Articles and reports about decent work, dignity at work and mental health issues are increasingly appearing on my desktop. ?Perhaps this is an indication of a convergence of perspectives in to a better understanding on the human imperative in the modern workplace. ?It may be a realisation of where and how work fits in the?human condition.
The pastoral letter looks at the need for dignity in relation to casual work. ?It says
"...casual work offers flexibility to balance work and family commitments, to undertake study or to supplement the income of a spouse. ?But for a growing number of people, it has become an impediment to achieving a healthy and fulfilling life. ?For many in insecure work, ?flexibility? represents a backward step rather than a path to improved wages and conditions."
In?January?2012, the?International?Labour Organisation released a handbook called "Convergences: decent work and social justice in religious traditions". ?It analyses basic working conditions within the contexts of the major world religions. ?It is surprising to see so much agreement on the need for safe working conditions and respect.
"Mental health is an essential component of good health. Being mentally healthy enables individuals to function well in life and at work. Mental illness and mental health problems can affect an individual?s capacity to work productively, their physical health and their risk of injury. In this way poor mental health impacts on workplaces through increased absenteeism, less than optimal productivity while at work (presenteeism), and increased work place injury. It can also have an adverse effect on work colleagues, family members and the community."
This fantastic summary of workplace mental health is present through much of the current research into the health impacts of casual work or "precarious work" undertaken by?Professor Michael Quinlan?and others. ?In the most recent ?edition of IOSH's "Policy and Practice in Health and Safety" journal, Quinlan, Elsa Underhill and Katherine Lippel editorialised on precarious work and listed three important questions that need serious consideration:
how do [precarious] work arrangements damage health?
what is the extent of the problem in particular industries and sectors?
what policy responses will prove most?effective?in addressing these challenges?
Volume 9 Issue 2 of the journal begins to answer these questions and in the process illustrates how occupational health and safety meshes with general social and public health matters.
In the same edition?Richard Johnstone?of Griffith University discusses how Australia's new Work Health and Safety legislation assists in addressing the precarious employment hazards?through?the application of the concept of a "person conducting a business or undertaking" (PCBU). ?Johnstone implies that the concept of PCBU has sneaked past the employer groups and unions due to their focus being on other clearer areas of dispute in the legislation. ?He sees the new primary duty of the PCBU as
"a?broad, flexible, all-encompassing 'umbrella duty' that builds on the 'duty of others' in the pre-model Act OSH statutes."
The job insecurity?presented?by current industrial relations and social structures makes it even more important for companies to establish a sustainable, and safe,?workplace?culture that is able to continue and be consistent in a time of instability. ?The values of an organisation will not persist if they rely on?individual. ?In the past several?organisations?have attempted safety strategies, such as "safety champions", that fail once individuals move one.
The NSW Minerals?Council?report lists characteristics of mentally healthy workplaces that easily fit with developing a sustainable safety culture*.
The table lists trust and equality as important elements. ?These occur in most of the?reports?and research on the issue of dignity at work and values-based safety.
"Every employee shall have a right to dignity at work and if the terms of the contract under which a person is employed do not include that right they shall?be deemed to include it".
?The Bill was not passed but did create a?framework?around which many of the workplace bullying support strategies were structured. ?The bullying focus is understandable but there was always a?broader?application to dignity at work and the new push on mental health at work, around the world, is a better indication of the potential of the workplace dignity concept.
"As long as individualism remains such a dominant fame, as long as freedom is understood as freedom from restrictions and regulation and not freedom from insecurity or unhealthy work, as long as health is located in the individual, as long as stress is considered a mental problem of the individual, it will be very difficult for this approach to worker health to make dramatic in-roads".
The authors believe that the lack of research into mental health issues at work is not a?coincidence?as research could potentially question the very structure of work:
"One successful means of?continuing?to exploit the extra energy workers' bodies ?produce through the stress response is to preserve?ignorance?of its actual long-term impact, specifically its costs to the workers, his or her family, the organization, the government. ?Such ignorance is maintained through strategically under-studying the costs, ignoring scientific results that indicate otherwise, keeping the impact of intensified production disconnected from health outcomes, keeping adverse health outcomes displaced and disconnected from their real causes, and in the case of stress, remaining focussed on the immediate?present?and the individual, as opposed to the long-term and the collective."
There has been much written on workplace mental health from both sides of the political and industrial divide but the NSW Minerals Council report succinctly?describes?the challenges on mental health at work and the potential for change:
"There are no single solutions to addressing mental illness or promoting mental health and well-being in the workplace. It requires multiple strategies targeting individuals and the workplaces systems, policies and structures. There are existing policies which will support addressing mental illness in the workplace. Existing OH&S approaches to injury and illness in particular in relation to return to?work have potential for application to employees returning to work after a mental illness. Moreover it requires a commitment from the industry to take action to strategically address mental health and well-being and mental illness, supported by a range of policies and programs, and?where needed?complemented by research to ensure that strategies are effective."
The significance of such a statement coming from an industry association should be noted. ?Perhaps we are finally beginning to investigate the human condition of work.
* McKernon S, Allen R, Money E. Mentally healthy workplaces - a living toolkit. In: Morrow L, Verins I, Willis E, eds. in Mental Health and Work: Issues and Perspectives. Adelaide: Auseinet:the Australian Network for the Promotion, Prevention and Early Intervention for Mental Health; 2002.
TOKYO (AP) ? Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the last of this nation's 50 nuclear reactors switching off Saturday, shaking banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol.
Japan will be without electricity from nuclear power for the first time in four decades when one of three reactors at Tomari nuclear plant in the northern island of Hokkaido goes offline for routine maintenance checks.
After last year's March 11 quake and tsunami set off meltdowns at Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, no reactor stopped for checkups has restarted amid growing public worries about the safety of nuclear technology.
"Today is a historical day," shouted Masashi Ishikawa to a crowd gathered at a Tokyo park, some holding traditional "Koinobori" carp-shaped banners for Children's Day that have grown into a symbol of the anti-nuclear movement.
"There are so many nuclear plants, but not a single one will be up and running today, and that's because of our efforts," Ishikawa said.
The activists said that it was fitting that the day Japan will stop using nuclear power coincided with the nation's annual Children's Day, because of their concerns about protecting children from radiation, which Fukushima Dai-ichi is still spewing into the air and water.
The government has been eager to restart nuclear reactors, warning about blackouts and rising emissions as Japan is forced to turn to oil and gas for energy.
Japan now requires reactors to pass new tests to withstand quakes and tsunami and needs local residents' approval to restart them.
The response from people living near the nuclear plants has been mixed, with some wanting them back in operation because of jobs, subsidies and other benefits to the local economy.
Major protests, like the one Saturday, have been generally limited to urban areas like Tokyo, which had gotten electricity from faraway nuclear plants, including Fukushima Dai-ichi.
Before the nuclear crisis, Japan relied on nuclear power for a third of its electricity needs.
The crowd at the anti-nuclear rally, estimated at 5,500 by organizers, shrugged off government warnings about a power shortage. If anything, they said, with all the reactors going offline one by one, it was clear the nation didn't really need nuclear power.
Whether Japan will suffer a sharp power crunch is still unclear.
Electricity shortage is expected only at peak periods, such as the middle of the day in hot weather, and critics of nuclear power say the proponents are exaggerating the consequences to win public approval to restart reactors.
Hokkaido Electric Power Co. spokesman Kohei Ofusa said Saturday's shutdown was going ahead as planned. Power generation is gradually being turned down from 5 p.m. (0800 GMT) with all operation ending at 11 p.m. (1400 GMT), he said.
Yoko Kataoka, a retired baker and grandmother, who was dancing to the music at the rally waving a small paper Koinobori, said she was happy the reactors were going off.
"Let's leave an earth where our children and grandchildren can all play without worries," she said, wearing a shirt that had, "No thank you, nukes," handwritten in the back.
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Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at http://twitter.com/yurikageyama
Tameka Foster denies threatening to kill ex-husband Usher ... but she did make several comments that she can understand being taken that way.
Usher and Tameka are in a legal fight over custody of their two young kids, a bitter showdown that played out in a Georgia courtroom this week.
Accused of making death threats toward her ex, Foster did admit under oath to saying "I will f**k you up" ... which one can interpret as a threat.
Tameka was questioned by Usher's attorney about her verbal and abusive threats towards the singer, whom she wed in 2007 and divorced in 2009.
She allegedly said "I will kill you both," referring to Usher and his current GF.
Foster went back and forth with her answer before making a half-admission, saying she didn't threaten to "kill" him ... but admitting, "I probably have said, out of anger, say 'I will f**k you up' and that is not acceptable."
Tameka Foster went on to explain that the menacing statement(s) happened as a result of Usher gallivanting in and out of town with his new girlfriend, behavior that was "embarrassing" for her in such a tight knit community.
More importantly ... anyone know who this new girlfriend of Usher is?
Bad breath or Halitosis can be one result of snoring. Breathing through the nose cleans the air as it enters the nasal passage and then the lungs.
Bacteria build up in the throat caused by open mouthed breathing develops into bad breath. Bad breath is the result of bacteria inside the mouth breaking down sulphur releasing proteins. Bacteria in the mouth occur naturally and they are with everyone as it should be but the problem arises when these bacteria build to such high levels, breaking down proteins at a higher than normal rate resulting in gaseous by-products that smell.
Snoring is defined as a coarse sound made by vibrations of the soft palate and other tissue in the mouth, nose throat. It is caused by turbulence inside the airway during inhalation. The turbulence is heightened by a partial blockage that may be located anywhere from the tip of the nose to the vocal chords. These restrictions usually occur only during sleep, but it may persist all the time and be worse when we are asleep.
This is because our muscle tone is reduced during sleep and there may be insufficient muscle strength to prevent the airway tissue vibrating. During waking hours muscle tone keeps the airway open; that?s why we don?t snore when awake.
Some of the most common causes of snoring:
? Age. When you reach middle age and beyond, the throat narrows and the muscle tone in your throat decreases. ? Being overweight or unfit. Fatty tissue and poor muscle tone contribute to snoring ? Physique Men have narrower air passages than women and are more likely to snore. A narrow throat, a cleft palate, enlarged adenoids, and other physical attributes that contribute to snoring can often be hereditary. ? Nasal and sinus problems. Blocked airways make inhalation difficult and may create a vacuum in the throat, leading to snoring. ? Alcohol, smoking, and medication. Alcohol, smoking, and some medications can increase muscle relaxation which in turn leads to more snoring. ? Sleep posture. Sleeping flat on your back is a common reason for the occurrence of snoring as it causes the flesh of your throat to relax and block the airwaves ? Allergies. Can cause nasal stuffiness that lead to snoring.
Snoring can be prevented and there are many methods available on the open market that can reduce the likelihood of it happening and thus avoid the social and physical problems it can cause.
Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce looks for a reaction from the crowd in the second quarter of an NBA first-round playoff series basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks in Boston, Sunday, May 6, 2012. The Celtics won 101-79. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce looks for a reaction from the crowd in the second quarter of an NBA first-round playoff series basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks in Boston, Sunday, May 6, 2012. The Celtics won 101-79. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Atlanta Hawks' Joe Johnson, center, loses control of the ball between Boston Celtics' Kevin Garnett, left, and Paul Pierce during the third quarter of Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, in Boston on Sunday, May 6, 2012. The Celtics won 101-79. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Boston Celtics' Avery Bradley (0) goes up to shoot in front of Atlanta Hawks' Jeff Teague, behind left, and Josh Smith, right, in the second half of an NBA first-round playoff series basketball game in Boston, Sunday, May 6, 2012. The Celtics won 101-79. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Boston Celtics' Kevin Garnett (5) dunks during the first quarter of Game 4 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks, in Boston on Sunday, May 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Boston Celtics' Kevin Garnett reacts after making a basket in the first quarter of Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks, in Boston on Sunday, May 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
BOSTON (AP) ? By the time Avery Bradley, who is recovering from a dislocated shoulder, sank a free throw to give the Boston Celtics a 37-point lead early in the third quarter, Paul Pierce was done for the night, riding a stationary bicycle under the stands and trying to keep his sore left knee from stiffening up.
Ray Allen went to the bench soon after to rest his ailing right ankle. He grabbed a seat near Kevin Garnett, who is about to turn 36 and played 42 minutes in the previous game ? surpassing 50,000 total minutes in the regular season and playoffs in his 17-year NBA career.
"We had a lot of things going on on our bench today with bodies," coach Doc Rivers said on Sunday night after the Celtics coasted to a 101-79 victory over the Atlanta Hawks to take a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series. "The whole game I kept looking down there (to see if) there were enough guys to put in the game."
Pierce scored 24 points in 18 minutes before heading to the stationary bicycle in the tunnel leading to the locker room, getting some much-needed rest after the Celtics scored 16 of the first 18 points in the second half.
Boston can close out the Hawks with a victory in Game 5 on Tuesday night in Atlanta. Game 6 would be in Boston in Thursday, if necessary.
"Their team set the tone from the jump ball and we weren't able to recover," said Al Horford, who played for the first time in almost four months and scored 12 points. "It's disappointing for us to lose this way, but the good thing is we're going back home. It's 3-1 and I'm sure a lot of people are writing us off already. But we feel pretty good about going back home."
Horford returned from a torn pectoral muscle that has kept him out since Jan. 11, but he wasn't available in the fourth quarter. Josh Smith returned after missing Friday's game and had 15 points and 13 rebounds for Atlanta. Tracy McGrady, a key contributor in the first half of Game 3 before turning his ankle, played just nine minutes and scored two points.
"We were beaten in every phase of the game," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "We just didn't respond very well. I haven't seen that type of performance in our team in quite some time."
Two nights after Rajon Rondo had a triple-double to help turn back the Hawks in overtime, he may have been even better, scoring 20 points with 16 assists. The point guard shot 8 for 11 from the floor, sinking a pair of 3-pointers to tie a career high.
Perhaps the biggest boost of all for the aging and injured Boston lineup: Rondo and Brandon Bass were the only Celtics to play more than 30 minutes.
"That time on the bench was good time," said Allen, who missed more than three weeks with bone spurs before returning for 37 minutes in Game 3. "It was good we played the way we did early. We've got to manage our bodies."
Pierce limped off the court favoring his left knee midway through the second quarter, but he returned for the start of the third. He was on the court as Boston went on a 16-2 run to start the second half and open an 80-37 lead with 8:13 left in the third quarter.
That was enough to earn Pierce, who played 47 minutes on Friday and tweaked his knee during Sunday's shootaround, some much-needed rest. Bradley, who dislocated his shoulder in Game 3, played just 19 minutes Sunday and Allen sat down after scoring 12 points and pulling down five rebounds in 19 minutes in Game 4.
"We overplayed them the last game, gave them the day off and they came out with this effort," Rivers said. "I think over the long run ... if you can get two or three of these games, it has to help."
The teams went to the locker rooms at the half with Boston holding a 63-41 lead. But during the break, the officials reviewed a jumper by Allen and changed it from a 2-pointer to a 3-pointer. Rondo hit a 3-pointer to open the third quarter, giving Boston a 26-point lead, then Bass made a jumper and Pierce hit a 3 to make it 72-41.
By the time the Hawks recovered, Boston led 80-43 and Rivers was emptying his bench. Pierce tried to keep his legs moving in case he was needed again.
He wasn't.
Now he's hoping for a long break if the Celtics can eliminate the Hawks in five games.
"The NBA is a weird league, and one game could give a team confidence," said Pierce, who tripped over a teammate's foot in the shootaround and aggravated the injury when he came off a screen in the game. "We hope that we can take them and advance in the series in the next game."
The Hawks weren't able to get any closer than 22 points before Rondo and Allen hit back-to-back 3-pointers, then Rondo made a behind-the-back fake to clear out the lane for an easy layup as Boston closed out the third quarter with a 90-63 lead.
Atlanta did cut it to 20 points in garbage time before Keyon Dooling made a 3-pointer with just under 2 minutes to play.
Notes: Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney attended the game with his wife, Ann. They left their mid-court seats with about 6 minutes left and Boston leading 98-71. ... The Celtics shot 64 percent in the first half. ... Rondo was 7 for 22 on Friday, when he had his seventh career playoff triple-double.
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's military rulers on Saturday imposed an overnight curfew and deployed soldiers around the Defence Ministry to deter a repeat of Friday's deadly violence, less than three weeks before a presidential vote.
One soldier died and almost 400 people were wounded in Friday's clashes, the second time in a week that protests over the army's handling of Egypt's troubled transition from army rule to civilian government have turned violent.
The military imposed a 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew (2100 GMT to 0500 GMT) in the Abbasiya district around the defense ministry for the second straight day, according to a military source.
The streets were calm on Saturday as cleaners swept up rocks and other projectiles hurled by protestors during the previous night's violence. Troops responded with fired teargas and charged the crowd to drive them from the ministry.
Eleven people were killed in disturbances on Wednesday.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said at least 18 journalists had been assaulted, injured or arrested while covering the clashes.
"We call on the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to identify the attackers and bring them to justice immediately, as well as to release journalists in custody," Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, said in a statement issued late on Friday.
A presidential election, which starts on May 23-24, will choose a replacement for Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled in February last year. Generals have governed since then but their rule has been punctuated by violence and political bickering.
Many protesters who gathered near the ministry were ultra-orthodox Salafi Muslims furious that a sheikh they backed for president was disqualified from the race. Liberals and others were also there, accusing the army of seeking to manipulate or delay the vote.
The military has dismissed those allegations, insisting it will stick to its timetable of handing over power to a new president by July 1, or even earlier in the unlikely event of an outright winner in the first round of voting this month.
"Our mission ends with a successful handover of power, and we will not let anyone change the declared schedule," an army source told the website of the state-owned Al-Ahram daily.
RISING FRUSTRATION
The authorities detained 300 people, according to a military source who said they would be held for 15 days pending investigations into Friday's events.
The army had warned protesters on Thursday during a news conference that it would not tolerate threats to any of its installations. The funeral for the soldier killed took place on Saturday.
Troop carriers and soldiers formed cordons protecting the area around the ministry and deployed at nearby installations belonging to the army, which for the first time in six decades faces the prospect of a president who has not been plucked from its senior ranks.
Mubarak, like his predecessors since the king was toppled in 1952, had been a top military officer before becoming president.
Many of the protesters have called for the army to step aside sooner than planned. Scenes of troops beating protesters with sticks in anti-army demonstrations in recent months have angered many Egyptians, who expect the generals to wield their influence from behind the scenes even after a formal handover.
But many other Egyptians are equally frustrated at the protesters, accusing them of stirring up trouble on the streets and helping drive the economy to the brink of a balance of payments crisis. The nation's foreign reserves have plunged.
"The army is our leader in this period and they said a million times that they don't want to stay in power. We have elections in a few days, so I don't understand what all yesterday's fuss and violence was all about," said Essam Mohamed, 51, a government office worker in the Abbasiya area.
The presidential race broadly pits Islamists against more liberal candidates who at one time or another served in Mubarak's administration.
The two frontrunners are Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh, an Islamist who has won the backing of a broad range of voters ranging from liberals to hardline Salafi Islamists, and Amr Moussa, the former head of the Arab League and one-time foreign minister. The Muslim Brotherhood is also fielding a candidate.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Brotherhood condemned the violence and blamed the ruling military council for it.
(Additional reporting by Ahmed Tolba and Marwa Awad, Editing by Jon Boyle)
NEW YORK (AP) ? A New York City con artist has been convicted in a bizarre scheme that involved dressing up as his mother and collecting her Social Security benefits for six years after she had died.
Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes announced the conviction Thursday of 51-year-old Thomas Parkin on charges including grand larceny, forgery and perjury. He faces up to 83 years in prison at sentencing.
Prosecutors say Parkin doctored his mother's death certificate after her 2003 death to make it look as if she were alive. He even dressed as his mother and went to the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew her driver's license.
The mother, Irene Prusik, had deeded her house to Parkin, but he failed to make the payments and it was sold at foreclosure.
Prosecutors say Parkin sued the new owner in his mother's name, alleging real estate fraud.
The National Basketball Retired Players Association (NBRPA), the only Association comprised of NBA, ABA and Harlem Globetrotters alumni, will host its annual Legends World Sports Conference for members in New Orleans on August 17-19. Widely recognized as the premiere gathering of its kind for former professional basketball players, the Legends World Sports Conference (LWSC) is the NBRPA?s annual retreat for members and partners to share ideas, network and learn from one another. Registration information will be sent to NBRPA Members in early June.
?As the former President for the New Orleans City Council and Executive Vice President of the New Orleans Saints, the Crescent City is obviously a place I hold dear to my heart and I can promise our members and partners a truly unique world class event,? said NBRPA Chief Executive Officer Arnie D. Fielkow. ?The 2012 Legends World Sports Conference promises to be a weekend chock-full of idea-sharing, philanthropy, fraternization and fun.?
The historic Royal Sonesta Hotel ? located on Bourbon Street in the heart of the French Quarter ? will host the 2012 LWSC. All members attending the conference will receive two complimentary room nights from the NBRPA at the Royal Sonesta, a timeless landmark hotel that offers quick access to everything New Orleans has to offer. Members in attendance will also receive a host of all-inclusive entertainment, dining and learning opportunities.
Conference workshop sessions will feature industry experts covering a variety of relevant topics, including Franchising Opportunities, Jobs in Sports, Finance, Career Transition, Continuing Education, Speakers Bureaus, Social Media, Health & Wellness, Starting a Charitable Foundation and more.?The NBRPA also has a host of unique, hands-on philanthropic events planned to help give back in New Orleans, including a charity fishing rodeo, a health-related event and a special youth basketball clinic in the Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Ninth Ward.
The agenda won?t just be limited to activities at the Royal Sonesta, as the NBRPA has booked an excursion on the Mississippi River as part of a steamboat cruise, multiple city tours and a casino party for conference attendees. Additional opportunities for recreation include dinners at renowned New Orleans restaurants and home-grown jazz and blues concerts.
Beginning in early June, NBRPA Members may register for the 2012 Legends World Sports Conference HERE.
DENVER (AP) ? Gay couples came one step closer Friday to having civil unions in Colorado after another Republican-led House committee approved legislation that appears to have enough support to get to the governor's desk.
The finance committee approved the measure with a 7-6 vote after the bill passed the House judiciary committee late Thursday.
Rep. Don Beezley was the only Republican to support the measure on the finance panel.
"For me, it really came down to that basic issue of fairness and doing the right thing," Beezley said, echoing a similar comment made by Republican Rep. B.J. Nikkel, who joined Democrats on the judiciary committee in approving the measure.
The bill now goes before the appropriations committee. Democrats on that panel unanimously support the bill and need at least one Republican to vote yes for it to go to a full House vote, where it would likely pass.
Republican Rep. Cheri Gerou, a member of the appropriations committee, previously said she supports the measure.
"I'm very excited," said a smiling Rep. Mark Ferrandino, a Democrat and gay lawmaker sponsoring the bill. "We're one step closer today than we were yesterday, and yesterday we were one step closer than we've ever been."
The state Senate has already approved the bill and it could reach Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper by Wednesday, when the session ends. He is firmly in support.
If the bill passes, Colorado would join more than a dozen states that allow gay marriage or civil unions. Hawaii and Delaware began allowing civil unions earlier this year.
The measure does not allow gay marriage but does grant gay couples rights similar to marriage, including enhanced inheritance and parental rights, and the ability to be involved in partner's medical decisions.
Republicans who oppose the bill said it undermines traditional marriage and that voters expressed their position on the issue when they banned same-sex marriage in 2006.
Republicans have a 33-32 vote advantage in the House. But given the committee votes, where Republicans joined Democrats, the bill could have enough support for passage.
Earlier Friday, Republican House Speaker Frank McNulty gave his colleagues a pointed warning from the podium, urging them not to attack the motives of legislators on pending legislation. He made clear later in an interview with The Associated Press that he was referring to the civil unions bill.
McNulty said Senate Democrats took months to move the bill to the House and did it on purpose to force a decision within the final days of the legislative session.
"I think that there are those in the Democratic Party that want to make sure that this issue is a political issue in November," he said, referring to the upcoming election.
Beezley and Nikkel are not running for re-election, a fact that may have made it easier for them to support an issue that divides the Republican Party.
Nikkel was among the Republicans who helped defeat the same bill last year in committee. She said this year she was swayed by the show of support from dozens of people who attended the Thursday night hearing, including some who testified about feeling vulnerable because they do not have the same legal rights as married people.
"I really thought about it," she said.
Beezley said he's also given the issue a lot of consideration.
"I think it's been an evolutionary process of respecting and learning to appreciate the fact that, regardless of whether an individual understands the nature of the relationships and the situation, that it really comes down to basic equity and fairness for a human being," he said.
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Find Ivan Moreno on Twitter at http://twitter.com/IvanJourno.
Authorities in Kentucky are making use of old school buses that are being turned into ambulances. Each one can carry up to 18 patients, which officials say will be of great help in case of a major accident or disaster.
The Kentucky Hospital Association is helping with the conversions through a grant program. Counties must buy the buses, but the association will help pay to convert them into ambulances.
Maj. Randy Harris is with Mercy Regional Emergency Medical Service. Harris told The Paducah Sun (http://bit.ly/Konm7I) that he envisions the ambulance bus being for large-scale evacuations or in wrecks that involve a large number of people, such as one a few years ago involving a tour bus.
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Information from: The Paducah Sun, http://www.paducahsun.com
New Orleans-based culinary development team receives prestigious Restaurant Neighbor Award for Disaster Relief
Taste Buds Management was recognized as the Mid-Size Business Category winner for their volunteer service organization known as ?Community Buds,? their charitable donations to local non profits, schools and philanthropic organizations, and ?Three Chefs One Mission.? The company, formed by chefs Greg Reggio, Hans Limburgh and Gary Darling, is the corporate branch of Zea Rotisserie & Grill and Semolina.
?We are proud to present the Restaurant Neighbor Award to some of the most inspiring examples of community service in our industry,? said Dawn Sweeney, National Restaurant Association President and CEO. ?We are committed to positively enhancing the quality of life for all we serve, and philanthropic activities are an important part of this mission. The tremendous efforts of Taste Buds Management have provided much needed relief to communities impacted by devastating disasters last year, underscoring that restaurants are often on the front lines in emergency response.?
Reggio, Limburgh and Darling, who also co-own Zea Rotisserie & Grill and Semolina, decided to launch ?Three Chefs One Mission? after back-to-back tornadoes hit Tuscaloosa, Ala. and Joplin, Mo. in April 2011. Remembering the generosity New Orleans received after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the restaurateurs wanted to respond in kind.
In its infancy, the organization planned a trifecta of fundraising events, including Tuscaloosa Tornado Relief, Liuzza Palooza and Jumping for Joplin. Appealing to the citizens of New Orleans, Three Chefs One Mission was able to deliver food and supplies, such as clothes, tools and toys. The three men share a twenty-year track record of supporting their community through various causes, including raising $130,000 for a fellow restaurateur who was seriously injured in an automobile accident.
?Our region has faced many great challenges during the last few years,? said Reggio. ?My partners and I feel truly honored be able to use our resources to benefit the lives of those in need and help rebuild our communities.?
The National Restaurant Association presented Taste Buds Management with the award, along with a $5,000 contribution to a charity of their choice. The Taste Buds chose the Louisiana Hospitality Foundation. American Express is the founding partner of the Restaurant Neighbor Award. It was developed in 1999 in an effort to raise awareness of the industry?s contributions to local communities throughout the country and to inspire more owners and operators to get involved and contribute to their respective communities.
?American Express is proud to partner with the National Restaurant Association to honor the contributions restaurateurs across the country make to their communities,? said Curtis L. Wilson, Vice President and General Manager, Restaurant, Lodging & Insurance Industries, American Express. ?Through charitable gifts of food, time, and resources, restaurants have a tangible and lasting impact on their communities; we hope these actions inspire others to do the same.?
For more information on the Restaurant Neighbor Award program, as well as the national winners and finalists, visit the National Restaurant Association?s website, www.restaurant.org/awards.
To view a social media version of the Restaurant Neighbor Award news release, including downloadable photos and video, visit the Association?s website.
Taste Buds Management is the founder of Zea Rotisserie & Grill and Semolina restaurants. For more information about Greg Reggio, The TasteBuds or Zea Rotisserie & Grill, please visit http://www.zearestaurants.com.
Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises 970,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of nearly 13 million employees. We represent the industry in Washington, D.C., and advocate on its behalf. We operate the industry?s largest trade show (NRA Show May 5-8, 2012, in Chicago); leading food safety training and certification program (ServSafe); unique career-building high school program (the NRAEF?s ProStart, including the National ProStart Invitational April 27-29, 2012, in Baltimore, Md.); as well as the Kids LiveWell program promoting healthful kids? menu options. For more information, visit www.restaurant.org and find us on Twitter @WeRRestaurants, Facebook and YouTube.
Zea Rotisserie & Grill is the brainchild of Hans Limburg, Gary Darling, andGreg Reggio who together form the innovative culinary and restaurant development company Taste Buds, Inc. The first location of Zea Rotisserie & Grill opened in Harahan, LA in June 1997 and now has grown to six locations in the Greater New Orleans Area and beyond including Lafayette, LA; Baton Rouge, LA; Mobile, AL, and Birmingham, AL. Zea Rotisserie & Grill features inspired American food abundant with succulent roasted meats and selectionsfrom a wood-burning grill. Zea Rotisserie & Grill has won many awards for its signature menu items, such as the Spinach Salad with Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette and Thai Ribs. For more information about Zea Rotisserie & Grill locations and menu, visit www.zearestaurants.com.
Michael J. Fox Foundation grant to Dr. Samuel Young will provide Parkinson's drug development toolsPublic release date: 3-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dennis Tartaglia dtartaglia@tartagliacommunications.com 732-545-1848 Tartaglia Communications
Dr. Young, of Max Planck Florida Institute, to develop critical technology to help researchers investigate potential therapies
Samuel M. Young, Jr., PhD, research group leader at the new Max Planck Florida Institute (MPFI), has received his first grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF). The grant will enable Dr. Young and colleagues to develop a technology that will help scientists working in drug development to research potential treatments that target LRRK2, a Parkinson's-related gene. Globally, five million people have Parkinson's disease.
"We are excited about receiving The Michael J. Fox Foundation grant, as these grants are competitive and MJFF is the world's largest private funder of Parkinson's research," said Dr. Young, who directs MPFI's Molecular Mechanisms of Synaptic Function research group. "We believe that the tools we develop will prove important in advancing Parkinson's research."
Translational researchers working in Parkinson's disease have been hindered in studying the function of the LRRK2 gene in pre-clinical models of Parkinson's. This has been due to difficulty in expressing this gene with commonly used neuroscience research tools known as recombinant viral vectors. Dr. Young will develop tools that will allow researchers to get around this problem.
Mutations in the gene for leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are among the most common genetic links to Parkinson's disease yet discovered. LRRK2 has garnered much excitement among drug makers due to its reported protein kinase activity, which appears to be enhanced by Parkinson's disease-causing mutations.
"We are delighted that The Michael J. Fox Foundation has awarded Dr. Young with a grant to lead this critical project," said David Fitzpatrick, PhD, CEO and Scientific Director of MPFI. "This grant recognizes Dr. Young's specialized expertise, as well as our Institute's leadership role in neural circuit research."
Recombinant viral vectors are used by scientists to deliver genetic material into cells. Viruses have evolved specialized molecular mechanisms to efficiently transport their genomes inside the cells they infect. To create the vector, viruses are bioengineered to strip their viral genome or most of their viral genome, which renders them harmless. This enables them to carry transgene expression cassettes to express a gene of interest. The transgene expression cassette is a fragment of DNA that carries the regulatory elements necessary for cells to express specific genes within a cell or organism.
As the principal investigator of the project, Dr. Young will work with collaborators at other institutions to generate the optimal expression cassette to express LRRK2.
Dr. Young has specialized training that makes him the ideal investigator for this project. After training in virology and in recombinant viral vectors during his doctoral studies, Dr. Young switched fields and became a post-doctoral neuroscience researcher, learning electrophysiology techniques. He carried out a second post-doctoral position, gaining further experience with advanced electrophysiological techniques as well as calcium imaging. Using this unique training, which combines techniques in molecular, electrophysiological and biophysical methods, Dr. Young and his group at MPFI study the molecular mechanisms regulating synaptic function. Understanding these mechanisms is critical because the major causes of brain diseases are due to synaptic dysfunction.
Since Dr. Young's arrival at MPFI in 2010, he and his team have made significant progress in their research. After finding that most transgene expression cassettes were not optimized for high level expression for use in neuroscience research, the team, including Dr. Monica Montesinos and graduate student Zuxin Chen, developed and published a research manuscript describing a novel expression cassette known as "pUNISHER" for neuroscience applications. The cassette, which can be used inside a living organism (in vivo) or in cell culture (in vitro), has the potential to help the research of scientists studying the molecular mechanisms of brain function, and to ultimately be used in translational research on disorders such as Parkinson's, Huntington's and Alzheimer's diseases.
###
About Max Planck Florida Institute - The first institute outside of Germany created by the Max Planck Society, Max Planck Florida Institute brings together leading scientists representing a diversity of scientific disciplines and approaches in order to seek fundamental answers about brain function and neural circuits. These circuits form the complex synaptic networks of the brain, which determine who we are, how we think, and how we behave. Understanding of these circuits is still in its infancy. MPFI seeks to provide new insight into understanding the functional organization of the nervous system, its capacity to produce perception, thought, language, memory, emotion, and action and how it goes awry in neurological, neurodevelopmental and psychological disorders. MPFI meets this challenge by forging links between different levels of analysisgenetic, molecular, cellular, circuit, and behavioraland developing new technologies that make cutting edge scientific discoveries possible. The Institute currently has six research groups, each focusing on a different aspect and approach to neural circuit research, and will add three more groups when its new state-of-the-art research facility opens in summer 2012. For more information, visit www.maxplanckflorida.org.
About The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research - As the world's largest private funder of Parkinson's research, The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to accelerating a cure for Parkinson's disease and improved therapies for those living with the condition today. The Foundation pursues its goals through an aggressively funded, highly targeted research program coupled with active global engagement of scientists, Parkinson's patients, business leaders, clinical trial participants, donors and volunteers. In addition to funding more than $289 million in research to date, the Foundation has fundamentally altered the trajectory of progress toward a cure. Operating at the hub of worldwide Parkinson's research, the Foundation forges groundbreaking collaborations with industry leaders, academic scientists and government research funders; increases the flow of participants into Parkinson's disease clinical trials with its online tool, Fox Trial Finder; promotes Parkinson's awareness through high-profile advocacy, events and outreach; and coordinates the grassroots involvement of thousands of Team Fox members around the world. Now through December 31, 2012, all new and increased giving to The Michael J. Fox Foundation, as well as gifts from donors who have not given since 2010 or earlier, will be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis with the $50-million Brin Wojcicki Challenge, launched by Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki. For more information, visit: www.michaeljfox.org; www.facebook.com/michaeljfoxfoundation.
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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.
Michael J. Fox Foundation grant to Dr. Samuel Young will provide Parkinson's drug development toolsPublic release date: 3-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Dennis Tartaglia dtartaglia@tartagliacommunications.com 732-545-1848 Tartaglia Communications
Dr. Young, of Max Planck Florida Institute, to develop critical technology to help researchers investigate potential therapies
Samuel M. Young, Jr., PhD, research group leader at the new Max Planck Florida Institute (MPFI), has received his first grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF). The grant will enable Dr. Young and colleagues to develop a technology that will help scientists working in drug development to research potential treatments that target LRRK2, a Parkinson's-related gene. Globally, five million people have Parkinson's disease.
"We are excited about receiving The Michael J. Fox Foundation grant, as these grants are competitive and MJFF is the world's largest private funder of Parkinson's research," said Dr. Young, who directs MPFI's Molecular Mechanisms of Synaptic Function research group. "We believe that the tools we develop will prove important in advancing Parkinson's research."
Translational researchers working in Parkinson's disease have been hindered in studying the function of the LRRK2 gene in pre-clinical models of Parkinson's. This has been due to difficulty in expressing this gene with commonly used neuroscience research tools known as recombinant viral vectors. Dr. Young will develop tools that will allow researchers to get around this problem.
Mutations in the gene for leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are among the most common genetic links to Parkinson's disease yet discovered. LRRK2 has garnered much excitement among drug makers due to its reported protein kinase activity, which appears to be enhanced by Parkinson's disease-causing mutations.
"We are delighted that The Michael J. Fox Foundation has awarded Dr. Young with a grant to lead this critical project," said David Fitzpatrick, PhD, CEO and Scientific Director of MPFI. "This grant recognizes Dr. Young's specialized expertise, as well as our Institute's leadership role in neural circuit research."
Recombinant viral vectors are used by scientists to deliver genetic material into cells. Viruses have evolved specialized molecular mechanisms to efficiently transport their genomes inside the cells they infect. To create the vector, viruses are bioengineered to strip their viral genome or most of their viral genome, which renders them harmless. This enables them to carry transgene expression cassettes to express a gene of interest. The transgene expression cassette is a fragment of DNA that carries the regulatory elements necessary for cells to express specific genes within a cell or organism.
As the principal investigator of the project, Dr. Young will work with collaborators at other institutions to generate the optimal expression cassette to express LRRK2.
Dr. Young has specialized training that makes him the ideal investigator for this project. After training in virology and in recombinant viral vectors during his doctoral studies, Dr. Young switched fields and became a post-doctoral neuroscience researcher, learning electrophysiology techniques. He carried out a second post-doctoral position, gaining further experience with advanced electrophysiological techniques as well as calcium imaging. Using this unique training, which combines techniques in molecular, electrophysiological and biophysical methods, Dr. Young and his group at MPFI study the molecular mechanisms regulating synaptic function. Understanding these mechanisms is critical because the major causes of brain diseases are due to synaptic dysfunction.
Since Dr. Young's arrival at MPFI in 2010, he and his team have made significant progress in their research. After finding that most transgene expression cassettes were not optimized for high level expression for use in neuroscience research, the team, including Dr. Monica Montesinos and graduate student Zuxin Chen, developed and published a research manuscript describing a novel expression cassette known as "pUNISHER" for neuroscience applications. The cassette, which can be used inside a living organism (in vivo) or in cell culture (in vitro), has the potential to help the research of scientists studying the molecular mechanisms of brain function, and to ultimately be used in translational research on disorders such as Parkinson's, Huntington's and Alzheimer's diseases.
###
About Max Planck Florida Institute - The first institute outside of Germany created by the Max Planck Society, Max Planck Florida Institute brings together leading scientists representing a diversity of scientific disciplines and approaches in order to seek fundamental answers about brain function and neural circuits. These circuits form the complex synaptic networks of the brain, which determine who we are, how we think, and how we behave. Understanding of these circuits is still in its infancy. MPFI seeks to provide new insight into understanding the functional organization of the nervous system, its capacity to produce perception, thought, language, memory, emotion, and action and how it goes awry in neurological, neurodevelopmental and psychological disorders. MPFI meets this challenge by forging links between different levels of analysisgenetic, molecular, cellular, circuit, and behavioraland developing new technologies that make cutting edge scientific discoveries possible. The Institute currently has six research groups, each focusing on a different aspect and approach to neural circuit research, and will add three more groups when its new state-of-the-art research facility opens in summer 2012. For more information, visit www.maxplanckflorida.org.
About The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research - As the world's largest private funder of Parkinson's research, The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to accelerating a cure for Parkinson's disease and improved therapies for those living with the condition today. The Foundation pursues its goals through an aggressively funded, highly targeted research program coupled with active global engagement of scientists, Parkinson's patients, business leaders, clinical trial participants, donors and volunteers. In addition to funding more than $289 million in research to date, the Foundation has fundamentally altered the trajectory of progress toward a cure. Operating at the hub of worldwide Parkinson's research, the Foundation forges groundbreaking collaborations with industry leaders, academic scientists and government research funders; increases the flow of participants into Parkinson's disease clinical trials with its online tool, Fox Trial Finder; promotes Parkinson's awareness through high-profile advocacy, events and outreach; and coordinates the grassroots involvement of thousands of Team Fox members around the world. Now through December 31, 2012, all new and increased giving to The Michael J. Fox Foundation, as well as gifts from donors who have not given since 2010 or earlier, will be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis with the $50-million Brin Wojcicki Challenge, launched by Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki. For more information, visit: www.michaeljfox.org; www.facebook.com/michaeljfoxfoundation.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
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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.
It's no miracle cure, but new research into retinal implants is showing promising results. Patients in the UK and Hong Kong have been restored rudimentary sight after years of blindness through the use of light-sensitive microchips in the eye.
The idea of a retinal implant is not new, and studies reach back 10 to 15 years, but the science is getting to the point where such a device may actually become a prescribed treatment. The current tests, by German medical research company Retina Implant AG, show that not only is the procedure safe, but even in an early state it can have highly beneficial results for the visually?impaired.
Chris James and Robin Millar in the UK and?Tsang Wu Suet Yun in Hong Kong?are all?receiving experimental implant treatment for retinitis pigmentosa. The condition causes the light-sensing retina at the back of the eye to deteriorate, leading to blindness but leaving the optic nerve and vision-processing portions of the brain intact. Of the various forms of blindness, retinal degeneration is the most promising for treatment, as replacing or repairing other parts of the visual system can be far more complicated.
Retinal implants perform the duties of the rod and cone cells in the retina, detecting light and reporting it to the other cells, which then carry that information to the brain. The tiny (0.1?x?0.1 in.)?implant being tested on these patients is controlled and powered by a second chip implanted behind the ear ? a more accessible location for plugs and buttons than inside the eye.
The image produced by the sensor is low-resolution even under ideal conditions and with the?brain interpreting the data correctly, but?the patients reported various positive effects. They were all able to orient themselves towards light sources, determine basic shapes up close, and one man even claims it has restored his ability to dream in color.
These clinical trials are expected to last a year if there are no problems, and even if all goes well there are many more obstacles to overcome. But the rapidly advancing?research going on worldwide indicates that it is only a matter of time.
Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. His personal website is coldewey.cc.
Having haunted our curtailed childhoods with tiny, disgusting horrors, the scanning electron microscope is about to get a new lease of life in 3D. Researchers in Japan have figured out how to deflect the electron beam rapidly to give two slightly shifted views, so real-time 3D images can now been scoped on a monitor without even the need for eye-wear. Current gear can only muster flat images, so it's always been painfully slow for scientists to extract convexity and other details from objects. Though the 3D-version is lower-res than the old way, at least now all those slimy mandibles and egg sacs will be right there in your face. Nice.
UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts organization, recognized as the largest MMA promotion in the world. The UFC is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada and is owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC. This promotion is responsible for solidifying the sport?s postion in the history-books. UFC is currently undergoing a remarkable surge in popularity, along with greater mainstream media coverage. UFC programming can now be seen on Spike TV in the United States, as well as in 35 other countries worldwide.
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"Mental health is an essential component of good health. Being mentally healthy enables individuals to function well in life and at work. Mental illness and mental health problems can affect an individual?s capacity to work productively, their physical health and their risk of injury. In this way poor mental health impacts on workplaces through increased absenteeism, less than optimal productivity while at work (presenteeism), and increased work place injury. It can also have an adverse effect on work colleagues, family members and the community."
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