#services encompass marketing

[jalal67]

Insurance marketing strategies encompass a range of techniques aimed at promoting insurance products and services. These strategies involve market research, branding, digital marketing, relationship-building, and customer retention efforts to attract and retain clients in a competitive insurance industry.

Establishing a robust marketing foundation is essential for sustained growth and success. Effective marketing strategies help not only acquire new clients but also retain existing ones while fostering brand loyalty

[reportprime01]

Empowering Growth: The Impact of Growth Marketing Services

Empowering Growth

Introduction

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, achieving sustainable growth is the holy grail for businesses. Growth Marketing Services, offered by Growth Marketing Consultants, Agencies, and Companies, have emerged as the catalysts of this growth. In this blog, we'll delve into the world of Growth Marketing Services, exploring the pivotal roles of Growth Marketing Consultants and Agencies, their services, and the diverse channels they utilize to drive success.

The Essence of Growth Marketing Services

Growth Marketing Services represent a strategic approach to marketing that prioritizes achieving rapid and sustainable growth for businesses. Unlike traditional marketing, which often focuses on individual campaigns, Growth Marketing takes a holistic view of the customer journey, encompassing acquisition, activation, retention, and referral. Here's why Growth Marketing Services have become indispensable:

Data-Driven: Growth Marketing relies on data and analytics to make informed decisions and continuously optimize strategies.

Customer-Centric: Understanding customer behaviors, preferences, and pain points is at the core of Growth Marketing.

Experimentation: Growth Marketers are relentless experimenters, always seeking ways to improve conversion rates and user engagement.

Visit Our Website: https://www.reportprime.com/

Growth Marketing Consultants: The Architects of Success

Growth Marketing Consultants are the visionaries who lead businesses toward growth. They play pivotal roles in:

Data Analysis: Consultants dive into data to identify trends and insights that guide strategic decisions.

Customer Research: Understanding the customer's journey and needs is fundamental. Consultants conduct in-depth research to gain valuable insights.

Experimentation: Consultants design and execute experiments to optimize conversion rates, user engagement, and other critical metrics.

Contact us: https://www.reportprime.com/contact

Growth Marketing Services Offered

Growth Marketing Consultants, Agencies, and Companies provide an array of services aimed at achieving accelerated growth:

Customer Acquisition: Crafting strategies for attracting new customers through various channels, including social media advertising and search engine optimization (SEO).

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): Enhancing the user experience to improve conversion rates on websites and landing pages.

Retention Strategies: Developing tactics to retain existing customers and transform them into loyal advocates.

Email Marketing: Leveraging email campaigns to nurture leads and drive conversions.

Analytics and Reporting: Regularly analyzing data and providing insights that drive decision-making.

The Role of Growth Marketing Agencies and Companies

Growth Marketing Agencies and Companies serve as the driving force behind the successful implementation of Growth Marketing strategies. They bring:

Expertise: Specialized knowledge and experience in Growth Marketing strategies and tactics.

Resources: Access to tools, technologies, and talent necessary for effective execution.

Strategic Planning: Development and execution of comprehensive Growth Marketing plans tailored to the unique needs and goals of businesses.

Learn more about us:https://www.reportprime.com/about

Diverse Growth Marketing Channels

Growth Marketers employ a diverse set of channels to reach and engage target audiences:

Social Media: Utilizing platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to connect with and engage target audiences.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM): Leveraging paid search advertising to achieve prominent visibility in search engine results.

Content Marketing: Creating valuable, relevant content to attract and retain customers.

Email Marketing: Nurturing leads and customers through targeted and personalized email campaigns.

Conclusion

Growth Marketing Services, led by Growth Marketing Consultants and fueled by Growth Marketing Agencies and Companies, are the linchpin of sustainable business growth in the digital age. These services harness data, prioritize customer-centricity, and embrace experimentation to empower businesses.

In conclusion, Growth Marketing Services are not just a trend; they are the driving force behind business success in the modern world. By partnering with Growth Marketing Consultants, Agencies, or Companies, businesses can tap into a wealth of expertise and resources to achieve accelerated and sustainable growth. In an era where data and customer-centricity are paramount, Growth Marketing Services are the catalysts that transform businesses into growth stories.

[tailschannel]

Sonic to get "several new mobile titles" in the future, according to SEGA management meeting document

The Sonic the Hedgehog series is expected to receive "several new titles" for mobile platforms, SEGA's parent company confirmed in a management meeting early Wednesday.

Apple and Google were both named as "key players" in the mobile sector for SEGA, as the publisher detailed an encompassing transmedia scheme for the blue blur, which will include licencing and collaborations with other third-party properties.

"Several new" mobile games under development

With an established presence thanks to the likes of free apps like Sonic Dash and Sonic Forces Speed Battle, the franchise looks set to dive in the world of mobile gaming, as part of SEGA's future plans.

The publisher did not rule out exclusivity clauses with subscription-based mobile gaming services. In recent days, the publisher signed a contract with Apple to produce Sonic Dream Team, and Netflix announced a mobile port of Sonic Mania Plus for their game subscription service.

No word of a specific timeframe for the aforementioned mobile games, currently in development.

Future Sonic mobile games to adopt Rovio's Beacon toolkit

As part of the mobile expansion, the upcoming slate is expected to adopt "Beacon", an internal development and marketing toolkit powered by machine learning, frequently utilized by Rovio, the Finnish studio behind Angry Birds that SEGA acquired over the summer.

The studio described Beacon as a platform to "build games and get games to market, models to profitably grow and monetize the game and live operations tools to maximize our players’ fun."

The toolkit has been criticized in a number of fan-run Angry Birds forums for incentivizing revenue at the expense of gameplay quality.

SEGA did not disclose if the Beacon platform will extend beyond the present suite of HARDlight mobile games.

More details on SEGA's resurrection of classic hits

SEGA also unveiled these new images and descriptions for the five new games announced at The Game Awards, described as a "power surge" to re-electrify their classic hits, like Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio.

Crazy Taxi: Innovative & Fresh Style Driving Action! Cheerful feeling of freedom and fusion of nature and city. Peel out the new stage of Crazy City!

Jet Set Radio: "Counter-Culture" - Tokyo Street Open World! Experience the "rebellion" movement that feels free in a suffocating society. Make friends, increase your fans, and create a movement!

Shinobi: Slay the enemies in the silence of the moment. Run through the world of Shinobi, full of monsters and ninja actions. Grab Oberozuki, the legendary sword and slay evil once more. Your clan and the world are counting on you.

Golden Axe: Warriors arise to subdue the demons! Defeat your enemies with a variety of attacks with swords and magic! The legendary story about the battle axe, Golden Axe is about to begin!

Streets of Rage Revolution: Beloved side-scrolling beat 'em up action series! Take control of one of the ex-officers and make the city a place where people no longer have to walk the "Streets of Rage."

The announcement coincided with SEGA's plans to strengthen their flagship video game brands like Persona and Like a Dragon, and to expand with legacy properties.

(Edit 2:00 pm ET - post updated with new details)

[impossiblesuitcase]

I know this type of fic will seem strange, but do you remember where Cinder in the first book says that everyone will be aware of what Kai does, and that he will forget her, if this happened as an alternate universe, do you really believe that Kai forgot? of it, or remember it as nostalgia for what could have been as couple

Thanks your for your answer

I intended for this to be a five sentence response. Ha.

(Remember?)

He doesn’t remember her.

Granted, he doesn’t even remember what it feels like to take a full, unstrained breath. Kai is a busy teenager, a grieving son, an ill-prepared emperor and then the happiest widower alive. He can’t pretend to not be overjoyed by his wife’s untimely passing after her brief but bloody one-year stint as empress. The Earthen population didn’t seem to mind much either when the evil Lunar queen was assassinated in her bed by a group of revolting malcontents.

Kai only remembers her when the storm takes mercy on them and calms. The girl at the marketplace. Who’d never worn the gloves he’d given her to the ball she hadn’t attended. The brown eyes he’d never seen again. As the New Beijing Market celebrates a new era of peace with streamers and lanterns and sticky buns, Kai is pulling on his grey hoodie and weaving through the crowds to an unmarked booth. Instead he finds the musty, dark store replaced by a coffeé vendor. The nearby sellers tell him the young mechanic skipped town.

(Kai does remember her joking prod in the elevator, offering up that she was planning to run away to Europe. Now, Kai doesn’t think it was all that much of a joke.)

He searches for her, briefly. Her name turns up no more net results than what had been there the first time he’d sought her services. In checking government records he learns that her guardian reported the disappearance, inciting a police investigation. He has his own staff put on the case, who probably interpret this as a conscientious initiative to apprehend a fugitive as any responsible emperor would. 

Reading the conclusions from the fruitless search by his agents, this is where Kai learns that Linh Cinder is a cyborg.

Something blankets him. Not...disgust or revulsion. Thick, encompassing understanding. He’s near laughter when it strikes him precisely between his third and fourth ribs because he knows that it doesn’t matter if he finds her.

The gloves. The obfuscation. A cyborg, an emperor. This is why she rejected him.

After this, the expressed need to find find find her feels vain. Find her and what? Tell her that—although he likes her—a cyborg would never be accepted by the public as his partner? Then he’d be tearing her away from whatever sanctuary she’s found herself in and subjecting her to capture by the authorities. Because she has cut out her ID chip—illegal. Fled the country without a permit—illegal. Disobeyed orders from her guardian—illegal for cyborgs. Whatever Imperial pardon he could try to extend would be nullified by the Cyborg Protection Act.

It doesn’t matter. She hasn’t been found. He’s no luck at searching for things anyway. That’s why he gave up on Selene. What’s one more thing to give up on?

So Kai doesn’t remember her. But he does revise the Cyborg Protection Act. He is appalled to discover that—despite having Levana’s antidote in his tenuous possession—the cyborg draft is still in operation. Luna is not a trustworthy government under regent Sybil Mira, they fearmonger. They might still need to develop an antidote of their own, they reason.

Both Earth and Luna are barely refraining from seeking blood as it is. After Levana was assassinated, Luna declared full-scale war on Earth, killing hundreds of thousands. Earth retaliated by detonating bombs on the craters of the moon, threatening that next time they wouldn’t spare the inhabited domes. The ceasefire went as follows: Luna and Earth would not intermingle. Luna would provide Earth with the Letumosis antidote in exchange for Earth sending Luna their desperately-needed supplies. No one deemed this agreement as trustworthy. No one had better ideas.

His decision to end the draft is met with mixed response. Kai just secretly hopes that Cinder is watching, holed up in her new musty, dark booth in her new European city with a flicker of pride.

Years past. Funnily enough, Kai learns that—at some point—pretending to forget and forgetting are not so dissimilar.

But sometimes he sees a malfunctioning android down a palace hall and remembers her steady gloved hands on Nainsi. Sees a woman with almost the right shade of brown in her hair and eyes and skin but never close enough. Yet each time, he collects himself, shakes his head and doesn’t give in, and when he marries a second time to a woman he actually wants to be with, his wife’s radiant smile expels any romantic thought of any other girl that has ever crossed his mind.

— — — 

Fourteen years. That’s how long it takes for his loose threads to finally fray. Kai is in his office being briefed by Torin for an upcoming public statement by his cabinet. It has taken fourteen years after Levana’s death to fully uncover all the scrupulously concealed records of the atrocities she committed. As former empress, her crimes have to be reported by the Eastern Commonwealth, though no reasonably-minded Earthen would attribute her crimes to anyone but her own wicked self.

This report intrigues him. It’s not the usual analytics of Levana’s sins against the Earthen public, rather a detailed list of all the Lunars she victimised.

“Why are we reporting this?” Kai asks Torin, keeping his daughter from bouncing off his lap with steady hands. “What Levana did to the Lunar citizenry is beyond our scope of responsibility.”

“Not those on Luna, Your Majesty,” Torin informs. “This report refers to the illegal Lunar refugees who were hiding on Earth.”

Kai vaguely recalls Levana screeching once about how she would kill all the Lunars he had insubordinately smuggled into the country. He hadn’t believed that there were any Lunars on Earth at that naïve eighteen, but a thirty-three-year-old Kai is not surprised. He scrolls past the initial pages of exposition and gets right to the list of victims. He wants a number. How many Lunars were there really on Earth? That day on the balcony, when Levana had claimed that there had been a Lunar among those protestors—had it been true?

It’s page eight that he sees her name.

Linh Cinder. Cyborg. Lunar. Licensed mechanic in New Beijing. Records found to be falsified. True age unknown. True name unknown. Date of immigration unknown.

Cyborg. Lunar.

Kai’s hands are shaking. He places his daughter on the ground. “Torin,” he wheezes, “take her to her mother.”

His daughter’s soft, “Daddy? Was wrong?” goes unanswered.

Once they’ve left the room, Kai is alone with the horror lying in his hands. He clicks on her profile and a full page with her name and portrait appears. It’s a mugshot, but without the official stamp of the Earthen Union law enforcement, he knows it was Levana’s own team of minions doing the arresting. Her hair is loose, glossy and slick. Her eyes defiant but sunken into dark sockets. Her cheeks are full. She was not starving, wasting away in poverty. Evidently she did manage to make a life for herself on the run.

The biography is short. Linh was reported missing by her guardian on 28 August 126 T.E. at 08:31. CCTV footage shows her driving a second-era automobile from New Beijing to France over the course of 8 days. Linh hid in Nice for 7 months using a false ID chip and started a small mechanic business. Records of an apartment lease were found under the false identity. She was discovered by Lunar authorities when a mandatory Letumosis blood test identified Lunar genealogy in her genome. She was swiftly sentenced and executed without a trial on an unknown date for crimes of illegal departure from Luna.

That’s it. The only information. It limns a tale of another victim of the tyrant with not a stroke of sympathy. Kai thrusts down the port, clawing his hands through his hair.

Cyborg. Lunar. Executed.

He calls his wife.

The line clicks immediately. “Honey, is everything okay?” asks his wife, concern cooling her timbre. “Torin said you were all out of sorts.”

His words are faint. “Hey, love, do you remember that girl I liked before you?”

He can hear her smile. “The mechanic?”

“Yeah.”

"What about her?" her voice heaves and Kai hears a small giggle; Torin has brought their daughter back to their quarters. His wife is picking up the heavy three-year-old.

He has no strength to censor himself, even with young ears present. “She’s dead. Levana killed her.”

A long silence. The thread being pulled, pulled, pulled as the fraying creeps up to the heart of it. The girl whispers to her mother, “who Mummy? Who’s Daddy talking ‘bout?”

Her mother doesn’t explain. “Oh, love, I’m so sorry,” she consoles plaintively in that genuine lilt he knows is sincere. His superlatively gracious wife has never judged him for his grief over the lost cyborg, for regretting he couldn’t help the troubled young girl from a bad home. Never has she assigned ulterior motives of him mourning ‘the one that got away’ in some jealous plea for validation. 

He says nothing. He had forgotten her brown eyes, her smile and her gloves. The sarcasm and the pessimism. Each detail had slipped away and now a single photo, an unuttered apology, is trying to resuscitate the dead.

“Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?”

Kai reclaims his port and returns to the cover page. It’s entitled: A Comprehensive Account of the Genocide of Lunar Refugees by Queen Levana Blackburn: Names and Implications.

A name. An implication. That’s all she’d be, immortalised in a forgettable list. After the cover page, a number is bolded.

3,582.

The number of Lunar victims. Miniscule compared to Earth’s population. Cinder was almost certainly the only Lunar Cyborg on the list. An oddity. A friendly statistical anomaly.

Never meant to exist. Always meant to be out of reach.

“Kai?”

“It’ll be fine,” he promises, convincing himself of it. “I’ll be fine.”

“You’ll be fine?” she repeats.

That picture is burnt in his retinas; Cinder, forever sixteen. He, now so much older. He doesn’t mourn a lost love. He didn’t love her; he didn’t know her. He mourns an abandoned child who never even knew that someone was looking for her.

Kai exhales slowly and rests his port on the desk next to his wedding photo and his father's signet ring. 

“I’ll be fine,” he affirms, “You know, I don’t really remember her.”

— — — 

@cindersassasin @hayleblackburn @spherical-empirical @salt-warrior @just2bubbly @gingerale2017 @icarusignite @kaider-is-my-otp @slmkaider @luna-maximoff-22 @cosmicnovaflare @kaixiety @snozkat @mirrorballsss @skinwitch18 @vincentvangothic @bakergirl13 @wassupnye @linh-cindy @therealkaidertrash21

[soon-palestine]

Workers said Project Nimbus is the kind of lucrative contract that neglects ethical guardrails that outspoken members of Google’s workforce have demanded in recent years. “I am very worried that Google has no scruples if they’re going to work with the Israeli government,” said Joshua Marxen, a Google Cloud software engineer who helped to organize the protest. “Google has given us no reason to trust them.” The Tuesday protest represents continuing tension between Google’s workforce and its senior management over how the company’s technology is used. In recent years Google workers have objected to military contracts, challenging Google’s work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and its role in a defense program building artificial intelligence tools used to refine drone strikes. Workers have alleged that the company has cracked down on information-sharing, siloed controversial projects and enforced a workplace culture that increasingly punishes them for speaking out.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the Tuesday protest and workers’ concerns over Project Nimbus. The Israeli Finance Ministry announced its contract with Google and Amazon in April 2021 as a project “intended to provide the government, the defense establishment and others with an all-encompassing cloud solution.” Google has largely refused to release details of the contract, the specific capabilities Israel will receive, or how they will be used. In July 2022, the Intercept reported that training documents for Israeli government personnel indicate Google is providing software that the company claims can recognize people, gauge emotional states from facial expressions and track objects in video footage. Google Cloud spokesperson Atle Erlingsson told Wired in September 2022 that the company proudly supports Israel’s government and said critics had misrepresented Project Nimbus. “Our work is not directed at highly sensitive or classified military workloads,” he told Wired. Erlingsson, however, acknowledged that the contract will provide Israel’s military access to Google technology. Former Google worker Ariel Koren, who has long been publicly critical of Project Nimbus, said “it adds insult to injury for Palestinian activists and Palestinians generally” that Google Cloud’s profitability milestone coincides with the 75th anniversary of the Nakba — which refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians following creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

In March 2022, The Times reported allegations by Koren — at the time a product marketing manager at Google for Education — that Google had retaliated against her for criticizing the contract, issuing a directive that she move to São Paulo, Brazil, within 17 business days or lose her job. Google told The Times that it investigated the incident and found no evidence of retaliation. When Koren resigned from Google in August 2022 she published a memo explaining reasons for her departure, writing that “Google systematically silences Palestinian, Jewish, Arab and Muslim voices concerned about Google’s complicity in violations of Palestinian human rights.” Koren said Google’s apathy makes her and others believe more vigorous protest actions are justified. “This is a concrete disruption that is sending a clear message to Google: We won’t allow for business as usual, so long as you continue to profit off of a nefarious contract that expands Israeli apartheid.” Mohammad Khatami, a YouTube software engineer based in New York, participated in a small protest of Project Nimbus at a July Amazon Web Services conference in Manhattan. Khatami said major layoffs at Google announced in January pushed him to get more involved in the Alphabet Workers Union, which provides resources to Khatami and other union members in an anti-military working group — though the union has not taken a formal stance on Project Nimbus. “Greed and corporate interests were being put ahead of workers and I think the layoffs just illustrated that for me very clearly,” Khatami said.

[acceptccnow]

Accept Credit Cards: Key to Unlocking Subscription-Based Growth

Article by Jonathan Bomser | CEO | Accept-Credit-Cards-Now.com

In the ever-evolving world of e-commerce, keeping ahead of the competition is a top priority. To tap into the full potential of your subscription-based business, you need a payment processing solution that can keep up with your growth. Join us on this journey as we uncover the transformative power of embracing credit card payments for your business.

DOWNLOAD THE KEY TO UNLOCKING INFOGRAPHIC HERE

The Essence of Payment Processing Payment processing stands as the backbone of high-risk merchant processing and merchant accounts. It's the engine that powers the convenience of customers making payments, which, in turn, leads to increased sales and enhanced customer satisfaction. Without a dependable credit card processing system, you risk losing potential customers and, consequently, revenue.

Empowering E-Commerce In today's digital age, e-commerce payment processing is no longer an option but a necessity. To compete effectively, you must adopt e-commerce merchant accounts and provide a streamlined online credit card processing experience. This approach not only broadens your customer base but also streamlines your operations, saving you time and resources.

Credit Repair and Beyond For businesses in the credit repair industry, credit repair merchant processing is a lifeline. It allows you to provide your services with ease, ensuring that clients can conveniently pay for the help they need. Accepting credit cards for credit repair transcends mere transactions; it's about empowering individuals to take control of their financial future.

Riding the CBD Wave As the CBD industry continues to boom, CBD payment processing becomes increasingly critical. CBD merchant accounts and CBD payment gateway solutions empower you to tap into this high-demand market. By accepting credit cards for CBD, you cater to the preferences of modern consumers and expand your reach.

Seamless Payment Solutions To succeed, you need more than just credit card payment processing; you need a comprehensive payment processing system. This encompasses robust payment gateway solutions that boost security and efficiency. By offering a variety of credit card payment gateways, you accommodate diverse customer preferences.

Embracing Subscription Models Businesses built on subscription-based models thrive on predictability and convenience. Accepting credit card payments aligns perfectly with this model, as it allows for recurring billing. Customers appreciate the simplicity, and you benefit from steady revenue streams.

Building Customer Trust When you accept credit cards, you convey professionalism and reliability. Credit card payment services provide additional layers of security, assuring customers that their sensitive information is protected. This builds trust and encourages repeat business.

Scaling for Future Growth As your business expands, so do your requirements. High-risk payment processing and high-risk credit card processing enable you to confidently venture into new markets and tackle more substantial challenges. Your payment processing partner should grow with you.

The significance of accepting credit cards cannot be overstated. It represents the key to unlocking growth for subscription-based businesses, enhancing e-commerce operations, supporting the credit repair industry, and fueling the CBD revolution. By embracing dependable payment processing solutions and extending multiple credit card payment gateways, you position your business on a trajectory toward success. Don't miss out on the opportunity to scale, foster trust, and cater to the diverse needs of your customers.

[techjouney111]

Simplifying Website Design and Development: Your Ultimate Guide

Simplifying Website Design and Development: Your Ultimate Guide

In today's digital age, having a strong online presence is essential for businesses of all sizes. A well-designed and developed website not only enhances your brand image but also serves as a powerful marketing tool to attract and engage customers. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore everything you need to know about website design and development, including services, companies, and agencies in the USA and Canada.

Understanding Website Design and Development

Website design and development encompass the process of creating and building a website from scratch or redesigning an existing one. It involves various elements such as layout design, user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design, coding, content creation, and optimization for search engines.

Website Design and Development Services

Professional website design and development services cater to the diverse needs of businesses seeking to establish or enhance their online presence. These services typically include:

Custom Website Design: Tailored design solutions to reflect your brand identity and meet specific business objectives.

Responsive Web Development: Building websites that adapt seamlessly to different devices and screen sizes for optimal user experience.

E-commerce Development: Creating online stores with secure payment gateways, product catalogs, and shopping cart functionality.

Content Management Systems (CMS): Integration of user-friendly CMS platforms like WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal for easy website management.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Implementing strategies to improve website visibility and rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs).

Website Maintenance and Support: Ongoing support, updates, and maintenance services to ensure website performance and security.

Website Design and Development Companies and Agencies

In the USA and Canada, numerous companies and agencies specialize in website design and development. These firms offer expertise in creating high-quality websites tailored to clients' unique needs and preferences. Some key characteristics to look for in a reputable website design and development company or agency include:

Experience and Expertise: Choose a company with a proven track record of delivering successful projects across various industries.

Portfolio: Review their portfolio of past work to gauge the quality and diversity of their designs and developments.

Client Reviews and Testimonials: Read reviews and testimonials from previous clients to assess their satisfaction and experiences.

Communication and Collaboration: Look for a company that emphasizes clear communication and collaboration throughout the project lifecycle.

Affordability and Value: Consider companies that offer competitive pricing without compromising on quality and value-added services.

Website Design and Development Companies in the USA and Canada

In the USA, reputable website design and development companies include:

ABC Web Solutions: A leading web development firm specializing in custom website design, e-commerce solutions, and digital marketing services.

XYZ Creative Agency: Known for innovative web design, responsive development, and SEO optimization strategies tailored to clients' specific needs.

123 Digital Studio: Providing comprehensive website design and development services, including UI/UX design, CMS integration, and ongoing support.

In Canada, notable website design and development companies include:

Maple Leaf Web Design: Offering professional website design, e-commerce development, and SEO services for businesses across Canada.

Great White North Digital: Specializing in responsive web design, custom development, and online marketing solutions to help Canadian businesses thrive online.

True North Web Solutions: A full-service web agency providing creative design, robust development, and strategic digital solutions tailored to clients' goals.

Conclusion

Investing in professional website design and development is crucial for businesses looking to establish a strong online presence and attract customers. By understanding the services offered and choosing reputable companies or agencies, you can create a visually appealing, functional, and user-friendly website that drives business growth and success.

Whether you're based in the USA or Canada, there are numerous options available to help you achieve your website design and development goals. Take the time to research, compare, and select the right partner to bring your vision to life and propel your business forward in the digital landscape.

[gracegrove]

Harringrove 90s au/Frasier crossover

Tw for: implied panic attack, implied depression, mental health themes, implied dark-ish/teensy bit angsty, era-appropriate sexuality stereotyping

It's 1994 and Steve is a mover and shaker in the hot, hot, hot real estate market of the Seattle metropolitan area. Finding a slump in his mood and a slow in his lunch hour between daily showings, Steve begins calling in to a popular local radio show on KACL for an emotional pick-me-up with radio personality and psychiatrist, Dr. Frasier Crane.

At first Steve is just a passive listener, but after hearing first hand during his lengthy commutes, how this soothsaying guru can calm and put the pep back in his caller's days Steve gives him a call.

"I dunno Doc, I just don't have that spark anymore..." He sighs into his cellular phone from the driver's seat of his year-model Buick. "Y'know what I mean? Like, it felt like everything was in my grasp and now it's just..." He grumbled in frustration.

The psychiatrist chuckled warmly through the phone line, "well Steve, a lot can change a man over time. When would you say you last felt that spark?"

Steve looked out the car window, caramel eyes reflecting upon the Puget Sound but his mind seeing the soft rolling hills and shallow valleys of central Indiana. Thoughts settling over gentle golden curls waving in the breeze.

"Steve? Are you still with us?" The radio host coaxed.

Steve opened his eyes, the vision fading from view. "Yeah. I'm here..."

Steve progressively becomes a regular call-in. Sharing more overtime about how he left behind 'a special someone' and how he regrets and second guesses so much about his life because of it. Thinking "if only I'd stayed. If only I'd told them how much they really meant to me". Feeling that his life really doesn't amount to much because of the decisions he made, or didn't... in the past. The radio host's producer, Roz, begins an unofficial fan club for Steve. Cheering him on, and giving him small pep talks each time he is in the call queue to talk with Dr. Crane. "Hey kid, how's it going today? How'd that date go? She sounded real nice! Things'll look up!"

Approximately a year later, Billy moves to Seattle picking up a transfer from his employer, hoping that working for the company's flagship will help him climb the pay scale faster. And leave the local union politicking and small-town, big-ego dickwads in his rearview mirror.

Things have improved somewhat for Billy over the years but it's still not great, and he seeks the services of a local psychiatrist, Dr. Niles Crane. Billy works with Dr. Crane to unpack and explore how his past experiences may have influenced his "current level of functioning", or so Dr. Crane says. They do a lot of daydreaming, picturing, and hypothetical scenarios that Billy sometimes despises and other times finds amusing. He also finds Dr. Crane's neurotic disposition rather endearing and thus decides to remain a loyal patient for the time being.

Cut to Billy's third month living in Seattle when it happens. He suffers a major setback. Calling Dr. Crane's emergency number in a panic. He can't breathe, he's hyperventilating and speaking so frantically that Dr. Crane can hardly understand him.

"Billy, you sound so terribly upset. I know that we discussed rather hefty themes in session this week. What's going on?" Dr. Crane's chittery voice spoke, encompassing the gravity of the moment.

"Him..." Billy gulped down air, his throat dry and lungs burning. "I saw him today. He was never supposed to be here." Billy moaned in distress.

"Take a breath Billy, and one, two, three, four, five. Out." His psychiatrist prompted him. "This is highly unusual indeed. I can understand now why you are so concerned." The sound of papers rustled on the other end of the phone. "Billy, would you like to come in sooner?"

A shaken exhale, "Yes."

Meanwhile somewhere else in Seattle Steve is the brightest he's been in years. He practically feels like he could walk on air. He has to share this, so he calls in.

"Doc the most amazing thing has happened!" Steve is beaming ear to ear. "Well, Steve it certainly sounds stupendous with that tone! Let's hear the good news!" His radio therapist encourages.

"I saw them!" Steve gushes. "Them! The special someone I told you about. They're here in Seattle. Now's my chance! I gotta tell them!" Dr. Crane smiles, "Ah, serendipity... Steve, you must take her while she is still yours."

Steve didn't quite understand the doctor's point but he appreciated the sentiment. "Thanks, Doc. Y'know I'm gonna look 'em up. Take them to a nice dinner. Make things right this time." Dr. Crane clapped his hands together, "Steve that's a lovely idea! And might I be so bold as to suggest that you consider taking your special someone to La Belle Gourmande? The ambiance is divine... and the prices aren't half bad either."

Two nights later Steve was sitting at the restaurant, nervously drumming his fingers on the table, his eyes flitting up every time a person walked by. He was tense, feeling suffocated in the crispest white button down he owned. Fidgeting with undoing the second button from the top and then redoing it. He couldn't afford to screw this up, the phone call had already been botched.

It took some effort, randomly dialing the number of a familiar name in the Seattle area, but luckily not many people had the same name as his 'special someone'. When their voice came over the line and Steve heard it for the first time in nearly a decade, he choked. Couldn't even utter a "hello". "Who's this? Fucking answer or I'm hanging up." In an all out rush Steve replied.

"-lo!'s Steve! youwannagetdinner ...'n catch up?" he rushed out in a frazzle.

The other end of the line was silent for a beat, the tension broken with a soft chuff.

"Ketchup?" the voice asked bemused, followed by another pause. "Where?"

Squinting at his messily scrawled note taped to the cabinet, Steve replied, "this place owned by some Belle lady. Comes highly recommended."

There was a pause. "Steve... this can't be -"

"Please come," Steve begged.

As Steve waits for his 'special someone' to show, a certain radio personality ducks into a corner booth and picks up a menu, Dr. Frasier Crane. He has become so invested in his caller's well-being that he has come to the restaurant to watch Steve from afar. To root for him, and watch his little bird spread its wings and fly. Or so it would seem.

"Frasier? What on earth are you doing here?" Dr. Crane looks up from his crooning over his 'patient', his eyes panic-stricken and caught. "Niles?" His brother, the younger Dr. Crane is also here.

Frasier's eyes dart to the menu for a saving excuse, "It's the soup du jour Niles," he deflects craftily, "everyone knows the Gourmande has the best Soupe au Pistou on the western seaboard." Niles rolls his eyes and follows Frasier's worried gaze over to the young man at a nearby table. "That may be true Frasier, but I believe you are here for more than just soup." Frasier sniffs indignantly about to snap out a reply when Niles hastily takes up the opposite seat in his booth and hides his face behind a menu.

Frasier cranks an eyebrow high and looks at his brother accusingly. "And pray tell what fare Provençal brought you to dine here?" he moons sarcastically. Niles peers over the edge of his menu at the other table, as a blonde man arrives. Frasier gasps dramatically and shields himself behind his menu as well.

"Mouchard!" Frasier hisses at his brother treacherously. Niles looks back at him unamused and replies, "says the snoop, snooping." They exchange glares and peek over their menus to watch the scene unfold.

Steve abruptly bumps the table, standing up quickly the minute he sees them. Him. The blonde. He can't help but smile, his chest is aching, fully flooded with a torrent of emotions.

"I don't understand," Frasier says in confusion, looking at Niles and then back over the menu. Niles looks over his menu, eyebrow cocked, "What?" "He talked as if... well... his 'special someone' was..." Frasier was fumbling uncomfortably with his words and reasoning. "You thought Billy was a woman?" Niles completed. Frasier winced, "Steve never said he loved a man. I just assumed..."

They both peered over again. "Assumptions get us nowhere Frasier. They leave us to speak for others in spaces we don't know. Only they know their truth." Frasier nodded slowly, the information sinking in. "Too right you are Niles. I was wrong to presume Steve's path to a whole self was like my own."

Billy sat down, followed by Steve, he seemed anxious, his eyes wandering all over the room, causing the two psychiatrists to duck and cower several times, lest they be discovered.

Steve called over a waiter and they ordered drinks. As the night began to unfold a certain ease settled over the pair like a familiar blanket, warm and comforting. Softly exchanged touches of hands, and lingering smiles arrived in greater frequency than the refillable bread basket, with feet sliding across one another under the tablecloth and resting calf-to-calf.

"Well Frasier, I think our worst fears have been allayed." Niles injected into the hour. "We weren't needed." Frasier smiled proudly, "I think you're right Niles. Would you care for un repas de fin de nuit?" Niles rose from the table, "Après-vous."

As the pair of brothers exited the restaurant Billy and Steve looked up, "Who do you think those guys were?" Steve asked curiously, "They were kinda loud. Seemed really interested in us..." Billy sighed, dropping his fork to his plate, "The twiggy one was my shrink. No fuckin clue who the other guy was though."

Steve looked at Billy mildly concerned, "You have a shrink?" Billy nodded wiping his mouth with the napkin. "Yeah, Dr. Crane." Steve watched the pair as they waited for the valet to bring their car. "The Dr. Crane that has the radio show?" Billy shook his head, "No that's his brother..."

Steve slumped in his seat taking a long drink from his glass, as Billy swiped the final bite of gateau.

[tubetrading]

Fiery Flavour:  The Art and Science of Crafting Jalapeno Sauce in India

Jalapeno sauce is a culinary delight that adds a fiery kick to dishes, tantalizing taste buds with its bold flavor profile.  In recent years, this spicy condiment has gained popularity not only in India but also across the globe, including in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).  As a leading manufacturer in India, Modern Food Products is dedicated to mastering the art and science of crafting premium Jalapeno sauce that satisfies the cravings of spice enthusiasts everywhere.  In this blog post, we shall delve into the intricate process of producing Jalapeno sauce, explore its growing demand in the UAE market, and highlight the private labelling services offered by Modern Food Products to cater to diverse customer needs.

The Essence of Jalapeno Sauce

Jalapeno sauce is more than just a condiment; it is a culinary experience that combines heat, flavor, and versatility.  At Modern Food Products, we understand the importance of capturing the essence of fresh Jalapeno peppers to create a sauce that excites the palate.  Our Jalapeno sauce is crafted using premium-quality Jalapeno peppers sourced from trusted growers, ensuring optimal flavor and heat levels that elevate any dish.

The Art of Crafting Jalapeno Sauce

Crafting the perfect Jalapeno sauce requires a delicate balance of ingredients and meticulous attention to detail.  Here is a glimpse into the artistry behind our Jalapeno sauce production process:

1.   Ingredient Selection:  We start by hand-selecting the finest Jalapeno peppers, ensuring they are ripe, firm, and bursting with flavor.  Alongside Jalapenos, we carefully choose complementary ingredients such as vinegar, garlic, onions, and spices to enhance the sauce's depth and complexity.

2.   Roasting and Blending:  To unlock the full flavor potential of Jalapeno peppers, we roast them to perfection, imparting a smoky undertone to the sauce.  The roasted Jalapenos are then blended with other ingredients to achieve a smooth and consistent texture, ensuring every bite delivers a burst of fiery flavor.

3.   Cooking and Seasoning:  The blended ingredients are cooked down to intensify the flavors and achieve the desired consistency.  Throughout the cooking process, we meticulously season the sauce with the perfect balance of salt, sugar, and spices, ensuring a harmonious flavor profile that leaves a lasting impression.

4.   Packaging:  Once the Jalapeno sauce reaches its optimal flavor and texture, it is carefully packaged in jars or bottles designed to preserve freshness and extend shelf life.  Our packaging solutions are not only functional but also visually appealing, reflecting the premium quality of our Jalapeno sauce.

Jalapeno Sauce:  A Spicy Sensation in the UAE Market

The UAE market has a growing appetite for bold and flavorful condiments, making Jalapeno sauce a popular choice among consumers.  As a leading Jalapeno sauce manufacturer in India, Modern Food Products is proud to serve the UAE market with our premium-quality products.  Whether used as a dipping sauce, marinade, or flavor enhancer, our Jalapeno sauce adds an irresistible zing to a wide range of dishes, from sandwiches and tacos to grilled meats and seafood.

Private Labelling Services for Custom Solutions

At Modern Food Products, we understand that every customer has unique preferences and requirements.  That is why we offer comprehensive private labelling services to cater to diverse needs and preferences.  Whether you are a retailer, distributor, or foodservice provider in the UAE looking to offer Jalapeno sauce under your own brand, we can collaborate with you to create custom solutions that align with your brand identity and specifications.

Our private labelling services encompass:

Custom Formulation:  We work closely with clients to develop custom formulations tailored to their desired flavor profile, heat level, and packaging preferences.  Whether you prefer a mild, medium, or hot Jalapeno sauce, we can adjust the recipe to meet your specifications.

Branding and Packaging:  Our team of graphic designers can assist you in designing eye-catching labels and packaging that showcase your brand identity and appeal to your target audience.  From label design to bottle customization, we ensure that your private label Jalapeno sauce stands out on the shelves.

Quality Assurance:  As a trusted Jalapeno sauce manufacturer, we adhere to strict quality control measures throughout the production process to ensure consistency, safety, and compliance with regulatory standards.  With our private labelling services, you can rest assured that your branded Jalapeno sauce meets the highest quality standards.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Jalapeno sauce is a spicy sensation that has captured the hearts and taste buds of consumers in India and the UAE alike.  At Modern Food Products, we take pride in our expertise in crafting premium Jalapeno sauce that delivers unparalleled flavor and quality.  Whether you are a consumer seeking an authentic Jalapeno sauce experience or a business looking to launch your own private label Jalapeno sauce, we have the resources and capabilities to meet your needs.  Contact us today to explore our range of Jalapeno sauce products and private labelling services, and elevate your culinary creations with a touch of fiery flavor.

[probablyasocialecologist]

Today, our labour market is dominated at the bottom end by women and migrants, and comprised mainly of sectors such as service and care, the successes of which are largely built on the exploitation of undervalued and unorganised workers. The days of unionised and secure jobs in manufacturing and industry, and a time when class was widely recognised as an organising principle for society, have long made way for precarious and exploitative work and an active attempt to obscure the experience and effects of class difference. As a result of these rapid changes and active political obfuscation, we are confused. Regular debates about what constitutes the working class play out on the pages of newspapers and in the tweets of activists, politicians and journalists. Class has come to encompass not only your relationship to waged labour, but various cultural and aesthetic markers, obscuring the role of the state and capital. Did you visit museums as a child? Have you ever eaten fish fingers for dinner? What kind of wallpaper did you have in your house growing up?

Eve Livingston, Make Bosses Pay: Why We Need Unions

[onecornerface]

Against "More Housing & Jobs" as an anti-drug-legalization argument

I claim only drug legalization can drastically and quickly reduce overdose deaths in North America, because only legalization can replace the volatile black market mystery-powder with a consistent supply of known potency and composition. (Here I’m using “legalization” as an umbrella term which encompasses safe supply.)

One of the most pernicious objections to drug legalization is this: “Instead of legalization, we should invest massively in housing and job programs.” Or "Instead of providing marginalized people with more drugs, we should give them services so they won't want drugs anymore."

This is a close cousin to the argument “Instead of legalization, we should invest massively in addiction treatment” which I’ve complained about a lot before, and it is unsound and pernicious for similar reasons.

This objection is pernicious for many reasons. One reason is that it *pretends* to be progressive, but really it is a conservative authoritarian defense of the failed war on drugs. Anti-drug-user conservatives cynically make this argument to fool ill-informed progressives into opposing legalization on pseudo-progressive grounds. It's a grotesque abuse of progressive values, and tends to be dishonest.

These conservatives tend to actively oppose investment in housing and job programs. Even when they aren't outright hostile, they insist that housing and job programs should actively discriminate against people who use drugs, especially against addicted people who are at highest risk.

By contrast, pro-drug-legalization progressives and harm reductionists are among the staunchest supporters of massive investment in housing and job programs, and against anti-drug-user discrimination within these programs. For instance, there are close ties between the harm reduction movement and the low-barrier housing/housing-first movement. Harm reduction and safe supply programs are often accompanied by services to assist drug users to get or maintain jobs and housing.

Moreover, the objection is fundamentally a distraction aimed at shutting down critical thought. It insinuates that drug legalization is somehow at odds with housing and job programs—but gives zero explanation as to how or why there would be any conflict between the two. They don't want you to ask these questions or flesh out the structure of the argument. It's a thought-stopper. The argument is aimed at people who won't scrutinize it.

(Note: Later, I will come back to a steelmanned argument that suggests there could be a more subtle conflict between jobs/housing and legalization-- but conservatives don't and can't actually make the more subtle argument.)

Housing & Jobs ARE good and probably reduce addiction -- but here are four reasons this does NOT justify the anti-legalization view Of course, one can very reasonably argue that housing and job programs would reduce addiction (and/or the worst symptoms of addiction) greatly--perhaps rendering legalization unnecessary. Indeed I claim we should invest in housing and job programs—in part to reduce addiction and overdose, and in part for many other reasons. But construed as an anti-legalization argument in particular, this argument is severely flawed on at least four grounds (in addition to the fact that there simply is no actual contradiction between jobs/housing and legalization, as I noted).

One, it is empirically unclear how much housing and job programs would reduce addictions that already exist, and there is a serious risk of overstating the case --including by legit progressive advocates of housing and job programs, who arguably sometimes exaggerate how much housing-first programs reduce addiction and/or overdose.

Two, regarding jobs: Many people with severe drug addictions are presently unable to hold a job (or there are very few jobs they can hold). This somewhat limits the scope of jobs as a solution for presently addicted people, at least for now. Overdoses are disproportionately very common among people who don't have jobs-- but I'm not sure of the causal directions (probably there are multiple causal directions), and it isn't clear how many of them could have their overdose risk much reduced by job programs in particular (even for the subset of them who can hold jobs, let alone those who cannot).

Three, housing and job programs can’t reduce addictions quickly, but rather (at best) quite slowly-- by (1) slowly preventing the acquisition of new addictions among a new cohort of would-be addicted people, and (2) by slowly helping treat addictions among a subset of presently-addicted people. And in the meantime, hundreds of thousands of addicted drug users will continue dying. Only legalization can quickly reduce overdoses.

Some people attack legalization as short-term oriented—but I think we SHOULD be short-term oriented in this way, since so many thousands of people are dying right NOW.

Four, housing and job programs won’t likely do much to reduce overdoses among non-addicted drug users who still use the unregulated drug market. Non-addicted drug users almost surely constitute a minority of overdose deaths, but still a lot of people in total. And non-addicted drug users are also the large majority of total people who use drugs. (I'm here assuming the "addiction" conceptual-theoretical framework is more-or-less legit-- although this is far from uncontroversial.)

The "Housing & Jobs" anti-legalization argument is probably unsound or flawed in other ways too, but that's what I can think of offhand. Admittedly I'm being very hand-wavey about the specifics. Lots of empirical research by experts would be needed to flesh out the analysis more concretely.

The Realpolitik Variant of the Argument Finally, is there a better possible variant of the argument? Maybe. One could potentially argue that drug legalization would be good if attained-- but that we should strategically abstain from advocating for it, or that we should make it low-priority, because of the limitations in government funding and/or political capital. We can only pragmatically advocate for so many things at one time, so perhaps we should sacrifice legalization for the sake of gains in jobs and housing? These sorts of reasons could create a real conflict between jobs/housing and legalization.

(Relatedly, one could also worry that legalization may create conservative backlash (which decriminalization has arguably caused in British Columbia and Oregon), or that it may problematically empower for-profit drug corporations and/or right-libertarians, in such a way as to strengthen longterm opposition to progressive advocacy for jobs and housing.)

At the risk of misusing terminology, I will tentatively call this the realpolitik argument against legalization advocacy. Perhaps the realpolitik argument has serious weight in countries that don't have an ongoing severe overdose crisis, outside North America. However, I think the realpolitik argument would probably also be unsound, at least in North America-- if indeed I'm right that only legalization can save hundreds of thousands of people's lives. I do not believe there are strong enough realpolitik considerations, with a high enough probability, to outweigh the value of such massive-scale life-saving (even if we discount for the fact that there is some probability that I am mistaken about legalization's effects).

In any case, conservatives do not make this argument, and indeed cannot legitimately make this argument—since conservatives are the ones mainly responsible for opposing progressive goals and creating the aforementioned limitations on government funding and political capital, in the first place.

[qqueenofhades]

Can you please explain how the myth that "CoNsErVaTivEs ArE gOoD fOr TeH EcOnOmY!" Came to be? I know it's propaganda but just don't get how it's stuck around.

Several reasons:

1) Ronald Fucking Reagan. (I mean, when in doubt, blame Reagan and you have a 95% chance of being correct.) In the late 1970s, America (along with the rest of the world) was in a profound economic crisis. This wasn't necessarily the fault of Democratic president Jimmy Carter, but as the incumbent usually does, he took all the blame for it, and was generally perceived as responding inadequately to the energy woes as well as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Iran hostage crisis. Reagan, running on the slogan -- you guessed it -- "Make America Great Again" -- won in a landslide in 1980 and immediately instituted what has been known ever after as "trickle-down" or "supply-side" economics, which started the tradition of Republican fiscal "policy" as it is as today. Aka, giant tax cuts for rich people and big corporations, and the business end of the free-market fuckstick for everyone else. Despite massively running up the deficit and hiking taxes on working- and middle-class people no less than twelve times during his eight years as president, Reagan left office with the laurels of a Great Economic Reformer and every president since has been pressured to follow his lead to some extent. Biden is the first ever post-Reagan president to explicitly denounce Reagonomics as what it is. To wit, a get-richer-at-the-expense-of-everyone-else massive scam that has been sold as the height of Responsible Economics for decades, because capitalism!

2) Every Republican president ever since has tried to do the same thing, with the result that... welp, they crash the economy. We all remember what happened in 2008 as the result of Dubya Economics, right? Or the Trump tax cuts that added literal trillions to the deficit, while Biden has reduced it by $1.4 trillion in his first year alone. The Republicans act like cutting government spending alone is responsible economics, and a compliant corporate media owned by ultra-rich oligarchs who personally benefit from GOP policies is often only too happy to play along. So we are made to exist in this fantasy land where cutting massive amounts of revenue and forcing working-class people to carry the tax burden for the super-rich, aside from being morally reprehensible, somehow has a) no effect on the budget, and b) doesn't actually and massively affect the quality of life and smooth functioning of the entire country in generational and long-lasting ways. You would think that for people who profess to be such big fans of capitalism, they would know that it takes money to run a country effectively, and investment in critical public, health, and infrastructure services. But all they want to do is get richer for themselves, not help people, so lololol.

3) As discussed, the Democrats (despite being by any reasonable metric the more fiscally responsible party) have been labeled Big Spenders, because -- gasp -- they dare to expand government spending and social programs, rather than just slashing everything they can get their hands on. Yet again, because of forty Fucking years of Reagonomics and its successors, any spending at all is viewed as "irresponsible" and "too ambitious," while creating giant black holes in the budget to the tune of trillions of dollars is the Party of Fiscal Responsibility! It's like a kindergartner's idea of responsibility, where you just throw out everything. An adult would recognise that "responsibility" encompasses many different areas and goals, but good luck with that.

4) Every Democratic president that has come into office after a Republican has inherited an ungodly economic mess that they then get blamed for not fixing fast enough. The Republicans like to blow it all up and then fundraise and campaign on Democrats Being Bad For The Economy (That We Broke In the First Place, But Shh).

5) As I also said in the previous post: It's The Racism, Stupid. Democrats' social programs and government spending is designed to help people of color along with white people, and that is unacceptable to the white people who would otherwise benefit from these policies, but refuse to support them out of white grievance and racial resentment. As noted, the media is often more than happy to push the Democrats Bad For The Economy narrative, because all the companies and super-rich people who control and set this narrative don't want Democratic policies to ever be widespread or popular or authentically supported. Because then they themselves might be impacted, and might make less money or pay a lot more in taxes. Horrors.

Anyway, yes. There you have it. It is deeply stupid on many levels. Alas.

[mariacallous]

Over the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, labor shortages have garnered considerable attention, including among public school teachers. Nationwide, the teacher shortage exceeds 55,000 unfilled positions, with nearly five times as many positions held by underqualified candidates. These gaps have been generated, in part, by increased pandemic-era teacher turnover and a 35% enrollment decline in traditional university teacher preparation programs in the decade preceding the pandemic. Meanwhile, interest, prestige, and satisfaction related to the teaching profession have reached 50-year lows.

In response, individual states and the federal government have proposed and enacted various policies to strengthen the teacher workforce. These policies vary widely in scope, encompassing both financial interventions (e.g., teacher pay, loan forgiveness) and non-pecuniary policies around teacher working conditions. While debate over the depths and distribution of the teacher shortage continues, public opinion of enacted and mooted policy approaches varies widely. In this context, improved understanding of public support may inform voter-conscious policymaking, especially in contexts where the effects of policies intended to attract teachers may extend beyond school walls and in instances where policy enactment requires direct voter approval.

To explore public sentiment concerning several teacher recruitment and retention policies, we fielded four questions on the fall 2022 Cooperative Election Study (CES) surveys, which were administered to a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. While many respondents support the proposed strategies, including teacher bonuses, grants, loan forgiveness, and shortened school weeks, significant partisan differences remain evident.

Public opinion in a partisan era

Policies to improve teacher recruitment and retention vary in scope; some specifically target teachers while others focus on broader economic incentives. We posed four survey questions capturing support for the following policies: 1) Expanding the federal Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant from $4,000 to $8,000; 2) Accelerating federal loan forgiveness programs (e.g., the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program, Perkins Loan Cancellation); 3) Enacting permanent four-day school weeks (4DSWs); 4) Distributing one-time teacher bonuses between $1,000 and $5,000.

The first two proposals focus on potential federal policies to recruit and retain teachers (and broader loan relief objectives) while the latter two proposals focus on state and district approaches to teacher labor markets, primarily addressing teacher retention.

Though the two federal policies may not be predicated directly on their public support, both have garnered significant national debate; the doubling of the TEACH grant stalled through President Biden’s American Families Plan proposal while loan forgiveness remains mired in long-term legal proceedings. Conversely, state and local policies often require direct voter support, either through local school board elections or referenda. Four-day school week policies have grown rapidly, primarily in rural locales, though recent evidence indicates largely negative impacts on student academic outcomes, while questions about their effects on parents, families, and communities remain. Teacher grants and bonuses have proliferated through COVID-19 federal relief funds, a revenue source soon due to expire.

While the efficacy of these policies to stabilize teacher labor markets may vary, our focus lies not in assessing their effectiveness but rather in documenting their public support to inform the feasibility of their enactment and sustainability through public buy-in. The pertinent portions of the CES surveys—which we partnered with YouGov to administer to a national stratified sample of approximately 1,000 adults—queried respondents on their support and opposition to these policies, also collecting their demographic characteristics (e.g., race, income, employment status), and political ideology, factors previously linked to policy support. Each question was contextualized for respondents as a potential tool to improve teacher recruitment and retention.

Polarization and partisanship frequently predict policy preferences, eclipsing demographic factors like age, race, and ethnicity, and even material self-interest. Combined with rhetoric from political leaders, partisanship can lead voters to oppose policies from which they stand to benefit. In our increasingly polarized political environment, Americans often view members of the other political party with distrust, which can lead voters to oppose policies based on political endorsements and to impede goals of the other political party. Thus, we expect partisanship to influence respondents’ preferences regarding education policy, particularly on politicized issues.

Contemporary public opinion on teacher shortage policies

On the one hand, each policy proposal garnered at least a plurality of public support. One-time bonuses (63.6%) and grants to teach in high-need schools (59.4%) were most popular; expanded loan forgiveness (47.3%) and permanent 4DSWs (40.7%) received more limited support (see Figure 1). In addition, support for each policy outstripped opposition by between 10 (4DSWs) to as many as 50 percentage points (one-time bonuses); between two and three in 10 respondents remained unsure of their support for each policy.

On the other hand, significant partisan variation underlies this support. Whereas most liberals support enacting each tactic (between 59.1% and 87.6%), only a plurality of conservatives supported one-time bonuses and a majority disapproved of the remaining strategies (see Figure 2). In fact, only slightly more than one in four conservatives indicated support for expanded loan forgiveness (26.0%) and 4DSWs (27.4%).

Only a few additional characteristics beyond partisanship predicted respondent preferences. Racial minority respondents and those holding a bachelor’s degree each indicated greater support for grants to teach in high-need schools. Additional characteristics like family income, gender, employment status, urbanicity, and age rarely, if ever, predicted policy preferences.

Situating our findings

Recently, scholars have explored partisan sorting in education, showing increasing polarization in education-focused topics, including in familiar debates concerning Common Core State Standards, public school quality, and education spending. Our findings showing partisan differences in support for these policy ideas are not entirely surprising, as some topics in education policy have become well-publicized, polarizing hot-button issues (e.g., ESAs, COVID-19 protection measures, book content, instruction discussing sex, gender orientation, and race and ethnicity).

Republican trust in institutions has been declining for several years. A summer 2023 Gallup poll shows a 34-point partisan gap in confidence in public schools, second only to the gap in confidence in the presidency. Affective partisanship and rhetoric from Republican elites also seems to have impacted Republican views of higher education. For example, a Pew Research Center survey illustrates a rapid decline in the number of Republicans who believe higher education has a positive effect “on the way things are going in the country,” declining from more than half in 2015 to only one in three in 2019. We find that these polarized views impact support for policy issues in education that have yet to feature in the so-called culture wars.

Teacher salaries: The annual Education Next Survey explores many hot-button education-focused topics ranging from perceptions of school quality to preferences for the enactment of new policies and practices. In 2022, responses to queries regarding the trajectory of teacher salaries varied widely by partisan ideology, with 70% of Democrats versus 46% of Republicans generally supporting salary increases.

The cost of education: Loan forgiveness and free two- and four-year college: Consistent with our findings, other survey results regarding loan relief showed a significant partisan divide. While 47% of Americans support some federal loan forgiveness, results from the Quinnipiac University Poll indicate a large partisan divide, with 88% of Democrats indicating approval and 81% of Republicans signaling disapproval. Similar partisan differences emerged in EdNext’s questions regarding free two- and four-year higher education, with Democrats indicating much stronger support (84% and 80%) than Republicans (44% and 36%).

Four-day school weeks: Though we found the least support for 4DSW policies (40.7%), the PDK International Poll recently indicated 53% support 4DSWs, up from 25% two decades ago. The PDK poll motivated 4DSWs with district cost savings whereas our question prioritized teacher recruitment and retention, which district leaders now typically cite as a primary objective of the policy and teachers value as a job perk.

The 2023-24 school year and beyond

As students begin the 2023-24 school year, many will return to schools either under-staffed or staffed, in part, by underqualified teachers, making post-pandemic academic recovery more challenging. Though we find a plurality of adults support a range of teacher recruitment and retention policies, even seemingly politically neutral strategies to address teacher shortages may now court a partisan divide similar to other issues in contemporary education policy, one which may feature prominently in upcoming elections. As a result, the feasibility of implementing local policies like 4DSWs and one-time teacher bonuses may hinge on the direction of local partisanship, while federal policies like loan relief may continue to languish with single-party support.

[tailschannel]

Sonic records 1.2 million unit sales in FY2024/Q1, according to SEGA's latest financial update

The Sonic the Hedgehog video game series kicked off the new fiscal year of 2024 at SEGA Sammy Holdings, SEGA's parent company, with a unit sales total of 1.2 million, versus 1.4 million from the same period last fiscal year.

The blue blur was presumably aided by sales of Sonic Frontiers and other repeat titles in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, which encompassed the three months ended late June in calendar year 2023.

SEGA's two full game titles in Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection and Sonic Origins Plus, both released very late into the first quarter, were not enough to produce rosy numbers in its respective segment: a total of 740,000 copies.

Despite that, the company appeared to be satisfied with the "steady overall performance" of the Consumer area of the Entertainment Contents division. They intend to seek more sales and revenue with the launch of new titles like Sonic Superstars at the half-way point of fiscal year 2024, which is approximately around Autumn in calendar year 2023.

Regarding the environment of the Entertainment Contents Business, in the consumer area, the market trends seem to have cooled down in reaction to changes in consumer behavior related to stay-at-home-and-spend initiatives brought in during the spread of COVID-19. However, expectations for the growth of the game market continue to be high as the diversification in terms of service provision resulting in an environment having been created in which content and services can be delivered globally over the long-term, regardless of device or platform.

Meanwhile, net sales at SEGA Sammy in Q1 totalled to ¥108 million JPY, an increase of 63.4% from the same period last fiscal year; an operating income of ¥22.5 million JPY, an increase of 712.2%; ordinary income of ¥23 million JPY, an increase of 442.7%; and attributable profit of ¥17.2 million JPY, an increase of 446.4%.

The second quarter report in fiscal year 2024, which will cover July through September in calendar year 2023, will be released around 3 months from now.

[rapidweb23]

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[capitalism-and-analytics]

My commie friend says that there's no scarcity. It's all imaginary, he says. And that people will magically not be greedy if they have their needs met. How do I answer

Well I can't speak for your friend, but I will advise you on how to approach most reasonable people that say that there's no scarcity and that it is all imaginary.

Generally, these people do not intend for a literal interpretation as most people would agree that there are finite resources in the world, but instead they intend that the supply of a good or service is intentionally restricted or controlled, often for various reasons, including economic, marketing, or strategic purposes. This phenomenon is what is commonly referred to as "artificial scarcity" and saying that only artificial scarcity exists would ignore the fundamental reality of finite resources in our world. It's important to recognize that both natural and artificial scarcity have economic, social, and environmental implications, and understanding the distinction between them is crucial for making informed decisions and addressing resource allocation challenges. In reality, most scarcity situations are a combination of natural and artificial scarcity. For instance, oil is a naturally scarce resource, but its availability can be influenced by market manipulations, production quotas, and geopolitical factors, creating artificial scarcity to some extent.

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Now back to your question:

And that people will magically not be greedy if they have their needs met.

Now assuming you're friend is like most communists, they are probably assuming that the criteria for one's needs being met is dictated only by nature: food, water, shelter, etc. Although those basic needs are essential, humans also have social, emotional, and psychological needs beyond food, water, and shelter, which usually encompass needs that exceed the current available supply resulting in scarcity.

I am assuming this is taken out of context as the fundamental challenge that economic systems are trying to solve is fulfilling infinite demands with finite supply of resources, i.e. meeting the needs of everyone.