The Fourth of July is one of my favorite times to entertain. Yes, the holiday itself is fun, but I have to be honest--I love the idea of red, white and blue food.
To me, the holiday is a great excuse to make fun things out of fresh, healthy summer berries--which are just about my favorite things on earth.
They also happen to be some of my kid's favorite things.
When we throw parties, or I am cooking with my daughter, we often dream up red, white and blue for things like our pancakes or ice cubes. Sometimes I like to take it one step further and create red, white and blue salads and cakes.
You could spend a small fortune decking out your festive food for the holiday, but there is a way to keep the fun quotient high and the budget quotient low. In fact, if you have a few staples lying around, all of these goodies ring up at $10 or under.
To view the slide show in one long list, click into the show and choose "list view."
CARACAS, Venezuela ?Southern Baptist missionary Joe Busching casually approaches the Venezuelan college students laughing and chatting on the campus lawn. After striking up a conversation, he asks if they?d answer a few simple questions. The students agree.
?What do you think about God?? Busching, from Georgia, asks the first young man. The student shrugs.
?I guess you?d say I?m agnostic, but I don?t really believe in God,? he says. ?I mean, it?s fine for other people, but I just don?t think He exists.?
Busching turns to another student.
?What do you think happens when you die?? asks Busching, an International Mission Board missionary in Caracas, Venezuela.
?I?m not really sure,? the student replies. ?Maybe if I?ve been a good person, I?ll go to heaven. But it?s more likely nothing will happen.?
Other students echo these beliefs at more than a dozen universities across Caracas, including the University of Caracas, where about 70,000 students attend. While many students claim to be Catholic because of their culture or family history, most are either non-practicing or, in some cases, openly atheist. A few are involved in local indigenous cults rooted in witchcraft and idol worship.
?Pray for open doors?
About 5 million people live in Caracas, and only about 1 percent of them are evangelicals, IMB missionaries say. Thousands of the spiritually lost are students.
To reach them, IMB missionary Susanne Arnold helps Venezuelan Christian students in local churches begin campus Bible studies.
?My heart is to see students coming to study the Bible,? says Arnold, from Missouri.? ?Even if they aren?t Christians, they need a safe place where they can come and ask questions.?
So far, Arnold has helped students begin Bible studies at three universities. Leading a Bible study in English opens doors for evangelism by attracting students who want to learn English. But sometimes the schools push back. Proficiency in English is a graduation requirement for many universities, so school officials don?t want free English help competing with paid classes.
?We need something ministry-minded but not threatening,? Arnold says. ?We?re still figuring out the best way to do it. Pray for open doors on university campuses and for students who are already Christians to rise up and take hold of the vision to share the Gospel. Pray for the church [to see] their responsibility in the Great Commission.?
Workplace evangelism
IMB missionaries and their Venezuelan colleagues are praying for open doors among another unreached segment of Caracas society, too.
If you?re one of the 5 million people living in Caracas, you?re either rich or poor. There?s little in between. Most of the population lives in the dangerous, impoverished slums that sprawl across the mountains surrounding the city. But casting a wide shadow over the slums, the skyscrapers of the professional district represent the wealthiest ? and least-evangelized ? part of Caracas.
?The people who live in that area are rich, cultured, self-sufficient and have little interest in spiritual things,? says IMB missionary Mike Bennett, who is developing some new ways to reach professionals. ?Their life is work and making more money, so somehow or another we have to reach them with the Gospel, and traditional evangelism techniques won?t work.?
Because of these professionals? hectic schedules, it?s nearly impossible to get them to attend home Bible studies after work, Bennett says.
?Even though they might have the desire [to attend], they don?t have the energy,? explains Bennett, a Tennessean. ?So I think we have to [take] the Gospel to them where they?re working. We?ve started praying that the Lord would burden [Venezuelans] to ? reach their colleagues for Christ where they work and that they would see their workplace as a mission field.?
So far, Venezuelan believers have begun several at-work Bible studies in Caracas and a nearby city. In one hospital, the director of the Intensive Care Unit began a weekly Bible study for her colleagues and led several of them to Christ. Those employees then began sharing Christ with their patients. Dozens of them, many on their deathbeds, have accepted Christ.
At one company, Christians began workplace Bible studies that eventually gained international attention. The Gospel changed the lives of the workers so much that productivity increased and employees became much more positive ? so positive, in fact, that the European owners of the company traveled to Venezuela to see what was happening. When a few employees complained about the Bible studies, the owners responded that they fully supported whatever it was that was raising profits and decreasing employee conflict.
One believer who works at a university began a weekly on-campus Bible study for her co-workers. She now has 30 people attending every Friday morning. About half of them are new believers.
A ?complete? professional
A busy lifestyle isn?t the only obstacle in reaching Venezuelan professionals, Bennett says.
While many of them live in financial comfort, they often suffer from poor self-esteem and are unhappy, he says. Bennett organizes conferences on values designed to teach a professional how to be more successful and content in his work and personal life. These events address topics like success, integrity and peace in the home. They also focus on self-esteem and how to establish an identity in Christ.
Attendees are then invited to follow-up seminars and ?formation groups.?
?If you invite a professional to a Bible study, you won?t get anybody to come,? Bennett explains. ?So we say a formation group is going to help you become a well-rounded person. We will teach you how to become successful professionally, as a parent and how to be successful spiritually, because we believe that a complete professional is all these things.?
Bennett is encouraged by the number of people who have accepted Christ through these formation groups and by the growing initiative of Venezuelan believers to witness for Christ in their workplace. Still, most professionals in Venezuela remain unreached.
Bennett requests prayer that God will work among the hearts of these professionals.
?Pray that they will humble themselves and realize their need for a Savior,? he says, ?and that God will raise up more [Venezuelan] believers to reach their own people in the workplace.?
To learn more about how God is working in Caracas, go to latinmegacities.com.
?
Emily Pearson is an International Mission Board missionary living in the Americas.?
On Monday, June 25th, Communications Coordinator Aymen Abdel Halim participated in a press conference hosted by the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC) on the election results in Egypt.
The speakers included Lena Kasi Touliemat of CIOGC, Eiman Abdelmoneim of the Sereen Foundation,?Ousama Jammal of the Mosque Foundation and the Muslim American Society,?Thaer Ahmad ? board member of American Muslims For Palestine,?Dr. ?Mohammed Kaiseruddin of the Muslim Community Center Director, Cameel Halim ? chairman of the Coptic Assembly of America, and Egyptian community activists Ola Ezat, Sara Shams, Nabila Alexander, and Sonia Hassan.
CAIR-Chicago supports the courageous revolutionary efforts in Egypt to bring about a democratic electoral process based on principles of freedom, justice, and equality for all.
The newly elected Mohammad Morsi, will be Egypt?s fifth president, and the first from outside of the military. He is also the first president to win ?in a competitive election.
The Egyptian military has promised to transfer power to the newly elected leader, however military generals have shut down the democratically elected Muslim-led parliament.
The Egyptian people are now anxiously calling for the military to end its rule, and waiting to see the democratic process they are fighting for finally take shape.
The 2012 elections reflect a momentous time in Egyptian history ? one that elevates standards for government and elected officials ? one that holds their leaders accountable ? and one that reflects the dreams and aspirations of millions of people.
Social media power youth political participationPublic release date: 26-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: William Harms w-harms@uchicago.edu 773-702-8356 University of Chicago
No digital divide found in participation among ethnic groups
The MacArthur Research Network on Youth and Participatory Politics (YPP), under the direction of co-principal investigators University of Chicago political scientist Cathy Cohen, and Joseph Kahne, professor of education at Mills College, has unveiled the findings of the largest nationally representative study to date of new media and politics among young people.
The national survey questioned 3,000 young people, ages 15-25 on how they use the Internet, social media and engage in politics. Unlike any prior study on the topic, the YPP survey included large numbers of black, Latino, and Asian American respondents, allowing for unique statistical comparisons across race. The data present one of the most complete pictures to date of how young people are using new media in new ways to engage politically, providing relevant insights on both the long-term political picture in America and the upcoming 2012 election.
The study report, Participatory Politics: New Media and Youth Political Action shows that contrary to the traditional notion of a technological digital divide, substantial numbers of young people across racial and ethic groups are engaging in "participatory politics" acts such as starting a political group online, circulating a blog about a political issue, or forwarding political videos to friends. Like traditional political acts, these acts address issues of public concern. The difference is that participatory acts are interactive, peer-based, and do not defer to elites or formal institutions. They are also tied to digital or new media platforms that facilitate and amplify young people's actions.
"As the 2012 election approaches, it is important to realize how young people, especially youth of color, are using new media to amplify their voices in the political realm," said Cohen, the David and Mary Winton Green Professor in Political Science. "Not only did we find that large numbers of youth take part in participatory politics, but, defying conventional expectations, black and Asian-American youth are the most avid users of new media for friendship and interest-driven activities. Moreover, black youth participate in online forms of participatory politics at rates equal to or slightly higher than white, Latino and Asian-American youth."
"Anyone who cares about democracy needs to pay attention to this important dimension of politics for young peopleparticipatory politics spread information, mobilize individuals to act, and provide many ways for youth to voice their perspectives," said Kahne. "But there are challenges. These politics also spread misinformation, and they may promote voice more than influence. When we asked young people if they thought they and their friends would benefit from learning more about how to tell if online information was trustworthy, 84% said, 'Yes!' In massive numbers, youth are saying they need help with digital media literacy."
The YPP national survey and analysis of the data was supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, whose $100-million digital media and learning initiative aims to determine how digital media are changing the way young people learn, play, socialize, and participate in civic life. The research was conducted by Kahne and Cohen and a team of three researchers: Benjamin Bowyer and Ellen Middaugh at Mills College and Jon Rogowski at the University of Chicago. The study has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Among the key findings:
Access to and Use of Internet and Social Media
Large proportions of young people across racial and ethnic groups have access to the Internet and use online social media regularly to stay connected to their family and friends and pursue interests and hobbies.
A majority or near-majority of white (51%), black (57%), Latino (49%), and Asian American (52%) youth report sending messages, sharing status updates and links, or chatting online daily.
Participatory politics are an important dimension of politics
41% of young people engaged in at least one act of participatory politics during the prior 12 months, while 44% participated in other acts of politics.
Specifically, 43% of white, 41% of black, 38% of Latino, and 36% of Asian American youth participated in at least one act of participatory politics during the prior 12 months.
Participatory politics are an addition to an individual's engagement rather than an alternative to other political activities:
U.S. citizens who were 18 or older and who engaged in at least one act of participatory politics were twice as likely to report voting in the November 2010 elections as those who did not engage in participatory politics.
A large proportion37% of all young peopleengages in both participatory and institutional politics.
Among young people who engage in participatory policies, 90% of them either vote or engage in other forms of politics.
Participatory politics are equitably distributed across different racial and ethnic groups
Contrary to the notion of a technological digital divide, the YPP study finds that overwhelmingly, white (96%), black (94%), Latino (96%) and Asian American (98%) youth report having access to a computer that connects to the Internet.
The difference in voting in 2008 between the group with the highest rate of turnout according to the U. S. Census Bureaublack youth (52%)and the group with the lowest rate of turnoutLatino youth (27%)is 25 percentage points.
In contrast, the difference between the group with the highest rate of engaging in at least one act of participatory politicswhites (43%)and the groups with the lowest rate of engaging in at least one act of participatory politicsAsian Americans (36%)is only 7 percentage points.
Taking into account participatory politics, institutional politics, and voting, black youth are the most likely to have participated in at least one form of these activities:
Engagement is highest among black youth, with only 25% reporting no engagement in any form of political behavior, compared with 33% of whites, 40% of Asian Americans, and 43% of Latinos.
Credibility of Online News and Information
Youth now consume news through participatory channels. 45% of youth reported getting news at least once a week from family and friends via Twitter or Facebook feeds. This rivals the 49% who got news at least once in the past week from newspapers or magazines. Youth believe they would benefit from learning how to judge the credibility of what they find online.
Survey respondents were asked, "Do you think people like you and your friends would benefit from learning more about how to tell if news and information you find online is trustworthy?"84% said, "Yes."
"While we can probably assume that youth will learn to use their cell phones without formal instruction," Kahne said, "They may well benefit from supports and programs in both school and out-of-school settings that strengthen their ability and desire to produce media that is informed, persuasive, and distributed effectively."
"A key question that emerges from these findings is: 'Are we prepared to provide the resources, supports and media literacy training necessary for youth of color to transfer their digital social capital into influence in the political realm?'," noted Cohen. "Participatory politics offers a political realm where voices of young people are at the center and driving the agenda. Are we prepared to embrace their innovation, support their engagement, and give them greater control, voice, and potentially influence over the issues that matter most in their lives?"
Methodology
The Youth Participatory Politics survey was conducted by Knowledge Networks (KN) on behalf of Mills College. The survey was administered through online and telephone modes from February 9, 2011 to July 14, 2011. Both modes were administered in English- and Spanish-language versions. The median online respondent completed the survey in 35 minutes, and the median telephone interview lasted 44 minutes. The target population for the survey comprised young people between fifteen and twenty-five years of age living in the United States from four ethnic/racial groups: non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, non-Hispanic Asians, and Hispanics (of any race). In order to be able to make meaningful comparison across racial and ethnic groups, the study also included oversamples of African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanics.
###
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Social media power youth political participationPublic release date: 26-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: William Harms w-harms@uchicago.edu 773-702-8356 University of Chicago
No digital divide found in participation among ethnic groups
The MacArthur Research Network on Youth and Participatory Politics (YPP), under the direction of co-principal investigators University of Chicago political scientist Cathy Cohen, and Joseph Kahne, professor of education at Mills College, has unveiled the findings of the largest nationally representative study to date of new media and politics among young people.
The national survey questioned 3,000 young people, ages 15-25 on how they use the Internet, social media and engage in politics. Unlike any prior study on the topic, the YPP survey included large numbers of black, Latino, and Asian American respondents, allowing for unique statistical comparisons across race. The data present one of the most complete pictures to date of how young people are using new media in new ways to engage politically, providing relevant insights on both the long-term political picture in America and the upcoming 2012 election.
The study report, Participatory Politics: New Media and Youth Political Action shows that contrary to the traditional notion of a technological digital divide, substantial numbers of young people across racial and ethic groups are engaging in "participatory politics" acts such as starting a political group online, circulating a blog about a political issue, or forwarding political videos to friends. Like traditional political acts, these acts address issues of public concern. The difference is that participatory acts are interactive, peer-based, and do not defer to elites or formal institutions. They are also tied to digital or new media platforms that facilitate and amplify young people's actions.
"As the 2012 election approaches, it is important to realize how young people, especially youth of color, are using new media to amplify their voices in the political realm," said Cohen, the David and Mary Winton Green Professor in Political Science. "Not only did we find that large numbers of youth take part in participatory politics, but, defying conventional expectations, black and Asian-American youth are the most avid users of new media for friendship and interest-driven activities. Moreover, black youth participate in online forms of participatory politics at rates equal to or slightly higher than white, Latino and Asian-American youth."
"Anyone who cares about democracy needs to pay attention to this important dimension of politics for young peopleparticipatory politics spread information, mobilize individuals to act, and provide many ways for youth to voice their perspectives," said Kahne. "But there are challenges. These politics also spread misinformation, and they may promote voice more than influence. When we asked young people if they thought they and their friends would benefit from learning more about how to tell if online information was trustworthy, 84% said, 'Yes!' In massive numbers, youth are saying they need help with digital media literacy."
The YPP national survey and analysis of the data was supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, whose $100-million digital media and learning initiative aims to determine how digital media are changing the way young people learn, play, socialize, and participate in civic life. The research was conducted by Kahne and Cohen and a team of three researchers: Benjamin Bowyer and Ellen Middaugh at Mills College and Jon Rogowski at the University of Chicago. The study has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Among the key findings:
Access to and Use of Internet and Social Media
Large proportions of young people across racial and ethnic groups have access to the Internet and use online social media regularly to stay connected to their family and friends and pursue interests and hobbies.
A majority or near-majority of white (51%), black (57%), Latino (49%), and Asian American (52%) youth report sending messages, sharing status updates and links, or chatting online daily.
Participatory politics are an important dimension of politics
41% of young people engaged in at least one act of participatory politics during the prior 12 months, while 44% participated in other acts of politics.
Specifically, 43% of white, 41% of black, 38% of Latino, and 36% of Asian American youth participated in at least one act of participatory politics during the prior 12 months.
Participatory politics are an addition to an individual's engagement rather than an alternative to other political activities:
U.S. citizens who were 18 or older and who engaged in at least one act of participatory politics were twice as likely to report voting in the November 2010 elections as those who did not engage in participatory politics.
A large proportion37% of all young peopleengages in both participatory and institutional politics.
Among young people who engage in participatory policies, 90% of them either vote or engage in other forms of politics.
Participatory politics are equitably distributed across different racial and ethnic groups
Contrary to the notion of a technological digital divide, the YPP study finds that overwhelmingly, white (96%), black (94%), Latino (96%) and Asian American (98%) youth report having access to a computer that connects to the Internet.
The difference in voting in 2008 between the group with the highest rate of turnout according to the U. S. Census Bureaublack youth (52%)and the group with the lowest rate of turnoutLatino youth (27%)is 25 percentage points.
In contrast, the difference between the group with the highest rate of engaging in at least one act of participatory politicswhites (43%)and the groups with the lowest rate of engaging in at least one act of participatory politicsAsian Americans (36%)is only 7 percentage points.
Taking into account participatory politics, institutional politics, and voting, black youth are the most likely to have participated in at least one form of these activities:
Engagement is highest among black youth, with only 25% reporting no engagement in any form of political behavior, compared with 33% of whites, 40% of Asian Americans, and 43% of Latinos.
Credibility of Online News and Information
Youth now consume news through participatory channels. 45% of youth reported getting news at least once a week from family and friends via Twitter or Facebook feeds. This rivals the 49% who got news at least once in the past week from newspapers or magazines. Youth believe they would benefit from learning how to judge the credibility of what they find online.
Survey respondents were asked, "Do you think people like you and your friends would benefit from learning more about how to tell if news and information you find online is trustworthy?"84% said, "Yes."
"While we can probably assume that youth will learn to use their cell phones without formal instruction," Kahne said, "They may well benefit from supports and programs in both school and out-of-school settings that strengthen their ability and desire to produce media that is informed, persuasive, and distributed effectively."
"A key question that emerges from these findings is: 'Are we prepared to provide the resources, supports and media literacy training necessary for youth of color to transfer their digital social capital into influence in the political realm?'," noted Cohen. "Participatory politics offers a political realm where voices of young people are at the center and driving the agenda. Are we prepared to embrace their innovation, support their engagement, and give them greater control, voice, and potentially influence over the issues that matter most in their lives?"
Methodology
The Youth Participatory Politics survey was conducted by Knowledge Networks (KN) on behalf of Mills College. The survey was administered through online and telephone modes from February 9, 2011 to July 14, 2011. Both modes were administered in English- and Spanish-language versions. The median online respondent completed the survey in 35 minutes, and the median telephone interview lasted 44 minutes. The target population for the survey comprised young people between fifteen and twenty-five years of age living in the United States from four ethnic/racial groups: non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, non-Hispanic Asians, and Hispanics (of any race). In order to be able to make meaningful comparison across racial and ethnic groups, the study also included oversamples of African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanics.
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Nobody is aware of your much better than your self ? your weak points, anxieties, skills, and desires are usually at the back of the mind. As a result, personal-help is a wonderful way to ensure that you can defeat any obstructions in your own life. This short article will present you with many ways on making use of personal-help effectively.
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Consider half an hour and write down each and every high quality you feel you might have. It?s important to understand who you really are as being a person. What are your essential features that you truly feel you express? You will want to improve the level from which you are offering these good qualities to the world. By creating them out, you might be in essence beginning an measures policy for self improvement.
Play with it in everyday life and do not cease experimenting. There is nothing beyond doubt, nothing is particular, and through experimentation, you could discover that there are good ways than others that you have acknowledged about and used. In reality, with experimentation, you could find a more productive purpose and a much better way of undertaking items that you couldn?t even do well before.
Stage outside of your comfort and ease area. Most people are dwelling unhappy day-to-day lives because they are afraid to adopt a danger once in a while. Make a decide to take action you may have been scared to get it done could possibly be skydiving or simply looking for an increase. Whenever you have a danger and discover it wasn?t as bad as you may thought it will be, you feel better and more likely to do much more.
Operate for the belief solutions. Your convictions make the individual figure, so be sure you defend what you think is appropriate. There are times when we?re lured to move down and follow the herd. Nevertheless, standing upright and becoming measured can motivate bravery in other folks and prevent injustice well before it commences.
Nervousness and hate often originate from an individual?s lack of ability (or refusal) to simply accept that does not all things in life is certain it merely is impossible to find out the complete details of something, such as regardless of whether it can even arise. Get rid of this stress and anxiety by arriving at phrases together with the quite real the outdoors of doubt. Focusing all of your psychological sources on the worrisome probable consequence is not going to figure out whether the case may also happen.
When you carry on and improve on your own, you become a wiser and much more skillful particular person. Personal development not simply rewards you, however it will benefit your household as well as other individuals who you affect. Keep on to search for ways to understand new stuff and increase yourself, and you are sure to acquire the benefits.
In a post made on his twitter page, Shaikh Mohammad said that the brand logo will be used locally and abroad in all national promotional campaigns
Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, urged public to participate in choosing a UAE National Brand logo from those uploaded on the UAE Prime Minister website (www.uaepm.ae).
The voting process begins on Sunday and ends on July 18, 2012. A total of five logos are available for the public to choose from.
In a post made on his twitter page, Shaikh Mohammad said that the brand logo will be used locally and abroad in all national promotional campaigns, projecting a unified UAE identity and highlight the uniqueness of the UAE.
Members of the public will be able to vote for one of the five logos uploaded on the Prime Minister?s website. The chosen logo will have variations that can be used in both Arabic and English.
Article continues below
Shaikh Mohammad said that the usage of the logo will be a part of a strategic plan that is based on coordination between governmental and non-governmental bodies to use major events held both locally and abroad to spread and narrate the nation?s message and story to the world.
The brand logo will be different from emblems and logos used for official purposes as it will be used to promote the UAE as a unified federal entity with a global economic influence that holds prestigious political position, and enjoys a diverse local environment that attracts tourism, economic and cultural activities.
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Paleontologists and Mongolian officials have maintained that the skeleton, which belongs to a type of tyrannosaur called a Tarbosaurus bataar, was taken illegally from their country.
By Wynne Parry,?LiveScience Senior Writer / June 19, 2012
This dinosaur, a relative of Tyrannosaurus rex, is the subject of legal battle over whether or not it can be sold in the US. The president of Mongolia says it was almost certainly smuggled out of the country.
Wynne Parry
Enlarge
The United States Attorney's office has intervened in a dispute over a dinosaur that went up for auction at the end of May with a demand that the skeleton be turned over to the U.S. government, so that it can be returned to Mongolia.
Paleontologists and Mongolian officials have maintained that the skeleton, which belongs to a type of tyrannosaur called aTarbosaurus bataar,?was taken illegally from their country.
"The skeletal remains of this dinosaur are of tremendous cultural and historic significance to the people of Mongolia, and provide a connection to the country's prehistoric past. When the skeleton was allegedly looted, a piece of the country's natural history was stolen with it, and we look forward to returning it to its rightful place," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement.
Mongolian President Elbegdorj Tsakhia attempted to hault the auction of the skeleton on May 20, however, the auction house in charge of selling it, Heritage Auctions, went ahead with the sale, making it conditional on court approval. An anonymous bidder has?agreed?to pay $1.1 million for the dinosaur, which is an Asian relative to the North American?Tyrannosaurus rex. [See Photos of the Tarbosaur Skeleton]
Paleontologists believe the?Tarbosaurus?came from Mongolia, because clearly identifiable remains from this species have been found?only in the Nemegt Formation, which is located in Mongolia. The Nemegt Formation is located in Mongolia's portion of the Gobi Desert. Under Mongolian law, vertebrate fossils excavated within its borders are state property.
Heritage Auctions had not yet responded to a request for comment by this morning (June 19). The fossils are currently in its possession, being held in a facility in Queens, N.Y.
The U.S. Attorney's office is demanding forfeiture of the specimen on the basis that those importing it gave false information on customs forms, and that those importing brought it into the United States knowing it had been stolen. ?
Paleontologists say the?poaching of fossils in Mongolia?has intensified over the years. Philip Currie, a paleonotologist at the University of Alberta who examined the?Tarbosaurus, told LiveScience that based on his own examination of the bones he thinks the specimen was the subject of two rounds of poaching.
Unskilled poachers often take the teeth and the claws off a specimen, leaving or destroying the rest, he said. This?Tarbosaurus?is missing most of its claws and teeth. The rest of the specimen was removed by excavators with more skill, but even so, the job was not well done, Currie said.
"There is a lot of restoration done on the bones to make them look good, but when you look closely at it you can see there is a lot of plaster restoration towards the ends of the bone, a lot of the processes [protrusions] are broken or chipped off and gone," Currie said this month.
Follow?Wynne Parry on Twitter?@Wynne_Parry?or?LiveScience?@livescience. We're also on?Facebook?&?Google+.
Summary: The National Writing Project at Kent State University (Ohio) brings teachers together to share their expertise and effective practices that enhance student writing and learning.
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Excerpt from Article
[The National Writing Project at Kent State University] brings teachers together to share their expertise and effective practices that enhance student writing and learning.
Teachers work collaboratively with other educators to provide professional development, generate research, and develop resources that sustain efforts to improve the teaching of writing and learning in schools.
NWP-KSU helps provide an ongoing link between Kent State and local schools. The initiative serves the counties of Ashtabula, Columbiana, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, and Tuscarawas.
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Read National Writing Project encourages teacher collaboration from KentWired.
Facebook Buys Face.com Facial Recognition Software, But Don?t They Have That Already?
Facebook rekindles issues in facial recognition, user experience and privacy.
Facebook has just purchased another company after recently going public and the billion dollar purchase of Instagram. ?Face.com?is a software technology company that creates face recognition software to automatically detect individuals in pictures. ?Facebook will probably use this technology to help it capture more pictures from users and automatically detect who is in them.
Several months ago it was revealed that Facebook already had technology that could identify individuals automatically and suggest to users who to tag in pictures. After the news that Facebook had such a technology, the Electronic Privacy Information Center based in Washington DC quickly made headlines stating they would be filing a complaint with the FTC based on privacy concerns that the new feature may be too invasive?(Read -?Facebook Launches Face Recognition: Are They All Up In Your Face?).
Will users be quick to adopt new facial recognition on the largest social media platform now that Facebook is publicly held? ?Only time will tell, but users seem to be against invasive technology that infringes on their privacy. ?The bigger question might be, why is Facebook buying something they already have?
Facebook is under pressure to grow at all costs after the recent IPO and expansion may occur at a significant cost if it doesn?t gel properly with user concerns. ?Mobile is the most important ?last frontier? in the social media landscape and Facebook will be working hard to monetize mobile device users which Face.com may not necessarily help in the short run.
Stay tuned to see how users react next time Facebook introduces technology that knows ? who you know. ?Over time, if the user experience isn?t altered much ? users will keep coming back.
Tags: electronic privacy information center, face.com, facebook, facebook user experience, facial recognition, social media privacy concerns, user experience
This entry was posted on June 19, 2012 at 4:31 pm and is filed under Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Family first caring within UK Bangladeshi and Pakistani communitiesPublic release date: 18-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Pressoffice Pressoffice@esrc.ac.uk Economic & Social Research Council
Over the next 20 years the proportion of older people living within the Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities in the UK will increase significantly. Most expect that their immediate family, particularly female family members, will provide the majority of care for them in their old age, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
The research by Professor Christina Victor of Brunel University, found very few, at best five to ten per cent of the older people within these communities who were interviewed received any form of formal care, apart from health services, from the wider community or government.
The reliance of older British minority community members upon their family for care and support has much in common with the general UK population. Some believed this was a right that they had earned from looking after their children through childhood, and that it was the duty of their children to provide care, while for others it was simply seen as the natural order of family life. Indeed some were reluctant to accept care from the wider community or state, as it implied a failure of their families to accept their responsibilities.
However, unlike the general population, older men in the Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities played a lesser role in the direct care of dependent wives. Women, particularly daughters, daughter-in-laws and wives, were the main carers in the family. Some wives were also concerned about having their spouses cared for by other women even if they were qualified nurses or other health care professionals. The research found there were high levels of isolation among female carers.
"For all older people, regardless of ethnicity, the family is central to the achievement of the Government's key objective of enabling them to live at home for as long as possible," says Professor Victor. "Social care-based services may be more appropriate and acceptable if they focus upon helping and supporting families to care rather than being viewed as substitutes or alternatives to family care."
Some concerns were expressed by the participants that things are changing within the South Asian community and that families will be less 'willing or able to care' in the future. Examples were given by participants of an acquaintance being put into an older people's home by his son. This concern is also seen among the wider UK population where there is also the recognition that in the future families may be less able to care because of decreasing family sizes, more complex family structures, and international migration in response to the economic downturn.
"Our research is important because it emphasises the continued importance of the family in caring for dependent older people and shows the similarities between UK minority communities and the wider population", said Professor Victor. "We also highlight the problems of isolation and loneliness faced by carers which are largely ignored by service providers. Should local authorities not address the needs of carers from minority communities then we may face increased demand for long-term care".
###
For further information contact:
Prof Christina Victor
Email: Christina.Victor@brunel.ac.uk
Telephone 01895 268730
1. This release is based on the findings from the research project: 'Families and Caring in South Asian Communities' funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and led by Prof Christina Victor of Brunel University.
2. This project is part of the New Dynamics of Ageing Programme seven-year multidisciplinary research initiative with the ultimate aim of improving quality of life of older people. The programme is a collaboration between five UK Research Councils, led by the ESRC, and includes EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC and AHRC.
3. The researchers conducted in-depth interviews with a diverse sample of 110 Bangladeshi and Pakistani men and women aged 50 years and older to explore their understandings and experiences of care and support within their families and communities. The participants in the study lived in a city in the south east of England and had been in the UK for an average of 25 years for the men and 20 years for the women. They had moved around the UK before settling in the south east which resulted in family members living throughout the UK. Many also had family living in not only Pakistan and Bangladesh, but also in North America, Africa and Europe.
4. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is the UK's largest organisation for funding research on economic and social issues. It supports independent, high quality research which has an impact on business, the public sector and the third sector. The ESRC's total budget for 2012/13 is 205 million. At any one time the ESRC supports over 4,000 researchers and postgraduate students in academic institutions and independent research institutes. More at www.esrc.ac.uk
5. Research Councils UK (RCUK) is the strategic partnership of the UK's seven Research Councils. We invest annually around 3 billion in research. Our focus is on excellence with impact. We nurture the highest quality research, as judged by international peer review, providing the UK with a competitive advantage. Global research requires that we sustain a diversity of funding approaches, fostering international collaborations, and providing access to the best facilities and infrastructure, and locating skilled researchers in stimulating environments. Our research achieves impact the demonstrable contribution to society and the economy made by knowledge and skilled people. To deliver impact, researchers and businesses need to engage and collaborate with the public, business, government and charitable organisations. www.rcuk.ac.uk
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Family first caring within UK Bangladeshi and Pakistani communitiesPublic release date: 18-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Pressoffice Pressoffice@esrc.ac.uk Economic & Social Research Council
Over the next 20 years the proportion of older people living within the Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities in the UK will increase significantly. Most expect that their immediate family, particularly female family members, will provide the majority of care for them in their old age, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
The research by Professor Christina Victor of Brunel University, found very few, at best five to ten per cent of the older people within these communities who were interviewed received any form of formal care, apart from health services, from the wider community or government.
The reliance of older British minority community members upon their family for care and support has much in common with the general UK population. Some believed this was a right that they had earned from looking after their children through childhood, and that it was the duty of their children to provide care, while for others it was simply seen as the natural order of family life. Indeed some were reluctant to accept care from the wider community or state, as it implied a failure of their families to accept their responsibilities.
However, unlike the general population, older men in the Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities played a lesser role in the direct care of dependent wives. Women, particularly daughters, daughter-in-laws and wives, were the main carers in the family. Some wives were also concerned about having their spouses cared for by other women even if they were qualified nurses or other health care professionals. The research found there were high levels of isolation among female carers.
"For all older people, regardless of ethnicity, the family is central to the achievement of the Government's key objective of enabling them to live at home for as long as possible," says Professor Victor. "Social care-based services may be more appropriate and acceptable if they focus upon helping and supporting families to care rather than being viewed as substitutes or alternatives to family care."
Some concerns were expressed by the participants that things are changing within the South Asian community and that families will be less 'willing or able to care' in the future. Examples were given by participants of an acquaintance being put into an older people's home by his son. This concern is also seen among the wider UK population where there is also the recognition that in the future families may be less able to care because of decreasing family sizes, more complex family structures, and international migration in response to the economic downturn.
"Our research is important because it emphasises the continued importance of the family in caring for dependent older people and shows the similarities between UK minority communities and the wider population", said Professor Victor. "We also highlight the problems of isolation and loneliness faced by carers which are largely ignored by service providers. Should local authorities not address the needs of carers from minority communities then we may face increased demand for long-term care".
###
For further information contact:
Prof Christina Victor
Email: Christina.Victor@brunel.ac.uk
Telephone 01895 268730
1. This release is based on the findings from the research project: 'Families and Caring in South Asian Communities' funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and led by Prof Christina Victor of Brunel University.
2. This project is part of the New Dynamics of Ageing Programme seven-year multidisciplinary research initiative with the ultimate aim of improving quality of life of older people. The programme is a collaboration between five UK Research Councils, led by the ESRC, and includes EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC and AHRC.
3. The researchers conducted in-depth interviews with a diverse sample of 110 Bangladeshi and Pakistani men and women aged 50 years and older to explore their understandings and experiences of care and support within their families and communities. The participants in the study lived in a city in the south east of England and had been in the UK for an average of 25 years for the men and 20 years for the women. They had moved around the UK before settling in the south east which resulted in family members living throughout the UK. Many also had family living in not only Pakistan and Bangladesh, but also in North America, Africa and Europe.
4. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is the UK's largest organisation for funding research on economic and social issues. It supports independent, high quality research which has an impact on business, the public sector and the third sector. The ESRC's total budget for 2012/13 is 205 million. At any one time the ESRC supports over 4,000 researchers and postgraduate students in academic institutions and independent research institutes. More at www.esrc.ac.uk
5. Research Councils UK (RCUK) is the strategic partnership of the UK's seven Research Councils. We invest annually around 3 billion in research. Our focus is on excellence with impact. We nurture the highest quality research, as judged by international peer review, providing the UK with a competitive advantage. Global research requires that we sustain a diversity of funding approaches, fostering international collaborations, and providing access to the best facilities and infrastructure, and locating skilled researchers in stimulating environments. Our research achieves impact the demonstrable contribution to society and the economy made by knowledge and skilled people. To deliver impact, researchers and businesses need to engage and collaborate with the public, business, government and charitable organisations. www.rcuk.ac.uk
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Developers pull out their games due to lack of active users
For quite some time after Google+ launched last year, it seemed everything was going well.?Millions of people joined the social network, and?games were introduced to help keep its members active. But Google+ never really caught fire, and?it was Pinterest that wound up being?the next big social network.
Now, a handful of game titles will be pulled out of the Google+ platform because they don't have enough active users. Hit game?Bejeweled Blitz by EA's PopCap division was?removed from the social network today.?And aside from?Bejeweled, social game developer?Wooga is also pulling out?Diamond Dash and?Bubble Island from Google+ on July 1, after removing?Monster World in May.
According to Wooga, the company decided to remove the aforementioned titles from the social network because they "have a much larger following on Facebook and they are active users." People already playing the games on?Facebook aren't very likely to start over on another platform, after all.
Right now, the social network still has more than 40 games in its roster. But if more developers remove their games from the platform, Google has to think of?something more than a redesign to entice its existing users to be more active.
[Popcap via?Joystiq]
This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca
JAIPUR, India (AP) ? Police say a man upset over his daughter's lifestyle chopped her head off with a sword and then paraded it through his village before surrendering to authorities in western India.
Marble miner Ogad Singh's 20-year-old daughter had been living with her parents in the Rajasthani village of Dungarji after leaving her husband two years ago.
Police Superintendent Umesh Ojha says Singh was upset by his daughter having affairs with men, and became enraged when she eloped with one of them two weeks ago.
Ojha says Singh forced her to return home Sunday, and beheaded her Monday with a sword.
Rapidly modernizing India faces increasing social clashes as youths resist traditions like arranged marriage or limits on women venturing outside their parents' or husbands' homes.
President Obama, acting without Congress, took steps to curtail deportations for young illegal immigrants. Republicans say the move could jeopardize prospects for immigration reform.
By David Grant,?Staff writer / June 15, 2012
Senate majority whip Dick Durbin (D) of Illinois, a longtime supporter of a path to citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants, listens as DREAM Act supporter Gabby Pacheco speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in this file photo from last year.
Lauren Victoria Burke/AP/File
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President Obama's unilateral changes to the nation's deportation policies to shield young illegal immigrants reopened one of the most contentious issues in American politics.
Mr. Obama's executive action on Friday generated two immediate questions among members of Congress.??
First, is alleviating the plight of young illegal immigrants worth the policy's risks? And second, did the president hurt immigration reform's long-term prospects by doing a short-term fix that conservatives saw as an end run around congressional authority and the Constitution?
Obama's policies would allow certain illegal immigrants a renewable two-year deferral from deportation and eligibility to apply for work authorization. Those affected are individuals who came to the US before age 16 but are now under age 30; have lived in the US for at least five continuous years; are in school or have graduated from high school or are serving in the military; and have not been convicted of a felony or a significant misdemeanor.
They are essentially the same people who would be affected by the DREAM Act, an immigration-reform bill that has stalled in Congress.?
Many Democrats welcomed the move, which they say means real differences in the lives of illegal immigrants today.
"The Obama administration?s decision to extend temporary legal status to DREAM Act students is an historic humanitarian moment," said Sen. Dick Durbin (D) of Illinois in a statement. "This action will give these young immigrants their chance to come out of the shadows and be part of the only country they?ve ever called home."
Likewise, Sen. Robert Menendez (D) of New Jersey tweeted: "Young #DREAMers should not have to suffer & leave the country they have known & call #home?because #Congress is failing to act."
Republicans, on the other hand, saw a policy that would be a "magnet for fraud," as Rep. Lamar Smith (R) of Texas put it in a statement, because immigration authorities would be unable to verify a person's eligibility for the new policy. Once granted a work visa, Congressman Smith said these individuals would compete for already scarce jobs with native-born Americans.
"President Obama and his administration once again have put partisan politics and illegal immigrants ahead of the rule of law and the American people,"?said Smith, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.?
One labor union?s position on nurse-to-patient ratios in California hospitals has outraged other unions that represent registered nurses in the state.
In California, hospitals are required by law to maintain certain nurse-to-patient ratios at all times -- a hard-won legal stipulation that went into effect in 2004 and has wide support among nurses as well as patient advocates in the state.
Although labor groups also strongly back the ratio law, the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW), which represents hospital workers of all kinds, signaled this week that in the face of state budget cuts to hospitals it might be willing to partially sacrifice mandated ratios.
During a call with other labor leaders on Thursday, SEIU-UHW President Dave Regan suggested that the California Labor Federation, an alliance of the state?s unions, should not stand in the way of any new legislation that would temporarily suspend ratios while nurses are on meals and breaks, according to RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United, who was on the call.
DeMoro said that eliminating the ratios during breaks would undermine or even gut the ratio law entirely, since breaks in large hospitals occur all the time. Calling the ratio law a "holy grail" for nurses, she said that she considered the recommendation an affront to her own union. The union leaders on the call voted overwhelmingly against the recommendation, she said.
"This is just historically unprecedented," DeMoro said. "These are bedrock labor issues -- workplace safety, public safety ... This is a fundamental issue to these nurses. He was attempting to undo a fundamental reform."
Steve Trossman, a spokesman for SEIU-UHW, said that the union supports ratios and believes they should remain in place, and that Regan expressed his support for nurses ratios on the call. He said the union voted that the federation stand "neutral" on ratios during breaks only because of California?s budget situation. A large portion of the union?s members are in lower wage hospital jobs, and Trossman said many of them, such as maintenance and food-service workers, could end up losing their positions.
"The reality is that front-line hospital workers are going to bear the brunt of [cuts] -- we think there will be hundreds if not thousands of layoffs," he said. "When you?re in a budget situation like this, everything is worth taking a look at. That?s what we did."
The president of the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), which is not part of the state labor federation, said he was also angered by the suggestion that unions not fully support the ratios during breaks.
"It?s outrageous,? said Sal Rosselli, whose union was formed after a split from SEIU-UHW. "In the private-sector hospital industry, profits are unprecedented. Suspending these ratios that we all fought for for years ... the industry has been trying to do this."
Trossman said the significance of the SEIU-UHW?s vote on the matter has been blown out of proportion. ?It was quickly rejected," he noted. ?We move on." And despite the drama surrounding the call, there is no imminent danger of nurses losing their ratios during breaks or otherwise, as no such legislation has been introduced.
Yet DeMoro, who said her union has been "inundated" with emails from nurses due to Thursday?s call, doesn?t seem likely to forget the incident. She said that rather than show solidarity among labor groups, the vote "pit nurses against low-wage workers."
"It might signal some of the trouble that the labor movement is in," she said.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly listed RoseAnn Demoro's first name as Roseanne.
The Fourth of July is one of my favorite times to entertain. Yes, the holiday itself is fun, but I have to be honest--I love the idea of red, white and blue food.
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Public release date: 26-Jun-2012
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[The National Writing Project at Kent State University] brings teachers together to share their expertise and effective practices that enhance student writing and learning.
from KentWired.
