"Tamerlan Tsarnaev's justice will be in the next world, but for his brother, accountability will begin right here in the district of Massachusetts." ? Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley, who released a 30-count indictment against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
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"I'm not going to have one case with a suspect who we're trying to extradite suddenly be elevated to the point where I've got to start doing wheeling and dealing and trading on a whole host of other issues, simply to get a guy extradited so he can face the justice system." ? President Barack Obama on National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.
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"I'm just as surprised as anyone else." ? UNLV freshman Anthony Bennett on becoming the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.
Dr. Coburn?s Statement on Passage of Senate Immigration Bill
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) ? U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) released the following statement today regarding the passage of S. 744:
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?This bill is a historic missed opportunity for the United States Senate. It is a $48 billion border stimulus package that grants amnesty to politicians who want to say they are securing the border when in fact they are not. I very much wanted to support an immigration reform proposal that balances our fundamental American values of legal immigration and the rule of law. Sadly, this bill fails that test.
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?Speaker Boehner and House Republicans now have all the justification they need to start over. I would encourage the House to use President Reagan?s view of immigration as a blueprint. In his farewell address Reagan described what he saw when he talked about America as the ?shining city on the Hill.?
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?Reagan said, ?it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.?
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??Walls with doors? is an immigration policy that can unite our nation. But, today, Democrats sound like they want only doors; Republicans only walls. The truth is we have neither. We have chaos.
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?House Republicans have a chance to be the higher chamber and get reform right. They should first remind the public that America is exceptional because it is a miracle of assimilation unrivaled in human history. The fire beneath our melting pot is not our economic or material wealth, but an immaterial idea that all people are created equal and are endowed by the Creator ? not the State ? with certain rights. Every legal immigrant who ?comes hurtling through the darkness, toward home,? as Reagan said, makes that fire brighter and our nation stronger.
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?The House also has an obligation to defend the rule of law, which is what the debate about border security is really about. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, our border is only 40 to 55 percent secure. At the same time, under the Senate bill, illegal immigration will drop by only 25 percent according the Congressional Budget Office. Meanwhile, more than 40 percent of all people who are currently here illegally came through the front door and have overstayed their visas.
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?The rule of law is the glue that holds our nation together and it guarantees the freedom that has drawn millions to our country. As a nation, we have an obligation to our citizens ? and to legal immigrants ? to uphold the rule of law and ensure the process is fair to all. Unfortunately, this bill is full of holes as far as the rule of law is considered. It is written so that the Secretary of Homeland Security can waive almost every portion of it. That?s not the rule of law. That?s the rule of rulers.
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?The House can, and must, do better. But we should be precise about what the problem is. Oklahomans and people across this country aren?t mad at illegal immigrants. They?re mad at Washington. And they are right to be angry. Politicians who pass laws they have no intention of enforcing do more to undermine the rule of law than a Guatemalan father of four who crosses the border twice a year to help feed his extended family. We can?t welcome everyone, but we should be delighted people want to come to this country, and we should do everything in our power to treat aspiring Americans fairly and with dignity.
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?I filed 19 amendments to improve this bill, including amendments to help secure the border and increase interior enforcement. Unfortunately, those amendments were not considered. The House now has an opportunity to give the American people the debate they want and deserve.?
File-This undated image provided by NASA shows technicians preparing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. for the launch of NASA?s latest satellite, Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), that will study the sun. The Iris satellite is set to ride into Earth orbit on a rocket, which will be dropped from an airplane flying over the Pacific some 100 miles off California?s central coast Thursday June 27, 2013. (AP Photo/NASA,VAFB, Randy Beaudoin,File)
File-This undated image provided by NASA shows technicians preparing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. for the launch of NASA?s latest satellite, Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), that will study the sun. The Iris satellite is set to ride into Earth orbit on a rocket, which will be dropped from an airplane flying over the Pacific some 100 miles off California?s central coast Thursday June 27, 2013. (AP Photo/NASA,VAFB, Randy Beaudoin,File)
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) ? From its perch in low-Earth orbit, NASA's newest satellite will soon get a close-up look at a little-explored region of the sun that's thought to drive space weather that can affect Earth.
The Iris satellite was boosted into orbit about 400 miles above Earth by a Pegasus rocket Thursday evening after a sunset launch. Engineers will test the satellite first before turning on its telescope to stare at the sun.
"We're thrilled," NASA launch director Tim Dunn said in a NASA TV interview after orbit was achieved.
Unlike a typical launch, an airplane carrying the rocket and satellite flew from Vandenberg Air Force Base to a drop point over the Pacific some 100 miles off California's central coast. At an altitude of 39,000 feet, the plane released the rocket, which ignited its engine and streaked skyward.
Mission controllers anxiously waited as the rocket made the 13-minute climb into space and cheered after learning that Iris had separated from the rocket as planned.
There were some issues. At one point, communications signals were lost and ground controllers had to track Iris using other satellites orbiting Earth. When it came time for Iris to unfurl its solar panels after entering orbit, there was a lag before NASA confirmed the satellite was generating power.
Previous sun-observing spacecraft have yielded a wealth of information about our nearest star and beamed back brilliant pictures of solar flares.
The 7-foot-long Iris, weighing 400 pounds, carries an ultraviolet telescope that can take high-resolution images every few seconds.
Unlike NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which observes the entire sun, Iris will focus on a little-explored region that lies between the surface and the corona, the glowing white ring that's visible during eclipses.
The goal is to learn more about how this mysterious region drives solar wind ? a stream of charged particles spewing from the sun ? and to better predict space weather that can disrupt communications signals on Earth.
"This is a very difficult region to understand and observe. We haven't had the technical capabilities before now to really zoom in" and peer at it up close, NASA program scientist Jeffrey Newmark said before the launch.
The mission is cheap by NASA standards, costing $182 million, and is managed by the space agency's Goddard Space Flight Center.
Iris will gaze at the sun for two years. Before observations can begin, engineers will spend two months conducting health checkups.
Thursday's launch was delayed by a day so that technicians at the Air Force base could restore power to launch range equipment after a weekend outage cut electricity to a swath of the central coast.
The Pegasus, from Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., is a winged rocket designed for launching small satellites. First flown in 1990, Pegasus rockets have also been used to accelerate vehicles in hypersonic flight programs.
It is no secret that there is a lot of hard work involved in Website marketing. Hard work and persistence can help your Internet promotion plan improve your bottom line. It does no good to work very hard at pointless tasks. The tips listed here will get you going in the right direction.
A client mailing list is vital. Post notification on your website to collect emails. However, if you want to be slightly more aggressive, request it in order for customers to purchase items off your site. Either way, you can use this information later to send out sales information, offer promotional materials or to ask for customer feedback.
You need to create a great site before worrying about getting it ranked. Building a great website should be your very first step in starting a web business. Once your website operates without glitches and looks great, you are ready to move forward with marketing.
TIP! To increase your ad clicks, place an image on your page that, when clicked, leads to a page that describes the item you are advertising or selling. Ensure you use the font that you use in your articles and linking it.
Split your website into sections, and have a map from which people can choose the products they?d like to see. While variety is desirable, ensure that your options are presented in an organized way.
Try putting a blog on your site and updating it regularly. Frequent blogging is a great way of keeping your potential customers informed and up to date about your business. Having a blog also makes your site larger, which gives search engines more material to index and should thus bring you more traffic.
You have everything you need to be successful with internet marketing. Fancy computer programs and overpriced get-rich-quick schemes can?t compare to a person with knowledge and the desire to get the job done. Just work hard and imagine what you can achieve when you are marketing yourself.
TIP! Use social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook as a part of your Internet marketing campaign. You can use these sites to advertise new offers or to share your latest articles.
To build a good website, be as content-focused and as comprehensive as you can. Your main goal should be to teach the viewer about your product in a timely manner. Repetitive descriptions and data, facts and information that the customer will find irrelevant or even boring, should be avoided.
Video marketing is an awesome way to generate interest in your business. Incorporating an informative video onto your website is a great method for gaining the attention of your viewers. Sharing these videos should be easy thanks to social networks and blogs.
To become a successful internet marketer, you need dedication and a high work ethic rather than luck. There is no such story about a business that just got lucky in their success. Coca Cola?s success isn?t pure luck, but rather years of research and work that culminated in a wildly successful soft drink. Not at all. They did a superb job of marketing their product.
TIP! A ?squeeze page? can be an effective way to gather contact info for your mailing list. This will encourage visitors to enter their email addresses.
The majority of cellular providers permit multiple numbers to be routed to a single phone. Therefore, it is wise to get a dedicated number.
To bolster the credibility of your web business, you should try to land interviews with authorities within your niche who are well respected. The interviews can be done on video, audio, or in text form. Your interview will boost readership of your website, improve your reputation as someone in the know and give you more incoming traffic.
You should approach banner advertising differently, and go for a unique approach when designing one for your website. The more appealing and original your banner ad appears, the more people you?ll have clicking on it.
TIP! Check out what your competition is up to. You can check your competition?s site to see what they have.
Consider creating a web page for comments and customer reviews of your products and services. Customer reviews can help establish loyalty and will increase your reputation in the industry.
Add the word ?fast? in you advertisement campaigns and add language that would strengthen your products. Customers value speedy service, which is why you want to ensure that your products are delivered quickly.
TIP! If you website is static and rarely ever changes, perhaps you should consider including a blog on your site. New content gets the attention of the search engines which will increase your ranking in their listings and lead to more traffic for your site.
Offering free gifts or promotions will make your customers feel valued. Sometimes, it is easy to overlook simple things such as this, but offering freebies can keep customers coming back.
Customers will order their products faster if you give them incentives to do so. This could include free shipping, faster shipping or free gift wrapping. One way to do this is to offer free shipping to the first 100 customers who purchase a specified item. Offering incentives can encourage more people to purchase your product and promote customer satisfaction.
Are you searching for some way to do online marketing? Encourage people to give you their email address or to connect with you on social networks by advertising special offers regularly. Offer freebies or contests and ask them if you can send them future emails. A customer will provide their email if they get something in return for it.
TIP! Internet marketing ventures will not succeed through chance, only through deliberate effort and hard work can you hope to enjoy success. No one ever got rich in their own business from luck.
Employ a lot of descriptions on the site. Adjectives work very well in the world of web marketing. Be creative, and come up with your own words and site- or product-specific jargon. Make them want to revisit your site just to read what you have to say.
Write relevant content and submit it to article directories online. Make sure these articles are signed with your full name and contain information about your business. If you get published in an online magazine, include a link to your site. You can entice the editors with commissions or freebies that encourage them to publish your content.
Offer something free with your business name and logo on it. For example, if it?s a wallpaper, submit it to sites that offer free wallpapers. Many websites are available that give out free e-content and are easy to submit too.
TIP! Put customer testimonials on your site. It is easy to claim that your product is effective, but without good, solid proof, your audience may not buy it.
Many people won?t believe ad copy. For years, advertising has been misleading. Because of this, you have to show proof of what you claim on your website. Examples of this include testimonials, before-and-after photographs, and test reports. Just do not say anything that you cannot back up. You must take your customer?s word as truthful and sincere. Don?t take advantage of people. You will get a great reputation and gain customers to do business with for a long time.
Take advantage of these hints and ensure that you are making positive strides toward maximum profits. Armed with the information you learned here, and with a bit of hard work, soon you will see the results of your website marketing efforts.
June 27, 2013 ? Scientists have discovered a diverse multitude of microbes colonizing and thriving on flecks of plastic that have polluted the oceans -- a vast new human-made flotilla of microbial communities that they have dubbed the "plastisphere."
In a study recently published online in Environmental Science & Technology, the scientists say the plastisphere represents a novel ecological habitat in the ocean and raises a host of questions: How will it change environmental conditions for marine microbes, favoring some that compete with others? How will it change the overall ocean ecosystem and affect larger organisms? How will it change where microbes, including pathogens, will be transported in the ocean?
The collaborative team of scientists -- Erik Zettler from Sea Education Association (SEA), Tracy Mincer from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and Linda Amaral-Zettler from the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), all in Woods Hole, Mass. -- analyzed marine plastic debris that was skimmed with fine-scale nets from the sea surface at several locations in the North Atlantic Ocean during SEA research cruises. Most were millimeter-sized fragments.
"We're not just interested in who's there. We're interested in their function, how they're functioning in this ecosystem, how they're altering this ecosystem, and what's the ultimate fate of these particles in the ocean," says Amaral-Zettler. "Are they sinking to the bottom of the ocean? Are they being ingested? If they're being ingested, what impact does that have?"
Using scanning electron microscopy and gene sequencing techniques, they found at least 1000 different types of bacterial cells on the plastic samples, including many individual species yet to be identified. They included plants, algae, and bacteria that manufacture their own food (autotrophs), animals and bacteria that feed on them (heterotrophs), predators that feed on these, and other organisms that establish synergistic relationships (symbionts). These complex communities exist on plastic bits hardly bigger than the head of a pin, and they have arisen with the explosion of plastics in the oceans in the last 60 years.
"The organisms inhabiting the plastisphere were different from those in surrounding seawater, indicating that plastic debris acts as artificial 'microbial reefs," says Mincer. "They supply a place that selects for and supports distinct microbes to settle and succeed."
These communities are likely different from those that settle on naturally occurring floating material such as feathers, wood, and microalgae, because plastics offer different conditions, including the capacity to last much longer without degrading.
On the other hand, the scientists also found evidence that microbes may play a role in degrading plastics. They saw microscopic cracks and pits in the plastic surfaces that they suspect were made by microbes embedded in them, as well as microbes possibly capable of degrading hydrocarbons.
"When we first saw the 'pit formers' we were very excited, especially when they showed up on multiple pieces of plastic of different types of resins," said Zettler, who added that undergraduate students participating in SEA Semester cruises collected and processed the samples. "Now we have to figure out what they are by [genetically] sequencing them and hopefully getting them into culture so we can do experiments."
The plastic debris also represents a new mode of transportation, acting as rafts that can convey harmful microbes, including disease-causing pathogens and harmful algal species. One plastic sampled they analyzed was dominated by members of the genus Vibrio, which includes bacteria that cause cholera and gastrointestinal maladies.
The project was funded by a National Science Foundation Collaborative grant, a NSF TUES grant, and a Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health Pilot award.
A long-awaited international treaty linked to copyright law which is expected to boost hundreds of millions of blind or visually impaired people?s access to books was signed in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh on Friday.
After more than a week of intense debate, the 800 delegates from the World Intellectual Property Organisation?s (WIPO) 186 member countries reached a compromise on facilitating the transcription of published works in special formats such as Braille and their cross-border exchange.
WIPO director general Franci Gurry said the treaty, the culmination of years of negotiations, ?makes universal for the first time an exception? in favour of the blind and visually impaired.
International law, as stipulated in the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, currently requires that permission be obtained from authors, and royalties paid, for copyrighted works.
?It is a historic treaty that will lead to real benefits for the visually impaired,? Gurry said.
There are an estimated 314 million visually impaired people worldwide, 90 percent of whom live in developing countries.
But only five percent of the million-odd books published each year appear in formats accessible to them.
?The basic problem is that there are not enough books, due to an insufficient market? (but also) the tangle of national regulations,? which makes international exchange of special format books very difficult, Gurry said.
?It?s the system of exchange created by the treaty that will make the difference. A blind person in Senegal or Morocco could directly request copies from an association in France for example.?
Adopted unanimously on Thursday, the Marrakesh treaty was signed on Friday morning in the presence of soul music legend Stevie Wonder, who had promised to perform in the event of an accord being reached.
Gurry described the outcome of the negotiations as ?a pleasant surprise.?
?It was tough especially because of the indirect interests of the publishers, in the world of cinema and music, who feared a breach of copyright law to the detriment of the author,? he said.
Morocco?s Communications Minister Mustapha Khalfi said of the treaty that there were ?no winners and no losers, this is a treaty for everyone.?
MOSCOW (AP) ? Moscow's main airport swarmed with media from around the globe Wednesday, but the man they were looking for ? National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden ? was nowhere to be seen. The mystery of the former spy's whereabouts only deepened a day after President Vladimir Putin said that Snowden was in the transit area of Sheremetyevo Airport.
An Associated Press reporter entered the area Wednesday by flying from Kiev, Ukraine, and found ordinary scenes of duty free shopping, snoozing travelers and tourists sipping coffee, but no trace of America's most famous fugitive. If Putin's statement is true, it means that Snowden has effectively lived a life of airport limbo since his weekend flight from Hong Kong, especially with his American passport now revoked by U.S. authorities.
In a further twist, Ecuador's foreign minister said Wednesday it could take months to decide whether to grant asylum to Snowden and the Latin American nation would need to take into consideration its relations with the U.S. when doing so. Speaking during a visit to Malaysia's main city, Kuala Lumpur, Ricardo Patino compared Snowden's case to that of Julian Assange, the founder of anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, who has been given asylum in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London.
"It took us two months to make a decision in the case of Assange, so do not expect us to make a decision sooner this time," Patino told reporters.
Snowden, who is charged with violating American espionage laws, fled Hong Kong over the weekend and flew to Russia. He booked a seat on a Havana-bound flight Monday en route to Venezuela, but didn't board the plane. His ultimate destination was believed to be asylum in Ecuador.
The airport zone where Snowden is purportedly staying serves both connecting passengers traveling via Moscow to onward destinations and passengers departing from Moscow who have passed border and security checks.
The huge area unites three terminals: the modern, recently built D and E, and the older, less comfortable F, which dates to the Soviet era. The transit and departure area is essentially a long corridor, with boarding gates on one side and gleaming duty free shops, luxury clothing boutiques and souvenir stores selling Russian Matryoshka dolls on the other. About a dozen restaurants owned by local and foreign chains serve various tastes.
Hundreds of Russian and foreign tourists awaited flights here, some stretched out on rows of gray chairs, others sipping hot drinks at coffee shops or looking out through giant windows as silver-blue Aeroflot planes land and take off.
Business ran as usual at the terminals on Wednesday morning. An Asian girl, about 10 years old, slept peacefully on her father's lap. A middle-aged mother and her teenage daughter tried out perfume samples at a duty free store, while nearby a woman in a green dress picked out a pair of designer sunglasses. A pilot was buying lunch at Burger King.
Putin insisted Tuesday that Snowden has stayed in the transit zone without passing Russian immigration and is free to travel wherever he likes. But the U.S. move to annul Snowden's passport may have severely complicated his travel plans. Exiting the transit area would either require boarding a plane or passing through border control. Both require a valid passport or other identification.
Hordes of journalists armed with laptops and photo and video cameras have camped in and around the airport, looking for Snowden or anyone who may have seen or talked to him. But after talking to passengers, airport personnel, waiters and shop clerks, the press corps has discovered no sign of the leaker.
Russian news agencies, citing unidentified sources, reported that Snowden was staying at a hotel in the transit terminal, but he was not seen at the zone's only hotel, called "Air Express." It offers several dozen capsule-style spaces that passengers can rent for a few hours to catch some sleep. Hotel staff refused to say whether Snowden was or has in the past stayed there.
"We only saw lots of journalists, that's for sure," said Maxim, a waiter at the Shokoladnitsa diner not far from Air Express. He declined to give his last name because he wasn't allowed to talk to reporters.
The departure and transit area is huge and has dozens of small rooms, some labeled "authorized personnel only," where one could potentially seek refuge with support from airport staff or security personnel. And security forces or police patrolling the area can easily whisk a person out of this area though back doors or corridors.
There are also a few VIP lounge areas, accessible to business-class passengers or people willing to pay some $20 per hour. Snowden was not seen in those areas.
Sheremetyevo's press service declined to comment on Snowden's whereabouts. A policeman at the airport laughed off a question from an AP reporter about Snowden's whereabouts. "Journalists have searched this place for three days and have found nothing. Was he ever here in the first place?" the policeman asked. He spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Meanwhile, WikiLeaks gave a terse update on Snowden's condition earlier on Wednesday, saying in a statement posted to Twitter that Snowden was "well."
WikiLeaks says that one of its staffers, Sarah Harrison, was traveling with Snowden, but the statement gave no indication if the update came from her, from Snowden, or from some other source.
WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson did not immediately return a call and a text seeking further comment.
In a conference with reporters on Monday, Assange said that he was limited in what he could say about Snowden due to security concerns. He denied reports that Snowden was spending his time at the airport being debriefed by Russian intelligence officers.
In another development, Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon said Wednesday that he had decided not to represent the leaker. A statement from his law firm provided no further explanation.
Garzon, who has fought on WikiLeaks' behalf, became famous for indicting former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998 and trying to put him on trial for crimes against humanity. He was suspended from office in Spain for overstepping his powers by starting an investigation into killings committed on behalf of former Spanish dictator Gen. Francisco Franco.
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Yoong reported from Kuala Lumpur. Lynn Berry in Moscow and Raphael Satter in London contributed to this report.
Westinghouse Digital's "Digital Whiteboard" is an 84-inch UltraHD monster that runs Windows 8. It costs $15,000, so for starters, this is headed to the lecture halls and boardrooms of the world. Unless you've got dollar, you won't see this beauty in your living room just yet. Which is a shame, because using it is like touching the future.
Livestream has benefitted from the growth in both mobile viewing and broadcasting, but it's decided to combine those functions into a singular app. That app also has been updated with features to make broadcasting better, and to notify users when new streams from their favorite producers are actually live.
Official Facebook and Flipboard apps are coming to Windows 8. It's "official" according to Steve Ballmer. "Official" built by the companies or "official" Microsoft built? We don't yet know.
So you're on the Google and you want to see what a road in Turkey looks like. You click on the map, and, holy crap, there's a photo of it at street level. That's thanks to Google Street View, where they use cars and bikes to take pictures of the world. And now one of the drivers is here to answer your questions.
Street View is one of the cooler, and more intrusive, mapping features that we've ever seen. A camera mounted on top of a car takes 360 degree pictures as it drives up and down streets. Those pictures then get uploaded to the internets months later for your viewing pleasure. And then you see some cool stuff, like Google spying on Google or a donkey that appears dead.
I once saw the car driving down the street in my neighborhood. I'm anxiously waiting for the day when the pictures of me running after it appear online.
Due to non-disclosure agreements and Google's secretive nature, we cannot reveal the identity of the driver that has agreed to risk life and limb to talk to you today. But we are satisfied with the proof he has provided us that he is who he says he is.
So jump in below. The driver will be here for the next hour to answer any and all of your questions about what goes in to driving the car, weird things he's seen, so on and so forth.
Contact: Anna Mikulak amikulak@psychologicalscience.org 202-293-9300 Association for Psychological Science
Students who consistently receive individualized reading instruction from first through third grade become better readers than those who don't, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
These findings come after a three-year study that followed several hundred Floridian students, who received varying amounts of individualized instruction, from first to third grade.
"Our results show that children need sustained, effective instruction from first through third grade if they are going to become proficient readers," said psychological scientist Carol McDonald Connor of Arizona State University, who led the research team.
Teachers involved in the longitudinal, randomized study used Assessment-to-instruction (A2i) software to make informed decisions about how to tailor reading instruction to meet their students' needs. Using algorithms, the A2i software recommended specific amounts and types of reading instruction based on the skills of each student.
Data from study showed that students who received individualized student instruction (ISI) in all three grades showed the strongest reading skills by the end of third grade, compared to those who received fewer years of individualized instruction.
"Another way to think about this is that 94 percent of the students in ISI classrooms from first through third grade were reading proficiently, compared to only 78 percent of the children who didn't participate all three years," said Connor.
In fact, students who were in ISI classrooms for all three years often achieved reading skills that were well above grade level expectations by the end of third grade, when measured by nationally-normed reading achievement tests.
The data are particularly promising given that they demonstrate improvement in reading scores for children from an economically and ethnically diverse school district that included urban, suburban, and rural communities.
The findings suggest that, with a little help from software programs such as A2i, teachers may be able to track student reading success and intervene more effectively.
"The individualized instruction was provided by regular classroom teachers," added Connor. "So, I think the findings demonstrate that we can help teachers become more effective through professional development, supported by technology."
###
Co-authors on this research include Frederick Morrison and Barry Fishman of the University of Michigan, Elizabeth Crowe and Christopher Schatschneider of Florida State University, and Stephanie Al Otaiba of the Southern Methodist University
This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Educational Sciences and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
For more information about this study, please contact:
Carol McDonald Connor carol.connor@asu.edu
The APS journal Psychological Science is the highest ranked empirical journal in psychology. For a copy of the article "A Longitudinal Cluster-Randomized Controlled Study on the Accumulating Effects of Individualized Literacy Instruction on Students' Reading From First Through Third Grade" and access to other Psychological Science research findings, please contact Anna Mikulak at 202-293-9300 or amikulak@psychologicalscience.org.
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: Anna Mikulak amikulak@psychologicalscience.org 202-293-9300 Association for Psychological Science
Students who consistently receive individualized reading instruction from first through third grade become better readers than those who don't, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
These findings come after a three-year study that followed several hundred Floridian students, who received varying amounts of individualized instruction, from first to third grade.
"Our results show that children need sustained, effective instruction from first through third grade if they are going to become proficient readers," said psychological scientist Carol McDonald Connor of Arizona State University, who led the research team.
Teachers involved in the longitudinal, randomized study used Assessment-to-instruction (A2i) software to make informed decisions about how to tailor reading instruction to meet their students' needs. Using algorithms, the A2i software recommended specific amounts and types of reading instruction based on the skills of each student.
Data from study showed that students who received individualized student instruction (ISI) in all three grades showed the strongest reading skills by the end of third grade, compared to those who received fewer years of individualized instruction.
"Another way to think about this is that 94 percent of the students in ISI classrooms from first through third grade were reading proficiently, compared to only 78 percent of the children who didn't participate all three years," said Connor.
In fact, students who were in ISI classrooms for all three years often achieved reading skills that were well above grade level expectations by the end of third grade, when measured by nationally-normed reading achievement tests.
The data are particularly promising given that they demonstrate improvement in reading scores for children from an economically and ethnically diverse school district that included urban, suburban, and rural communities.
The findings suggest that, with a little help from software programs such as A2i, teachers may be able to track student reading success and intervene more effectively.
"The individualized instruction was provided by regular classroom teachers," added Connor. "So, I think the findings demonstrate that we can help teachers become more effective through professional development, supported by technology."
###
Co-authors on this research include Frederick Morrison and Barry Fishman of the University of Michigan, Elizabeth Crowe and Christopher Schatschneider of Florida State University, and Stephanie Al Otaiba of the Southern Methodist University
This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Educational Sciences and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
For more information about this study, please contact:
Carol McDonald Connor carol.connor@asu.edu
The APS journal Psychological Science is the highest ranked empirical journal in psychology. For a copy of the article "A Longitudinal Cluster-Randomized Controlled Study on the Accumulating Effects of Individualized Literacy Instruction on Students' Reading From First Through Third Grade" and access to other Psychological Science research findings, please contact Anna Mikulak at 202-293-9300 or amikulak@psychologicalscience.org.
[ | 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.
I know home buying can seem overwhelming, especially the first time.?? But really, it's just a series of steps.
The first step is to get pre-approved for a loan. And, not a quick pre-qualification, but a full documentation pre-approval. This is definitely not the fun part, but you need to know what your budget is.? I can send you a few lenders if you want. I prefer lenders with in-house underwriting so you stay within your contract dates in escrow.? Your choice of lender is super important, and I can't stress this enough. So many over promise (never in writing though) and under deliver. Or, can't deliver at all. This could cost you your deposit, the property, and hundreds of dollars of out-of-pocket escrow expenses. Interest rates change several times daily, so this is not the important thing when shopping lenders. They're pretty much all competitive. ? Once you have that, you can start looking for homes that you know you? can buy in the area(s) you'll be looking. At this point, you'll know if you can buy a house (more maintenance, usually no HOA) or condo.
As you look at listings, you'll get to know your market(s) better too. By the? time you write your first offer, you'll be much more comfortable with pricing.
When you're ready to pull the trigger, it's time to start looking at homes.? Your agent will guide you through escrow, and when it closes, you're a homeowner!
In the meantime though, you can start looking at listings based on a comfortable monthly payment for you. You may quality for more or less, and you don't have to spend as much as you're approved for.
Let me know if you'd like to start looking at listings. You can contact me off forum any time.
Warm Regards,
Cory La Scala, REALTOR Independence Realty Lic # 01443391
Absolutely agree with the bulk of replies and throughly disagree with the opening quote. If you intend to make such a sweeping statement that carries impact on share price you need to have a clue about the subject at hand. It is clear you don't.
As many of the replies here state:
1. Apple is massively overpriced in its own market against many superior smart phones and has lost its marketing edge. That in itself is damaging to Apple stock value. The "new gimmick" moniker is long gone and the "new improved" devices are just reshaped and slightly polished versions at full price. There will always be a die hard following for Apple products. I-sheep will always need to be told when to buy. The more discerning consumer will realise the power, and usability of the competition and start to deviate.
2. Litigation - mulitple lawsuits were begun and I just assume Apple figured these big companies they have accused of stealing designs would just bend over and take it. Highly likely to drag out even more delaying many possible new technologies on the Apple range. Especially when crossing into the gaming arena. For every case Apple sing about winning, they seem to lose another somewhere.
3. The console industry is based on real games players who expect power and gfx capabilities. The processing power is too weak and there is no serious gfx on any Apple product. So unless we are about to get our 1986 on, there is a long long way to go before Apple could even make a dent. Even our small children expect more from a games console. Can any of you imagine needing a controller to play any of these current apps? Pointless.
4. Most games consoles are now moving AWAY from hand held controllers and indeed Razer has already produced a hand held fully incorporated games device WITH all of the above built-in. So with the technology in place already, Apple come late to the table to find one company eating all the leftovers and everyone else has already gone for cigars and drinks.
5. Finally, Apple need to come up with something so epic and niche that major players; Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony and I guess even PC gamers are rocked. I don't see that happening with all the years of experience and research Apple don't have a prayer to me.
When you close your eyes and think of California, what famous brand comes to mind? Is it Apple? Facebook? Google? Or some movie studio? What about Texas? New York? Florida? These are the most famous brands of each state. The Corporate States of America, if you will.
It's very embarrassing to admit that I have no idea what some of these brands are (I'm looking at you Allsup's and Cabela's) while other states have so many brands to pick from that I'm not sure I agree with what the map says. But a lot of technology companies make the cut in this map with California being the most contentious battle because of Silicon Valley. Which famous brand from your state do you think this map missed? [Maps of the Web via DesignTAXI]
Contact: Trevor Phillips trevor.phillips@hermesfinancialpr.co.uk Hermes Financial Public Relations
Haydale announce breakthrough graphene inks based on HDPlas commercial technology to accelerate graphene applications
London, June 25, 2013. Haydale, a leader in facilitating the commercial application of graphenes announces that with its development partner, Gwent Electronic Materials ("GEM"), it has developed graphene based inks with properties that now quickly enable its customers to use graphene in a wide range of applications. This breakthrough has been possible due to the ability of Haydale to supply quality graphenes in commercial quantities at a viable price.
These new graphene inks enable the commercialisation in the near future of smart packaging, printed batteries, electrochemical sensors, flexible displays and potentially touch screens. The inks are launched today at the Graphene Commercialisation & Applications Summit in London.
Haydale's Graphene based inks were first announced at the Printed Electronics USA conference in December 2012, since then Haydale has been working in close collaboration with specialist ink manufacturer GEM. This has resulted in the rapid improvement of the ink formulations, and enhancement of conductivity performance.
Martin Williams, Haydale Technical Manager and co inventor of the patented plasma process said:
"The development of graphene inks with conductivity better than normal carbon based inks is a major step forward in enabling a myriad of commercial applications of graphenes to take place now. Applications that were previously only thought possible with 'yet to be developed and commercialised' CVD processes are now immediately accessible with our HDPlas graphene inks."
Haydale's metal free HDPlas Graphene Ink Sc213 is specifically formulated for screen-printing applications. It has been optimised for ideal viscosity and solid contents ensuring excellent coverage and exceptional conductivity. The inks are fully customisable and can be modified with development partners for specific requirements including:
Plastic Electronics
Sensors
Flexible Displays
Catalytic Devices
Liquid Crystal Displays
E-Paper
Printed Circuit Boards
OLED Devices
Transparent Electrodes
Thin Film Photovoltaics
Electrochemical Devices
Sample batches from 100gms to 5kg are available now. Technical Data for the SC213 Ink and prices can be found at http://www.haydale.com/product/hdplastm-gnp-ink/#tab-description
GEM's Technical Director Robin Pittson said:
"Haydale's HDPlas graphene nano-materials have proved to be ideally suited for ink formulation. The consistent high quality of the material combined with the range of surface functionalities and the ease of dispersion into the formulated ink base has significantly cut development time. We are very excited to be working with this new material and the Haydale technical staff."
Ray Gibbs, Commercial Director at Haydale added:
"Graphene has been described as a zero billion dollar market, mainly because many of the applications that have been discussed are dependent on production technologies that are yet to be developed commercially. The immediate use of HDPlas materials now in place of other future possible Graphene offerings allows many of the key applications to be realised in the near term.
At Haydale we have been working on the ability to commercialise graphene technology for 2 years and today is a significant milestone for us. The key to having commercial products using Graphenes is the ability to homogeneously disperse it into the host material. We are especially pleased that the performance can be achieved with no metal additives. Today, our annual production capability of graphene nano materials is 1 tonne, but is scheduled to increase substantially this year in response to known demand.
The ability to address the conductive ink market now, with a new Graphene product has been achieved through close collaboration with a specialist ink manufacturer. It is exactly that type of association we are seeking across a range of manufacturing sectors where our graphene technology can be applied using our patented technology."
###
Contacts for Further Information:
Ray Gibbs (Haydale Commercial Director) Tel +44 (0)7836 776128
Trevor Phillips (Media Relations Officer) Tel +44 (0)7889 153628
http://www.haydale.com
Notes for Editors
About Graphene
Graphene is a form of carbon that exists as a sheet, one atom thick with its atoms arranged into a two-dimensional honeycomb structure. Atom for atom it is at least 100 times stronger than steel; conducts electricity better than copper and has been suggested as a possible replacement for silicon in electronics.
About Graphene Inks
Many of the applications of graphene such as flexible displays or stretchable mobile phones are dependent on the availability of large areas of graphene. While the ability to produce large sheets of graphene and transfer them to a substrate such as glass or polymer large enough to create a TV screen is not currently possible on a commercial scale, inks provide an immediate alternative solution. By dispersing graphene platelets as an ink, large areas of graphene can be screen or ink jet printed as required. The annual revenue for the conductive ink market is estimated at $2.86bn.
Haydale's HDPlas plasma processed graphene, inks and carbon nanotubes are available in a variety of formats. They can be purchased directly at http://www.haydale.com
About Haydale
Haydale, a wholly owned subsidiary of Innovative Carbon Limited, is a global leader in facilitating the commercial application of graphenes. Haydale's patented "Split Plasma" technology is a scalable and environmentally friendly method of consistently producing high quality graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) avoiding the harsh, wet chemical functionalization methods that are more commonly employed.
Because the "Split Plasma" process does not damage material in the way that acid treatments do, Haydale's graphenes can be tailored to specific customer requirements.
Now housed in a new 1m nano safe production and lab facility, Haydale, combined with a scalable production technology, is facilitating the application of graphenes in fields such as inks, sensors, energy storage, photovoltaics, composites, paints and coatings.
About Gwent Electronic Materials
Gwent Electronic Materials is a worldwide supplier of sophisticated electronic materials such as inks and pastes for electronic and sensor applications. GEM has a production capacity of up to 100,000 Kg of ink paste per year.
All ink pastes are made in the fully computer controlled dispersion equipment which is complemented by an extensive range of testing and analysis equipment to ensure that all products meet the highest quality standards. Gwent hold ISO 13485 which is a medical device qualification and ISO16949 which is an automotive quality standard.
http://www.gwent.org
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: Trevor Phillips trevor.phillips@hermesfinancialpr.co.uk Hermes Financial Public Relations
Haydale announce breakthrough graphene inks based on HDPlas commercial technology to accelerate graphene applications
London, June 25, 2013. Haydale, a leader in facilitating the commercial application of graphenes announces that with its development partner, Gwent Electronic Materials ("GEM"), it has developed graphene based inks with properties that now quickly enable its customers to use graphene in a wide range of applications. This breakthrough has been possible due to the ability of Haydale to supply quality graphenes in commercial quantities at a viable price.
These new graphene inks enable the commercialisation in the near future of smart packaging, printed batteries, electrochemical sensors, flexible displays and potentially touch screens. The inks are launched today at the Graphene Commercialisation & Applications Summit in London.
Haydale's Graphene based inks were first announced at the Printed Electronics USA conference in December 2012, since then Haydale has been working in close collaboration with specialist ink manufacturer GEM. This has resulted in the rapid improvement of the ink formulations, and enhancement of conductivity performance.
Martin Williams, Haydale Technical Manager and co inventor of the patented plasma process said:
"The development of graphene inks with conductivity better than normal carbon based inks is a major step forward in enabling a myriad of commercial applications of graphenes to take place now. Applications that were previously only thought possible with 'yet to be developed and commercialised' CVD processes are now immediately accessible with our HDPlas graphene inks."
Haydale's metal free HDPlas Graphene Ink Sc213 is specifically formulated for screen-printing applications. It has been optimised for ideal viscosity and solid contents ensuring excellent coverage and exceptional conductivity. The inks are fully customisable and can be modified with development partners for specific requirements including:
Plastic Electronics
Sensors
Flexible Displays
Catalytic Devices
Liquid Crystal Displays
E-Paper
Printed Circuit Boards
OLED Devices
Transparent Electrodes
Thin Film Photovoltaics
Electrochemical Devices
Sample batches from 100gms to 5kg are available now. Technical Data for the SC213 Ink and prices can be found at http://www.haydale.com/product/hdplastm-gnp-ink/#tab-description
GEM's Technical Director Robin Pittson said:
"Haydale's HDPlas graphene nano-materials have proved to be ideally suited for ink formulation. The consistent high quality of the material combined with the range of surface functionalities and the ease of dispersion into the formulated ink base has significantly cut development time. We are very excited to be working with this new material and the Haydale technical staff."
Ray Gibbs, Commercial Director at Haydale added:
"Graphene has been described as a zero billion dollar market, mainly because many of the applications that have been discussed are dependent on production technologies that are yet to be developed commercially. The immediate use of HDPlas materials now in place of other future possible Graphene offerings allows many of the key applications to be realised in the near term.
At Haydale we have been working on the ability to commercialise graphene technology for 2 years and today is a significant milestone for us. The key to having commercial products using Graphenes is the ability to homogeneously disperse it into the host material. We are especially pleased that the performance can be achieved with no metal additives. Today, our annual production capability of graphene nano materials is 1 tonne, but is scheduled to increase substantially this year in response to known demand.
The ability to address the conductive ink market now, with a new Graphene product has been achieved through close collaboration with a specialist ink manufacturer. It is exactly that type of association we are seeking across a range of manufacturing sectors where our graphene technology can be applied using our patented technology."
###
Contacts for Further Information:
Ray Gibbs (Haydale Commercial Director) Tel +44 (0)7836 776128
Trevor Phillips (Media Relations Officer) Tel +44 (0)7889 153628
http://www.haydale.com
Notes for Editors
About Graphene
Graphene is a form of carbon that exists as a sheet, one atom thick with its atoms arranged into a two-dimensional honeycomb structure. Atom for atom it is at least 100 times stronger than steel; conducts electricity better than copper and has been suggested as a possible replacement for silicon in electronics.
About Graphene Inks
Many of the applications of graphene such as flexible displays or stretchable mobile phones are dependent on the availability of large areas of graphene. While the ability to produce large sheets of graphene and transfer them to a substrate such as glass or polymer large enough to create a TV screen is not currently possible on a commercial scale, inks provide an immediate alternative solution. By dispersing graphene platelets as an ink, large areas of graphene can be screen or ink jet printed as required. The annual revenue for the conductive ink market is estimated at $2.86bn.
Haydale's HDPlas plasma processed graphene, inks and carbon nanotubes are available in a variety of formats. They can be purchased directly at http://www.haydale.com
About Haydale
Haydale, a wholly owned subsidiary of Innovative Carbon Limited, is a global leader in facilitating the commercial application of graphenes. Haydale's patented "Split Plasma" technology is a scalable and environmentally friendly method of consistently producing high quality graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) avoiding the harsh, wet chemical functionalization methods that are more commonly employed.
Because the "Split Plasma" process does not damage material in the way that acid treatments do, Haydale's graphenes can be tailored to specific customer requirements.
Now housed in a new 1m nano safe production and lab facility, Haydale, combined with a scalable production technology, is facilitating the application of graphenes in fields such as inks, sensors, energy storage, photovoltaics, composites, paints and coatings.
About Gwent Electronic Materials
Gwent Electronic Materials is a worldwide supplier of sophisticated electronic materials such as inks and pastes for electronic and sensor applications. GEM has a production capacity of up to 100,000 Kg of ink paste per year.
All ink pastes are made in the fully computer controlled dispersion equipment which is complemented by an extensive range of testing and analysis equipment to ensure that all products meet the highest quality standards. Gwent hold ISO 13485 which is a medical device qualification and ISO16949 which is an automotive quality standard.
http://www.gwent.org
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Teens were more likely to diet and use other unhealthy measures to control their weight when their parents talked to them about losing weight or the importance of being thin, in a new study.
Conversely, family conversations about healthy eating that did not involve the topic of weight were linked to fewer unhealthy behaviors, such as laxative use and skipping meals - especially among heavier adolescents.
"It's important to (have) conversations that focus on healthy eating as a cause for healthy bodies and strong bones, rather than a cause for weight and size," said Jerica Berge, who led the new study at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis.
Past studies have shown that being told to diet or being teased about weight by a parent is harmful to children, she said. But that still leaves the question of what families who genuinely want to help an overweight child should be talking about.
"They would always ask me, ?What do I say to my kid?'" Berge told Reuters Health.
She and her colleagues surveyed 2,800 racially and socioeconomically diverse middle and high school students and one or both of their parents about food, weight and related conversations.
Twenty-eight percent of mothers of normal-weight teens said they'd talked about healthy eating with their child, and 33 percent said they'd had conversations about weight or the need to lose weight.
That compared to 15 percent of mothers who talked solely about healthy eating with their overweight teens and 60 percent who discussed losing weight. Rates were similar for conversations initiated by fathers.
The researchers found that dieting and unhealthy eating patterns were more common among both normal weight and overweight children of parents who focused on weight.
For example, 64 percent of overweight teens whose mothers talked about weight and weight loss had used worrisome weight-control behaviors. That compared to 41 percent when family discussions were only about healthy eating and 53 percent when mothers didn't discuss food or weight at all.
Likewise, 39 percent of normal weight children whose mothers brought up weight had used unhealthy behaviors, compared to 30 percent of those with mothers who emphasized being healthy, Berge's team reported Monday in JAMA Pediatrics.
"If a child is concerned about their weight and they want to talk about their weight, you want to have an open conversation with them," said Alison Field, who studies weight and unhealthy eating at Boston Children's Hospital but wasn't involved in the new research.
However to have that talk with a kid who doesn't really want to discuss weight probably won't be helpful, she told Reuters Health.
Because the surveys represent a single point in time, Berge and her colleagues couldn't determine whether family conversations or a teen's dieting and unhealthy weight-control behaviors came first.
Field said future studies will ideally follow teens who don't engage in any unhealthy weight-related behaviors to see how family talks about food affect who does and doesn't start.
Still, the researchers said, the findings suggest parents should stay away from conversations that focus on losing weight and being thin - and talk about the general importance of healthy eating instead.
"Healthy eating conversations are not going to be harmful, and they may be helpful," Field said.
"That to me is a positive message for parents who have an overweight kid and are struggling because they don't know what to do," Berge added.
"The best thing they can do is focus on a healthy message."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/KEGTVv JAMA Pediatrics, online June 24, 2013.
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Public release date: 25-Jun-2013
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