International businesses have flocked to China for years to try and grab a slice of the nation?s economic growth. That is why publishers never stop producing upbeat books such as this one, or this one, which appeal to entrepreneurs dreaming of the riches they could make by selling to just a fraction of the nation?s 1.35 billion people.
Yet according to a survey, a quarter of American businesses in China say they have experienced the expensive theft of proprietary data since setting up in the country.
Commercial data theft puts businesses at risk of having their technology and intellectual property stolen and copied. In February, American computer security firm Mandiant said in a report that hackers linked to the Chinese military were stealing?technology blueprints, business plans, pricing documents and other sensitive material from American corporations and government departments.
Operating in China, then, requires heavy financial and management investment in security to mitigate these risks. For instance, Quartz contributor James McGregor detailed last September how international corporations were flying China-based executives to South Korea?so they could make important phone calls without being compromised.
And while Washington is trying to protect its corporations from Chinese hackers by making it hard for government departments to buy Chinese-made computer equipment, the Beijing government appears to have begun retaliating by victimizing US technology companies, such as Apple and Google.
This attack on Western companies makes China an even riskier place in which to operate.?So given that the nation also offers a weak rule of law,?scant property rights and the danger of your local business partner being suddenly thrown in jail, it is worth reading the excitable business books about the opportunity it presents with caution.
DOHA (Reuters) - A Syrian opposition bloc recognized by the Arab League as the sole representative for Syria opened its first embassy in Qatar on Wednesday in a diplomatic blow to President Bashar al-Assad.
But opposition leader Moaz Alkhatib, who took Syria's seat at an Arab summit in Doha on Tuesday, used the ribbon-cutting ceremony to voice his frustration with world powers for failing to do more to help in the two-year-old struggle to topple Assad.
"There is an international willingness for the revolution not to triumph," he told reporters at the embassy, which was festooned with balloons in the red, green, white and black of Syria's national flag.
Alkhatib, a Sunni Muslim cleric who resigned this week as leader of the Syrian National Coalition, but who is staying on as a caretaker, also alluded to internal differences plaguing the opposition umbrella group formed in Qatar in November.
"The only way to victory is unity," he declared.
Damascus raged against summit host Qatar for helping the opposition into Syria's seat at the League, while Russia and Iran also criticized the move to delegitimize Assad's rule.
"This is a flagrant violation of the pact and internal organizations and rules of shared Arab work and is a dangerous precedent," a statement attributed to the government and run on Syrian state television said.
"The Doha summit's decision has created a model that will encourage the practice of violence, extremism and terrorism and will be a danger not just to Syria, but Arab states and the whole world."
Yet although the 22-member Arab bloc lent its support to giving weapons to Syrian rebels, it is unclear how much impact the opposition's diplomatic advances will have inside Syria.
The Cairo-based coalition's control over insurgent groups is tenuous at best. Some of the most militarily effective, such as the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, openly reject its authority.
Alkhatib told Reuters in an interview he was surprised by a rebuff from the United States and NATO to his request for Patriot missiles based in Turkey to help protect rebel-held parts of northern Syria from Assad's helicopters and warplanes.
"I'm scared that this will be a message to the Syrian regime telling it 'Do what you want'," he said.
OPPOSITION DISUNITY
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, speaking to students in Moscow via video link from Brussels, again said the Western alliance had no intention of intervening in Syria.
"We believe that we need a political solution in Syria," he said, noting there was no U.N. mandate for NATO action there.
Disunity among Syria's opposition in exile and the armed factions on the ground have long hindered the struggle against Assad and have contributed to Western reluctance to intervene.
Alkhatib has cited the West's failure to do more to help the opposition, as well as the coalition's internal divisions, as reasons for announcing on Sunday that he would quit as leader.
He offered no clarity on his own political future in his interview with Reuters. "I have given my resignation and I have not withdrawn it. But I have to continue my duties until the general committee meets," the former mosque imam said.
The Arab summit's support for Assad's foes may prove more symbolic than practical, but Syria vented its wrath at Qatar for its pro-opposition actions at the annual gathering.
"The emir of Qatar, the biggest bank for supporting terrorism in the region, began his presidency of the Arab League by hijacking it with tainted oil and money," said state news agency SANA, a mouthpiece for Assad's government.
Qatar's Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani "committed a flagrant violation of the League's pact by inviting the deformed body, the 'Doha Coalition', to usurp Syria's seat in the League", SANA said, in a scathing reference to the opposition.
Qatar has funded political opposition groups and is believed to be funneling money and weapons to rebels in Syria.
Russia, which gives Damascus military and diplomatic support, scolded the Arab League for taking "another anti-Syria step" by giving Syria's seat to the opposition.
Arab nations are far from united on Syria, with Algeria, Iraq and Lebanon often opposing any action against Assad's rule.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and some others have thrown their support behind the mostly Sunni Muslim rebels in Syria, partly to weaken Shi'ite Iran, the main regional ally of Assad, whose minority Alawite sect is distantly derived from Shi'ite Islam.
Iran, which has sent advisers, money and weapons to help Assad stay in power, also lambasted the Arab League for allowing a foe of Assad to take Syria's seat at the summit, calling this "a pattern of dangerous behavior".
Iran views Assad as a pillar of an "axis of resistance" against Israel and a bulwark against Sunni militants in Syria, a country which for three decades has been the main conduit for Iranian arms supplies to Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah movement.
(Additional reporting by William Maclean in Doha, Oliver Holmes and Erika Solomon in Beirut, Marcus George in Dubai and Gabriela Baczynska in Moscow; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Jon Boyle and Michael Roddy)
Two of ZTE's Android flagships have just gone on sale in China: the Grand Memo and Grand S. If you'll remember, the Chinese OEM introduced the devices earlier this year, unveiling the 5-inch 1080p Grand S at CES and the stylus-less, 5.7-inch Note competitor, the Grand Memo, at MWC. Although the big buzz around the Memo's introduction had much to do with its Snapdragon 800 heart, the variant hitting the Chinese market won't have that claim to CPU fame -- it'll ship with an S4 Pro instead and should retail for 2,688 yuan (or $432 USD), while the S will run about 3,399 yuan (or $547 USD). Still no word on whether we'll ever see either handset stateside, but given ZTE's bold new brand push, it's likely one of the two'll make the transcontinental trek in some fashion soon.
LONDON (AP) -Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby is facing up to nine months on the sidelines to recover from a knee complaint, the latest in a long line of injuries to have plagued the France international.
Diaby tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee at a training session on Wednesday.
"Following consultations with specialists, Abou will undergo surgery to repair the injury in the near future," Arsenal said Thursday. "Abou is expected to be out for around eight to nine months."
Diaby has been blighted by injuries since joining from Auxerre in 2006, fracturing and dislocating an ankle after four months at the Premier League club. The commanding midfielder made only 27 Premier League appearances during the next two seasons.
He eventually established himself as a regular in Arsenal's midfield, scoring seven times in 40 matches in all competitions in 2010-11.
But he was restricted to only five appearances last season due to a string of injuries, including ankle and calf problems, and has played only 16 games in the current campaign.
The latest problem adds to manager Arsene Wenger's mounting injury problems.
Jack Wilshere is recovering from an ankle problem which has ruled him out since the loss at Tottenham on March 3.
Wenger must also do without forward Theo Walcott against Reading this weekend after he returned home early from England duty with a pelvic injury, while defender Kieran Gibbs is doubtful because of a virus.
Arsenal is fifth in the league, four points behind Tottenham in the fourth Champions League place.
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If World Cup draw was today ...
PST: We took the current standings from qualifying tournaments around the world, assumed the teams? points-per-game rates played out, and then ?qualified? the appropriate teams for Brazil.
Posted at 12:10 PM on March 27, 2013 by Bob Collins (2 Comments) Filed under: Crime and Justice
A sharply divided Minnesota Supreme Court today ruled that two young African American girls, born to apparent drug addicts, can be adopted by their white foster parents rather than their grandparents, despite a state law that appears to favor adoption by family members over others.
The decision appeared to hinge on one word in the law: consider.
The two girls both tested positive for cocaine upon birth and have had developmental problems since. They were removed from the home almost immediately by Hennepin County and put in the care of foster parents.
Later, the foster parents agreed to adopt the girls after the grandparents initially expressed interest in the adoption, but didn't cooperate with an in-home placement study in Mississippi. After some delay, they relented, the study was turned in, and the two competing adoption petitions went before a district court, which ruled adoption by the foster parents was in the best interest of the girls. The court said given their special needs, there could be damage by removing the girls from the only home they ever knew.
But the grandparents appealed, saying state law favors relatives over "an important friend with whom the child has resided or had significant compact." They said the district court should have ruled they were fit to adopt, and the process should have stopped there.
But in her opinion today, Justice Lori Gildea disagreed, saying the law only requires courts to consider the adoption petition of a relative first and then the foster parents. But it does not prefer a relative over a non-relative.
"It is true that the district court did not analyze the grandparents' petition in its entirety before turning to analyze the foster parents' petition," Justice Gildea wrote. "The court also did not expressly conclude in its order that it was not in the girls' best interests to be adopted by their grandparents, which would be the better practice. But the court did consider and then form a conclusion about the grandparents' petition with respect to each factor before considering the foster parents' petition on that factor."
But the grandparents are African American while the foster parents are white and the issue of tending to the "cultural needs" of adoptive children has been controversial in Minnesota and elsewhere, even though state law requires cultural needs be considered.
"The foster parents have adopted two sons who are Asian-American and African-American respectively, and an African-American friend lives with the family," Justice Gildea said in rejecting the argument. "The district court did not specifically explain how the foster parents were able to meet the cultural needs of the children other than to find that the foster parents 'believe that diversity is very important.' We share the court of appeals' concern that the district court's findings on this factor 'grossly simplify' the girls' needs... But given our deferential standard of review, we cannot say that the court's analysis of this factor renders its overall best-interests analysis an abuse of discretion."
But in his dissent, Justice Alan Page, joined by Justice David Stras, said Gildea's interpretaton of the law would require courts to consider a relative's adoption petition and a non-relative's "side by side and at the same time," and effectively makes the state statute "meaningless."
"If the Legislature had intended for us to read the statute the way the concurrence suggests, there would have been no reason to require courts to consider placement in a particular order, and absolutely no reason to distinguish between relatives and others," Justice Page wrote.
And that's important in a case like this, Page noted, because the Legislature's authors wrote the statute with race differences in mind. "The authors of the amendments were no doubt concerned that eliminating race as a consideration in adoptive and foster care placements might have the unintended effect of decreasing the likelihood that children from racial minorities would be adopted by relatives," he wrote. "One way to mitigate these potential negative effects was to strengthen the statutory emphasis on placement with relatives by requiring that placement with relatives be considered before placement with others."
Justice Wilhelmina Wright agreed with Justice Page that the district court should've considered the grandparents' petition first before moving on to the foster parents' adoption petition, but she said "the best interests of the children could not have been ascertained without consideration of the impact of the proposed move on these young children."
Here's today's full decision.
Comments (2)
So, the white majority of the MN Supreme Court overwhelmingly determined it "in the best interest" of two black kids to be placed with white foster parents, while the black minority of the Court unanimously agreed that the black kids should be placed with their black grandparents.
That about sums it up? Anybody else see anything desperately wrong with this whole picture? Bob?
Will the grandsparents have a visitation right? What do the adoptive parents say about this? I don't think about the case in the framework of race, but of larger family: even if your parents fail you, the larger family should be a place where failings are buffered and a sense of belonging established. Recent studies show that those kids deal best with adversities who have heard their larger family's story, of adversities and persistence. The court takes that away from those children. The law seems to say that the larger family is relevant, the Supreme Court that it is not - a case of legislation from the bench?
TORONTO (AP) ? Research In Motion Ltd. said Thursday that it sold about 1 million phones running its new BlackBerry 10 system. It also surprised Wall Street by returning to profitability in the most recent quarter.
The earnings provide a first glimpse of how the BlackBerry 10 system, widely seen as crucial to the company's future, is selling internationally and in Canada since its debut Jan. 31. The 1 million new touch-screen BlackBerry Z10 phones were above the 915,000 that analysts had been expecting. Details on U.S. sales are not part of the fiscal fourth quarter's financial results because the Z10 just became available there last week, after the quarter ended.
In another sign of uncertainty, RIM lost about 3 million subscribers to end the quarter with 76 million. It's the second consecutive quarterly decline for RIM, whose subscriber based peaked at 80 million last summer.
Bill Kreyer, a tech analyst for Edward Jones, called the decline "pretty alarming."
"This is going to take a couple of quarters to really see how they are doing," Kreyer said.
The BlackBerry, pioneered in 1999, had been the dominant smartphone for on-the-go business people and other consumers before the iPhone debuted in 2007 and showed that phones can handle much more than email and phone calls. RIM faced numerous delays modernizing its operating system with the BlackBerry 10. During that time, it had to cut more than 5,000 jobs and saw shareholder wealth decline by more than $70 billion.
In the quarter that ended March 2, RIM earned $98 million, or 19 cents a share, compared with a loss of $125 million, or 24 cents a share, a year earlier. After adjusting for restructuring and other one-time items, RIM earned 22 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had been expecting a loss of 31 cents.
Revenue fell 36 percent to $2.7 billion, from $4.2 billion. Analysts had expected $2.82 billion.
The company also announced that co-founder Mike Lazaridis will retire as vice chairman and director. He and Jim Balsillie had stepped down as co-CEOs in January 2012 after several quarters of disappointing results. Thorsten Heins, the chief operating officer, took over and spent the past year cutting costs and steering the company toward the launch of new BlackBerry 10 phones.
Investors appeared happy with the financial results. RIM's stock rose 27 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $14.84 in morning trading Thursday after the release of results.
"I thought they were dead. This is a huge turnaround," Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said from New York.
Misek said the Canadian company "demolished" the numbers, especially its gross margins. RIM reported gross margins of 40 percent, up from 34 percent a year earlier. The company credited higher average selling prices and higher margins for devices.
"This is a really, really good result," Misek said. "It's off to a good start."
The new BlackBerry 10 phones are redesigned for the new multimedia, Internet browsing and apps experience that customers are now demanding.
The Z10 has received favorable reviews since its release, but the launch in the critical U.S. market was delayed until late this month as wireless carriers completed their testing.
A version with a physical keyboard, called the Q10, won't be released in the U.S. for two or three more months. The delay in selling the Q10 complicates RIM's efforts to hang on to customers tempted by the iPhone and a range of devices running Google Inc.'s Android operating system. Even as the BlackBerry has fallen behind rivals in recent years, many users have stayed loyal because they prefer a physical keyboard over the touch screen on the iPhone and most Android devices.
RIM, which is changing is formal name to BlackBerry, said it expects to break even in the current quarter despite increasing spending on marketing by 50 percent compared with the previous quarter.
"To say it was a very challenging environment to deliver improved financial results could well be the understatement of the year," Heins said during a conference call with analysts.
Heins said more than half of the people buying the touch-screen Z10 were switching from rival systems. The company didn't provide details or specify whether those other systems were all smartphones. He said the Q10 will sell well among the existing BlackBerry user base. It's expected in some markets in April, but not in the U.S. until May or June.
Mar. 28, 2013 ? Marital conflict is a significant source of environmental stress for children, and witnessing such conflict may harm children's stress response systems which, in turn, may affect their mental and intellectual development.
These conclusions come from a new study by researchers at Auburn University and the Catholic University of America. The study appears in the journal Child Development.
Researchers looked at 251 children from a variety of backgrounds who lived in two-parent homes. The children reported on their exposure to marital conflict when they were 8, providing information on the frequency, intensity, and lack of resolution of conflicts between their parents. The study gauged how children's stress response system functioned by measuring respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), an index of activity in the parasympathetic branch of the body's stress response system. RSA has been linked to the ability to regulate attention and emotion. Children's ability to rapidly solve problems and quickly see patterns in new information also was measured at ages 8, 9, and 10.
Children who witnessed more marital conflict at age 8 showed less adaptive RSA reactivity at 9, but this was true only for children who had lower resting RSA. In addition, children with lower baseline RSA whose stress response systems were also less adaptive developed mental and intellectual ability more slowly.
"The findings provide further evidence that stress affects the development of the body's stress response systems that help regulate attention, and that how these systems work is tied to the development of cognitive ability," explains J. Benjamin Hinnant, assistant professor of psychology at the Catholic University of America and one of the researchers.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Society for Research in Child Development, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
J. Benjamin Hinnant, Mona El-Sheikh, Margaret Keiley, Joseph A. Buckhalt. Marital Conflict, Allostatic Load, and the Development of Children's Fluid Cognitive Performance. Child Development, 2013; DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12103
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Mar. 26, 2013 ? Early diagnosis is critical in treating Lyme disease. However, nearly one quarter of Lyme disease patients are initially misdiagnosed because currently available serological tests have poor sensitivity and specificity during the early stages of infection. Misdiagnosed patients may go untreated and thus progress to late-stage Lyme disease, where they face longer and more invasive treatments, as well as persistent symptoms.
Existing tests assess the presence of antibodies against bacterial proteins, which take weeks to form after the initial infection and persist after the infection is gone. Now, a nanotechnology-inspired technique developed by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania may lead to diagnostics that can detect the organism itself.
The study was led by professor A. T. Charlie Johnson of the Department of Physics and Astronomy in Penn's School of Arts and Sciences along with graduate student Mitchell Lerner, undergraduate researcher Jennifer Dailey and postdoctoral fellow Brett R. Goldsmith, all of Physics. They collaborated with Dustin Brisson, an assistant professor of biology who provided the team with expertise on the bacterium.
Their research was published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics.
"When you're initially infected with the Lyme disease bacterium, you don't develop antibodies for many days to a few weeks," Johnson said. "Many people see their physician before antibodies develop, leading to negative serological test results. And after an initial infection, you're still going to have these antibodies, so using these serological diagnostics won't make it clear if you're still infected or not after you've been treated with antibiotics."
The research team's idea was to flip the process around, using laboratory-produced antibodies to detect the presence of proteins from the organism. This is an extension of previous work Johnson's lab has done connecting other biological structures, such as olfactory receptors and DNA, to carbon nanotube-based devices.
Carbon nanotubes, rolled-up lattices of carbon atoms, are highly conductive and sensitive to electrical charge, making them promising components of nanoscale electronic devices. By attaching different biological structures to the exteriors of the nanotubes, they can function as highly specific biosensors. When the attached structure binds to a molecule, that molecule's charge can affect the electrical conduction of the nanotube, which can be part of an electrical circuit like a wire. Such a device can therefore provide an electronic read-out of the presence, or even concentration, of a particular molecule.
To get the electrical signal out of these nanotubes, the team first turned them into transistor devices.
"We first grow these nanotubes on what amounts to a large chip using a vapor deposition method, then make electrical connections essentially at random," Johnson said. "We then break up the chip and test all of the individual nanotube transistors to see which work the best."
In their recent experiment, Johnson's team attached antibodies that naturally develop in most animals that are infected with the Lyme disease bacterium to these nanotube transistors. These antibodies naturally bind to an antigen, in this case, a protein in the Lyme bacterium, as part of the body's immune response.
"We have a chemical process that lets us connect any protein to carbon nanotubes. Nanotubes are very stable, so we have a very reactive compound that binds to the nanotube and also has a carboxylic acid group on the other end. For biochemists, getting any kind of protein to bind to a carboxylic acid group is just child's play at this point, and we have worked with them to learn how to perform this chemistry on the side wall of nanotubes. "
After using atomic-force microscopy to show that antibodies had indeed bound to the exteriors of their nanotube transistors, the researchers tested them electrically to get a baseline reading. They then put the nanotubes in solutions that contained different concentrations of the target Lyme bacteria protein.
"When we wash away the solution and test the nanotube transistors again, the change in what we measure tells us that how much of the antigen has bound," Johnson said. "And we see the relationship we expect to see, in that the more antigen there was in the solution, the bigger the change in the signal."
The smallest concentration the nanotube devices could detect was four nanograms of protein per milliliter of solution.
"This sensitivity is more than sufficient to detect the Lyme disease bacterium in the blood of recently-infected patients and may be sufficient to detect the bacterium in fluids of patients that have received inadequate treatment," Brisson said.
"We really want the protein we are looking to detect to bind as close to the nanotube as possible, as that is what increases the strength of the electrical signal," Johnson said. "Developing a smaller, minimal version of the antibody -- what we call a single chain variable fragment -- would be a next step.
"Based on our previous work with single chain variable fragments of other antibodies, this would probably make such a device about a thousand times more sensitive."
The researchers suggested that, given the flexibility of their technique for attaching different biological structure, eventual diagnostic tools could incorporate multiple antibodies, each detecting a different protein from the Lyme bacterium. Such a setup would improve accuracy and cut down on the possibility of false-positive diagnoses.
"If we were to do this type of test on a person's blood now, however, we would say the person has the disease," Johnson said. "The first thought is that if you detect any protein coming from the Lyme organism in your blood, you are infected and should get treatment right away."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Pennsylvania.
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Journal Reference:
Mitchell B. Lerner, Jennifer Dailey, Brett R. Goldsmith, Dustin Brisson, A.T. Charlie Johnson. Detecting Lyme disease using antibody-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube transistors. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2013; 45: 163 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2013.01.035
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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Breast cancer survivors receives makeovers as part of the Doctor's Medical Center inaugural Spring Survivorship Celebration. (Video produced and edited by Rachel Witte. Camera by Lauren Kawana)
At an event organized by Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo last Wednesday; former breast cancer patients celebrated their survival of cancer. The survivors received special treatments like free beauty makeovers and make-up gift bags, which donated by Bare Escentuals, a company based in San Francisco.
For the women who were there, it was a moment to reflect on the effect the disease has had on their lives. They celebrated life altogether and enjoyed the special care they got on the first day of spring. ?This event provides an afternoon of inspiration, hope, and a little glamour to breast cancer survivors and the people who supported them during one of the toughest experiences of their lives,? said Dr. Madhi Shetti, medical director for the Department of Radiation Oncology at the hospital?s Cancer Center.
Even though the women have won their battles against cancer, they still face the challenge of rebuilding their strength. ?For many who have faced grueling months of cancer treatment, fellowship and support are an important part of the healing process,? Shetti said.
FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2013, file photo, Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez celebrates after his 10-yard touchdown reception during the first half of NFC championship NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Atlanta. Gonzalez, who has more catches than any tight end in NFL history, announced Tuesday, March 12, 2013, that he is returning to the Falcons for the 2013 season. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2013, file photo, Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez celebrates after his 10-yard touchdown reception during the first half of NFC championship NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Atlanta. Gonzalez, who has more catches than any tight end in NFL history, announced Tuesday, March 12, 2013, that he is returning to the Falcons for the 2013 season. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) ? The Falcons have some big holes at the start of free agency. Tight end isn't one of them.
Tony Gonzalez announced Tuesday he is returning for another year after his near-retirement, a move that has coach Mike Smith smiling.
"I can assure you we're a lot better football team this afternoon than we were this morning," Smith said soon after Gonzalez announced on his Twitter feed he will return to the Falcons for the 2013 season.
Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said the new contract for Gonzalez "is not done but it will be done quickly."
Gonzalez decided "to give it one more shot" after talking with his family.
"Being part of such a great team and organization was too much to pass up," Gonzalez said in a statement released by the team. "I would also like to say thank you to all of the fans for their support over the last several weeks."
Gonzalez said during the season he was 95 percent sure he would retire after the 2012 season. His productive season made it difficult to stick with the retirement plan.
The future Hall of Famer, who turned 37 last month, led the Falcons with 93 catches for 930 yards and eight touchdowns. Each total set a high for his four seasons in Atlanta. He added 14 catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns in the team's two playoff games.
"I know Tony had said he was 95 percent as the season started," Smith said. "We were holding out on that 5 percent and we got it.
"Tony has been an integral part of our football teams for the last four years and we're just glad we have him back. Free agency opened what, 35 seconds ago? We got a good jump on it."
The announcement by Gonzalez drew quick approval from quarterback Matt Ryan, who tweeted "Welcome back."
Dimitroff said the decision from Gonzalez allows the team to resume efforts to bring back more of its free agents.
Among the players who became free agents on Tuesday are left tackle Sam Baker, cornerbacks Brent Grimes and Christopher Owens, defensive tackle Vance Walker, fullback Mike Cox and defensive end Lawrence Sidbury.
"We talked from the very beginning about re-signing our players versus going out and going hog-wild in free agency," Dimitroff said. "I believe with having Tony signed soon and agreeing to terms here we can continue to focus on other areas and some of the players we still need to sign from our present roster."
The Falcons already have announced agreements to re-sign strong safety William Moore and right guard Garrett Reynolds.
The Falcons released running back Michael Turner, cornerback Dunta Robinson and defensive end John Abraham on March 1, leaving the team without its leading rusher and top pass-rusher.
Longtime starting center Todd McClure, 36, also became a free agent on Tuesday and appears to be on the verge of retiring. McClure's agent, Rick Smith, would not comment on the center's plans.
Dimitroff confirmed retirement has been discussed with McClure.
"We talked about this recently that we wanted Todd to announce his own retirement," Dimitroff said.
Gonzalez has more catches, touchdown catches, yards receiving, 100-yard games and Pro Bowl appearances than any tight end in NFL history. Only Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice has more catches.
Gonzalez, who played his first 12 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, is a 13-time Pro Bowl selection.
The Falcons were 13-3 last season and advanced to the NFC championship game. Gonzalez tweeted the 2013 team has "a great shot" to reach the Super Bowl.
"I think in Tony's mind from what I read from reports from him is that he felt like there was some unfinished business," Smith said. "I think we all feel that way."
If Gonzalez had retired, the Falcons might have made tight end a top priority in free agency or the NFL draft. Smith said neither option would have provided a true replacement for Gonzalez.
"I think it would be an understatement to say it would be hard to replace Tony with someone in the draft or free agency," Smith said. "He's been such an integral part of our success the last four years. He has a great chemistry with Matt and the rest of our leaders."
Smith, who frequently allows veterans 30 and older a break during training camp, said he talked with Gonzalez about having time away from the team.
"I want to make one thing clear: Tony is not a guy who wants to miss training camp," Smith said. "Tony is a team player. He has made some personal commitments to his family. We've talked about working with him just like we've worked with other guys on our squad in terms of allowing them in certain situations to take care of their personal business. We'll do that with Tony as well."
Small business funding is hard to come by without the skills of a sharp leader. By taking hints from successful men and women business owners in the education sector, as well as making a point to voice several key phrases in the office, entrepreneurs can make a positive impact in small business sales within any industry.
Dean-like qualities are optimal Rob Jenkins, an expert in higher education, said in a Chronicle of Higher Education editorial that there are at least 14 personality traits a person must have?to be someone worthy of leading others. Whether in a small business office, a lecture hall or on televisions across the country, Jenkins claimed that a leader is someone who reflects the ability to be positive, make realistic decisions and work with others to create solutions and build environments that genuinely benefit the bulk of a community.
The higher education pro noted that over the course of several years, while his college went through major administrative changes, faculty members complained constantly about the structure they had implemented.?What he found, in time, was that the problem was?the lack of?ability to collaborate effectively among department heads, to let others take the reins on necessary issues and to hold their ground on final decisions with full responsibility for the outcome, good or bad.
A major issue for Jenkins is the ability of a leader to be trusted by the people he or she leads in their professions. Genuine fervor for the job at stake, he said, must start with an unwavering moral base and stem out to a leader?s desire and capability to deliver honestly every day. On top of warranting trust from one?s employees, a leader should give credit to the people who work hard to make their part of the operation work smoothly in any field, and he or she should be grounded in reality, blunt in the face of uncomfortable subjects and always looking toward the bright side of any situation.
Leaders should talk the talk Acting like a leader makes an incredible difference to the success of small businesses, but Jeff Haden, a business book ghostwriter and Inc Magazine contributor, pointed out the importance of saying simple phrases to employees and coworkers that can brighten a day and move production along in a positive?direction.
One of the most important things business owners can do within their organizations is admit that they are wrong or need help understanding some aspect of the business? functions. For instance, older entrepreneurs may not be entirely up to date on how to best use social media for small business?marketing. In this case, asking the 19-year-old communications?intern for his or?her input?can be extremely beneficial as the owner?continues to learn about internal operations as companies grow.
Effectively praising employees and receiving compliments with grace is another point of running a business Haden mentioned in Inc. He believes business owners should practice accepting praise as well as giving it to workers, as exchanging positive remarks can boost daily operations within an organization and improve relationships without much effort or time away from assigned tasks. Simply telling a small business finance team their annual plan looks great or a veteran HR director her payroll for small business training session was genuinely appreciated can make a difference for the esteem of employees and could keep them loyal to a business.
A leader in the payroll and employee benefits industry, Paychex offers solutions for small business human resources needs.
If you read the comments on our HTC One review, you'll find a lot of cheesed-off Verizon customers wondering why Big Red isn't planning on selling it. Turns out, you guys might be getting yourselves a pretty 4.7-inch flagship after all. AllThingsD is reporting that Verizon is indeed planning to offer the phone, right alongside AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. The only catch is that the VZW model might arrive a month or two after the others, thanks to Verizon's notoriously long testing process. The keyword, of course, is "might" -- so far, neither Verizon or HTC has made a comment, which means all our angry Verizon-bound readers might have reason to be mad after all. Needless to say, we hope you don't.
Contact: Basil Waugh basil.waugh@ubc.ca 604-822-2048 University of British Columbia
Babies have a dark side under their cute exteriors, according to University of British Columbia-led study that finds infants as young as nine months embrace those who pick on individuals who are different from them.
While previous research has shown that babies generally prefer kind actors, the new study published by the Association for Psychological Science is the first to suggest that infants condone antisocial behavior when it is directed at individuals who are dissimilar.
"Our research shows that by nine months, babies are busy assessing their surroundings, trying to determine who is friend or foe," says Prof. Kiley Hamlin of UBC's Dept. of Psychology, lead author of the study. "One important way they make these distinctions, our study finds, is based on perceived differences and similarities."
To explore this, researchers had babies choose which food they preferred: graham crackers or green beans. The infants then watched a puppet show in which one puppet demonstrated the same food preference as the infant, while another exhibited the opposite preference.
In the experiments, other puppets harmed, helped or acted neutrally towards the puppets with different or similar food preferences. Prompted to pick their favorite puppet, infants demonstrated a strong preference for the puppets who harmed the "dissimilar" puppet and helped the "similar" one one infant even planted a kiss on the puppet she liked.
"These findings suggest that babies either feel something like schaudenfreude pleasure when an individual they dislike or consider threatening experiences harm," says Hamlin. "Or babies have some early understanding of social alliances, recognizing that the 'enemy of their enemy' is their friend."
Hamlin describes the behaviour as an early form of the powerful, persistent social biases that exist in most adults, who favour individuals who share their origins, languages, appearances even birthdays and sports affiliations over people with whom they have fewer things in common.
Backgrounder
The findings suggest that when infants aged 9-14 months make social evaluations, they assess not only what people do (e.g., act nice or mean) but also to whom they do it (e.g., a person who is liked or disliked), says Hamlin, who performed the research as a graduate student of Prof. Karen Wynn of Yale University.
While studies show that humans tend to gravitate toward people who have things in common, these preferences can have a dark side, Hamlin says: disliking people who are different may lead us to mistreat them, and excuse or even applaud others who mistreat people who are different than us.
This does not mean that more extreme outcomes, like xenophobia and intergroup conflict, are inevitable, Hamlin says. "Rather, this research points to the importance of socialization practices that recognize just how basic these social biases might be and confront them head-on," she concludes.
###
Neha Mahajan (Temple University), Zoe Liberman (University of Chicago) and Karen Wynn (Yale University) co-authored the study, which is titled, Not Like Me = Bad: Infants Prefer Those Who Harm Dissimilar Others.
Note: Multimedia available upon request.
Between 8:30 -11:45 a.m. EDT, direct media requests to:
Anna Mikulak
Association of Psychological Science
Tel: 202-293-9300
Email: amikulak@psychologicalscience.org
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: Basil Waugh basil.waugh@ubc.ca 604-822-2048 University of British Columbia
Babies have a dark side under their cute exteriors, according to University of British Columbia-led study that finds infants as young as nine months embrace those who pick on individuals who are different from them.
While previous research has shown that babies generally prefer kind actors, the new study published by the Association for Psychological Science is the first to suggest that infants condone antisocial behavior when it is directed at individuals who are dissimilar.
"Our research shows that by nine months, babies are busy assessing their surroundings, trying to determine who is friend or foe," says Prof. Kiley Hamlin of UBC's Dept. of Psychology, lead author of the study. "One important way they make these distinctions, our study finds, is based on perceived differences and similarities."
To explore this, researchers had babies choose which food they preferred: graham crackers or green beans. The infants then watched a puppet show in which one puppet demonstrated the same food preference as the infant, while another exhibited the opposite preference.
In the experiments, other puppets harmed, helped or acted neutrally towards the puppets with different or similar food preferences. Prompted to pick their favorite puppet, infants demonstrated a strong preference for the puppets who harmed the "dissimilar" puppet and helped the "similar" one one infant even planted a kiss on the puppet she liked.
"These findings suggest that babies either feel something like schaudenfreude pleasure when an individual they dislike or consider threatening experiences harm," says Hamlin. "Or babies have some early understanding of social alliances, recognizing that the 'enemy of their enemy' is their friend."
Hamlin describes the behaviour as an early form of the powerful, persistent social biases that exist in most adults, who favour individuals who share their origins, languages, appearances even birthdays and sports affiliations over people with whom they have fewer things in common.
Backgrounder
The findings suggest that when infants aged 9-14 months make social evaluations, they assess not only what people do (e.g., act nice or mean) but also to whom they do it (e.g., a person who is liked or disliked), says Hamlin, who performed the research as a graduate student of Prof. Karen Wynn of Yale University.
While studies show that humans tend to gravitate toward people who have things in common, these preferences can have a dark side, Hamlin says: disliking people who are different may lead us to mistreat them, and excuse or even applaud others who mistreat people who are different than us.
This does not mean that more extreme outcomes, like xenophobia and intergroup conflict, are inevitable, Hamlin says. "Rather, this research points to the importance of socialization practices that recognize just how basic these social biases might be and confront them head-on," she concludes.
###
Neha Mahajan (Temple University), Zoe Liberman (University of Chicago) and Karen Wynn (Yale University) co-authored the study, which is titled, Not Like Me = Bad: Infants Prefer Those Who Harm Dissimilar Others.
Note: Multimedia available upon request.
Between 8:30 -11:45 a.m. EDT, direct media requests to:
Anna Mikulak
Association of Psychological Science
Tel: 202-293-9300
Email: amikulak@psychologicalscience.org
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
PRLog (Press Release) - Mar. 10, 2013 - VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada -- Vancouver, BC, March 5, 2013 ? On February 26, the professionals at Vision Investment Properties, a local provider of turnkey real estate investment services, gave current and prospective investors what they want most?free information and investing advice.
The educational seminar began with a happy hour featuring refreshments and the chance to meet and mingle with real estate investment experts, as well as other investors and prospects. The professionals then took the stage, providing a wealth of information in an interactive conversation. Inside the discussion, attendees got an in-depth looking at the economic fundamentals of Vision?s projects as well as a detailed glimpse into the projects now open for investing. With the goal of empowering through knowledge, the professionals also provided some insight into how investors can gain access to positive cash flow through real estate opportunities and get the most from their properties in terms of wealth creation.
?We host events like this one several times a year in an effort to provide valuable investment information while giving prospective investors the chance to meet with us and see what Vision is all about,? says Manson Osmond, VP Marketing & Operations for Vision. ?Even though we provide turnkey real estate investment solutions, we feel it?s necessary to ensure every client thoroughly understands what happens during the process, the projects in which we invest, and where and how their investments are handled. If you?re not working with a firm that believes in the same type of open-door policy, it likely time to ask ?why???
The event was held at Vision?s Vancouver-based headquarters at 111-375 Water Street on February 26, 2013 from 7pm to 9pm. For information on upcoming events like this one and others, please visit the company?s events scheduler at www.viproperties.com/events.
About Vision Investment Properties
Vision Investment Properties has become known as one of Canada?s foremost authorities in real estate investments. Founded by a group of investors who had purchased properties together in Canada over a period of several years, these professionals recognized a need for a turnkey investment solution. Nearly a decade later, Vision Investment Properties continues to benefit those seeking safety and value from investment properties by providing safe, secure, RRSP-eligible real estate investment opportunities.
For more information about Vision Investment Properties or Vision International Properties, visit http://www.viproperties.com.
TOKYO (AP) ? Japan has observed a moment of silence to remember the nearly 19,000 people who died in the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck two years ago.
At a memorial service Monday in Tokyo attended by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, attendees stood in silence at 2:46 p.m., the precise moment the 9.0-magnitude quake struck off northern Japan on March 11, 2011. The earthquake was the strongest recorded in Japan's history and unleashed a towering wave that wiped out entire coastal communities.
The tsunami also set off a crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, causing three reactors to melt down and spew radiation. More than 100,000 people had to evacuate.
All told, some 300,000 people remain displaced by the disaster two years later, and virtually no rebuilding has begun.
The best way to get the attention of a bunch of sleep-deprived, possibly hungover SXSW Interactive attendees? Coffee-slinging robotic arms, naturally. GE's fully embracing Austin's caffeinated food trick culture with a pair of Barista Bots, arms that operate similarly to your standard 3D printer, moving along the X, Y, Z axes to extrude coffee through a syringe, atop of a latte's foam. The process starts when one of the robot's human barista counterparts takes a shot of an image with a webcam, digitizing it on a nearby computer. Then the arm goes to work.
It's an imperfect science, of course. For one thing, foam is a really difficult canvas to work on, what with all the unevenness of constantly popping bubbles. There's also an awful lot of wind in Austin today, and with all those people inside, the van did a little bit of rocking. We saw some more complex images that didn't come out particularly well (facial scans, for one thing), so we decided to throw something a simpler at the 'bot, drawing our "e" logo on a sheet of paper.
Heads up, Windows users. Tomorrow, Microsoft will release an update for Internet Explorer 10 that enables Flash content in both Windows 8 and Windows RT. As many of you are likely aware, the "full web" experience has been limited to the desktop browser on Windows 8 up until this point, which was an intentional move by Microsoft in order to improve performance, battery life and the touch experience. With the update, Internet Explorer 10 users for Windows 8 / RT will be able to access Flash content on all but a few sites that Microsoft has selectively blacklisted due to their negative impact on the user experience. Naturally, users of IE10 within the Windows 8 desktop environment will still be able to access all Flash-enabled content, regardless of whether the site is on the blackballed list. Now that you've waited this long, what's another day among friends?
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Public release date: 12-Mar-2013
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