TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Protests at western Libya's main oil refinery closed operations on Thursday for a second time this month, a company spokesman said, raising concerns of a gaoline shortage in the capital.
Essam al-Muntasir, of the Zawiya Oil Refining Company, said many wounded veterans of the civil war which ousted Muammar Gaddafi last year were demonstrating in front of the plant.
"We are in a state of total shut down at the refinery," he said.
"The demonstrators are preventing employees from entering the refinery and fuel trucks are unable to leave the refinery."
A similar protest in early November caused the refinery to shut down for two days, leading to fuel shortages in Tripoli.
Deputy Oil Minister Omar Shakmak said on Wednesday that a shut down at the refinery could cause a new shortage.
"We have enough fuel stored in Tripoli to last us 25 days but the problem is that protesters are not allowing trucks in or out of the fuel storage areas of the refinery, which could cause a shortage," he said.
Tripoli residents formed long queues at petrol stations to fill up their tanks on Wednesday night as they anticipated a possible shortage.
The Zawiya refinery, about 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, has a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day and provides 40 per cent of western Libya's oil needs.
A warning from the FBI, are you looking to rent an apartment or home be careful, because scammers are taking your money and leaving you out in the cold.
The FBI tells us scam artists are using websites like Craigslist to post apartment and home rentals.
The problem is you send the deposit and the key never comes.
Real Estate Agent, for Red Door Realty, Erin Lausch was shocked to find out someone was re-posting her rental ads on Craigslist.
The ads were copied and pasted word for word, and even show cased her pictures..
There was a glaring difference, the price was cut in half and Lausch's name and number were removed.
"Someone will get really excited that it's this great house and its only 500 dollars a month," Lausch said.
That excitement will quickly fade if you fall for one these too good to be true deals. Here's how this scam works, you come across the ad on Craigslist, when you contact the person that placed the ad, you will most likely get an email reply similar to this...
"The person says that they own the house and they live in Africa and they are doing mission work and they really want someone to take care of the house so you send me the deposit and ill send you the key," Lausch said.
We asked what you need to look out for, so you don't end up out in the cold and down thousands of dollars.
"If there's no local phone number for you to call for you to speak to someone, if they want you to give them your number and they'll call you that's a red flag , if you cant see the house before you put a deposit down and you can only drive by," Lausch said.?
Lausch says if you come across a house for sale or for rent the best thing you can do is meet the seller in person.?
"My recommendation would be to never rent a place without seeing it," Lausch said.
It's the only fail proof way to know you're not being fooled by someone halfway across the globe.
If you are the victim of a scam you can report it to the FBI by Clicking Here.
Get instant $ 600 payday loans on line Philadelphia, PA within 1 hr .
Just about everyone experience fiscal problems in the course of their life. Some handle it by borrowing cash from their buddies and family and friends. Other search for outdoors sources to borrow cash from. One of those sources may be the cash advance. To discover how to use the cash advance efficiently, be aware of this short article.
Get instant $ 600 payday loans on line Philadelphia, PA within 1 hr .
Before investing in a cash advance, make certain that the possibility business you happen to be borrowing from is certified by the status. In the usa, regardless of what status the company is within, they legally have to be certified. Should they be not certified, chances are good that they are illegitimate.
When you have a cash advance taken out, discover some thing from the expertise to criticize about and then bring in and start a rant. Customer satisfaction operators will always be made it possible for an automatic discount, charge waiver or perk at hand out, say for example a totally free or marked down extension. Do it once to get a much better package, but don?t undertake it twice if not danger burning up bridges.
When you comprehend the idea of employing a cash advance, it can be an easy tool in certain situations. You have to be certain to look at the personal loan commitment thoroughly before signing it, of course, if there are actually queries about the needs ask for clarification in the phrases prior to signing it.
Will not sign something up until you look at the commitment meticulously. Pay attention to the little printing and you should not wait to get in touch with the consumer service to inquire. Unless you comprehend every thing or discover any invisible costs, you must try to find yet another financing school for the cash advance.
If you are accomplishing an application for the cash advance, make sure to include all of the essential documents to allow them to full the financial transaction. You do not desire to wait the process by simply failing to remember to send a papers. It may fasten points up for just as much as two time.
With a cash advance, count on a comparatively great charge in exchange for quickness and ease. You will get your hard earned dollars more quickly than you would probably from a lender, although the costs can add up. Pay off your loan as soon as possible and get away from moving it around to another examine.
Know the costs you will be responsible for. You can easily want the money and feel you?ll deal with the costs in the future, although the costs do accumulate. Question the company for composed evidence of all costs you will be responsible for. Do that prior to applying for the loan, and you will not have to pay back far more than you lent.
Lots of people have no other selection but to make use of online payday loans after they require cash swiftly. These personal loans can be a massive help when cash is required speedy, so utilizing them might not be bad. Do your research and discover the most cost effective business to obtain cash from before signing any documents.
Typically, the normal cash advance volume can vary involving $100, and $1500. It may not look like a ton of money to many people shoppers, but this volume must be repaid in almost no time. Usually, the payment gets expected in 14, to 1 month after the software for cash. This could find yourself operating you shattered, if you are not very careful.
Ensure that you have a real lender?s internet site well before, you add any personal information in. This is significant due to the fact, there are a lot of sites that redirect anyone to other areas. This occasionally imply that you end up obtaining more than one personal loan from separate creditors. You end up owing over you can afford.
When taking out a cash advance, it is important that you do your research. You do not desire to blindly believe an advertisement, simply because you will not be receiving the overall scenario. Speak with people who took out this sort of personal loan, or read a number of the business reviews on the web.
If you sign up for a cash advance, you happen to be definitely taking out the next income as well as burning off several of it. On the flip side, having to pay this price is occasionally essential, to acquire via a small press in life. In any case, understanding is potential. Ideally, this article has motivated anyone to make well informed choices.
Many businesses have a privacy policy of some kind or another. These policies are very important, because they explain to customers or employees how their personal information will be disclosed and to what parties are disclosed.
Any person who runs a business, whether online or offline needs to have a privacy policy written in a formal manner that discloses to customers and employees will have and will not have their personal information disclosed.
A Brief History of the Privacy Policy
The history of privacy policies is quite interesting when you see how they actually came about. Privacy policy statements began in the United States and the EU as technology began to become sophisticated enough that information could be transmitted within minutes.
The first idea of a privacy policy of some sort was actually conceived by the Council of Europe in 1968. Though at the time, computer technology was in its infancy, members of the European Council realized that as computer technology would advance in the coming decades, personal information could be at risk. At the time, the internet already existed, but not for the general population, as it does now. The internet was actually pioneered and used by the US and Allied militaries for top-secret communications in the late 1960s, furthermore, Europe had a form of the internet already functioning for the general civilian population in the 1980s. The French developed a basic form of the internet which was accessed by connecting a small computer with monitor to the standard house phone. This system was known as the Minitelle. The French Minitelle operated in a similar fashion as the internet of today does. Though the graphics and fancy websites were not supported on the small monochrome screen of the Minitelle, people could access all kinds of different information, some of which was very personal.
If you had a Minitelle connected to your phone in France in the 1980s, you could access such information, such as people?s criminal records, financial records, and more. You could even discover your or someone else?s ancestry on the Minitelle. This type of technology was exactly what many members of the European Council were worried about in 1968 and 1969, just a mere 15 years before the Minitelle was introduced to the many households in France.
Protection of personal information was actually enacted into law by some of the European countries in early 1970s. The first European country to enact a law requiring businesses to have a privacy policy was Sweden, which enacted a privacy protection law in 1973. This was then followed by Germany with its own privacy protection law in 1977. France followed suit as the Minitelle was being developed for civilian use in 1978, just a mere four years before the first Minitelle was purchased and installed in an average French household.
America too was working on protecting personal information at that time and by 1974 the Privacy Act was enacted a year after the US Department of Health and Human Services developed a code of rules and regulations which called for fair use of information.
The Fair Information Practice was a code of regulations that the Federal Trade Commission enacted to protect sensitive personal information. Under this law, any entity who collects personal information for whatever reason must disclose to the consumer why they are collecting their information. Furthermore, the Fair Information Practice also allows consumers to have a choice whether they want to give out their personal information or not.
The Importance of a Privacy Policy
Facebook privacy policy. Image Source.
In today?s age is paramount as it is grounded in our daily lives. You will find a privacy policy anywhere you go these days. When you go to the doctor?s office, for example, you have to sign a privacy policy. The policy at the doctor?s office will let you know what sensitive health information your doctor might share with other parties, such as other physicians, nurses, lab technicians, etc.
The retail industry also has privacy policies, whether you are applying for a credit card, making a purchase with a credit card, or purchasing a big ticket item, you will have to sign a privacy policy. Likewise, when applying for employment in the retail industry, you will have to sign a privacy policy for your employer, as he might disclose some of your personal information for various reasons, such as running a criminal background check, checking your credit, etc.
How Are Different Privacy Policies Formatted?
The format of different privacy policies can vary depending on where you go. Some of the common privacy policies that you will run into include the following:
The doctor?s office will have you sign a privacy policy that will have you consent to having some sensitive information disclosed about your health. There are several reasons why physicians might disclose your health information to different entities. Your health insurance might want to know about your health and whatever medical conditions you might have to adjust the deductible or other payments you might have to make with your policy. If you have a serious health issue, your doctor might want to refer you to a specialist and therefore, he will have to send your health information to that specialist, so he knows how best to treat your condition.
Credit card companies and other lenders will often have you sign a privacy policy for you to consent your personal financial information to be sent to the three credit reporting agencies. The reason is because creditors and credit card companies often use information from the three credit reporting agencies to obtain your credit score, credit history, and other information about your income and debts you have. Lenders often use this information about you to determine the interest rates you will have to pay for the loan or whether to give you the loan at all.
Retailers and merchants primarily use privacy policies for marketing purposes. Many merchants, big and small, have mailing lists, emailing lists, calling lists, etc. They need to have your consent before they can send any advertising or marketing materials to you personally. Though retailers often use target marketing for many of their customers with interactive advertisements. You may have noticed this every time you log onto your email, facebook, etc. You notice that you will see items you purchase on a regular basis appear in the advertisement. When you click your mouse on one of these images, you go directly to their site. Email marketing and telemarketing, on the other hand, marketers need your permission to send you emails or call you. If you are on a ?do not call? list, they are required by law not to call you for marketing purposes. Many people do not like to be bothered by telemarketers, so retailers need to make it clear in their privacy policies why they need your contact information.
There are many other offices and businesses that will have you sign a privacy policy. These range from attorneys to insurance companies, etc.
Your Online Store Privacy Policy
Well, it is highly recommended that you have a privacy policy on your online store. Basically, a privacy policy is a legal document that tells your customers that you will disclose some of their personal information to third parties. The parties could get your information for several purposes. They can get it for marketing purposes, service purposes, etc. A good online merchant often has a mailing list for his customers. Typically, an online merchant is required to have permission from his customers before sending emails, otherwise his marketing emails might be labeled as spam. Here are some things to think about before deciding whether you need a privacy policy.
Collection of personal information for marketing purposes is the biggest reason why you should have an online privacy policy for your online store. In this case, having a privacy policy can be even more important than the security you have for your shopping cart (the electronic payment system most online stores have. Many customers will want to know why their personal data is to be collected.
When making your privacy policy, you need to clearly explain why personal information about your customers needs to be collected. It may be needed for service related issues, or you may want some of their personal information to market new products or merchandise to them.
Besides explaining why you are collecting personal information, you need to explain how this personal information is collected. Many websites use a system known as cookies, which are kind of like mini-programs which your website will download on any given visitor?s computer to allow the website to keep appearing at the last setting the visitor left the website. Cookies are the most common way online merchants collect personal information from visitors to their website. Cookies can also be used to specifically target marketing to specifically tailored to a particular visitor. One example is if you have a website that sells popular casual sneakers. A visitor was browsing your selection of Converse shoes. The cookies on your website will then have ads from your website focusing on Converse shoes to that particular visitor every time he or she is on Facebook, Twitter, or some other social media site or online email provider, such as Gmail or Yahoo.
Third party merchants can by far be the most important reason why you would need to have an online privacy policy. Many online merchants often use third party merchants and drop shippers to deliver their products to customers. Many third party merchants are likely to be affiliated with major corporations and they have requirements that you might be bound to if you use a third party merchant.
Certain states in the United States and international laws, such as laws from the EU, may have certain requirements for privacy policies. California is one example of different laws regarding privacy policies that you might encounter when opening your online store. Things to consider should be as follows:
Is Your Website Targeted To a Local Audience? ? Suppose you own a small mom & pop store in a small town as many small business owners do. You simply intend your website to be targeted to a local market within the small town your business is or within the entire county or region. In this case, you need only to know what the local laws are in your state together with Federal laws. Your local governments, such as your municipal and county governments may have their laws you may have to follow also.
Are You Going Nationwide? ? If you are a simple online entrepreneur and want to have an easy way to make a lot of money and stay home, then you may be building an online store that works together with a third party or a drop shipper. In this case, you will need to know what the laws regarding a privacy policy are in all 50 states. As mentioned in the above paragraph, California is a state that has many different regulations which other states typically do not have. What makes California stand out from other states is that its regulations can be more rigorous than those of other states. California is one state that does require you to have a privacy policy with no ifs, ands, or buts.
Are You Looking To Take Your Website International? ? Having an international business can be very challenging. When running an international online business, you will have to know the laws of many different countries. The biggest sticklers to privacy policies outside of the United States are the countries that make up the EU, Switzerland, Canada, and some others. Special attention needs to be taken to these laws, especially since you may need to gather extra information from your international customers for customs purposes.
How Can a Privacy Policy Benefit You?
The benefits of having a privacy policy can be phenomenal, even if it is not required. Let?s face it, a privacy policy is a good thing to have. Think of it as an insurance policy. Like anything else, when you have a business, there are legalities and there is always someone out there who will want to sue you for whatever the reason. A privacy policy is a great document to have, as it can protect you from unnecessary lawsuits which can get very costly. When you have that privacy policy posted, there is nothing a visitor can do. He can either consent to it or not. Typically, when you have a website, if a visitor chooses to sign on to a mailing list or participate in a part of your website, your privacy policy should automatically pop up and a visitor must click a check box to agree or disagree with the privacy policy. If the visitor agrees, legally he cannot sue you and you?re in the clear.
What are Federal Requirements for Privacy Policies?
There are several laws on the books that dictate the use of privacy policies and why they are needed some of these laws include the following:
Children?s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 is one law on the books that affects how websites are viewed by children who are 13 years of age and under. This law as enacted while the internet was still a jungle and people were only beginning to use it. This law dictates that certain guidelines must be followed in protecting children?s personal information when doing online business in any state or territory of the United States as well as websites who also operate both in the United States and internationally. This law basically states that when collecting the personal information of a child, parental consent must be verified before information is collected. When there is a privacy policy on a children?s website, the operator of that site to have a button that a parent can verify the consent of gathering his or her child?s information.
The John Kerry and John McCain Privacy Bill of Rights is another set of laws that practically require you to have a privacy policy and regulates how personal information can be collected. Though this may not yet be on the books, it soon will be. Some of the clauses in the John Kerry and John McCain Privacy Bill of Rights include protection for the consumer and ensures that consumers and online shoppers will be able to share their personal and sensitive information needed for making purchases in a safe and respectful environment. Some of the clauses of the bill include how information is to be collected and stored. The bill also indicates that merchants must also disclose what personal information is collected for.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many good reasons why a smart businessperson should have a privacy policy. These reasons include protection from lawsuits, compliance with several laws on the books about data collecting, and keeping you within the law in the future when more strict laws may be enacted. Although a privacy policy is not required everywhere in the US, it is still a good idea, as it makes it clear to the consumer why you are collecting his or her personal information. It also gives the consumer an option to knowingly give his or her personal information or to decline from giving his or her personal information.
It?s time to send a message to this secondary, send a message to this team, send a message to the fans, send a message to everybody that what we saw Monday night, what we?ve seen the past couple months, is unacceptable.
It?s one thing to say it. It?s another to do something about it. And it?s time for Andy Reid to make a statement that gross football negligence will no longer be tolerated, that leaving receivers and tight ends criminally wide open snap after snap, game after game, will no longer be tolerated.
This Eagles team certainly has a lot of major issues, a lot of glaring weaknesses. The offensive line is banged up and sputtering along, the defensive line is underachieving, the receivers are struggling, the linebackers have regressed, the quarterbacks haven?t done anything special for weeks.
But nothing has been as embarrassing, as pitiful, as hopeless as the play of the Eagles? secondary.
They have simply stopped playing.
They have simply stopped covering people.
They have simply stopped competing.
Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie are both former Pro Bowl corners. Nate Allen is a second-round pick who had an auspicious rookie year before he got hurt. Kurt Coleman is a late-round effort guy who isn?t the biggest or fastest but brings energy and attitude.
Put 'em all together and you have a living, breathing defensive backfield catastrophe.
The Eagles are in uncharted waters when it comes to pass coverage.
Five weeks in a row now, a quarterback has done this against the Eagles: Complete at least 64 percent of his passes, throw two or more touchdowns, throw zero interceptions and pass for 200 yards.
Five weeks in a row now, a quarterback has had a passer rating of 120 or higher against the Eagles.
Only one other NFL team in history ? the 1984 Vikings ? can claim those nightmarish accomplishments.
Five weeks in a row now, the Eagles? secondary has looked like an unprepared, undisciplined, overmatched, disinterested mess.
Asomugha, who arrived here with such huge expectations, looks lost. Rodgers-Cromartie, so brilliant in the preseason and the first few weeks, has dwindled down into nothingness. Allen seems to have mastered the art of running around in odd, random directions that have little to do with the play the other team has called. And Coleman ? he?s trying, but he?s just not good enough.
There?s only one thing Reid and Todd Bowles can do at this point.
Bench the entire secondary.
Make a statement. Send a message. Hold people accountable.
Will it turn the season around? No.
Will it send the Eagles to the playoffs? Of course not.
But at this point, at 3-8 with a seven-game losing streak and grotesque pass defense numbers being generated week after week after week, something has to change or the young guys on this team who are still playing hard, still fighting, the young guys who have to be part of this team?s future, will start believing that ineptitude and incompetence are acceptable around here.
Bench 'em all.
Nnamdi sits. DRC sits. Allen and Coleman sit.
Let?s get a nice long look at second-year third-round pick Curtis Marsh and rookie Brandon Boykin at corner. Brandon Hughes can play the slot. Somebody. Anybody.
Let?s get Dave Sims on the field at one of the safeties. He might not be Dawk out there, but he?s got some edge to his game, some toughness this defense desperately needs.
And Colt Anderson is best suited to be solely a special teams player ? and he?s a terrific one ? but he is a safety by trade and although he might be overmatched playing defense coming off an ACL, honestly, at least he?ll go out there and fight and battle.
So there?s your secondary starting Sunday in Dallas.
Nnamdi, DRC, Allen and Coleman sit.
Marsh, Boykin, Sims and Anderson play.
For the record, head coach Andy Reid said at his Tuesday presser that he has no plans at the moment to bench anybody, including his entire starting defensive backfield. He said he?s looked at all that and decided to stick with the status quo.
The status quo that in the last nine games has allowed 19 touchdown passes and intercepted two passes.
The status quo that has allowed five straight quarterbacks fashion a passer rating of 120 or higher.
The status quo that is embarrassing the Eagles' uniform on a daily basis.
Will a mass benching help?
Who knows. At least we?ll see four guys who are hungry, four guys who will play hard for 60 minutes, four guys who will at least try to play the right coverage.
They might make mistakes and get beat and give up touchdowns, but at least we?ll see some young kids who have some fire and energy and desire.
Things the current group just doesn?t have.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com
Tags: eagles, Andy Reid, Nnamdi Asomugha, Nate Allen, Kurt Coleman, Colt Anderson, Todd Bowles, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, brandon boykin, david sims
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Wednesday that its presidents and chancellors unanimously voted to add Louisville as the replacement for Maryland.
ACC Commissioner John Swofford said Louisville was the best fit for the league following Maryland's announcement last week that it would join the Big Ten in 2014.
"When you look at Louisville, you see a university and an athletic program that has all the arrows pointed up ? a tremendous uptick there, tremendous energy," Swofford said on a teleconference. "It's always an overall fit in every respect and I think that's what we found."
Louisville is the fourth school in 15 months and seventh in the past decade to leave the Big East for the ACC. Pittsburgh and Syracuse announced their move in September 2011 and will join the league next year, while Notre Dame said two months ago that it would eventually join in all conference sports except football.
Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich said it was hard not to worry about constantly shifting conference alignments and whether the school might be left out when everything finally settles. Louisville was a candidate to join the Big 12 last year before that league took West Virginia.
"We wanted to make sure all our opportunities were looked at," Jurich said. "But having the opportunity to go into the ACC is I think second to none, especially for our community around here. ... I can just tell you from our standpoint, we couldn't be in a better fit."
A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that ACC leaders also considered Connecticut and Cincinnati over the past week before the vote to add Louisville during a conference call Wednesday morning. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the ACC hasn't released details of the expansion discussions.
Politicians around Kentucky cheered the move.
Louisville mayor Greg Fischer issued a statement calling the ACC's decision "a fantastic development for the university, the city and the state." U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said in a statement the move was a credit to Jurich's leadership of the athletic department.
It's unclear exactly when Louisville will join the ACC. Swofford said that would have to be worked out between the school and the Big East. He also said the league is comfortable staying at 14 full members with the addition of Louisville.
The Big East has a 27-month notification period for any member that wants to leave. The Big East has shown a willingness to negotiate, as it did with Pittsburgh and Syracuse, who paid $7.5 million each to get out early when the exit fee was $5 million.
The Big East has since increased that fee to $10 million.
This latest rapid-fire round of realignment was set off last week by the Big Ten's additions of Maryland and Rutgers, which will join that conference in 2014.
On Tuesday, the Big East added Tulane for all sports and East Carolina for football only, also beginning in 2014.
In a statement, Big East Commissioner Mike Aresco wished Louisville well and said the league's additions are important for its future.
"We are committed to a vibrant and dynamic future for the Big East Conference," Aresco said.
Two months ago, the ACC announced the addition of Notre Dame for all the conference's sports but football, with the fiercely independent Fighting Irish committing to play five ACC football opponents each season. Most of Notre Dame's non-football sports have competed in the Big East since 1995.
Louisville's addition will add some extra juice to what's already one of the nation's premier conferences for men's basketball.
Louisville, currently ranked No. 5, brings a tradition-rich program to the ACC that has won two national championships and reached its ninth Final Four last season. In addition, Rick Pitino will give the league another marquee coaching name alongside Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina's Roy Williams and soon Jim Boeheim of Syracuse.
The school's football program is a win away from earning a BCS berth. Charlie Strong's Cardinals travel to Rutgers on Thursday night for a game in which they could clinch the Big East's BCS bid.
The ACC's decision to add Louisville is a blow for Connecticut, which had been looking for a landing spot since Pittsburgh and Syracuse announced their Big East exits. UConn President Susan Herbst had indicated that an invitation to join that ACC is something the school would welcome.
"We will be athletically successful, regardless of our conference, because of our successes in NCAA competition," Herbst said in a statement. "... I realize this is a difficult day, but when we focus on research, discovery, and student success, we'll never go wrong."
___
AP Sports Writer Joedy McCreary in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.
How do you know which recreational sport is right for you? Though this is a simple question, it may not have a simple answer. Before answering this question, it makes sense to know the definition of a recreational sport. In simple terms, a recreational sport is any sport activity or event that one engages in during leisure time. In other words, it is a sport activity or event performed primarily for entertainment and fun. Though in some cases there may be monetary rewards associated with passtime sport, it is not usually the main goal. Other reasons associated with participating in a leisure activities includes: fitness, health, socialization, competition and sport support among others.
There are several options of leisure activities available for all age categories ranging from indoor to outdoor. Making the decision on which choice to pursue can be a real challenge and this varies significantly from one person to the other. For former professional athletes, the decision may be easier especially if they continue participating in their particular former professional sports (i.e. recreational level). The big task of choosing the right recreational sport is however on beginners. In order to make the right choice(s) if you are a beginner, it is important to consider the following general guidelines:
1. Choose a sport that you understand and are passionate about: Leisure sport in a way becomes part of your lifestyle and therefore needs to be entertaining and enjoyable. Choosing something that you don?t like or have no knowledge about can be frustrating even if your friends adore it. It only makes sense to pursue something that you know its rules and regulations. However, this does not mean one cannot learn a new sport or game, but it easier to do so if you love the sport.
2. Consider your goals and objectives: As mentioned above, there are different reasons that drive people into recreational sports. Choosing a sport that is in line with your goals, for example losing weight will only enrich the whole recreational experience. Some one looking for a recreational sport to aid in cutting down some extra body weight may benefit from running, jogging, walking, hiking or swimming among other high calorie burning sport activities as opposed to playing cards or video games. On the other hand somebody looking for a recreational sport that favors socialization may benefit from the latter.
3. Facilities, tools and equipment required: Different recreational sports may require different tools, facilities or equipment or in some cases may require none at all. These tools, facilities or equipment may also vary depending on the needs of every person. For example if you want to play golf for recreation, you will definitely have to purchase a golf club, balls and perhaps shoes. You will also need an available and accessible golf course to play. In some cases if you have more than one favorite recreational sport, you may have to choose what is more convenient based on availability of facilities. It makes more sense to go running at a nearby track especially if you get off work late in the evenings than having to drive for several miles to get to a golf course (i.e. if you like both golf and running).
4. Availability of time: Since a recreational sport is a pastime sport, choosing the right one may be dictated by how much free time is at one?s disposal. Some leisure sports are more time consuming than others. Additionally some of these sports must only be played outside. Where as some sports such as running, jogging, walking, playing tennis, playing basketball or swimming offers both indoor and outdoor options, some of them, for example playing golf, hiking, kayaking, surfing among other don?t. The more time one has, the more the options to choose from and the vice versa.
5. Seasonality: Though this may not be a big deal to people living along the equatorial line geographically, it definitely affects people living in areas with winter and summer climatic seasons. Some recreational sports such as those requiring snow may only be available during winter and only in some parts of the world. So if skiing is the only favorite recreational sport that one can participate in, it means there will be nothing to do for most of the year i.e. during the other seasons. When deciding on the right sport for recreation, it is advisable to have more than one option especially in a situation where one is affected by seasonal changes.
6. Number of participants required: Where as most sports require participation of more than one person at one time, some can be pursued individually. If your schedule does not allow group or team participation, choosing a recreational sport that will enable you to participate alone is a good idea. Jogging, walking, swimming, biking and running are great examples.
As mentioned earlier, this is not an exhaustive list of guidelines, but it is only meant to give you an idea of how to pick the best sport that will make your recreational life a success. Remember the bottom line is fun and entertainment.
Author: Philip Rotich
The author has masters in sports and leisure management. He is a former professional track and field athlete. He is currently pursuing Ph. D program as well coaching and counseling athletes and recreational sports individuals of all ages. For information visit Lose Abdominal Fat
Contents About : Recreational Sport ? Steps to Follow When Choosing Your Leisure Sport
hopfeed_template='';
hopfeed_align='LEFT';
hopfeed_type='IFRAME';
hopfeed_affiliate_tid='tw';
hopfeed_affiliate='ehelps';
hopfeed_fill_slots='true';
hopfeed_height='280';
hopfeed_width='336';
hopfeed_cellpadding='5';
hopfeed_rows='4';
hopfeed_cols='1';
hopfeed_font='Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, Sans Serif';
hopfeed_font_size='10pt';
hopfeed_font_color='000000';
hopfeed_border_color='FFFFFF';
hopfeed_link_font_color='F50039';
hopfeed_link_font_hover_color='3300FF';
hopfeed_background_color='FAFAEB';
hopfeed_keywords='Recreation , Sports ';
hopfeed_path='http://ehelps.hopfeed.com';
hopfeed_link_target='_blank';
-- Download Recreational Sport - Steps to Follow When Choosing Your Leisure Sport as PDF --
FILE - In this April 4, 2012, file photo, Tulsa athletic director holds up a jersey during a news conference in Tulsa, Okla. Parmley has been placed on leave as the school investigates gambling allegations. University President Steadman Upham issued a brief statement Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012, saying Parmley will be on paid administrative leave during the investigation. Upham didn't offer details about whether the allegations involved sports betting or other forms of gambling. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
FILE - In this April 4, 2012, file photo, Tulsa athletic director holds up a jersey during a news conference in Tulsa, Okla. Parmley has been placed on leave as the school investigates gambling allegations. University President Steadman Upham issued a brief statement Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012, saying Parmley will be on paid administrative leave during the investigation. Upham didn't offer details about whether the allegations involved sports betting or other forms of gambling. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ? Tulsa athletic director Ross Parmley was placed on paid leave Tuesday as the university investigates allegations that he may have been involved with an alleged bookie in Oklahoma City.
University President Steadman Upham issued a brief statement saying Parmley will be on paid administrative leave during the investigation. Upham didn't offer details about whether the allegations involved sports betting or other forms of gambling that may or may not be illegal in the state.
The 39-year-old Parmley was hired at Tulsa in January after serving three months as interim AD. He previously served as Tulsa's director of football operations and assistant athletic director for football, according to the school's athletic department website.
His lawyer, Derek Chance, said Parmley is cooperating with investigators.
Upham said the university's executive vice president, Kevan Buck, will be the acting athletic director while Parmley is on leave. A school spokesman declined further comment.
Parmley's name was linked last week to Teddy Mitchell of Oklahoma City, who is accused of running an illegal gambling operation. In recently unsealed court documents, Parmley is described as an "admitted gambler with Mitchell," who is awaiting trial in April.
Parmley has not been charged in the case, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Troester. The prosecutor would not comment on whether Parmley may testify for prosecutors during Mitchell's trial.
Chance stressed that Parmley is not the focus of the investigation.
"I just want everyone to know that he is not a target or a subject of the investigation. But he has cooperated with federal authorities in the investigation of alleged gambling activities by Teddy Mitchell," Chance said.
The Oklahoma City-based attorney said he was trying to keep up with developments in the case. When asked if Parmley expected to testify at Mitchell's trial, Chance said: "Therein lies some of the struggle." He declined further comment.
The affidavit unsealed last week alleges that a check for $1,782 from Parmley, along with other funds, were deposited into one of Mitchell's account in late 2009.
Mitchell, 57, and his two sons are among nine people named in an 81-count federal indictment unsealed in September. All are accused of participating in an illegal gambling business that operated poker games, took sports wagers, used an illegal gambling website and laundered illegal gambling proceeds.
Mitchell, who prosecutors allege was the leader of the operation, has pleaded not guilty.
Authorities say Mitchell has been under investigation for more than two years as state and federal grand juries looked into the alleged criminal activity, as well as the November 2010 beating death of his wife, Julie Mitchell, whose body was found inside the couple's Oklahoma City home. Her death remains unsolved.
According to the NCAA website, the organization's rules "prohibit student-athletes, and athletics department, conference office, and NCAA national office employees from wagering on intercollegiate, amateur, and professional sports in which the association conducts championships."
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ? A Tampa socialite embroiled in the scandal that cost CIA Director David Petraeus his job fought back Tuesday after more than two weeks of silence as her attorneys released emails, telephone recordings and other material that they say show she never tried to exploit her friendship with Petraeus.
Jill Kelley, through her attorneys, went on the attack against a New York businessman who accused her of incompetence in her work trying to set up a deal he was negotiating with South Korean companies; an attorney who accused her of name-dropping and of being a social climber; and the FBI agent who first leaked her name in connection with the Petraeus scandal.
Kelley, 37, became the focus of national media attention earlier this month after it was revealed that she was the recipient of anonymous emails from Paula Broadwell, Petraeus' biographer and mistress.
Broadwell allegedly told Kelley she should stay away from the former general and Gen. John Allen, who had replaced Petraeus as leader of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Petraeus and Allen had become friends with Kelley and her husband, Scott Kelley, a noted cancer surgeon, when the generals served at U.S. Central Command, which is headquartered at Tampa's MacDill Air Force Base. Kelley became an unofficial social ambassador for the base, hosting numerous parties for the officers.
The scandal this week cost Kelley her appointment as an honorary consul for the South Korean government, which she had gotten because of her friendship with Petraeus. The Koreans said she had misused the title in her personal business dealings.
Kelley's attorneys sent a cease-and-desist letter to New York businessman Adam Victor; a complaint to the Florida bar against Tampa attorney Barry Cohen, and a letter to the U.S. Attorney's Office demanding that it investigate to find out who in the FBI leaked her name to the news media. Representatives of attorney Abbe Lowell emailed copies of the letters to The Associated Press.
In one of the letters, Lowell asks W. Stephen Muldrow, the assistant U.S. Attorney in Tampa, why Jill and Scott Kelley's names were released in the course of the FBI's investigation of Petraeus and Broadwell. Lowell said federal privacy laws could be applicable to the couple's information.
"As you know, there are several rules and laws that seek to protect United States citizens against such leaks," Lowell wrote.
He also wanted to know whether the U.S. Attorney's Office was investigating the source of the leaks.
"You no doubt have seen the tremendous attention that the Kelleys have received in the media," wrote Lowell. "All they did to receive this attention was to let law enforcement know that they had been the subjects of inappropriate and potentially threatening behavior by someone else."
Another letter spoke of a business deal that Kelley tried to broker with South Korea.
Kelley met Victor in late August at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, where they discussed having Kelley represent Victor's company on a coal-gasification deal being negotiated with South Korean companies.
On Aug. 30, according to the documents provided by Lowell's office, Victor sent Kelley an email saying his company was seeking bids from four major Korean firms ? Samsung, Hyundai, GS and GK ? and that he expected the bidding to potentially reach $3 billion.
There are several back-and-forth emails through mid-September as Victor and Kelley tried to negotiate a fee for her work, with Kelley saying she was seeking 2 percent of the deal and Victor trying to clarify what she meant.
There were no other emails until Victor sent one Nov. 9, when Kelley's name surfaced in the Petraeus scandal. He wrote two more times after that before she responded.
When she finally did, he sent back another email in which he remarked, "When I heard about Petraeus, I thought of you." In a follow-up email, he asked if she was still in a position to help with Korea. She didn't respond.
In a Nov. 14 interview with the AP, Victor said it had become clear that Kelley was not a skilled negotiator and that he had wasted his time dealing with her.
In a letter released Tuesday and dated Nov. 21, Lowell accused Victor of seeking his "15 minutes of fame" by talking to the news media about his client. Lowell said Victor had defamed Kelley with his clients and misstated her desire for 2 percent of the profits by saying she wanted 2 percent of the entire deal. Lowell also accused Victor of unspecified inappropriate behavior toward Kelley.
"If you want to continue seeking publicity for yourself, that is one thing," Lowell wrote to Victor. "However, if you do that by maligning a person, that is something else." He then accused Victor of casting Kelley in a false light and suggested his attorney contact Lowell to discuss the matter.
Victor told the AP late Tuesday that he never accused Kelley of wrongdoing, only that she was naive and not an experienced negotiator. He also said his female assistant was present every time he met with Kelley.
"It's not a crime to be a novice," Victor said. "I don't know why they are talking to me."
The third letter was sent from Kelley's attorney Tuesday to the Attorney Consumer Assistance Program, which handles complaints about lawyers on behalf of the Florida Bar. In that letter, Lowell accused Cohen of breaking attorney-client privilege by publicly speaking about conversations he had with Kelley in 2009 while representing her in a dispute she had with a tenant. In those conversations, Lowell said, they discussed her friendships with various military personnel.
Kelley's sister, Natalie Khawam, once worked as an attorney in Cohen's firm and later sued him for sexual harassment and breach of contract. In court responses, Cohen said Khawam "has a judicially documented recent history and continuing propensity for the commission of perjury."
Cohen said Tuesday evening that he had not seen Lowell's complaint letter and that Kelley had "lost the battle in the court of public opinion."
"No matter how many high-priced lawyers and publicists she employs, she has been exposed for what she is," he said.
Prior to Tuesday, Kelley, her attorney and her publicist had only publicly addressed the situation once, in a statement to the news media when the scandal first broke.
DHAKA/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Bangladesh said a fire that killed 111 textile workers was sabotage, as protesters took to the streets for a second day on Tuesday and garment factories across the world's second-biggest clothes exporter stopped work to mourn.
Meanwhile two other incidents this week, neither of which caused injuries, had local manufacturing leaders scrambling to assess whether their industry was under attack.
Saturday's fire has put a spotlight on global retailers that source clothes from Bangladesh, where the cost of labor is low - as little as $37 a month for some workers - and rights groups have called on firms to sign up to a fire safety program.
U.S. retailer Sears Holdings Corp said its clothing was not meant to be made in that textile factory, and was investigating reports that one of its brands had been found in the charred debris. Other brands, such as Esprit Holdings Ltd, continued to deny any connection and distanced themselves from the disaster.
The country's worst-ever industrial blaze consumed a multi-story building of a Tazreen Fashions factory. More than 150 workers were injured.
The interior minister, Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, said that, according to a preliminary inquiry, the fire was the result of arson. He promised to bring the culprits to justice.
"We have come to the conclusion that it was an act of sabotage. We are finding out as of now who exactly the saboteurs are and all culprits will be brought to book," Alamgir said.
Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said she suspected the fire was an act of sabotage, but she did not identify any suspect or say why she thought the cause might have been arson.
In addition to Saturday's blaze, two other incidents outside Dhaka -- a fire at a factory Monday morning and an explosion and fire at a facility Tuesday evening -- had the country's manufacturing leaders scared something bigger was at play.
"If you ask me as to what happened at the factory, today I'm a little confused because having such incidents all around naturally raises questions in the mind," said Annisul Huq, former president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, in an interview.
"The government today says they are smelling sabotage. We don't yet know what they mean by that, we will know in a few days. I don't know what information they have but we don't like this link," he said, adding that association members would meet Wednesday to discuss the recent events.
RECORD OF POOR CONDITIONS
Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, said one of its suppliers subcontracted work to the burned factory without authorization and would no longer be used. Sears also suggested something illicit may have taken place.
"Any merchandise found at that factory should NOT have been manufactured there and we are currently investigating further," the company said in a statement.
The International Labor Rights Forum, in a statement on Sunday, said evidence discovered in the factory suggested Sears' True Desire line may have been manufactured there, as well as other prominent brands.
As of Tuesday afternoon, a petition on Change.org calling on major retailers to join an industry fire safety program for suppliers had more than 13,000 supporters.
Representatives of the Tazreen Fashions factory, including the owner, were not available for comment.
Bangladesh has about 4,500 garment factories and is the world's biggest exporter of clothing after China, with garments making up 80 percent of its $24 billion annual exports.
Working conditions at Bangladeshi factories are notoriously poor, with little enforcement of safety laws. Overcrowding and locked fire doors are common.
More than 300 factories near the capital were shut for almost a week earlier this year as workers demanded higher wages and better conditions. At least 500 people have died in garment factory accidents in Bangladesh since 2006, according to fire brigade officials.
More than 1,000 workers, some carrying black flags, demonstrated Tuesday in the Ashulia industrial belt on the outskirts of the capital where the factory is located. They blocked traffic moving on a highway and vowed to avenge the deaths of their colleagues, witnesses said.
"Never shall we give up demands for punishment for those responsible for the tragedy," one worker said.
Dhaka district police chief Habibur Rahman told Reuters his men were investigating complaints from some survivors that factory managers stopped workers from running out of the building when a fire alarm went off.
(Reporting by Ruma Paul and Anis Ahmed in Dhaka and Jessica Wohl and Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Chicago; Additional reporting by Anne Marie Roantree in Hong Kong and Dhanya Skariachan in New York; Writing by Ben Berkowitz; Editing by Robert Birsel, Gunna Dickson and Tim Dobbyn)
LONDON (Reuters) - A British farmer and flying enthusiast who has spent the past 16 years scouring the jungles of Myanmar believes he has finally found what he was searching for - a horde of buried Spitfire fighter planes dating back to World War Two.
Rumours of a huge treasure trove of buried aircraft in Myanmar have circulated for years but now geological surveys of one specific site have lent credibility to the idea and David Cundall plans to start digging as soon as possible.
"I've been digging up dumpsites and crashed military aircraft for 35 years, but this is something else," Cundall, 62, told reporters.
Why an estimated 36 planes - and possibly more - should have been buried in the tropics of southeast Asia, is a source of much speculation.
But what is known is that after four years of brutal battles against the occupying Japanese forces, the victorious British buried much of their inventory in 1945.
And at Mingaladon airfield, just outside the former capital city of Yangon, Cundall thinks he's found the exact location.
Cundall first caught wind of the tales of buried British airplanes in the late 1990s.
He spent two years grappling with visa restrictions, and after amassing eight matching eyewitness accounts of the exact location where U.S. and British servicemen had dug a massive trench, he devoted himself to the project.
Long encumbered by unhelpful local bureaucrats and beaten to the initial contract by an Israeli bid, a thaw in the West's relations with Myanmar - formerly known as Burma - facilitated the excavation process.
British Prime Minister David Cameron is believed to have discussed the recovery of the aircraft during a trade visit to Myanmar earlier this year.
In the event, with a 50 percent share in whatever is dug up, Myanmar's cooperation is not entirely altruistic.
There are only about 40 airworthy Spitfires left in the world, and with models in good condition commanding prices of several million pounds each, Cundall is potentially sitting on a fortune.
However, what condition the haul will be in after decades immersed in tropical soil remains to be seen.
"Unlike some aircraft which suffered terribly from the heat and humidity, Spitfires had a very good reputation for reliability," said John Delaney, collections manager at Britain's Imperial War Museum in Duxford, eastern England which has several vintage military aircraft.
"But what kind of condition they're in now depends on how well they were packed."
Cundall says he's unconcerned by their exact state.
"It's like opening a can of 67-year-old beans. It's not going to be at its best, but if you're hungry, you'll eat it."
Project archaeologists are at pains to point out that no physical evidence has been uncovered yet.
Neither is there any obvious reason why an air force should take the trouble to pack and bury a near-obsolete model of aircraft.
Even lead archaeologist Andy Brockman concedes it might all turn out to be an elaborate wild goose chase.
"It's a story that needs investigating," he said.
The monsoon season rains ended in late October, and after a two month hiatus to allow the water table to drop, Cundall and his team hope to start digging in earnest in early January.
(Reporting by Peter Schwartzstein, editing by Paul Casciato)
ScienceDaily (Nov. 27, 2012) ? Some infants are more susceptible to potentially life-threatening breathing problems after birth, and rare, inherited DNA differences may explain why, according to research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
The study is the first to identify a single gene -- ABCA3 -- that is associated with a significant number of cases of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in babies born at or near full term. RDS is the most common respiratory problem in newborns and the most common lung-related cause of death and disease among U.S. infants less than a year old.
Their findings will be published in the December 2012 issue of Pediatrics and are available online.
The research may lead to new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for prevention and treatment to improve respiratory outcomes for babies.
"We found that mutations in ABCA3 account for about 10 percent of respiratory disease in babies born near their due dates," said Jennifer A. Wambach, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics and the study's lead author. "These are babies who we typically think should have mature lungs and breathe normally. While we have known for a while that RDS is a heritable disease, this is the first gene to account for a significant proportion of disease among infants that are full-term or nearly full-term."
RDS occurs when an infant's lungs don't produce enough surfactant, a liquid that coats the inside of the lungs and helps keep them open so the baby can breathe. If there isn't enough surfactant, an infant has to work hard to breathe and may suffer from a lack of oxygen. Premature infants are at especially high risk of RDS, as surfactant production increases as babies near term. However, 2 percent to 3 percent of term and near-term babies also develop RDS.
The researchers' findings suggest a range of possibilities, Wambach said. These include using the genetic knowledge to plan affected infants' births near hospitals with neonatal intensive-care units and developing medical therapies to target the abnormal protein resulting from these mutations.
Wambach said the researchers hope to identify additional genes that cause neonatal RDS and better identify babies at risk.
"But right now we're studying how these mutations function in the laboratory," Wambach said. "Statistical associations help guide us, but we also need to understand the biology of these mutations."
The research team -- including Aaron Hamvas, MD, and F. Sessions Cole, MD -- evaluated five genes known to be important for normal breathing immediately after birth. Hamvas is the James Keating Professor of Pediatrics and medical director of the newborn intensive care unit at St. Louis Children's Hospital. Cole is the Park J. White, MD, Professor of Pediatrics.
The team looked at five genes involved in the metabolism of lung surfactant by taking DNA samples from more than 500 infants of African and European descent, with and without respiratory distress, who were carried to term or near term. They evaluated the same genes in an additional 48 babies with especially severe respiratory distress to see if their findings applied to that group, and in a third group of 1,066 Missouri babies, to determine the frequency of the mutations in a general population.
In comparing babies with and without respiratory distress, they found that babies of European descent with respiratory distress were more likely to have a single mutation in ABCA3, one of the five genes tested, than the infants with no breathing problems. Babies of African descent with respiratory distress also were more likely to have single ABCA3 mutations, but this difference did not reach statistical significance.
More than one-quarter of the babies with especially severe respiratory distress had a single mutation in ABCA3. Infants who inherit two defective copies of the ABCA3 gene usually require lung transplantation for survival. However, this is the first study to show that a single mutation in ABCA3 predisposes infants to respiratory distress that can usually be treated with neonatal intensive care.
The researchers also found that 1.5 percent to 3.6 percent of babies born in Missouri carry a single ABCA3 mutation, leading the researchers to estimate that about 10 percent of RDS cases among term and near-term infants may be attributable to mutations in ABCA3.
"We picked five candidate genes and thought we would find rare mutations in all of the genes," Wambach said. "However, we found very few mutations in the other genes, and they were not associated with RDS. Our findings were really isolated to this one gene, ABCA3."
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Washington University School of Medicine. The original article was written by Elizabethe Holland Durando.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
J. A. Wambach, D. J. Wegner, K. DePass, H. Heins, T. E. Druley, R. D. Mitra, P. An, Q. Zhang, L. M. Nogee, F. S. Cole, A. Hamvas. Single ABCA3 Mutations Increase Risk for Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Pediatrics, 2012; 130 (6): e1575 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2012-0918
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
The Tempur-Pedic Story: Aggressive Growth Through IT System Transformation
?
?
I recently had the pleasure to interview, Stuart Scott, Tempur-Pedic? CIO. Stuart?s impressive experience serving numerous large companies including GE and Microsoft translates into a wealth of knowledge that any company, large or small, can start learning from immediately. I know I did.
When Stuart started with Tempur-Pedic in 2009, they had aggressive growth plans both domestically and internationally. He was hired to totally revamp IT and enable it to support the expanding business in 24 countries, some with unique go-to-market strategies.
You may ask where does one begin? I will try to share a few key points from our discussion, but trust me; it?s worth the 50+ minutes to listen to it in its entirety here. Read on for a few nuggets:
Look for ways to reduce the amount of traditional IT work that needs to be done like coding, customization, and connecting disparate systems; this frees up IT time to focus on business issues and growth. For example, Collaboration is very important to Tempur-Pedic?s entrepreneurial culture. Moving onto a single global footprint for communication tools, voice, phone, email and document management vastly simplified IT?s involvement and needed support.
Choose a Tier-One ERP system supplier that will grow with your company. Stuart believes every company and industry has unique attributes that no single solution can address off the shelf; there will always be gaps. Go into your implementation understanding those gaps. Tempur-Pedic had very specific ranking criteria for their selection process. They ultimately chose Microsoft Dynamics AX because rapid implementation was critical to them achieving their business goals. AX is flexible and feature-rich; its simplicity has allowed IT to quickly become more proficient in configuring and tuning. From a user standpoint, the familiar User Interface (UI) has lowered training time and resulted in users becoming more proficient more quickly.
Understand that any ERP implementation represents dramatic change and is disruptive to the business. However, if everyone understands the importance of the change in transforming the business, it?s easier to stay on track. According to Stuart, keep in perspective that a new ERP system is more about human change management and so many things you have to get right that go well beyond IT. The process changes, training, communication, education and adoption represent a whole new set of business activities and change that people have to adapt to. If you realize this, and always make decisions with the human factor in mind, you will be better positioned to achieve your goals.
There are many other topics I discussed with Stuart, including the five pillars Tempur-Pedic used as a framework for their transformation, business process re-engineering, change management, implementation process, executive involvement, their approach to customization, and more.
I hope you take the time to listen to this in-depth discussion. I?d be interested to hear what you think about this perspective, and how your company has addressed some of these important issues. You can listen to the Tempur-Pedic discussion here.
Thank you!
About Noman Akhtar
Noman Akhtar is currently the Director of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) for Microsoft US. In his previous roles at Microsoft, Noman was instrumental in creating several customer facing programs, which included building a vibrant user community and sharing of best practices; his territory had the highest Customer and Partner Satisfaction across all of Microsoft. Before joining Microsoft, Akhtar was an Account Manager for Lawson Software. Noman and his wife, reside in Chicago and are proud parents of 4 year old twin girls, and a 1 year old boy. Noman is an active member of the community and lends time to such causes as finding shelter for homeless kids, youth education and feeding the homeless. When not involved with the family or community, Noman enjoys reading and playing racquetball.
View all posts by Noman Akhtar ?
Developing 'second skin' military fabric to repel chemical and biological agentsPublic release date: 27-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Janet Lathrop jlathrop@admin.umass.edu 413-545-0444 University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Military uniforms of the future may offer a new layer of protection to wearers thanks to research at the UMass Amherst and elsewhere, developing a nanotube-based fabric that repels chemical and biological agents
AMHERST, Mass. Military uniforms of the future may offer a new layer of critical protection to wearers thanks to research by teams at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and several other institutions who are developing a nanotube-based fabric that repels chemical and biological agents.
UMass Amherst polymer scientists Kenneth Carter and James Watkins, collaborating with team leader Francesco Fornasiero of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), recently received a five-year $1.8 million grant to design ways to manufacture the new material as part of a $13 million project funded by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency. It's estimated that the new uniforms could be deployed in the field in less than 10 years.
The researchers say the fabric will be able to switch reversibly from a highly breathable state to a protective one in response to the presence of the environmental threat without the need for an external control system. In the protective state, the uniform material will block the chemical threat while maintaining a good breathability level. "The uniform will be like a smart second skin that responds to the environment," says Fornasiero.
UMass Amherst polymer scientists bring expertise in additive-driven assembly processes that bring polymers and nanoparticles together to produce hybrid functional materials to the project. Membrane and layer fabrication will take place in part through the university's Roll-to-Roll Nanofabrication Laboratory.
The new fabric's reversibility is due to highly breathable membranes with pores made of a few-nanometer-wide, vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes modified with a functional surface layer designed to respond to the presence of a chemical warfare agent, says Watkins at UMass Amherst. The threat response would be triggered by direct chemical warfare agent attack. The fabric would switch to a protective state by closing the pore entrance or by shedding the contaminated surface layer.
For wearer comfort and safety, high breathability is a critical requirement for protective clothing to prevent heat stress when military personnel are engaged in missions in contaminated environments. To provide high breathability, the new composite material will take advantage of the unique transport properties of carbon nanotube pores, which offer gas transport rates two orders of magnitude faster than any other pore of similar size.
The polymer scientists point out that biological agents such as bacteria and viruses are close to 10 nanometers in size. Because the membrane pores on the uniform are only a few nanometers wide, these membranes will block such agents.
However, chemical agents such as mustard gas and nerve gas can be much smaller and require the membrane pores to be able to react to block that threat. To create a multifunctional membrane, the research team plans to modify the surface of the original prototype carbon nanotube membranes with chemical threat responsive functional groups. These functional groups sense and block the threat like gatekeepers on entrance.
The scientists also plan to develop a second, "shedding" response scheme in which the fabric exfoliates upon recation with a chemical agent. In this way, the fabric will be able to block chemical agents such as sulfur mustard (blister agent), GD and VX nerve agents, toxins such as staphylococcal enterotoxin and biological spores such as anthrax.
Carter at UMass Amherst says, "Mimicking the way real skin responds to threats by exfoliation and shedding of contaminated areas will allow for a dynamic responsive garment, all achieved through controlled chemical reactions in this new advanced fabric."
Tracee Harris, science and technology manager for the Dynamic Multifunctional Material for a Second Skin Program, says, "Development of chemical threat responsive carbon nanotube membranes is a great example of a novel material's potential to provide innovative solutions for the Department of Defense CB needs. This futuristic uniform would allow our military forces to operate safely for extended time periods and successfully complete their missions in environments contaminated with chemical and biological warfare agents."
###
In addition to Carter, Watkins, Jeffrey Morse and YuYing Tang at UMass Amherst, with Fornasiero, Sangil Kim and Kuang Jen Wu at LLNL, the team includes Heidi Schreuder-Gibson at U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center, Timothy Swager at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Jerry Shan at Rutgers University, and Robert Praino at Chasm Technologies, Inc. of Canton, Mass.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Developing 'second skin' military fabric to repel chemical and biological agentsPublic release date: 27-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Janet Lathrop jlathrop@admin.umass.edu 413-545-0444 University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Military uniforms of the future may offer a new layer of protection to wearers thanks to research at the UMass Amherst and elsewhere, developing a nanotube-based fabric that repels chemical and biological agents
AMHERST, Mass. Military uniforms of the future may offer a new layer of critical protection to wearers thanks to research by teams at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and several other institutions who are developing a nanotube-based fabric that repels chemical and biological agents.
UMass Amherst polymer scientists Kenneth Carter and James Watkins, collaborating with team leader Francesco Fornasiero of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), recently received a five-year $1.8 million grant to design ways to manufacture the new material as part of a $13 million project funded by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency. It's estimated that the new uniforms could be deployed in the field in less than 10 years.
The researchers say the fabric will be able to switch reversibly from a highly breathable state to a protective one in response to the presence of the environmental threat without the need for an external control system. In the protective state, the uniform material will block the chemical threat while maintaining a good breathability level. "The uniform will be like a smart second skin that responds to the environment," says Fornasiero.
UMass Amherst polymer scientists bring expertise in additive-driven assembly processes that bring polymers and nanoparticles together to produce hybrid functional materials to the project. Membrane and layer fabrication will take place in part through the university's Roll-to-Roll Nanofabrication Laboratory.
The new fabric's reversibility is due to highly breathable membranes with pores made of a few-nanometer-wide, vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes modified with a functional surface layer designed to respond to the presence of a chemical warfare agent, says Watkins at UMass Amherst. The threat response would be triggered by direct chemical warfare agent attack. The fabric would switch to a protective state by closing the pore entrance or by shedding the contaminated surface layer.
For wearer comfort and safety, high breathability is a critical requirement for protective clothing to prevent heat stress when military personnel are engaged in missions in contaminated environments. To provide high breathability, the new composite material will take advantage of the unique transport properties of carbon nanotube pores, which offer gas transport rates two orders of magnitude faster than any other pore of similar size.
The polymer scientists point out that biological agents such as bacteria and viruses are close to 10 nanometers in size. Because the membrane pores on the uniform are only a few nanometers wide, these membranes will block such agents.
However, chemical agents such as mustard gas and nerve gas can be much smaller and require the membrane pores to be able to react to block that threat. To create a multifunctional membrane, the research team plans to modify the surface of the original prototype carbon nanotube membranes with chemical threat responsive functional groups. These functional groups sense and block the threat like gatekeepers on entrance.
The scientists also plan to develop a second, "shedding" response scheme in which the fabric exfoliates upon recation with a chemical agent. In this way, the fabric will be able to block chemical agents such as sulfur mustard (blister agent), GD and VX nerve agents, toxins such as staphylococcal enterotoxin and biological spores such as anthrax.
Carter at UMass Amherst says, "Mimicking the way real skin responds to threats by exfoliation and shedding of contaminated areas will allow for a dynamic responsive garment, all achieved through controlled chemical reactions in this new advanced fabric."
Tracee Harris, science and technology manager for the Dynamic Multifunctional Material for a Second Skin Program, says, "Development of chemical threat responsive carbon nanotube membranes is a great example of a novel material's potential to provide innovative solutions for the Department of Defense CB needs. This futuristic uniform would allow our military forces to operate safely for extended time periods and successfully complete their missions in environments contaminated with chemical and biological warfare agents."
###
In addition to Carter, Watkins, Jeffrey Morse and YuYing Tang at UMass Amherst, with Fornasiero, Sangil Kim and Kuang Jen Wu at LLNL, the team includes Heidi Schreuder-Gibson at U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center, Timothy Swager at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Jerry Shan at Rutgers University, and Robert Praino at Chasm Technologies, Inc. of Canton, Mass.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 27-Nov-2012
Share ]