Sunday, January 2, 2011

A ban on smoking in public places has gone into force in Spain today. Bars, restaurants, and nightclubs will now be smoke-free across the country.

The Spanish government had introduced voluntary regulations on smoking in 2006 which allowed for venues to ban smoking, but few chose to do so. The 2006 law also banned smoking at workplaces.

Spain now joins Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy in banning smoking in enclosed public places.

Leire Pajin, the Spanish health minister, said the law marked “a decisive step in the defence of the health of the Spanish people”, but some industry representatives have expressed concern that business will go down following the ban.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Spanish_smoking_ban_takes_effect_in_bars_and_restaurants&oldid=1353378”


Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Every September, the Apple iPod is redesigned. Last year saw the release of the iPod Nano 5th generation, bringing a video camera and a large range of colours to the Nano for the first time. But as Apple again prepares to unveil a redesigned product, the company has released their quarterly sales figures—and revealed that they have sold only 9m iPods for the quarter to June—the lowest number of sales since 2006, leading industry anylists to ponder whether the world’s most successful music device is in decline.

Such a drop in sales is not a problem for Apple, since the iPhone 4 and the iPad are selling in high numbers. But the number of people buying digital music players are concerning the music industry. Charles Arthur, technology editor of The Guardian, wrote that the decline in sales of MP3 players was a “problem” for record companies, saying that “digital music sales are only growing as fast as those of Apple’s devices – and as the stand-alone digital music player starts to die off, people may lose interest in buying songs from digital stores. The music industry had looked to the iPod to drive people to buy music in download form, whether from Apple’s iTunes music store, eMusic, Napster or from newer competitors such as Amazon.”

Mark Mulligan, a music and digital media analyst at Forrester Research, said in an interview that “at a time where we’re asking if digital is a replacement for the CD, as the CD was for vinyl, we should be starting to see a hockey-stick growth in download sales. Instead, we’re seeing a curve resembling that of a niche technology.” Alex Jacob, a spokesperson for the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, which represents the worldwide music industry, agreed that there had been a fall in digital sales of music. “The digital download market is still growing,” they said. “But the percentage is less than a few years ago, though it’s now coming from a higher base.” Figures released earlier this year, Arthur wrote, “show that while CD sales fell by 12.7%, losing $1.6bn (£1bn)in value, digital downloads only grew by 9.2%, gaining less than $400m in value.”

Expectations that CDs would, in time, become extinct, replaced by digital downloads, have not come to light, Jacob confirmed. “Across the board, in terms of growth, digital isn’t making up for the fall in CD sales, though it is in certain countries, including the UK,” he said. Anylising the situation, Arthur suggested that “as iPod sales slow, digital music sales, which have been yoked to the device, are likely to slow too. The iPod has been the key driver: the IFPI’s figures show no appreciable digital download sales until 2004, the year Apple launched its iTunes music store internationally (it launched it in the US in April 2003). Since then, international digital music sales have climbed steadily, exactly in line with the total sales of iPods and iPhones.”

Nick Farrell, a TechEYE journalist, stated that the reason for the decline in music sales could be attributed to record companies’ continued reliance on Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, saying that they had considered him the “industry’s saviour”, and by having this mindset had forgotten “that the iPod is only for those who want their music on the run. What they should have been doing is working out how to get high quality music onto other formats, perhaps even HiFi before the iPlod fad died out.”

HAVE YOUR SAY
Have you found that you are spending less on music and more on apps, e-books, or television shows?
Add or view comments

When Jobs negotiated a deal with record labels to ensure every track was sold for 99 cents, they considered this unimportant—the iPod was not a major source of revenue for the company. However, near the end of 2004, there was a boom in sales of the iPod, and the iTunes store suddenly began raking in more and more money. The record companies were irritated, now wanting to charge different amounts for old and new songs, and popular and less popular songs. “But there was no alternative outlet with which to threaten Apple, which gained an effective monopoly over the digital music player market, achieving a share of more than 70%” wrote Arthur. Some did attempt to challenge the iTunes store, but still none have succeeded. “Apple is now the largest single retailer of music in the US by volume, with a 25% share.”

The iTunes store now sells television shows and films, and the company has recently launced iBooks, a new e-book store. The App Store is hugely successful, with Apple earning $410m in two years soley from Apps, sales of which they get 30%. In two years, 5bn apps have been downloaded—while in seven years, 10bn songs have been purchased. Mulligan thinks that there is a reason for this—the quality of apps simply does not match up to a piece of music. “You can download a song from iTunes to your iPhone or iPad, but at the moment music in that form doesn’t play to the strengths of the device. Just playing a track isn’t enough.”

Adam Liversage, a spokesperson of the British Phonographic Industry, which represents the major UK record labels, notes that the rise of streaming services such as Spotify may be a culprit in the fall in music sales. Revenues from such companies added up to $800m in 2009. Arthur feels that “again, it doesn’t make up for the fall in CD sales, but increasingly it looks like nothing ever will; that the record business’s richest years are behind it. Yet there are still rays of hope. If Apple – and every other mobile phone maker – are moving to an app-based economy, where you pay to download games or timetables, why shouldn’t recording artists do the same?”

Well, apparently they are. British singer Peter Gabriel has released a ‘Full Moon Club’ app, which is updated every month with a new song. Arthur also notes that “the Canadian rock band Rush has an app, and the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, led by Trent Reznor – who has been critical of the music industry for bureaucracy and inertia – released the band’s first app in April 2009.” It is thought that such a system will be an effective method to reduce online piracy—”apps tend to be tied to a particular handset or buyer, making them more difficult to pirate than a CD”, he says—and in the music industry, piracy is a very big problem. In 2008, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry estimated that 95% of downloads were illegitimate. If musicians can increase sales and decrease piracy, Robert says, it can only be a good thing.

“It’s early days for apps in the music business, but we are seeing labels and artists experimenting with it,” Jacob said. “You could see that apps could have a premium offering, or behind-the-scenes footage, or special offers on tickets. But I think it’s a bit premature to predict the death of the album.” Robert concluded by saying that it could be “premature to predict the death of the iPod just yet too – but it’s unlikely that even Steve Jobs will be able to produce anything that will revive it. And that means that little more than five years after the music industry thought it had found a saviour in the little device, it is having to look around again for a new stepping stone to growth – if, that is, one exists.”

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=As_increase_in_digital_music_sales_slows,_record_labels_look_to_new_ways_to_make_money&oldid=2330994”


Face shields are clear plastic boundary that spread the face.

Face shields are accessible in different structures, however all give a straightforward plastic obstruction that covers the face. For ideal insurance, the shield ought to reach out underneath the jaw anteriorly, to the ears along the side, and in this manner there ought to be no uncovered hole between the temple and the shield’s headpiece. Face shields require no exceptional materials for creation and creation lines are frequently repurposed decently quickly. Various organizations, including Apple, Nike, GM, and Deere , have all begun delivering face shields. These shields are frequently comprised of materials found in art or office gracefully stores. Along these lines, accessibility of face shields is at present more noteworthy than that of clinical masks.

Face shieldoffer assortment of advantages . While clinical masks have constrained toughness and little potential for reprocessing, face shields are frequently reused uncertainly and are handily cleaned with cleanser and water, or normal family disinfectants. they’re agreeable to wear, ensure the entries of viral passage, and decrease the potential for autoinoculation by keeping the wearer from contacting their face. Individuals wearing clinical masks frequently need to expel them to talk with others around them; this is regularly a bit much with face shields. the usage of a face shield is furthermore a suggestion to deal with social separating, however permits perceivability of outward appearances and lip developments for sound-related recognition .

Generally significant, face shields appear to fundamentally decrease the amount of inward breath presentation to flu infection, another bead spread respiratory infection. during a reenactment study, face shields were appeared to downsize prompt viral introduction by 96% when worn by a recreated human services laborer inside 18 creeps of a cough.10 Even after half-hour , the defensive impact surpassed 80% and face shields blocked 68% of little molecule aerosols,10 which aren’t believed to be a prevailing method of transmission of SARS-CoV-2. At the point when the investigation was rehashed at the at present suggested physical removing separation of 6 feet, face shields diminished breathed in infection by 92%,10 practically like separating alone, which strengthens the significance of physical separating in forestalling viral respiratory diseases. Of note, no examinations have assessed the results or expected advantages of face shields on source control, ie, containing a sniffle or hack, when worn by asymptomatic or suggestive contaminated people. In any case, with adequacy scopes of 68% to 96% for one face shield, all things considered, including source control would just improve viability, and studies ought to be finished rapidly to guage this.

Significant arrangement proposals ought to be assessed utilizing clinical examinations.

In any case, it’s improbable that a randomized preliminary of face shields may be finished so as to confirm adequacy. No clinical test has been directed to survey the viability of across the board testing and connect with following, yet that approach is predicated on long stretches of understanding. Taken as a pack, the adequacy of including face shields as a network mediation to the as of now proposed control techniques ought to be assessed utilizing existing numerical models. The certain objective of face shields alone or along with different intercessions ought to be to intrude on transmission by diminishing the R0 to yet 1. Prominently, viable control of even the chief irresistible pathogens, similar to measles, doesn’t require an antibody with 100% viability. No weight of 100% viability ought to be set on face shields or any regulation arrangement since this degree of control is both difficult to acknowledge and superfluous to drive SARS-CoV-2 contamination levels into a sensible range.

In the wake of shortage of face shields during the COVID-19 pandemic, thought of developing fresher techniques for assembling must be considered to defeat the current day shortage without risking the wellbeing of forefront Heath care laborers.

All security precautionary measures and rules for use and removal and cleansing must be considered to get greatest advantages out of such straightforward developments. Henceforth we thought of putting down basic rules for new developed face shield use:

  1. Cozy fitting.

* The face shield must be firmly fitting around head with no holes among temple and shield

* All 3D printed or readymade plastic groups don’t accomplish this

* A basic arrangement is to tie the shield solidly with a flexible band (which may give cerebral pain because of weight whenever utilized for long time) or straightforward lace check

  1. Tight fitting

* All 3D printed or readymade plastic utilized for holding is best for single use. With rehashed use, the face shield may fall while working

* Using a wipe in the middle of the brow and face shield gives great solace just as a cozy fit, yet such face shields should be viewed as expendable in light of the fact that disinfection of all material is inadequate

  1. Expendable/Reusable

* If you are utilizing the face shield as expendable at that point it’s best use it once and with most extreme consideration evacuate it after utilize and arrange it appropriately. See sanitization

* Reusable Face Shields: in the event that you intend to reuse the face shield, most extreme consideration ought to be taken while evacuating the shield after utilize and afterward disinfect it before reuse. See sanitization

* Reusable face shields must be exceptionally straightforward arranged dependent on above focuses and should be liberated from any wipes or staying material or stapler pins to accomplish great disinfection

* Minimum 5 reusable face shields must be kept for possible later use to utilize it then again with disinfection

  1. Nature of Material for face shield

* No plastic or OHP sheet < 50 micron ought to be utilized for face shield because of probability of pleating and development because of wind current

* Best thickness is OHP of 150 to 200 micron (for rehashed disinfection and dealing with and abstaining from pleating )

  1. Strategies for Handling

* Never contact the front side of OHP/face shield

* Never hold face shields by contacting plastic of OHP sheets

* after complete use, with deliver gloves removing face shields from behind by loosening the strip tie or discharging the visor or lifting the readymade plastic head band over ear

* If you are arranging the face shield , arrange it alongside your gloves

* If you are reusing the face shield, follow the techniques for disinfection

  1. Techniques for disinfection

* The evacuated face shields must be kept in 1% Sodium Hypochlorite arrangement (perceive how to set it up) for 10 minutes

* Dry it in daylight

* after complete drying, Clean it with Sanitisers (extremely rough technique) (perceive how to make sanitiser without anyone else) (everything must be finished with deliver gloves)

* Or keep face shields in 2% Glutaraldehyde for 10 min, wash it with ordinary saline, again dry it

* Best method of sanitization is ETO

  1. Thinking about every above point, it’s judicious to stay away from every advantageous material like wipe, stapler pins, staying materials, glues and some other extravagant materials for tasteful intrigue (in the event that you are reusing the face shields)
  1. The most straightforward method of setting up the face shields is

a) Take an A4 size OHP sheet of 150 to 200 micron thickness

b) With an office punching machine, make 8 openings across length of the OHP sheet, leaving a 2 cm edge

c) String cotton lace bandage of 60 cm on the other hand through made gaps for tying around head

d)Your basic face shield is prepared



Thursday, October 22, 2009

United States officials have said that a 27-year-old man in the northeastern state of Massachusetts has been arrested and charged with plotting acts of terrorism, including plans to kill people at a shopping mall and to kill US government employees.

Acting US Attorney Michael Loucks said on Wednesday that Tarek Mehanna has been charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists. According to Loucks, Mehanna and his co-conspirators had multiple discussions about obtaining automatic weapons for the mall attack, but that the plan was abandoned because they could not obtain anything more than handguns.

He added that Mehanna discussed other plots, including wanting to kill two members of the Executive Branch of the US government.

Prosecutors have alleged that Mehanna and his conspirators discussed their desire for a “violent jihad against American interests,” including US and allied forces in Iraq, and that they talked about their desire to “die on the battlefield.” If convicted, Mehanna faces up to fifteen years in prison on the charge of material support of terrorism.

A statement by the Justice Department read that “Mehanna and the co-conspirators had multiple conversations about obtaining automatic weapons and randomly shooting people in a shopping mall, and that the conversations went so far as to discuss the logistics of a mall attack, including coordination, weapons needed and the possibility of attacking emergency responders.”

Loucks did not name the two people targeted in the alleged plot against government officials, but said they are no longer members of the Executive Branch and were never in any danger.

The acting attorney said Mehanna began conspiring around 2001 with a man named Ahmad Abousamra and others to provide material support and resources for use in a conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim or injure persons or damage property in a foreign country. He said Abousamra is now in Syria.

A preliminary trial hearing for his case was held on Wednesday, in which Mehanna did not enter a plea. Mehanna’s lawyer, J. W. Carney, who spoke to reporters after the plea was held, didn’t say which way Mehanna would plead.

Mehanna had been arrested earlier, in November 2008, accused of lying to investigators regarding one of his contacts, who was suspected to have been in training with al-Qaeda. He was later given bail.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Massachusetts_man_charged_with_conspiring_to_attack_US_mall,_kill_Iraq_troops&oldid=3291952”


Friday, June 10, 2005

The British TV station Channel 4 has discovered that the Sudanese government has signed a deal for a contract to drill for oil in southern Sudan, and that the key man in securing the deal is British.

Friedhelm Eronat, who until two years ago was an American citizen, secured the largest stake made in a consortium that won the drilling contract in 2003. Oil was discovered in April of this year.

Geologists have long suspected the presence of oil in the south of the Sudan. Clivenden Sudan, which Eronat personally owned in 2003, had a high level of expertise in the country’s geology.

The twenty five year deal secured by Clivenden Sudan will see it pay the Sudanese government $8m in the event oil is produced. The government will also receive 70% of the profits from the oil.

In a statement to Channel 4 News, Eronat said that he is not a shareholder or officer of Cliveden Sudan, that he does not work for or financially benefit from Cliveden Sudan, and that Cliveden Sudan is not the operator of the concession, only a shareholder.

Cliveden Sudan itself said “there has been no commercial oil find in Block C [the area being explored for oil].”

Villages in Darfur 180km from the Clivenden Sudan wells have been attacked by Sudanese troops and aircraft.

Eronat became involved in the deal through Lebanese businessman Eli Calil, who has been accused of funding a failed coup in Equatorial Guinea last year (allegations denied by Calil). Calil and Eronat live near each other in the London suburb of Chelsea.

At least one rebel group in Darfur is certain the search for oil will inflame the conflict in Darfur. The Justice and Equality Movement wants exploration to stop until peace is established.

A member of the JEM, Ahmad Hussein, told Channel 4 News: “So when they say they discover oil in Darfur, who is going to benefit from that? Are they the people of Darfur? Of course not. Absolutely not, the only beneficiaries is the ruling elite and ruling minority of the regime.”

Eronat changed his nationality from American to British in October 2003, shortly before the deal was signed. Under US law, he could have faced up to ten years imprisonment and/or fines of $500,000, due to US sanctions on Sudan.

The UK government has been at the forefront of efforts to try and halt the crisis, with international development minister Hilary Benn making a statement to the house of commons yesterday after a visit to the region. He said: “I visited the Kalma camp in South Darfur and the El Meshtel and Abu Shouk camps in North Darfur where tens of thousands of people are facing a precarious existence. I spoke to men and women whose homes have been destroyed, villages burned, and whose communities have been the victims of killings, looting and rape.

“We are in a race against time in Darfur, and the UK remains committed to doing all that it can to help those affected and to work for a just and lasting peace for its people.”

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=British_man_involved_in_deal_to_drill_for_oil_in_Darfur&oldid=1972254”


Wednesday, November 1, 2006

The first comprehensive global study of sexual behaviour, published today as part of The Lancet’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Online Series, found that people aren’t losing their virginity at ever younger ages, married people have the most sex, and there is no firm link between promiscuity and sexually transmitted diseases.

Experts say data gleaned from the study will be useful not only in dispelling popular myths about sexual behaviour, but in shaping policies that will help improve sexual health across the world. Researchers looked at previously published studies on sexual behaviour in the last decade.

Professor Kaye Wellings, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicines, and her colleagues analysed data on sexual behaviour in the last decade from 59 countries.

The report also shows no support for the common notion that there is a culture of multiple sexual partners in countries with poor sexual health. Multiple sexual partners, it turns out, are more common in industrialised than in developing nations.

The study also found that contrary to popular belief, sexual activity is not starting earlier. Nearly everywhere, men and women have their first sexual experiences in their late teens; from 15 to 19 years old — with generally younger ages for women than for men, especially in developing countries.

“A single woman is more able to negotiate safe sex in certain circumstances than a married woman,” said Paul van Look, director of Reproductive Health and Research at the World Health Organisation, who was unconnected to the study and points out that “married women in Africa and Asia are often threatened by unfaithful husbands who frequent prostitutes”.

There is much greater equality between women and men with regard to the number of sexual partners in rich countries than in poor countries, the study found. This imbalance has significant public health implications. Because of the diversity of sexual habits worldwide, Wellings warns that no single approach to sexual health will work everywhere. “There are very different economic, religious and social rules governing sexual conduct across the world,” Wellings said.

For example, men and women in Australia, Britain, France and the United States tend to have an almost equal number of sexual partners. In contrast, in Cameroon, Haiti, and Kenya, men tend to have multiple partners while women tend only to have one.

Along with other industrialised countries, Australia was one in which having two or more sexual partners in the past year was comparatively common.

Single men and women in Africa were fairly sexually inactive: only two-thirds of them reported recent sexual activity, compared with three-quarters of their counterparts in developed countries.

In what researchers said was proof the sexual double standard was still strong, more men than women reported having more than one partner.

“These findings beg the question of who the men are having sex with,” they wrote.

Italy had one of the lowest percentages of men who had sex before age 15 (4 per cent), compared to 18 per cent in the United States and 30 per cent in Brazil and the Dominican Republic. The researchers said early initiation was more likely to be non-consensual, unsafe and generally to be regretted later.

The study suggests that unequal treatment of girls and women as the major sexual-health issue.

The researchers call for providing sexual health services to unmarried young women, supplying condoms, decriminalizing commercial sex and homosexual sex, and prosecuting the perpetrators of sexual violence.

Experts say data gleaned from the study will be useful not only in dispelling popular myths about sexual behaviour, but in shaping policies that will help improve sexual health across the world.

“There’s a misperception that there’s a great deal of promiscuity in Africa, which is one of the potential reasons for HIV/AIDS spreading so rapidly,” said van Look

Fewer than half of unmarried non-virgins reported having sex in the past month.

Some of the major findings the survey found were:

  • School-based sexual education delays and does not hasten onset of sexual activity.
  • First sexual experience is often forced or sold.
  • Marriage is no safeguard of sexual health. It is more difficult for married women to negotiate safe sex and condom use than it is for single women.
  • Condom use is increasing, but condom-use rates remain low in many developing countries.
  • Among girls who marry at a very young age, “very early sexual experience within marriage can be coercive and traumatic.”
  • While there is no major trend toward earlier sexual experience, a trend toward later marriage has led to an increase in premarital sex.
  • Public health measures to improve sexual health should focus not only on individual behaviours but also on broader issues such as gender, poverty, and mobility.
  • Public-health messages intended to reduce sexual risk-taking “should respect diversity and preserve choice.”
  • Monogamy is the dominant pattern in most parts of the world. Men report more multiple partnerships than do women. Such men are more likely to live in developed nations.
This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.
This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Global_study_dispels_some_myths_about_sexual_behaviour&oldid=2526621”


Submitted by: Jenny Poole

Because of the increase in reputation of Meratol numerous individuals are now keen to find out about Meratol side effects. Here we are going to focus on it.

Due to the increase in popularity of Meratol a large number of people are now keen to find out about Meratol side effects. Here we are going to discuss it.

If one is obese and one is continually getting discomfited about one s look then one must adopt a balanced lifestyle. Fat loss must be one s topmost priority; since excess fat can cause dangerous conditions.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZNrwXXihoM[/youtube]

There are numerous fat loss supplements for sale in market nowadays but prior to paying for them(Meratol); you should know about Meratol side effects. With small effort plus research you’ll undoubtedly find a great weight reduction supplement which will work wonders for one s physique.

Meratol is latest addition in terms of weightloss products. It is brought in by the manufacturers of Capsiplex plus C Plex 60; so it is a totally reliable plus genuine weight loss product. It is actually tried and tested to lower as much as 3 to 5 lbs of weight per week. The best thing about this particular weight reduction product is that it provides you with successful weight loss with no unwanted side effects; yes it doesn’t have any side effects. Certain weight loss products available in market these days have concealed negative effects such as instant need for excretion and bowel movements. This isn’t true with Meratol as it consists of four most natural substances that target just on cutting down pounds in a secure way and there is not anything like “Meratol side effects”.

Four elements that form the base of Meratol are seaweed extract, cactus extract, capsicum extract plus prickly pear extract. All of the ingredients are already scientifically analyzed and proven to be cent percent safe and sound. This weightloss product functions on improving this enzymatic system; it enhances the metabolic process and this eventually burns out fat plus calories faster. This provides immediate energy so one does not feel lazy and tired. Meratol binds up extra sugars as well. It’s shown to burn out twelve times more calories.

It’s absolutely the most organic and most secure fat loss supplement available these days; it is quickly gaining popularity across the globe. Numerous individuals are buying Meratol to acquire a fast and risk-free weightloss without side effects.

Almost certainly at this point you know you’ll find nothing like Meratol side effects. Meratol certainly makes a combined 4-prong attack on obesity; it reduces fat, burns calories, boosts metabolic process and block carbs; all at once. If you’d like to cut down fat in a organic and balanced way then this supplement is appropriate. Go ahead have this weight-loss weapon to fight excess weight right away.

To learn more about the safety and side effects of Meratol, please go to the meratoluk side below, and get more information. Meratol can’t be purchased in shops or the high street but only online at the official meratol site.

About the Author: Jenny Poole is a freelance writer who specialises in weight loss. She writes on Meratol at

meratoluk.co.uk

.

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=706096&ca=Wellness%2C+Fitness+and+Diet



Tuesday, February 5, 2008

This article mentions the Wikimedia Foundation, one of its projects, or people related to it. Wikinews is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation.

A diverse group of approximately 25 people gathered at the Johnson County Library on Monday to participate in reference librarian Scott Vieira’s class, Wikiwhatia? Wikipedia.

Scott opened the session by sharing a disparaging quote from Robert McHenry (former editor-in-chief of Encyclopedia Britannica) comparing Wikipedia to a public restroom. He then shared a quote from Andrew Keen, author of The Cult of the Amateur, in which he stated Wikipedia is the blind leading the blind. Scott shared Wikipedia usage data from a 2007 Pew Internet study showing 36% of adults have consulted Wikipedia and that that Wikipedia receives 10,000-30,000 searches per second. Scott also pointed out that Wikipedia now has over two million articles in English alone (over nine million articles in 250 languages). So there is a discrepancy here, lots of critics and lots of use.

Scott then shared some historical information in order to provide a context for understanding Wikipedia. This included some important names and dates in the history of encyclopedias… including Pliny the Elder (23-79 C.E.) who published 37 Volumes of Natural History, and Joachim Sterck van Ringelbergh (c. 1499-1556) who first used the term encyclopedia, and then d’Alembert and Diderot who published 17 volumes of their French Encyclopedia from 1751-1765. Encyclopedia Britannica was first published in Scotland in serial format 1768-1771.

Scott also discussed more recent history, sharing a photo of Ward Cunningham –who is credited with being the inventor of wiki software. Wikipedia was founded on Jan 15, 2001 by Larry Sanger and Jimmy Wales. Sanger left Wikipedia in 2002 and founded Citizendium in 2007 a complementary project which now has 4500 articles.

After the historical perspective, the class moved into using Wikipedia. Everyone in the audience had used Wikipedia. The class explored the content of Wikipedia, realising there is a whole lot going on. Scott demonstrated that the article about “frogs” for example, is semi-protected. The “history of science” article was examined, including the history of changes. Discussion covered how people contribute, who contributes and edits. The group also talked about Wikipedia bots, which aid in routine tasks in a semi-automated or automated fashion.

A discussion about teachers, school media specialists and students regarding their use of Wikipedia ensued. Some teachers and school media specialists are negative about Wikipedia, but Scott’s hope is that they will use it to start a discussion about the need to evaluate and critically think about information (even when it’s from more traditionally reviewed and edited sources).

An unanswered question from an audience member was, “What was the first Wikipedia article?”

Discussion topics from Scott to audience were as follows:

  • Do you think Wikipedia is less accurate than published resources and how important is that accuracy to you?
  • How do we determine authority on a subject? How important is it that an article be written by an expert? How is Wikipedia changing our idea of what an authority is?
  • Currency – the ability to publish immediately – what are the advantages and what are the disadvantages?
  • What do we think about the content selection in Wikipedia?
  • Should Wikipedia be used by librarians?
  • What do you think about the future of Wikipedia?
Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Kansas_library_discusses_Wikipedia&oldid=589054”


Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The trial began today for a Pennsylvania state trooper accused of killing his girlfriend’s estranged husband.

Kevin Foley, 43, is accused of cutting the throat of John Yelenic, a dentist who was in the final stages of finalizing a divorce from his wife, Michele. According to prosecutors, Foley “loathed Dr. Yelenic” so much that he asked another fellow trooper to help him commit the alleged murder, which occurred in Yelenic’s Blairsville home.

Deputy Attorney General Anthony Krastek told an Indiana County jury that Foley also prayed Yelenic would die, and spread false rumors that Yelenic molested his adopted son.

“You will see Kevin Foley has the motive, the opportunity and the ability to commit this crime, almost to the exclusion of anybody else,” Krastek said.

Foley’s defense attorney, Jeffrey Monzo, said during opening statements that DNA evidence was not conclusive. Monzo admitted to the jury that Foley did not like Yelenic, but said that does not mean he murdered him.

“Kevin Foley is innocent,” he said.

Prosecutors said they could call as many as 70 witnesses to try and prove Foley wanted Yelenic to die. The trial, at the Indiana County Courthouse, is expected to last about three weeks.

Foley, who is on unpaid suspension from the Pennsylvania State Police, is charged with criminal homicide. The jury has the option of convicting him of first-degree murder, which could put Foley in prison for life without parole, or of a lesser degree charge, like manslaughter.

John Yelenic was found dead in his home on April 13, 2006, one day before he was planning on signing his divorce papers. Prosecutors said Foley killed Yelenic after going to the dentist’s house to confront him over the terms of the divorce. Prosecutors claim Foley slashed Yelenic several times with a knife and pushed his head through a small window, causing a further gash on his neck. Yelenic bled to death.

Foley had been living with Michele Yelenic for two years at the time of the alleged homicide. Krastek said Michele also helped perpetuate rumors that Dr. Yelenic molested their son. John and Michele Yelenic had been separated in 2002. Michele Yelenic stood to collect Dr. Yelenic’s estate and a $1 million life insurance policy, and could lose about $2,500 a month in support if the divorce was finalized, a Pennsylvania grand jury previously determined.

Michele Yelenic is expected to testify that Foley was home with her when the alleged murder occurred. Krastek told the jury DNA under Yelenic’s fingerprints will ultimately link him to the murder, as will bloody shoe prints found at the crime scene that match athletic shoes Foley is known to wear.

Monzo also said authorities have failed to investigate several other suspects, including Yelenic’s neighbor. Monzo said Yelenic was on very friendly terms with the neighbor’s wife, which could have given him a motive to commit the murder.

Prior to the trial, Foley’s defense attorneys unsuccessfully sought a change of venue because an overwhelming majority of the jury pool was familiar with the allegations. The change was denied when jurors insisted they had not formed an opinion about the charges.

Retrieved from “https://en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Pennsylvania_cop_on_trial_for_allegedly_murdering_girlfriend%27s_estranged_husband&oldid=2330348”


Submitted by: Hansin Garolin

There are numerous stop smoking packages to pick from, and each and every a single of them has their personal suggested timeline.Some timelines examples: &bull Prescription medications like Chantix suggest twelve weeks or 24 weeks timeline for heavy smokers to quit &bull Smoking cigarettes patches suggest 4 to 12 weeks or far more &bull Electronic cigarettes or ecigs as they are identified, never have any suggested timeline &bull Hypnosis practitioners say you can stop immediately upon hypnosis treatment method &bull Smoking cigarettes cessation rehab centers usually recommend thirty daysThere are numerous other stop smoking cigarettes timelines as effectively, as proposed by physicians, nicotine product suppliers and other smoking cigarettes cessation teams.What are all these timelines primarily based on? Physical reasons? Psychological? Mental? Chemical? Medical scientific studies based mostly on trial and error? Why do they vary so significantly in between them, with one particular technique declaring instantaneous results to other individuals requiring 24 or a lot more weeks? Hmmmm. Does not sound like these timelines are also scientific, does it?Routines timelinesThere are definitive scientific tests on behavior timelines and habits formation. Research display it will take most of us 21 – constant – days to discover a new habit. There aren’t any obvious scientific studies on the timeline to “unlearn” a behavior nonetheless. Employing the 21 days figure to understand a new behavior, wouldn’t it make sense that since cigarette smoking is a habit, the greatest timeline would be 21 times? Nicely sure, and no.Intertwined with the behavior mechanism of our head is our self-picture: who we believe we actually are.That self-image has to change from getting a smoker to the new self-picture of being a non-smoker. The habit adjust and the self-image adjust the two function with each other to help you stop smoking cigarettes for very good. The very best timeline that I have located, will deconstruct the smoking habit for 21 times, and create a new, smoke-cost-free behavior for 21 times.Why cold turkey – and it’s brief timeline – doesn’t functionThis is why the “chilly turkey” timeline ( resolving to never ever smoke once more) doesn’t perform. It is extremely painful to every thing that tends to make us human, this kind of as our adoption of computerized behaviors – our behavior. It tries to abruptly rip us away from conduct we have told our mind and body around 1000’s of repetitions that we appreciated.At some point, our mind and physique will go again to the habit. Chilly turkey has breathtaking very low success rates, since the timeline is as well small, and does not tackle the cigarette smoking behavior.Very best stop smoking timeline featuresIf you are considering what stop cigarette smoking timeline is greatest for you, contemplate if it includes 21 days to release the cigarette smoking behavior, and 21 days to transition your self-image to non-smoker. A great deal of research factors to this as the greatest approach, so you won’t have fierce withdrawal signs and symptoms and cravings to return to smoking once more.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gThYbmxQgnE[/youtube]

About the Author: volcano ecig

spacecoastmen.com/index.php/2011/12/what-is-the-greatest-quit-smoking-timeline/

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=1219605&ca=Wellness%2C+Fitness+and+Diet



« Older Entries Newer Entries »