Eight soldiers killed in Yemen car bomb attack: officials

SANAA (Reuters) - A suicide car bomber targeting an army checkpoint in southern Yemen killed eight soldiers and wounded 10 on Monday, local officials said.

The attack in the town of Radda was likely a retaliatory move by al Qaeda militants after Yemeni forces shelled insurgents in the southern province of al-Bayda earlier in the day, one of the officials said.

(Reporting by Mohamed Ghobari; writing by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/yemeni-troops-tanks-attack-al-qaeda-stronghold-120246959.html

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Krugman: 'What We're Seeing Now Is Open, Explicit Reverse Robin Hoodism'

The New York Times:

Republicans have a problem. For years they could shout down any attempt to point out the extent to which their policies favored the elite over the poor and the middle class; all they had to do was yell "Class warfare!" and Democrats scurried away.

Read the whole story at The New York Times

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/28/krugman-what-were-seeing-_n_2566060.html

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The New Approach to Risk Management ? BPO News & Trends

By Dan Berthiaume
Although risk management has always been a high priority for enterprises, the nature of it is constantly evolving and changing. Sanjay Jindal, Global Process Owner ? Record to Analyze, Finance & Accounting BPO, Capgemini, recently discussed some of these changes.

Q. Risk management has been a priority for business for a long time. What has changed?

A. There is increasing need for transparency from regulators as well as from shareholders. Significant numbers of compliance disasters in recent times have resulted in the increased importance of risk management in the agendas of various CXOs, as such failures significantly impact the reputation of enterprises. In addition, globalization is resulting in the multiplying of regulations and increased need for compliance. This is placing significantly greater pressure on organizations.

CXOs are looking for different and innovative solutions to help them gain better assurance on risk and compliance while they drive growth in new geographies globally. From an information technology and data perspective, the invention of new technologies is also imposing higher risks.

Q. Why are traditional methods no longer effective?

A. Periodic audit is a typical, traditional method of risk management and compliance. Periodic audits look at what has happened in the past: it does not provide a real-time view of risk and compliance. Most of the time, the audit takes place after the event: it does not help prevent recurring financial leakage. Organizations should not wait for the next audit to find out issues and incur financial leakages and losses.

No CXO likes surprises and they will want to be proactive in their approach to understand and manage potential risks. Most organizations have looked at compliance in a siloed way, with different functions carrying out compliance in different ways, different business entities performing it in different ways, and different countries managing it in different ways. This results in multiple audits being conducted by different stakeholders for the same business process at different point of time. This not only makes traditional approaches costly, it also results in duplication of effort and the use of the valuable time of various business process owners.

Moreover, the siloed approach does not provide a uniform and consistent view of risk across the various functions and business units. In the absence of a uniform, consistent and real-time view of risk, executives end up making decisions based on perceptions.

Q. How should companies approach governance, risk and compliance (GRC)?

A. Companies need to take a unified and integrated approach to managing enterprise-wide risks. They need to break up the traditional silos of functions or business units or geographies and develop a unified risk and control framework supported by uniform ways of assessment of risk across the organization. They should use new tools, as well as data analytical techniques to manage risk and compliance. A centralized approach to creating centers of excellence for GRC could support CXOs to realize their vision of managing risk and compliance in real-time in a uniform and consistent manner across the enterprise and enable them to make decisions based on facts and not perceptions.

Q. What role does BPO play in enabling this new approach?

A. BPO offers platform-enabled end-to-end GRC service as a business process. We propose to set up a Global Process Model? (GPM) control center in our CoE (Center of Excellence) of governance, risk and compliance. Leveraging our GPM assets and Control Library, we develop a unified risk and control framework and establish an assessment approach with a real-time control dashboard. We apply a unique blend of our services of continuous transaction and control monitoring, data analytics and audits to deliver world-class GRC services.

Related posts:

Source: http://bpooutcomes.com/new-approach-risk-management/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-approach-risk-management

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Two N.J. men sue Subway over missing inch

Subway restaurant customers are posting pictures online of their "Footlong" sandwiches next to a measuring tape to show that they're not up to size.

By Ben Popken, TODAY contributor

The image of the 11-inch Subway sandwich marketed as "Footlong" that ignited an online chuckle-fest?last week has now sparked a lawsuit.

Citing "false, deceptive" and "misleading affirmative statements of fact," two New Jersey men, John Farley of Evesham?and Charles Pendrak of Ocean City, sued Subway on Tuesday to regain losses of 5 to 8.3 percent on the several "Footlong" sandwiches they bought from the sandwich store -- about $.41-$.54 per sub, depending on whether it was the $5 or $6.50 kind. The lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status for anyone who bought a sandwich in New Jersey from January 22, 2007 to the present, asks for triple damages. That comes to a grand total of $1.23-$1.62, which is not even enough to buy yourself a new sub. The lawsuit specified one date in December Farley bought a Footlong, and three dates between December and January that Pendrak bought Footlongs, along with "various other dates" on which each bought Footlong sandwiches.

After Australian?Matt Corby, having a bit of fun, last week posted a photo of a "Footlong" Subway sandwich next to a measuring tape showing it as only 11 inches long, the picture went viral and kicked off a media pig pile. The two approached lawyers after reading the short sandwich news coverage, their lawyer?Stephen DeNittis told the New York Post. Online commenters identifying themselves as Subway employees speculated that the consumers were receiving exactly the same dough as others who got 12-inch subs but that the dough, which arrives frozen at franchise locations, hadn't been properly tugged, pulled and "proofed" before it was baked.

Because the legal action is still pending, Subway spokesperson Les Winograd declined to comment on the case specifically.

Matt Corby

Matt Corby uploaded a photo to Facebook of a Subway sandwich advertised as a "Footlong," next to a measuring tape showing it as 11 inches long. The caption read, "subway pls respond," and, after the image went viral, Subway did.

"We regret any instance where we did not fully deliver on our promise to our customers," Winograd told TODAY via email. "We freshly bake our bread throughout the day in our more than 38,000 restaurants in 100 countries worldwide, and we have redoubled our efforts to ensure consistency and correct length in every sandwich we serve. Our commitment remains steadfast to ensure that every SUBWAY? Footlong sandwich is 12 inches at each location worldwide."

Stephen DeNittis, the lawyer for the plaintiffs, told TODAY that his firm had "Footlong" sandwiches from 14 different Subway locations measured, and each fell short.?

DeNittis shrugged off the suggestion that regardless of the sandwich length, consumers were still getting the same amount of dough in their loaf, saying, "If they were selling by net weight, that would be a good argument."

The case is worthy of the court's time, DeNittis said. "It's no different than if a wireless company is profiting on a 14-cent hidden fee."

DeNittis, an experienced class-action lawyer,?is familiar with the criticisms of his trade, such as class actions profit the lawyers with big fees while consumers walk away with coupons. DeNittis said class-action courts were set up to deal with?consumers?with small-damage cases. Any fees lawyers receive are court-approved, he said, and are based on the "hundreds of thousands of hours" they can take to prosecute, as well as factoring for the risk the lawyers take on when they accept the case.?

"If you believe it's OK to shortchange consumers on little fraud ... if you think it's only OK to go after companies for big fraud," then you probably won't think this case measures up, he said.

The case is about "holding big companies to deliver what they promised," said DeNittis. "When you expend it over millions of sandwiches, it adds up." He added that his firm "will be investigating to find out if Subway intentionally made sandwiches smaller to profit unfairly off consumer deception."

Source: http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2013/01/23/16664080-two-nj-men-sue-subway-over-missing-inch?lite

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Court won't hear challenge to Clean Air Act rule

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Supreme Court won't hear a challenge to a tough new clean air requirement limiting sulfur dioxide emissions.

The high court on Tuesday refused to hear an appeal from businesses and industrial interests involving an Environmental Protection Agency regulation setting emission levels of sulfur dioxide, a colorless gas with the smell of rotting eggs. Sulfur dioxide from power plant smokestacks can be carried long distances by wind and weather and has been linked to various illnesses including asthma.

Several corporations and industrial associations along with several states say that EPA's required emission levels are lower than mandated by law to protect public health. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit refused to overturn the EPA's decision.

The justices refused to reconsider that ruling.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-22-US-Supreme-Court-Pollution-Standards/id-75a67d70799848f7b10c730e09efe856

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What are the benefits of eating sea cucumber - Health and Fitness Tips

The sea cucumber is a highly valuable tonic food or medicinal. Here are what are the benefits of eating sea cucumber:

Brain, puzzle, longevity ? sea cucumber contains 18 kinds of amino acid, taurine, collagen, mucopolysaccharides, chondroitin sulfate, saponins, peptides, and a variety of vitamins and trace elements and other active ingredients, preservative of your life.

Nourishing and promoting calcium absorption ? sea cucumber keratin promote red bone marrow function effectively improve the symptoms of anemia; contains natural active calcium, the calcium effect unmatched by other foods.

Prevention of cardiovascular disease ? sea cucumber the fucoidin ? lowering blood pressure, inhibit blood clotting medicine also believes that high blood pressure, high cholesterol, coronary heart disease, hepatitis patients, the elderly, long-term adherence edible sea cucumbers, to alleviate the symptoms and treatment effect.

Enhance the body?s immune system ? selenium ? antioxidants anti vicious flu, to prevent an important element of human aging, cancer prevention and treatment. Sea cucumber saponins inhibit tumor, improve the body?s cell-mediated immunity, inhibit the growth and metastasis of certain tumors, long-term consumption obviously not easy to cold, easy to get sick. Is now widely used in the therapeutic treatment of patients with benign and malignant tumor.

Surgery patients the best tonic ? sea cucumber in a very high content of arginine can promote the regeneration of body cells and repair damaged body, body injury repair effects, significantly shorter recovery time.

Marine Viagra ? the sea cucumber contains special active substances, constitutes the main component of the male germ cells, improve erectile strength, inhibition of ovulation and stimulate contractions role, can improve the function of the brain, gonads nerve conduction, delaying gonadal aging increase sexual desire effect, anti-fatigue, anti-aging, replenishing kidney essence, the aphrodisiac.

Maternal care ? provide comprehensive maternal nutrition security, enhance physical fitness, quickly and efficiently restore physical strength and stamina; rich brain gold material for the development of the baby?s brain and nervous system, effectively avoid the occurrence of infants with congenital .

• Nutritional value and efficacy of sea cucumber
  The higher nutritional value of sea cucumber. Sea cucumber with water hectogram 14.9 g protein, 0.9 grams fat, 0.4 grams carbohydrates, 357 milligrams of calcium, phosphorus 12 mg, iron 2.4 mg, and vi...

Tags: benefits of sea cucumber, Nutritional value of sea cucumber, sea cucumber
This entry was posted on Sunday, January 20th, 2013 and is filed under Health Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.hhtip.com/what-are-the-benefits-of-eating-sea-cucumber/

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City of Toronto's billboard tax boosts arts funding. Yay. ? James ...

Thanks to OIART ace Bob Breen for sending along this ?fascinating news . . . London city council & the rest of us, take note. On rawk.

Toronto, January 16, 2013: On behalf of our members and partners, Music Canada wishes to congratulate Mayor Rob Ford and the Members of City Council for their commitment to increase funding to the broad spectrum of arts in Toronto, including the city?s diverse and authentic music cluster.

?Toronto is by any measurement, one of the most successful music markets in the world, evidenced by the diverse and authentic live music offerings found throughout the city on any day of the week. The business of music employs thousands of people, attracts visitors from down the road and beyond our borders, and makes the city a desirable place to live, work and invest. With today?s decision, City Council demonstrates that it recognizes the importance of the music cluster and opens the door to a new level of communication and cooperation. We commend the leadership of Mayor Ford and Councillors Gary Crawford and Josh Colle, who were integral to making this happen,? says Graham Henderson, President of Music Canada.

The 2013 Capital and Operating Budgets include a boost in arts funding derived from the billboard tax. Among the priorities listed in the motion put forward to the Executive Committee by Councillor Gary Crawford was ?support for Toronto?s music cluster.?

?As one of the country?s premier music festivals, North by Northeast would like to offer sincere thanks and congratulations to the Mayor and City Council for recognizing the tremendous economic, cultural, and civic value of music on Toronto. The City?s firm support of artists, venues, festivals, and fans will help grow our already vibrant music scene into a global phenomenon that will attract and inspire the world,? says Andy McLean, Managing Director/Co-founder, North by Northeast.

?Toronto?s music community is one of the most vibrant and vital in all of North America, and we are both grateful for the City?s commitment to its health and excited about the possibilities it opens up for the continued growth of the sector. This announcement represents an investment in economic development, social health, and cultural heritage, all of which will return great dividends to the people of Toronto,? says Jesse Kumagai, Director of Programming for The Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall.

Music Canada has published a?report?identifying opportunities for greater growth and promotion of the music industry in Toronto and is working with a coalition whose members include live music venues, festivals, concert promoters, music labels, recording studios, managers and artists.

- 30 -

For more information:

Amy Terrill ? Vice President Public Affairs, Music Canada
aterrill@musiccanada.com

Music Canada is a non-profit trade organization that represents the major record companies in Canada, namely Sony Music Entertainment Canada, Universal Music Canada and Warner Music Canada. Music Canada also works with some of the leading independent record labels and distributors, recording studios, live music venues, concert promoters, managers and artists in the promotion and development of the music cluste

Source: http://blogs.canoe.ca/brandnewblog/general/city-of-torontos-billboard-tax-boosts-arts-funding-yay/

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Wal-Mart's Plan to Hire Veterans ? Altruism or PR Stunt? - Center for ...

The Article: What Wal-Mart?s Plan to Hire 100,000 Veterans Means for the Company and Economy: Nothing
The Source: theatlantic.com
The Date: 1/15/13
The Author: Jordan Weissmann

---

In a move that could be described as both a masterful public relations stroke and a sincerely gracious decision, Wal-Mart has pledged that, starting Memorial Day, it will hire any military veteran who applies for a job within a year of their discharge. The nation?s largest retailer expects to ultimately hire more than 100,000 vets within five years, mostly for jobs at its stores and distribution centers. In an interview with the New York Times, the head of Wal-Mart?s military program added the caveat that company might only be able to hire some veterans part-time.

It?s commendable that Wal-Mart is taking steps to help recent veterans, who, as the Times notes, have a higher unemployment rate than non-veterans. But we also shouldn?t read too much into what this decision means about the company or the economy. Here are a few reasons why.

1) It?s PR. Wal-Mart has been under the spotlight both for a bribery scandal in Mexico and for its labor practices here at home. The company is keenly aware that troubling headlines can drive customers away or throw a wrench into their expansion plans. So over the years, it?s learned to counter bad press by taking on legitimately worthwhile causes in order to change the media narrative. Such was the case with its push for environmental sustainability in the past decade, which also just happened to wring costs from its supply chain. This time around, along with veteran hiring, the company says it will push to source more of its goods domestically. Again, we should all credit them for the effort. But that doesn?t mean forgetting the black marks on their record.

2) It doesn?t really say anything about the economy. Over at Slate, Matt Yglesias argues that if Walmart?s hiring, it?s probably not just out of the goodness of their hearts, and that it likely means they expect customer demand to pick up. I?m not so sure. Like any retailer, Wal-Mart loses lots of employees every year. The company claims to have an annual turnover rate of around 37 percent. With 1.4 million U.S. employees, that means it needs to hire more than 500,000 people every year at its stores (which, if you stop and try to process it, is kind of nuts). In that context, 100,000 veterans over five years really isn?t that big a number. Moreover, the company says it already employs about 100,000 veterans, meaning they?ve probably found them to be reliable workers ? enough so that they?re willing to hire them virtually no-questions-asked. Overall, the company isn?t really making any big bets here.

3) These are still Wal-Mart jobs. I know this may sound like quibbling, but Wal-Mart ? just like pretty much all big-box retailers ? still pays most of its workforce pretty miserably. According to an IBISWorld analysis I?ve charted out below, the average sales associate makes around $8 an hour. If that?s the best we can for our veterans, we?re not really doing very much.

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Should corporations feel guilty for policy initiatives, or charitable giving, if they know these actions will lead to greater profits?

Should corporations feel morally obligated to disclose all of the rationale behind their decisions?

<hr>

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 17th, 2013 at 10:53 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.cfcbe.com/2013/01/17/wal-marts-plan-to-hire-veterans-altruism-or-pr-stunt/

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Nine Strategies Successful People Use to Overcome Stress

Feeling stressed? Of course you are. You have too much on your plate, deadlines are looming, and people are counting on you. You are under a lot of pressure?so much that at times, you suspect the quality of your work suffers for it. This is life in the modern workplace. The difference between those who are successful and those who aren't is not whether or not you suffer from stress, but how you deal with it when you do.

In the spirit of Nine Things Successful People Do Differently, here are nine scientifically-proven strategies for defeating stress whenever it strikes.

Have Self-Compassion

Self-compassion is, in essence, cutting yourself some slack. It's being willing to look at your mistakes or failures with kindness and understanding?without harsh criticism or defensiveness. Studies show that people who are self-compassionate are happier, more optimistic, and less anxious and depressed. That's probably not surprising. But here's the kicker: they are more successful, too. Most of us believe that we need to be hard on ourselves to perform at our best, but it turns out that's 100 percent wrong. A dose of self-compassion when things are at their most difficult can reduce your stress and improve your performance, by making it easier to learn from your mistakes. So remember that to err is human, and give yourself a break.

Remember the "Big Picture"

Anything you need or want to do can be thought of in more than one way. For instance, "exercising" can be described in Big Picture terms, like "getting healthier"?the why of exercising?or it can be described in more concrete terms, like "running two miles"?the how of exercising. Thinking Big Picture about the work you do can be very energizing in the face of stress and challenge, because you are linking one particular, often small action to a greater meaning or purpose. Something that may not seem important or valuable on its own gets cast in a whole new light. So when staying that extra hour at work at the end of an exhausting day is thought of as "helping my career" rather than "answering emails for 60 more minutes," you'll be much more likely to want to stay put and work hard.

Rely on Routines

If I ask you to name the major causes of stress in your work life, you would probably say things like deadlines, a heavy workload, bureaucracy, or your terrible boss. You probably wouldn't say "having to make so many decisions," because most people aren't aware that this is a powerful and pervasive cause of stress in their lives. Every time you make a decision?whether it's about hiring a new employee, about when to schedule a meeting with your supervisor, or about choosing rye or whole wheat for your egg salad sandwich?you create a state of mental tension that is, in fact, stressful. (This is why shopping is so exhausting?it's not the horrible concrete floors, it's all that deciding.)

The solution is to reduce the number of decisions you need to make by using routines. If there's something you need to do every day, do it at the same time every day. Have a routine for preparing for your day in the morning, and packing up to go home at night. Simple routines can dramatically reduce your experience of stress. In fact, President Obama, who assuredly knows a great deal about stress, mentioned using this strategy himself in a recent interview:

You need to remove from your life the day-to-day problems that absorb most people for meaningful parts of their day... You'll see I wear only gray or blue suits. I'm trying to pare down decisions. I don't want to make decisions about what I'm eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make. You need to focus your decision-making energy. You need to routinize yourself. You can't be going through the day distracted by trivia. ?President Obama, Vanity Fair

Take Five (or Ten) Minutes to Do Something You Find Interesting

If there were something you could add to your car's engine, so that after driving it a hundred miles, you'd end up with more gas in the tank than you started with, wouldn't you use it? Even if nothing like that exists for your car just yet, there is something you can do for yourself that will have the same effect... doing something interesting. It doesn't matter what it is, so long as it interests you. Recent research shows that interest doesn't just keep you going despite fatigue, it actually replenishes your energy. And then that replenished energy flows into whatever you do next.

Keep these two very important points in mind: First, interesting is not the same thing as pleasant, fun, or relaxing (though they are certainly not mutually exclusive.) Taking a lunch break might be relaxing, and if the food is good it will probably be pleasant. But unless you are eating at the hot new molecular gastronomy restaurant, it probably won't be interesting. So it won't replenish your energy.

Second, interesting does not have to mean effortless. The same studies that showed that interest replenished energy showed that it did so even when the interesting task was difficult and required effort. So you actually don't have to "take it easy" to refill your tank.

Add Where and When to Your To-Do List

Do you have a to-do list? (If you have a "Task" bar on the side of your calendar, and you use it, then the answer is "yes.") And do you find that a day or a week (or sometimes longer) will frequently pass by without a single item getting checked off? Stressful, isn't it? What you need is a way to get the things done that you set out to do in a timely manner. What you need is if-then planning (or what psychologists call "implementation intentions").

This particular form of planning is a really powerful way to help you achieve any goal. Nearly 200 studies, on everything from diet and exercise to negotiation and time management, have shown that deciding in advance when and where you will complete a task (e.g., "If it is 4pm, then I will return any phone calls I should return today") can double or triple your chances of actually doing it.

So take the tasks on your to-do list, and add a specific when and where to each. For example, "Remember to call Bob" becomes "If it is Tuesday after lunch, then I'll call Bob." Now that you've created an if-then plan for calling Bob, your unconscious brain will start scanning the environment, searching for the situation in the "if" part of your plan. This enables you to seize the critical moment and make the call, even when you are busy doing other things. And what better way is there to cut down on your stress than crossing things off your to-do list?

Use If-Thens for Positive Self-Talk

Another way to combat stress using if-then plans is to direct them at the experience of stress itself, rather than at its causes. Recent studies show that if-then plans can help us to control our emotional responses to situations in which we feel fear, sadness, fatigue, self-doubt, or even disgust. Simply decide what kind of response you would like to have instead of feeling stress, and make a plan that links your desired response to the situations that tend to raise your blood pressure. For instance, "If I see lots of emails in my inbox, then I will stay calm and relaxed," or, "If a deadline is approaching, then I will keep a cool head."

See Your Work in Terms of Progress, Not Perfection

We all approach the goals we pursue with one of two mindsets: what I call the Be-Good mindset, where the focus is on proving that you have a lot of ability and that you already know what you're doing, and the Get-Better mindset, where the focus is on developing your ability and learning new skills. You can think of it as the difference between wanting to show that you are smart versus wanting to get smarter.

When you have a Be-Good mindset, you expect to be able to do everything perfectly right out of the gate, and you constantly (often unconsciously) compare yourself to other people, to see how you "size up." You quickly start to doubt your ability when things don't go smoothly, and this creates a lot of stress and anxiety. Ironically, worrying about your ability makes you much more likely to ultimately fail.

A Get-Better mindset, on the other hand, leads instead to self-comparison and a concern with making progress?how well are you doing today, compared with how you did yesterday, last month, or last year? When you think about what you are doing in terms of learning and improving, accepting that you may make some mistakes along the way, you experience far less stress, and you stay motivated despite the setbacks that might occur.

Think About the Progress That You've Already Made

"Of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work." This is what Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer refer to as the Progress Principle?the idea is that it's the "small wins" that keep us going, particularly in the face of stressors.

Psychologically, it's often not whether we've reached our goal, but the rate at which we are closing the gap between where we are now and where we want to end up that determines how we feel. It can be enormously helpful to take a moment and reflect on what you've accomplished so far before turning your attention to the challenges that remain ahead.

Know Whether Optimism or Defensive Pessimism Works for You

For many of us, it's hard to stay positive when we've got assignments up to our eyeballs. For others, it isn't just hard?it feels wrong. And as it turns out, they are perfectly correct?optimism doesn't work for them. It is stressful enough to try to juggle as many projects and goals as we do, but we add a layer of stress without realizing it when we try to reach them using strategies that don't feel right?that don't mesh with our own motivational style. So what's your motivational style, and is "staying positive" right for you?

Some people think of their jobs as opportunities for achievement and accomplishment?they have what psychologists call a promotion focus. In the language of economics, promotion focus is all about maximizing gains and avoiding missed opportunities. For others, doing a job well is about security, about not losing the positions they've worked so hard for. This prevention focus places the emphasis on avoiding danger, fulfilling responsibilities, and doing what feel you ought to do. In economic terms, it's about minimizing losses, trying to hang on to what you've got.

Understanding promotion and prevention motivation helps us understand why people can work so differently to reach the same goal. Promotion motivation feels like eagerness?the desire to really go for it?and this eagerness is sustained and enhanced by optimism. Believing that everything is going to work out great is essential for promotion-focused performance. Prevention motivation, on the other hand, feels like vigilance?the need to keep danger at bay?and it is sustained not by optimism, but by a kind of defensive pessimism. In other words, the prevention-minded actually work best when they think about what might go wrong, and what they can do to keep that from happening.

So, do you spend your life pursuing accomplishments and accolades, reaching for the stars? Or are you busy fulfilling your duties and responsibilities?being the person everyone can count on? Start by identifying your focus, and then embrace either the sunny outlook or the hearty skepticism that will reduce your stress and keep you performing at your best.

Nine Ways Successful People Defeat Stress | Harvard Business Review

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Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. is a motivational psychologist and author of the HBR Single Nine Things Successful People Do Differently and the book Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals (Hudson Street Press, 2011). Her personal blog, The Science of Success, can be found here. Follow her on Twitter @hghalvorson.

Image by Phatic Photography (Shutterstock).

Want to see your work on Lifehacker? Email Tessa.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/05EQ86TxKUs/nine-strategies-successful-people-use-to-overcome-stress

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Djokovic, Sharapova cruise at Aussie Open

Serbia's Novak Djokovic makes a forehand return to Ryan Harrison of the US during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)

Serbia's Novak Djokovic makes a forehand return to Ryan Harrison of the US during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)

Russia's Maria Sharapova hits a return to Japan's Misaki Doi during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)

Venus Williams of the US hits a forehand to France's Alize Cornet during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)

Russia's Maria Sharapova waves to the crowd after defeating Japan's Misaki Doi during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)

Australia's Samantha Stosur wipes the sweat from her face during her second round match against China's Zheng Jie at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ? Novak Djokovic was all but perfect in his second-round match Wednesday against Ryan Harrison, beating the 20-year-old American 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 to stay on track for his third consecutive Australian Open title and the fourth of his career.

Maria Sharapova was even more convincing a few hours earlier, winning 6-0, 6-0 for the second time in two matches to set up a third-round encounter with Venus Williams.

Williams beat Alize Cornet 6-3, 6-3 in the match preceding the Djokovic-Harrison encounter at Rod Laver Arena, which will be the likely venue for her big matchup Friday against Sharapova.

Reigning French Open champion Sharapova holds a 4-3 edge in career meetings, but Williams has won both of their meetings at Grand Slam tournaments ? at Wimbledon in 2005 and 2007.

Venus' sister Serena, playing in the other half of the draw, had the day off Wednesday and was able to rest the right ankle she injured in her first-round match. She's set to play Garbine Muguruza on Thursday as she pursues her own sequence of three. She won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year and is aiming for a third major in a row.

Djokovic, a loser in the U.S. Open final last year to Andy Murray, looks like he wants to atone for that defeat. He was relentless in beating the overmatched Harrison, winning the first set in just 20 minutes and the match in 1? hours while making just 16 unforced errors.

"I tried to focus from the start," Djokovic said. "Obviously, I knew he had nothing to lose, he's going to come out and hit big serves. Pity for him, I don't think he played his best."

Sharapova did, particularly for someone who has precious little match "toughness" heading into the Australian Open. The second-seeded Russian beat Japan's Misaki Doi by the double-bagel score in just 47 minutes, her second consecutive match at Melbourne Park in which her opponent failed to win a game. Doi won only 15 points.

Sharapova, last year's Australian Open runner-up, pulled out of the Brisbane International with a right collarbone injury two weeks ago and had not played a competitive match this year until her 6-0, 6-0 win over fellow Russian Olga Puchkova in the first round Monday.

She is the first woman to post consecutive 6-0, 6-0 scorelines at a Grand Slam since Wendy Turnbull at the Australian Open in 1985.

"I've been playing really aggressive and doing the right things," Sharapova said. "It's not easy to be up so much because you can have a few letdowns. You just have to try to concentrate. My job is to make it as easy as possible."

Venus Williams took advantage of Cornet's double-fault to end the first set.

"Tennis ... is about winning when it's not your best day," the 25th-seeded Williams said. Next up "I'm playing against Maria. I'm going to have to be at my best against her."

The final match of Wednesday's session on the center court was disappointing, though not wholly unexpected, for the home crowd and Australia's top-ranked female player.

Ninth-seeded Samantha Stosur, who has spoken of her anxiety over playing in front of her home fans, served twice for the match but double-faulted on match point in a 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 loss to China's Zheng Jie.

"It was a bit of a choke," Stosur admitted. "Obviously it's a hard one to take when you get yourself into a winning position and you lose five games straight."

Stosur, who had nine double-faults and 56 unforced errors, has never gone beyond the fourth round at her home Grand Slam, lost in the first round last year and also lost in her first matches at warm-up tournaments this year in Brisbane and Sydney.

"I needed to keep fighting and enjoy the match," Zheng said. "It's amazing I came back."

Earlier, fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanksa extended the year's best winning streak to 11 matches. She eased into the third round with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu and remains unbeaten this year, including titles at warm-up tournaments this month at Auckland and Sydney.

"I can play even better," said Radwanska, who lost last year's Wimbledon final to Serena Williams. "I didn't really expect I could win that many matches in a row, and hopefully I can keep going."

Her last two trips to the Australian Open have ended in quarterfinal losses to the eventual champion ? Kim Clijsters in 2011 and Victoria Azarenka last year.

With top-ranked Azarenka and Serena Williams on the other half of the draw, Radwanska's main obstacles to reaching the final are 2011 French Open champion Li Na, who beat Olga Goortsova of Belarus 6-2, 7-5 to reach the third round, and potential semifinal rivals Sharapova or No. 5 Angelique Kerber, who advanced with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Lucie Hradecka.

Serena Williams, who has lost only one match since her first-round exit at the French Open last year, canceled an outdoor practice session and moved it indoors to test out her sore ankle.

In other women's second-round matches: No. 11 Marion Bartoli beat Serbian qualifier Vesna Dolonc 7-5, 6-0; No. 13 Ana Ivanovic had a 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 win over Taiwanese qualifier Chan Yung-jan; No. 18 Julia Gorges beat Romina Oprandi 6-3, 6-2; No. 22 Jelena Jankovic, a former world No. 1, beat qualifier Maria Joao Koehler 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2; and 17-year-old American wild-card Madison Keys beat No. 30 Tamira Paszek of Austria 6-2, 6-1.

Russian qualifier Valeria Savinykh upset No. 15 Dominika Cibulkova 7-6 (6), 6-4 and Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium beat No. 23 Klara Zakopalova 6-1, 6-0.

On the men's side, No. 4-ranked David Ferrer needed five match points before clinching a 6-0, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 win over American Tim Smyczek, who got into the main draw as a lucky loser from qualifying.

Fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych beat Guillaume Rufin of France 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 and eighth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic beat Lukas Lacko 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-5 in a match that lasted nearly four hours.

No. 10 Nicolas Almagro and No. 16-ranked Kei Nishikori also moved on while No. 24 Jerzy Janowicz of Poland rallied from two sets down to overpower India's Somdev Devvarman 6-7 (10), 3-6, 6-1, 6-0, 7-5.

Also advancing were No. 22 Fernando Verdasco, No. 28 Marcos Baghdatis, the 2006 Australian Open runner-up, No. 31 Radek Stepanek and No. 32 Julien Benneteau. Stepanek beat Feliciano Lopez 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 and will next play Djokovic.

No. 20 Sam Querrey advanced when fellow American Brian Baker retired in the second set with a right knee injury and next plays No. 15 Stanislas Wawrinka.

Baker, who returned to the tour last year after missing almost six seasons with a variety of injuries, won a first-set tiebreaker and was level at 1-1 on serve in the second. He was later pushed from Court 6 in a wheelchair.

Tournament organizers said that Baker had a torn meniscus and is expected to be out about four months.

"Yeah, he's the last person that deserves anything like that with his five or six surgeries already," Querrey said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-01-16-TEN-Australian-Open/id-0c5af3f06d074036b760892a686aba56

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MLK Parade and March set for Monday

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - Alabama State Representative Alvin Holmes is reminding everyone to add the Annual MLK Day March and Rally to your calendars.

The parade is set for Monday, January 21. The event will begin at 1:00 p.m. in front of the downtown post office on Catoma Street in Montgomery as the procession makes it way up to the State Capitol.

Rep. Holmes stated that greetings will be brought by the Governor of Alabama,Rep. Mike Hubbard, the Mayor of Montgomery, and Elton Dean.

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Source: http://eastmontgomery.wsfa.com/news/events/201044-mlk-parade-and-march-set-monday

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Kenya Moore: ?Gone With the Wind Fabulous?

Oh honey. The latest Real Housewife to think that a music career is in her future happens to be the new sassy biotch on RHOA. Last night she performed her single, “Gone With the Wind Fabulous” on “Watch What Happens Live” and it was…interesting. Photo: Smooth Magazine So here are my thoughts: Can she sing? Not really. Is the song good? It is catchy! Can she dance? Better than Kim! So if that is what you are looking for in your next pop star, then hit up itunes and support the girl. Personally, I will pass. I just happened to record “Watch What Happens Live” cause I am pretty obsessed with Andy Cohen and his hilariousness. I had no idea that Kenya even had a single! What a treat. Honestly though, the girl did perform. It just came off as…desperate IMHO. She doesn’t really sing – she just talks. And she just pretty much addresses everything that went down with the other housewives and her fake boyfriend, Walter. You know – saying she’s fake, old, ghetto, crazy, broke, single, ugly… After her performance Andy asked, ?How did that feel?? ?It?s scary! I?m not a singer, I?m not trying to be [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/peo65l0mKhM/

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Technology for 21st Century Learning timeline | Timetoast timelines

Event Date: Event Title: Event Description: 1st Sep, 2012 Differentiated Instruction Initiative - Phase 1 1st Apr, 2013 4th & 5th Grade BYOD Pilot 1st Apr, 2013 Personalized PD Offered Through Virtual PD 1st Sep, 2013 Differentiated Instruction Initiative - Phase 2 1st Dec, 2013 Mobile Computing Carts Replace Stationary Computer Labs 1st Jan, 2014 One-to-One Pilot Program 1st Sep, 2014 DistrictwideOne-to-One Program 1st Jan, 2015 Flipped Classrooms Replace Traditional Teaching 1st May, 2015 SBAC Computer Adaptive Testing

Source: http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/technology-for-21st-century-learning

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No easy exit for French fighting terror in Mali

A French soldiers patrols infront of the Eiffel tower, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013. France has ordered tightened security in public buildings and transport following action against radical Islamists both in Mali and Somalia, French President Francois Hollande said yesterday. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

A French soldiers patrols infront of the Eiffel tower, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013. France has ordered tightened security in public buildings and transport following action against radical Islamists both in Mali and Somalia, French President Francois Hollande said yesterday. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

French President Francois Hollande, right, speaks with members of Malian associations in France during a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013. Niger, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Nigeria agreed on Saturday to send soldiers, a day after France authorized air strikes, dispatching fighter jets from neighboring Chad and bombing rebel positions north of Mopti, the last Malian-controlled town. (AP Photo/Philippe Wojazer, Pool)

French soldiers patrol at Nice airport, southern France, Sunday, Jan.13, 2013. Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013. France's president says his country will raise its domestic terror threat level because of French military operations against Islamist forces in two African countries. Hollande says he will increase security at public buildings and across France's extensive transportation networks. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)

PARIS (AP) ? France, breaking its own rules with a surprise military intervention in Mali, appears to be halting the lightning advance of radical Islamists seen as a threat to Europe.

But the operation raises the specter of an African quagmire in a new theater of the West's war on terror just as France and other U.S. allies emerge from the old one in Afghanistan. And it undermines President Francois Hollande's promise to end the cozy, paternalistic ties France has long sustained with its former African colonies.

France fears a new sanctuary of terrorism could take root in Mali, and says fast action was the only choice after sudden extremist advances last week.

French authorities contend that Mali and its neighbors in West Africa, Europe and especially France are threatened by three radical organizations, including an al-Qaida affiliate, that control northern Mali and are looking to extend their grip to the crucial south and the capital of Bamako to set up a terror state.

French authorities acknowledged Sunday that the militants have turned out to be better-armed and equipped than France had initially thought.

Eyes around the world are on France to see what it does next.

Will French troops move into a support role, behind African troops, as initially set out for the West by a United Nations Security Council resolution on Mali? Or will they be lured into deeper involvement at the behest of Mali and other African nations ? and, perhaps, take Western allies with them?

To avoid entrapment, "The purpose (of the French mission in Mali) has to be limited in scope but it has to have specific strategic purposes," said London-based security and terror analyst Sajjan Gohel.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian painted the mission in broad strokes: "We need to get rid of this terrorism that threatens to put at risk the security of Mali and the security of our country and of Europe." He refused to say when the intervention would end.

But an aide to French President Francois Hollande stressed the importance of transferring responsibility to regional players. "The important word is africanization, meaning rapid deployment of the African force," said the official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly and asked not to be identified.

Hollande, not seen as a man of bold action, had for months rung the alarm bell about the dangers stalking unstable Mali, where a temporary government has led the poor west African country since a March coup d'etat.

Islamist radicals who moved in to fill the power vacuum have whipped and amputated limbs of those they consider sinners, to force them to conform to their interpretation of Islamic law, and have destroyed the ancient tombs of local saints in cities such as Timbuktu.

The French president led the long effort for passage of the U.N. resolution to come to Mali's aid. African soldiers were to back up Mali's weak army after training from the West ? and once an acceptable military plan was in place.

The radicals' sudden two-column advance toward the south last week and a direct plea for help from Mali was Hollande's call to faster action.

Hollande repeatedly promised his countrymen there would be no French boots on the ground. But by Sunday, hundreds of French forces were involved in a military operation in Mali, and Rafale fighter jets had bombed training camps and other installations near Gao, one of three cities held by the militants. A helicopter pilot was killed in the first 24 hours of the action that began Friday.

Families of eight French hostages thought to be held in northern Mali fear the captors could avenge the French action by killing their loved ones. Their fears grew when French security forces bungled a rescue attempt of a secret agent held hostage in Somalia this weekend, leading an operation that ended with the captive dead.

But Hollande, whose popularity has plunged since his election in May, received rare and nearly complete backing at home for his action in Mali.

Western allies have also voiced support for the French action with some offers of help ? but, significantly, no troops.

"We stand by our French allies and they can count on U.S. support," said Air Force Maj. Robert Firman, in the office of the defense secretary, adding that information sharing and logistics will be the likely contribution.

The U.S. was also expected to send in drones. Britain agreed to send aircraft to help transport troops. Germany offered political support by firmly said no combat troops.

Francois Heisbourg, international analyst with the Foundation for Strategic Research summed up up the French argument like this: "A friendly state is on the verge of being put under the jihadi boot, they ask us to intervene ... If they go under, we have a much bigger terrorism problem."

He compared the situation to the Afghanistan of 2001, when French troops joined the NATO mission there. Last month, France drew the curtain on its Afghanistan engagement, pulling out the last of its fighting troops. The U.S. is winding up its military operation next year.

Then comes Mali.

France has some 6,000 citizens and economic and strategic interests throughout the Sahel desert region that includes Mali, interests to be protected.

But the real fear is that a state run by radical Islamists could spread the doctrine throughout the Sahel and do what al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, one of the leading radical groups in Mali, has failed to do from its home base in neighboring Algeria ? strike across the Mediterranean.

At the moment, the threat is limited to Mali and potentially its neighbors ? where terrorists can target western interests but lack the structure to do damage elsewhere, said Gohel said of the Asia-Pacific Foundation think tank. "But they are growing in ascendancy. ... We're seeing the Talibanization process taking place inside Mali."

French authorities worry that the radicals could contaminate the diaspora of Malians in France and elsewhere, much as some Algerians in France took up the jihadist cause in the 1990s, sending weapons and money to Islamist insurgents in Algeria ? and carrying out terrorist attacks in France.

What may make this campaign different is Hollande's promise to end a long-standing informal policy of paternalism with former African colonies and fawning gratitude in return. The policy, known as France-Afrique, was widely detested by all those outside the circles of privilege and special favors.

The French "are keenly aware of the need not to lose the political support of the Africans, collectively and individually," said Heisbourg.

Experts say France must avoid ballooning their mission.

But it's not easy for France to pull out of former colonies where it maintains ties and sees security concerns ? and sometimes is asked by the local government for protection. As Heisbourg noted: "We've been in Chad for ... 45 years."

___

Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Eileen Sullivan in Washington and Juergen Baetz in Berlin contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-01-14-France-Out%20of%20Africa?/id-6125c7c9917243cc98117dbf9f4e0bbb

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