RABAT, Morocco (AP) ? Morocco has expelled 19 foreigners from the annexed territory of the Western Sahara, saying they were journalists who entered without permission.
The action, which underlines Morocco's intense sensitivity over criticism of its policies in the mineral rich region, came as activists calling for the independence of the Western Sahara were preparing to mark Thursday as two years since deadly clashes outside the regional capital, Laayoune.
Spanish media reported that most of those expelled were activists, not journalists.
Morocco's Interior Ministry issued a statement ? carried by the state news agency on Wednesday ? that quoted local authorities as saying the 15 Spanish and four Norwegian journalists planned to meet with "separatist" elements in Laayoune to engage in demonstrations on the anniversary of the clashes.
"These journalists entered the national territory without revealing their true identities, pretending to be on holiday in the kingdom," said the statement, which added that they had violated the laws governing foreign journalists.
On Nov. 8, 2010, Moroccan police clashed with thousands of locals at the tent city in Gdeim Izek who were protesting government discrimination. Human Rights Watch said 11 police and two civilians were killed and hundreds of civilians were beaten and detained. Morocco expelled three Spanish journalists following their coverage.
Morocco occupied and annexed the mineral-rich Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, in November 1975 after the Spanish withdrew. The Polisario Front declared independence on behalf of the inhabitants, the nomadic Saharawi people, and battled the Moroccan army until a 1991 truce brokered by the U.N. The dispute is one of the world's longest unresolved conflicts.
The U.N. decreed that a referendum should be held for the locals to decide if they want independence, but the Moroccans have instead advanced a plan to give them wide-ranging autonomy.
Nine rounds of negotiations between the Polisario and the government have been unsuccessful, and in May Morocco criticized the special U.N. envoy, former U.S. diplomat Christopher Ross, for being biased and called for his replacement.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon personally called Moroccan King Mohammed VI in August to resolve the situation, and Ross returned to the Western Sahara for meetings last week.
Activists have criticized the government for repressing locals in the region, and in September officials from the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights visited and said they were followed during their visit by secret police, physically prevented from observing an attack on peaceful protesters, and verbally abused.
Last week, Morocco recalled its ambassador to Ireland for consultations after the Polisario's leader met with top Irish officials in Dublin on Oct. 25.
Given the stark bipartisan division made obvious by Election Day Tuesday, it may be too soon to joke about the political temperature of the United States. That is, unless you?re a member of the Capitol Steps.
The group began in December 1981 when staff members for Senator Charles Percy wanted to plan a nativity play for their Christmas party, but say they couldn't find three wise men or a virgin anywhere in Congress.
After 11 years, they will be returning to the Poway Center for the Performing Arts with a show on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013.
?They will be kind of doing a post mortem on the elections,? said Yvonne Dows, marketing manager for the Center?s Foundation. ??They were very popular when they performed before so it?ll be great to have them back.?
Country music star Clint Black will also be swinging by the Center next year, with a performance on Friday, Jan. 18. The triple-platinum artist will share stories in addition to songs with two other performers, who have yet to be announced.
?Rather than a big rock kind of show, it?ll be very intimate?sometimes acoustic,? Dows said.
In addition, the Center for Performing Arts is prepping for the Missoula Children?s Theatre interpretation of ?Snow White,? which will be performed by more than 60 children, ages 5 through 18, after a weeklong camp that includes the auditions and rehearsals.
?They come in a big red truck with everything you need to put on a show,? Dows said of the actor-director team that hails from Montana. ?? It?s kind of fabulous.?
The camp is free, but tickets to the Monday, March 11, event are $5 for kids and $17 for adults.
For additional ticket and show time information, contact the Center?s ticket office at 858-748-0505 or visit powayarts.org.
ScienceDaily (Nov. 9, 2012) ? Children need a minimum of seven minutes a day of vigorous physical activity, demonstrates recently published findings by University of Alberta medical researchers and their colleagues across Canada.
"If you watch late-night television, or look in the backs of magazines, you'll see magical ads saying you need just 10 minutes a day or five minutes a day of exercise to stay fit. And for those of us in the medical field, we just rolled our eyes at that. But surprisingly, they may actually be right and that's what this research shows," says co-principal investigator Richard Lewanczuk, a researcher with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the U of A.
"Our research showed children don't need a lot of intense physical activity to get the health benefits of exercise -- seven minutes or more of vigorous physical activity was all that was required. But the seven minutes had to be intense to prevent weight gain, obesity and its adverse health consequences. And most kids weren't getting that."
Lewanczuk worked on this study with Jonathan McGavock, his co-principal investigator, and former post-doctoral fellow, who now works with the Manitoba Institute of Child Health. They collaborated with Black Gold Regional Schools in Leduc and surrounding communities just south of Edmonton, as well as researchers from the University of Manitoba, Queen's University, the University of Newcastle, and U of A researchers from the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, the School of Public Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences. The team's findings were recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
More than 600 children, between the ages of nine to 17 from Leduc and surrounding areas, wore monitors that tracked their physical activity levels for seven days. These children also had their weight, waist circumference and blood pressure regularly monitored.
Researchers reviewed the data collected through the Healthy Hearts program via Black Gold Regional Schools and determined the children spent almost 70 per cent of their time doing sedentary activities; nearly 23 per cent was devoted to light physical activity; almost seven per cent to moderate physical activity and 0.6 per cent to vigorous physical activity.
Overall, boys were less sedentary than girls. And the more vigorous the physical activity, the less apt the children were to be overweight. Children who were overweight had improved fitness levels and shrinking waist lines when they increased the amount of time spent doing vigorous activities.
Lewanczuk said the team made some other notable findings including the following: there weren't the expected health benefits from doing only mild or moderate activity even if the time spent doing this type of activity increased. What seemed to be critical was taking part in intense physical activity. For kids who took part in vigorous physical activity that lasted longer than seven minutes, their health benefits were significantly better. And the whole notion of being overweight but fit? The team's data didn't support that finding in children. If children were overweight, they were also unhealthy, Lewanczuk says.
"This research tells us that a brisk walk isn't good enough," says Lewanczuk, a professor in the Department of Medicine who has been studying this topic for eight years. "Kids have to get out and do a high-intensity activity in addition to maintaining a background of mild to moderate activity. There's a strong correlation between obesity, fitness and activity. Activity and fitness is linked to a reduction in obesity and good health outcomes."
Getting young children to make vigorous physical activity part of their daily routines is important, especially considering activity levels in the teenage years drop right off, Lewanczuk says. And previously published research from the same group of children shows kids are more active at school than they are at home.
"Quite often the activity levels on evenings or weekends would be almost flat," he says. "We made the presumption that kids were just sitting in front of a screen the whole time."
Lewanczuk hopes the research findings will help schools decide what type of mandatory physical activity is needed.
He praised the school district involved in the study, noting the research wouldn't have been possible without its support.
Paul Wozny with Black Gold Regional Schools said physical activity is always worthwhile and noted that increased moderate to intense activity was closely associated with lower weights from year to year. He said the Healthy Hearts project has truly created "a school and community culture where regular physical activity and healthy nutrition are seen as essential ingredients for students' health, wellness and life-long learning. Everyone is involved -- students, their parents, teachers, staff, researchers and the community as a whole.
"We are always striving to improve, so we regularly review the research results to help us fine tune and develop future activity and wellness programming at all of our school communities. Black Gold Regional Schools' Health Hearts project has received both national and international recognition as a world-leading school and community initiative dedicated to the improvement of student cardiovascular health through regular physical activity and multi-stakeholder support."
The primary funders of the research were: the Canadian Diabetes Association and the Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research.
"The Canadian Diabetes Association is proud to be a leading supporter of diabetes research in Canada, investing more than $7 million annually in diabetes research," said Janet Hux, chief scientific advisor for the Canadian Diabetes Association. "The Association encourages Canadians to pursue healthy lifestyles in order to prevent and manage diabetes. Dr. Lewanczuk's work provides important new insights that may make enhanced activity more feasible for children and youth."
The Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research added: "Having this kind of evidence should make it easier for parents, schools and daycare programs to do activities with children that will help develop lifelong healthy attitudes towards exercise and activity," stated Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research President and CEO, Robyn Blackadar.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Jacqueline Hay. Physical Activity Intensity and Cardiometabolic Risk in YouthPA Intensity and Cardiometabolic Risk in Youth. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 2012; : 1 DOI: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2012.1028
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.
5. Insulation. Certain types of insulation, such as spray foam, should be left to the professionals. Many people assume that installing batt insulation like fiberglass is an easy project, but there is a lot of room for error here. If you leave gaps you can create spots that draw heat and moisture into your walls ? a bad combination. Even if you do the job well, it's messy work. Plus, insulation contractors get a much better deal on the material costs than you would, offsetting the labor savings of a DIY project.
6. Carpentry. Even if you have the skills to complete the project, professional carpenters will have the tools and experience to get the job done quickly. If you are trying to complete the project on a part-time basis, remember to factor in setup and cleanup time. Working a full day is often much more efficient than an hour here and there.
Cambridge software improves quality of sound for hearing aid usersPublic release date: 8-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sarah Collins sarah.collins@enterprise.cam.ac.uk 44-012-237-60335 Cambridge Enteprise University of Cambridge
A new software product developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge could greatly improve sound perception for users of hearing aids.
The software prescribes the amount of amplification of high-frequency sounds required to restore the audibility of such sounds. This increases the frequency range of sound that individuals with hearing loss are able to detect, improving speech perception, sound localisation and the ability to hear certain musical sounds, when compared with current methods. Results of an evaluation of the software were published recently in the journal Ear and Hearing.
Approximately ten percent of the UK population has hearing loss great enough to cause them problems in everyday life. As hearing loss usually increases with age, the proportion of individuals with hearing loss will increase rapidly as the population ages in the coming decades.
The main treatment for hearing loss is hearing aids, which amplify and sound for the wearer in a frequency and level-dependent manner. In order for users to get the full benefits of a hearing aid, the device must be adjusted according to the wearer's pattern of hearing loss. The concept is similar to adjusting glasses for vision loss; however even a properly adjusted hearing aid will not completely restore hearing to normal.
Hearing loss typically occurs at high frequencies, and individuals with hearing loss can only hear comfortably within a small intensity range at those frequencies. While the threshold for detecting a certain sound may be higher for someone with hearing loss, the level at which sound is uncomfortably loud is often similar for individuals with hearing loss and those with normal hearing. To deal with this problem, hearing aids split sound into large numbers of frequency channels, or bands. Within each band, weak sounds are amplified while strong sounds are not. This is called multi-channel automatic gain control.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed CAM2, a new method of fitting automatic gain control based on the audiogram of the user. An audiogram shows an individual's threshold for detecting sound at different frequencies.
"Until recently, hearing aids only provided amplification for frequencies up to four or five kHz, whereas a person with normal hearing can hear for frequencies up to 15 or 20 kHz," said Professor Brian Moore of the Department of Psychology, who led the development of CAM2. "Manufacturers have recently released hearing aids that can amplify frequencies up to 8 or 10 kHz, but existing fitting methods do not give any recommendations for those higher frequencies." The CAM2 method, however, extends the fitting range up to 10 kHz.
Higher frequencies help distinguish sounds such as "sh", "ch" and "f". In challenging listening situations, such as in a room where several people are speaking at once, the higher frequencies make it much easier to understand the person you want to listen to. The higher frequencies can also improve sound localisation, making it easier to identify where a particular sound is coming from.
A recent study compared the CAM2 method with NAL-NL2, which is a fitting method used by the NHS and many other health organisations worldwide. Judgments of overall sound quality were obtained for male and female speech in both quiet and noisy environments, and for four different types of music (classical, jazz, a man singing and percussion). Most participants in the study showed a preference for CAM2, both for overall sound quality and for the clarity of speech in a noisy situation. Further studies are planned over the coming months, in order to test more subjects with a wider range of hearing loss.
###
The CAM2 software is being commercialised by Cambridge Enterprise, the University's commercialisation group.
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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.
Cambridge software improves quality of sound for hearing aid usersPublic release date: 8-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sarah Collins sarah.collins@enterprise.cam.ac.uk 44-012-237-60335 Cambridge Enteprise University of Cambridge
A new software product developed by researchers at the University of Cambridge could greatly improve sound perception for users of hearing aids.
The software prescribes the amount of amplification of high-frequency sounds required to restore the audibility of such sounds. This increases the frequency range of sound that individuals with hearing loss are able to detect, improving speech perception, sound localisation and the ability to hear certain musical sounds, when compared with current methods. Results of an evaluation of the software were published recently in the journal Ear and Hearing.
Approximately ten percent of the UK population has hearing loss great enough to cause them problems in everyday life. As hearing loss usually increases with age, the proportion of individuals with hearing loss will increase rapidly as the population ages in the coming decades.
The main treatment for hearing loss is hearing aids, which amplify and sound for the wearer in a frequency and level-dependent manner. In order for users to get the full benefits of a hearing aid, the device must be adjusted according to the wearer's pattern of hearing loss. The concept is similar to adjusting glasses for vision loss; however even a properly adjusted hearing aid will not completely restore hearing to normal.
Hearing loss typically occurs at high frequencies, and individuals with hearing loss can only hear comfortably within a small intensity range at those frequencies. While the threshold for detecting a certain sound may be higher for someone with hearing loss, the level at which sound is uncomfortably loud is often similar for individuals with hearing loss and those with normal hearing. To deal with this problem, hearing aids split sound into large numbers of frequency channels, or bands. Within each band, weak sounds are amplified while strong sounds are not. This is called multi-channel automatic gain control.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed CAM2, a new method of fitting automatic gain control based on the audiogram of the user. An audiogram shows an individual's threshold for detecting sound at different frequencies.
"Until recently, hearing aids only provided amplification for frequencies up to four or five kHz, whereas a person with normal hearing can hear for frequencies up to 15 or 20 kHz," said Professor Brian Moore of the Department of Psychology, who led the development of CAM2. "Manufacturers have recently released hearing aids that can amplify frequencies up to 8 or 10 kHz, but existing fitting methods do not give any recommendations for those higher frequencies." The CAM2 method, however, extends the fitting range up to 10 kHz.
Higher frequencies help distinguish sounds such as "sh", "ch" and "f". In challenging listening situations, such as in a room where several people are speaking at once, the higher frequencies make it much easier to understand the person you want to listen to. The higher frequencies can also improve sound localisation, making it easier to identify where a particular sound is coming from.
A recent study compared the CAM2 method with NAL-NL2, which is a fitting method used by the NHS and many other health organisations worldwide. Judgments of overall sound quality were obtained for male and female speech in both quiet and noisy environments, and for four different types of music (classical, jazz, a man singing and percussion). Most participants in the study showed a preference for CAM2, both for overall sound quality and for the clarity of speech in a noisy situation. Further studies are planned over the coming months, in order to test more subjects with a wider range of hearing loss.
###
The CAM2 software is being commercialised by Cambridge Enterprise, the University's commercialisation group.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Rapper Lil Wayne didn’t fare well in his legal battle against Quincy Jones III, the director of a documentary about the singer’s life. Wayne launched [...]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A neck-and-neck White House race reached a frantic conclusion on Tuesday as voters chose between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney in a decision that will set the course for two starkly different visions for the country.
After a long and bitter presidential campaign, Americans cast their votes at polling stations across the country. At least 120 million people were expected to render judgment on whether to give Obama a second term or replace him with Romney.
The first clues to who will win could come once results are in from the swing states of Virginia and Florida and, even more importantly, Ohio. Polls in all three will have closed by 8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT) and if the results are clear, U.S. television networks could begin projecting winners in those states soon after that.
Polls closed in Indiana and Kentucky - both firmly in the Republican camp - at 6 p.m. EST (2300 GMT) and voting will end across the country over the following six hours.
Who Americans choose will set the country's course for the next four years on spending, taxes, healthcare and foreign policy challenges like the rise of China and Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Each man offered different policies to cure what ails America's weak economy, with Obama pledging to raise taxes on the wealthy and Romney offering across-the-board tax cuts as a way to reignite strong economic growth.
National opinion polls show Obama and Romney in a virtual dead heat, although the Democratic incumbent has a slight advantage in several vital swing states - most notably Ohio - that could give him the 270 electoral votes needed to win the state-by-state contest.
According to Reuters-Ipsos Election Day polling, one in three Obama voters said the economy was the most important issue for them, while half of Romney voters agreed. Healthcare was the second most important issue for Obama voters and the budget deficit was second for Romney voters. Unemployment was third for both.
Three-quarters of both Romney and Obama supporters decided to vote for their preferred candidate before the October debates, according to the data.
The Romney side was encouraged by what was described as heavy turnout in Republican areas from Florida to Colorado.
Romney made last-minute visits to Ohio and Pennsylvania to try to drive up turnout in those states, while Vice President Joe Biden was dispatched to Ohio. Obama remained in his hometown of Chicago.
Romney told reporters on his plane as he flew back to Boston that he was optimistic.
"I'm very proud of the campaign that I've run, to tell you the truth," he said. "I'm sure like any campaign, people can talk to mistakes, but that's going to be part of anything that's produced by human beings," he said.
The multimillionaire former head of a private equity firm and former governor of Massachusetts, Romney would be the first Mormon president and one of the wealthiest Americans to assume the nation's highest office.
Obama, the country's first black president, seeks to avoid being relegated to a single term, something that has happened to only one of the previous four occupants of the White House.
Whichever candidate wins, a razor-thin margin might not bode well for the clear mandate needed to help break the partisan gridlock in Washington.
In Chicago, Obama delivered a final pitch to commuters in toss-up states that have been an almost obsessive focus of both campaigns, and made a surprise visit to a local field office staffed with volunteers.
"Four years ago, we had incredible turnout," Obama told a Miami radio station in a pre-recorded interview. "I know people we're excited and energized about the prospect of making history, but we have to preserve the gains we've made."
He called a hip-hop music station in Tampa, Florida, in a final outreach to African-American supporters, telling listeners that voting was "central to moving our community forward."
Fueled by record spending on negative ads, the battle between the two men was focused primarily on the lagging economic recovery and persistently high unemployment, but at times it also turned personal.
The close race raises the prospect of a disputed outcome similar to the 2000 election, which ended with a U.S. Supreme Court decision favoring George W. Bush over Al Gore after legal challenges to the tight vote in Florida. Both the Romney and Obama campaigns have assembled legal teams to deal with possible voting problems, challenges or recounts.
COMPLAINTS AND FRUSTRATION
Although voting appeared to go smoothly in most places, complaints about procedures and possible irregularities surfaced sporadically across the electoral map. But there were no immediate claims of anything widespread or systematic enough to cast doubt on the credibility of the election outcome.
Storm-weary residents across New York and New Jersey encountered long lines as they went to cast their ballots just over a week after the devastating storm Sandy caused havoc in the region. New Jersey granted a last-minute extension to the deadline for email voting.
The balance of power in the U.S. Congress will also be at stake in races for the Senate and House of Representatives that could affect the outcome of "fiscal-cliff" negotiations on spending cuts and tax increases, which kick in at the end of the year unless a deal is reached.
Obama's Democrats are now expected to narrowly hold their Senate majority, while Romney's Republicans are favored to retain House control.
(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason in Chicago, Patricia Zengerle in Boston, Edith Honan in New York, Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee, Dave Warner in Philadelphia, Philip Barbara in New Jersey, Matt Spetalnick, Lisa Lambert, Susan Heavey, Thomas Ferraro, Susan Cornwell, Anna Yukhananov and Roberta Rampton in Washington; Writing by Matt Spetalnick and John Whitesides; Editing by Claudia Parsons and Christopher Wilson)
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Public release date: 8-Nov-2012
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