text:
"Culture eats strategy for breakfast," a famous quote attributed to business management guru Peter Drucker, remains relevant decades after it was first allegedly spoken. If the people within your organization don't feel connected to your company's strategy or change initiatives, those ambitions will never be realized.
Strategies that are designed in isolation at the top level of an organization can be out of sync with what's really happening on the front lines. This is where the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) can really add value. If you aren't actively trying to engage your employees on a regular basis, you're missing out on an opportunity to gather and harness key insight that will improve your company's performance.
As business consultant Stan Slap says, "Human behavior is only unpredictable and dangerous if you don't start from humanity in the first place."
Here are five ways you, as a CHRO, can become a stronger strategic partner for your CEO:
- Source opportunities and problems via continuous feedback loops.
- Leverage and empower the wisdom of the the workforce.
- Build trust through transparency and inclusion.
- Engage and tap into the discretionary effort of your employees.
- Foster real-time moments for turning insights into action.
Providing an agile people system like the above will connect you with the culture of your workplace, which is necessary to make sure strategies are widely supported and on target. Digital engagement platforms can help enable these systems and provide real-time reports on the relevant data collected by said systems.
Gathering large-scale data sets on your employees' alignment and sentiment around a change effort is achievable today. CHROs that do this will help their organizations become more resilient against changing market dynamics and more sustainably successful.
To succeed in this endeavor, you'll need to be the type of leader who understands that the world doesn't operate on an annual cycle anymore. As a result, there are a few additional actions we suggest you take:
- Stop running annual or biannual employee engagement surveys. Replace them with a continuous listening strategy that pulses out to employees on a regular basis.
- Alternatively, at least augment your employee engagement survey with a pulsing strategy that is transparent and inclusive.
- Stop annual 360s. Start continuous feedback on productivity.
- Stop ignoring the wisdom of the crowd. Start transparency and inclusion touch points.
A version of this article originally appeared on the Waggl blog.
Waggl is the most human way for organizations to crowdsource feedback.


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Healthy UFC Fight Night 24 co-headliner Anthony Johnson staying at 170 pounds
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» Healthy UFC Fight Night 24 co-headliner Anthony Johnson staying at 170 pounds
As part of his current 16-month layoff, Anthony Johnson wrestled with both his weight and a lack of attention.
He admits his knee surgery and a subsequent layoff had him feeling down, and the welterweight gained noticeable weight in the process.
But Johnson (8-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC), who returns to action Saturday to meet Dan Hardy (23-8 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in a UFC Fight Night 24 co-headliner, said his previous comments about a possible move to middleweight never were serious. Instead, he simply needed some attention.
"When I said I was thinking about going to 185, I just did that to get everyone talking," Johnson, who fights Hardy on the Spike TV-televised main card at Seattle's KeyArena, told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) during a recent media call. "It worked obviously.
Related Topics
UFC Fight Night 24: Anthony Johnson Talks Dan Hardy (Video)
Spike TV airs 16-hour UFC marathon around Saturday's UFC Fight Night 24 event
"UFC Fight Night 23: UFC Fight for the Troops 2" drug tests come back clean

subset: commoncrawl


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Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
The benefit of psychiatric treatment is strongly influenced by the quality of the relationship between the psychiatrist and the patient. This can be an even stronger effect than the effect of medication or other treatments. The quality of psychiatrist-patient communication also influences adherence to treatment. However, communication often breaks down in consultations with psychotic patients because their unusual experiences (e.g., hallucinations, delusions) lie outside of ordinary human experience. Until recently, there was a lack of evidence about good communication with such patients. In previous studies we have shown that effective psychiatrist communication with psychotic patients depends on how well psychiatrists try to understand the patient's psychotic experiences. Moreover, we have shown that this leads to a better patient outcome (i.e., higher patient satisfaction), a better therapeutic relationship and treatment adherence, and fewer relapses. We will use our findings to develop a new intervention to train psychiatrists in communicating with patients who experience hallucinations and delusions. The training package will be developed with and delivered in collaboration with service users and psychiatrists. Psychiatrists will learn specific communicative strategies to help them reach a shared understanding with their patients about psychotic symptoms. We will test the training package to assess feasibility and determine how we could conduct a larger study using these methods. We will identify whether psychiatrists can improve their communication skills through training, whether they can use these skills appropriately in consultations with psychotic patients, and whether this improves patient clinical outcomes.
Who can participate?
Higher/advanced psychiatric trainees and patients aged 18 - 65 with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.
What does the study involve?
Psychiatrists are randomly allocated to one of two groups. One group undergoes the training programme and the other does not. The training programme consists of four training sessions taking place one week apart and lasting 4 hours each. During the training period, at least one consultation with a participating patient per psychiatrist is recorded for training purposes. These consultations are viewed and psychiatrists receive and discuss feedback in the training sessions. There are also follow-up sessions four and eight weeks after the fourth training session. At the end of the training the next consultation between each participating psychiatrist and patient is recorded and assessed.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Not provided at time of registration
Where is the study run from?
Newham Centre for Mental Health, East London NHS Foundation Trust and North East London NHS Foundation Trust (UK)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
March 2010 to March 2013
Who is funding the study?
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) (UK)
Who is the main contact?
Rose McCabe
Trial website
Contact information
Primary contact
Dr Rose McCabe
Contact details
Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry
Newham Centre for Mental Health
Glen Road
United Kingdom
Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Protocol/serial number
Study information
Scientific title
Developing and piloting a new intervention to improve psychiatrist-patient communication about psychosis: an exploratory cluster-randomised controlled trial
Study hypothesis
We wish to address the following research questions:
1. Can psychiatrists learn to use a particular communicative mechanism (repair) to communicate more effectively with patients with psychosis?
2. Can they apply this new way of communicating with their patients?
3. Does it have an effect on the following intermediate outcomes: psychiatrist confidence in communicating with psychotic patients, patient experience of the communication and patient centredness in the first consultation with each relevant patient after the 12 week training period
4. Does it have an effect on the following patient clinical outcomes: patient satisfaction with treatment, the therapeutic relationship, treatment adherence and relapse at 6 months follow-up
Ethics approval
Not provided at time of registration
Study design
Exploratory cluster randomised controlled trial
Primary study design
Secondary study design
Cluster randomised trial
Trial setting
Trial type
Patient information sheet
Not available in web format, please use contact details to request a participant information sheet
Schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder
Psychiatrists will be randomised to the intervention group (training programme) or control group (no training programme).
Training programme:
The proposed training programme is as follows. Training will be provided by the lead applicant, a psychiatrist and a service user in interactive groups with a maximum of 6 psychiatrists per group. Small groups are to facilitate some one-to-one work with each psychiatrist on their own recorded consultations. There will be 4 training sessions lasting 4 hours each. They will take place one week apart. During the training period, at least one consultation with a participating patient per psychiatrist will be recorded for training purposes. These consultation(s) will be viewed and psychiatrists will receive and discuss feedback in the training sessions. Four weeks after training session 4, there will be one follow-up refresher/supervision session, followed by a final refresher session eight weeks after training session 4. The proposed training schedule is:
1. Training session 1 at baseline
2. Training session 2 after one week
3. Training session 3 after two weeks
4. Training session 4 after three weeks
5. Refresher session after 8 weeks
6. Refresher session after 12 weeks
At the end of the training, the next consultation between each participating psychiatrist and patient will be recorded and communicative behaviours assessed.
Intervention type
Not Applicable
Drug names
Primary outcome measure
Psychiatrists use of repair will be assessed using the Repair Protocol, which is a standardised and validated measure.
Secondary outcome measures
Intermediate outcomes:
1. Psychiatrist confidence in communicating with psychotic patients
2. Patient experience of the communication
3. Patient centredness
Measured in the first consultation with each relevant patient after the 12 week training period
Final outcomes:
4. Patient satisfaction with treatment
5. Therapeutic relationship
6. Treatment adherence and relapse
Measured at 6 months follow-up
Overall trial start date
Overall trial end date
Reason abandoned (if study stopped)
Participant inclusion criteria
Higher/advanced psychiatric trainees (ST4-6) working in outpatients or community mental health teams. Doctors in higher psychiatric training (ST4-6) already have basic knowledge and experience in psychiatry gained through core psychiatric training. During higher training they practice without direct supervision and aim to further develop specific competencies including communication skills. Hence, they are at the formative stage of their training, preparing to take up a consultant role in a few years time. We will focus on trainees in this pilot trial, because the effectiveness of an intervention on changing their communicative practice may be higher at this stage of their professional development.
1. ICD-10 criteria for a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder
2. Currently attending outpatients or being cared for by community mental health teams
3. Capable of giving informed consent
4. Aged 18 - 65 years, both females and males
Participant type
Age group
Target number of participants
84 (72 patients and 12 psychiatrists)
Participant exclusion criteria
1. Organic impairment
2. Require an interpreter
Recruitment start date
Recruitment end date
Countries of recruitment
United Kingdom
Trial participating centre
Newham Centre for Mental Health
United Kingdom
Trial participating centre
East London NHS Foundation Trust
United Kingdom
Trial participating centre
North East London NHS Foundation Trust
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
Queen Mary University of London (UK)
Sponsor details
Queen Mary's Innovation Centre
Lower Ground Floor
5 Walden Street
United Kingdom
Sponsor type
Funder type
Funder name
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) (UK) - Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) programme (ref: PB-PG-0408-16279)
Alternative name(s)
Funding Body Type
Funding Body Subtype
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
Manuscript in press
Intention to publish date
Participant level data
Not expected to be available
Basic results (scientific)
Publication list
2016 results in: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27445354


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Hits: 55
Located in the Caucasus, the intersection point of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, Azerbaijan has the largest surface area of the South Caucasus. It is located in the east of the Caspian Sea, Georgia in the northwest, Armenia in the west, Russia in the north and Iran in the south. The Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, which is connected to it, borders Armenia in the north and east, and Iran in the south and west. There are 17 kilometers of border with Turkey.
The Caspian Sea which forms the eastern border, the Great Caucasus Range in the north and the wide plains in the center are the most dominant physical qualities of Azerbaijan. Caucasus and Talis Mountains cover about forty percent of the country. Bazardüzü Peak is the highest point of Azerbaijan (4,466 m) and the Caspian Sea is the lowest point (-28 m). In addition, about half of the mud volcanoes nominated for inclusion in the Seven Wonders of Nature remain within the borders of Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan, whose capital is Baku, is divided into 59 states, called rayons, 75 cities and 9 economic divisions. 11 cities have metropolitan status. The biggest cities of the capital except Baku are Sumqayit, Mingechevir, and Ganja. Nakhichevan is an autonomous region of Azerbaijan.
A mild continental climate prevails in Azerbaijan. There is a harsh climate in high mountains and other high sections. High winters are long, cold and snowy and summers are cool. In the plains, winters are cool and mostly rainy but sometimes snowy and summers are hot and dry. The average annual temperature is above 10 degrees.
Industry and Tourism
Freestyle wrestling is the national sport of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan won 14 medals in this branch. Today, the most common sports in Azerbaijan are chess and football.
Population: 9,972,872
Population Density: 121 per Km2
Land Area: 86,658 Km ²


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By TIM BALTZ
It's no secret that the 2017 season has been rough for not only the drivers at MIR but the race fans as well. Mohawk International Raceway officials are hoping for better weather this weekend as all 5 divisions will be set to tackle a fast racing surface which will make our dedicated race fans much happier than sitting around in the rain.
With only 3 events complete in 358 Modified competition some of the top stars in the 358 ranks have had success at other speedways and are hoping for a little momentum when the action resumes this coming Friday night. Tim Fuller recently took home a victory in the Graham Racing big block Modified number 19 by topping Stewart Friesen and Ronnie Johnson at the Fonda Speedway. Billy Dunn also continued his dominance by remaining undefeated in 358 Modified at the Can-Am Speedway. These 2 drivers will look to keep the roll going this weekend but with guys like Jordan McCreadie, Chris Raabe, Corey Wheeler, Brian McDonald and Danny Johnson in the field, it could make for an action packed 358 Modified feature.
Our local Sportsman drivers have also had great success since Mohawk has been held down by Mother nature. Moise Page is on a hot streak at the Airborne Park Speedway on Saturday nights in 2017. Page has recorded 3 victories this season and will look to add his 2nd career Mohawk checkered flag Friday night. Johnathon Ferguson has also been strong at his Saturday night home the Brockville Ontario Speedway with a big win and a string of strong runs, the Prescott Ontario native will roll through the gates Friday as the points leader. Drivers like Zach Arquiett, Joel Hargrave and Brianna Ladouceur will all be up on the wheel and will be hungry for a win this weekend as well.
Gates open at 5:00pm just $12 general admission with Canadian Money also taken at par at the main gate, Seniors and students $10, children are always admitted free. Pit admission is $27 with a DirtCar membership $30 for non members. The first green flag flies at 7:30pm. For more information log on to www.mohawkspeedway.com or contact the speedway office at 1-518-358-9017.


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After weeks of complaints that city schools are not safe, the start of in-person learning has been pushed back again. But some parents and teachers say it's still not enough. CBS2's Dick Brennan reports
NYC Announces Another Delay To In-Person Learning
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Program: CBS2 News At 11Categories: Education, News, Local News, Politics, WCBSTV, Top Story
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NYPD Searching For Gunman Who Shot At Car In Brooklyn, 2 People In Critical ConditionVideo shows a gunman dressed in black fired into a car on Chauncey Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Suspect In Stolen Bayonne, N.J. Police Cruiser Leads Officers On High Speed Chase To BrooklynA high speed chase ended when an allegedly stolen police cruiser from Bayonne, NJ slammed into a parked car in Brooklyn.
New York Weather: CBS2's 10/25 Sunday Morning UpdateJohn Elliott has the Tri-State Area's latest forecast on CBS2 News This Morning.
New York Weather: CBS2 10/24 Nightly Forecast at 11PMCBS2's John Elliott has your weather forecast for October 24 at 11 p.m.
Cab Driver Sprayed With Unknown Substance After Fare DisputeVideo shows an attack on a cab driver in the Bronx.
Department Of Buildings Investigating After Bronx Sidewalk Collapses, Man Falls Into HoleThe city's Department of Buildings is investigating after witnesses say a man fell into a hole after the sidewalk he was standing on suddenly gave way; CBS2's Kiran Dhillon reports.
East Harlem Fire Started By Man Barricaded Inside ApartmentPolice say a fire in East Harlem on Saturday was the result of a domestic dispute.
Man In Queens Shot Twice In Chest By Men On MopedsA 27-year-old man was shot Saturday night in Queens.
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Millions Of Americans Have Already VotedMany Americans have already voted. So far, nearly 53 million people across the country have cast their ballots either in person or by mail.
Trump, Biden Back On Campaign Trail As Election Day ApproachesA day after their final debate, both candidates are on the campaign trail in the final sprint to Election Day; CBS2's Dick Brennan reports.
Person Of Interest In Custody After Woman Shoved Onto Subway TracksPolice have a person of interest in custody in connection to a woman getting shoved onto the subway tracks in Times Square; CBS2's Ali Bauman reports.
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Cheated, Beaten, and Forcibly Removed
Taiwan -- As fallout from the August Thai workers' riot in Kaohsiung continues to settle, details of another case of abuse against migrant laborers working at a CTCI (中鼎工程股份有限公司) chemical factory in Mailiao, Yunlin County are starting to come to light. On Aug. 2, at least four Filipino laborers at the plant were severely beaten at a highway rest stop near Hsinchu. According to the workers, this was done to coerce them and 12 others into signing agreements nullifying their contracts and allowing for immediate repatriation to the Philippines. After the beatings, the workers were taken directly to the airport, where at least one, Gil Lebria, was carried through customs and onto the plane in a semi-conscious and in need of medical attention. A month earlier, these workers had been involved in a strike, protesting illegal side agreements and other highly questionable fees deducted from their pay. Protests in Taipei last weekend elicited a promise from Council of Labor Affairs Chairman Lee Ying-yuan to investigate the case. Officials at Formosa Plastics Group (to whom the workers were originally contracted), the Mailiao factory, and CTCI would not comment on the incident or would not return calls when contacted by POTS. The Asian Pacific Mission for Migrants claims that CTCI has not denied the beatings, in separate contradictory statements saying the workers fought amongst themselves or tried to escape. The question also remains as to how a severely beaten individual could be carried through Immigration and onto an airplane at Chiang Kai Shek International Airport. Here is Gil Lebria's story:
It's so hard to find a job in the Philippines because of the economic conditions, so I always work abroad. I grew up in the southern island of Mindanao and earned a bachelor of arts in political science from Mindanao University. At that time I was involved in left-wing organizations like League of Filipino Students. Later I actually served in the national army [He smiles with a finger to his mouth.]...shhh!
I worked in Manila for four years, followed by four years working in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as a supervisor in logistics at a military hospital. I finished my contract in Saudi Arabia and then I found a job at San Miguel Beer, one of the biggest companies in the Philippines. My contract was only for six months and I had to renew. It wasn't a stable job. At the end of my contract I found an ad for an overseas worker agency called Dynamic International Services Corp. through the Philippines Overseas Administration's website. They were looking for workers at Formosa Plastic Corporation. The application process is very competitive because there are so many Filipinos after these kinds of jobs, especially in engineering projects. On April 23rd all of the applicants took the engineering exam and I scored first amongst our group. After I was accepted, I took out a loan from my neighbor to pay the 49,000-peso [US$958] placement fee. After that, all the accepted applicants had to go through the medical exam. Our documents went to the Taiwan Consulate to be approved for a migrant workers visa. Then we were notified that our flight would leave for Taiwan on Jun. 5. However, when we arrived at the airport, an hour before our flight, they gave us a folder of documents to sign, which we weren't given time to read. I was shocked to see how many agreements that had never showed up before. There was supposed to be one agreement, the original one that was validated by the Taiwan Consulate and the Philippine authority. But besides that, there was this one folder. We weren't allowed to read it or ask questions. So I pretended that I had to go to the restroom and quickly made copies of the agreements. In the loan agreement it said:
1) 124,000 pesos to be paid over 13 consecutive months to the agency (When we originally signed the voucher, the space above the signature was blank, so that any amount could have been filled in later).
2) The broker and the employer were given power of attorney.
3) The employer had the authority to withhold our passport, ARC and wages -- which after researching the Taiwan labor laws, I learned was totally illegal.
4) The employer would only give us an allowance of TW$4000 (US$122) per month; the rest would be withheld.
But we had no choice -- either we had to sign or we wouldn't fly and we would lose the placement fee. When I first came to Taiwan, I felt it was so beautiful here, but I was mistaken because I belonged to the worst employer.
After we arrived in Kaoshiung, representatives from our main contractor, CTCI, met us at the airport. They brought us to the hospital for another physical, then to our camp at Mailiao in Yunlin County. That's about the time I met our Taiwan broker from Yang Luck Agency, a Filipino-Taiwanese named Mr. Jerry Ong Tan. They gave him the confidential folder with our documents and he introduced himself as also the CTCI Filipino controller. The next day, on Jun. 6, we attended a CTCI orientation safety seminar. Actually the only legitimate contractor in my official contract was Formosa Plastics, but I had still never seen them. After orientation we reported to the job site, but not to CTCI -- we reported directly to a sub-contractor, Samsung Engineering. After a couple weeks we were moved to another sub-contractor, Hyunwoo Company. Then we were sent to Sungdo Engineering Company. In total, we were moved to four different Korean companies. I still have the time cards for my time at these jobs.
So I now ask Formosa Plastics, "Why was I moved through so many contractors?"
We became fed up with the practices inside Formosa. We wanted the company to follow the standard Taiwan labor laws and the original contract that we signed. Our list of major grievances was:
1) Follow the original, legitimate contract.
2) Annul the 124,000-peso (US$2425) placement fee deducted from our salary.
3) Terminate the blank voucher from the local agency, which allowed them to charge us whatever amount they wanted.
4) Give us a mess hall -- before we could only eat beside the road.
5) We also wanted to improve the quantity and quality of food. We felt like pigs eating at a trough. Also the amount of food we were getting wasn't enough -- we were doing heavy work, but we still we were given little food.
6) Provide liability, because we didn't know who was responsible in case of an accident.
7) Cut an unexplained NT$3,000 (US$92) monthly deduction.
So there should have been some kind of agreement between the contractor and the sub-contractors, but I never saw any agreements. So I asked the manager of Samsung, Mr. Eric Park and the manager of CTCI Mr. Chen, "Where are these agreements?"
But [Park's] answer was, "You've only been working two months, so you are not qualified. So go back to work. We don't like your questions. We don't like any opportunists. I have no information to give to you because you are under CTCI."
So I asked Mr. Chen why we were being moved around to so many subcontractors.
But Mr. Chen responded, "You're supposed to work because you're obligated to the broker."
But we had four different brokers and they never showed up. Our brokers were Yang Luck, Eversun, ATB, and another one I forgot. Mr. Chen told me Yang Luck was our only legitimate broker, though Eversun was in charge of our pay-slips. ATB was supposed to remit our money to the Philippines.
After asking around to everyone, we never got any legitimate answers. So my main question was for Jerry Tan, but he said he was only an employee of FPG. But I think he was just afraid.
Combining the broker's fees from the Philippines broker and the Taiwan broker [some of which were framed as loans], and the fees for health insurance, ARC, documentation, tax, the monthly deductions, and an unidentified deduction (later explained to him being for 11 sick days, though he only took two sick days) it all added up to TW$14,842 (US$455). Our monthly salary was TW$15,840 (US$486). So we had to work overtime to pull in any money at all. For the month of June you can see this pay-slip (He takes his pay slip out of his pocket.) -- I made a net of TW$3,462 (US$106). If you work overtime you can make an additional TW$5,000 (US$153) to TW$10,000 (US$307) a month. I worked everyday, seven days a week, except in July when I took a few Sundays off. You can see on this bank slip (He takes the ATB money transfer receipt out of his pocket.) from my money sent home, it is the same amount. [Laughing uproariously] I can make that much in the Philippines in two weeks! Why did they only list two hours overtime each day when I was working at least 14 to 16 hours a day [that is, six to eight overtime hours]? Now if you break down my months' salary, I am supposed to pull in TW$87 (US$2.67) an hour with 133% for the first two overtime hours, then 166% for additional overtime hours. Where did that money go? We are working hard from the heavy work. We also have family in the Philippines who need daily financial assistance. No one could answer our questions -- not even the brokers, not even the employers, not even the sub-contractors.
So I discussed with the other workers our grievances and rights in this situation. On Jul. 13 we had a meeting. All 600 workers agreed that the following day we would have a voluntary absence and would not report for work. We called directly to MECO (Manila Economic Cultural Office) Taichung representatives Mr. Nestor Barayag and Mr. Hendry Parel. They promised to meet with us that afternoon to discuss our grievances. At the meeting, 600 of us, plus the MECO representatives, the four brokers and the Formosa management, attended. I spoke out at the meeting to represent the Filipino side.
The following two days we had a strike and Mr. Barayag notified us on the second day that they had reached an agreement. They would:
1) Follow the legal contract and the local labor laws.
2) Appoint CTCI as the legitimate contractor.
3) Reduce medical fees.
4) Nullify all debts -- NT$3,000 (US$92) local broker charge, NT$5,808 (US$178) deducted from my pay for incorrectly assessed sick days, NT$2,500 (US$77) legal charges, and 124,000 pesos (US$2425) deducted in installments as a loan from a broker, the Dynamic International Services Corp.
We were so happy! We were so happy we got our demands that we didn't care whom our employer was, as long as we were clear on who exactly was our legitimate employer. At that time, I also heard that there were people in the company who did not like me, but we had no idea how much. On Aug. 2, others and I would be repatriated to the Philippines.
We had been working for a Korean company at that time, when one day our supervisor told 16 of us he had no time cards to give us. He instructed us to go to the office of the manager Mr. Eric Park at Samsung's headquarters. He told us that maybe CTCI wanted to transfer us to another sub-contractor. Mr. Eric Park referred us to one of our brokers, Mr. A-Chung. A-Chung told us he was going to bring us to CTCI where we would be taken to our camp. He said we were supposed to report to Mr. Jerry Tan. Mr. Jerry Tan told us, "You pack your personal belongings because this is your last day. You are going to fly back to the Philippines tonight."
We asked, "Why? What is the reason?"
He said, "They didn't like you because you are the leaders. You are the strikers. You refused to work."
When I kept asking why, he yelled "I don't know! You just go! Hurry!" After five minutes, we had to grab everything, but I still left a lot of personal belongings behind because we didn't have enough time. We were taken out behind the camp with the Formosa security guard and CTCI staff.
Mr. Chen, Mr. A-Chung, and Mr. Tan were all trying to get us to sign agreements (withdrawing complaints and terminating the contract), but we refused. I was the most vocal of all of us. I said, "I will never sign this agreement because it is not agreeable!" I called Mr. Barayag at MECO and asked him to come immediately to help us solve this problem. Mr. Barayag said, "Ah, but it is so far and there are also so many problems here in Taichung."
But I said, "It is your obligation! You are a MECO official. We are taxpayers!"
After two hours, they began forcing us toward the bus. My friend Alverez speaks Taiwanese and he was arguing with the CTCI employee. Suddenly they began beating Alverez. Then they started shoving me. We asked, "Why are you physically assaulting us?" They said they were angry because we would not sign the agreement. We tried to call Mr. Barayag back, but he had turned off his cell phone. That is our big question: "Why did Mr. Barayag abandon us?"
After that they confiscated our cell phones and forced five of us onto the bus the others were put into five different cars. The head security guard, a big man -- six-footer, began beating me inside the bus. They hit my chest two times -- five other security guards were holding me. We called out to the other Filipinos inside the camp to help us, but Mr. Chen closed the back door and the front door so they could not assist me. I screamed for help, but Mr. A-Chung told me to get into the bus and sign the agreement. We were traveling to the airport when they stopped at a rest stop in Hsinchu. On the bus there was one security guard with an electric baton, the Filipino controller, and a driver. We did not want to fight because we were not in our own country, but at that time two security guards came on the bus and began beating me without asking any questions. They hit me eight consecutive, direct shots to my face, my head. My face immediately began bleeding. They kicked me in the chest, twisted my legs, my elbow -- they kicked me in the spine. I think there were 23 blows all together. I lost consciousness for three to five minutes. I was crying at that time and I was covered with blood, but then one of the security guards spit on my face. I couldn't walk, but my two friends, Mr. Lopez and Mr. Murgia helped me to sit down, but the security guards hit them with the electric shocks for helping me. In the other cars they were also beating the other Filipinos. Afterwards, Mr. Fernandez vomited blood. At about 3pm, Mr. A-Chung came inside the bus and brought the documents and forced me to sign. But I couldn't write in my condition so I used my thumb. I agreed, but it was not agreeable to myself!
Afterwards, they dragged me out to the other Filipinos and they the head security guard pointed at me and said, "Do you see him? He refused to sign the agreement." So they signed!
On the way up to the airport we were all crying. We arrived at the airport at about 6:30pm, but we were not allowed to go inside the airport until five minutes before take-off. The security guards, the CTCI staff and Mr. A-Chung took us to check-in, but they were holding our passports. My friends carried me through check-in and immigration because I couldn't walk, but no one asked any questions. Everyone saw me -- police, everyone. We took a Cathay Pacific flight and the stewardess was immediately alerted to my condition. She was also Filipina and she came from my hometown so she could ask me questions in our local dialect. She asked me what happened and she reported to Cathay Pacific staff. A doctor examined me. They told me I had to get off at our next stop in Hong Kong (on the way to Manila) because I was in critical condition and I needed medical attention immediately. They carried me on a stretcher from the plane to Saint Francis Margaret Hospital in Hong Kong. We had no money to pay the medical bill because only Mr. Alfredo was with me and the rest of the workers had already gone back to the Philippines. I was instructed to contact the Overseas Welfare Office of the Philippines. I was under observation in the intensive care unit for two days, getting scans, X-rays, and medical examinations. They immediately gave me medicine. I reported to the police, who reported to the Philippines Embassy in Hong Kong.
When Alfredo and I arrived back in Manila, there was a big problem because fourteen of my co-workers were being told to sign more quit/claim agreements. The Overseas Welfare Office in the Philippines was actually advising them to sign the agreement with the local Philippines broker, Dynamic Agency. The welfare officer, Authority Edward Pequero told us that because we were from Mindanao, we had no time to file a lawsuit before we went back home. The Overseas Welfare Office in Hong Kong referred me to the office of Migrante Sectoral Party Congressman Conie Regaldo, and he agreed to help us in our case. He says the agreements are not valid. The Migrant Party is a powerful party because it is the voice of the overseas Filipino. So our other question is "Why did the lawyers of the Overseas Welfare Office in Manila agree with a practice that is favorable to the Dynamic Agency?" Now the Migrant Party members are helping us to file a several cases in the Philippines, with our intended charges as follows:
1) Breach of contract by the Dynamic International Services Corp.
2) Maltreatment
3) Overcharging by the agency
4) Compensation for the unexpired 22 months of the 24-month contract
Right now in Manila we are holding protests everyday in front of the Department of Foreign Affairs. So with the help of a legislator and sympathetic labor and human rights organizations, we are also about to file a civil case against the Council of Labor Affairs and a criminal case against CTCI for inhuman treatment in Taiwan.
Currently this case is a very big issue in the Philippines -- overseas workers are heroes in the Philippines. Now we are war heroes. Everybody in the Philippines is very concerned.
But recently we have been informed that Formosa Plastics Group has made new contracts, validated by MECO, for their workers, so all of the gains we made in those two months were lost. MECO has recently defended the company's decision. It's as if MECO is the new spokesman for Formosa Plastics! So this Sunday (Oct. 30) we will protest in Taipei at MECO Taipei. The Secretary of Labor is saying we were repatriated because we refused to work. I have met secretly with workers at Formosa Plastic since, and I learned that 50% have signed and 50% have refused to sign. But before there were 600 workers, and now there are 1,700 Filipinos working for Formosa Plastic. So we are also demanding a new contract in our lawsuit. When I first found out I was working for Formosa Plastics, I was excited because it was a big company. I would get good pay, solve my financial problems, and bring a future for my sister and brother. We live in a poor family and my mother is a retired teacher. I still have to pay off the 49,000 peso (US$958) loan from my neighbor. But living in Taiwan was an exciting experience -- I almost died! [laughing]
Although I am seeking money for physical damages, it is not about the price, it is about the dignity of the migrant worker. I know there are people here who don't want me back in Taiwan, but I am not afraid. I am fighting for a principle. If you are a coward, you never win.
Andrew O'Brien is a writer and activist based in Taiwan. He plays in a punk rock band that has toured through much of South East Asia and has been writing about music and politics for local magazines.


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espressomattic wrote:I did download it, looked at it and got scared. Lets just say my Gene is not that profilable, but that isanother much chatted about thresad
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If you're looking for a new way and a new story to celebrate Black History Month with your family, read The Promise with your children this month.
The Promise is based on the true story of an enslaved family that traveled the Oregon Trail in search of freedom.
Their owner promised them freedom if they helped his family make the move – but then went back on his promise when his financial fortunes sank during the trip.
It took a nice Quaker family and an abolitionist-leaning judge to make that "promise" a reality.
It's time for a new story. It's time to share The Promise with your young family.
Share this amazing story with your friends and family today!
Order your copy of The Promise today


text: This book is edited by Crina Baltag and published by Wolters Kluwer in February 2017. This volume celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the Convention on the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID Convention or Convention) with an overview and analysis of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) case law to date and, focusing particularly on unsettled issues, assesses possible developments in the institution's next phase. Now in its fiftieth year and ratified by more than 150 states, the ICSID received its 500th case in 2015. It is a collection of twenty-two essays by prominent practitioners with substantial experience in investment arbitration law. Albert Badia contributed to the book with an essay in Chapter VI called "Attribution of Conducts of State-Owned Enterprises Based on Control by the State".


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Be one of the first to know when new listings matching your criteria hit the market.Get New Listings
The much anticipated Development of Alta Del Mar is finally getting ready to break ground in the first quarter of 2013. Home prices are going to start at around $1,600,000 for the semi custom production homes for sale, and go much higher on the premium custom lots.
Search All Real Estate For Sale: Carmel Valley
See TODAY's New Listings, search by beds/baths, square feet, listing status, days on market & more!
Want to buy or sell a home in Alta Del Mar? Call Beer Home Team at 858-465-7899; your neighborhood Alta Del Mar real estate agents are ready to help with the Carmel Valley Alta Del Mar housing market.
Title: Experience the Luxury of the Alta Del Mar Lifestyle High atop the Del Mar Mesa plateau, Alta Del Mar Carmel Valley is the ultimate in luxury, offering unparalleled views and exquisite estates. This gated community provides commanding views of the The Grand Del Mar Resort's emerald fairways and the coastal sage of Carmel Valley. Created and designed by prestigious Pardee Homes, this 125-home community features four beautifully crafted home types with dozens of interior and exterior customizations. Alta Del Mar Carmel Valley also offers several custom home sites, most adjacent to dedicated open space.
Alta Del Mar Carmel Valley home buyers are invited to select from a number of custom features, including a Wolf gourmet appliance package, various styles of fireplace mantles in select locations, eco-friendly components and a variety of high-end counter tops, cabinets and doors. The wide range of options create a custom experience and a tailor-made lifestyle.
Preparing for the sale or purchase of a home in Alta Del Mar CA? Let our local Carmel Valley real estate agents work with you to navigate the purchase of or expertly negotiate the sale of your Alta Del Mar home in Carmel Valley. Our expert knowledge will give you access to up-to-date information about the unique market dynamics of the Carmel Valley Alta Del Mar real estate market. We're ready to help you today!
Contact Beer Home Team to learn more about buyer and seller representation for Alta Del Mar homes. Visit our comparative market analysis page to receive a free property value analysis in Alta Del Mar within minutes.
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Written by
Group Exercise / Personal Training /
Posted on
4 Oct, 2018
What is Indoor Cycling? Indoor cycling sometimes known as "spinning" is a form of group exercise typically with classes of 15-20 people. These classes are generally set to music, moving to the beat/rhythm of the selected playlist. They are tough and will get your heart rate up and are an…Read article


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More Videos
Streaming is available in most browsers, and in the WWDC app.
Smooth animations and great performance are key to developing a state of the art app. Learn best practices when using animations with Auto Layout, see unique animations in OS X and understand how to create similar effects in your apps, and gain insight into common pitfalls.
Looking for something specific? Enter a topic above and jump straight to the good stuff.
An error occurred when submitting your query. Please check your Internet connection and try again.


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It's sometimes disappointing when you have a favorite song off an album and construct the visuals in your head for the music video, but when the video premieres, you're left disappointed and wondering "WTF?" And those are the exact sentiments many people on social media are sharing after watching the Solange-directed video for SZA's new video, "The Weekend."
The song, which talks about being a side chick, would probably conjure up visuals that include just that: scenes of the dude in question trying to juggle two women. But what you get instead is SZA "dancing" in a mall's parking deck and on the balcony of a bland building.
But the tweets about the video are Twitter gold:
In the words of that dude from Kanye West's "Niggas in Paris": "No one knows what it means, but it's provocative" ... or at least attempting to be.


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Impact Mapping focuses us on the areas of greatest impact for a particular objective or goal.
From Value delivery
The term "Waterfall" highlights a problem, not a method, for software delivery
When the "Waterfall" diagram was first drawn, it was one engineer's attempt to point out why the current way of delivering software was flawed.
Standards and the definition of done
Without standards there can be no kaizen, Taiichi Ohno. Kaizen is a Japanese word that we can translate as "change for the better". It's widely interpreted as meaning "continuous improvement" when referring to process or flow. As Taiichi Ohno (father of the Toyota Production System or TPS) highlights, to improve, you first need to have a baseline standard. From the TPS perspective, standards and the improvement of said standards, relate to two aspects: Process – the work carried out at a particular step on the production line. Flow – the overall flow through the production line from end-to-end. So, if we're to translate this to cross-functional product teams, our team can determine…
Negative metrics – why you shouldn't focus on them
What is a negative metric? Well, a metric is something that you measure in order to give you an idea of how something is performing. A negative metric is a performance indicator that tells you if something is going badly, but it doesn't tell you when that same something is necessarily going well. For example, velocity. If velocity is low, or fluctuating between iterations, this is usually a sign that something isn't going well. However if velocity is normal there is no guarantee that the team is delivering value. We know that they are working, but that is all we know. If we want to be sure that they are delivering value,…


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Perhaps you sent a lovely card,
Or sat quitely in a chair.
Perhaps you sent a funeral spray,
If so, we saw it there.
Perhaps you spoke the kindest words,
That anyone can say.
Perhaps you were not there at all,
Just thought of us that day.
Whatever you did to console our hearts,
We thank you so much whatever the part.
We would also like to extend a special thank you to the nurses at Canyon Home Health and Hospice and to the staff at Magnolia House.
With deep gratitude, the family of John E. Fultz


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im not from copes..... but you know ive got one of these from them.
yes the blackdog mag works and it comes with a chiappa mag to start with.
these are the real deal. this is no cheap shit conversion, its a real dedicated upper and my kids just love it.
the mags are 30 rnders.


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Police are looking for a teen they say attacked another girl at a Brooklyn subway station over what appeared to be nothing.
On June 12 at about 11 p.m. the suspect — described to be between 15 and 17 years old — began a verbal dispute with the 16-year-old victim inside the Jay Street-MetroTech subway station, according to authorities.
The suspect then punched and kicked the victim in the face, head and body, police said. The victim sustained scratches and bruising on her face and arms but refused medical attention at the scene.
RELATED:Teen girls taken into custody in subway beating case
According to police, it did not seem that the two girls knew each other prior to the assault.
The suspect is described to be 5 feet 7 inches tall and 140 pounds. She was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt, black jeans, black sneakers and a multi-colored shirt.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.


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Bayesian nonparametric models for ranked data
Part of: Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 25 (NIPS 2012)[PDF] [BibTeX] [Supplemental]
We develop a Bayesian nonparametric extension of the popular Plackett-Luce choice model that can handle an infinite number of choice items. Our framework is based on the theory of random atomic measures, with the prior specified by a gamma process. We derive a posterior characterization and a simple and effective Gibbs sampler for posterior simulation. We then develop a time-varying extension of our model, and apply our model to the New York Times lists of weekly bestselling books.


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Which Family Law Court in Melbourne?
- Article
- 08 Apr 2013
- Divorce Property & Financial Children International Family Law Family Violence
Clients are sometimes confused about which Family Law Court is appropriate to hear their case in Melbourne. This is understandable as there are three separate courts on the same street in Melbourne which have jurisdiction on Family Law related issues.
Magistrates Court of Victoria
233 William Street Melbourne
This is a State Court which has the exclusive jurisdiction to grant Intervention Orders under the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 in situations where people are subjected to family violence. "Family violence" includes threats, physical and sexual abuse, emotional and psychological abuse, economic abuse, damage to property, injury to animals and other threatening, coercive or in any way controlling and dominating behaviour which makes a family member fear for their safety or wellbeing or for the safety or wellbeing of another person.
Federal Circuit Court of Australia (formerly Federal Magistrates' Court of Australia)
305 William Street Melbourne
This is a Commonwealth (or Federal) Court which has jurisdiction under the Family Law Act and Child Support Acts. It hears Divorce, Property Division, Maintenance, Child Support and Children/Parenting cases.
Family Court of Australia
305 William Street Melbourne
This is also a Commonwealth Court having the same jurisdiction as the Federal Magistrates' Court detailed above plus exclusive jurisdiction to hear Nullity of Marriage or Validity of Marriage cases. It also hears Appeals from the Federal Magistrates' Court.
The choice of which of Melbourne Family Law Courts is most appropriate to decide your case is important. There are different procedures which apply in the different courts. Melbourne Family Lawyers can advise as to which Court is best suited for your particular circumstances.Back to all Articles & Cases


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تصميم جرافيك, تصوير, تصميم المواقع
Name : Waleed Oda Elagha
Date of Birth: 04/09/1994
Qualifications: Bachelor of Information Technology
Experiences and Skills :
- Web Design
- graphic design
- Programmable Web pages
ًWaleed Oda is a Graphic designer, currently resides in Palestine
Creative lead in research, vision, and design for implementation. Branding and identity design and print design for brands nationwide.
You have a new project? And you need a design? Or need
Waleed لم يقيم بعد.


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One of my favorite songs in my younger years was the theme song to the movie The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The characters in the movie did not have to say much to say a lot. Present day agriculture can be depicted by the same title.
One of my friends who works in farm management called the other day. We'll call him Lt. Dan, and I am Dr. Forrest, of course. He discussed that when he works with grain producers, it is like working with the newly rich and famous. He then meets with a livestock producer, and he comes away thinking that he has visited a third world.
Welcome to the wild world of global economics, where wide ranges and disparity in income are based upon enterprise selection. Paper gains or losses on the balance sheet are abrupt and magnified as a result of changes in the weather, global markets, government and Federal Reserve policy.
Stepping back to observe the big picture in recent years, there has been a mass exodus from and consolidation of the livestock and poultry industries. In my travels I have noticed producers are selling dairy and beef cows, and swine and poultry buildings are being shut down or left vacant due to the high cost of feed also. Some are indicating to me that it is much easier to make money in the grain industry, with less labor-intensity, particularly if they have high-quality land adaptable to shift into a grain enterprise. Others find that increased regulation and intensification of existing rules regarding livestock are impediments to continue.
Thus, my friend, Lt. Dan, is spot-on in his observations. Unfortunately, many livestock producers have had an insufficient duration in the profitable cycle to replenish equity, liquidity and cash flow. The next six to nine months could be "bad" if prices fail to catch up with input costs. If a back-to-back drought were to occur, particularly in the Midwest or South America, then the "ugly" will result, which will be a major paradigm shift for the livestock sector.
The grain side can be characterized as the "good." All the positive elements of demand, supply, an expanding ethanol industry, low value of the dollar and low interest rates have converged to cause the best of times. The "millionaire next door" is now the grain producer, both in profits and appreciated net worth on the balance sheet. Will the "bad and ugly" livestock industry eventually impact the grain industry? I have heard it said that we need an economically healthy livestock industry to have a profitable grain industry in the long run. As Lt. Dan and Dr. Forrest watch the good, the bad and the ugly ride off into the sunset, only time will tell.
Editor's note: Dave Kohl, Corn & Soybean Digest trends editor, is an ag economist specializing in business management and ag finance. He recently retired from Virginia Tech, but continues to conduct applied research and travel extensively in the U.S. and Canada, teaching ag and banking seminars and speaking to producer and agribusiness groups. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Join the Dippin' Dots Forty Below Zero Club and enjoy a free small cup of Dippin' Dots during your birthday month. You'll also get other coupons and special offers when you join. Thanks goes to Deal Seeking Mom for sharing! (image credit: Dippin' Dots)
Subscribe and celebrate with Freebies for Birthdays


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Hey there. I'm not finished with this guy yet, but it took me a couple hours to get as far as I did, and now I can finish it up tomorrow and not have to worry about trying to come up with something new to draw.
I really can't decide if I like this guy or not. I'm definitely going to have to get that bottom part of his cloak darker, and the red needs to be even redder so you don't see the coloring lines. Then obviously I need to do something with the fire. I'm thinking of inking the outside layer, then coloring the inside like green or yellow or something. Not sure!
Overall, he's pretty cool. It wasn't that bright outside, so he actually looks better on paper (what else is new?) rather than digital. But maybe tomorrow will be a sunnier day. (Oh yeah, NOW the sun comes out as I'm writing this)
I completely destroyed my black colored pencil. Sharpened it right down to nothing today. I really need to stick to ink for the black spots. Well, I don't really have much of a choice now as I don't really have much black left.
Help support my creative habit by liking, sharing, or commenting on my posts! Visit me on the Facebooks! Or, if you like, click right here! to help support me and my creative habit financially. Any and all assistance is greatly appreciated! 🙂


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Yesterday, we reported that according to ConservativeHome's latest monthly survey – which drew the largest response rate on record – 58 per cent of party member replies want the Party's tax pledge scrapped and 39 per cent want it kept.
Today, we can reveal that the equivalent figures for the pensions triple lock are 67 per cent and 27 per cent. So backing for dropping it is even more clear-cut.
The return from our readers as a whole found 53 per cent in favour of abandoning the triple lock and 36 per cent for keeping it.
As we said yesterday, Twe have the best part of 5000 reader responses to the survey as a whole. That's a record, as is the 1394 Party member replies above. 4303 replied to our July 2016 survey, while the last Conservative leadership contest was under way, which marked the previous biggest response.


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Can you really split a bullet with a sword? The Slow Mo Guys tested the logistics of such a feat, but using a safer approach that involved a giant super-sharp knife and a pellet gun firing tiny projectiles to minimize any undesired results—like one of them getting hit, or their incredibly expensive slo-mo camera getting destroyed.
It took some trial and error to get the ideal results, like pointing the pellet gun at the knife at point blank range. But the 28,500 frames-per-second slo-mo footage they managed to capture shows a pair of balloons being punctured and popping at nearly the exact same time, by the same projectile.


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New Jersey Parenting Project
New Jersey's Family Leave Insurance program marks a major advance for the state's workforce. New Jersey is one of only three states (California and Rhode Island are the others) that, in the absence of a federal paid family leave program, implemented its own program. Nevertheless, program take up is low and research on its impact is limited. To find out why, and to determine how well FLI works for those who do use it, NCCP launched the New Jersey Parenting Project to hear directly from low-income working parents of young children in Newark, Camden, and Trenton. Through a yearlong slate of focus groups and interviews, parents offered their perspectives on the program, how well the program worked for them, and ways it might be strengthened and reach even more working parents.
The NCCP policy brief, Protecting Workers, Nurturing Families: Building an Inclusive Family Leave Insurance Program, presents findings and recommendations from the first in-depth look at the experiences of low-income workers with New Jersey's paid family leave policy. New Jersey's Family Leave Insurance program, introduced in 2009, gives workers six weeks of paid time off per year to bond with a new child or care for a sick family member. The program is funded through an employee payroll tax and benefits are paid at two-thirds of the worker's average wage, up to a maximum weekly benefit of $615 in 2016.
Informed by the lived experiences of working parents, the brief recommends action by policymakers, employers, community-based organizations, and others to make New Jersey's landmark Family Leave Insurance program work better for the state's low-income parents.
Schumann Fund for New Jersey
The Nicholson Foundation
Annie E. Casey Foundation


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Doll & Bear Making
Let your imagination run wild with Spotlights Doll and Bear Accessories section. We have accessories for Calico Dolls and Bears including hair, eyes, noses and Hobby Fill.
32 items found.
The two-door wardrobe is undoubtedly the most common type of wardrobe. The two-door wardrobe consists of an internal rail and sometimes and extra shelf at the top of the wardrobe. This is also the most affordable wardrobe, but is often less suitable for more than one person.


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Asia Society Museum Presents 'Lucid Dreams and Distant Visions: South Asian Art in the Diaspora'
NEW YORK, April 26, 2017 — Asia Society Museum in New York shines a spotlight on the work of nineteen contemporary artists from the South Asian diaspora. As individuals living between worlds, diasporic artists often negotiate notions of home and issues relating to migration, gender, race, and memory in their practice. Lucid Dreams and Distant Visions: South Asian Art in the Diaspora, organized by Asia Society Museum with the support of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, will be on view from June 27 to August 6, 2017.
On the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of independence of the Indian Subcontinent from the British Empire, this exhibition, first proposed by Jaishri Abichandani, founder of the South Asian Women's Creative Collective, provides a timely platform to celebrate these artists and their diverse perspectives, notably in response to the recent rise of nationalism and xenophobia that has swept the globe.
"Seen in the context of the turbulent state of affairs for immigrant populations, the work of diasporic artists working and living between worlds has taken on a new urgency in counterbalancing the retreat into simplistic identity politics and xenophobia," said Boon Hui Tan, Asia Society Vice President for Global Arts & Cultural Programs and Director of Asia Society Museum. "Through a number of mediums, including photography, sculpture, and video, the artists featured in Lucid Dreams and Distant Visions challenge prevailing stereotypes and assumptions of South Asian identities in the United States today."
The artists, all living in the United States, represent a microcosm of the American experience and their respective practices across four decades have collectively impacted the development of contemporary art in the United States.
The artists reflect the diverse demographics of South Asia and their work engages the nuanced cultural specificities of the region, as well as the racial and cross-cultural tensions in the current sociopolitical climate.
Artists in the exhibition include:
- Jaishri Abichandani (b. 1969 in Mumbai, India. Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY)
- Anila Quayyum Agha (b. 1965 in Lahore, Pakistan. Lives and works in Indianapolis, IN)
- Mequitta Ahuja (b. 1976 in Grand Rapids, MI. Lives and works in Baltimore, MD)
- Rina Banerjee (b. 1963 in Calcutta, India. Lives and works in New York, NY)
- Khalil Chishtee (b. 1964 in Lahore, Pakistan. Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY)
- Ruby Chishti (b. 1963 in Multan, Pakistan. Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY)
- Allan deSouza (b. 1958 in Nairobi, Kenya. Lives and works, in Los Angeles, CA)
- Chitra Ganesh (b. 1975 in Brooklyn, NY. Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY)
- Mariam Ghani (b. 1978 in New York, NY. Lives and works in New York, NY)
- Vandana Jain (b. 1975 in Queens, NY. Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY)
- Gautam Kansara (b. 1979 in London, England. Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY)
- Annu Palakunnathu Matthew (b. 1964 in Stourport, England. Lives and works in Providence, RI)
- Naeem Mohaiemen (b. 1969 in London, England. Lives and works in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and New York, NY)
- Kanishka Raja (b. 1969 in Calcutta, India. Lives and works in New York, NY, and Kolkata, India)
- Tenzing Rigdol (b. 1982 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Lives and works in New York, NY)
- Shahzia Sikander (b. 1969 in Lahore, Pakistan. Lives and works in New York, NY)
- Jaret Vadera (b. 1976 in Toronto, Canada. Lives and works in New York, Toronto, and India)
- Palden Weinreb (b. 1982 in New York, NY. Lives and works in New York, NY)
- Zarina (b. 1937 in Aligarh, India. Lives and works in New York, NY)
The artist selection was made by Boon Hui Tan and Lawrence-Minh Davis, Curator, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Together they formed the curatorial committee with Abichandani and Michelle Yun, Senior Curator for Modern and Contemporary Art, Asia Society.
Related symposium
A two-day symposium organized in conjunction with the exhibition brings together South Asian American artists, curators, and academics to discuss the state of the field and to identify strategies to bring the work of contemporary South Asian artists and cultural practitioners to a broader audience. Titled "Fatal Love: Where Are We Now," the symposium is co-organized by the Queens Museum and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, and will be held at the Queens Museum on July 1 and 2. The keynote panel for the symposium will be held at Asia Society Museum on the evening of June 30, preceded by a reception for the exhibition.
Exhibition support
Lucid Dreams and Distant Visions: South Asian Art in the Diaspora is made possible by the generous support of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. Critical funding is provided by Burger Collection, Hong Kong.
About Asia Society Museum
Asia Society Museum presents a wide range of traditional, modern, and contemporary exhibitions of Asian and Asian American art, taking new approaches to familiar masterpieces and introducing under-recognized arts and artists. The Asia Society Museum Collection comprises a traditional art collection, including the initial bequests of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd, and a contemporary art collection. Through exhibitions and public programs, Asia Society provides a forum for the issues and viewpoints reflected in both traditional and contemporary Asian art, and in Asia today.
Founded in 1956, Asia Society is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational institution headquartered in New York with state-of-the-art cultural centers and gallery spaces in Hong Kong and Houston, and offices in Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Washington, D.C., and Zurich.
Asia Society Museum is located at 725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street), New York City. The Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. and Friday from 11:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. Closed on Mondays and major holidays. General admission is $12, seniors $10, students $7; and free for members and persons under 16. Free admission Friday evenings, 6:00 P.M.–9:00 P.M. The Museum is closed Fridays after 6:00 P.M. in July and August. Find out more at AsiaSociety.org/NY and @AsiaSocietyNY.
About Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
The Asian Pacific American Center was established in 1997 as a Smithsonian-wide initiative critical to the mission of the Smithsonian to enrich the appreciation of America's Asian Pacific heritage and empower Asian Pacific American communities in their sense of inclusion within the national culture. For more information, visit SmithsonianAPA.org.
About Queens Museum
The Queens Museum in Flushing Meadows Corona Park features contemporary art, events of hyperlocal and international impact, and educational programs reflecting the diversity of Queens and New York City. Changing exhibitions present the work of emerging and established artists, both local and global, that often explore contemporary social issues, as well as the rich history of its site. In November 2013, the Museum reopened with an expanded footprint of 105,000 square feet, a soaring skylit atrium, a suite of daylight galleries, nine artist studios, and flexible event space. The Museum works outside its walls through engagement initiatives ranging from multilingual outreach and educational opportunities for adult immigrants, to a plethora of community led art and activism projects. The Museum's educational programming connects with schoolchildren, teens, families, and seniors as well as those individuals with physical and mental disabilities. The Queens Museum is located on property owned in full by the City of New York, and its operation is made possible in part by public funds provided through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Find out more at queensmuseum.org and @QueensMuseum.
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Tim Ho Wan's arrival at Raine Square in Perth was heralded with much fanfare. Being awarded a Michelin star, its opening was a big deal to Perth. To me, its opening signalled that Perth was finally moving into the international foodie big leagues.
Unfortunately, its limited menu disappointed those already familiar with it, and its simple dishes didn't quite meet the lofty expectations set by hyping its Michelin star.
However, let me be an apologist for Tim Ho Wan.
They do quality dim sum consistently well. You can eat one of their dumplings without slathering it in anything else, and still have plenty of flavour in your mouth. Take this from me – I usually like to have a bowl of chilli oil when I order dim sum, and I didn't bother here.
The food is simple. It's nothing "different" nor "fantastic", but their food is still made well and tastes good.
It's not avant-garde, nor is it fancy-ass, but remember, for a time it was the world's cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant, and Michelin stars are awarded not just for taste, but for also consistency and technique. And balancing all three aspects is where Tim Ho Wan excels.
Dim sum restaurants are a dime a dozen, but more often than not, the food is greasy, salty and soggy, all hallmarks of comfort (and sometimes hangover) food. But it takes skill to satisfy dim sum cravings without making the diner feel grossed out afterwards. Tim Ho Wan is part of a new wave of dim sum restaurants opening in Perth that aim to do just that (Shy John's dim sum also hits these same notes).
The steamed egg cake is always the highlight of my visits to Tim Ho Wan. It is also known as ma lai gao in Cantonese, which translates as "Malay cake". This is because of its Malaysian origins.
The cake was ridiculously soft, and delectably toffee-like.
The pig liver vermicelli rolls had a very delicate rice flour skin which was complemented by the light and gingery liver inside. Not everyone likes liver, and this dish didn't overwhelm with the liver flavour but didn't let up on taste either. However, I'm not too sure it deserved prime billing as one of its "four heavenly kings", as there was nothing too outstanding about it.
The pan-fried turnip cake was lighter than the ones you usually get at other dim sum restaurants. The surface of the cake was wonderfully crispy, and the insides were light and fluffy. You can taste sweet turnip chunks throughout the entire dish, and no external seasoning (i.e. chilli oil) was required to enjoy it. In fact, I'd caution against dipping it in condiments, lest you miss the subtlety in its flavour.
Fried prawn dumplings with wasabi sauce – you can't go wrong with this.
The cheesy shrimp and almond balls were surprisingly light for something that has cheese in it.
Everything I had could be described as "light" and "delicate" in flavour, and that surprisingly left me wanting more. It is a refreshing change to have dim sum that doesn't try to kill you with sodium.
As for service, I did rock up at 4 pm in the afternoon in between meal times, so the service I received was fantastic. But friends have reported chaotic service during peak hours.
Website: https://www.timhowanaustralia.com.au/perth/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TimHoWanPerth/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/timhowanperth
How to book: This is dim sum. You'll have to line up.
BYO: No BYO.
Where to find them:


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In the manner of hit makers, fast rising artiste, Olah, delivers with a catchy melody and moving Story words on his latest single titled 'Akorede.'
On this pop single, he tells a tale of two sides – the tale of travail and triumph, voicing out his innermost wishes and aspirations in between melodies.
'Akorede' has the potential of a hit single and it has started to enjoy massive airplay on major radio stations across the country.
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When supporters of Arizona's Proposition 107 talked about the proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, they stressed protecting traditional marriage from the threat of same-sex unions.
When opponents discussed it, they talked mostly about how it would cost some people health insurance benefits, including people who are straight.
As the last ballots were still being counted, it appears Arizonans are likely to be the first in the nation to reject a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, with the amendment trailing 49 percent to 51 percent.
Even though supporters refused to concede defeat on Wednesday, noting hundreds of thousands of early votes still not counted, both sides of the campaign agreed that the opponents' ability to stay consistent in their message about the impact of the initiative on domestic partners resonated with Arizona libertarian-minded electorate.
Seven other states ushered in constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage on Tuesday, in some cases by wide margins.
That brings the total to 27 states that now have such constitutional amendments.
"Our early research clearly identified the message that would resonate with Arizona voters," said Joe Yuhas, a political consultant who worked with Arizona Together, the opposition campaign.
The group said research showed Arizonans would oppose the amendment when they understood the effect on domestic partners.
"Arizona voters are fair; they want to be fair. . . . We just stayed disciplined to that message and the votes speak for themselves," the group said.
Cathi Herrod, spokeswoman for the Proposition 107 campaign, Protect Marriage Arizona, said opponents obscured the real issue: gay marriage.
"The issue was about preserving the institution of marriage, and the opponents were able to make it about something else," she said.
The agenda
Critics said that opponents were disingenuous because they seemed to avoid talking about gay couples or same-sex unions at all.
None of the couples featured in Arizona Together's commercial was same sex, but much of the funding came from gay couples and the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's leading gay rights group.
"There was clearly a pro-homosexual agenda at work in the effort to derail a marriage amendment and they hid behind health benefits," said Nathan Sproul, a political consultant to the Protect Marriage Arizona Campaign.
Marty Rouse, national field director of the Human Rights Campaign, said it wasn't deception but necessity that led the campaign to focus more on straight couples.
"One can say they didn't focus on gay couples, but in order to make sure people understood this impacted straight couples, too, you had to be clear and consistent and focus on straight couples," he said. "Critics can say they de-gayed it, but you really need to decouple it to make sure people know this impacted all families."
Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, chairwoman of the Arizona Together campaign, said there are 112,000 unmarried couples in Arizona and 18,000 of them are same-sex couples.
She and the campaign's treasurer Steve May, who is gay, said they needed to focus on the larger impact, not just on gay couples.
The two said proponents wanted it to be only about gay couples, despite the larger and intentional impact on all unmarried couples.
When Sinema was asked Wednesday if the vote was a victory for gay rights, she didn't take the bait.
"This is a victory for all unmarried couples," Sinema said.
Sproul and other supporters declined to say what they would do if the marriage amendment fails. Same-sex marriage is illegal under state law, but they want constitutional protection. He said opponents in other states are likely to focus their message the same way.


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Plano, Texas-based remote patient monitoring company Vivify Health has raised $17 million in a round led by strategic investor UPMC with participation from Strategic investors Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp) and Envision Healthcare Holdings.
This round was a completion of a round Vivify Health started in November 2014. This brings the company's total funding to at least $23.4 million. Existing investors include Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp), Envision Healthcare Holdings, Heritage Group, and Ascension Ventures.
The company's CEO and founder Eric Rock told MobiHealthNews that prior to founding Vivify Health, he founded two other startups. The first, ProHost was a table management and reservations system that was acquired by OpenTable and the second was healthcare software company MedHost.
"Having been involved with hospitals for 15 years across the US watching patients and providers suffer with the grueling need for improved healthcare services, it was obvious when we saw technology such as the iPhone hit the market that there was a better way," Rock said. "And simply to use consumer electronics and appropriate mobile devices to engage patients in the comfort of their own home or in their workplace or wherever they may be — it's essentially healthcare anywhere. With that, when these technologies hit the market we immediately hit the ground running and began building the platform surrounding it. This is not something that can be built in a year or two years. As I know from my past two companies, it takes five plus years to truly build a platform that is scalable and proven. As a result we have over three years of IRB studies that we are now beginning to publish from our customers across the country."
Vivify Health, which was founded in 2009, has created remote patient monitoring systems that healthcare organizations can use with patients based on their risk level. For high risk patients, which make up about 5 percent of patients, Vivify Health's monitoring system comes in a kit that includes a 4G tablet and wireless health devices like a weight scale, a pulse ox, and a blood pressure cuff. The tablet offers video conferencing for virtual visits with a physician, health surveys, educational content, and a care plan.
Patients categorized as "rising risk", which Vivify said make up 20 percent of patients, are given a smartphone-based system. Patients receive a mobile app that is designed to work with all popular smartphones, the company said. Healthcare providers can use the smartphone system to collect data, send health surveys, and video conference for virtual visits. Patients can also access educational videos via the app.
The last group, "at risk" patients, which make up 75 percent of patients according to Vivify Health, are given a web application that is designed for follow up care.
Later this year, in the second quarter of 2016, Rock said Vivify plans to launch an interactive voice response capabilities feature to reach a further audience. The voice response tool will work with anything from a telephone all the way to a smartphone. The service will call users every day with automated voice prompts and walk through a set of questions, the same content that is used in the digital offerings.
Vivify's product is used by large healthcare organizations that the company says represent 500 hospitals and payers, including UPMC.
"After an extensive evaluation of a number of companies, Vivify Health clearly stood out to us as the one best aligned to deliver patient-centered remote care across UPMC's integrated payer/provider system," UPMC Enterprises President Tal Heppenstall said in a statement. "As we deliver care under an increasingly risk-based reimbursement model, we are excited to become a customer, development partner and investor in Vivify's scalable population health management technology."
Earlier this year, Vivify announced that it partnered with the American Heart Association to provide patients with AHA's science-based care plans.