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Table of Contents:
Strategic report on the renewed Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs: new cycle 2008-2010
Outline of the Community (European Union) legislation about Strategic report on the renewed Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs: new cycle 2008-2010
These categories group together and put in context the legislative and non-legislative initiatives which deal with the same topic.
Employment and social policy > European Strategy for Growth > Growth and jobs
Strategic report on the renewed Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs: new cycle 2008-2010
The Commission is presenting a series of actions with a view to launching the second cycle (2008-2010) of reforms under the Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs, and to achieving the strategy's objectives. To this end, the action of the European Union and the Member States must be strengthened in four priority areas: unlocking business potential; investing in people and modernising labour markets; knowledge and innovation; and energy-efficiency and combating climate change.
Document or Iniciative
Communication from the Commission to the Council of 11 December 2007 – Strategic report on the renewed Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs: launching the new cycle (2008-2010) Part I [COM(2007) 803 final – Not published in the Official Journal].
This document presents the launch of the second cycle of actions relating to growth and jobs with a view to enabling the Member States to fully achieve the objectives laid down in the renewed Lisbon strategy. Even though overall progress with structural reforms during the first cycle (2005-2008) has been positive, these reforms must be intensified.
Further efforts are essential, particularly with a view to:
- increasing investments in information and communication technologies;
- allowing effective operation of the internal market, in which delays are occurring particularly as regards the implementation of the rules on intellectual and industrial property rights;
- creating a genuine entrepreneurial culture;
- putting in place education systems which allow for lifelong learning.
The report states that although the principle of "flexicurity" had been applied to the social security reforms in most Member States, it had not achieved the desired results, principally because of a lack of supporting measures.
In view of these problems and the risk of financial turmoil, particularly as a result of increased prices for raw materials, the Lisbon strategy should be deepened by:
- pressing ahead with reforms in order to maximise the impact of the new generation of EU cohesion policy programmes on growth and jobs. Around € 70 billion will be mobilised annually up to 2013, mostly in support of the National Reform Programmes (NRPs);
- widening stakeholder involvement in the Lisbon strategy;
- strengthening economic policy coordination, with an emphasis on partnership between the Member States and the EU when updating and implementing the integrated guidelines;
- undertaking the reforms needed at Community level, especially under the Community Lisbon Programme (CLP);
- shaping the external agenda through the securing of access to third country markets for European companies, and matched by the EU maintaining its openness and intensifying the strategic dialogue with these third countries;
- integrating national, Community and international action into an effective strategy based on a partnership centred around the four priority areas agreed by the 2006 Spring European Council, namely knowledge and innovation, unlocking business potential, investing in people and modernising labour markets, and energy-efficiency and combating climate change.
Actions in the four priority areas
As part of the second cycle (2008-2010) of reforms under the Lisbon strategy, the Commission is proposing the implementation of a number of actions at Community and national level. These measures focus on the four priority areas specified by the Commission.
Investing in people and modernising labour markets, particularly in the context of flexicurity, is intended to help employees and employers to take advantage of the opportunities offered by globalisation. To this end, the Commission is proposing the following measures to be implemented by the Community:
- a renewed Social Agenda taking account of Europe's new realities;
- evaluation and assessment of skills and needs on the jobs market, drawing mainly on the Council's initiative on new skills for new jobs [PDF ];
- measures for a common immigration policy.
Certain steps must also be taken by the Member States to:
- define national pathways within their NRPs;
- improve childcare services (in terms of cost, quality and availability);
- tackle early school-leaving and improve basic reading skills;
- increase the number of international exchanges;
- draw up, by 2010, national qualification frameworks aligned with the European framework.
Unlocking business potential, especially of SMEs, is also a priority. To this end, a number of actions are proposed at Community level:
- adoption of a measure in favour of small businesses;
- reduction of administrative burdens and implementation of an ambitious simplification programme;
- strengthening of the single market, especially in the field of services.
Action by the Member States is also required to:
- implement the services Directive by 2009;
- set and announce administrative burden reduction targets;
- continue modernising public administrations.
Investing in knowledge and innovation is intended to spur the EU's transition to a knowledge-based and creative economy. The "fifth freedom" – the free movement of knowledge – should thus be established. To this end, the Commission must:
- improve the framework conditions for innovation;
- remove obstacles to the cross-border mobility of researchers (on the basis of a European "passport");
- manage more effectively the pooling of the EU's and the Member States' R&D resources;
- launch a new generation of world-class research facilities and improve competition for high-speed Internet.
Action should also be taken by the Member States to:
- coordinate efforts to improve framework conditions for innovation;
- indicate how national R&D investment targets for 2010 will be met and how the creation of a European research area is to be achieved;
- facilitate the mobility of researchers (between public and private research centres);
- draw up strategies identifying the new generation of world-class research facilities;
- set targets aiming at a 30% rate of high-speed Internet usage.
The creation of a low-carbon and energy-efficient economy is also a priority. The Commission therefore proposes that the EU should lead the way by:
- seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 % and achieve a renewable energy share of 20% by 2020. In addition, the Commission must promote more sustainable production and consumption;
- review the taxation of energy in the light of energy and environmental objectives;
- strengthen the requirements regarding the energy performance of buildings.
Action should also be taken by the Member States to:
- review their economic instruments in the ongoing fight against climate change;
- ensure that energy-efficiency is used as one of the award criteria for public procurement;
- set mandatory energy reduction targets for government buildings;
- improve interconnection of energy grids.
Since the relaunch of the Lisbon strategy in 2005, the EU and the Member States have formed a new partnership to ensure sustainable growth and employment. Following the first cycle (2005-2008), tangible results have been achieved as regards the rate of growth (especially as a result of the structural reforms), job creation and the rates of employment and unemployment. The key role played by the renewed Lisbon strategy was confirmed at the informal European summit held in Lisbon in October 2007, which also advocated a deepening of the strategy during the next cycle. Part II of the Communication describes the progress achieved in the different Member States. The Lisbon "package" also contains a Part IV setting out the integrated guidelines for growth and jobs (2008-2010). All these documents enabled the 2008 Spring European Council to launch a further, ambitious cycle by adopting, in particular, the actions being proposed by the Commission.
Related Acts
Presidency Conclusions of the Brussels European Council of 13 and 14 March 2008 [Not published in the Official Journal].
On the basis of the documents submitted by the Commission, and in the light of the work carried out by the relevant formations of the Council, the European Council has launched the second three-year cycle (2008–2010) of the renewed Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs. In this connection, the European Council confirmed the integrated guidelines, endorsed the country-specific recommendations, and confirmed the four priority areas under the renewed Lisbon strategy. Taking as its basis the actions proposed by the Commission and the work undertaken by the European Parliament, the Council also approved a number of specific measures.


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Officials: 90% of homes in Florida Keys damaged or destroyed by Irma
The death toll from Hurricane Irma stood at 47 by midday Tuesday. At least 35 people were reportedly killed across the Caribbean islands. In the U.S., 12 deaths were reported in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
Follow along for updates (all times EDT):
7:00 p.m.
Two days after Irma made landfall on Cudjoe Key, authorities and a few residents were finally able to reach some of the Florida Keys on Tuesday.
What they found was devastating: Based on initial estimates, 25% of the houses on the chain of islands have been destroyed, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Tuesday. Another 65% suffered major damage.
"Basically, every house in the Keys was impacted some way," FEMA Administrator Brock Long said.
It's still not clear how many casualties Irma caused on the Keys.
5:00 p.m.
Flood and coastal flood warnings continue across parts of Florida.
Irma continues to weaken as light to moderate scattered showers continue across the lower Mississippi Valley and into the Ohio Valley.
4:00 p.m.
Trump signed the "Emergency Aid to American Survivors of Hurricanes Irma and Jose Overseas Act," which increased federal aid for repatriated U.S. citizens from the Health and Human Services Department to $25 million.
3:45 p.m.
Authorities have sent an aircraft carrier and other Navy ships to aid search-and-rescue operations amid reports of wide devastation in the hurricane-battered Florida Keys. 65 percent of homes in the Keys sustained major damage, 25 percent destroyed.
People across the island shared by Dutch St. Maarten and French St. Martin were trying to rebuild the lives. The Dutch Red Cross said there were still more than 200 people listed as missing on St. Maarten, and more than 90 percent of buildings were damaged.
Most commercial airports in Florida are open although hundreds of flights are still being canceled or delayed as the state recovers.
2:49 p.m.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said President Donald Trump will go to Florida on Thursday to survey damage left by Hurricane Irma.
12:30 p.m.
Florida's largest utility says much of the state's east coast could have power back by Sunday, but other areas could take 10 days or more.
Rob Gould, vice president and chief communications officer for Florida Power & Light, said Tuesday that the utility expects to have power on for most customers along the state's eastern coast by the end of this weekend.
Gould said it would take until the end of Sept. 22 to restore power along the state's western coast where the damage was much more severe. He did say that some areas hit by tornadoes or flooding may take longer.
FPL says that 2.8 million homes and businesses are without power throughout its service area as of Tuesday.
Utility officials say they have nearly 20,000 workers helping with the restoration effort. FPL says it has gotten crews from as far away as Canada to California.
11:30 a.m.
The remnants of Irma toppled trees and power lines in Alabama, leaving thousands without electricity, but didn't appear to cause major damage.
Alabama Power Co., the state's largest provider of electricity, reported that on Tuesday morning that 20,000 households and businesses were without power. The power outages were concentrated in the eastern portion of the state.
Irma, at tropical storm status, pelted the state with cold rain and wind gusts as high as 45 mph on Monday. Rains and wind began to dissipate on Tuesday.
Several school systems remained closed on Tuesday after official announced two days of closures ahead of the storm's approach.
10:30 a.m.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday, FEMA officials said that 90 percent of the homes in the Florida Keys have been damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Irma.
The state of Florida is attempting to pick up the pieces left behind by Irma. Gov. Rick Scott says that all highways and turnpikes in the state are back open, after having been closed during the storm.
Power is slowly being restored to residents. One million homes affected by the outages now have their lights back on.
9 a.m.
Jacksonville sheriff's officials said on Twitter that 356 people were rescued from flooding on Monday as Hurricane Irma moved over Florida.
And they tweeted some advice for them: "We hope the 356 people who had their lives saved yesterday will take evacuation orders seriously in the future."
Sheriff's officials also said that all bridges leading into downtown Jacksonville have re-opened.
They noted that many roads are still blocked or flooded Tuesday morning and motorist are urged to treat intersections without working red lights as four-way stops.
8:00 a.m.
Officials in the upper Florida Keys are allowing residents and business owners to return after Hurricane Irma.
People were able to return to Monroe County as of 7 a.m. EDT Tuesday.
In a Facebook posting, Monroe County officials said a yellow re-entry sticker or proof of residency or business ownership will be required.
County officials said a roadblock will be put around mile marker 74, where part of U.S. 1 was washed out by Hurricane Irma, which slammed into the state Sunday as a Category 4 storm. A road crew is expected to begin repairs Tuesday.
Officials warned returning residents that there are limited services available. Most areas are still without power and water and cellphone service is limited. Most gas stations in the Key Largo area are still closed.
Crews are working to clear U.S. 1, the only road that runs north/south through the Florida Keys.
County officials also said Mariners Hospital in Tavernier was expected to reopen Tuesday morning
7:35 a.m.
More than 1.2 million customers in Georgia are without power after Irma swirled into the state.
Georgia Power will be starting to assess damages on Tuesday. The utility company says much of the state including coastal Georgia and metro Atlanta experienced the most outages after parts of the state received widespread damage caused by high winds and heavy rainfall.
Georgia Power says Fulton County currently has the most outages with 105,390.
By early Tuesday, Georgia Power has nearly 800,000 outages and EMC has around 466,000 customers without power.
The Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority has resumed service Tuesday, but limited routes. The transportation company will have rail service running in 20-minute intervals.
6:15 a.m.
In Irma's aftermath, Gov. Rick Scott warned the biggest threat this week will be river flooding in the northern part of the state.
Although rainfall stopped in Jacksonville Monday afternoon, the water began rising and washing into downtown.
The governor said on Monday that Jacksonville experienced 3 to 5 feet of surge, plus one foot of rainfall, which is causing "record and historical flooding along St. Johns River."
Irma turned Jacksonville's Memorial Park into an unrecognizable lake.
6:00 a.m.
The airport for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has re-opened Tuesday morning after closing as Hurricane Irma pounded the state.
Operations at the airport resumed at 4 a.m. EDT, but a check of the airport's website Tuesday morning showed many flights still canceled.
Meanwhile, the Miami International Airport said in a tweet that it will resume operations on a limited basis Tuesday. But the airport said passengers should contact their airlines to check on flight status before coming.
Six deaths in Florida have been blamed on Irma, which first hit the state Sunday as a powerful Category 4 hurricane.
5:30 a.m.
Massive power outages remain throughout the Southeast. These figures are as of Tuesday morning:
- Alabama: 23,000 customers were without power, according to Alabama Power.
- Florida: 6.2 million customers, according to Floridadisaster.org. This represents over 59% of all power company accounts in the state, the Florida Division of Emergency Management said.
- Georgia: More than 1.4 million customers, according to Georgia Power and Georgia EMC.
- North Carolina: More than 166,000 customers, according to Duke Energy
- South Carolina: 233,000 customers, according to Duke Energy and SCE&G.
2:15 a.m.
Florida residents have begun to dig out in hurricane-scarred Florida and officials are slowly piecing together the scope of Irma's vicious path of destruction across the peninsula.
The fate of the Florida Keys, where Irma rumbled through with Category 4 muscle, remains largely a question mark. Communication and access were cut and authorities dangled only vague assessments of ruinous impact.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott called the storm "devastating" after emerging from a Monday fly-over of the Keys.
A Navy aircraft carrier was due to anchor off Key West to help in search-and-rescue efforts.
The governor described overturned mobile homes, washed-ashore boats and rampant flood damage.
Six deaths in Florida have been blamed on Irma, along with three in Georgia and one in South Carolina. At least 35 people were killed in the Caribbean.
11:30 p.m.
As Jacksonville, Florida, grappled with record storm surge, the level of the destruction became more apparent in the hard-hit Florida Keys at the southern tip of the state.
Areas without water, power or communications are likely to remain so for some time.
Irma flooded portions of River Street in the tourist magnet city of Savannah, Georgia, and forced police to temporarily shut Highway 80 leading to the barrier island community of Tybee Island. Water also filled The Battery, the downtown Charleston neighborhood where the Ashley and Cooper rivers meet. Charleston police asked residents to avoid downtown in anticipation of high tide.
Waters in Charleston Harbor peaked at nearly 10 feet high, the city's third-highest reading, topping Hurricane Matthew in 2016, said CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward.
10:35 p.m.
Irma has weakened to a tropical depression, and heavy rainfall is continuing across the southeastern U.S., according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm is continuing to move farther inland and is approaching the Georgia-Alabama border, a hurricane center forecaster says.
Intense rainfall rates are leading to flash flooding and rapid rises on creeks, streams, and rivers, according to the hurricane center.
9:15 p.m.
Authorities say a Florida man appears to have been electrocuted by a downed power line following Irma.
Winter Park police spokesman Garvin McComie says officers responded Monday morning following reports of a man lying in the roadway.
The officers determined that 51-year-old Brian Buwalda was dead at the scene. A medical examiner will determine an official cause of death, but McComie says it appears to be an accident.
Winter Park is in Orange County, just of Orlando.
The storm has been blamed for more than 40 deaths, including six in Florida, three in Georgia and one in South Carolina.
8 p.m.
A woman in Georgia died when a tree fell on a vehicle in a private driveway, according to the website of the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office.
The Associated Press and CNN contributed to this report.

subset: commoncrawl


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When a Latter-day Saint child is old enough to graduate from Nursery class to the Primary program, they will soon mark their right of passage by receiving their very own CTR Ring. I remember the day my primary teacher gave me my first ring. I proudly ran through the chapel to show it off to my mother. Less than 20 years later, I was the mother being run to; smiling and listening intently as my excited 6-year-old displayed her new ring.
This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the small, inexpensive, expandable jewelry piece which has become a beloved Mormon symbol.
In the 1960's, Primary General President Helen Alldredge designed a shield logo with the letters "CTR" as a visual aid for teaching the children to "Choose The Right". The shield represents the power of the Lord (Psalm 33:20) shielding His children from temptation and spiritual danger. The green background was chosen to represent the evergreen tree, which is steadfast and unchangeable from season to season.
In 1970 a committee of eight women were called to design a new program for the 6 and 7 year old children of the church. It was decided the children needed a "badge of belief", and the CTR Ring was born.
An interesting side note: Naomi Randall was the chairwoman of this committee, and lyricist of possibly the most famous LDS Primary song, "I am a Child of God"
Although the specific phrase "Choose the Right" does not appear in the scriptures, there are countless stories demonstrating the consequences of choosing right [following God's commandments], or wrong [rejecting God's commands]. LDS prophet President Brigham Young once mentioned the phrase in a talk dated 1864.
"God rules and reigns and has made all his children as free as himself to choose the right or the wrong." – Doctrines of Brigham Young, 55
The words became significant in Mormon culture when Joseph Townsend used the phrase 14 times in the LDS hymn "Choose the Right", [written 30 years prior to the introduction of the CTR Ring].
During the 1970 October General Conference, it was Gordon B. Hinckley who announced the new Primary "CTR" curriculum. As part of this new program, children ages 6 and 7 would receive one of the new CTR rings.
The original CTR rings sold for 35 cents. Today, they can be purchased through the church distribution office for $1, in several different languages. The logo was not patented, so many enterprising business owners and jewelers have profited by offering specialty rings, pendants, t-shirts and hundreds of other products with the "CTR" logo, in every language imaginable.
In fact, when I lived and studied in Jerusalem in 1987, a prominent Israeli jewelry store began designing CTR rings with Hebrew characters to cater to the many Mormon tourists and students. [business was good]
Countless articles and talks have been written about the Mormon CTR symbol over the years. Recently, author Susan Evans McCloud shared "Fads, Facts, and Fiction of CTR Rings". Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles once based an entire Conference address upon the symbol, entitling his talk "CTR".
In his talk, Elder Perry shared a story about a New Zealand Mission president who wore a beautiful CTR tie tack, and later explained the significance of the pin, which was a gift from the people of the Navajo nation.
"I believe that Navajo bishop was inspired to give me the tie tack, and I feel that I make the right decision every day when I choose to wear it." – CTR, Oct. 1993
In summary, it is certainly not a piece of jewelry, or a logo that is singularly important to our religion. Rather, it is the potential the symbol has for reminding and motivating us, beginning at a young age, to Choose the way of Christ, each and every day. Because walking the Right way, is the recipe from God for true peace and happiness.
The hymn "Choose The Right" is sung at General Conference


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Abstracts & Biographies
Presentation Title: Beyond course Content: What is learned and how?
Abstract: What do students take away from their postsecondary experience beyond program content? How should we define and measure non-disciplinary skills such as literacy, numeracy, critical thinking, problem solving, communications, interpersonal skills, perseverance? Although the jargon may grate, to the extent that we accept the reality behind terms such as: "workplace ready", "lifelong learning", "knowledge economy", "slash careers", and "job-hopping," these products of higher education may be as valuable as content knowledge – they are most certainly regarded as such by potential employers. They are arguably also at the heart of what makes a responsible and effective participant in a civil society.
We need to demonstrate the effectiveness of our programs in these areas by more than anecdote and unsubstantiated argument. But we have only begun to task of defining and assessing these skills, let alone identifying the experiences that foster their growth. Far more questions than answers… Does the cognitive/non-cognitive distinction make sense? What is the difference between basic and advanced cognitive skills? Are non-content skills really transferable? Perhaps most important – to what extent are these skills teachable and learnable, and how do we maximize this process? Much to discuss and to investigate.
Biography: Dr. Greg Moran was a faculty member at Western University from 1977-2015 and served as its provost for 10 years. Greg was provost of Aga Khan University (AKU) from 2011-2015, based in Nairobi. He is currently director, special projects at the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario where he is involved in a variety of research and policy activities. In addition, he continues his engagement in research in early child development. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Academics Without Borders, professor emeritus and provost emeritus at Western University, professor (status only) at the University of Toronto, and a visiting professor at Aga Khan University.
Presentation Title: Promises and pitfalls fo harnessing metacognition to improve student learning
Abstract: To be successful, college students need to do a lot of learning on their own, and such self-regulated learning involves monitoring going progress toward a learning goal and making decisions about how to learn the more difficult concepts and materials. Students do rely on these metacognitive processes to guide their learning, but inaccurate monitoring can lead students to make poor study decisions that will ultimately undermine their performance. Accordingly, I'll discuss the pitfalls of using metacognition to support self-regulated learning, and as important, I'll describe some techniques that show promise for improving students' metacognition and achievement.
Biography: Dr. John Dunlosky is a Professor of Psychology at Kent State University, where he has taught since 2004. He has contributed empirical and theoretical work on memory and metacognition, including theories of self-regulated learning and metacomprehension. Since his post-doctoral training at Georgia Institute of Technology, he has explored people's metacognitive capabilities and how to improve them. A major aim of his research program is to develop techniques to improve the effectiveness of people's self-regulated learning across the lifespan. A fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, he is a founder of the International Association for Metacognition. He co-authored Metacognition, which is the first textbook on the topic, and has edited several books on metacognition and education. He also serves as an Associate Editor for the Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.
Presentation Title: On noteworthy notes: Not all note taking is created equal
Abstract: Note taking has (at least) two goals. The first goal is to create an external record of content for subsequent reference, and the second goal is to facilitate comprehension and encoding of the material. Unfortunately, these two goals can often be in conflict. For example, students who take verbatim notes tend to have more thorough and accurate external records, but students who summarize content in their own words tend to process information more deeply, which leads to better encoding and comprehension. This leads different media for note taking (e.g. laptops vs. longhand - the former of which allows better verbatim note-taking) to yield different educational outcomes. Moreover, for note-taking strategies that require selective recording of information instead of verbatim transcription - questions arise as to how (and how well) students determine what information to record. This talk explores how students make tradeoffs and determinations about what content to record when note taking.
Biography: Danny Oppenheimer is a professor at UCLA jointly appointed in Psychology and Marketing who studies, among other things, how people make decisions, the psychology of charitable giving, educational assessment, metacognition and the psychological underpinnings of democracy. He is the author of over 40 peer-reviewed articles and the book "Democracy Despite Itself: Why a System that shouldn't work at all works so well". He has won awards for research, teaching, and humor, the latter of which is particularly inexplicable given his penchant for truly terrible puns.
Presentation Title: Incorporating desirable difficulties into the curriculum enhances student learning: Retrieval, spacing, and interleaving
Abstract: Generating learning activities designed to limit student errors may make students happy and convey a satisfying "sense of knowing," yet these types of activities may not contribute to ideal learning. Although learning activities designed to challenge learners (what Robert Bjork, 1994, labeled "desirable difficulties") are likely to increase the frequency of student errors, research informs us that these kinds of activities lead to more deep and enduring learning, retention, and transfer. I will present three strategies designed to yield desirable difficulties that we have implemented in courses at the University of New Hampshire that have benefitted student learning outcomes: Retrieval practice in a course on energy and the environment; spacing of practice in an introductory course on molecular and cellular biology; and interleaving of practice in an introductory statistics course.
Biography: Catherine Overson is the Associate Director of UNH's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Director of Teaching and Learning with Multimedia, and was previously Research Associate on the Center's Cognition Toolbox program. Her research focuses on the application of science of learning principles to teaching and learning in college and university courses. Catherine is co-editor (with Victor Benassi and Christopher Hakala) of Applying the Science of Learning in Education: Infusing Psychological Science into the Curriculum (2014, STP)
Presentation Title: Cognitive mechanism of desirable difficulties
Abstract: The concept of "desirable difficulty" - the idea that making processing more difficult during learning leads to better memory later on - has become a strong focus for both researchers and practitioners who want to apply cognitive principles to real-life educational settings. One problem with this approach is that predicting which "difficulties" will turn out to be "desirable" (rather than just distracting) is currently very hit-and-miss, and almost completely post-hoc - a "desirable difficulty" is just a label for one of these things that happens to work, not a description of any special category of causal events or mechanisms. Our recent work has tried to take what we know about cognitive control, selective attention, and how different kinds of information is processed in sequence in the brain, to make better predictions about what kinds of task difficulties should produce "desirable" effects on later memory. We suggest that "difficulty" is not a task-wide concept, but has to relate to particular interference effects on specific processing stages. This approach gives many direct predictions about what kinds of task difficulty should help versus hurt memory, that can be directly tested. The implication of these difficulty effects on memory, and more general issues about the potential impact of cognitive manipulations on educational practice, will be discussed.
Biography: Scott Watter is an Associate Professor and current Associate Chair (Undergraduate) in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour at McMaster University. He received a medical degree from the University of Queensland (Australia), and a PhD in cognitive psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, before joining the McMaster faculty in 2005. His research focuses on the cognitive mechanisms that underlie cognitive control and divided attention performance - the mechanisms and limitations of our brain's "air traffic control" system that lets us fluently juggle and switch between tasks in everyday life. Applied extensions of this work include studying expertise in video games, medical diagnosis, and business management decision making, and how cognitive control mechanisms can describe everyday attentional events such as mind wandering, multitasking, and mindfulness meditation. His work has been supported by grants and fellowships from NSERC, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and Ontario Research Fund (ORF), Mitacs, and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH-NIH, USA).


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Coral Bay, Western Australia © Tourism Western Australia
Top spots to try stand-up paddleboarding in Australia
Stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) is a great way to experience Australia's spectacular beaches, lagoons and waterways.
By Katrina Lobley
If you've never given stand-up paddleboarding a try, Australia is the place to do so. Sign up for a lesson or just hire a board and head out onto the water to give it a go. Australia has a SUP experience that's right for you.
Balmoral Beach, Sydney
At the quiet end of Balmoral Beach, tucked into a curl of Sydney's northern harbour, is Balmoral Paddlesurf. Learn to stand-up paddleboard in calm, clear waters with simple tips on balance, body alignment and stroke technique. Lessons also cover basic safety and weather advice, how to self-rescue, and different ways to turn and manoeuvre your board. Opt for a morning lesson and enjoy breakfast afterwards at The Boathouse Balmoral Beach.
Manly Beach, Sydney
Want to take your SUP skills to a whole new level? Try using a SUP board for a yoga class with a difference with flow mOcean in Manly. After an overview of paddle techniques on land you'll take a 10 to 15-minute paddle to your floating studio. You'll then do a one-hour yoga class while balancing on a board. You don't have to be a yoga expert. It's about having fun.
Malabar Beach, Sydney
Just a short stroll from the popular beach at Maroubra is Malabar – a hidden bay considered a favourite with locals. Here, you can try SUP with a fun and easy introductory lesson from Let's Go Surfing. You'll be taught the basic techniques while enjoying the calm and pristine waters in this secluded and quiet bay.
Jervis Bay, Shoalhaven
Jervis Bay, located on the New South Wales South Coast, is a picture-perfect oceanic bay dotted with pristine paper-white sand beaches and some of the most crystal-clear cerulean waters you'll set your eyes on. The bay isn't just known for its beauty, but it's friendly residents of 50 plus dolphins and visitors of the humpback variety. Gliding through this turquoise haven is a must, but with SUP with George, there's more. Book a 'Brunch on the Beach' and start your morning paddling through the mangroves before arriving at a secret beach where a beautiful brunch picnic awaits. For those looking for more ocean time, lessons and group tours are also available.
Byron Bay, New South Wales
SUP lessons at Byron Bay will not only teach you the basics of this fun water sport, they also provide the opportunity to spot some amazing marine life including dolphins, fish, sea birds, and sea turtles. This 2.5-hour small group tour with Let's Go Surfing makes it easy to enjoy the unique experience of walking on water while surrounded by a beautiful natural landscape.
Noosa Everglades, Noosa
Explore the Noosa River's peaceful corridors, which trail from several freshwater lakes to the Pacific Ocean near Noosa's main beach. Paddle past multimillion-dollar mansions and the waterfront restaurants of Noosaville, Noosa Marina and Tewantin into the Upper Noosa River, known as the river of mirrors. Those who have built up their SUP skills can keep on paddling to reach lakes Cooroibah and Cootharaba, part of an area known as the Noosa Everglades. Hire a SUP or take a lesson from SUP Noosa at Noosaville.
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe is a stunning World Heritage-listed subtropical island paradise 600 kilometres (373 miles) or a two-hour flight north-east of Sydney. Take a SUP lesson with SUP Kite Surf's Chad Wilson or head out on a SUP guided tour of the island, which has a calm lagoon with astonishing views of the towering blocks of rock, Mount Gower and Mount Lidgbird.
Hobart, Tasmania
Tasmania's waters might be best known for their incredible seafood but there are also some extraordinary paddling adventures to be had here. Hobart Stand Up Paddle and Surf, in conjunction with instructors from Bic Life, can help you start exploring the area's serene inlets and exposed water runs. It also has paddleboards for hire and can advise on which waterways around Hobart will suit you best.
Swan River, Perth
Learn how to SUP in the calm waters of Perth's Swan River. Stand Up Surf Shop, billed as Australia's biggest SUP specialist store, offers two-hour lessons at Freshwater Bay on weekends starting at 8am. Instructor Cameron McKay knows what he's talking about: he's competed in 20-kilometre (12-mile) SUP marathons. The store also hires SUP boards for the day, the weekend or an entire week.
Seacliff Beach, Adelaide
Stand Up Paddle SA, with a prime location in front of the sailing club at Adelaide's Seacliff Beach, offers group and one-on-one lessons ranging from beginner to expert guidance. If you want to correct your paddling skills you can even book in for a video session to help fine-tune your technique. SUP yoga classes on the ocean are available, weather permitting. SUP rentals include short, long and inflatable boards.
Apollo Bay, Great Ocean Road
The waters at Apollo Bay (along Victoria's Great Ocean Road) can be on the fresher side, so wetsuits are included in a SUP lesson with Apollo Bay Surf & Kayak. The store, opposite the town's information centre, offers 90-minute lessons that cover entering and exiting the water, paddling technique and water safety.
Boodjamulla National Park, Queensland
Nestled within Queensland's Boodjamulla National Park you'll find an oasis in the outback - Lawn Hill Gorge. The calm, emerald waters are perfect for paddling, and you'll find wildlife, walks and cultural sites nearby. Plus, you can stay right next door at Adels Grove, which borders the Lawn Hill Creek, another top SUP spot. The camping park offers campgrounds for tents and RVs, but there are plenty of options for those who want to sleep off the ground. Take the hassle out of camping in a bunkhouse, ensuite room or permanent tent.


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Platinum Plus Specifications
Cardel's building standards include features carefully chosen for their craftsman quality, functionality and enduring appeal. Each feature has been individually selected to enhance the value of your new home.
Platinum-Plus Exclusive Features
- 3 cm granite counter tops in kitchen and baths
- Elegant 42" Level 3 maple cabinetry with 2.25" crown molding and brushed nickel hardware in kitchen
- Level 3 maple cabinetry available in many stains for all baths
- Whirlpool 25 CF stainless steel fridge
- Whirlpool 30" stainless steel electric range
- Whirlpool built-in under counter dishwasher stainless steel
- Whirlpool stainless steel microwave installed over stove
- Undermount sink and pull-out faucet in kitchen
- Level 2 floor tile in all wet areas
- 5.25" Victorian baseboard throughout
- 3.5" Victorian casing on both sides of doors and closets
- All closets have swing doors
- Recessed can lighting in hallways and closets per plan
- Imported Travertine window sills
- Garage floor coating
- Outlet for future above-cabinet lighting
- Level 2 wall tile in all baths
- 200 amp electrical service
- RedGard coating applied under all tile as a crack suppressant
- Bora-Care termite treatment on interior walls
Low-Maintenance Exterior Appeal
- High-strength double-glazed aluminum low-e windows
- 30-year dimensional shingles
- Quality manufactured maintenance-free vinyl soffits and aluminum fascia complete with aluminum drip edge
- Heavy duty exterior hose bibs, minimum two per plan
- Decorative entry light and coach lights on all floorplans
- Large vaulted lanais on most plans
- Coach lights on all lanais
- Exterior paints specially designed for Florida climates
- Fiberglass exterior doors on all homes
- Automatic irrigation system with multi-zones per guidelines
- Well designed landscape package complete with St. Augustine sod, per developer' guidelines
- Stardeck II coatings to all front entries and lanai surfaces
- Stucco exterior finish
- Upgraded raised batten detail on front exterior elevations
Energy-Saving Features
- Highly efficient insulation products from ceiling and walls; Alfoil R 4.2 masonry block wall insulation, R-11 batt insulation for framed walls, R-38 fiberglass insulation for ceilings
- Insulated ductwork throughout entire home for added comfort
- Rigid ductwork in garage for air handler
- Ridge or offset roof vents
- Custom designed heating systems for all homes
- High-efficiency air conditioning
- Programmable thermostat
Future-Ready Structured Wiring
- Hard wired, high-quality smoke detectors complete with battery backup system for your personal safety, located inside and outside every bedroom and common area
- Upgraded structured wiring package as per developer guidelines
Quality Construction and Functional Details for Peace of Mind
- Every home is equipped with pest control tubes installed in interior walls to provide unparalleled protection of your investment, with easy access application panels located on the exterior of the home for your privacy
- High-quality interior and exterior door hardware for long life and security
- Water softener loop pre-plumbed in all attached garages
- Fully sealed protective vapor barrier steel reinforced concrete foundation and floor
- Structurally engineered roof trusses secured with high-strength galvanized steel hurricane straps for your peace of mind
- Durable PVC water supply lines
- Exhaust fans in all bathrooms
- Free-sliding shelves in all closets for your convenience
- Masonry block wall construction with engineered poured concrete cells complete with steel reinforcement to perimeter masonry walls
- 2 year systems / 10 year limited warranty
- Washer and dryer hook-ups
- Garage door opener (double garage only)
Kitchen Convenience
- Nickel hardware on cabinets
- Well designed kitchen islands feature electrical outlets on two sides (most plans)
- Cabinet design and placement to maximize storage and usable counter space
- Convenient walk-in pantries in most homes
- High capacity garbage disposal unit
- Stainless steel dual compartment kitchen sink
- Quality MOEN Brantford faucets
- Water line rough-in to fridge locations with shut-off valve
Esthetic Details and Architectural Elegance
- Cardel designer assists clients with selection of all interior colors, upgrades and options exclusively at the Cardel Design Center
- Extensive architectural features, including niches, vaulted ceilings, transom windows, arches, column and plant ledges
- Level 2 Shaw carpet over 0.5" 6 lb bonded cushion in balance of areas
- Luxurious shower and tub combinations
- Elongated toilets
- Elegant fixtures in all bathrooms
- Progress lighting throughout home
- Five ceiling fan pre-wires minimum per plan
- Elegant Decora switches throughout home
- Classique paneled interior doors for added visual appeal


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Small wooden house ornament - red Liberty fabric
Handmade small wooden house ornament decorated with Emma and Georgina red Liberty of London fabric.
These miniature wooden houses are very cute and make a lovely little house ornament to brighten up your home.
They also make a thoughtful little house warming gift for anyone moving into a new home.
Each tiny wooden house is handmade by myself so may differ slightly from the images shown, this only makes each piece unique and special.
Available in other colours and designs, please see my other listings.
Made from:
- Wood
- Liberty fabric
- Clay
- H 70mm, W 40mm, D 40mm
- Dispatched within 1-3 working days.
- Gift wrapped in tissue paper.
- Please see shipping policy for further information.


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A couple of month's ago, Men's Health asked Alwyn Cosgrove, C.S.C.S. -- one of the world's top trainers -- to create a cutting-edge fat loss program for Men's Health. And, of course, he obliged. But a curious thing: One of the workouts in the plan featured just two exercises.
That's right: When asked to create a super-effective, calorie-torching routine, Cosgrove gave us a workout that had readers do only a dumbbell swing and a squat thrust. This confused some folks, who wondered, "How can you lose fat with just two exercises?"
Cosgrove's response: "Running is just one exercise, but no one questions that when it comes to burning fat." (Another great way to lose fat: Avoid the 20 worst drinks in America.)
He makes a good point. And in fact, once you understand the philosophy behind Cosgrove's routine, you start to see why it works so well. But first, an explanation of the actual routine itself.
Here's how it works: You do 15 repetitions of the kettlebell swing (you can also use a dumbbell for this), followed immediately by 15 reps of the squat thrust. (See below for descriptions of both exercises.) Then, without resting, do another 14 reps of the swing and another 14 reps of the squat thrust. Continue this pattern until you complete only one rep of each exercise. This is called a countdown workout.
Sure, that's just two exercises, but do the math: If you complete the entire routine -- from 15 down to one -- you'll do 120 repetitions of each exercise. That's 240 repetitions. And these aren't just any exercises: They're movements that challenge your entire body. (Chisel the six-pack you've always wanted with these tips!)
They're also done at a fast pace. On average, it'll only take you about three seconds per rep. So you'll do those 240 reps in just 12 minutes or so. That'll light your muscles on fire and have you gasping for air (in a good way).
If you think that sounds too easy or too fast, I suggest you try it. You may find you can't even finish. But that's OK -- you can just start with a lower number of reps, like eight, and work your way up as you improve your fitness. (In fact, I recommend this strategy.) If you want an even greater challenge, you can always take a breather and repeat the routine.
Remember: Whether you're running or lifting, your muscles require energy to help you move. And this workout forces more of your muscles into action than you'd ever use while jogging for the same duration. It'll also boost your metabolism for hours after your workout.
What's more, unlike jogging, these aren't joint-pounding exercises. So this is actually a "low-impact" workout that you can do at a high intensity, making it ideal for overweight folks. The best part: You can do the routine without even leaving your house since all you need is a single kettlebell or dumbbell. (And for another fast way to fight fat, check out this awesome kettlebell workout routine.)
An important note: This isn't a complete workout program, but it is a great routine that you can do almost anywhere, anytime. And it's a fantastic substitute for 15 minutes on the treadmill.
Kettlebell (or Dumbbell) Swing
Bend at your hips, and hold a kettlebell (or dumbbbell) with both hands at arm's length in front of you. Now, rock back slightly and "hike" the kettlebell between your legs. Then squeeze your glutes, thrust your hips forward forcefully, and swing the weight to shoulder height. Allow momentum to swing the weight--you're not trying to actively lift it with your arms. Reverse the movement, so that you swing the kettlebell between your legs again. Make sure you don't round your lower back at any time; it should stay naturally arched when you bend at your hips. Continue to swing back and forth. Watch the video below to see fitness expert David Jack show you how to do the kettlebell swing with perfect form:
Beat your workout plateaus with this 5-move Total-Body Muscle Assault.
Squat Thrust
Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Bending at your hips and knees, squat down and lower your body until you can place your hands on the floor. Kick your legs backward--into a pushup position--and then immediately reverse the move and quickly stand up from the squat. That's one rep. To make the exercise even more challenging, you can jump up from the squat instead of simply standing up quickly. Watch the video below to see strength coach David Jack do the squat thrust:
Try these 5 Secrets to a Perfect Workout and you'll never be held back in the gym again!
This story originally appeared in Women's Health.


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I'm horrible at posting delicious recipes in time for holidays. I think I went through about half of my day not remembering it's Cinco de Mayo.
It's the friggin fifth of mayonnaise. HOW COULD I FORGET?! I live in Texas, for crying out loud. I should be knee deep in amazing mexican food, margaritas and tequila! Instead, I'm on my couch watching Moneyball.
BUT to my defense, I did tell my hubby that I wanted at pina colada at 9am. I thought it was noon. I've been up since 5:30am, leavemealone.
Anyway, if you're like me and you're a plight on this world and forgot to celebrate Cinco de Mayo (which Mexico doesn't even celebrate), make up for it by making homemade tortillas. Or as my very German mother would say "tor-tee-lee-ahs."
Make em and then stuff them with barbacoa, roll them into enchiladas, fill em with good stuff for quesadillas or shove some chocolate peanut butter and strawberries inside and call it dinner. I'm so grown up.
Homemade Tortillas
makes 12 – 7″ tortillas
3 cups all purpose flour*
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cups canola oil (I used vegetable oil)
1 cup hot water
Note: I used 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour and 1/2 all purpose and they came out yummy. A bit thicker but definitely still tasty!! The original recipe yielded 12 tortillas but my dough weighed 650g and it was just easier to divide that evenly into 13 tortillas (at 50g each).
In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder with a whisk until completely combined. Add the oil and mix it together with your fingers until all the oil is incorporated and the mixture looks like fine crumbs. Add the hot water and resume mixing with your hands until it begins to come together. Lightly flour your surface and knead for a minute until you get a smooth ball of dough. Put your dough in the same bowl you mixed the dough in, cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes (mine ended up sitting for about 2 hours, oops). You can make this dough up to a day in advance and just let it rest, covered in the refrigerator.
Divide the dough into 12 balls (if you have a scale, weigh the dough and divide accordingly). Flour your surface and pat the ball down a bit with your hands to create an even, flat surface. With a rolling pin, roll the dough flipping and adding flour as needed until it is uniform in thickness and about 8-inches in diameter. Cook on a hot, ungreased skillet over medium-high heat. Working one at a time, cook until brown blisters form on one side, then flip. Wrap them in a clean dish towel to keep them warm, before serving.
Keep in mind that these don't have preservatives and junk so they won't keep for weeks like store bought ones will. Aim to eat them immediately or at least within a day or two.
Recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen


text: Welcome to my domain. I'm Roel Meurders, originally an architect of tangible buildings, now a builder of the virtual world. I co-founded Bits on the Run, which is now part of JW Player. I keep a low online profile, but every now and (mostly) then I post something on Twitter.


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Everything you need to know about professional cleaning services in South Extension Part I, Delhi
A clean tidy house is something everybody longs for. But with the busy schedule, it becomes difficult to achieve the same. Deep house cleaning is essential, irrespective of where you stay be it Adyar, Chennai or any other city. Being India's largest city, it isn't difficult to find a professional cleaning company in Adyar, Chennai. The challenge is to find the ideal deep cleaning expert for your home rather than meet your cleaning budget and needs. Hiring a professional deep cleaning service in Adyar, Chennai is a blessing for those who find it extremely difficult to keep their house dust and allergy-free. If you are considering to book a deep house cleaning service in Adyar, Chennai, here are some benefits you can enjoy.
- Saves time and effort
- Flexible and customizable cleaning services
- Keeps house dust and allergy-free.
- Expert cleaning services.
- Professional deep cleaning services.
Professional cleaning experts in Adyar, Chennai provide cleaning services not only for home but also offer corporate cleaning services in Adyar, Chennai. Cleaning experts in Adyar, Chennai offer manual deep cleaning service as well mechanize deep cleaning service using machines. Depending on the intensity of the cleaning effort required, professional cleaners would suggest a cleaning service that bests you.
Professional deep house cleaning experts in Adyar, Chennai provide cleaning services like living room deep cleaning, bathroom deep cleaning, kitchen deep cleaning service, sofa, and furniture cleaning services along with other cleaning services like balcony area, parking, etc. Professional deep cleaning services are more effective than regular cleaning as it focuses on the intricate nooks and corners of your kitchen, walls, floors, etc. and professional cleaning tools and products are used to deep clean your house. Professional cleaning experts used cleaning tools and products like vacuum cleaners, microfiber dusters, scrubber, and safe cleaning agents. If you are considering to hire a professional cleaning company in Adyar, Chennai, here are a few points you should consider.
- Licensed and professional cleaning company.
- Provides cleaning services for residential as well as corporates.
- Charges nominally for cleaning services...
- Skilled and trained staff to use equipment and cleaning products.
- Offers attractive deep cleaning packages.
- Flexible and timely cleaning services.
Professional deep cleaning charges in Adyar, Chennai Professional house deep cleaning experts in Adyar, Chennai would charge you based on the number of rooms to be deep cleaned along with the specific cleaning needs. Here are an approximate house deep cleaning charges in Adyar, Chennai. However, deep cleaning charges might vary from one service provider to another.
- 1 BHK deep cleaning charges in Adyar, Chennai would cost around Rs.3, 500- Rs.4, 000.
- 2 BHK house deep cleaning services in Adyar, Chennai can attract a cost of Rs.4, 500- Rs.5, 000.


text:
A former mayor of Burns Lake intends to plead guilty after he was charged with dozens of sexual offences, many involving children.
Luke Strimbold was charged a year ago with 11 counts of sexual assault, 11 counts of sexual interference, and seven counts of invitation to sexual touching involving six boys under the age of 16, from May 2009 to July 2017.
Strimbold's lawyer appeared in B.C. Supreme Court in Smithers on Monday, indicating his client intends to enter guilty pleas, though it was not clear how many or to which charges.
Strimbold became the youngest mayor in B.C. when he was elected in 2011 at the age of 21. He was re-elected in 2014, but stepped down, both as mayor and membership chair for the BC Liberal Party, in 2016.
He is scheduled to enter the pleas on May 6.


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BEIJING, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Environmental officials in China warned a heavy blanket of smog will hang over Beijing and surrounding cities through the weekend.
The capital city's environment monitoring center told China's official Xinhua news agency Saturday not to expect the thick smog to clear out before Monday.
Much of eastern and central China has been putting up with heavily polluted air that has reduced visibility enough to cancel airline flights and close roads in some areas.
The level of particulates in the air has soared to the point that children and the elderly were being advised to stay indoors until further notice.
The BBC said the air quality had surpassed the danger levels set by the World Health Organization. The report said there was so much exhaust and coal dust in the air in Beijing it could be tasted.


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Anne Frank figure joins Madame Tussauds gallery in Vienna
Published September 3, 2013
(JTA) — A life-size wax figure of Holocaust diarist Anne Frank has gone on display at Madame Tussauds in Vienna.
The display shows Anne writing in her diary at a desk in the attic of the house in Amsterdam where the teenager's family hid from the Nazis. The diary was discovered after the Holocaust and published.
Anne Frank died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945; informers had given away the family's hiding place.
The figure was created using historical documentation and pictures, according to reports.
"It is important for Madame Tussauds that we don't just entertain but also play a role in educating people and help them learn from history," a spokesman for the Austria museum said.
Anne Frank figures also are on display at the Madame Tussauds museums in Berlin and Amsterdam.


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My kitchen sponges smell of mildew within a few days of use, even after I've cleaned them. Any advice?
-- Gabriella Miller, Coppell, TX
Try washing them in a solution of dishwashing detergent and hot water. Let them dry between uses to prevent bacteria from growing. You can also sanitize in 1 quart of water mixed with 3 tablespoons of household bleach. Soak for five minutes, squeeze excess water out and let air-dry.
I color-code my sponges: one for dishwashing, another for wiping counters and a third for heavy-duty cleanups. Throw out sponges after two to eight weeks, depending on use.


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Despite the amount of annoyance that console fanboys have caused me over the years as a person writing about video games on the Internet, despite the endless comments threads they have derailed with their arguments, I still have a small reserve of affection for these people.
This post originally appeared on Kotaku UK.
There's a passion inherent in fanboyism that's actually quite inspirational, when it's not allowed to get out of hand; it's the kind of passion that brings us fan art and cosplay, when applied positively. There's something endearing about someone who just really, really loves a thing.
What's not remotely endearing, though, is when that excitement twists into something ugly and vicious, when jerks fashion their intense passion for Xbox or PlayStation into a gnarled club with which to lash out at everyone else around them. The modern fanboy is often an offensive, small-minded, loud-mouthed and impressively unreasonable asshat who throws insults and wild conspiracy theories around on Twitter and in comments threads, harassing and insulting people, poisoning the well of discussion with their hate. This phenomenon has warped the definition of "fanboy" over the years from "super passionate fan" to "total asshole on the Internet". They've gone from endearingly human to hateful.
I am fascinated by what causes people to behave in this way: firstly, the psychology behind the deep, irrational attachments that people form to brands and products that have absolutely nothing to do with them, really, and secondly, what causes some people to be such jerks about it. I mean, I grew up a fangirl - I was a Nintendo kid through and through, and as a result I have a deep attachment to Nintendo games that will probably last for my whole life - but that stopped at pretty much the same time I stopped playing Cops and Robbers in playgrounds. Why is it that it seems to persist in some people well into their teen years, or even their adult lives?
Dr David Lewis-Hodgson was a clinical psychologist for many years. Now he's the director of research at Mindlab International and author of The Brain Sell, a book about how marketing manipulates our minds. I thought he might be able to give some insight into the psychological motivations behind fanboyism, and also how the brands involved might court it. What I learned from our conversation really helped me to understand fanboy motivations, as well as the more general unpleasantness that so often colours Internet conversations.
Brands play psychological tricks to make you like the product more
This is something that I think most of us knew already, but Dr Lewis reckons that this is one of the biggest secrets of the success that companies like Apple have in turning people who bought a thing into people who are really, really into that thing and want everybody else to buy it, too.
"It's to do with the way in which the brand is set up, marketed and managed, and very often the brand will become bigger than the product," he says. "If we take Apple, for example, there are Apple and PC users, and Apple people see themselves as a completely different brand. The amount of excitement they generate and the way people identify with Macs is totally out of proportion to the product itself. You find quite a lot of that - it's generated by very clever publicity and marketing. When you open an iPhone box, for instance, it takes about 7 seconds to open. It increases the anticipation. They build a lot of tricks into this space to make the thing seem different and special."
The human mind will interpret the world in a way that supports our existing beliefs
Interestingly, even if there is objectively, definitely no difference between two rival products, people will invent one to fit in with their perception of a brand. There's a famous study that blind-tested the taste of Coke and Pepsi; in the blind test, people preferred Pepsi, but once they were told which glass of cola was which, people almost universally preferred Coke. That preference wasn't just evident in what they said, either - their brains actually registered two different preferences, when their levels of arousal were measured. Our view of a brand can actually override our brain's responses.
For fanboys, that means inventing reasons why their thing is better than the other thing, and then spewing them forth in comments threads. It also explains the inability to deal with criticism of their preferred console; that override kicks in. It's not just fanboys who do this, it's all of us. One fascinating study in the US gave people who leaned left or right politically mocked-up data sets that either proved the efficacy or inefficacy of gun control, and people interpreted the data according to their pre-existing beliefs no matter how mathematically competent they were. This is very human behaviour, and it has very little to do with intelligence.
"I've never thought that intelligence had anything to do with being smart," says Dr Lewis. "You get an idee fixe about things, almost an illusion, and it can seem real, and you seek out people who will support your view. And no matter how weird you view is, there are going to be people out there who share it, and thanks to the internet they are easier to find than ever before."
Tribalism is a powerful force in the human mind
One way that the human mind deals with all the calculations is has to do is with a series of rules, often called heuristics, that dictate how we usually behave. One of the most powerful of these is tribalism: in-group and out-group behaviour. We naturally find a lot of our identity in whom and what we are around. In the age of the Internet, especially for younger teenagers, that identity can actually come from brands, reinforced by online community: I am an Xbox person. It provides a feeling of belonging.
"Gaming tribes are like the Apple tribe vs the PC tribe or the Coke vs Pepsi tribe," says Dr Lewis. "Very often companies will set up this kind of rivalry. It's sparked by our evolutionary history: we like to belong to tribes, we like to belong to groups, and however much young people may feel that they are unique and individual, their individuality is often as part of a group - nobody really likes to be all by him or herself. We like the support and positive affirmation from others."
It's not much different from supporting a football club, in that sense - although, to be honest, I'm equally confused by people's deep emotional attachment to a group of men they've never met who kick a ball around on Saturdays. There is, as expected, more to it on a brain chemistry level.
The brain chemistry of a person with a strong attachment to a product is like that of someone in love
Anybody who's ever fallen in love can attest that the rational brain takes something of a back seat for a while whilst you're busy riding an insane rollercoaster of happy chemicals. The person has no faults, and anybody who sees any faults in them must be blind or stupid. Even if it turns out they are completely wrong for you. It's just how the brain works; it makes sense in evolutionary terms that the love rush usually lasts about a year, or long enough for you to have had enough sex to produce some offspring. After that, you can't just rely on the chemicals.
It's revealing to learn that the brain chemicals involved in fanboyism are, startlingly, very similar. "It's like falling in love - what happens then is that you get a tsunami of a neurotransmitter called dopamine into the brain, which gives you a huge buzz," says Dr Lewis. "This happens with products, they can do exactly the same thing - in fact when we look at addictive behaviour, we find that people become addicted to products. That's how people become obsessive collectors of things like Barbies. The sight, feel, taste, touch of the product will evoke these huge responses in the brain, like getting a high."
This explains why getting a new thing feels so exciting - it's a very sensory type of pleasure. But just like with people, long-term fanboys can "fall in love" with a brand or product on a deeper level, creating a connection over the course of years.
This is why people get so disproportionately angry if there is any perceived change in that product. "We won't like change in the things we are familiar with - we become very comfortable with products, and we develop what feels like a friendship with them, or at the extremes, a love affair," Dr Lewis says.
In summary, then, if you diss a fanboy's console it's literally like you've called their girlfriend ugly to their face, or insulted their mum. Hence the high emotions.
The Internet has made it easier for people to get nasty
This will be news to absolutely nobody, but the anonymisation and lack of consequence that the Internet affords is a big reason why fanboyism can turn into a nasty, poisonous thing rather than an earnest passion. Studies have suggested that trolls are often actual psychopaths and sadists, which is definitely food for thought, but even perfectly normal people frequently find themselves in horrendous arguments online.
Nonetheless, I suspect that most seriously nasty fanboys are just nasty people, and quite likely lonely people. "Whenever you set up a view, one way of getting yourself noticed is to put up a contrarian view: say the opposite as loudly and offensively as possible, and you will be noticed," says Dr Lewis. "I think a lot of people want to be noticed. they want to rise above the huddled masses. They don't care how offensive their views may be or how they are expressed; indeed that can be a source of pride. They put themselves in a mental state that excuses and explains their behaviour to themselves. Very often, people who feel inadequate in other aspects of their lives will try to make themselves 'big men' online."
People do usually grow out of it
I wouldn't be the first to observe that fanboys tend to be teenagers, or younger. This is because, reassuringly, people do tend to grow out of this behaviour.
"They very often do, just as you grow out of first love - you may fall desperately in love as a 16-year-old and by the time you're in your first job you have no idea what you saw in the other person," says Dr Hodgson. "You have to remember that the brain of the young person, the adolescent or even up to the early twenties is still developing, and what is happening is an awful lot of destruction is going on around the neurons - it's like a gardener pruning plants, the brain tends to prune itself so that it is better adapted to the environment in which it finds itself. Up to that time people are much more likely to be risk-taking, impulsive and develop passions for things - people, products, some activities."
Reclaiming fanboyism
There's nothing wrong with passion. There's also nothing wrong with a justified preference that someone may have very good reasons for holding, or with caring deeply about things. Agnosticism is boring, after all. If anything, the psychological explanations behind fanboy behaviour prove that theirs are archetypally human responses. It might be irrational, but humans are irrational.
I wonder if there's a way to reclaim fanboyism from the jerks - to just be fans again, essentially. If fanboyism is essentially human - and if it's especially prevalent in tech and gaming, which it definitely seems to be - then we'll never eradicate it. Instead, perhaps the challenge is to redefine it.
This post originally appeared on Kotaku UK, bringing you original reporting, game culture and humour with a U from the British isles. Follow them on @Kotaku_UK.


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A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
National Institutes of Health
Americans Eating Better, Cutting Calories: USDA
Report also shows consumers using nutrition labels more, dining out lessFriday, January 17, 2014
FRIDAY, Jan. 17, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- American adults are eating healthier diets, making better use of nutrition information on food labels, consuming more fiber and less cholesterol, and getting fewer calories from total fat and saturated fat, a federal government report says.
"We have made significant progress, but our work is not done," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a U.S. Department of Agriculture news release.
For the report, researchers analyzed data gathered from adults who took part in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2005 and 2010, and found that overall daily calorie intake fell by 78 calories per day during that time.
Decreases were also seen in calories from total fat (about 3 percent) and saturated fat (just under 6 percent) and cholesterol intake (nearly 8 percent). Overall fiber intake rose by 1.2 grams (7.5 percent) a day, according to the report released Jan. 16 by the USDA's Economic Research Service.
Eating out less accounted for 20 percent of the improvement in the quality of adults' diets. Calories from foods consumed away from home (such as in restaurants and fast-food outlets) fell by 127 calories per day. The average adult ate three fewer meals and 1.5 fewer snacks per month away from home, the study found.
The report also found that people are more likely to want and to use nutrition information about their food. When making food choices, 42 percent of working-age adults and 57 percent of older adults said they used the Nutrition Facts panel on food labels most or all of the time. And 76 percent of working-age adults said they would use nutrition information in restaurants if it was available.
The researchers also uncovered changing attitudes about food and nutrition. The proportion of working-age adults who believe they have the ability to change their body weight rose 3 percent from 2007 to 2010.
During that time frame, there was little change in the influence that price had when selecting items at the grocery store, but working-age adults placed increased importance on nutrition when choosing grocery items.
"When individuals believe that their actions directly affect their body weight, they might be more inclined to make healthier food choices," study author Jessica Todd said in the news release.
The report's findings show the positive effects of efforts since 2009 to improve Americans' food choices and diet quality, and their access to science-based nutrition education and advice, according to federal government officials.
"We are pleased to hear that this study finds improvements in several key areas of the American diet," Michael Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said in the news release. "FDA will soon propose an updated Nutrition Facts label designed to provide information that will make it even easier for people to make healthy choices."
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Agriculture, news release, Jan. 16, 2014
Copyright (c) 2014 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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Julius von Bismarck is only 28 years old, but his artistic resume is already several pages long. He's currently taking time off from school to be the new artist in residence at CERN — the world's biggest particle physics research facility, home of the Large Hadron Collider. On Wednesday, von Bismarck will deliver a major public address at CERN's Globe for Science and Innovation.
Von Bismarck won the top prize at Ars Electronica in 2008 for an ingenious device he called the Image Fulgurator, a hacked camera that injected stealth images into other people's photos when they weren't looking. In his striking project Public Face I, he mounted a giant neon smiley above the city of Berlin; the smiley changed its expression based on an estimate of the city's mood that day.
Many of von Bismarck's works have a heavy technical component, and several of his projects make references to math and science. Public Face used algorithms developed by the Fraunhofer Institute to analyze peoples' faces on the street; Self Revolving Torus is an exploration of toroidal shapes. But von Bismarck considers himself an artist, not a scientist or technologist.
"I don't have a scientific background, directly," von Bismarck said in a phone interview with Wired from his office at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.
At CERN, von Bismarck has been assigned an "inspiration partner," the noted theoretical physicist James Wells. Von Bismarck sees a lot of connections between art and theoretical physics.
"As an artist, I can build a sculpture that can show something that wasn't seen before, or a feeling, or an effect," von Bismarck said. "Physicists are working really far away from how things are perceived. They have to change how people think about things, and get with hidden worlds."
Von Bismarck is currently finishing his graduate work at the Institute for Spatial Experiments in Berlin, founded by Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. Von Bismarck is fascinated with Eliasson and his work. "I was interested in how he was able to sell it as art, and make people believe that what he was doing was art, and not just a rainbow or a waterfall or a lightbulb," von Bismarck said.
Von Bismarck's two-month artist residency at CERN – the first installment in the new "Collide @ CERN" program, created by CERN cultural specialist Ariane Koek – will pave the way for more artists to visit CERN in the future.
"I think the concept of putting an artist somewhere totally different is good," von Bismarck said. "I don't believe in the concept of a lot of artists hanging out in the same place, just doing art about art about art. I think it's good to mix it up."
See some examples of von Bismarck's work in the gallery above.


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WHITING, Ind. (AP) — BP is alerting northwestern Indiana fuel distributors that it's recalling unleaded regular gasoline shipped from its Whiting fuel storage terminal Aug. 13-17.
The company said Monday it believes that fuel stored in a tank at the storage depot could cause hard starting, stalling and other drivability issues. BP asks any customer whose vehicle has experienced those problems since Aug. 13 to contact its customer hotline at 1-800-333-3991.
BP says the fuel may have been purchased by motorists at BP and other retail outlets in the region.
BP says it's going through shipping records and contacting customers who may have loaded tanker trucks at the terminal during the affected period.


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San Jose Bitcoin ATM – Coinhub
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San Jose Bitcoin ATM – Coinhub
1100 Tully RoadSan Jose California 95122USA
About San Jose
San Jose, officially San José (; Spanish: [saŋ xoˈse]; Spanish for 'Saint Joseph'), is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 population of 1,013,240, it is the most populous city in both the San Francisco Bay Area and the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Combined Statistical Area, which contain 7.7 million and 9.7 million people respectively, the third-most populous city in California (after Los Angeles and San Diego), and the tenth-most populous in the United States. Located in the center of the Santa Clara Valley on the southern shore of San Francisco Bay, San Jose covers an area of 179.97 sq mi (466.1 km2). San Jose is the county seat of Santa Clara County and the main component of the San Jose–Sunnyvale–Santa Clara Metropolitan Statistical Area, with an estimated population of around two million residents in 2018.San Jose is notable for its innovation, cultural diversity, affluence, and sunny and mild Mediterranean climate. Its connection to the booming high tech industry phenomenon known as Silicon Valley sparked Mayor Tom McEnery to adopt the city the motto of "Capital of Silicon Valley" in 1988.
Neighborhoods in San Jose, California
Almaden Meadows, Alum Rock, Banana Grove, Berry Park, Blossom Valley, Broadway - Palmhaven, Bucknall, Buena Vista, Cahalan, California Ridge, Chapman Morse, Checkers, Clovercrest - Glen Brae, Country Club, Dobern
Things to do in San Jose, California
Our Newest Profiles


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My guest today is Adam Fitzroy, author of five non-erotic M/M romance titles available from Manifold Press. Romances set in the White House, on Flanders Fields and on the border of England and Wales, some contemporary, some historical and some BOTH, have met with critical acclaim. Thank you, Adam, for so kindly agreeing to answer my questions.
– Hi, Elin; it's lovely to be invited, thank you!
Elin: You have written contemporary stories and historicals, which do you prefer? Do you find contemporaries easier to write than history?
Adam: No, not at all. In fact I'm far more at home with historical subjects, and I think the reason is that I'm a bit of a dinosaur; with contemporary subjects I have to keep reminding myself that the characters will have access to mobile phones, computers, the internet and so forth, and that they will be able to find things out quickly which would have taken a previous generation weeks or even years to discover. I like a slow pace of storytelling, something that will be an immersive experience for me when I'm writing it and will hopefully be very much the same for the potential reader, and that somehow seems to be at odds with the faster pace of contemporary life.
Elin: When writing historicals, what do you enjoy most about the process? Do you enjoy research for its own sake?
Adam: I love research; I love solving little problems and discovering how things would have been done in a bygone era. To me, learning about a 'new' historical era is like learning a new language; I need to acquire a lot of information before I can write so much as a single word. What job or profession would my characters have had, for example, and what would they have earned; how would they have made a journey from Point A to Point B and how long would it have taken them? I'm also fascinated by historical diet, furniture, houses, clothing … and the fact that, whatever their trappings, human beings are essentially the same and have the same or similar hopes and dreams, fears and failings throughout history. I love getting inside their heads and understanding their concerns, seeing how like us they are – and, in other ways, how very different.
One place where I draw the line in historical fiction, though, is with language – there is absolutely no point in trying to write historically-accurate dialogue full of 'thees' and 'thous' because it runs the risk of sounding like a bad parody of Shakespeare; a far more straightforward course is to stick to relatively simple English and indicate to the reader by the subject matter they're discussing that these are not contemporary characters. Ellis Peters did this to good effect in the 'Brother Cadfael' books, which in my view makes it an example that's very well worth following.
Elin: I'm fascinated to see that you have set a romance in the White House with the President, no less, as one of the protagonists. What inspired that story?
Adam: I've been a bit of 'Presidency buff' ever since I was a child, and I love the whole panoply of White House life – the staff, the settings, the prestige and the power – although I must admit that I'm less enthusiastic about the actual politics; I just see the Presidency as the American equivalent of royalty, with similar glossy trappings under which are very often flawed human beings. I adore movies with a White House background – and as you can probably imagine I'm a huge fan of 'The West Wing', too – and basically with 'Dear Mister President' I set out to write the story of the kind of movie I would really like to be able to sit down and watch. That's my starting-point with most of my books, in fact; I try to write something that would be entertaining to me if someone else had written it.
Elin: Your novel Make Do And Mend is set during the early part of the Second World War in rural Monmouthshire. Can you explain why you chose such an unusual place to set the story instead of a more glamorous location?
Adam: There were two main reasons; one was that – as far as I knew – nobody had ever done it before, but the other was the old advice about 'writing what you know'! The location where the story is set is not a million miles from where I live, and I often pass through it by train – which you might think would lead to a superficial acquaintance with the area at best – but I've been doing so on a regular basis since the 1980s and it's sunk in gradually, somehow, by osmosis. I've also covered a lot of the same ground by car and also on foot, I should add – I walked the Wye Valley some years ago – and read up quite a lot about it. Eventually I became fascinated with one particular valley, one particular road, one particular location … and over a period of several years the story of Harry and Jim slowly took shape in my mind.
Elin: I can understand that Adam. It's one of my very favourite places. Now, could you give me a reading recommendation, either in your genre or out of it? The type of book you would wade through a flood to rescue.
Adam: There is one book above all others that always springs to the forefront of my mind when this sort of question is asked, and it's the one I would take to the legendary BBC desert island with me – Nicholas Monsarrat's 'The Cruel Sea'. It's probably the book that's had the profoundest effect on me since the day I sneaked my father's copy out of his bookcase when I was a teenager. Monsarrat's unsentimental style, his eye for detail and his characters – together with the overwhelming conviction that he has been in these places and seen these things for himself – combine to produce not only a powerful and absorbing narrative but also, looked at in another light, an example of the kind of book I would give my eye-teeth to be able to write. He portrays, strongly and convincingly, the sort of devoted relationships between men that are all about love and not even remotely about sex; Erikson and Lockhart, for example, are closer to one another than they are to the women in their lives – and there's Ferraby and his affection for his young friend Rose, too, which I've always found extremely moving. I must confess that the surnames Lockhart and Ferraby appear in 'Make Do And Mend' as a direct tribute to 'The Cruel Sea', which some readers may have spotted. Other favourites may come and go over time, but this is one book that will most definitely remain with me forever!
Elin: What's next from the pen/word processor of Adam Fitzroy? Can you tell us about it or do you refer to keep the details to yourself until the work is finished?
Adam: I've recently started – and it's giving me a bit of trouble at the moment – a book about two male teachers of different ethnicities who meet and fall in love while working in a school in the East End of London in 1966. They bond over trying to create – completely from scratch – a school cricket team, using the most unpromising materials. Cricket is among my many enthusiasms, and in a way it's odd that I've never written anything about it before, but of course it offers an ideal meeting-point for people from completely different cultural backgrounds. I would like the book to be about unconscious prejudice of all sorts – whether originating in race, gender, age, social class, sexual orientation or anything else – but hopefully not 'preachy' in any way; it's enough, I think, to show that sometimes people's unthinking predispositions can be overturned, and it needn't be by any great dramatic revelation – just gradually learning a little bit more about their fellow human beings.
Elin: Could we please have an excerpt?
Adam: This is from 'Make Do And Mend' – the air-raid sirens have gone off during the village Christmas Dance, and the characters are sheltering in the crypt of the church:
Like all such occasions, it was almost fun at first; they crowded together in the vault, and it soon became warm enough to be comfortable, and for quite a while there was nothing but silence overhead. Someone had brought over a set of dominoes and the top of a long-deceased Lyon's slab tomb was turned into a table where the game was played with great enthusiasm; Gwen and the ward sister – her name was Hilda, it transpired – were deep in conversation; Blanche leaned against Kitty and fell asleep, and Kitty in turn leaned against Jack. Harry, under some obscure compulsion not to rest even for a moment, circulated slowly like the host at a particularly unsuccessful party; he and the vicar, working together as if they had rehearsed it, stepped gently over stretched-out legs, found Alka-Seltzer and headache tablets and extra blankets, distributed magazines and sandwiches and light conversation wherever appropriate. By the end of the first hour, however, when optimism had turned to resignation and novelty had already begun to pall, there began to be a minor rumble of discontent amongst the ranks. People had already started to talk about making a dash for it back to their own homes – to pets shut in, to children being looked after by neighbours – when the sounds of approaching violence became audible in the distance. Parry ARP, out in the graveyard with his fellow wardens, twitched the curtain aside to say "Here they come", and husbands pulled their wives closer to them and friends pressed tightly against one another's shoulders in order to be in contact with someone, anyone, in a time of fear. The church may well have stood for a thousand years before tonight, but it would be no proof against a direct hit; if that happened, there would be a thousand years of solid masonry and carved oak down around the ears of the shelterers in an instant.
Harry's father had been killed in just such a way, barely eight months before, when seven hundred German bombers had torn out the historic heart of London; crushed in the ruins of the library at Gray's Inn, he had died surrounded by the things and places he had loved the most. Harry, however, could not simply stand still and wait for the same to happen to him.
"I'm going outside," he said quietly to the vicar.
Eltringham glanced assessingly around the vault; Gwen and Hilda were looking calmly in their direction, but nobody else seemed to have a single thought to spare for either of them.
"All right," he replied. "I'll come with you." And they pushed through the blackout, up the twisted stairs, emerging into the chill graveyard where they joined Parry ARP in a little sandbagged redoubt tucked into the angle between nave and transept. There was already an ominous droning in the air, accompanied by a series of far-off thuds that certainly betokened nothing good.
"They're coming up the railway line," said Parry. "From Pontypool." And even as he spoke the separate impacts drew nearer, stitching along the valley with an almost paralysing slowness, bombs falling repetitively one by one by one in a long and deadly rhythm, flashes of light sometimes perceptible where they fell. "It's mostly farmland over by there," he added hopelessly.
"What can I do?" asked Eltringham, in a distracted tone. "Whatever can I do?"
"Pray, vicar. That's all any of us can do."
"Mr Parry, I've been praying continuously since 1939!"
"Well, sir," replied the warden, "no offence, but I'm afraid it isn't working. Maybe you'd better start praying a little bit harder?"
The engine note was clearly identifiable now. "Heinkels," said Harry. "I just wish there was a moon."
"And I wish there was no war," responded Eltringham, gripping his arm above the elbow with bony fingers that dug in and stayed clamped there as the thundering menace drew closer, juddering in the tight air, vibrating through ground and stones and bones and blood and souls.
"They're going over the mountain," Harry realised at the last moment. "Over Hendra. Over the quarry."
They were above the village, two of them, three, maybe more, ripping holes in the sky, dropping fire from a great height, screaming from darkness into darkness leaving chaos and death behind them.
Somewhere high up on the mountain flames blossomed and rose quickly, and then were gone.
"Jim," said Harry.
Idiotically, he began to run.
You can buy Make Do and Mend here:
Follow me at the following sites.
Adam's blog: http://www.manifoldpress.co.uk/2012/10/make-do-and-mend/
Adam's LJ: http://adam-fitzroy.livejournal.com/
Adam on GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3513066.Adam_Fitzroy
Adam's Author Page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adam-Fitzroy/e/B00BF045YG/
I'm afraid I don't do either Facebook or Twitter … still too much of a dinosaur!
Many thanks for joining us today, Adam, and good luck with the WIP.