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I had a mini tummy tuck with muscle repair from the rib cage all the way down to the pubic bone 4 weeks ago. From day one I noticed a bulge above my navel. When i asked my doctor, he replied that it was my muscle and that he couldn't do anything about it. he mention that i had very little body fat so my muscle was more pronounced. I am still worry, and not really satisfied with his answer. Just for info my belly button was detached and pulled down.
Bulging Muscle Above my Navel?
Doctor Answers 5
Mini or full tummy tuck?
Thank you for the question.
The mini tummy tuck generally serves to tighten the abdominal wall muscles below the belly button. It carries the risks of creating a "bulge" above the belly button. This bulge is related to increased intra-abdominal pressure caused by the lower muscle plication.
Generally, the mini tummy talk is an operation that produces very limited results and is very rarely indicated. It involves a shorter incision but does not address the majority of the abdominal wall issues present for most patients who present consultation. For example, the area of skin excised is quite small. The abdominal wall musculature is addressed below the umbilicus leaving the upper number wall potentially lax. The appearance of the umbilicus is not necessarily addressed sufficiently.
For most patients who have had pregnancies and/or weight loss a full abdominoplasty is necessary to achieve the desired results. Of course, there are downsides (including a longer scar and probably a longer recovery time) but for most patients the benefits outweigh the downsides. It is not unusual to see patients who've had mini tummy tuck surgery present for revisionary surgery. It is important to work with a well experienced board-certified plastic surgeon to obtain advice (based on good ethics and judgment) to improve your chances of a successful outcome and minimize the need for further surgery.
I hope this helps.
Learn more: http://www.poustiplasticsurgery.com/Procedures/procedure_tummytuck.htm
Muscle bulging above the belly button after a mini tummy tuck
A mini tummy tuck is a safe and effective procedure that can create a more contoured abdomen, a tight waist and a beautiful figure.
When we perform a mini tummy tuck, one of the most important factors to consider is the state of the muscle. If the patient has loosening of the muscle or a benefit from a tightening, we perform a muscle plication surgery during the mini tummy tuck. What you may be noticing is a bulging of the muscle above the belly button that may benefit from further tightening or plication at this area. At this time, discuss your concerns with your plastic surgeon as they will want to examine you and determine if the bulge is from muscle or from a collection that may need to be treated in another fashion.
Bulge above belly button
You sound like you had a modified abdominoplasty or floating belly button without a scar around the outside of the belly button. A few things can account for the bulge. The most acute is a complication such as a hematoma or seroma, collections of blood or serous fluid.. Both need to be drained. Another is edema in the epigastric region, especially if you had any liposuction over the stomach region. This is caused by the disruption in lymphatic drainage. Time and massage will help. Sometimes a patients normal anatomy is one of upper abdominal fullness caused by the body structure, including ribs and muscle. Finally, a mini-tuck can maximally flatten the lower abdomen and the upper abdomen can look disproportionately bulging. If you have questions that are not answered by your surgeon, ask for, or seek, a second opinion.
You might also like...
Common to have full upper abdomen after mini tummy tuck
I am confused. By definition a mini tummy tuck does not treat the muscle above the belly button. Perhaps you are confused with a marriage or "midi" abdominoplasty as I call them which is midway between a mini and full.
Mini-tummy tuck issue
So the doctor floated your umbilicus and repaired your muscle and removed some excess skin. The bulge you feel may indeed be the muscle that was tightened, and you have to give it some time to heal. This may take a few months.
Learn more: http://www.stevenwallachmd.com
These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.


text:
A sense of balance. A sense of clarity. A sense of strength.We call that Commonssense.
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Class includes one hour of yoga and a half hour of free play, so parents who want time for their own yoga can go next door to Yogis Anonymous for Ally Hamilton's class at the same time. Children may stay for one hour or an hour-and-a half, at no extra charge, as fits your schedule.
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Join our mailing list to stay current with our new programming and to take advantage of exclusive offers for newsletter subscribers only!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Mayor Boris Johnson is challenging students in Harrow to come up with new and innovative ideas to cut carbon emissions and boost London's green credentials.
The 2013 Low Carbon Prize offers the students the opportunity to win a share of £20,000 to turn their ideas into reality.
This year, 20 of the best runners up will be shortlisted for a chance to win a paid internship with the industrial engineering firm Siemens, who sponsor the award.
London's low carbon and environmental goods and services sector is worth an estimated £27 billion.
The Mayor's Low Carbon Prize, which is open to students at Further and Higher Education Institutes across Harrow, will award cash prizes to help develop the best ideas for reducing carbon emissions from London's buildings, transport and energy infrastructure.
It forms part of the Mayor's commitment to achieve a 60 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2025.
Applications will be judged by a panel of experts, including representatives from the Mayor's Office, experts in climate change mitigation and successful business leaders.
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at the Siemens Crystal on Thursday 13 June.


text: Hello I am looking for an amplifier/receiver to connect my computer to both my studio monitors to play mp3s/movies off my computer through an spdif out or an HDMI out or standard 7.1 3.5 mm. jacks. I would prefer a digital output seeing as I don't want to lose on sound quality. There are two studio monitors. They are of the Pro Audio brand. The monitors have a tweeter horn, midrange woofer diameter of 6 inches and 12 inch diameter woofer on the bottom. The front plate has the following information on it: 1. power 250 watts program 2. min pwr 5 watts 3. nominal impedance 8 ohms 4. sensitivity 95 dB 1W/1M 5. Digital Ready 6. Liquid Cooled I could not find a model number on these speakers. I also cannot tell if these speakers are of high quality. Can you please recommend an appropriate amplifier to fulfill this purpose that will help me experience the true potential of these studio monitors? Looking at how big that woofer is, I feel the bass is not reaching its through potential and I am hoping there is something I can buy to improve overall sound quality. For the past 5 years, they have been connected to a panasonic sahe75 5.1 receiver that outputs 100 watts per channel. I want a worthwhile upgrade that can show me what I've been missing. Also, can I gain any significant improvement in sound quality if I purchased a higher quality amplifier (Yamaha rxa -730) or a NAD stereo receiver compared to my current receiver (Panasonic SAHE75) that I bought for 300$ retail.


text:
Title Fight "Floral Green" LP
The second full-length release from Title Fight. Recorded with Will Yip at Studio 4 Recording in Conshohocken, PA during May and June of 2012.
For fans of: Balance & Composure, Friends, Basement
DISCLAIMER: Some of the lyrics and liner notes might be offensive for some of our customers. We would rather let you know ahead of time, in case you're sensitive to that short of thing. We decided to carry this title because we like it.


text:
The calm before the storm!
Denise Richards and ex-husband Charlie Sheen were seen taking their daughters, Sam, 6 1/2, and Lola, 5, to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on Monday (October 25).
A few hours later, Charlie was hospitalized because he "had an adverse allergic reaction to some medication," his rep tells Us. The troubled actor, 45, "is expected to be released tomorrow."
Earlier reports state otherwise. Accordingly, Charlie was said to be found naked and intoxicated in a trashed NYC hotel suite. Reportedly, Charlie told police he was "out partying" and hotel security at the posh Plaza Hotel called 911 shortly after 2 a.m.
The day before, we saw Denise, Charlie and the girls at American Girl Place.View Slideshow »»


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KARACHI, Aug 24: The board of governors of the Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) has approved the establishment of an endowment fund for the SEF while its budgetary allocation by the Sindh government has been increased from Rs150 million to Rs200 million.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah presided over the meeting of the SEF board at the CM's House on Friday.
The meeting also decided to conduct internal audit of accounts together with other audits.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said that the present government had emphasised the need to provide maximum facilities for development and promotion of education and health sectors in the province.
He said that maximum amount of funds had been allocated for education and health sectors.
He asked educationists, teachers, students and parents to fully devote their attention towards learning, studying, teaching, research and work for betterment of the education sector particularly in less developed and remote parts of Sindh.
He stressed the need for attaining international standards in the education sector.
The participants in the meeting reviewed a 12-point agenda, made decisions on important issues and approved the minutes of the last meeting.
Sindh Education Foundation chairperson Prof Anita Ghulam Ali and SEF managing director Aziz Kabbani in a briefing informed the participants in the meeting that the foundation had completed twenty years of performance.
With regard to institutional progress and performance of four years (from 2008-2012), it was told that the SEF was providing financial and technical support to at least 2,403 educational institutions in all districts of the province which included 250 community schools (RBCS), 150 government schools (ELP), one child development centre in Karachi and 30 community supported schools while 1,785 new and existing private schools (1,300 IELP and 485 PPRS), 23 women literacy and employment centres, one jail school (Sukkur), 30 community learning centres and 133 government adopted schools.
Mr Kabbani said that 7,995 teachers had been provided employment under different educational schemes and a total of 253,624 students enrolled during the 4-year period.
With regard to SEF partners as school operators/ adopters and non-governmental organisations, the meeting participants were informed that there were 10 NGOs under RBCS, 646 OPS under IELP, 347 ENTs under PPRS, 52 adopters under AAEP, two NGOs under WLEP and one NGO under CLC.
It was stated that a total of 130,500 course books of Grade 1, 2, 3 and 4 were provided by the SEF to PPRS schools, 72,000 course books of Behtareen levels, 64,000 course books of Taiztareen levels provided to NGOs for students enrolled in RBCS schools.
The SEF had further trained 4,000 teachers and school operators while students' assessment in the year 2011-12 had also been made, the meeting participants were told.
It was proposed that schools in Katcha and desert areas would be included under the Sindh Education Foundation for imparting education there.
The meeting participants were also informed that this year there was a new scheme of opening 200 schools in Katcha areas.
It was decided that educational institutes under the SEF up to primary level would be registered with the Sindh education department with a condition of imparting mandatory Sindhi language education under the law.
Senior Sindh Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq, Information Minister Sharjeel Memon, SEF chairperson Anita Ghulam Ali, retired Justice Zahid Qurban, Sindh chief secretary Raja Muhammad Abbas, additional chief secretary (P&D) Israr Malik, principal secretary to the CM Mohammed Siddique Memon, Sindh finance secretary Naveed Kamran Baloch, works and services secretary Dr Atta Panhwar, special secretary of education Riaz Memon, SEF managing director Aziz Kabbani and others attended the meeting.—APP


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Starting with MacOS X 10.4 the included version of rsync has been made HFS+ aware. This means that when files are copied from a HFS+ file system to a volume of some other type is it able to preserve the Extended Attributes (including the resource fork) that have been applied to the file.
At least that is the theory. Unfortunately the version of rsync that ships with 10.4 (at least up to 10.4.3) is far from ready for production use. Apple's "enhancements" to rsync have introduced several bugs when using extended attribute support, some simply cause rsync to crash, while others are more subtle, and may not be obvious to the user until they need to restore from their backup and find that things aren't quite as they should be.
Rather than go into great detail about the bugs and problems that I encountered and my attempts to fix them, here is a short list of the things that should be addressed when using this version of rsync with the --extended-attributes option flag:
* Note: While this works for me, use it at your own risk. The same could be said for the version included with tiger.
Just the rsync universal binary file: rsync-2.6.6-bin-ea-20060818.tar.gz
(extract into /usr/local/bin)
The prepatched & precompiled source: rsync-2.6.6-ea-20060818.tar.gz
(run 'sudo make install' to install into /usr/local/bin)
To make a custom build from the baseline rsync code use this patch: rsync-2.6.6-ea-20060818.diff
If you download the binary file only, just extract it and copy the 'rsync' file to somewhere in your path like '/usr/local/bin'
For the precompiled source run 'sudo make install' and it will install the necessary files into '/usr/local/bin'
If you need to build it from scratch, or you wish to patch another system so that you can use the '--extended-attributes' option flag you will need to use the '--enable-ea-support' when running ./configure.
If you are compiling from scratch on a Darwin / MacOS X system you may also need to download and install into your include path the file 'copyfile.h' that is part of the darwin Libc source bundle. This is available from the apple developer site.
This version of rsync aims to be a direct replacement for the one included with Tiger, which means that the '-E' or '--extended-attributes' flag is supported. Using this option still requires that any remote host be running a patched version of rsync for this feature to work. The reason for this is somewhat trivial, but unfortunately unavoidable.
Note that while it is not necessary to patch remote systems running tiger, mixing the two versions is not recommended as there are bugs fixed in this version that will not be resolved by patching only one end.
If you are connecting to a non OSX system, also included are two new options '-X' or '--hfs-export' and '--hfs-import'. The option '--hfs-export' will allow rsync to export the hfs extended attributes in the same way the '--extended-attributes' option does, but without needing to patch the destination host. The files are sent as they would be when copying to any non HFS+ volume on the local system, creating a separate '._' prefixed file for each file with metadata. To successfully restore the files back to a HFS+ volume you need to use the '--hfs-import' option, which will rejoin the data and metadata forks into a single file.
If you have copied files from an exported volume without using the --hfs-import flag and you end up with a bunch of ._<blah> files on your HFS+ volume, don't worry. Simply run the command /System/Library/CoreServices/FixupResourceForks <blah> on the target file or directory in question to merge the file data and resources back together.
It order to avoid the unnecessary recopying of metadata it is also possible to enable checksums for metadata only using the '--ea-checksum' option flag. This will attempt to determine if the metadata has changed by exporting the extended attributes to an appledouble encoded file and performing a CRC32 checksum on the file, the same operations is performed on the existing target file and compared. For various reasons this isn't always able to determine 100% if the attributes are unchanged, so some files will still have their metadata recopied. There is an overhead involved with doing this checksum, but for the most part it shouldn't be any more expensive than recopying all metadata everytime.
The use of the '--inplace' option flag is fundamentally incompatible with '--extended-attributes' when targeting non HFS+ volumes so using the two options together has been disabled.
When resyncing an existing backup it is necessary to use the --delete option flag to remove any extended attributes from files that are unchanged but no longer have these extended attributes.
Extended attributes for source files on HFS+ volumes will be recopied for any file that has a last change time more recent than the files modification time (this means most of them). For various reasons I won't go into, there is no easy way for rsync, using unix system calls, to identify metadata changes between two instances of a file without physically comparing the metadata, or a checksum of it. I do not believe there is a way around this problem without resorting to using Carbon function calls.
Copyright (c) 2005, 2006 - Quinton Dolan firstname.lastname@example.com


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Leaders CEO
Igor began his investment banking career in 1997, straight from university. Due to his unbridled energy and business instinct, he succeeded in placing Prospect Investments among the leading brokerage companies during his first three years.
During 2000 to 2002 was the Managing Director of Foyil Securities New Europe, which under him became a leader among Ukrainian brokers. In February 2002, Igor Mazepa joined MFK Investment Bank as Managing Director. In his constant search for new challenges he soon decided to strike out on his own.
In September 2004 Igor Mazepa jointly founded Concorde Capital with his closest partners; the final realization of years of team building.
A graduate of the Kyiv National Economic University, he received his M.A. degree in international business and Bachelor in law. He is fluent in English and speaks Spanish.


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Family should pay if they receive proceeds
Now that the Kaufman family has been rescued from their "adventure" of sailing around the world, I am sure offers are flooding in to buy the rights to their story from magazines and TV for a movie.
I would hope that the government would be able to be repaid for the costs of rescuing the family by the Coast Guard and Navy. We taxpayers deserve to be reimbursed for this poorly planned misadventure.
Jack Resnick
La Jolla
Accidents happen; people can't always be afraid
Regarding the letters to the editor on Kaufman family sailing trip and rescue, for April 7.
The Kaufmans have been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion for taking unnecessary risks, but the reality is that they were expert sailors continuing a lifestyle that they had been living years before even having children. hat was their way of life and we have no right to criticize it. But harshly judging the life choices of others without having all the facts is the new American way.
Recreational boating is generally safe. In 2011 the Coast Guard recorded 6.2 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recorded 12.57 deaths per 100,000 registered vehicles. The average boat travels probably travels fewer miles than the average car, but you're still taking a comparable risk on a Sunday drive. And yet we judge the Kaufmans because their lifestyle is unusual,
We're bad at assessing risk, and this leads to the assumption that risk can and must be eliminated from all things. I worry that from there it's just a short leap to the kind of society that would sacrifice freedom for security. he truth is that accidents, illnesses, and unforeseen circumstances can happen no matter how safe we're being and how experienced we are. That is what happened to the Kaufmans. And it could happen to anyone. We shouldn't let fear of risk keep us from experiencing freedom. We should be praising the Kaufmans, not condemning them. Travis Cleveland
Unionize the orcas
If the living and working conditions of the SeaWorld whales are so deplorable, maybe it's time for the NLRB to look at unionizing the Orcas when they get done with the college jocks.
Jim Boese
San Diego
Capture national attention with biotech
I thought the April 7 editorial, "Make San Diego global hub of biotech," about Mayor Faulconer promoting San Diego as the nation's top biotech center was spot on, with one notable exception. While making this region No. 1 is our strategic goal, it's not an especially engaging one for nonresidents.
What we need is a rallying point as clear, powerful, exciting and appealing to all as the man on the moon goal you cited in the excellent piece.
That goal could be tied to big-picture projects already under way at our research centers, or recognized national needs like curing Alzheimer's. If we have the local teams in place to tackle those, the jobs and dollars will follow.
J. Gordon
Current site is best for stadium
The city is accountable for safe removal of the giant gas plume and/or all things hazardous on land deemed safe and approved to build on. Be it a new stadium, strip mall or housing, whatever is built on the land on which the stadium sits, the city will pay cleanup fees.
Qualcomm Stadium offers freeway access, a trolley station and tailgating. Also, street closures are not required nor help from police to direct traffic (Petco Park). It's a no-brainer — let's keep the stadium where it is.
Carol Fraccalvieri
Rancho La Costa
Dismayed at harsh reaction at opera ...
I read with dismay April 7 the story "Audience slings boos at opera director," an account of the vituperative and petulant invectives directed toward Mr. Ian Campbell when he appeared on the opera stage Saturday night.
I am a season subscriber to the opera and have gotten to know Ian Campbell. He is a consummate professional and, on a personal note, a dear friend. Perhaps his recent actions to shut down the opera may be ill advised, but should they totally erase more than 30 years of exemplary service to the opera and to San Diego?
I cannot help but see the analogy to the coming Christian season. On Palm Sunday Christ rode into Jerusalem to the exuberant accolades of the crowd, and on Good Friday, essentially the same crowd yelled, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Perhaps something is to be learned from these happenings.
Clyde W. Jones
San Diego
... But reader says reaction is justified
I was asked if I would be booing and hissing at the Tuesday performance of San Diego Opera if Ian Campbell gives a speech. I said I am ready to picket with a sign that reads, "Ian and Ann Undignified Traitors."
Now is the time for hissing and booing of a leader who leads us to suicide. No dignity in that. Only sadness and anger.
The leadership has failed San Diego, failed the opera and deserves to join Don Giovanni and Faust with the devil.
I am a donor and season subscriber, and I will continue to support the opera if the leadership changes. It is not time to encourage the suicide of the San Diego Opera.
David Armstrong
San Diego
School districts have made good bond moves
As a financial adviser to school districts throughout California, I'm as outraged as any other taxpayer when I read about misguided bond financing. But I also think we should applaud fiscally prudent decisions made by local school boards.
Over the past year, Cajon Valley Union School District, Chula Vista Elementary School District and La Mesa-Spring Valley School District have each undertaken refinancings of their general obligation bonds and saved taxpayers millions of dollars.
Another example is the San Diego County Taxpayers Association's bond financing workshop last weekend in which local school district leaders and concerned citizens came together to share best practices regarding bond financing and forge "win-win" solutions to better protect taxpayers.
As is the case with any funding solution for school districts, we must balance the best education for our children with the protection of not only today's taxpayers, but also those same children who will become the taxpayers of tomorrow.
Dale Scott
Author of "Win Win: An Insider's Guide to School Bonds"
San Francisco
Dogs should wear seat belts too
Many dog owners take their pets everywhere, such as restaurants, markets, malls. In some cases they drive with their dogs on their lap. How can people be focused on the road while having their dogs moving around with its head out of the window?
In a recent article, an author presents a solution that should be approved in every state. People should place their dogs in a seat restraint. This could avoid causing an injury to yourself or your dog. Humans wear seat belts to save lives, so why not having a seat restraint for dogs?
Angelica Valdez
San Diego


text:
Your Home Architect is a Newark planning practice providing a fully tailored, planning service to every Client's needs.
We have 10 years experience in providing planning services for domestic clients in Nottingham, Mansfield, Leicester, Newark on Trent, Derby, Lincoln and Melton Mowbray.
We can be found on Google Places, Touch Local & City Visitor where you can see recommendations from customers.
Most new buildings or major changes to existing buildings in Charnwood or to the local environment need planning consent – known as planning permission. Without a planning system everyone could construct buildings or use land in any way they wanted, no matter what effect this would have on other people who live and work in their area.
Charnwood Borough Council is responsible for deciding whether a development in the Charnwood area – anything from an extension on a house to a new shopping centre – should go ahead.
Your Home Architect can help you negotiate this process with our vast experience of working with Charnwood Borough Council .
Most types of development in Charnwood need planning permission. Certain activities in Charnwood may be allowed under permitted development rights. There are also areas of Charnwood which are protected as a Conservation Area and there are Listed Buildings which carry special planning protection.
You may first become involved in the planning system in Charnwood when decisions need to be made about whether a proposed development in Charnwood – yours or someone else's – should be allowed.
If you need planning advice in Charnwood , contact one of our planning team for advice. We have over 10 years of planning experience in Charnwood and can help with anything from a small extension to a large new house.


text:
A weekend interview with...
....Alexander Flores, a sixth grader at Cambridge Christian School in central Tampa. Alexander, 11, just got back from Washington DC, where he followed President Obama's inauguration from the Junior Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference. He spoke with Letitia Stein about the experience.
Why did you want to go to the Inauguration?
I wanted to go to the Inauguration to see history being made.
What events did you attend?
I went to the Inauguration and we want to the gala ball at the University of Maryland. We had three speakers, one was Erik Weihenmayer. Also we got retired Gen. Colin L. Powell. Also we got to hear from Al Gore.
What was most exciting and why?
It was probably the Inauguration, because there was so many people there and everybody was excited to hear President Obama get sworn in.
Where were you standing?
I was standing by the Washington Monument. We saw it from a jumbo-tron, but because there were so many crowds. We didn't get to go where we were supposed to.
Did you learn anything to come back and shared with your classmates?
No, I really didn't learn anything that I didn't already know.
(Mother Bethany Flores chimes in: He's a big history buff and he reads incessantly and watches news and TV and military channel and history channel so much. He pretty much knew what he was going to be experience.)
Did you get to see President Obama?
Not in person, but he did go to our ball. When he did, I was getting a drink of water.
What are your thoughts in general on the Inauguration?
It was a good experience. There was a lot of people and it was very cold.
Was it what you expected?
There was so many crowds you could barely get anywhere without losing your group. I thought it would be like fun, not as big as a carnival and formal, like not everybody going crazy.


text:
with David Wood
Centennial Professor
of Philosophy,
Vanderbilt University
Thinking Out
of the Lunchbox
Fall 2006
December 7, 2005
Can Our Best Values Betray Us?
Charles Scott,
Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Ethics
One of the characteristics of having our "treasure in earthen vessels" is found in the limitation of the worth of our best values. Sometimes those values can occasion situations and consequences that are very different from what they intend.
Do we have a responsibility to put in question what we feel and believe to be most important?
If we affirm the value of basic differences among us, how are we to evaluate our expectation that our best values should be applied universally?
Do you think that our pluralist society in the United States carries with it a responsibility to protect the ways of life in our country that are contrary to what you most strongly hold to be right and true?
Video Archive
November 2, 2005
Choosing your Doctor - A Matter of Life or Death!
David Johnson,
Cornelius Abernathy Craig Professor in Medical Oncology, Deputy Director of the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center
"It used to be assumed that differences among doctors [or hospitals] in a particular specialty were generally insignificant. In fact, if one plots a graph showing the results of all the doctors treating a particular illness like breast or lung cancer - most of us would assume that a majority of cancer specialists [and hospitals for that matter] cluster around the very best outcomes. Unfortunately, the evidence indicates otherwise. What you tend to find is a bell curve with a handful of doctors and hospitals demonstrating disturbingly poor outcomes for their patients, a small handful demonstrating remarkably good results, and a great undistinguished middle. For example, a recent study of patients with treatable colon cancer found that the 10-year survival rate ranged from a high of 63% to a low of 20%, depending on the surgeon one visited. For heart bypass patients, even at hospitals with a good volume of experience, risk-adjusted death rates in New York vary from 5% to under 1%. Similar disparate results have been found in the medical treatment of diseases like diabetes, cystic fibrosis and other life threatening illnesses. It is distressing for doctors to have to acknowledge the bell curve … but a bell curve does exist. In this discussion we will exam the characteristics of "good" doctors and how to determine if your doctor is good – or bad - for your health."
Video Archive
October 5, 2005
Why Presidentialism is Bad for Democracy
Dana Nelson,
Gertrude Conaway, Professor of English
In the US, the President stands for democracy as the nation's (and the world's) "most powerful man." Every four years, we ferociously debate which candidate will be good for us, which one will be a disaster for the nation. Once he's installed, we credit him with what we like about our current state, and we blame him for what we find wrong. People feel strongly about their presidents: we love them, and we hate them, and these days, there's little in between.
This talk redirects our attention toward the presidency. It argues that it's not the President who causes problems for the nation: it's presidentialism. Presidentialism has been bad for democracy despite the particular virtues and leadership skills of many presidents.
Presidentialism is bad because it trains us to want to President to take care of democracy for us instead of remembering that democracy, properly defined, is our job. It's bad because it trains us to see democracy as being represented by a single body, a strong leader representing a strong consensus, instead of remembering that disagreement is a good word for democracy. It leads us to overemphasize democracy as unity, instead of helping us remember that a decently working disunity can make us even stronger as a nation.
This talk proposes that we put less energy into being mad at the president and more energy into finding ways to revitalize democratic practice--no matter who is president.
Video Archive
September 7, 2005
Democracy in the Age of Science: Trust, Numeracy, and the Voice of the People
Jonathan Gilligan,
Senior Lecturer, Earth & Environmental Sciences
Video Archive


text:
Hunter 52" Antique Pewter Finish Ceiling Fan
This Hunter 52 Inch Antique Pewter Finish Fan Delivers A Powerful Cooling Air Flow To Any Indoor Room With Its 3 Speed WhisperWind Motor5 Walnut/Light Cherry Reversible Blades3 Inch Downrod IncludedSwirled Marble Glass Globe With 2 60W Candelabra Incandescent BulbsCeiling Fan Was Originally Returned To Hunter Fans For Reasons Like Buyer's Remorse Damaged Box Etc. And Will Arrive In A Plain Brown Mail Order Box Without Outer Package. All Refurbished Items Are Inspected Cleaned And Repaired By The Hunter Refurbishment Team To Meet Original Factory Specifications And Quality And Carry The Same Warranty As New But At A Fraction Of The Cost.


text:
In Case of Ganon Break Glass T-Shirt
With both men's and women's styles to choose from, you should have absolutely no trouble finding a proper size and fit! Make sure you get one for yourself or the gaming geek in your life today! This funny t-shirt is ideal for fans of retro and vintage video games.
Write Your Own Review
In case of Ganon, break glass! This funny t-shirt for gamers If you grew up leading one of the most iconic characters in video game history through, you're probably going to love the way this geek shirt looks. Did we mention how soft the ringspun cotton will feel?


text:
Argument (polar angle) of a complex number
MuPAD® notebooks are not recommended. Use MATLAB® live scripts instead.
MATLAB live scripts support most MuPAD functionality, though there are some differences. For more information, see Convert MuPAD Notebooks to MATLAB Live Scripts.
z) arg(
arg(z) returns the argument of the complex
arg(x, y) returns the argument of the complex
number with real part
x and imaginary part
This function is also known as
atan2 in other
mathematical languages.
The argument of a non-zero complex number z = x + i y =
|z| ei ϕ is
its real polar angle ϕ.
arg(x,y) represents
the principal value .
For x ≠ 0, y ≠
0, it is given by
An error occurs if
arg is called with two
arguments and either one of the arguments
y is
a non-real numerical value. Symbolic arguments are assumed to be real.
On the other hand, if
arg is called with
only one argument
x + I*y, it is not assumed that
x and
y are
A floating-point number is returned if one argument is given which is a floating-point number; or if two arguments are given, both of them are numerical and at least one of them is a floating-point number.
If the sign of the arguments can be determined, then the result
is expressed in terms of
Cf. Example 2. Otherwise, a
symbolic call of
arg is returned. Numerical factors
are eliminated from the first argument. Cf. Example 3.
A symbolic call to
arg returned has only
one argument.
The call
arg(0,0), or equivalently
An alternative representation is . Cf. Example 4.
When called with floating-point arguments, the function is sensitive
to the environment variable
DIGITS which determines the numerical
working precision. Properties of identifiers are taken into account.
We demonstrate some calls with exact and symbolic input data:
arg(2, 3), arg(x, 4), arg(4, y), arg(x, y), arg(10, y + PI)
arg is called with two arguments, the
arguments are implicitly assumed to be real, which allows some additional
simplifications compared to a call with only one argument:
arg(1, y), arg(1 + I*y)
arg(x, infinity), arg(-infinity, 3), arg(-infinity, -3)
Floating point values are computed for floating-point arguments:
arg(2.0, 3), arg(2, 3.0), arg(10.0^100, 10.0^(-100))
arg reacts to properties of
identifiers set via
assume(x > 0): assume(y < 0): arg(x, y)
assume(x < 0): assume(y > 0): arg(x, y)
assume(x <> 0): arg(x, 3)
unassume(x), unassume(y):
Certain simplifications may occur in unevaluated calls. In particular, numerical factors are eliminated from the first argument:
arg(3*x, 9*y), arg(-12*sqrt(2)*x, 12*y)
rewrite to
convert symbolic calls of
arg to the logarithmic
rewrite(arg(x, y), ln)
System functions such as
limit, or
series handle expressions involving
limit(arg(x, x^2/(1+x)), x = infinity)
series(arg(x, x^2), x = 1, 4, Real)
arithmetical expressions representing real numbers
Arithmetical expression.


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James Dennin, Kapitall: The Swiss rejected a measure to cap CEO pay ratios. We took a closer look at stocks with a lower pay gap. Post-financial crisis, one aspect of the Dodd-Frank Act's proposed reforms to address improprieties in the finance sector was to get the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to start monitoring CEO pay ratios. Read more from Kapitall: Green Investing: Four Stocks With Falling Emissions and Rising Profits Calculated by comparing the total compensation of a firm's chief executive with the median salary for employees, the number was supposed make executives more wary of golden parachutes and elaborate bonuses if regular employees aren't getting in on the action. However, after two years, this information still isn't available to the general public. Part of the reason is that pay-packages, especially among a company's leadership, are complicated. Most are related to performance. Many include stock which you're not allowed to sell for a certain period of time. And that makes a simple ratio between the two numbers all the more complicated to measure. That didn't stop Bloomberg from trying to figure it out, and then publishing a list of their own. By looking at CEO pay, which companies are already required to disclose, and average median pay by industry (which is monitored by the government) experts at Bloomberg were able to come up with an approximation for the CEO pay ratio. The list went viral when eight of the companies on the list had ratios in excess of 1000 (which means that the CEO is paid what amounts to a thousand times their industry's median income.) Investing ideas Some of the companies on the list disagreed with the methodology, and took an opportunity to attach comments to the figure. Bloomberg's list covers the top 250 companies on the S&P 500 by ratio. We decided to look at some of the least egregious offenders, with ratios of 176 or lower, and cross-referenced them with a screen for a positive return on investment (ROI). ROI is a performance metric that assesses the profitability of an investment by dividing the benefit of an investment by its cost. Only five stocks with positive ROI and more reasonable CEO pay ratios made it through our screen.
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Link Time!!!
- Leona Lewis, caped crusader in Stella McCartney — Red Carpet Fashion Awards
- A word (or two) about race and representation in Vanity Fair — Jezebel
- Four questions for Nanette Lepore — Lucky
- Get the Parisian look — Teen Vogue
- Marc Bouwer talks virtual Fall 2010 fashion show, Beyoncé, and the Oscars — Stylelist
- Getty's backstage Fashion Week photographer — Fashionista
- Is Nicole Richie wedding dress shopping at Fashion Week? — People
- How to wear Spring's hottest colors — InStyle
- Model diary: Lyndsey Scott races between castings and shows — The Cut
- Lanvin pouchette python small shoulder bag — Purse Blog
Image Source: Getty


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'The Full Monty' - The Repertory East Playhouse will continue its Main Stage Series with the hit Broadway Musical "The Full Monty." The musical runs through June 14. Show times are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $18/$16. Advance reservations are highly recommended. For tickets, purchase on-line at www.repeastplayhouse.org or call (661) 288-0000. The REP is located at 24266 Main St. in Newhall.
'My Fair Lady' - The Canyon Theatre Guild presents "My Fair Lady," through June 28, every Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., every Sunday at 1 p.m. Tickets are $11 to $17. For more information call (661) 799-2702.
Relay For Life Seeks Participants/Teams - The annual Relay For Life walk-a-thon, which raises funds for the American Cancer Society, is seeking individual participants and teams for the event, as well as sponsors and donations. This year's event will be held at Central Park May 31 - June 1. For information visit www.scvrelay.org or e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com.
Wine Classic - The 20th annual Wine Classic will be held on May 31. The event is taking place in the Main Gallery at California Institute of the Arts from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. and will feature a wide variety of vintage and current wines for tasting and purchase, as well as gourmet cuisine from some of the Santa Clarita Valley's finest restaurants and caterers. Discounts will be given to those who purchase tickets early. $65 each/$120 a pair through March 28, $70 each/$130 a pair from March 29 to March 30, $80 each/$150 a pair at the door. Tickets may be purchased by calling (661) 362-3415 or (661) 362-5604. Visit http://www.scvwineclassic.org/.
'Love in the Air' - The Santa Clarita Creative guild will host the benefit "Love is in the Air," an all-afternoon art and music event featuring 25 outstanding artists and musicians of the Santa Clarita Valley, at the Hyatt Valencia on Saturday, May 31, from 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. Live music will be provided by various local musicians. The event benefits the SCV Senior Center. There will also be a Silent auction and Kids Art Children's Exhibit. Refreshments and door prizes await. Tickets are available at $20 (prepaid until May 20) and $30 at the door. For registration and more information call Joe at (661) 312-3422 or Zony at (661) 312-6774.
'Fasten Your Seatbelts' - The 50-voice Santa Clarita Master Chorale will perform "Fasten your Seatbelts" on Sunday, June 1, at 7 p.m. at the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center at College of the Canyons, 26455 Rockwell Canyon Rd., Santa Clarita. The program features choral blockbusters both classical and popular including "O Fortuna" from "Carmina Burana," a medley from "Sweeney Todd," "Over the Rainbow" and much more. Tickets are from $14 to $26 and are available online and by telephone and mail order. Order forms are available on the Chorale's Web site, www.scmasterchorale.org. For more information call (661) 254-8886, or e-mail email@example.com, or write to Santa Clarita Master Chorale, P.O. Box 800459, Santa Clarita, CA 91380-0459.
Upcoming Events
Soccer signups end May 31
Registration for the upcoming fall AYSO soccer season is ongoing for Newhall, Valencia, Stevenson Ranch and surrounding areas. You can register and pay online at www.eayso.org until May 31. For more information, visit www.ayso678.org or email email@example.com.
ALS Support
The following is support group information for people with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), their families and friends, for the month of June. All support groups are provided by the ALS Association, Greater Los Angeles Chapter, and are free of charge. Valencia United Methodist Church, 25718 MacBean Parkway, Valencia, CA 91355, Saturday, June 7, 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Free. For more information call Shanna Curtis at (818) 865-8067 x234.
Men of Harmony
Accomplished or shower-singers are welcomed to tune in with the Men of Harmony from 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. in Newhall. Meetings take place on every first Tuesday evening at Pizza Hut on Lyons Avenue. For more information call (661) 424-9009 or visit http://www.scvmenofharmony.com/.
Sports Club
California's Complete Sports Club, also known as Century City Ski Club, meets the first Tuesday of every month at Marie Callender's on The Old Road at Magic Mountain Parkway in Valencia at 7 p.m. A brief meeting is followed by a social hour. The club is open to anyone 21 or older. Activities include snow skiing, snowboarding, water skiing, wake boarding, bicycling, air chairing, bowling, theater outings and more. For further information, call Don Gately at (661) 255 8873 or visit the club's Web site at http://www.ccsc.org/.
Vietnam Era Veterans
"Lost Patrol" serves Vietnam era veterans and their families in Santa Clarita, San Fernando, Simi and Antelope Valleys. Join us on the third Sunday of each month at El Torito Mexican Restaurant, 27510 The Old Road, Stevenson Ranch, at 1100 hours. For further information or to verify the time and place call (661) 296-6688 or e-mail trooper76@earthlinknet.
Cell Phones for Soldiers
More than 150,000 U.S. troops are serving overseas, far from their families. Cell Phones for Soldiers and Blue Star Mothers of the Canyons are calling on all Americans to support these brave men and women by donating their unused cell phones to help keep troops connected with their families. Local residents can support the collection drive by donating their old cell phones at: The Armed Forced Career Center - Army, 21515 Soledad Canyon Rd., Suite 107, Canyon Country. Hours are Monday - Thursday at 8:30 a.m. - 8 p.m., and Friday at 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. For more information contact email@example.com or call (661) 253-0811.
Assistance for Teen Moms
The SCV Pregnancy Center provides a caring, nonjudgmental environment where Teen Moms can come together for support and encouragement. The program offers group discussion, insights into motherhood, child rearing and relationships, friendship building and mentoring, and life skills training. Dinner and childcare provided. Meetings every Thursday night 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. For location, registration and information call (661)255-0082.
Mothers Online Community
As a part of The MommiesNetwork, SCValleyMommies.com is a non-profit organization that offers a free online community for moms in the Santa Clarita Valley, Antelope Valley and surrounding areas. SCValleyMommies.com offers a simple way to connect with local moms for friendship, support and fun. Members meet on the online forums to share information on everything from where to get the best haircut to tips on transitioning to a "big kid" bed. Each month, many face-to-face events are offered for members, their children and their families. It is completely free to join. For more information visit http://www.scvalleymommies.com/.
Bereavement Group
If you are struggling with the loss of the loved one, come to be with others who are going through the same thing. We offer a safe environment for people to share their feelings, discuss their fears, and begin the healing process. Groups meet Wednesdays 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. through May at 10200 Sepulveda Blvd. #115, in Mission Hills. For more information call Sara Berman at (818) 895-8000.
Radio Club
The Santa Clarita Amateur Radio Club welcomes amateurs and non-HAMs at 7 p.m. the third Wednesday of every month. Meetings are held in Santa Clarita City Hall, 23920 Valencia Blvd. Club members volunteer for L.A. County Disaster Communications Services, DCS, and the city emergency radio services. For more information e-mail Thomas turner at firstname.lastname@example.com or go online to www.w6jw.org.
Come Sing the Oldies
You are invited to join the Santa Clarita Silvertone Singers & Rhythm Review every Monday from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Bouquet Canyon Senior Living Facility (rec. room), 26705 Bouquet Canyon Rd., Saugus. For more information call (661)296-3321.
Take off Pounds sensibly, a weight-loss support group, meets on Thursdays at Fellowship Christian Church, 226889 Bouquet Canyon Rd., #C, in Saugus. Weigh-in 9:30 a.m. - 10 a.m. For details contact Diana at 251-5144.
Dance Cuban Salsa
Free salsa classes are held every second and fourth Sunday at 11 a.m. at Newhall Park at 15th Street and 24909 Newhall Ave. Dancing is outside, so wear a hat and tennis shoes. Classes may be canceled due to weather and on three-day weekends, so check www.ruedainthepark.com for more information or call Jonathan at (661) 618-1105.
Pride in the Lake
Every second Saturday of the month, 9 a.m. - 11 a.m., staff and volunteers help to keep Castaic Lake beautiful by removing litter and landscaping different areas each month. Meet at the Lagoon launch ramp parking lot. Please bring your own gloves and equipment, if you have it. For information call (661) 257-5034.
Sierra Pelona Rock Club
Monthly meetings are the third Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at the Greenbrier Mobile Estates East, 21301 Soledad Canyon Rd., Canyon Country. The club promotes interest and education in mineralogy, lapidary, geology, paleontology and related subjects, with interesting speakers and field trips. Call Mike Serino at (661) 255-5243 for more information. Bring your interesting rocks.
SCV Antique Auto Club
Every second Saturday of the month meetings take place at the Bouquet Canyon Church, 27000 Bouquet Canyon Rd. in Saugus, starting at 7:30 p.m. All kinds of classic cars are welcome. For information e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com or call (661) 259-3570.
Overeaters Anonymous Meetings
Monday 8 p.m., Santa Clarita United Methodist Church, 26640 Bouquet Canyon Rd., Valencia.
Tuesday 7 p.m., Barnabus House 24417 Chestnut St. Newhall.
Thursday 7 p.m. "The Cocoon," 17746 Sierra Hwy., Canyon Country.
Friday 11:30 a.m. Barnabus House, 22417 Chestnut St., Newhall.
Saturday 9.30 a.m., "The Cocoon" 17746 Sierra Hwy., Canyon Country.
Contact Mary at (661) 252-3762.
SCV Koi & Water Garden Club
The Santa Clarita Koi & Water Garden Club meets on the fourth Sunday of the month at 4 p.m. The club is comprised of people who own or are building ponds that share ideas and experiences. For more information call (661) 259-6437 or visit www.SantaClaritaKoiClub.com.
Santa Clarita Artists' Association
Monthly meetings of the Santa Clarita Artists' Association are held on the third Monday of each month at 7 p.m., excluding holidays, at Westfield Town Center Mall Community Room. Non-members are welcome and may attend their first meeting for free. For more information visit www.santaclaritaartists.org or e-mail Dianne Foderaro at email@example.com.
Sierra Club Events
Towsley canyon to Gotto Falls Sunday June 1. Streamside trail with rock hoping, water slogging, poison oak exposure. Meet 9 a.m., at Santa Clarita rideshare point. Leaders: Henry Schultz (284-5613), Matthew Lax (252-2393).
LETMESAIL May Activities
LETMESAIL (Lifestyle Enrichment Through Meaningful Exercise, Social Activity and Independent Living) for teenagers and adults with disabilities will be hosting the following May events for registered clients:
Saturday May 31, 5 p.m. - 7 p.m., Hang Loose Bowling night, Valencia Lanes, 23700 Lyons Ave., Newhall.
For all the events RSVP required by calling Kristel at LETMESAIL (661) 702-8555 or e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com. For more information visit www.letmesail.org.
Henry Mayo Events
Care for Your Heart health Fair on June 13: Come learn more about your personal heart health and receive free health screenings from 7:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. at the Santa Clarita Community Center, 22421 market Street, Newhall. For information call (661) 253-8408.
Westside Community Forum
Residents of Stevenson Ranch, West Ridge, Southern Oaks and Sunset Point are invited to the Community Forum on Thursday, May 29, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at the Stevenson Ranch Elementary School MPR. During this event park programs and building improvements are going to be discussed. Call Doug Newell at (661) 222-9536.
Children's Consignment Sale
California Kids Consignment Sales will host its inaugural sales event at the Residence Inn Marriott Conference Center May 30 - June 1. Families with kids can make some money on gently used items their children have outgrown, such as toys, clothing, play equipment, and nursery items. All interested in participating can get more information at www.CalKidsConsignment.com. Registration closes May 16.
Norman Krieger
As part of Congregation Beth Shalom's Distinguished Performance series, acclaimed pianist Norman Krieger will perform in an exclusive fundraising event at Krieger's private residence in Valencia on Saturday May 31 at 7 p.m. The event will include a reception with the artist from 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. and performance from 9 p.m. - 10 p.m. All guests will receive an autographed copy of Kringer's new CD, "Brahms Piano Concerto Number One." Tickets are $120, which includes the private reception with wine and hors d'ourvres, Krieger's private recital and an autographed copy of his latest CD. For information call Mary at (661) 254-2411.
Friday Night Flickers
The Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society is proud to present a series of short silent comedies featuring Buster Keaton, Fatty Arbuckle and the Keystone Cops on Friday, June 6, at 7:30 p.m. The films will be shown in the historic Saugus Train Station in Heritage Junction, Newhall, and will feature live accompaniment by 95-year-old Bob Mitchell, the last of the silent era pianists. Three will be free popcorn. The Saugus Train Station is at 24107 San Fernando Road, Newhall. Doors are open at 7:00 p.m. and seating is limited. For more information call Pat Saletore at (661) 254-1275 or go on-line at www.scvhs.org.


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Napa Valley Destination Council Announces Selection of VinoVisit as Winery Reservation Booking Service
Napa Valley, September 19, 2011 – The Napa Valley Destination Council (NVDC), the official marketing organization for Napa Valley tourism, has announced that it has selected VinoVisit™ as its designated winery tour, tasting, and event-booking tool. The VinoVisit tool is available on the NVDC's LegendaryNapaValley.com website, and at its new Napa Valley Welcome Center at 600 Main Street in Downtown Napa.
VinoVisit offers consumers the flexibility to book real-time winery reservations and build exclusive multi-day itineraries with turn-by-turn directions. Loaded with robust winery profiles that include photos, video, maps and visitor reviews, VinoVisit provides guests with an in-depth look at the winery experience and an easy way to search by location, varietal, and dozens of other attributes.
"Studies have shown that about 80 percent of Napa Valley's visitors are here to enjoy tastings and events at our legendary wineries," said Clay Gregory, CEO/President of the Napa Valley Destination Council. "Our goal is to help guests navigate the options as effectively and efficiently as possible so they can get to the best part of their trip quickly – the relaxing part! VinoVisit's winery search and booking tool helps them to identify the activities that they are most interested in, and to make reservations ahead of time. And it gives our wineries the relevant information they need to seamlessly deliver the gracious hospitality for which the Napa Valley is known."
More information on visiting the Napa Valley, and booking winery tours and tastings, can be found at www.legendarynapavalley.com.
About The Legendary Napa Valley
Napa Valley is home to the founders of America's fine wine industry – legendary entrepreneurs who showed the world that the art of winemaking had crossed continents – and is prized for its natural beauty, phenomenal culinary scene, world-class hotel accommodations, robust arts community, and one-of-a-kind wellness experiences including the region's famed spas, mud baths and healing geo-thermal springs. The area was voted the World's #1 Food & Wine Destination in the 2010 TripAdvisor® Travelers' Choice® Awards, and is internationally recognized as one of only nine "Great Wine Capitals." Visit www.LegendaryNapaValley.com for more information or to download the award-winning Visit Napa Valley Mobile App and join "The Napa Valley" community on Facebook, and follow @legendarynapa on Twitter.
About VinoVisit
VinoVisit.com is the first and leading site to offer consumers the flexibility to book real-time winery reservations, and boasts of an exclusive multi-day itinerary-building tool, and turn-by-turn directions. The robust winery profiles include photos, video, maps and visitor reviews providing the visitor with an in-depth look at the winery experience. VinoVisit.com, the only winery search engine free to consumers, provides an easy way for visitors to search, then select and book wine tasting events by location, varietal, and dozens of other attributes.
The VinoVisit Relationship Management system is the first reservation solution developed specifically for wineries. The system manages valuable visitor contact information, aggregates marketing and sales data, offers CRM tools and automates and simplifies the reservation process.
VinoVisit has established co-marketing partnerships with key websites in planning visits to wine country. The VinoVisit Marketing Network™ partner websites garner over 200 million visits each year, raising the online visibility of VinoVisit wineries. In 2010, VinoVisit launched the Facebook application, "Book a VinoVisit" which enables wineries to accept reservations directly from their Facebook page.


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More than 4 in 10 American teens go to church or synagogue every week -- about 43% according to the most recent Gallup Youth Survey*. What exactly do they do there? The August 2003 Youth Survey asked teens (aged 13 to 17) if, in addition to religious services, they also take part in other church activities such as fellowship groups, religion classes, and choir rehearsals. Nearly a third of teens (30%) said they take part in these types of activities at their church or synagogue.
Teen Fellowship Programs Thrive
Past surveys tell us that youth fellowship programs are among teens' favorite extracurricular religious activities (see "Religious Activity, Teen-Style" in Related Items). Teens' lives are often chaotic, even under the most stable family circumstances. The strong, constant presence of a youth leader -- someone other than a parent to listen and offer guidance -- can be a powerful draw.
"I really love going to my church youth group meetings every Sunday evening," says Margaret, a 16-year-old Episcopalian from Wisconsin. "It's like a venting session with friends and a youth leader who you know cares about you and what you have to say." The opportunity to socialize and bond with a group outside of high school can be particularly appealing to teens, especially those who don't feel they fit in with the popular crowd at school. "My youth group gives me another peer group. Yes, we have church in common, but we come together to share our different ideas about people and our life experiences -- it's not just religious issues," Margaret says.
Added Bonuses
Singing in the choir offers teens similar access to peer groups, with the added advantage of interaction with supportive adults. There are other advantages, as well. Taylor, a 14-year-old high school freshman from New Jersey, has traveled with his choral group to nearby Connecticut to sing with other choirs, and as far as Paris and London to sing in concerts at Notre Dame and Canterbury Cathedral. "The singing trips are an added bonus," says Taylor, who has sung with his church choir for six years. "The real benefit of this commitment is having a second family who holds you accountable for your actions."
Taylor also feels that teens in his choir are better at avoiding risk behaviors such as alcohol use: "We're too busy to get into too much trouble." Gallup data may support this idea -- just 8% of those who said they had participated in religious activities other than church services in the last week also said they had occasion to use alcohol, compared to 25% of those who had not participated in such activities. The percentage of teens who simply attend church services who said they use alcohol was slightly higher, 12%.
David Knight, a Unitarian Church youth pastor who has worked with teen fellowship groups for many years in several New Jersey churches, agrees that teens who participate in such groups are better prepared to cope with the challenges of growing up. "Any group of peers centered around something purposeful is a positive experience for teens," he says. "Youth fellowship groups, in particular, are a good place for teens to test out all the risk behaviors associated with coming of age. The fact that they choose to attend creates a sense of openness to receive the information in a new way."
Social Benefit?
Gallup surveys continue to find that females of all ages tend to have higher religiosity than males do. Teens are no exception. Fifty percent of all teen girls attend church or synagogue on a weekly basis, compared to just 36% of boys who attend. The same ratio holds true for extracurricular activities -- 37% of girls participate in youth fellowship programs, choirs, and religious classes versus 24% of boys.
But this trend may be changing. Knight said that to his great surprise, while he usually has far more girls than boys in his fellowship groups, he has 25 boys and only 6 girls this year. "The word may be getting out," he says, "that church is a terrific place to meet girls."
*The Gallup Youth Survey is conducted via an Internet methodology provided by Knowledge Networks, using an online research panel that is designed to be representative of the entire U.S. population. The current questionnaire was completed by 517 respondents, aged 13 to 17, between Aug. 1 and Aug. 29, 2003. For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±5 percentage points.


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Full House alum Candace Cameron Bure is back on the small screen! She is starring in the GMC TV original movie Finding Normal, premiering Saturday, May 18th, at 7 pm. The actress and mom-of-three plays Dr. Lisa Leland, a "self-centered and self-focused" L.A. surgeon whose life turns upside-down during a trip to her new home in New York.
Candace opens up to Celebrity Baby Scoop about her three children – Natasha, almost 15, Lev, 13, and Maksim, 11, her role in Finding Normal, and the greatest lessons she learned from her work on the movie. She goes on to share that she is still "great friends" with her former Full House co-stars!
CBS: Tell us about your role in Finding Normal. What is the film all about?
CCB: "I play Dr. Lisa Leland, a self-centered and self-focused L.A. surgeon who is very driven in her work. She is driving across the country to move in with her boyfriend in the Hamptons, and she gets stuck in this teeny town and has to serve three days of community service because of several unpaid parking tickets. During the three days she is there, her eyes are opened up to a whole different life, a life that she hadn't planned out for herself. It makes her reevaluate her priorities and what she's doing with her life."
CBS: How did you get involved with the film?
CCB: "The script was sent to me, and I read it and really loved the story's message. I loved the character, because it isn't someone I've played before. I just loved the story itself and the message."
CBS: Finding Normal is all about finding a meaningful life. What were the greatest lessons that you learned from your work on the film?
CCB: "I learned that it's very easy for us to plan what we're going to do with our lives, but it's really about being open to the unexpected and taking the time to stop and smell the roses. Things can be much more different and better, even though they weren't necessarily planned out that way."
CBS: How did you balance your work on the film with your family life?
CCB: "This film was on-location. It's a funny thing when I go work on a film; I miss my family dearly, but the first week is actually a really nice break. I have three kids and my husband, and sometimes I think to myself, 'It's kind of nice to have a week off!' However, after that week I hate not seeing them every day. It's tough, but during this time I'm also very concentrated on my work. My 'mom hat' never comes off, because I'm constantly calling to make sure all the kids' schedules are organized and my husband knows where they need to go. My kids also always call me. At the same time, I have to turn off my cellphone in the middle of the day so I can give my work 100% focus.
My family and I found our routine for when I have to be on-location. Like I said, even though my 'mom hat' is always on, I really just let my husband do his thing and do it the way he wants to do it. I try not to get too involved because I drive myself insane."
CBS: Do you still keep in contact with your other Full House co-stars?
CCB: "I do. I actually just went out with Andrea Barber and we're still great friends. I filmed another movie in Vancouver for the last month, and Lori Loughlin was also up in Vancouver filming a movie. We hung out together on the weekend and had a great time. We all keep in touch and hang out; they are all like my second family."
CBS: Tell us about your three children. How old are they and what do they like to do for fun? Do they all get along well?
CCB: "My oldest, Natasha, will be fifteen this summer. I also have a thirteen-year-old son named Lev and an eleven-year-old son named Maksim. Natasha is a typical fifteen-year-old; she is really girlie and fun, and all she thinks about is social networking and 'Instagramming.' She also loves musical theater and performing, so I don't know if she is going to follow in my footsteps. Lev and Maksim are very into hockey, just like their dad. They both play travel hockey on the Jr. Kings team, and that consumes their lives. We're at the arena five to six days a week.
Next year, I'll have two kids in junior high school and one in high school. I feel too young to have kids that old, but I do! [laughs]
They do get along well for the most part. My youngest and my oldest, Maksim and Natasha, sometimes pick on each other and fight. They all have a lot of fun together, but the boys sometimes gang up on Natasha too; they'll leave her out of the conversation when it comes down to sports."
CBS: How do you bond with your children? Do you all do any special activities together?
CC: "We do a lot of activities together. Whether it's going out and playing tennis or going for jogs in the morning before school, I'm with my kids all the time. We also do things my kids specifically like. My daughter will always ask if we can get our nails done, go shopping together, and walk around. My boys love going to the movies, throwing the Frisbee outside, or making videos with me in them. It sounds silly, but I have a video account containing a bunch of videos of my kids and I. We're just goofy and silly; we sing crazy songs in the car and run around. To me, it's also really important to do a lot of community service projects and efforts with my kids. For example, we just volunteered to put on a carnival at a women and children's shelter. We like doing things like that often."
CBS: What other upcoming projects do you have?
CC: "Finding Normal is out May 18th and 19th. I also just finished filming the new Hallmark Christmas movie Let It Snow. That will be out during the Christmas time. In January of next year, I am also releasing my second book called Balancing It All. I've been pretty busy the last few months, but we'll see what the summer and fall have in store. I don't know yet."
CBS: What did you do for Mother's Day?
CC: "One of my boys had a hockey tournament on Mother's Day. In regard to what Mother's Day means to me, I really love when I am able to get together with my mom and grandma; I love when all the generations can come together. It's all about honoring moms and all that we do for our kids and our families. Being a mom is a huge responsibility; moms wear so many hats and have so many jobs besides just taking care of children. It's just a wonderful day to honor the special women in our lives."
CBS: What do you plan to do with your family this summer?
CC: "We are going to spend most of the summer in Napa Valley. We have a home up in Napa Valley, because our wine label, Bure Family Wines, is also there. We will just hang out in Napa and enjoy being in a slower pace than L.A. Over the summer, I like have a good glass of wine and let the kids have fun and run around."
Finding Normal will premiere exclusively on GMC TV on Saturday, May 18, and Sunday, May 19 at 7, 9 and 11 p.m. ET/PT.


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Master Gardener, Fred Hoffman demonstrates how to plant your very own vegetable garden in a raised bed. He explains the 4-1-1 on watering, composting and planting! Raised bed gardening is fun for summer and for the family.
Additional Info:
Explore the rest of Episode 906
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A production of , Sacramento, CA. ©2008 KVIE, Inc. All rights reserved.


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Friends Events is the new way to create events!
Friends Events is basically a social network that makes it easier to stay in touch and connect with your friends. Friends Events let you to create an event, invite friends that are close to the events and set event location on a map, e.g. you are doing a BBQ, just create a new BBQ event, invite any friend that you want, set the Event Radius to 500, and any invited friend that is within 500 meters will be informed about your BBQ.
Special thanks to Anton Post for his enormous talent, and the time he spent for creating the graphics.
此版本中的新功能:Added an option to publish the event on Facebook.


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THE manager of a Valleys furniture company hid a camera in order to film women employees going to toilet, a court heard. Lee Simon Price was yesterday yesterday found guilty of voyeurism and warned he could face jail because of his "perverted wish to gain sexual gratification".
Price, 36, of Lancaster Street, Blaina, was production manager at a north Gwent company, where he worked for 16 years.
Abergavenny Magistrates' Court heard Price hid a camera pen in the ladies' toilets on around five occasions between February 1 and April 12.
Prosecutor Ian Kolvin said machinists, upholsterers, customers and suppliers used the toilet.
A female employee found the camera on April 12, rested on a pipe behind the toilet.
She thought it was a pen, but after a light flashed when she pressed it, she took it to a computer shop to find out what it was. A shop worker found a USB stick inside and downloaded 14 minutes of footage, which included an employee at the company using the toilet, with her private parts visible.
Mr Kolvin said: "Her reaction was shock and horror and she wondered how long it was going on for."
The factory worker told police, who approached the woman in the footage. Mr Kolvin said she was "devastated."
Notices were put in the factory about the camera and Price called the owner on April 14 admitting it was his. At first, Price said it was to try and catch a cleaner who he suspected of hiding there to avoid her duties, but he changed his story, saying he was trying to spy on wife and record her texting or phoning a man he suspected she was having an affair with. He said: "We have been having problems for a number of years because of my jealousy. I had to find out to put my mind at ease."
Price has since resigned and District Judge Richard Williams told him his evidence was "a pack of lies". He added: "Because of your perverted wish to gain sexual gratification, you invaded their privacy."
Price will be sentenced at Caerphilly Magistrates Court on October 18 and was warned all options, including prison, remain open.


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The former Bachelor, 36, and his wife, 28, welcomed a daughter on Thursday, March 14. "We welcomed the most beautiful healthy baby girl to our family today, Riley Anne Mesnick," he announced via Twitter. "Thank you all for your well wishes!"


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twocentsworth's review of Clairol Herbal Essence Tousle Me Softly Spray Gel
54 reviews
77% would repurchase
Package Quality: 4.2
Price: $
Package Quality: 4.2
Price: $
INGREDIENTSWater, PVP, Fragrance, Chitosan, Lactic Acid, Polysorbate 20, PEG 40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Phenoxyethanol, PEG 60 Almond Glycerides, Methylparaben, Polysorbate 80, Disodium EDTA, Ethylhexl Glycerin, Tocopherol
Age: 19-24
Skin: Dry, Fair, Warm
Hair: Blond, Wavy, Medium
Eyes: Green
This is a good product. It does what it says it does ie you spray it on damp hair, scrunch & let it dry and you end up with more defined waves. I rarely blowdry my hair so it's good to have a product that works well 'air drying'. It isn't sticky or heavy like a lot of other products and it doesn't make my hair dry or knotty.
To be honest I've never noticed the smell of it at all. It's no miracle spray but I like the way it defines my waves so my hair looks a step above 'messy'. Great for a lazy day when you can't be bothered doing much to your hair & cheap to aswell. I'd definitely consider purchasing this again.
Read all 54 reviews of Herbal Essence Tousle Me Softly Spray Gel
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Cisco is the world's leading vendor of networking equipment and software. Its products include switches, routers, access equipment and network management software enabling communication between different and several networks. In the last period, it has been able to access new markets by incorporating video conferencing, web-based collaboration and data center servers.
It is a very attractive company for investors despite a few bad moves it has made lately, but it is still making progress. Indeed it is part of top managers' portfolios. Let's take a look at the performance of some of its products.
In terms of switches, the presence of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) in the market does not impact Cisco's dominance. Its products are highly used. In the last five-year period Cisco has been able to maintain a 60% share in the market and it seems it will remain likewise. Moreover, Cisco certification still is the standard of every industry.
What about routers? Routers, used by telecom and other cable service providers are also a favorite product. Despite the growing presence of the Chinese Huawei in emerging markets, Cisco doesn't need to worry. The demand for routers remains solid with the convergence of video, data and voice networks toward IP and with the rise of Internet traffic.
Cisco's current situation will enable it to enjoy more profits and growth to the detriment of other vendors.
In the case of UCS servers, there are evident signs of success. Although this product represents a low gross margin, it will spread Cisco's participation in its customers' data centers.
Cisco has greatly developed in 2011. It was one of the most transformative years as its partners have aggressively changed the way to do business. How can anyone get afield of this fantastic 2011? It is necessary to analyze some particular factors.
Revenue has grown to over $43 billion this year and the company expects to reduce its operating expenses by an annual $1 billion starting on 2012.
To keep the growth level achieved in fiscal year 2011, Cisco's partners have made an important decision. They have decided to optimize their portfolio. How? Cisco has significantly reduced investments in areas and products that were not so profitable. By doing so, the company has been able to allocate the money in the foundational products and services that have seen Cisco develop along the years (the products and services mentioned before).
Moreover, sales were reorganized and services and operations were restructured to have a visible horizon of the company's goals. With these changes, Cisco aims at improving productivity and being more innovative.
Least but not last, this new pathway Cisco has taken also affects shareholders, but in a positive aspect. A quarterly cash dividend is being distributed and Cisco expects to be more aggressive in terms of its stock repurchase program.
It is evident Cisco is changing for good. However, I think that there still are some risks it may suffer from.
Cisco has been growing lately. Unfortunately, that search for improvement has made Cisco lose its focus and has brought competition where companies take fiercest actions and exercise pressure, thus destroying shareholder value. If Cisco doesn't accept its size and doesn't slow down its growth rates, the company will be seriously damaged.
In the switching market, a fierce competition has arisen with HP. Although Cisco is leading the industry, there is pressure in terms of gross margin and revenue. Furthermore, its inability to compete with efficacy shows that it is unable to understand customers' needs and has not paid attention to new networking technologies.
With regard to routers, the emergence of new competitors, such as Huawei in a developing market, as the case of the Asian market, poses a risk for Cisco.
But competition is not the only problem Cisco must overcome. What about Advance Technologies (Security, Unified Communication, Storage, Wireless LAN, Home Networking, Video Systems, TelePresence, Application networking Systems and Host Small Business Systems)? Cisco has incorporated these new areas to maintain a 12-17% growth. However, some of these new businesses are in their early stages and need from three to four years to fully develop.
Another important issue is commoditization in the long term. And this threat is triggered by, on the one hand, Huawei's entry into the enterprise networking market in 2010, generating sales of $2 billion in 2010 and expecting almost $4 billion for 2011, and $7 billion for 2012. On the other hand, the emergence of a new technology, the Software Defined Networking, whose goal is to separate control and data plans within networking platforms generating discontinuity in the networking market for switching and router equipment and the emergence of merchant silicon-based networking solutions that can facilitate "white box" networking-based solutions to a broader set of networking equipment suppliers that cannot match the size and scope of ASIC development teams at Cisco.
You may be wondering whether Cisco is worth investing in. I have mentioned some risks, but read carefully and you will notice they are all long-term risks. In the short and mid-term, Cisco is deemed attractive. Indeed, some of the bad moves it unfortunately made have caused Cisco's valuation to relatively drop vis-à-vis competitors' valuations. In the last three to five-year period, Cisco's valuation premium has been of -3%, 16% and 15% in comparison with the average multiple of HP, IBM Oracle and Microsoft, respectively. Something similar is happening with regard to the S&P 500. While Cisco is now trading at 10x NTM earnings, the S&P 500 is trading at 12x.
For an investor, this valuation fluctuation is positive. It causes the share price to lower and gives us a chance to gain a position. If you profit from this situation, you will see how right I am. Cisco management is willing to reverse the situation and to improve its results. Actually, the focus has been placed on shareholders to return cash to them. Management expects to pay $1.3 billion in dividends in 2012. I really think Cisco will try to pass first base.
Cisco is the world's leading vendor of networking equipment and software. Its products include switches, routers, access equipment and network management software enabling communication between different and several networks. In the last period, it has been able to access new markets by incorporating video conferencing, web-based collaboration and data center servers.


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Get Outta My Way singer Kylie Minogue has split from her model boyfriend Andres Velencoso.
The 45-year-old Australian pop star had been dating the Spanish model for five years, but the pair have now split because of her hectic work schedule, reports The Sun on Sunday newspaper.
A representative for the Spinning Around hitmaker has told the publication the break-up is "amicable".
Minogue previously dated Michael Hutchence and French actor Olivier Martinez.


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MacXDVD Announces Giveaway of iPhone 5 DVD Ripper & Video Converter - Make the Utmost out of iPhone 5 to Enjoy Movies on the Go(September 24, 2012)
(PRWEB) September 24, 2012
After months of rumors and speculations, Apple finally unveiled iPhone 5 on Wednesday, Sep 12, 2012. To cheer up for the long-awaited moment, MacXDVD, a professional and trustful multimedia software provider, is now launching time-limited giveaway to ensure everyone could make the utmost out of iPhone 5. This giveaway consists of MacX iPhone DVD Ripper and MacX HD Video Converter Pro for Windows, valid through Oct 8, along with $5 off promotion on a wide range of products.
Grab the chance now to get iPhone DVD ripper and video converter for free at:
It is reported that just one hour after announcing pre-orders for the iPhone 5, Apple have sold out of its initial inventory, surpassed 2 million. And according to recent statistics, one third of Americans want a brand new iPhone 5, 56 percent of BlackBerry users are looking to ditch their smartphones and 32 percent of Android users are also looking to switch. With gradually increasing iPhone 5 users in this market, a need arises for a great app to transfer DVD movies and videos for enjoying on this amazing iPhone 5s 4-inch display.
"MacXDVD Software is always sensitive to cutting-edge technology. With iPhone 5 released on Wednesday, we take immediate action to upgrade all our products with iPhone 5 compatibility. In the spirit of fan appreciation, we also decide to give away our representative product MacX iPhone DVD Ripper and MacX HD Video Converter Pro for Windows at the first time for who catering to watching DVD movies and videos on iPhone 5." said CEO of MacXDVD, Jack.
MacX iPhone DVD Ripper is specially designed for Mac users who intend to liberate their DVDs from discs and do more with DVD. It works perfectly in ripping DVD to video file in the formats that acceptable by any generation of iPhone, iPod, iPad, etc. Integrated with this upgrade is the brand-new DVD navigator analysis scheme, provide the unique solution to deal with the latest encryption encoded on the newly released DVDs, such as The Dictator and War Horse, The Hunger Games, The Lion King , Underworld: Awakening, Ice Age: Continental Drift, etc.
For more information about this DVD ripper for iPhone 5, please visit:
MacXDVD also takes Windows users into consideration by giving away MacX Video Converter Pro for Windows before Oct 8. By adding new profiles and expanding audio and video format for iPhone 5, this program works like a charm to transfer any videos on the new handset. In addition to converting videos for playback on iPhone, iPad, iPod, Blackberry, Nokia, Android, etc, it also comes with video downloader and DVD burner for watching video on any mobile devices on the go or copying to DVD for sharing.
See more information about MacX Video Converter Pro for Windows, please visit:
Price and Availability
MacX iPhone DVD Ripper is valued at $39.95, and the original price of MacX HD Video Converter Pro for Windows is $49.95. They are totally free during the giveaway period. Apart from this great giveaway, $5 off promotion for any product is a now-or-never chance for people to get DVD Ripper Pro, Video Converter Pro, and DVD Video Converter Pro Pack from MacXDVD at a preferential price.
About MacXDVD Software, Inc.
MacXDVD Software is a division of Digiarty Software Company, owns a professional multimedia software development team, providing a range of products for Macintosh and Windows users, including MacX Video Converter, MacX DVD Ripper, DVD Author, DVD backup tools, etc, series of apps for Apple video player, and iPhone, iPad 2D and 3D video games. More information, please visit http://www.macxdvd.com. For editor or blogger who would like to request a free press kit with register key and full version, please feel free to contact our public relationship representative Sarah at sarah at macxdvd.com.
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/9/prweb9935131.htm.
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Jodi Dworkin
Associate Department Head, Associate Professor, and Extension Specialist
299J McNH
1985 Buford Ave
St Paul, MN 55108
Tel: 612-624-3732
Fax: 612-625-4227
Areas of Interest
Technology and Family Development
Promoting Positive Family Development
Strengthening Families
Normative Adolescent and College Student Development
Parenting Adolescents and College Students
Recent News
It's OK for "tweens" to be bored during summer
Dworkin awarded GPSA travel grant for research in Australia
Dworkin and Jang publish in Journal of Youth Development
Dworkin recognized as COGS Outstanding Faculty
Ph.D., Human and Community Development, University of Illinois
M.S., Human and Community Development, University of Illinois
B.S., Psychology, Allegheny College
Honors & Awards
2013 Council of Graduate Students Outstanding Faculty Award, University of Minnesota
2008 National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences Florence Hall Award, First Place, Central Region
2008 National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences Florence Hall Award, State Winner, Minnesota Affiliate
2007 National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences Internet Education Technology Award, Second Place, National
2007 National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences Internet Education Technology Award, First Place, Central Region
2006 National Family Life Extension Specialists Early Achievement Award
2006 Innovations in Student Development Award, Minnesota College Personnel Association
2006 College of Human Ecology Award for Innovation and Mission Advancement, University of Minnesota
2005 New Career Excellence Award, College of Human Ecology
Research & Discovery
Jodi's research and discovery focuses on risk-taking among adolescents and college students, promoting positive family development, and parenting adolescents and college students. Her work attempts a paradigm shift away from the historically negative model of youth risk-taking behaviors to a normative model of youth exploration, one that sees this behavior as functional, intentional and part of an active process of identity formation. A critical piece of her work is developing research-based outreach services to promote positive family development.
Parenting 2.0 – This project is designed to gain a better understanding of the ways in which, and the reasons that parents use technology. We hope to determine some of the processes that take place that impact parent learning online, and the outcomes from parents' use of technology. This information will be used for the design, testing, and implementation of educational applications for parents.
Outreach & Engagement
Jodi's outreach and engagement focuses on developing resources to help parents understand normative adolescent and college student development and communicate with their adolescent and college student around risk-taking behaviors, and training professionals in this area of research. Visit the Families with Teens Extension webpage.
Here you can find resources for parents and professionals in English and Spanish.
Key projects include:
Teen Talk - a fact sheet series for talking with teens about challenging topics.
Online research updates for professionals – designed to help professionals working with families of teens explore current research on specific topics in the field of normative adolescent development and what it means for the two-way parent-adolescent relationship.
Teen-Link - A searchable database of books, journal articles and web sites on teen issues.
Seminar for Parents: Alcohol use on campus and the Seminar for Parents: College Finance - on-line resources for parents of college students and soon-to-be college students developed in partnership with Marjorie Savage, Director of the Parent Program at the University of Minnesota.
Doty, J. L., & Dworkin, J. (in press). Online social support for parents: A critical review. Marriage & Family Review.
Petree, C., & Dworkin, J. (in press). Parent internet use during a child's emerging adulthood: Implications for Extension. Journal of Extension.
Dworkin, J., Connell, J., & Doty, J. (2013). A literature review of parents' online behavior. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 7(2).
Doty, J., & Dworkin, J. (2013). Parents' of adolescents use of social networking sites. Computers in Human Behavior. Advance online publication. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2013.07.012
Doty, J., Dworkin, J., & Connell, J. (2012). Examining digital differences: Parents' online activities. Family Science Review, 17(2), 18-39.
Jang, J., & Dworkin, J. (2012). Mothers' satisfaction with youth out-of-school-time programs. Journal of Youth Development, 7(4), 25-36.
Jang, J., & Dworkin, J. (2012). Babycenter.com: New parent behavior in an online community. The Forum for Family and Consumer Issues, 17(2). Available:
Dever, B. V., Schulenberg, J. E., Dworkin, J. B., O'Malley, P. M., Kloska, D. D., & Bachman, J. G. (2012). Predicting risk-taking with and without substance use: The effects of parental monitoring, school bonding, and sports participation. Prevention Science, 13(6), 605-615.
Connell, J., & Dworkin, J. (2012). College students' information and communications technology (ICT) use with parents. Journal of the Association of Higher Education Parent/Family Program Professionals, 2(2), 2-17.
Walker, S., Dworkin, J., & Connell, J. (2011). Does quantity matter? Variation in parent use of information technology and social media. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 40, 106-119.
Doty, J. L., Doty, M. J., & Dworkin, J. (2011). Web-based family life education: Spotlight on user experience. Journal of Extension, 49(6). Available
Dworkin, J., Gonzalez, C., Gengler, C., & Olson, K. (2011). Evaluating newsletters for parents of early adolescents. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 103(1), 47-54.
Dworkin, J. (2010). Parents' perceptions of experimentation in college: Students' perspectives. Journal of the Association of Higher Education Parent/Family Program Professionals, 1(2), 2-17.
Dworkin, J., & Savage, M. (2010). Home base: Defining the family's role in launching first-year commuter students. Journal of the Australia and New Zealand Student Services Association, 36, 39-57.
Dworkin, J., & Savage, M. (2010). What are they talking about? Barriers to parent-college student communication on critical topics. Journal of the Association of Higher Education Parent/Family Program Professionals, 1(1).
Willoughby, B., & Dworkin, J. (2009). The relationships between emerging adults' expressed desire to marry and frequency of participation in risk-taking behaviors. Youth & Society, 40, 426-450.


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Included apps look and act like Microsoft Office counterparts; can be set to use Microsoft Office formats by default. Option to use traditional menu-and-toolbar interface or modern ribbon interface.
Too many bugs. Uses a proprietary default file format (which, fortunately, can be changed). Complex files imported from or saved to Microsoft Office formats have serious errors.
Bottom Line
Corel Home Office is a Microsoft Office workalike for netbook and home users that's worth using for simple documentsbut only if you switch the default file format to the Microsoft Office standard.
Corel Show
Show, the suite's PowerPoint analog, presented almost no problems, and has the advantage of saving files by default in Microsoft Office 2003 format instead of its own native format (which is available, although you'll never want to use it). The program works like a low-frills version of PowerPoint 2003, and supports simple animated transitions. When importing a PowerPoint presentation that uses transitions Show doesn't support, the program simply, and correctly, ignores them, freeing you to use the program's basic built-in tools to animate the presentation.
For the momentalthough this may change in the near futureCorel Home Office is too bug-ridden for most users who need to live in the Microsoft Officedominated real world. But Corel tells me it's committed to fixing all the bugs I found and solving all the compatibility problems I encountered. A bug-free, lightweight application suite that can work as a plug-in replacement for Microsoft Office is guaranteed to find grateful users, but Corel Home Office isn't that replacement yet.
Another contender is the totally free OpenOffice.org suite that comes preinstalled on some netbooks. It's a much more mature and powerful product than Corel Home Office and has the advantage of costing nothing, but its clumsy old-style interface and slow performance makes it the wrong kind of program for any low-powered PC. In contrast, Corel Home Office is both lightweight and offers a choice between the sleek new ribbon interface and the trusty menu interface from Office 2003 and earlier. Corel Home Office isn't the suite to choose for a netbook just yetbut it has a strong chance of being the one you'll want in the future.
More Accounting & Tax Reviews:
Cougar Mountain Denali Summit
Zoho Books


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This weekend, in the Normansfield Theatre, London Potters Local ("LPL")and the Down's syndrome Association ("DSA") hosted an event to raise money for people with Down's syndrome and to showcase amateur potters. Twenty two members of London Potters Local set up stalls and sold their work inside the wonderfully maintained theatre and the Association provided refreshments in another room.
The DSA is the only charity in England, Wales and Northern-Ireland which focuses solely on supporting people with Down's syndrome and helping them to live rewarding lives. It was established in 1970 and since then significant advances have been made in the lives of people with Down's syndrome and their families. The LPL is a voluntary organisation and charity which promotes a wider interest in ceramics. It was formed in 1988 to unite Londoners who shared a love of ceramics.
The Normansfield Theatre was built in 1877 and is currently a grade 11* listed theatre. It was built by Dr John Langdon Down as part of a hospital to provide entertainment and lessons for long term patients and students. The theatre is 60 foot by 30 foot and can seat 300 people, which back then was surprisingly large. Today it still hosts a variety of events and performances.
One of the organisers and member of London Potters local, Carmela Kantorowicz, said "today's event is a great and inexpensive way for our amateur potters to make money and for all of us to support a good cause." Many of the potters there were amateurs and only did pottery as a hobby. Being a ceramicist full time is very hard unless you work for a gallery which is why for the potters this was a great opportunity. There were a variety of types of ceramics on display from beautiful thrown pots to slab built vessels. The quality of most of the work was very impressive, in particular some of the glazed porcelain pieces of a ceramicist by the name of Leslie Parrott whose glazes ranged in colour from deep red and purples to beautiful turquoise celadons. LPL organises events like this throughout the year and throughout London, and the Normansfield theatre will be hosting a variety of performances in the upcoming months.