Monthly Archives: May 2017

Let’s Talk Lax column: Chemistry, leadership giving Beverly girls lacrosse a boost – The Salem News

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The Big Panther/Little Panther program has been an on-and-off tradition employed by the Beverly High girls lacrosse program in recent seasons.

The program consists of Beverly veteran players adopting underclassmen on the team, taking them under their wing and helping them through their early high school years be it on the field, in the classrooom, or concerning matters that have nothing to do with either. Its not only a way of guidance, but of also serving as a helping hand.

The elder Panthers decided to bring the tradition back this spring as a way of building team chemistry and incorporating their younger, talented teammates into the fold after losing 12 seniors to graduation. Senior captains Maeve Blake, Amanda Rosenberger and Marita Smallman knew in order to be competitive again this season, theyd need to rely upon freshmen and sophomores developing into key contributors.

We had a lot of young talent that had big roles to play, said Blake. We knew they couldnt do that without the help of the older players, so that was our main focus.

Every youngster on the BHS varsity has an upperclassman to look to should they need help or guidance.

The veterans recalled such a program being implemented when they were freshmen by head coach Alyson Healey, but had fallen by the wayside in the past season or two.

Its been a really strong team dynamic of everybody working toward the same goals, said Blake. Were fortunate enough to have so much young talent, but with that has to come confidence. And they have to want to play for their seniors and want to play for the next three years.

The result? The Panthers have a 11-6 record in large part because of many underclassmen in the lineup stepping up and realizing their potential.

The team feel chemistry is its biggest strength; everybody cares for one another. It makes them want to make that extra play, scoop through that ground ball, or make that extra pass.

With its 10th win Tuesday (a 15-7 win at Danvers), Beverly qualified for the state tournament and matched its win total from 2016. The Panthers still have three games to play in the regular season before the Division 1 North sectional begins.

We have such a good relationship off the field; its so easy to bring that onto the field, said Smallman. So having the big Panther-little Panther with that definitely helped.

If you want proof of progress made by the Garden City underclassmen, look no further than the scoresheet. Two of the Panthers top three scorers are sophomores, with Sabrina Beaudry leading the team with 43 points. Brooke Baekey has 34, four behind senior Darcy McAuliffe for second on the squad. Baekey leads the team with 11 assists.

Beaudry, who has 41 goals, has been one of the top goal scorers on the North Shore this spring, including six tallies in Tuesdays win against Danvers. The sophomore feels the welcoming atmosphere set by the seniors have radiated throughout the team, creating a bond off the field that has translated to success on it.

When we have chemistry off the field, that definitely plays a role in our chemistry on the field, said Beaudry. And we just want to work together. Were happy for each other; even if youre not the one that makes the play, youre happy for your teammate.

There was a little sense of unknown for Beverly going into the season, with so many seniors gone and so many young players in the lineup. That is no longer the case, thanks in large part to the ownership the senior leaders took and the response it generated from the rest of the group.

We have bunch of girls who are willing to do things that dont show up on the scoreboard or in the stats book, and we try to praise that as much as possible, said Healey. And I think with our captains, theyve had to work really hard to get where they are. Its not just in this sport; theyre three-sport athletes, so they know what it takes to win games and be at the top. Im very impressed with them.

Ipswich dropped its first game last Thursday in a 11-8 setback to Newburyport in a battle of undefeated clubs. The Tigers bounced back nicely, however, scoring a season-high 20 goals their next outing against Cape Ann League rival North Reading before knocking off Division 1 heavyweight Chelmsford, 13-11, on Tuesday.

In the win against Chelmsford, Julia Glavin scored three goals and added two assists to eclipse the 100-point mark for the season, the first player on the North Shore to do so. She now has 60 goals and 104 points. Shes now the running for a rare Triple Crown, as shes tied for the area lead in goals while leading in assists (44) and points.

Peabody took the Danish Cup from crosstown rival Bishop Fenwick, scoring an 11-4 win on Saturday. After beating Methuen 10-7 on Tuesday, the Tanners have won eight straight and now stand at 12-2 . . . Kenzie Vasque notched her 100th career goal for Pingree on Monday in the Highlanders 15-3 win over Lexington Christian Academy.

Lets Talk Lax, a column on North Shore high school girls lacrosse, appears each Thursday in The Salem News during the spring sports season. Contact staff writer Pat ORourke at porourke@salemnews.com and follow him on Twitter @PatORourke_29.

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Let's Talk Lax column: Chemistry, leadership giving Beverly girls lacrosse a boost - The Salem News

Softball: Chemistry key to Plano East’s playoff run – Star Local Media

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Slowly but surely, the Plano East softball team began building momentum in pre-district play with solid pitching and an opportunistic offense.

It started district play undefeated, including a win over state-ranked Plano West. All of a sudden, East was stacking wins on top of one another. Despite a late-season loss to West, it swept Plano Senior and ended the season tied for first place in arguably the toughest district in the Metroplex.

Now, the Lady Panthers are four rounds deep in the playoffs after dispatching of Marcus, South Grand Prairie and Waco Midway. Its the schools deepest playoff run since 2012, when East advanced to the state semifinals.

That team had senior leadership and a tenured coach in Karen Kalhoefer, and while current East head coach Cindy Mosteller is certainly no rookie, East is coming off a fourth-place finish last year and has exactly one senior on this years roster.

So, where did this come from?

A couple of players point to the win over West at the beginning of the year as the moment they knew they were a good team; others look at the sweep of Plano. Still, others insist the chemistry began growing as early as pre-season.

Regardless of when the seed was planted, the Lady Panthers sport a deep, talented squad that now has a date with defending Class 6A champions Keller on Thursday.

We never really had a big head or anything coming into this season, but once we beat Plano [for the second time], that really gave us a confidence boost heading into the playoffs, said junior Gabbi Lopez. This team just has a lot more chemistry and more trust in one another. Our practices are very engaged and we work on a lot of things to prepare us for the game ahead of us.

Lopez was the teams ace last year as a sophomore, but now, with the emergence of freshman Carson Armijo, the squad has two live arms to lean on in the playoffs. Mosteller has used Armijo as her Game 1 starter in the three rounds the Lady Panthers have played in, then used Lopez to close out the opposing squad in Game 2.

Its been a remarkable combination, as Armijo relies on strikeouts, while Lopez uses an off-speed approach to pitch to contact. The result: three sweeps in three playoff rounds.

Its nice knowing that I have someone to come in relief if I need it, Lopez said. [Armijo] is a strong player all-around, and she and I have come a long way together as a duo.

I came into this season wanting to prove to others that Im a high-level player and that Im capable of competing against girls three years older than me, Armijo added. Im really grateful that Im getting the opportunity to pitch this deep into the playoffs, because now every team and batter is tough. There are no easy outs anymore.

While the pitching has been stellar, both Lopez and Armijo have had ample run support.

In six playoff games, East has scored 57 runs an average of more than nine runs per game. And, in the final two district games before the playoffs, the Lady Panthers scored nine and 12 runs, respectively.

Junior leadoff hitter Bella Konieczka said practices are very competitive, and that Mosteller lets the squad hit off of Armijo and Lopez in hopes of improving the offenses timing against other pitchers.

We work on hitting every day, and coach is always mixing up drills, Konieczka said. Hitting off live pitchers is really helpful, especially because [Armijo and Lopez] are so good. It makes hitting off other pitchers easier.

The next test for East will be Keller pitchers Dylann Kaderka, a sophomore, and senior Sarah Taylor. Like East, Keller has not yet lost a playoff game; in fact, going back to the end of the regular season, Keller has won 14 games in a row.

At the plate, the Lady Indians are led by junior Kasey Simpson, who leads the team in home runs, triples and doubles. Simpson was a star for Keller as a sophomore and committed to play softball at Iowa State once she graduates in 2018.

Game 1 is Thursday at Plano East at 5 p.m., with Game 2 set for Friday at Argyle High School at 5 p.m. A Game 3, if necessary, will be held Friday following Game 2 at Argyle.

For continued coverage of the local sports scene, follow @timothyglaze on Twitter.

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Softball: Chemistry key to Plano East's playoff run - Star Local Media

Westlake 7th Grader Takes 3rd In Chemistry Contest – Patch.com

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Westlake 7th Grader Takes 3rd In Chemistry Contest
Patch.com
You Be the Chemist is designed for students in grades 5-8, and encourages students to explore chemistry in real-world applications. The contest is sponsored by the Chemical Education Foundation. Viazmitinas and other seventh- and eighth-grade students ...

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Westlake 7th Grader Takes 3rd In Chemistry Contest - Patch.com

Richard Schrock wins faculty’s Killian Award – MIT News

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Richard Schrock, a chemist renowned for his pioneering work in organometallic chemistry, has been named the recipient of the 2017-2018 James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award.

Schrocks accomplishments include the development of a reaction known as olefin metathesis, now used for the efficient and more environmentally friendly production of important pharmaceuticals, fuels, and other products. For that work, he was awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Professor Schrocks pioneering research efforts in inorganic and organometallic chemistry have defined the direction of the field, according to the award committees citation, which was read at the May 17 faculty meeting by Joseph Paradiso, chair of the Killian Award selection committee and the Alexander W. Dreyfoos Professor in Media Arts and Sciences.

Established in 1971 to honor MITs 10th president, James Killian, the Killian Award recognizes extraordinary professional achievements by an MIT faculty member.

Its an honor to be joining such a distinguished group, Schrock said.

Schrock became interested in chemistry at age 8, when he received a chemistry set passed down from his older brother. This was back in the days when the chemistry set actually had some good stuff in it, he told MIT News.

After earning his bachelors degree in 1967 from the University of California at Riverside, Schrock earned a PhD in inorganic chemistry from Harvard University in 1971. He spent a year as a National Science Foundation postdoc at Cambridge University, then worked for three years at the Central Research and Development Department of DuPont Co. before joining the MIT faculty in 1975. He became a full professor in 1980 and was named the Frederick G. Keyes Professor of Chemistry in 1989.

Olefin metathesis, the reaction for which Schrock won the Nobel, involves breaking and making double bonds between carbon atoms to produce new types of carbon-carbon double bonds. In 1990, Schrock was the first chemist to develop a catalyst that could perform this reaction without the need for volatile reagents. His catalysts, which contain the metal molybdenum, can perform metathesis quickly and under mild conditions.

In another branch of research, Schrock was the first to perform the catalytic production of ammonia from nitrogen gas under mild conditions, in 2003. The development of such processes has the potential to improve the capability for successful small-farm agriculture in the developing world by creating a method to make fertilizer from molecular nitrogen in the air, according to the award committee.

Currently fertilizer is produced through the Haber-Bosch process, which combines nitrogen and hydrogen are at extremely high temperatures (500 degrees Celsius) and pressures (300 atmospheres), which requires huge amounts of energy.

Over his career at MIT, Schrock has mentored more than 185 graduate students and postdocs, and he remains active in both research and teaching, including serving as one of the lecturers in MITs freshman chemistry course.

He began this challenging teaching assignment in the early 1990s and returned to it after winning the Nobel Prize exactly what we expect of outstanding MIT faculty who aim to inspire undergraduates to great achievements. It is said that Professor Schrocks relaxed demeanor and his instinctive understanding of the science make his lectures a joy to attend, the award committee wrote in its citation.

In addition to receiving the Nobel Prize, Schrock has been honored with the American Chemical Society Award in Organometallic Chemistry, the American Chemical Society Award in Inorganic Chemistry, the August Wilhelm von Hofmann Medal from the German Chemical Society, and the Paracelsus Prize, awarded biennially by the Swiss Chemical Society to an internationally outstanding scientist for lifetime achievements in chemical research. Schrock is a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences, and he is a foreign member of the Royal Society of London.

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Richard Schrock wins faculty's Killian Award - MIT News

Novelogics Biotechnology, Inc. & CDRD Partner to Advance Novel Cancer Treatment – Business Wire (press release)

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Novelogics Biotechnology, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a research agreement with The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD), Canadas national drug development and commercialization centre, to further characterize Novelogics' internally-developed antibody immunotherapy for treating cancer.

The proprietary technology behind Novelogics innovation involves discovery and development of monoclonal antibodies that target a protein that promotes immune suppression in cancer patients. It is predicted that this new therapy could treat a broad range of cancers, and because it works with the patients own immune system, it would be safer and less toxic with fewer debilitating side-effects.

CDRD will be analyzing the technology through custom in vitro assays that will help validate and identify their lead antibody and move it towards a Phase 1 clinical trial as early as 2019. The technology has recently shown preliminary evidence of tumour inhibition in a prostate cancer model and based on results from CDRDs research, it could be expanded to other cancer models.

Novelogics President and Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Wayne Cheney stated, We are excited to introduce our novel approach to treating cancer. Unlike other immunotherapies that function by modulating, inhibiting or blocking targets, our innovative drug works by intercepting. This is a new way of limiting the immune suppressive effects of the drug target, which offers a huge opportunity to make a difference in the fight against cancer. We look forward to a successful collaboration with CDRD and are thrilled to be working with their technical team of experts and state-of-the-art biologics facility.

CDRDs Head of Biologics Dr. Ismael Samudio commented, This work with Novelogics is an exciting opportunity for CDRD to apply our scientific expertise in NK cell biology and therapeutic antibodies to a technology that has very promising pre-clinical potential. This a great example of how CDRD is partnering with Canadian life sciences companies to advance promising discoveries and transform them into validated investments and improved health outcomes. By combining our expertise and specialized infrastructure, we aim to provide critical data to advance Novelogics technology and help bring new therapeutic treatments to market.

It is anticipated that a pre-clinical candidate antibody will be selected in 2017, and that further clinical development activities will follow.

About Novelogics Biotechnology, Inc.

Novelogics Biotechnology Inc. is virtual life sciences company utilizing expertise at a variety of Contract Research labs and is dedicated to developing innovative cancer treatments that harness the power of the immune system to help eradicate tumors more naturally. Their immunotherapy concepts focus on development of antibody therapeutics and have the potential to treat multiple cancer types without the side-effects associated with traditional cancer therapies. We anticipate the technology will be well-received by larger biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies seeking novel antibody immunotherapy treatments in this exciting area of cancer drug development. Novelogics has one mission in mind we want to create better cancer treatments. http://www.novelogics.com

Novelogics Biotechnology Inc. is a privately-owned corporation operating in Vancouver, Canada.

About The Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD)

CDRD is Canadas national drug development and commercialization centre working in partnership with academia, industry, government and foundations. CDRD provides the specialized expertise and infrastructure to identify, validate and advance promising discoveries, and transform them into commercially viable investment opportunities for the private sector and ultimately into new therapies for patients. Canadas Networks of Centres of Excellence Program has recognized CDRD as a Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR). http://www.cdrd.ca

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Novelogics Biotechnology, Inc. & CDRD Partner to Advance Novel Cancer Treatment - Business Wire (press release)

U. biochemistry professor wins Rosenblatt Prize – Deseret News

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David Titensor, University of Utah

Wesley I. Sundquist, distinguished professor of biochemistry at the University of Utah, has won the Rosenblatt Prize for Excellence, the U.s most prestigious faculty award.

SALT LAKE CITY Wesley I. Sundquist, distinguished professor of biochemistry at the University of Utah, has won the Rosenblatt Prize for Excellence, the U.s most prestigious faculty award.

The $40,000 gift is presented annually to a faculty member who displays excellence in teaching, research and administrative efforts.

The Rosenblatt Prize Committee, a group of faculty members, recommends candidates for the award. U. President David Pershing made the final selection.

Dr. Sundquists discoveries have enriched the field of biochemistry and hold enormous promise for improving human health, Pershing said in a statement. His dedication as a teacher and mentor ensures that his influence will be felt for generations to come. The University of Utah is fortunate to have a scientist and educator of his caliber, and it is a pleasure to honor him with the institutions most distinguished faculty award.

Sundquist holds a doctorate in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was a postdoctoral fellow at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England, and began his career at the U. in 1992 as an assistant professor in the biochemistry department. He became the Samuels Presidential Chaired Professor in 2015 and a distinguished professor in 2017.

Sundquist is chairman emeritus of the U. School of Medicine's executive committee and former chairman of the Benning Society. He has also served as co-chairman for the biochemistry department with Chris Hill since 2009.

Sundquist is internationally recognized for his research discoveries in HIV replication and fundamental processes in cell biology. His work has transformed the understanding of the architecture, assembly and budding of HIV, and his research on viral structures is leading to new strategies for HIV therapeutics that have transformative potential for human health.

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U. biochemistry professor wins Rosenblatt Prize - Deseret News

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ spinoff is everything that’s wrong with TV – New York Post

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Does Shonda Rhimes think shes Dick Wolf?

Taking several pages from the Law & Order masterminds playbook, ABC announced Tuesday that Rhimes, the outrageously successful creator of Scandal and Greys Anatomy, will next executive-produce a Greys spinoff, also set in Seattle with firefighters, not love-starved doctors, as its focus.

Is this not a blatant rip-off of Wolfs Chicago franchise on NBC, which includes, so far, the fire and police departments, the hospital and the courthouse? What might ABC call this one? By George, I think Ive got it: Seattle Fire!

No one can interweave the jeopardy firefighters face in the line of duty with the drama in their personal lives quite like Shonda, and Greys signature Seattle setting is the perfect backdrop for this exciting spinoff, crowed ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey in a statement announcing the newest addition to Rhimes empire.

Really? What has Wolf been doing since Chicago Fire kicked off his Windy City franchise in 2012?

Wolfs city of heroes franchise also includes Chicago P.D. launched in 2014, Chicago Med, which debuted a year later, and the 2017 entry, Chicago Justice. With the exception of the latter show, which has yet to be renewed for next season, they are dependable performers for NBC, averaging between 6 and 7 million total viewers. They also offer more proof that Wolf is the undisputed master of setting procedural shows in a specific city and, unlike Greys Anatomy (which is filmed in Los Angeles), shooting them there. His on-location Chicago series give viewers the gritty urban feel they learned to love on Wolfs groundbreaking, New York-set Law & Order franchise, whose sole survivor, SVU, has been renewed for an age-defying 19th season.

What does Rhimes and her Shondaland production company, which specializes in the kind of daytime-skewing melodrama where dominant females stomp their way through the corridors of power, have to offer here? Shes already launched one LA-set Greys spinoff, the middling Private Practice, which ran for six seasons. Do we need another? Rhimes is already on tap to executive-produce another legal series for ABC, the midseason entry For the People in 2018. And her most recent series, The Catch, was canceled after two lackluster seasons.

If it wasnt clear before, this latest Shondaland project seals it: ABC is in a rut programmingwise. After scheduling two doomed Scandal knockoffs last season (Conviction and Notorious), the network has decided to go back in time to find viewers. And so they announced a revival of American Idol, a series that has been off its competitors air just over a year, and then Roseanne, which ended 20 years ago. Whats next? The reboot of Burkes Law? Have Gun Will Travel with, let me think ... Zac Efron as Paladin?

Hollywood, I think we have a problem.

By contrast, another prolific producer, Ryan Murphy, has kept working (on cable, admittedly) by bucking formulas and branching out into different TV genres, and doing so in surprising, provocative and entertaining ways that command the attention of viewers and the respect of Hollywood, scooping up Emmys and other awards. In the past few years he has given us American Horror Story, The People v. O.J. Simpson and Feud: Bette and Joan, three distinct series that sent programmers scrambling to their conference rooms ... to copy him.

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but on TV, its a crutch.

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'Grey's Anatomy' spinoff is everything that's wrong with TV - New York Post

The Anatomy of a Global B2B Campaign – AdAge.com

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Lauren Flaherty,CA Technologies' CMO. Credit: CA Technologies

When you spy the occasional B2B ad campaign that is both surprising and relevant, veterans of the trade can't help but wonder, "Why wasn't that new 'organ' rejected by the corporate body?"

To answer this question, it helps to spend time with the top marketing surgeon (aka CMO). In the interview below, Lauren Flaherty, CMO at CA Technologies, helps dissect the strategic thinking behind CA's new global campaign, "The Modern Software Factory." In the process, her diagnosis identifies several truths that other marketers would be wise to take to heart.

Talk about your new campaign.

"The Modern Software Factory" is a way of framing how CA can help guide companies through their digital transformation. Over the last couple of years, we've been talking about the application economy and all of its promise. What we came to appreciate is that people understand it, but they struggle with how to get there. For example, customers need to be agile, they've got to get apps to market more quickly and securely, they desperately need insights from data. "The Modern Software Factory" is not a show floor for us; it's actually where we can ask customers: Where's your pain point? Where do you see your opportunity? And then we can demonstrate that we have the software that can help. [View new ads here and here.]

What was the genesis of this idea?

The genesis WAS a book written last fall by our CTO and a number CA's presales team members called "Digitally Remastered." Their insight came from years of working with customers and seeing the best practices for what we call in the book, "A Blueprint for Your Modern Software Factory." It comes from real customer data and insights, and it's a very pragmatic approach to how you proceed on the digital transformation journey.

It's a big deal for a global company to launch a new campaign like this. What were the main steps to bring the program to fruition?

We work closely with our regional colleagues to make sure that a campaign is relevant in all regions. What was fascinating was that our sales and marketing teams heard the same things from customers in every region. The customer doesn't come to the discussion saying, "I'm looking for product X, Y or Z." Instead, they say, "I need to make this happen. I have this pain point." Interestingly all of us who do global brand work struggle with adoption outside of the U.S., but there was this universal need for digital transformation. It varies by country in terms of maturity, but the need to have business be powered by software is universal.

Before we launched, we've also enabled our sales colleagues with education and training, so they're prepared to carry "The Modern Software Factory" narrative. This campaign is an articulation of our business strategy, so our ability to show CA's know-how and have a different kind of dialogue with our customers is crucial.

What were the biggest hurdles that you had to overcome in bringing this to market?

Simplification. Technology and software can get pretty geeky, pretty fast, so it was important to simplify the message to align with business outcomes, keep it customer-centric and avoid the pitfalls of speaking in code. We focused on a narrative around business value and goals, so the campaign would resonate with the targets we wanted to reach. We also developed a framework that would be globally relevant, clear and easy to understand. Once we had those elements, and coupled the voice of the customer with the device of "The Modern Software Factory," it started to click and came together quickly.

Will you be measuring impact on brand perceptions?

We measure everything! For brand, we'll look at traditional metrics around reputation management, in association with our brand familiarity and consideration. We care a lot about consideration, because that's based on our data, and is the leading indicator to what we'll see downstream in pipeline. We also look at what's happening with CA.com -- traffic, and how it spikes as we turn the faucet of content on and off, how long and where are people on the site, and more.

How about lead generation?

Underneath the brand metrics, product demand is everything here. We look at pipeline data, specifically whether we have enough opportunities by week across sales, partners, digital sales and marketing. We ask whether we're creating enough opportunity that will convert into revenue. So, we consider the full spectrum of measurement, from brand to what I call hygiene-level demand creation.

Did you work with any outside partners?

We work with a team called John McNeil Studios, or JMS, based in Berkeley, California. They've been our agency of record for brand for the last three and a half years. JMS is a really talented group, and they help us with everything from television, to digital, to brand identity work. They get the category, and they're great partners.

In terms of launching the "Modern Software Factory" campaign and getting it to market, what were the biggest lessons learned?

I think the biggest lesson --- and it sounds so obvious -- is that when you keep the customer at the center of everything, it's your True North. We just kept coming back to, "How do they express their needs? Where do they place the greatest value?" It framed how we would tell the story, and what we would emphasize.

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The Anatomy of a Global B2B Campaign - AdAge.com

An Explosive Grey’s Anatomy Finale! See How Meredith Reacts in the Moments After Blast – PEOPLE.com

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Greys Anatomy has been known for letting sparks fly both figuratively and literally but things are taken up a notch in the season 13 finale on Thursday as the staff at Grey Sloane Memorial attempt to mitigate the casualties after an explosion rocks the hospital.

In an exclusive sneak peek, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) and Minnick (Marika Dominczyk) are in the Grey Sloane parking lot when a fireball is seen busting out of one of the higher floors of the hospital.

The doctors attempt to get back into the hospital but are stopped by security, who have locked the facility down while they hunt for a rapist on the run inside.

Bailey (Chandra Wilson) sees the women and insists the security guards allow the women inside so they can help with the crisis, which is the result of a fight between Pratt (Jerrika Hinton) and the rapist.

The season 13 finale of Greys Anatomy airs Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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An Explosive Grey's Anatomy Finale! See How Meredith Reacts in the Moments After Blast - PEOPLE.com

Highlanders versus Dynamos: The anatomy of violence – NewsDay

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Once again and not for the last time a Highlanders versus Dynamos football match ended in violence with the usual accusations and counter accusations of referee bias and oppression being the order of the day.

Candour: NQABA MATSHAZI

NQABA MATSHAZI

Highlanders fans are convinced there is a conspiracy against their team and have long noticed what they consider a pattern that referees are biased against them and playing against Dynamos is increasingly becoming a fruitless endeavour, as Bosso is handicapped even before the match begins.

On the other hand, Dynamos supporters question why Highlanders fans seem to always resort to violence when things do not go their way, which in the end will cost their team monetarily and ultimately the match.

While these are arguments that can go on until the cows come home, the reality is they are superficial and do not address the cause of the hostility between the supporters of the two teams.

The violence between the two sets of the teams supporters, I argue, is a microcosm of the countrys failure to unite and there is a clear tribal and regional schism, which finds expression during matches between Dynamos and Highlanders.

The build-up to the matches is often couched in tribal terms and is seen as a battle between the Shona and the Ndebele on one hand and while on the other, Dynamos is seen as the establishment team and Highlanders the opposite.

Sentiments that cannot be expressed in certain situations suddenly find space when Highlanders and Dynamos play and the result is always a tinderbox, which often results in violence.

For example, when the violence erupted at Barbourfields Stadium, I heard someone say, The Ndebeles have started, without realising the causal tribalism, which has become a hallmark when the two teams meet.

It goes without saying that for that person Ndebeles are associated with Highlanders and by extension, Shonas with Dynamos and this is what is tragic about Zimbabwe.

We are stuck in a tragic ethnic dichotomy, where we treat each other with suspicion, contempt and sometimes naked hatred, because we have failed to unite.

The only effort at addressing the anger that is bubbling beneath the surface was the 1987 Unity Accord, which increasingly looks farcical, which only brought Zapu and Zanu PF together but failed to deal with the ethnic tensions that continue to this day.

A big problem with Zimbabwe today is that we have adopted the ostrich mentality, where we hide our heads in the sand and pretend such issues do not exist and then we fail to address them, we act surprised when they spring up at football matches.

I saw one leaked WhatsApp message that said Highlanders fans were thugs and Gukurahundi should have wiped them out, quite a sick thing to say, but which could be instructive of our psyche as a nation.

For their part, Highlanders fans also have very nasty chants, where they accuse Dynamos fans Shonas of being complicit and active in the Gukurahundi killings, which reveals that even if we left the 1980s 30 years ago, there is still a festering wound that will not disappear because we pretend it did not happen.

It is also unhelpful that a State media columnist Nathaniel Manheru, known to be a senior civil servant gets acres of space in a public medium to refer to the 1980s killings as the so-called Gukurahundi, blatant denialism, which in other countries is criminalised.

While we can sit on the sidelines, pontificate and point fingers at who is responsible, the need for peace and reconciliation has never been so apparent and that is one way we can fix this broken country.

There is clearly discontentment among a section of the population and there is need to sit down and see how it can be addressed rather than treating the symptoms, which the fans violence is.

Parliament has haggled over the National Peace and Reconciliation Bill, which has been rejected at public meetings, but while the government dithers on this, the reality is that the nation continues to bleed from this division.

It is clear that the government does not want a Bill that will expose its violent past and I daresay, present and will do everything to frustrate it, but this does not help peace-building initiatives in the country and there will always be latent hostility and anger.

There is no appetite to address the Gukurahundi issue and this only creates hate and anger, which find expression in most unlikely places and perpetuates the cycle of violence, which has been an earmark of this country from independence to date.

It is not only Gukurahundi that needs addressing, there is the electoral violence of 1990, the food riots of 1998, the bloodletting of the 2002 and 2008 elections and Operation Murambatsvina of 2005, which need to be dealt with and ignoring all this is just papering over cracks that will continue to haunt generations to come.

This is not to excuse the violence at Barbourfields Stadium last Sunday, but rather to look at the root cause of why games between Highlanders and Dynamos are so emotion-filled and are likely to end prematurely.

What sometimes could be a genuine mistake by the officials is now seen through the lens of continued oppression and marginalisation of a tribe and the Matabeleland region.

Games between Highlanders and Dynamos are more than just football, they are political, and in the build-up to the games the discourse is dominated by politics rather than sporting issues.

As long as we have not dealt with the fundamentals, which revolve around genuine unity, peace and reconciliation, we can resign ourselves to the knowledge that more Highlanders and Dynamos games are likely to end prematurely and in violence.

The answer lies in our unresolved past.

Feedback: nmatshazi@southerneye.co.zw

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Highlanders versus Dynamos: The anatomy of violence - NewsDay

The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine Introduces New Podcast: Redefining Medicine – Markets Insider

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BOCA RATON, FL--(Marketwired - May 16, 2017) - The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine will be launching its new podcast, Redefining Medicine, today. Tune in Tuesdays will host weekly sessions with key players in the field of functional and integrative medicine. The podcast will capture and spotlight the personal lives of healthcare professionals and practitioners, allowing listeners to view and hear the more intimate aspects of practicing medicine.

The first three episodes feature Dr. Andrew Heyman, Dr. Pamela W. Smith, and David Asprey, all of whom showcase the benefits of preventive medicine, and discuss the trajectories that led them to their current practices. Later episodes feature physicians who initially worked in the army, emergency medicine, and an array of other disciplines; yet the consistent theme lies in the ultimate decision to seek out and practice integrative healthcare.

These discussions reveal the varied backgrounds and histories of medical professionals, while displaying a more personal and intimate perspective.

The podcast episodes are also available on iTunes, free of charge.

About the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine

The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) is the world's largest non-profit society of physicians and scientists committed to research that helps optimize the human aging process, along with the advancement of techniques and technologies that detect, prevent, and treat aging-related diseases.

A4M offers exclusive membership to all medical professionals, with the potential to access over two-decades of established medical expertise. We are dedicated to educating physicians, scientists, and all healthcare professionals, and are proud to be in our 24th year of providing first-class continuing education conferences on anti-aging, regenerative, and functional medicine.

To learn more, register for any event, enroll in any training program, or exhibit at an A4M Conference, please contact the office of the American Academy of Anti-Aging medicine at:

Toll-Free - US Only: (888) 997-0112

International: (561) 997-0112

Email: rel="nofollow">info@a4m.com

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The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine Introduces New Podcast: Redefining Medicine - Markets Insider

A Yogurt a Day May Keep Disorders at Bay – Anti Aging News

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Posted on May 17, 2017, 6 a.m. in Functional Foods GI-Digestive Inflammation

Researchers investigating the gut microbiome recommend that just as you should eat fiber every day, you should also follow suit with fermented foods.

Just about everyone loves yogurt. It tastes amazing, has a lovely texture and provides a number of health benefits. Yogurt is one of the many fermented foods that is fantastic for gut health. Researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are studying the nuances of the gut microbiome. The hope is that an improved understanding of the gut microbiome will help reduce the prevalence of heart disease, diabetes, and inflammatory disorders.

About Fermented Foods

Fermented foods are considered to be the original version of processed food. Fermentation allows for preservation to keep foods nutritious and tasty. Fermented foods have soared in popularity over the recent years as the general public became more interested in health food. Scientists continue to learn more about the important functions of microorganisms for digestion and overall health.

Aside from yogurt, examples of fermented foods and drinks include wine, beer, cheese, salami, fermented pickles, coffee, bread, and chocolate. These items are altered by helpful bacteria, fungi, and yeasts. These foods aresafe to consume for extended periods of time after the alteration. In many instances, fermentation makes the food that much more healthy and flavorful to boot.

About the Research

The research effort is being spearheaded by Robert Hutkins, an accomplished food science researcher. Maria Marco of the University of California is also leading the study. They are working in tandem with an international crew of scientists to determine if eating certain fermented foods like yogurt increases the number ofhelpful microorganisms.

Prior studies have proved that foods like yogurt, miso, and sauerkraut are tied to a reduced rate of diabetes, heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders and other health problems. Hutkins and a dozen other researchers are reviewing this data. He states that the data showsnumerous health benefits to consuming fermented foods like yogurt. He recommends that fermented foods should be included in all diets.

Hutkins' Background

Hutkins is affiliated with the Nebraska Food for Health Center. This group was established last year to study how gut microbes ward off disease and boost human health. It's food, animal and plant scientists work closely with medical experts to identify and develop foods that boost the human microbiome as well as the micro-organisms that reside in the gut. These scientists arefocused on developing foods that boost the body's immune system and metabolic processes.

About Microorganisms

Microorganisms within the gut are fed by the foods one consumes. Therefore it should come as no surprise that diet is an important factor that determines the functionality of the gut microbiome. This is an excellent opportunity to marry agriculture and medicine to alter how we think about warding off disease and treating disease. The hope is that improved knowledge of the main properties of fermentation methods will provide insights in terms of health benefits. However, at the current moment, only yogurt has been identified as a provider ofspecific health benefits. European health authorities made this recognition.

Hutkins' Findings

Hutkins and fellow researchers from the Netherlands, Canada, the United States, Ireland and France have encouraging findings following a thorough review of the latest research into fermented foods. Thegroup determined the increased interest in the impact of microbiomes on health justifies additional research along with clinical trials to study the functions of micro-organisms that reach the gastrointestinal tract via beverages and food.

Some of the studies within Hutkins' group show that yogurt consumption is tied to a decreased rates of diabetes. Additional research determined that beneficial relationships exist between yogurt and digestion, blood pressure, osteoporosis, and cholesterol. One particular study determined those who consume yogurt on a daily basis were less irritable.

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A Yogurt a Day May Keep Disorders at Bay - Anti Aging News

Students Present Biochemistry Research in Chicago – Marymount Manhattan College News

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Three MMC Biology and Biomedical Sciences students presented their research at the international Experimental Biology Meeting (EB 2017) in Chicago this April.

Elevit Perez 17, Taylor Allen 17, and Tracy Tauro 18 presented their research projects at the Experimental Biology meeting held in Chicago, IL, on April 22-25, 2017. All three students are conducting research with Dr. Benedetta Sampoli Benitez, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry. In particular, Perez and Tauro presented a poster titled Understanding conformational changes during translesion synthesis:in silicostudies of DinB. Allen presented a poster on Investigating the mechanism of trans-lesion synthesis by human DNA polymerase kappa. Both research projects were faculty-supervised collaborations conducted at MMC with funding from the Rose M. Badgeley Residuary Charitable Trust Grant.

The Experimental Biology meeting is one of the largest meetings in Biology, with more than 14,000 participants. Six societies in Biology join in the meeting, including the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), of which our undergraduate program has a chapter. Students presented both at the undergraduate poster event on Saturday and at the general meeting the following day, giving them tremendous exposure to scientific presentations.

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Veterinary Biochemistry Analyzers Market in Global Industry : Development and Forecast 2023 – MilTech

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Veterinary Biochemistry Analyzers Market: Overview

Veterinary biochemistry analyzers enable testing to be performed quickly and accurately for immediate diagnosis and health check for animals. They are also used in emergency situation, and routine testing. Increasing incidences of disease outbreak in animals and technological advancements are expected to drive the veterinary biochemistry analyzers market. Additionally, growing awareness regarding animal health and rise in investment opportunities together form strong market prospects for veterinary biochemistry analyzers, especially in the developing countries.

View Report @ http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/veterinary-biochemistr

The threats such as foot and mouth disease (FMD), as well as agents that affect animals and humans, such as bovine tuberculosis and paratuberculosis, anthrax, avian influenza, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and West Nile virus are responsible for rise in importance of need for veterinary disease diagnostics eventually propelling the market growth.

Most veterinary laboratories typically provide a basic panel of tests. The veterinary biochemistry analysis may be performed in-house at the veterinarians clinic or at a specialized test facility in another location depending on the need of test type to be performed as well as availability of equipment in that particular facility. Advancements in the analyzers technology is anticipated to fuel fueled the market growth due to the availability of faster and cheaper microchips with increase in acceptance level of pet owners for laboratory testing.

Veterinary Biochemistry Analyzers Market: Segmentation

The global veterinary biochemistry analyzers market can be segmented on the basis of product type, test type, animal type, end-users and geography. Test types include clinical chemistry, critical care and blood gases, electrolytes, glucose, lactate and blood and urine tests. Other tests include: tests for anemia, endocrine function; cancer, viral pathogens such as calicivirus (CaCV), canine adenovirus type-1 (CAV-1), coronavirus, adenovirus, parvovirus, rotavirus, rabies, West Nile Virus, etc.; and bacteria and parasites such as E. coli, heartworm, cryptosporidia, hookworm, leptospirosis, leishmania, Lyme disease, tapeworm and roundworm. Chemical analysis of urine may include determination of specific gravity and pH level, measurement of the amount of glucose, protein, or fragmented blood cells, assisting in identification of injury, disease, or defects.

Analysis of the numbers and structure of blood cells is important in the diagnosis and monitoring of disease and infection. Blood samples are usually taken by the veterinarian or a veterinary technician for analysis. Product types include fully automated analyzers, semi-automated analyzers, hematology analyzers, urine analyzers amongst others.

End-users segment includes veterinary clinics, pet hospitals and animal research institutes. Companion animal and farm animal form two segments for animal type.

Veterinary Biochemistry Analyzers Market: Region-wise Outlook

Geographically, the veterinary biochemistry analyzers market across the globe can be segmented into four major regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World. North America is expected to lead the market with maximum share followed by Europe attributed to the increasing companion animal population and positive trends towards healthcare expenditure for animals in these regions.

Veterinary Biochemistry Analyzers Market: Key Entities

Major players contributing to the global veterinary biochemistry analyzers comprise Abaxis,Inc., Heska, Diagno-Vision Products Corporation, Idexx Laboratories, Inc., Mindray Medical International Limited, Neogen Corporation, Thermo Fischer Scientific, Virbac SA, Woodley Equipment Company Ltd., Zoetis, Inc.

Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Veterinary Biochemistry Analyzers Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.

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Univerities such as the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VDL), which is fully accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, provide quality diagnostic services such as bacteriology, necropsy, electron microscopy, serology, clinical chemistry, histopathology, endocrinology, virology, immunohistochemistry, parasitology, toxicology and molecular diagnostics. VDL is also engaged in training future diagnosticians and veterinarians.

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Veterinary Biochemistry Analyzers Market in Global Industry : Development and Forecast 2023 - MilTech

Is the Hospital Going to Explode on Grey’s Anatomy? – POPSUGAR

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Not to alarm you or anything, but we may have blown this year's Grey's Anatomy finale wide open. As you might recall, the penultimate episode of the season comes to an explosive end when Stephanie inadvertently causes an oxygen tank to explode. You know, after setting that crazy stalker rapist on fire. While this has us wondering if Stephanie is dead or alive, it could have even graver implications when it comes to the season finale. Back in March, we already got a few details about the episode. Jessica Capshaw told us that it would be "quite explosive," while Chandra Wilson said it would be "big and loud and strong." Are you sensing where we're going with this?

We have a feeling the whole hospital is going to explode. It's not unreasonable. After all, there's already been a huge explosion in one wing. The finale could show the entire cast in crisis, trying desperately to put out fires and save lives. But what if they can't control the fire in time? The episode is called "Ring of Fire." What if the fire overwhelms the hospital while all the other doctors are inside? What if, in the final moments, Grey Sloan Hospital explodes? If you have any doubts, just know this: Shonda Rhimes came up with the idea way back in 2009.

what if at the end of this season of Grey's Anatomy, the hospital just exploded into flames and we don't know who lives or who dies?

shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) March 9, 2009

See you on Thursday. We'll bring tissues.

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Is the Hospital Going to Explode on Grey's Anatomy? - POPSUGAR

ABC fall 2017 lineup: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ spinoff, ‘Good Doctor,’ more – Newsday

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ABC will spin off series from three franchises next season Greys Anatomy, The Bachelor and Dancing With the Stars and add yet another Marvel-based drama, the network announced Tuesday.

The Greys spinoff will be set in a Seattle firehouse, with characters introduced on the flagship series next season. In addition, The Bachelor Winter Games will cast past contestants in a series with winter-themed athletic challenges including the toughest sport of all, love.

Then this: Dancing With the Stars Junior will pair celebrity kids and kids of celebrities with professional junior ballroom dancers. No airdates set, but the reality series will premiere next year.

ABC executives also said the network will air a live comedy special produced by Jimmy Kimmel and Justin Theroux featuring comics reading scripts from classic sitcoms.

Heres the fall lineup:

Monday: Dancing With the Stars (8); The Good Doctor (10), with Freddie Highmore as a surgeon with autism and savant syndrome.

Tuesday: The Middle (8); Fresh Off the Boat (8:30); black-ish (9); The Mayor (9:30), about a rapper (Brandon Micheal Hall) who becomes mayor (its produced by Daveed Diggs of Hamilton); The Gospel of Kevin (10), with Jason Ritter and JoAnna Garcia Swisher, about a guy on a mission to save the world.

Wednesday: The Goldbergs (8); Speechless (8:30); Modern Family (9); American Housewife (9:30); Designated Survivor (10).

Thursday: Greys Anatomy (8); Scandal (9); How to Get Away With Murder (10).

Friday: Once Upon a Time (8); Marvels Inhumans (9), about Black Bolt (Anson Mount) he with the very loud voice and his family of Inhumans; 20/20 (10).

Saturday: College football

Sunday: Americas Funniest Home Videos (7); To Tell the Truth (8); Shark Tank (9); Ten Days in the Valley (10), with Kyra Sedgwick as a news producer whose child goes missing.

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ABC fall 2017 lineup: 'Grey's Anatomy' spinoff, 'Good Doctor,' more - Newsday

Dr. Manjula Raguthu is recognized by Continental Who’s Who – PR Newswire (press release)

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BROWNSVILLE, Texas, May 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Manjula Raguthu is recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Top Doctor of 2017. Dr. Raguthu is a Physician at Medwin Family Medicine & Rehabilitation.

According to their website, Medwin Family Medicine & Rehabilitation, established in 2002, is a healthcare facility that "serves patients of all ages and is aimed at delivering high quality and comprehensive health care services at two locations." The physicians at Medwin Family Medicine & Rehabilitation are dedicated to providing patients with utmost care with convenient locations and flexible office hours.

Specializing in internal and family medicine, Dr. Raguthu possesses over twenty years in the medical field. Her areas of expertise include the following: acute care, anti-aging, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, pain management as well as sports medicine and injury. Her role at Medwin consists of overseeing the primary care clinic and assigning clinical duties to the staff, and she has also worked in emergency medicine. She believes strongly "HEALTH IS WEALTH".

Recognized as one of the Best Family Physicians in America by the Consumer's Research Council of America for 2009, 2006 and 2004, Dr. Raguthu holds 32nd rank in Family Practice Boards in America. She has received distinctions in the fields of Microbiology and Opthalmology, and an Exemplary Leadership Award in her field in 2001. Additionally, she was awarded the Distinguished Humanitarian Award, and was named the Professional of the Year in 2015 and 2016 by Elite American Physician, as well as many other honors throughout the course of her career.

To further her professional development, Raguthu is member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Medical Association, American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, Texas Academy of Family Physicians and American Anti-Aging Academy. She is also involved with the American Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine Society.

Heavily educated in her line of work, Dr. Raguthu earned her Postgraduate Diploma in Obstetrics and Gynecology in addition to a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from Guntur Medical College in 1990, and completed her residency at St. Vincent's Medical Center in New York. In 2008, she was Re-Certified in Family Practice and holds an Advanced Trauma Life Support Certification, Medical Office Management Certification and is a Certified Medical Coder and Certified Compliance Officer.

Outside of work, Dr. Raguthu enjoys photography, chess, reading, and playing badminton.

For more information, please visit http://www.medwinfamily.com

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, pr@continentalwhoswho.com

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dr-manjula-raguthu-is-recognized-by-continental-whos-who-300458883.html

SOURCE Continental Who's Who

http://www.continentalwhoswho.com

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Dr. Manjula Raguthu is recognized by Continental Who's Who - PR Newswire (press release)

Jonathan Belanich (Photo by Russ Houston) – Mississippi State Newsroom

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Contact: Karyn Brown

STARKVILLE, Miss.A Mississippi State biological sciences doctoral student is receiving a fellowship from the American-Scandinavian Foundation to study abroad at the University of Copenhagen.

Jonathan Belanich will continue his dissertation research in microbiology and bio-computing through the fellowship, conducting studies in the Centre for GeoGenetics, a part of the National History Museum of Denmark at the University of Copenhagen. He will travel to Denmark in September and stay for one year.

I am excited to have been awarded this fellowship, as it will allow me to incorporate samples from northern Europe into my analysis, permitting comparisons between ancient remains from vastly different cultures, Belanich said.

Belanich, who earned a masters degree in applied anthropology from MSU in 2016, will continue his investigation of the composition of ancient oral microbiomes, with a particular focus on the presence of pathogenic bacteria. Originally from Long Island, New York, he completed undergraduate degrees at the University of Alabama in biology and anthropology with minors in computerbased research and Italian.

I look forward to this chance to contribute to the budding field of ancient oral microbiome research, with the hope of improving our understanding of the complex mechanisms by which the bacteria inhabiting our mouths influence, or are influenced by, our state of health, Belanich said.

The University of Copenhagen is a world leader in applying the latest genome sequencing tools to ancient DNA.

Jonathan Belanich is an exceptional graduate student, and the magnitude of his research into the evolution of human pathogens will be greatly amplified by this fellowship, the Scandinavian equivalent of a Rhodes or Gates Cambridge Scholarship, said Mark Welch, associate professor and graduate coordinator for MSUs Department of Biological Sciences. I feel that this accomplishment is an endorsement of both our graduate program and the collaborative spirit of our college which fostered Jonathans interest in anthropology and encouraged an interdisciplinary shift toward microbial ecology and evolution.

The College of Arts and Sciences includes more than 5,000 students, 300 full-time faculty members, nine doctoral programs and 24 academic majors offered in 14 departments. It also is home to the most diverse units for research and scholarly activities, including natural and physical sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and the humanities.

Natural and physical science research projects have been supported over the decades by the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation.

Research expenditures in the humanities also are an important part of Mississippi States overall research portfolio. Additionally, the NSF has ranked MSU among the top 25 for research expenditures in the social sciences.

For complete information about the College of Arts and Sciences, visit http://www.cas.msstate.edu and the biological sciences department at http://www.biology.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippis leading university, available online at http://www.msstate.edu.

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Jonathan Belanich (Photo by Russ Houston) - Mississippi State Newsroom

Can Rewards for Not Texting and Driving Break the Habit? – Government Technology

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Last September, a University of Georgia (UGA) student was struck and killed as she cycled down an Athens road with two friends. The driver was later found to be under the influence of a cocktail of drugs at the time of the accident. She was reaching for her ringing cellphone when her car veered out of the lane and plowed into the trio of cyclists.

That incident kept coming up between a group of students sitting down to discuss ideas for theNational Public Policy Challenge, which is hosted by the University of Pennsylvanias Fels Institute of Government and Governing. Their focus, however, wasn't on the fact that the driver was impaired but on the fact that a reach for a phone -- something most drivers are guilty of doing at some point -- ended someones life.

From those conversations came TurnKey, a program that uses and updates an existing app to encourage teens to avoid using their phones while driving. The idea eventually won first place at the national competition in March, and the team received $10,000 to roll it out this fall.

[Unlike drunk driving], texting and driving isnt something that has really been addressed as a public safety issue. We wanted to get on the forefront of that, says Laura Pontari, one of the UGA graduate students behind the proposal.

TurnKey will work like this: Students at high schools in Athens-Clarke County will be given access to a specialized version of an app called JoyRyde, which awards drivers points for every mile theyre on the road without touching their cellphone. To take JoyRyde further, the UGA students got local businesses on board to give students prizes -- such as free ice cream or coffee -- for accruing a certain number of points. Students will also receive notifications on their phones to nudge them into using the app. One Friday, for example, they might get a notification that says 80 percent of your classmates are driving safely this weekend! Students will also be assembled into teams by grade and, when the program expands, by high school, to foster friendly competition and further encourage use of the app.

Our intervention is about using the existing technology of the app in conjunction with behavioral science in order to encourage teens to drive safely, says Pontari.

Its well-known by behavioral scientists that rewards work better to change behavior than punishments. Because of that, giving students an incentive to drive safely should be a more effective social intervention than simply reminding them of the risks associated with distracted driving or giving them a ticket when theyre caught, says Pontari.

After TurnKey's debut this fall, the team will begin to assess the effectiveness of the program via user data provided to them by the app company and accident reports from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department. Theyre hoping to eventually see at least a 10 percent reduction in accidents due to distracted driving -- and perhaps a reduction in fatalities, too.

That kind of result could be a boon to new projects like this around the country, considering the abject failure of laws against texting and driving, which have cropped up in 46 states. Despite that widespread implementation, traffic fatalities increased nationwide for the first time in three decades in 2015, and experts pointed to distracted driving as the culprit. If TurnKey has even a modest effect on rates of distracted driving among students in Athens-Clarke, the implications could be significant.

We want to serve as a model for other places, says Pontari. We would hope to see something like this rolled out all over the country.

This article was originally published on Governing.

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Can Rewards for Not Texting and Driving Break the Habit? - Government Technology

How Can We Tell Whether Comey's Firing Was Justified? – Patheos (blog)

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Caption: Image of James Comey and Donald Trump (Courtesy of BBC/Reuters)

________________________________________________________________

We all want our top investigative bodies to be headed by competent officials. We also all want to ensure that these officials can freely investigate other branches of the government including the presidential administration without fear of retribution. How can we tell whether Donald Trumps firing of FBI Director James Comey was meant to ensure competent leadership of the FBI, as Trump claims, or to prevent Comey from digging deeper into Trumps potential connections with Russia, as many Democrats claim?

Our personal political perspectives will strongly influence us to favor one explanation or the other, regardless of the truth. According to behavioral science research, our minds tend to interpret new information in accordance with our past beliefs a thinking error known as the confirmation bias. Fortunately, we can fight the confirmation bias in such situations by evaluating the opinions of people who both have the most information and have political motivations to support one side, but fail to do so or even support the other side.

Caption: Meme saying Look for the actual truth, not just for what supports your beliefs (Created for Intentional Insights by Lexie Holliday)

In this case, we can observe a number of prominent Republicans expressing concerns over Comeys firing. Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican who heads the Senates Russia investigation, stated that he was troubled by the timing and reasoning of Comeys firing, which confuses an already difficult investigation for the Committee. So did a number of other influential Republican Senators, such as Bob Corker, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and stated in response to Trump firing Comey that It is essential that ongoing investigations are fulsome and free of political interference until their completion. Representative Justin Amash, who belongs to the conservative House Freedom Caucus, even stated that he intends to introduce legislation calling for creating an independent commission to investigate Russias interference in the election. Pat Tiberi, a conservative member of the House, expressed potential support for a special prosecutor of the Trump and Russia connection and stated that the White House needs to come clean.

Altogether, about 40 Republican members of Congress have expressed concerns over Comeys firing, while virtually every Democrat is calling for an independent commission or special prosecutor to evaluate Comeys firing. While some of these Republicans are known for breaking ranks at times, such as Senator John McCain, many others such as Corker and Burr are mainstream Republicans who generally toe the party line. This data on many of those in the know federal lawmakers who have clear political motivation to align with Trump firing Comey instead broke ranks provides strong evidence that the decision to fire Comey is less about incompetence and more about the Russia investigation than anything else.

Another thinking error playing a role in clouding our judgment is illusory correlation, namely an incorrect illusory perception of a connection between two events. Trumps administration claimed, in a memo by deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that Trump referenced in his firing of Comey, that Comey lost support due to his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clintons email server. Democrats claimed that Trump fired Comey because of Comeys investigation into the Trump-Russia connection as part of Russias meddling in the US presidential elections.

One of these is an illusory connection, but which is it? Due to confirmation bias, Republicans will be likely to see the Trump-Russia connection as illusory. Democrats will tend to see the Clinton investigation connection as illusory.

Caption: Meme saying It would be very convenient if the things that are most comfortable to believe are also the ones that happen to be the most true (Image created for Intentional Insights by Isabelle Phung)

Fortunately, we can use another technique from behavioral science to correct for this thinking error consider the alternative. Consider a situation where Trumps true concerns lay with Comeys Clinton email server investigation. When would Trump fire Comey if this was the case? Trump would fire Comey when Trump entered office, as Trump did with a number of federal attorneys. Instead, Trump specifically made a decision to keep Comey in office when he took the presidency, despite knowing about Comeys handling of the email server. Trump specifically indicated, in a message loud and clear for the government investigative bodies, that he would not pursue any further investigation into Clintons email server shortly after he was elected. As late as April 12, long after Trump had access to any secret information about Comeys handling of Clintons email server and any other information relevant to Comeys pre-election activities, Trump said in an interview with Fox Business Network I have confidence in . Given this evidence, it seems quite unlikely that the real reason for Comeys firing is the Clinton email scandal.

What about the Trump-Russia investigation? According to Fox News, a conservative source, the day before he was fired, Comey met with the Republican and Democrat Senators on the Senate intelligence committee, Senators Richard Burr and Mark Warner. At the meeting, he discussed the inquiry into Russian hacking in the presidential election and potential involvement of Trump and members of his administration in this hacking. Burr and Warner both wanted Comey to speed up the investigation, and Comey responded that he needed more resources to conduct the investigation. Earlier, Comey allegedly made a request for more resources for this investigation from Rosenstein, whose later memo was used by Trump as a reason to fire Comey. Given the evidence of the closeness of the timing of Comeys requests for more resources and Trump firing Comey, the connection between the investigation into Russian hacking and the firing of Comey appears to be true rather than illusory.

Now, this behavioral science-based conclusion does not favor the conservative perspective, and instead favors the liberal one. Will it mean that conservatives dismiss it out of hand? To determine if this is the case, I went on the conservative radio network 700WLW to speak on this topic with the well-known radio show host Scott Sloan two days after Comeys dismissal. Sloan is known as a strong proponent of Christian and conservative values but not someone who practices post-truth politics by dismissing the truth in favor of his personal beliefs. We had a civil discussion, during which Sloan acknowledged the validity of this behavioral science-informed perspective and accepted that the evidence pointed against Trumps narrative. It is highly likely that our conversation on his radio show swayed some of his conservative audience to change their perspective as well.

Caption: Meme saying Tempting Lies or Wholesome Truth: The Choice is Yours (created for Intentional Insights by Jane A. Gordon)

This interview shows the benefits of using such behavioral science-based approaches to bridge the political divide and have reasonable conversations that result in people going against their current values and changing their minds to match reality. What it takes is knowing why our minds are likely to lead us astray and addressing these internal biases using science-informed strategies to
do so. In this case, the evidence once corrected for political bias points conclusively, in a way that both reasonable conservative and liberals can agree on, to Trump firing Comey due to concerns over the FBIs investigation into Russian interference in the election.

P.S. Want to reverse the tide of lies in politics? Take the Pro-Truth Pledge! ____________________________________________________________________

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How Can We Tell Whether Comey's Firing Was Justified? - Patheos (blog)