NHL drafts the wrong players due to birthday bias, study suggests

Feb. 27, 2013 ? A hockey player's birthday strongly biases how professional teams assess his talent, according to a new study by Grand Valley State University researchers. The findings were published in the online journal PLOS ONE.

The research, led by Robert Deaner, associate professor of psychology at Grand Valley, shows that, on average, National Hockey League (NHL) draftees born between July and December are much more likely than those born in the first three months of the year to have successful careers. In particular, 34 percent of draftees were born in the last six months of the year, but these individuals played 42 percent of the games and scored 44 percent of the points accumulated by those in the study. By contrast, those born in the first three months of the year constituted 36 percent of draftees but only played 28 percent of the games and only scored 25 percent of the points.

The study focused on Canadian players because in Canadian youth ice hockey there is a January 1 cut-off date. This means players born later in the year would have been consistently younger than their age group peers.

"There's no doubt that drafting professional athletes is an inexact science," said Deaner. "Plenty of sure-fire first-round picks fizzle while some late-round picks unexpectedly become stars. But our results show that, at least since 1980, NHL teams have been consistently fooled by players' birthdays or something associated with them. They greatly underestimate the promise of players born in the second half of the year, the ones who have always been relatively younger than their peers. For any given draft slot, relatively younger players are about twice as likely to be successful. So if teams really wanted to win, they should have drafted more of the relatively younger players."

Background and Significance

Previous studies have demonstrated relative age effects (RAEs), which occur when those who are relatively older for their age group are more likely to succeed. For example, in elite Canadian youth ice hockey, roughly 40 percent of players are born in the first three months of the year while only 15 percent are born in the last three months. Although RAEs are well established in many sports and educational settings, their underlying causes remain unclear. The new study provides the most direct evidence yet that selection bias is a crucial cause of RAEs. Selection bias means that evaluators, such as teachers and coaches, grant fewer opportunities to relatively younger individuals than is warranted by their talent.

"There are many possible causes of RAEs," said Deaner. "For instance, a youth coach may mainly select relatively older players because those players' greater size means they are actually more likely to help the team. Researchers believe, however, that selection bias is also a big cause of RAEs, but there has never been a direct test of selection bias. We could make this test because we had a good measure of perceived talent, the order or slot in which each player was drafted. And we had good measures of realized talent, how long they were able to stay in the NHL and how many points they scored there. Because relatively younger players consistently performed better than would be expected based on their draft slots, we've shown selection bias."

The researchers admit that they don't fully understand the selection bias they discovered. "We don't know yet why the evaluations of NHL teams are biased, but there are several ways it could work. Because being many months older than one's peers can be a big advantage as a child or early teen, the relatively older players might be more likely to be on the most elite junior teams when they are 17 or 18, and scouts might be swayed by that," said Deaner. "Another possibility, suggested by educational studies, is an 'underdog' effect. This would involve relatively younger individuals developing better work habits so that they improve more in adulthood."

The authors believe their pro hockey results have implications for education. Deaner noted: "We have to be careful about assuming too much because a teacher deciding which children should be tracked into advanced classes is a much different situation than hockey teams assessing which adults are likely to develop into NHL stars. But, for many reasons, one would think that NHL teams should be less biased than educators. First, NHL teams are evaluating adults not children, meaning that relative age differences are proportionally smaller. Second, NHL teams are aware of RAEs, but educators may not be. Third, NHL teams have vast resources to evaluate individuals while educators do not. Fourth, NHL teams pay a steep price for poor evaluation whereas educators may not. So overall, in many situations, evaluations of ability may be greatly colored by an individual's relative age. This may even happen when the teachers and coaches know about RAEs."

Co-authors of the study were Aaron Lowen of Grand Valley State University and Steven Cobley of the University of Sydney.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Grand Valley State University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Robert O. Deaner, Aaron Lowen, Stephen Cobley. Born at the Wrong Time: Selection Bias in the NHL Draft. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (2): e57753 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0057753

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/aiKTLbZhmbM/130227183506.htm

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Jailed Kurdish rebel leader proposes peace plan

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) ? The imprisoned leader of Kurdish rebels has outlined a peace plan in which his fighters would declare a cease-fire by March and lay down arms and begin retreating from Turkey in the summer, officials said Wednesday.

Turkey's government said in December that it is engaged in talks with Abdullah Ocalan, who has been held in a prison island off Istanbul since 1999, with the aim of convincing his autonomy-seeking rebel group to disarm and end the 28-year-old conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people since 1984.

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc told private NTV television in an interview that Ocalan had sent letters to a Kurdish political party and rebel commanders calling on the fighters to halt attacks as of the March 21 spring festival of Nowruz, which is celebrated by Kurds and is usually the scene of violent clashes between Kurds and Turkish security forces. Ocalan also wants his Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, to lay down arms around July and August and start withdrawing from Turkey, Arinc said.

Kurdish legislator Nazmi Gur confirmed to The Associated Press that the Kurdish party had received a 20-page letter from Ocalan outlining his proposals for peace, but did not disclose any of the details.

"It's his draft peace proposal," Gur said. "The ultimate version will take shape after input and proposals from the (Kurdish) party and others involved."

Turkish officials have not revealed details of their talks with Ocalan, but said they were aiming for a deal that would include the declaration of a cease-fire and thousands of rebels' withdrawal from Turkish territory to bases they hold in northern Iraq. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the rebels would not be attacked while retreating from Turkey.

Sabah newspaper and other media said Ocalan's proposal foresees the PKK fighters' withdrawal from Turkey by Aug. 15, when the group marks the anniversary of the start of its armed struggle in 1984.

In return, Ocalan "expects" Turkey to release hundreds of Kurdish activists from prisons, ensure that Kurdish rights are safeguarded in a new constitution and grant more powers to local administrations, the newspaper said. The plan does not envision autonomy or a federation for Kurds, it said.

Sabah also said Ocalan had asked Turkey's legal Kurdish party, the Peace and Democracy Party, and the PKK to respond to his letter within two weeks.

"This is a historic process," Gur, the Kurdish legislator said, adding that there was widespread support by Kurds for peace.

He said however, that Kurds, who make up around 20 percent of Turkey's population of about 75 million, would be watching closely to see if Turkey carries out reforms.

Turkey is expected to amend its legislation in a way that would no longer make it a crime to publicly praise Kurdish rebels, which could lead to Kurdish activists' release from prison. Political parties are also working to draft a new constitution, which Kurds hope will improve minority rights.

"We are still at the start of a very difficult process," Arinc said. "We must not be dreamers, but we must remain hopeful."

Erdogan said late Tuesday his government was determined to end the conflict with the PKK, saying he "would drink poison" if needed to achieve peace.

But officials have also said Turkey has no intention of halting its military drive until the rebels lay down arms and Firat news, a website close to the rebels, said Turkish jets had pounded some suspected Kurdish rebel targets in a cross-border raid in northern Iraq late Tuesday. There was no official confirmation of the raid.

The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union.

In November, hundreds of Kurdish prisoners linked to the PKK heeded a call from Ocalan and abandoned a hunger strike pressing for greater Kurdish rights and improved prison conditions for the rebel leader. The incident demonstrated Ocalan still holds sway over the rebels even after 13 years of being in prison.

In a brief message conveyed by a group of Kurdish legislators who were allowed to visit Ocalan last week, Ocalan suggested that the PKK could release some government officials and soldiers it has captured.

But rebel leader Duran Kalkan was quoted by Firat news as saying that such a step would only be possible if "the democratic process advances" and there is a "softening of the atmosphere."

Arinc said: "I believe the (captive soldiers and officials) could be returned to their families, but this is not a matter that can be used for bargaining."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jailed-kurdish-rebel-leader-proposes-peace-plan-135205307.html

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Virus shows promise as prostate cancer treatment

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

A recombinant Newcastle disease virus kills all kinds of prostate cancer cells, including hormone resistant cells, but leaves normal cells unscathed, according to a paper published online ahead of print in the Journal of Virology. A treatment for prostate cancer based on this virus would avoid the adverse side effects typically associated with hormonal treatment for prostate cancer, as well as those associated with cancer chemotherapies generally, says corresponding author Subbiah Elankumaran of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg. The modified virus is now ready to be tested in preclinical animal models, and possibly in phase I human clinical trials.

Newcastle disease virus kills chickens, but does not harm humans. It is an oncolytic virus that hones in on tumors, and has shown promising results in a number of human clinical trials for various forms of cancer. However, successful treatments have required multiple injections of large quantities of virus, because in such trials the virus probably failed to reach solid tumors in sufficient quantities, and spread poorly within the tumors.

The researchers addressed this problem by modifying the virus's fusion protein. Fusion protein fuses the virus envelope to the cell membrane, enabling the virus to enter the host cell. These proteins are activated by being cleaved by any of a number of different cellular proteases. They modified the fusion protein in their construct such that it can be cleaved only by prostate specific antigen (which is a protease). That minimizes off-target losses, because these "retargeted" viruses interact only with prostate cancer cells, thus reducing the amount of virus needed for treatment.

Retargeted Newcastle disease virus has major potential advantages over other cancer therapies, says Elankumaran. First, its specificity for prostate cancer cells means it would not attack normal cells, thereby avoiding the various unpleasant side effects of conventional chemotherapies. In previous clinical trials, even with extremely large doses of naturally occurring strains, "only mild flu-like symptoms were seen in cancer patients," says Elankumaran. Second, it would provide a new treatment for hormone-refractory patients, without the side effects of testosterone suppression that result from hormonal treatments.

About one man in six will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and one in 36 will die of this disease. Men whose prostate cancer becomes refractory to hormone treatment have a median survival of about 40 months if they have bone metastases, and 68 months if they do not have bone metastases.

###

Paper: http://www.asm.org/images/Communications/tips/2013/0213prostate.pdf

American Society for Microbiology: http://www.asm.org

Thanks to American Society for Microbiology for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127018/Virus_shows_promise_as_prostate_cancer_treatment

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Circumnavigating Life's Detours | World of Psychology

?A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.?
~ Anonymous

The one thing about life that is certain is its unpredictability. Nothing stays the same forever. Every day we are bombarded with new stimuli, new challenges and new events.

For some of us, unpredictability creates a state of panic; it keeps us up at night and distracts us from enjoying the world around us. People like being in control of their social world and vulnerability is seen as a sign of weakness.

Uncertainty is so abhorred that Berger and Calabrese (1975) proposed the uncertainty reduction theory. The theory asserts that the anxiety created by uncertainty of the social world motivates people to reduce and avoid uncertainty.

So how can we better navigate around life?s inevitable detours?

Most of us are taught the importance of planning, being highly structured and organized. We have at our disposal copious technological devices designed to ensure that we stay on the right track within the right time frame. While spontaneity remains the spice of life, we relish existing within the confines of predictability (a safe and comfortable environment). Life, however, takes its own twists and turns, and for good reason. If it did not, we would quickly get bored.

I once encountered a woman suffering from severe depression. In her early 30s, she stated that her life is nothing like she imagined it would be. She revealed all her expected dreams and aspirations in a wonderfully detailed timeline. However, she despaired over all the obstacles, setbacks and wrong turns she had taken that have ?prevented? her from achieving her dreams.

I asked her ?if you were driving to town, and there was a roadblock, what would you do? Would you stay at the roadblock until the road was repaired, then proceed to drive to your destination?? With a confused expression she vehemently stated that she would have done the most sensible thing: ?Find another route.?

It is easy to become discouraged when things do not go according to plan. We all want things to turn out perfectly. But, just as we won?t sit by a roadblock waiting for the road to open, we should not sit at life?s roadblocks and despair about how difficult or unfair life is. There is always more than one way to get from point A to point B.

Erikson speaks about this in the last stage of his psychosocial theory of development. When we look back at our life, how are we going to see it? We have two options: We can anguish over all the obstacles and roadblocks that came our way, or we can enjoy the scenery of different routes, take pictures along the way, meet new people, develop new skills and practice acceptance.

How can we challenge ourselves to enjoy the scenery of a detour?

1. Be flexible.Make plans but do not ever cast them in stone. Leave room for life?s curveballs. From an evolutionary perspective we are designed to be able to adapt. Use this to your full advantage.
2. Increase coping skills.Consciously engage in activities that increase your ability to cope with uncertainty, e.g. finding humor in situations.
3. Determine the controllable vs. uncontrollable events.Do not ruminate on events that are beyond your control. Focus instead on the events in your life that you can control and practice acceptance of those that you cannot.
4. Meditate. The positive benefits of meditation cannot be overestimated. Meditation can create a state of calm and equanimity, decreasing your chances of experiencing panic in response to a detour.

Reference

Berger, C.R. & Calabrese, R.J. (1975). Some explorations in initial interaction and beyond: Toward a developmental theory of interpersonal communication. Human Communication Research, 1, 99-112.

Alina Williams works as a clinical psychologist in Trinidad and Tobago. She is also employed as a senior lecturer in psychology at the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts. She is an avid reader of memoirs and biographies that relate to mental illnesses. She has a keen interest in understanding cognitive processes in human behavior.

Like this author?
Catch up on other posts by Alina Williams, M.Sc. (or subscribe to their feed).

????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 25 Feb 2013
????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
Williams, A. (2013). Circumnavigating Life?s Detours. Psych Central. Retrieved on February 27, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/02/26/circumnavigating-lifes-detours/

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Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/02/26/circumnavigating-lifes-detours/

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Finding your target audience: A dozen people can help you succeed ...

SLIPSTREAMstudio on Etsy

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By Dixie Laite

First, let?s get this straight: You are not Coke.

Coca-Cola needs millions of people to know about and drink their soda in order to be successful. Their brand?s target audience are men, women, and children at every income level, who have drunk soda in the past and will likely do so again. In other words, their target audience is?I think the technical marketing term is??just about everybody.?

That?s not you. Your target audience is not just about everybody. (And if you think it is, you are wrong.)

You want to think about your target audience. In social media, who is most likely to want to consume your content? In the world we live in, who is most likely to want your product or service?

At a recent speaking engagement, I met a woman who wanted to market her pet photography business. When I asked her to describe her target audience she said, ?Everyone.? I told her to narrow it, and she said, ?Everyone with a pet.? But when I asked her to think more critically about who was most likely to want to spend hundreds of dollars on a photograph of his or her pet, she conceded that the category was narrower. In fact, people with certain income levels, certain lifestyles and certain feelings about the role their pet plays in their life are more likely to use her services than others.

In the same way, you need to think critically and analyze the people who make up your target audience. Think in terms of demographics: their age, race, income, location, occupation, political affiliation, social status, education, and family life. Also, think in terms of psychographics: interests, sensibilities, hobbies, aesthetics, sexuality, and their perspectives, fears, hopes and dreams.

You might try writing this all down. Work up some profiles of the types of customers you can likely attract. Give them names, ages, and add details that will help you visualize them. Here?s an example:

Let?s say I want to build a site called The Lost Art of Being a Dame. The site will explore how women from the past can inspire women today in becoming their best?their smartest, strongest, sassiest, sexiest?selves. My audience profile might look like this:

Women 18?65, interested in popular culture and human potential topics. They enjoy learning about the past, not living in it. Playful with a serious side, they see no paradox in exploring both style and substance simultaneously. They see no dichotomy in being a feminist and an unabashed lipstick connoisseur; thoroughly enjoying and analytically scrutinizing even the most mundane pop culture details; and in being cool and cynical and being unable to resist the latest self-help tome.

Then I would get more specific by identifying narrower potential audience segments:

• VINTAGE VIXENS: Tattooed Millennials who aspire to look like Bettie Page, wear vintage clothes or reproductions and profess a love of Turner Classic Movies.
• FOXY FEMINISTAS: Women 25?45 who pored over issues of Sassy before graduating to Bust Magazine. Smart college-educated readers who unabashedly admit the Real Housewives and US Weekly as guilty pleasures.
• MENOPAUSAL MAVENS: Women 45?65 trying to figure out or re-define what middle-aged means in the 21st century. They take martial arts classes, subscribe to More magazine and are a wee bit addicted to net-a-porter.
• CULTURE CURATORS: Old movie aficionados, pop culture purists, performers, designers, stylists and others who have an insatiable interest in the first half of the 20th century.
• SELF-HELP SEEKERS: Women of all ages interested in new ways to explore human potential, self-development, self-improvement and spirituality. They read Oprah, they?ve read The Secret, and they know their way around an affirmation.

I would want to keep these women, my target audience, in mind when I strategize, create content or market my wares.

We live in a world overflowing with content and products and services. If you try to target the masses, you can?t. There are too many of them, and they have too many choices. You will get lost or ignored.

As Seth Godin says, ?You can no longer market to the anonymous masses. They?re not anonymous and they?re not masses.? If you are starting out, your goal isn?t to create content for 100,000 people. Your goal, initially, is to engage about 20 people?the right people.

Traditional ?cast a wide net??type marketing just doesn?t work like it once did. Why? ?In part because there?s so much of it, in part because people have learned to ignore it, in part because the rise of the Internet means that companies can go beyond it,? explains William C. Taylor, Fast Company?s founding editor.

Mr. Godin goes as far to say that first you need to find just 10 people??10 people who trust you/respect you/need you/listen to you.? These ten people, says Seth, exemplify your target audience:

Those ten people need what you have to sell, or want it. And if they love it, you win. If they love it, they?ll each find you ten more people (or a hundred or a thousand or, perhaps, just three). Repeat.

He advises that entrepreneurs plan not on a big splashy (and expensive) launch, but rather on a gradual build. In other words, stop thinking in terms of Coke and Super Bowl ads. Stop thinking about wide nets, hundreds of ?Likes,? and thousands of Twitter followers.

Don?t obsess about numbers and size and splash. Obsess about the only things you should obsess about: Really serving the people you really can serve.

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This is the 16th episode of ?15 Minutes of Dame,? a column published every other Tuesday to help you create, develop and promote the living crap out of your brand. Dixie Laite has been putting the ?broad? in broadcasting for over 20 years, working in television, online, print and marketing for a variety of major media brands. Currently Senior Editorial Director at MTV Networks? TeenNick, she also freelances as a writer, digital content strategist and speaker. Check out her new blog,?The Lost Art of Being a Dame.?Follow Dixie?@DameStyle?and?Pinterest.?Dixie really wants to hear from you?please post your comments below!

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Want to be reminded when Dixie?s column is published??Click here to sign up for our monthly e-newsletter. It?s not spammy.

Source: http://diybusinessassociation.com/finding-your-target-audience-a-dozen-people-can-help-you-succeed/

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Titanic replica plans to repeat ill-fated cruise: Second time's the charm?

A Titanic replica, complete with smokestacks (decorative) and lifeboats (improved), has already sold 40,000 tickets to re-attempt the 'unsinkable' ship's doomed cruise from England to New York.

By Eileen AJ Connelly,?Associated Press / February 26, 2013

The Titanic II cruises at sea in this artist's rendering provided by Blue Star Line. The ship, which Australian billionaire Clive Palmer is planning to build in China, is scheduled to sail in 2016.

Blue Star Line / AP

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An Australian billionaire is getting ready to build a new version of the?Titanic?that could set sail in late 2016.

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Clive Palmer unveiled blueprints for the famously doomed ship's namesake Tuesday at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York. He said construction is scheduled to start soon in China.

Palmer said 40,000 people have expressed interest in tickets for the maiden voyage, taking the original course from Southampton, England, to New York. He said people are inspired by his quest to replicate one of the most famous vessels in history.

"We all live on this planet, we all breathe the same air and, of course, the?Titanic?is about the things we've got in common," he said. "It links three continents."

The original?Titanic?was the world's largest and most luxurious ocean liner when it hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank on April 15, 1912. Only 700 people of the more than 2,200 on board survived the most famous maritime disaster in history, partly because there were not enough lifeboats to carry everyone.

Palmer said an unknown when the original ship sailed ? climate change ? may play into a positive for the new ship's fate.

"One of the benefits of global warming is there hasn't been as many icebergs in the North Atlantic these days," Palmer said.

Passengers on board the replica will dress in the fashion of that period and eat dishes from the original menu, in dining rooms copied from the ill-fated predecessor.

Joining Palmer on Tuesday was Helen Benziger, the great granddaughter of?Titanic?survivor Margaret "Molly" Brown. Benziger, who agreed to serve on the advisory board for the?Titanic?II, said her great grandmother, who died in 1932, would have loved to see the?Titanic?rebuilt and complete the journey it never got to finish.

In what some may consider a temptation of fate for a remake of a notoriously "unsinkable" ship that sank, a representative of the Finnish designer of the?Titanic?II said it will be the "safest cruise ship in the world."

Markku Kanerva, director of sales for marine design company Deltamarin said that while the vessel is modeled after the legendary liner ? the diesel-powered ship will even have four decorative smoke stacks mimicking the coal-powered originals ? it will meet modern navigation and safety requirements.

In addition, plans call for a new "safety deck" featuring state-of-the-art lifeboats, safety chutes and slides. The new ship will also have amenities unknown a century ago, like air conditioning.

Palmer, who is funding construction of the ship himself, built his fortune in real estate and coal. Australia's BRW magazine estimated his net worth last year at $4 billion, although Forbes puts it at $895 million.

"I want to spend the money I've got before I die," he said. "You might as well spend it, not leave it to the kids to spend, there will be enough left for them anyway."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/mm-Gpus_T_Q/Titanic-replica-plans-to-repeat-ill-fated-cruise-Second-time-s-the-charm

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Commerical Real Estate Tips From The Pros - Nasdaq Report News

Investing in commercial real estate has many rewards, but it also comes with devoting considerable time and effort. Perhaps you are confused about where to start. This article is for all you commercial property tycoons out there, and it is packed full of tips that will help to get you started in the commercial property market.

Don?t underestimate the value of networking with other investors or with private lenders when trying to purchase commercial real estate. Many commercial real estate is bought and sold without ever being on the market. Networking far and wide will keep you up-to-date on what?s going on in the industry and also make you privy to great deals.

Watch for motivated sellers. Sometimes you will find sellers who are willing and able to sell well below the market value. When you find the motivated seller, you?ll find your deal; nothing can happen before then.

When purchasing commercial real estate, always keep your goals in mind. Will you lease the property out or conduct business there yourself? You should sit down and make specific and straightforward goals for your commercial property, as it will save you time and effort.

One of the biggest differences between a residential loan and a commercial one is the size of the down payment you?re required to make. Try to locate the best lenders; then try asking for any quality investments. Both of these are a great way for you to increase your changes of qualifying for a commercial loan.

Unit Property

When investing in commercial real estate, go bigger. You may find that upkeep and operations for a twenty-unit property may actually be comparable to those required of a five-unit property. You must get commercial financing for any commercial venture, whether 5 units or 50 or more. The more units you finance, the less cost per unit!

Get a site checklist if you are viewing more than one property. Whilst you can take the first proposal responses, make sure that you don?t go any further without first informing the property owners of your plans. Consider allowing it to slip out that you are also looking at other properties. You might walk away with more money in your pocket.

Only work with companies that are sincerely interested in the success of their customers. Otherwise, it might cost you a lot of money in the future for something you could have easily avoided.

Real Estate

Be cautious of signing standard lease forms when leasing commercial real estate. Real estate companies often insert additional caveats in the fine print of long lease documents; take as much time as you need to read and understand what you?re signing. Only by going through the document with care can you prevent the potential pains and aches that you can get from standard commercial lease paperwork.

To prepare for any sizable investment in commercial real estate, investigate indicators of fiscal health around the property in question, such as average income levels for nearby residents, rates of employment and unemployment, and whether jobs in the area are rising or falling. Having a house located near a hospital, business sector, university or other school will greatly increase your home?s value, and provide you with a better chance for quickly selling it.

Focus on only one investment at the same time. You will get better results if you stick to a single type of investment rather than doing land leasing, apartments, and offices all at once. Each kind demands and is worthy of your complete and focused attention. Mastering one type of investment will set you up for success much faster then spreading yourself across many mediocre investments.

Clearly, owning and purchasing commercial property takes work, effort and research so that your experience is as favorable as possible. It?s also worth mentioning that it?s a never-ending process. Take the advice from this article to heart, and follow it and your dream of owning commercial property.

It?s great to know that you can do very well if you learn about Business News. Because you are now armed with this excellent advice, your life can be much easier. Use this knowledge to your advantage and you won?t have any problems in the future getting things done.

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Source: http://nasdaqreportnews.com/2013/02/27/commerical-real-estate-tips-from-the-pros/

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Italy's Berlusconi: ignore the 'crazy' markets

ROME (AP) ? Italy's post-election political paralysis is spooking financial markets. But former Premier Silvio Berlusconi, whose strong showing defied pro-Europe pundits who thought he was politically finished, insists a government can be formed.

The conservative leader said Tuesday that Italians should ignore the "crazy" markets. His center-left rivals won Parliament's lower house after votes were counted Monday. But they failed to win an absolute majority in the upper house.

Pro-Europe leaders, who were hoping Italy would stay the course of tough economic reforms, are rattled by the prospects of legislative gridlock. Berlusconi says having another election soon won't solve problems, and called on fellow leaders to "make some sacrifices," an apparent call for a coalition government.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-02-26-Italy-Elections/id-c9e255be3f1e4e279c8a3b0b77ed7b9a

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Oscars Red Carpet: The Best Moments You Didn't See

MTV News' memorable run-ins with Kristen Stewart, Jennifer Lawrence and other A-listers — with co-host Al Roker?
By Josh Horowitz

Kristen Stewart at the 2013 Oscars
Photo: Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702524/oscars-2013-red-carpet-best-moments.jhtml

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Video: Jennifer Lawrence, ?Argo? win big at Oscars

>> for seth mcfarlane , his opening monologue did last 17 minutes, kicked off a night filled with singing, dancing and awards.

>>> and the oscar goes to -- argo.

>> in a surprise appearance from the white house , first lady michelle obama announced the winner for best picture . ben affleck expressed gratitude for this win.

>> it doesn't matter that you get knocked down in life because that's going to happen. all that matters is that you get back up.

>>> and best actress , a bit of a stumble.

>> you're just standing up because you feel bad that i fell. thank you.

>> later celebrating with her family at the governor's ball.

>> and the oscar goes to daniel day lewis .

>> oscar winner meryl streep presented the award to daniel day lewis for his role in "lincoln."

>> i had actually been committed to play margaret thatcher .

>> in the directing category, ang lee won for " life of pi ." from "django unchained," christoph wallets won for best supporting actor . another performance from the cast of " les miserables ." a moving in memoriam, and "adele" from "skyfall," that went on to win best original song .

>> and the quest to beat tommy lee jones starts now.

>> song and dance for a big welcome. and as the credits ran, the end of the night alongside kristin chenowith and a tribute to the evening's losers. he said before the show this was a one-time thing for him.

>> one and done.

>> what did you think of his performance?

>> he is extremely talented. i agree with savannah that the opening was too long.

>> it's a thankless task. i'm not going to join the legions of people criticizing.

>> there's enough of those people.

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50939224/

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Oil ends lower on Italy elections, crude supplies

NEW YORK (AP) ? The price of oil was lower Tuesday as investors weighed the implications of political uncertainty in Italy, the latest assessment of the economy from the head of the Federal Reserve and prospects for growing US crude supplies.

Benchmark crude for April delivery finished down 48 cents at $92.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price dropped below $92 earlier in the session.

Brent crude, used to price many kinds of oil imported by U.S. refineries, fell $1.73 to end at $112.71 on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

Stock and commodities markets were initially rattled by the possibility of political paralysis in Italy after nearly complete results in crucial national elections showed no clear front-runner. Investors worried that the uncertainty could intensify Europe's debt crisis.

"It seems that Italy is repeating the same story as Greece, bringing renewed uncertainty about European political and economic conditions and further volatility and nervous trading across the markets," said a report from Sucden Financial Research in London.

Benchmark U.S. crude cut some of its early losses after economic data released Tuesday showed further improvement in sales of new homes and housing prices, as well as an increase in consumer confidence. U.S. stock indexes rose, reversing a sharp decline on Monday.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivered the central bank's semiannual report on the economy to Congress on Tuesday. Bernanke signaled that the Fed's efforts to keep borrowing costs low will continue. He downplayed concerns that the Fed's easy-money policies could mean runaway inflation later or bubbles in assets like stocks.

The Energy Department's weekly report on U.S. stockpiles of crude oil is due on Wednesday. Data for the week ending Feb. 22 are expected to show an increase of 2.6 million barrels in crude oil stocks, according to a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. The nation's oil supplies are at the highest levels since the 1990's.

Gas pump prices stayed around a national average of $3.78 a gallon, up almost 4 cents from a week ago and about 44 cents higher than a month ago.

In other energy futures trading on Nymex:

? Wholesale gasoline fell 6 cents to finish at $3.20 a gallon.

? Heating oil dropped 7 cents to end at $3.03 a gallon.

? Natural gas rose 1 cent to finish at $3.43 per 1,000 cubic feet.

__

Martin Crutsinger in Washington and Pablo Gorondi in Budapest contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/oil-ends-lower-italy-elections-crude-supplies-202836014--finance.html

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TV production helicopter crash described

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A preliminary report on a fatal helicopter crash during production of a reality TV show north of Los Angeles says the craft suddenly pitched down and hit the ground about a minute after taking off in early morning darkness on Feb. 10.

The National Transportation Safety Board says the production crew on the ground was not filming at the time, but there was a camera operator aboard and a camera pointed at an actor in the left front seat. The recording devices were sent to NTSB headquarters for examination.

The pilot, camera operator and actor were killed in the 3:30 a.m. crash of the Bell 206B JetRanger at a remote site near Acton.

The helicopter was being used for scenes in which the actor dropped a backpack to the ground.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-25-US-California-Helicopter-Crash/id-e2791e6948024f6295d1a65d992a4fdd

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Alt-week 2.24.13: Mapping the brain, discovering dark matter and our inevitable, grizzly end

Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.

The discovery of what is hoped to be the Higgs boson was an exciting time for anyone with a curious mind. It turns out, that the price of knowledge is often a heavy one. Without putting too much of a negative spin on it... that teeny-weeny boson could predict bad news. On a lighter -- or is that darker -- note, other areas of science and technology bravely march ever-onward with the goal of a better understanding of life, the universe, and tattoos. This is alt-week.

Filed under: Science, Alt

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/DAGs4i4OaQs/

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New Vinson App Offers A Vision of Mobile TV If It Was Crammed Into An iPad

Remember "mobile TV", whatever that was? No we don't either, but that's not about to deter new startup Vinson which is launching their their new mobile OTT (Over The Top) TV app on iOS for broadcasters, content aggregators and content distributors at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Essentially this is watching live TV on a tablet, with the full TV guide, plus PVR/time-shifting, plus "social" features for shared watching experiences. They've basically crammed a vision of the future TV into an app, and it looks pretty good.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/pmv3ggpakBI/

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Nokia Lumia 521 bringing Windows Phone 8 pizazz exclusively to T-Mobile

Neither Nokia nor T-Mobile USA are spilling too many beans on the Lumia 521, but needless to say, it's heading exclusively to Señorita Magenta in the near future. Announced in a blurb here at Mobile World Congress, the Windows Phone 8 handset will connect to T-Mob's HSPA+ network, and the carrier swears that it'll "embody a range of high-end features at an affordable price." Of course, additional details -- including device availability and specifics on pricing -- are being kept under wraps until a heretofore undefined date. We'll be sure to share more as we hear of it.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Nokia, T-Mobile

Comments

Source: T-Mobile USA

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/nokia-lumia-521-windows-phone-8-exclusively-to-t-mobile/

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Quentin Tarantino's 'Django Unchained' Wins Writing Oscar

Controversial filmmaker thanks the 'Django' cast for bringing his characters to life.
By Josh Wigler

Quentin Tarantino at the 2013 Oscars
Photo: Christopher Polk/ Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1702520/django-unchained-quentin-tarantino-oscar.jhtml

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Can We Really Stop Bullying?

What do you do if your kid is a bully?

Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters

Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy is Slate senior editor Emily Bazelon's in-depth look at bullying and a blueprint for how to reduce it. She tells compelling stories from the perspective of both the bullied and the bullies, explores the new world of online bullying, looks deep into the academic literature, and provides answers to the problem. She discussed it all with Slate's ?Dear Prudence? columnist, Emily Yoffe.

Emily Yoffe: What was the most surprising thing your reporting turned up?

Emily Bazelon: One piece of research in particular helped me understand why kids bully?how that can be a rational, if unfortunate, choice. Robert Faris at U.C. Davis mapped social networks in a few different high schools, and he showed that kids behaving aggressively?not physically, but socially?use gossip, exclusion, and attacks on other kids? reputations to help themselves move up the social ladder. It turned out that for most kids, it didn?t work, in terms of increasing status, to attack someone much weaker. But if you picked on someone near you in the social hierarchy who was a possible rival, that often had a social benefit. It is sort of depressing but important to understand, I think. People ask: Why do kids act this way? But kids are doing what anyone would do: maximizing their social influence. So then the question is: How do we upend this?

Yoffe: Is it even realistic to think you can upend it? Aren?t you talking about a pervasive part of human nature?

Bazelon: Aggression is endemic to human nature, and we wouldn?t want to stamp it out. Kids are not always going to be nice to one another. But bullying is a certain kind of harmful aggression. The agreed-upon definition is that it?s verbal or physical aggression that is repeated over time and involves a power differential. It?s one kid lording it over another, and because it persists, the victim can find it particularly devastating. We can help kids realize this kind of aggression is not the norm, and in the end, it?s not the best way to advance socially, either.

One school I write about did a survey, and the results showed that 90 percent of students there did not exclude other kids at the lunch table. So they put this information on posters around the school, and the incidence of exclusion dropped even further. There?s an analogy here to the campaign against drunk driving. When I was in high school, I felt it was a tiny bit cool to drink and drive. There wasn?t a strong message about how dangerous and wrong it was. But parents, schools, and the media have succeeded in impressing that on kids, and now they are less likely to do it?and the death rate from drunk driving among young people has gone down significantly. There are social problems that seem intractable, but when we put energy into pushing back, we are able to change things.

Yoffe: You write about your own experience being bullied in middle school, when you say your friends ?fired? you. Did your parents handle the situation correctly when they told you to ignore the mean girls and make new friends? Or do you now realize there was something else they should have done?

Bazelon: My parents were pretty good. They were clued into what was going on, they didn?t minimize or say I was being silly to be so upset. They gave good advice to make new friends. The notion that you can walk away from a toxic social situation, take yourself out of it, and find a new social group is right, even if it?s hard to do. What my parents didn?t do was ask the school for help. At that time, in the 1980s, I don?t think that would have occurred to many parents. And I probably would have said no if they had wanted to! So in my case, and more tellingly in the case of another girl in my class I write about, who really was bullied, there was no suggestion that this was the school?s affair. If this were happening to my kid, I would try to find someone at school to help. But even now the research shows most kids don?t tell adults at school, and sadly those that do report that their situations don?t necessarily improve. That has to change so that the kids who go for help really get it.

Yoffe: Is there a danger in adults getting too involved in this? Have you found that adults can overreact and then make the kids think of themselves as damaged victims?

Bazelon: Yes, and that?s why I think it?s important to use the bullying label sparingly. Lots of psychological literature shows that seeing oneself only as a victim doesn?t help people advance in life. In a well-intentioned effort to help kids treat one another better, we do have to be careful not to overpolice or overprotect them. They have to make mistakes and experience adversity, and we can?t fix everything along the way. In some upper- and middle-class communities, we can veer too far in that direction. But some real mistreatment does get swept under the rug, so I worry about the opposite problem at the same time.

Yoffe: You write at length about how social media, texting, etc. has changed the nature of bullying. Suddenly the record is permanent, everyone can read the nasty things being said. Has social media made kids meaner? Has it enabled bullying the way the Internet gave new life to the spread of child pornography??

Bazelon: Cyberbullying is mostly a new expression of an old phenomenon. Most kids caught up in it are kids who are also involved in in-person bullying. The cyberbully is not a new creature. And moving online hasn?t caused the rate of bullying to rise, so much as make the meanness feel more prevalent, because it can be 24/7. When kids go home they don?t get a break anymore. Because if they?re going online, they can see what other kids are saying about them at any time, in front of an audience. It can also elevate the meanness. The spoken word is ephemeral, but the written word, once posted, can be permanent and even go viral. Also, the act of posting can block kids? sense of empathy. They can push send without thinking through the consequences. (Adults can, too.)

The upside is that parents have a chance to monitor what their kids are writing and to get clued in. But that?s tricky, too, of course, because parents have to figure out how much to keep track of their kids online. I don?t think there?s much consensus about that. My own feeling is that it?s best to start off stricter, as your kid gets his first phone or social media account. Explain that you?re overseeing this the way you would any whole new world he is entering. And then you can ease up as he gets the hang of it.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=8e5cdce269bc245b675fd3fa24b3236e

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1.3M Fords, Toyotas, Hondas under investigation

Paul A. Eisenstein , The Detroit Bureau ? ? ? 4 hrs.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched a series of safety investigations targeting nearly 1.3 million Ford Motor Co., Toyota Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. vehicles.

Federal regulators caution that they have not decided whether recalls are necessary but automotive observers note that, having come under fire for getting too cozy with the industry in recent years, NHTSA is getting more aggressive when it comes to ordering manufacturers to resolve safety-related problems.

Toyota?s popular Prius ? the nation?s best-selling gas-electric vehicle ? is the target of one of the new investigations. A total of 561,000 of the high-mileage hybrids are involved, NHTSA probing reports that the vehicles? steering shafts were improperly assembled.

The Detroit Bureau: Despite Recent Price Spike, DoE Expects Gas to Level Off, Even Decline

The investigation focuses on Prius hybrids built between 2004 and 2009. Many of them were already the target of a previous Toyota recall involving steering shaft defects. That previous recall, announced last November covered 669,000 Prius hybrids also sold during the 2004 to 2009 model-years. According to the government, parts connected to the steering assembly could deform if a driver makes frequent, aggressive turns at low speeds.

The Prius was involved in an earlier steering-related recall that could cause loss of vehicle control. That service action covered 170,000 of the hybrids produced between 2004 and 2006.

If NHTSA orders a recall of the Prius it would prove a double black eye for the maker. The hybrid is the brand?s halo car, essential to its claims of being the ?greenest? manufacturer in the industry. But it would also mark another major recall for a brand that has traditional been viewed as a quality benchmark.

In 2012, Toyota had the most vehicles recalled of any brand in the U.S. market, the third time it achieved that dubious distinction in four years. And it has already had 1 million vehicles recalled since the beginning of 2013.

The Detroit Bureau: Ford Looking to Novel Way to Get Back into Compact Pickup Market

NHTSA has separately launched an investigation of 724,000 Ford Escape, Fusion and Mercury Mariner and Milan models, triggered by 123 reports that the vehicles have experienced unexpected losses of power or completed stalled.

The problem could be the result of several issues including contaminated printed circuit boards and faulty throttle body assemblies. Vehicles produced between 2009 and 2011 are involved in the investigation.

The size of the investigation could also prove embarrassing to Ford which has been struggling to maintain a reputation for quality after seeing its scores drop in recent years in such key owner surveys as the 2012 J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey.

The Detroit Bureau: Over 250,000 Vehicles Damages, Destroyed By Sandy

The investigation was triggered by a formal complaint filed by the North Carolina Consumers Council. That group has been actively involved in automotive safety issues in recent years, and has triggered several recalls and investigations.

The smallest of the three new NHTSA investigations targets 87,000 Honda Pilots produced for the 2005 model-year. The government agency has received 205 reports of unexpectedly severe braking that could be caused by a faulty sensor in the crossover-utility vehicle?s Vehicle Stability Assist system.

Copyright ? 2009-2012, The Detroit Bureau

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/1-3-million-fords-toyotas-hondas-under-investigation-1C8536130

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Montana Lawmakers Eye Oil/Gas Impacts

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://shaledaily.com/news/montana-lawmakers-eye-oilgas-impacts-sd20130220d.shtml

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General John Allen to retire, not take NATO nomination

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - General John Allen has decided to retire rather than proceed with his nomination as the NATO supreme allied commander due to "health issues" in his family, President Barack Obama said on Tuesday.

In January, Allen was cleared by Pentagon investigators of allegations of professional misconduct over email exchanges with a Florida socialite. Allen had commanded U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

"Today, I met with General John Allen and accepted his request to retire from the military so that he can address health issues within his family," Obama said in a statement.

The decision by the Defense Department's Inspector General helped lift a cloud that had hung over Allen, who is married and has two daughters, since he became ensnared in the scandal that forced retired General David Petraeus to resign as CIA director in November.

The Pentagon inquiry centered on emails between Allen and Jill Kelley, a Tampa, Florida, resident who knew Allen when he served as the No. 2 officer at the U.S. military's Tampa-based Central Command from July 2008 to June 2011.

The Kelley-Allen emails surfaced when the FBI investigated Kelley's allegations of receiving anonymous, harassing emails from someone else about Petraeus. Those other emails led the FBI to uncover an extramarital affair between Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell.

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Will Dunham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/general-john-allen-retire-not-nato-nomination-180147484.html

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Postal Service chic? New clothing line coming in 2014

This Saturday Dec. 19, 2009 photo shows U.S. Post Office letter carrier Tim Bell delivering the mail during a snow??Chanel. Dior. Armani. Vera Wang. U.S. Postal Service?

The cash-strapped Postal Service announced Tuesday that it has inked a licensing deal with an Ohio-based clothing company to produce a line of apparel dubbed ?Rain Heat & Snow.? The attire aims to reach well beyond T-shirts and baseball caps to include ?wearable electronics??like jackets with iPod controls built into the sleeve, USPS spokesman Roy Betts explained to Yahoo News.

?If you like your iPod, you can plug it right into your jacket, regulate the volume and make your selections right on your sleeve,? Betts said in a phone interview. There will also be shirts that help wick off sweat, he said.

What about lingerie? Betts just laughed, so a racy line of USPS lacy unmentionables (perhaps dubbed "Saturday Deliveries"?) is probably not on its way.

"For now, it?s all-weather, all-season clothing for men, ranging from headgear, footwear, jackets, coats and shirts," Betts explained. But they hope to launch a line for women.

How will this help the financial bottom line at the post office, which recently announced it would halt Saturday deliveries?

"It will make a contribution, but it's bigger than that," Betts said. ?It?s really brand reputation, brand awareness, in addition to revenues.

"We're a postal service that recognizes that our business model has to change, we?ve got to be more innovative with the products that we bring to market," the spokesman said.

Will the clothing bear the post office logo? "I?m anxious to see it myself," Betts said cheerfully. "There will be something recognizable that identifies the product with the Postal Service."

The post office is working with Cleveland-based Wahconah Group, Inc., a minority-owned company that designs, sources and manufactures clothing, according to a USPS press release. ?The company is establishing a showroom in the garment district of New York City to showcase their apparel lines to the fashion industry,? according to the statement.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/postal-launch-clothing-line-2014-223202293--politics.html

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Google Play Account Needed by robindutt16

I need someone to create an independent Android developer account for me,I need 2 google play account . Please bid if you?re able to do this and interested in this small task. I?ll provide details with? (Budget: $80-$160 USD, Jobs: Android, Internet Marketing, Mobile Phone, SEO) View full post on Freelancer.com ? New Projects

Source: http://www.chinshiro.info/google-play-account-needed-by-robindutt16.html

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