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Janet Yellen might have the most powerful job in the world, as the Federal Reserve she now chairs controls what might be the world's most powerful printing press.
We take a closer look at what her reign might mean for investors' portfolios.
Yellen's half-pipe dream: Hope is not a strategy?
Serving on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in 2008 as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Yellen has been praised for grasping the severity of the financial crisis early on. Leaving aside that 2008 was a little late to prepare for the crisis, let's try to find out what type of central banker Yellen is.
There's the dreamer. Back in 2003, the then head of the European Central Bank said: "We hope and pray that the global adjustment process will be slow and gradual." This served as the catalyst for us to re-engineer our investment advisory business — if central bankers revert to hopes and prayers, so I thought, it's time for investors to take precautions. The "global adjustment process" is a codename for the U.S. current account deficit. The "slow and gradual" is a thinly veiled reference to a possible U.S. dollar crash.
There's the ivory tower academic. Ben Bernanke, in turn, was a student of the Great Depression. He had a guiding philosophy: when faced with a credit bust, forcefully deploy monetary policy to reflate the economy. On various occasions, he emphasized that raising rates too early during the Great Depression was one of the biggest policy mistakes of the time. Our interpretation: the Fed all but promises to be late in raising rates, wants to err on the side of inflation. That's because, according to our interpretation of Bernanke's philosophy, taking the foot off the accelerator too early could cause deflationary forces to take over, undoing any "progress." We call it an ivory tower academic view, as the theory does not take into account the side effects, namely other bubbles, that might be created along the way. We further think the theory is altogether broken, as we believe monetary policy affects prices, but does not generate wealth.
There's the Yellen Fed. So what about the Yellen Fed? A couple of observations:
• Yellen is humorous. In the recently released transcript of the Dec. 16, 2008, FOMC meeting, she said: "An accounting joke concerning the balance sheets of many financial institutions is now making the rounds, and it summarizes the situation as follows: On the left-hand side, nothing is right; and on the right-hand side, nothing is left."
• In the Jan. 21, 2008, FOMC meeting, she was explicit about her concerns about the economy, stating: "I think the risk of a severe recession and credit crisis is unacceptably high."
• However, during the June 2008 FOMC meeting, she talked about raising interest rates: "I favor alternative B with the proposed wording. Given the forecast and the risks around it, our next move on the funds rate is likely to be up."
• During Yellen's confirmation hearings in late 2013 to become Fed chair, she stated the Fed might return to a more normal monetary policy when the economy is back to normal. We have pointed out that this is an oxymoron, as we don't think the economy can return back to normal when the Fed meddles with the price discovery process and the process of efficient capital allocation.
• Yellen is a labor economist and has taken keen interest in looking at unemployment numbers at a deeper level than just the headline unemployment numbers reported. During Yellen's testimony to the House this month, she consulted with colleagues when asked what the definition of a part-time employee is according to the number of hours worked. Given that different definitions are used by the Department of Labor and, for example, what is used in the Affordable Care Act, Yellen should be excused for consulting with colleagues when grilled by Congress and under oath; however, given that her home turf is the labor market, her hesitation did raise some eyebrows.
• Yellen is on record supporting a "modified Taylor rule" in setting monetary policy. Unlike the Taylor rule that defines the level of interest rates based on inflation, Yellen's preferred metric heavily emphasizes employment. However, during the above-mentioned testimony, she distanced herself from the modified Taylor rule. Yellen argued that a sensible approach requires a qualitative assessment given that the Taylor rule (or a modified Taylor rule) would have required negative nominal interest rates.
• Merk Senior Economic Advisor and former St. Louis Fed President Bill Poole has pointed out that, according to his recollection, Yellen has never objected to being called a monetary dove.
In trying to use a positive word to summarize these observations, let me choose the term "pragmatic." "Freestyle" may be another way of coining her approach to monetary policy. As her June 2008 comments suggest, however, her forecasts are not always right. And neither would one expect that from any human being.
Unfortunately it is fallible human beings controlling the printing presses of the world. When they make mistakes, it might have major implications. It's one reason why we believe printing trillions may not be prudent, because there just might be unintended consequences. Of course, no physical currency has been printed, but virtual currency is created literally with the stroke of a keyboard when the Fed buys Treasurys or mortgage-backed securities.
Here's the problem with a "freestyle" approach: the market doesn't like uncertainty. It's not aided by the fact that the Fed itself may be flying blind. That's because the Fed is manipulating its own gauges to assess the health of the economy. By buying Treasury securities throughout the yield curve (short-term, as well as long-term Treasurys), the Fed is looking itself in the mirror. Instead, the Fed has to look at backward looking indicators, i.e. read the tealeaves on unemployment numbers. That lack of certainty, the lack of predictable leadership, is fertile ground for volatility.
Is Yellen's freestyle approach hazardous to emerging markets?
As we discussed in more depth in a recent article
, weak emerging markets might be the biggest victim of Yellen's freestyle approach. Lacking the liquidity of developed markets, an uptick in volatility might cause investors to run for a small exit. We have seen much of that unfold since last spring when the Fed "taper" talk first flared up. In a nutshell, countries that had major inflows of money when the Fed's policies were highly expansionary, but had few investment opportunities, saw a bidding up of local government securities. As the tide appears to have turned, it's comparatively easy to sell these securities — except, of course, that these markets aren't all that liquid to begin with, so any selling might cause significant headaches to investors.
The more advanced emerging markets are far better equipped to handle the volatility, as money was more likely invested in real projects. In our assessment, countries are better off that have features such as a reliable rule of law, a mature banking system, a domestic and offshore fixed-income market, sound monetary policy and a reliable regulatory environment. The more advanced Asian economies have many of these features.
Weaker countries like Brazil and South Africa might lose out; however, there may be exceptions among the weaker players. We are more positive on India, notably because of ongoing structural reform and comparatively low asset prices.
A country worth mentioning is China. The volatility of its currency, while still low compared with that of free-floating major currencies, has spiked, causing some hot money to run for the hills. However, the increased volatility is very much in line with the goals of China's foreign exchange regulator. Increased exchange rate volatility encourages the market to find an equilibrium rate at which there are buyers for every seller and sellers for every buyer, among non-central bank participants.
Can investors position their portfolio to win a medal?
In most events in the winter Olympics, skill and speed appear to be pre-requisites to win a medal. If skill corresponds to a high beta (risk) investment, anyone aiming at speed better have skill. Now think of Yellen altering your racecourse, except that she won't tell you the modifications she is making. To survive such a course, it might be prudent to slow it down a bit.
The challenge is that you are competing with others who have learned full speed is the way to win the course. Translating this to the world of investing, I believe it was fund manager John Hussman that first said, "The problem with bubbles is that they force one to decide whether to look like an idiot before the peak, or an idiot after the peak."
In our assessment, there is too much complacency in the markets (for an in-depth discussion on complacency, please read our Feb. 11, 2014, article
). The stock market, as well as various economic indicators, very much build on asset price inflation the Fed has engineered. The trouble is that asset price inflation can evaporate rather quickly. The time to take the chips of the table is before, not after a bubble bursts.
If Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp is not the sign of a bubble, I don't know what is. Keep in mind, however, the old market adage that markets can stay irrational longer than investors can stay solvent. As such, taking chips off the table might be prudent.
But if one does not participate in an event (if one is out of stocks), how can one win a medal?
A couple of thoughts to leave you with here:
• Warren Buffett was ridiculed for not investing in tech stocks in the 1990s. Yet, at the end of the day, he did just fine.
• In our assessment, investing is about finding values, not chasing trends. Those chasing trends are destined to invest at the top, only to lose money when markets correct.
• With central banks heavily engaged in the markets, asset prices may not reflect fundamentals. That's the bad news. The good news is that we think our policymakers are reasonably predictable. Even Yellen can be understood — she just might be tougher to read than Bernanke was. But studying her and other policymakers might provide clues to help position one's portfolio.
• The gold and currency markets may be the purest plays on what we call the "mania of policymakers." Gold may benefit as policymakers in the United States and abroad continue to "kick the can down the road," and currency investing may allow investors to stay a step ahead of the game in currency wars.
We manage the Merk Hard Currency Fund, the Merk Asian Currency Fund, the Merk Absolute Return Currency Fund, as well as the Merk Currency Enhanced U.S. Equity Fund.
Axel Merk, President & CIO of Merk Investments, LLC, is an expert on hard money, macro trends and international investing. He is considered an authority on currencies.
© 2024 Newsmax Finance. All rights reserved.

domain: economics


text: This past General Conference weekend was a not only uplifting, but was a time that I was able to work on some fun Springy projects as well. Here are two necklaces that I made for my little jewelry queen. I made the knotted one a while ago. Everywhere we went she got so many compliments that I decided to make more. She likes to call them a "neckset" because she thinks they are similar to bracelets, or "braceset." I will have a few of these available in my blog shop, which should be opening anytime now!

domain: artistic


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Many people say “I think I have OCD because I can’t stand having my house a mess” Or “I must I have OCD because stand the way my coworkers do things” Some of these people may have OCD. However I find some people don’t fully understand what Obsessive Compulsive Disorder entails. It’s not just the outward compulsions eg hand washing, checking the doors, and reorganizing the work space. There’s also a mental aspect to it there’s normally a reason even if we don’t know it to the compulsions. We have anxiety built up around these compulsions and when we don’t do them our mind freaks out a bit.
Part of my treatment plan is to find compulsions that are low on my anxiety that we can stop doing or try to reworking. My compulsions is….LAUGH IF YOU WANT TO (I DO!)…using Whit-Out on my To-Lists and rough drafts. Things that NO ONE is going to see! LOL!
I get how silly that sounds! I just can’t stand seeing the mistake. However it’s manageable anxiety that I can rationalize with affirmations like “No one is going to see this. You are going to throw this away when you’re done.” And YES I repeat this if I have to while writing my list or draft, but it has been working. I am also on medication which helps with the anxiety but that’s a different blog for a different day.

domain: psychology


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Educators, policymakers, and university and foundation officials gathered here in search of ways to help paraprofessionals make the leap to teaching.
Many consider the goal a vital one at a time when the gap between the number of minority students and minority teachers widens. Many classroom aides and noncertified employees are members of minority groups, and policymakers have long sought to help them step into full-time teaching. (See Education Week, 5/17/95.)
But paraprofessionals who want to teach often face formidable obstacles. Many work long hours, have children at home, and do not have the money for education courses and books.
In addition, many programs that provide a route to teaching are overbooked or underfunded, said David Haselkorn, the president of Recruiting New Teachers Inc., an organization that promotes precollegiate and other programs that stir interest in the profession.
Participants at the June 9-11 meeting organized by the Belmont, Mass.-based group explored new ways to spread the word--and drum up money--for the patchwork of programs designed to help paraprofessionals.
The discussions are expected to provide grist for the nonprofit organization’s “Breaking the Class Ceiling,” a national report on the status of aide-to-teacher programs scheduled to be released in the fall.
The DeWitt Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund--which is underwriting the upcoming report--was also the major source of funding for the conference. The federal government already supports many paraprofessional-to-teacher programs. And philanthropies such as DeWitt Wallace and the Ford Foundation have poured millions of dollars into those efforts.
Many participants here testified that the movement is spreading in states and local schools, with help from universities, districts, unions, and others.
Nationally, about 150 aide-to-teacher programs are now preparing some 11,000 new teachers, according to Recruiting New Teachers. More than two-thirds are minorities.
Already, about 10,000 former aides hold teaching jobs.
In addition to targeting members of minority groups, many aide-to-teacher programs address another pressing problem: critical shortages of teachers in fields such as bilingual and special education.
By the time classroom aides become teachers, most already have a grounding in sound education practices, participants here said.
More than half the people in the training programs are in their 30’s and 40’s, bringing years of experience to their new profession, said Mildred Hudson, the program officer for Pathways to Teaching Careers.
Unlike most new teachers, “paraprofessionals don’t need three years of acculturation,” said Mahesh C. Sharma, the dean of education programs at Cambridge College in Massachusetts.
Teachers who start as classroom aides are less likely to bail out of the profession after only a few years, he added.
Barbara Gordon-Cobb, a former paraprofessional who now teaches in Hartford, Conn., chalked that persistence up to aides’ strong ties to their neighborhood schools, since many choose to work in them. And, she said, former aides are often more comfortable with a diverse student body, since many are members of minority groups themselves.
Lack of Money, Space
Michael Genzuk, the director of the University of Southern California’s Latino Teacher Project, said aide-to-teacher efforts give school officials a chance to see how prospective teachers perform, since they are already working in the system.
In its study, Recruiting New Teachers found that about half the programs had to turn away qualified people for lack of money. And about a quarter had to pass over candidates for lack of space.
“It’s not that people aren’t out there” who want to climb the ladder into teaching, Mr. Haselkorn said. “It’s about the will to train those people.”
A version of this article appeared in the June 21, 1995 edition of Education Week as Advocates Beat Drum for Para-to-Teacher Programs

domain: news


text: I’m honored to be working with the great sir anthony hopkins. we just added him to the stellar cast of #Noah; #methuselahlives.As director said the cast is already looking really strong with Russell Crowe, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Douglas Booth and Jennifer Connelly all on board. Winstone is reportedly set to play the role of the nemesis to Crowe’s titular character; Watson plays Ila, a young woman who develops a close relationship with Noah’s son, Shem. That role will be played by Booth, with Lerman playing Noah’s other son, Ham; Connelly plays Noah’s wife, Naameh. Described as a close adaptation of the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark, in a world ravaged by human sin, Noah is given a divine mission: to build an Ark to save creation from the coming flood. Due to extra-biblical tradition Methuselah was the son of Enoch and the grandfather of Noah who died at the age of 969, seven days before the beginning of the Great Flood; according to Rashion Genesis 7:4, God delayed the Flood specifically because of the seven days of mourning in honor of the righteous Methuselah. The Noah film is currently filming and is scheduled for a March 28th, 2014 release date.


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President Michael Driscoll has declared this Friday, November 16, Crimson Hawks Day! Everyone is encouraged to wear their IUP gear in a show of team spirit for the Hawks as they head into the NCAA Division II Super Region 1 Football Championships on Saturday.
The Hawks host the Shepherd University Rams here at George P. Miller Stadium. Kick-off is at noon.
IUP enters the NCAAs seeded third, fresh from their 41–10 win over Shippensburg in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship game on November 10.
It's the first time IUP has won the PSAC title since 1987. (The PSAC discontinued the championship game from 1988 through 2008.)
The Rams are seeded sixth.
For more information, see
Game Day Central.


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Sanjeev Kumar Best Movies
Sanjeev Kumar Best Movies is the collection of top bollywood movies of Sanjeev Kumar. Sanjeev Kumar was one of the most prominent Indian actors in Bollywood. He made his debut in the film Hum Hindustani in 1960. Sanjeev’s first film as a hero was the 1965 Nishan. He played opposite the famous actor Dilip Kumar in Sangharsh (1967). In 1970, Khilona made him a star. He did nine films with Gulzar, including Aandhi (1975), Mausam (1975), Angoor (1981) and Namkeen (1982). His best-remembered roles were in the blockbuster films Sholay (1975) and Trishul (1978).
Sanjeev Kumar Best Movie – Arjun Pandit (1976)
Arjun Pandit is a 1976 best drama movie directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. It is one of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s memorable creations. Ashok Kumar played the role of a village doctor, assisted by Sanjeev Kumar whom he converted from an illiterate villager to a compounder.
Actors – Sanjeev Kumar, Srividya and Ashok Kumar
Director – Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Sanjeev Kumar Best Movie – Zindagi (1976)
Zindagi is a 1976 Hindi drama movie produced by Romu Sippy and directed by Ravi Tandon. Raghu Shukla (Sanjeev Kumar) lives in a small town in India with his wife, Sarojini; two sons – Naresh and Ramesh, who are married to Sudha and Shobha respectively, and altogether have three children, an unmarried daughter, Seema, who is away studying in a hostel, and a nephew named Prabhu.
Actors – Mala Sinha, Sanjeev Kumar and Vinod Mehra
Director – Ravi Tandon
Sanjeev Kumar Best Movie – Angoor (1982)
Angoor is a 1982 best Hindi comedy movie. It is based on Shakespeare’s play The Comedy of Errors. The film is about two pairs of identical twins separated at birth and how the circumstances go haywire when they meet in adulthood. R. Tilak lives in Dinkapur with his widowed mother, and a servant named Bahadur. He travels to another town on a business trip to buy several acres of grape-bearing trees, with Bahadur accompanying him.
Actors – Sanjeev Kumar, Moushumi Chatterjee and Deven Verma
Director – Gulzar
Sanjeev Kumar Best Movie – Yaadgaar (1984)
Yaadgaar is a 1984 best action and comedy film directed by Narayana Rao Dasari. After the passing of his father, an unemployed slacker-trouble-maker faces many challenges and humiliation when he goes to live with his married sister and her family.
Director – Narayana Rao Dasari
Sanjeev Kumar Best Movie – Sholay (1975)
Sholay is a 1975 best action-adventure movie produced by G.P. Sippy and directed by his son Ramesh Sippy. It ran for 286 weeks straight (more than five years) in one Mumbai theatre. Sholay achieved a still-standing record of 60 golden jubilees (50 consecutive weeks) across India. Sholay is one of the best ever made in Hindi movies. After his family is murdered by a notorious and ruthless bandit, a former police officer enlists the services of two outlaws to capture him.
Director – Ramesh Sippy
Sanjeev Kumar Best Movie – Itni Si Baat (1981)
Itni Si Baat is a 1981 best comedy movie directed by Madhu M.One day while travelling on the BEST bus in Bombay, Raja produces a 100 rupee note to buy a 50 paisa bus ticket, and is made fun of by the bus conductor, and asked to leave the bus. Asha, who is travelling on the same bus, pays for his fare, and he tells her that he will re-pay this loan after he gets some change.
Actors – Sanjeev Kumar, Moushumi Chatterjee and Arun Govil
Director – Madhu M.
Sanjeev Kumar Best Movie – Manchali (1973)
Manchali is a 1973 best comedy and romantic movie, directed by Rajendra Bhatia. Manchali is that story you never actually read but know by heart. A rogue and spoilt girl from a rich family hires a husband who apparently is from a poor family for reason as obscure as ‘her chacha is not exactly keeping well and she must get married’. Then she sleeps on the King sized bed with almost as much pillow material as needed to cover her flesh and makes the poor-guy-on-hire sleep on balcony.
Actors – Sanjeev Kumar, Leena Chandavarkar and Nazima
Director – Rajendra Bhatia
Sanjeev Kumar Best Movie – Griha Pravesh (1979)
Griha Pravesh is a 1979 best drama film directed by Basu Bhattacharya. Amar and Mansi meet through their respective families and have an arranged marriage. Amar, a book-keeper, is very thrifty, intends to save money so that they can buy their very own flat, and both to live as frugally as possible. Mansi soon gives birth to a baby boy, Bablu.
Actors – Sanjeev Kumar, Sharmila Tagore and Sarika
Director – Basu Bhattacharya
Sanjeev Kumar Best Movie – Yehi Hai Zindagi (1977)
Yehi Hai Zindagi is a 1977 best Hindi comedy and drama film. Produced by B.Nagi Reddy the film is directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan. Anand Narayan comes from a poor family, which consists of his wife, Gayetri, daughter, Kamla, and two sons Madhu and Govind. Through hard work, Anand starts on his way to success. He meets with Nekiram, who becomes his business partner, and also his samdhi (in-law) as his daughter is in love with Madhu. Both get married in a simple ceremony.
Actors – Sanjeev Kumar, Utpal Dutt and David Abraham
Director – K.S. Sethumadhavan
Sanjeev Kumar Best Movie – Trishna (1978)
Trishna is a 1978 best Hindi drama movie, directed by Anil Ganguly. Dr. Sunil Gupta lives a wealthy lifestyle with his wife, Aarti. Although they have been married for several years, they do not have any children. Aarti did get pregnant once, but failed to conceive. Aarti decides to travel to take a break in their Khandala bungalow, which is also in the neighborhood of Aarti’s sister Vidya, her son, Raju and her husband’s house.
Director – Anil Ganguly
Sanjeev Kumar Best Movie – Andhi (1975)
Aandhi is a 1975 best romantic and drama movie supposedly based on then-prime minister Indira Gandhi’s life, but in reality, it was inspired by Tarkeshwari Sinha, apart from Indira Gandhi. It was directed by Gulzar. J.K. is a hotel Manager in a scenic location in India. One day he gallantly comes to the rescue of a drunk daughter, Aarti, of a politician, and chooses to be discrete about it. When she recovers, she and he fall in love; get married in a small marriage ceremony, have a daughter, and thereafter differences arise to such an extent that they decide to separate.
Actors – Suchitra Sen, Sanjeev Kumar and Om Shivpuri
Director – Gulzar


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Purchase this article with an account.
Hiroko Taniguchi, MingCong Wang, Atsuo Nakajima, Junko Hori; Ocular Immune Pathological Analysis in a Murine Model of Anterior Scleritis. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2012;53(14):6246.
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© ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)
As the sclera comprises type II collagen, scleritis is often associated with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. We have previously reported the establishment of an anterior scleritis model through modification of a collagen-induced arthritis model. The present study conducted ocular immunological analysis in this same model to investigate the scleritis pathology.
Arthritis and anterior scleritis were induced in 8-week-old DBA/1J mice via subcutaneous injection of bovine type II collagen emulsified with complete Freund’s adjuvant into the posterior neck (primary immunization) and 21 days later into the periocular region (secondary immunization). Eyeballs were excised at 3, 5 and 8 weeks after secondary immunization and analyzed histologically and immunohistologically.
Clinical findings comprised severe arthritis and dilation of scleral blood vessels. Anterior scleral thickening was observed histologically, with significantly more inflammatory infiltrating cells in the anterior sclera compared to control mice. Infiltration of CD4+ and CD11b+ cells was observed, but no CD11c+ cells were present, while deposition of plasma cells (CD138), complement (C3) and immunoglobulin (IgG and IgM) was particularly evident in the region of the anterior sclera in contact with the ciliary body.
T cells, macrophages, plasma cells, complement and immunoglobulins were present in the sclera of the collagen-induced anterior scleritis model, suggesting the involvement of immunocomplex deposition in the induced scleritis of the present model.
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domain: medical


text:
The Artisan Baker Hardback
Learn how to create mouthwatering bakes, and get great results every time, with professional pastry chef Ori Hellerstein Ori's passion for baking is translated onto the page, with easy-to-follow recipes that are packed full of flavour.
From a textured wild-rice loaf and aubergine & feta triangles, to decadent Nutella brioches and date baklava.
- Format: Hardback
- Pages: 192 pages
- Publisher: Eddison Books Ltd
- Publication Date: 22/10/2015
- Category: General cookery & recipes
- ISBN: 9781859063965

domain: food


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Tommasi Casisano Brunello di Montalcino 0.75L
Type: red, dry
Flavour: fruity notes of dried fruit, blackberry and black currant alternate with vanilla, pepper, tobacco and earthy nuances.
Country, region of origin: Italy, Toscana
Pairings: seasoned cheeses, game
Payment and receipt of the chosen goods is carried out at the ticket office of the Heinemann Duty Free shop, located on the second floor of the international departure area. Payment is made at prices set on the day of payment. Prices for goods on the day of payment may differ from the prices on the day of execution.

domain: geography


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Conveniently located and easily accessible Riga presents a great historical and cultural hub to plan your next trip to. Straddling the border between Tallinn and Vilnius, it is also less than an hour and a half from Stockholm and Moscow. Continue reading “Why to pack your suitcase immediately and head to Riga?”
© 2018 Elena Bubeeva, All Rights Reserved.
The 25th IAVE World Volunteer Conference just came to the end yesterday.
Held since 1970, this event brings together the third sector practitioners from around the world and serves as a main meeting point to exchange ideas and experiences around volunteerism. Continue reading “Bringing Volunteerism and Sustainable Tourism together: a Case of the Great Baikal Trail Project”
Sustainable Travel International is a non-profit organization that works towards better tourism. Based in the USA, it strives for the right balance between economic development, green growth, and protection of natural and cultural assets globally. Continue reading “Join 10 MILLION BETTER Campaign now”
Rich in mountains and hiking trails Armenia is a real treasure for adventure and eco-tourists. Continue reading “What’s up, Armenia?”
Without the participation of intuition, sensibility, and understanding, photography is nothing. All these faculties must be closely harnessed, and it is then that the capture of a rare picture becomes a real physical delight (Henri Cartier-Bresson).
Life is so full of little enjoyable occurancies we often stop noticing at our day-to-day frenetic pace. That’s why every now and then I like to step outdoors with my camera hanging from the shoulder. Nowhere else as on nature, a timeless muse, you can feel so sensitive to the beauty of the surrounding world. Either unusual patterns found in leaves or Zen-like calmness of water, all natural scenes and landscapes have a story to share. Take a minute and get your moment of delight. All photographs are taken with Canon EOS 100 D.
© 2018 Elena Bubeeva, All Rights Reserved
As a part of contractual work I was involved into the tourism promotion project of the Ministry of the Republic of Buryatia. Within this project Buryatia was presented for the first time in its history at ITB 2018 – the world’s largest tourism trade fair – that takes place annually in Berlin. Continue reading “Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Buryatia”
During my time with COTRI firstly as a communications intern and later as a project manager I got insights into functioning of a small company. Continue reading “China Outbound Tourism Research Institute COTRI”

domain: travel


About the job Quality Assurance Manager
Ogilvy is looking for a keen, decisive and detail oriented Quality Assurance Manager to join the digital team. The individual must be technically skilled with strong understanding of responsive, cross browser and device testing.
Main Job Tasks and Responsibilities
- Interpret and implement quality assurance standards
- Evaluate adequacy of quality assurance standards
- Devise sampling procedures and directions for recording and reporting quality data
- Review the implementation and efficiency of quality and inspection systems
- Plan, conduct and monitor testing and inspection of Design to Development and to ensure that the finished product is within QA quality with supporting documents.
- Document internal audits and other quality assurance activities
- Collect and compile statistical quality data Site Audits
- Analyse User Interface/User Journey Experience to identify areas for improvement in the Web system and quality
- Prepare reports to communicate outcomes of quality activities
- Evaluate audit findings and implement appropriate corrective actions
- Learning relevant applications (user functionality and basic design).
- Requirements gathering and analysis, basic coding.
- On-going problem analysis.
- Testing, using various methodologies on different levels.
- Issue management; logging, follow-up, resolution.
- Managing deliverables, deadlines
Education and Experience
- Digital Design, Front-End experience
- Advantage QA technical Skills
- Strong computer skills
- Knowledge of tools, concepts and methodologies of QA
- Excellent knowledge of responsive, cross-platform and browser testing for multimedia delivery.
- Identifying and analysing defects, logging defects and tracking defect resolution within release time frames.
- Active working knowledge of industry standard bug tracking software, for example Jira.
- Providing feedback to the development and project management team, ensuring that the work is carried out in accordance with the schedule and the quality requirements.
- Analysing wireframes, creating test plans and test scripts, executing test plans.
- Front-end and back-end testing.
- Knowledge of OS X and Windows environments; Android and iOS.
- 2 – 3 years’ experience
- Communication skills - verbal and written
- Data collection, management and analysis
- Problem analysis and problem solving
- Planning and organizing
- Ability to work alone or as part of team in order to achieve deliverables.
- Strong hands-on manual testing abilities with minimal specification documentation.
- Strong attention to detail, accurate, and quality conscious.


An Application in Autonomous Robot Programming.
PhD thesis of Carla Maria CHAGAS e CAVALCANTE KOIKE (2005)
Autonomous sensory-motor systems, situated in dynamic environments, must continuously answer the ultimate question: how to control motor commands knowing sensory inputs?
Solving this question is a very complex problem, because a huge flow of information must be treated under several restrictions: real-time constraints, bounded memory space, and limited processing power. One additional and major challenge is to deal with incomplete and imprecise information, usually occurring in dynamic environments.
In this thesis, we address the problem of controlling autonomous sensory-motor systems and propose a succession of cumulative hypotheses and simplifications. They are defined within a precise and strict mathematical framework, called Bayesian programming, an extension of Bayesian networks.
This succession consists of five stages: Utilisation of internal states; First-order Markov assumption, stationarity and Bayesian filters; Exploiting partial independence; Addition of behaviour selection mechanism; and addition of Attention focusing.
The validity of these hypotheses can be discussed and challenged. However, the corresponding inferences and resulting decisions are derived mathematically. Each description of a stage is followed by its analysis according to memory requirement, processing complexity, and difficulty of modelling. Further discussions regarding robot programming and cognitive modelling points of view are also presented. Finally, we describe an implementation on a mobile robot. The results demonstrate that the proposed framework is adequate for practical purposes.


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Monday, July 13, 2009
I am such a home body it's almost ridiculous. I woke up early, even after getting to bed quite late (darn addicting computer games) and had a series of phone calls I needed to make. I accomplished those quite quickly and then I was completing my general computer tasks. After that I was ready to leave for the errands I needed to do. I was hoping to get Barrett in to see the vet today, but we got an appointment for tomorrow. OK, that was out. I was hoping I'd get a call saying the inks I had ordered were in and I could go pick those up. Then I realized it was Monday and the store was closed. I had already dressed in decent clothes, but I could change and go to the barn...but I didn't. I realized I needed to start working on submissions for a photo contest, and then there was the big project I needed to start for my aunt's Christmas present (I sew slowly), there were lots of things I needed to do at home. So...I'm staying here. Hopefully I'll be able to complete several tasks and make good inroads into others.

domain: hobby


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SMILE Day Care
Anonymous tips against the Haymarket woman led authorities to determine she had assaulted two school-age children in her care.
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Only On 7
Cop Cruiser Crashes happen more often than you think in the Washington area. Are officers being held accountable? And should you be paying the price? The I-Team investigates MONDAY on ABC7 News at 11 after "Castle."


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Feb 13, 2015 "An Internet power: Tell the world that the Chinese dream is uplifting China."
Feb 9, 2015 New report says connected autos cars are even more vulnerable to online breaches.
Feb 3, 2015 What may change if FCC starts treating Internet service providers like utilities.
Feb 2, 2015 48 hours worth of video is uploaded every minute—Policing content is problematic.
Jan 30, 2015 What happens when a country's economy crashes?
Feb 26, 2015 Here's what the term means and why Americans are lobbying the FCC to keep the policy in place.
Jan 27, 2015 Google builds relationships as it teaches companies how to improve online presence.
Jan 9, 2015 Companies' merger was once hailed as the leading edge of a new age, the Internet.
Dec 24, 2014 Rich Russians eager to move their money are snapping up pricey London houses.


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“ Our thoughts are with the people of Japan” said Sharon Rensenhouse, President of Mano’s Gifts. “The Salvation Army has helped millions of people in their times of need and we are proud to be a part of that and help out however we can.”
Kansas City, MO (PRWEB) March 27, 2011
For the 6-week period of March 21 to April 30, 2011, Mano’s Corporate Gifts will donate 20% of all website sales to The Salvation Army Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. This donation is part of Mano’s Gifts’ continuing initiative to support both local and world communities in areas and times of need.
You can donate to The Salvation Army Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund by visiting the Mano’s Gifts website at http://www.manosgifts.com and sending a gourmet food and/or wine gift basket to a loved one, employee or client. A donation equal to 20% of all sales will be made following the April 30th deadline.
Mano's Gifts is a corporate gift company in Kansas City, Missouri. Designing and creating gift baskets of all types, Mano’s has been filling Client’s needs since 1982, as well as offering promotional items ranging from anti-bacterial hand wipes to zip-up fleece jackets.
For more information contact Mano’s at 877-627-0545 or email to orders(at)manosgifts(dot)com.
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Al Roker visits Metro Detroit to see General Motors’ plan for the future of electric vehicles
ORION, me. – General Motors’ drive to go fully electric is attracting national attention.
Local 4’s Devin Scillian went to an assembly plant to see why Al Roker wanted to check out plans for an electric drive himself.
Al Roker is just as much a part of the American morning as a cup of coffee.
He worked on the Today Show for 25 years. A year and a half ago, Roker was named head of NBC’s climate unit, which has taken him around the globe to focus on the environment.
Most recently, he was at General Motors’ Orion assembly plant.
Roker spent time with GM President Mark Reuss while adhering to social distancing protocols, each in his own all-electric Chevy Bolt.
You can see Al Roker’s tour of GM’s Orion assembly plant and GM’s electrical plans on Tuesday’s third hour of the Today Show at 9am
According to General Motors, an electric version of the Chevrolet Silverado pickup will have an estimated range of 400 miles per charge.
The company announced the range in a webcast on Tuesday, saying the truck will be built at a factory on the border between Detroit and the Hamtramck enclave. It was also announced that the plant will build the new 2024 GMC Hummer SUV.
The announcement of the pickup increases competition for future buyers in the hot truck market. Ford has already announced plans to start building an electric F-150 in Dearborn, Michigan starting next year, while Fiat Chrysler (now Stellantis) has announced it will have an all-electric Ram pickup truck.
Click here to read more.
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Is Chipotle Launching a New Brand?
Chipotle may be venturing out to find more opportunities within the fast-casual food industry. While expanding the number of new locations nationally and implementing more successful Chipotlelanes is already in the works, an entirely new brand concept could also be in the mix.
Inside a new Kitchen United Mix food hall opening in Santa Monica, Calif. this month, will be a new restaurant called Farmesa, which could be a new part of the Chipotle Mexican Grill company.
Restaurant Business reports that SP Kitchens LLC filed for the trademark of Farmesa, with names such as "Farmesa Fresh Ingredient Kitchen" and "Farmesa, a Fresh Eatery." The trademark business lists Chipotle's headquarters (in Newport Beach, Calif.) as the primary address for the new brand concept.
Farmesa is set to produce a menu full of "fresh California bowls" using ingredients that are real and wholesome, according to an Indeed job listing. And similar to Chipotle, the new restaurant concept focuses mainly on sourcing quality ingredients and supporting farmers by using locally grown produce. Jobs at Farmesa start with a pay of $17.50 per hour, per the job post.
While this speculation that ties Farmesa and Chipotle together is still unconfirmed, we've seen this Tex-Mex-inspired chain introduce new and unique varieties of proteins, gift hardcore fans with fun merch, and even promise to turn an obsessive trend on social media into a permanent menu item. The fast-casual spot has never been shy about taking business in a new direction, but we will have to wait and see if it makes a profit or if it ends up coming short of the company standard.
We've seen the Tex-Mex-inspired chain test ghost kitchens, as well as launch a range of both successful and unsuccessful business ideas.
Back in 2011, Chipotle started up the ShopHouse Asian Kitchen, serving up made-to-order rice bowls and saucy Asian-style noodles. But due to a massive food safety scandal and a drop in sales, all locations of the brand were closed in 2017.
Another not-so-successful business Chipotle took on was a concept called Tasty Made, which created classic "In-N-Out-styled" burgers for the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. With only two years of being open, from 2016 to 2018, Chipotle pulled the burger joint from moving forward, because many customers complained that the food was mainly mediocre.
The lasting remaining venture Chipolte holds, outside of the original business model, is Pizzeria Locale, based in Colorado. The pizza shop was inspired by the simple neighborhood pizzerias one can find in Naples and has expanded to five different locations in the Denver area.
Chipotle has not responded to comment at this time.