Eric bought Ian a skateboard for his birthday because _ could skateboard and really wanted one.
Option 1: Eric
Option 2: Ian
Answer: 2<|endoftext|> Stand by Me, we interviewed the various musicians and technicians and staff who came out to lend a hand.

Yesterday, the first interview we watched was Jesse's. And we were moved. Touched. Inspired.

During his interview Jesse tells the story of having run away from home at the ripe old age of 13. "It's what this song [Stand by Me] means to me," he said during his interview. "It's a pillar in the music world which means it's something we can all lean on. It holds us up because the whole song is about being comforted, supported. And we all need that."

His grandmother was the reason he got off the streets. She gave him a guitar in his teens and he's never put it down since. "She endured some pretty bad music but it's because of that guitar I became the man who I am now."

And he's quite a man. Warm and loving. Whenever I've seen him at a concert, or run into him on the street, he makes me feel like I am the only person in the room. He makes me feel special. As he makes everyone he meets feel special.

As I watched the footage of Jesse's interview yesterday, I was reminded of what makes this young man so special. During the interview I ask him questions about his singing. About why he's helping with the recording of Stand by Me.

"Everyone seems to think homeless people are criminals or addicts. But they're not all delinquents. Sure there are a few and some people do bad things. But most aren't like that. They're just people in bad situations. In the wrong places at the wrong times."

And then, he tells the story of walking along St. Hubert Street in Montreal a couple of years after his own escape from street life. "I see this guy sitting on the sidewalk pan-handling," he says, "and I sit down beside him to chat."

Jesse isn't shy. Nor is he afraid of anyone. He is curious. Inquisitive. And kind. "I wanted to understand what had led him there," he said. "I mean, I was 13 when I hit the street and I got off. I was young. I wanted to understand what it was that kept him there."

Jesse asked to understand and the man wanted to share his story. "He told me some crazy stories about how he became what he was in that moment and it was sad. He wasn't a bad guy. Just in a lot of tough situations. He talked. I listened."

After three or four hours of listening, Jesse got up and dug in his pocket and found all the money he had with him. Ten bucks.

"I handed the money to the dude and he pushed my hand away."

In the interview, tears are visible in Jesse's eyes. His voice grows soft.

The man wouldn't take his money. "You've given me something I've never had before," said the man. "No one's ever taken the time to hear what I have to say. Nobody's ever cared enough to listen."

Jesse pauses. Catches his breath.

"A story is non-rhetorical," said Jesse. "It's not looking for an answer. It's just looking to be spread. Close your mouth. Open your ears and you'll hear the truth behind people's stories."

A story is non-rhetorical.

Powerful. Provocative. Passionate.

That's Jesse James Cameron.

And those are his words.

Today, may we spread stories that speak to strength and hope and love and courage. May our stories spread wings. May they be the breath of God whispering in the hearts of everyone we meet, of every life we touch. May our stories ripple out into the world to create wonder and joy, beauty and truth.

Makeshift Innocence -- Jesse James Cameron (note -- the music starts after she goes out door)

Maureen said...

Nice video.

I like Jesse's sound. Thank you for introducing him to us today.

Have a great weekend. Hugs for you.

JeffHolton said...

I didn't like that video.

It reminded me of all the things that almost worked out the way I wanted.

On the other hand, that sure does make it a powerful story.<|endoftext|>How Do You Become An Adjudicator?

Discussion in 'The Rehearsal Room' started by mikelyons, Aug 25, 2004.

If you had the chance, would you like to be an adjudicator?

  1. Yes

  2. No

  1. mikelyons

    mikelyons Supporting Member

    Sparked by Dave Payn's thread, an idea has entered my pointy little head.

    How do you become an adjudicator? How can you get experience of adjudicating and what do you need in the way of formal qualifications, if any? :)

    Is it a case of, as so often happens, not what you know, but who? Is there a formal route to this exalted station?
  2. nickjones

    nickjones Active Member

    I think there was a course at Salford with Roy Newsome , am sure Stephen Tighe( sp ) a tmp member was a " graduate "
  3. Dave Payn

    Dave Payn Active Member

    I suppose I would like to, only to end up instantly regretting it afterwards were I to be given the chance! There certainly are courses for this. What I don't know is whther passing certain adjudication exams are compulsory to become an accepted judge. I'd guess they probably are but someone more informed could enlighten us perhaps?
  4. mikelyons

    mikelyons Supporting Member

    This is precisely how I feel, Dave. But it would be nice to see it from the other side of the curtain just once.
  5. SteveT

    SteveT Member

    To become an adjudicator you normally have to be a recognised conductor, who has demonstrated success at band training and experience at the top level of banding. Experience in the classical and other worlds is also useful.... Then you have to wait to be hired by contest organisers.

    If you want to do the LDBBA, Initially you submit a cv and then appear in front of a panel of distinguished musicians where you are asked to show skills in arranging and score analysis, there is also a viva voce section. In addition you are asked to adjudicate recorded performances. If you pass this initial assesment you are invited to take further assesments.

    I should explain that when I took the exams, there was no "course" as such. It is a series of tests taking various formats, incuding "live" adjudications. So you were expected to have a very high level of demonstrable musicianship, as you would in the end be judging your peers. You will be asked to "shadow adjudicate" at contests and your adjudications are then assesed by normally Roy Newsome and David Read. They look for all sorts of things, even grammar.

    A recent development is a "Pre-Diploma" course, which is intended to prepare people for this initial assessment. This is because there have not been that many successful applicants and I think this it to help prepare candidates up to the initial threshold standard. I was only the 4th person to get the diploma (2001).. at the moment I think there are only 6 recipients in total... so more candidates are I am sure ... welcome.

    If you wish to become a Licentiate in Brass Band Adjudication and take the "examinations" sponsored by the National Association of Brass Band Conductors & ratified by Salford University, you need to contact Mr. E. J. Howard, 30 Havant Road, Waterlooville, Hants, PO8 0DT. He is the National Sec for NABBC and is in charge of sylbus etc. Tel: 023 9259 8162. or However, this will not guarantee that you will be invited to adjudicate.

    After all this you have to become a member of Association of Brass Band Adjudicators, and also after a bit of time you may be invited onto the BFBB panel to adjudicate at the National Championships.

    The downside is that you will probably lose most of yer mates and be suspected of all sorts of underhand doings.... so beware. You will also have to dye your hair grey and lose your sense of humour!

    Hope this is helpful... best of luck. If I can be of any further assistance please ring me... my number is in the professional cards section on 4barsrest.

  6. mikelyons

    mikelyons Supporting Member

    Thanks for all that information, Stephen.

    Sadly, your first point knocks me completely out of the field, as I only wave the stick on relatively rare occasions, when Neil can't manage it and we can get away with only 1 Eb Bass, or when the band are playing through one of my compositions. :(

    As for all the rest, it's a wonder any of you manage to live long enough to finish the process by the sound of it.

    Losing my friends - that I probably couldn't cope with. I am both gregarious and egreg

 Stand by Me, we interviewed the various musicians and technicians and staff who came out to lend a hand.

Yesterday, the first interview we watched was Jesse's. And we were moved. Touched. Inspired.

During his interview Jesse tells the story of having run away from home at the ripe old age of 13. "It's what this song [Stand by Me] means to me," he said during his interview. "It's a pillar in the music world which means it's something we can all lean on. It holds us up because the whole song is about being comforted, supported. And we all need that."

His grandmother was the reason he got off the streets. She gave him a guitar in his teens and he's never put it down since. "She endured some pretty bad music but it's because of that guitar I became the man who I am now."

And he's quite a man. Warm and loving. Whenever I've seen him at a concert, or run into him on the street, he makes me feel like I am the only person in the room. He makes me feel special. As he makes everyone he meets feel special.

As I watched the footage of Jesse's interview yesterday, I was reminded of what makes this young man so special. During the interview I ask him questions about his singing. About why he's helping with the recording of Stand by Me.

"Everyone seems to think homeless people are criminals or addicts. But they're not all delinquents. Sure there are a few and some people do bad things. But most aren't like that. They're just people in bad situations. In the wrong places at the wrong times."

And then, he tells the story of walking along St. Hubert Street in Montreal a couple of years after his own escape from street life. "I see this guy sitting on the sidewalk pan-handling," he says, "and I sit down beside him to chat."

Jesse isn't shy. Nor is he afraid of anyone. He is curious. Inquisitive. And kind. "I wanted to understand what had led him there," he said. "I mean, I was 13 when I hit the street and I got off. I was young. I wanted to understand what it was that kept him there."

Jesse asked to understand and the man wanted to share his story. "He told me some crazy stories about how he became what he was in that moment and it was sad. He wasn't a bad guy. Just in a lot of tough situations. He talked. I listened."

After three or four hours of listening, Jesse got up and dug in his pocket and found all the money he had with him. Ten bucks.

"I handed the money to the dude and he pushed my hand away."

In the interview, tears are visible in Jesse's eyes. His voice grows soft.

The man wouldn't take his money. "You've given me something I've never had before," said the man. "No one's ever taken the time to hear what I have to say. Nobody's ever cared enough to listen."

Jesse pauses. Catches his breath.

"A story is non-rhetorical," said Jesse. "It's not looking for an answer. It's just looking to be spread. Close your mouth. Open your ears and you'll hear the truth behind people's stories."

A story is non-rhetorical.

Powerful. Provocative. Passionate.

That's Jesse James Cameron.

And those are his words.

Today, may we spread stories that speak to strength and hope and love and courage. May our stories spread wings. May they be the breath of God whispering in the hearts of everyone we meet, of every life we touch. May our stories ripple out into the world to create wonder and joy, beauty and truth.

Makeshift Innocence -- Jesse James Cameron (note -- the music starts after she goes out door)

Maureen said...

Nice video.

I like Jesse's sound. Thank you for introducing him to us today.

Have a great weekend. Hugs for you.

JeffHolton said...

I didn't like that video.

It reminded me of all the things that almost worked out the way I wanted.

On the other hand, that sure does make it a powerful story.<|endoftext|>How Do You Become An Adjudicator?

Discussion in 'The Rehearsal Room' started by mikelyons, Aug 25, 2004.

If you had the chance, would you like to be an adjudicator?

  1. Yes

  2. No

  1. mikelyons

    mikelyons Supporting Member

    Sparked by Dave Payn's thread, an idea has entered my pointy little head.

    How do you become an adjudicator? How can you get experience of adjudicating and what do you need in the way of formal qualifications, if any? :)

    Is it a case of, as so often happens, not what you know, but who? Is there a formal route to this exalted station?
  2. nickjones

    nickjones Active Member

    I think there was a course at Salford with Roy Newsome , am sure Stephen Tighe( sp ) a tmp member was a " graduate "
  3. Dave Payn

    Dave Payn Active Member

    I suppose I would like to, only to end up instantly regretting it afterwards were I to be given the chance! There certainly are courses for this. What I don't know is whther passing certain adjudication exams are compulsory to become an accepted judge. I'd guess they probably are but someone more informed could enlighten us perhaps?
  4. mikelyons

    mikelyons Supporting Member

    This is precisely how I feel, Dave. But it would be nice to see it from the other side of the curtain just once.
  5. SteveT

    SteveT Member

    To become an adjudicator you normally have to be a recognised conductor, who has demonstrated success at band training and experience at the top level of banding. Experience in the classical and other worlds is also useful.... Then you have to wait to be hired by contest organisers.

    If you want to do the LDBBA, Initially you submit a cv and then appear in front of a panel of distinguished musicians where you are asked to show skills in arranging and score analysis, there is also a viva voce section. In addition you are asked to adjudicate recorded performances. If you pass this initial assesment you are invited to take further assesments.

    I should explain that when I took the exams, there was no "course" as such. It is a series of tests taking various formats, incuding "live" adjudications. So you were expected to have a very high level of demonstrable musicianship, as you would in the end be judging your peers. You will be asked to "shadow adjudicate" at contests and your adjudications are then assesed by normally Roy Newsome and David Read. They look for all sorts of things, even grammar.

    A recent development is a "Pre-Diploma" course, which is intended to prepare people for this initial assessment. This is because there have not been that many successful applicants and I think this it to help prepare candidates up to the initial threshold standard. I was only the 4th person to get the diploma (2001).. at the moment I think there are only 6 recipients in total... so more candidates are I am sure ... welcome.

    If you wish to become a Licentiate in Brass Band Adjudication and take the "examinations" sponsored by the National Association of Brass Band Conductors & ratified by Salford University, you need to contact Mr. E. J. Howard, 30 Havant Road, Waterlooville, Hants, PO8 0DT. He is the National Sec for NABBC and is in charge of sylbus etc. Tel: 023 9259 8162. or However, this will not guarantee that you will be invited to adjudicate.

    After all this you have to become a member of Association of Brass Band Adjudicators, and also after a bit of time you may be invited onto the BFBB panel to adjudicate at the National Championships.

    The downside is that you will probably lose most of yer mates and be suspected of all sorts of underhand doings.... so beware. You will also have to dye your hair grey and lose your sense of humour!

    Hope this is helpful... best of luck. If I can be of any further assistance please ring me... my number is in the professional cards section on 4barsrest.

  6. mikelyons

    mikelyons Supporting Member

    Thanks for all that information, Stephen.

    Sadly, your first point knocks me completely out of the field, as I only wave the stick on relatively rare occasions, when Neil can't manage it and we can get away with only 1 Eb Bass, or when the band are playing through one of my compositions. :(

    As for all the rest, it's a wonder any of you manage to live long enough to finish the process by the sound of it.

    Losing my friends - that I probably couldn't cope with. I am both gregarious and egregious by nature. Oh well, that's yet another career path down the pan. Still, I can always hope to make my name in composition - assuming I can keep


 be a volcano within hundreds of miles of the city. I mean, there aren't any volcanic mountain ranges in southern California...right? The faults are all strike-slip and thrusts. It just doesn't seem likely. So how to find out? Maybe, a look at the interactive geologic map of California from the California Geological Survey (clue: most of the volcanic rocks on the map are pink or orange...).
Is the coast really toast, or is it already toasted?

Lyle said...

Please make that coastal southern CA, after all there are Amboy and Ludlow craters in the Mohave which by many definitions is southern CA all be it on a different plate than LA.At least the volcano in the movie appeared to erupt a more basaltic lava, since in flowed to the sea in the end so at least its similar.

Gaelyn said...

Seems like a lot of fantasizing going on here.

Randy A. said...

Southern California has lots of Tertiary volcanic rocks, and some of them can look quite young... But I'm not away of any Quaternary volcanics (and couldn't find any on the map you linked) except for the Mojave cinder cones mentioned by Lyle.

For me, one of the most ridiculous things about that movie, "Volcano", was that they stopped and redirected the lava flow using concrete "K-rails". Apparently nobody told the writers and directors that basalt has a greater density than concrete. Using concrete to dam a basalt lava flow would be like using balsa wood to dam a flood of water!<|endoftext|>Tuesday, July 19th, 2016

“Precipitous Pepper Purchase” Precludes Pot Pushers’ Partying

In today’s United States v. Compton, the Second Circuit (Walker, Raggi, Hall, C.JJ.) held a Border Patrol agent had reasonable suspicion to stop Compton and his brother, found to be transporting 145 pounds of marijuana, based on “(1) the brothers’ avoidance of [a Border Patrol] checkpoint, (2) the checkpoint’s proximity to the [Canadian] border, and (3) the brothers’ peculiar attempt to conceal the avoidance.”  The “peculiar attempt” was the brothers’ “abruptly slow[ing] down” when their SUV came within sight of the checkpoint and then “veer[ing] into the U‐shaped driveway of [a] vegetable stand” where they each bought “a pint of peppers.”

“Because [the agent] had already determined that the SUV had made the abrupt turn into the vegetable stand in order to avoid the checkpoint, [he] could reasonably interpret the pepper purchase to be an attempt to conceal that avoidance.  He could reasonably discount the probability of an alternate explanation, such as a sudden pepper emergency (such predicaments occur infrequently) or a simple desire to avoid a delay (taking the extra time to park a car and go shopping is hardly consistent with a motorist who avoids a checkpoint because he or she is in a hurry).  And he could reasonably be suspicious of individuals who appeared to be taking steps to actively deceive law enforcement.”

“Moreover, the improbability of a pepper emergency occurring immediately upon the appearance of a border checkpoint rendered the brothers’ ruse even more suspicious.  A person who resorts to an odd and poorly conceived concealment measure to avoid contact with law enforcement authorities is more likely to be desperate to avoid detection of unlawful activity.”

Takeaways for the Defense Bar

1.  The “precipitous pepper purchase” likely did the brothers in, as “[a]voidance of a checkpoint alone is probably insufficient to establish reasonable suspicion,” even when the checkpoint is close to a border (which most Border Patrol checkpoints are).

2.  The subsequent dog sniff, which led to discovery of the marijuana, was lawful only because the agent saw a blanket in the backseat covering items that could have contained drugs and he “conducted the extended investigation with reasonable promptness.  He radioed [another agent], who arrived with the canine in under a minute.  The canine sniff that confirmed the presence of narcotics took no more than five minutes.  The Fourth Amendment permits a brief extension of a Terry stop in order to conduct a canine sniff to resolve suspicions enhanced during the initial stop.”

Comments are closed.<|endoftext|>The brewery manager position was better suited for Eric than Joel because _ had limited knowledge of craft beer.
Option 1: Eric
Option 2: Joel
Answer: 2<|endoftext|>- Term Papers and Free Essays

Generic Benchmarking Sheet

This essay Generic Benchmarking Sheet is available for you on! Search Term Papers, College Essay Examples and Free Essays on - full papers database.

Autor:   •  March 15, 2011  •  2,129 Words (9 Pages)  •  687 Views

Page 1 of 9

Global Communications Benchmarking

Heather LaHaye

Kathy Leary

Carolina Manzano

Rhodora Palad

University of Phoenix

Dr. Kamal L. Ranasinghe Ph.D., D.B.A.

MBA 500

August 28, 2006

Generic Benchmarking Worksheet

Task A: Problem/Opportunity Statement

Instructions for Task A: In the Response row, write out the problem/opportunity statements for the scenario for each of the team members.

Response to Task A:

1. Citing contract manipulation, the Union is against Global Communications strategy to become a global corporation by using an outsourcing approach and intends to take action through the government or any other available resource.

2. With the relocation of Global Communications domestic call centers, there are plans of employee layoffs, relocation, and/or salary cuts. The senior management team will need to minimize the impact of low employee morale.

3. Communication with staff in India and Ireland will be a challenge for Global Communications due to the difference in workplace cultures and legalities. The connection between corporate culture, employee engagement, worker satisfaction, and employer brand will be an area of opportunity.

4. While the Global Communications senior leadership team has decided to move to India and Ireland to create a greater global presence, the leaders need to consider the less desirable effects of going global. According to Pamela Babcock (2004), "Those include the loss of knowledge that goes with the displaced workers, impediments to sharing information and knowledge among employees offshore and, in the United States, the possible demoralizing effect on your remaining workforce as well as the risk of creating a negative corporate brand image."

Generic Benchmarking--The purpose of generic benchmarking is to identify potential solutions to the problem statements defined in Task A. You will do this by looking at how companies in other industries have dealt with similar issues.

Task B1: Generic Benchmarking: Topics

Instructions for Task B1: In the Response row, identify the topics for which you need information in order to identify potential solutions to the problems identified in Task A.

* In the Response row, list three to five topics that you will research in peer-reviewed journals, on Web sites, and in popular publications such as magazines and newspapers.

* In the Response row, provide a justification for each topic.

Response to Task B1:

1. Outsourcing - According to Poria (2003), before outsourcing is put into effect the leaders must first understand the company's overall strategies and the potential impact this decision can have on the company as a whole in terms of morale, effectiveness, financial options, and long term and short term goals across departments. Global Communications did not have any planned strategies on how to handle the move of hundred of jobs overseas. Open communication is lacking between the stakeholders of Global Communications and not all stakeholders were involved in the decision-making process. With the lack of communication and stakeholder involvement there is a great resistance for the planned outsourcing and the opposition of union workers to do any further negotiation. To deal with the resistance faced all stakeholders of Global Communications will need to be informed of the need to change as the organization moves towards globalization due to the competitive telecommunications industry.

2. Globalization - According to Babcock (2004), "globalization is threatening the future of white-collar jobs, which are increasingly being exported to India and other parts of the globe where highly trained, highly educated workers can perform the same jobs as U.S. workers at nearly half the cost."

3. Layoffs - According to Ruth Morss (2006), "senior executives must establish a documented, justifiable business reason for the layoff and analyze its effect on various protected classes, defined most commonly by age, gender, race, and national origin." If Global Communications fails to prove that the downsizing of its domestic call centers are truly valid and not an excuse to discriminate or eliminate a division only to revamp it again with a new name and/or new people, the company could face lawsuits. According to Morss (2006), "The laws apply to companies with 15 or more employees, and local laws cover companies with smaller numbers."

Task B2: Generic Benchmarking: Companies

Instructions for Task B2: In the Response row, identify companies that have faced and addressed similar situations (successfully and unsuccessfully).

* In the Response row, list two to three companies for each topic identified in Task B1.

* In the Response row, identify those that have been successful and those that have been unsuccessful.

* In the Response row, summarize your key findings

 preposterous. There must not be a volcano within hundreds of miles of the city. I mean, there aren't any volcanic mountain ranges in southern California...right? The faults are all strike-slip and thrusts. It just doesn't seem likely. So how to find out? Maybe, a look at the interactive geologic map of California from the California Geological Survey (clue: most of the volcanic rocks on the map are pink or orange...).
Is the coast really toast, or is it already toasted?

Lyle said...

Please make that coastal southern CA, after all there are Amboy and Ludlow craters in the Mohave which by many definitions is southern CA all be it on a different plate than LA.At least the volcano in the movie appeared to erupt a more basaltic lava, since in flowed to the sea in the end so at least its similar.

Gaelyn said...

Seems like a lot of fantasizing going on here.

Randy A. said...

Southern California has lots of Tertiary volcanic rocks, and some of them can look quite young... But I'm not away of any Quaternary volcanics (and couldn't find any on the map you linked) except for the Mojave cinder cones mentioned by Lyle.

For me, one of the most ridiculous things about that movie, "Volcano", was that they stopped and redirected the lava flow using concrete "K-rails". Apparently nobody told the writers and directors that basalt has a greater density than concrete. Using concrete to dam a basalt lava flow would be like using balsa wood to dam a flood of water!<|endoftext|>Tuesday, July 19th, 2016

“Precipitous Pepper Purchase” Precludes Pot Pushers’ Partying

In today’s United States v. Compton, the Second Circuit (Walker, Raggi, Hall, C.JJ.) held a Border Patrol agent had reasonable suspicion to stop Compton and his brother, found to be transporting 145 pounds of marijuana, based on “(1) the brothers’ avoidance of [a Border Patrol] checkpoint, (2) the checkpoint’s proximity to the [Canadian] border, and (3) the brothers’ peculiar attempt to conceal the avoidance.”  The “peculiar attempt” was the brothers’ “abruptly slow[ing] down” when their SUV came within sight of the checkpoint and then “veer[ing] into the U‐shaped driveway of [a] vegetable stand” where they each bought “a pint of peppers.”

“Because [the agent] had already determined that the SUV had made the abrupt turn into the vegetable stand in order to avoid the checkpoint, [he] could reasonably interpret the pepper purchase to be an attempt to conceal that avoidance.  He could reasonably discount the probability of an alternate explanation, such as a sudden pepper emergency (such predicaments occur infrequently) or a simple desire to avoid a delay (taking the extra time to park a car and go shopping is hardly consistent with a motorist who avoids a checkpoint because he or she is in a hurry).  And he could reasonably be suspicious of individuals who appeared to be taking steps to actively deceive law enforcement.”

“Moreover, the improbability of a pepper emergency occurring immediately upon the appearance of a border checkpoint rendered the brothers’ ruse even more suspicious.  A person who resorts to an odd and poorly conceived concealment measure to avoid contact with law enforcement authorities is more likely to be desperate to avoid detection of unlawful activity.”

Takeaways for the Defense Bar

1.  The “precipitous pepper purchase” likely did the brothers in, as “[a]voidance of a checkpoint alone is probably insufficient to establish reasonable suspicion,” even when the checkpoint is close to a border (which most Border Patrol checkpoints are).

2.  The subsequent dog sniff, which led to discovery of the marijuana, was lawful only because the agent saw a blanket in the backseat covering items that could have contained drugs and he “conducted the extended investigation with reasonable promptness.  He radioed [another agent], who arrived with the canine in under a minute.  The canine sniff that confirmed the presence of narcotics took no more than five minutes.  The Fourth Amendment permits a brief extension of a Terry stop in order to conduct a canine sniff to resolve suspicions enhanced during the initial stop.”

Comments are closed.<|endoftext|>- Term Papers and Free Essays

Generic Benchmarking Sheet

This essay Generic Benchmarking Sheet is available for you on! Search Term Papers, College Essay Examples and Free Essays on - full papers database.

Autor:   •  March 15, 2011  •  2,129 Words (9 Pages)  •  687 Views

Page 1 of 9

Global Communications Benchmarking

Heather LaHaye

Kathy Leary

Carolina Manzano

Rhodora Palad

University of Phoenix

Dr. Kamal L. Ranasinghe Ph.D., D.B.A.

MBA 500

August 28, 2006

Generic Benchmarking Worksheet

Task A: Problem/Opportunity Statement

Instructions for Task A: In the Response row, write out the problem/opportunity statements for the scenario for each of the team members.

Response to Task A:

1. Citing contract manipulation, the Union is against Global Communications strategy to become a global corporation by using an outsourcing approach and intends to take action through the government or any other available resource.

2. With the relocation of Global Communications domestic call centers, there are plans of employee layoffs, relocation, and/or salary cuts. The senior management team will need to minimize the impact of low employee morale.

3. Communication with staff in India and Ireland will be a challenge for Global Communications due to the difference in workplace cultures and legalities. The connection between corporate culture, employee engagement, worker satisfaction, and employer brand will be an area of opportunity.

4. While the Global Communications senior leadership team has decided to move to India and Ireland to create a greater global presence, the leaders need to consider the less desirable effects of going global. According to Pamela Babcock (2004), "Those include the loss of knowledge that goes with the displaced workers, impediments to sharing information and knowledge among employees offshore and, in the United States, the possible demoralizing effect on your remaining workforce as well as the risk of creating a negative corporate brand image."

Generic Benchmarking--The purpose of generic benchmarking is to identify potential solutions to the problem statements defined in Task A. You will do this by looking at how companies in other industries have dealt with similar issues.

Task B1: Generic Benchmarking: Topics

Instructions for Task B1: In the Response row, identify the topics for which you need information in order to identify potential solutions to the problems identified in Task A.

* In the Response row, list three to five topics that you will research in peer-reviewed journals, on Web sites, and in popular publications such as magazines and newspapers.

* In the Response row, provide a justification for each topic.

Response to Task B1:

1. Outsourcing - According to Poria (2003), before outsourcing is put into effect the leaders must first understand the company's overall strategies and the potential impact this decision can have on the company as a whole in terms of morale, effectiveness, financial options, and long term and short term goals across departments. Global Communications did not have any planned strategies on how to handle the move of hundred of jobs overseas. Open communication is lacking between the stakeholders of Global Communications and not all stakeholders were involved in the decision-making process. With the lack of communication and stakeholder involvement there is a great resistance for the planned outsourcing and the opposition of union workers to do any further negotiation. To deal with the resistance faced all stakeholders of Global Communications will need to be informed of the need to change as the organization moves towards globalization due to the competitive telecommunications industry.

2. Globalization - According to Babcock (2004), "globalization is threatening the future of white-collar jobs, which are increasingly being exported to India and other parts of the globe where highly trained, highly educated workers can perform the same jobs as U.S. workers at nearly half the cost."

3. Layoffs - According to Ruth Morss (2006), "senior executives must establish a documented, justifiable business reason for the layoff and analyze its effect on various protected classes, defined most commonly by age, gender, race, and national origin." If Global Communications fails to prove that the downsizing of its domestic call centers are truly valid and not an excuse to discriminate or eliminate a division only to revamp it again with a new name and/or new people, the company could face lawsuits. According to Morss (2006), "The laws apply to companies with 15 or more employees, and local laws cover companies with smaller numbers."

Task B2: Generic Benchmarking: Companies

Instructions for Task B2: In the Response row, identify companies that have faced and addressed similar situations (successfully and unsuccessfully).

* In the Response row, list two to three companies for each topic identified in Task B1.

* In the Response row, identify those that have been successful and those that have been unsuccessful.

* In the Response row, summarize your key findings for each company as they relate to the scenario.

Response to Task B2:

* Northwest Airlines is outsourcing flight attendant


Cynthia had been to many different locations in the city, unlike Lindsey, since _ hated new adventures.
Option 1: Cynthia
Option 2: Lindsey
Answer: 2<|endoftext|>.

And when it comes? No ringing bells or flying flags. Just a wound that will not stop bleeding on his brother’s thigh and a slow blight that seeps up from the southern lands that Gwyn can never capture. Crops that fail year upon miserable year, until all of it is ash.

Those same hunger pangs ache back into the five-month winter of his childhood, he and his brother wasting so many futile hours digging graves into the frozen earth. By the time his uncle stops breathing, they have given up on trying. Gwyn lays his uncle’s body on the hoarfrost and they cover it with the stones that have been set aside to finish up the wall. His hands and his brother’s hands, hard and clumsy with the cold. When it is done, the cairn is ugly and imperfect. It seems a greater injury than death, to the man who taught them how to scoop the hearting stones into walls that will stand long after all of them are dead.

Gwyn started from the memory with a jolt that tugged every tendon taut. The feeling of blood on his hands and his arms. It was a long time since he had woken alone, robbed of the luxury of Mercher’s deep and steady breath to lull him back to sanity. The sky was still dark through the fractured beams. Stars sharp. The bloodstone bit into the blisters on his palm, tugging his thoughts back to memories of digging in the frost. Gwyn shivered and rose with the finches in the knot of hawthorn outside the empty door.

By the time the sun crested the lip of the horizon, a grey and lifeless rain was falling—patterning the dirty glass that still clung in the windows. A thousand silver threads, snaking to the sill. It was a day to take comfort in the smallness of life itself. When everything narrowed to the space that he was standing in.

Gwyn lit the wood in the stove and worked with what they had brought up from the village. Honey and milk, scalded over the fire. Baker’s yeast, and a coarse flour ground on millstones to the north where wheat would still grow. It warmed his fingers as he brought the dough together and worked it to compliance. The most fundamental stuff of life.

But his eyes kept finding the fat drops of rain dripping off of the few tiles left on the ruined roof. The land outside was smothered in the kind of low cloud that felt like it could lift to reveal a world changed beyond all recognition. Or the kind that harboured things that were not human but sought to be.

And Mercher was out there somewhere. Riding north towards the capital in the fog and the rain. Had he lost his way out there? Fated to wander forever among the hollow hills?

And all that I can do about it is bake bread.

The powerlessness came breathless unexpected. He tried to focus on the softness of the dough, on the rhythm of it, but it was futile. As it rose on the shelf above the stove, Gwyn sat on the rotten sill of the window and simply watched the rain fall.

If I let myself go on like this, I will lose my mind.

He put the bread into the oven and picked his way down the slick stairs into the stone garden. The stream had gorged itself on rainwater and overflowed the narrow channel that they had cleared for it. Viscous silver water that almost reached his ankles. He felt with blind fingers beneath the surface for the outlet and the debris stopping the stream from seeking down into the earth. Cleared away the grey and fragile shards of the things that had grown here before. He walked them up the stairs by the bucket-load. Took them out into the rain, and gave them to the moor. Inch by inch, he began to uncover the snaking cracks where he had dropped his seed stones into the desolation of the garden.

The smell of burning brought him back into himself and sent him stumbling for the oven. He burned his hands on the slab of black-hot bread and dropped it on the wet slate floor with frustration and disgust. He sank down to his haunches and pressed his burned hands onto the wet stone. Tomorrow, he would walk down into the village to get more flour, and he would try again.

Other names: the tipping-point; chrysalis; gatekeeper; the fulcrum.

That terrible feeling of waiting. Crouching in the gorse flower on the moor.

He is sixteen and hunched low with a dozen other men and women not much older. None of them know what they are doing. No one but his brother. And he is so strong. So certain. Gwyn would follow him down into the mouth of the underworld if he asked. Next to that, finding a way to murder a king seems easy.

Something must be done, Gwyn.

His first love at his side for all those grey and desperate hours, shifting amongst the thorns and complaining. Trying to persuade him to leave, to be anywhere but here, while Gwyn watches his brother’s silhouette against the low sky. Waiting for the signal. He does not know when he stopped listening to his lover, only that the resistance no longer means anything against the banked fires of his rage.

The worst comes when his brother waves from the hilltop with the yellow lining of his cloak, and Gwyn slides down on his heels to lie upon the road. His world narrows to the wet gravel underneath his cheek. The hooves and feet and wagons of the approaching guards. Praying under his breath that they don’t notice the tremor in the standing water from the shaking in his hand, or put a crossbow bolt through him before creeping forwards to investigate the dead man wearing their king’s colours.

The thought of his uncle is bound around that memory. Ghost whispering for vengeance, weighed down by a few hundred ugly and ill-fitting stones. And from there? One betrayal bleeds into another and he is fighting for his life against a dozen knights like silver ghosts in alleys of blue morning. When it is done, the cobblestones are black with blood. Bodies laid out in the spaces where his friends had been. His brother holding out the crossbow, stock first, eyes as hard as polished stones.

His brother says: you know who told them where to find us, Gwyn. He’s been trying to get you to leave us for years. You’ve never listened. Now half of our people are dead and it’s on you to make it right.

His finger wavers on the trigger, staring into the face of a first love who he had worshipped with every thread and vein in his body.

You won’t do it, Gwyn. I know you.

He closes his eyes. His heart. Closes his finger on the trigger.

And now the world is hollowed out inside. It can never be made whole.

He makes easy prey for the king’s men after that, and Caer Isel seems fitting punishment. Grey and silent-empty with its garrison of crows. He barely even notices when one king falls and another takes his place. When the-king-his-brother leaves him in the dark. Waiting for the crows to pick his eyes out of his body and render him to nothing.

A hand grasps his and pulls him to his feet. Grey steel eyes, and a feeling like coming to the surface after so long drifting in water the same colour as a sword. Mercher as solid and as real as though he’s shaped out of the stone. Everything resting on the answer to one last and desperate aching towards life.

Will you help me get out of here?

The battlements of Dinas Pair at the height of the siege, with the whole city gathered below him to hear. The rain glancing off of Mercher’s pauldrons and his gauntlet on Gwyn’s shoulder. Thousands of expectant eyes waiting for him to tell them that they aren’t all going to die. To find some hope in all this hopelessness.

And, at last, he and his brother standing in the high hall. Albany between them with her red hair and her silver tongue. She reaches out with both her hands for them. Unsheathing her knife, to seal the only sort of peace they can have the only way that they can seal it: with their own hands, in their own blood.

Gwyn had not expected the village to be easy. He had had no misconceptions about walking out of his castle and slotting neatly back into a life abandoned more than half his years ago.

He knew that everyone he met would be suspicious, and some to be angry, and they were, but worse than that were the ones that were afraid. The men and women who bowed their heads and hurried their children away, the way done in stories, when the lands and their people were ruled by fickle monsters that sat on poison thrones. The way they had done in his youth, when King Estraven’s justicars and magistrates passed through. He could not think of anything to say that did not make it worse. That did not push him further away from the lives that these people had gone on living while he planned ambushes, escapes, and speeches.

He paid for what

.

And when it comes? No ringing bells or flying flags. Just a wound that will not stop bleeding on his brother’s thigh and a slow blight that seeps up from the southern lands that Gwyn can never capture. Crops that fail year upon miserable year, until all of it is ash.

Those same hunger pangs ache back into the five-month winter of his childhood, he and his brother wasting so many futile hours digging graves into the frozen earth. By the time his uncle stops breathing, they have given up on trying. Gwyn lays his uncle’s body on the hoarfrost and they cover it with the stones that have been set aside to finish up the wall. His hands and his brother’s hands, hard and clumsy with the cold. When it is done, the cairn is ugly and imperfect. It seems a greater injury than death, to the man who taught them how to scoop the hearting stones into walls that will stand long after all of them are dead.

Gwyn started from the memory with a jolt that tugged every tendon taut. The feeling of blood on his hands and his arms. It was a long time since he had woken alone, robbed of the luxury of Mercher’s deep and steady breath to lull him back to sanity. The sky was still dark through the fractured beams. Stars sharp. The bloodstone bit into the blisters on his palm, tugging his thoughts back to memories of digging in the frost. Gwyn shivered and rose with the finches in the knot of hawthorn outside the empty door.

By the time the sun crested the lip of the horizon, a grey and lifeless rain was falling—patterning the dirty glass that still clung in the windows. A thousand silver threads, snaking to the sill. It was a day to take comfort in the smallness of life itself. When everything narrowed to the space that he was standing in.

Gwyn lit the wood in the stove and worked with what they had brought up from the village. Honey and milk, scalded over the fire. Baker’s yeast, and a coarse flour ground on millstones to the north where wheat would still grow. It warmed his fingers as he brought the dough together and worked it to compliance. The most fundamental stuff of life.

But his eyes kept finding the fat drops of rain dripping off of the few tiles left on the ruined roof. The land outside was smothered in the kind of low cloud that felt like it could lift to reveal a world changed beyond all recognition. Or the kind that harboured things that were not human but sought to be.

And Mercher was out there somewhere. Riding north towards the capital in the fog and the rain. Had he lost his way out there? Fated to wander forever among the hollow hills?

And all that I can do about it is bake bread.

The powerlessness came breathless unexpected. He tried to focus on the softness of the dough, on the rhythm of it, but it was futile. As it rose on the shelf above the stove, Gwyn sat on the rotten sill of the window and simply watched the rain fall.

If I let myself go on like this, I will lose my mind.

He put the bread into the oven and picked his way down the slick stairs into the stone garden. The stream had gorged itself on rainwater and overflowed the narrow channel that they had cleared for it. Viscous silver water that almost reached his ankles. He felt with blind fingers beneath the surface for the outlet and the debris stopping the stream from seeking down into the earth. Cleared away the grey and fragile shards of the things that had grown here before. He walked them up the stairs by the bucket-load. Took them out into the rain, and gave them to the moor. Inch by inch, he began to uncover the snaking cracks where he had dropped his seed stones into the desolation of the garden.

The smell of burning brought him back into himself and sent him stumbling for the oven. He burned his hands on the slab of black-hot bread and dropped it on the wet slate floor with frustration and disgust. He sank down to his haunches and pressed his burned hands onto the wet stone. Tomorrow, he would walk down into the village to get more flour, and he would try again.

Other names: the tipping-point; chrysalis; gatekeeper; the fulcrum.

That terrible feeling of waiting. Crouching in the gorse flower on the moor.

He is sixteen and hunched low with a dozen other men and women not much older. None of them know what they are doing. No one but his brother. And he is so strong. So certain. Gwyn would follow him down into the mouth of the underworld if he asked. Next to that, finding a way to murder a king seems easy.

Something must be done, Gwyn.

His first love at his side for all those grey and desperate hours, shifting amongst the thorns and complaining. Trying to persuade him to leave, to be anywhere but here, while Gwyn watches his brother’s silhouette against the low sky. Waiting for the signal. He does not know when he stopped listening to his lover, only that the resistance no longer means anything against the banked fires of his rage.

The worst comes when his brother waves from the hilltop with the yellow lining of his cloak, and Gwyn slides down on his heels to lie upon the road. His world narrows to the wet gravel underneath his cheek. The hooves and feet and wagons of the approaching guards. Praying under his breath that they don’t notice the tremor in the standing water from the shaking in his hand, or put a crossbow bolt through him before creeping forwards to investigate the dead man wearing their king’s colours.

The thought of his uncle is bound around that memory. Ghost whispering for vengeance, weighed down by a few hundred ugly and ill-fitting stones. And from there? One betrayal bleeds into another and he is fighting for his life against a dozen knights like silver ghosts in alleys of blue morning. When it is done, the cobblestones are black with blood. Bodies laid out in the spaces where his friends had been. His brother holding out the crossbow, stock first, eyes as hard as polished stones.

His brother says: you know who told them where to find us, Gwyn. He’s been trying to get you to leave us for years. You’ve never listened. Now half of our people are dead and it’s on you to make it right.

His finger wavers on the trigger, staring into the face of a first love who he had worshipped with every thread and vein in his body.

You won’t do it, Gwyn. I know you.

He closes his eyes. His heart. Closes his finger on the trigger.

And now the world is hollowed out inside. It can never be made whole.

He makes easy prey for the king’s men after that, and Caer Isel seems fitting punishment. Grey and silent-empty with its garrison of crows. He barely even notices when one king falls and another takes his place. When the-king-his-brother leaves him in the dark. Waiting for the crows to pick his eyes out of his body and render him to nothing.

A hand grasps his and pulls him to his feet. Grey steel eyes, and a feeling like coming to the surface after so long drifting in water the same colour as a sword. Mercher as solid and as real as though he’s shaped out of the stone. Everything resting on the answer to one last and desperate aching towards life.

Will you help me get out of here?

The battlements of Dinas Pair at the height of the siege, with the whole city gathered below him to hear. The rain glancing off of Mercher’s pauldrons and his gauntlet on Gwyn’s shoulder. Thousands of expectant eyes waiting for him to tell them that they aren’t all going to die. To find some hope in all this hopelessness.

And, at last, he and his brother standing in the high hall. Albany between them with her red hair and her silver tongue. She reaches out with both her hands for them. Unsheathing her knife, to seal the only sort of peace they can have the only way that they can seal it: with their own hands, in their own blood.

Gwyn had not expected the village to be easy. He had had no misconceptions about walking out of his castle and slotting neatly back into a life abandoned more than half his years ago.

He knew that everyone he met would be suspicious, and some to be angry, and they were, but worse than that were the ones that were afraid. The men and women who bowed their heads and hurried their children away, the way done in stories, when the lands and their people were ruled by fickle monsters that sat on poison thrones. The way they had done in his youth, when King Estraven’s justicars and magistrates passed through. He could not think of anything to say that did not make it worse. That did not push him further away from the lives that these people had gone on living while he planned ambushes, escapes, and speeches.

He paid for what he needed, with coin that wouldn’t last as long as it needed to. Flour and honey. Seeds for muskmint and mint balm, knitbone and bear’


 would know exactly where the information is stored, and where the information is processed before displaying the result. Therefore, it would be easy to assert an infringement as it is possible to identify who is infringing by scanning hardware devices (because where the program is running is defined), and by reviewing the algorithms either manually or automatically (because where the data is stored is defined).
Cloud computing services promise to provide on-demand resources, both processing and data storage. Cloud computing systems make this possible by connecting multiple and distributed data centers on a need-basis. Sometimes the data centers that are connected need not be belong to a single service provider, and therefore need not be even in a single country. To further compound the problem, cloud computing systems actually try to ensure that the location is not known in order to ensure secrecy of data. Therefore, it is possible that for an application hosted by a client, the data may be stored at one location, and execution may happen in another location depending on availability of resources. And, the two locations may be in two different countries.
Now, coming back to the example, let us say that company B is infringing on the patent by way of executing the method claimed in the patent.
If company B is hosting the infringing application in a traditional hosted service environment, it would be easy to prove that infringement actually happens by identifying the machine where the methods are executed, and by verifying the algorithm underlying the application. However, if the infringing application is operating in a cloud computing environment, it is extremely difficult for company A to investigate to check if infringement is happening indeed. For all we know, the storage of numbers in the aforementioned example could be on a cloud infrastructure with one service provider, and the execution of adding numbers could be happening on a cloud infrastructure with another service provider. And, the infrastructure controlled by the two service providers may be in different locations/countries. It will be interesting to see how technology and business models evolve in cloud computing space to accommodate these requirements.
2. Claim language
Another challenge that faces company A (meaning the applicants and/or associated practitioners) is to ensure that the claims in its patent applications are meaningful even in the context of cloud computing environment.
As we already know, software related method claims require a machine limitation. In order to satisfy the requirement of machine limitation and to keep the claim language clear and succinct, practitioners write claims in the context of a definitive environment where the configuration (number of elements/machines involved and their inter-relation) is defined. At the best, practitioners write multiple claim sets directed to multiple configurations of elements/systems in order to cover as many variations as possible. This approach has served well till now. However, in the context of cloud computing environment, the number of configurations possible in the execution of even the simplest of programs is not defined or predictable. And, it may not be possible to write claims to cover all the possibilities by providing specific machine limitations. It will be interesting to see how prosecution evolves, and how the “machine limitation” requirement will be interpreted in the context of technology operating in a cloud computing environment.
3. Confidentiality of information
As discussed, a cloud computing service provider guarantees on-demand computing resources. However, there is only so much capacity that a single service provider can build, typically service providers have partner relationships formed with other service providers to lease capacity on a need basis. This kind of a scenario poses serious threats to the legality of confidentiality of information.
In the first instance, consider an example where a company places its confidential information on a simple secured hosted server provided by a third party hosted service provider under a contract with confidentiality clauses in place. Such an arrangement may be a valid mechanism to maintain the information as a secret, and therefore may provide adequate protection if and when there is a breach.
In the second instance, consider an example where a company places the same information on a “cloud” infrastructure, again backed by a contract with confidentiality clauses in place. In this scenario, even though the company has signed with the primary service provider, there is no guarantee that the information remains with the primary service provider. The information may well be stored on a server with a secondary service provider having a relationship with the primary service provider. And, the secondary service provider may not be under the same confidentiality terms as was defined between the company and the primary service provider. In fact, it is possible that there is no understanding with respect to confidentiality between the primary service provider and the secondary service provider. Such a lack of understanding between service providers with respect to confidentiality places serious threats to maintaining legitimacy of a trade secret.
The aforementioned challenges transform into risks for various stakeholders, especially owners of the IP in question. In order to mitigate risks associated with aforementioned challenges, owners must:
–       be aware of IP risks in dealing with “cloud” based technologies
–       consult expert practitioners with understanding of the nuances of the evolving technology and IP law,
 –       have practitioners prepare carefully crafted patent applications, and

 –       ensure confidentiality of information through carefully structured contracts with cloud service providers.

  In summary, the murkiness of the “cloud” has introduced interesting challenges to the IP system. While the technology evolves and the IP system makes necessary adjustments to counter challenges posed by the evolution, being aware of the associated risks and taking simple measures can help owners reduce risk exposure considerably.

By, Arun K Narasani, Founder/CEO.

Leave a Reply

You are commenting using your account. Log Out /  Change )

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Connecting to %s<|endoftext|>Contracting the virus was a major concern of Jennifer but not Amy, because _ didn't have a weakened immune system.
Option 1: Jennifer
Option 2: Amy
Answer: 2<|endoftext|>West Bromwich Albion

Founded In
West Bromwich, England

West Bromwich Albion

About West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich Albion Football Club was formed in 1878 and was one of the founding members of the Football League in 1888. They have spent the majority of their existence in the top tier of English football. They have been champions just once, in 1919–20, but have had more success in the FA Cup where they have triumphed five times. The club's longest consecutive period in the top division was between 1949 and 1973, while from 1986 to 2002 they spent their longest ever period out of the top division. The 2012–13 season is their seventh season in the Premier League.

The West Midlands is a traditional hot bed of football and West Brom have fierce rivalries with Wolves, Aston Villa, Birmingham City and Coventry City.

West Brom’s home ground is The Hawthorns. It is an all-seater football stadium with a capacity of 26,272. It has been the home of WBA since 1900 when it became the sixth ground to be used by the club. The ground was the last Football League ground to be built in the 19th century. At an altitude of 551 feet (168 m), it is the highest stadium among those of all 92 Premier and Football League clubs.

Major Honours

First Division Champions 1920

FA Cup 1888, 1892, 1931, 1954, 1968

League Cup 1966

Premier League<|endoftext|>Sunday, April 03, 2011

Having another bipolar depressive episode

And once more I understand why some people are driven to commit suicide because of bipolar disorder. Because, death does seem a much preferable thing to what can only be called "anti-life".

I have been trying to compose the next installment of Being Bipolar. My mind has arrested me from doing that and from having interest in most of the other things that I enjoy in my life. My thoughts are on a seemingly non-stop cycle of nothingness, if that makes any sense.

So what am I doing to alleviate it? I've taken my medication and I've spent some time just trying to let my thoughts run their course (because eventually it does peter out enough to let me be productive again). Other than that, there's not much else that can be done.

I'm leaving Wednesday afternoon, for a short trip. Gonna be at that same film festival in Asheville that I attended last year. Knowing that something like that is on the horizon to look forward to, does help and it helps tremendously. If I know I have something to get excited about, it's like my mind can build up some momentum toward that, enough to be able to focus on that and escape the racing thoughts for a short while.

But in the meantime, I'm stuck with my thoughts holding me captive in a state of not living, not caring, not being empathetic or sympathetic to anyone or anything. I am currently alive and un-live.

And not for the first time, not for the last time, I am wondering why God would allow this to happen to anybody.<|endoftext|>Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Our Expert on Fox Business!

Rebekah and I attend a meeting once a month with an elite group of Realtors and market advisors to keep abreast of the market, the changes, the expectations for the future, etc. We've always known the information is great. It's our way of staying on top of the market so that we can provide the best service and accurate information to our clients.

Well......Fox Business must have thought the information we receive is good too. Steve Harney is the ring leader of our group. We listen to him via webinar once a month and meet with him in person usually twice a year. He has his own website, http://www.keepingcurrent

 of adding two numbers and displaying a result (assuming such a thing would be patentable, of course!).
In the traditional computing scenario, we would know exactly where the information is stored, and where the information is processed before displaying the result. Therefore, it would be easy to assert an infringement as it is possible to identify who is infringing by scanning hardware devices (because where the program is running is defined), and by reviewing the algorithms either manually or automatically (because where the data is stored is defined).
Cloud computing services promise to provide on-demand resources, both processing and data storage. Cloud computing systems make this possible by connecting multiple and distributed data centers on a need-basis. Sometimes the data centers that are connected need not be belong to a single service provider, and therefore need not be even in a single country. To further compound the problem, cloud computing systems actually try to ensure that the location is not known in order to ensure secrecy of data. Therefore, it is possible that for an application hosted by a client, the data may be stored at one location, and execution may happen in another location depending on availability of resources. And, the two locations may be in two different countries.
Now, coming back to the example, let us say that company B is infringing on the patent by way of executing the method claimed in the patent.
If company B is hosting the infringing application in a traditional hosted service environment, it would be easy to prove that infringement actually happens by identifying the machine where the methods are executed, and by verifying the algorithm underlying the application. However, if the infringing application is operating in a cloud computing environment, it is extremely difficult for company A to investigate to check if infringement is happening indeed. For all we know, the storage of numbers in the aforementioned example could be on a cloud infrastructure with one service provider, and the execution of adding numbers could be happening on a cloud infrastructure with another service provider. And, the infrastructure controlled by the two service providers may be in different locations/countries. It will be interesting to see how technology and business models evolve in cloud computing space to accommodate these requirements.
2. Claim language
Another challenge that faces company A (meaning the applicants and/or associated practitioners) is to ensure that the claims in its patent applications are meaningful even in the context of cloud computing environment.
As we already know, software related method claims require a machine limitation. In order to satisfy the requirement of machine limitation and to keep the claim language clear and succinct, practitioners write claims in the context of a definitive environment where the configuration (number of elements/machines involved and their inter-relation) is defined. At the best, practitioners write multiple claim sets directed to multiple configurations of elements/systems in order to cover as many variations as possible. This approach has served well till now. However, in the context of cloud computing environment, the number of configurations possible in the execution of even the simplest of programs is not defined or predictable. And, it may not be possible to write claims to cover all the possibilities by providing specific machine limitations. It will be interesting to see how prosecution evolves, and how the “machine limitation” requirement will be interpreted in the context of technology operating in a cloud computing environment.
3. Confidentiality of information
As discussed, a cloud computing service provider guarantees on-demand computing resources. However, there is only so much capacity that a single service provider can build, typically service providers have partner relationships formed with other service providers to lease capacity on a need basis. This kind of a scenario poses serious threats to the legality of confidentiality of information.
In the first instance, consider an example where a company places its confidential information on a simple secured hosted server provided by a third party hosted service provider under a contract with confidentiality clauses in place. Such an arrangement may be a valid mechanism to maintain the information as a secret, and therefore may provide adequate protection if and when there is a breach.
In the second instance, consider an example where a company places the same information on a “cloud” infrastructure, again backed by a contract with confidentiality clauses in place. In this scenario, even though the company has signed with the primary service provider, there is no guarantee that the information remains with the primary service provider. The information may well be stored on a server with a secondary service provider having a relationship with the primary service provider. And, the secondary service provider may not be under the same confidentiality terms as was defined between the company and the primary service provider. In fact, it is possible that there is no understanding with respect to confidentiality between the primary service provider and the secondary service provider. Such a lack of understanding between service providers with respect to confidentiality places serious threats to maintaining legitimacy of a trade secret.
The aforementioned challenges transform into risks for various stakeholders, especially owners of the IP in question. In order to mitigate risks associated with aforementioned challenges, owners must:
–       be aware of IP risks in dealing with “cloud” based technologies
–       consult expert practitioners with understanding of the nuances of the evolving technology and IP law,
 –       have practitioners prepare carefully crafted patent applications, and

 –       ensure confidentiality of information through carefully structured contracts with cloud service providers.

  In summary, the murkiness of the “cloud” has introduced interesting challenges to the IP system. While the technology evolves and the IP system makes necessary adjustments to counter challenges posed by the evolution, being aware of the associated risks and taking simple measures can help owners reduce risk exposure considerably.

By, Arun K Narasani, Founder/CEO.

Leave a Reply

You are commenting using your account. Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

Twitter picture

Facebook photo

Connecting to %s<|endoftext|>West Bromwich Albion

Founded In
West Bromwich, England

West Bromwich Albion

About West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich Albion Football Club was formed in 1878 and was one of the founding members of the Football League in 1888. They have spent the majority of their existence in the top tier of English football. They have been champions just once, in 1919–20, but have had more success in the FA Cup where they have triumphed five times. The club's longest consecutive period in the top division was between 1949 and 1973, while from 1986 to 2002 they spent their longest ever period out of the top division. The 2012–13 season is their seventh season in the Premier League.

The West Midlands is a traditional hot bed of football and West Brom have fierce rivalries with Wolves, Aston Villa, Birmingham City and Coventry City.

West Brom’s home ground is The Hawthorns. It is an all-seater football stadium with a capacity of 26,272. It has been the home of WBA since 1900 when it became the sixth ground to be used by the club. The ground was the last Football League ground to be built in the 19th century. At an altitude of 551 feet (168 m), it is the highest stadium among those of all 92 Premier and Football League clubs.

Major Honours

First Division Champions 1920

FA Cup 1888, 1892, 1931, 1954, 1968

League Cup 1966

Premier League<|endoftext|>Sunday, April 03, 2011

Having another bipolar depressive episode

And once more I understand why some people are driven to commit suicide because of bipolar disorder. Because, death does seem a much preferable thing to what can only be called "anti-life".

I have been trying to compose the next installment of Being Bipolar. My mind has arrested me from doing that and from having interest in most of the other things that I enjoy in my life. My thoughts are on a seemingly non-stop cycle of nothingness, if that makes any sense.

So what am I doing to alleviate it? I've taken my medication and I've spent some time just trying to let my thoughts run their course (because eventually it does peter out enough to let me be productive again). Other than that, there's not much else that can be done.

I'm leaving Wednesday afternoon, for a short trip. Gonna be at that same film festival in Asheville that I attended last year. Knowing that something like that is on the horizon to look forward to, does help and it helps tremendously. If I know I have something to get excited about, it's like my mind can build up some momentum toward that, enough to be able to focus on that and escape the racing thoughts for a short while.

But in the meantime, I'm stuck with my thoughts holding me captive in a state of not living, not caring, not being empathetic or sympathetic to anyone or anything. I am currently alive and un-live.

And not for the first time, not for the last time, I am wondering why God would allow this to happen to anybody.<|endoftext|>Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Our Expert on Fox Business!

Rebekah and I attend a meeting once a month with an elite group of Realtors and market advisors to keep abreast of the market, the changes, the expectations for the future, etc. We've always known the information is great. It's our way of staying on top of the market so that we can provide the best service and accurate information to our clients.

Well......Fox Business must have thought the information we receive is good too. Steve Harney is the ring leader of our group. We listen to him via webinar once a month and meet with him in person usually twice a year. He has his own website, http://www.keepingcurrentmatters.com/ and Fox Business just interviewed


Joel was really very good at hockey whereas Adam was not because _ was very energetic.
Option 1: Joel
Option 2: Adam
Answer: 1<|endoftext|> kidding. My father returned home that day and the dogs ate so much that night they got sick. So yes, just like kids miss Mommy when she's gone, so do pets!<|endoftext|>Improvised Music from Japan / Otomo Yoshihide

Turntable and guitar player

Otomo Yoshihide was born on August 1, 1959 in Yokohama, Japan. He spent his teenage years in Fukushima, about 300 kilometers north of Tokyo. Influenced by his father, an engineer, Otomo began making electrical devices such as a radio and an electronic oscillator. In junior high school, his hobby was making sound collages using open-reel tape recorders. This was his first experience creating music. Soon after entering high school he formed a band which played rock and jazz, with Otomo on guitar. It wasn't long, however, before he became a free jazz aficionado, listening to artists like Ornette Coleman, Erick Dolphy and Derek Bailey; and hearing music, both on disk and at concerts, by Japanese free jazz artists. The musician who influenced him most at that time was alto sax player Kaoru Abe (two of whose concerts he went to hear) and guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi. For Otomo, this was a turning point--the point at which he decided to play free jazz.

In 1979 Otomo moved to Tokyo to attend university. While continuing to play jazz and punk rock, in his third and fourth years of university he took part in an ethnomusicology seminar directed by professor Akira Ebato. Otomo became increasingly involved in the study of ethnomusical history, and of two subjects in particular: Japanese popular music during World War II, and the evolution of Chinese musical instruments during the Cultural Revolution. In 1981 he went to Hainan, China with a group led by Ebato, to research ethnic music. In the same year he began playing free improvisation professionally--using guitars, tapes, radios, etc.--at Goodman, a live music club in Ogikubo, Tokyo, where he continued to play for about a year.

Otomo became very active in live performance in 1987. Until about 1990 he often played duo concerts with Junji Hirose (on sax and an original self-made instrument). In that period he also played in a band called No Problem, with Lim Soowoong (junk), Jun Numata (electric bass), Kenichi Saitoh (guitar) and Hirose; performed with Kan Mikami (vocals); and was a member of pianist Kyoko Kuroda's group ORT. Starting in 1990 Otomo collaborated extensively with other musicians, in a wide range of styles. He joined bassist Hideki Kato's group Player Piano ('90-'91), and organized a Japan tour with Hirose and percussionist David Moss ('90). That year, he also started his own band, Ground-0 (later Ground Zero). Until it disbanded in March 1998, the band was always at the core of his musical creativity, while it underwent several changes in style and membership.

Otomo first played outside Japan in 1991. In April of that year he took Ground-0 to Hong Kong to play with two local musicians (bass and drums) in the "Best of Indies" concert; and in December he played in Berlin with Koichi Makigami (vocals), Yuji Katsui (violin), Hiroshi Higo (bass), David Moss (percussion), and Frank Schulte (turntables). Since then, Otomo has played overseas every year.

Otomo has created and organized various bands and projects in addition to Ground Zero. He had two bands between '92 and '94: the Double Unit Orchestra, comprised of two groups which he conducted simultaneously; and Celluloid Machine Gun, which he described as the Hong Kong movie-style music world. Otomo also formed Mosquito Paper, which was active from December '93 to late '94. The name came from the slang term for Shanghai tabloid newspapers filled with gossip and fake news stories. In their performances, Otomo set to music not songs but text readings, seeking to bring about the emergence of something between music and speech. He has had many connections with the Hong Kong/Chinese music and movie scenes, especially in the early and middle '90s. Both the Celluloid Machine Gun and Mosquito Paper projects were eventually absorbed by Ground Zero, when the band launched its monumental work Revolutionary Pekinese Opera. Another of Otomo's major projects at that time was the Sampling Virus Project ('92 to '98), in which sampling processes were applied to musical works which were "passed around" among musicians. In this way, the sampling acted in much the same way computer viruses do--invading, multiplying in and transforming the works --thus bringing new works into being. Otomo developed the project through his various musical activities--solo work, collaborations with other musicians, his bands, etc. One example is Ground Zero/Project: Consume.

Since the disbanding of Ground Zero, Otomo's sound has changed greatly. The difference can be heard especially well in his current major projects: I.S.O., his trio with Yoshimitsu Ichiraku (drums, electronics) and Sachiko M (sampler); and Filament, his duo with Sachiko M. The sound, which tends to embrace simplicity, minimalism, and texture much more than dynamism and instrumental performance, contrasts sharply with the extreme chopping and plunderphonics ("plagiaristic" sampling) which used to characterize Otomo's style. In another departure, in July '99 he started a new jazz project based on his own concepts--a jazz quartet with Naruyoshi Kikuchi (saxes), Kenta Tsugami (saxes), Hiroaki Mizutani (bass) and Yasuhiro Yoshigaki (drums). (Half of the compositions played are those of jazz giants such as Charles Mingus, and the rest are Otomo's). He plans to keep the quartet together at least until the band has made a CD and appeared at the Music Unlimited festival in Wels, Austria, in November 1999.

In addition, Otomo has been very active as a co-founder and a side member of other groups and projects, the major ones being drummer Tony Buck's Peril ('92-'95); Hoppy Kamiyama's Optical*8 (March '93-late '94); violinist Jon Rose's Shopping project ('93-); vocalist Tenko's Dragon Blue ('92-); drummer Chris Cutler's P53 ('94-); vocalist Phew's Novo Tono ('94-); Les sculpteurs de vinyl with Sachiko M and French DJs ('96-); and his duo with Tenko, MicroCosmos ('98-).

Otomo has demonstrated an exceptional talent as a composer of movie/TV/video sound tracks. He has in particular enjoyed an excellent relationship with creators in the Chinese and Hong Kong film worlds (See Major Movie/TV/Video Sound Tracks). He also served as music director of the theater group Rinkogun from '92 to '95, creating the music for such works as Bird Man, Inu no Seikatsu, Hamlet Symbol, and Picnic Conductor.

Finally, mention should be made of Otomo's vital and wide-ranging writing activity. Since the eighties he has presented his ideas on music--from distribution problems in the music industry to sociocultural considerations of such topics as sampling and free improvisation--in his articles and essays for various magazines and books in Japan.

Last updated: July 26, 1999<|endoftext|>Reduced breakdown injection port liners

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Reduced breakdown liners
Our improved injection port liner reduces breakdown of endrin and DDT during injections while increasing the interval between liner changes.

The problem
DDT and Endrin are easily degraded in the injection port; with non-deactivated liners and those filled with non-deactivated glass wool, Endrin breakdown can be as high as 98%. EPA method 8081A states "If degradation of either DDT or Endrin exceeds 15%, take corrective action before proceeding with calibration."

The solution
Liner deactivation is the most critical step in preventing breakdown. Now VICI Gig Harbor Group has discovered that when we apply a highly crosslinked siloxane over a conventionally deactivated liner, the result is an injection port liner that contributes less to breakdown than any other component of the injection system.<|endoftext|>Skip to main contentSkip to main content

Open all pages about Earache

If you have earache, you may also have other symptoms, like a high temperature or hearing loss. Earache can be harder to spot in young children.

Taking painkillers and placing a warm or cold flannel on your ear can help ease earache. You can also get treatments like eardrops from a pharmacy.

Common causes of earache include ear infections, a build-up of earwax in your ear and fluid in your ear (glue ear).

Page last reviewed: 29/04/2022
Next review due: 29/04/2025<|endoftext|>“Revisions are Good!” Understanding Cosmetic Revision, Touch Up, or Redo Surgery – Part Two

After cosmetic surgery, things don

 kidding. My father returned home that day and the dogs ate so much that night they got sick. So yes, just like kids miss Mommy when she's gone, so do pets!<|endoftext|>Improvised Music from Japan / Otomo Yoshihide

Turntable and guitar player

Otomo Yoshihide was born on August 1, 1959 in Yokohama, Japan. He spent his teenage years in Fukushima, about 300 kilometers north of Tokyo. Influenced by his father, an engineer, Otomo began making electrical devices such as a radio and an electronic oscillator. In junior high school, his hobby was making sound collages using open-reel tape recorders. This was his first experience creating music. Soon after entering high school he formed a band which played rock and jazz, with Otomo on guitar. It wasn't long, however, before he became a free jazz aficionado, listening to artists like Ornette Coleman, Erick Dolphy and Derek Bailey; and hearing music, both on disk and at concerts, by Japanese free jazz artists. The musician who influenced him most at that time was alto sax player Kaoru Abe (two of whose concerts he went to hear) and guitarist Masayuki Takayanagi. For Otomo, this was a turning point--the point at which he decided to play free jazz.

In 1979 Otomo moved to Tokyo to attend university. While continuing to play jazz and punk rock, in his third and fourth years of university he took part in an ethnomusicology seminar directed by professor Akira Ebato. Otomo became increasingly involved in the study of ethnomusical history, and of two subjects in particular: Japanese popular music during World War II, and the evolution of Chinese musical instruments during the Cultural Revolution. In 1981 he went to Hainan, China with a group led by Ebato, to research ethnic music. In the same year he began playing free improvisation professionally--using guitars, tapes, radios, etc.--at Goodman, a live music club in Ogikubo, Tokyo, where he continued to play for about a year.

Otomo became very active in live performance in 1987. Until about 1990 he often played duo concerts with Junji Hirose (on sax and an original self-made instrument). In that period he also played in a band called No Problem, with Lim Soowoong (junk), Jun Numata (electric bass), Kenichi Saitoh (guitar) and Hirose; performed with Kan Mikami (vocals); and was a member of pianist Kyoko Kuroda's group ORT. Starting in 1990 Otomo collaborated extensively with other musicians, in a wide range of styles. He joined bassist Hideki Kato's group Player Piano ('90-'91), and organized a Japan tour with Hirose and percussionist David Moss ('90). That year, he also started his own band, Ground-0 (later Ground Zero). Until it disbanded in March 1998, the band was always at the core of his musical creativity, while it underwent several changes in style and membership.

Otomo first played outside Japan in 1991. In April of that year he took Ground-0 to Hong Kong to play with two local musicians (bass and drums) in the "Best of Indies" concert; and in December he played in Berlin with Koichi Makigami (vocals), Yuji Katsui (violin), Hiroshi Higo (bass), David Moss (percussion), and Frank Schulte (turntables). Since then, Otomo has played overseas every year.

Otomo has created and organized various bands and projects in addition to Ground Zero. He had two bands between '92 and '94: the Double Unit Orchestra, comprised of two groups which he conducted simultaneously; and Celluloid Machine Gun, which he described as the Hong Kong movie-style music world. Otomo also formed Mosquito Paper, which was active from December '93 to late '94. The name came from the slang term for Shanghai tabloid newspapers filled with gossip and fake news stories. In their performances, Otomo set to music not songs but text readings, seeking to bring about the emergence of something between music and speech. He has had many connections with the Hong Kong/Chinese music and movie scenes, especially in the early and middle '90s. Both the Celluloid Machine Gun and Mosquito Paper projects were eventually absorbed by Ground Zero, when the band launched its monumental work Revolutionary Pekinese Opera. Another of Otomo's major projects at that time was the Sampling Virus Project ('92 to '98), in which sampling processes were applied to musical works which were "passed around" among musicians. In this way, the sampling acted in much the same way computer viruses do--invading, multiplying in and transforming the works --thus bringing new works into being. Otomo developed the project through his various musical activities--solo work, collaborations with other musicians, his bands, etc. One example is Ground Zero/Project: Consume.

Since the disbanding of Ground Zero, Otomo's sound has changed greatly. The difference can be heard especially well in his current major projects: I.S.O., his trio with Yoshimitsu Ichiraku (drums, electronics) and Sachiko M (sampler); and Filament, his duo with Sachiko M. The sound, which tends to embrace simplicity, minimalism, and texture much more than dynamism and instrumental performance, contrasts sharply with the extreme chopping and plunderphonics ("plagiaristic" sampling) which used to characterize Otomo's style. In another departure, in July '99 he started a new jazz project based on his own concepts--a jazz quartet with Naruyoshi Kikuchi (saxes), Kenta Tsugami (saxes), Hiroaki Mizutani (bass) and Yasuhiro Yoshigaki (drums). (Half of the compositions played are those of jazz giants such as Charles Mingus, and the rest are Otomo's). He plans to keep the quartet together at least until the band has made a CD and appeared at the Music Unlimited festival in Wels, Austria, in November 1999.

In addition, Otomo has been very active as a co-founder and a side member of other groups and projects, the major ones being drummer Tony Buck's Peril ('92-'95); Hoppy Kamiyama's Optical*8 (March '93-late '94); violinist Jon Rose's Shopping project ('93-); vocalist Tenko's Dragon Blue ('92-); drummer Chris Cutler's P53 ('94-); vocalist Phew's Novo Tono ('94-); Les sculpteurs de vinyl with Sachiko M and French DJs ('96-); and his duo with Tenko, MicroCosmos ('98-).

Otomo has demonstrated an exceptional talent as a composer of movie/TV/video sound tracks. He has in particular enjoyed an excellent relationship with creators in the Chinese and Hong Kong film worlds (See Major Movie/TV/Video Sound Tracks). He also served as music director of the theater group Rinkogun from '92 to '95, creating the music for such works as Bird Man, Inu no Seikatsu, Hamlet Symbol, and Picnic Conductor.

Finally, mention should be made of Otomo's vital and wide-ranging writing activity. Since the eighties he has presented his ideas on music--from distribution problems in the music industry to sociocultural considerations of such topics as sampling and free improvisation--in his articles and essays for various magazines and books in Japan.

Last updated: July 26, 1999<|endoftext|>Reduced breakdown injection port liners

Product Image
Request Pricing

Turn On Instant Requests

Receive your quote directly from the manufacturer.

0 Scientists have reviewed this product

Write the First Review

No Reviews

Reduced breakdown liners
Our improved injection port liner reduces breakdown of endrin and DDT during injections while increasing the interval between liner changes.

The problem
DDT and Endrin are easily degraded in the injection port; with non-deactivated liners and those filled with non-deactivated glass wool, Endrin breakdown can be as high as 98%. EPA method 8081A states "If degradation of either DDT or Endrin exceeds 15%, take corrective action before proceeding with calibration."

The solution
Liner deactivation is the most critical step in preventing breakdown. Now VICI Gig Harbor Group has discovered that when we apply a highly crosslinked siloxane over a conventionally deactivated liner, the result is an injection port liner that contributes less to breakdown than any other component of the injection system.<|endoftext|>Skip to main contentSkip to main content

Open all pages about Earache

If you have earache, you may also have other symptoms, like a high temperature or hearing loss. Earache can be harder to spot in young children.

Taking painkillers and placing a warm or cold flannel on your ear can help ease earache. You can also get treatments like eardrops from a pharmacy.

Common causes of earache include ear infections, a build-up of earwax in your ear and fluid in your ear (glue ear).

Page last reviewed: 29/04/2022
Next review due: 29/04/2025<|endoftext|>“Revisions are Good!” Understanding Cosmetic Revision, Touch Up, or Redo Surgery – Part Two

After cosmetic surgery, things don’t always heal exactly as planned. Revision, touch up or redo operations are performed to improve outcome, results, and success. I believe in the phrase