Sunday, March 17, 2013

Suggestions for Acquiring Inexpensive Auto Insurance Rates ...

Suggestions for Acquiring Inexpensive Auto Insurance Rates ? By Johnny Green - March 17 2013 02:19 AM

Receiving a quote for auto insurance online is simple? but discovering low-cost insurance can be a lot more of a challenge. It requires diligence and information

Car Hire Excess Insurance ? HireaCar.ie ? Cheap Car Rental By Necole Bitchie - March 13 2013 05:19 PM

Excess insurance for your rental car is something we offer during the booking process. Once you hit the book button beside the car you want, you will see it.

Car Hire Excess Insurance ? HireaCar.ie ? Cheap Car Rental By Danica Daniel - March 13 2013 05:19 PM

Excess insurance for your rental car is something we offer during the booking process. Once you hit the book button beside the car you want, you will see it.

Five Simple Tips to Find Inexpensive Car Insurance | blip:snips By Eric Slivka - March 13 2013 11:52 AM

Let's face it, finding competitive car insurance rates that don't burn a hole in your pocket can be tough. Most local insurance companies have raised their prices recently, due in no small part to the poor economy. Just because ..

Five Simple Tips to Find Inexpensive Car Insurance | blip:snips By Evette Dionne - March 13 2013 11:52 AM

Let's face it, finding competitive car insurance rates that don't burn a hole in your pocket can be tough. Most local insurance companies have raised their prices recently, due in no small part to the poor economy. Just because ...

Source: http://www.merolog.com/cheap-auto-insurance/suggestions-for-acquiring-inexpensive-auto-insurance-rates/

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Tips To Gain Business Through Email Marketing | Email Marketing

If you would like to increase the number of people that are on your network but you don?t know how to do this, then you?re at the right place. Many people are not sure how to increase the number of subscribers to their email marketing list, but this article can help you find out how to go about doing so to meet your goals.

When composing your content, picture yourself talking to another person. If you use natural-sounding dialog and minimize the sales-speak, you are unlikely to be captured by anti-spam software. However, unnatural speech patterns that go out of the way to avoid words such as ?free? will irritate your audience, and may catch the attention of filters anyways.

It?s a great idea that you require people to double opt in if they?re wanting to receive emails from you. This might seem difficult, but it will ensure that those are customers who want to get your emails. As a result, you are less likely to get in trouble in the future.

You should give visitors many chances to sign up without having them feel as if they are being pressured to do it. Let your clients know that you are not selling or giving away their personal data and disclose the benefits they will enjoy by signing up. Your success in attaining customer information has a direct bearing on the success you can achieve with your email marketing campaign.

Remember that the purpose of email marketing is ultimately to sell your products. Therefore, every email you send should increase the likelihood that subscribers will buy. Many times this is done in email campaigns by enhancing benefits of older products or showing off a new, special promotion.

Consistency is important. Ensure that you?re always utilizing the same colors and logo of the company within your email. Make sure that the font you use is readable. People will begin to recognize the emails that you send and look for them. It?s important for any business to have familiarity. The same holds true for email marketing.

A great hint for following up with clients is to send a freebie through an email. Send out emails about an exclusive offer: make sure you explain what this offer is about. Make your offer for a limited time or for a limited number of customers to increase the chances that your client will act quickly.

With all the information that you gained today, you now have the ability to understand what it takes to successfully work with email marketing. Put everything you?ve learned into practice so that you can reach your goals in no time!

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Source: http://email.marketing.professional-info.com/2013/03/16/tips-to-gain-business-through-email-marketing/

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Debt Consolidation Program ? Things You Must Know About

Many people are not at all aware of the debt consolidation company and the services that these firms can provide to help the debtors to clear off their outstanding loans. Not everyone is perfect while it comes to financial planning and hence it is obvious that they land up into the debt zone. Getting into the debt layer is easy while coming out is difficult. But contrarily to this statement and our expectations we can surely say that if we take some wise steps we can get out of this financial crunch. Loans will be taken for various types like the personal loans, auto loans, credit card loans, mortgages and medical expenditure loans. If you think that you have landed up with these messes, then you have to take a prompt and correct decision to settle down for the debt consolidation schemes to pay off the existing loans that are pending upon you. In simple words you will need the debt consolidation loan. So instead of paying for the 5 to 7 lenders, you will end up paying only to one loan provider that is the debt consolidator.

www.debtmerger.co.uk is the common place to find out the various companies that are providing you this facility. Normally all the companies will have the same financial characteristics, and so it should be easy for you to pick out the best company. If you fall into any of the following categories then you can take up the consolidation program:


1. Have plenty of outstanding loans as against your vehicle, property, credit card, private loans and so on.
2. Have been undergoing a poor credit standing.
3. Have lot of work pressure and are stressed up.
4. You are a busy individual and cannot remember the various lenders to whom you owe at different dates.
5. Approached your friends and relatives for the loan and they have declined the loan amount.

You can make the online research of the various companies that provide this loan at different rates and pick out the one that will suit your budget and time frame. Not all companies will provide the same type of services, there may be minor differences in the payment mode, interest rate. So a careful comparison of the different companies has to be made before selecting the loan consolidation company. Normally all the companies will allow you to merge your pending loans and provide you the required amount.

Source: http://www.shvoong.com/business-management/2362008-debt-consolidation-program-things-know/

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Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Stressed-out tadpoles pump up their tails

Michael Benard

A wood frog tadpole with a large, predator-induced tail.

By Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience

Tadpoles grow pumped-up tails when stressed out by the threat of predators nearby, a new study finds.

These beefed-up tails help the tadpoles escape predators such as dragonfly larvae, according to research published March 5 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The chemical signal that allows this change is a stress hormone called corticosterone, similar to cortisol in humans.

"The larger picture is that we've known for a long time that animals have what are called plastic responses to the environment," said study researcher Robert Denver, an endocrinologist at the University of Michigan, referring to body changes that occur in response to environmental cues.

"We provide a mechanism for how the environmental signal is sensed and how that's translated into an adaptive morphological response," Denver told LiveScience. [5 Ways Your Cells Deal With Stress]

Stressed-out tadpoles
Denver and his colleagues had already observed that tadpoles housed in the same water as predators respond in two ways. First, they freeze up and stay motionless for hours when first exposed. Then, over the next week or so, the tadpoles develop large, thick tails. (A far more natural process than other recent tadpole news, in which scientists induced tadpoles to grow eyes on their tails.)

These responses only occur when tadpoles sense a pheromone released by other tadpoles upon being attacked. The tadpoles also release this pheromone when they're poked with a hypodermic needle, Denver said, which allows researchers to collect the chemical without feeding the tadpoles to dragonfly larvae.

University of Michigan

A wood frog tadpole with a normal-sized tail.

The researchers wanted to understand how the stress systems of the tadpoles responded to this pheromone. "We know that when animals get attacked by predators, or if there are predators around, they typically mount a stress response, so stress hormones go up," Denver said.

But that's not what happened when the researchers exposed wild-caught tadpoles of the wood frog (Rana sylvatica) to water where dragonfly larvae lived (caged off, so they couldn't hunt the tadpoles). In fact, for the first few hours, the tadpoles actually suppressed their stress systems.

"This allows them to stay quiet for a few hours," Denver said. The drop in stress hormones leads to less of an urge to move around and forage, he said.

Long-term strategy
Holding still may work for a while, but tadpoles eventually have to get moving again. Their stress hormones seem to facilitate that: By about 24 hours, they'd risen back to baseline levels, the researchers found, and by four days, they were higher than in tadpoles kept in water without predators. This increased corticosterone level persisted for at least eight days after it spiked.

The researchers hypothesized that the corticosterone increase was triggering the tail growth in predator-stressed tadpoles. To test the idea, they exposed tadpoles directly to corticosterone-infused water. Sure enough, the tadpoles' tails grew.

In another experiment, the researchers grew tadpole tails in a dish. Adding corticosterone beefed up the disembodied tails, too.

Finally, the researchers exposed large-tailed tadpoles to real-life predator scenarios, allowing the dragonfly larvae out of their cages. More large-tailed tadpoles survived than normal-tailed tadpoles, Denver said.

"That suggests there is an enhanced fitness of these animals," he said.

The researchers next hope to learn more about the structure and the function of the alarm pheromone that triggers these stress hormone changes, ultimately leading to bigger-tailed tadpoles. They'd also like to know more about how corticosterone acts on the tail to make it grow, Denver said.

Follow Stephanie Pappas @sipappas. Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience, Facebook?or Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/05/17199563-stressed-out-tadpoles-pump-up-their-tails?lite

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Thursday, February 28, 2013

Poll: 87 percent say never OK to cheat on taxes

WASHINGTON (AP) ? With tax season in full swing, a newly released poll says an overwhelming majority of adults don't believe it is ever OK to cheat on their income taxes, with most citing personal integrity as a reason to be truthful.

When asked how much, if any, is an acceptable amount to cheat on your income taxes, 87 percent of respondents said, "not at all." Only 11 percent said, "a little here and there" or "as much as possible."

Ninety-five percent said personal integrity influences them to honestly report their taxes, while 63 percent said fear of an audit did. Only 41 percent said they are honest because they believe their neighbors are, too.

The telephone poll of 1,500 randomly chosen adults was sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board, which released the findings Tuesday. The findings are in line with previous surveys done by the board.

Board Chairman Paul Cherecwich Jr. noted the importance of honesty in a tax system that asks people to report their own financial information. There are many backstops in the system, with employers and financial institutions also reporting taxpayer information to the IRS. But the IRS only audits 1 percent of individual returns each year, according to agency statistics.

"Personal integrity is at the core of our self-assessment tax system," Cherecwich said. "The overwhelming majority of American taxpayers play by the rules and expect everyone else to do the same."

Forty-three percent said they think the IRS maintains a proper balance between tax enforcement and taxpayer service; 30 percent said they think the agency devotes too many resources to enforcement.

Elizabeth Maresca, a former trial attorney for the IRS, said most taxpayers don't have much of an opportunity to cheat on their taxes.

Two-thirds of individual filers don't itemize their deductions, instead taking the standard deduction. And for those who do itemize, many of their claims are verified by financial institutions that are required to notify the IRS.

For example, if you earn interest on a bank account or pay interest on a home mortgage, financial institutions send forms to both you and the IRS. Employers send wage information to the IRS.

"The vast majority of people, I think, don't even have an opportunity to cheat on their taxes," said Maresca, an associate law professor at Fordham University. "They are so limited in what they can do and take and what breaks they are entitled to. You can't pretend that you have a kid you don't have. You can't claim your dog."

The survey comes as federal agencies, including the IRS, brace for automatic spending cuts known as the sequester, which is scheduled to take effect Friday. In a letter to Congress, the Treasury Department said the IRS won't be able to review as many tax returns if the sequester takes effect, which "could result in billions of dollars in lost revenue and further complicate deficit reduction efforts." The agency didn't offer specifics, but said, "In recent years each dollar spent on the IRS has returned at least $4 in additional enforcement revenue."

In the poll, 62 percent of respondents said the IRS should receive extra funding to enforce tax laws and ensure taxpayers pay what they owe. Sixty-seven percent said the IRS should get more money to assist taxpayers by phone and in person.

The poll was conducted from Aug. 30 to Sep. 17 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,500 randomly chosen adults and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

___

Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.

___

Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/poll-87-percent-never-ok-cheat-taxes-173356864--finance.html

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Lohan's attorney seeks deal with prosecutors

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Lindsay Lohan's attorney has suggested to prosecutors that the actress serve as a motivational speaker and perform non-jail activities to resolve her latest criminal case, according to a letter obtained Tuesday.

The letter from lawyer Mark Heller proposed several alternatives for Lohan, who could be sent to jail if a judge determines her actions in a traffic crash violated terms of her probation in a previous theft case.

His letter states that Lohan's turbulent home life has deeply impacted her and requires a different approach in the case.

The actress plans to spend time recording public service announcements and make "periodic visits to schools, hospitals, and other venues where she may provide inspirational talks, encouraging children to pursue positive goals and avoid bad habits," states the letter filed on Friday and released by the court Tuesday.

Heller also proposed the establishment of a nonprofit foundation in Lohan's name to benefit young people.

The actress "has made a commitment to herself to elevate her life and participate in activities which will advance her desire to lead a model life," Heller wrote in a motion seeking a delay in the case that returns to court on Friday. Trial is now set for March 18.

Lohan is charged with three misdemeanor charges of reckless driving, lying to police and obstructing officers from performing their duties. She has pleaded not guilty.

The actress could face 245 days in jail if she is found to be in violation of her probation.

The star of "Mean Girls" and "Freaky Friday" was sentenced to psychotherapy in November of 2011 in cases involving theft and drunken driving charges, but she has not been required to attend counseling since being placed on informal probation in March 2012.

Those terms were imposed by Judge Stephanie Sautner, who is retiring and will no longer handle Lohan's case.

The crash that prompted the current charges occurred in June on Pacific Coast Highway while Lohan was on the way to a movie shoot.

Terry White, chief deputy city attorney in Santa Monica, declined comment on the letter. He said discussions about a possible resolution are scheduled to take place this week.

Lohan, 26, was on her way to a beach shoot with another person for the TV movie "Liz and Dick" when her car crashed into the back of a dump truck. Police allege she lied about being behind the wheel.

Heller is also seeking dismissal of the charges against Lohan, arguing that police ignored her when she said she didn't want to be interviewed without her attorney present.

Lohan was at the hospital at the time, not in custody, and showed no signs of impairment when officers gave her a field sobriety test, the lawyer said.

___

Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lohans-attorney-seeks-deal-prosecutors-203949506.html

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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Back to basics ? The Standard

Looks like we?re in for another round of ?back to basics? nonsense in mathematics education from a bunch of politicians who know more about their own prejudices than they do about teaching and learning:

Govt eyes back to basics in maths

Education Minister Hekia Parata is considering a return to basic arithmetic for primary school children in an attempt to lift New Zealand?s faltering performance in maths.

New Zealand 9-year-olds finished last-equal in maths among peers in developed countries, in a survey published in December. Almost half could not add 218 and 191 in a test.

Officials analysing the results of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) test found there were ?significant proportions? of Year 5 children who could not add or subtract simple numbers.

I haven?t seen the specific data cited, but in the TIMSS 2011 report overall our performance in maths was only slightly below average ? and note that our children are younger when assessed:

So, England, Malta, and New Zealand, where students start school at a young age, were assessed in their fifth year of schooling, but still have among the youngest students and are reported together with the fourth grade countries.

In other international measures of our maths (and general educational achievement) NZ does from OK to quite well. The achievement of our 15 year olds in PISA measures of Maths is above the OECD average:
Percentage of New Zealand 15 year-old students reaching the PISA mathematical literacy proficiency levels
PISA-maths
It also looks like our performance rises under Labour governments and falls under National.

Be that as it may, the main reason not to charge off on another mad educational brain-fart is that ?back to basics? doesn?t work. Wander the educational literature for yourselves, here?s just a couple of examples from the American experience:

The ?problem-solving? movement of the 1980s arose partly in response to the realisation that student mastery of the basics had not significantly improved after a decade of emphasis on core skills.

A H Schoenfeld (2006): What Doesn?t Work: The Challenge and Failure of the What Works Clearinghouse to Conduct Meaningful Reviews of Studies of Mathematics Curricula, Educational Researcher, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Mar., 2006), pp. 13-21

Furthermore, despite the very focused emphasis of the back-to-basics period on procedural skills, ?national tests showed that student performance in basic skills declined or stayed the same? (Kenney & Silver, 1997, p. 66).

T Douglas & T Owens (2001): The ?New New Math??: Two Reform Movements in Mathematics Education, Theory Into Practice, 40:2, 84-92

Once agin the Nats are hell-bent on following American educational ?theory? that is both decades old and well discredited.

If the Nats truly wanted to raise educational achievement there are two issues that they need to address, resourcing and poverty. Resourcing ? the NZ educational system does very well on funding that is (by international standards) very low. Arguably, NZ has best value for money education in the world.

Poverty ? all our educational performance stats are pervaded by the issue of socio-economic status / race:

We come seventh in the world in the PISA (Programme for International Student Achievement) rankings that compare national performance in reading, science and maths. But Parata says that once you disaggregate the PISA scores, Pakeha students are second in the world and Maori are 34th and Pasifika are 44th.

For a range of data focused on the socio-economic indicators themselves see here.

So in short ? ?back to basics? doesn?t work and isn?t needed. If we want to raise educational achievement we need to address poverty in NZ. But that?s not a message that the Nats want to hear.

Source: http://thestandard.org.nz/back-to-basics-4/

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