Listening Assignments For Brooklyn College 22

.. ive throughout the song, but again I would never be able to repeat it back correctly. It doesn’t seem as if there a motive but there is theme. 7/22 Listening Assignment #5 Major Minor Neither Organ Fugue in G Minor, J.S. Bach Rite of Spring, I.

Music flows out of a regular meter from beginning to end. This is from the ancient middle ages where all music was monophonic. Organ Fugue in G Minor, J.S. Bach An example of Polyphonic texture, Starts with a monophonic, but continues polyphonic. Nocturne, F.

Chopin Beginning to end has a homophonic texture. The end is monophonic for just a short while, and continues homophonic because you have harmony there. La Primavera, A Vivaldi Homophonic because there are three layers. Song from Angola Monophonic when he sings by himself and the drums. Then when the group goes in the same rhythm but different pitches leads to homophonic. Ritual Melodies, Harvey This is more timbre texture, there is no clear harmony or melody.

Take the A train, Stray horn Can be both Homophonic and polyphonic texture. It is motion filled and has a melodic movement. 7/27 Listening assignment#7 Bach, Gavotte from French Suite The musical form is Repletion. The form can be written as AABB because each part is repeated. The two parts differ in length and key, but are not related in melody.

Tchaikovsky, Dance the Reed Pipes The musical form is contrast. This form is a three-part example of ABA’. The first section has flutes playing which is a staccato melody and has a light airy feeling, and is repeated several times. The B section contrast in tone color, melody, and keys. A’ is just a shorter version of A.

Concerto for Orchestra, Bartok The musical form is in a duple meter of ABA’ form. In A a pair of Bassoons. Oboes, Clarinets, flutes, and muted trumpets play a chain of five melodies. The contrast in the middle section is B, which is a hymn like melody played softly by brass instruments. The A’ has a more active accompaniment.

A Little night Music, Mozart The musical form is the three-part ABA form of the pull and push feeling of repetition and contrast. The A section is stately , mostly loud staccato, with a clearly marked beat. The contrast in B is a soft intimate and legato. La Primavera , Vivaldi I found this Musical form to be Repetition of AABAA. The repetition helps recognize and remember the melody. When the musical idea returns, the effect is not duplicated but balance and symmetry. I wasn’t in class to review and I’m not so sure about this one.

String Quartet, Beethoven The musical form in this piece was a little confusing, ABACABA. It had the triple meter and between each was a contrast. The main theme is in minor, contrast with other themes, which are major. The B is a legato melody, while the C is a playful, with quick upward rushes. 8/3 Listening Assignment #8 Ave Maria, Desprez Motet, Religious and it’s in Latin As Vesta was descending, Weelkes Madrigal- English, Polyphonic, religious running, fast rhythm.

Tempo, pitch -descending , All- thick texture. Tenor horale from Cantata Instruments, religious text, voices with orchestra. More on a theme, played in church based on bible being religious wars. Hallelujah Chorus from the Massiah, Handel Oratorio, because a religious story is told. The Earl King, Schubert Solo piano with singer-there’s only one genre that fits this family which is art song.

Galloping rhythm of the horses- creates tension. Earl King -image of death and comes to take a boy that’s sick-night gallery- image . He tries to entice the boy to come with him. Change in dynamics to a smooth one more like a dance like accompaniment. A Survivor from Warsaw, Schoenberg Cantata- composition in several movements, usually written for a chorus, one or more vocal soloists, and orchestra written for the 6 million Jews that died in the camps.

Twelve tone composition. The music gets faster and louder to prepare us for the chorus. A solo male is speaking here. It paints running when the rhythm gets faster and pain when his tone of voice changes. 8/4 Listening Assignment # 9 Don Giovanni, Mozart Leporelo is on a lookout to make sure nobody bothers DonGiovanni. Leporelo thinks he’s a Don Juan having a nice romantic affair.

However, his master was doing something bad because he was really rapping her. But the servant claimed he didn’t know anything. In the beginning there is a pace. The servant is pacing and wasting time and waiting. Then he actually starts to sing.

He wants to be a gentleman, and he says it in Laggato style, while the rest was in Staccato. There is change when Donna Anna and Don Giovanni come down. The dynamics gets louder and the rhythm gets faster. There is a chase in the music between the two. There is a polyphonic texture. The chases is because she wants to know his identity.

When her father comes there is a dissonance in the harmony. There’s a lot of stopping and starting. When Commadant gets stabbed there is a minor harmony and a slow pitch, while he is dying. La Boheme, Puccini Mimi and Rudolfo fall in love. He helps her once her candle blows out, when she loses her key, they both look for it. There are many mood changes and the tempo helps us distinguish between them.

There is an alternation between speech like and melodic phrases within there dialogue. When Mimi enters we hear a lite orchestra and that shows her fragility and tenderness. When Mimi faints I notice there is a solo by the oboe. When Mimi comes back to get her keys there is a new melody in a faster tempo. Roddolfo’s aria has repeated tones and the melody becomes warmer and higher.

Okalahoma! , Rodgers and Hammerstein This song celebrates The beauty and richness of the land that would soon become the 46th state. It can be outlined in AA’BA. There is a very high tone on the first word Oklahoma. There is also a dance like rhythm- bouncy syncopation’s. It starts off with a male voice and a orchestral background. Then a group of people join in.

It is a major key and a happy song. Hallelujah Chorus from the Massiah, Handel There is word painting on the word Halleluya. The words are played on high pitches to make things sound cheerful. Painted musical element of timbre with the use of full orchestra, full choir and by the element of high pitch that gave a striking quality. For ever and ever was stretched in the element of duration.

Musical element was a polyphonic texture. Repetition of the theme and melody. Lord God Omnipotent has a monophonic texture. More staccato like a statement and Halleluya is accented. The kingdom of his word was a large, fast feeling in a homophonic texture. The kingdom of the lord has no timbre and when The Christ comes back the trumpets and drums return. Every time the name Lord or He is mentioned there is a monophonic texture.

Music Essays.


What would Jian do?

What’s taking its place? The decade of games.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis, Volume 1 (Persepolis, #1)

I really enjoyed the tone of Satrapi’s writing….a combination of harsh truth and the quirky humour of a young teenager.  Whether Satrapi has written this memoir as a young woman or older, she remembers accurately what it was like to appear fundamentalist in her public life but to be a rebellious teenager in her personal life.  I found it to be educational to read this book because the voice was so accessible. I’m sure that the students in my secondary school library would feel the same way.  Her black and white illustrations filled with paradoxes between modern life and religious expectations are also nuanced with symbolism yet are invitational to the deeper subject matter.

I was particularly surprised to learn about the different Shiite rituals surrounding virginity and death for both males and females.  The book forced me to reflect on what I know about Iran and here are my 3 major influences before reading Persepolis:  1) The movie Argo, 2) being a fan of Jian Ghomeshi and 3) having taught a couple of students from Iran while I was working for the Peel Board of Education.  Then I was sitting eating breakfast in Connecticut this morning and this news story came on the news: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/12/nyregion/bands-intensity-and-promise-drew-fans.html?_r=0  It seems that the religious extremism in Iran is still enough to chase out anyone who speaks up against it.

View all my reviews


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Mass Intentions

Mass Intentions

Would you like to have a Mass said for the intention of a friend or loved one?

Do you have a friend who is currently not well and could use prayer?

If so we invite to use the link HERE to have a Mass said for the them or for their special intention.

This will guide you through the process of making the suggested donation and choose the date of the Mass. Not all dates can be accommodated, but we will do our best. If you have any questions, please call the office at 660-827-2311 or by emailing Dianne Withers at [email protected]


What is a Super Tuscan Wine?

Guests of European Focus enjoying wine at a small Osteria in Umbria

April 13

We recently discovered a new wine cellar in the heart of Montepulciano where our clients were able to purchase bottles of Super Tuscan wine to take home to North America. This is an ultra-special treat, and not for the casual wine drinker. One has to truly love and respect wine to invest in a Super Tuscan.

(With help from Wikipedia)
Tuscany is home to some of the world’s most notable wine regions. Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano are primarily made with Sangiovese grapes whereas the Vernaccia grape is the basis of the white Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Tuscany is also known for the dessert wine Vin Santo, made from a variety of the region’s grapes. Tuscany has twenty-nine Denominazioni di origine controllata (DOC) and seven Denominazioni di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG). In the 1970s a new class of wines known in the trade as “Super Tuscans” emerged. These wines were made outside DOC/DOCG regulations but were considered of high quality and commanded high prices. Many of these wines became cult wines. In the reformation of the Italian classification system many of the original Super Tuscans now qualify as DOC or DOCG wines but some producers still prefer the declassified rankings or to use the Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) classification of Toscana.

Experience and purchase Super Tuscan wines on a European Focus Private Tour to Tuscany.


Eurometri Magazine, 02/2008
Hiski Haukkala

The post-Cold War EU–Russia relationship has been based on erroneous
premises. The lack of a genuinely shared understanding concerning the
relationship has resulted in growing political problems between the
parties. Instead of toning down its relations with Russia, the EU
should seek to re-invigorate its approach to the country. The EU
should, through its own actions, make it clear to Russia that it
deserves respect. By pursuing a unified internal energy market and
subsequent common external energy policy, the EU might be able to make
Russia take the Union level more seriously again, says researcher Hiski
Haukkala from the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

False premises

It has become something of a truism to contend that EU–Russia relations
are in a state of semi-permanent crisis. Substantial and constantly
deepening economic and political interdependence notwithstanding, the
actual interaction between the two seems to produce little more than
deep-seated misunderstandings, mutual suspicion and growing
disillusionment with the very idea of partnership. In hindsight, this
is rather surprising, even disappointing, and the current mood seems
far removed from that at the beginning of the 1990s when the two were
busily engaged in developing a mutually beneficial “strategic

The fact that the relationship between the EU and Russia has failed to
live up to expectations stems from the fact that it has been based on
erroneous premises on both sides. To understand why this is the case,
we must appreciate the exceptional circumstances during which the
foundations of the relationship were initially laid. The end of the
Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union heralded an age of
optimism. The beginning of the 1990s witnessed a period of Fukuyaman
“End of History”, during which time there was a strong expectation of a
swift transition towards liberal forms of economy and politics in all
of Europe, Russia included.
The political foundation of the EU–Russia relationship, the Partnership
and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) adopted in 1994, should be seen as a
reflection of the Zeitgeist of its era, departing from an assumption of
the essential compatibility of the EU and Russian value systems and
aiming at ever-closer economic integration and political cooperation
between Brussels and Moscow. As a consequence, Russia was subjected to
the same objectives and principles as the rest of the emerging Central
and Eastern Europe, with the important proviso that full membership of
the EU would not be on the cards.

The course of events has proved otherwise. Russia has not been willing
to live up to its original aims of pursuing a western democratic and
liberal path, a path which the country itself declared it wanted to
follow in the immediate aftermath of the demise of the Soviet Union.
Instead, Russia witnessed a period of internal weakness and ideological
disorientation, followed by the current phase of internal consolidation
and growing assertiveness. Currently it is traditional Russian virtues,
such as patrimonialism and authoritarianism, as well as a modern
variant of protectionist state capitalism that seem to be the order of
the day in Moscow.

Neither has the European Union nor its member states been able to
develop a coherent policy line that would have consistently nudged
Russia in the direction originally envisaged. Instead we have witnessed
an incoherent policy line with several divergences in key member state
positions. Furthermore, the fact that there has been no efficient
carrot to whet the Russian appetite has curbed Brussels’ influence on
Russia. In the last instance, the rising prices of several key
commodities in the world markets, notably oil and natural gas, have
insulated Russia from any external economic influence, leaving the EU
with very little effective leverage over the country.

The lack of a genuinely shared understanding concerning the appropriate
logic of interaction between the EU and Russia has resulted in growing
political problems between the parties. The increasingly fraught nature
of the EU–Russia relationship has mainly played to Russia’s strengths.
It has enabled Russia to re-assert its sovereignty and walk away from
the commonly agreed principles and objectives already codified in the
PCA. But the erosion of the original central aims of the partnership
has not resulted in an atmosphere of working relations between the two.
Instead it seems that Russia has been pressing hard for concessions
while the EU seems to have mainly engaged itself in rearguard
activities, hoping to preserve what it can of the original agenda in
the hope that Russia will eventually reconsider its position and return
to the wider European fold. Thus far, this has not transpired.

Sound principles

Clearly, the EU–Russia relationship is caught up in a vicious circle of
mutually decreasing expectations. On the Russian side, growing contempt
towards the EU and its institutions can be detected. For its part, the
EU, too, has witnessed increasing calls for a serious rethink of its
approach to Russia. The advice seems to be that instead of an ambitious
partnership based on shared values and principles, the EU should seek
to cultivate a more pragmatic policy based on a commonality of certain
key interests.

At first sight this might seem like sound advice, but it does not bear
serious scrutiny. The EU is not like the United States, which can
afford to concentrate on a narrow set of strategic issues in its
relationship with Moscow. Geographical proximity and growing
interdependence are too great for the Union to remain indifferent about
the future trajectory of Russia.

Despite the fact that the expectation of Russia’s essential willingness
to follow a liberal path has proved to be largely a chimera, not all
the principles underlying the Union’s policy on Russia have necessarily
been flawed. In fact, the reverse case can be made. Although the
original expectation of a rapid convergence towards the western ideals
was overly ambitious, democracy, rule of law, good governance, respect
for human and minority rights, and liberal market principles are all
factors that are badly needed in order to ensure a stable and
prosperous future for Russia.

In addition, it may well be that Russia’s current questioning of a
closer relationship with Europe based on liberal principles is, in
fact, based on an erroneous reading of certain conjectural factors that
are unlikely to persist over the longer term. First, it would seem to
be that the current boom in oil and gas prices has made Russia look
economically stronger than it actually is. Instead of engaging in
serious economic reforms and modernization, the talk in Moscow seems to
be that maybe such reforms are not even needed, and even if they are,
the stagnant model of European “social democracy” is hardly one to

Second, the temporary post-enlargement malaise in the EU has created an
impression that the Union is in serious political trouble and facing
growing irrelevance. Taken together, these two factors have created a
false impression that Russia is somehow economically more vibrant and
successful than the EU. In its rush to become the largest European
economy by 2020, which would require surpassing Germany in the process,
Russia has forgotten that it has very little actual chance of matching
the combined economic strength of the EU and its member states. In
addition, in the political arena, the Grand Narrative of European
integration is one of intermittent bouts of political sclerosis
followed by periods of rapidly deepening integration and growing unity,
something that is likely to persist also in the future. In this
respect, it seems certain that Russia has overestimated the extent of
the Union’s current problems and written it off much too hastily.

For these reasons, Russia’s current celebration of victory may well
prove to be premature. For Russia the EU should be a force to be
reckoned with and not trifled with. This is especially true when one
bears in mind that Russia’s sustainable economic, political and social
success will require reforms that will essentially take the country
back towards the original path of convergence with certain key liberal

In this process the EU is the only partner and agent of modernization
that is both capable of, and interested in helping Russia to succeed.
As already mentioned, the United States is too far removed from, and
not sufficiently interested in Russia to be that kind of partner. The
other currently available option, China, has not yet fully presented
itself as a credible partner in the process, while it also poses Russia
with the issue of strategic competition in Central Asia.

Finally, the case can be made that it is perhaps only now, after having
overcome at least some of the most centrifugal forces unleashed by the
dissolution of the Soviet Union, that Russia can re-embark on a course
of rapprochement with the European Union. Therefore, and if one wishes
to put a positive spin on some of the most negative aspects of Putin’s
presidency – namely the growing trend towards authoritarianism – it is
only now after stabilizing the domestic situation that the Kremlin, and
especially its new master Dmitri Medvedev, might be ready for a change
towards a more liberal direction yet again.

A change in Russia would, in fact, be required as the growing
authoritarianism and lack of effective checks and balances make the
current regime susceptible to serious economic and political
miscalculations. In this respect, the recent comments by the President
have been encouraging: the powers that be in Russia do indeed need to
engage the whole of the country in an open debate about its future.
This means, naturally, also lending an ear to voices that are highly
critical of the current comings and goings in the country. More
importantly, this would entail a clear reversal of the current trends
within Russia; away from growing control towards an increase in
liberties, the rule of law and good governance.

The way forward for the Union

What might the role of the Union be in this process? The starting point
must be the sober realization that the EU has very high stakes in its
relationship with Russia. Russia is simply too big, too near and too
important to be ignored. Therefore, and despite the current serious
political problems, the EU should extend the hand of partnership to
Russia time and time again. Any kind of scaling down of the engagement
is hardly a feasible option.
At the same time, the EU should, through its own actions, make it clear
to Russia that it deserves respect. The EU should start from the sector
that seems to be the key to the current relationship: energy. Here a
clear change in the way the Union does its business is required. The
current situation only plays to Russia’s strengths, enabling it to pick
and choose the most convenient EU partners and economically juicy
projects, making the EU look empty and hollow in the process.

By pursuing a unified internal energy market and subsequent common
external energy policy, the EU could make Russia take the Union level
more seriously yet again. There is an important historical precedent:
In the 1960s the EC started to develop its Common Commercial Policy.
Particularly from the 1970s onwards, its development essentially forced
the Soviet Union to start taking the EC more seriously as it could no
longer solely engage the individual member states in preferential
business deals as had been the case. This resulted in the gradual
establishment of ties between the Soviet Union and the EC, as well as
the process of wider rapprochement between the Council of Mutual
Economic Assistance and the European Communities in the 1980s, paving
the way for the dissolution of the Soviet empire and the eventual
association and accession of Central and Eastern European countries
into the Union.

It is not far-fetched to imagine that the same could happen again with
Russia in the case of energy. A unified market and common energy policy
would force Russia to deal more at the Union level instead of going to
individual member states. And even if it failed to bring about a
miraculous change in the Russian attitude towards the Union and its
agenda, it would at least deprive some of the main culprits – Russia
and the member states alike – of the chance of exploiting the economic
and political deals cut at the bilateral level to the detriment of the
common EU approach to Russia. Perhaps even more importantly, by making
Russia play the market in the energy field to the full, the EU would
also be able to diminish the potential scope for the Kremlin to use
energy as a political weapon. This would do away with the single
biggest concern relating to the Union’s large and growing dependence on
Russian resources, paving the way for a reciprocal and mutually
beneficial relationship in the field of energy.

However, a successful EU–Russia relationship should obviously extend
far beyond the energy question. The EU must not let Russia shirk its
commitments concerning certain liberal values and principles, no matter
how difficult the issue might currently be. The EU should also keep in
mind that more is at stake than ‘just’ its relations with Russia. In
essence, the EU is in danger of losing its legitimacy in the eyes of
its other partners. One may ask, and with good reason, on what grounds
the Union expects its other neighbours to heed its normative agenda and
conform to the intense political conditionality and scrutiny implied
by, for example, the European Neighbourhood Policy, if it has allowed
its biggest and perhaps most important neighbour to walk away from that

None of this should be taken to imply that the Union should go on the
offensive towards Russia. Instead, a more moderate and essentially
conservative stance is required. The EU should seek to consolidate its
own energy policy, while insisting that any relationship beyond that
sector must conform to a certain liberal baseline. At the same time,
the Union should shy away from taking steps that would result in a
drastically reduced scope for interaction with Russia in the future. In
this regard, the EU should refrain from rushing into a new post-PCA
agreement if it only meant codifying the current mood of pessimism and
resulted in a less ambitious agreement than the one the parties have at
present. The question of a new agreement is far from pressing: the
current agreements and documents adopted by the parties provide them
with ample scope to take the relationship forward in a mutually
beneficial way.


$5 at the door

9pm doors/9:30pm showtime

Chuck Leah:

Chuck Leah is an American singer-songwriter, musician and composer from Texas. He has been active in independent music for the past 30+ years. Starting as a child, Chuck became an accomplished bassist/guitarist, so much so, that he spent most of the 1980's as part of the folk house concert movement. He performed in various venues, spending most of the 1980's covering bass with a variety of bands and a host of musical identities. In the 1990's, Chuck entered the studio to pursue his own singer-songwriter interests, while continuing to tour with an eclectic mix of artists.

In the ensuing years, Chuck cut a bundle of new songs with a variety of folk rock bands from Austin, Texas, but still felt the pull of his own music and eventually recorded "Undone", "Drive" and "Burning Bridges", deploying several Texas based musicians and a transplanted Italian guitarist, Ettore Biagi.

Formally based out of Austin, Texas, the “Live Music Capital of the world”, and now based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Chuck has had the privilege of composing, recording and performing with several international artists. He has toured extensively and has just completed his latest studio offering "High Stakes" due out in early July. High Stakes was produced by Evan Bakke, Jeff Victor, and Chuck. It has been lauded as one of his best, drawing on all the elements of experience, and comparisons of all the musical influences in Chuck's life and career. High Stakes is an endeavor into melodies, stories, and musical arrangements that his fellow musicians and singer-songwriters have tagged as "haunting, potent, and getting your full attention."

While his style continues to evolve, Chuck stays true to his roots with an eclectic balance of compositions in folk-rock, folk, and Americana while providing that "presence" of a singer-songwriter with a history, along with an atmosphere of rhythms and melodies provided by great musicians...with that same history.

Dustin Lee:


Up Close: Brave New World Props

Up Close: Brave New World Props

26 November 2015

by Charlotte Bee

'600 years into the future, who’s going to be using a telephone or iPad?' Blackpool Young Reporter Charlotte Bee goes backstage on Brave New World to get an insight on the props used in the show.

Charlotte Bee wears feely glasses backstage So I got the chance to interview Associate Producer Neale Birch on Wednesday afternoon!
He asked me about myself, and we had a chat about the theatre and all the jobs involved in theatre that aren’t just acting or performing. With this being my first solo interview, he made me feel at ease and was a pleasure to talk to. He gave very detailed answers, which was brilliant as I definitely felt well informed and had enough to work with, and learnt a lot about the show I would never have known otherwise!

I enjoyed seeing the set and getting to view all the props close-up, as well as having the chance to do some photography. The Grand Theatre stage is one of my favourite places to be, so it was so interesting to see it with a proper set on the stage and with all the props there! I was particularly surprised about the laboratory desks being on tracks!

On average, how many props are used in the show, and have they changed since the production began?
There is one thing that has changed, and they are the feely glasses. They’re not actually glasses, they’re just frames, but they have lights on them and the idea is that the characters are seeing the picture through these glasses and are getting a complete sensory experience. The lights on the glasses were originally blue, but they eventually ran down so we had to replace them, and we stopped getting the blue lights but we had a full set of green glasses, and because we were going to be struggling to replace the blue ones for very much longer, the designer approved the green, and so we switched, and we’ve used the green ones ever since.

Production shot showing the glasses in original blueProduction shot showing the glasses in original blue

Which prop is the most likely to cause problems during the show?
We have scenes that involve whipping, and they are quite long leather bullwhips, and potentially, there are problems because you have to get the timing and positioning exactly right, as if it's wrong, you could cause someone physical harm. The ends of the whips also get frayed and we have to keep repairing those.

Other things that are potentially dangerous, are glass pieces in the production.If you drop a glass, it will shatter on stage and you’ll have to clean it up before you can continue. You would normally have plastic, but for whatever reason, the team in Northampton wanted to go with glass. We’ve been very fortunate, we haven’t had any accidents on stage yet, but it’s something that we’re all conscious of being potentially dangerous and spoiling a moment.

Prop! Neale Birch with the whipThe whip used in the show

Props! Glass used in the production to showcase strange food substances Glass used in the production to showcase strange food substances

Which props would you say are the most vital in the actor’s performances in terms of realism?
One of the things that was very much in our thinking was how we presented the future, it's very important that we don’t spend too much time explaining the future. 600 years into the future, who’s going to be using a telephone or iPad? We had to use something that the audience recognised and would accept as technologically advanced. A couple of the characters use a Perspex rectangular piece that looks like an iPad and just by holding that screen, the audience immediately accepts that it's an iPad. The feely and lab glasses that we use are very basic, but the way that we use them on stage makes the audience accept that it's hugely advanced technology.

Props! Babies are grown in glass jars!

Babies are grown in glass jars!

I also got the chance to ask Neale a few more general questions about the show, starting with: did you have a certain vision for how the show would be presented, and how has it progressed?
In terms of vision, the creative presentation is down to the Designer (Naomi Dawson) and Director (James Dacre). The essential thing is that it's effective and tells a story clearly, but also that it’s tourable, so that the resources and staffing are able to manage whatever is created. We don’t want to limit the design, but there are going to be limits on budget as it’s not infinite. There’s a specific time element in terms of the initial mounting of the production, it has to be built on time and with the right materials that are affordable, and then we have a certain amount of time allowing for fitting.

In terms of staffing, we are limited to how much staff we can take on tour. One of the elements in this production that has been particularly challenging has been the visuals and the projections, which has required staff that we wouldn’t normally have on tour with us. With regard to vision, we don’t want to limit directors and designers, we want to allow them to be creative but we have to place restraints on them based on our own capabilities.

Props table backstage

Props table backstage on Brave New World

Which moment in the show do you think the audience is most moved by?
I think the moment that might move people the most, and certainly that I feel moved by every time I see it, is the moment in which John takes the Soma and then makes love to Lenina. The feeling that I have, and that I’m sure lots of people have, is one of regret; we don’t want John to take the soma, and we know how he will feel when the soma wears off.

The savage reservation is enjoyable, and I think audiences are enjoying the dinner party scene because of the characterisation, and I think it was great that we were able to find a lot of humour in the piece. It's a very thought-provoking production, and people rather than really enjoying it, are made to think and question and wonder about it, and that’s probably a good thing.


Financial ratios, mathematical relations between financial numbers, are commonly used by potential investors and creditors to determine the financial health of a company. While these figures can be quite useful to a skilled financial statement analyst, there are both pros and cons to ratio analysis. Understanding where ratios shine and when they aren't as helpful can help you use this technique to check the health of your small business.

One of the most useful qualities of financial ratios is their ability to help uncover financial conditions that are other wise difficult to detect. For example, when comparing two companies, it can be difficult to determine which company is more likely to be able to pay creditors as bills come due. This is especially true if the companies are different sizes. However, an investor can calculate a liquidity or solvency ratio for each company and have a direct way to compare the two options.

Future Orientation

Unlike most accounting information, financial ratios are often oriented toward the future. Most ratio analysis is done by potential lenders and investors. As such, many financial ratios are geared toward helping these parties determine the health of a company and the likelihood of recouping an investment or return of the principal of a loan. However, this doesn't mean that the small-business owner can't benefit from the techniques. Because financial ratios are future-focused and standardized, the small-business owner can know what the lender is going to be looking for in advance. This allows the owner to prepare an explanation for ratios that may not accurately describe the business and to help focus attention on the ratios that are the most flattering of the company.

Basis for Comparison

One of the disadvantages of financial ratios is that most ratios need some kind of a basis for comparison. This can be difficult for small-business owners. Most small companies do not make financial information available to the public. As such, a small-business owner can only really compare performance to that of public companies. Often, this is a poor basis for comparison. While larger companies often have greater resources, these companies also have different costs, incentives and business strategies. This problem is partially alleviated by using past performance for comparison, but this can only really tell you about whether you are getting better or worse, not whether or not you are doing well in comparison with your peers.

Differences in Accounting

As financial ratios are calculated from financial statements, these ratios change as accounting methods and rules change. This can make comparison difficult. For example, as technology has increased rapidly, companies have found that computers can quickly become obsolete and are, generally, much less expensive than in the past. As a consequence, many companies have moved away from capitalization of standard computer equipment. Instead, these companies expense computers are they are purchased. In this case, the difference in accounting method increases assets in one case and increases expenses in the other case. Comparisons between companies practicing these different methods can be difficult. In addition, comparisons within a company before and after the change in accounting policy have the same difficulty.

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How long is the flight from Philadelphia to Harrisburg | Flight time from PHL to MDT

This page answers the question how long is the flight from Philadelphia to Harrisburg. Time in the air or flight time is on average around 25 minutes when flying nonstop or direct without any connections or stopovers between Philadelphia and Harrisburg. The flight duration might vary depending on many factors such as flight path, airline, aircraft type, and headwinds or tailwinds. Flying time for such a commercial flight can sometimes be as short or shorter than 21 minutes or as long or longer than 1 hour and 12 minutes.

The Philadelphia PA airport code is PHL and the Harrisburg PA airport code is MDT. The flight information shown above might be of interest to travelers asking how long does it take to fly from PHL to MDT, how long is the plane ride from Philadelphia PA to Harrisburg PA, and what is the flight time to Harrisburg Pennsylvania from Philadelphia Pennsylvania.


How our motivations may prevent us from seeing things clearly

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple”, Oscar Wilde has one of his characters say in The Importance of Being Earnest. The same can be said about the motivations for our activism: rarely pure, and never simple. Those who think they do what they do for the animals only, should think again, or need to apply for sainthood or official enlightenment status.

All of us changemakers and do-gooders (vegans or otherwise) have motivations that go beyond just helping the beings we want to help. We are also in search of recognition. We want to feel meaningful, have a sense of belonging, be important maybe. We want to be seen. We want to feel like we are good people. We have a need to be consistent. Maybe we want to atone for something we think we did wrong. Motivational speaker and author Tony Robbins put it very succinctly, and in my view very correctly. He says that all of us – in whatever culture – fear that we are not enough, and that we are afraid that if we’re not enough, then we won’t be loved. We’re on a quest for love, all of us. And we have different ways of trying to get that love we think we need.

quest for love (1)These feelings and motivations are indeed very human and are nothing to be ashamed of. Yet it is good to be aware of them and not pretend that they don’t exist and that we do what we do for the animals (or other humans) only. Because through being aware of these “impure motivations”, we may, whenever necessary, at least partially filter them out and see clearer. Sometimes this is extra necessary, because sometimes these motivations can really prevent us from being the most effective we can be. There’s an old Platters song called Smoke gets in your eyes. These more personal motivations, just like smoke, can get in your eyes too, preventing us from seeing clearly.

With a general term, that shouldn’t be interpreted too negatively, we can call these motivations ego-centric. Let me be dead honest in this post and give you an illustration how ego-centric motivations can get into my own eyes. The other day, a friend told me she would be doing some research around an outreach strategy which I’m not particularly fond of. I caught myself thinking for a moment how I hoped her conclusion would be that this strategy is not effective. I hoped this because if it would turn out to be effective, it wouldn’t particularly fit within my theories and strategies. I am someone who has invested quite some time in thinking about strategy and developing strategies. So I would love it if my thinking is right and I don’t want it to be contradicted. Not only would much of my work appear to me as a waste of time, I would also lose face, both in my own eyes and in others’.

It goes without saying that such an attitude, a confirmation bias, can blind me to some important information, make my theories etc more incomplete and less correct than they could be, and thus harm my advocacy. Not a good thing for the beings I want to help. I’m sure you can imagine other people who are married to their theories and ideologies to such an extent that they have trouble accepting any evidence, indications or even suggestions of something that contradicts them. Similarly, activists like to think that the kind of actions they do and are investing time in, are effective. Indications to the contrary may be experienced as threatening. Still more general, as vegans we don’t want our veganism – an important part of our identity – to be criticized. Yet all this close-mindedness is not a good thing.

This quote by Leo Tolstoy comes to mind:
“I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they had proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabrics of their life.”

Let me be honest on a meta-level too, about my motivation for writing this (this gets complicated!). Admitting to this, showing that I am aware of my own confirmation bias, is strategically a good thing to do. It may inspire confidence in others, who may think: this person tries to discover his own blind spots, and knows that he may be deluding himself. He is obviously trying to get to as much Truth as he can get. Maybe I’ll read some more of this guy. And this honesty may inspire even more confidence in you. And so on.

So two take aways from this post:

  1. it’s good to be aware of our ego-centric motivations
  2. showing our weaknesses, our awareness that we may have blind spots, our vulnerabilities, may inspire confidence in other people rather than the opposite.

How to veganize the world: one possible strategy

This is a somewhat longer article that gives a summary of the strategy you can also find in this talk. It first appeared in French here.

How to veganize the world

Let’s assume that if you’re reading this, you agree that, apart from all kinds of other changes, your ideal world is a world where animals are not used for human purposes, be it food, clothing, research, entertainment, or whatever. A vegan world, in short.

Can we ever achieve a vegan world? Right now, it doesn’t look too good. To use Melanie Joy’s so called “three N’s of justification”, meat is natural, normal and necessary. And to add two more N’s: it’s nice (tasty) and it’s not the first and only thing we worry about. Also, demand for meat, dairy and eggs is expected to grow a lot in the coming decades, because of the increasing purchasing power of people in upcoming economies, like China and India, which together represent one third of the global population.

Still, I’m optimistic. I think a vegan world is an obtainable goal (although it of course depends on what we consider to be a vegan world exactly, but let’s not have that discussion). The question then is: how do we reach that goal?

The most obvious idea, and the strategy that gets the most emphasis from both individual vegan/animal rights activists as well as from most organisations is simple: try to convince as many people as possible to go vegan, by explaining them that animals suffer or deserve respect and even rights. This is an important part of the strategy, but it is definitely not the only required part and it is maybe not even the most important part. I believe the social struggle for animal rights is the biggest and most challenging struggle of them all. To win it, we’ll need different tactics. But first, let’s see why this struggle is so difficult and different.

The struggle for animal rights is different

We love to compare the movement for animal rights with several human rights causes, such as the anti-slavery movement, the fight for women’s liberation, anti-racism, and so on, but it is important to note that, while there certainly are similarities, there are also big differences. The first among them is that in our case, the beings campaigning are not the same as the victims. We, their supporters, speak for beings who can’t speak for themselves. And we are still quite a small group. The public support for our cause is by far not as big as it was or is for let’s say the struggle for black people or women’s rights, exactly because in those cases respectively people of color and women were and are to at least a significant extent part of the protest. In the words of author Norman Phelps “we are attempting to be the first social justice movement in history to succeed without the organized, conscious participation of the victims.”

Take into account also the incredible degree to which our society is dependent on animal products. Most people, especially in the western world, have animal products at every meal. That’s three times a day, every day. Huge economies depend on the consumption of animal products, including also big parts of the clothing, research and some entertainment industries. We are invested in the (ab)use of animals to a degree that we probably have never been invested in the “use” of for instance black people, women or children. This obviously makes the whole system suffer from a very high degree of inertia. It’s good to take that into account.

Another reason for inertia is this: the main behavior (in terms of volume) that we are trying to change is eating behavior. Our food habits are sort of ingrained in us, maybe more so than anything else. What we eat is tied to emotional and psychological factors. We can be addicted to food, and some researchers believe that some food products or ingredients may have a level of addictiveness comparable to hard drugs. When it’s about food, we don’t think with our mind but with our taste buds or our stomach. Meat eating has been part of our history for hundreds of thousands of years. Many people experience some part of primary craving for it.
Conversely, what makes our challenge even bigger is that our opponents have it quite easy: their message (that eating animals is ok, normal, healthy…) is one that the large majority of the public wants to hear. It’s a message that the industry throws out their with billions of advertising money.

The above factors (as well as others) should be taken into account when strategizing about our movement and how to get to a vegan world. This is not to say that no comparisons are valid and that there are no similarities, but it means that we shouldn’t be too quick to draw conclusions based on what happened in other movements. We are largely in uncharted territory.

Moral and non-moral factors

moral non moral
When we look at the factors that can influence individuals (and society as a whole) to go vegan or progress towards veganism, we can make the following distinction: there are moral factors and non-moral factors. Concern for animal pain and suffering is the main moral factor or argument that we use. We hope that by considering the plight of the animals that they eat, people may change their behaviour. Non-moral factors are factors that can motivate or help people to eat or go vegan as well, but which have in and of themselves nothing to do with morality. For instance the environment in which individuals find their food and eat can be conducive to them eating vegan or not. A wonderful selection of great tasting meat and dairy alternatives could convince people to choose them without any thoughts of the animals being involved. Concern about one’s health is also a non moral factor (though I would never call it selfish or egotistical, as some people do).

We think moral factors work best

In our movement, we focus mostly on the moral factors. We spend a lot of time telling people that animals are sentient beings, that they have a right to life etc, saying that that is reason enough for them to change their eating habits.

Why do we focus on these moral factors? In part, because we think this focus is the most effective thing we can do. And we think they are effective because they are what convinced most of us who are vegetarian or vegan at this point. That we were moved by those factors, however, doesn’t necessarily mean that others will be too. Indeed, if it worked for everyone in the same way, we should have a lot more vegans already, obviously. You could see the present day vegetarians and vegans (a couple of percentages of the population) as the innovators and early adopters on the “diffusion of innovation” model. The rest of the population – the so called early and late majorities, and obviously the laggards) might very well need different ways to be convinced – because they are different people, with different interests – than us. Briefly put, when we advocate, we should always keep the following in mind: that you are not your audience.

The right thing for the right reasons?

Not only do we believe that these moral factors work well, we also want them to work well and we want people to be convinced by these moral factors and nothing else. We want people to be vegan for the right reasons, which is to say: because they care about animals. I guess this is because we believe that only people really caring about animals provides real and lasting protection for them. We have doubts that a vegan world will ever come about as a result of a lot of health or foodie vegans, and for good reason. There may be other reasons too, more personal ones, but I’m not going to start psychoanalyzing.

So because 1. we think a focus on moral arguments works and 2. because we want people to do the right thing for the right (moral) reason, our movement has very explicitly focused on it for the past few decades.

The problem with moral campaigning however, is that it’s not enough. One thing we can learn from other movements, and in particular from the anti-slavery movement (and here is a parallel with other movements which I think we can draw), is that the good fights are not won (if they are ever won) with moral arguments alone. In the case of slavery in North America, not only was it ended by an actual war, but also other things were really important, like the invention of the steam engine which could automate certain tasks and could make them cheaper than working with slaves.

Morality alone won’t do it

In the case of the animal rights movement, these non-moral factors are arguably even more important. If you would draw the case for the moral arguments to its logical extreme, you would argue that we have a duty always and everywhere to avoid animal products (let’s restrict ourselves to diet here), even in the case of us having only water and bread as our only meal for the rest of our lives. Now, that may morally make sense, and many present day vegans would not turn their back from veganism even if all they could eat was water and bread. However, we can easily imagine that every advance in alternative products (both in quality as well as quantity or availability) makes it a lot easier to further evolve on the scale towards veganism. To put it another way: as the offer of alternatives for animal products improves and increases, the required moral motivation or concern shrinks. This is a good thing, because we don’t have people’s motivation directly under our control, nor do we control their compassion or discipline to change.

Behaviour change may precede attitude change

For those of us who want people to go vegan for the right reasons and actually care about animals, there is good news though: attitude change can follow behaviour change. Let me explain. In our movement, as in most social movements, we usually work like this: we want to change people’s attitudes or beliefs about something, and hope that these changed attitudes will make them change their behaviour. In our case: we try to change their attitudes about animals by informing them about how animals are sentient beings who can suffer, deserve rights and respect, etc. We hope they understand this and then take the next step, which is to stop eating animal products. This works sometimes, but probably not often enough. Not only are we unable to make many people care (we don’t have much control over their caring), but some (maybe many) of the people who actually do care, will not change their behaviour (this is called the attitude-behaviour gap). Indeed we may assume that deep down, most people do care about what happens to animals in e.g. factory farms. Most people, however, are not vegan. They are not putting that caring into practise. The reasons for this are many, but one of the main ones is undoubtedly that it’s generally not convenient enough to do so.

When people’s behaviour changes first though (i.e. without their beliefs having changed), this behaviour change can influence their beliefs. You may notice the parallel with what I wrote about before: moral reasons and non-moral reasons. People can change what they eat for non-moral reasons: they may be in an environment where there’s great vegan food, they may be eating it because someone else prepares it for them daily. In the future there may be vegan alternatives just about everywhere. In some situations vegan food could be the default option and people may choose this option without thinking.

Now what happens is that once they experience that vegan food is good to eat, is doable, affordable, etc, they get more open to the animal rights arguments because they are no longer afraid of losing something. They know and have experienced already that there are great alternatives for animal products, so they don’t fear missing out. This time they are less prone to avoid reading an article on animal suffering or avert their eyes when they see coverage of factory farms on TV. They are less likely to dismiss it.

Let me illustrate how behaviour influences beliefs with a concrete example. Imagine a bullfighter and a slaughterhouse worker. These two people basically do the same thing: they kill cows. Now if you would ask non-vegans who of the two persons they feel most angry with, the answer will be: the bullfighter. Why is that? In part it is because many people see bullfighting as senseless violence while they see slaughtering an animal for meat as a necessary thing to do. Food is in their eyes less trivial than entertainment. I think, however, that this is not the main factor at play here. I think the main difference is this: most people are not involved or invested in bullfighting (they don’t attend bullfights or don’t watch them on TV), but are invested in the slaughtering of animals because they eat meat. Behaviour influences beliefs. It is much harder to judge or condemn something you do yourself. It is easy for most people to condemn fur because they are not wearing fur.

Another way behaviour change comes before concern for animals is of course when people go vegetarian or vegan for health reasons. Research shows that in a significant part of the cases people who go veg for health reasons develop (just in the way I described above) a concern for animal suffering, and often ethical vegans started out as health vegans. I think the concern of some vegans that health is not a good motivator or argument to talk about veganism because it is less “sticky” (i.e health vegetarians or vegans will be more prone to give it up) doesn’t hold much water, because without the health argument we might have had way less vegetarians or vegans in the first place, and secondly many people, as I stated, evolve in their motivations over time. This objection is mainly a reflection of us wanting people to do things for the right reasons. (On the other hand, health benefits of veganism shouldn’t be exaggerated, and potential nutritional pitfalls should be explained).

The importance of incrementalism

As you may be able to see, what I described above is not about making people vegan directly. By experiencing vegan meals and products, people slowly change their behaviours and beliefs, and many will eventually arrive at being full fledged vegans because they care about animals. However, this is not to say that all the people who reduce their meat consumption are of no value in and of themselves. On the contrary. I believe the fastest way to a vegan world is to emphasize the reduction of animal products (in tandem with a “go vegan” message that is carefully targetted at some audiences and in some circumstances). People will be a lot more inclined to actually do something when you ask them to take a step they can imagine really taking. For most people, the question to go vegan will be a non-starter. That doesn’t mean there should be no outreach material or groups or individuals that are using the “go vegan” message. It just means that there should also be a message out there to reduce (and maybe this message should be more prominent than the go vegan message). The important thing here is that a big group of meat reducers is the fastest way to increase demand, and thus supply. The more meat reducers there are, the more veg products will appear everywhere, and the more easy it will become to to go totally vegan. It is crucial to bear in mind that many of us may be vegan thanks to the fact that it is now a lot easier than before, and that it is a lot easier thanks to… the big group of meat reducers asking for veg products (rather than the still tiny amount of vegans).

To put all this together: apart from the “go vegan for the animals” approach, there should also be an approach that focuses on behaviour change first. This behavior change can be for whatever reasons (health; the availability of great alternatives…), and to whatever degree (meat reduction, vegetarianism, Meatless Mondays…). Just like people can evolve in terms of their motivations, they evolve in terms of their frequency of meat consumption. A big group of meat reducers will increase the supply, making it easier for everyone to go vegan. When vegan products and meals become even more available, and certainly when they come closer to being the default option, spreading the animal rights message will be much easier, as by then both individuals and society as a whole will be less dependent on animal products. This also means that at this point in time, it is extremely important to focus on creating amazing alternatives for animal products, both in supermarkets and in restaurants.


State of Affairs

250 Scientists Highlight Concerns With Earbuds

250 Scientists Highlight Concerns With Earbuds

Wireless headphones, like Apple’s popular AirPods, could be dangerous to human health, according to a petition signed by 250 scientists.1 The devices, which include not only AirPods but also other wireless Bluetooth headphones, bring a new level of function and convenience to those looking to listen to music, podcasts, audio books and more while on the go.

Since their introduction, more than 44 million AirPods have been sold,2 with another 55 million predicted to be sold in 2019 alone. Forecasts are that 80 million will be sold in 2020.3 It’s an undeniably alluring bit of technology — one that was further made into a “necessity” of sorts when Apple removed the headphone jack from its iPhone 74 — but it’s one that may come at a steep price.

The petition to the United Nations (U.N.), led by the International Electromagnetic Field Alliance, takes aim at both nonionizing electromagnetic fields (EMFs), which are used by AirPods and other Bluetooth devices, as well as cellphones and Wi-Fi, which emit radiofrequency radiation.

Scientists Warn of Danger From EMFs

The petition, which was originally released in 2015 and updated in 2019, is an international appeal from scientists who work closely in the study of the health effects of nonionizing EMF. For decades, the industry has claimed that nonionizing radiation is harmless and the only radiation worth worrying about is ionizing radiation. On the contrary, the scientists state:5

These include — but are not limited to — radiofrequency radiation (RFR) emitting devices, such as cellular and cordless phones and their base stations, Wi-Fi, broadcast antennas, smart meters and baby monitors as well as electric devices and infrastructures used in the delivery of electricity that generate extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF EMF).”

Noting the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s classification of EMF as a possible human carcinogen, they also stated numerous scientific publications show EMF affects organisms at levels “well below” most international and national guidelines. Among the potential risks of exposure include:6

Cancer Cellular stress
Increase in harmful free radicals Genetic damages
Structural and functional changes of the reproductive system Learning and memory deficits
Neurological disorders Negative impacts on general well-being

By failing to take action, the petition states, the World Health Organization is “failing to fulfill its role as the pre-eminent international public health agency,” adding that damage from EMF “goes well beyond the human race, as there is growing evidence of harmful effects to both plant and animal life.”7

Why Wireless Earbuds Could Be Particularly Problematic

Joel Moskowitz, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley and one of the petition’s signers, explained that earbud technology is so new that research hasn’t yet been done to detail what effects it could have on the brain.

However, he stated in a news release, “I couldn’t imagine it’s all that great for you,” noting that AirPods “communicate with one another using a magnetic induction field, a variable magnetic field [one] sends through your brain to communicate with the other.”8

Bluetooth technology like that used by AirPods is typically low intensity, but it’s the close proximity to your brain that could make earbuds particularly dangerous, especially since they tend to be used for longer periods. Moskowitz said the technology could “open the blood-brain barrier, which evolved to keep large molecules out of the brain.”

He believes that with earbuds, exposure leading to neurological disorders and diseases may be more likely than cancer. “From a precautionary standpoint, I would argue you shouldn’t experiment with your brain like this by keeping these kinds of wireless headphones on your head or in your ears,” Moskowitz said in a news release. “You’re conducting a health experiment on yourself, and current regulations are completely oblivious to these kinds of exposures.”9

Martin Pall, Ph.D., professor emeritus at Washington State University, is another one of the scientists who signed the petition. He discovered more than two dozen bodies of research asserting that EMFs work by activating voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs), which are located in the outer membrane of your cells.

Once activated, they allow a tremendous influx of calcium into the cell — about 1 million calcium ions per second per VGCC. When there’s excess calcium in the cell, it increases levels of both nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide. While NO has many beneficial health effects, massively excessive amounts of it react with superoxide, forming peroxynitrite, which is an extremely potent oxidant stressor.

Peroxynitrites, in turn, break down to form reactive free radicals, both reactive nitrogen species and reactive oxygen species, including hydroxyl radicals, carbonate radicals and NO2 radicals — all three of which do damage. Peroxynitrites also do their own damage.

EMFs are not, therefore, causing damage by having a thermal influence or heating your tissues; they are not “cooking” your cells as some suggest. Rather, EMF radiation activates the VGCCs in the outer cell membrane, triggering a chain reaction of devastating events that, ultimately:

  • Decimates your mitochondrial function, cell membranes and cellular proteins
  • Causes severe cellular damage
  • Results in DNA breaks
  • Dramatically accelerates your aging process
  • Puts you at higher risk for chronic disease

Like Moskowitz, Pall believes consequences of chronic EMF exposure to the brain can include neurological changes leading to anxietydepressionautism and Alzheimer’s disease.10 Further, it’s known that elevated VGCC activity in certain parts of the brain produces a variety of neuropsychiatric effects. According to Pall:

Nine Measures to Protect Human Health From EMFs Requested

In their petition to the U.N., the scientists state there are inadequate nonionizing EMF guidelines on an international level, and the agencies responsible have failed to create and impose sufficient guidelines and safety standards to protect public health and populations that may be especially vulnerable to EMF, such as children.

They’re calling for the United Nations Environmental Programme to fund an independent multidisciplinary committee to figure out ways to lower human exposure to RFR and ELF, noting that while industry should cooperate in this process, they should not be allowed to bias the findings. They also made the following nine requests regarding EMF:

  1. Children and pregnant women be protected
  2. Guidelines and regulatory standards be strengthened
  3. Manufacturers be encouraged to develop safer technology
  4. Utilities responsible for the generation, transmission, distribution and monitoring of electricity maintain adequate power quality and ensure proper electrical wiring to minimize harmful ground current
  5. The public be fully informed about the potential health risks from electromagnetic energy and taught harm-reduction strategies
  6. Medical professionals be educated about the biological effects of electromagnetic energy and be provided training on treatment of patients with electromagnetic sensitivity
  7. Governments fund training and research on electromagnetic fields and health that are independent of industry, and mandate industry cooperation with researchers
  8. Media disclose experts’ financial relationships with industry when citing their opinions regarding health and safety aspects of EMF-emitting technologies
  9. White-zones (radiation-free areas) be established

Protections Needed Before 5G Technology Becomes Widespread

The scientists’ petition is a somber warning as 5G, or “5th Generation,” wireless networks continue to roll out. Unlike the “4th Generation” (4G) technology currently in use, which relies on huge 90-foot cell towers with about a dozen antenna ports on each, the 5G system uses “small cell” facilities or bases, each with about 100 antenna ports each.11

Expected to be 10 to 100 times faster than 4G technology and capable of supporting at least 100 billion devices,12 5G relies primarily on the bandwidth of the millimeter wave (MMW), which is between 30GHz and 300GHz, according to EMF coach and author Lloyd Burrell.13

MMWs have not been widely used before, but there are some concerning findings to date, including that sweat ducts in human skin act as antennae when they come in contact with MMWs.14

In addition, there is a possibility the technology could worsen the problems with antibiotic-resistant bacteria already plaguing the world, as they cause changes in E. coli and many other bacteria, depressing their growth and changing properties and activity.

This also raises concerns that the technology could lead to similar changes in human cells. According to researchers in the journal Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology:15

“MMW … or electromagnetic fields of extremely high frequencies at low intensity is a new environmental factor, the level of which is increased as technology advances. It is of interest that bacteria and other cells might communicate with each other by electromagnetic field of sub-extremely high frequency range …

[T]he combined action of MMW and antibiotics resulted with more strong effects. These effects are of significance for understanding changed metabolic pathways and distinguish [sic] role of bacteria in environment; they might be leading to antibiotic resistance in bacteria.”

Studies have even shown that MMWs may invoke stress protein changes in plants such as wheat shoots,16 while low levels of nonionizing radiation have been linked to disturbances and health problems in birds and bees.17

Skip the Earbuds — and Other Tips to Lower Your EMF Exposure

It’s clear that when it comes to the use of earbuds, the use of the precautionary principle is warranted. Don’t become part of the experiment — skip earbuds and listen to your media content the “old-fashioned” way instead.

Apart from that, here are 19 more suggestions that will help reduce your EMF exposure and help mitigate damage from unavoidable exposures.

4.Avoid using wireless chargers for your cellphone, as they too will increase EMFs throughout your home. Wireless charging is also far less energy efficient than using a dongle attached to a power plug, as it draws continuous power (and emits EMFs) whether you’re using it or not.

According to Venkat Srinivasan, director of Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science, keeping your cellphone or tablet fully charged at all times will also reduce the life of the battery, which will necessitate the purchase of a brand-new phone.18

As a lithium ion battery charges and discharges, ions pass between a positive electrode and a negative electrode. The higher the battery is charged the faster the ions degrade, so it’s better to cycle between 45 percent and 55 percent.

14.Avoid using your cellphone and other electronic devices at least an hour (preferably several) before bed, as the blue light from the screen and EMFs both inhibit melatonin production.20

15.Since we now know the effects of EMFs are reduced by calcium-channel blockers, make sure you’re getting enough magnesium. Most people are deficient in magnesium, which will worsen the impact of EMFs.

16.Pall has published a paper21 suggesting that raising your level of Nrf2 may help ameliorate EMF damage. One simple way to activate Nrf2 is to consume Nrf2-boosting food compounds.

Examples include sulforaphane-containing cruciferous vegetables, foods high in phenolic antioxidants, the long-chained omega-3 fats DHA and EPA, carotenoids (especially lycopene), sulfur compounds from allium vegetables, isothiocyanates from the cabbage group and terpenoid-rich foods.

17.Incorporate the Nitric Oxide Dump into your daily fitness routine. According to Pall, the nitric oxide signaling pathway and the peroxynitrite pathways inhibit each other, meaning that as nitric oxide signaling increases, peroxynitrites decrease. As the Nitric Oxide Dump boosts nitric oxide, it may help provide some protection against EMF damage.

18.Molecular hydrogen has been shown to target free radicals produced in response to radiation, such as peroxynitrites. Studies have shown molecular hydrogen can mitigate about 80 percent of this damage.22

19.Certain spices may help prevent or repair damage from peroxynitrites. Spices rich in phenolics, specifically cinnamon, cloves, ginger root, rosemary and turmeric, have exhibited some protective effects against peroxynitrite-induced damage.

This article was originally published by

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Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

A strain of history-writing that has recently gained some attention is that of “global history”. The writing of global history, especially of the 16th to the 18th centuries, is a simultaneously challenging and exciting task for professional historians and students. Exciting because at a time when it took months or even years to sail from one continent to the other, people, goods, ideas, and cultural practices traveled from one place to another. But these influences did not just travel; they had a deep and transformational impact on the history and culture of the recipient peoples and societies.

All too often the writing of global history that stresses global connections is met with outrage. Were there no historical developments of our own, locals often ask. These questions become crucial and fraught with dangers as global histories appear to be another way of saying that Europe was supreme, and influenced the rest of the world. This is to miss the point of global historiography because when global histories are written outside of Europe one can observe how these global connections had a profound impact on Europe itself. Further, global history need not be written only with reference to Europe. One can be creative and even try to understand the history of Goa, say, from the perspective of Mozambique.

For some time now I have been toying with the idea that Goan history should be, or is essentially, a global one. That is, the international connections through which Goan history emerges are not only crucial but are the chief creators of Goan history. If ‘global’ is too ambitious or too ideologically fraught a term one could label such connections as ‘trans-oceanic’ or ‘trans-continental’ or simply ‘connections’. However, the importance of connections, regardless of their dimensions, remains true. Thus, while writing the history of Goa one seeks connections not only with Portugal but also with the neighboring Deccan regions and its polities, as well as the polities on the western coast of the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Ernestine Carreira’s Globalising Goa (1660-1820): Change and Exchange in a Former Capital of Empire (2014) is concerned precisely with discussing the connections that the Estado da Índia had with Portugal, Brazil, the Marathas, and other European powers in the Indian Ocean. Carreira, who teaches Portuguese history at the University of Aix-Marseille in France, gives equal importance to the political developments wrought by European and local powers. Further, her book also hints at the simultaneous development of the Goan identity.

For instance, take Carreira’s discussion of how the territories of the Novas Conquistas were conquered and/or integrated into the Goan segment of the Estado, which until then comprised only of what subsequently came to be called the Velhas Conquistas. What we today identify as the territory of Goa was linked to certain definite developments in Brazil. During the reign of Dom João V (1689-1750) new gold mines were discovered in Brazil which provided Portugal with much needed bullion. These resources were used to finance the army which won against local feudatories. With military victories and diplomatic negotiations, new territories and people came under the rule of the Estado. In a similar way, Carreira writes about other events and developments in the India Ocean or in the Deccan region that had a deep impact on Goa.

There is something else that can be said about the Goan identity from the abovementioned anecdote. There is a tendency in Goa to link Goan history to the Indian nation as a default reflex. Many times this proves to be historically inaccurate. As the above anecdote shows, large parts of what is today indubitably considered Goan became Goan due to the unstable polities on the borders of the Estado. How different local feudatories interacted with the Estado changed the identity of many population groups from the 1750s. Therefore, Goa emerged (and is indeed continues to emerge) slowly through concrete historical processes.

Apart from the conceptual concerns, Carreira’s work also tries to intervene in the area of Goan academia in general and Goan historiography in particular. Like Raghuraman Trichur and other scholars have recently asserted, Carreira too suggests that Goan academia is hardly a place of lively debate. In terms of Goan historiography, Carreira rightly notes that after an initial spurt of publications in the ’80s and ’90s by organizations such as the Xavier’s Center of Historical Research, there are few institutions today that are interested in furthering historical research about Goa. While there are many scholars – such as Carreira herself – who would like to devote themselves to research on Goa, they lack precisely the support system and academic infrastructure crucial to develop historical research. The consequences of such apathy towards historical research are indeed grave.

Apart from the fact that historical interpretations can be propagated by politically misguided persons, the actual archives too get neglected. Without an organized and vocal interest-group, there is nothing to stand between the archives and the ravages of time and climate that decimate these holdings. Goa’s state archives, like the numerous historical monuments, are the patrimony of all Goans, regardless of their political or cultural affiliation.These archives are significant because they can not only reveal, but also have the potential to change, our collective memory of the past. Well-kept and well-used archives, and libraries, are also a sign that governmental and cultural institutions are serious about the culture of the place, which fosters a community spirit. Institutions in Goa need to recognize it and seriously invest in such bodies.

But nonetheless, students and researchers of Goan history should be glad that they have a rigorously researched study for reference. Call it global, trans-oceanic, or any other name, Carreira’s work reminds us that the connections that Goa had with other regions and peoples are not only very important to study but critical to an appreciation of the Goan past and present.

(First published in O Heraldo, dt: 18 January, 2017)

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

The year 2016, according to many, has been frustrating for several reasons. While the sharp increase in violence across the globe may justify labeling 2016 as ‘horrible’, one can also rightly claim that the ugly face of violence has manifested itself for decades together. In such a bleak scenario, where do we go? And how do we deal with this mess?

There is also a human cost that needs to be borne by the peoples and regions at the receiving end of globalization and development. Most discussions about Goa’s troubled (and troubling) industries like mining and tourism highlight the rampant corruption, the deliberate losses imposed on the state exchequer, and the general losses suffered by the economy. However, one rarely comes to terms with the human loss and the loss of dignity in the ensuing chaos. The mining boom around 2008 saw many persons investing their life’s savings to earn from the transportation services then in high demand. While all liabilities such as loans were the sole responsibility of the individual – and not the mining companies – the sudden halt of all the mining activities somewhere in 2014 led to families sinking nose-deep in debt. The mounting debts drove many to suicide. These were not of course the only deaths related to mining; there are also the innumerable people who died in mining-related road accidents.

A ‘slow economy of life’ would necessitate that we start thinking of‘development’ as essentially sustaining the natural and human resources. With elections round the corner one will hear so much talk about what needs to be done and what should be done. But the question that needs to be asked is whether the current political and economic establishment would end up exhausting ourselves.There should be a balance between work and leisure, with emphasis on the dignity of the human while enjoying the fruits of the earth in moderation.

(A slightly modified version first appeared on O Heraldo, dt: 4 January, 2016)


agency costs

Agency costs

Agency Costs

Costs that arise from the inefficiency of a relationship between an agent and a principal. In a publicly-traded company, agency costs may arise because the company's executives (the agents) may act in their own interest in a way that is detrimental to shareholders (the principals). For example, they may raise their own salaries to an unrealistic level. Agency costs are best reduced by providing appropriate incentives to align the interests of both agents and principals.

agency costs

the failure of employees (as ‘agents’), hired by the owners (the ‘principals’) of a business, to fully comply with the terms and responsibilities stipulated in their CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT. For example, operatives may ‘shirk’, indulging in time wasting (long tea breaks etc) thus leading to a loss of potential output. The companies executive directors may fail to put shareholder interests first and pursue other BUSINESS OBJECTIVES of more ‘value’ to themselves. See PRINCIPAL-AGENT THEORY.

Strategists are concerned not only with agency costs (internal to the firm) but also with the TRANSACTION COSTS of using external markets. Together these can be important considerations in influencing the extent of VERTICAL INTEGRATION/DISINTEGRATION.

References in periodicals archive ?
Davidson (2003) Agency Costs, Ownership Structure and Corporate Governance Mechanisms.
13) Principals can combat this downside and avoid agency costs if they have the tools and resources needed to prevent their agents from getting sidetracked in the pursuit of the principal's interests.
They were fined 45,000 and ordered to pay Environment Agency costs of 24,762.
One of the key areas of overspend is on agency costs, which, in the 11 months up to the end of February, rose from PS33.
Within agency theory, corporate governance mechanisms align managers' interests with shareholders' interests in order to mitigate the agency costs of free cash flows.
Estate agency costs, stamp duty and conveyancing fees are linked to the property purchase price.
Theoretical and empirical literature has shown that firms adjust their capital structure to debts in response to higher agency costs (Jensen, 1986).
Jensen and Meckling (1976) in their seminal work on the principal-agent problem, defined the agency costs that occurred in relation to the separation of ownership and control.
We do acknowledge these external placements cost significantly more than internal foster placements, up to two or three times more when there are additional agency costs factored in.
their idiosyncratic vision, investors seek protection from agency costs.
It discusses derivative actions cases before Company Law 2005; why derivative actions should play a role in monitoring management and how they should be improved, including the double agency costs in China and the non-legal mechanisms and legal protections; the relationship between direct actions and derivative actions; reform; and funding issues.

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Corporate counsel can reap the benefits of changing service delivery models while ensuring their role continues to evolve past simply understanding the risk profile, strategy and objectives of the business and advising accordingly.  We offer specific ways to manage the new balancing act for in-house counsel and legal managers with limited resources - driving cost efficiency while maintaining the effectiveness of legal advice.


USMCA Provision Could Deter Trade Agreements with China

A provision in the updated NAFTA concluded this past weekend could make it more difficult for Canada and Mexico to pursue potential free trade agreements with China. Observers say the Trump administration could look to insert a similar provision in possible FTAs with the European Union and Japan as part of its effort to pressure Beijing to advance economic reforms.

According to press sources, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement contains a provision requiring any of the three partner countries who wish to negotiate a free trade agreement with a non-market economy country such as China to give the other two members three months’ notice. If such an FTA then takes effect, the other two countries would be able to withdraw from the USMCA in six months and form a bilateral pact.

A Reuters article states that the clause “fits in with U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to … prevent Chinese companies from using Canada or Mexico as a ‘back door’ to ship products tariff-free to the United States,” but it is unclear how likely such a scenario might have been. Canada discussed a potential FTA with China relatively recently but Beijing reportedly balked at the terms Ottawa was seeking. Mexico appears to have relatively little interest in a deal with China, which is an important trade partner but still less so than the U.S...

This was excerpted from the 4 October 2018 edition of the Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg Trade Report.


02 4677 1317

Alted Printing

The Biggest Little Printer in Picton

Have you been looking for a company to take care of your flyer printing in Wollongong? If so, before you make your choice, you might want to consider the difference between offset printing and digital printing.

As you might expect, offset printing is the older of these two printing methods. It utilises plates, cylinders and rubber rollers to copy an image or document and apply it to a piece of paper. The result is a crisp, clean and vibrantly colourful image. Because of the use of plates, though, offset printing creates more waste, takes longer to set up and execute and wastes more materials than digital printing.

Digital printing, a more modern alternative, and uses the same principles as the average inkjet or toner-based printer you might see in a home or office. Different digital printers can copy images, texts and other file characteristics in a variety of different ways. However, what they all have in common is that they don't use plates to recreate the image, which reduces waste, setup time and cost.

Which of these methods you decide to use for your flyer printing job in Wollongong will depend on a number of factors. At Alted Printing, we provide both types—a rarity at print shops in the area, as most businesses focus on either digital or offset specifically. By offering you both options, we allow you to consider the benefits each type of printing might have for your project.

Higher-volume print runs, for instance, might be an ideal fit with the offset run, since the greater level of usage will justify the cost and setup of the plate printing process. Digital, meanwhile, is better for low-volume print runs, because it avoids the money and time investment of the offset process.


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Religious sites in Pisa

Pisa, Italy

Collection of 4 places
Discover precious examples of Medieval and Early Renaissance art Camposanto Monumentale

The Campo Santo, also known as Camposanto Monumentale ("monumental cemetery") or Camposanto Vecchio ("old cemetery"), is a historical edifice at the northern edge of the Cathedral Square in Pisa. "Campo Santo" can be literally translated as "holy field", because it is said to have been built around a shipload of sacred soil from Golgotha, brought back to Pisa from the Third Crusade by Ubaldo Lanfranchi, archbishop of Pisa in the 12th century. A legend claims that bodies buried in that ground will rot in just 24 hours. The burial ground lies over the ruins of the old baptistery of the church of Santa Reparata, the church that once stood where the cathedral now stands. The term "monumental" serves to differentiate it from the later-established urban cemetery in Pisa. The cemetery is an essential tourist site for every tourist who wants to really enjoy the true beauty of Tuscany.

The largest Baptistery in Italy Battistero di San Giovanni

The Pisa Baptistery of St. John (Italian: Battistero di San Giovanni) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical building in Pisa. Construction started in 1152 to replace an older baptistery, and when it was completed in 1363, it became the second building, in chronological order, in the Piazza dei Miracoli, near the Duomo di Pisa and the cathedral's free-standing campanile, the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. The baptistery was designed by Diotisalvi, whose signature can be read on two pillars inside the building, with the date 1153.

Visit the church Santa Maria della Spina

Santa Maria della Spina is a small church in the Italian city of Pisa. The church, erected around 1230 in the Pisan Gothic style, and enlarged after 1325, was originally known as Santa Maria di Pontenovo for the newer bridge that existed nearby, collapsed in the 15th century, and was never rebuilt. The name of della Spina ("of the thorn") derives from the presence of a thorn, putatively part of the crown of thorns placed on Christ during his Passion and Crucifixion. The relic was brought to this church in 1333. In 1871 the church was dismantled and rebuilt on a higher level due to dangerous infiltration of water from the Arno river. The church was altered in the process, however, and John Ruskin, who visited Pisa in 1872, was outraged about the restoration.. The church no longer houses the “thorn”. The “thorn” is now in the Chiesa di Santa Chiara, which is on show inside and can be found on Via Roma. The church of Santa Maria della Spina has always been administered by the city, except for short interruptions in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when it fell to the responsibility of the local hospital.

A medieval Roman Catholic cathedral Duomo di Pisa

Pisa Cathedral (Italian: Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale di Santa Maria Assunta; Duomo di Pisa) is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa. It is a notable example of Romanesque architecture, in particular the style known as Pisan Romanesque. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Pisa.

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Which Absorber is Sufficient for your Kitchen?

17 Feb 2018
by Αλέξανδρος Ανδρούτσος

The output or better the absorption of the absorber depends on the dimensions of the room and also on the route that the air follows until its exit .
The absorber must be able to refresh the air at least 10 times per hour.
Furthermore it depends on the length of the flue and its diameter and also the number of the angles until the exit of the air.

We recommend a diameter of F120 for up to 450m3/h and F150 for higher absorption. For every second angle we recommend reinforcement of the absorption of 15%.
Dimensions of kitchen = 4x4x2,8=44,8m3 (x10 = 448)

Ideal absorption = 450m3/h
refresh per hour = 10 times

Noise Level

In the installation with extraction the pipeline affects the noise level. For this reason minimize the number of the angles and junctions and choose materials that reduce the noise.

The new absorbers guarantee very good absorption even in the first speed with law level of noise.

You will find absorbers that matches with every kitchen.
If you wish to have homogeneity and coherence in the kitchen, then the solution is a built-in absorber.
If you like the idea of a decorative absorber you will find a lot of timeless and modern hoods in t-shape and vertical absorption.

Most of the absorbers operate by air extraction and also by air recycling.
The most efficient choice is the function with extraction since the absorber sucks the smells and drives them out. If there is not the possibility of extraction, we choose the recycling in which we use carbon filters in order to clean the air from the smells and channel it back.

Clever Tips

Remember to open the absorber 3 minutes before you start cooking. In this way you create an air flow channeling the smells and the steams to the absorption surface.

Regular maintenance = long life
It is important to clean the metallic filters frequently and replace the acrylic filters when needed, in order to prevent fat from permeate into the motor of the absorber and ensure its good function.


All Japanese Shrines in Ibaraki Prefecture

Japanese Shrines are sacred buildings of the Shinto religion, an indigenous religion to Japan. The primary objective of a Shinto Shrine is to store and protect sacred objects, kami. These objects are said to be enshrined. Most Shinto Shrines feature a honden, the primary building where the sacred objects, kami are stored. An exception to this is where the sacred object is a mountain or similarly large object. Some shrines contain halls for worship, known as haiden.

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    Tokiwa Jinja Shrine

    Tokiwa Jinja Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Mito Ibaraki Prefecture, next to Kairakuen. Tokiwa Jinja Shrine was established in 1868 to enshrine Tokugawa Mitsukuni and Tokugawa Nariaki.


Table 2: Baseline characteristics according to cinacalcet status 1 year after kidney transplantation.

CharacteristicsNo cinacalcet

Age (years)ns
Male4 (67%)9 (82%)ns
Body mass index (kg/m2)0.105
 Caucasian3 (50%)6 (55%)ns
 Black2 (33%)4 (36%)ns
Presumptive cause of ESRD
 Diabetic nephropathy1 (17%)3 (27%)ns
 Hypertensive nephrosclerosis2 (33%)3 (27%)ns
 Polycystic renal disease1 (17%)3 (27%)ns
 Other2 (33%)2 (18%)ns
 Hypertension6 (100%)11 (100%)ns
 Dyslipidemia4 (67%)9 (82%)ns
 Diabetes1 (17%)4 (36%)ns
 Coronary artery disease2 (33%)4 (36%)ns
 Heart failure0 (0%)6 (55%)0.043
 Smoking1 (17%)1 (9%)ns
Dialysis modality
 In-center hemodialysis4 (67%)6 (55%)ns
 Home hemodialysis1 (17%)3 (27%)ns
 Peritoneal dialysis1 (17%)2 (18%)ns
Time spent on dialysis (years)ns
Baseline biochemistry
 PTH (pmol/L)0.102
 Corrected calcium (mmol/L)ns
 Phosphate (mmol/L)0.196

PTH: parathyroid hormone; ns: not significant; values < 0.05 are considered statistically significant; values < 0.2 are indicated because variables were included in logistic regression model; continuous variables are expressed as mean ± standard deviation; categorical variables are expresses as count (%).


Colin Yates, Chief Support Officer at WorkMobile, discusses how moving aspects of your business to digital formats can make all the difference.

The need to stay up to date with advancements in technical knowledge for plumbers and heating engineers is widely acknowledged.

The Chartered Institute for Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE), for example, requires all of its members to participate in Continuous Professional Development, by attending training courses, workshops, conferences, and exhibitions, in order to help their customers feel confident that they’re benefiting from the best possible service.

The question is – are plumbing and heating companies spending the same amount of time and effort ensuring that their business practices are equally as cutting edge?

Advances in mobile technology and the birth of cloud computing have made it possible for more businesses across almost every sector to embrace digital transformation and revolutionise the way they work.

Ditching paper and working towards a digital working environment is a great way to drive efficiency, boost productivity, save money, and free up time. Despite the significant benefits, many within the plumbing and heating industry are still failing to adopt digital solutions. Our recent Death of the Paper Trail report revealed that 67% of trade and utilities businesses are still heavily reliant on paper.

Whether it’s down to tradition, complacency, or a fear of the costs and complications that digital transformation would entail, there’s no reason for the industry’s apparent reluctance to go digital, especially when the potential rewards are so great for both businesses and their customers.

So, with this in mind, here are three ways that implementing paperless processes can benefit both plumbing and heating businesses and their customers:

Improving reliability

According to the most recent Which? Trusted Trader survey, the most common concern when hiring a tradesperson is that they won’t turn up at the agreed time, which was cited by 62% of respondents.

Replacing paper-based workflow management processes with cloud-based workflow management software is an effective way to streamline the job allocation process and provide a more reliable service.

With paper-based processes, all appointments must be allocated at the beginning of the day or week, with job sheets physically handed over to staff. This makes it extremely difficult to reallocate existing jobs, or add new ones throughout the day, and leaves managers oblivious to the progress of each task.

Implementing a cloud-based solution allows managers to schedule work and send information directly to employees’ mobile devices. It’s then possible for them to receive updates and notifications during the life cycle of a job, showing when a worker has begun travelling, arrived at the job, started, and completed the work.

This makes it much easier to see when employees are running behind schedule, meaning a decision can then be made either to alert the next customer to the slight delay or to reassign the job to another member of the team.

Complete more jobs in a day

Paper-based processes can be extremely time consuming. Not only must all documents be completed by hand, they must then be returned to the office, where any essential information can be manually inputted into a computer database and the paper documents filed away in bulky storage units.

With cloud-based digital solutions, all documents can be completed and filed without the need for the employees to physically return to the office, which improves productivity as it gives them more time to attend a greater number of jobs.

With reports automatically loaded onto the company portal, it also greatly reduces the administrative burdens placed on staff and leaves less room for human error.

Providing superior customer service

When reliant on paper-based processes, it can be difficult to provide the optimum level of customer service. Transporting the appropriate documents for every job can be cumbersome, and it can also be difficult to ensure that engineers always have the correct job sheets, customer contact details, and job history to hand. If any essential documents are forgotten, then valuable time is wasted returning to the office to collect them, potentially leaving customers waiting.

With documents completed digitally and saved to the cloud, workers no longer have to carry large amounts of paperwork around. Additionally, any relevant historic files, appliance information and blank job sheets can be downloaded instantly and from anywhere, enabling engineers to have in-depth knowledge of each customer and helping them to provide the highest level of service.

Furthermore, with digital cloud-based solutions, customer contact information and other relevant details can be saved safely and securely in a database, which can be accessed by staff both in the office and out in the field.

This means that if a customer calls the office or their engineer, their personal information and history can be viewed with ease, enabling better and faster customer service. Alternatively, if a staff member needs to get in touch with a customer, they can do so without needing to waste time searching through paper files for contact details.

With so many benefits, both for heating and plumbing businesses and their customers, going paperless with the help of digital technology is worth serious consideration for businesses looking to improve their operational processes.