Day, which offers concise, one-sentence biographies of classical composers – one per day, on the composer's birthday. It was named one of the "Top Five Classical Music iPhone Apps" by New York radio station WQXR – the country's first (and most listened to) classical music radio station.
John Chowning, Wittenberg class of 1959, is among the featured composers. Called "a pioneer in computer music" by the New York Times in 2006, Chowning creates compositions that "are among the most beautiful and sophisticated achievements in computer music," according to the Oxford Companion to Music (2002).
Version 1.1 of Composer of the Day provides the ability to hear sound clips for each composer. The app was listed in a "Wish List of iPhone Apps That I'd Like For Droid" by Lowe Piano Studio.
Composer of the Day app is a free download, while InTune is sold for 99 cents, with all proceeds going to support Wittenberg University. Complete information and a link to the download can be found online at www.wittenberg.edu/music/app-intune.
Written By: Ryan Maurer
Photo By: Erin Pence


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May 14, 2013
TribLocal reports on Dr. S. Douglas Birdsall's '75 recent alumni award recognizing his contribution to society.
May 11, 2013
The Lansing State Journal interviews new mom and author Sarah Arthur '95 about her devotional/memoir book, Mommy Time.
May 10, 2013
The city of Wheaton is the focus of "7 in the Suburbs" and ABC7's Phil Schwarz interviews President Ryken about Wheaton College.
May 7, 2013
In this Faith & Leadership article Wheaton College Professor of Christian Thought Timothy Larsen outlines the value of not letting go of the past.


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2012 (RSenior): Mager leaves Rollins as one of the most decorated baseball players in history ranking in the top-20 in multiple statistical categories in both the Sunshine State Conference and in the Rollins record books... the first baseman batted a team second-best .332 during his senior campaign, making a start in 49 contests...led the team in on base percentage (.416, 12th - SSC), runs scored (35, T10th - SSC), RBI (35, T10th - SSC), walks drawn (27, 6th - SSC), chances (417, 1st - SSC) and putouts (351, 3rd - SSC)...finished second in slugging percentage (.435), third in hits (61, T9th - SSC) and doubles (10) and tied for fourth in home runs (3)... named to the 2012 Tino Martinez Award Watch List...led the team with 20 multi-hit games and also tallied seven multi-RBI contests...made the transition back to first base after spending all of last season in the hot corner...concluded his career at Rollins batting a career .334 (T20th), ties for fifth all-time in triples (11), ties for 11th in extra-base hits (66), ranks 14th in runs (134), ties for 15th in doubles (41), 16th in RBI (133), ties for 17th in total bases (306), 18th in slugging percentage (.509) and 21st in hits (201)...named to the All-Sunshine State Conference Second Team.
2011 (Senior): Became the program's all-time leader in triples in a season with nine, a feat accomplished against Saint Leo (5/07)...his nine triples ranked third in the nation, but led through April 17...ended the season with a team-best .381 batting average, which ranked sixth in the Sunshine State Conference and 104th in the nation...ranks 18th in Rollins history in career hitting with a .336, 19th in doubles with 31, 12th in slugging percentage (.542) and ties for fifth in triples with 11...ranks in the top-10 in seven statistical categories in the conference, including leading the league in triples...scored the game-winning run against Saint Leo (5/7) in extra innings, taking a 3-2 victory over the Lions...was second on the team in stolen bases with 14 stolen bags in 15 attempts...named All-SSC Honorable Mention...earned a spot in the famed Rollins College Baseball Week All-Tournament Team...was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle against Fla. Memorial (4/30) going 4-for-5 with four runs scored, a double, and a home run...held a nine-game hit streak beginning Feb. 11 (P.R.-Rio Piedras) through Feb. 25 (FIT)...led the team with 24 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI games...tallied a career-high six at-bats twice, last against No. 8 Barry in a 14-13 victory in extras...led the team with 74 hits, 50 runs scored, 17 doubles, nine triples, 52 RBI and five home runs...posted a .428 on-base percentage and a .639 slugging percentage.
2010 (Junior): Ended the season with a .296 average and was the Tars' primary clean-up hitter…registered six home runs and 46 RBIs…stole four bases on five attempts…had a .456 slugging percentage…fourth with 14 doubles…against conference series against Barry, was 7-for-14 with four runs scored, six RBIs, two home runs and two doubles…one of two players to record five hits in a single-game, a feat accomplished against Eckerd (4/17/10)…next game against the Tritons recorded a season-best six RBIs…second on the team in walks with 27.
Prior to Rollins: Played one season at Brookdale Community College…was named a Junior College All-American, All-Region and All-Garden State during his one season…attended the University of Maine in 2008 and received a medical hardship after appearing in nine games and starting eight…finished with three hits and two RBIs.
High School: Attended Middletown North High School…played shortstop for the Lions and was a career .443 batter…named a Preseason All-American and culminated his senior year with a .520 batting average …was a team captain and a four-year letterwinner.
Personal: Born Kevin Joeseph Mager, May 16, 1989…parents Frank and Silvia Mager…one brother Mark (30)…one sister, Kristina (32)…credits his father and brother for having the greatest influence in his life…brother played four years for Harvard baseball…enjoys golf, guitar and working out…planning to pursue a degree in sociology.
|Redshirt Senior
|Middletown, N.J. (Brookdale CC)
|High School:
|Middletown North HS


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By Domenico Lombardi and Sarah Puritz Milsom
Following the unprecedented downgrade of the European Financial Stability Facility and nine eurozone sovereigns by Standard & Poor's, there is a renewed impetus for the International Monetary Fund to step up its involvement in the deepening euro area crisis. In an executive board meeting earlier this week, managing director Christine Lagarde requested that the membership step up the fund's own war chest in an effort to better equip the institution to adequately confront the growing global threat. The move follows an earlier reshuffle at the helm of the European department of the IMF, signalling that the fund has been quietly preparing itself for the gloomiest scenario in which the situation in Europe develops into a full-blown systemic crisis.
Currently, the IMF is unable to ring-fence the euro area and contain any spillovers to the global financial system unless its global membership agrees to provide a significant boost to its resources. As it stands, the organisation has some $385bn in its forward commitment capacity, including the activation of the contingent facility — the new arrangements to borrow — that can be used "to cope with an impairment of the international monetary system or to deal with an exceptional situation that poses a threat to the stability of that system." Read more


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Product Information
Our Casual Canine Reflective Neoprene Dog Leads blend together safety, practicality and style. Made of bright nylon, with reflective Neoprene that lights up brightly in headlights or flashlights and is completely water resistant. Dog leashes have nickel-plated swivel clips. Matching dog collars and harnesses sold separately.
Sizing Information:
4' x 5/8"
6' x 1"


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Capt Ed Freeman, MOH
2008 — Boise, Idaho
Analysis: From the closing sentences above, one could come away with the impression that the courageous life and quiet death of retired Army Captain and Medal of Honor recipient Ed W. Freeman had been completely ignored by the media. Not so, as the partial list of news sources further down this page shows. It may not have made front-page news, but Freeman's passing on August 20, 2008 was commemorated in a special segment on the NBC Nightly News, an AP national wire story, and obituaries published in newspapers across the country.
As stated in the email, in 2001 Freeman was awarded the nation's highest military honor some 36 years after the fact for his heroic actions as a Vietnam War helicopter pilot on November 14, 1965. He was presented with a citation by President George W. Bush which read as follows:
Captain Ed W. Freeman, United States Army, distinguished himself by numerous acts of conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary intrepidity on 14 November, 1965, while serving with Company A, 229th, Assault Helicopter Battalion, First Cavalry Division Air Mobil.
As a flight leader and second in command of a 16-helicopter lift unit, he supported a heavily engaged American infantry battalion at landing zone X-ray in the Idrang Valley, Republic of Vietnam. The infantry unit was almost out of ammunition, after taking some of the heaviest casualties of the war, fighting off a relentless attack from a highly motivated, heavily armed enemy force.
When the infantry commander closed the helicopter landing zone, due to intense direct enemy fire, Captain Freeman risked his own life by flying his unarmed helicopter through a gauntlet of enemy fire, time after time, delivering critically needed ammunition, water and medical supplies to the Paceeds (ph) battalion.
His flights had a direct impact on the battle's outcome by providing the engaged units with timely supplies of ammunition critical to their survival without which they would almost surely have experienced a much greater loss of life. After medical evacuation helicopters refused to fly into the area, due to intense enemy fire, Captain Freeman flew 14 separate rescue missions, providing life- saving evacuation of an estimates 30 seriously wounded soldiers, some of whom would not have survived, had he not acted.
All flights were made into a small emergency landing zone within 100 to 200 meters of the defensive perimeter where heavily committed units were perilously holding off the attacking elements. Captain Freeman's selfless acts of great valor, extraordinary perseverance and intrepidity were far above and beyond the call of duty or mission and set a superb example of leadership and courage for all of his peers.
Captain Freeman's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.
Barbara Ennis Connolly firstname.lastname@example.com WWII Historical Researcher, especially the 57th Bomb Wing and Historian for the 319th and 321st Bomb Groups, WWII B-25 Mitchells, MTO.
You're a 19 year old kid. You're critically wounded and dying in the jungle somewhere in the central highlands of Viet Nam. It's November 11, 1967. LZ (Landing Zone) X-Ray, Your unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 yards away, that your CO has ordered the MedEvac helicopters to stop coming in. You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns and you know you're not getting out. You're family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out you know this is the day.
Then - over the machine gun noise - you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter. You look up to see a Huey coming in. But...it doesn't seem real because no MedEvac markings are on it. Captain Ed Freeman is coming in for you! He's not MedEvac so it's not his job, but he heard the radio call and decided he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire anyway! Even after the MedEvacs were ordered NOT to come, he's coming anyway. And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 3 of you at a time on board. Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses and safety!
And, HE KEPT COMING BACK!! 13 more times!! Until all the wounded were out. No one knew until the mission was over that the Captain had been hit 4 times in the legs and left arm. He took 29 of you and your buddies out that day. Some would not have made it without the Captain and his Huey.
Medal of Honor Recipient, Captain Ed Freeman, United States Air Force, died last Wednesday at the age of 70 in Boise, Idaho. (July/Aug. 2008)


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An 87-year-old woman had to be freed by firefighters after a bizarre accident inside her home in Morden where she fell down the steps and became trapped by a stair lift.
Emergency services were called to Hillcross Avenue, off Grand Drive, on Friday morning to reports of an elderly woman who had fallen.
But when fire crews from New Malden arrived at 11.45am, they discovered the true extent of the accident.
Ray Foster, New Malden's green watch manager, said: "She had fallen from the top of the stairs to the bottom.
"But her right leg had got trapped behind the stair lift, and her head was wedged between a stair and the bannister.
"It was a very peculiar incident, and it was quite a shock to turn up and see that.
"I've never seen anything like it in 26 years."
Mr Foster said firefighters had to use a reciprocating saw to cut through the metal stair lift, after the cutting gear normally used to rescue car crash victims failed to cut through.
It took firefighters 40 minutes to free the woman, who was taken to St George's Hospital as a priority.
Her condition is currently unknown.
It is also not known how long she had been trapped before she was discovered at 9am by relatives who live close by.
Mr Foster said: "It was a very unusual rescue. Access was very difficult over the lady and everything about it was quite tricky.
"It was a really good effort from my crew. We devised a plan, stuck to it, and got her out."


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Joseph Arthur's new album, Graduation Ceremony was just released. He's playing the XPoNential Music Festival in July, and he'll be here for XPN's Free At Noon this Friday, June 17.
Singer-songwriter, Joseph Arthur began singing at the age of 21, although his fondness for music and the guitar began earlier than that. Having grown up in Akron, Ohio, Arthur relocated to Atlanta where he found a thriving music scene. A masterful painter as well, Arthur fuses his two passions, designing his own cover art and sometimes using his paintings as backgrounds for his sets. The now Grammy nominated musician's career began with a slow start but with his talent, his success was always destined to be. Having been compared to the likes of Jeff Buckley, Leonard Cohen, and Joe Henry and having toured with Tracy Chapman, Ben Harper, and Gomez, Arthur carries on the legacy of great singer-songwriters.
With an incredible vocal range and an uncommon talent for the guitar, singer-songwriter Martin Sexton has been consistently been able to channel his love for classic, soulful folk, blues, rock, and pop music into accessible, emotional songs that combine the best aspects of singers like Van Morrison and Otis Redding.
A self-taught guitarist and singer, Sexton formed his first rock n'roll band when he was in the eighth grade; his garage bands in high school would play the music of the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin. He left his home in Syracuse, NY for the coffeehouse scene of Boston, where he began busking and playing open mic nights in 1989. Recorded in a friend's attic in 1990, Sexton's cassette-only self-released debut record, In The Journey, managed to sell 15,000 copies before it was later reissued by Eastern Front Records. After winning the National Academy of Songwriters' Artist of the Year award in 1994, Sexton continued his grueling touring schedule while taking time to release eight more albums, up until the present day. His latest album, Sugarcoating, was released on Kitchen Table in 2010. As always, the tracks are powerful and interesting, without a hint of pretense. The album was written as a reflection on a society that's been through much, including 9-11. In addition, Sexton also addresses subjects important to him--family and selflessness. Don't miss an opportunity to see this talented musician--he's got one heck of a stage presence.
Website: martinsexton.com
MySpace: myspace.com/martinsexton
Recent Release: Sugarcoating
Release Date: April 6, 2010
Label: Kitchen Table
Origin: Syracuse, NY
Free At Noon Setlist
1. America/Found
2. Boom Sh-Boom
3. Stick Around
4. Livin' the Life
Visit NPR Music to hear the concert.
Blue-eyed soul virtuoso, Eli "Paperboy" Reed may have grown up in Massachusetts but he executes the heart-wrenching emotion of Southern predecessors like Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding. Even more bizarre, Reed, along with his seven-piece True Loves, just finished a month long tour, sharing dates with alternative/pop-punk band, Say Anything.
Reed's electrifying performances enable him to captivate any crowd. With his mixture of high-energy, body-swinging music and tear-jerking, lovelorn ballads, he keeps his audience craving for more. Paperboy was nominated as the Breakthrough Artist of the Year in the 2009 Mojo awards after his two independently released albums, Sings Walkin' and Talkin'and Other Smash Hits!, and Roll With You.. His major-label debut, Come and Get It, is respectful of pop music. Mr. Reed knows the true origin and value of this sometimes-devalued genre. As he said in reference to his style, "...it's all about writing pop songs. Soul music was the greatest pop music of the 20th century and its influence is so far-reaching." You can listen to his 2008 session on World Cafe, by clicking here.
Website: elipaperboyreed.com
Myspace: myspace.com/elipaperboyreed
Recent Release: Come and Get It
Label: Capitol
Band Origin: Allston, MA
Free At Noon Setlist
1. Intro/Satisfier
2. Name Calling
3. Just Like Me
4. Come and Get It
Visit NPR Music to hear the concert.
Made possible by XPN Members, and Comcast.
Branching from a popular Santa Barbara nine-piece band with a brass section called The Animal Liberation Orchestra and the Free Range Horns, ALO's Zach Gill, Dan Lebowitz and Steve Adams returned to their hometown in San Francisco to form a stripped down version of the group. After reuniting with college friend and drummer David Brogan in 2002, the ALO line-up was officially in place. The jam band released a number of indie label albums before joining forces with singer-songwriter Jack Johnson, one of Zach Gill's college mates. Supporting Jack Johnson in live performances and later signing to Johnson's Brushfire label, ALO released their first studio album "Roses & Clover" (2007) under Brushfire. The album's blend of jam rock, jazz, folk and pop made them a shoo-in for success.
Following "Roses & Clover" with extended tours and a few side projects, ALO decided to turn to their second album "Man of the World" (2010), making their way to Oahu, Hawaii to record in Johnson's home studio. The laidback quality of the album definitely relays the environment of their recording process, one that revolved around comfortable jazzy-jam sessions. Engineered by Dave Simon-Baker and produced by Jack Johnson, the 11-song collection was mostly recorded live, relying on a more organic process of music making. The compilation strongly reflects songwriting, vocal and strong instrumental contributions from each member, which solidly lock together to create a bluesy rock framework. And yet, their is an overall cafe lounge vibe to the album that sits nicely next to its edgier parts.
Upon the release of "Man of the World," ALO will be putting on quite a show for us for this Friday's afternoon concert. You don't want to miss it.
Website: http://www.alomusic.com/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/alomusic
Recent Release: Man of the World
Release Date: February 9, 2010
Label: Brushfire Records
Origin: San Francisco, CA
From the Band..."Check out ALO"s new album Man of the World produced by ALO and Jack Johnson. We'll be touring the States throughout the Summer with Jack Johnson and playing quite a few festivals. Check out alomusic.com for tour dates and more info. Thanks to WXPN and all their listeners for a great show today!"
Visit NPR Music to hear the concert.
Due to the construction in the area, free parking is no longer available for XPN Free At Noon shows. Metered parking on 31st street is no longer available, and metered parking on Walnut Street is extremely limited as a result of the closure and reconstruction of the South Street Bridge, and the rerouting of traffic onto Walnut Street.
Public transportation to XPN Free At Noon is recommended. For more information on parking in the area visit World Cafe Live.
Find more information on directions and public transportation here.
When you come to XPN's Free At Noon Concerts, bring a can of food to support Philabundance, Delaware Valley's hunger relief organization. We have drop-off boxes to collect canned goods for the needy. Current priority items include: canned pasta, chili, beef stew, tuna, mac & cheese, ready to eat cereal, pork & beans/ baked beans, green beans, corn, fruit cocktail, creamy peanut butter and/ or grape jelly (plastic containers only), and boxed sugar. Thanks!
Dr. Dog, Carrie Rodriguez, Annuals, DeVotchKa, Adele, Angel Taylor, Winterpills, Sharon Little, Ollabelle, Andrew Lipke, The Low Anthem, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Sean Lennon, Chris Smith, California Guitar trio, Joan Osborne, Disco Biscuits, Damien Rice, Cold War Kids, Marc Broussard, The Slip, Arlo Guthrie, Alice Smith, The Dears, Barenaked Ladies, and more...
WXPN Free at Noon Photo Gallery at Flickr
Click to visit our gallery for photos of the Free At Noon Concerts! Previous concerts include Hall & Oates, O.A.R., Citizen Cope, Old Crow Medicine Show, Kaki King and many more!
Sense of Place - World Cafe visited Dublin in April 2011 as the first stop in our quarterly series Sense of Place. And, Portland, Oregon - the Mecca for all things indie, in September, 2011. Come browse around and experience these cities with us and get a taste of the local music scene. Sense of Place series was made possible by a grant from The Wyncote Foundation.
Latin Roots - a bi-weekly series on World Cafe made possible by the Wyncote Foundation. Join David Dye as he explores the vast variety of music from Spanish-speaking countries and people. From the standards like cumbia, mambo and son to Latin rock and even reggaeton, we'll hear it all on Latin Roots.
World Cafe Celebrated 20 Years on WXPN! - Relive the World Cafe 20th Anniversary Celebration. Concerts including live performances from Amos Lee, John Hiatt, Indigo Girls, Rhett Miller, and Tedeschi Trucks Band! Plus The Jayhawks, and Ani DiFranco. Photo galleries, free downloads, and more. You can find it all in the World Cafe 20th Archives!
Dr. Dog "Lonesome"
(Exclusive Live Version)
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Live performance and interview podcast featuring music and conversation from a variety of important musicians
A weekly podcast featuring independent and emerging artists who are making exciting, innovative music
We went to Akron to interview Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney and got a nice tour of their new studio. Watch David Dye in Dan's ranch-style home and see their very funky studio space.


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New York, NY | Washington, DC
E/L STUDIO is the architecture and design collaboration of Elizabeth Emerson and Mark Lawrence, AIA. Together, our experience reflects a broad range of project types and scales. We share a deep belief in the transformative potential of design. We believe in the promise of architecture to mitigate social conditions and enable positive change. Operating from bases in New York City and Washington, DC, we draw from our two locations - innovation and flexibility from the metropolis, civic and public engagement from the capital. The hybrid of these two environments enables us to envision new solutions. In our work, we resist the tendency to calcify the status quo as we resist customary stylistic distinctions. In search of new tectonic solutions which, through their construction, anticipate new programs and new events, we develop strategies and resolutions which are unique to the problems and potential posed in each individual project. We create an architecture which is anticipatory; which fosters new relationships and growth.
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Politicians do love to share their views on Oxbridge admissions. This time around David Cameron has taken a pop at Oxford over the number of black students, using some pretty forthright language.
"I saw figures the other day that showed that only one black person went to Oxford last year. I think that is disgraceful, we have got to do better than that."
It's a startling statistic — and almost true. Cameron would be advised to check his facts before picking this fight.
Here's a rebuttal from Oxford, which they put out a few weeks ago:
On a related point, much has been made of the 'one black Caribbean student' admitted to Oxford in 2009. Not one black student, but one black Caribbean student – in one year, looking at only UK candidates, and only undergraduates.
As Oxford has pointed out before, this is very selective use of data. In that year, there were actually 27 black UK students admitted to Oxford. Beyond black students alone, 22% of Oxford's overall student body is non-white (BME).
As this BBC story shows, Oxford have put some effort into attracting black students over the years. Their campaign has not been a resounding success. But the issues are certainly more complicated than Cameron suggests.
UPDATE: Oxford have put out an official response to Cameron's comments. Apparently they've been in touch with Downing Street to correct his figures. Full statement below: Read more


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Every child deserves a loving, supportive family. This, one of the most inalienable of all human rights, has been maliciously disregarded in the cascade of wrongs currently spilling from Russia's recent ban on American couples adopting Russian orphans ("Putin signs bill banning Americans from adopting Russian children," Tribune, Dec. 28).
First, the ban is an ill-advised attempt at retribution against the United States for its law punishing Russian individuals for human rights abuses. Second, many of these would-be adoptive children are afflicted with significant disabilities and face a bleak future in Russia, where such children are frequently shunned.
American families looking to adopt disabled Russian children, like the Bonner family from Utah, find themselves in the vortex of a political firestorm that ignores the most critical issue: the best interests of the children.


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BAYDON'S Red Lion pub has been saved from certain closure by tenants-turned-owners Mark Farrell and Julie Wyatt, who bought the pub this week.
The pub was previously owned by a private pension fund made up of 20 people, who had formal plans in place to build a dwelling on the pub's car park.
Such a move would have killed the pub and deterred any passing trade from stopping, according to Mr Farrell, who, along with his partner Ms Wyatt, had been leaseholders at the establishment since March 2013.
The pair were approached by the pension group at the start of this year, with its intentions for the car park, after which time they began putting together a bid to buy the pub and secure its long-term future.
"We knew when we took on the premises we assumed with a seven-year lease they wouldn't do anything until we had finished," said Mr Farrell, 58.
"They approached us in January this year. They were going to build on the car park.
"There are 20 people involved in the pension fund and each member had to agree with that price.
"The problem is it would have rendered the pub useless. If it goes into decay the owners would change it into a house rather than let it continue as an eyesore."
Once the pair had taken the pub on in March they spent three months renovating it before opening up for business on June 1 last year.
It has been a long road up to now, during which time they have slowly attracted more and more local custom back through the boozer's doors.
Mr Farrell said the news the couple had become the new owners of the property on Monday had been met with positive reaction.
"It's been a positive experience. A lot of local people have come back into the pub. It had been closed for nine months and a lot of local people had dispersed to other places," he said.
"They were approachable because the thing has had such a chequered history over the past few years they were fearful it would close.
"There was a positive response to the fact we were taking it on."
Mr Farrell is originally from Meath near Dublin. He moved to Bristol in 2000 and began working in the pub trade there for Bath Ales.
He and Ms Wyatt, who met at a party in Bristol, now have plans to turn the pub into a bed & breakfast with three en-suite bedrooms available to travellers.
They are hopeful the venture will secure the long-term profitability of the business, with no other guest accommodation available five miles either side of the pub.
There will be an official takeover party at the pub on August 9 where live music and a buffet will be laid on for revellers. It starts at 7.30pm.


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"Game changer" is a term you hear often when people talk about how technology has changed their industry.
Leaders like to talk about radical changes and employee-centric practices, but the reality is there is a strong disconnect between how leaders perceive their organization's RESPECT levels and how their employees view them, authors Jack Wiley and Brenda Kowske say.
When they asked senior executives whether their organization provides the elements of RESPECT, 69 percent of them said "yes." When they asked the same thing of individual contributors (non-management), only 52 percent of them agreed, revealing a 17 percentage point gap between how leaders believe their organizations behave and how employees view the situation.
The authors say this could signal that conditions for management are good at most companies, while the conditions for non-management aren't up to snuff. It could also signal that leaders simply don't have a good feel for what's going on in the trenches.
The discrepancy exists in all seven RESPECT categories. The two biggest management/employee RESPECT disconnects — with gaps of 19 percentage points each — are in Excitement and Truth in the workplace. More than three-fourths (76 percent) of senior leaders find excitement in their work, compared with just 57 percent of non-management employees.
Asked whether statements by senior leaders are credible, only 66 percent of executives said yes. That's right: fully one-third of senior leaders don't believe the truthfulness of the public statements coming from their own leadership teams! It comes as no surprise, then, that only 45 percent of non-management employees believe their executive leaders' public statements.
"Too many people are working in organizations in which leaders think they are progressive, but in fact they are not," Wiley and Kowske say. "Deluded about the environment they've created for their employees, leaders aren't being realistic about the structures and processes in which employees work. This disconnect is the single biggest obstacle holding back organizations' transformation from being bureaucratic to being dynamic."


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I am on stay-cation this week and so I have decided to grill and post as much as possible. Yesterday I made the Sweet Vidalia Salad, brined chops, and smoked deviled eggs. I also cooked some sausages for my lunch this week and made a little slaw to go with them. I did pretty good initially with photos, but as I got closer to the end things were happening pretty fast and photos were not on the top of the list. Hang on... here we go!
Let's start with the eggs. I make deviled eggs a lot-- I mean a lot. I have tried them many ways. I had tried APL's smoked dressed eggs before and didn't see why I went to the trouble. This time I tried them using the cooking technique that Steven describes in Planet Barbecue for the smoked egg pate. After the smoke it was back to my deviled egg recipe-- mayo, mustard, S&P. If you have not tried smoked deviled eggs... stop reading and go make some. They are delicious!! A very subtle smokiness that truly completes the egg and the bite of the mustard. I like to use chili powder instead of paprika, but the CFO said no.
I found a new use for the BGE popper rack.
I had the smoke rolling pretty good at first and it only took about 30 minutes to color these up...
The finish...
I like to make lunch in advance for the week. I live close enough to work that I can run home and heat up lunch. I do this kind of thing a lot. I got to know the butcher and what is in the sausages. These are chicken chorizo... one of my favorites.
Sorry... no finished photos yet... I will take one when I heat it up for lunch today.
I also have made a lot of slaws, this is a favorite. A cabbage of your choice, I like savoy, but this is just green and red, mayo, cider vinegar, stevia, kosher salt, fresh cracked black pepper, dill weed, and celery seed. Toss... could not be more simple.
The main course...
The chops were brined for 12 hours and then seasoned with black pepper, garlic salt, and onion salt and allowed to rest in the fridge for a few hours.
A simple brine; lemons, garlic, peppercorns, thyme, bay leaves, and kosher salt. Bring to a boil to dissolve salt and then refrigerate until cool before adding chops.
In the interim I prepared the habanero syrup to be used as a glaze. This was inspired by an APL recipe, but it is too sweet and not enough heat to my tastes, but I like the idea. This time I doubled the habby's and cut the Stevia in half; next time more habby's, less Stevia. It's a simple syrup so you can use sugar if you like... I don't eat sugar any more.
Bring it to a simmer and then allow to cool.
The chops are then cooked low and slow until an internal of 115 is reached. They are then set aside while the grill temp is ramped up. A typical reverse sear method.
I chose to use the large egg since I was already grilling onions. I modified the rig though, taking off the large grate, adding the spider, and putting the small cast iron grate down close to the fire. I got it screaming hot before adding the chops.
This is at the flip... 1 minute, 1/4 turn, 1 minute, flip, repeat. This is also the point where the habby syrup is applied
Simply marvelous... It was more work than going out to eat, but the meal was priceless.
Thanks for looking...


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Groene at the Legislature: Holding NRDs responsible
Groene, colleagues short-sighted on NRD funds
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NFU urges smooth, transparent transition to Fair Trade framework
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For 15 years, Bonnie Johnson held one of the most demanding jobs in town, managing North Plattes busy Kwik Stop at the corner of B and Jeffers.
The B and Jeffers Kwik Stop opened in 1961. It was the flagship store of what has grown to be 21 Kwik Stops in a wide region.
Standing at a busy intersection in the middle of town, the store is open 24 hours, 7 days a week. Kwik Stop clerks deal with every personality at every time of the day and night, and Johnsons job was to keep the store operating smoothly.
She dealt with hundreds of thousands of fine folks over the years, along with a fair share of grouches, drunks and unreliable employees.
Ive been called everything but a white person, she said, but I never let it get to me. I just put a smile on. That was my way of getting to them.
She recalls the grief employees took from disappointed drinkers when Kwik Stop adopted a policy of no beer sales after 11 p.m., which was good for the community and cut down on trouble over time, she said.
Johnson also recalls a clerk who stole beer, one bottle at a time, passing it out a small window to a friend in the back of the store. Johnson started to find empty six-pack boxes in the store, leading her to catch the thief.
Another time, an employee tried to steal cash, taking pains to pretend to put the money in the safe for the benefit of cameras, but a close look at security film revealed the truth.
Despite such incidents and challenges, she said most employees were good, including Don Stratton, who held down the night shift for nine years at B and Jeffers.
He was the best night-shift man I ever had, she said.
On a normal workday, Johnson was at the store at 5 a.m., updating the records first thing. She usually worked the 7 a.m.-3 p.m. shift. And, if a worker called in sick and a replacement couldnt be found, she would work longer.
Working was her lifestyle. At age 13, she cleaned the sixth floor of the Pawnee Hotel for 50 cents an hour. Throughout high school, she worked at Elletts Tastee Freeze. She worked at Ace Hardware for 10 years before joining Kwik Stop. She quit only when her husbands job took them to Cape Kennedy, Fla., where she managed a Circle K convenience store for 11 years. When the couple returned to North Platte, she went back to work at Kwik Stop.
When she retired, owner Dan ONeill held an open house for Johnson. Many of her customers who came to say goodbye and wish her well. In all, shed been in the convenience store business for 26 years.
Along the way, she raised four children. She now has 15 grandchildren, which she is enjoying to the max.
I sleep better, she said during a recent outing at Cody Park with some of her grandchildren. Ive always been a light sleeper, but now the phone doesnt ring when the shifts change. Its nice to be retired.
First published in the June 26 print edition of the North Platte Bulletin.
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