text:
In certain practical problems, actual measurements of a variable interest are costly or time-consuming, but the ranking items according to the variable is relatively easy with- out actual measurement. Under such circumstances McIntyre  proposed a sampling scheme called ranked-set sampling (RSS) which can be employed to gain more information than simple random sampling (SRS), while keeping the cost of, or the time constraint on, the sampling about the same. In RSS; one first draws units at random from the population and partition them into m sets of m units. The m units in each set are ranked without making, an actual measurement. The first set of m units are ranked and the smallest is selected for actual quantification. From the second set of m units, the unit ranked and the second smallest is measured, and so on. This method of selection continues until the unit ranked largest is measured from the m-th set. If a large sample is required, then the procedure can be repeated r times to obtain a sample of size. These chosen elements are called ranked set sampling. The mathe- matical support and statistical theory was provided by Takahasi and Wakimoto  . Dell and Clutter  studied theoretical aspects of this technique on the assumption of perfect and imperfect judgment ranking. Shaibu and Muttlak  used median and extreme ranked set sampling method for estimating the parameters of normal, expo- nential and gamma distributions. Al-Omari et al.  Used extreme ranked set sampling method to find the estimates of the population mean. Islam et al.  Obtained the modified maximum likelihood estimator of location and scale parameters depend on selected ranked set sampling for normal distribution. Ibrahim and Syam  used stratified median ranked set sampling method for estimating the population mean.
Some research works have investigated ranked set sampling from a Bayesian point of view. Varian  and Zellner  introduced Bayesian estimation by using asymmetric loss functions. Al-Saleh and Muttlak  obtained the Bayesian estimates of the exponential distribution. Ahmed  obtained the Bayesian estimators of log-normal distribution based on RSS and SRS using Bayes risk. Sadek et al.  , and Sadek and Alharbi  used the asymmetric loss function to obtain the Bayesian estimate of the exponential and Weibull distributions respectively, based on SRS and RSS. Al-Hadhrami and Al-Omari  showed that the Bayesian estimation of the mean of normal distri- bution based on moving extreme ranked set sampling (MERSS) is more efficient than SRS. Hassan  obtained the maximum likelihood estimator and Bayesian estimates of shape and scale parameters of the exponentiated exponential distribution based on SRS and RSS. For more research work on Bayesian one may refer to Mohammadi and Pazira  , Ghafoori et al.  , Said Ali Al-Hadhrami and Amer Ibrahim Al-Omari  , Mohie El-Din et al.  .
In this paper, we derive the Bayesian estimates of the Weibull scale parameter α based on gamma and Jeffreys prior distributions by MRSSU method proposed by Biradar and Santosha  . In Section 2, the preliminaries are discussed. The Bayesian estimates under SEL and LINEX loss functions of the parameter of Weibull distribution using SRS and MRSSU are presented in Section 3. Simulation results and Conclusions are presented in Section 4 and 5 respectively.
Let be a sequence of independent and identically distributed (iid) random variables from a Weibull distribution with probability density function (pdf)
And cumulative distribution function (cdf)
where is the scale parameter and is shape parameter.
In order to derive, and to measure the performance of an estimator we use squared error, loss function (SEL) (see, Berger  ) and Linex loss function.
The Linex loss function for the parameter can be expressed as
where; is an estimate of and, c and d are shaped and scale parameters. The sign and magnitude of the shape parameter c indicate that the direction and degree of symmetry, respectively. When the value of c is zero, the Linex loss function is approximately squared error loss, when c is less than zero, the Linex loss function gives more weight to under-estimation against over-estimation, and it is reversed when c value is greater than zero. The conjugate prior for, is considered, whose pdf is given by
where. If, then becomes the Jeffreys prior.
3. Bayesian Estimates
In this section, we derive the Bayes estimates of the Weibull parameter based on simple random sampling and maximum ranked set sampling with unequal samples by assuming that the shape parameter is known. In each case, we use both conjugate and non-informative prior for the scale parameter. Also, we use the symmetric loss function (squared error loss) and asymmetric loss function (Linear-exponential, Linex) to derive the corresponding Bayesian estimates. And we denote and as posterior densities of, given SRS() and RSS() respectively.
3.1. Bayesian Estimation Based on SRS
Let be a sequence of iid random variables, has the Weibull distribution with parameters () and be the conjugate prior. In this case, the posterior density based on SRS is given by
Hence, the Bayesian estimation of depend on squared error loss (SEL) is
because the Bayes estimate with respect to SEL is the posterior mean then
While the Bayesian estimate of based on Linex loss function is
3.2. Bayesian Estimation Based on MRSSU
Assume that the variable of interest X has density function and distribution function is known. Let, be m sets of random samples from X, and they are independent. Denote, ,
. Let is taken from the first set, is taken from the second set and is taken from the last set, then be a one cycle MRSSU from X and all’s are independent. In this study we assume that there is no error in ranking. The density of has the same density as the ith order statistic (maximum) of an SRS of size i from, i.e., has the density
Let MRSSU be drawn from Weibull distribution, then the density function of is
Then the joint density of MRSSU in this case due to independence of’s is given by
Then the posterior density of α is
The Bayes estimate of based on the squared error loss function is
Next, in order to derive the Bayesian estimation of based on LINEX loss function, first we need to compute the posterior expectation of from Equation (7) as
Now the Bayesian estimation of on LINEX is
where is as derived in Equation (9).
3.3. Bayesian Estimation Based on Non-Informative Prior
The non-informative prior distribution of the parameter is obtained from Equation
(3) and it is given by. Then, we obtain the Bayesian estimates of
in this case as follows:
1) Simple Random Sample:
2) Maximum ranked set sampling with unequal samples:
4. Simulation Results
To illustrate the performance of the derived Bayesian estimates of scale parameter of the Weibull distribution with informative and non-informative prior based on SRS and MRSSU, we carry out the Monte Carlo simulations using R-Software version 3.1.1. We compute bias, mean squared error and relative efficiency of the estimators by assuming the shape parameter is known. The numerical results obtained for fixed values of, [and 1] and sample size m [3, 4 and 5] for 1000 runs. The bias of the Bayesian estimates based on SRS and MRSSU are presented in Table 1 and Table 2, and MSE of the Bayesian estimates based on SRS and MRSSU is presented in Table 3 and Table 4.
Table 1. Bias of the Bayesian estimates based on SRS and MRSSU. For (when, ,).
Table 2. Bias of the Bayesian estimates based on SRS and MRSSU. For (when, ,).
The relative efficiency of the Bayesian estimates based on maximum ranked set sampling with unequal samples with respect to simple random sampling can be defined as follows
And are presented in Table 5.
Table 3. MSE of the Bayesian estimates based on SRS and MRSSU. For (when, ,).
Table 4. MSE of the Bayesian estimates based on SRS and MRSSU. For (when, ,).
Table 5. Relative efficiency when and.
We present Bayesian estimation based on SRS and MRSSU. The Weibull distribution is used as an application example to illustrate our results. We compute bias, MSE and relative efficiency of the derived Bayesian estimates and then make a comparison between SRS and MRSSU. Our observations of the results are stated in the following points:
1) From Table 1 and Table 2, first, we found that the Bayesian estimates of are all biased. Next, we found that the Bayesian estimates based on Jeffreys prior are less biased than gamma prior. Also, we observed that the Bayesian estimates based on MRSSU are considerably less biased than SRS.
2) From Table 3 and Table 4, it is observed that the mean squared error of all estimates decreases when sample size m increases. Next, we observed that the Bayesian estimates based on MRSSU have a much smaller mean squared error than the corresponding Bayesian estimates based on SRS in all cases considered.
3) From Table 5, we observe that the relative efficiency of the Bayesian estimator based on MRSSU w.r.t. SRS Bayesian estimators are greater than 1 and increases with m. Also, decreases in Linex function as m increases for.
Therefore, we conclude that the Bayesian estimates based on maximum ranked set sampling with unequal samples are more efficient than the corresponding Bayesian estimates of simple random sampling.
Finally, we conclude that the results of the simulation experiment showed that the Bayesian estimates based on maximum ranked set sampling with unequal samples are more efficient, when compared with the Bayesian estimates of simple random sampling.
The authors would like to thank the referees for their helpful comments that have led to an improved paper.
 Takahasi, K. and Wakimoto, K. (1968) On Unbiased Estimates of the Population Mean Based on the Sample Stratified by Means of Ordering. Annals of the Institute of Statistical Mathematics, 20, 1-31.
 Al-Omari, A.I., Jaber, K.H. and Al-Omari, A. (2008) Modified Ratio-Type Estimators of the Mean Using Extreme Ranked Set Sampling. Journal of Mathematics and Statistics, 4, 150-155.
 Sadek, A., Sultan, K.S. and Balakrishnan, N. (2009) Bayesian Estimation Based on Ranked Set Sampling Using Asymmetric Loss Function. Bulletin of the Malaysian Mathematical Sciences Society, 38, 707-718.
 Sadek, A. and Alharbi, F. (2014) Weibull-Bayesian Analysis Based on Ranked Set Sampling. International Journal of Advanced Statistics and Probability, 2, 114-123.
 Al-Hadhrami, S.A. and Al-Omari, A.I. (2009) Bayesian Inference on the Variance of Normal Distribution Using Moving Extremes Ranked Set Sampling. Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods, 8, 273-281.
 Hassan, A.S. (2013) Maximum Likelihood and Bayes Estimators of the Unknown Parameters for Exponentiated Exponential Distribution Using Ranked Set Sampling. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications, 3, 720-725.
 Mohammadi, M.Y. and Pazira, H. (2010) Classical and Bayesian Estimations on the Generalized Exponential Distribution Using Censored Data. International Journal of Mathematical Analysis, 4, 1417-1431.
 Al-Hadhrami, S.A. and Al-Omari, A.I. (2012) Bayes Estimation of the Mean of Normal Distribution Using Moving Extreme Ranked Set Sampling. Pakistan Journal of Statistics and Operation Research, VIII, 21-30.
 Mohie El-Din, M.M., Kotb, M.S. and Newer, H.A. (2015) Bayesian Estimation and Prediction for Pareto Distribution Based on Ranked Set Sampling. Journal of Statistics Applcations and Probability, 4, 211-221.
 Biradar, B.S. and Sanotsha, C.D. (2014) Estimation of the Mean of the Exponential Distribution Using Maximum Ranked Set Sampling with Unequal Samples. Open journal of Statistics, Scientific Research, 4, 641-649.


text:
People’s Century: Total War
1995 BBC One / WGBH
The story of the Second World War is told from the perspective of civilian experience, rather than military strategy. With archive film and moving testimony, men and women from Britain, Germany, the Soviet Union, France, Japan, China and Korea tell how non-combatants became the targets in a war different from any before.
Citizens of Plymouth, Hamburg and Tokyo describe the effects of bombing and fire raids. A Russian woman remembers the German reprisal which burnt her village, like thousands of others. Survivors of the 890-day siege of Leningrad recall the bread they ate made from wood cellulose and sawdust. And Leningrad musicians tell how they helped create Shostakovich's 7th ('Leningrad') Symphony during the siege. A Japanese soldier and a Korean slave labourer describe the brutality of the war in Asia.
Altogether 55 million lives were lost – far more than in the First World War – and the majority were civilians, not soldiers.
A BBC-WGBH co-production
|Original Music||Orlando Gough|
|Archive Research||James Barker|
|Assistant Producer||Lisa Jones|
|Executive Producer||Peter Pagnamenta|
|Written and produced by||John Bridcut|

domain: library


Just before taking off for Latin America, President Obama reiterated his call for the construction of a big high-speed rail network in the U.S., pitching the plan as a cure-all for employment, transport bottlenecks, and even the environment.
There are plenty of reasons to support more high speed rail, but curbing greenhouse-gas emissions isn’t one of them.
The White House didn’t provide any new details on the administration’s high-speed rail blueprint: There are still 10 “potential” rail corridors, from the Northeast to California, that could someday see passenger trains moving upward of 150 miles an hour.
The $8 billion included in the stimulus package for rail upgrades is a “down payment” on the new system; another $5 billion is tentatively included in the president’s budget.
The presidential fact sheet on high-speed rail cites a spate of potential benefits: job creation, more transportation options, reduced dependence on oil, and even rural development.
It also stresses that high-speed rail travel is “green,” because it uses less energy per passenger-mile. Developing all ten potential high-speed corridors would cut greenhouse-gas emissions by about 3 million tons per year, the fact sheet says.
That’s not very much—about half of what a regular-sized coal power plant spews out every year. The administration’s figure dovetails with estimates on the environmental benefits of high-speed rail in a 2006 study, which estimated greenhouse-gas savings of about 2.7 million tons. That’s using diesel-powered trains; faster, French-style high-speed trains could offer even bigger benefits.
The problem is that developing a true, nationwide high-speed rail network will cost a lot more than the $13 billion the administration currently has earmarked. Some studies suggest building a high-speed, inter-city rail network could cost between $250 billion and $500 billion.
In any event, President Obama’s rail pitch seems geared less to environmentalists than to travelers already dreading summer travel season: “High-speed rail is long-overdue, and this plan lets American travelers know that they are not doomed to a future of long lines at the airports or jammed cars on the highways,” he said this morning.


text:
Edge of Sunset canvasbox
A sandpiper wades along the edge of the shore as the edge of the sunset burns bright orange on one of those "fire in the sky" kinda days in El Porto.
OsoPorto canvasbox prints are gallery wrapped stretch canvas, floated in 1 3/4" deep hardwood black enamel frame and ready to hang. (Add 2 inches to sizes to account for the frame.) Ships free anywhere in the United States.
Canvasbox prints usually ship around 3-5 days after ordering.
Want more to choose from? Prints can be made from nearly any photo featured on the OsoPorto or jonberrydesign Instagram accounts. If you want a specific image, let me know and I'll add it to the selection offered here.

domain: artistic


Hire Soul Singer in Oxford
Browse Soul Singers
Recent review: "Many, many thanks for making the evening brilliant. You are fantastic in every way. You never disappoint us. we all love you very much and can`t wait for your return. Thanks again, i`ll be in touch soon. x"
About: I have been singing since I was seven years old, the age when I began taking private classical singing lessons. Since then, I have performed at and won many singing competitions, sung in concerts, gigs and at many celebratory events in and around my local area, as well as completing grades 1-8 singi
About: Howard Dee is an accomplished musician and has over 12 years experience as a professional singer. He also plays piano, guitar and DJ's! Howard has over 100 5 star reviews and is one of the UK's most sought after wedding, Rat Pack and party singers! It is Howard's distinctive voice tone and deliver
About: Classically trained at the London College of Music and Media, I have performed at some of the most prestigious venues across the globe. From the Royal Albert Hall in London to St Francis of Assisi in Italy, New York, Canada, Portugal, Budapest, and beyond. My repertoire spans across all genres and
Recent review: "Dear Nina, What can we say, you blew us away, together with all our guests. We can’t thank you enough, you sang our songs with such meaning, you brought life to them. You helped make our day more special and for that we thank you. Angela and Jon"
About: Holly Jayne an outstanding vocalist from Warwickshire. Holly has been singing professionally for over 10 years having worked all over the UK & Abroad. Holly has performed in many prestigious venues. Some of these include Walt Disney, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Sheffield Arena and many more. Holly per
Recent review: Everything was perfect . She contacted me before, very professional. Very punctual on the day, flexible with performance times....then when she sang it was perfect . Steady first set , then had everyone up dancing in the second set . I would %100 recommend kristel .
Recent review: Thank you both for singing and playing the guitar! You were great. Hope to have you along in the future. Lovely songs, great vibe and everyone loved you.
Recent review: I am really thankful for you to make my event such an awesome one. The performance that you made on that day was more than amazing. All of us were able to enjoy each and every bit of it. I am really glad that I chose you for my day that left all my friends jealous.
About: "One of the UK's leading acoustic artists". London Live Review, UK Anna Neale is a multi-talented singer/songwriter, composer, session vocalist and voice over artist . Anna's worked professionally in the music industry for over a decade. In that time she's toured the world, released two albums an
About: Incredibly talented female vocalist Ginny has performed throughout the UK and abroad offering her versatile vocals and performance to any given occasion. Her impressive range of vocal ability along with a wide variety of genres enables her to create a performance to suit a diverse audience from Rock
Recent review: Totally Outstanding as a Singer and Performer. Extremely friendly and likeable as a person - now a friend who we hope very much hope to see perform again in the near future. Thoroughly recommended.
About: Katie Markham’s Adele Tribute Act has seen her chosen by the real Adele for her Graham Norton BBC show. She was luckily enough able to sing with the Queen of pop Adele and spend some time talking to her. Described by critics as the “Number 1 Adele tribute Act worldwide” the One and Only Tribute show
About: Lively professional Soulful vocalist. I love to perform 60’s soul and Motown , funk 80’s groove to current chart hits. I do my best to tailor what I do best to work to your specifications making your event as unique special and memorable. Profesional singer/entertainer since 2007
About: An evening of sophisticated soul and R&B hits for listening and dancing from the legendary Lionel Richie as well as grooving classics.
About: Female solo singer, using backing tracks. Fun or serious sets, willing to adapt to each occasion. Currently no equipment of my own, as just starting out. Love singing and spreading joy!
Recent review: "Steve and Monika were a delight from the start, so flexible with our demands and did everything to make sure we were happy. Their performance on the night was fabulous, Monika's voice is divine and Steve's piano skills are amazing. Everybody remarked how wonderful the music was and the choice of so
Recent review: """Hi Debs , thank you so much for providing the music for my garden party last Saturday. The selection of songs was faultless, and your judgement on volume was sublime - we could enjoy dancing and singing along, whist also still having a conversation! I will definitely recommend you to all my frien
Recent review: Niké is a true professional - arrived early to set up and even learned a new song for us. Not only did we absolutely adore her performance but our guests were entranced by her beautiful voice and stunning piano playing. Niké helped to make our day truly unforgettable and we would thoroughly recommen
Recent review: Without exception all of our guests said how much they enjoyed Claire's singing at our wedding reception, my only regret is that I didn’t ask her to perform for longer. My husband was walking behind our guests as we came in and he wondered if there was a problem up ahead because everyone had stopped


text:
Here are my favorite fonts to use in web projects:
As the name implies, the Ubuntu font is part of the Ubuntu operating system. I really like this font because of the uniqueness and smoothness. I always download the font and use it as my system font because it's so awesome. It's also free and you can download it from the Ubuntu page.
Times New Roman is easily my least favorite font. Who thought it would be a good idea to make the most exclusive proprietor font standard in writing papers?
tip: you can find fonts at fonts.google.com

domain: design


text:
Can Short-Term Installment Loans Help Repair Your Credit Rating?
For those who have a poor personal credit record, you may find it tough to just take a loan out, particularly a financial loan. Despite that which you might have seen for an advertisement some highway billboard or an internet popup, bad credit somewhat minimises your potential for getting that loan. Even worse, it would likely avoid it completely.
Any loan provider can and certainly will access your credit score to check on you out while assessing your application for the loan. This will be a process that is simple your record for having to pay your bills can be acquired from a credit bureau. Credit agencies collect payment data regarding the obligations of almost all customers in the united kingdom and analyze it employing a sophisticated algorithm to create your credit rating. They learn about anything you charge to your charge cards, your bills, your phone and connectivity that is internet your home loan or rent, your parking and speeding seats, taxation assessments, municipal licenses and fines, and when youвЂ™re divorced, also your alimony re re payments. Continue reading →

domain: economics


text:
Hong Kong-based fintech startup Oriente has raised $50 million in its Series B funding round led by Henderson Land’s co-chairman Dr Peter Lee. The ongoing round was also joined by Israeli software company Wix.com and other existing investors, according to a statement.
Oriente is the parent company of Finmas, Cashalo and Finizi, three online lenders based in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam respectively. Its technology covers real-time credit scoring, digital credit, offline-to-online (O2O) consumer finance, POS lending, and working capital financing for small entrepreneurs.
According to Oriente, it saw a 700 per cent growth in transactions and 20 per cent rise in merchant sales volumes year-on-year for 2019. It also claims to serve over 5 million users and 1,000 merchants across the Philippines and Indonesia – two of its strongest markets.
“The last 12 months have been a period of unprecedented growth at Oriente. This investment, which comes during a time of significant global economic turmoil, puts us in a strong position as we look to step up our efforts in a highly competitive sector,” said Geoffrey Prentice, co-founder of Oriente.
“Southeast Asia’s vastly underserved merchant consumer ecosystem has tremendous economic potential, and we are excited to power a more capable financial services infrastructure that is purpose-built to unlock this,” Prentice added.
This freshly-raised Series B capital will be used to expand its presence in Southeast Asia and develop its technology infrastructure, product and big-data capabilities to develop insights for its partners.
This round follows a recently announced $50-million debt facility secured from Silverhorn Group, a Hong Kong-based multi-asset investment firm. Prior to this, Oriente raised $105 million equity in November 2018 from the founders and a group of family offices including members of Malaysia’s Berjaya Group, the Philippines’ JG Summit Holdings, and Indonesia’s Sinar Mas.
Oriente was founded in 2017 by former Skype executive Geoffrey Prentice, former founding CTO and COO at LU.com Hubert Tai, and founder of BlackPine Private Equity Lawrence Chu.

domain: news


text:
Neurobiology on Five-Factor Model - Dictionary of Arguments
Corr I 331
Five-Factor Model/Neurobiology: Identifying serotonin and dopamine as likely biological substrates for the meta-traits begins to develop a psychobiological model of the personality hierarchy based on the Big Five. However, the correlations among the Big Five that reveal the meta-traits are not very strong, and each Big Five trait describes a clearly distinct domain of personality. Biological Biological substrates must exist that are unique to each trait, in addition to the shared substrates that produce the meta-traits.
Colin G. DeYoung and Jeremy R. Gray, „ Personality neuroscience: explaining individual differences in affect, behaviour and cognition“, in: Corr, Ph. J. & Matthews, G. (eds.) 2009. The Cambridge handbook of Personality Psychology. New York: Cambridge University Press_____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition.
Philip J. Corr
The Cambridge Handbook of Personality Psychology New York 2009
Philip J. Corr (Ed.)
Personality and Individual Differences - Revisiting the classical studies Singapore, Washington DC, Melbourne 2018

domain: psychology


Shares in car companies have plunged since Volkswagen admitted cheating in emissions tests on its diesel cars.
One expert says the situation has parallels with BP in 2010, when the worst oil disaster in US history left the company’s shares virtually untouchable.
Will this storm blow over, or has the death knell been sounded for auto makers?
THE SCANDAL UNFOLDS
It emerged last week that Volkswagen dodged eco-regulations by fitting 11m cars with “defeat device” software. Details are unclear, but it appears the software could detect when cars were undergoing testing by sensing speed, air pressure and the steering wheel’s position.
The device would limit the engine emissions while testing and put them back up when it detected testing was over.
It meant Volkswagen was able to put cars on the road which reportedly had pollutants 40 times higher than US regulations allowed – at a time when the company was trying to boost sales in the States.
Now UK cars are believed to have been affected too, and a law firm is seeking compensation for customers. Volkswagen is under investigation by German prosecutors, and company chief executive Martin Winterkorn and has resigned over the scandal.
Volkswagen shares are now down 35 per cent since the saga emerged. Investors have been dumping the shares because the company is almost certainly going to have to pay out huge fines. “We've totally screwed up,” said Volkswagen America boss Michael Horn, as the company began recalling cars.
US regulator the Environmental Protection Agency can fine up to $18bn for the 500,000 cars it has already recalled. Although the situation has focused on the US, regulators in several European countries are looking at the company too, and there is likely to be a series of fines and possible legal action.
Volkswagen has set aside €6.5bn to cover liabilities, but most experts say this is nowhere near enough. “The numbers could bankrupt the firm,” says Mark Holman of TwentyFour Asset Management. This situation is akin to that faced by BP over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, he says. BP was left virtually uninvestable for some time after the spill, as it faced fines and lawsuits.
“Our opinion is that the news flow has only just begun and there is a lot more to follow on this story,” he says. “There are likely to be lawsuits, criminal actions, board level firings, rating agency downgrades, stock price revisions, maybe even selling restrictions on the company, and brand damage.”
Although no other car companies are implicated in the scandal, shares have fallen across the sector. They had already slumped this summer because of worries about China and its slowing economy – if the Chinese tighten their purse strings, car sales will be lower. Renault-Nissan is down 19 per cent in the last two weeks, while Ford Motor Co and Rolls-Royce have both fallen nearly 9 per cent.
WHICH FUNDS WERE INVESTED?
Many European fund managers had been fond of car companies in the last few years. With the Eurozone and US economies recovering, car sales were rising. Managers bought shares in the likes of Volkswagen, Renault, BMW and Rolls Royce because of this.
The funds invested in Volkswagen (among the Investment Association list of funds) include Hermes Multi Strategy Credit, Hermes Absolute Return Credit, Man GLG European Alpha Alternative, and the Smith & Williamson European Equity fund.
All of these had between 2 and 4 per cent invested in Volkswagen shares as of 21 September, according to research from FE Trustnet. This is by no means an exhaustive list. Many investment funds focused on Europe or the consumption theme, and even global funds, will have car manufacturers among their holdings.
HOW MUCH DOES IT MATTER?
At the moment, savers with money invested in funds with exposure have no need to panic. There’s no doubt Volkswagen is in a pickle, and only time will tell how bad the situation is, and whether other car firms are implicated.
“Until the dust settles on this scandal and we know where the various tentacles reach, you would be wise to wait and see,” says Tom Becket of Psigma Investment Management.
However, it is important to remember that a 2 or 4 per cent holding is a comparatively small investment in a fund which may have dozens, or even a hundred, other companies in the portfolio.
Short-term price falls in one or even two stocks tend not to have too much of an impact. Moreover, fund managers will sell out of stocks they think are likely to fall further, to limit their losses.
Many will be seeking assurances from car firms that they have acted ethically. “We are in contact with Volkswagen and other car manufacturers and are intensifying our engagements in the light of the emissions scandal,” says Hans-Christoph Hirt of Hermes EOS.
He says Hermes’ fund managers will be at Volkswagen’s upcoming annual general meeting to give the management a grilling over the saga.
Provided the emissions scandal remains confined to Volkswagen, there are reasons to be positive on the outlook for other firms. “Car sales are solid in the US and consumption will lead the recovery in Europe,” Becket says.


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This is something that belongs both to restaurant tips as well as to local customs tips. So, you want to try something authentic, cheap, filling and not healthy at all? Berlin is the right place for this because for few Euros literally at every imaginable corner there is an Imbiss or some other place selling currywurst. Which is basically a fat sausage topped with ketchup and curry, served with potato chips. Berliners seem to enjoy eating this junk food, and sincethis is really a part of local custom one has to try it at least once when in Berlin. So I tried it. (Only once, tho ;)
Berlin is great for tourists on the budget because in every part of the town there are currywurst stands, turkish doner kebabs, nice sandwich bars or simply small shops selling fresh fruits and vegetables so there is no fear anyone could stay hungry.
Konnopke’s Imbiss is a Berlin ‘institution’. It opened for business in 1930 serving fast food to night workers. It continued in business after WW2 and the arrival of the GDR. It claims to have invented currywurst by accident in 1960. For those who have never tried it, it consist of a special type of sausage, a spicy tomato ketchup sprinkled with a curry powder. It is reputed to serve the best currywurst in Berlin and judging by the continuous queue outside its premises this would appear to be true. Having tried one for myself it certainly tastes very nice. A currywurst and a roll costs 2€, a currywurst & fries 3.40€. As you queue, purchase your drink at the first window before you reach the food window.
Favorite Dish: Currywurst, fries with a bread roll, with mayo on the fries and extra ketchup.
Fettnapf offers French, or better yet: Belgian fries - arguably the best fries in town.
One of the two owners is a professional interior designer the other one has previously worked with Eckart Witzigmann, one of Germany’s premier chefs. And it shows: Grease splatter and funny smells are not what you should expect. Instead you'll see a greyish-bluish interior with dark wood, a regal board with some good wine and a big Espresso machine replaced the usual cheap coffee maker.
At Fettnapf, they slice potatoes of a special variety into 10mm square slices and fry them using pure beef tallow at 140°C and than again at 160°C.
Top your fries with one of 20 different sauces - some of them are a bit ... well ... adventurous and don't go well with fries if you ask me, but truffles and others are great. Depending on what kind of fries you have ordered, the always friendly staff may garnish your cone with a cocktail tomato, parsley or wild boar shashlik.
That's probably not what the average construction worker would expect, but it's certainly something you'll remember for a while.
If you want, take your cone and stroll around beautiful Kollwitzplatz, but I suggest to stay and ask for a separate small bowl for the topping. This way, your fries stay hot longer.
Best Currywurst in town??
Maybe, but definitely belonging to top ten, perfect for a Berliner fast-food taste and a beer during your tour round Kreuzberg.
Favorite Dish: Just say: "Eine Currywurst bitte!"
Imbiss is a Berlin institution. It's a name of numerous fast food stands (like this one on my picture or located in a trailer) or small eating places (standing room only). Originally they served either German or Turkish food but nowadays I found Imbiss with Asian food served as well. Imbiss is a great option esp. for budget travelers.
Currywurst (sausage with curry sause) - 1.50
Wienerwurst lang (long, hot pig's sausage :-) - 1.70
Bockwurst (boiled sausage) - 1.70
Boulette - 2.00
Rostbratwurst (grilled sausage) - 1.80
Fleichspie? - 2.50
Pommes frites (potato chips/crisps)- 1.50
Kartofellsalat (potato salad) - 1.50
Nudelsalat (dumpling's salad) - 1.50
Extras: Br?tchen (a bun) o. Mayo o. Ketchup - 0.20
Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Lift 0.5 l - 1.50
Mineralwasser 0.5 l (San Benedetto, no sparkling) - 1.50
Berliner Kindl bier (beer) 0.33 l - 1.30
Multivitamin 0.33 l - 1.50
Kakao 0.25 l - 1.50
Kaffee (tasse = a cup) - 1.00
Bier vom Fass (draught beer - HB M?nchen 0.3 l) - 1.90
Guten apetite :-)
Favorite Dish: Currywurst (grilled, small sausages with curry sauce - hot!) served with potato chips/crisps for only 1.50 € ! If you don't like spicy food order "rostbratwurst " - large, grilled sausage in a bun; German, better version of hot dog :-) for 1.80 €.
Attributes that spring to mind to describe Piccola Italia: Eccentric, crowded, original, hectic - fantastic.
Their small pizzas are simply great, but don't expect to sit down, wait for a waiter to come and relax. Instead you place your order at one desk, pay in advance and 3 - 10 minutes later another sweating guy screams "al funghi" or "di Parma" or whatever you may have ordered. Squeeze yourself through other guests, show the guy your bill, take your pizza out and sit down outside on one of the two simple wooden benches if others are willing to close ranks. Enjoy.
Favorite Dish: Pizza *duh*
A German sausage with curry powder poured on it is a Berlin delicatessen in the fast food area. I certainly liked it, even though I had expected something more "unusual" bearing in mind all the fuss :))) You will find stalls everywhere in the city.
Where ever there is a market you will always find food. This imbiss is at the flea market Am Kupfergraben. A is traditional here you can get a Bratwurst in a bun with coffee or a cold Schultheis beer, which is a local Berlin brew.
Favorite Dish: Well I would say it has to be a roast brat!
There are a few different types of Imbiss now with more and more of thse popping up. Traditionally the Imbiss was German or Turkish food, but now you will find many that are Asian cuisine.
Favorite Dish: I love Chinese food so I would say most things. They usualy specialize with a fried noodle plate.
If you are missing all the regular fast food varieties then fear not as Berlin has about 50 McDonalds and plenty of other American fast food chains. We even have drive ins such as the McDrive, but most people prefer to sit in and eat! Most of the fast food restaurants are located in the western part of Berlin. Around Mitte you will find mostly German eateries!
If you are on a bit of abudget the best way to eat is form an Imbiss. These you will find all over the city and they offer typical German food ie bratwurst or schnitzel with pommes (fries) or you must try a dönar. Berlin has a large Turkish population and the dönar is found everywhere.
Favorite Dish: There is nothing quite like a dönar or Turkish pizza.
This is more an Imbiss than restaurant although it has about 10 tables and in the summer some tables on the street. When I first ate here it reminded me of dining in a guest house in Bangkok.
Favorite Dish: Definately the Phad Thai although most dishes are superb.
When you go around all day long and you don't have so much time for visiting everything you desire, maybe you don't have the time (or the will) to sit in a restaurant for haveing lunch. In Berlin there are lots of snacks and lots of places where you can stop and eat something. It's a quickly way to eat and a chep one. It cost less then a Mc Donald's and it's local food. You can find places that sell snacks everywhere in Berlin and most of them are really good. Obiusvly, you are not in a restaurant, but for a snack or for a quickly lunch it's a very good idea. I have tryed the local wurstels (all the kind) and i liked very much, so as id' like the Doner Kebab. Also the Doner can be found in lots of places and believe me..1 snack will not let you hungry! They usually use lots of onions, so if you want a quick snack before a first date with a girl..not the best choice you can have;-)
Favorite Dish: I liked all the kind of Wurstel i have tryed..the most famous is Currywurst, that is cooked in the way you see in the picture. A good way to eat it is searching for a quiet place where to sit and eat, maybe drinking a local beer.
This is an Imbis prefered by Berlin natives, who come very often there and get their wurst. They have about four or five Imbisses but the original one is that "at the harbour" (the small Tempelhof harbour). Its opened till 1am in the week and sometimes even later.
The Wurst is roasted over a Woodchars Grill that makes it really crispy, this is an unique method.
But the special thing on this is the sauce, the gipsy- or Zigeunersauce, kind of tomato onion sauce with few other ingredents, wich you can only eat at Maximillians
If you ask you get a bonuscard. Then you get a stamp for every wurst and the eleventh is free.
Favorite Dish: Rostbratwurst with Gipsy Sauce (Zigeunersauce), wich is only available at Maximillians
Just say "Eine mit Sauce" and they'll know.
Another topic of conversation which came up during our excellent dinner at Tiergartenquelle was the origins of "currywurst" which it so happened I was the leading authority, explaining that it was a post-WWII thing when an enterprisingly Berliner lady married the idea of German sausage to American-supplied tomato ketchup and British curry powder. How the enterprising lady procurred her ketchup and curry is to left to the imagination but anyway that's how it came about.
So for my last "meal" here in Germany (on this visit) I just had to grab a currywurst and being at Alexanderplatz the station's "Express" seemed the ideal place to do so.
As expected this tasted of sausage with ketchup and curry and was served very swiftly by a chirpy little counter assistant. Good fast-food buzz as people came, ate, disposed of their rubbish and left - plus very cheap too.

domain: food


NASA IMAGE: Soyuz MS-16 Spacecraft Docked to the International Space Station’s Poisk Module
By NASA // September 30, 2020
Expedition 63 will depart the station Oct. 21, 2020
(NASA) – Pictured is the Soyuz MS-16 crew ship, currently docked to the International Space Station’s Poisk module.
The is the same spacecraft that launched, and will bring home, Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy, Soyuz Commander Anatoly Ivanishin, and cosmonaut Ivan Vagner.
Expedition 63 will depart the station and land in Kazakhstan on Oct. 21, 2020.


text:
A couple of weeks ago Lynn @ The Vintage Nest and I took a trip to Leesburg to do some antiquing
and to see the Christmas Design House at Lucketts Store. It’s always fun to get together with your gal friends and especially if they love antiquing as much as you do.
Our first stop was in Fredericksburg at Swift Creek Farm’s Christmas Open House. Donna does such a wonderful job decorating for the holidays and this year the shop was beautiful and full of wonderful antiques.
In Leesburg we visited a couple of antique malls including the one with the cute pink polka dot silo.
Next on the agenda was Lucketts Store. You may have heard of Old Lucketts Store from Miss Mustard Seed. She rents space there and sells her antiques and other pretty items she creates. Each year Lucketts has a Christmas Design House where they completely decorate a two story home on the same property as the store. Not only is the home beautifully decorated, but everything in it is for sale.
Love this bed!
That evening Lynn and I hit the Pottery Barn, Williams And Sonoma and Restoration
Hardware Outlets. Can you believe I didn’t buy a thing?
The next day we had another full day of antiquing . On the way to Chartreuse’s Tag Sale we stumbled across a big church garage sale where we both picked up some Christmas ornaments.
Chartreuse has monthly barn sales and they always have really pretty and unique things. I bought
a large clock face and a demijohn that I will be showing you in a later post.
We headed back to Richmond but not before stopping at two other antique shops.
It was a really fun girls weekend.
Boy, I was pooped though!
Speaking of fun…
The ladies At The Picket Fence are hosting a Christmas Blogger Block Party this year and they
have asked me to join them again. You may remember last Summer’s Block
party where thousands of you linked to the party.
I will be hosting Holiday Dining on 12/8 so get those dining rooms decorated and tablescapes ready for photographing. Lets see some wonderful holiday recipes and DIY projects.
I will be having a fabulous giveaway during the party. The giveaway item is something I
have worked on for months. I love how it turned out and I hope you will too.
Please help us spread the word by grabbing the party button from my sidebar.
See you tomorrow night at the Open House Party.

domain: hobby


text:
Clinical Laboratory Director - CA CLIA certified
|Location:||San Diego, CA|
|Position:||Clinical Laboratory Director - CA CLIA certified|
Sapient Bioanalytics is seeking a part-time, board-certified Clinical Laboratory Director who meets CLIA guidelines. We are a well-funded early-stage biotech company offering high-throughput biomarker discovery that will enable translational medicine and accelerate drug discovery pipelines. We are standing up a CLIA lab to support our client's clinical trial efforts after our initial biomarker discovery pipeline. The Lab Director will lead our CLIA certification and the development of our Lab Developed Test efforts.
• M.D. or Ph.D. laboratory director, minimum of 3 years experience, with certification to act as a CLIA lab director in the state of California.
• Specialty in Clinical Chemistry is preferred.
• California LDS licensure required.
• Experience with CAP checklists, CLIA requirements, and rigorous approaches to Lab Develop Test validation. Experience with CE and FDA a plus.
• Experience developing/certifying mass spectrometry-based Lab Developed Tests required.
• Organizational and superior communication skills are a must.
If interested please contact Jean-Luc Chaubard at [email protected] with your resume. We look forward to hearing from you.

domain: chemistry


UK Policy Briefings
Spring Budget 2023: Social care and gender
Date Posted: Thursday 2nd March 2023
The crisis in social care didn’t start with the pandemic, nor with austerity. Even before the financial crash, underfunding meant increasing numbers of people with unmet needs, others paying catastrophic costs for their care, an underpaid and undervalued care workforce, and increasingly unsustainable demands being put on unpaid carers. Regional and income-based inequalities mean that the poorest local authorities are the ones with the greatest social care needs. The system is in urgent need of reform and better resourcing.
The Health and Social Care Levy, which was proposed as part of the government’s ‘Building Back Better: Our Plan for Health and Social Care’ in September 2021, has now been cancelled and the proposed reforms to the funding model delayed by a further two years to October 2025. However, the long-term funding that is so urgently needed for recurrent expenditure on social care cannot wait until the NHS no longer needs extra funds. The backlog of routine treatment, surgeries and tests may take 5 to 7 years to resolve, so the NHS is likely to need more than three years of additional funding and the pressures of an inadequate social care on the NHS will continue.
‘Between 2020/21 and 2021/22, social care vacancies rose by 52% to reach 165,000 and workforce shortages are only likely to increase.’
The Government has put forward no clear plan for improving the quality of care, the treatment of care workers or reducing unsustainably long hours of unpaid care. Over 90% of the new funding to social care will be absorbed by the new cap-and-floor model for allocating care costs between individuals and the state, rather than towards improving the system.The proposed model will result in many people still going without the care they need to avoid paying unaffordable costs. This will lead to continued reliance on families, especially women, to provide informal and unpaid care.
Addressing issues of shortages, deskilling and retention in the care workforce, of which 82% were women in 2021/2022, is one of the most pressing challenges facing the sector. The adult social care sector workforce is affected by high turnover, little investment in training, low pay, and the consistent undervaluing of care work.
‘Any model in which people have to pay for their own care means that many will go without the care they desperately need to avoid paying its costs.’
The net costs of a reformed care system must be funded by central government from general taxation. Expecting local authorities to increase funding on social care through council tax will inevitably widen regional inequalities. Those with the greatest care needs have the least ability to raise taxes and have already had to make the greatest reductions in services.
The Women’s Budget Group proposes instead a high-quality universal care service that is free at the point of need, supports wellbeing, self-determination and enhances capacities; trains and pays its staff appropriately in line with the Real Living Wage; and ensures that unpaid care is genuinely voluntary. Our modelling estimates that this would generate 928,000 jobs in the economy as a whole (in care and across the economy from multiplier effect and increased purchasing power) and cost £31.9bn gross annually, 44% of which would be recouped through additional revenues.


Irrigation in the Aspire Zone
It sounds like a fata morgana, but it becomes a reality. An area about fourty kilometers south of Doha is designated to be the testing ground for an improved fertility. For more than five million Dollars the Sahara Forest Project is intended to prove, that technical support can help nature to be productive in numerous ways. Food, drinking water and an additional yield of renewable energy. All this can be achieved hand in hand.
A parabolic solar power station is the heart of the construction. It produces electricity which is used for the desalination of sea water. A supplementary evaporation technology generates water for the irrigation of areas of arable land and greenhouses. Read more... (275 words, 1 image, estimated 1:06 mins reading time)


text: The Quorum Report’s Daily Buzz says that the Perry campaign sent out a Mike Baselice poll to supporters via e-mail, with no supporting information, that showed: Perry 49% Hutchison 36% Medina 5% That sounds reasonable to me. The November Texas Tribune/UT poll had Perry 42%, Hutchison 30%, Media 7%. This is hardly an apples to apples comparison, but, if both polls are accurate, the two leading candidates have picked up support since November. I offer a few words of caution to those who think the race is over. –Primary races are hard to poll accurately unless the polling operation goes to the expense to identify actual primary voters. Statements that a poll respondent intends to vote in a primary aren’t worth a lot. –While Perry has had everything going his way up to now, almost everything except one good TV spot for each side has taken place out of sight of most voters, on web sites and in back-and-forth press releases. Only the media and interested parties have followed it. The real campaign has not started. It will start when both candidates go up on TV with their main messages. That will probably be sometime next week. One good spot can win a primary race. Rick Perry knows this. That’s all it took for him, a political unknown at the time, to beat incumbent Democratic Jim Hightower for agriculture commissioner in 1990. –The unknown factor in this race is Perry fatigue. How many voters who today don’t care much about the race will wake up on March 2 and decide that they don’t want Perry to have another term? I am indebted to the Quorum Report for their item about this poll.


text:
This hotel is located next to Batam Center Ferry Terminal, diagonally opposite the Mega Mall. Room is huge and spacious with colourful theme. You must try the massage and it's really awesome. The food is good and affordable. We love the Nasi Goreng Kotak, very tasty and one order is never enough. I love the layout of the restaurant. It is open concept and modern. The entire lobby plus the lobby café looks very fruity. We love it!!!
In the room, they provided us with free aroma oil and it smells good. The bed and pillows are so very comfortable. I had a good night sleep without waking up !!!
Opposite the hotel, there are street stalls selling Indonesia cook food. Tried the satay... wow.. hot and good :)
Courtesy of TripAdvisor.com
01 May 2013
“Freaking awesome stay!!”
Hi all...Harris hotel batam center is really the best...friendly lovely staffs...great rooms...great view...great swimming pool...hahaa...yeah!all the facilities there are freaking awesome!...if u are looking to stay at batam, then Harris hotel is the stop that u are looking for!hurry up!dont wait!
Courtesy of TripAdvisor.com
17 Apr 2013
Nice place to stay
Very vibrant and exciting hotel to stay.friendly staffs.niCe location near to ferry terminal.food is excellent.room very comfy n large.will stay in hotel again next time visit Batam.very nice uniform.environment conducive.feel good in e hotel
Stayed January 2013, traveled as a couple
Mohammed fauzi H
15 Feb 2013
Clean hotel, Great location
Lobby bright and clean. Check in fast with a welcome drink, cookies and towel. All room requests honoured, room itself spic and span. Walking out of the ferry terminal, you'll find the hotel on your right. Megamall is just to the left, though smaller than the nagoya malls. If you need to kill time, 6 screen cinema in the mall
29 Jan 2013
Excellent and prompt services
I left my Samsung phone charger in the hotel and checked out after realizing when I returned to Singapore.
Hence, I sent an email to the hotel customer service to inquire about it without pinning much hope as from my past experience with other hotels. Nevertheless, the hotel staff get back to me on the next day and have it delivered to Singapore the very same day.
I would like to thank the Hotel for having such excellent service and I really feel that the hotel is very clean and nice to stay and very worth the value as the service and stay worth more than the price we paid. Furthermore, the room provides very nice aroma scent too.
Stayed January 2013, traveled on business
Singapore, null, Singapore
25 Jan 2013
Wish I Could Have Stayed Longer
It was newly built when I stayed there last November (I had to tick December in the options bcuz they only had backdated til then), almost over a year ago, with my partner. 3 days proved to be too short a time to be spent lazing in the hotel room. That's for sure.
On the day of our arrival, we were told to make a refundable deposit of 50 SGD at the check in counter. We weren't told beforehand, but we were prepared with extra cash, so thank God for that. The money was returned to us at the end of our stay, if that's what you guys were wondering.
Now. The rooms. We got the double deluxe, so the layout is like Singapore's Hotel Re!, for those who knows. Everything is orange, as is their theme.
They've got an infinity pool where one can dine by while admiring the ocean.
Their english needs improving though. There were posters with a number of grammatical and spelling mistakes which one cannot simply ignore. I think this was the only turn off I found within the grounds. I should actually applaud one particular lady who was then in charge of breakfast. She returned my smartphone to me just as I left the building for a shopping spree. She could have chosen to keep it instead, yet she was honest. THANK YOU, whoever you are!
Now on to efficiency. It IS situated just a stone's throw away from the ferry terminal, and also Mega Mall shopping Centre (Damn, it's awesome that you can smoke anywhere you want to). However, since the area is still undergoing changes to becoming a business sector of Batam, there is no entertainment nor any life nearby. There are pushcarts at night which sells glorious cheap satays, though - a life saver when you wanna just go down from your hotel room to get something local to munch on while flipping the cable tv. Speaking of which, they show Singapore channels as well.
Jump into a cab with the help of the security (he takes care of those things too) at the lobby. He will write you a receipt to show to the driver, since the taxis aren't metered. i.e a trip up to Nagoya Hills costs atleast 60 000 RP. What you should really do, apart from visiting the Miniature Park, zipping down the flying fox or having the must eat seafood beside the cake lapis factory, is to check out the 7 bridges which links all of Batam's tiny little islands together. All the good photos can be shot right there! And while you're at it, you could rent a bicycle and burn off some calories the fun way, right on the dirt. Explore the forest the local way!
Now go pack your luggage and head off to this wonderful place! Much better than Harris Resort, if you ask me!
Courtesy by Tripadvisor.com
10 Nov 2012
I stayed at this hotel on 1st-2nd of nov with a group of friends. Very nice hotel and love the room even though its simple and its spacious. A walking distance to Mega mall and Batam Center. Breakfast less very variety.. But overall the hotel and the staff was execellent..
Stayed November 2012, traveled with friends
Courtesy by Tripadvisor.com
03 Nov 2012
Hotel yang Bagus
Saya menginap disini untuk urusan bisnis. Lokasi hotel sangat strategis karena dekat dengan pelabuhan menuju Singapura dan bersebrangan dengan Mega Mall. Tidak repot membuat janji bertemu dengan kolega karena lokasi hotel yang sudah sangat dikenal. Hotelnya bagus dan bersih dengan nuansa interior didominasi warna orange dan hijau.
Kamarnya cukup luas dan bersih sekali. Nilai plus karena setiap kamar disediakan aroma therapy. Yang kurang menurut saya hanya amenities yang kurang komplit. View kamar saya menghadap ke Bukit Clara yang bertuliskan Welcome To Batam. Fasilitas kolam renang nya cukup baik hanya saja kalau siang terlalu menyengat. Fitness Center nya tidak terlalu besar, tapi cukuplah untuk memenuhi kebutuhan berolahraga. Puas menginap disini
Courtesy by Tripadvisor.com
29 Jul 2012
Excellent location for a one night stay :)
We took a 2D1N package and stayed at Harris Hotel Batam Center for the night. The location was great as the Megamall is just 5 mins walk from the hotel, and the return ferry terminal is just right next door. To get to the mall we just went to the ferry terminal and took the overhead bridge linking to it. The hotel is very new and fresh. The staff are very friendly and accommodating. Our room was spacious and had plenty of room if there was a need for an extra bed. The bed was very comfortable, with excellent pillows (4 on the bed and 1 extra in the cupboard!) and a nice quilt. It makes falling asleep very easy. Most of the rooms have connecting doors, so it's very handy for those traveling together. From our room we could see the welcome sign for Batam. The bathroom was also spacious and had everything we needed. The shower door closes well so no water seeped to the other area of the bathroom. The vanity table was big and as a female it was very much appreciated. I love how a corner of the bathroom wall is opaque glass so that if you were to leave the bathroom light on it naturally creates a night light for the bedroom. We had our breakfast in the morning and the spread was quite nice. I especially love the eggs station and the bread and butter pudding! However I did not find any vanilla sauce for the bread and butter pudding, so maybe if it was provided that would have made it perfect. Other than that small little detail, there was nothing we could fault about our stay there! Courtesy of TripAdvisor.com
01 Feb 2012
Excellent service, and price
This is the first time for me to go to Batam before i travelled to Singapore. As an Indonesian people, i like the way you educate your staff and the way you manage your building. Seems your building looks small but when i enter the hotel, its all gone. Your staff hospitality is nice and so friendly. But perhaps could you reduce more salt on your food because not everyone like to eat a salty food.... Your rooms are cleans, your food nice (a litle bit salty), staf hospitality A+. Last suggestions: dont you put some trees near hotel so when we walk from Batam Centre Ferry, we dont got directly sunlight? Overall score A+ for your hotel, and good luck. See you next time whem i stay over there Stayed January 2012, traveled solo Courtesy of TripAdvisor.com
04 Jan 2012

domain: travel


text:
Connecticut’s automotive retailers are hoping they can convince Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to drop two controversial tax proposals by translating them into a term he has used repeatedly since taking office: jobs.
The retailers contend Malloy’s plans to impose the sales tax on automobile trade-ins, and to charge a luxury tax on vehicles worth more than $50,000, will result in new car dealerships cutting more than 730 sales and repair jobs.
“Trade-ins are such an important part of our business. This would be a huge hit for our industry,” Art Schaller Jr., chairman of the Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association, said.
The association, which includes 245 dealerships – almost all of which sell new cars – was scheduled to outline its concerns to Malloy at a breakfast meeting Thursday in the state armory in Hartford.
“I absolutely believe that if these tax changes are implemented, it is going to cost enough business in our industry that we’re going to have to lay people off” throughout the state, added Schaller, who operates dealerships in Manchester, Middletown and New Britain and whose family has been in the business since 1953.
At issue is the governor’s proposal to impose sales tax on vehicle trade-ins, which currently are not subject to that levy in Connecticut.
Under the existing law, a potential new car customer trading in a used car for $10,000 to a dealer not only can deduct $10,000 from the purchase price, but effectively saves another $600. That represents the amount of sales tax–based on the current 6 percent rate–that otherwise would have to be paid on the new car purchase.
Malloy’s budget also calls for the base sales tax rate to rise to 6.25 percent, increasing the potential savings on that $10,000 trade-in to $625.
Some potential customers may pay the higher tax, the association says, but others will try to negotiate with the dealer to assume some or all of that extra cost, or scrap the intended sale entirely. Under each of the last two scenarios, dealerships lose money.
Those customers who accept the added tax burden and plan to finance their purchase may need to borrow more, and thereby incur higher interest costs, the association says. It estimates that consumers financing a new purchase over five years would pay an extra $1,012.
Schaller said potential deals can fall apart over as little as $50, adding that the surprise some customers might encounter at paying sales tax on a long-exempt area like trade-ins would scuttle plenty of sales.
The Malloy administration estimates ending the exemption on trade-ins would raise $40 million extra next year. Another $1.2 million would be produced by adding a luxury surcharge of 3 percentage points to the sales tax on luxury goods, including vehicles costing more than $50,000.
But the new car dealerships contends that if the $6.6 billion in annual sales they did in 2009 falls between 20 and 25 percent–as commerce did nearly 40 years ago when a trade-in tax was imposed briefly in Maine–dealers’ revenues would fall more than $1.5 billion and state government would lose more than $90 million in annual sales tax receipts.
Similarly, the dealerships earn $1.03 billion annually on parts and vehicle service, but estimate that if 30 percent of its customer base purchases their next vehicle in neighboring states–and take them to out-of-state dealerships for regular service–more than $300 million in earnings would be lost. And that translates into $19.25 million in further lost sales tax revenue for Connecticut.
More importantly, said association president James Fleming, the 245 new car dealers in the group each expects such revenue losses would mean eliminating 2 to 3 jobs on average per dealership. That translates into as many as 735 jobs lost, he said.
But Malloy’s budget director, Office of Policy and Management Secretary Benjamin Barnes, said new car dealers likely would pass along the added costs to consumers rather than reduce staff and scale back a “highly lucrative” repair business.
Both association officials and Barnes also agree that the recent recession thinned the ranks of new car dealerships in Connecticut–from about 320 down to 245 according to Fleming–and Barnes said this leaves the survivors poised to make considerable profits as car market recovers.
Leaders of the Democrat-controlled General Assembly have been relatively quiet about the sales tax proposals, or the $1.5 billion in total new taxes Malloy has proposed to help balance the next state budget.
Senate Majority Leader Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, former co-chairman of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee, said that while many of the governor’s proposals to close sales tax exemptions are unpleasant, he believes most lawmakers understand unusual efforts are necessary to close a projected deficit ranging from $3.2 billion to $3.7 billion for next fiscal year.
“None of them are popular but I think many people recognize that most of them probably are necessary,” he said.
Republican lawmakers uniformly have opposed the Democratic governor’s tax increase proposals though, to date, they haven’t offered any spending cuts as an alternative.
Sen. Andrew Roraback of Goshen, ranking GOP senator on the finance panel, said the administration should get ready for more jobs-based counter-arguments similar to those of the new car dealers.
“I take him at his word when he says ‘Connecticut is open for business and this is all about jobs,’” Roraback said. “The more you tax something, the less you have of it. And I take it that the people being taxed would be more than happy to help the administration gather the requisite information about what stands to be lost.”

domain: finance


Glossary - A's
Abrasion (r) the surface loss of a material due to frictional forces.
Absorption the penetration of matter in bulk into other matter, as in dissolving of a gas by a liquid.
Accelerator (r) a compounding material used in small amounts with a vulcanizing agent to increase the speed of vulcanization.
Accelerator, delayed action (r) an accelerator that, in conjunction with other curing agent(s), produces, at vulcanizing temperatures, a period of no significant cross-linking, followed by a period of rapid cross-link formation.
Accuracy a concept of exactness. When applied to a test method, it denotes the extent to which bias is absent; when applied to a measured value, it denotes the extent to which both bias and random error are absent.
Activator (r) compounding material used in small proportions to increase the effectiveness of an accelerator.
Adhesion failure (r) the loss of structural integrity due to the separation of two bonded surfaces at the bond interface.
Adsorption the surface retention of matter by other matter.
Agglomerate, latex (r) a cluster of rubber particles in a colloidal aqueous suspension of such particles.
Agglomerates (r) clusters of particles of compounding materials contained in a continuous rubber phase.
Aging (act of) (r) exposure of materials to a deteriorating environment for a specified time interval.
Aging (r) the irreversible change of material properties during exposure to a deteriorating environment for a specified time interval.
Aliphatic straight-chain hydrocarbons. Three sub-groups are alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes.
Alloy (r) a unique composition of two or more polymers that has one or more of the polymers treated or processed in a special way to confer enhanced performance characteristics on the resulting material.
Alpha particle a positively charged particle consisting of two protons and two neutrons.
Amorphous materials with no definite arrangement of atoms.
Ampere or Amp a unit of current—the rate at which electrons move past a reference point.
Angstrom (Å) a unit of length, an angstrom is one ten-thousandth of a micron (10-4 µm) or 100,000,000 Å=1 cm.
Anisotropic (sc) an etch process that exhibits little or no undercutting.
Anneal (sc) a high-temperature processing step, designed to minimize stress in the crystal structure of the wafer.
Anticoagulant (r) a substance added to field latex to retard bacterial action which would otherwise cause rapid coagulation of the latex.
Antidegradant (r) a compounding material used to retard deterioration caused by oxidation, ozone, light and combinations of these.
Anti-extrusion ring (r) a thin ring installed on the low pressure side of a seal to prevent elastomer extrusion into the clearance gap.
Antiflex cracking agent (r) a compounding material used to retard cracking caused by cyclic deformations.
Antioxidant (r) compounding material used to retard deterioration caused by oxidation.
Antiozonant (r) compounding material used to retard deterioration caused by ozone.
Antistatic agent (r) a material which reduces the tendency for accumulation of electric charge on the surface of an article.
Aromatic oil a hydrocarbon process oil containing at least 35%, by mass, of aromatic hydrocarbons.
Ash (r) the residue from incineration of a material under specified conditions.
Ashing (sc) the process of removing photoresist with oxygen plasma.
Atmospheric-pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) (sc) a method for depositing layers at atmospheric pressure.
Attenuation a reduction in intensity of energy traveling through a medium or space.
Autoclave (r) a vessel used for vulcanizing rubber compounds by means of steam pressure.
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The wait is almost over for Sam Smith fans.
The 25-year-old British singer made an exciting announcement Thursday on Instagram: new music is coming soon.
Smith penned a heartfelt note to his followers, first thanking them for their support and patience before revealing that a record is on the way.
“To my beautiful fans, first of all I want to say thank you. Thank you for being so patient and for letting me have the past year to really escape into my mind & write music so freely. I feel so rejuvenated and have so many stories I can’t wait to tell you,” wrote the Grammy-winning artist.
“I have missed you all desperately, and a day hasn’t gone by when I haven’t been looking at all your comments & dreaming of singing with you all again,” he continued.
“The wait is so nearly over. Something is coming very very very soon. I am scared & excited at the same time. I’ve poured my soul and heart into this record,” he added. “Love you all, and see you in the not so distant future.”
VIDEO: VMAs by the Numbers
Smith’s debut album, In the Lonely Hour, was released in the U.S. in June 2014.
In an interview with the Associated Press last year, Smith said of his upcoming new album: “I’m putting my heart even more out on the f—— line.”
“I’m going even deeper,” he added. “I can’t believe I’m even doing it, but I’m going even deeper.”
This Story Originally Appeared On People

domain: celebrity


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How long can you go without getting protein before muscle loss?
approximately how long can i go after a hard weightlifting session before getting a high protein/carb meal? because I work out at bally total fitness health club, and i ride the bus, so after a hard weightlifting workout, I have to get home before I can have that high protein/carb meal maybe it takes me about 40-70 minutes to get home on the bus. By the way i'm 18, 6'0" 160 Ilbs, been lifting for like 15 weeks now, so far training has been good, but still want more mass. So, can a protein bar, or protein shake right after my workout at bally's be okay? until I get home, because I can put a protein bar or shake in my locker, and what should I do and not do to avoid any muscle breakdown? I dont want no muscle loss!!!! I appreciate any feedback thank u all sincerely!!!!!

domain: health


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Victims of violent crimes involving firearms are more likely to report severe psychological distress compared with victims of crimes involving other weapons, according to an observational study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Researchers from Columbia University and the University of California, Davis, reviewed cross-sectional data from the nationally representative National Crime Victimization Survey to evaluate the association between firearm-related violent crime and severe distress and issues with social function. Participants of the survey were aged 12 years or older and had experienced a violent crime up to 6 months before interview.
The survey relied on self-report to determine whether a weapon was involved in the incident. Study investigators compared violent victimizations involving firearms (n=715) with crimes involving a different weapon (n=1054) or no weapon (n=5350). Survey participants reported whether they experienced distress or dysfunction in their social life, including school and work, after the event.
Approximately 26% of survey respondents reported experiencing severe distress after a victimization, whereas 27% of participants said they experienced problems with friends or family or at work or school. Compared with victims of violent crimes involving other weapons, victims of firearm-related victimizations were significantly more likely to report having severe distress after the incident (prevalence ratio, 1.27 [95% CI, 1.06-1.51]).
In addition, firearm-related victimization was associated with severe distress more often than victimization involving no weapons (prevalence ratio, 1.63 [CI, 1.38-1.93]). There was no significant difference among groups in regard to social functioning.
The findings from this study are limited by the reliance on self-reported distress data. In addition, the study was unable to determine whether distress-related responses were associated with the incident in question or another event.
“These findings suggest that firearm violence has unique negative effects on mental health in addition to well-understood effects on physical health,” the researchers concluded. “They also highlight the emotional costs that might be avoided by investing in efforts to prevent firearm violence.”
Kagawa RMC, Cerdá M, Rudolph KE, Pear VA, Keyes KM, Wintemute GJ. Firearm involvement in violent victimization and mental health: an observational study [published online June 19, 2018]. Ann Intern Med. doi: 10.7326/M18-0365

domain: sociology


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The twin thrones have been removed much to the outrage of Crystar, but Feldspar, the regent of Crystalium feels it is for the best as the brothers, Crystar and Moltar, are not yet ready to rule. Feldspar has come to the realization that they may never be ready and so as regent, he has restored their father’s single throne and has taken it upon himself to rule until the twins might be able to do so. After last issue’s battle, Stalax remains injured and nobody knows exactly how to heal the wounds incurred to their crystalline forms including Ogeode, the wizard who represents the side of Order and the man who helped to transform them. The crystal warriors are not the only ones with concerns at the moment as Moltar and Lavour thought Zardeth would have granted them enough power to defeat Crystar and the fact that they have not done so makes them just a little angry. Mary Jo Duffy and Bret Blevins craft another fine tale that tells us not everything is all sunshine and lollipops on either side of the fence, including that of the citizens themselves who consider both Moltar and Crystar a monster. It is a very interesting perspective and it is good to see that Duffy has covered all the angles of the brothers resulting transformations and the fallout that came from them. The book also introduces a new character in Ika, Ogeode’s sorcerer daughter whom he makes take the transformation process so he might be able to determine exactly how the process affected the bodies of those that already did and in so doing, hopefully find a cure for Stalax. The book is left on a bit of a cliff-hanger as to the fate of our hero, but with only two issues in, you know that the man whose name is in the title of the book is most likely going to be okay. Or so you would hope.
4 out of 5


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The great gatsby by f scott fitzgerald, jay gatsby is a self-made man, famed for his decadent champagne-drenched parties an elegy for the american dream. Jay gatsby in f scott fitzgerald's the great gatsby and willy loman in arthur miller's death of a salesman are both american men in pursuit of the american dream - that is, to acquire wealth, success, and prestige. F scott fitzgerald (1896-1940) was an american writer born in minnesota some of his well-known works include this side of paradise and the great gatsby read more. The american dream as portrayed in great gatsby by f scott fitzgerald essay sample the american dream is interwoven and deeply embedded in every fabric of american life it has also been the focal point of many novels in american literature.
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Ah, but what a scrap of weeds.
"Look, if we can establish plants in the shipping channel, it can play a big role in bringing life back to this part of the river," said Christopher Alvarado, an associate senior planner at the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission.
Alvarado points across the Cuyahoga to a narrow row of green nested against the rust-brown steel walls of the shipping channel of the river.
"If we can do this here -- bring plant, bug and fish life back to a dead part of the river -- it can have an impact on other places in the Great Lakes region."
The plants now lining a small, maybe 30-foot-long section of the bulkhead on the west bank of the river near the turning basin at ArcelorMittal Steel aren't weeds, of course. They're actually a carefully selected collection of native grasses, sedges and other aquatic plants growing atop mats or mini floating islands chained to steely sides of the river.
And they're the newest weapons in taking back the Cuyahoga.
The floating islands -- essentially, 4-foot-by-6-foot or smaller rafts -- have been placed along the steel bulkheads as a way to mimic the leafy, green banks of a naturally healthy river.
Similar technology, referred to as bio-engineering because it uses man-made devices to mimic biological functions, is being used increasingly around the world to help restore waterways, including lakes in Wisconsin and Montana, although for different reasons.
Planners have been trying various methods in the Cuyahoga, including teaming up with college student designers at the Cleveland Institute of Art, who have been trying other biomimicry methods to solve water quality issues.
In a river like the Cuyahoga, however, the mats can't be placed in the center of the water because they would be crushed by passing ships.
So they must hug the banks here, but planners are hopeful they'll establish themselves, survive the rough Cleveland winters and become a key stopping point and source of food (the aquatic organisms living with the plants) for fish migrating upstream.
Fish usually don't make it up the river now because without plant life along the banks, they've got nowhere to eat the bugs that live among vegetation and nowhere to hide from predators. In a healthy river, fish swim upstream from the lake to spawn.
There have been plenty of other environmental victories along the 100-mile, crooked length of the Cuyahoga since its public relations and environmental nadir -- the 1969 fire that shamed the city, but helped galvanize a green movement.
But the river remains virtually devoid of life in its final mile on its way to Lake Erie.
The problem is that the river's one-mile-long shipping channel is lined on both sides with those hulking steel walls. The century-old containment system does a great job keeping the river wide enough for ships, but a lousy job of sustaining aquatic life.
The floating islands and mats project, in its second summer, is the latest in a series of experiments along the bulkheads to bring life back to the lower river that began in 2005, when Cuyahoga County received a federal grant to begin investigating "green bulkheads."
By 2007, planners introduced something they called Cuyahoga Hanging Underwater Baskets -- basically, several hundred planters hanging down into the water from the recessed areas of the bulkheads.
The baskets are still in the plan, but these two new entries into the race to green the Cuyahoga are different in that they both float atop the water. Right now, the baskets are underwater because of an exceptionally wet summer and high-flowing river.
This new skirmish in the war for the Cuyahoga has been fought for the last four or five years by several government groups -- including the planning commission, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Cleveland Metroparks and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers supplied some of the money for the projects and the steel mill has granted access to the riverbanks along Dille Road, west of Independence Road.
The data on stream flow and the number of aquatic organisms visiting the plants is sent to a team at Cleveland State University, where grad students crunch the numbers on stream flow, plant growth and the survival of other aquatic organisms.
So far, the team has precious little data to go by, though, Alvarado said.
"Remember, you're talking about creatures about the size of those old 'Sea Monkeys' you used to get when you were a kid," Alvarado said. "So this is pretty fine work."
Which means that no one yet knows what might eventually work along the steel-lined mouth of the Cuyahoga.
"It is my professional opinion that if we can design a [basket] model that floats with the changing water level, that these will be successful, since they are protected in the recessed areas of the bulkhead," said CSU professor Julie A. Wolin. We still need to see how the plants and floating islands and B-mats survive over the winter."
Alvarado is certain that something will someday finally work well.
"This has consumed me for the last five years and we're making progress," he said. "We'll keep trying ideas until we find something that gives fish a chance to thrive here."
Contact Michael Scott: firstname.lastname@example.org; on Twitter, @MichaelScott81


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TORONTO, Dec. 10, 2019 /CNW/ - Unifor is encouraged by announced amendments to the CUSMA, which clear the path to ratification of a deal to replace the damaging NAFTA trade agreement.
"NAFTA has been a train-wreck of a trade deal for 25 years, causing great harm to Canada's manufacturing industries and the rights of workers," said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. "The new CUSMA, while far from perfect, provides a road map to implement necessary changes in trade policy to benefit workers. The improvements announced today are a helpful boost in achieving those objectives."
Representatives from the United States, Mexico, and Canada signed the amended CUSMA today in Mexico City, following months of negotiation. Amendments include fixes to the dispute settlement system, the removal of damaging patent term extensions for prescription drugs, improvements that strengthen labour and environment chapter commitments and a new, unprecedented bilateral 'rapid response' mechanism for investigating and policing labour violations.
While CUSMA improves rules of origin for auto manufacturing, there are outstanding questions on how new requirements on North American steel and aluminum will apply. Reports suggest that primary aluminum slabs sourced from countries like China could qualify as North American content.
"The 70 per cent regional content provisions for steel and aluminum were intended to bolster North American production, not production from oversees suppliers," said Dias. "There can be no loopholes that undermine the integrity of the deal. The North American aluminum industry is large enough to supply the needs of the domestic auto industry now and well into the future."
Unifor is disappointed that CUSMA also fails to address punitive tariffs imposed on Canadian softwood, which have left entire communities struggling as the industry awaits international tribunal rulings.
The union will closely examine the new CUSMA over the coming days to review specific language and further analyze the impact of the agreement.
"Like any trade deal the devil will be in the details," Dias stressed. "Specifically, we will be looking at the enforceability of key requirements to see if the deal can live up to its promise once enacted."
Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.
For further information: Media inquiries call Unifor Communications Representative Kathleen O'Keefe at [email protected] or 416-896-3303 (cell).


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While there were rumors regarding Deshaun Watson not reporting to training camp for the Texans most of the offseason it would have been surprising if those rumors were true. According to Ian Rapoport while Watson is not happy with the team he will indeed report to training camp today.
Quarterbacks are reporting today in Houston, and #Texans QB Deshaun Watson is expected to be among them, source said. He’s showing up for testing to begin entry into training camp. However, Watson’s stance about the organization and desire to be traded remains unchanged.— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 25, 2021
As with every potential veteran holdout in the NFL, Watson would have been subject to mandatory $50,000 per day fines if he held out of camp, which is the reason why so many of the players unhappy with their contracts have reported. But the financial penalties could have been more severe for Watson than other players.
Watson signed his contract just last summer and the contract contained just under $112 million in guarantees. Watson still has $82.54 million in salary guarantees remaining in the contract of which $45.54 million is fully guaranteed with the balance becoming guaranteed in 2022. Standard contract language in the NFL would typically void any and all future guarantees if Watson was to fail to report to the team or leave the team without their consent.
While normally that would not be an issue for a player of Watson’s talent level (a player like Watson would be a free agent for about 5 seconds), there are still off field issues hanging over him which could impact how quickly he would be signed and/or for how much. Reporting keeps Watson in good standing from a contractual perspective while the next steps play out with the league.