text:
With international trade mushrooming and supply chains expanding around the world, third-party logistics providers have taken on an increasingly important role for multinational manufacturers and retailers. Manufacturers need absolutely reliable sources of supply. Retailers need flexible links to suppliers with low-cost production. These suppliers are often in remote regions. At the same time, retailers need rapid delivery channels for an ever-expanding distribution network of consumers. Simultaneously, burgeoning prosperity and intensifying competition for new markets is putting more and more pressure on supply-chain managers to get the job done and find competitive advantage.
Increasingly, the linchpin for successful worldwide supply chains is a core group of global 3PLs that can provide the expertise, reach, reliability and flexibility that multinational corporations need. These global 3PLs provide transportation, consolidation, forwarding and customs brokerage, warehousing, fulfillment, distribution and virtually any logistics and trade-related services that their international customers need.
About 100 3PLs now control almost a third of an estimated $270bn that is spent on outsourced value-added logistics services each year around the world. Within this group of global 3PLs, an elite group of 25 companies account for about one-third of all global 3PL activity. Their annual revenues exceed $79.5bn, and in 2004, these revenues will grow between six and eight percent - twice the world GDP rate.
Europeans Rule
Not surprisingly, the seven largest global 3PLs are all European-based companies. The top seven companies on our list together earned more than $42bn last year, which is more than all of the other 3PLs in the Top 25 combined. U.K.-based Exel holds the top spot on the list with revenues of $8.3bn. The number two and three spots go to Swiss-based Kuehne & Nagel and German-based Schenker, respectively. These two companies, along with Panalpina and DHL's Danzas Air & Ocean operations, have been leading forwarders and transportation management 3PLs in Europe for decades.
History, empire and exports helped create the large European 3PLs. To illustrate this, we can compare revenues of the major players in their home countries. Less than one-third of Exel's revenue is derived from business conducted in its British Isles home base. Kuehne & Nagel derives 45 percent of its turnover in Europe but less than 5 percent of it is within Switzerland. By comparison, 80 percent of UPS's business is conducted in the United States.
European countries, which have always had significantly more cross-border traffic, have relied more on outsourcing than Americans, especially since World War II. Outsourcing rates in Europe are estimated by country to be 26 to 60 percent by Peter Klaus in his "Die Top 100 Der Logistik." 3PL market penetration rates were estimated at 12 percent for 2003 by Armstrong & Associates. German and Japanese 3PLs grew rapidly during the industrial growth of their countries' exporting economies after World War II.
The importance of freight forwarding to supply-chain management is also a key variable in choosing the largest global players. First, the revenues used throughout this article are turnover (gross revenue). These revenues included purchased transportation, a major expense for most of the 3PLs on our list. Second, global supply chains rely heavily on freight forwarding activities for their construction. Most of the key events in any international supply chain are controlled by the freight forwarder. The services that global 3PLs provide frequently include:
• Air Freight Forwarding (door to door)
• Ocean Freight Forwarding (door to door)
• Transportation Network Planning and Optimization
• Transport Execution/Freight Bill Payment
• Carrier Management
• Merge in Transit
• Security Systems and Control
• Incoterm Control - shifting from Ex works (EXW) to delivered duty paid (DDP)
• Letters of Credit/Negotiable Bills of Lading
• Cargo Insurance
• Consolidation/Deconsolidation/NVOCC Operations
• Systemwide Track & Trace/Internet Supply Chain Visibility
• Customs Brokerage and Licensing - Imports/Export/AMS/C-PAT
• Duty Drawback
• Value-Added Warehousing, Inventory Control and Supplier Management
Over the last few years nearly every company in Europe has been able to take some advantage of the free movement of goods across borders. This shift has been good for the large European 3PLs, but cultural differences still prevent centralization of operations at U.S. levels. Most 3PL operations in Europe still have to be designed on a country-by-country basis to be effective.
U.S, Asian 3PLs to Expand
Only three of the companies on the Top 25 list are Asian-based, which reflects slower adoption of third-party logistics in that part of the world. Japan especially has been an enigma. Most major Japanese companies are still hesitant to outsource more than basic transportation to 3PLs. The slowdown in the Japanese economy and pace of change for traditional business practices reflects in the conservatism of Japanese 3PLs. Companies like Yamato, Nippon Express and Kintetsu are leaders in Japan and with Japanese companies all over the world, but they have been slow to expand dramatically into non-Japanese connected western markets. NYK's new direction is an exception to the rule. However, these companies are now making aggressive efforts closer to home, in China. Singapore-based SembCorp Logistics, on the other hand, has taken a progressive approach to becoming to global player. SembCorp owns 20 percent of Kuehne & Nagel, and it is expanding rapidly in India and China.
Leading the global 3PL expansion are UPS, FedEx and DHL. These multibillion-dollar enterprises already service most of the world on package shipments and are expanding their offerings to give similar results for less-than-container-load and container-load shipments. UPS SCS and DHL/Danzas are tied to corporate parents with large free cash flows to fuel expansion.
In the U.S., for the ninth consecutive year, growth in the 3PL services market exceeded overall economic growth. Total 3PL turnover increased by 8.2 percent to $76.9bn. Net revenues for FY 2003 grew by 6.1 percent to $32.9bn following 7 percent growth for FY 2002. Net income increased to 3.9 percent of net revenue from 3 percent in FY 2002 and 1.7 percent in FY 2001.
Individual company results varied with select companies posting strong results. The largest U.S.-based 3PL is UPS Supply Chain Solutions (SCS), which has reached $4.1bn in turnover. UPS SCS was profitable in all four quarters of FY 2003. Standard UPS operating efficiencies are apparently taking hold. Value-added transportation manager C.H. Robinson continued to improve its best-in-class results by increasing net revenue by 12.6 percent to $545m. Its net after-tax income margin increased to 20.9 percent. Turnover was $3.6bn. Net income was $114m.
International transportation manager, Expeditors International, maintained its excellent operations. Net revenues were up 10.1 percent. Profitability continued at high levels with net after-tax income margins of 16.2 percent.
Among value-added warehouse distribution providers (VAWD), Exel and UPS SCS continue to be the major players and both had good growth and improved profitability. Among mid-sized VAWD 3PLs, such as Kenco, Genco, Jacobson and DSC, revenue growth exceeded 10 percent.
These mid-sized, privately held VAWD 3PLs are often very competitive and are gaining business quickly. They all also increased their profitability. These companies are improving their core warehousing offerings, adding more value-added options, expanding their transportation offerings and improving integrated solutions. They are not yet among the global players.
The trend overall is for more integrated, technical and velocity-driven solutions for all 3PLs. Web-based inventory tracking and event management are necessities. In recent research done by Armstrong & Associates on the VAWD segment, the most requested value-added services were reverse logistics, vendor/inventory management and customization/subassembly. With regard to transportation value-adds, the major requirements are for international transportation/ customs brokerage assistance, expanded IT/visibility and domestic transportation network management. These value-added preferences reflect the global trends to overseas outsourcing, longer supply chains and better information control.
The ranks of these global players will continue to concentrate in the near future. Three important trends are driving this path to fewer and larger global 3PLs:
1. The world's largest manufacturers and retailers have solidly adopted the logistics outsourcing concept, and they prefer to do business with other larger companies, including their 3PLs.
2. While more and more manufacturing, sourcing and other supply chain activities are happening in places like China, India, Latin America and other emerging markets, required logistics capabilities often do not yet exist in these regions. The Global 1000 companies operating in these markets want global logistics providers that can expand operations wherever they are needed and move from region to region as manufacturing sources change.
3. To quickly grow in size, capability and geographic reach, global 3PLs must expand by acquisition. The big 3Pls that intend to be among the handful of truly global players are under great pressure to eat or be eaten by their competition.
Bigger is Better
Global corporations increasingly want single points of contact for their outsourced logistics. For example, a few years ago, General Motors formed Vector, a logistics management company that it jointly owns with CNF Inc., the parent of Con-Way Transportation, Menlo Worldwide and its subsidiary, Menlo Logistics. This so-called 4PL runs much of GM's supply chain in the U.S., but the actual logistics operations have been subcontracted to other 3PLs, including TNT North America, Penske and several others. The logistics subcontractors are doing the inbound materials management, dedicated contract carriage, cross-docking and other logistics tasks, but Vector is GM's one point of contact.
We are seeing this trend play out as the Global 1000 corporations send out their requests for proposal for logistics services. Often only the very top players are being asked to bid, and the bar for what constitutes a top player keeps rising. The smaller players may be great companies, but they end up performing parts of the total logistics contract as subcontractors. Large corporations are often looking for larger 3PLs with financial stability and wide geographic coverage.
This trend will increase as more companies become virtual manufacturers producing nothing themselves. Cisco, for example, outsources its production operations except for marketing, sales and high level management. Virtual companies use world-class contract manufacturers like Solectron and Flextronics, but they also need the best logistics capabilities to manage their extended supply chains. Increasingly, that means using 3PLs.
In the automotive industry, large 3PLs dominate the market because they can offer a combination of asset and non-asset capabilities. Penske, Ryder and TNT all have a combination of supply-chain management, transportation execution management and planning capabilities, as well as cross-docking and VAWD capabilities. Automotive logistics 3PLs often provide assets for dedicated contract carriage milk runs from suppliers to plants and value-added services on components just before they are delivered to the production line. The financial muscle to afford these capabilities only exists at a handful of 3PLs.
Expanding Coverage
Booming world trade has fostered longer and more complex supply chains, which in turn has created a pressing need for better logistics in all corners of the world. In China, where a few hundred factories manufacture a large portion of the world's garments, consumer electronics and other products, the logistics infrastructure can be quite primitive, especially as one moves inland. The major retailers and manufacturers outsourcing to these factories are using their relationships with large 3PLs to control how their overseas vendors perform their logistics. A few large 3PLs under the control of the U.S. or European buyers handle the logistics from the factories to the ultimate destination. Since these buyers are likely to change their suppliers as cost savings dictate, the 3PLs must be able to manage the logistics flows from any origin to any destination. The actual logistics operations needed currently center on fairly simple operations such as transportation, consolidation and forwarding, but information technology and logistics planning requirements are growing rapidly more complex.
Growing prosperity in Southeast Asia is also building thriving consumer markets. Large 3PLs in Europe, the U.S. and Japan want to ramp up their activities in this region to position themselves for this coming wave. Both U.S. and European operators are looking for local acquisitions to accelerate their capabilities. At least one major U.S. 3PL will announce acquisitions in Asia later this year.
The globalization of 3PLs will spread around the world, although more slowly in many areas where 3PLs have gained limited market entry. The modern outsourced logistics model, where manufacturers and their 3PLs have become business partners with shared authority and responsibility over entire supply chains, has yet to be adopted in many regions. This model is the norm in the U.S., Western Europe, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and some parts of Mexico and Brazil. Outside of these areas 3PLs are still treated functionally: The 3PL is hired to perform one task such as warehousing.
In many developing nations, the problem is a lack of infrastructure. For example, in much of Latin America, warehouses are rudimentary. They often lack docks, material handling equipment, and have no IT systems to manage inventory or provide information sharing with carriers or customers. Even in highly advanced parts of the world such as Japan, 3PLs still primarily perform functional roles.
As large corporations expand their businesses and their processes to all regions of the world, the need for better logistics continues to transform 3PLs and forces them to become supply-chain partners. In most cases, this transformation is accompanied by acquisition.
Expanding the Footprint
The acquisition wave is building momentum again. The center of activity is in the developed economies of Western Europe and the U.S. UPS SCS, Penske, Menlo and C.H. Robinson have established footholds in Europe, mainly by acquiring well-established companies in this region. These U.S. companies are now well positioned to grow their European business on an even footing with the big local competitors.
On the other hand, European 3PLs continue to add to their capabilities in the U.S., which remains the largest and most attractive market. Last year Deutsche Post, through its DHL subsidiary, acquired Airborne to expand its express business. In the near future, we expect Deutsche Post or its competitor, Schenker, to add to capabilities in the U.S. with acquisitions in warehousing, distribution and transportation.
We are also likely to see other European players, and perhaps some Asian-based 3PLs acquire mid-sized U.S. 3PLs that have long been strong players in the VAWD sector. Recent examples include the purchases of USCO by the Swiss-based Kuehne & Nagel and Standard Warehouse by UTI. Companies like Kenco, based in Chattanooga, and Chicago-based DSC receive inquiries continually. These 3PLs, many of which are family owned or closely held, are reluctant to sell because business is good and the owners enjoy what they're doing.
The attractiveness of the U.S. market is not the only reason foreign companies are interested in U.S.-based 3PLs. European 3PLs are coming to the U.S. to make sure that they are strong enough to compete against UPS, FedEx and other U.S.-based logistics providers that are aggressively entering their home markets. It is market positioning on a global scale.
Regardless of where a global 3PL is based, it is going to have to make acquisitions in foreign markets to fill out its offerings, both in terms of capabilities and geographic coverage. If the economy continues to recover worldwide, the acquisition pressure will be intense.
Evolving Payment Models
Of course, the 3PL industry can only grow if it is profitable enough to attract investment capital. At times the growth of segments of this industry has been hampered by inability to make money. In the VAWD segment, large customers have traditionally wanted to pay on cost-plus open-book arrangements. Margins were kept low. In addition, under gain-sharing arrangements 3PLs have often been unable to collect their full shares. In the transportation management sector those who operate on transactional freight bill models have had a particularly difficult time making money.
On the other hand, 3PLs that take full responsibility for all transportation services do much better. These transportation-oriented 3PLs can leverage the volume and freight flows of multiple customers to obtain better rates than any one customer could negotiate. A good portion of these savings goes to the 3PL's bottom line. Good examples of transportation-oriented 3PLs that understand how to make money are C.H. Robinson, Expeditors and Landstar. These profitable companies control the transportation spend. They are not interested in having accounts where they simply provide transportation management and clerical functions on a cost-plus basis.
There will be winners and losers in the global 3PL race. The shakeout that is coming parallels what happened in the U.S. during the 1980s after transportation deregulation. Then, a small group of carriers grew rapidly by out-performing the competition. They won market share. Other primarily higher cost companies either went out of business, or retreated to small, defensible niches. In today's 3PL market, there will be a small group of big operators with global reach and international skills that will dominate worldwide logistics. They will have to grow fast enough to service the largest customers and to avoid being commoditized by those customers. At the other end of the market, there will also be niche players that will often end up working for the global 3PLs. There will be limited room for mid-sized generalists.
Only time will tell who the winners and losers will be. For now, we present a comprehensive analysis of the 25 3PLs that are leading in the global race. This selection has been made on turnover, current coverage, breadth of skills and parent company gravitas.
Top 25 3PLs
Exel plc Berkshire, UK, London: EXL
Kuehne & Nagel International Schindellegi, Switzerland, SWX: KNIN
Schenker Assen, Germany; (U.S.) Freeport, NY, 516-377-3000
DHL Danzas Air & Ocean Basel, Switzerland, Deutsche Post World Net
P&O Nedlloyd Rotterdam, Netherlands Euronext: Nedlloyd (Royal P&O Nedlloyd N.V.);
TPG/TNT Hoolddorp, Netherlands, TPG NV
Panalpina Basel, Switzerland; (U.S.) Foster City, CA, 650-653-6600, David Beatson, Regional CEO
UPS Supply Chain Solutions Atlanta, GA, NYSE: UPS, (United Parcel Service)
Nippon Express Tokyo, Japan, Tokyo: 9062
C.H. Robinson Worldwide Eden Prairie, MN; Nasdaq: CHRW
Menlo Worldwide Redwood City, CA
NYK Logistics Tokyo, Japan; Tokyo: 9101; (U.S.) Secaucus, NJ
Expeditors International of Washington Seattle, WA; Nasdaq: EXPD
Penske Logistics Reading, PA
Eagle Global Logistics Houston, TX; Nasdaq: EAGL,
BAX Global Irvine, CA; NYSE: BCO (The Brink's Company)
Ryder Miami, FL; NYSE: R
Schneider Logistics Green Bay, WI
UTi Worldwide Rancho Dominguez, CA; Nasdaq: UTIW
Caterpillar Logistics Morton, IL; NYSE: CAT, (Caterpillar Inc.)
APL Logistics Oakland, CA
Wilson Logistics Group Goteborg, Sweden
FedEx Supply Chain Services Hudson, OH; NYSE: FDX, (FedEx Corp.)
Maersk Logistics Copenhagen, Denmark;
SembCorp Logistics Singapore; Singapore Stock Exchange
*Most 2003 Revenue numbers are derived from public records or company self-reporting. Where no such information was available (companies with *), these numbers are based on Armstrong & Associates' own research. Where companies report their revenue in Euros, a conversion rate of $1.25 per Euro has been used.
Click here for a PDF of the Top 25 3PLs ranked by revenue.
Want more information about Global and Regional 3PLs? Contact Dick Armstrong at 800-525-3915 or email@example.com.
About Armstrong & Associates: Armstrong & Associates Inc. is a supply-chain management consulting firm specializing in market research, mergers and acquisitions and outsourcing. Armstrong & Associates publishes Who's Who In Logistics? Armstrong's Guide to Global Supply Chain Management. Recent research papers include Warehousing in the United States and Global Logistics Services Providers II. In addition, Armstrong & Associates maintains databases of warehousemen, freight forwarders and third-party logistics and distributing companies. Armstrong & Associates, Inc., 100 Business Park Circle, Suite 202, Stoughton, WI 53589; Ph: 608-873-8929; Fax: 608-873-5509; Web: www.3PLogistics.com.


text:
The NCAA defended its recent rulings in violations cases involving Ohio State and Auburn, saying it does not play favorites or make decisions based on financial considerations.
The NCAA posted a statement on its website Wednesday responding to critics.
It says "the notion that the NCAA is selective with its eligibility decisions and rules enforcement is another myth with no basis in fact.
"Money is not a motivator or factor as to why one school would get a particular decision versus another," the statement says. "Any insinuation that revenue from bowl games in particular would influence NCAA decisions is absurd, because schools and conferences receive that revenue, not the NCAA."
Last week, the NCAA suspended five Ohio State players for five games next season for selling championship rings, trophies and other memorabilia items, but it will let them play in the Jan. 4 Sugar Bowl.
Before the NCAA handed down its penalties, Ohio State officials told Sugar Bowl organizers that the school was lobbying for the players to be eligible.
Sugar Bowl executive director Paul Hoolahan told the Columbus Dispatch that he encouraged Ohio State officials to push for the players to be allowed to play against Arkansas.
"I made the point that anything that could be done to preserve the integrity of this year's game, we would greatly appreciate it," Hoolahan was quoted as saying in Wednesday's editions. "That appeal did not fall on deaf ears, and I'm extremely excited about it, that the Buckeyes are coming in at full strength and with no dilution."
Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long told the Associated Press that he had no problem with Hoolahan looking out for the Sugar Bowl.
"He's the leader of the Sugar Bowl and probably needs to do that," Long said. "I also don't think that his lobbying, so to speak, would carry a whole lot of weight with the NCAA when they make their decisions. I don't mean that with any disrespect to Paul Hoolahan, but I would be surprised if the NCAA took that into consideration when making their decision."
Last month, the NCAA did not punish Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, though it ruled his father had solicited money from Mississippi State while that school was recruiting his son.
In the Ohio State case, the NCAA said players, including quarterback Terrelle Pryor and three other starters, were inadequately educated about the rules and that was a mitigating factor. The NCAA reiterated that point in its statement Wednesday — though Georgia receiver A.J. Green was suspended this year for similar infractions.
It also said bowls, the postseason and NCAA championships are evaluated differently when determining a student-athlete's punishment.
"This policy was developed and implemented by the Division I membership, specifically the Division I Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement and approved by the Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet, in 2004," the statement said.
In the Newton case, the NCAA said the Heisman Trophy winner could continue playing because there was no evidence that he or Auburn knew about Cecil Newton's attempts to get Mississippi State to pay $180,000 for his son's commitment out of junior college.
The NCAA said efforts are being made to strengthen rules "when benefits or money are solicited (but not received)."
"Put simply, had Cam Newton's father or a third party actually received money or benefits for his recruitment, Cam Newton would have been declared ineligible regardless of his lack of knowledge," the NCAA said.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
When a lawyer challenges a denial of benefits by the Social Security Administration [SSA] and is successful on behalf of a client on appeal in a federal court, there's a lovely section of the Social Security Act known as 42 U.S.C. § 406(b) which provides the possibilty of attorneys' fees.
Specifically, § 406(b) states that: "Whenever a court renders a judgment favorable to a [social-security-benefits] claimant . . . who was represented before the court by an attorney, the court may determine and allow as part of its judgment a reasonable fee for such representation . . . ." It was this section that was at issue in the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeal's Jan. 25th decision in Samuel D. Jackson v. Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security.
In Jackson, a district court determined that § 406(b) does not authorize attorneys' fees when a district court remands a case to the SSA, even when the SSA grants benefits on remand. On appeal, both Jackson and the SSA agreed that the district court's construction of § 406(b) was "erroneous." So it wasn't much of a surprise that the 5th Circuit decided to reverse the attorneys' fee issue back to the trial court in Jackson.
"In short, the district court's construction of § 406(b) unavoidably reduces the likelihood that an attorney who undertakes a disability benefits representation will receive reasonable compensation for his work," wrote Senior Judge Patrick Higginbotham in a decision joined by Judges Edith Clement and Catharina Haynes. Higginbotham also pointed out that the 5th Circuit does not stand alone in this reasoning and had made a similar determination before in 2010's Jeter v. Astrue. "For substantially the reasons set forth above, all five circuits to consider the question have determined that § 406(b) are authorized in cases where an attorney obtains a favorable decision on remand. The SSA has not opposed such fees in over 25 years and now urges this Court to reaffirm our position in Jeter. We take the agency's invitation," Higginbotham concluded.
—John Council


text:
Silverdale Pet-Friendly Lodgings
Best Western Plus Silverdale Beach Hotel
3073 NW Bucklin Hill Rd.
Silverdale, WA 98383
Category: Hotel
Update Pet Policy
Please use this form to update this pet policy with regard to pet fees, deposits and size restrictions–or if the lodging is no longer pet friendly.
Looks like no one has submitted a review yet. Be the first to submit your review. You'll be at the top of the list. Cool.
For more information about Tennessee - Toll Free # (800) 836-6200


text:
Slackware 13.37 ARM Released
Shortly after Slackware 13.37 has been released, now follows the Slackware 13.37 ARM gets released. For those who don't know what this is, i take the short description from the official website:
Slackware ARM ("ARMedslack") is the official port of the Slackware® Linux distribution to the ARM architecture. Currently, the project focuses its efforts on supporting the Plug Computers, and can also be used under the QEMU emulator.This version is released a month after it's first RC appeared and it's synced with Slackware 13.37.
Slackware ARM 13.1 and onwards is built for ARMv4t, little endian, soft float, EABI.
If you are interested with this Slackware 13.37 ARM, see the GetSlack page for more information.


text:
Monday, November 26, 2012
God, Take Me Instead!!!! : My Dog Died
As is customary, I made a short slideshow of pictures of him set to a karaoke version of "You're Simply the Best" by Tina Turner. As is also customary, I didn't know how to save or send it so I had to just take a video of it. Enjoy this one on Harley.
5 comments:
Hi, Kristen. I'm your new follower from Brazil (Rio). I've been searching for nice sites where I could read interesting and touching things and also have the possibility to practice my English.ReplyDelete
I also Have a small blog on poems. It'd be great to have you there although I don't know if you understand portuguese,if you do...
Thank you so much Mariani! What a cool way to get more familiar with english. I do not understand Portuguese unfortunately, but maybe your blog can help me start :) thanks again!Delete
I'm sorry :(. It's absolutely horrible when a pet dies, they become part of your family. My pet rat just passed away not too long ago. They only live two years but it really upset me. I couldn't imagine a dog you've had for a long time dying. :(ReplyDelete
I don't know how I didn't see this comment sooner...I'm so sorry about your rat. Even if you know going into it that having a pet doesn't mean forever, it doesn't make it any easier when the end comes. Thank you for the sweet sympathy :)Delete
I'm so sorry! I've had rats and guinea pigs dying and it's always been really hard. I have two cats now, and I can't imagine what I'll feel when it's their time.ReplyDelete


text:
Actors who surprised us with multiple roles in one movie
We gathered some of the brightest examples of actors doing their job brilliantly, doing multiple roles in one movie. Cate Blanchett in "Manifesto" – In Manifesto, she portrayed 13 people. (© Bayerischer Rundfunk) Tom Hanks in "Cloud Atlas" – In addition to these very different roles, Tom Hanks portrayed two more characters: the hotel manager and a Timothy Cavendish ... Read More »


text:
Many looked at this 4-game series between the two AL ballclubs with the best records and figured this to be a preview of a potential 2012 ALCS. We Yankees fans tend to expect our ballclub to perform at its peak all the time, so when then Yankees went 6-12 through last week and their lead went from 10 games to 4.5, we feared reality was setting in, after that long winning streak. But the Yankees have rebounded to win 7 of 8 since then, and have looked very good while winning the first 3 games against the Rangers this week.
I can summarize the Yankees' success against the Rangers in 3 words-- pitching, pitching, pitching. While the Yankees have scored a total of 14 runs over the 3 games, they have allowed a total of only 4 runs, two of those runs coming via solo Josh Hamilton HRs. Of the pitchers, David Phelps started shaky but got much better as the game went on. Derek Lowe (more about him later) was excellent for 4 innings. Kiroda was spectacular in game two. And Freddy Garcia was plenty good over 6.2 innings, followed by excellent performances by Logan, D-Rob and Soriano. Meanwhile the Yankees' offense has gone 7-18 (.389) with RISP over these 3 games, scoring 8 of the 14 runs via the HR, but also bunting runners to third base with -0- outs and hit-&-running. In short, it comes down to the pitching but the entire Yankees team has looked very competent against the Texas Rangers, the team most pick as the AL's best. It should be noted that the only starter the Yankees aren't seeing in this series is Yu Darvish. Darvish beat the Yankees badly back on April 24, but over his last four starts he has given up 21 earned runs over 24 innings, and there are whispers that Texas' summer heat is taking a toll on Darvish, who used to pitch inside a dome in Northern Japan.
Regardless of what happens in Thursday's matinee, if this series proves anything, it is that the Yankees can beat anybody in the AL as long as their starting pitching performs up to spec. No shocker there, but it is good to see it actually happening on the field.
After the 2008 season both Derek Lowe and AJ Burnett were free agents, and I wanted Lowe. Obviously it didn't happen that way. Now AJ is gone and the Yankees have Lowe, but you know what, in hindsight I wouldn't have wanted it any differently. AJ had one decent season, two bad ones, but he turned in a great performance in the 2009 World Series vs Pedro with the Yankees down 1-0. Lowe was 'ok' with the Braves for a couple of seasons before bombing last year and this season. Now AJ is gone, which is best for him and the Yankees, and Lowe is a Yankee, but not as a starter, which may very well be best for him at this point of his career. His sinker was working beautifully Monday night and if he has figured out what was wrong (as he says he has), his ability and experience will be invaluable to the Yankees for the rest of this season. This is the final year of Lowe's deal, and the Yankees are only paying a portion of the small amount the Indians had to pay, as the Braves ate $10 million of the $15 million he is owed in 2012 in order to move him.
Isn't it interesting how the Yankees have brought in seasoned ballplayers this season, re-defined their roles as part-time or as relievers, and have had great success with almost every one of them? Chavez, Ibanez, Ichiro, McGehee (just how do you pronounce that name?) and Lowe. That's a lot of experience there.
Here is a great story from the Wall Street Journal about Jim Hendry, formerly the Cubbies' general manager, now special assistant to Brian Cashman. Cash did the same thing a couple of years ago with Kevin Towers, now the D-Backs' GM, after he left his longtime job (13 yrs) as Padres' GM.
Regarding Andy Pettitte- it's my nightmare that the Yankees will push him into a starting role in the postseason before he's ready to take on that role and will regret that decision later. Let's just hope he can get in 2-3 starts in September, and get up to at least 5 quality innings BEFORE the postseason begins.
Regarding Arod- just because Chavez is red-hot right now, let's not think the Yankees can be successful without Arod in the lineup. Even Chavez has his concerns about how long he can manage to play almost daily. He is very realistic about his fragile back in his interviews.
It was around the All-Star break that I complained about Nick Swisher's OBP and said that he seems like he's playing for a new contract (swinging the bat more) instead of doing what he's always done best, taking pitches and getting on base. Since then, he has been much more patient and Joe Girardi certainly noticed, putting him back in the #2 spot last week, something he did often in prior years but hardly at all this season. Since then Swish has hit 2 HRs and 11 RBI in 7 games, batting .286/.359. That lifts his overall numbers this season to .263/.344. At the break he was .262/.336, so he is clearly walking more.
Is anybody following what is happening in Boston? What a mess. Grumbling by the players reached such a point that according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo!, BoSox ownership called a meeting with only the players on July 26. In other words, without Bobby Valentine. It was reported that the players, particularly A-Gon and longtime Francona ally Dustin Pedroia, led the charge in ripping Bobby V. Pedroia has since backtracked to the press on his role. Here is a very good, even-handed take on the whole thing by Boston Globe writer Pete Abraham. Over in Chi-town, Theo Epstein must be quietly chuckling to himself.
You all know my distaste of the Yankees' radio crew: clownish, cartoonish, pre-programmed, and generally inaccurate play-by-play broadcasting. Over the past couple of weeks I've listened to the radio broadcasts much more than watching the video, out of necessity. I'm not going to go into all my gripes all over again, but I find it truly hard to understand why there are some Yankees fans who enjoy Sterling-Waldman. Here's one-- after Tuesday night's Kiroda masterpiece, Suzyn Waldman catches Kiroda before he comes off the field for a post-game interview. Now, it's bad enough that Suzyn chortles and gurgles her way through most of her interviews, but did she really need to shout out all her questions to Kiroda? He's not deaf, Suzyn, he just doesn't speak English! I'm sure his translator could hear you just fine! ......sigh......


text:
NewswireToday - /newswire/ -
Gundremmingen, Germany, 2013/08/15 - The most powerful generator-turbine unit ever built by Voith has entered service in the Chinese hydropower plant Xiluodu on the Jinsha River - Voith.com. FSE: VO2A
Most powerful generator-turbine unit in the history of Voith enters service in China;
Total output of Voith units corresponds to Germany's largest nuclear power plant in Gundremmingen;
Important technological milestone on the way toward the one-gigawatt unit;
Saving nearly 150 million tons of CO2 per year.
After a successful 72-hour test run, Voith handed over the first of a total of three such machines to the customer "China Three Gorges Corporation." With 784 megawatt the output of the generator-turbine unit in Xiluodu is higher than that of the world's largest hydropower plants and consequently sets new standards. Upon completion, the total capacity of the three Voith units for Xiluodu will correspond approximately to the output of Germany's largest nuclear power plant.
"This remarkable achievement is an important step toward the first one-gigawatt unit. Congratulations to the entire Voith team that has made a contribution to the largest ever single project at Voith Hydro," said Dr. Roland Münch, Chairman of the Management Board of Voith Hydro. At the same time he emphasized that Voith met the high test standard in China without any errors and that the machines are running with high precision.
Power generation from hydropower is playing an increasingly important role in China. Voith is one of the worldwide leading technology partners for power plant operators. About five years ago, the company started to equip Xiluodu hydropower plant with components. Each of the three Francis turbines supplied by Voith has an output of 784 megawatt; the attached air-cooled generator is rated at 855.6 MVA. With a weight of 1,350 tons, the generator rotor has a diameter of 13.7 and a height of four meters.
The installation of the first such Voith machine unit in Xiluodu started approximately one and a half years ago in close cooperation between Voith Hydro in Shanghai and the global Voith research and development laboratory for water turbines and generators. The construction of the machines was officially completed with the finalization of the 72-hour test run, which was monitored round the clock by the Voith engineers.
When Xiloudu is fully connected to the grid in June 2014, it will have a nominal capacity of 13.86 gigawatt with its altogether 18 machine units. This will make it the world's third largest hydropower plant and a major contributor to fewer pollutants in the atmosphere: thanks to the renewable energy generation of Xiloudu, the annual consumption of coal will be cut down by 41 million tons. In addition, exhaust gas emissions will be reduced by nearly 150 million tons of CO2, 480,000 tons of nitrogen dioxide and 850,000 tons of sulphur dioxide per year.
China is one of the largest hydropower markets. At the moment, the country has installed hydropower plants with a capacity of 250 gigawatt. But there is room for more electricity from hydropower: a total output of 466 gigawatt could be generated.
The Importance of Hydropower
Hydropower is the largest, oldest and also most reliable form of renewable energy generation. Worldwide it makes an indispensable contribution to stable power supplies and hence to economic and social development - in industrial countries and also in rapidly growing regions. At the same time, hydropower significantly contributes to climate-protecting energy generation. Voith has been a leading supplier of this technology since the early beginning of hydropower utilization, and continuously develops and improves this technology.
About Voith
Voith (voith.com) sets standards in the markets energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials and transport & automotive. Founded in 1867, Voith employs more than 42,000 people, generates 5.7 billion in sales, operates in over 50 countries around the world and is today one of the biggest family-owned companies in Europe.
Written by / Agency / Source: Voith GmbH
Availability: All Regions (Including Int'l)
Traffic Booster: [/] Quick Newswire Today Visibility Checker
Distribution / Indexing: [+] / [Company listed above is a registered member of our network. Content made possible by PRZOOM / PRTODAY indexing services]


text:
Dorothy M. Barta
May 18, 1929 — Apr. 23, 2014
Dorothy M. Barta, 84, a resident of Pacifica, died April 23, 2014 at Kaiser-Permanente Medical Center, South San Francisco. She was born in Green Bay, WI on May 18, 1929 to the late Harold and Marie (Wochos) Barta. She received her BA in Music and English in 1953 from the College of St. Teresa, Winona, MN, a Master of Social Work in 1964 from Loyola University Chicago, and a Master of Public Health in 1976 from UC-Berkeley.
During her early social work career, she worked in foster care and adoption for the State of Wisconsin and as a school social worker for the Madison, WI public schools. She spent the majority of her career working as an assessment team member and case manager for the developmentally disabled at the Golden Gate Regional Center. In the early 1970's, Dorothy studied abroad in India for six months, afterwards doing volunteer work, most memorably at Mother Teresa's Home for the Destitute and Dying in Calcutta.
Dorothy retired in 1992. When macular degeneration began to compromise her vision, she became involved with programs at the Lighthouse for the Blind in San Francisco. She was especially devoted to the gardening program for the blind and visually impaired at Golden Gate Park. One of her most treasured honors came in 2008 when Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work bestowed upon her its Siedenburg Distinguished Alumni Award in acknowledgement of her exemplary contributions to the social work profession.
Dorothy is survived by her sisters Patricia (James) Kispert, Green Bay, WI, and Mary (Ken) Fivizzani, Naperville, IL. She was preceded in death by her sister Marjorie Roznowski. Other survivors include a brother-in-law, nieces and nephews, cousins, and many friends. A memorial service will be held in Green Bay on her birthday, May 18, at the Allouez Catholic Cemetery chapel.
Her family wishes to thank all the staff at the Kaiser-Permanente Medical Center who were involved in her care. The care she received was compassionate and outstanding in every respect.


text:
NewswireToday - /newswire/ -
New Delhi, India, 2012/09/06 - Newgens Business Process Management Solution to enable lower TAT and enhanced operational agility at L&T Finance - NewgenSoft.com.
Newgen Software Technologies Limited, a leading provider of Business Process Management (BPM), Enterprise Content Management (ECM) and Customer Communication Management (CCM) announced the successful implementation of its BPM solution at L&T Finance, one of Indias leading NBFCs.
L&T Finance had a target of rapid market expansion and therefore needed a scalable solution for swiftly rolling out branches. Speaking on the benefits of the Newgen solution, Mr. Krishnan Venkateswaran, VP IT, L&T Finance said,The project has helped us rapidly roll out fully functional branches, deliver a uniform user experience with lower training needs, and enhance our operational agility. It has helped us gain visibility into each sub-process in a client acquisition cycle, and thus helped us standardize processes and optimize turnaround times to enhance customer and channel satisfaction, he further added
Commenting on the significance of this implementation, Mr. Diwakar Nigam, MD & CEO, Newgen Software said,Newgen is proud to be a partner in L&Ts journey towards achieving customer centricity. With this implementation, Newgen has further consolidated its position in the Non Banking Financial space using process & technology to improve agility, performance and profit.
Newgens solution has paved the way for L&T Finance to raise operational agility, enhance process control and increase customer base with faster and efficient services. Newgen's end-to-end solution will continue to ensure seamless integration with core applications.
About L&T Finance
Incorporated as an NBFC in 1994, L&T Finance is registered with the RBI as an NBFC-ND-SI, and is classified as an Asset Finance Company (AFC). L&T Finance offers a spectrum of financial products and services for trade, industry and agriculture. It is primarily engaged in short to medium term asset backed financing viz. construction equipment finance, transportation equipment finance, rural products finance, supply chain finance, corporate loans and leases, microfinance, etc. As of March 2012, L&T Finance had loans and advances in excess of INR 12,500 crores.
About Newgen
Newgen Software Technologies Limited (newgensoft.com) is the market leader in Business Process Management (BPM) and Enterprise Content management (ECM), with a global footprint of 900 installations in over 50 countries with large, mission-critical solutions deployed at the world's leading Banks, Insurance firms, BPOs, Healthcare Organizations, Government, Telecom Companies & Shared Service Centers.
Newgens Quality Systems are certified against ISO 9001:2008 and Information Security Standard, ISO
27001:2005. Newgen has been assessed at CMMi Level3
Press contact: Rohit Thakur, Senior manager
Written by / Agency / Source: Newgen Software Technologies Ltd
Availability: All Regions (Including Int'l)
Traffic Booster: [/] Quick Newswire Today Visibility Checker
Distribution / Indexing: [+]


text:
You Said It Column October 10, 2008
• Has it occurred to anyone else that regardless of the presidential election outcome, Nancy Pelosi will still be two heartbeats away from the presidency? That's a scary thought.
• What they should do is get back all of the pay and golden parachutes from the CEOs of these failed companies and apply it first to the bailout. Then, we taxpayers might not be so upset with the government using our money to bail out the rest.


text:
Sign-up for the new-look Sport24 newsletter! Delivered daily to your Inbox!
Get Sport24 on your mobile
London - Andy Murray swept into the semi-finals of the ATP Tour Finals as the world number three defeated France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) at London's O2 Arena on Friday.
After Novak Djokovic's win over Tomas Berdych earlier on Friday, Murray knew he only needed to take one set off seventh seeded Tsonga to guarantee his third appearance in the last four of the season-ending event.
The 25-year-old took just 33 minutes to achieve his goal and he eventually sealed his second win of the tournament, advancing from Group A in second place behind Djokovic, despite a late flurry from Tsonga.
After a glorious year which has featured his first Grand Slam title at the US Open, a gold medal in the Olympic singles and a first appearance in the Wimbledon final, Murray would love to cap the campaign with a first Tour Finals crown.
To do that he is likely to have to get past defending champion Roger Federer, who will be the Scot's semi-final opponent on Sunday if, as expected, the Wimbledon champion finishes top of Group B.
"It was quite a tough scenario and I was lucky to get off to a good start," Murray said.
"There was some good tennis at the end of the second set. Jo started playing better.
"When he was imposing himself as he was in that second set, he is a hell of an athlete and very tough to play."
Tsonga, beaten in his previous two group matches, required a straight sets victory to sneak through at Murray's expense, but his track record suggested the outcome wouldn't go his way.
Murray had won six of their previous seven clashes, including a semi-final success at Wimbledon earlier this year, while Tsonga had lost all 11 of his meetings with top-eight ranked players this year.
Cleverly mixing the pace and flight of his groundstrokes, Murray quickly took charge and tempted Tsonga into a series of rash shots from the baseline that gifted the Scot a break in the opening game.
Murray continued to baffle Tsonga with his astute shot selection and secured a second break for a 3-0 lead when the frazzled Frenchman drove a forehand into the net.
Tsonga, the Tour Finals runner-up 12 months ago, finally got on the scoreboard when he held serve in the fifth game, but Murray refused to relinquish his strangehold and easily closed out the set.
Murray kept his foot on the gas and broke in the first game of the second set thanks to a Tsonga double-fault.
Yet, with defeat looking certain, Tsonga underlined why he can be so frustrating as he suddenly started playing with real purpose and broke Murray to love to level at 4-4.
Tsonga saved two break points at 5-5 and kept the pressure on Murray, who had to save a set point to force a tie-break.
But the Scot refound his rhythm in the breaker and some searing groundstrokes ended Tsonga's resistance.
Follow Sport24 on Twitter, Facebook, Mobile and on Instagram
Read News24's Comments Policy
24.com publishes all comments posted on articles provided that they adhere to our Comments Policy. Should you wish to report a comment for editorial review, please do so by clicking the 'Report Comment' button to the right of each comment.
The 2017/18 PSL season is under way. Can Bidvest Wits defend their title? Will Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs or Orlando Pirates emerge victorious? Or will the bookies' favourites, Mamelodi Sundowns, taste success for a record eighth time? Stay glued to Sport24 to find out!
Australian Open
French Open
US Open
View Results |
Vote Archive
Australian Open
French Open
US Open
Vote Archive
Follow Sport24 on Twitter
"Like" Sport24's Facebook page
Enter and win with Sport24!
Stay in the loop on your BlackBerry
RSS Feeds
Sport news delivered really simply.
24.com: Legal notices
Advertise on 24.com
About us
Contact us
24.com. All rights reserved.


text:
CPO Presents the Maryland Swap Meet and Greet Part II
Save the Date!
What is CPO?
Concrete Pig Offroad. A small group of like-minded Jeep Owners....
We have sponsors joining, so there will be contests and giveaways!
Reserve the date. This will be Maryland's preeminent Jeep party of the year!
Flyer updated! Gonna be a great time!
damn, work starts for me at the exact time :(
nevermind, its on a saturday I am going to go to this.
Just wanted to bump this and remind people to put it on their calendars.
Nice - looks cool! This isn't a club-only event or anything, is it? Any cost to enter, or just show up?
Cool - I'll put it on the 'ol calendar!
50/50 Raffle Details....$5 - 1 chance, $10 = 3 chances. Get everyone to participate....the point of a 50/50...the bigger the pot...the bigger the prize.
3 weeks to go!!!!!!!
Rock Garden Crawl and Blind Obstacle Course:
These are not EXTREME offroad events....the Rock Garden is 50 yards of shakedown rocks that Jeeps from mild to wild can have fun on. The Blind Obstacle course will be an obstacle course that allows the testing of the Spotter/Driver teamwork. The driver will be blindfolded and rely solely on the the direction of the spotter.
These will be FUN events open to all....Can't wait to have a laugh a minute at some of the teams....Think I will have my 8 year old spot.....
Another detail....
Show and Shine....EVERYONE WHO ENTERS IS AUTOMATICALLY ENTERED.....each Jeep will get a number....voting will be for 3 classes....
BEST: Mall or Crawl, and the CPO CFJ (Coolest "F"ing Jeep)
Here is the rub....everyone votes...and you don't pick your class....so if you win....will you be Mall? Or will you be Crawl? Or...do you think you have what it takes to be the CFJ? Prize awarded for each class.
|The time now is 09:37 PM.
Powered by vBulletin Version 3.8.8
Copyright ©2000 - 2017, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2017 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
vBulletin Security provided by vBSecurity v2.2.2 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2017 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.


text:
Prague (May. 27)
Race nationalism is growing in the Carpatho-Russian section of Czechoslovakia and energetic action must be taken immediately to stem the tide of anti-Jewish feeling, Dr. Rozsypal, president of the Carpatho-Russian section, declared at a special meeting of Jewish representatives at Uzhodor, Czechoslovakia.
Dr. Rozsypal declared that he personally is no longer willing to take responsibility for the development of anti-Jewish feeling and advised representatives of the Jewish communities to combat anti-Semitism.
The Judische Stimme of Muncak, commenting on Dr. Rozsypal's speech, objected to his declaration, pointing out that anti-Semitism was a matter for authorities to deal with. The paper pointed out that the group active in formation of committees are directly responsible for filling Czechoslovakian schools with Jewish children in a completely Russian district.
The chief reason for anti-Semitism in the section was blamed by the Stimme on advocates of Czechoslovak nationalism. The Jewish party should have remained completely neutral in the conflict between national groups, the paper insisted.


text:
I am fourteen and have found that every time I exercise, I loose all the benefits by having to take in sugar because of a hypo. Now I have great control, I quite fancy getting back into running. Has anyone got any tips on how to build up fitness by running and what I should do with diabetes. At the moment, I like short distance and middle distance running but I would love to progress to long distance due to the health benefits of it, How should I work my way up and what does long distance do to your sugars compared with sprints?
Thanks to all who reply!
Are you on a pump or shots? I think everyone's body works different and it's kind of trial and error but I will tell you what has worked for me and maybe it will give you a starting point! A little background: i am 27 and was diagnosed last summer and i wear a pump! I find that the best time to run is when I have no or very little active insulin on board, which is usually about 4 hours after I eat. I always wear my pump at 100% of basal and usually if I run less than 3 miles I don't have any change in sugars (this is because your heart rate is up high enough that it's using sugar from your body stores and not your blood). If I'm going to run 4 miles or more then I take a hammer gel pack about half hour before I run. Yes this is sugar but it's a slow releasing kind that doesn't causes spikes and gives you energy. I think once I start seriously running at get to the 9-10 mile mark I will have to take another gel halfway through. Even if you aren't burning off the calories from the sugar you have to take to prevent hypo, you are still exercising your muscles and keeping your heart strong, along with many other health benefits. I hope this helps at least a little to get you started, let me know if you have any other questions and keep up the good work : )


text:
- vess5
- 4 years ago
- Wedding: April 2014
How do these work?
My FI and I aren't too hip to us doing a solo first dance together. My FI and FMIL do want to do a mother son dance. My father is deceased so I'd be skipping a father daughter dance. I don't want it to be like a focal point that my dad isn't around to dance with me. I don't want guests to notice a difference or an absence (no pity or sorrow). So maybe these group dances are a good solution.
Do we just have the DJ invite certain people to join at the end of the mother-son song and transition into a new song chosen for the group dance? My FFIL would cut-in to dance with FMIL and I would join my FI. Our small wedding party, our siblings, and my mom would all join. Is it this simple?
Did I just answer my own question?!


text:
+ Author affiliations
In low-incidence countries in the European Union (EU), tuberculosis (TB) is concentrated in big cities, especially among certain urban high-risk groups including immigrants from TB high-incidence countries, homeless people, and those with a history of drug and alcohol misuse. Elimination of TB in European big cities requires control measures focused on multiple layers of the urban population. The particular complexities of major EU metropolises, for example high population density and social structure, create specific opportunities for transmission, but also enable targeted TB control interventions, not efficient in the general population, to be effective or cost effective. Lessons can be learnt from across the EU and this consensus statement on TB control in big cities and urban risk groups was prepared by a working group representing various EU big cities, brought together on the initiative of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The consensus statement describes general and specific social, educational, operational, organisational, legal and monitoring TB control interventions in EU big cities, as well as providing recommendations for big city TB control, based upon a conceptual TB transmission and control model.
The city can have as much reduction of preventable disease as it wishes to pay for. Public health is purchasable; within certain natural limitations a city can determine its own death rate.
Hermann Biggs, New York City Board of Health, Annual Report, 1915
In low-incidence settings, which include most countries in the European Union (EU), tuberculosis (TB) is concentrated in big cities [1]. TB disproportionally affects certain, often overlapping, urban groups such as immigrants from TB high-incidence countries, homeless people, those with a history of drug and alcohol misuse, and people with a history of imprisonment [2–11]. Prevention and control of TB among these risk groups can be hampered by delayed diagnosis, onward transmission and poor treatment adherence [12–16]. For effective TB control, services in EU big cities should be acceptable, accessible, adequate, appropriate and geared towards the needs of urban risk groups. In the last decade, innovative TB control activities in EU big cities have been reported, including mobile digital chest X-ray screening [16–19], the employment of community health workers and peer-educators [20,21], the use of mobile telephone-assisted or video-observed medication monitoring systems [22,23], and the application of molecular epidemiology [24–27]. Systematic implementation of evidence-based and innovative approaches to improve early case finding, case holding and treatment completion in urban risk groups is urgently needed. Exchange of experience from different urban TB programmes in the EU will be key to achieving European TB control.
In February 2008, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) published the Framework Action Plan to fight tuberculosis in the European Union, providing proposals on what needed to be done in EU Member States to decrease the burden of TB [28]. The report recognises the concentration of TB in hard-to-find and hard-to-reach populations as one of the major challenges to TB control efforts across the EU and a key strategic element to reduce and eliminate TB. The EU action plan provides an opportunity to re-think urban TB control, specifically among vulnerable populations in the EU, and strengthen work through the exchange of experience, collaborative research, advocacy and cooperation. In this statement, we have summarised key evidence-based and expert opinion-led recommendations to inform the control of TB in big EU cities. For each recommendation, we have provided a brief background and a summary of the evidence available.
Informal contacts have existed between some big cities in the EU for over a decade. In October 2005, the Municipality of Paris organised a conference on metropolitan TB in Europe and the theme of TB in big cities was discussed at the 5th European TB conference of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) in Dubrovnik in 2009 [29]. During the Wolfheze Conference in 2010 [30], TB control in big cities in Europe featured in the programme for the first time and as a result of this meeting ECDC agreed to facilitate a workshop on urban TB control in December 2010. TB programme managers and TB control physicians from 10 big cities in eight EU countries attended the event in Stockholm and a working group gradually developed and generated this consensus statement on TB control in big cities and urban risk groups in the EU. The preliminary outcomes of a survey on the epidemiology of TB in big cities in the EU, as well as the process and the progress of the working group, were presented at the 2011 Wolfheze conference.
This consensus statement is based upon a conceptual model of structural and intermediate determinants (explained in the next section) of TB exposure, infection, disease and treatment [31], as well as interventions for TB control, especially in urban risk populations (Figure 1). Each section begins with a discussion of the background of general interventions and specific elements for TB control in big cities, and is then followed by agreed recommendations to achieve control of TB in EU cities. These recommendations are rated in accordance with the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) grading system (Table 1) [32]. Rating was perfomed by one of the authors (RWA) and subsequently ratified by the expert group Detailed information (checklists and critical appraisals) of the SIGN grading process is available on request from the corresponding author. The literature was selected by authors of the consensus statement in a non-systematic search. SIGN grading was developed for the assessment of evidence in clinical studies and is not necessarily directly applicable to all public health interventions. Therefore a risk–benefit, feasibility, cost-effectiveness and value–acceptability assessment of the recommendations has been added in addition to the SIGN grading (Table 2). Due to differences in the ratio of urban and national TB notification rates in EU Member States, this statement has concentrated on urban TB and control in low-incidence (<20 TB notifications/100,000 population) EU countries according to ECDC definition [33]. Although there is a great deal of relevant literature on urban TB and control outside the EU (especially in North America), for the purpose of this consensus statement the working group has focused on European publications when available.
Figure 1. Conceptual model of structural and intermediate determinants of tuberculosis and areas of possible interventions, based on the natural history of tuberculosis from exposure through to infection and disease and treatment
Table 1. Rating levels of the evidence used to make recommendations to inform tuberculosis control in big cities in the European Union, made in accordance with the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) grading system
Table 2. Assessment of the recommendations to inform tuberculosis control in big cities in the European Union, by evidence grading, risk–benefit, feasibility, cost-effectiveness and value–acceptability
Social determinants and interventions
General background
Social determinants, including structural (e.g. social, political, cultural and economic, health system) or intermediary (e.g. crowded living conditions) and the value of equity are major factors that influence health outcomes [34]. Wealth, health and infection inequalities that influence TB morbidity and mortality rates exist in and between EU countries [35–38], and are probably affected by economic crises [39].
Social determinants and big cities
Social determinants of TB are not exclusive to big cities but urbanisation and the associated poverty and overcrowding that is more commonly found in these locations, impact on the levels of TB [40]. In many big cities outside and inside the EU, socio-economically disadvantaged populations are more prevalent. This is putting all residents at greater risk of TB acquisition but is particularly increasing the risk among certain urban subpopulations [2, 41–43]. Immigrants, legal or undocumented, form a substantial proportion of big city populations in the EU and can contribute considerably to TB incidence [24,42]. Household overcrowding is often found in urban areas and is related to TB incidence [42,44]. Specific urban overcrowding has been described well in shelters for homeless people or facilities for people with drug misuse; two socially excluded groups that are often over-represented in EU big cities [7,18,19,24]. Social determinants are fundamental causes of TB in EU big cities and therefore solutions to control TB must tackle these issues [45]. A social outreach model of care has been advocated [46], including the role of a link worker who can enable integrated health and social care, by, for example, resolving issues related to health, housing need, welfare benefits and immigration, as well as clinical management issues [47].
Big city TB control programmes should:
1.1. advocate for sustained political commitment to emphasise the social determinants of health that put subgroups of the population at increased risk of TB;
1.2. investigate and monitor inequalities and socio-economic deprivation and their links with TB in order to intervene with a comprehensive public health approach [28,37,38];
1.3. collaborate to promote suitable housing for homeless people in order to prevent transmission of TB and promote cure in this population [48-51];
1.4. provide access to social support for all vulnerable populations, irrespective of their status [52-54];
1.5. identify barriers and promote access to healthcare services for all those at risk of TB [21].
Awareness: information and education interventions
General background
Targeted provision of information to raise awareness among high-risk groups, in the form of leaflets or through the Internet, has been used for diseases other than TB, such as diabetes, HIV or breast cancer [55,56]. There is an increased drive to use raising awareness as a measure for TB control and to improve knowledge of TB among high-risk groups and the staff who work with them [57].
Awareness and big cities
Initiatives for raising awareness, such as active information and education strategies, should target urban TB risk groups, those working with urban TB risk groups, and healthcare professionals in urban areas [11,23]. To avoid stigmatisation, awareness of TB in risk groups in big cities can be improved on an opportunistic basis, for example, when a patient comes into contact with healthcare services for consultation or screening [11,58–61]. There is evidence from an educational intervention in London that promotion of screening in primary care can improve early identification of both active TB and latent TB infection (LTBI) [58].
Big city TB control programmes should:
2.1. implement a coordinated programme of education and training to raise and sustain awareness among affected risk groups and communities [11], front-line professionals working with high-risk groups [11,21], and health and social care professionals, such as general practitioners [11,58,62];
2.2. involve affected communities in the design and delivery of training and awareness raising programmes, taking into account cultural, language and literacy issues [11].
Infection control in community settings
General background
Infection control (IC) is an essential component of TB control and prevention and is included in the EU Standards of TB Care [63]. Shortcomings in IC have been major contributors to nosocomial outbreaks, including outbreaks in European TB reference centres [64]. Poor ventilation and overcrowding have been drivers of TB transmission in congregate settings such as homeless shelters, prisons and safe drug consumption facilities. General IC principles for healthcare settings can benefit these specific congregate venues [65]. New interest in IC has been awakened by the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB [66].
Infection control in community settings and big cities
Nosocomial transmission of TB in urban hospitals [67,68], and effective IC measures in these healthcare settings [69], have been described in the EU. Transmission in hostels and shelters attended by risk groups, and prisons in big cities in the EU, have been suggested by conventional epidemiological studies [70] and strong evidence is supplied by molecular epidemiological studies using DNA fingerprint cluster analysis [13,16,19,71–75]. Congregate settings in big cities in the EU can implement hygienic measures (proper room ventilation and illumination, no overcrowding, cough hygiene) and organise TB awareness-raising activities. They can also implement administrative control activities (early guided referral of residents suspected of having TB for diagnosis and isolation), and motivate residents to participate in contact tracing or radiographic screening [16,17,19]. IC can also prevent TB infection or disease among healthcare workers and social workers in big cities [13,65].
3.1. ensure implementation of IC measures in congregate settings used by urban high-risk groups (in addition to healthcare settings); these should follow national or international best practice guidelines [63].
Case finding
General background
TB control depends on early case finding and successful treatment [28]. Active case finding aims to identify those with TB who have not presented themselves to the healthcare system of their own accord, in order to reduce TB transmission [76]. Active case finding can be performed through symptom screening, questionnaire-based screening (including risk factors), radiographic (e.g. chest X-ray) screening, sputum examination (e.g. microscopy, culture or rapid molecular techniques, including automated nucleic acid amplification tests). Reviews of contact tracing and immigrant screening in the EU [77,78], and effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of TB screening, have been published recently [10]. Disparities in active case finding in the EU have been described [79].
Case finding and big cities
The assumption that urban TB risk groups will present promptly, complete a diagnostic process that is sometimes difficult and prolonged, and take treatment lasting a minimum of six months is not a basis for effective TB control [45]. Active case finding among urban high-risk groups should be complemented by tailored strategies for completion of the diagnostic process and treatment. These strategies include low-threshold public health TB 'one-stop shops' with sufficient nursing, social and community healthcare worker staff, appropriate outpatient clinical follow-up or the ability to admit patients to general hospitals or modern-day sanatoria (also called tertiary TB treatment centres). Policies should be backed up by adequate legal frameworks for social support and protection and ensure knowledge about and facilitate access to healthcare services [4,5,21,52,80]. Controversies and unresolved issues in active TB case finding among urban hard-to-reach groups have been recently addressed [10]. Contact tracing may not be feasible or effective for all urban risk groups, but can be in specific populations such as household or professional contacts [5,13]. Indiscriminate radiographic screening of immigrants is described as inefficient and not cost-effective [10,76,79,81,82]. However, some interventions that may not be effective when applied to the general population may be highly effective or cost-effective when targeted at specific urban high-risk groups, for example, homeless people and prisoners [10,16,17,19, 83–85]. Studies on longitudinal radiographic screening programmes for urban risk groups in the EU are limited but provide evidence that socially excluded and vulnerable urban risk groups can be reached [18,86], and that TB transmission can be controlled [16,19]. The National Institue for National Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recently published guidelines advising TB screening in hostels for homeless people and prisons [11,87]. ECDC and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) have recently published guidance on prevention and control of infectious diseases in people who inject drugs [88].
4.1. implement and monitor contact tracing according to national guidelines and international best practice consensus [21,78,89¬–91];
4.2. ensure that national guidelines for screening of immigrants are implemented [77];
4.3 consider targeted radiographic screening (e.g. mobile or static digital X-ray units) of urban high-risk groups, especially homeless people, people with drug and alcohol misuse, and prisoners [11,16–19,83,85];
4.4 implement measures such as TB 'one-stop shops' to ensure that suspected TB cases in urban high-risk groups are not lost before confirmation or exclusion of disease [11,21,63].
Case holding and treatment
General background
After case detection, TB control is founded on supporting patients to start and complete a long and occasionally complicated (e.g. due to adverse effects) course of treatment. The impact of poor compliance can be profound, both to the patient and to public health [31]. Treatment adherence is dependent on factors related both to the patient (e.g. language barriers or lifestyle factors) and to the provider (e.g. accessible, acceptable, adequate, appropriate and flexible services including treatment supervision and enhanced case management). Treatment supervision, such as directly observed therapy (DOT), requires adequate staffing levels based upon TB notification rates [4,5,80,92]. Enhanced case management requires multidisciplinary services such as specialist TB nurses, outreach social workers, TB link workers (or peer-support workers) with attention for any legal, social, housing or financial problems [5,17,46,47]. Conventional incentives and enablers, such as prepaid travel cards for public transport, can be used to increase adherence, as well as monetary incentives, which are controversial but have been demonstrated to be effective [93]. Innovative ways to increase adherence to TB treatment using modern technology should be explored as they have been in the field of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections [22,23,94,95]. When patients are either too medically or socially complex to be treated in a general hospital or on an outpatient basis, modern-day sanatoria can be invaluable [96,97]. Cohort reviews are key to improving case management and have played a major role in increasing treatment completion rates [7,98,99].
Case holding and treatment and big cities
Failure to attend appointments with medical or public health services is well-known among certain urban risk groups for TB [4,15]. For immigrants, factors such as legal, cultural, and language issues, socio-economic barriers and lack of knowledge about the healthcare system can result in taking the wrong medication or poor treatment adherence [100]. People who are homeless, or who have a history of drug or alcohol misuse, or of imprisonment, are all groups associated with poor adherence, and comprised 44% of cases lost to follow-up in London [7,31,101]. However, treatment completion can be very high among drug and alcohol misusers and homeless people in an adequate urban TB control programme with strict treatment supervision and potential mandatory isolation [16]. For case holding in big cities, the TB control programme should closely cooperate with related services, such as HIV programmes [63], services for people with a history of drug and alcohol misuse [88], prison services [102], asylum seeker services [53], and services for homeless people [13,16]. The use of supervised housing for homeless TB patients appears to be both effective and cost-effective [49, 50]. Outreach services can reduce hospitalisation and therefore costs [103, 104]. Establishment of TB link workers can reduce failed attendance through use of telephones, SMS reminders or accompanied referrals [17,22,23,46,47]. Specific attention is needed for undocumented migrants to ensure completion of treatment [52].
5.1. be complemented with social support systems directed towards the different risk groups, such as accommodation for homeless people or access to methadone replacement programs for people with drug misuse [11,49,50,88];
5.2. identify patients who can benefit from DOT prior to treatment, with DOT being considered for patients with risk factors for non-adherence as part of a patient-centred care plan [11,63,105,106];
5.3. provide low-threshold and accessible services that are staffed according to TB notification rate and establish partnerships with other relevant healthcare providers working with groups at high risk of TB, to support treatment continuity [4,5,11,47,63,107,108];
5.4. consider provision of incentives and enablers, peer-support workers and modern information technology to improve treatment adherence and outcomes [11,17,22,23,46,47,93,94];
5.5. be supported by EU healthcare regulation allowing undocumented migrants to complete TB treatment in the country of diagnosis [52-54].
Latent tuberculosis infection
General background
The primary aim of screening for LTBI is to prevent TB disease. Aspects of active screening for LTBI in the EU [76], a European consensus statement on TB contact tracing [78], ECDC guidance on the use of interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) for diagnosis of LTBI [109], and controversies and unresolved issues regarding LTBI screening of immigrants and urban risk groups, including cost-effectiveness [10], have been published elsewhere. Screening for LTBI should be risk-based and not population-based [110,111]. Priority for LTBI screening in EU countries is usually given to recent contacts, children, immunocompromised patients and healthcare workers [112].
Latent tuberculosis infection and big cities
Recent immigrants, who are usually overrepresented in big cities, and urban risk groups for TB are often screened for TB disease [16,17,77,113]. Testing for LTBI is less frequently reported [6,76]. Screening of immigrants for LTBI can be cost-effective depending on preventive treatment completion [10,81,114] but is often poorly implemented [115] and the expected reduction of TB incidence has been questioned [116]. Immigrant screening can be performed in primary care settings in big cities [58, 59] and this location has been reported to be acceptable to the immigrant population [117]. The management of LTBI in urban risk groups such as homeless people or people with drug misuse is controversial. Although the prevalence of LTBI is likely to be higher than in the general population, screening opportunities are limited by the hard-to-reach and hard-to-treat characteristics of these subgroups. Additionally, drug and alcohol misuse and co-infection with HIV or other blood-borne viruses increase the probability of adverse reactions to preventive treatment [10,13]. Identification of active TB among homeless people was found to be more important [118]. The prevalence of LTBI upon detention in European prisons can be high, but diagnosis of TB disease usually remains the priority [119,120]. Novel approaches to improve preventive treatment completion in deprived populations, such as shorter or simpler regimens, are urgently needed, and should be implemented as they have been in the United States [10,121,122].
Big city TB control programmes should
6.1. offer LTBI screening to urban risk groups only when an effective programme exists for active case finding and holding in these groups;
6.2. offer LTBI screening according to national guidelines, accompanied by a clear plan on preventive treatment;
6.3. organise a risk-based approach to LTBI screening, prioritising people who are at highest risk of infection or progression [63,78,112,123].
DNA fingerprinting
General background
Recent advances in molecular biology have provided new tools to better comprehend the epidemiology and transmission of TB disease. Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain genotyping or DNA fingerprinting has been widely used in population-based studies to determine the extent of ongoing TB transmission and risk factors in various communities [124,125]. Insights and applications of DNA fingerprinting in TB control have been described in review articles [126–128]. In the ECDC follow-up to the EU Action Plan to fight TB, genotyping of M. tuberculosis was proposed as a useful way of systematically monitoring disease transmission [129].
DNA fingerprinting and big cities
The contribution of DNA fingerprinting to conventional epidemiological data in the context of urban TB control has been described elsewhere [125]. Briefly, molecular indications for epidemiological links and identification of risk factors for transmission are crucial for understanding the specific epidemiology of TB in big cities, allowing the detection of risk groups and informing (targeted) public health interventions [13,16]. Urban TB cases are more often seen in foreign-born patients than cases in rural areas because of the higher proportion of migrant population in these cities. Most of these cases have a reactivation of an infection acquired in the patient's native country [26] However, DNA fingerprinting has revealed that in urban migrant cases, transmission is frequently also recent, more often than in non-urban migrant cases [24]. Molecular epidemiological studies identified factors for a higher risk of clustering, reflecting the risk of infection, such as alcohol or intravenous drug misuse, homelessness, or certain ethnic backgrounds [125]. They also confirmed high-risk sites for TB transmission in big cities, including congregate settings such as shelters for homeless people or prisons. Fingerprinting can also support extension of outbreak investigations and has been used to monitor trends and evaluate interventions, most specifically in urban areas [130].
7.1. complement routine surveillance activities and contact tracing with molecular epidemiology to identify unexpected spreading of TB and outbreaks, and to evaluate interventions [125].
General policy, legal framework and organisation of services
General policy: general background
Organisation and policies of TB control in the EU have been discussed in review articles covering standards of care [63], contact tracing [78], immigrant screening [77], active case finding [76] and cost-effectiveness [112]. The organisation as well as the legal framework for TB control differs between EU countries. These differences reflect variations in service delivery models, infectious disease law, public health responsibilities, organisation and legal background of screening and the implementation of mandatory isolation [79].
General policy and big cities
Organisational aspects of big city TB control have recently been described [5]. Lack of central planning, political commitment and mechanisms to commission city-wide services have created barriers to implementation of evidenced-based and cost-effective services for case finding and case holding [17]. Increasing rates of TB have been found where big city TB control systems are fragmented and involve a high number of clinical settings [4,131]. Many of the high-risk TB patients found in big cities have complex social, medical and economic needs, and multi-disciplinary teams, networking, for example, with experts in relevant co-morbidities such as HIV and hepatitis C and community and patient groups and sharing of experience between practitioners, are important in the organisation and provision of care in these settings.
Legal framework general background
Multiple laws can provide the legal framework for TB control in a country. Infectious disease acts and reports regulate the various responsibilities of national and local authorities, notification or reporting and surveillance of TB or TB-HIV, screening and mandatory isolation in case of threats to public health [132–134]. International legislation (e.g. Universal Declaration of Human Rights European Convention on Human Rights [135,136]) state that any application of restrictions, including mandatory isolation, requires (i) a legal basis and (ii) reasonable evidence that the restrictions are necessary to protect public health. The public health argument for compulsory TB screening of immigrants and mandatory isolation is sometimes questioned [137,138].
Legal framework and big cities
A legal framework for notification should provide the information for surveillance, cross-sectional studies and cohort reviews in big cities. [7,98,99] Non-compliant infectious TB patients are common in EU big cites, especially among urban TB risk groups [31]. The use of mandatory isolation is rarely used in some big cities in the EU [139]. Legal frameworks for mandatory isolation can be part of a successful urban TB control programme, if implemented when extensive attempts to support the patient have failed, for example through DOT, incentives and enablers, and social support [16].
Big city TB control programmes should:
8.1. be supported by high-level political commitment;
8.2. be organised to ensure accessibility for patients and include sufficient staff and expertise [4,5,11,80];
8.3. promote strong collaboration and coordination between sectors as a prerequisite to ensure delivery of the proposed recommendations;
8.4. have community and patient engagement programmes and address the problem of stigmatisation [58–61];
8.5. use involuntary isolation only as a measure of last resort under humane conditions;
8.6. contribute to a European network to facilitate the exchange of experience between programmes and allowing external assessment.
Strategy, monitoring and evaluation
General background
To reach and sustain the goal of eliminating TB in Europe it is fundamental that countries develop strategic TB control plans tailored to their own epidemiological situation. The ECDC Framework Action Plan to fight tuberculosis in the European Union and its follow-up provides areas for strategy development, including monitoring and evaluation, which can serve as a basis for a country's plan [28, 129]. Outcome assessment should be supported by robust and quality-assured surveillance and laboratory systems, and linked to molecular epidemiology where possible [28,129]. Systematic cohort reviews are of great value to improve the quality of data for every TB case and are key to the evaluation of TB control programmes by identifying problematic issues and gaps in case management [7,98].
Strategy, monitoring and evaluation of TB programmes and big cities
In countries where there is an identified problem with TB accumulating in vulnerable groups in big cities, the TB control strategy should be adapted to target those specific challenges and needs. Evaluation of big city TB programmes, internal and external, should be performed regularly in order to identify gaps in services and be based upon ECDC-proposed indicators to monitor progress towards elimination [129], such as notification rates (including sputum smear positive TB), paediatric TB, diagnostic delay, treatment adherence rates, treatment outcome, cost-effectiveness and social support [5,17,99]. High-risk deprived communities as well as civil society can be engaged in such a process. DNA fingerprinting can monitor trends and evaluate interventions, most specifically in urban areas [16,19,125].
9.1. implement a continuous process of programme evaluation that will inform strategy development and include independent external peer review;
9.2. perform review of case detection and cohort review of case management and treatment outcome. Reviews should include analysis by urban risk group [98, 140];
9.3. collaborate to evaluate targeted interventions in big cities, such as molecular epidemiology, to establish additional benefits in TB control [125].
In low-incidence EU countries TB is increasingly concentrated in big cities. There is an urgent need for the systematic implementation of effective, cost-effective, evidence-based and innovative approaches and tools to improve early case finding, case holding and treatment completion in metropolitan areas, especially among vulnerable groups [28]. The working group for TB control in big cities and urban risk groups in the EU has formulated 32 recommendations for big city TB control in nine areas of possible interventions. These recommendations resulted from a consensus process, and were prepared as precisely as possible but owing to the consensus approach, some were formulated as considerations. This was necessary because the epidemiological background of TB may differ between big EU cities, some interventions may not be available in all countries and cities, and there are limitations to what the working group can instruct EU Member States to do. Some of the recommendations are not strictly specific to big cities, because there is some overlap between urban TB control and general principles, and therefore the working group agreed not to mention certain issues, such as nosocomial IC, in the recommendations, when it was considered to be a general principle. Overall, this consensus statement demonstrates that at present the level of evidence for these recommendations to achieve control of TB in EU cities and among urban risk groups is limited and should be improved. Exchange of experience, collaborative research, advocacy and cooperation between different urban TB programmes in the EU will be instrumental to achieving TB control.
Conflict of interest
None declared.
Authors' contributions
The first draft of the manuscript was written by RvH, GdV, RA and IA. All authors contributed to revisions and intellectual content of the paper and have seen and agreed the final version of the manuscript.
The publisher's policy on data collection and use of cookies.
This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy
health information:
verify here.


text: Five bars, one dance floor, four VIP rooms, eight celebrity owners, including Sheila E. and Jimmy Smits. This is the original on steroids (maybe just tequila) in the new L.A. Live monolith Downtown. A restaurant too, in case pork chops and chicken mole sound good before a night of salsa dancing. But feel free to ignore that room. The focus is on the footwork.


text:
A couple of weeks ago I visited London with school. When we had free time, we had the chance to go and find some nice cars, and we did!! We saw cars like a Ferrari 599 GTO, some Ferrari 458's and many more! It was a great week! I also saw this Maserati GranCabrio, it is not a very special car but the sound is just epic. I love it's V8 sound! What do you think of this car? And what do you think of the sound? Please leave a comment with your opinion! Also don't forget to subscribe and rate this video! For more supercar action visit my channel! Thanks for watching! Ruben, © Rjtdbf, For The Best Car Video's!!
rjtdbf, maserati, grancabrio, london, v8, sound, acceleration


text:
Search Results
Entries tagged with "
Business Challenge"
September 3, 201411:20 PM
Everything Is Digital tagged "Business Challenge"
Digital is everything. Are you listening? I read the following quote from a recently published Forrester report titled, The Future Of Business Is Digital: "Business leaders don't think of digital as central to their business because in the past, it... Read more
July 9, 201411:54 PM
The Chasm Between Knowing And Doing tagged "Business Challenge"
We have terrible habits, don't we? I have so many issues. There are nights when I go to bed without flossing (I'm just too lazy). That's going to cause some extra scraping by the dental hygienist. I try to eat... Read more
April 3, 201411:42 PM
Let's Stop Mixing Up Digital Advertising With Digital Marketing tagged "Business Challenge"
I get into this fight all of the time. When people talk to me about advertising agencies - especially ones that claim to be "fully integrated" - what I (still) hear is: digital advertising. Make no mistake about it, advertising... Read more
January 16, 2014 9:10 AM
Change Your Marketing. Change Your Brain. tagged "Business Challenge"
Don't stop advertising. Don't stop marketing. Let's agree to stop the madness. Do a quick search online for the "death of marketing and advertising," and you will be shocked at the level of discourse out there. It has become so... Read more


text:
Design Women Hoodies are an Idakoos specialtiy! Idakoos has many things to offer. Whether you want to get a Design Hoodie for a special occasion, give a Design Sweatshirt as a present or need to represent with a funny Design Women Hoody during Holidays or Family and Friends get-togethers, Idakoos is sure to have the right Design Hoodie for you! Even if it turns out you can't find the right Design Hooded Sweatshirt with the perfect design for your mother, father or children (or friends!); Idakoos offers all of its men's women's and children's Design Women Hoodies as Design Women Hoodies. Personalize any Design Hooded Sweater the way you want to ensure the perfect gift.
Showing 1 - 24 of 45 Women Hoodies


text:
To access members-only content on cta.org, please sign in below.
Register Now
Two-page flyer that explains the quality public education system all students in California deserve and the advocacy positions of CTA on issues such as class size, access to preschool, a well-rounded education, and affordable college.
English | Arabic | Armenian | Cambodian
Hmong | Spanish | Tagalog | Korean
Simplified Chinese | Traditional Chinese
Thai | Vietnamese
In this corner you will find information about your role as Affiliate Treasurer, the CTA budget, and CTA Secretary-Treasurer David B. Goldberg.
As a local chapter (Affiliate) Treasurer, you have taken on an exciting and very important role.
This section contains the documents and resources you need for sound accountability practices to ensure the fiscal well being of your association and compliance with regulatory agencies.
Log in to view members-only content.
Take the Strategic Budget Survey for 2018-19.
"The role of the Treasurer is to monitor and maintain the association's financial health and stability in order to achieve its instructional, political and bargaining goals. It is a lot of work but so rewarding to know your association can provide services to its members because of your efforts."
Every child deserves a chance to learn and no child succeeds alone.
© 1999-


text:
State audit finds holes at New College
State auditors found several problems with New College's tracking of finances, employee travel and cell phone use, according to a just-released operational audit for the budget year ending June 30, 2007.
The State Auditor General also found that New College officials did not properly verify whether some students are Florida residents, a fact that determines how much tuition they pay. Moreover, the tiny public liberal arts college in Sarasota obtained insurance for some campus buildings that far exceeded the facilities' actual value.
New College administrators have responded to the audit, saying they concur with the findings and are implementing the fixes that auditors recommended.
Among the audit's findings:
- Finance journal entries are not reviewed by supervisors.
- A test of records for 20 random students found that for six of them, New College did not have the documents required to prove Florida residency.
- New College does not have a policy requiring background or fingerprint checks for people in positions of responsibility.
- For the 61 employees who spent $338,000 on university-issued credit cards, New College did not review whether employees exceeded the purchase limits of $3,000 daily and $999 per single purchase.
- New College allowed more than 30 employees to use college cell phones for personal use, but did not check records to verify whether employees were reimbursing the college for those calls, as required.
- New College did not have proper documentation for more than $7,000 worth of travel expenses.
- University officials might have obtained too much insurance for some buildings and their contents. One building was insured for $9.3 million even though the cash value is listed as less than $3-million.
The full report and New College's response are available here.