Daily Archives: July 12, 2017

AE (Aug 2017), Automation Expo, Mumbai India – Trade Show

Posted: July 12, 2017 at 12:22 pm

Automation Exhibition is a 4 day event being held from 9th August to 12th August 2017 at the Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) in Mumbai, India. This event showcases product from Automation & Robotics industry. A global platform for the innovators from the Indian subcontinent and Asia Pacific region, Automation India presents high end factory automation products, automation technology, assembly line systems, laser technology, turnkey solutions for industrial automation, advanced ..+ read moreelectrical technology and such others. The Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre where this event is held plays host to some of the most revolutionary technical procedures in the field of automation giving companies from the whole of the Asia Pacific and Middle Eastern region the technology to compete with global giants. Therefore, if you are pressed with the need to re-look and conventional methodologies or rope in cutting edge technology, Automation India is the place to be in.

FACTORY AUTOMATION, Motion drives, servo drives, actuator drives, Sensors and measuring equipment, Assembly and handling systems, technologies, devices, assembly lines system periphery and application, Complete Factory Automation systems and equipment, Assembly and handling, Machine Vision, Laser Technology, TURNKEY SOLUTIONS, For industrial automation, assembly and handling technology, handling technology, Electric motors, frequency converters and magnetic technology, Laser technology ..+ read moreIndustrial image processing, Production engineering for electrical engineering and electronics, Safety & security in automation, PROCESS & AUTOMATION, Complete automation systems in forging press plants, Complete flexible automated manufacturing plants, Control systems open and closed loop control systems for process automation, Analyzer systems and drive systems for actuators, Identification systems, image processing systems for process automation, Monitoring, safety and SCADA systems for the process industry, Process automation solutions and IT solutions, Integrated solutions for process optimization, statistical process control and data acquisition, Field devices, components for process automation, Special process automation controls and individual controllers, Overall system planning and consultancy services(process automation), Technical services for start-up and commissioning of process automation plants and for the operating phase, INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL, Alarm systems for the process industry, Data acquisition systems for the process industry, Diagnosis systems for the process industry, Gas warning systems (for combustible and toxic gases), Industrial security systems for the process industry, Monitoring, safety and SCADA systems for the process industry.

My feedback was very positive and it excellent.I am in need of more details bout Sintex electricaldistribution and other products.

Edition Attended : Aug, 2016

Overall it was a very well organised event. I personally had a good experience and made a few good contacts as well.

Edition Attended : Aug, 2015

Outstanding exhibition...nice to watch new technology via different manufacturing and production company..Rating... 4/5

Edition Attended : Aug, 2016

volunteers are not technical oriented they could not clarify and convey the information properly

Edition Attended : Aug, 2015

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AE (Aug 2017), Automation Expo, Mumbai India - Trade Show

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IBM Watson takes on IT services with new automation platform – TechRepublic

Posted: at 12:22 pm

The IBM Services Platform with Watson, announced Wednesday, brings the cognitive computing services of Watson to organizations to help manage and automate IT operations. While it will provide autonomous functionality, the goal of the platform is to have human intelligence complemented by the underpinning technologies, not replaced by it.

As reported by ZDNet, the new platform is built on IBM's cloud, and it is designed to help manage hybrid cloud infrastructure as well. As such, the IBM Services Platform with Watson aims to improve visibility across the entirety of a hybrid IT environment, the report said.

"The platform supports the entire managed services life-cycle, from designing to building, integrating and running services, with autonomic operations and augmented subject matter expertise," IBM said in its announcement.

SEE: CompTIA IT Certification Bundle (TechRepublic Academy)

The new platform also relies heavily on data. According to the announcement, more than 30 years of IBM services data, along with other structured and unstructured data, will help provide insights into what is happening in a customer's business.

Those data-powered insights are also used to predict what could potentially happen within the customer's environmentgiving users ideas about how to solve potential problems before they occur, the announcement said.

Automation will also play a key role in the new Services Platform, as users will be able to automate their compliance, governance, and services provisioning. The platform will also automatically detect any incident and resolve it, Gopal Pingali, director at IBM's Global Technology Services Lab, told ZDNet. If certain incidents haven't yet been automated, the platform will look at them and recommend a way to automate a resolution, Pingali said.

When humans do need to work with Watson to solve a problem, they will be able to do so conversationally, due to Watson's ability to understand natural language. That means that an IT helpdesk professional might chat with Watson to try to resolve an issue before bringing it to their superior, Pingali told ZDNet.

Potential customers don't need to be using IBM's cloud to take advantage of the platform. Major firms including Sysco and Danske Bank have already adopted the platform within their IT environments.

View Of Staff In Busy Customer Service Department

Image: iStockphoto/monkeybusinessimages

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A beginner’s guide to email automation – Insurance Business

Posted: at 12:22 pm

You may be asking, what in the world is email automation? And why does your insurance agency need it?

For starters, email automation is the act of using email marketing software to automatically send emails when a trigger occurs with the goal of perfecting the right time, right message dilemma. These messages can range from action-based emails that go out when a person performs an action, such as visiting a website; or event/date-based emails that are automated to send out on holidays, birthdays and other dates; and even engagement-based emails that go out to contacts based on how they interact with your emails, such as clicking an email or even declining to open an email.

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According to Heather Cherry, AgencyBuzz product manager at Insurance Technologies Corporation (ITC), email automation can generate 70.5% higher open rates and 152% higher click-through-rates, ultimately producing positive long-term effects for an insurance agencys marketing efforts. When considering its efficiency and around the clock interaction, email automation essentially does the work for you. So how do you start?

Cherry offers three points of advice when creating these targeted campaigns.

Gather your data, she says. Before you can trigger campaigns automatically, find out what triggers are available. Look at the information on your contacts to see what types of campaigns you can implement.

Next, Cherry says to map out the campaign flow and logic.

Take a moment to map out the flow of your campaign, she explains. Dont be afraid to use a dry erase board or blank sheet of paper to draw things out.

Finally, create the content.

You know your audience, flow, and number of emails for your campaign, Cherry says. Its time to sit down and write your content.

Cherry also shares her best practices when it comes to email automation, starting with monitoring results frequently and making adjustments to your campaign when necessary. In addition, updating data often and utilizing email personalization techniques are a few ways elevate your automated campaign.

Finally, Cherry reminds insurance agencies to remember the big picture.

You engage with your database in many ways at different times with different messages. Before you get overly excited and create tons of new automated campaigns, take a step back. Consider all available automated campaigns you can run and prioritize to avoid over-saturation for your audience. Nobody likes a cluttered inbox, she concludes.

Related stories: Dont fall victim to one of these marketing faux pas 4 things every top insurance agency knows about marketing

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Quark is sold to new owners; eyes growth in publishing automation – Denver Business Journal

Posted: at 12:22 pm


Denver Business Journal
Quark is sold to new owners; eyes growth in publishing automation
Denver Business Journal
Quark Software Inc., the Denver-based maker of publishing software, has new private equity owners that are prepared to help it grow into a bigger company selling digital publishing automation technology. Los Angeles-based Parallax Capital Partners ...

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Quark is sold to new owners; eyes growth in publishing automation - Denver Business Journal

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TSA automation will cut positions, but no layoffs yet – Pacific Daily News

Posted: at 12:22 pm

Kyla P Mora , kmora@guampdn.com Published 8:38 p.m. ChT July 12, 2017 | Updated 8:38 p.m. ChT July 12, 2017

In this file photo, passengers wait in line at the security checkpoint, at A.B. Won Pat Guam International Airport.(Photo: PDN file photo)

The Transportation Security Administration has identified positions that will be eliminated due to automation, but no one has been laid off yet, TSA Regional Public Affairs manager and spokesman Nico Melendez said.

In June,the Guam International Airport unveiled "Check in and Go!", a $30-million baggage handling system which allows passenger luggage to be checked and automatically screened.

Over the past 15 years, Melendez said, most airports have installed automated baggage screening systems to check for explosives.

"Whenever there's installation of one of these new systems, we have to reevaluate the staffing we have at these locations," Melendez said.

The TSA has identified 40 positions that could be eliminated now that the system is operational. However, the agencyhas authorization to maintain those 40 employees "until we're able to move them, or they quit or leave or other reasons," Melendez said.

Lateral movement within the TSA may be an option if positions are available, Melendez said.

"Obviously were all throughout the Pacific islands, so if an employee wanted to work in Saipan, American Samoa, even Hawaii, those options are available to them as positions come open," Melendez said.

Melendez stressed that because the automated bag screening is a separate system from the passenger checkpoint screening there's noreason to believe it' affect wait times for passenger screening.

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Airport unveils new passenger loading bridge

Melendez said the TSA will "be working to make sure the passenger checkpoint is staffed" once the planned checkpoint expansion is completed.

"We have to staff airports based on whats there now. We cant say Guam needs another 30 employees and hire them with the hope that the checkpoint will be installed, because what happens if it's not installed?And were stuck with 30 employees taxpayers are paying for," Melendez said.

Airport marketing administrator Rolenda Lujan Faasuamalie confirmed the airport has been in discussions with the TSA on the expansion of screening lanes as part of the airport authority's capital improvement projects.

Expansion of TSA screening lanes is considered a priority project, Faasuamalie said.

"(The airport is)aggressively moving forward with major capital improvement projects that deal with safety and security, such as the $97 millioninternational arrivals corridor, for which groundbreaking will be held July 19."

On Friday, the Legislature's Committee on Guam U.S. Military Buildup, Infrastructure, and Transportation, led by Sen. Frank Aguon Jr., will hold an oversight hearing toreview the status of the TSA checkpoint expansion design.

Reporter Kyla Mora covers Guam's business community, economy, tourism, public health, and anything else that catches her interest. Follow her on Twitter @kylapmora. Follow Pacific Daily News on Facebook/GuamPDN and Instagram @guampdn.

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How to Ethically Hire a Nanny – Lifehacker

Posted: at 12:20 pm

Photo Illustration by Elena Scotti/Lifehacker/GMG, photos via Shutterstock

The maddening paradox of child care in this country is that day care and nannies are really expensivecosting at least more than in-state college tuitionand that child-care workers are generally poor. The domestic work industry is largely unregulated, and workers are vulnerable to exploitation, a direct consequence of domestic works roots in slavery.

Ilana Berger, the director of Hand in Hand, the domestic employer network, says In the 1930s ... both domestic workers and farm workers were mostly black. So [in a nod to the Southern Congressional Delegation], they were left out of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Fast forward to today, so much exploitation happens because workers have been left out of protections, because its this shadow work force. Even when there are laws on the books, theres not a lot of enforcement.

Which means that choosing and hiring a nanny is a process more fraught with ethical considerations than, say, choosing a pediatrician or an electrician.

Besides how to find a good babysitter, one of the top questions for hiring a babysitter is how much

First, the biggest question: Is it ethical to to even participate in such an unjust system, especially if a potential employee is undocumented? Setting aside, for the moment, the question of what middle-class families would do if the answer were no, is it ethical to enter into a professional relationship when the power differential is so great?

Yes, says Randy Cohen, the host of the Person Place Thing podcast and the former author of the Ethicist column at the New York Times. There is generally a huge power differential in all employer-employee relationships ... [Particularly for undocumented workers,] its a difference of degree, not a difference in kind. And people need jobs.

Berger affirms this sentiment: The way domestic work is set up (and in most work) the employer really has all the power. Legal status is just one additional degree of vulnerability, but its pretty much on a continuum.

To better understand the responsibilities of a nannys employer, I asked Berger to break down the duties of an ethical employer. Hand in Hand advocates the fair-care pledge, a three-pronged strategy for hiring of domestic workers: fair pay, clear expectations, and paid time off.

This means, in major metropolitan areas, at least $15 an hour, according to Berger. A good thought experiment is to multiply the hourly wage by 40 and ask yourself, Can someone live on this in my area? She recommends using this living wage calculator to get an idea of a reasonable wage for an adult in your area.

When I tell her a lot of the middle-class families I know in New York say they cant afford to pay, say $20 an hour, she says, There are other optionsyou can do a nanny share, you can find a way to make it work. And skimping on the person taking care of your children is not a wise choice for your child, as well as ethically, morally, and in every other way.

In general, we want our kids to be better people than we are. We insist they eat their vegetables

And if you can pay on the books, you should: Its better for everybody. Its better for the employer, and its better for the worker because it buys them into the systemthey get social security and other benefits. Now obviously undocumented workers might not want to be paid on the books (Berger cites a workaround for the undocumentedan individual tax identification numberbut notes that workers might not be willing start that process, particularly at this political point in time). She says, In general, we say you should do what works best for you and the worker. If you need to pay on the books, you should make that clear at the start of the process.

Finally, pay on time. Dont make a worker wait for her check at the end of the week.

This is where you should be drawing up a contract that lays out duties, hours (including breaks), pay, sick leave, and vacation days. You should also include things like emergency plans, rules about guests, expectations around screen time and meals, expectations around caring for sick kids, housekeeping (like childrens laundry or dishes), reading to kids, petty cash, termination, etc. Need a sample contract? Start here.

The work agreement should be re-evaluated regularly, at least every six months. Did you think youd be home by 6 but its really more like 6:15? She needs to be paid for that extra timeor this is her opportunity to say that she needs you to be home at 6. People have a really hard grasping the fact that nannies have families too, and they might need to get somewhere to pick up their kids, says Berger.

I knew even before I had a daughter that I was going to raise her to laugh in the face of sexist

Would be it be helpful if she starts dinner on Wednesday nights? That can be built into the check-in. Does she need a break mid-day and isnt getting it because the kid dropped his nap? Perhaps the check-in relaxes some screen-time rules. Its a pressure release, says Berger. Ongoing proactive communication is really beneficial for everyone involved.

Vacation is usually decided in conjunction with the familyIve heard of some families offering vacation days when they take their own holidays, plus additional paid time off to be taken at the employees discretion. Berger notes that a common type of question among employers is We got these last-minute tickets to Costa Rica! Do we still need to pay the nanny?

Berger says Employers often says things like Shes like family! but its also an employment relationship. The Golden Rule applies: How would you want to be treated in your own workplace? When your boss goes away, expectations change, but you still get paid.

Need more information? Take a look at the employers checklist. (And as for whether you need to pay the nanny when you take an impromptu trip to Costa Rica, the answer is yes.)

After talking to Berger, I looked up the living wage calculator for where I live now, in Brooklyn, and where I grew up, in West Virginia. A single adult raising two kids in Brooklyn would have to make $37.49 an hour to make ends meet. In West Virginia, it would be $28.20. Now this wage would be impossible for most middle-class families to pay to a caregiver, and it doesnt even touch the problems of extraordinary medical expenses, college savings, or retirement savings. Which means we are, as a culture, trapped in a sick system: one in which middle-class families are stretched thin because of care costs (both child care and elder care) and domestic workers are both exploited and not able to make ends meet.

If you have a son whos the youngest or middle child, youre going to want to watch them like a

Berger is clear that her organizations (and others) guidelines are a stopgap solution to a profound problem. She says, We cant expect individual employers to close the gaping holes in our care infrastructure in this country. So we encourage our people to take part in our campaigns and work to create an affordable care system so the burden is not on individual employers, or workers, to make up for what the government is not providing. People can get involved in the National Domestic Workers Alliance or with the Sanctuary Homes campaign, both of which advocate for domestic workers rights.

Cohen echoes this sentiment: If you believe, as I do, that our current immigration policies and the current status of workers rights are really barbaric, you have an affirmative obligation to do something to address that ... Youre a citizen, and you should be doing something.

Even if, say, youre not a parent, or not hiring a nanny after alleven if youre not participating in the system? Whether you want to or not, youre participating in the system. Theres no way you can exempt yourself from the social trends of the day.

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Millions for Prisoners Human Rights March coming to Washington DC Aug. 19 – San Francisco Bay View

Posted: at 12:20 pm

by Kerry Shakaboona Marshall

On Aug. 19, 2017, the city of Washington, D.C., will host a Millions for Prisoners Human Rights March to draw attention and national support to amend the 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution for its ratification of modern day slavery within the U.S. prison system.

The 13th Amendment has spawned various forms of penal slavery since its ratification by the then all-white U.S. Congress, such as the convict leasing system, the chain gang labor system, the prisoner agricultural workers system and the modern day prison slave sweatshops that are euphemistically called correctional industries corporations. Today, the prison systems correctional industries corporations generate hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue from prisoners free labor and slave-wage labor.

Arguably, the 13th Amendment is the most evil, contradictory, controversial, deceptive and despicable part of the U.S. Constitution, because the 13th Amendment runs neck-to-neck in terms of depravity with the U.S. Constitutions decree that considered Black people who were enslaved as three-fifths of a human being for purposes of increasing Southern slave holders voting power.

All arguments aside, the duplicitous double-speak of the 13th Amendment regarding the abolition of slavery in the United States of America harkens to a time when after the Indigenous peoples of this continent had been decimated by Caucasians practice of Manifest Destinys genocidal wars and pronouncements of coming in peace and war in the same breath Native peoples reached a profound truth, that the white man speaks with a forked tongue.

The 13th Amendment is a prime example frozen in time for all to see of the white man speaking with a forked tongue, of an all-white U.S. government having no intention of truly emancipating Black slaves, of their Machiavellian designs to re-enslave Black people within the U.S. prison systems under the guise of crime.

In the first clause of the 13th Amendment, the U.S. government firmly abolished chattel slavery in the U.S., whereas in the second clause, it retained and transferred chattel slavery into its prison systems as punishment for those convicted of crime.

With a stroke of the enemys pen, America went from chattel slavery to prison slavery, from mass emancipation of Black peoples to mass incarceration of Black, Brown and now poor white peoples. Brought to you by America, from the Land of the Beast and the Home of the Slave.

Let us make America know its sins against Black and Brown peoples. Lets struggle to amend the 13th Amendment and to abolish prison slavery and for-profit prisons by attending or supporting the August 19th Millions for Prisoners Human Rights March on Washington, D.C. For additional information, go to Amendthe13th.org.

From the belly of the beast, at Prison Radio, I am Shakaboona.

Thank you for listening. Learn more at Iamweubuntu.com/millions-for-prisoners-human-rights.html.

Send our brother some love and light: Kerry Shakaboona Marshall, BE-7826, SCI Rockview, P.O. Box A, Bellefonte PA 16823.

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History of Slavery and Abolition in Brazil – Exodus Cry

Posted: at 12:19 pm

350 Years of Slavery

From its discovery in 1500, Brazil has been a hub for human trafficking in South America.From about 1600 to 1850, some 4.5 million enslaved Africans were taken to Brazil; this is ten times as many as were trafficked to North America and far more than the total number of Africans who were transported to all of the Caribbean and North America combined.1

In 1550, Brazil became a major importer of African slaves, making slaves an estimated 38.3 percent of the population of Rio de Janeiro, its capital city.2This pattern continued as nearly four million slaves were imported into Brazil during its colonial era.In a 2010 Brazil census, it was found that 97 million Brazilians, or 50.7% of the population, now define themselves as black or mixed racemaking African-Brazilians the official majority for the first time.3

The enormity of the slave trades foothold in Brazil was so far-reaching, that the nation largely failed to develop an effective anti-slavery movement, even while many other nations around the world were making revolutionary reforms. Throughout the 1700s and early 1800s, slavery was being weeded out in the British Empire, North America, and France. Brazil, however, still had nearly one and a half million slaves with the number of slave imports only accelerating at 5.7%.4

It wasnt until the late 1800s that reformist activities began to foment at institutions of higher learning. Young lawyers, students, and journalists started to urge their fellow Brazilians to follow the example of the liberation of the slaves in North America. In 1873 Joaquim Nabuco began his fight against slavery in Brazilinspiring the formation of the Brazilian Anti-Slavery Society. He declaredthat there is no freedom nor independence in a land with one million, five hundred thousand slaves!5 The struggle for total abolition kept moving forward under his leadership, and finally on May 13, 1888, the imperial family passed Lei Aurea, the Golden Law, making Brazil the last nation in the Western Hemisphere to formally abolish slavery.6

Even after the slave trade was abolished, years of exploitation continued to have profound effects on Brazilian society, including deep social divides and the widespread expansion of prostitution. Ever since the late 19th century, prostitution has been part of the cultural landscape in the early period of Brazils modernization and urbanization, as slave or ex slave women turned to offering sexual services for survival.7 Such long-standing slavery in Brazil created a vast lower class and extreme inequalities. According to the CIA World FactBook, 21.4% of Brazils 196.6 million inhabitants live below the poverty line.8

Today, just one hundred and twenty-five years after slavery was abolished, Brazil still faces the repercussions of its near 400-year human trafficking legacy. There is an urgent need for resurging abolition efforts to combat a battle that has moved from the brutality of plantation life to brutality in the streets: sex trafficking. The extreme economic inequalities give children and teens no other choice but to find work wherever they can, turning the sex trade into modern-day chains of oppression. Ripples of ancient systems and dehumanization still linger across Brazil, yet when we look at Brazils history, we see that abolition proves to be an inevitable force. It is a story that prevails, with heroes that rise up even in the harshest of circumstances, and its time to open up the history books to write a new legacy of liberation.

1. Jos C. Curto, Rene Soulodre-La France, African And The Americas: Interconnections During The Slave Trade, p. 4 2. Jos C.Curto, Rene Soulodre-La France. African And The Americas: Interconnections During The Slave Trade, p. 4 3. Phillips, Tom, Brazil census shows African-Brazilians in the majority for the first time, November 17, 2011, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/nov/17/brazil-census-african-brazilians-majority 4. Etlis, David, Economic Growth and the Ending of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, p.44 5. Carolina Nabuco, translated and edited by Ronald Hilton, The Life of Joaquim Nabuco, p. 75 6. International Labour Organization, Forced labour in Brazil: 120 years after the abolition of slavery, the fight goes on, May 2008,http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/features/WCMS_092663/langen/index.htm 7. Cristina Pimenta, Sonia Corra, Ivia Maksud, Soraya Deminicis, and Jose Miguel Olivar, SEXUALITY AND DEVELOPMENT: Brazilian national response to HIV/AIDS amongst sex workers, http://www.abiaids.org.br/_img/media/Relatorio%20prost%20feminina%20INGLES.pdf,p. 15 8. CIA World FactBook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2046.html.

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Deal: Film industry generates $9.5 billion – The Newnan Times-Herald – Newnan Times-Herald

Posted: at 12:19 pm

Clay Neely / The Newnan Times-Herald

Camera, lighting and audio equipment, are part of the support services film companies use during production including catering, construction, transportation, accounting and payroll, and post-production, which employs many Cowetans.

The film industry in Coweta County, and the industry shows no sign of slowing down.

Parts of Coweta can frequently be seen transformed into film sets for movies and TV shows.

Gov. Nathan Deal announced Monday that Georgia-lensed feature film and television productions generated an economic impact of $9.5 billion during fiscal year 2017. The 320 feature film and television productions shot in Georgia represent $2.7 billion in direct spending in the state. Georgias film industry supports thousands of jobs, boosts small business growth and expands offerings for tourists, said Deal. As one of the top places in the world for film, Georgia hosted a remarkable 320 film and television productions during the last fiscal year. These productions mean new economic opportunities and real investments in local communities. We are committed to further establishing Georgia as a top film destination and introducing film companies to the Camera Ready backdrops available across Georgia. In addition to the increase in production expenditures, Georgia has experienced significant infrastructure growth with multiple announcements in fiscal year 2017, including the expansion of Pinewood Studios in neighboring Fayette County and the announcement of Three Ring Studios in Covington.

Pinewood studios has 18 sound stages and is expected to grow even more, according to Brian Cooper, Pinewood Studios vice president of operations.

The studio officially started filming in June 2014, and three years later, Pinewood is the second-largest film studio in the United States, behind Warner Brothers.

With the additional infrastructure in Covington can accommodate larger productions with more capacity for multiple film projects. Literally hundreds of new businesses have relocated or expanded in Georgia to support this burgeoning industry creating jobs for Georgians as well as economic opportunities for communities and small businesses, said Georgia Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson. Although these support-services companies cannot claim the tax credits, they directly benefit from the increased amount of work in the state, and the fact that the savings from the Film Tax Credit are typically re-invested in the project, creating additional economic impact and activity for these Georgia-based businesses. The economic impact of the film industry can be felt across multiple sectors. In addition to camera, lighting and audio equipment, film companies use a wide range of support services during production including catering, construction, transportation, accounting and payroll and post-production.

Cooper said Pinewood Studios utilizes vendors for various needs such as props and equipment rental, and many people working with the vendors live between Fayette and Coweta County.

Chris Clark, president of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, spoke about the impact of the movie industry in Georgia at a Pancakes and Politics Breakfast earlier this year.

He talked about how the film industry positively affects Coweta and Fayette Counties. Clark said most post-production of films made in Georgia is done in Los Angeles.

Bills were introduced to encourage productions to do their music and post-production of films in Georgia, Clark said.

He said more films may be coming to Georgia because of the recent abolition of film tax incentives in Texas.

Georgias growth in the film industry - from $67.7 million in direct spending in FY 2007 to $2.7 billion in FY 2017 - is unprecedented, not only in production spend, but also in the amount of investment that has been made in infrastructure, said Lee Thomas, deputy commissioner for the Georgia Film, Music and Digital Entertainment Office. The unwavering commitment to this industry by Governor Deal and the Georgia legislature has ensured Georgias place as a top destination for film and television. In 2017, the state Film and Tourism divisions partnered to celebrate the Year of Georgia Film to highlight Georgias film tourism sites, including local communities that have served as backdrops for movies and television productions since the 1970s.

(Kandice Bell contributed to this story. kandice@newnan.com )

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Lake County News | California – Bipartisan members of Congress … – Lake County News

Posted: at 12:16 pm

WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05), U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Bill Cassidy, MD (R-Louis.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and U.S. Reps. Diane Black (R-Tenn.), Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) on Tuesday reintroduced legislation to encourage Medicare beneficiaries to create electronic advance directives, legal documents that allow patients to clearly articulate their preferences for their medical care should they suffer from a debilitating illness or condition.

The Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act would offer a small, one-time financial incentive to encourage Medicare beneficiaries to provide clear legal guidance to their medical providers and family members should they become incapable of speaking for themselves.

This legislation would incentivize Medicare beneficiaries themselves to create and register a certified and secure advance directive online. In addition, the bill would provide beneficiaries with access to a Web site with model advance directives representing a range of options.

According to a 2006 study by the Pew Research Center, 70 percent of Americans have thought about their health care preferences should they be faced with a life-threatening illness or injury, but only one-third have completed an advance directive.

Under the Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act, Medicare beneficiaries would be able to voluntarily create and register an electronic advance directive with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) at any time.

Advance directives would be created through, and maintained by, outside organizations certified by CMS, and could be modified or terminated at any time by the beneficiary.

An advance directive would include any written statement that outlines the kind of treatment and care a beneficiary wants or does not want under certain conditions, and can include identification of a health care proxy. Beneficiaries would also receive a small, one-time incentive for registering an electronic advance directive.

To address concerns about confidentiality, the Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act requires both CMS and outside groups maintaining advance directives to hold the highest standards for privacy and security protection as well as system functionality.

CMS would only keep track of the certified organization through which a beneficiary has created an advance directive and would not keep a database of these documents. The bill does not interfere with any state laws governing advance directives.

Read a one-page summary of the legislation here.

Every person has a right to determine their own end-of-life care, said Rep. Thompson. This bill will help put Medicare patients in charge their own end-of-life care decisions by providing them with the tools they need to direct their own care. I worked on this issue in the California State Senate, and I am proud to continue this effort to empower patients.

I am proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation with my colleagues to empower patients to make their own health decisions on their own terms, said Sen. Coons. This bill will encourage more Americans to think about what kind of medical care they wish to receive should they not be able speak for themselves, which will reduce confusion and heartache and allow patients to spend their final days as they see fit. The breadth of supporting organizations just reinforces the overwhelming need to encourage people to have these difficult, but critically important conversations.

"This legislation gives patients greater power and incentive to consult with her or his Doctor to decide end of life issues, said Dr. Cassidy.

Empowering patients to control their own health care decisions is an important personal priority of mine. As a doctor, Ive learned that the best patient relationships are partnerships with doctors providing information, so patients can make the best informed decisions, said Sen. Barrasso. This bill will help more Medicare patients communicate their personal decisions to both their families and health care providers. This will ensure that more patients get the care at the end of their life that they want.

Life-threatening illnesses and injuries are devastating for both patients and their loved ones, Sen. Bennet said. Advance care planning would provide seniors the support they need to manage their end-of-life care when they are most vulnerable. By encouraging seniors to make proactive plans, family members will face less confusion and more Americans will have ownership over their health care decisions.

Allowing patients to communicate their wishes with caregivers empowers them to take charge of their health care in the event they are unable to speak for themselves. By encouraging Medicare beneficiaries to plan ahead, their personal wishes are honored and made a priority, said Rep. Black. I am very proud to sponsor a bipartisan piece of legislation that keeps patients rights at the forefront of treatment based on their own values, not the priorities of the government or their doctors. As a nurse, I have too often seen families go through tremendously painful situations while making decisions for their loved one, and it is my hope that this bill offers some peace of mind in difficult circumstances.

This is an important piece of legislation that allows the very personal wishes of an individual to be respected when it comes to their care, said Rep. Collins. This bill will help ease the burden on loved ones and would provide clear guidance to healthcare providers when an individual has lost the ability to make and clearly communicate their desires.

Advance directives empower seniors to specify their health care preferences well in advance of a debilitating or terminal illness, said Rep. Welch. Having this important discussion with families and doctors in advance will give them peace of mind knowing that their wishes will be met should they not be able to make their own treatment decisions.

As staunch advocates for the patients we serve and our profession, we support legislation that empowers patients to plan in advance for the unforeseen and unimaginable. This bill would encourage Medicare beneficiaries to create advance directives to ensure individuals have provided clear guidance to their medical providers and family members about their health care decisions. This is why ANA applauds the reintroduction of the Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act, said ANA President Pamela F. Cipriano, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN.

The bill is supported by the National Right to Life Committee, Coalition to Transform Advanced Care, National Partnership for Hospice Innovation, American Nurses Association, Third Way, Healthwise, MyDirectives, Center for Practical Bioethics, Get Real Health, Coordinated Care Health Network, Cerner and Altarium, American College of Emergency Physicians, and Zen Hospice.

The full text of the bill is available here.

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