TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- A 33-14 loss to top-ranked Alabama seemed to be somewhat of a moral victory for Ole Miss.
"They feel good," first-year Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said when asked how his players feel. "They feel a lot better than I do, and they should.
"They're pleased with the effort that was given. The ones who made mistakes, who turned it over or did certain things, I hope they hurt for their mistakes, because we've got to start expecting more of ourselves. Enough has been talked about the past, whatever it was, and it's time for us to start expecting more."
This was the Southeastern Conference opener for the Rebels (3-2), who lost 66-31 two weeks earlier at home to Texas. Ole Miss was a 30-point underdog to Alabama.
"In this conference, you can't feel sorry for yourself," Freeze said. "You've got to put it behind you and move forward for the next one, because we've got a very difficult one next week.
"But I think our kids are in a positive frame of mind to know that if we could stop doing some of the things we do to ourselves, we would have a chance. I don't know if we'll win the games or not. I haven't promised that in Year 1. I've promised you're going to get great effort. But I know that if we play like that and don't hurt ourselves, we should have some chances later in the game to win it."
What do you want to be when you grow up? That?s the question Michelle Ward, the When I Grow Up Coach, helps her clients answer. Ward is certified by the International Coach Federation. She?s spent over 750 hours coaching hundreds of creative people to devise the career they think they can?t have ? or discover it in the first place.
She?s also a musical theater actress with her BFA from NYU/Tisch. And she?s one of the most creative and passionate people I?ve had the pleasure of meeting online. Ward infuses everything she does with creativity and her enthusiastic one-of-a-kind approach.
Below, in our monthly series, Ward shares the behind-the-scenes of her creative process, how she overcomes the comparison trap, her powerful advice for readers and much more.
Ward also has served as an expert source and contributor for publications such as?Newsweek and Forbes and websites such as Yahoo!?and?AOL Jobs. She?s spoken at?SXSW, The World Domination Summit?and?Etsy Success Symposium.
She?can be found coachin?, bloggin? & givin? away free stuff at whenigrowupcoach.com.
1. ?Do you incorporate creativity-boosting activities into your daily routine? If so, what activities do you do?
You might wanna slap me for saying this, but I feel like everything I do centers around doing it creatively. I?ve built my business on writing and making videos and speaking and playing my pink ukulele?so every time I decide to work on something, I think about what I want to express and how. I wrote/filmed/edited a music video for?my communty site.
When I put my career change exercises into?workbook?form, I decided to make the whole freakin? thing (yes, all 50+ pages) rhyme.
When I offered?An Effective Escape: Leaving Your Day Job Without Living in Your Parents? Basement?for the first time, it was as a virtual workshop. I?m usually doing something around speaking, singing, or writing? but not in a do-a-creative-exercise-every-day way.
2. ?What are your inspirations for your work?
It depends on what I?m working on, but the things that are popping into my head? Dr. Seuss,?Cee Lo Green,?Garfunkel & Oates, Cee Lo Green, stuff from my childhood (I so wanna write a Choose Your Own Adventure Book!), Jessica Swift, Color Me Katie, Danielle LaPorte, Alexandra Franzen, my clients, Broadway?.oh, I?ll stop there now.
3.?There are many culprits that can crush creativity, such as distractions, self-doubt and fear of failure. What tends to stand in the way of your creativity?
The Comparison Vampire! Oh, I call the voices we have in our heads that suck the good stuff outta us Vampires, and The Comparison Vampire tends to be the worst of all.
Look at how professional?her?videos are. Look at how perfect?his copy is. Blech. It makes you wanna just throw in the towel and never write another word or speak another sentence or pluck another tune ever again.
4.?How do you overcome these obstacles?
I think a big part of it is being confident and authentic in what you?re doing. Sure, his copy might be ?perfect? and her videos might be ?professional,? but mine are 100 percent Michelle at all times, and I?m proud of what I produce.
I?m all there, singing or speaking or writing my heart out, and I?m confident that what I put out into the world represents my uniquity, my perspective, and my knowledge. Let?s face it: They?re not better than you, They?re?different. Two separate things.
5. ?What are some of your favorite resources on creativity?
Anything that Keri Smith puts out is worth picking up and working through. It looks easy on the surface to follow her exercises (i.e. smear food on this page of the book, tie a string around the book and take it for a walk, etc.), but actually confronts our Vampires and can be a great (yet scary!) learning experience.
I also recommend the Right Brain Business Plan?to any and all creative entrepreneurs (I have one!), aspiring or otherwise. The Artist in the Office is also a must for those of us barely surviving our day jobs, and nothing beats The Artist?s Way for tapping into your inner creative.
6. ?What is your favorite way to get your creative juices flowing?
For writing, I keep tons of images with inspiring sayings on a Pinterest board, and that?ll be my first stop if I need something to write about. For my songs, I tend to have an idea as to what I wanna sing about (it?s recently been about my?boob cancer, oddly enough), and then rhymes come to me on the subway, when I?m about to fall asleep, or in the shower. I always have my iPhone handy to take notes.
7. ?What?s your advice for readers on cultivating creativity?
Don?t wait for lightening to strike or the perfect moment where inspiration knocks you over ? because it often doesn?t happen that way. Instead, show up to do the work and start wherever feels easiest.
Sometimes I start a blog post in the middle because the beginning just won?t come to me. Sometimes I write a song with the chorus leading the way because the verses are elusive. Do something every day for a small bite of time (yes, you can?get a lot accomplished in 15 minutes a day, thankyouverymuch) and you?ll be able to have a tangible product in no time.
Also, don?t be married to the format. Sometimes I know I need to write a blog post, but writing feels hard in that moment?so I make a video instead. Pay attention to what feels fun and easy at the time, and know if you move forward with that it?s not cheating.
8. ?Anything else you?d like readers to know about creativity?
Wanna know a secret? You?re creative. You might not believe me, but it?s true! We all have it in us?just start believing that I?m talking to you when I mention ?creative people,? start exploring in a fun and easy way, and you?ll be able to own that title more than you think!
Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. is an Associate Editor at Psych Central and blogs regularly about eating and self-image issues on her own blog, Weightless.
Like this author? Catch up on other posts by Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. (or subscribe to their feed).
????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 28 Sep 2012 ????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
APA Reference Tartakovsky, M. (2012). How I Create: Q&A With Career Coach Michelle Ward. Psych Central. Retrieved on September 29, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/09/29/how-i-create-qa-with-career-coach-michelle-ward/
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- EJ Manuel threw for 242 yards and a touchdown, helping No. 4 Florida State remain unbeaten with a 30-17 victory over South Florida on Saturday night.
Receiver Rashad Greene got the Seminoles going with a 10-yard touchdown run, Christian Jones scored on a 12-yard fumble return and Penn State transfer Kevin Haplea had a 1-yard TD reception as the Seminoles (5-0) survived their first road test of the season by pulling away from a three-point lead with two TDs and a field goal in the final 5:09 of the third quarter.
Three years after returning to his hometown of Tallahassee to lead USF (2-3) to a 10-point upset of Florida State in his first college start, B.J. Daniels threw for 143 yards and ran for 72 more and two touchdowns for the Bulls.
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook apologized Friday to customers frustrated with glaring errors in its new Maps service, and, in an unusual move for the consumer giant, directed them to rival services instead, such as Google Inc's Maps.
The rare apology follows Apple's launch of its own mapping service earlier this month, when it began selling the iPhone 5 and rolled out iOS 6, the highly anticipated update to its mobile software platform.
Users complained that the new Maps service - based on Dutch navigation equipment and digital map maker TomTom NV's's data - contained geographical errors and gaps in information, and that it lacked features that made Google Maps so popular, including public transit directions, comprehensive traffic data or street view pictures.
"We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better," Cook said in a letter to customers released on its website, adding that the company "fell short" of its commitment to deliver "the best experience possible to our customers."
Unusually, he suggested that customers download rival mapping services available in Apple's App Store, while the company improves the product.
"While we're improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app," he said in the letter.
"It is a bit unusual but at the same time, Tim is keeping Apple's commitment to provide the best user experience for customers," Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu said. "A key reason for Apple's success is keeping customers happy so we think this is a good move."
"People forget that Google Maps started out inferior to Mapquest and Yahoo Maps," he added.
Apple is typically loathe to tout rival services and the contrite apology by Cook is an indication of how Apple is changing under the chief executive who took over last year from co-founder Steve Jobs just before his death.
Shares of Apple were down 1.8 percent in late morning trading at $669.22.
NEW APPLE
The last time Apple faced such widespread criticism was in 2010, when users complained of signal reception issues on the then-new iPhone 4 model.
A defiant Jobs at the time rejected any suggestion the iPhone 4's design was flawed, but offered consumers free phone cases at a rare, 90-minute press conference called to address those complaints.
While Apple fixed the issue, Jobs had apologized to users only after he was specifically asked if he was sorry. He also said the issue was shared by all the major manufacturers, naming rivals Research in Motion, Samsung Electronics and HTC Corp specifically.
Cook's suggestion that Apple users download other map apps, particularly Google Maps, represents an about-turn for Apple, which had introduced its service as a direct challenge to the popular service offered by ally-turned-rival Google.
Apple Maps replaced the Google Maps app, which is no longer available on iOS 6. Users now have to access Google Maps through the browser.
Cook said that more that more than 100 million iOS devices are using the new Apple Maps and that the more people use Maps, the better it will get. He also offered some hints on why the company decided to remove Google Maps.
Apple launched the Google-powered Maps "initially with the first version of iOS" and the company created a home-grown version of the service as it wanted to provide more features, Cook said.
"As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps," he said in the letter.
Google provides turn-by-turn navigation on Android-based devices but the popular feature was not available for Apple devices.
Google and Apple were close partners with the original iPhone in 2007 and its inclusion of YouTube and Google Maps. But ties between the two companies have been strained by the rise of Google's Android mobile operating system, now the world's leading platform for smartphones.
Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said earlier this week that it has not submitted a new Google Maps app to Apple, but added the search giant talks to the Cupertino-based company "every day."
How long has it been since you last had a refreshing getaway? Do you feel that it is once again time to take a pause from the typical hassles and bustles of life? In that case, there is a perfect destination for you to head on.
Vast plains, sturdy-looking trees, rich soils - such an amusing plunge to the natural riches of the Earth. On top of these, this proud paradise also holds the title of being a premier wine-producing region with over 45 vineyards and wineries scattered all over the place.
And to add to the magnificent package, this charming haven is also recognised as the coolest town in Queensland. Its frosty mornings and winter snowfalls make it a very ideal spot to enjoy the warmth of a roaring bone fire while savouring a tasty glass of wine and a sumptuous dish.
Such a tempting picture, is it not? Well, what better way to fire up your imagination than to continue reading? So, apart from its bountiful grape plantation, its unique soil and high altitude contributes to an excellent growing condition for other kinds of natural produce such as apricots, peaches, and nectarines.
Berries and apples are also widely grown in the area thus prompting the locals to hold a celebration called The Biennial Apple and Grape Harvest Festival. This merrymaking hits the grounds on all even numbered years during the month of February or March.
To further spark your excitement, your Stanthorpe short breaks would also offer you the following must-visit attractions. Here are some.
The Granite Belt - Lying quietly in the midst of the Great Dividing Range situated in the Darling Downs region, this spectacular area owes its prominence from its geological composition which predominantly consist of granite rocks. Here you can find various beautiful flowers and an ample supply apple crops.
The Bramble Patch - For those food lovers out there, this is the perfect stop that you should not dare miss. Boasting of its fortified wines and gourmet preserves, every visit would definitely reward you of a hearty banquet. Plus, your appetite for heavenly desserts will also be satisfied as they also serve sundaes, ice burgers, and ice creams.
Mt. Stirling Olives - If you want to personally set foot on a vast estate where an approximate of 3,500 olive trees are being grown, you should not forget to visit this enticing spot. Apart from the trees, you will also get the brilliant opportunity to taste the delicious fudge that they serve and visit their gift shop where you can find a lot of valuable products.
Lastly, there are various activities that you can enjoy on the course of your visit such as bird watching, canoeing, and mountain biking.
Robert Allan Lehmann (courtesy OC District Attorney?s Office)
SANTA ANA (CBS)??? A Costa Mesa man who gunned down his ex-wife and her father execution-style was convicted Friday of first-degree murder.
Robert Allan Lehmann, 37, shook his head and muttered to himself when he heard the jury?s verdict, which followed about two hours of deliberations, Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy said.
?We had an excellent jury and they did the right thing,? the prosecutor said.
Lehmann shot and killed the pair after drawn out court hearings involving the educational needs of his daughter, who has special need.
The panel found true special circumstance allegations of lying in wait ? which applied only to his ex-wife ? and multiple murders, Murphy said. Lehmann will be sentenced to life in prison without parole on Nov. 2.
Defense attorney Jeremy Goldman acknowledged in his opening statement that his client shot and killed the victims, but said Lehmann was in a ?sleepwalking state.? Goldman alleged Lehmann had taken too much anti-anxiety medication and downed the drugs with beer.
Goldman argued that his client should be convicted of involuntary manslaughter, not first-degree murder, for killing 32-year-old Emily Ford and 62-year-old Russell Ford outside the defendant?s home in Costa Mesa on May 3, 2011.
Lehmann and his ex-wife met in February 2003 and wed when she got pregnant with their daughter, Amanda. The marriage lasted less than a year.
The two shared custody of their child, who was diagnosed with Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome, a rare disorder that affects development of blood vessels and can sometimes lead to one limb being larger than the other, Murphy said. She was later diagnosed with ADHD, the prosecutor said.
Disputes arose between the parents over their daughter?s education, Murphy said, with Amanda?s mother wanting her to be ?mainstreamed? as much as possible, and Lehmann advocating special education classes. The schooling disagreement led the parents to family court about 20 times, he said.
According to Goldman, his client?s child was in ?great risk of being held back? after kindergarten, so Lehmann ?spent tens of thousands of dollars? on attorneys and experts and was granted full control over decisions about the girl?s education in September 2010.
Lehmann decided that his daughter should be taken out of a public school in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and placed in a child development center at UC Irvine. Another dispute followed over who would pay for the schooling.
His ex-wife ultimately told UCI officials ? who required both parents to be on board ? that she had changed her mind altogether, Goldman said, prompting Lehmann to file a court order on his own because he could no longer afford an attorney.
The shooting happened hours after a court hearing stemming from the schooling dispute.
When Lehmann arrived home, he sent his wife of two years out with his daughter to a local Golden Spoon frozen yogurt shop and got a gun out of a safe in his home, Murphy said. When Emily Ford and her father arrived to pick up the girl, Lehmann opened fire on his ex-wife at his front door, the prosecutor said.
Emily Ford, who had gotten remarried and had a new baby, stumbled back and was then shot in the back as she tried to run away, Murphy said. The defendant subsequently turned the gun on his former father-in-law, shooting him in the arm and then several times in the back when he tried to flee, Murphy said.
The defendant then reloaded the weapon and shot the victims in the back of the head, execution-style, the prosecutor said. A ?mellow? Lehmann then called authorities and had a ?casual conversation with the 911 operator,? Murphy said.
?He sounds a little bit tired? on the call, Murphy said, adding Lehmann also waited for police to arrive.
Goldman countered that Lehmann was in a fog from taking the anti-anxiety medication throughout the day, thought he had lost custody of his daughter and went home and took ?a great deal? more of the drug, Goldman said.
Lehmann testified he did not remember anything about the shootings because he had blacked out, Murphy said.
(?2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
There are quite a few people out there that can help you to gain more knowledge about yourself. Professionals, friends and family are here to help you reflect on yourself through dialogue.
Slow down and count to ten in your head before you speak in anger. Maybe take a short walk, breathe deeply, and concentrate on peaceful thoughts. Stay calm and say only what needs to be said.
TIP! You should try to find and read books that tell you about personal development. The best personal development books can give you new ideas and advice that could change your life forever.
Try to get more organized. Becoming more organized is a way to gain a sense of accomplishment and confidence. Better yet, you will no longer worry about finding necessary things or dealing with the stress that comes with living in a cluttered environment. When everything is organized, there tends to be a calm feeling.
To improve your self improvement, make sure that you are always using love to fuel whatever faith you believe in. This will help you focus on the things that are truly important. It is important to be faithful to yourself. Put your faith into action through caring for those in need. This makes your faith real, and brings love to you and those around you.
Try to look at each new day as being better than the previous one. Always look for things to improve. Set a goal to do something you couldn?t do yesterday, or improve on something you were able to do.
TIP! You should surround yourself with people who share the same values as you. Personal development is easier when your associates do not belittle your efforts and tempt you from your goals but instead share your drive for self-improvement.
Instead of bragging about how many things you?ve earned in your life, try to ask other people about what they?ve earned in their life and what they?re proud of. This helps you discover what other people have accomplished to help you respect them which in turn betters your character.
Learn what others have done that has made them successful. The best method of learning how you can prevent mistakes in your life is to find out what steps others have taken towards success. If you read about what they know, it will impact your life in a positive way.
Everyone makes unhealthy food choices every now and then. Stress is as bad for your body as a piece of cake, so remember that life is too short to sweat the small stuff.
TIP! A good thing to consider when it comes to personal development is, value your important things. Therefore, see to it that you value the best things in all aspects of your life.
When you are working toward self improvement, an important thing to keep in mind is that you are entitled to the best. Believe that you should do the best for yourself. Your ending will sure to be free of regret when you can look back and see that you gave it your all.
Are you experiencing difficulty meeting romantic partners? Give online dating a try. These days, 40 percent of couples meet via the Internet. That perfect someone could be looking for you right now. Both of these sites have pros and cons.
A decision avoided is an opportunity missed when it comes to personal development. This may mean you need to make decisions without having perfect information about the outcomes of those decisions. Good instincts are the result of successful decisions. Even when your decision is incorrect, you can learn a lot from the mistake that you made. A wrong decision will help you choose the right path next time.
TIP! Let your personal principles guide your personal development. Everyone has a set of beliefs that is integral to their identity.
Do you consume more alcohol than you should? Do you smoke or do other activities that may be harmful to your health? The human body is sacred and it is important that you treat yours right. Eradicating negative behaviors is key to leading a better lifestyle. Take an honest inventory of your life to see where you can make improvements.
Take a notebook around with you to jot ideas in. Carry a journal or diary with you, everywhere you go. Write your thoughts down when they occur, and then you can refer back to them later when the time is right.
Focus on finding ways to handle difficult situations without letting your emotions get the best of you. Stay graceful under fire, and you will gain confidence that helps in your day to day life. Take a moment and focus on your breathing technique.
TIP! Judge yourself on your inner qualities rather than your outer beauty. It makes no difference if you have fancy clothing or resemble a movie star.
Solid self-discipline is essential when you are striving for personal development. Gain mental control over your physical cravings. You can conquer many desires such as lust, drunkenness, or greed. By having restraint and self-control, you?ll have the ability to prevent these harmful habits from harming your body and mind.
Your goals for personal development should be precise enough so that you are able to enjoy success. With specific goals, chances are you?ll do the things that need to be done to accomplish them. By meeting challenges, experiencing success will shortly follow.
Learn the habits that successful people practice, and build them into your own life. Pick two or three simple habits and focus on them until they are second nature. It takes approximately three weeks to make a new habit stick, so tell yourself that every day is another day closer to positive change.
It is important that you understand who you are. Be good to yourself, and enjoy being aware of the fact you know yourself so well
FORTUNE -- It's good to be a banker, again. At least for now.
Profits at banks and Wall Street firms likely rebounded in the third quarter. Analysts are expecting that operating profits at nearly all the large banks and Wall Street firms will be up from the prior quarter and a year ago.
That's a change from the second quarter when the profit picture was mixed. Even ignoring JPMorgan's whole London Whale debacle, earnings were held down by a lack of deals, weak trading volume and a stagnant housing market. What's more, loans, the main source of revenue for banks, either because financial firms didn't want to lend or because borrowers were still nervous about the economy, were not increasing. Throw in all the reforms, and that left some worrying banks could no longer grow.? A number of firms announced layoffs.
All those things appear to be changing. While Wall Street remains slow, deal making made a comeback in September. In fact, it's likely that equity underwriting, that is selling shares of stock for public companies like AIG, which did a big offering recently, had its strongest month of the year.
MORE: Does corporate lobbying benefit society?
Commercial and industrial lending appears to be growing much faster than usual - a good sign for the economy. And, at least for now, banks appear to be getting an added boost from Ben Bernanke and QE3. But the best news is that housing prices are rising again. That, along with lower mortgage rates, should translate into fewer foreclosures, which remain one of the biggest drags on bank profits.
Analysts expect operating earnings at Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) will be up 16% and 20% from the prior three months. Earnings per share at Goldman Sachs (GS) could also be up 20% from the second quarter.
"Banks are not hurting," says Dick Bove, an analyst at Rochdale Securities. "They are making a shitload of money."
MORE: Still falling off a M&A cliff
Some question how long that will continue. The biggest wild card is the Federal Reserve's recently announced plans to buy mortgage bonds indefinitely. For now, that's been a bonanza. Mortgage bond rates, which is essentially what the banks have to pay to fund, these days from the government, home loans, have dropped much faster than actual mortgage rates, which is what consumers actually have to pay. That's opened up a huge spread between those two rates. It's nearly three times as large as usual, which essentially means banks are making nearly three times as much.
"Mortgage spreads are 80 basis points larger than there were just a few months ago," says Bove. "That's just pure profit."
Eventually, though, some worry that the Fed's relentless efforts to drive down interest rates, particularly if it lasts another year or so, will hurt the banks. Inflated mortgage rates are likely to be only temporary. More long-term is the fact that banks are going to be left with loans that are at substantially lower interest rates than the loans they made a few years ago.
MORE: How to survive a Wall Street meltdown
What's more, while Wall Street firms are technically still allowed to do proprietary trading, that is making risky bets with their own money, at least for another year or so, Brad Hintz, an analyst at Sanford Bernstein, says it doesn't appear that many are. Instead, he said the firms are getting ready for a time when the regulations will likely significantly restrict what they can do with their money. That's held down trading profits. What's more, Hintz says the firms still aren't completely sure how much capital they need on hand to meet new requirements. That's made them gun shy with trading and lending as well.
"You are still going to hear plenty about expense controls," says Hintz. "It's not going to be a good story for those of us who rely on bonuses."
by Ashley Allen SYRACUSE (NCC News) - Senator DeFrancisco held his annual senior fair on Thursday,?and hundreds of senior citizens arrived looking for advice about transportation, health, and recreation.
But they also saw a presentation about the way the internet can improve their daily lives. Time Warner Cable was?there to answer questions about broadband internet usage for seniors.
Stephanie Salanger, Communications Manager at Time Warner Cable, said only 35% of seniors use the internet. Their goal is to help?seniors navigate through this technology that is still new to many of them.
?The main reason are senior customers use the internet is to stay in touch with their families. They use Skype, they use email. So what we?re trying to do is expand that use, but also show them all the other benefits. There?s great links to government organizations, social security, healthcare organizations that help them get that information,? Salanger said.
Organizations like Project Goal are also working to make it easier for older adults to use internet services.
Seniors getting familiar with internet use
Although the number is small, some seniors are ahead of their friends and using the internet frequently.
One woman said most of?her friends?don?t even have a computer because they don?t understand how to use it.
?I took a course on how to use the computer, because it?s very complicated for senior citizens,? she said.
Ron Pytko said he uses?the internet?to check the news, weather, and even gather coupons. But frustration sets in when his computer gives him strange error messages.
?That?s the only problem if you really don?t know a?lot of it. It suits my needs, what I know. I could probably know a lot more but I?m just too lazy to learn it. I don?t wanna get too in depth with it,? Pytko said.
Problems getting access to a computer
For some seniors, the hardest part is simply finding a computer to use.
Fred Heath said he lives in a senior center where he doesn?t have access to a computer, and most seniors don?t have the money to buy one.
?If they had a computer available, there would be more using them. Organizations should give their older?ones to the senior centers, so they could set one or two of them up in each one,? Heath said.
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HERNDON, Va (WTVR) ? Police have confirmed the names of the family in Herndon, Virginia found dead in their homes.
The couple has been identified as 52-year-old Kathleen Ortiz Peterson, 57-year-old Albert Peterson and their two sons, 16-year-old Matthew and 13-year-old Christopher.
Investigators believe Peterson?killed his wife and their children before taking his own life.
The medical examiner said the victims died from a gunshot wound to their upper bodies.
Crisis counselors are available for parents, staff and students at the schools they boys attended.
As any parent will tell you, kids? parties are getting pretty competitive these days. From 10-year-olds being shuttled back and forth to spa days in limousines to helicopter rides around the houses of Parliament, it seems that every party is more outrageously expensive than the last, until it begins to feel that it?s less about the kids themselves and more about the adults making a splash.
So in the interests of having birthday parties that are both enjoyable for the kids and won?t break the bank, here are ten five ideas for cost-effective parties:
1. Make the cake yourself Besides being from the heart, making your child?s birthday cake can be really fun and far cheaper than getting a cake from the shop or made specially. There are plenty of creative ways to make a personalised cake with a bit of colourful icing and decorations.
2. Host the party at home If it?s feasible, at home is the most cost-effective venue. If your house is not large, suggest party themes that can be accommodated, such as a sleepover for close friends only.
3. Ask family and close friends to help with catering If you have a good network of family and friends nearby who are attending the party, ask if they can contribute a plate. Sausage rolls, mini-cupcakes and crisps for the kids and cheese, olives and dips for the adults.
4. DIY party games are always the most fun Pin the tail on the donkey, duck duck goose, eating donuts from strings on the clothesline, pass the parcel. The old ones are the good ones, and can be achieved with the simplest of materials.
5. Get a family friend to be a special guest A fairy, a clown, a pirate or a super hero ? you don?t have to hire a professional to be a special guest. An older cousin or a neighbour might be happy to dress up for an hour.
The most important thing for a child?s birthday party is for your kids and their friends to have a great time. Thought and effort will make a far bigger impact than throwing a lot of money at a party. Kids will remember fun, laughter and playing games much more than glitz, glam and cash.
What are your best tips for throwing a cost-effective party? What is the most lavish kids? party you have ever attended?
Vivienne Egan writes for Baker Ross where you?ll find lots of Party Bag Fillers
News consumption of political stories not enough to retain political knowledge Public release date: 25-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Nathan Hurst hurstn@missouri.edu 573-882-6217 University of Missouri-Columbia
Teens must think about and discuss politics to learn, MU study finds
A strong democracy depends on smart voters who choose their leaders based on their knowledge of important political issues. One of the ways that Americans learn about politics is by following the news. Now, researchers from the University of Missouri School of Journalism have found that simply following the news is not enough.
A panel survey involving more than 1,200 teenagers from 12 to 17 years of age found that adolescents learn more about politics when they think and talk about what they read or watch on the news. Edson Tandoc, a doctoral student at MU, found that adolescents who spend more time thinking and talking about the news with their peers and relatives tend to know more about political developments in the country.
"This is important because an individual's political identity begins long before one is eligible to vote," Tandoc said. "Our political identity is not shaped overnight and so it is important to start molding our future voters while they are still young."
Tandoc and his adviser, Esther Thorson, a professor and associate dean for graduate studies and research in the MU School of Journalism, analyzed two surveys conducted six months apart. The first survey, conducted six months before the 2008 presidential elections, asked teenagers how frequently they followed the news, how much they thought about the news, and how often they discussed political news with their peers and relatives. The second survey conducted right after the elections asked the same teenagers several questions about politics to measure their levels of political knowledge.
What Tandoc found is that news consumption does not directly lead to political knowledge. Instead, news consumption leads to thinking about the news which then leads to engagement in discussions about the news, which finally ends with political learning.
"Engaging teenagers in the political process is vital for the future of democracy," Tandoc said. "Our study shows that if parents and educators want to increase political knowledge and action among younger generations, it is important to involve them in discussions about what they are reading in the news. Just giving them a story to read is not enough. Teenagers need to be able to think through and talk about political issues in order to retain knowledge about them."
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Tandoc and Thorson presented the results of their study during the Association for Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) conference in Chicago last month.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
News consumption of political stories not enough to retain political knowledge Public release date: 25-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Nathan Hurst hurstn@missouri.edu 573-882-6217 University of Missouri-Columbia
Teens must think about and discuss politics to learn, MU study finds
A strong democracy depends on smart voters who choose their leaders based on their knowledge of important political issues. One of the ways that Americans learn about politics is by following the news. Now, researchers from the University of Missouri School of Journalism have found that simply following the news is not enough.
A panel survey involving more than 1,200 teenagers from 12 to 17 years of age found that adolescents learn more about politics when they think and talk about what they read or watch on the news. Edson Tandoc, a doctoral student at MU, found that adolescents who spend more time thinking and talking about the news with their peers and relatives tend to know more about political developments in the country.
"This is important because an individual's political identity begins long before one is eligible to vote," Tandoc said. "Our political identity is not shaped overnight and so it is important to start molding our future voters while they are still young."
Tandoc and his adviser, Esther Thorson, a professor and associate dean for graduate studies and research in the MU School of Journalism, analyzed two surveys conducted six months apart. The first survey, conducted six months before the 2008 presidential elections, asked teenagers how frequently they followed the news, how much they thought about the news, and how often they discussed political news with their peers and relatives. The second survey conducted right after the elections asked the same teenagers several questions about politics to measure their levels of political knowledge.
What Tandoc found is that news consumption does not directly lead to political knowledge. Instead, news consumption leads to thinking about the news which then leads to engagement in discussions about the news, which finally ends with political learning.
"Engaging teenagers in the political process is vital for the future of democracy," Tandoc said. "Our study shows that if parents and educators want to increase political knowledge and action among younger generations, it is important to involve them in discussions about what they are reading in the news. Just giving them a story to read is not enough. Teenagers need to be able to think through and talk about political issues in order to retain knowledge about them."
###
Tandoc and Thorson presented the results of their study during the Association for Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) conference in Chicago last month.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who underwent genital cutting as young girls may be at increased risk of physical, sexual or emotional abuse from their husband, a study of women in Mali suggests. The study, of nearly 7,900 women, found that 22 percent of those with genital mutilation said they'd been physically abused by a husband or male partner. That compared with 12 percent of women who'd never been subjected to the procedure. It's estimated that more than 130 million women worldwide have undergone genital mutilation, also known as female "circumcision. ...
Remember how before Anderson Silva beat Chael Sonnen at UFC 148, Sonnen said he wanted Silva's wife to make him a steak, and then after the fight, Silva invited Sonnen to a a barbecue? Well, the barbecue happened, but Sonnen didn't show.
Silva says it wasn't just some hamburgers on the grill affair, but a true Brazilian gaucho barbecue. Sonnen now has his sights on UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, and he's forgotten all about his pal Andy.
?Numerous persons who invest significant amounts of money when purchasing a phone and who want to make sure that their favorite gadget will remain without a scratch choose to also buy cell phone covers designed to protect their phones against scratches, falls etc. For these purposes, they usually shop with a provider of cell phone accessories that features products for all possible brands of cell phones.
The demand for cell phone covers has registered a sharp increase during the past couple of years, in the context of the appearance of all sorts of smart phones, iPads and iPhones on the market. Brands such as Apple, Samsung, Blackberry and Huawei welcome fans of smart phones with communication devices designed at the highest quality parameters, whuch cost lots of money and which are usually kept in cell phone covers in order to be better protected. By using durable cell phone covers that perfectly fit their phone, individuals will no longer have to worry about the safety of their precious gadgets.
However, cell phone covers are not the only cell phone accessories that are popular these days; owners of smart phones also invest in headsets and speakers, memory cards and adapters, batteries, chargers, screen protectors etc., for all these cell phone accessories contribute to the enhancement of their mobile phone communication experience. As for how to shop for cell phone accessories, the number one thing that customers should keep in mind is to buy cell phone accessories that are compatible with their mobile phones and that have amazing features in terms of functionality and design.
All in all, persons who are looking for high quality cell phone covers and other cell phone accessories that will enable them to use their mobile phones in a variety of exciting ways are recommended to consider shopping on the Internet, where they are likely to find a multitude of mobile phone accessories for virtually every cell phone brand. ?
Resource box: We pride ourselves with our vast array of cell phone accessories and cell phone covers with an impeccable design! Start shopping with us now and we guarantee that you will be more than pleased with our first class products!
A new partnership is helping America's veterans secure free personalized financial education & guidance while seeking affordable VA loans and a path to home ownership.
"We are happy to partner with VeteransPlus empowering our fellow veterans with access to unbiased financial education, counseling, and advice," said Grant Moon, OIF Veteran and President of VA Loan Captain, Inc. ( https://www.valoancaptain.com/ ). "This partnership ensures America's veterans have a place to turn if they aren't immediately eligible for a VA Home Loan, or if they're simply looking for basic financial planning and education services tailored exclusively to their needs."
More than 27 million military veterans are eligible ( http://bit.ly/SE8Dzs ) for VA home loan benefits and that number is expected to rise as service members continue to return from Afghanistan and Iraq. With multiple deployments common, many veterans return to a financial situation vastly different from when they first shipped out.
Veterans are often eager to use their VA Home Loan Benefits, but some don't qualify due to their credit scores or financial circumstances. Until now millions of veterans were forced to turn to for profit credit repair or financial services for help.
The partnership between VA Loan Captain & VeteransPlus helps servicemembers meet eligibility requirements while also providing a range of financial education and counseling programs designed by veterans for veterans. Programs include one-on-one counseling and education to include Budgeting, Credit Score, Debt Management, Mortgages and Credit Cards. All interested veterans receive practical financial solutions tailored to real life circumstances of current & former military personnel.
VA Loan Captain, Inc. (VALC) exclusively serves current and former military members and their families. VALC is the first VA Loan education and consulting company to partner with affiliate lenders committed to making a $200 charitable contribution to a participating veteran non-profit with every VA loan closed.
VeteransPlus has provided financial education and counseling to more than 150,000 Servicemembers, veterans and survivors since 2008.
"The professional counselors at VeteransPlus are honored to team up with VA Loan Captain. Through this exclusive partnership Veterans receive assistance in getting the most out of their VA Home Loan benefits while also receiving financial counseling and education that will help them afford the home they have purchased or plan to purchase, " said John Pickens, Executive Director of VeteransPlus. "We're proud to join VA Loan Captain to help the men and women who have worn our nation's uniform gain the financial freedoms they sacrificed to defend."
For more information, please visit: https://www.valoancaptain.com/finance/
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Contact: Ronald R. Magas phone: (203) 445-8981 Email Contact
Increase Web Traffic Through SEO Internet Marketing ? Internet Marketing Blog Tools
If you want to find out tips on how to do SEO Internet marketing so that you can use its full potential, then read this article. This will give you some insights on how to drive maximum traffic to your website by utilizing Internet marketing blog tools.
It is the main aim of SEO marketing to increase the traffic in one?s website. Web traffic is very important when you place your products and services over the Internet for advertising and promotion. An online entrepreneur will never sell and earn more profits without considering the increase in web traffic. It is customary in online marketing to create your own website so that you can have a place where to promote the products or the services that the business is offering.
However, the promotion and advertising should not stop there. It should also be part of the scheme to advertise the website itself so that it will gain popularity on the Internet. One way to do is by submitting the link of your website to several bookmarking sites. By doing this, you can be assured that, in one way or another, you gain the web traffic that you have always been wanting to have.
This is what we call SEO Internet marketing ? ensuring that your website is getting the high ranks in major search engines like Google and Yahoo. Once your website is able to achieve, you can expert better visibility on the Internet which is prerequisite earning more income from sales and profits.
Another effective means for SEO marketing is using Internet marketing blog tools. When you use this type of scheme you need to be ready with your articles. You can start by searching for blogsites that have topics related to your business niche. Once you have already registered to a number of these sites, then its time to conceptualize some topics for writing.
Make sure that the topics for your blog posts are very relevant to your business. Write them in such a way that it is in good quality. This is because most of the search engine operators or managers will base its rankings for your website on the contents of the articles. So make the contents very informative and substantial. Plus, the articles should not contain inconsistencies in grammar and spelling.
When you submit these articles in the blogsites in your list, make sure to include tags and keywords. These two elements in Internet marketing are very important because these can drive so much traffic t your website like crazy. Note that when people search for information on the Internet, they will always use tags and keywords in search engines.
The main thing that you should not neglect are backlinks. Post your articles in blogsites with the backlinks of your website. Select a keyword from your article and make it as anchor text for your backlinks. Without this backlinks there will be no way for the readers to visit your website which means less traffic. This is why every article posted in the blogsites should have these links. It is even recommended that you submit more articles in more sites. By doing this you will more better chances of having an increase web traffic that will lead to more profits. Blogging is only one tool that you can use for SEO Internet marketing.
Mathematics and fine art: Digitizing paintings through image processingPublic release date: 25-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Karthika Muthukumaraswamy karthika@siam.org 267-350-6383 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Philadelphia September 25, 2012The current trend to digitize everything is not lost on fine art. Documenting, distributing, conserving, storing and restoring paintings require that digital copies be made. The Google Art Project, which brings art from galleries around the world to online audiences, was launched in early 2011 for precisely these reasons. Google's project has been a complex undertaking, however, carried out under carefully controlled settings using state-of-the-art equipment and requiring rigorous postproduction work.
In a paper published this month in the SIAM Journal on Imaging Sciences, authors Gloria Haro, Antoni Buades and Jean-Michel Morel propose a far simpler technique that can achieve reliable reproductions of paintings using fusion of photographs taken from different angles through statistical methods. The simple photographic procedure eliminates the need for sophisticated illumination and acquisition requirements. The postproduction process, while intensive, is fully automated.
The fusion of multiple images of a painting from well-chosen angles can eliminate glare, highlights and motion blur. Robust statistical methods reduce noise and compensate for optical distortion, thus addressing the problem of uncontrolled illumination and destructive reflection that tends to be seen in many digitized paintings.
One of the main advantages of the method described is that image fusion obviates the need for a high-performance camera. "This article demonstrates the possibility of acquiring a good quality image of a painting from amateur snapshots taken in bursts from different angles, in normal museum illumination," says senior author Jean-Michel Morel. "The photographing procedure is simple and can be done with a commercial hand-held camera by an amateur photographer." Thus, paintings can be digitized even under poor light conditions, and this includes museum pieces that may be protected by glass screens that reflect light from other objects in the room.
The only requirement is for the photographer to take as many shots from as many angles as possible, making sure that no particular detail is affected by glare in a majority of the photographs. "This acquisition is then followed by an intensive (but fully automatic) post-production chain, whose mathematical and algorithmic definition is precisely the object of the article," author Morel explains.
First, each series of images taken from the same position at the same instanttermed "bursts"is fused to get single views with little noise and motion blur. A weighted average is used to obtain the sharpest possible image. Fusion of multiple images taken from the same position allows removal of noise and compression artifacts, while permitting emphasis of details. This is called burst denoising.
Highlightsregions of an image where extreme brightness causes information to be lostcan also be removed using photographs taken from various viewpoints. Finally, Poisson editing, a technique which allows seamless blending of images, and robust gradient statistics are used to fuse all final views from each burst. This brings images taken from different angles containing many reflections, highlights and shadows, into one final frontal-view image.
Fusion of images also does away with the need for controlled illumination, which is absolutely necessary in the case of single photograph techniques as used in the Google Project. The authors point out that with a single photograph it is much harder to eliminate glare and reflectance noise, which they find evident in white saturated regions caused by reflections in some photographs in Google's database. The image processing chain described in this paper takes the best advantage of a group of photographs and can work with as few as three. "The image fusion algorithm described in the paper can be applied to a video of the painting as well, though it would be very slow. An extension of the technique to video therefore requires a technological effort," Morel explains.
Likening photography of a painting to viewing it at a museum (several walkarounds are needed to find an optimal viewing position), the authors assert that a quality image of a painting with a complete view cannot be obtained by a single photograph, or even multiple photographs taken from the same position, regardless of the capabilities of a camera.
Once an image clear of imperfections caused by setup and illumination is obtained, color mapping, contrast, and other subjective features are left to photographers and artists. As the authors explain, "There is no absolute definition of a "good" photograph of a painting. This is an artistic question that goes beyond the scope of image processing as a technique."
The methods described in the paper could potentially be used in image restoration. In addition, these methods can be applied to 3-D objects, though the process is slow and success cannot be guaranteed. Future research will be directed toward better digitization of three-dimensional art using these techniques. "The digital recreation of 3D pieces of art is the subject of very active research to resolve its obviously more complex issues," Morel says.
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This paper describes just one of many uses for the highly versatile field of image processing. View a video overview of image processing from SIAM's Annual Meeting:
Math behind Visual Effects and Image Processing: http://y2u.be/hie_52HxL68
About the authors:
Dr. Gloria Haro is a postdoctoral researcher at Dept. Tecnologies de la Informaci i les Comunicacions (DTIC) at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain. Dr. Antoni Buades is a postdoctoral researcher at Department de Mathmatiques e Informatica, Universitat de les Illes Balears, in Balears, Spain and MAP5 (CNRS Universit Paris-Descartes). Dr. Jean-Michel Morel is a professor at the Centre de Mathmatiques et de Leurs Applications (CMLA) at Ecole Normale Suprieure de Cachan in Cachan, France.
Source article:
Photographing Paintings by Image Fusion
Gloria Haro, Antoni Buades and Jean-Michel Morel, SIAM Journal on Imaging Sciences, 5(3), 1055?. (Online publish date: September 13, 2012)
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About SIAM
The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is an international society of over 14,000 individual members, including applied and computational mathematicians and computer scientists, as well as other scientists and engineers. Members from 85 countries are researchers, educators, students, and practitioners in industry, government, laboratories, and academia. The Society, which also includes nearly 500 academic and corporate institutional members, serves and advances the disciplines of applied mathematics and computational science by publishing a variety of books and prestigious peer-reviewed research journals, by conducting conferences, and by hosting activity groups in various areas of mathematics. SIAM provides many opportunities for students including regional sections and student chapters. Further information is available at www.siam.org.
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Mathematics and fine art: Digitizing paintings through image processingPublic release date: 25-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Karthika Muthukumaraswamy karthika@siam.org 267-350-6383 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Philadelphia September 25, 2012The current trend to digitize everything is not lost on fine art. Documenting, distributing, conserving, storing and restoring paintings require that digital copies be made. The Google Art Project, which brings art from galleries around the world to online audiences, was launched in early 2011 for precisely these reasons. Google's project has been a complex undertaking, however, carried out under carefully controlled settings using state-of-the-art equipment and requiring rigorous postproduction work.
In a paper published this month in the SIAM Journal on Imaging Sciences, authors Gloria Haro, Antoni Buades and Jean-Michel Morel propose a far simpler technique that can achieve reliable reproductions of paintings using fusion of photographs taken from different angles through statistical methods. The simple photographic procedure eliminates the need for sophisticated illumination and acquisition requirements. The postproduction process, while intensive, is fully automated.
The fusion of multiple images of a painting from well-chosen angles can eliminate glare, highlights and motion blur. Robust statistical methods reduce noise and compensate for optical distortion, thus addressing the problem of uncontrolled illumination and destructive reflection that tends to be seen in many digitized paintings.
One of the main advantages of the method described is that image fusion obviates the need for a high-performance camera. "This article demonstrates the possibility of acquiring a good quality image of a painting from amateur snapshots taken in bursts from different angles, in normal museum illumination," says senior author Jean-Michel Morel. "The photographing procedure is simple and can be done with a commercial hand-held camera by an amateur photographer." Thus, paintings can be digitized even under poor light conditions, and this includes museum pieces that may be protected by glass screens that reflect light from other objects in the room.
The only requirement is for the photographer to take as many shots from as many angles as possible, making sure that no particular detail is affected by glare in a majority of the photographs. "This acquisition is then followed by an intensive (but fully automatic) post-production chain, whose mathematical and algorithmic definition is precisely the object of the article," author Morel explains.
First, each series of images taken from the same position at the same instanttermed "bursts"is fused to get single views with little noise and motion blur. A weighted average is used to obtain the sharpest possible image. Fusion of multiple images taken from the same position allows removal of noise and compression artifacts, while permitting emphasis of details. This is called burst denoising.
Highlightsregions of an image where extreme brightness causes information to be lostcan also be removed using photographs taken from various viewpoints. Finally, Poisson editing, a technique which allows seamless blending of images, and robust gradient statistics are used to fuse all final views from each burst. This brings images taken from different angles containing many reflections, highlights and shadows, into one final frontal-view image.
Fusion of images also does away with the need for controlled illumination, which is absolutely necessary in the case of single photograph techniques as used in the Google Project. The authors point out that with a single photograph it is much harder to eliminate glare and reflectance noise, which they find evident in white saturated regions caused by reflections in some photographs in Google's database. The image processing chain described in this paper takes the best advantage of a group of photographs and can work with as few as three. "The image fusion algorithm described in the paper can be applied to a video of the painting as well, though it would be very slow. An extension of the technique to video therefore requires a technological effort," Morel explains.
Likening photography of a painting to viewing it at a museum (several walkarounds are needed to find an optimal viewing position), the authors assert that a quality image of a painting with a complete view cannot be obtained by a single photograph, or even multiple photographs taken from the same position, regardless of the capabilities of a camera.
Once an image clear of imperfections caused by setup and illumination is obtained, color mapping, contrast, and other subjective features are left to photographers and artists. As the authors explain, "There is no absolute definition of a "good" photograph of a painting. This is an artistic question that goes beyond the scope of image processing as a technique."
The methods described in the paper could potentially be used in image restoration. In addition, these methods can be applied to 3-D objects, though the process is slow and success cannot be guaranteed. Future research will be directed toward better digitization of three-dimensional art using these techniques. "The digital recreation of 3D pieces of art is the subject of very active research to resolve its obviously more complex issues," Morel says.
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This paper describes just one of many uses for the highly versatile field of image processing. View a video overview of image processing from SIAM's Annual Meeting:
Math behind Visual Effects and Image Processing: http://y2u.be/hie_52HxL68
About the authors:
Dr. Gloria Haro is a postdoctoral researcher at Dept. Tecnologies de la Informaci i les Comunicacions (DTIC) at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain. Dr. Antoni Buades is a postdoctoral researcher at Department de Mathmatiques e Informatica, Universitat de les Illes Balears, in Balears, Spain and MAP5 (CNRS Universit Paris-Descartes). Dr. Jean-Michel Morel is a professor at the Centre de Mathmatiques et de Leurs Applications (CMLA) at Ecole Normale Suprieure de Cachan in Cachan, France.
Source article:
Photographing Paintings by Image Fusion
Gloria Haro, Antoni Buades and Jean-Michel Morel, SIAM Journal on Imaging Sciences, 5(3), 1055?. (Online publish date: September 13, 2012)
[Reporters are free to use this text as long as they acknowledge SIAM]
About SIAM
The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is an international society of over 14,000 individual members, including applied and computational mathematicians and computer scientists, as well as other scientists and engineers. Members from 85 countries are researchers, educators, students, and practitioners in industry, government, laboratories, and academia. The Society, which also includes nearly 500 academic and corporate institutional members, serves and advances the disciplines of applied mathematics and computational science by publishing a variety of books and prestigious peer-reviewed research journals, by conducting conferences, and by hosting activity groups in various areas of mathematics. SIAM provides many opportunities for students including regional sections and student chapters. Further information is available at www.siam.org.
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Public release date: 25-Sep-2012
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