Things are getting hot and heavy in Zynga's newest Facebook game.?That is, if you consider some PG-rated?virtual sex to be hot and heavy.?
Following the success of games like "FarmVille," "CityVille" and "CastleVille," Facebook gaming giant?Zynga this week?launched its latest Ville game which is called simply?"The Ville."
This strategy-based life simulation?game lets players create a personalized avatar, build a home and live out virtual relationships.?And according to Zynga executive producer David Gray who spoke to CNET, the avatars in the game can (gasp!) make whoopee. Yes, whoopee.
Gray told CNET that it works like this:
...when someone is in your house and you begin to interact with them, you can level up by interacting with them in ways that the game sees as romantic. As you climb the experience tree, you eventually unlock the capability to initiate the "happiness home run," or just "whoopee"
Based on some of?the breathy Zynga?sex-related headlines making the Internet rounds this week (the above one included), this virtual sex business?may sound like?risque?stuff.
It is not.
Prudes (or concerned parents) can rest assured, making whoopee is pretty tame stuff. There is, apparently, partial disrobing before floating hearts cover the bedroom. Hide?your eyes! It's FLOATING HEARTS!?
Meanwhile, Zynga's frisky avatars are hardly the first to get it on Facebook style.
It's not an overstatement to say that "The Ville" has taken a whole lot of cues from the long-running, best-selling "Sims" games from?Electronic Arts -- and specifically from the new "Sims Social" game on Facebook. And those randy?Sims characters have been making quite a lot of woo-hoo (not to be confused with whoopee)?on Facebook for months now.
In fact,?In January, EA released this?infographic, announcing that "Sims Social" avatars make whoo-hoo?680,000 times per day. And here is the whoo-hoo in action. C'mon,?you know you want to see it:
Winda Benedetti writes about video?games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things?on Twitter?here?@WindaBenedetti?and you?follow her?on Google+. Meanwhile, be sure to check?out the?IN-GAME?FACEBOOK PAGE?to discuss the day's?gaming news and reviews.?
Browse fast with Chrome, now available on your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Sign in to sync your personalized Chrome experience from your computer, and bring it with you anywhere you go.
Search fast ? Search and navigate fast, directly from the same box. Choose from results that appear as you type.
Simple, intuitive experience ? Open and quickly switch between an unlimited number of tabs. On your iPhone and iPod touch, flip through tabs the way you would fan a deck of cards. On iPad, swipe from edge to edge to switch tabs.
Sign in ? Sign in to Chrome to sync your open tabs, bookmarks, passwords, and omnibox data from your computer to your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Pick up right where you left off. ? Send pages from Chrome on your computer to your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad with one click and read them on the go, even if you?re offline.
Privacy ? Open a tab in Incognito* to browse without saving your history. To learn more, please visit: http://goo.gl/WUx02
If you are not already marketing your small business on-line, it?s time to start. Though there are a couple of exceptions, nearly each business can benefit from online marketing. There are simply so many benefits to any such marketing. To start with, it is extremely inexpensive to market your business online. Other advantages to marketing your small business on-line embody the ability to achieve a big target audience, the power to succeed in potential customers all around the world and the ability to customise the advertising and marketing for different sectors of the goal audience.
The affordability of Internet marketing is considered one of many explanation why many enterprise owners are turning to the Web for advertising. Advertising online is extremely inexpensive especially when you think about how many potential clients a business proprietor can attain with an internet marketing campaign. Most strategies of internet marketing are fairly reasonably priced and some of them wouldn?t have any direct costs. For example, you might choose to market your online business online by participating in trade forums and posting links to your website every time it is appropriate to do so. On this case the cost of creating and sustaining the web site is insignificant in comparison to the number of potential purchasers you can reach by means of on-line marketing. Additionally, the costs related to posting hyperlinks to your website are incidental. You might take into account the cost of gaining access to the Internet as a part of the cost however you most likely require Internet access for different reasons as effectively so it is fully worthwhile.
Reaching a big target market is one other very worthwhile cause for advertising what you are promoting online. You?ll have spent an excessive amount of time and power doing market research and decide who your target market is. You might have additionally spent an excessive amount of time trying to determine the easiest way to succeed in this audience. This can be a very sound advertising precept but as it applies to advertising on native television, radio and print media it only lets you reach a restricted audience. Nevertheless, while you take your advertising to the Web you robotically drastically improve your potential audience since you now have the power to succeed in members of your target market across the world.
This potential to succeed in customers around the globe is one other main advantage to advertising and marketing your business online. No matter where you reside and function your enterprise, you might have the power to achieve those that have an interest within the products you sell or the services you provide regardless of the place they live. This makes it possible for you to do business with prospects around the world.
Likewise the truth that the Internet is accessible 24 hours a day can be very beneficial to those who choose to market their services or products online. Searching for services and products in particular person will be very troublesome especially for people who work long hours or those that work unusual hours. These working situations make it tough for these people to do enterprise and make purchases of products and services they want during common enterprise hours. Nonetheless, business homeowners who?ve a web based presence are much more handy as a result of in contrast to stores and calling facilities, the website by no means closes. This comfort provides potential prospects the power to view services, compare these merchandise and repair to those offered by opponents and make a purchase at any hour of any day.
If you?re a business owner who is studying this text and you don?t already have a robust on-line presence, it is advisable instantly start studying extra about the world of Web marketing. That is so essential as a result of if your competitors are marketing online, it?s possible you?ll discover they?re gaining a gentle benefit and have gotten more appealing to potential customers. Before too a lot of your potential clients grow to be loyal clients of the competition it?s time to start figuring out how one can market your business online and sustain with the competition.
For more on the perfect social networking marketing strategy visit the most recent author post.
meryl streep martin scorsese sacha baron cohen best picture nominees 2012 academy awards 2012 albert nobbs a star is born
From the owners of the Egoscue Clinic in Austin, Texas, here are three exercises you can use if you are suffering from low back pain. Try them out and then give us feedback, we?d love to hear from you at Austin@Egoscue.com! Video Rating: 4 / 5
We?re proud to announce the expansion of our Growth Team with three strategic hires. Each team member will help Billhighway elevate its market presence within the nonprofit sector, helping organizations improve?financial operations , increase revenue, save time and advance their mission.
Carolyn Nowaske joins the team as Growth Consultant, bringing sales leadership in IT and business-to-business sales, account management and business development.? Nowaske was previously Sales Account Executive at HTC Global Services, Inc., where she managed strategic accounts for IT consulting and business process outsourcing. Nowaske is a graduate of Michigan State University?s Broad School of Business.
Julie Van Ameyde also joins Billhighway as Growth Consultant. Van Ameyde brings more than 20 years of successful technology sales and marketing experience to nonprofit, technology start-up and Fortune 500 sectors. She most recently served as Business Development Consultant at SpaTech Marketing, LLC. With a significant professional background in business-to-business technology sales, Van Ameyde holds a Bachelor?s Degree in Management and Economics from Oakland University and has completed graduate coursework at Walsh College.
Anna Salvaggio serves as Billhighway Growth Intern.? Salvaggio is entering her junior year at Western Michigan University, Haworth College of Business. A member of the Detroit Tigers DTE Energy Squad, Salvaggio serves as Vice President of Programming for the Alpha Xi Delta sorority at Western Michigan University.
Notes Tracy-Ann Palmer, Chief Growth Officer of Billhighway, ?We?re thrilled to expand the Billhighway Growth Team with these talented and high-performing sales professionals.? With new, innovative technology offerings developed for a wide sector of national nonprofits, these sales leaders embrace Billhighway?s commitment to help member- and donor-based organizations improve financial management and conserve their operating funds for their core missions.?
Welcome, team!
Like this:
Be the first to like this.
Tags: news, newsRoom
This entry was posted on 06/26/2012 at 7:29 PM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Germany is billions of euros behind in its pledged foreign aid payments, according to a new report issued on Monday which says only about half of what the country is pledging is actually paid.
In order to meet its promised targets for foreign aid by 2015, Germany must increase its payments by ?2.35 billion per year, according to the report, issued by the aid organisation One.
Co-founded by rock star Bono, One is an international organisation focusing on fighting poverty and disease, particularly in Africa.
At a 2002 UN conference on development at Monterrey, Mexico, donor countries reiterated a previous UN goal of having aid levels, or official development assistance (ODA), reach 0.7 percent of gross national income by 2015. The European Council later committed to that goal, and set individual targets for member states.
But not all European countries have been making their pledged contributions.
Germany, France, Italy and Spain account for almost 70 percent of the combined gap between pledges and actual payments, and the report says that in order for the EU to meet its collective targets for 2015, these countries must increase what they give.
EU countries as a whole must increase their development assistance by ?42.93 billion between 2011 and 2015 to meet their collective target of ?93.78 billion.
Five EU countries are on track to reach those targets - Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Britain.
Germany, meanwhile, met only 52 percent of its foreign aid targets in 2011. Germany would also have to increase its investment in Africa by more than ?5.5 billion by 2015 in order to meet its targeted goal. This is the largest gap of the European countries studied, according to the report.
Germany is committed to push up its global official development assistance to ?19.51 billion by 2015, but Berlin's current budget efforts indicate it won't meet those targets, the report says.
The aid organisation recognizes that reaching the goals in Europe, under the current financial difficulties, won't be easy.
It writes in the report: "Europe's protracted economic crisis has created a multitude of challenges at home, ranging from high unemployment rates to unsustainable fiscal deficits. In response, an increasing number of countries have implemented sharp cuts or have flat-lined budgets for their budgets for the coming years. This growing budget austerity has now spilled over into life-saving aid programmes."
The report praises countries like Ireland, which despite serious economic woes, is committed to meeting its foreign aid pledges.
LONDON?? It's one of the most famous names in the world, up there with the Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty. But now London's Big Ben clock tower is to be renamed Elizabeth Tower to mark the queen's 60th year on the British throne.
The announcement on Tuesday followed four days of celebrations earlier this month to mark 86-year-old Queen's Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee.
The landmark, part of Britain's Houses of Parliament, is officially called the Clock Tower but is commonly known as Big Ben, the name of the giant bell in the tower that chimes the famous bongs in the capital.
Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the name change. "The renaming of the Clock Tower to the Elizabeth Tower is a fitting recognition of the Queen's 60 years of service. This is an exceptional tribute to an exceptional monarch," he said.
Reactions among the public were mixed, however. "Big Ben is so old and iconic, what is the sense in changing its name? All over the world people won't understand what the Elizabeth Tower is," said Romanian tourist Mara Ciortescu.
Banker Richard Labonte said: "It's not a bad idea, Ben is a strange name for a tower anyway and the Queen deserves it."
The ornate 315-feet-high neo-Gothic tower features four gilded clockfaces and was completed in 1859. There are 393 steps to the top of the tower, sited on the bank of the River Thames in the heart of London's Whitehall government district.
The name change was proposed by Conservative Party lawmaker Tobias Ellwood and accepted by parliamentary authorities.
"The House of Commons (parliament) Commission welcomed the proposal to rename the Clock Tower Elizabeth Tower in recognition of Her Majesty the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and will arrange for this decision to be implemented in an appropriate manner in due course," a House of Commons spokesman said.
The jubilee celebrations underscored a surge in popularity for the Queen in recent years, and included the biggest flotilla on the Thames for more than three centuries, a star-studded concert and a horse-drawn procession through the capital.
However, many Britons were opposed to the tower name change. A YouGov poll last month found almost half opposed proposals to rename the Clock Tower, and only 30 percent supported the idea.
Don't miss these Travel stories
Room with view and giant bedside clock
Ghent, Belgium, has unusual rental built around the top of the clock tower of the city?s Sint-Pieters train station ? part inn, part art exhibit.
Survey: Low-cost airlines tops in customer satisfaction
Man without hands not allowed to ride coaster
Highbrows hit the high seas with NPR, PBS
London's secret small hotels
More articles you might like:
5 ways to protect your computer while traveling
Europe's secret hot spots
Most popular cities in the world to visit in 2012
Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) ? Jurors in Jerry Sandusky's child sex abuse trial listened again Friday to testimony from a key prosecution witness against the former Penn State assistant football coach, then went back behind closed doors for a second day of deliberations.
The jury had talked for more than eight hours Thursday before adjourning at the end of a long session that featured dueling portrayals of Sandusky as a "predatory pedophile" or the victim of a conspiracy between investigators and his accusers.
They started their second day by rehearing testimony given by another Penn State assistant, Mike McQueary, about an unknown boy alleged assaulted by Sandusky inside a football facility shower.
The jurors took copious notes, appearing to pay close attention to McQueary's statement that he did not see penetration, but did see a boy pressed up against a wall with Sandusky behind him.
Jurors also reheard the testimony of a McQueary family friend, Dr. Jonathan Dranov, who said that McQueary told him a different version of the story that didn't include the then-graduate assistant seeing sexual contact.
However, McQueary testified that he hadn't told Dranov all that he saw.
As attorneys read the testimony from transcripts, Sandusky paid close attention while his wife, Dottie, sat behind him. It was the first time Dottie Sandusky heard the testimony, because she wasn't present when the two men took the stand.
Sandusky is accused of sexually abusing 10 boys over a 15-year period, using his charity for at-risk youth, The Second Mile, as a source of victims who would be dazzled by gifts, grateful for his attention and ? perhaps most importantly ? unlikely to speak up.
Sandusky has repeatedly denied the allegations. The defense portrayed him as the hapless victim of a conspiracy to convict him of heinous crimes. They explain the 48 charges against him as the result of an investigatory team out for blood and accusers who willingly played along in hopes of securing a big payday.
Shortly after the jury began deliberations Thursday, attorneys for Sandusky's 33-year-old adopted son, Matt, dropped a bombshell, saying he'd been abused by the former coach and had been prepared to testify against him if called to the stand.
Sequestered during deliberations, the jury was under orders from Judge John Cleland to ponder only the case placed in their hands.
The jury heard from eight accusers who claim Sandusky engaging in sexual contact ranging from kissing and fondling to forced oral or anal sex.
One testified he felt at times like Sandusky's son, at others his "girlfriend."
A second accuser ? a foster child at the time authorities say he was abused ? said Sandusky threatened he would never see his biological family again if he told anyone he was forced to perform sex acts but later took it back and claimed to love him.
One accuser testified to receiving what he called "creepy love letters" from Sandusky. "I know that I have made my share of mistakes," read one handwritten note. "However, I hope that I will be able to say that I cared. There has been love in my heart."
The defense said the longwinded letters were simply the manifestation of a personality disorder characterized by excessive emotionality and attention seeking.
Two people who prosecutors say were sexually abused by Sandusky haven't been identified. McQueary's testimony is the basis for charges involving one of those alleged victims.
It was also McQueary's testimony that touched off the massive scandal that rocked Penn State and forced a re-examination of the role of college administrators in reporting abuse allegations.
Sandusky has denied the allegations, but did not testify in his own defense. Jurors are aware, however, of the denials he gave "Rock Center" just after his arrest. In it, Sandusky seemed to stumble at times and struggled to give direct answers to questions about his conduct.
Asked if he was sexually attracted to boys, Sandusky told NBC's Bob Costas: "Sexually attracted, you know, I, I enjoy young people. I, I love to be around them. ... No, I'm not sexually attracted to young boys."
Senior Deputy Attorney General Joseph McGettigan III seized on that in closing arguments, saying: "I would think that the automatic response, if someone asks you if you're a criminal, a pedophile, a child molester, or anything along those lines, would be: 'You're crazy. No. Are you nuts?'"
Prosecutors said Sandusky used gifts and the allure of Penn State's vaunted football program to attract and abuse vulnerable boys who came from troubled homes, often ones without a father figure in the house.
"What you should do is come out and say to the defendant that he molested and abused and give them back their souls," McGettigan told jurors. "I give them to you. Acknowledge and give them justice."
Defense attorney Joe Amendola argued that Sandusky was targeted by investigators who coached accusers into making false claims about a generous man whose charity gave them much-needed love.
"So out of the blue (after) all these years, when Jerry Sandusky is in his mid-50s, he decides to become a pedophile? Does that make sense to anybody?" Amendola asked rhetorically.
The jury, which includes nine people with ties to Penn State, had already begun deliberating when Matt Sandusky's attorneys issued a statement alleging that his father abused him.
"During the trial, Matt Sandusky contacted us and requested our advice and assistance in arranging a meeting with prosecutors to disclose for the first time in this case that he is a victim of Jerry Sandusky's abuse," Andrew Shubin and Justine Andronici said in the statement. "At Matt's request, we immediately arranged a meeting between him and the prosecutors and investigators.
"This has been an extremely painful experience for Matt and he has asked us to convey his request that the media respect his privacy. There will be no further comment."
Matt Sandusky went to live with Sandusky and his wife as a foster child and was adopted by them as an adult. He is one of Jerry Sandusky's six adopted children.
Shortly after Jerry Sandusky's arrest, Matt Sandusky's ex-wife went to court to keep her former father-in-law away from their three young children. Jill Jones successfully obtained a restraining order forbidding the children from sleeping over at their grandparents' home.
Around the same time, details emerged that Matt Sandusky had attempted suicide just four months after first going to live with the couple in 1995. He had come into the home through The Second Mile.
Shortly after the suicide attempt, Sandusky's probation officer wrote, "The probation department has some serious concerns about the juvenile's safety and his current progress in placement with the Sandusky family," according to court records supplied to The Associated Press by his birth mother, Debra Long.
Despite those concerns, probation and child welfare officials recommended continued placement with the Sandusky family, and the judge overseeing his case agreed.
During testimony last week, an accuser known as Victim 4 said Matt Sandusky was living at the Sandusky home at the time he stayed there overnight and testified that Jerry Sandusky came into the shower with the two boys and "started pumping his hand full of soap." Matt Sandusky shut off the shower and left, appearing nervous, the witness said.
On Friday, three of Matt Sandusky's siblings ? Jeffrey Sandusky, Jon Sandusky and Kara Werner ? were in court with their parents.
Another son, Ray Sandusky, who lives in Brentwood, Tenn., said he had no comment and closed the door on an Associated Press reporter.
A sixth Sandusky child, E.J., could not be located by the AP on Friday.
___
Associated Press writers Teresa M. Walker in Tennessee, Michael Rubinkam and Maryclaire Dale in Pennsylvania contributed to this report.
Engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) have identified a catalyst that provides the same level of efficiency in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) as the currently used platinum catalyst, but at 5% of the cost.
Since more than 60% of the investment in making microbial fuel cells is the cost of platinum, the discovery may lead to much more affordable energy conversion and storage devices.
The material ? nitrogen-enriched iron-carbon nanorods ? also has the potential to replace the platinum catalyst used in hydrogen-producing microbial electrolysis cells (MECs), which use organic matter to generate a possible alternative to fossil fuels.
"Fuel cells are capable of directly converting fuel into electricity," says UWM Professor Junhong Chen, who created the nanorods and is testing them with Assistant Professor Zhen (Jason) He. "With fuel cells, electrical power from renewable energy sources can be delivered where and when required, cleanly, efficiently and sustainably."
The scientists also found that the nanorod catalyst outperformed a graphene-based alternative being developed elsewhere. In fact, the pair tested the material against two other contenders to replace platinum and found the nanorods' performance consistently superior over a six-month period.
The nanorods have been proved stable and are scalable, says Chen, but more investigation is needed to determine how easily they can be mass-produced. More study is also required to determine the exact interaction responsible for the nanorods' performance.
The work was published in March in the journalAdvanced Materials ("Nitrogen-Enriched Core-Shell Structured Fe/Fe3C-C Nanorods as Advanced Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction").
The right recipe
MFCs generate electricity while removing organic contaminants from wastewater. On the anode electrode of an MFC, colonies of bacteria feed on organic matter, releasing electrons that create a current as they break down the waste.
On the cathode side, the most important reaction in MFCs is the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Platinum speeds this slow reaction, increasing efficiency of the cell, but it is expensive.
Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) are related to MFCs. However, instead of electricity, MECs produce hydrogen. In addition to harnessing microorganisms at the anode, MECS also use decomposition of organic matter and platinum in a catalytic process at their cathodes.
Chen and He's nanorods incorporate the best characteristics of other reactive materials, with nitrogen attached to the surface of the carbon rod and a core of iron carbide. Nitrogen's effectiveness at improving the carbon catalyst is already well known. Iron carbide, also known for its catalytic capabilities, interacts with the carbon on the rod surface, providing "communication" with the core. Also, the material's unique structure is optimal for electron transport, which is necessary for ORR.
When the nanorods were tested for potential use in MECs, the material did a better job than the graphene-based catalyst material, but it was still not as efficient as platinum.
"But it shows that there could be more diverse applications for this material, compared to graphene," says He. "And it gave us clues for why the nanorods performed differently in MECs."
###
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee: http://www.uwm.edu
Thanks to University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee for this article.
This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.
Contact: Edgar Hertwich edgar.hertwich@ntnu.no 47-918-97568 Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Sustainability for Rio+20 and beyond
From new cars to email messages, from bananas to home-grown tomatoes: everything we buy, produce or consume has an environmental cost that has come to be called a "footprint". And if you want to be a good global citizen, the Internet offers a range of tools that you can use to understand just how big your footprint is or what your existing lifestyle is doing to the planet.
But what if you are a government decision maker and want know the impact of different policies on the environment? That's an infinitely more difficult calculation to make.
Now, as global policymakers meet in Brazil at the UN's Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, a group of European researchers has developed a new online "virtual crystal ball" that can help planners envision a greener future and help them get there.
Easy to understand graphics
The online tool is called EUREAPA (for EU Resource and Energy Analysis Programme Application), and has been produced by a coalition of European researchers, including from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim. The EUREAPA tool can produce graphics that show how national consumption patterns affect land and water use, along with the production of greenhouse gases.
These three options called the carbon footprint, the ecological footprint and the water footprint give policy makers a chance to look at environmental pressures from three different perspectives so they can avoid shifting environmental impacts from one class to another.
Using the footprint perspective can also help policy makers avoid shifting environmental problems from one region to another for example, by moving production sites into regions with less stringent environmental regulations, says Jan Weinzettel, a postdoctoral researcher at NTNU who has been involved in the tool development during the last two years. While moving production sites to other parts of the globe clearly improves a country's own environment, it merely moves the actual impact of production somewhere else, so there is no real gain.
A crystal ball
But perhaps EUREAPA's biggest strength is that it can analyse future development scenarios. The user can enter different values into a range of fields, from population numbers to consumption patterns and expected economic growth, and the tool can calculate a future scenario that shows how the values entered will affect the three different footprints.
This allows policymakers to investigate how different possible government policies would change future environmental pressures, Weinzettel says.
The EUREAPA tool "helps you analyse the effects that might be promoted by different policies," he explained. "What would be the combined results of several policy changes?"
Looking for unintended results
For example, he said, consider this goal: a country tries to eliminate the carbon dioxide emissions from its electricity supply. Given the worrisome trends with greenhouse gas emissions and the warming of the planet, cutting the emissions of the biggest greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, seems like a good idea.
But Weinzettel points out that this one big change might have unexpected, and unwanted results. It could force other changes in land and water use that might in fact cause higher environmental impacts, while the resulting reduction in carbon footprint might be lower than expected.
Or it might have an effect on a neighbouring country that affects your country too, he added. "You can influence electricity production in your own country, but it may have important ramifications elsewhere," he said. With the EUREAPA tool, planners and policy makers can try out the idea, and see how it works.
Meeting environmental goals
Weinzettel's supervisor, Edgar Hertwich, who is director of the Industrial Ecology Programme at NTNU, says the tool has its origins in trying to clarify the best choice in situations where there is a conflict in environmental objectives.
Think of it as kind of like trying to find the answer to the paper or plastic question when it comes to deciding which kind of grocery bag to choose. Except in this case, the questions are on a much larger scale, and the individuals that are deciding may be making the decision on behalf of a municipality, a county or even a country.
Another important aspect of a calculator like EUREAPA is that it gives policy makers a chance to keep track of the effects of different policy decisions they have made, and in doing so, to make sure that what they are doing will get them to where they want to be.
"You need to trace environmental impacts to see if you are going to meet environmental goals," Hertwich said. "If you don't have a way to track things, you don't know what is going on."
The details
So just what's in the EUREAPA model? Weinzettel says there are 57 economic sectors represented in the model for 45 regions around the globe. The economic sectors include items such as agriculture and manufacturing as well as transport, recreation, health and financial services.
The tool also allows you to look at the entire impact of one country, or at a per person impact, which lets you see if the numbers that are illustrated are due to high consumption per person, or if they are due to the sheer number of citizens of the country.
China is a good example of this: for some impacts say carbon footprint linked to food consumption China overall has among the highest footprints of any nation. Yet on a per person basis, China has some of the lowest carbon emissions from food consumption of any country listed in the database.
EUREAPA thus allows the user to look at the "full supply chain impacts associated with the food people eat, the clothes they buy, the products they consume or the way they travel," the tool's website explains, and in doing so, the user gets a picture of "the impacts of consumption activities in the context of lifestyles or national differences."
An annual check
Hertwich says one place where EUREAPA could be particularly helpful is at the municipality level, where many decisions are made that can add up to significant impacts in the future.
"One specific application I would really like to see is if municipalities were to implement annual footprint measures, so they actually trace their own success in reducing their footprint," he said. "We usually say that what gets measured also gets worked on." That way, he said, calculating the different environmental footprints of a municipality becomes another kind of accounting that helps policymakers decide if what they are doing is working.
"If you don't measure your environmental indicators, you will not be able to reduce your footprints," he said. "But if you do measure them, and do trace them, it becomes part of the standard accounting and will be paid more attention to in decision making."
###
The tool can be found at https://www.eureapa.net/
[ | 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.
Contact: Edgar Hertwich edgar.hertwich@ntnu.no 47-918-97568 Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Sustainability for Rio+20 and beyond
From new cars to email messages, from bananas to home-grown tomatoes: everything we buy, produce or consume has an environmental cost that has come to be called a "footprint". And if you want to be a good global citizen, the Internet offers a range of tools that you can use to understand just how big your footprint is or what your existing lifestyle is doing to the planet.
But what if you are a government decision maker and want know the impact of different policies on the environment? That's an infinitely more difficult calculation to make.
Now, as global policymakers meet in Brazil at the UN's Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, a group of European researchers has developed a new online "virtual crystal ball" that can help planners envision a greener future and help them get there.
Easy to understand graphics
The online tool is called EUREAPA (for EU Resource and Energy Analysis Programme Application), and has been produced by a coalition of European researchers, including from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim. The EUREAPA tool can produce graphics that show how national consumption patterns affect land and water use, along with the production of greenhouse gases.
These three options called the carbon footprint, the ecological footprint and the water footprint give policy makers a chance to look at environmental pressures from three different perspectives so they can avoid shifting environmental impacts from one class to another.
Using the footprint perspective can also help policy makers avoid shifting environmental problems from one region to another for example, by moving production sites into regions with less stringent environmental regulations, says Jan Weinzettel, a postdoctoral researcher at NTNU who has been involved in the tool development during the last two years. While moving production sites to other parts of the globe clearly improves a country's own environment, it merely moves the actual impact of production somewhere else, so there is no real gain.
A crystal ball
But perhaps EUREAPA's biggest strength is that it can analyse future development scenarios. The user can enter different values into a range of fields, from population numbers to consumption patterns and expected economic growth, and the tool can calculate a future scenario that shows how the values entered will affect the three different footprints.
This allows policymakers to investigate how different possible government policies would change future environmental pressures, Weinzettel says.
The EUREAPA tool "helps you analyse the effects that might be promoted by different policies," he explained. "What would be the combined results of several policy changes?"
Looking for unintended results
For example, he said, consider this goal: a country tries to eliminate the carbon dioxide emissions from its electricity supply. Given the worrisome trends with greenhouse gas emissions and the warming of the planet, cutting the emissions of the biggest greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, seems like a good idea.
But Weinzettel points out that this one big change might have unexpected, and unwanted results. It could force other changes in land and water use that might in fact cause higher environmental impacts, while the resulting reduction in carbon footprint might be lower than expected.
Or it might have an effect on a neighbouring country that affects your country too, he added. "You can influence electricity production in your own country, but it may have important ramifications elsewhere," he said. With the EUREAPA tool, planners and policy makers can try out the idea, and see how it works.
Meeting environmental goals
Weinzettel's supervisor, Edgar Hertwich, who is director of the Industrial Ecology Programme at NTNU, says the tool has its origins in trying to clarify the best choice in situations where there is a conflict in environmental objectives.
Think of it as kind of like trying to find the answer to the paper or plastic question when it comes to deciding which kind of grocery bag to choose. Except in this case, the questions are on a much larger scale, and the individuals that are deciding may be making the decision on behalf of a municipality, a county or even a country.
Another important aspect of a calculator like EUREAPA is that it gives policy makers a chance to keep track of the effects of different policy decisions they have made, and in doing so, to make sure that what they are doing will get them to where they want to be.
"You need to trace environmental impacts to see if you are going to meet environmental goals," Hertwich said. "If you don't have a way to track things, you don't know what is going on."
The details
So just what's in the EUREAPA model? Weinzettel says there are 57 economic sectors represented in the model for 45 regions around the globe. The economic sectors include items such as agriculture and manufacturing as well as transport, recreation, health and financial services.
The tool also allows you to look at the entire impact of one country, or at a per person impact, which lets you see if the numbers that are illustrated are due to high consumption per person, or if they are due to the sheer number of citizens of the country.
China is a good example of this: for some impacts say carbon footprint linked to food consumption China overall has among the highest footprints of any nation. Yet on a per person basis, China has some of the lowest carbon emissions from food consumption of any country listed in the database.
EUREAPA thus allows the user to look at the "full supply chain impacts associated with the food people eat, the clothes they buy, the products they consume or the way they travel," the tool's website explains, and in doing so, the user gets a picture of "the impacts of consumption activities in the context of lifestyles or national differences."
An annual check
Hertwich says one place where EUREAPA could be particularly helpful is at the municipality level, where many decisions are made that can add up to significant impacts in the future.
"One specific application I would really like to see is if municipalities were to implement annual footprint measures, so they actually trace their own success in reducing their footprint," he said. "We usually say that what gets measured also gets worked on." That way, he said, calculating the different environmental footprints of a municipality becomes another kind of accounting that helps policymakers decide if what they are doing is working.
"If you don't measure your environmental indicators, you will not be able to reduce your footprints," he said. "But if you do measure them, and do trace them, it becomes part of the standard accounting and will be paid more attention to in decision making."
###
The tool can be found at https://www.eureapa.net/
[ | 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.
Forthcoming family history sessions at North Yorkshire County Record Office (www.northyorks.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=6269&contactid=5173)
Learn more about family history at the County Record Office
We run full day sessions for people wanting to research their family history. These sessions are aimed at both beginners and more advanced family historians.
These sessions are very popular so advance booking is essential, please telephone 01609 777585 or e-mail archives@northyorks.gov.uk. The cost of each session is ?30, including light refreshments and buffet lunch.
Family history beginners' day, 7 July 2012
Suitable for those with no previous family history experience, this day provides a detailed exploration of first steps in family history, led by an experienced family history tutor. It includes a basic introduction to the census, civil registration records and parish registers plus use of the internet, with basic software and live web demonstrations.
Next steps in family history, 6 October 2012
For people who may have used the internet to look at census and registration records, and are ready to explore other sources, this day is a natural follow on from our family history beginners' days.
Led by an experienced family history tutor, and a professional archivist, it includes a detailed account of parish registers, modern and ecclesiastical wills, an introduction to quarter sessions records and other sources and advanced internet usage techniques. The cost is ?30, including light refreshments and a buffet lunch.
Family history skills day, 1 December 2012
For those wishing to develop their family history skills.
Led by an experienced family history tutor with contributions from archivists, this day includes getting the best from the internet, approaches to Latin and palaeography (old handwriting), family tree recording software and conservation of personal archives.
(With thanks to @JackieDepelle on Twitter)
Chris
Check out my Scotland's Greatest Story research service www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk New book: It's Perthshire 1866 - there's been a murder... www.thehistorypress.co.uk/products/The-Mount-Stewart-Murder.aspx?(from June 12th 2012)
Religion, science and personal development all share the same goal ? to elevate mankind above his current circumstances. We once used religion to increase our spiritual understanding and science to develop our knowledge of the world. However, many people are now using personal development to do both!
Personal development has, in the past, been a luxury pursuit of the rich, famous or dedicated seeker. However, as we find ourselves firmly planted in the 21st Century personal development is becoming more of a necessity than a luxury.
The term Personal Development has historically been a lose term used to describe the development of yourself in some area or field of expertise. However, in this day and age, it really refers to creating the type of self improvement at a mental, emotional and spiritual level that can create real positive physical changes in character and life experience.
As the fear-mongers and financial elite continually drive home the concept that we are entering the worst recession in a hundred years it is now more than ever that we need to launch ourselves on the personal development trail. It is your responsibility to rise above the controlled collective consciousness of lack and embrace the truth that we are all connected and have access to unlimited supplies of everything!
Quantum physics is continually pushing past the old boundaries imposed by outdated science and showing us the way. This new scientific field is experimenting with, and proving the existence of, the energy field that binds all matter and from which everything, animate and inanimate, takes its form.
How does this discovery connect to personal development?
Well religious, metaphysical and esoteric texts have always told us that we are all connected and that there is only one God who is spiritual in nature. We have been told that we are given dominion over life itself. Jesus told us that we are the temple of the living God. Buddha became conscious of his connection with God. We are told that God is spirit and permeates all things. If you believe that there is only one God and that he permeates everything in existence then you must also believe that everything takes its form from this one God. That means that there can only be one true consciousness in existence ? God!
Personal growth and self improvement begins with the premise that we are all connected within one mass of vibrating energy. Most self Improvement tools begin with this premise and mould their approaches around it. However, we always remain a part of the whole and cannot escape that, no matter how hard we try.
Science is now confirming that all these beliefs are true. Quantum theory postulates that this energy field, or divine matrix, is the starting point of all matter. In fact matter, or material objects, are just small packets of energy, within this one energy field, that group together to form things!
A great deal of research and a varied group of truth-seeking scientists have discovered strong evidence to suggest this matrix is composed of electromagnetic energy. We can ascertain then that everything that exists has electromegnetic properties. It is also being shown that our thoughts are composed of the exact same electromagnetic properties as the very energy field in which we live, move and have our being!
Electromagnetic properties are similar to other forms of magnetism ? magnetic! Therefore, if your thoughts are magnetised to this matrix of energy, which is the fabric of reality as we know it, and physical objects are part of this matrix then you can use your thoughts to attract things! Thoughts become things!
It is the aim of personal development to allow you to use this knowledge to change your life by giving you practical tools for achieving your goals. The reason why it is so hard for most of us to grasp this concept, never mind use it to our advantage, lies in the fact that most of our life experiences and material objects are created and attracted to us by our subconscious thoughts. It is the automatic thoughts you think that are responsible for creating your life! Most of these thoughts are negative in nature.
To truly elevate yourself above the collective consciousness and become the master of your own life you must fully embrace this axiom. It is necessary to find and then eliminate the negative thoughts and beliefs you hold that have held you back from achieving your dreams. Personal development is just a tool to achieve this. Use it to alter your automatic thinking. Then you will be free to consciously think yourself into any life you desire!
Would you like to use a piece of 21st Century audio technology to remove your negative subconscious programming and instil new positive thoughts & beliefs just by listening to some calming miusic? Then visit The Personal Development Newsletter to claim a free Manifestation MP3 when you subscribe to their free personal development ezine.
Brought to you by Michael McGrath from Personal Development ? products tested and then reviewed for free. We find out what works so you don?t have to!
This Blog Post "Personal Development in Religion and Science" was Submitted by "James Reilly"
UW research shows new prognosis tool for deadly brain cancerPublic release date: 20-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Susan Lampert Smith ssmith5@uwhealth.org 608-262-7335 University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wis. A diagnosis of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is generally a death sentence, but new research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison lab of Dr. John Kuo shows that at least one subtype is associated with a longer life expectancy. This discovery could help with better patient prognoses and lead to targeted drug treatments for GBM subtypes.
People diagnosed with GBM live on average less than 15 months after diagnosis, even after undergoing aggressive surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. But not all GBM cancers are the same, and Kuo's study outlines a new method for sub-typing GBM tumor lines by the proteins they express.
The paper, published early online by the journal Clinical Cancer Research, shows that people who have a subtype of GBM that expresses a particular protein, known for short as CNP, may have a less aggressive subtype of cancer. The survival rate for those with the subtype is sometimes measured in years, not months.
The group isolated tumor lines from five human patients and grew them in the lab, and then looked for biomarkers specific to each line. They later transplanted the tissue into the brains of mice with compromised immune systems.
The researchers also looked for the CNP subtype in samples from 115 human patients and then looked at data on survival rates for those patients. They found that some patients with the protein lived much longer, as long as 10 years after diagnosis.
"We found that this protein was correlated with a less invasive type of cancer in mice, and when we looked at samples of human tumors, remarkably, we also found that the less invasive tumors expressed the CNP protein,'' says Kuo, assistant professor of neurological surgery and human oncology at UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
Kuo says the sub-typing could lead to more accurate prognosis for patients with a GBM diagnosis. Currently, most sub-typing of GBM tumors is based on mRNA, which can be difficult to do. But Kuo says that most hospitals can run assays for proteins, making the test simpler and easier.
In addition, says Michael Zorniak, Kuo's graduate student and lead author on the paper, the new way of typing tumors could lead to designer chemotherapy for GBM.
"As we understand how tumors are differentiated, we can start devising personalized therapies that are targeted to the specific sub-type of cancer,'' he says. "This can help us gain leverage against this difficult cancer."
For example, researchers could create monoclonal antibodies that bind only to the CNP type of cancer, in the way that some subtypes of breast cancer are currently targeted.
###
The research will be published in the July issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, and is available on-line here:
http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2012/05/15/1078-0432.CCR-12-0339
The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (T32GM007507, UL1RR025011, RC4AA020476) the National Cancer Institute (HHSN261201000130C, P30CA014520) the Wisconsin Partnership Program, the Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Shapiro research scholarship, Graduate School, Department of Neurological Surgery), the HEADRUSH Brain Tumor Research Professorship and the Roger Loff Memorial Fund for GBM Research.
[ | 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.
UW research shows new prognosis tool for deadly brain cancerPublic release date: 20-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Susan Lampert Smith ssmith5@uwhealth.org 608-262-7335 University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wis. A diagnosis of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is generally a death sentence, but new research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison lab of Dr. John Kuo shows that at least one subtype is associated with a longer life expectancy. This discovery could help with better patient prognoses and lead to targeted drug treatments for GBM subtypes.
People diagnosed with GBM live on average less than 15 months after diagnosis, even after undergoing aggressive surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. But not all GBM cancers are the same, and Kuo's study outlines a new method for sub-typing GBM tumor lines by the proteins they express.
The paper, published early online by the journal Clinical Cancer Research, shows that people who have a subtype of GBM that expresses a particular protein, known for short as CNP, may have a less aggressive subtype of cancer. The survival rate for those with the subtype is sometimes measured in years, not months.
The group isolated tumor lines from five human patients and grew them in the lab, and then looked for biomarkers specific to each line. They later transplanted the tissue into the brains of mice with compromised immune systems.
The researchers also looked for the CNP subtype in samples from 115 human patients and then looked at data on survival rates for those patients. They found that some patients with the protein lived much longer, as long as 10 years after diagnosis.
"We found that this protein was correlated with a less invasive type of cancer in mice, and when we looked at samples of human tumors, remarkably, we also found that the less invasive tumors expressed the CNP protein,'' says Kuo, assistant professor of neurological surgery and human oncology at UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
Kuo says the sub-typing could lead to more accurate prognosis for patients with a GBM diagnosis. Currently, most sub-typing of GBM tumors is based on mRNA, which can be difficult to do. But Kuo says that most hospitals can run assays for proteins, making the test simpler and easier.
In addition, says Michael Zorniak, Kuo's graduate student and lead author on the paper, the new way of typing tumors could lead to designer chemotherapy for GBM.
"As we understand how tumors are differentiated, we can start devising personalized therapies that are targeted to the specific sub-type of cancer,'' he says. "This can help us gain leverage against this difficult cancer."
For example, researchers could create monoclonal antibodies that bind only to the CNP type of cancer, in the way that some subtypes of breast cancer are currently targeted.
###
The research will be published in the July issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, and is available on-line here:
http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2012/05/15/1078-0432.CCR-12-0339
The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (T32GM007507, UL1RR025011, RC4AA020476) the National Cancer Institute (HHSN261201000130C, P30CA014520) the Wisconsin Partnership Program, the Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Shapiro research scholarship, Graduate School, Department of Neurological Surgery), the HEADRUSH Brain Tumor Research Professorship and the Roger Loff Memorial Fund for GBM Research.
[ | 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.
[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]
[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 21-Jun-2012
Share ] 
