#books that scarcely address the topic is support for it :

[rugessnome]

B/

I hate this canon (affectionate) but what I really loathe is the expectation to emotionally process new additions that I won't like (derogatory)

[busk23suarez]

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[ecoamerica]

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

[ngildin]

For Immediate Release

“’Learn From My Experiences’ Offers Valuable Advice to the Nonprofit World"

Boynton Beach, Florida – In an authoritative new book “Learn From My Experiences,” the author Norman B. Gildin provides professional fundraisers, lay leaders, volunteers and the general public his perspective and the benefit of nearly four and a half decades raising more than $93 million for nonprofit organizations.

  In 67 chapters, the author tackles different topics and addresses techniques and methodologies considered best practices in the field of fundraising. There also is a special section whose focus is possible outcomes of the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic on fundraising. Through anecdotal stories, the reader is informed, educated, amused and even surprised by what it takes to support worthy organizations whose purpose is to help the less fortunate and vulnerable in society.

  The general public will find this book fascinating because everyone has a pet charity or project which they support or for whom they want to raise funds. It gives the novice and, even, the veteran fundraiser a sweeping understanding of what it takes to raise money for a nonprofit organization.

There are an estimated 1.6 million nonprofit organizations registered in the U.S. These include public charities, private foundations and other exempt organizations with many often vying for the elusive fundraising dollar.  

Mr. Gildin says “the times we live in require creative fundraising solutions to offset continuing shrinking revenues by government and third party reimbursors. "It is estimated that more than 657,000 not-for-profit organizations nationwide, or a little over 55%, have revenues of less than $1-5 million. The National Council of NonProfits indicated that the non-profit sector is made up primarily of small and midsize organizations. Of all filing nonprofits, more than 80% have expenditures of less than $1 million."

  Continued Mr. Gildin, “these organizations often have scarce resources and, therefore, need to seek out new and imaginative fundraising solutions. A well-established way to do so is to learn about cutting edge and also “tried and true” methods to raise donations. The book does this.”  

Mr. Gildin maintains that not-for-profit agencies and organizations that take care of clients and consumers with disabilities or with conditions that limit their activities of daily living must be up to today's financial challenges because these vulnerable folks depend on them. "This holds true for schools, museums, religious institutions, social service agencies, health care institutions and others who also need to remain fiscally solvent in difficult times,” stated Gildin. The author hopes that readers will learn important lessons from his decades of experience that can be practically applied today. In his words, “These essays are opportunities on how to best approach donors for major gifts, conduct special events and design and establish many programs to raise money for nonprofits.” There is something here for everyone.

This book is meant to be an easy read. You can pick it up and read through the book, or just glance at chapter headings in the Table of Contents and read chapters that interest you. Essays generally run between 750-1,500 words. Simple.

This book is intended to not only help Development professionals, but also lay leadership, volunteers, and even the public, which are involved in fundraising. Is it an exhaustive description of every kind of fundraising?  No, but it does address the major categories of giving which are annual campaigns, capital campaigns, planned giving and endowment fund giving. Some more; some less. The reader is asked be the judge.

In August 2012, Gildin founded Strategic Fundraising Group LLC (SFG) which exists to enable nonprofit organizations and agency executives to implement effective fundraising programs. SFG specializes in helping not-for-profit agencies organize, plan, coordinate and execute campaigns that will help them achieve their financial goals. SFG was established to give the small fundraising shop to the large one an opportunity to engage a firm that adds sophistication to their operation. SFG provides the resources and the capability to organize or undertake essential tasks that provide fruitful fundraising results especially during challenging economic times. SFG is headquartered in Boynton Beach, Florida.

To learn more about the book, visit the author’s website at www.normangildin.com.  You can also order the hardcover, softcover or eBook on Amazon (pre-order sales), or go to the publisher BookBaby.com and enter the name Norman B. Gildin in the search box and you can get immediate delivery when ordered.

About the Author: NORMAN B. GILDIN is an experienced fundraiser guided by principles of strategic planning that have been the hallmarks of his success. His background encompasses the four major types of fundraising – annual campaigns, building fund and capital campaigns, planned giving and endowment fund giving. Mr. Gildin believes in a well-organized, methodical approach to Development. He offers a sophisticated approach to fundraising with emphasis on the strategic planning required for this task.  During his career Gildin was results oriented and that meant getting the job done. He spearheaded multiple successful fundraising campaigns and developed strategic plans and case statements to raise essential funds. He also has strong public relations and marketing experience and is a proven leader in the use of social media.

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[lodelcar]

THE IMPACT OF THE REGIONAL APPROACH ON THE WELFARE AND THE WELL BEING OF CITIZENS

Picture: Anamorphosis, Gustavianum, Uppsala, Sweden

Opening considerations

Decentralization and regionalization are a hot topic in Europe. And not only because a number of regions does not agree with the policies of their national government and do not feel culturally recognized. Since 1992 the European Union works with the subsidiarity principle. This is defined in the following way: “The subsidiarity principle aims to ensure that decisions are taken as closely as possible to the citizen. Except in cases where the EU has exclusive competence, action at European level should not be taken unless it is more effective than action taken at national, regional or local level.”[1] The EU focused on local initiatives in its previous committee and in its current committee with the Cohesion Funds as crucial incentive. The Cohesion Funds are a tool of the EU’s cohesion policy which is “the European Union's strategy to promote and support the ‘overall harmonious development’ of its Member States and regions.”[2]

In recent years, the trend towards urbanization has shown that mayors and agglomeration presidents can have an important impact on the development of their city or urban area. Successful mayors and governors, however, have one feature in common: they are all very influenced - consciously or unconsciously - by the adage of the third American president Thomas Jefferson: “The care of human life and happiness and not their destruction is the only legitimate object of good government. ”Ironically, this can be read in a letter that he addressed to the Republicans on 31-03-1809.

There are fantastic theoretical explanations about how the regional or local approach should function. A bestseller is the book by Benjamin R. Barber, senior research scholar at City University of New York.[3] Unfortunately, the subtitle of his book is provocative and confronting: "Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities". Decentralization and regionalization are therefore viewed with suspicion in centrally organized states and with governments that prefer to be in control.

I prefer to work from a practical point of view, with examples of successful local and regional projects and themes that have not offended national governments, but rather have been fully acknowledged by them that they have benefited the well-being of their nationals. In this article I start from the celebration of the 25-year governorship of the governor of the province in which I live and work, Lodewijk De Witte. In addition, in my speech I incorporate lectures organized by the Public Works’ Elderman of the municipality in which I live and work. And although almost 40% of the population in my region is also blinded by allegations of right-wing and left-wing politicians that cause them to fall in the pit of their own electoral behavior, Belgians are contradictively enough to be among the happiest people in Europe according to Eurostat[2]. And that has in the first place to do with the historical fact that since centuries, cities and municipalities in my country have enjoyed a very important series of freedoms and have therefore been able to pursue a policy close to the citizen in many areas even though we became dominated by Burgundy, Spain, Austria and France. And those local authorities took very practical initiatives, starting from the Latin adage: improvidus, apto, quod victum, or improvise, adapt and overcome.

The themes of the province

The celebration of Governor Lodewijk De Witte gave a good overview of his assignments and "passions", because at least one speaker had been invited for each. It gives a good picture of what regional and local authorities can do as an extension of the national ones,[4] provided that they have sufficient powers and resources. Because the first adage of this governor is: legal, correct and honest administration. The tasks and powers that were treated with great fire were: representation in the region of the higher authorities, coach and interlocutor of the local authorities, spatial planning and mobility, safety, regional development as well as social and economic innovation. And that contained real passions: society, economy, ecology and solidarity.

Break the compartmentalisation of public services

One of the most important tasks that has been addressed and that sends a message to national, regional and local authorities across Europe is a genuine commitment to breaking the fragmentation of public services.[5] This concerns the eternal dichotomy between specialists and generalists. But it is also a plea for national, regional and local projects to set up steering groups with all stakeholders so that they are and remain aware of the obstacles and obligations that authorities impose to come up with solutions. We come back with the slogan "improvidus, apto, quod victum".

We experienced it ourselves in the realization of a business park of 80 ha where 18 different government agencies and ministries had to give their approval, where it was expected that an environmental impact report would be drawn up, a stop for public transport, an exemplary project for waste water purification of the companies with a 3-hectare reed pond, a bicycle bridge over the highway had to be realized so as not to interrupt a cycle highway, an entrance and exit complex on the highway had to be constructed, sound barriers had to be raised, a central parking lot for all companies. Twenty to 25 government services often sat at the table in quarterly meetings. The advantage was that specialists got to know each other and learned to think in terms of problem-solving.

Jeroen Reyniers told the same story during a conference on high-performance suburban landscape.[6]  His proposition was that the scarce open space that still exists in urban and suburban areas in the densely populated Benelux should be cherished and that spatial planning of such areas should be the starting point for building contractors of roads, business parks and residential areas.  The main argument is that areas without open space run the risk of getting warmer by 4% by 2040. Its main principles were that open space should be open and accessible to the neighborhood, so that the neighborhood will also take ownership of the area. These so-called "cherished neighborhoods" also lead to more solidarity between the neighborhood residents, regardless of their origin. It is also important here that the systemic value of open space should be increased as much as possible, with emphasis on -among other elements- water, sufficient food for animals and plants, perpetuating biodiversity. This could only be achieved by his agency, the Flemish Land Company, by gathering all parties involved around the table and thereby allowing each body to contribute to finding solutions. Once again, this was about trying out small projects, which then tried to connect and finally reach a consensus with other organizations that planned interventions in the same area.

Mobility and ecology in local and regional context

Europe has few megapolises except London, Paris, Moscow and Istanbul. In other parts of the world that trend is faster and more intense. Studies show that by 2030 there will be 41 mega cities in the world [7] and that by 2050 66% of the population will live in cities.[8] If there is a theme that attracts cities and urban areas, it is mobility and its social, economic and economic aspects. Cities have the advantage of being able to work from a city council and with a mayor. Urban areas can declare themselves happy if they have a governor of a province or region who can draw and coordinate initiatives at the level of the entire area. In Belgium, Brussels is one of those headache generators: it is a capital region with 18 municipalities and the city of Brussels. But next to the city region, the urban area continues in the 19 municipalities of the Brussels outskirts, which belong to the Flemish region. The coach of those municipalities is the provincial governor of Flemish Brabant who has quickly recognized the need for consultation and cooperation. Ironically, the metropolitan region has more contiguous open space areas than the periphery. This has grown historically and is also cherished by the urban region, often at the expense of the development of mobility in the peripheral area that is intersected by a city ring that is one of the busiest motorways in Europe. According to the 'TomTom Congestion Index', Brussels is the 10th most 'obstructed city in Europe'.[9]

Within the Brussels-Capital Region, however, people are working hard on solutions. And those are not simple, because the challenges for traffic attacks and pollution are constantly increasing with the technological evolutions: e-commerce, department stores with mass supply, Uber eats and other prepared meals home delivery. In Europe there are 555,000 early deaths from air pollution. E-commerce is currently not a blessing with its principles of delivery within 2 hours or at the latest the next day, of free returns and of missed home deliveries that are collected elsewhere. The consumer behavior of the city dweller also has a negative impact on mobility and air pollution, with the majority informing themselves online, testing in a shop, making the purchase online, having it delivered at home even if they are absent, and ordering too much, which leads them to the collection point to return. Research into pollution in Brussels by road transport has shown that the cost to the community is € 51.692 / day.[10]

What solutions are being considered? Within the city there is a trend for mixed use of buildings, so that both living and working occur, and even city farming on the roofs. An important tendency is to make it less compulsory for people to leave on a daily basis to work by introducing telecommuting, by implementing co-working at premises close to cross roads and transport hubs, by organizing teleconferencing instead of physical meetings.[11] In addition, car sharing is already present, bicycles and steps with various systems applied: back to one bicycles, back to many (pole stations), free floating bicycles, free floating steps and scooters. The next step will be car sharing with the perspective of 21,000 taxis instead of 330,000 private vehicles and 621 buses.[12] And certainly through a dramatic rethinking of the production lines by going from linear economy to recycling economy to circular economy. We have already dealt with this topic in previous articles.[13]

Local or regional initiatives also often make the difference in rural areas. The construction of wind turbines as an alternative energy source is in the doldrums of many densely populated Western European countries. Resistance from the population is persistent and consistent. As a result, the number of new wind turbines in Belgium and France has only increased marginally in recent years. After all, the burden is often for the population in rural areas with a lot of open space, and the benefits for the energy multinationals. Local initiatives sometimes break that pattern. In the neighborhood of Charleville-Mézière, the cooperative "Les Ailes des Crêtes" was founded, stimulated by local mandatories. The idea of this was already developed in 2003, when a group of municipalities alongside the northern French city of Charleville-Mézières devised a local climate plan. They were then the avant-garde of the "transition écologique", a term that since then has been taken over by the Yellow Vests . This is a civilian project in which the majority of the capital is in the hands of private individuals and local companies and all income returns to them. By playing builder themselve, the citizen coordination also ensures that the participating municipalities are not overwhelmed by gigantic windmills and that their beautiful landscape is preserved.[14]

Regional development is a crucial task for local authorities

When we talk about regional development, we often tend to focus solely on job creation. And indeed, it is an important aspect. According to Abraham Maslow's theory, humans would only strive to satisfy the needs that were placed higher in the hierarchy after the lower-placed needs were satisfied. Physical needs such as sleep, food, drinking, sex, but also needs for safety and security such as work and relationships must first be realized before attention can be paid to friendship, love and positive-social relationships.

Municipal governments are expected to take an increasingly active role towards building territorial cohesion and establishing an enabling environment that promotes local economic growth and meets the real needs of citizens. The infrastructure needs of the municipalities remain high in many regions of the EU and in the candidate-member states, while the financial and management capacities of the municipal governments are still weak to address these needs also because of inadequate funds to cover the related costs.

In calls for proposal issued by the EU in the framework of its assistance to municipalities in candidate-states, the priority of the call is to support municipalities in the fields of job creation and local economic development, but also for youth empowerment, education, sports, environment, culture, and other basic municipal infrastructure.[15]

Striving for socio-economic innovation within the dynamics of a region

Cities and regions with dynamic governance also often have a tendency to address social problems dynamically. In many cases they get help from the competence centers and from the companies that are present in their area. The role of these competence centers is not only to help companies to become more efficient or to develop new products. It often goes further and broader, through the search for solutions to social problems that arise in the city or region.

Numerous cities have sought solutions to accommodate newcomers in a structured way, to provide them with housing and work, to learn the language and to integrate it into the society where they ended up. It is denying a reality if one ignores the refugee problem, even if a majority of the population would rather see them leave the country. Newcomers demand a targeted policy, with adapted initiatives, certainly at school, especially for the labor market, also in the housing and welfare policy.[16] Immigration is not always bad news. There is also talent that can strengthen the local economic  and social tissue. In many Italian municipalities, immigrants are recruited to combat depopulation and to once again man a shop, school and cultural tissue to the benefit of the young local families who have to leave otherwise due to a lack of local facilities.

Innovation with urban space took place in the German city of Freiburg, where a new district was built in Vauban in the 1990s, about 4 kilometers south of the city center and is intended as a model for sustainable urban development, including a number of passive houses . The 41-hectare area consists of apartment blocks, student houses (converted barracks) and large garage buildings. All buildings have a maximum of 4 floors, and no two buildings are exactly alike. Streets in the neighborhood are relatively car-free, it is not allowed to park the car on private property. But people can drop their groceries at home and then park the car in one of the large garages covered with solar panels on the outskirts of the neighborhood. Energy and heat are generated centrally for a large part of the neighborhood with wood pellets. At the edge of the neighborhood there is also an energy plus section designed by Rolf Disch. There are currently around 5600 people living in 2472 families. The average age is 28.7. The number of cars per 1000 inhabitants is –very low- 172.[17]

Economic innovation is finally high on the agenda of many a region. Sometimes the regional administration encourages this. The Moldova North Region Business Forum was organized on September 20th 2019 in Balţi by Regional Development Agency North (ADRNord) with the focus on SME integration into the Global Value Chains. Several key-note speakers[18] explored the possibilities of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). This phenomenon, which is aimed at outsourcing a number of services from large companies to lower-wage countries with sufficiently highly educated people, offers opportunities for the Moldova region in Romania and the republic of Moldova to keep their better educated in the country and thus contribute to the growth of its economy. In Flemish Brabant and Brussels, on the other hand, there is the will of the universities to create spin-offs from scientific research, which contribute to the economic development of the region. In both cases the incentive comes from the university as well as from the region, the province or the city region.

Ensure safety

“Safety is more than not fearing for one’s own life. It is about protecting against burglary and theft, or preventing violence within the family, or combating drug addiction with its sometimes dramatic consequences. The point is that people can feel comfortable, at home and on public roads. It is about being able to organize parties and festivals, with well thought out security measures, but without extreme regulations. It is about providing an effective response to feelings of fear that no one is protected from, but which are often falsely encouraged.”[19]  These wise words from our governor indicate that this governmental aspect must be exercised close to the population, where knowledge of the terrain is paramount, but where objectivity must also be paramount. The principle of equality is one of the foundations of Western constitutions and therefore requires an approach without prejudice. And again it refers to Maslow's theory, in which basic needs have to be fulfilled before people can develop their personalities. Those basic needs are the same for everyone and should not be taken away. It is also clear that those basic needs are best safeguarded by authorities that are close to the people, from a regional approach.

Final remarks

I have already dealt with the subject on topics that can be realized by regional and local authorities in earlier articles.[20] The fact that the EU pays so much attention to it in its recent programs is encouraging. On the other hand, it is also clear that the regional approach theme comes across as threatening for countries that are traditionally centralized and therefore do not systematically allocate resources to their provinces or cities / urban areas.

The fact that the EU also devotes significant resources to supporting regions in candidate countries such as Albania and Northern Macedonia, and even in Partnership countries such as Ukraine and Georgia, means that it is serious. During the opening statement as nominee, newly elected EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen explicitly stated that "we need more" on cohesion funds, and spoke out in favor of subsidiarity. The proposals also include regions and local communities in a European Climate Pact. This is, or course, the way to reach a local-friendly EU.[21]

[1] https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/policy/what/glossary/s/subsidiarity, Retrieved on 7/01/2020

[2] https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/policy/what/glossary/c/cohesion-policy. Retrieved on 7/01/2020.

[3] Benjamin R.Barber: If Mayors Ruled the World. Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities, 2013, Yale University Press

[4] In the case of the Kingdom of Belgium, the governor here represents both the land of Flanders and the federal state of Belgium.

[5] Joost Swinnen, project manager De Lijn and Brabantnet, presentation on Spatial planning and mobility, dated. 16-12-2019

[6] Jeroen Reyniers: Open ruimte als sturend element van stadsontwikkeling, (Open space as a guiding element of urban development)  presentation, De Muze Meise 19/12/2019

[7]  Jeff Desjardins, These will be the world's megacities in 2030, in World Economic Forum, 30 Oct 2018 https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/10/mapping-the-world-s-new-megacities-in-2030/

[8] http://citywise.net/news/2017/2/9/the-united-nations-projects-that-66-of-t, retrieved on 22-12-2019

[9] Wanneer staan de ergste files rond Brussel? (When are the worst traffic jams around Brussels?), in Vacature 2019, https://www.vacature.com/nl-be/carriere/werkplek/wanneer-staan-de-ergste-files-rond-brussel retrieved on 22-12-2019

[10] Mommens, Brusseleers, Van Lier & Macharis, Brussels vrachtverkeer meer impact op gezondheid dan gedacht (Brussels freight traffic has more impact on health than expected), VUBPress, 2019

[11] Cathy Macharis, Mobiliteit van de toekomst (Mobility of the Future) presentation De Muze, Meise (B), 28 november 2019

[12] Pieter Ballon, Cathy Macharis en Michael Ryckewaert (ed): De Humane Stad, 30 voorstellen voor een  stad op mensenmaat,( The Humane City, 30 proposals for a city on a human scale), VUBPress, 2017

[13] Louis Delcart, Regions and Cities as Stimulators Towards Green and Digital Economy, in: International Journal of Innovation in the Digital Economy (IJDE), sept.2018

[14] Story in Jolien De Bouw - ‘Zelf windmolens bouwen om ons landschap te redden’  ("Building windmills yourself to save our landscape") - De Standaard – 31-12- 2019

[15] EU for municipalities, Guidelines for grant applicants, Reference: EuropeAid/166359/DD/ACT/AL

[16] Lodewijk De Witte, Terug- en vooruitkijken (Look back and ahead), Speech 1-10-2019, Provincial government Flemish Brabant

[17] Freiburg Statistical Yearbook 2013

[18] Very efficient interaction on #BPO potential with key speakers: from Iasi, Dan Zaharia, founder of FabLab & PIN Magazin, George Turcanasu, Iasi University Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Alina Monacu, Sector advisor ICT & BPO, Balti State University representative. Sharing the experience of Iasi and inspiring Balti BPO business opportunities. Mila Malairau, Executive Director of #AMCHAM Moldova shared the experience and BPO development trends. Pedersen & Partners shared their experience of BPO activity in Balti. Franz-Anton Plitt, shared the experience in Edinet. They appreciated the multilingual, cost efficient and dedicated human capital. Another strong asset is developed Internet infrastructure, and the incentives of Moldova IT park with 7% unique tax.

[19] Lodewijk De Witte, Terug- en vooruitkijken (Look back and ahead), Speech 1-10-2019, Provincial government Flemish Brabant

[20] Louis Delcart: THE REGIONAL APPROACH: WHICH SUBJECTS CAN HAVE A BENEFIT THROUGH IT?, in LinkedIn Pulse, September 13, 2016, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/regional-approach-which-subjects-can-have-benefit-through-delcart/ retrieved on 22-12-2019

[21] https://platforma-dev.eu/local-friendly-new-commission-president-ursula-von-der-leyen/ retrieved on 22-12-2019

[strathoa]

Wellcome Workshop for funded researchers in the SSH

Pablo de Castro, Open Access Advocacy Librarian

On Fri July 5th the Wellcome Trust held a full-day workshop in London for their funded authors in Social Sciences and Humanities. Approximately 30 funded researchers attended the event, with a fairly homogeneous distribution across UK geographies and academic seniority. The only Open Access advocate in the room – attending the event on behalf of our institutional Wellcome-funded authors at Strathclyde – was yours truly.

The workshop meant a good opportunity to get a first-hand insight on researchers’ views on topics like Plan S and the Wellcome Open Research platform. Also, being an SSH-specific event, it provided the chance to explore to what extent the STM-centric compliance workflows can be tweaked to address the specific circumstances and needs of this community.

The agenda for the day included a few presentations (Robert Kiley and Diego Baptista, Wellcome, Steve Sturdy, Uni Edinburgh and Helen Saunders, Open Library of Humanities) and two lively breakout sessions to discuss (i) the main issues around Open Access and SSH and (ii) what the Wellcome could do to specifically support SSH authors and disciplines within the ongoing shift in the publishing landscape.

The discussions held at the event mostly focused on the Wellcome strategy to influence/press publishers in order for the publishing landscape to evolve towards more openness. A particularly hot topic was the perceived limitation1 in the choice of publishing venues arising from Plan S principles. This is part of a wider concern that the SSH disciplines may risk being dragged along a path that has been designed with mainly the STM publishing landscape in mind.

Robert Kiley’s presentation provided the rationale for the updated Wellcome Trust Open Access policy (to kick-off as of Jan 1st, 2021) and dispelled some of the most pressing concerns raised by SSH authors in the round of consultations held by cOAlition S. The main goals of this policy are:

to have all articles available Open Access upon publication (RK showed the current OA figures that prove it’s still a long way to go to achieve this objective), and

for all articles to be re-usable (meaning machine-readable for TDM purposes, with the “Mining the History of Medicine” project by the National Centre for Text Mining NaCTeM mentioned as an example).

Some concerns around Plan S mentioned in the presentation (together with the ways to mitigate them) were:

Limited choice of compliant publication venues: this needn’t be the case if publishers are capable of evolving their business models. Green Open Access (meaning deposit of accepted manuscripts in institutional platforms) is also an option for compliance, so the discussion doesn’t just need to focus on the suitability or otherwise of Article Processing Charges

Impact on international collaborations (see item 1 on the U Edinburgh feedback to cOAlition S): the Gates Foundation is also a Plan S signatory and they haven't seen any impact in terms of hampering international collaborations because of potentially limited eligibility of publishing channels

Issues with a strict CC-BY licence (also described in the Edinburgh response to Plan S): revision has softened the requirement for the SSH; “As an interim measure to address the concerns, particularly expressed by HSS communities, we recommend that funders should be willing to consider an exemption from the requirement for a CC BY license to allow the use of CC BY-ND on a case-by-case basis”

Too tight timeline for the transition: the first Open Access policy by the Wellcome Trust was issued in 2006. The transition has been going on for quite some time already, but the pace is too slow

Learned societies unable to find alternative business models for their subscription-based journals: the Wellcome Trust is working together with a number of learned societies in order to promote collaboration and explore various options in this regard – reporting expected on this strand later this year.

RK also highlighted a recent piece published by Jasmine Lange from SSH publisher Brill in the Netherlands ("Plan S and Humanities Publishing", Jul 2nd, 2019) where she states that an SSH exception to Plan S and/or the continuation of 24-month embargo periods would mean a high risk for the SSH being left behind on impact and funding.

Wellcome Open Research platform

This was followed by a presentation of the Wellcome Open Research (WOR) publishing platform by Diego Baptista. The success of this publishing channel (4th venue altogether by number of Wellcome-funded publications after Scientific Reports, Nature Comms and PLoS ONE) and its quick review process and affordability (average APC one third of the ‘externally paid’ one) are described in this Jan’2019 post. It’s also covering a wide range of outputs beyond articles (such as negative results, which happens to be the area for one of the two pieces published at WOR by Strathclyde authors thus far as shown on the figure below) and offering a safe publishing channel to Wellcome-funded authors in developing countries, thus tackling predatory publishing.

A number SSH researchers in the room raised issues with a publishing platform like the WOR, mainly focused on the lack of editors. The risk was highlighted for ‘toxic’ submissions akin to the Wakefield anti-vaccination paper in The Lancet to get openly posted on the platform while awaiting peer-review – even if the submission were eventually rejected, it could still collect a few citations while sitting in the WOR.

SSH disciplines are different

U Edinburgh Steve Sturdy (who has published an Open Letter on Biomedicine, self and society in the WOR himself) provided a wider context for the reluctance of SSH scholars towards publishing platforms by describing the specific role that well-established publishing venues play in the SSH disciplines in his presentation on ‘Open Access and HSS Disciplines’. He emphasised the ‘sociality’ of SSH journals, which act as knowledge producers and community drivers in a distinct way, see associated figure. A strategy for replacing publishing venues with a social mission in a specific discipline with either publishing platforms or new titles would put this mission at risk.

Four main issues were in fact raised – both in Steve’s presentation and in the subsequent breakout session to discuss OA in the HSS – with regard to the perceived threat for a restriction in publishing channels generated by the implementation of Plan S in the SSH:

Destruction of the current publishing landscape with ‘sociality’ at its core

Particularly bad consequences for ECRs: "I am not sure I would feel inclined to recommend my ECR to apply for a Wellcome grant should these restrictions be in force that will prevent her to progress in her career" – stated one researcher in the room

Implications for unfunded authors in a landscape where funding is scarce

Too tight implementation schedule: it will be very difficult for current publishing channels to come up with alternative business models in such a short time as the policy proposes

There was a further call for Wellcome to support the area of SSH as a whole and not just Wellcome-funded authors, for instance by ensuring the voice of SSH researchers is heard in the discussions around alternative business models. A widespread belief was expressed that a model based only on Article Processing Charges (APCs) will not succeed in the SSH and that there need to be multiple co-existing mechanisms for compliance, including Green Open Access and crowdfunded business models with institutions as supporters (the afternoon presentation on the Open Library of Humanities looked deeper into these crowdfunded models for both journals and books).

The breakout discussions touched on various specific topics such as the REF requirements and to what extent they may help evolving the landscape (including its eventual expansion to books), the specific relevance of languages other than English in the SSH or the role of institutions in providing information on and support for the implementation of Plan S (most researchers in the room admitted not being regularly in contact with their institutional Open Access support services at their libraries, and the Wellcome lead may consider a follow-up workshop to promote the engagement of institutions in the process).

The listening exercise was very valuable and key for building the 'bond of trust' that needs to exist in order for authors to take into consideration the funder's recommendations around the evolution of the Open Access landscape. A potentially very useful outcome could be the establishing of a regular information exchange mechanism that allowed researchers to stay updated on the way the landscape is evolving in their specific field (covering aspects such as evolving positions with regard to Plan S by different funders, steps taken by specific publishers in transitioning their business models, reporting on the discussions with learned societies etc). Communication is key as ever and institutions may have an important role to play here too. We will definitely try our best at Strathclyde, but it could make sense to make this a wider effort.

1. See this statement “some publishers are claiming that authors will no longer be able to publish in their journals - but this would not be the case if they were to change some of their policies” on the webpage that the University of Edinburgh Information Services have put together about Plan S.↩

[ecoamerica]

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

[engl11ww]

Tackling the Romanticization of Suicide in “13 Reasons Why”: Media Accountability Through Institutional Guidelines

Abstract

As the generation most engaged with the emerging and various forms of technology, Gen Z’s media consumption and its effects on their mental health has become a relevant topic in the past decade. The instant, far – reaching and rapid nature of online media has thus birthed enterprising media companies such as Netflix that capitalize on the traction mental health discussions spark. This phenomenon is evident in the case of a 13-year-old patient falling deeper into her viewing of the Netflix show “13 Reasons Why”. This essay addresses the issue through the publishing of media guidelines by mental health authorities. (99 words)

Statement of the Problem Primary Source An article written for CBC News reports that a 13-year-old female patient visiting the George Hull Centre for Children and Families, was found writing down the lines "I am going to die. You're not going to miss me. You're not going to notice." on her school’s chalkboard. These are lines similarly found in the 2017 Netflix Show ’13 Reasons Why’. The patient’s father learned that she had been watching the show in secret. Leticia Gracia, director of the community clinic at the center notes that “the show plays into a fantasy that these kids have (who are suicidal) that everyone will be sorry, and they’ll know how much pain they’ve caused them.” (Matteis, 2017). (114 words)

Secondary Source This is a problem that is common among youth in Canada. To further support this, in a study published by the medical journal Psychiatric Services, over half of youth viewers believed the series increased their suicide risk to a nonzero degree; having a stronger identification with the lead female character was significantly related to this belief. Youths with more depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation were more likely to identify with the lead characters and report negative affect while viewing. (Hong, et. al, 2018) (83 words)

Statement of the Solutions

Existing Solution One existing solution to the suicide contagion caused by Netflix is to set up a classification for the at-risk viewers of the show (Office of Film and Literature Classification, 2018). The Censorship Board would create a classification to which viewers under 18 years old have to be supervised by a parent or guardian while watching the show. The solution acknowledges the conversation the show has to offer, but with the effort to have the support of a guardian or adult for younger audiences. However, simply imposing a new classification could not stop young viewers to watch the show in secret. This solution assumes that most parents take active roles in policing the kind of media their child consumes. (118 words)

Relatable Solution Another way of addressing the issue is the setting of specific guidelines for media outlets reporting suicide (CBC News, 2012) is a possible solution to address suicide contagion when consuming sensitive media on Netflix. School boards and/or relevant institutions are to set motions or recommendations to media outlets on how to depict mental illness. Because Netflix holds great impact and influence as an online social platform, the solution ideally tackles and publicly holds the media giant accountable. However, guidelines are merely suggestions. No legal accountability is taken by Netflix for this solution. (92 words)

Execution of the Solution

Context The solution could only work if the institution/body making the guidelines and recommendations held considerable weight in the public sphere and had a wide enough reach to spark discussion among audiences (specifically relevant audiences such as the youth). Considering that this essay tackles an example taking place in Canada, the institution that could best act on the issue are school boards per district. For specificity, the essay points the Canadian School Boards Association to help carry out the solution as well as serve as a benchmark for other districts to follow suit as it is one of the largest school boards in the country. School boards hold significant weight with how public education in Canada is managed. These boards are comprised of professionals in varying fields (doctors, teachers, lawyers, truck drivers etc.) who all contribute their expertise to create a whole and representative decision-making body.The solution addresses the public education sector because this is often where counseling resources are scarce compared to private education. This includes students from the seventh to twelfth grade. Greater consideration may be made for the schools with significant rates of students suffering with mental health issues. (192 words)

Step-by step The goal of the solution is to essentially create an environment that promotes psychological safety where students in secondary education feel free enough to discuss topics about mental illness without the fear of being judged. CSBA is to draft a motion for mental health awareness and its approach to the situation with regards to their beliefs and values. These values and beliefs, however, should be mediated by CPA’s Media Guidelines for Reporting on Suicide. This is to solidify guideline content with mental health professionals since the problem’s scope is children currently in secondary school. The school boards may opt to partner with organizations such as the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health to further curate the guide book on mental illness among students in secondary education. 

 Tasks will be delegated to the respective principals and educators of each school that is a part of CSBA. These stakeholders will be the ones to carry out how the motion will be implemented in their schools. This may be further delegated to the departments within their school that concerns with student counseling. It is the goal of these departments to make sure that (a) students in their institution feel that they are in a psychologically safe environment, (b) students believe that they are able to openly speak to their peers and teachers about issues concerning mental health without judgement and (c) students have a guide to help them navigate various situations of mental illness in their school. The guide for this project will use GLSEN’s (Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network) Safe Space Kit as a reference for functionality. This is to ensure that all direct parties in contact with the target audience will also have a guide on how to go about creating and maintaining safe spaces for mental illness within their institution. (303 words)

(1002 words overall)

[lucyariablog]

Grand Theft Content: Steal These 6 Ideas From Award Finalists

So many good ideas get published on this blog in a year that it’s nearly impossible for one person to absorb them all.

Examples from 2018 Content Marketer of the Year finalists were so inspiring they stayed with me. When it came time to offer up our latest batch of ideas to steal, I found it hard to pick just one from each. But I made myself do it.

I looked for ones that can be applied in all kinds of organizations – B2B, B2C, big, small, and everything in between. Now I hope you steal at least one of these ideas – and then make it grand for your brand.

1. Use established channels to support experiments on new ones

Stolen from: Evan Parker, NASCAR

When NASCAR’s content studio sold an eight-part docuseries to Facebook for Facebook Watch, the social media giant’s new video-on-demand platform was in its infancy.

With its powerful story about the first African-American driver in the Daytona 500 since 1969, Behind the Wall: Bubba Wallace seemed like the kind of story audiences would rally around.

But rather than just expecting people to find it on the Watch tab, NASCAR and Facebook marketed where they knew their audience would learn about it. They took to Facebook Live and Instagram Stories, tapped other drivers and celebrities to promote, plus the series’ charismatic star made plugs in his post-race interviews.

The Behind the Wall With Bubba Wallace series had attracted more than 12 million views by the time we wrote about it in July.

Sure, you may not have the budget to produce an eight-part docuseries. That’s not the point. Here’s the takeaway: Produce each content piece in part as an experiment – and give it all the promotional resources you can to help it succeed.

Produce each #content piece as an experiment and give it all the promo you can, says @Kmoutsos. Click To Tweet

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Road Map to Success: Content Distribution Essentials That Win Eyeballs

2. Find the story inside the story 

Stolen from: Glenn LaFollette, JLL

B2B marketers may assume stories touching people’s hearts abound for their B2C counterparts but are scarce in their industry. Sorry, B2B marketers, you’re not off the hook. You can find great, moving stories in any industry.

Glenn LaFollette, who leads brand strategy and editorial at JLL, helps his team find the magic in commercial real estate services, telling moving, impactful stories through text and videos on JLL’s Ambitions website. His secret? Focus not on the stories about the buildings but on the people who work and learn inside the buildings.

JLL’s Ambitions publication tells the story, for example, of the Detroit Institute of Music Education (DIME), where JLL helped turn an abandoned building into an inspiring and acoustically appropriate space for a music school.

The passion and commitment of the group’s founders and the JLL team supporting them came across on the page and came to life in an accompanying video.

Similarly, a story (and video) about the company’s first patent starts not with a description of the patent but with the JLL engineer behind it, as a little boy tinkering with parts on the floor of his dad’s electrical contractor shop.

Meaningful, human stories are out there. Glenn’s work reminds us that our job is to find them in the B2B community.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Sample 11 of the Best B2B and B2C Content Marketing Ideas of 2018

3. Create room to react

Stolen from: Randi Bartelmie, Symantec

Few content teams can function without a content calendar – especially in an enterprise environment. But planning months in advance can make it harder to pivot when new developments or of-the-moment opportunities come up.

Randi Bartelmie heads the team that produces Norton The Internet Security Center content, which helps people understand (and make informed choices about) digital security. (Norton is Symantec’s consumer brand.)

Randi’s approach deftly addresses the dual challenge by planning for predictable information needs and leaving space for spontaneity. I love the thinking behind the three-pronged approach she uses:

Create an editorial calendar based on topics relevant to what people are searching for according to input from the SEO team.

Mobilize to help during rapid-response situations.

Respond to seasonal needs. For example, both tax time and holiday shopping bring increased digital security threats.

By building in the ability to respond to the unexpected, Randi and the team could spring into action when news broke, for example, about the Equifax data breach. The team quickly created banner ads and social posts that clicked through to information about the breach and a soft product sell.

The takeaway? Plan, but don’t be a slave to your content calendar. Build in a little flexibility so you can respond to audience’s needs at the right moment.

Plan but don’t be a slave to your #content calendar. Build in a little flexibility, says @Kmoutsos. Click To Tweet

4. Create a snowball effect

Stolen from: Jason Miller, LinkedIn (now at Microsoft)

When you build success in one format, use the momentum to try out others.

Each of the examples we shared of Jason Miller’s work at LinkedIn is impressive. What stayed with me, though, is how Jason grew The Sophisticated Marketer content brand from its humble origins as an e-book into an impressive set of media.

Today, The Sophisticated Marketer brand includes:

A podcast

A print and digital quarterly magazine

Master classes

If you build it and they come, you’ve done well. If they come and you keep leading them to more, you might just end up as a finalist on someone’s Content Marketer of the Year list.

5. Hire right, then hand over responsibility

Stolen from: Beverly Jackson, MGM Resorts International

Read through the stories of content marketing award finalists from any year and you’ll find they always mention their team. There’s a reason for that: Content marketing is a team sport.

And when you’re leading social strategy for a company with multiple brands (each with its own personality and distinct audiences) as Beverly Jackson does for MGM International, you really can’t go it alone.

That’s why Beverly makes sure to hire a mix of content creators, strategists, and community managers. Then she puts them in charge of finding the narratives in the work they do.

Most of her team can shoot and edit video, for example. They can capture interactions with the athletes and stars that come through the company’s properties and events on the fly.

Caught up with The Rook @_ajawilson22 right before today’s final game at The House. pic.twitter.com/jabuTWjphF

— Las Vegas Aces

(@LVAces) August 19, 2018

If you hire the right mix of people (and Beverly emphasizes that means people who work well with others), it’s much easier to, as she puts it, “get the party started, help people have fun, and then make sure it keeps going.”

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: Building Your Content Marketing Team? 14 Skills for New, Growing, and Mature Programs

6. Bring influencers to you

Stolen from: Bertrand Cerisier, Xerox

We content types love to sit down at our keyboards or pick up our video cameras and create compelling, persuasive things. Sometimes, though, there’s just no substitute for a live experience.

That turned out to be the case when Xerox wanted to convince press, analysts, and tech influencers that the 100-year-old company has something interesting to say about the future of work.

Led by Bertrand Cerisier, the Xerox team developed a series of in-person events and on-site experiences to prove that Xerox understands the modern world of work. Part of that meant letting reporters and other influencers see the products in action and hear the Xerox team’s vision in person.

The resulting 518 pieces of coverage around the globe (400 million impressions) meant the effort paid off.

The takeaway? The adage, “Show, don’t tell,” applies to more than writing.

The adage, “Show, don’t tell,” applies to more than writing, says @Kmoutsos. Click To Tweet

Where do you look for ideas to steal?

You might notice that I didn’t offer any ideas to steal from 2018 Content Marketer of the Year winner Venetta Linas Paris, though she certainly has plenty to choose from. Don’t worry, you’ll hear more about them later in 2019.

When you’re looking for inspiration, where do you turn? Do you look to others in your industry? Award winners? Or something else entirely? Let me know in the comments.

Many thanks to Carla Johnson, who scoured the world to help us find these outstanding content marketers and wrote the articles the ideas came from.

Be one of the first to learn when entries open for the 2019 Content Marketing Awards. Sign up for CMI’s free weekday newsletter. 

Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

The post Grand Theft Content: Steal These 6 Ideas From Award Finalists appeared first on Content Marketing Institute.

from https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2019/01/grand-theft-content/

[venezuelablog]

Discussion of Protest and Popular Sectors in Venezuela´s Political Crisis

David Smilde

 As in previous cycles of protest in the Chávez years, the marches and demonstrations occurring over the past six weeks have mainly been populated by Venezuela’s urban middle classes, although there have been some cases of protests and lootings breaking out in the popular barrios. This has again raised the question of why Venezuela’s poor majorities have not participated en mass and what would happen if they did (see same issue addressed in March 2014 on this blog here and here). This is actually a hypothetical that has been around since before Chávez, and in Venezuela takes the hypothetical form of “si bajen los cerros” (“if the hills come down”—most popular barrios in Caracas are on hillsides.)

 One of the most articulate scholars on this question is New York Univeristy historian and Venezuelan national, professor Alejandro Velasco, author of the award-winning book Barrio Rising: Urban Politics and the Making of Modern Venezuela. In recent weeks he has been interviewed by BBC Mundo (here in Spanish) and O Globo (here in Portuguese) on this question. Below is a translation of one key paragraph from the Globo interview, and the discussion the interview generated on his Facebook timeline among several social scientists who specialize in researching the popular sectors.

 To the journalists question of why the barrios do not unify, Velasco responded as follows:

 "Because of mistrust, which is deep and extends long before Chávez. The distrust of the poor in relation to the wealthy is the most significant barrier for the population to unify against Maduro. And in parallel, the opposition also distrusts popular sectors, thinking they sold out to Chavismo. But the opposition is fooling itself because popular sectors are not asleep. They are awake and watching. The sensation in western Caracas is that after Maduro something worse could come and that any rebellion might be used for a government that does not favor them. Worse yet, that in the future they could be more even more repressed with the excuse, for example, of combating the so-called collectives (chavista armed groups). There is fear of the middle and long term." 

David Smilde: I totally agree with the logic you put forward, Alejandro. But I wonder whether the percentage of those who are guided by this logic are less now, than in 2014, when it was clearly determinant. I detect a growing sentiment in the popular sectors that this government also does not care about its wellbeing and this changes the equation, not because of what they think of the opposition, which has failed to reach out to them, but what they think of Maduro and other government and party officials. Chavista leaders no longer appear to be the “devils we know.”

 There have been protests, street closings, and lootings in the popular sectors that have come as echoes of the opposition protests, which have largely been populated by their traditional base in the urban middle classes. I don’t think this is the beginning of the famous “cuando bajen los cerros” (when the poor come down). But it is a signal that the calculus of some in the popular sectors have changed.

 Alejandro Velasco: You basically summarized what I said, but as usual, in a better way.

 Dimitris Pantoulas*: I think this idea of “when the barrios come down” is journalistically attractive, but I think that in the current context the questions should be posed in a different way, corresponding better to the country’s political reality. Part of the barrios have already “come down” politically and demonstrated this with their votes in the 2015 elections, as well as with their participation in recent demonstrations, and even more importantly, with their absence in the counter-demonstrations organized by the Maduro government.

 Perhaps the question journalists really should ask is why the barrios don’t “burn down Miraflores” and force Maduro to flee, like popular movements did in Bolívia with Sánchez de Lozada in 2003. And in this I agree with Alejandro in his interview that a large part of the barrios distrust the opposition and do not have much clarity on what would happen to them after Maduro.

 Those who live in barrios are rational people and they understand that their option is selecting between “different bad dishes” for which they neither select the ingredients nor do the cooking. Some of them, tired and bored by what the Maduro government is offering, prefer a new dish—just as bad, but new. Others are happy with the dish they have, which at least has some content. And others are waiting to see what is going to happen and then will decide where they want to go. This last group is pretty typical of Venezuelan politics in the last fifteen years, including political parties and actors that define their agendas at the last minute. I also think that the majority in the barrios think that the political cost of the political change should be paid by the two principle groups responsible for the problem.

 María Pilar García Guadilla*: This is an interesting reflection, Alejandro. I would add that perhaps the poor are more tied to resolving their immediate needs in the short term given that their survival depends on the distribution of bags of food through the Local Committees of Distribution and Production (CLAP), as well as the other prebends, now too scarce to cover all of those who are needy. For this reason, they are more susceptible to manipulation through clientalism: “If you protest, I’ll take away your CLAP bag, I’ll throw you out of your job, I’ll take your public housing away, etc. etc.” The cost of protesting has been and still is very high in the popular sectors.

 What I am trying to say is that perhaps it has to do with needs and expectations that are different from those experienced by the middle class and because of this, it is difficult for them to go out and defend elections or political prisoners. When the popular sectors have been “self-mobilized” by hunger or by the terrible violence unleashed by the Operación Liberación del Pueblo, they have expressed themselves as far as possible. And I am sure that they would do so much more vigorously if the repression was not so strong.

 I continue to believe, as I have said for some time, that the popular sectors have little or nothing to look for in an opposition that has no agenda, hasn’t had an agenda regarding what to do in the short term to resolve the problem of hunger in the popular sectors. A macroeconomic agenda is not going to help you eat tomorrow! The CLAP distribution program at least helps relieve hunger, even if only once in a while. This could contribute to maintaining some sort of hope in the government, or oblige the popular sectors to maintain some loyalty. In the end, I don’t see any reason why the barrios would come down to demand regional elections or support the other demands made by the opposition.

Mila Ivanovic*: Perhaps the problem here is in trying to take the pulse of 70% of the population. We are victims of a populist reading of the political field and I think it is very difficult to try to analyze THE barrios, in Caracas and the rest of the country. With respect to the CLAPs, I know of experiences in which the communal councils have been revitalized because the CLAP process gives them a permanent agenda for working for the common good. With respect to the lack of liberty in the barrios to protest, that does not seem relevant. Since before the death of Chávez, the barrios have seen an increase in the visibility of opposition parties (particularly Primero Justicia and Voluntad Popular), now with surely a lot more force, since the government’s hegemony has be inverted in numeric terms.

 I am not saying that there are not government pressures in some spaces (institutional above all, and also “shock troops”—the so called “collectives”—that are more organized and control part of territorial rents), but the fact that we don’t see more people from the popular sectors (let’s say people with black and brown bodies that are “poorly spoken”—since this what actually distinguishes them from the middle classes in people´s minds) in marches should not be attributed to any kind of “popular authoritarianism.”

 Maria Pilar García Guadilla: I think it is essential to do this analysis of the barrios in the current crisis because it is a topic that neither the opposition nor the government is doing. Our study following the CLAPs indicates a high level of politicization and cooptation of the social fabric, as is the case with the communal councils and the communes, with a resulting demobilization around the democratic goals of participatory democracy and inclusion, for which these participatory institutions were created. It is possible that the communal councils in some cases have been revitalized, above all through their role in the distribution of bags of food. But they have been revitalized as clientelistic instances, coopted, politicized, and exclusionary.

 Mila Ivanovic: Well politics has always been their objective, which does not mean that they are exclusive in and of themselves. I am not saying that we cannot analyze the barrios but rather that we need to be carefully in making sweeping generalization and try to always carefully situate who and what we are talking about because speaking about the 23 de Enero, Antímano and a barrio in Valencia is very different. With respect to cooptation, given an increasingly disorganized state, I am not sure that this is the most important de-mobilizing factor. The superimposition of partisanship with social-communitarian initiatives is an obvious fact since 1999. But the communal councils continue to be much more heterogeneous than the UBChs (the territorial unit of the PSUV organization) and with internal disputes and open government criticisms. And “clientalism” is a ticket that is applied to the popular sectors when it is part of all political relations.

 The fact that there has not been a massive manifestation of the popular classes like there was on April 13, 2002 does not mean that there has not been a reorganization of the opposition in the barrios, nor that there is not other forms of protest that are not part of the main opposition protests. Finally, there is the symbolic factor that remains important: the figure of Chavez used by the government still serves as a limit on the socio political action of the popular sectors, despite the deteriorating living conditions they have been experiencing in recent years.

Alejandro Velasco: Agreed, which is why I wanted to highlight heterogeneity among popular sectors, not just as a way to signal complexity, but as a critical corrective to the question itself. The fact remains that Venezuela’s polarization has gravely accentuated a dynamic at play long before Chavez, and that is a tendency to generalize about what we don’t know, in the process creating caricatures that lend themselves to simplistic scenarios. Just as “the opposition” isn’t a unitary whole, neither is chavismo, and certainly neither are popular sectors whose support for chavismo has always been manifold - sometimes transactional, sometimes ideological, more often because, at long last, someone at the helm of power seemed to speak to and of them in ways that recognized them as agents, not just as dupes. That may be difficult to accept if one is prone already to look at popular politics as unsophisticated or worse. But it’s at the heart of both the distrust that lingers, and of the deeper crisis eating at Venezuela. It has also long been the opposition’s main challenge, it remains so today, and will continue even if it comes to power in the short term.

*Dimitris Pantoulas is a political consultant and Senior Political Associate in the Observatorio Global de Comunicación y Democracia.

*Maria Pilar García Guadilla is Professor of Urban Planning and Political Science at the Universidad Simón Bolívar

*Mila ivanovic is a PhD in political science from the University of Paris and researcher associated to FLACSO-Ecuador

[madilikethebug]

More Mindsets: Money

There are some common threads among the topic of what people want more of. Often they want more money, more mental or physical health, more motivation or discipline, or maybe even more capability within themselves. As a society we are obsessed with wanting more and that’s okay. However, our attachment to it just keeps it away. So, I want to address each of these common lack mindsets, give you some ideas of what your limiting beliefs may be, and provide direct-use affirmations so you can begin changing your mindset and getting more out of life.

This will be a six week series so I can dedicate enough time to each topic in it’s own right. This week we are tackling the desire for more money. I think money is one of the most-common desires among american people because it can bring security and freedom in the same check. Yet, many people still feel lacking. Therefore, it shouldn’t be a shock to hear the second leading cause of divorce is money, most people live paycheck to paycheck, and one in four families did not talk to their kids about finances.

From this information, we can assume that conversations around money are taboo and clumsy for the majority. I know they used to be that way for me. The lack of education on the topic mixed with the major financial recessions of our time could make it a difficult and political topic. I know these experiences shaped my view of money significantly and it has taken work to shift my perspective. Don’t worry, it is possible.

In my own experience, many of my limiting beliefs come from fear of keeping money. I’ve always known I was capable of earning and accepting money, but fear my ability to keep it or have it continuously. What this is like conversationally and in practice:

“I need more financial discipline.”

“We kind of lost everything in 2007/08.”

*Pays all bills on check day or might have overdraft fees*

*Struggles to save money because my lizard-brain likes the devil it knows*

*Spends all the money I have left on small things*

Although that is my experience, I also know others who have issues feeling worthy of money, who think it’s normal to have less than you want, and other poor mindsets. These might look like this:

“We just never had extra money growing up.”

“I never got an allowance. I was allowed to live under my parent’s roof.”

“That’s so expensive.” “That’s so excessive.” “You buy the brand-name?”

“I wish we lived on a trade system.” “I wish money didn’t exist.”

“I never have the money I need.” “Money is scarce.”

“I need to work hard to have money.”

“Money is the root of all evil.”

“I’d rather be happy than rich.” (Spoiler Alert: they’re not mutually exclusive).

“I don’t deserve to be wealthy.” “I don’t know how to make money.”

“Rich people are greedy, corrupt, etc.”

Now, don’t get discouraged. The best thing about finding and understanding our limiting beliefs is that we can have a mindset shift. We can start to build affirmations and references that support our new beliefs. That way we can begin to attract the things we want more of, rather than attracting the stuff we don’t want.

To start understanding your own limiting beliefs, ask yourself reflective questions, listen to yourself when you talk about money, and ask those who are close to you what language you use when talking about money. Also, check out this post on creating light-bulb moments in your manifestation journey.

Now that you’ve identified what your limiting belief is, it’s time to talk about transforming into an empowering affirmation that will put you in a more resourceful state. There are some power words that should help you, especially in the creation of money-focused affirmations. Choose words like:

Choose

Claim

Give

I Am

I Have

Abundance

Wealth

Money

Resources

Knowledge

When they’re all done, they might look like these:

I choose to have extra money available.

I am grateful I have all the money I need.

Money is a tool that I am proficient with.

I claim wealth.

There is an abundance of money.

I choose to be happy and rich.

I have the resources and knowledge to make and keep money.

I am worthy of wealth.

I choose to give because I am rich and philanthropic.

If you’re not sure how to transform your limiting belief, drop a comment down below and I will help you work through it. Or, use one of the new beliefs from above as your starting point and adjust it to match your needs.

Once you have a new belief, it is time to start building references for that belief. You need them to be emotionally strong. As an example, my money affirmations from My 2021 Daily Mantra are; be resourceful, I claim wealth, I give more, and I am capable. I have a reference for each of them that helps me to believe it is the truth.

Be resourceful: I use the internet, social media, and books to learn the skills I need. I have learned a ton about social media marketing, SEO, and photography this way.

I claim wealth: I wrote down a monthly income at the beginning of this year and I have been receiving that income since.

I give more: I donate 10% of every check to charities of my choice. This is significantly more than I used to donate.

I am capable: My loved ones constantly reassure me of my capability. When I apply my resources, I find that I am capable.

Here are some actions you can take to prove your new truth:

Start saving money

Practice gratitude for any and all increase in money.

Learn money management skills

Start taking responsibility for your wealth by applying your new skills

Recognize how much money is in the world by realizing how many people are millionaires or billionaires.

Take time to do something that makes you happy when you have money. Be grateful you can have both.

Donate a percentage of your income on a regular basis

Build personal value and self-image to feel more worthy of money

Lastly, check out these related posts to help yourself on this journey.

More Mindsets: Health

February 3, 2021

More Mindsets: Motivation

February 10, 2021

More Mindsets: Love and Connection

February 17, 2021

To simplify, money is a tough topic, but by recognizing your limiting beliefs surrounding money you are able to take the first step towards financial freedom. Once you’ve found your limiting beliefs you need to transform them to empowering ones and build references that prove their truth. There are many money skills you can learn to help you get there. What have you learned about money? Drop a comment below to help others out or connect with me on social media to continue the conversation.

[vsoft55-blog]

Does CRM Have A Place In The Insurance Agency?

CRM is one of those catch abbreviations that is picking up notoriety in most quickly developing enterprises. Contact Relations Management (CRM) is the craft of staying aware of possibilities and customers in a framework which uses the present innovation to assist operators with expanding close proportions. These sort of frameworks are the main impetus of deals divisions for such organizations as Harley Davidson and Staples. These organizations have discovered that recording, following and expanding their prospecting endeavors spares time and assets. All through the previous barely any years, this kind of innovation has been advancing into different enterprises other than the fortune 500, however does it have a spot in the Insurance Agency? Totally!

CRM for insurance agents are continually looking for referrals, buying leads, organizing, cold pitching, and paying for neighborhood promoting. What do operators do with the possibility's data if the deal isn't made? It is lost in the profound chasm of administrative work in our workplaces. Post it notes, transcribed notes and printed leads multiply work areas of specialists the nation over. All the fundamental inquiries are posed and composed into a rating framework at that point, they close the deal. Be that as it may, imagine a scenario in which the deal isn't shut. What is finished with this data? How does an operator follow up in a half year, send mailers, and hold the data for future continue promoting? Specialists are paying a large number of their well deserved dollars consistently but then not keeping the data they have accomplished all the while.

In the previous 10 years, another asset for prospecting has overwhelmed the protection business. Online Leads. Numerous specialists have been scorched by organizations that necessary high stores or gave poor leads. There have been some incredible assets that have developed notwithstanding the issues and specialists are thriving by using these assets. The normal expense of a web lead is 8-15 dollars. These lead sources have a nearby proportion of around 15-20%. What is being finished with the other 80% of their speculation?

Operators have the possibility's name, date of birth, home data, recharging date. Why not keep on promoting to these individuals at their next restoration? How does an operator make sure to catch up on each statement, how would they track email correspondence or discussions? In a half year, these possibilities are as yet acquainted with the operator's name, perhaps some great report was made already. What are operators right now doing to expand their speculation?

Best CRM software fill this hole by permitting makers to effortlessly include, oversee and use the data held in their prospecting. Such frameworks have different customizations, email layouts, strategically pitching apparatuses, and mechanization which permits the protection operator to concentrate on what they specialize in. Operators are accessible to support the client and assist them with safeguarding their ways of life through quality protection.

The way to selling anything is numerous exposures and timing. Operators utilizing CRM apparatuses stay in touch with their possibilities and can keep up data, for example, termination dates of strategies and notes about each prospect for sometime in the future. Keeping all the data at the operator's fingertips and taking into consideration simple access is fundamental to completely using a CRM framework. Most frameworks permit operators to join reports and track all notes in a single spot which dispenses with unnecessary desk work accumulating in their workplaces.

When shopping for the best system for your office, agents must look at what processes the system offers to aid in prospecting and making selling faster and easier.

 1. Most hostage operators can't introduce programming on their framework so this orders an online framework. Pick an online form to dispose of the need to download programming. Online CRM software permit the maker to follow the profitability of their office from any PC and still gives all the security required to the protection business. Know to ask in the event that they require online variants to be facilitated on the maker's servers. A few organizations tout that they are completely on the web, yet disregard to make reference to that the operator needs to pay for discrete server facilitating with another organization. Locate an across the board organization to make usage of the framework simpler on your every day procedure

2. Consider how the office gets its leads. Does the framework encourage for different lead sources? Does it have simple information passage? Does it permit specialists to import an exceed expectations spreadsheet or require the specialized division to do it? How accomplish Online Leads work with the framework? Will it consequently import online leads and naturally dole out those prompts makers to kill the personal time of somebody giving them out?

3. What follow up apparatuses does the framework offer, automated assistants, dribble messages, singular messages, updates and simple reports to get to possibilities by lapse dates and other criteria? Catching up with possibilities is a challenging task and can devour an enormous bit of the possibility's day. Investigate alternatives for different programmed email follow up's, updates, email formats, and booked messages to be set up at the same time and conveyed on the operator's timetable. Search for a framework that will deal with the development, permitting the specialist to make calls and follow up on time delicate undertakings.

4. How troublesome are the customizations to address the specialist's issues for their industry? Protection operators are specialists on the CRM in insurance industry, not programming designers! A framework ought not take longer than a couple of hours (now and again) to prepare and ought to have the option to be useful effectively inside seven days. The customizations ought to be designed for how the specialist functions their business, not the norms of what the business orders. This permits the operator to find a workable pace quicker and with little inconvenience. Try to investigate what incorporations with lead organizations and transporters that organization may give to eliminate set up issues.

5. How steady is the client support to become familiar with the framework and show the framework in a way that is best for the operator? Does the framework give internet preparing, help capacities, bolster on the web or by telephone? Every individual has an alternate blend of manners by which they learn most straightforward. Likewise consider what courses of events for preparing meet your offices work plan. Preparing ought to be finished at the specialist's calendar and with the alternatives of learning in stages. Proceeded with help ought to be given too to when the operator is prepared for the following stage in the framework (try to investigate if there are extra charges past the initial scarcely any hours).

6. What security does the framework offer both remotely to unapproved clients just as inner security for different operators inside your office? Frameworks that are housed on a PC are accessible just on that PC. This alternative gives a great deal of security yet are accessible just on the PC they are housed on. This likewise permits just a single operator in the framework at once on that PC. This conversation opens up the topic of what occurs if something happens to the PC.

Online frameworks make one wonder of web hacking. While investigating CRM alternatives, solicit what type from security do they give? Do they deal with their own servers, what sort of documentation for safety efforts can be given and what kind of security declarations are set up.

7. What announcing and promoting instruments are accessible to permit the specialist to take advantage of each lead? Devices for making the every day forms simpler are the center to the open source loan management system. Office chiefs need to look further and investigate what revealing highlights are accessible. Are there efficiency reports which are anything but difficult to access and simple to peruse? Do they give a great deal of data that isn't required, or would they say they are adjustable to see what the organization director thinks about following? Does it have simple following of the specialist work process and every day exercises? Can information on possibilities be gotten to dependent on what the organization director needs to get to? Investigating these inquiries can help the office overseer choose what sort of framework is directly for their organization.

8. What do you get for your cash? Does the CRM charge for different segments of the application? What amount are refreshes? How regularly are refreshes turned out? Are there extra charges for web facilitating of your framework some place? Are there shrouded expenses for action or cutoff points on information stockpiling? Are there concealed charges for extra preparing or backing? Are the designers open to recommendations on the best way to improve the framework to coordinate every day work process needs?

Contact Relations Management Systems are incredible instruments for keeping the sales rep on possibilities and keeping the business procedure proficient. CRM's are driving each top industry today and the protection business isn't a long ways behind in finding the valuable instrument it tends to be to the enterprising operator. Deals experts in each stroll of the business are setting aside the effort to explore how these frameworks can assist them with using their showcasing dollars to their fullest degree. Investigate the choices accessible and find what CRM can accomplish for your organization.

[godlessgeekblog]

Welcome to Galaxy’s Edge – The New York Occasions

In the summer season of 2015, when the Walt Disney Firm unveiled strategies to construct monumental “Star Wars” lands at its California and Florida concept parks, a wave of euphoria washed above the planet. Bob Iger, Disney’s chief govt, created the announcement at a enthusiast convention, revealing that one journey would permit persons to pilot the Millennium Falcon. Two gentlemen sitting down in close proximity to me begun to weep with joy.

I felt psychological much too. For a diverse motive.

The “Star Wars” extensions, every 14-acres in dimensions, sounded thrilling. They would cost a put together $2 billion (moreover) to create and resemble buying and selling ports on the edge of wild place. But I am one of people purists who want Disney parks to continue to be unchanged.

Correction: I want Disneyland, the authentic Happiest Place on Earth, the very little park that Walt Disney personally opened in 1955, to continue being unchanged. Update the sprawling Walt Disney Planet in Florida as you like. Disneyland belongs to me — the large-eyed 9-12 months-old who very first visited in 1983 and manufactured memories, with my dad in individual, that the cynical 44-yr-aged even now retains close to his heart.

I know it is ridiculous. Disneyland requires to evolve to remain applicable to new generations of kids. I really do not treatment.

So it was with some unease that I frequented Disneyland in Anaheim on May well 20, the to start with working day that preview crowds have been allowed within what Disney is contacting Galaxy’s Edge. The new region is the greatest expansion in the park’s record. Engineers had to reroute the Disneyland Railroad and shorten the meandering Rivers of The united states, in which an primary Frontierland attraction, the Mark Twain Riverboat, sails in a quaint loop.

Galaxy’s Edge will include two marquee rides, a single of which, Rise of the Resistance, Disney describes as a “harrowing” go to to a Star Destroyer that incorporates a experience-off with the ruthless Kylo Ren. There are workshops in which you can build your personal lightsabers ($199) and functioning droids ($99 and up). In a first for strait-laced Disneyland, alcohol will be marketed inside Oga’s Cantina, in which a tequila-primarily based Dagobah Slug Slinger goes for $15 and the place chardonnay is shiny blue. Numerous dining establishments serve “Star Wars”-themed foods, together with a thing known as a Ronto Wrap that brings together a sausage and a pork gyro into one particular slaw-topped snack. (Rontos are lumbering pack animals observed on Tatooine, the desert earth where Luke Skywalker grew up.)

To get within Galaxy’s Edge involving its grand opening on Friday and June 23, site visitors need a reservation in addition to park entry tickets — a initial for Disney, which is anticipating past-capacity crowds. Even with a reservation, time inside the land will be limited to about 4 hrs. No spots are still left unless of course you can nab a room at a person of three Disney-owned resorts, exactly where costs presently get started at about $500 a night. An pretty much-identical model of Galaxy’s Edge will open up at Disney World close to Orlando on Aug. 29. No reservation system is at present prepared for Florida.

I was in a position to check out during previews, a two-week screening interval when Disney personnel go to as civilians, mainly because I address the firm in my task as a company reporter at The New York Instances. Since I don’t have small children, I borrowed a spouse and children, or at least half of a person, to be part of me: Connor Ennis, an editor at The Situations, and 1 of his sons, Sam. It would be their to start with excursion to Disneyland, and Sam just happened to be equally a “Star Wars” supporter and the perfect age — 9 several years previous. (We paid out for our one-working day park tickets, which cost $321.50 total, and all the things else we eaten.)

It was sunny and 68 levels on the working day of our visit. Connor and Sam, owning stayed right away in Anaheim, arrived at Disneyland at 8 a.m. to explore the older places. When I satisfied up with them at noon, they were being in line for the submarine voyage, a trip that first debuted in 1959. Sam deemed it enjoyable but creaky.

“It’s charming,” I responded defensively.

We walked towards Galaxy’s Edge, which is at the again of the park. Sam, who was wearing a Chewbacca T-shirt, could scarcely incorporate his enjoyment. “When do we get to establish lightsabers?” he asked. “I want to do every little thing!”

Just then, all a few of our jaws dropped in unison. Rock spires intended to resemble petrified sequoias and speckled with yellow lichen towered prior to us. Stormtroopers clomped towards a stand promoting Blue Milk, a frozen galactic beverage. The Millennium Falcon by itself — 100 feet extensive — was cooling its jets just all around the corner.

We experienced entered Black Spire Outpost, a buying and selling village crafted on a dry riverbed on the world of Batuu (or so the tale goes) and the centre of Galaxy’s Edge. Sam spun in circles, unable to determine which course was most thrilling. Connor and I just stood there blinking as we tried using to get it all in. In the dried “mud” beneath our toes have been droid tracks. (To get them just right, Disney artisans took rubbings of the treads on the initial R2-D2.) Black Spire had plainly viewed some motion some of the brown walls were being pocked with blaster marks.

Chewie himself even appeared.

“How usually do you get to see CHEWBACCA?” Sam said with a giggle as the Wookiee bayed acceptance of his T-shirt.

I was struck by the way Disney had produced an earthy yet otherworldly spot that appeared to bridge almost everything in the “Star Wars” universe — movies, books, online video online games, Tv displays. A podracing motor, acquainted from “The Phantom Menace,” barbecues that Ronto meat. Hondo Ohnaka, a miscreant from the “Clone Wars” cartoon collection, performs a position in the Millennium Falcon ride. Oga’s Cantina, the tavern, is referenced in “Thrawn: Alliances,” a Lucasfilm-sanctioned novel.

Disney parks have typically supplied passive ordeals designed to celebrate — sit in a traveling galleon on Peter Pan’s Flight or soak in the merriment of It’s a Smaller World. Galaxy’s Edge is about purpose perform: You are section of the action. A person journey definitely does allow you fly the Falcon. Disney has often known as its workers cast users, but the 1,600 people today employed to staff members Galaxy’s Edge go a stage even further — all of them, even the retailer cashiers, are Batuu inhabitants who greet you by expressing “bright suns” and continue to be in character when you request a concern.

“The perception of place they have developed is unbelievable,” Connor claimed. “I nearly do not even treatment if there are rides.”

What, no Luke?

That is Disney’s hope far too, at the very least at 1st. The ambitious Rise of the Resistance journey will not even open up right up until someday afterwards this calendar year, for the reason that it isn’t very concluded. (“In mild of tremendous demand, we are opening the land in phases,” a spokeswoman explained. No word on no matter whether Disney Globe will do the very same.) That leaves only one particular higher-capability trip, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, operating in the initial months.

The stakes are significant for Disney. With its broad television business facing important problems in the streaming age, Disney requires its $20 billion topic park division to work more durable. The enterprise is investing billions of dollars in new attractions and resorts (and cruise ships). Jobs like Galaxy’s Edge are also built to tackle the modifying expectations of concept park customers. Sam’s generation — elevated on Netflix, Fortnite and Iphone apps — expect personalization and active participation. The passive rides that so enraptured me in 1983 continue to entertain today’s kids. But for how extended?

“Star Wars” followers have their individual likes and dislikes, as Disney acquired the difficult way with “The Final Jedi,” the 2017 blockbuster that killed off Luke Skywalker. A lot of admirers howled their disapproval above the tale line. Some also took concern with “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” which Disney launched previous yr to disappointing ticket sales. A 3rd raft of destructive “Star Wars” headlines could prompt not comfortable queries about Disney’s managing of Lucasfilm, which it obtained in 2012.

Galaxy’s Edge usually takes 1 major imaginative threat: The story of Black Spire Outpost is a new one established just after the gatherings of “The Last Jedi.” So there will be no chance for website visitors to meet Luke Skywalker. Ditto for Han Solo, Darth Vader and Yoda. All dead they are.

“We preferred to develop the deepest stage of immersion possible, and those stories have previously all occurred — men and women know, even if it is on a subconscious stage, that they never belong in them,” Margaret Kerrison, handling tale editor for Galaxy’s Edge, informed me in a cellphone interview in advance of we visited. She additional that Disney desired to generate an solely new put to amount the taking part in industry. “Everyone is going through this for the initially time, no issue the amount of fandom,” she stated.

It worked very well for our group. I’m a casual “Star Wars” admirer. Connor placed himself higher up the scale, recalling the “Star Wars” action figures he experienced as a boy. (I preferred the Disney princesses. Go determine.) Sam is a critical aficionado.

“When can we get lightsabers?” he requested once more, this time as if his everyday living depended on it.

To the workshop

First, we necessary to consume. A chaotic cafe known as Docking Bay 7 seemed like a great choice, even though Sam was skeptical about the menu: no fries in sight. “I don’t know if I’m likely to like this,” he reported, staring at an product identified as Endorian Idea-yip. He put a crumb-sized piece of the crust in his mouth.

“It’s really actually excellent,” he stated. “A tiny spicy.”

Connor also tucked into the Idea-yip, which turned out to be the “Star Wars” edition of fried rooster. I had smoked Kaadu ribs, which have been delightful — saucy, tangy, tender.

As we ate, Sam found the Enjoy Disney Parks application, which provides a further layer of storytelling to Galaxy’s Edge by turning smartphones into interstellar “data pads.” It took me a minute (or 10) to get my bearings in the elaborate application, but Sam speedily understood that he could use it to activate droids in the land scan cargo crates to see what was inside and translate store signals composed in Aurebesh, a “Star Wars” language. You can also use the application to interact with other company in a activity identified as “Outpost Command,” selecting to enjoy for the First Buy or the Resistance.

But there was no game that could distract Sam from his primary mission: discovering people lightsabers.

Galaxy’s Edge has nine suppliers giving roughly 700 things, pretty much none of which are obtainable for obtain in other places, according to Brad Schoeneberg, a Disney executive who developed the items system. A single of our most loved spots was a pet shop exactly where you can “adopt” critters, like Porgs ($45), which chirp and flap their wings. “Twenty-five pounds is kind of my Porg restrict,” Connor claimed, picking out alternatively to decide up a snorting Puffer Pig ($17) as a reward.

“Don’t try to eat it,” the shopkeeper mentioned.

“No promises,” Connor replied.

As Sam had predicted, having said that, the lightsaber workshop was the retail showstopper.

It does not look like considerably from the outdoors. In point, the workshop is hidden next to the creative Droid Depot, where guests can build robotic sidekicks by picking out pieces off a transferring conveyor belt. But within the workshop something magical transpires — a authentic how-did-they-do-that minute.

I do not want to spoil it by currently being much too descriptive. The working experience entails themes like “peace and justice” or “power and control” and the selection of crystals (crimson, blue, eco-friendly, violet). Every lightsaber is customized with hilt adornments allowing for for 120,000 possible combos. Mysterious Batuu citizens named Gatherers manual the process.

We built three. There is 1 buzz kill: The glowing weapons charge $199 each.

But seeing the appear on Sam’s deal with when his blue lightsaber arrived alive for the very first time was truly worth just about every penny, at the very least in my estimation. It even crackles and buzzes as you swing it, just like in the videos. Connor was less certain about the worth, and he worried that airport security would be a headache. (No one batted an eye.)

Aboard the Millennium Falcon

We saved the Millennium Falcon simulator for final.

Lightsabers strapped to our backs, we walked into the experience developing (err, Hondo Ohnaka’s cargo depot) and snaked our way by way of the in depth queue spots until eventually we encountered outdated Hondo himself. As it turns out, Chewie lent him the Falcon in return for a great deal-desired substitute elements and now Hondo requirements flight crews — particularly crews who will not inquire much too quite a few questions about what form of cargo they are transporting.

As soon as aboard the starship, you hang out for a couple minutes in the main hold, which seems equivalent to the Falcon from the films, suitable down to the Dejarik (chess) table. Alerted that it was time for our mission, we strapped ourselves into the pleasantly timeworn Falcon cockpit, which seats 6 and has dozens of functioning switches, blinking buttons and controls.

Each particular person is assigned just one of 3 roles — pilot, gunner, flight engineer — and you are supposed to operate as a workforce if your team does not do a fantastic task, the ship goes off study course. It’s like becoming inside of an elaborate movie video game.

We did not do a good career. We smashed into other ships, which was actually a lot of enjoyment, and crashed into a gap on a planet I didn’t realize. You certainly truly feel the bumps. “Daddy, encounter it,” Sam said as we stumbled out, pleasantly dazed. “Your steering was garbage.”

They laughed jointly. It was lovely.

I was touched by the way Sam was creating memories with his father, just as I had accomplished with mine in the early ’80s, when we rode the Matterhorn Bobsleds — 12 periods in a row — and bonded around the cheesiness of the because-demolished Place Bear Jamboree. Sappy, but legitimate.

And if their recollections attribute Chewie and Hondo Ohnaka and Porgs alternatively of banjo-enjoying bears named Buford, Trixie and Liver Lips McGrowl, effectively, who am I to judge?

The post Welcome to Galaxy’s Edge – The New York Occasions appeared first on BestSellers.

from trackrgadget https://bestessayseller.co.uk/welcome-to-galaxys-edge-the-new-york-occasions/ https://bestessayseller.co.uk/welcome-to-galaxys-edge-the-new-york-occasions/

[omgkrishtinalove-blog]

Economics Assignment Help

What is Economics?

Economics is stated as a science of wealth and its significance has been defined over time and now it is grown as a social science of the aspects swaying “well-being” as officially termed via Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.

Maths around Economics

Though the subject economics deals with comprehending & inferring the social order, it too falls back deeply on tangible, arithmetical proof of what mechanism work in the economy & what doesn’t.

This will include detecting statistics to letting errors are recognized, and not repetitive. However, this can be irritating, but the economic math is comparatively simpler that being trained at universities for math graduates.

Economics

Economics is the social science that describes the factors that determine the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics mainly focuses on the behavior and interactions of economic agents and how economies work.

The main two categories of economics are:

Microeconomics:

Microeconomics focuses on the behavior of basic elements in the economy, which include individual agents and markets, their interactions and its outcomes.

Macroeconomics:

Macroeconomics analyzes the entire economy and issues affecting it which include unemployment of resources, inflation, economic growth and public policies that address these issues.

The four basic concepts of economics:

•    Scarcity

Scarcity refers to the basic economic problem, the gap between limited – that is, scarce – resources and theoretically limitless wants. This situation requires people to make decisions about how to allocate resources efficiently, in order to satisfy basic needs and as many additional wants at possible. Figuring out ways to make the best use of scarce resources or find alternatives is fundamental to economics.

•    Supply and demand

Supply and demand are the relationships between the quantities of a commodity that producers wish to sell at various prices and the quantity that consumers wish to buy. It is the essential concept of price determination in economic theory. The price of a commodity is determined by the interaction of supply and demand.

•    Costs and benefit

The cost-benefit analysis is a systematic process for calculating and comparing benefits and costs of a project, decision or government policy. Its main purpose is to determine if it is a sound investment and providing a basis for comparing projects.

•    Incentives

An incentive is something that incites one to action. It is a type of motivation and provocation for the employee. Economists understood that incentive is the key to achieving organizational goals. Some incentive schemes have been proved to be so efficient that they are followed by the rule book in many firms, such as profit sharing, performance bonuses, and employee shareholding.

Features to look for while approaching Economics Assignment tutors:

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There is a philosophy that each individual is unique, so does his or her needs as well. And it's important to believe that these needs must be answered in the prescribed manner. In fact, approach such experts who can help their students with topics, questions and case studies ranging from simple to complex and advanced in economics.

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HelpmyAssignment economics homework tutors are available 24/7 which provides personalized Economics Assignment help USA. Just visit for taking economics help online https://www.helpmyassignment.com/economics-assignment-help/

[lindafrancois]

Should You Try The Carnivore Diet? 5 Questions Addressed

If you want to get some concerned looks from your friends and family, tell them you are following an all meat or Carnivore Diet.

It seems to fly in the face of common sense to eat meat, more meat, and nothing but meat.

Yet I see a growing trend of eating a carnivore or “zero-carb” diet. To eat meat, and solely meat, in the name of health.

The popularity of eating only meat made me curious enough to explore the topic. It might be completely and totally insane, but if there are health benefits to eating steak all day, I vow to get to the bottom of it.

So today, Nerd Fitness looks at:

What is the Carnivore Diet?

What are the claimed benefits of an all meat diet?

What do you actually eat on a Zero Carb Diet plan?

Is the Carnivore Diet safe?

Would I recommend anyone actually try this?

Alright, fire up the grill. Let’s talk meat.

What Is The Carnivore Diet?

In simple terms, the Carnivore Diet is the following: Eat meat. Drink water. Consume nothing else.

If you like steak, and not much more, this could be the diet for you.

The carnivore diet—as the name implies—is eating only animals products. Meat, more meat, topped with meat. No vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, nuts or seeds. Just meat. Dairy MIGHT be included, depending on your interpretation of the diet. Yes, it’s from an animal. However, lactose is a sugar (carb), which might be frowned upon. It depends on who you talk to. We’ll touch on different versions of meat-eating later.

The big point of the Carnivore Diet is to eat no plant products.

The literal opposite of a vegan diet.

If you thought the Paleo or Keto Diet were restrictive with regards to carbs, welcome to the next level. Eating only one food group, meat, is about as restrictive as you can get. Right up there with the Potato Diet or the “30 Bananas a Day” Diet, which are both real things, but for another day.

You might have also heard of the Carnivore Diet as the “Zero Carb Diet.” However, this is a little bit of a misnomer, because there are actually some carbs in meat. They come in the form of glycogen. Although this could be nitpicking because the total carb content is minimal, but it’s worth noting.

No matter what you call it, this diet of only animal products has grown in popularity in the recent past.

But its history actually goes even farther back…

THE HISTORY OF THE CARNIVORE DIET: A WHALE OF A TALE

If you’re going to have a debate on the merits of eating only meat, we should probably have a discussion about the Inuit.

The Inuit are an indigenous tribe inhabiting the Arctic. What’s important about the Inuit, for this article, is they have traditionally eaten a diet high in meat.

There’s not a whole lot of fresh plants in the icy Arctic. Especially in the winter months, when sunlight becomes scarce. So in order to survive, the Inuit traditionally had to subsist on a diet of seal, walrus, fish, and other animals products.

There just wasn’t much to eat outside of what you could hunt.

The interesting thing: the Inuit have traditionally held low rates of heart disease coupled with no nutritional deficiencies.[1] That is until, sadly, they were introduced to a more Western diet: including pizza, chips, and soda. Then as you would predict, diabetes and obesity rates rise.

The health of the Inuit, despite their restricted nutritional choices, is often referred to as the “Inuit Paradox” of a high meat, high fat diet.

So let’s bring things into a more modern era and chat about Vilhjalmur Stefansson.

Stefansson was a Harvard-educated Arctic explorer born in 1879. If you’re imagining some type of wiley-Indiana-Jones-like character, you wouldn’t be wrong.

When exploring the Arctic, Stefansson lived off the land, by adopting the Inuit way of eating mostly meat. At first, Stefansson did it out of necessity. But then a Carnivore Diet became his preference. When he returned to his home, Stefansson commented on how an all meat diet made him feel the leanest and healthiest.

Stefansson may be one of the first proponents of a “no carb diet,” as he gave many interviews and reports on his experiences eating like a carnivore. He even wrote an article where he discussed his adventures in the Arctic, including why he adopted an all meat diet.[2]

An important point on Stefansson: he prized the fattiest cuts of meat he could find, and ate unconventional parts of an animal, just like the Inuit. Stefansson explained that he varied between, “steaks, chops, brains fried in bacon fat, boiled short-ribs, chicken, fish, liver, and bacon.” So yeah, not just ribeyes…

So why is the Carnivore Diet becoming popular now?

Simply put, a man named Shawn Baker.

Baker literally wrote the book The Carnivore Diet.

Now, before you send me an email explaining that Baker’s license to practice medicine in New Mexico has been revoked, let me say that I’m aware. And it is noteworthy. However, I don’t want this fact to prevent us from looking at the ideas and evidence of an all meat diet, especially considering the fact that you’re reading this to get the real story!

Despite the controversy surrounding Baker, there does seem to be anecdotal evidence on the benefits of eating only meat. There’s an entire subreddit of people consuming only animal products, claiming it’s helped them in all sorts of ways.[3]

Folks report losing weight, curing autoimmune diseases, and raising testosterone. All by forgoing any kind of plant product.

Which is a good segway into our next section…

What Are The Benefits Of The Carnivore Diet?

The benefits of the Carnivore Diet rests on two points:

 To lose weight.

To fix or identify food intolerances or allergies.

Both of these points actually make sense to me.

To lose weight, you need to expend more calories than you consume. And if all you are consuming is meat, you’re cutting out most major food groups.

Like, all of them, except one.

And meat can be very satiating, meaning it’ll keep you full. So I imagine a lot of folks following the Carnivore Diet are just subconsciously eating fewer calories than they were in the past.

That’s why I believe a lot of the anecdotal evidence of people achieving weight loss success with this diet.

However, as I point out in the “Perfect Diet” article, any diet that results in calorie restriction will likely work when it comes to weight loss – at least in the short term. You can lose weight on the Twinkie Diet, but that doesn’t necessarily make it sustainable or healthy!

So, whether it’s the Carnivore Diet or Intermittent Fasting or Paleo, if you have a plan and can sustain it, results will probably follow. We’ll touch on this again later.

Onto point 2: How about eating only meat to fix food allergies or intolerances?

If you have a food intolerance, it means you have some sort of negative reaction to a specific type of food. Gluten or dairy or nightshades, for example. Eliminating these potential causes for illness or discomfort in an attempt to see how your body responds makes logical sense.

And in fact, many scientific studies rely on some sort of elimination or oligoantigenic diet (another term for an elimination diet), to identify potential allergy issues in patients.[4]

The big difference is, a lot of these elimination diets are designed to be temporary, with the goal being to reintroduce many safe food groups over time. Conversely, the Carnivore Diet aims to eliminate these permanently. In other words, there is no reintroduction stage. You just keep eating meat.

What’s so special about meat, and why eat only animals? The argument goes something like this:

#1) Meat protein is highly bioavailable. Animal protein has all the amino acids you need to live. And since you yourself are animal meat (weird to think about), the thought is your body doesn’t have to do much conversion for utilization.

Also, some nutrients like creatine, carnosine, and vitamin B12 are only found in meat. The argument goes, eating meat is the easiest thing to support your own meaty body.

#2) Meat is a low allergen threat. With the exception of some seafood and shellfish, most people are not allergic to meat. Especially red meat.[5] That’s often why elimination diets okay red meat, as long as it hasn’t been processed and pumped full of additives (potential allergens).

However, it is worth noting there is a tick whose bite has been linked to creating an allergic reaction to red meat specifically.[6] Nature can be cruel. However, for the most part, people are not very allergic to meat.

#3) Phytonutrients in plants can be pesticides. Since plants don’t have legs to run away from a hungry critter, they have to rely on other means to escape being eaten. Sometimes, it’s an outer barrier, like bark. However, it can also be chemical warfare, with plants producing toxins to poison, kill, or just bother whatever animal is eating them.[7]

The theory goes that people can be allergic to these chemicals. Now, we’ve evolved to handle these phytonutrients, and they actually provide health benefits for most.[8]

That’s why many health professionals encourage the consumption of vegetables, fruit, and grain. However, people can indeed be allergic to certain phytonutrients, so the argument from the pro-all-meat camp states to avoid them completely.

There’s a counterargument for each point above, which we will get to. However, the carnivore community does have some interesting objections to eating plants.

Okay, so we’ve discussed why people would eat only meat.

What’s this Carnivore Diet actually look like?

Is it as simple as it sounds?

WHAT DO YOU EAT ON A CARNIVORE DIET? WHAT’S ALLOWED ON A ZERO CARB DIET PLAN?

I thought about answering this section’s question with one word, “meat,” and moving on. However, there are some specifics and alternatives worth discussing for the Carnivore Diet meal plan.

First, if it’s an animal, it’s allowed on the Carnivore Diet:

Beef. The primary meat of choice for those on the Carnivore Diet seems to be beef. Shawn Baker practically lives on ribeye steaks at home and ground beef patties when he’s out and about.

Lamb. Another red meat often consumed on an all meat diet.

Pork. You have permission to eat bacon on the Carnivore Diet, or other pork products.

Fowl. Our feathered friends are acceptable on an all meat diet. Chicken, turkey, duck, etc.

Fish. If it swam, go for it. Even if it didn’t (muscles, oysters), if it’s an animal from the sea it’s fair game.

A good rule of thumb: if a Tyrannosaurus rex that’s escaped from its pen would eat it, you can eat it too.

Just a little dino humor here. Though Triceratop Tri-Tip would also fit the menu.

I know your next question: “Steve, how about dairy? It’s an animal product. Yay or nay?”

Technically, dairy can be allowed, as it’s from a cow. However, some advocates of the Carnivore Diet say skip it altogether, because of the possible concern of lactose intolerance.

It’s not the only gray area on an all meat diet.

How about coffee or tea? Well, they aren’t from an animal, that’s for sure. But the calories they contain are practically zero.

Allowed? Eh, I’d say it depends on your goal.

If you’re experimenting with a Carnivore Diet for weight loss, yeah, why not? Because again, there are almost no calories there. If you’re doing an all meat diet to determine possible food intolerances, it should be noted that people can be allergic to coffee or tea. That’s why many elimination diets advise against them for a period of time.

The same argument could be made for spices or herbs to season your meat. No calories, but again, potential allergens. Outside of salt, any kind of seasoning allowance will depend on who’s advising you on the Carnivore Diet and why you’re doing it.  

And you might want to think about proper advice when following an all meat diet.

IS THE CARNIVORE DIET SAFE?

Most dietitians would advise against eating a Carnivore Diet. Because, you know, the whole no fruits or veggies thing. And while here at Nerd Fitness, we believe in questioning everything (Rule # 8), the medical community might have a point on this one.

Now, I’m on the record for saying I don’t buy the studies on red meat being the most dangerous thing you can eat.[9] However, I don’t think this provides a giant green light to live on nothing but red meat either.

There are some things you really need plants and vegetables for. Some examples:

Betaine is a vital nutrient needed for liver function. The best source? Spinach.

Potassium is an electrolyte needed to help regulate blood pressure. Bananas, avocados, and leafy greens are great sources for potassium. While there is some potassium in meat, it’s debatable if it’s enough.

Magnesium is a mineral which your body requires for literally hundreds of bodily functions. The best source? Greens, like spinach.

Fermentable fiber is critical for our stomach’s microbiome. And in recent years, our knowledge of how import gut health is for overall wellbeing has grown.[10] Eating an all meat diet could have a big impact on gut health, because of the complete lack of fiber found in animal flesh.

And let’s circle back to both the Inuit and Harvard explorer examples from above. There are two things they did that most modern Carnivores probably aren’t doing:

They ate all sorts of different cuts and pieces of meat. The Inuit and Stefansson did not just eat lean pieces of caribou. They’d eat eyeballs, brains, and other organ meat, where a lot of extra nutrients can be hidden. They would also eat whale skin, which contains vitamin C.[11] These “unconventional” cuts of meat hide a lot of extra nutrients the Inuit needed to thrive.

The Inuit traditionally did eat some plants. While granted, there’s not a lot of fresh greens up in the Arctic. There are some, which the Inuit would eat when available.[12] The Inuit would dine on berries, sea vegetables, and certain mosses when in season. While these plant products made up a small portion of their overall diet, it still provided them with additional vitamins and nutrients to complement their carnivore leaning ways. So it would be inaccurate to say they ate only meat.

So they’re not just eating lean chicken breast and grass-fed fillets. They’re eating the organs and other portions of animals that are LOADED with nutrients.

But let’s get back to the challenge at hand.

Who knows what a diet devoid of vegetables can do to the body? The scary thing about that question is the answer: no one knows. That’s because there are no clinical trials done on a long-term Carnivore Diet.

Some in the pro-all-meat camp will cite this a defense. No one has studied eating only meat. Perhaps their potassium requirements are different?

While an interesting counterargument, I veer away from the extremes when it comes to diet, especially if you don’t plan on making the changes permanent. Double especially with diets as extreme as a Zero Carb Diet.

I try to keep things simple, and not vilify or deify certain foods.

Carbs are not inherently evil. Fat is not a health food. Protein is just one piece of the equation.

Our stance: I would advise against the Carnivore Diet, especially in the long term. And no diet should be started if it’s only going to be done temporarily. This creates temporary results. And the idea of only eating meat seems incongruent with a healthy, long lifestyle.

Maybe one day, the anecdotal claims of the benefits of an all meat diet will be verified. For now, I don’t think there’s enough evidence in support, but enough to be concerned about pinning one’s health future on it

You do you, but be careful.

Sigh, you’re gonna try it, aren’t you?

Welp, I’ll get to my advice in a moment.

But there’s no way we can’t walk about…

BOWEL MOVEMENTS ON AN ALL MEAT DIET

Eating only meat is going to impact how and when you go to the bathroom. There’s no way out of it. Every person who writes about their experiences on a Carnivore Diet addresses it.

For one, the lack of fiber means you are going to poop less frequently.

Poop is made out of mostly water (75%), but it’s also composed of bacteria, protein, and fiber.

If you eat no plants, you aren’t getting fiber, which means less poop.

Also, when you go #2, it will likely be mushier (gross). Again, the no fiber thing.

It should be noted, however, that followers of an all meat diet claim that while they don’t go to the restroom as frequently, they do not feel constipated. They simply don’t have to go.

So, ah, yay, less bathroom time?

I’ll also add some confusion to this section, by addressing a study that demonstrated people actually eased constipation by reducing or eliminating dietary fiber.[13]

My thoughts on this study come back to balances and extremes. You need some fiber, but with anything, you can have too much as well.

Okay, I think we talked about poop enough today. We had to do it though. You know in your heart this is true.

IF YOU TRY THE CARNIVORE DIET, DO THIS

If you don’t heed my warning and decide to try the Carnivore Diet anyway, there are some things to consider.

Mark Sisson from Mark’s Daily Apple[14] has some great suggestions on ways to potentially make a Carnivore Diet more sustainable:

Take magnesium. As I said a little bit ago, it wouldn’t be a joke to say your body runs on magnesium. I would hedge my bets and take a supplement.

Eat eggs. It’s an animal product. Plus, it’s got all the ingredients (and nutrients) to make a bird. This could help with some of your potential nutritional deficiencies.

Eat liver. The liver is one of the most nutrient dense organs found in the body. Mark Sisson calls it “nature’s most bioavailable multivitamin.”

So think about a supplement or two and don’t just live off ground beef. Animal organs are very nutritious. And maybe sneak in some occasional greens as the Inuit did.

Lost?

Are you even more confused than when you started this article? I hear ya. Hopefully, I’ve dissuaded you from trying this diet out, but you’re an adult and you can make your own decision.

I understand that nutrition advice can be confusing and often contradictory. One day saturated fat is bad, the other it’s all people are eating.

That’s why we’re here to help!

If you’re looking for comprehensive nutritional guidance that fits your lifestyle we got you!

Nerd Fitness offers a 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program. We work with busy people just like you to create and achieve their health goals. And we don’t depend on insanely restrictive diets like eating only steaks or subsisting on just potatoes (again, an actual diet strategy).

We’ll get to know you and offer tailored advice so you can get stronger or you can begin your weight loss journey. If you want guidance from a trained professional, schedule a call by clicking on the image below and see if we’re a good fit for each other!

EATING A HEALTHY DIET PERMANENTLY

I don’t advocate diets that are designed to be unsustainable or short term.

And don’t even get me started on cleanses.

In the fitness world, we call them “crash diets.” While they may indeed help followers lose weight, they are not designed for the long term. If you go back to your normal way of eating after your temporary change in diet, you’ll likely regain all the weight you lost. This can prove to be a frustrating step in the fitness journey.

That would be one of my main concerns on the Carnivore Diet. It just doesn’t seem sustainable to me, which means any benefits you derive from it would disappear as soon as you go back to how you formerly ate.

The other concern would be not eating vegetables.

Now, if you are trying the diet to identify food intolerances or allergies, that’s one thing. However, if you’re after weight loss, I would STRONGLY advise a different path.

Try one small incremental change. Something you can stick with. Not eliminating most food groups.

Perhaps it’s one less soda a day. Or a side salad instead of french fries. Or maybe it’s exercise-related and begins with just taking a five-minute walk at first. If it’s something you can imagine doing the rest of your life, it’s a great start. We can then work on building you a second healthy habit.

If your change seems like an impossible lifestyle for years and years, likely to be abandoned, maybe try something else.

If you are experimenting with the Carnivore Diet as a potential temporary elimination diet: track everything! Track what you ate and how you felt each day. Even note bathroom behavior. Track it all. Then, once you have some data, you can start to reintroduce foods to see if they create an impact.

That about does it for my thoughts on the Carnivore Diet.

Now, your turn:

Am I way off on this one? Should we all be eating steak for every meal?

Is this diet even crazier than I am alluding to?

Have you tried it? Know someone who has?

Let me know in the comments!

-Steve

PS: To even this out, we’ll be publishing an article on veganism/vegetarianism soon!

PPS: If you want help making one small incremental change you can sustain for the rest of your life, I’ll again remind you of our 1-on-1 Coaching Program. We help hundreds of nerds just like you create healthy habits (that stick) to level up their lives. If you’re interested, click here to learn more. We’ve love to talk to you, no matter what you decide.

###

All photo citations can be found in this footnote.[14]

Footnotes    ( returns to text)

Check out this interesting article on the Inuit Paradox from Discover Magazine

Check Stefansson’s fascinating report here.

Check out r/carnivore here.

Check out one such study on migraine patients and another on children with food allergy.

Check out this report from the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

Check out WebMD’s article on the Lone Star Tick.

You can check out this report from Plant Physiology for a great summary.

This is an interesting study on the health benefits of phytonutrients.

Check out this article for a thoughtful examination.

Check out these reports on gut health and immunity, metabolism, and liver health

This article is an interesting look at where the Inuit obtain their vitamins

Check out this article on foods of indigenous people

Check out this study on dietary fiber

Check out Mark’s great article on the Carnivore Diet here

Photo Source: T-Rap, Tiger, Godzilla, BBQ, Wrong parcel, Deception Island’s, Stefansson, Steak, Cyclist,

Should You Try The Carnivore Diet? 5 Questions Addressed published first on https://dietariouspage.tumblr.com/

[fitnetpro]

Should You Try The Carnivore Diet? 5 Questions Addressed

If you want to get some concerned looks from your friends and family, tell them you are following an all meat or Carnivore Diet.

It seems to fly in the face of common sense to eat meat, more meat, and nothing but meat.

Yet I see a growing trend of eating a carnivore or “zero-carb” diet. To eat meat, and solely meat, in the name of health.

The popularity of eating only meat made me curious enough to explore the topic. It might be completely and totally insane, but if there are health benefits to eating steak all day, I vow to get to the bottom of it.

So today, Nerd Fitness looks at:

What is the Carnivore Diet?

What are the claimed benefits of an all meat diet?

What do you actually eat on a Zero Carb Diet plan?

Is the Carnivore Diet safe?

Would I recommend anyone actually try this?

Alright, fire up the grill. Let’s talk meat.

What Is The Carnivore Diet?

In simple terms, the Carnivore Diet is the following: Eat meat. Drink water. Consume nothing else.

If you like steak, and not much more, this could be the diet for you.

The carnivore diet—as the name implies—is eating only animals products. Meat, more meat, topped with meat. No vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, nuts or seeds. Just meat. Dairy MIGHT be included, depending on your interpretation of the diet. Yes, it’s from an animal. However, lactose is a sugar (carb), which might be frowned upon. It depends on who you talk to. We’ll touch on different versions of meat-eating later.

The big point of the Carnivore Diet is to eat no plant products.

The literal opposite of a vegan diet.

If you thought the Paleo or Keto Diet were restrictive with regards to carbs, welcome to the next level. Eating only one food group, meat, is about as restrictive as you can get. Right up there with the Potato Diet or the “30 Bananas a Day” Diet, which are both real things, but for another day.

You might have also heard of the Carnivore Diet as the “Zero Carb Diet.” However, this is a little bit of a misnomer, because there are actually some carbs in meat. They come in the form of glycogen. Although this could be nitpicking because the total carb content is minimal, but it’s worth noting.

No matter what you call it, this diet of only animal products has grown in popularity in the recent past.

But its history actually goes even farther back…

THE HISTORY OF THE CARNIVORE DIET: A WHALE OF A TALE

If you’re going to have a debate on the merits of eating only meat, we should probably have a discussion about the Inuit.

The Inuit are an indigenous tribe inhabiting the Arctic. What’s important about the Inuit, for this article, is they have traditionally eaten a diet high in meat.

There’s not a whole lot of fresh plants in the icy Arctic. Especially in the winter months, when sunlight becomes scarce. So in order to survive, the Inuit traditionally had to subsist on a diet of seal, walrus, fish, and other animals products.

There just wasn’t much to eat outside of what you could hunt.

The interesting thing: the Inuit have traditionally held low rates of heart disease coupled with no nutritional deficiencies.[1] That is until, sadly, they were introduced to a more Western diet: including pizza, chips, and soda. Then as you would predict, diabetes and obesity rates rise.

The health of the Inuit, despite their restricted nutritional choices, is often referred to as the “Inuit Paradox” of a high meat, high fat diet.

So let’s bring things into a more modern era and chat about Vilhjalmur Stefansson.

Stefansson was a Harvard-educated Arctic explorer born in 1879. If you’re imagining some type of wiley-Indiana-Jones-like character, you wouldn’t be wrong.

When exploring the Arctic, Stefansson lived off the land, by adopting the Inuit way of eating mostly meat. At first, Stefansson did it out of necessity. But then a Carnivore Diet became his preference. When he returned to his home, Stefansson commented on how an all meat diet made him feel the leanest and healthiest.

Stefansson may be one of the first proponents of a “no carb diet,” as he gave many interviews and reports on his experiences eating like a carnivore. He even wrote an article where he discussed his adventures in the Arctic, including why he adopted an all meat diet.[2]

An important point on Stefansson: he prized the fattiest cuts of meat he could find, and ate unconventional parts of an animal, just like the Inuit. Stefansson explained that he varied between, “steaks, chops, brains fried in bacon fat, boiled short-ribs, chicken, fish, liver, and bacon.” So yeah, not just ribeyes…

So why is the Carnivore Diet becoming popular now?

Simply put, a man named Shawn Baker.

Baker literally wrote the book The Carnivore Diet.

Now, before you send me an email explaining that Baker’s license to practice medicine in New Mexico has been revoked, let me say that I’m aware. And it is noteworthy. However, I don’t want this fact to prevent us from looking at the ideas and evidence of an all meat diet, especially considering the fact that you’re reading this to get the real story!

Despite the controversy surrounding Baker, there does seem to be anecdotal evidence on the benefits of eating only meat. There’s an entire subreddit of people consuming only animal products, claiming it’s helped them in all sorts of ways.[3]

Folks report losing weight, curing autoimmune diseases, and raising testosterone. All by forgoing any kind of plant product.

Which is a good segway into our next section…

What Are The Benefits Of The Carnivore Diet?

The benefits of the Carnivore Diet rests on two points:

 To lose weight.

To fix or identify food intolerances or allergies.

Both of these points actually make sense to me.

To lose weight, you need to expend more calories than you consume. And if all you are consuming is meat, you’re cutting out most major food groups.

Like, all of them, except one.

And meat can be very satiating, meaning it’ll keep you full. So I imagine a lot of folks following the Carnivore Diet are just subconsciously eating fewer calories than they were in the past.

That’s why I believe a lot of the anecdotal evidence of people achieving weight loss success with this diet.

However, as I point out in the “Perfect Diet” article, any diet that results in calorie restriction will likely work when it comes to weight loss – at least in the short term. You can lose weight on the Twinkie Diet, but that doesn’t necessarily make it sustainable or healthy!

So, whether it’s the Carnivore Diet or Intermittent Fasting or Paleo, if you have a plan and can sustain it, results will probably follow. We’ll touch on this again later.

Onto point 2: How about eating only meat to fix food allergies or intolerances?

If you have a food intolerance, it means you have some sort of negative reaction to a specific type of food. Gluten or dairy or nightshades, for example. Eliminating these potential causes for illness or discomfort in an attempt to see how your body responds makes logical sense.

And in fact, many scientific studies rely on some sort of elimination or oligoantigenic diet (another term for an elimination diet), to identify potential allergy issues in patients.[4]

The big difference is, a lot of these elimination diets are designed to be temporary, with the goal being to reintroduce many safe food groups over time. Conversely, the Carnivore Diet aims to eliminate these permanently. In other words, there is no reintroduction stage. You just keep eating meat.

What’s so special about meat, and why eat only animals? The argument goes something like this:

#1) Meat protein is highly bioavailable. Animal protein has all the amino acids you need to live. And since you yourself are animal meat (weird to think about), the thought is your body doesn’t have to do much conversion for utilization.

Also, some nutrients like creatine, carnosine, and vitamin B12 are only found in meat. The argument goes, eating meat is the easiest thing to support your own meaty body.

#2) Meat is a low allergen threat. With the exception of some seafood and shellfish, most people are not allergic to meat. Especially red meat.[5] That’s often why elimination diets okay red meat, as long as it hasn’t been processed and pumped full of additives (potential allergens).

However, it is worth noting there is a tick whose bite has been linked to creating an allergic reaction to red meat specifically.[6] Nature can be cruel. However, for the most part, people are not very allergic to meat.

#3) Phytonutrients in plants can be pesticides. Since plants don’t have legs to run away from a hungry critter, they have to rely on other means to escape being eaten. Sometimes, it’s an outer barrier, like bark. However, it can also be chemical warfare, with plants producing toxins to poison, kill, or just bother whatever animal is eating them.[7]

The theory goes that people can be allergic to these chemicals. Now, we’ve evolved to handle these phytonutrients, and they actually provide health benefits for most.[8]

That’s why many health professionals encourage the consumption of vegetables, fruit, and grain. However, people can indeed be allergic to certain phytonutrients, so the argument from the pro-all-meat camp states to avoid them completely.

There’s a counterargument for each point above, which we will get to. However, the carnivore community does have some interesting objections to eating plants.

Okay, so we’ve discussed why people would eat only meat.

What’s this Carnivore Diet actually look like?

Is it as simple as it sounds?

WHAT DO YOU EAT ON A CARNIVORE DIET? WHAT’S ALLOWED ON A ZERO CARB DIET PLAN?

I thought about answering this section’s question with one word, “meat,” and moving on. However, there are some specifics and alternatives worth discussing for the Carnivore Diet meal plan.

First, if it’s an animal, it’s allowed on the Carnivore Diet:

Beef. The primary meat of choice for those on the Carnivore Diet seems to be beef. Shawn Baker practically lives on ribeye steaks at home and ground beef patties when he’s out and about.

Lamb. Another red meat often consumed on an all meat diet.

Pork. You have permission to eat bacon on the Carnivore Diet, or other pork products.

Fowl. Our feathered friends are acceptable on an all meat diet. Chicken, turkey, duck, etc.

Fish. If it swam, go for it. Even if it didn’t (muscles, oysters), if it’s an animal from the sea it’s fair game.

A good rule of thumb: if a Tyrannosaurus rex that’s escaped from its pen would eat it, you can eat it too.

Just a little dino humor here. Though Triceratop Tri-Tip would also fit the menu.

I know your next question: “Steve, how about dairy? It’s an animal product. Yay or nay?”

Technically, dairy can be allowed, as it’s from a cow. However, some advocates of the Carnivore Diet say skip it altogether, because of the possible concern of lactose intolerance.

It’s not the only gray area on an all meat diet.

How about coffee or tea? Well, they aren’t from an animal, that’s for sure. But the calories they contain are practically zero.

Allowed? Eh, I’d say it depends on your goal.

If you’re experimenting with a Carnivore Diet for weight loss, yeah, why not? Because again, there are almost no calories there. If you’re doing an all meat diet to determine possible food intolerances, it should be noted that people can be allergic to coffee or tea. That’s why many elimination diets advise against them for a period of time.

The same argument could be made for spices or herbs to season your meat. No calories, but again, potential allergens. Outside of salt, any kind of seasoning allowance will depend on who’s advising you on the Carnivore Diet and why you’re doing it.  

And you might want to think about proper advice when following an all meat diet.

IS THE CARNIVORE DIET SAFE?

Most dietitians would advise against eating a Carnivore Diet. Because, you know, the whole no fruits or veggies thing. And while here at Nerd Fitness, we believe in questioning everything (Rule # 8), the medical community might have a point on this one.

Now, I’m on the record for saying I don’t buy the studies on red meat being the most dangerous thing you can eat.[9] However, I don’t think this provides a giant green light to live on nothing but red meat either.

There are some things you really need plants and vegetables for. Some examples:

Betaine is a vital nutrient needed for liver function. The best source? Spinach.

Potassium is an electrolyte needed to help regulate blood pressure. Bananas, avocados, and leafy greens are great sources for potassium. While there is some potassium in meat, it’s debatable if it’s enough.

Magnesium is a mineral which your body requires for literally hundreds of bodily functions. The best source? Greens, like spinach.

Fermentable fiber is critical for our stomach’s microbiome. And in recent years, our knowledge of how import gut health is for overall wellbeing has grown.[10] Eating an all meat diet could have a big impact on gut health, because of the complete lack of fiber found in animal flesh.

And let’s circle back to both the Inuit and Harvard explorer examples from above. There are two things they did that most modern Carnivores probably aren’t doing:

They ate all sorts of different cuts and pieces of meat. The Inuit and Stefansson did not just eat lean pieces of caribou. They’d eat eyeballs, brains, and other organ meat, where a lot of extra nutrients can be hidden. They would also eat whale skin, which contains vitamin C.[11] These “unconventional” cuts of meat hide a lot of extra nutrients the Inuit needed to thrive.

The Inuit traditionally did eat some plants. While granted, there’s not a lot of fresh greens up in the Arctic. There are some, which the Inuit would eat when available.[12] The Inuit would dine on berries, sea vegetables, and certain mosses when in season. While these plant products made up a small portion of their overall diet, it still provided them with additional vitamins and nutrients to complement their carnivore leaning ways. So it would be inaccurate to say they ate only meat.

So they’re not just eating lean chicken breast and grass-fed fillets. They’re eating the organs and other portions of animals that are LOADED with nutrients.

But let’s get back to the challenge at hand.

Who knows what a diet devoid of vegetables can do to the body? The scary thing about that question is the answer: no one knows. That’s because there are no clinical trials done on a long-term Carnivore Diet.

Some in the pro-all-meat camp will cite this a defense. No one has studied eating only meat. Perhaps their potassium requirements are different?

While an interesting counterargument, I veer away from the extremes when it comes to diet, especially if you don’t plan on making the changes permanent. Double especially with diets as extreme as a Zero Carb Diet.

I try to keep things simple, and not vilify or deify certain foods.

Carbs are not inherently evil. Fat is not a health food. Protein is just one piece of the equation.

Our stance: I would advise against the Carnivore Diet, especially in the long term. And no diet should be started if it’s only going to be done temporarily. This creates temporary results. And the idea of only eating meat seems incongruent with a healthy, long lifestyle.

Maybe one day, the anecdotal claims of the benefits of an all meat diet will be verified. For now, I don’t think there’s enough evidence in support, but enough to be concerned about pinning one’s health future on it

You do you, but be careful.

Sigh, you’re gonna try it, aren’t you?

Welp, I’ll get to my advice in a moment.

But there’s no way we can’t walk about…

BOWEL MOVEMENTS ON AN ALL MEAT DIET

Eating only meat is going to impact how and when you go to the bathroom. There’s no way out of it. Every person who writes about their experiences on a Carnivore Diet addresses it.

For one, the lack of fiber means you are going to poop less frequently.

Poop is made out of mostly water (75%), but it’s also composed of bacteria, protein, and fiber.

If you eat no plants, you aren’t getting fiber, which means less poop.

Also, when you go #2, it will likely be mushier (gross). Again, the no fiber thing.

It should be noted, however, that followers of an all meat diet claim that while they don’t go to the restroom as frequently, they do not feel constipated. They simply don’t have to go.

So, ah, yay, less bathroom time?

I’ll also add some confusion to this section, by addressing a study that demonstrated people actually eased constipation by reducing or eliminating dietary fiber.[13]

My thoughts on this study come back to balances and extremes. You need some fiber, but with anything, you can have too much as well.

Okay, I think we talked about poop enough today. We had to do it though. You know in your heart this is true.

IF YOU TRY THE CARNIVORE DIET, DO THIS

If you don’t heed my warning and decide to try the Carnivore Diet anyway, there are some things to consider.

Mark Sisson from Mark’s Daily Apple[14] has some great suggestions on ways to potentially make a Carnivore Diet more sustainable:

Take magnesium. As I said a little bit ago, it wouldn’t be a joke to say your body runs on magnesium. I would hedge my bets and take a supplement.

Eat eggs. It’s an animal product. Plus, it’s got all the ingredients (and nutrients) to make a bird. This could help with some of your potential nutritional deficiencies.

Eat liver. The liver is one of the most nutrient dense organs found in the body. Mark Sisson calls it “nature’s most bioavailable multivitamin.”

So think about a supplement or two and don’t just live off ground beef. Animal organs are very nutritious. And maybe sneak in some occasional greens as the Inuit did.

Lost?

Are you even more confused than when you started this article? I hear ya. Hopefully, I’ve dissuaded you from trying this diet out, but you’re an adult and you can make your own decision.

I understand that nutrition advice can be confusing and often contradictory. One day saturated fat is bad, the other it’s all people are eating.

That’s why we’re here to help!

If you’re looking for comprehensive nutritional guidance that fits your lifestyle we got you!

Nerd Fitness offers a 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program. We work with busy people just like you to create and achieve their health goals. And we don’t depend on insanely restrictive diets like eating only steaks or subsisting on just potatoes (again, an actual diet strategy).

We’ll get to know you and offer tailored advice so you can get stronger or you can begin your weight loss journey. If you want guidance from a trained professional, schedule a call by clicking on the image below and see if we’re a good fit for each other!

EATING A HEALTHY DIET PERMANENTLY

I don’t advocate diets that are designed to be unsustainable or short term.

And don’t even get me started on cleanses.

In the fitness world, we call them “crash diets.” While they may indeed help followers lose weight, they are not designed for the long term. If you go back to your normal way of eating after your temporary change in diet, you’ll likely regain all the weight you lost. This can prove to be a frustrating step in the fitness journey.

That would be one of my main concerns on the Carnivore Diet. It just doesn’t seem sustainable to me, which means any benefits you derive from it would disappear as soon as you go back to how you formerly ate.

The other concern would be not eating vegetables.

Now, if you are trying the diet to identify food intolerances or allergies, that’s one thing. However, if you’re after weight loss, I would STRONGLY advise a different path.

Try one small incremental change. Something you can stick with. Not eliminating most food groups.

Perhaps it’s one less soda a day. Or a side salad instead of french fries. Or maybe it’s exercise-related and begins with just taking a five-minute walk at first. If it’s something you can imagine doing the rest of your life, it’s a great start. We can then work on building you a second healthy habit.

If your change seems like an impossible lifestyle for years and years, likely to be abandoned, maybe try something else.

If you are experimenting with the Carnivore Diet as a potential temporary elimination diet: track everything! Track what you ate and how you felt each day. Even note bathroom behavior. Track it all. Then, once you have some data, you can start to reintroduce foods to see if they create an impact.

That about does it for my thoughts on the Carnivore Diet.

Now, your turn:

Am I way off on this one? Should we all be eating steak for every meal?

Is this diet even crazier than I am alluding to?

Have you tried it? Know someone who has?

Let me know in the comments!

-Steve

PS: To even this out, we’ll be publishing an article on veganism/vegetarianism soon!

PPS: If you want help making one small incremental change you can sustain for the rest of your life, I’ll again remind you of our 1-on-1 Coaching Program. We help hundreds of nerds just like you create healthy habits (that stick) to level up their lives. If you’re interested, click here to learn more. We’ve love to talk to you, no matter what you decide.

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All photo citations can be found in this footnote.[14]

Footnotes    ( returns to text)

Check out this interesting article on the Inuit Paradox from Discover Magazine

Check Stefansson’s fascinating report here.

Check out r/carnivore here.

Check out one such study on migraine patients and another on children with food allergy.

Check out this report from the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

Check out WebMD’s article on the Lone Star Tick.

You can check out this report from Plant Physiology for a great summary.

This is an interesting study on the health benefits of phytonutrients.

Check out this article for a thoughtful examination.

Check out these reports on gut health and immunity, metabolism, and liver health

This article is an interesting look at where the Inuit obtain their vitamins

Check out this article on foods of indigenous people

Check out this study on dietary fiber

Check out Mark’s great article on the Carnivore Diet here

Photo Source: T-Rap, Tiger, Godzilla, BBQ, Wrong parcel, Deception Island’s, Stefansson, Steak, Cyclist,

Should You Try The Carnivore Diet? 5 Questions Addressed published first on http://fitnetpro.tumblr.com/