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Digital Libraries/Metadata
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Module name[edit | edit source]
Scope[edit | edit source]
This module addresses uses of metadata and some specific metadata standards that may be appropriate in the context of a Digital Library (DL), and the development of metadata records for digital objects.
Learning objectives:[edit | edit source]
Students will be able to:
- a. Explain the basic principles of the design of metadata schema, and the assignment of metadata values for specific materials.
- b. Design a metadata schema and assign the values appropriate to materials in a particular digital library.
5S characteristics of the module:[edit | edit source]
- a. Structures: Metadata is a means for increasing the structure of data objects.
- b. Spaces: Many metadata schemas require the existence of data spaces such as namespaces and repositories, and enable the duplication of data between spaces, as in harvesting.
- c. Scenarios: Different metadata schemas are designed for different use scenarios, such as for administration and preservation.
- d. Societies: Different metadata schemas are designed for different use cases and communities.
Level of effort required:[edit | edit source]
- a. Class time: 3 hour
- b. Student time outside class:
- i. Reading before the class starts: 2-3 hours
- ii. Homework assignment: 1 hour
Relationships with other modules:[edit | edit source]
- 3-b: Digitization: Modules 2-b and 4-b should be taught around the same time in the semester.
- 4-d: Subject description, vocabulary control, thesauri, terminologies: Module 4-b is a prerequisite to 4-d.
- 8-a: Preservation: Module 4-b is a prerequisite to 8-a.
Prerequisite knowledge required:[edit | edit source]
Knowledge of the concept of a field, and the difference between structured and unstructured data.
Introductory remedial instruction:[edit | edit source]
- a. Introduction
- i. Item-level vs. Collection-level description: Description of an individual data object or a collection of data objects (e.g., a library collection, online repository, etc.)
- ii. Original to the digital library vs. translated to Dublin Core (DC): Creating crosswalks between the metadata native to an object or repository and DC.
- iii. Relationship between a metadata record and an object: One-to-one principle (see below).
- iv. Embedded vs. Associated metadata: Metadata embedded in the data object (e.g., cataloging-in-publication data in books) or separate from the object (e.g., card catalog cards)
- v. Resource discovery: Identifying previously unidentified (to the user) data objects.
- b. Resource Description Framework (RDF)
- i. An expression in RDF is a "triple," consisting of a subject, a predicate and an object. A set of RDF triples is called an RDF graph.
- 1. Subject: The object being described (e.g., the sky).
- 2. Predicate: An element or field describing the object (e.g., color).
- 3. Object: The value that the predicate takes on (e.g., blue).
- i. An expression in RDF is a "triple," consisting of a subject, a predicate and an object. A set of RDF triples is called an RDF graph.
Body of knowledge:[edit | edit source]
Conduct the Invent object description exercise prior to addressing Dublin Core. If this exercise is not used, substitute a lecture or other classroom activity to cover the same content.
1. Metadata[edit | edit source]
- a. Simple definition: Data about data
- b. More detailed definition:
- i. Can refer to either a schema for describing data objects, or the data that describes a specific data object.
- The data object can be arbitrarily large or small: a single item (e.g., item-level description) or an entire collection of materials (e.g., collection-level description).
- ii. A set of structured fields and the values that populate those fields.
- iii. May be used for a variety of purposes, including discovery, administration, and preservation of data objects.
- i. Can refer to either a schema for describing data objects, or the data that describes a specific data object.
2. Dublin Core (DC)[edit | edit source]
- a. DC Principles:
- i. Dumb-Down: Any element may be ignored or simplified in describing an object.
- ii. One-to-One: A single metadata record describes a single object.
- b. Data model:
- i. Machine-processability requires a coherent data model
- ii. Provides explicit definitions of resources
- iii. Relates DC principles & practices to the developments outside Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI)
- iv. Makes clear the relationship of DC "packages" of information to other metadata "packages"
- c. Problems with DC:
- i. Minimalism: both a strength and a weakness
- ii. Only a few communities have extensions
- iii. Most search engines ignore META tags
- d. DC Extensions: May be developed for specific domains and/or user communities.
- i. Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM): http://thegateway.org/
- Example elements include: instructional method, standards, duration, frmat, resources, etc.
- ii. Darwin Core: darwincore.calacademy.org
- Example elements include: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species, scientific name, continent, etc.
- i. Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM): http://thegateway.org/
- a. DC Principles:
3. Namespaces & Repositories[edit | edit source]
- a. 3 types of interoperability
- i. Federation: Metadata records from multiple repositories are collected into a single repository (e.g., WorldCat). This requires the active participation of the host institutions for the multiple repositories.
- ii. Harvesting: Metadata records from one repository are automatically gathered and deposited in another repository (e.g., Gateway to Educational Materials). As long records are exposed, they may be harvested without the active participation of the repositories' host institutions.
- iii. Crosswalks: "Translation" of records across differing schemas (e.g., OCLC Metadata Crosswalk Repository, http://www.oclc.org/research/researchworks/schematrans/default.htm).
- a. 3 types of interoperability
4. Administrative Metadata[edit | edit source]
- a. Designates information about the provenance, management of digital objects.
- b. Should enable verification of the integrity, ownership, and authorship.
- c. Examples of elements (from the DCMI Administrative Metadata Working Group):
- i. Rights: Information about intellectual property or other rights held in and over the content metadata.
- ii. Handling: Instructions for handling the administrative metadata schema and the metadata record.
- iii. Affiliation: The organization with which a named person was associated when involved with the resource.
5. Preservation Metadata[edit | edit source]
- a. See module 8a: Approaches to archiving and repository development
- i. Note: This module is a prerequisite to module 8-a.
- b. Data necessary to maintain the viability, renderability, and understandability of digital objects over the long term.
- i. Viability: The digital object's bit stream must be intact and readable.
- ii. Renderability: The bit stream must be translatable into a form that can be viewed by human users or processed by computers.
- iii. Understandability: Contextual information must be provided so that content can be interpreted and understood by users.
- c.Preservation metadata can be input to preservation processes, and also record the output of preservation processes.
- d. Examples of elements (from the PREMIS Data Dictionary, v.1.0):
- i. PreservationLevel: A value indicating the set of preservation functions expected to be applied to the object.
- ii. Fixity: Information used to verify whether an object has been altered in an undocumented or unauthorized way.
- iii. Environment: The means by which the user renders and interacts with content. Separation of digital content from its environmental context can result in the content becoming unusable.
- a. See module 8a: Approaches to archiving and repository development
6. Harvesting[edit | edit source]
- a. Facilitates:
- i. Reuse: Enables uses of data objects by organizations and services other than the owner.
- ii. Services: Functionality can be provided to provide web-based services.
- iii. Communities: Data objects can be shared widely among a community of interest.
- b. Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH)
- i. Harvester: a client application that issues OAI-PMH requests.
- ii. Repository: a network accessible server that can process OAI-PMH requests.
- iii. Item: a constituent of a repository from which metadata about a resource can be disseminated.
- iv. Unique Identifier: unambigiously identifies an item within a repository.
- v. Record: metadata expressed in a single format.
- vi. Set: an optional construct for grouping items for the purpose of selective harvesting.
- a. Facilitates:
7. Educational metadata[edit | edit source]
- a. Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM)
- i. Standardizes:
- How learning content can be exchanged between systems.
- How to define the intended behavior and logic of complex learning experiences so content can be reused, moved, searched for, and recontexualized.
- i. Standardizes:
- b. Three parts:
- i. Overview: about the model, vision and future
- ii. Content Aggregation Model: how to put learning content together so it can be moved and reused.
- iii. Run Time Environment: How content is launched and the learner's progress is tracked and reported back.
- a. Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM)
8. Semantic Web[edit | edit source]
- a. "The Semantic Web is about two things. It is about common formats for integration and combination of data drawn from diverse sources, where on the original Web mainly concentrated on the interchange of documents. It is also about language for recording how the data relates to real world objects." (quote is from the W3C's Semantic Web Activity website: http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/ )
- i. Both of these – common formats and language for representing relationships between real and digital objects – are metadata problems:
- Common formats for integration and combination of data may be metadata formats.
- Language for representing relationships between objects is an RDF triple.
- i. Both of these – common formats and language for representing relationships between real and digital objects – are metadata problems:
- b. Necessitates the widespread use of ontologies
- i. Mapping domain knowledge across many domains
- c. Cyberinfrastructure: Goal of ubiquitous information infrastructure
- a. "The Semantic Web is about two things. It is about common formats for integration and combination of data drawn from diverse sources, where on the original Web mainly concentrated on the interchange of documents. It is also about language for recording how the data relates to real world objects." (quote is from the W3C's Semantic Web Activity website: http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/ )
Resources[edit | edit source]
- a. Required readings:
- i. Weibel, Stuart. (1995). Metadata: The Foundations of Resource Description. D-Lib Magazine, 1(1). http://www.dlib.org/dlib/July95/07weibel.html
- ii. Duval, E., Hodgins, W., Sutton, S., Weibel, S. L. (2002). Metadata Principles and Practicalities. D-Lib Magazine, 8(4). http://www.dlib.org/dlib/april02/weibel/04weibel.html
- b. Introduction to metadata
- i. Duval, Erik. (2002). Metadata Principles and Practicalities. D-Lib Magazine, 8(4). http://www.dlib.org/dlib/april02/weibel/04weibel.html
- ii. Liddy, Elizabeth. (2005). Metadata: A Promising Solution. EDUCAUSE Review, 40(3), 10–11. http://www.educause.edu/apps/er/erm05/erm0536.asp
- iii. Weibel, Stuart. (1995). Metadata: The Foundations of Resource Description. D-Lib Magazine, 1(1). http://www.dlib.org/dlib/July95/07weibel.html
- c. Metadata for DLs
- i. Duval, E., Hodgins, W., Sutton, S., Weibel, S. L. (2002). Metadata Principles and Practicalities. D-Lib Magazine, 8(4). http://www.dlib.org/dlib/april02/weibel/04weibel.html
- d. Dublin Core
- i. Dublin Core Metadata Initiative. Using Dublin Core. http://dublincore.org/documents/usageguide/
- ii. Dublin Core Extensions
- GEM 2.0: Element Descriptions: http://www.thegateway.org/about/documentation/metadataElements/
- e. Namespaces & Repositories
- i. Grace A. (2003). Developing a Metadata Strategy. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 36(3/4), 31-46.
- f. Administrative Metadata
- i. Metadata Encoding & Transmission Standard (METS)
- ii. Text Encoding Initiative (TEI)
- Sperberg-McQueen, C. M., Burnard, L. (2002). Guidelines for Text Encoding and Interchange. University of Oxford.
- g. Preservation Metadata
- i. Open Archival Information System (OAIS) reference model
- Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems. (2002). Reference Model for an Open Archival Information System (OAIS), CCSDS 650.0-R-2, Red Book, Issue 2. http://public.ccsds.org/publications/archive/650x0b1.pdf
- ii. PREMIS (PREservation Metadata: Implementation Strategies)
- OCLC/RLG PREMIS Working Group. (2005). Data Dictionary for Preservation Metadata: Final Report of the PREMIS Working Group. Dublin, OH: OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/pmwg/premis-final.pdf
- OCLC/RLG PREMIS Working Group. (2004). Implementing Preservation Repositories for Digital Materials: Current Practice and Emerging Trends in the Cultural Heritage Community. Dublin, OH: OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/pmwg/surveyreport.pdf
- OCLC/RLG Working Group on Preservation Metadata. (2002). Preservation Metadata and the OAIS Information Model: A Metadata Framework to Support the Preservation of Digital Objects. Dublin, OH: OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/pmwg/pm_framework.pdf
- i. Open Archival Information System (OAIS) reference model
- h. Metadata for Harvesting
- i. The Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting. http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/openarchivesprotocol.html
- ii. Metadata Preparation for the Gateway to Educational Materials. http://www.thegateway.org/about/documentation/metadata-preparation/metaprep/
- i. Metadata for specific DLs
- i. National Science Digital Library Metadata Primer: http://nsdl.org/collection/metadata-guide.php
- ii. National Science Digital Library Metadata Registry: http://metadataregistry.org/
- j. Semantic Web
- i. Greenberg, J., Stuart Sutton, S., & Campbell, D. G. (2003). Metadata: A Fundamental Component of the Semantic Web. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 29(4), 16-18. http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Apr-03/greenbergetal.html
- ii. Jacob, E. K. (2003). Ontologies and the Semantic Web. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 29(4), 19-22. http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Apr-03/jacob.html
- iii. Miller, E. (2003). Enabling the Semantic Web for Scientific Research And Collaboration. Paper presented at the NSF Post Digital Library Futures Workshop, Chatham, MA. http://www.sis.pitt.edu/~dlwkshop/paper_miller.html
Concept map[edit | edit source]
Exercises / Learning activities[edit | edit source]
- a. Homework to be completed prior to this lesson:
- i. Inventing object description exercise, below, can be conducted as a homework assignment: assigned object description as homework prior to class, then discussion takes place in class.
- ii. Students should bring a brief write-up or notes on their object description to class.
- iii. This should not be a graded assignment, but just a jumping-off point for in-class discussion.
- b. Exercise in class (15-20 minutes recommended): Invent object description
- i. Break up class into small groups.
- ii. Hand out an object to each group: a book, a newspaper, a coffee mug, a plant, a Star Wars action figure, whatever the instructor has sitting around his or her office, the more diverse the better.
- iii. Each group should describe their object as completely as possible, so that a user could locate it in a library / museum / archive.
- iv. Each group should provide their descriptions. Identify elements in common between types of objects & elements unique to specific types of objects.
- v. Discuss limitations of specific elements: e.g., books have authors, action figures have manufacturers, plants don't have either.
- vi. Exercise can be repeated using Dublin Core or, if the course in which this module is taught is project-based, whatever metadata schema is used by the project.
- c. Discussion questions for the classroom (use at the end of the class session):
- i. If no search engines use the META tag, what's the point of metadata?
- 1. Use for discovery is meaningless if it doesn't include discovery by search engines?
- 2. Discovery by better tools than currently exist?
- 3. Discovery within small collections with homegrown tools?
- i. If no search engines use the META tag, what's the point of metadata?
Evaluation of learning outcomes[edit | edit source]
Homework to be completed subsequent to this lesson: Describe a digital object.
- a. This assignment may be performed by students individually or in small groups, though small groups are recommended.
- b. This assignment assumes that the course in which this module is taught is project-based, in which the students build a small digital library. Students should describe a digital object that will eventually become part of the course project digital library.
- c. Students should digitize some piece of content relevant to the course project, or take an already-digitized content, and describe it by assigning values to the fields of this metadata schema. (Taking already-digitized content is recommended.)
- d. Students should select an existing or invent a new metadata schema that can be used in the course project to describe the digital object. (Selecting an existing scheme is recommended.)
- e. Assignment deliverable: Students or groups should:
- 1. Select or invent a set of metadata fields appropriate for describing the digital object.
- 2. Select or invent values to populate those fields.
- 3. Explain their rationale for selecting or inventing those fields and values.
- 4. Post their ideas about a metadata schema and field values to an online forum for discussion, and/or discuss in class.
Glossary[edit | edit source]
- a. Aboutness: The subject or topic of a document.
- b. Cyberinfrastructure: New tools and environments for research that make use of high-performance computing and networking to support collection and management of large data sets.
- c. Darwin Core: A metadata standard designed to facilitate the exchange of information about the geographic occurrence of species and the existence of specimens in collections.
- d. Encoded Archival Description (EAD): A metadata standard for encoding archival finding aids using Extensible Markup Language (XML).
- e. Dublin Core (DC): A shorthand term for the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set, the primary work of the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI); a set of 15 metadata elements intended to be generic and universally useful for object description.
- f. Extensibility: A characteristic of DC; the ability for elements to be added to a schema as needed for a particular context or use.
- g. Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM): A set of metadata elements specific to the domain of education; an extension of DC.
- h. Interoperability: The ability of two or more systems or components to exchange information and to use the information that has been exchanged.
- i. Metadata: Data about data; structured description of information objects; used to aid the understanding, administration, and use of information objects.
- j. Ontology: A data model that represents a set of concepts, and the relationships between those concepts, within a specific domain (as opposed to the definition of the term "ontology" in Philosophy). Often used interchangeably with the term "thesaurus."
- k. Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH): A set of protocols for interoperability between data repositories.
- l. Resource discovery: Identifying previously unidentified (to the user) data objects.
- m. Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM): A set of standards for interoperability and reusability of web-based learning materials.
- n. Text Encoding Initiative (TEI): A standard that enables libraries, museums, publishers, and individual scholars to represent texts for online research, teaching, and preservation.
Additional useful links[edit | edit source]
Contributors[edit | edit source]
- a. Initial author: Jeffrey P. Pomerantz
- b. Evaluators: Jane Greenberg


text:
The Healthy Skeptic: Promise of ChromaGen lenses for dyslexia a bit blurry
We rarely stop to think about it, but reading is an amazing accomplishment. It turns markings on a page or a screen into coherent thoughts. It's a complicated process: The eyes see a procession of letters, and the brain turns them into words.
The reading process is challenging for people with dyslexia. The disorder isn't well understood, but there seems to be a communication breakdown between the eyes and the brain. Some people with dyslexia have trouble associating letters with sounds and words. Others say that words and letters look blurry, distorted or jumbled.
ChromaGen Vision says it can help restore order to the written word. The company offers glasses and contact lenses with a special tint that supposedly help people with dyslexia read faster and more accurately.
Visitors to the ChromaGen website are asked to complete a seven-question survey to see if the lenses may be right for them. If they answer yes to questions like "Do you notice that words or sentences are blurry or wiggly during reading?" they are encouraged to make an appointment with a certified practitioner, usually an optometrist. A list of providers is on the website.
The lenses come in 16 shades, all of which look neutral gray when viewed on someone's face. Practitioners mix and match them to come up with the pair of lenses that works best for each client. Prices vary, but a set of glasses, complete with the exam, typically costs a bit less than $1,000. A fitting for a pair of contact lenses costs about $500, but you would have to replace them every six months.
The claims
According to the company website, ChromaGen essentially works by slowing down the visual processing of letters and words, giving the language center of the brain time to catch up. A video includes testimonials from children who say the lenses stopped words from jumping or wiggling around on the page.
The website claims the lenses can help about 50% of people with dyslexia, but ChromaGen Chief Executive Ted Edwards in Kennett Square, Pa., says the true rate is probably much higher. "It's a life-changing aid," he says.
Michael Politzer, an optometrist in Brentwood, Tenn., who has prescribed about a half-dozen pairs of ChromaGen lenses, says that he's seen "great results with properly screened patients." He notes that there are different types of dyslexia, and only people who have trouble with visual distortions while reading are likely to benefit.
The bottom line
Dyslexia is a complex and controversial condition. Edwards says he's well aware that many experts consider dyslexia a problem of language processing, not of vision, and that they tend to scoff at the notion that tinted lenses could help dyslexic people read.
And indeed, that's the stance taken by Dr. Sheryl Handler, a pediatric ophthalmologist in Encino. "Dyslexia is not a visually based disorder," says Handler, who led a 2011 report on dyslexia in the journal Pediatrics. "There is definitely no evidence that the lenses will improve dyslexia."
That view is shared by Deborah Giaschi, a professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver who has conducted MRI studies of the brains of people with dyslexia. "There's really no scientific basis" for ChromaGen lenses, she says. In her opinion, the claim that the lenses slow down visual processing doesn't make sense. Even if the lenses had that effect, she doesn't see how that would help anyone read.
"Parents are desperate to help their kids, and this company is taking their money," Giaschi says.
A search of the medical literature found a single, company-funded study suggesting that ChromaGen lenses could improve the reading skills of people with dyslexia. The study of 47 dyslexics, led by optician and lens inventor David Harris, found that ChromaGen lenses worked significantly better than placebo lenses.
Giaschi says the study is unconvincing and the results have never been confirmed by other researchers. She adds that the lack of follow-up studies in the last decades is a clear sign that dyslexia researchers don't take the approach seriously.
Chris Chase, a professor of optometry at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, who has investigated the role of visual disturbances in dyslexia, agrees that the current scientific evidence for ChromaGen lenses is slim. But he said that if a person has trouble focusing on words and letters, tinted lenses could potentially help eyes work together to clear up the picture. In such cases, ChromaGen "could be worth a try," he says.
But Giaschi has a different suggestion. "It would make more sense to spend your money on something that's proven to help. Like a tutor."
Curious about a consumer health product? Send an email to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Read more at latimes.com/skeptic.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Here at Prezzo, we celebrate the joy of Italian dining; this starts in the kitchen and ends with the service. Every customer should leave wanting to return.
That's why we're looking for a passionate Chef to join us at Prezzo to help us continue offering our best possible dining experience.
The Role
We are looking for a new Chef to join our Prezzo Family who has a burning passion for food and a desire to grow their skills and career.
As a Prezzo Chef you will:
- Have a keen interest to prep & cook great quality Italian cuisine.
- Take great #Pride is everything you do (this is a key Prezzo value!)
- Manage your section, keeping it organised and clean.
- Be able to work in a fast-paced environment.
- Have a desire to grow your skills and career as a chef.
- Play a crucial role in helping us achieve our mission of becoming the UK's favourite Italian dining experience.
- Ensure every customer leaves happy, wanting to return.
Our 'Deal'; What's in it for you?
- Chefs, no early morning starts!
- Take your birthday off on us!
- Christmas Day & Boxing Day off!
- Be part of 'Grow', Our internal development programme. We will give you a career to be proud of.
- Become chef qualified with professional level 1&2 qualifications through our 'Chef Academy'.
- Free food on shift.
- Bring up to 11 friends or family members and get 50% off your total bill.
- Cash in by referring new employees using our 'More People Like You' scheme.
- 'Wagestream'; Release your wages flexibly throughout the month!
- Dedicated wellbeing & mental health support and access GP services.
- Welcoming, fun & culturally diverse working environment.
Where is our Restaurant?
Located in the corner of Arena Parade and East Cheap, Prezzo is at the heart of the tree-lined streets of Letchworth Garden City. By car you'll find ample street parking while there is also a multi-storey car park nearby. Letchworth Garden City is easily accessible using public transport with centrally located railway station and a host of bus services.
Our Values:
One Team… working together, with a common purpose, to achieve our goals.
Genuine Connection… building genuine relationships, where nothing is too much trouble.
Drive to Succeed… being bold enough to do the right thing, even when it's hard, to help improve and grow.
Pride… making memorable moments by caring about everything we do, so everyone leaves wanting to return.
Our Awards
We're proud to be an award-winning hospitality employer, having been awarded:
- 'Excellence in HR Technology' at the HR in Hospitality Awards
- 'Best use of Benefits Technology' at the Employee Benefits Awards
- 'Fair Employment' at the Youth Friendly Employer Awards
- 'Environmental Best Practice' at the International Green Apple Awards
- 'Best Pizza Restaurant – Chain' at the PAPA Industry Awards
We have also been nominated for:
- 'Best Mental Health Strategy' at the Employee Benefits Awards
- 'Recycling excellence' and 'Partnership excellence' at the National Recycling Forum
We also have a big focus on mental health and wellbeing, and we're proud to have been accredited with the Foundation Level 'London Health Workplace Award'.
Apply Now!
At Prezzo we want to create a genuinely inclusive workplace, where we embrace the differences of all our colleagues and celebrate diversity. We love to see applications from under-represented groups and welcome applications from individuals, regardless of their background. Prezzo joined the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) in 2011.
Location: Prezzo Letchworth
Salary: £10.40 – £11.67 per hour


text: 2023 Harley-Davidson® Nightster™ First name Required Last name Required Phone Required Email Required Vehicle Required Please select Breakout™ CVO™ Limited CVO™ Road Glide® Ultra CVO™ Road Glide® CVO™ Road Glide® ST CVO™ Street Glide® CVO™ Street Glide® Deluxe Electra Glide® Ultra Classic® Electra Glide® Ultra Limited Electra Glide® Ultra Classic® Electra Glide® Ultra Limited Fat Bob® 114 Fat Boy® Fat Boy® 114 Fat Boy® Forty-Eight® Freewheeler® Harley-Davidson Street® 500 Harley-Davidson Street® 750 Heritage Classic Heritage Classic 107 Heritage Classic 114 Heritage Softail® Classic Heritage Softail® Classic Iron 1200™ Iron 883™ Iron 883™ Low Rider® S Low Rider® S Low Rider® ST Nightster™ Nightster™ Special Pan America™ 1250 Special Road Glide® Road Glide® 3 Road Glide® Limited Road Glide® Special Road Glide® ST Road Glide® Ultra Road Glide® Road King® Road King® Special Roadster™ Screamin' Eagle Ultra Classic Electra Glide Softail Slim® Softail Standard® Softail® Standard Softail® Rocker™ C Sport Glide® Sportster® S Street Bob® Street Bob® 114 Street Glide® Street Glide® Special Street Glide® ST Street Glide® Super Glide® Custom Tri Glide® Ultra Ultra Limited Ultra Limited Low FLHXSE FLSTN103 FLTR ROAD GLIDE Preferred date Required Preferred time Required Your inquiry By signing below and providing my telephone number, I verify the number provided is my telephone number, and I affirmatively consent and agree to receive marketing and/or advertising text messages, SMS messages, voice messages, artificial voice calls, and prerecorded voice calls made using an automated telephonic dialing system or an automated system for the selection or dialing of telephone numbers or the playing of a recorded message when a connection is completed to a number called, by or on behalf of Wesley Chapel Harley-Davidson and its service providers or affiliates. By granting such consent, I request to receive such calls or messages in spite of the fact that my telephone number may otherwise be on the federal, or a state's, Do Not Call list and I agree that, to the maximum extent permitted by law, my consent overrides any prior Do Not Call request for such calls or messages by or on behalf of Wesley Chapel Harley-Davidson and its service providers or affiliates. I understand that consent is not required to make a purchase of property, goods, or services. Message and Data rates may apply. Submit This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.


text:
This year's IF Design Awards saw Daikin Europe's design skills recognised, as the company scooped no less than five awards for their residential heat pump and commercial control solutions at the iF design award show in BMW Welt, Munich on 9th March.
The iF Design Award is among the largest and most prestigious design competitions in the world. Organised by the world's oldest independent design organization, Hannover-based iF International Forum Design GmbH, the annual award scheme is now in its 65th year. Competition for the coveted seal of quality was intense this year, with over 6,400 entries submitted from 54 countries. The awards were confirmed after a gruelling three-day scrutiny by a 63-strong panel made up from independent experts all over the world.
Daikin's range of products have become synonymous with striving for providing space-saving HVAC solutions for both home and commercial spaces, while at the same time achieving the highest efficiencies through advanced design and award-winning patented technology.
The class categories in which Daikin achieved success were:
Daikin Altherma 3 Heat Pump (Floor-standing Heat Pump)
Daikin's third generation low temperature heat pump Daikin Altherma 3 is the first air to water heat pump powered by the manufacturer's patented Bluevolution technology.
The unit combines high efficiency compressors with R-32 refrigerant to provide high performance with the lowest running costs, with frost protection down to -25°C to ensure reliable operation in the coldest of climates.
Weather-dependent set-point controls together with inverter compressors maximise the efficiency of the new Daikin Altherma 3 series, whatever the outdoor temperature, to assure consistent room temperatures at all times. Outdoor units are connectible with a range of discreet and stylish indoor units. Smart control technology makes it easy to set the system according to homeowners' preferences, with nine pre-programmed settings for daily adjustment and the option of remote control via an Online Controller smartphone app. The Daikin Altherma 3 system can also be fully integrated with other home control systems for maximum efficiency and convenience.
Daikin Altherma 3 Wall Mounted Heat Pump
With all the advantages of the Daikin Altherma 3 series, the compact wall mounted unit with its slim dimensions can be integrated with a standard domestic hot water tank to create an ultra-space-saving solution. The addition of a thermal store system with thermal control panels provides low-cost on-demand hot water without the need for an electric immersion heater.
Daikin D2CND Gas Condensing Boiler
The DC2CND offers a compact wall mounted gas condensing boiler for the smallest of spaces and offers increased flexibility in use, with freeze protection for pipes making it possible to install the boiler practically anywhere inside or outside. Offering a heat efficiency of up to 108%, the high modulating range of the unit provides an automatic capacity adjustment based on the required heat load of the house from 3- to 24-kW. For even greater energy efficiency, the boiler can be integrated with solar heating. The indoor unit can be controlled remotely using Daikin's smart online controller app.
Stylish Air Conditioner
The compact wall-mounted Stylish was developed to meet consumer demand for an air conditioning system that combines high performance with excellent design.
With its all-new component designs and R-32 refrigerant, the Stylish guarantees the highest efficiency in its design class, scoring up to A+++ for both heating and cooling in a low environmental impact solution.
Available in three colours (white, silver and blackwood), Stylish incorporates a cover panel that has been engineered to move parallel to its body, blending in with any décor. Rounded corners add to the unit's aesthetic appeal, while the newly-designed fan, developed to run within the Stylish's compact casing, and heat exchanger deliver top energy performance and perfect comfort at practically inaudible sound levels.
Commercial Wired Remote Controller
Daikin's latest wired remote control has been designed to provide an enhanced user experience with an elegant and contemporary appearance. Its compact dimensions, plus a choice of three colours, offers a discreet solution to blend in with any interior design. A sleek exterior conceals Daikin's advanced technology which provides intuitive touch button control, making it easy to adjust settings to suit your personal comfort.
Installers can configure advanced technical settings easily on their smartphone and upload them via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). For more information about the product visit www.daikin.eu/BRC1H
Patrick Crombez, Daikin Europe General Manager, Heating and Renewables Strategic Business Unit comments:
"We are delighted to receive these awards which serve as testimony to our goal in delivering stylish, aesthetically pleasing products that harmonise with their surroundings while delivering everyday comfort and energy efficiency."
For more information on the winning products, visit the iFWORLD DESIGN GUIDE
Press release
IF-Awards-Success-for-Daikin _DEU18-010_Press-Release_EnglishZIP | 71.56MB
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They're big and fast and fly in space, but NASA's space shuttles are far from being shiny white spaceships straight off the factory floor. Case in point: Space shuttle Discovery, as it nears retirement, wears its age with pride.
Discovery is NASA's oldest flying space shuttle and the most-flown of the agency's three-orbiter fleet. It is poised to blast off from Florida on Nov. 1 to make one last delivery to the International Space Station before being retired in 2011 along with the rest of NASA's shuttle program.
But after 26 years of spaceflight (Discovery first launched in August 1984), the shuttle shows its age. Its white and black exterior is marred with black streaks, and some Space.com readers have wondered why NASA's shuttles — a longtime symbol of American spaceflight — tend to look old and busted.
It turns out, there's a reason.
"She does look worn, and she is," explained Stephanie Stilson, who oversees work on Discovery for each flight. "She's had a very long history."
Discovery and other shuttles earn their weathering mainly from the searing heat of re-entry through Earth's atmosphere, when they are subjected to scorching hot temperatures of up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,649 degrees Celsius).
This upcoming trip to the space station will be Discovery's 39th spaceflight and NASA's 133rd shuttle mission. NASA's first two shuttles, Columbia and Challenger, were older than Discovery, but both were lost in spaceflight tragedies.
Not everything is replaced
While NASA engineers routinely inspect each shuttle for dings and damage after each flight, they only replace equipment that really needs it. That means insulation blankets, tiles and other gear even if they look dirty or worn stay on the ship if they can still do their job, Stilson told SPACE.com.
"So if the blankets the white part that you see look dirty, they've been to space and back, for goodness' sake," Stilson said. "So they are dirty, but they're still in good shape and in good condition and we're not going to change anything out unless they need to be."
The heat-resistant carbon composite panels along Discovery's wings and the black ceramic tiles on its underbelly are also subject to age.
Older tiles on Discovery look streaked from the plasma environment of re-entry. They stand out in photos because new tiles still appear a pristine dark black.
"So you can definitely tell that she's worked hard over the years, but that's just the nature of the business and what she's been through," Stilson said of Discovery.
NASA has two final shuttle missions scheduled and is hoping for final funding approval from Congress for one extra flight, before retiring its three orbiters in 2011. The shuttles (Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour) are being retired to make way for a new space plan aimed at sending astronauts to an asteroid by 2025 and ultimately onto Mars.
Public's up-close look
Discovery's final mission is called STS-133. It will deliver a storage room and the humanoid robot helper Robonaut 2 to the International Space Station during its 11-day spaceflight. Endeavour will launch on its final flight on Feb. 27, 2011, with the potential extra shuttle flight slated for no earlier than June 2011.
Stilson said she was impressed that SPACE.com readers commented on Discovery's worn appearance because it is not something that will be overlooked when the shuttle is ultimately displayed in a museum.
"I'm glad they noticed that because when they see Discovery at the display site, they'll see that as well," she said.
NASA ultimately plans to send its space shuttles to museums for exhibit across the country. The final destinations for the entire shuttle fleet have not yet been decided, NASA officials said Monday.
- Gallery: Shuttle Discovery's Last Launch Pad Trip, Robonaut 2 Photos
- Video Space Shuttle Discovery: A Retrospective, Part 2, Part 3
- Final Flight of Space Shuttle Discovery Set for Nov. 1 Launch
SPACE.com is providing complete coverage of the last voyage of space shuttle Discovery. Click here for mission updates, new stories and a link to NASA's live webcast coverage.


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WASHINGTON (AP) - Israeli officials have confirmed the country's airforce carried out a strike against Syria and say it targeted a shipment of advanced missiles.
The officials said the shipment was not of chemical arms, but of "game changing" weapons bound for the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group.
They say the airstrike was early on Friday. They did not say where it took place.
They spoke on Saturday on condition of anonymity because they were discussing a secret military issue.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly warned in recent weeks that Israel would be prepared to take military action if chemical weapons or other arms were to reach Hezbollah.
In January, an Israeli airstrike hit a convoy believed to be carrying advanced anti-aircraft weapons to Hezbollah.


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Turkey, as almost any observer (or indeed, Turkish citizen), will tell you, is a country of remarkable contradictions. For someone like myself, who has known and loved the country for so many years, these contradictions can be painful. On the one hand, Turkey enjoys a vibrant and wildly creative culture, a strong economy, outstanding universities, and electoral politics that – despite many flaws – have been able to adapt to real political change. Yet, despite these remarkable achievements, Turkey's record on freedom of expression has, in many ways, suffered real decline.
Problems range from the banning of websites to lawsuits aimed at stifling free speech and debate. Indeed, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan seems to file lawsuits almost weekly, normally at critical journalists, in what seems to be a concerted effort to use civil courts to limit political criticism and serious journalistic scrutiny. More broadly, anti-terrorism laws have been used to attack peaceful dissent.


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Two moves by open networking vendors this week are likely to chip a little bit more off the monolith of proprietary, appliance-like equipment that still moves most packets around enterprise data centers.
On Thursday, network OS supplier Cumulus Networks introduced turnkey switches based on standard hardware from Edgecore Networks running Cumulus software. They're designed to allow customers who are new to open networking to get started quickly and easily.
Earlier in the week, on the cutting edge of the movement, Barefoot Networks announced that Edgecore and another Taiwan-based manufacturer called WNC would start shipping switches that use the company's fully programmable chips.
Open networking separates software from hardware, just like open computing frees hardware from a specific OS, so engineers can have more flexibility to build networks as they see fit. It began in the webscale data centers of companies like Facebook and Google, where large technology teams deploy custom-built switches and frequently update them to meet changing needs using a DevOps model.
The concept hasn't made that many inroads into average enterprises, which tend to have less DevOps expertise and rely on traditional all-in-one routers and switches from vendors like Cisco Systems. Cumulus's introduction of Cumulus Express, the company's first hardware products, will help those enterprises get their feet wet with open networking, Cumulus CEO Josh Leslie said in an interview.
A key benefit of open networking is the ability to choose software from one source and hardware from another, but many companies aren't ready to orchestrate that kind of deployment.
"We don't want to ask them to think about all these choices on Day Zero," Leslie said.
Cumulus's move is in tune with the market, where open networking hasn't really penetrated average companies, according to IDC analyst Brad Casemore.
"You've got a lot of enterprises who are very concerned about the integration," he said. "It should bring over a few more. I don't know whether it's going to turn the tide in a huge way."
Some Cumulus partners, including Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, already sell hardware that runs the company's software. Cumulus Express isn't intended to undercut or replace those products, Leslie said. He expects most Express buyers to adopt other vendors' hardware later on as they get comfortable with open networking and start taking advantage of the choices it gives them.
The Cumulus Express portfolio includes switches with 1Gbps (bit-per-second) to 100Gbps interfaces. They come with pre-activated license keys, a list of certified cables and optics for those ports, and 24x7 global support. It all comes in one purchase order.
Programmable switching chips, coming from Barefoot and other vendors like Cavium and Innovium, are taking the flexibility of open networking all the way down to the silicon.
Barefoot, which made a splash last year when it announced fully programmable chips with industry-leading performance, is about to see some of those chips hit the market in open networking gear. Edgecore and WNC plan to start shipping 100Gbps switches based on Barefoot's Tofino chips in the first quarter of this year.
The Tofino silicon can be programmed to forward traffic using any protocol as long as what comes out of the ports looks like Ethernet packets. This could give developers the freedom to use future protocols that overcome the limitations of TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol).
In addition, Barefoot calls Tofino the world's fastest networking chip, running at 6.5Tbps. That's good enough for 32-port and 65-port 100Gbps switches from Edgecore, shipping as evaluation units this quarter. WNC will have a 48-port switch this quarter and a 65-port system starting in the second quarter.


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Sandy Isn't Going to Destroy These Insurers
Hurricane Sandy was a nasty beast; in fact, it's quickly on track to become one of the nation's most destructive storms ever, in terms of property destruction. This, of course, means billions of dollars in insurance claims and depressed results for the insurance companies having to cover them. Luckily for Travelers and Hartford Financial Services , not all insurers will be hit as hard as some feared. But at least a few of their rivals will have to absorb much harder body blows.
Nice umbrella you've got there
If some of the recent damage estimates are accurate, Sandy could turn out to be the No. 2 most destructive hurricane in American history, in terms of total economic damage. According to research from forecasting company Eqecat, the total bill might come to as much as $50 billion. Meanwhile, estimates for insured losses range from $7 billion to $20 billion.
If Eqecat's numbers are right, Sandy would be right behind Katrina (total damage: $106 billion) and just ahead of 1992's Andrew, which took out big parts of Florida and the Bahamas.
With those numbers, you'd think that insurers are going to take a massive hit in the storm's wake. Not necessarily. Travelers said its losses from paying claims arising from the storm would amount to a net $650 million. Given the size of the company and the power of Sandy, that ain't much. The pre-tax, and pre-reinsurance estimate is $1.135 billion, meaning the company is well covered by the latter.
Travelers has dodged a powerful bullet. Now that it's not going to completely lose its shirt in the quarter, it's expressing its relief by paying its investors in the form of a share buyback program it suspended just after the storm wreaked its havoc. Clearly, the company was girding for a much worse 4Q than it's going to get.
The 5% jump the stock experienced the day the news was announced was the market's way of wiping its brow -- the Dow, by comparison, basically traded flat that day.
Hartford heartened
The smaller Hartford was up 3% on its own news; according to the company's initial estimates, it will have to fork over around $370 million. For an insurer of modest scope like these guys, that's a big number -- by comparison, its 3Q showed total written premiums for commercial property and casualty insurance of a little over $1.5 billion.
The company does catch a bit of a break, though. It's reinsurance starts to kick in at $350 million; above that level, it only has to pay 10% of the excess -- for example, if the total bill is $400 million, Hartford pays $355 million ($350 million plus 10% of $50 million).
If the company's current quarter ends up being anything like 3Q, that total's going to be manageable. It took in just over $6.4 billion, so in other words, its Sandy bill might come in at around 6% of top line.
If much or all of that loss feeds through into net profit, the hit will be harder, though, since the company's bottom line was a bit over $400 million in that quarter. Still, all things being equal, Hartford should still be able to eke out a profit or post a modest loss, no mean feat considering the scope of the disaster.
Lack of coverage
And what about the other guys? It's still early days, but already the winners and losers are already shaking out. Allstate said its tally would run to almost $1.08 billion after taxes and reinsurance. That's not a huge blast when compared to the premiums the company's been earning in recent quarters ($7 billion or thereabouts) and total revenues (a little over $8 billion in 3Q). But it's likely to plunge the company in the red, since its net was $723 million in 3Q and has averaged $659 million over the past four quarters.
AIG is bigger and more diversified than Allstate, Travelers, or Hartford. Good thing, too, as it estimates it'll get a $1.3 billion net slam from the hurricane. This isn't the end of the world for the company, which until now was doing surprisingly well for an enterprise that necessitated a $182 billion bailout from the government a few short years ago. The losses, however, will obliterate the $786 million-plus operating profit shown by AIG's key property casualty division so far in 2012. It will also impact net substantially -- the company posted a bottom line of $1.86 billion in 3Q.
Sandy was an awful freak of nature, and the destruction and loss she created will take a long time to sort out. As with those in and near the path of the hurricane, some insurers were luckier than others in escaping the devastation. Regardless, look for some depressed and occasionally negative net numbers for insurers when they post results for this quarter.
After bringing the financial world to its knees, most investors became wary about owning a stake in AIG, and Sandy isn't helping matters. But there is much to like about the firm. We'll help you determine whether AIG is a buy at today's prices in our premium analyst report on the company. Just click here now for instant access.
Editor's note: This article has been edited to clarify information about Hartford's updated numbers.
The article Sandy Isn't Going to Destroy These Insurers originally appeared on Fool.com.
Eric Volkman has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. The Motley Fool owns shares of American International Group and has the following options: long JAN 2014 $25.00 calls on American International Group. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend American International Group. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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Every holiday season in America, as Thanksgiving fades and turkey sandwiches give way to Christmas trees and candy canes, Americans unleash an immense flow of charitable donations. For charities, it's the busiest time of the year: Salvation Army bell ringers man their corners; workplace pledge drives abound.
The urge to give that is awakened around this time is an important one: Philanthropy plays a crucial role in American society, providing funding for a vast array of services. Giving also connects us as a culture: According to a study by the Giving USA Foundation and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, nearly two-thirds of all Americans gave to charity in 2008. American charities took in nearly $300 billion in 2010.
Underlying all those donations is a mystery: Why do we give at all? From a rational perspective, it's hard to see why people worried about their own families, taxes, and bills would want to give money to help strangers. Though the tradition of giving to the less fortunate has existed for millennia — and though researchers have long been interested in what makes humans want to help others at their own expense — social scientists have only begun to seriously examine the act of donating money in the past 20 years.
The insights they've drawn have been helpful to fund-raisers, enabling them to craft better campaigns and tug at our heartstrings with greater precision. But for those of us just looking to donate, and donate well, the emerging research on charitable giving has yielded a difficult truth: Thinking harder about how to give makes us less likely to give at all.
This finding is concerning in light of the strong recent push to give more rationally — for even small individual donors to scrutinize the inner workings of charities and make sure their money is being spent productively. Research by economists and psychologists suggests that the impulse to give does not square with thinking in such a calculating way. On the contrary, it appears that giving is driven by emotional motives, rooted in deep impulses, cognitive biases, and even our own selfish needs. (Charity research isn't necessarily flattering to donors.) And when we think too analytically about giving, we can deflate our initial generous instinct.
"What we find is that when people are thinking more deliberatively . . . they end up being less generous overall," said Deborah Small, an associate professor of marketing and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
Is it possible to be both generous and smart about it? A lot of donors would like to think so, but new research suggests that it may be harder than we realize. And while there may be things we can do to make sure our money doesn't end up wasted, charity appears to be one area where we have to be extra-careful not to let our brains get in the way.
Why anyone is ever selfless is a mystery that has fascinated, not to mention frustrated, scientists since Charles Darwin, who considered it a major problem for his theory of natural selection. If every creature on earth was in competition with every other, then how to explain bees sacrificing themselves for the good of the hive, or men and women running into burning buildings to save the lives of strangers? These questions have led researchers to posit that helping others, even when it costs us dearly, is simply part of being successful social animals: Despite our imperative to compete, we ultimately find it pays off to be generous.
Of course, it's one thing to explain why people in general are inclined to help others, and another to examine how it plays out in the mind of an individual person. Studying charitable donation has been a valuable window into that process for researchers, because it allows them to quantify the amount of good a person is doing, and how much he or she is giving up.
One dominant strain of thought among charity researchers is that our donations aren't chiefly driven by concern for others, or a principled sense of altruism — that instead, it's largely a way for us to indulge the desire to feel virtuous and happy about our role in the world. This theory was formalized in 1989 by behavioral economist James Andreoni, who described the rush of self-satisfaction and sense of purpose one experiences after committing support to a worthy cause as "warm glow." The reason we give money, Andreoni wrote, is that it makes us feel good — regardless of how much it benefits the people we're ostensibly trying to help.
Another prominent theory to emerge from the research is that people give because of social pressure. We want to avoid appearing selfish or coldhearted, especially in front of people who are suffering or people whose opinions we care about. We might feel this type of pressure when we find ourselves passing a homeless person on the street, or when someone at the office asks if we'd like to participate in the companywide campaign for United Way.
Those aren't the reasons we like to think of ourselves as donating, but experimental research on charity tends to support the notion that donating and thinking occupy separate realms. Jonathan Baron, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, asked a group of participants which charity they'd rather give to: one that achieved its goals so efficiently that it could spend 20 percent of its money on advertising, or one that required more money to do the same amount of good, and thus spent less on promotion. Though the first charity was technically more efficient, people tended to favor the latter: What mattered to them was seeing more of their own money at work, Baron concluded, rather than the amount of good it did.
This conclusion is bolstered by the findings of John List, an economist at the University of Chicago, who tested the effectiveness of so-called matching programs, in which a major supporter agrees to match the contributions of individual donors. List expected to find that matching programs enticed people to give, by creating the (correct) impression that their money would go further. But List's results were curious: While charities that offered a matching program did inspire more people to give than charities that didn't, he was surprised to find that a higher matching ratio didn't lead to larger donations. People whose donations would be quadrupled — a huge increase in the power of their gift — didn't donate any more money than people whose donations would simply be doubled. "People get utility or satisfaction out of giving to a good cause. And they do not care how much public good is provided," List said.
The lesson Baron took from his own research is that would-be philanthropists need to be more thoughtful: "People don't ask themselves enough, 'What is this charity actually doing, and what good does it do, and how important is that good?'" Baron has revised his own giving strategy, so that instead of spreading a number of small gifts across 10 different charities, he now focuses it on a couple of organizations that he believes will do the most with his money.
Can more of us be like Baron, and harness our charitable impulses while making smarter decisions about where our money is going? The latest findings from psychology suggest it's unlikely — that when it comes to giving, at least, the deliberative thinking that's associated with making informed choices actually makes it less likely that a person will give at all.
Small, of the Wharton School, conducted an experiment with George Loewenstein of Carnegie Mellon University and Paul Slovic of the University of Oregon showing that when people were given more facts and statistics about the problem a charity was trying to address, they actually became less likely to donate. The best approach for a charity raising money to feed hungry children in Mali, the team found, was to simply show potential donors a photograph of a starving child and tell them her name and age. Donors who were shown more contextual information about famine in Africa — the ones who were essentially given more to think about — were less likely to give. Small sees her findings as evidence of a kind of contest going on inside of each of us, one that pits our emotional side against our intellect in a battle for control over our behavior.
Small's findings are backed up by Daniel Oppenheimer, a psychologist at Princeton and coeditor of the book "The Science of Giving," who found that simply giving people information about a charity's overhead costs makes them less likely to donate to it. This held true, remarkably, even if the information was positive and indicated and the charity was extremely efficient.
"When we start thinking about it, we might start analyzing it," Small said. "Is this really going to be effective? Is this going to be the best use of my money? How else might I spend my money? What happens is you stop feeling."
For humans, who distinguish themselves from beasts in part through their analytical powers, this is a troubling conflict. Why should thinking be the enemy of generosity? What does it mean that as soon as we enter the "deliberative mindset," to use Small's term, we become less altruistic towards our fellow man?
One reason analytical thinking might have this effect on the charitable impulse is that, once people really think through what the charity they've selected might accomplish with their money, they start realizing just how little their contribution is going to help. This is sometimes referred to as the "drop in the bucket" effect. According to List, thinking about all the people you're not helping when you donate — the millions of children left to starve for each one you save — makes the act of giving a lot less satisfying. "If you really did the calculus," List said, "my 25 dollars to the Sierra Club means nothing on the margins. So if I wanted to be really analytical about it, I'm not going to give." According to List, that means that a world in which everyone thinks rationally about their charitable decisions might mean the most efficient, best organizations get the most money — but it might also be a world in which far less money actually gets donated.
To help donors give more rationally without getting too hung up in analysis, organizations such as GiveWell and Charity Navigator have set up websites that highlight good charities with simple rankings and "Top Ten" lists, rather than a complicated stream of financial information. "We do the analytics for you," said Ken Berger, chief executive and president of Charity Navigator. (Small agrees that these can be a helpful way around the problem she identified — "a shortcut for donors so they don't have to think too much.")
For donors worried that even that much analysis might be overthinking, one solution might be to treat charity a different way — neither as an impulse nor a research project, but more as an appetite, one we can both indulge and control. Lise Vesterlund, an economist at the University of Pittsburgh, doesn't share the dominant view of charity as being motivated primarily by people's desire to attain prestige and feel good about themselves. Instead, she argues that existing research points to something she calls "the temptation to do good." As she sees it, people are preprogrammed to help those who are suffering, and when we make an impulsive decision to give money to charities that don't necessarily make the best use of it, we're essentially indulging that temptation the way we'd indulge a sugar craving.
But appetites can be healthy, too, and Vesterlund's solution is to be sure we indulge them the right way: essentially, putting carrots closer at hand than a chocolate bar. If you know that donating money to a food bank this holiday season is going to go further towards helping the poor than giving the same amount in quarters to panhandlers, then decide that's how you'll do it when the appetite strikes.
"We all know this time of year we're getting tons of solicitations," Vesterlund said. "If before going into the season you say, 'I want to make substantial charitable donations, and these are the organizations I want to give to,' you don't fall prey to the temptations."
Leon Neyfakh is the staff writer for Ideas. E-mail email@example.com.


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Finding that One-In-A-Billion that Could Lead to Disease - 08/28/2007
Finding that One-In-A-Billion that Could Lead to Disease
Cell machinery sniffs out gene damage by trying on DNA for size
Release Date: August 28, 2007
Errors in the genetic code can give rise to cancer and a host of other diseases, but finding these errors can be more difficult than looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. Now, scientists at Johns Hopkins have uncovered how the tiny protein-machines in cells tasked to search for such potentially life-threatening genetic damage actually recognize DNA errors.
Appearing online next week in Nature, the Hopkins team describes how the UDG enzyme (for uracil DNA glycosylase) scrutinizes the shape of DNA building blocks by holding onto them and testing their fit into a specially sized pocket. The UDG pocket holds onto mistakes only - the enzyme loses its grip on the right building blocks, which fall back in line with the rest of the DNA.
"Locating damage in DNA is critical for a cell's survival: So much can go wrong if damage goes unrepaired; cells can't tolerate any of this going on," says study author James Stivers, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology and molecular sciences at Hopkins. "But the question is how these enzymes find the few mistakes among the billions of correct building blocks in DNA."
One typical error that occurs is to the DNA building block cytosine, being chemically converted to a similar-looking building block not normally found in DNA: uracil. "Even water can cause DNA damage," says Stivers. "It's not a fast reaction, but water does convert the occasional cytosine into an unwanted uracil."
To figure out how the enzyme responsible for cutting unwanted uracils out of DNA works, Stivers and colleagues studied a tiny segment of DNA. The research team then asked whether the "breathing" properties of DNA played a role in the search process of UDG. "Although the bases in the DNA double helix resemble the rungs of a ladder, the rungs are not that sturdy," says Stivers. "They actually pop in and out of the helix a bit, randomly."
Each time a base pops out of the helix, it exposes itself to water. Thus, using a special chemical trick, the team magnetically labeled water, which allowed them to follow the interaction of water with bases that had randomly popped out of the DNA helix. The researchers could then follow which bases pop out, and for how long, using a strong magnet.
After studying DNA breathing by itself, the researchers then added UDG into the mix. They saw that UDG holds onto the normal DNA building block thymine (T) after it pops out of the DNA on its own. However, because T is not identical to U, UDG then lets it fall back into DNA helix.
When the DNA contains an unwanted U, the UDG enzyme actually grabs on and pulls it all the way out and holds it in the enzyme's pocket. Once sitting in this pocket, the enzyme clips out the U, leaving a gap in the DNA for other repair machinery to fill in with the correct building block.
"This is the first time we've been able to actually see how an enzyme discriminates between right and wrong bases in DNA," says Stivers. "Our discovery helps us appreciate what properties of DNA itself might lead to errors that are not repaired. "The finding may help address how and where diseases like cancer arise in the genome."
The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Authors on the paper are Jared Parker, Mario Bianchet, Daniel Krosky, Joshua Friedman, L. Mario Amzel and Stivers, all of Hopkins.
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