Split (1)

train · 2.59M rows

text stringlengths 9 67.6k
Members earn credits by paying monthly bills; every $300 spent equals one credit, redeemable for various perks, including Lady Gaga stage-side tickets, Star Wars: The Last Jedi movie passes, and new mobile tech.
Keep an eye on your bounty: Users have only 60 days to apply credits once they appear in your account.
I dunno about corporate employees, but free food is always a bonus for me. Though I’d certainly not turn down tickets to a Broadway show, seats at Super Bowl LII, or Amazon discounts.
Simply navigate to the My Verizon app menu on Android or iOS and tap Verizon Up to register for prizes. Consumers can bank up to 10 credits at a time.
“What fuels FOMO is exclusive and once-in-a-lifetime experiences, something that Verizon provides its customers in its new rewards program,” the blog boasted.
Before signing up, though, ask yourself whether fending off fear of missing out is worth sharing personal information with Verizon and its advertisers.
Verizon Selects enables the company to track customers and sell ads based on collected data—including which websites you visit and which apps you run, as well as where you use your device. Vendors can also see your postal and email addresses, gender, age range, interests, and shopping preferences—all in the name of personalized advertising.
Natalie Portman and her husband, Benjamin Millepied, welcomed their second child on Feb. 22, ET confirms.
The Jackie star's rep tells ET that Portman gave birth to a baby girl named Amalia Millepied. "Mother and baby are happy and healthy," the rep revealed.
The 35-year-old actress told ET via a statement on Saturday that she would be skipping both the Independent Spirit Awards and Oscars ceremonies, due to her pregnancy. Portman was nominated at both awards shows for her leading role in Jackie, a portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy in the days surrounding her husband's assassination.
When ET caught up with Portman last month at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, she revealed she had yet to pick out a name for the new baby.
"You got to meet a baby before [you choose a name]," she explained at the time. "Gotta meet the baby and then figure it out."
Portman and Millepied, who were married in 2012, have one older son together, 5-year-old Aleph.
Last month, the Oscar-winning actress posed with a bare baby bump in a stunning portrait in Vanity Fair. Take a look in the video below.
They're e-mailing, IMing and downloading while writing the history essay. What is all that digital juggling doing to kids' brains and their family life?
A first grader in Pennsylvania uses a fingerprint scanner to pay for lunch.
Then why can we so easily walk down the street while engrossed in a deep conversation? Why can we chop onions while watching Jeopardy? "We, along with quite a few others, have been focused on exactly this question," says Hal Pashler, psychology professor at the University of California at San Diego. It turns out that very automatic actions or what researchers call "highly practiced skills," like walking or chopping an onion, can be easily done while thinking about other things, although the decision to add an extra onion to a recipe or change the direction in which you're walking is another matter. "It seems that action planning--figuring out what I want to say in response to a person's question or which way I want to steer the car--is usually, perhaps invariably, performed sequentially" or one task at a time, says Pashler. On the other hand, producing the actions you've decided on--moving your hand on the steering wheel, speaking the words you've formulated--can be performed "in parallel with planning some other action." Similarly, many aspects of perception--looking, listening, touching--can be performed in parallel with action planning and with movement.
The switching of attention from one task to another, the toggling action, occurs in a region right behind the forehead called Brodmann's Area 10 in the brain's anterior prefrontal cortex, according to a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study by Grafman's team. Brodmann's Area 10 is part of the frontal lobes, which "are important for maintaining long-term goals and achieving them," Grafman explains. "The most anterior part allows you to leave something when it's incomplete and return to the same place and continue from there." This gives us a "form of multitasking," he says, though it's actually sequential processing. Because the prefrontal cortex is one of the last regions of the brain to mature and one of the first to decline with aging, young children do not multitask well, and neither do most adults over 60. New fMRI studies at Toronto's Rotman Research Institute suggest that as we get older, we have more trouble "turning down background thoughts when turning to a new task," says Rotman senior scientist and assistant director Cheryl Grady. "Younger adults are better at tuning out stuff when they want to," says Grady. "I'm in my 50s, and I know that I can't work and listen to music with lyrics; it was easier when I was younger."
University of Auckland study aims to use dance as a means of combating dementia.
Different types of dancing use different parts of the brain – a curious phenomenon which a University of Auckland researcher is hopeful will benefit people with dementia.
Carlene Newall de Jesus, approaching the end of her PhD and is currently a researcher within the university's Dance Studies and Centre for Brain Research, says there is already significant evidence that dancing helps people with dementia.
There has been international interest and much research in the link between dance and treating dementia but central questions remain: why and how does dance beneficially impact people with dementia?
Newall de Jesus says her PhD and ongoing research is looking at those questions to try and determine which particular types of dance might be most beneficial.
"What we do know at present is that different types of dancing activities use different parts of the brain," she says, "and that dancing is so valuable to people with dementia.
"But the real question is which dance is going to give best results and, if we can ever get to the stage where dancing is a prescriptive measure, what sort of dancing works best?"
Her existing work shows that, for dancing to benefit people with dementia, it is not just a matter of a teacher getting up in front of a class copying the moves – like Zumba, for example.
"My particular focus is bringing together science and the arts," says Newall de Jesus, who has a BA in psychology, a postgraduate diploma and Masters in science (Health Psychology) as well as a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Dance), "and what we are looking at is a much wider idea of dancing as opposed to Zumba, ballet and ballroom, for example."
She has had some success with what she terms "community dancing" – dance that does not follow prescribed steps, like ballroom dancing, but which merges together creative movement, personal memories, music, expression and socialisation.
It also helps get around the fact many dementia sufferers are hesitant to try new things, particularly those they perceive as difficult – like ballroom dancing, for example.
She completed her pilot research in 2015 in a six-week dance project involving postgraduate dance studies students from the University of Auckland and 12 people with Alzheimers aged between 51 and 75.
"We explored ways or creating movement in a variety of fun and interactive ways," Newall de Jesus says. "The class danced together to familiar music hits from the past, allowing the people living with dementia to bring their life experience to the students – so the mutual sharing of ideas, skills and laughter enriched the experience for everyone.
"That's why you can't just restrict dancing to one genre or even more than one," she says.
"The basic philosophy of community dancing is that everyone can move and everyone can move in an artistic way – and that involves not only music, exercise and fun but also decision-making and socialisation."
According to the Harvard Medical School's On The Brain journal, scientists gave little thought to the neurological effects of dance until relatively recently, when researchers began to investigate the complex mental coordination that dance requires.
In a 2008 article in Scientific American magazine, a Columbia University neuroscientist suggested synchronising music and movement—dance, essentially—constituted a "pleasure double play." Music stimulates the brain's reward centres, while dance activates its sensory and motor circuits.
A 2003 study in the New England Journal of Medicine by researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine discovered that dance can decidedly improve brain health. The study investigated the effect leisure activities had on the risk of dementia in the elderly.
Researchers looked at the effects of 11 different types of physical activity, including cycling, golf, swimming, and tennis, but found that only one of the activities studied—dance—lowered participants' risk of dementia. According to the researchers, dancing involves both a mental effort and social interaction and that this type of stimulation helped reduce the risk of dementia.
That's where Newall de Jesus is coming from. Socialisation is a massive factor in guarding against the development of dementia; loneliness is the enemy and often a factor in those affected.
"It's the same thing with exercise – those who continue to exercise are known to be less likely to develop dementia," she says," so this work is designed to help identify all components of human activity that can help.
"At present there is not a cure for dementia but dance may be able to help delay the onset or even help prevent it and, for those who have already developed it, to give them a better quality of life."
Parties offer few if any answers for a 15-year-old deadly insurgency that successive govts have failed to quell.
Peace and conflict have never been significant parts of any political party platform in Thailand. This is because a sustainable solution calls for long-term commitment to a policy that could prove to be politically costly.
Lasting peace requires self-reflection on the part of both the state and society. Policymakers have to rethink the policy of assimilation that has so far been rejected by the Malay Muslim populace of the southern border provinces because it comes at the expense of their cultural and religious identity.
Full-fledged armed insurgency erupted in the far South in the 1960s, some 50 years after the signing of the Anglo-Siam Treaty that defined our current political borders.
There was a brief calm in the 1990s, but the absence of violence did not mean peace. A new generation of militants was being groomed by the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) and this time the separatists did not look to Arab countries for financial support and training, but developed their own resources at the grassroots level.
BRN fighters surfaced in 2001, only to be dismissed by then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as “sparrow bandits”. That characterisation changed on January 4, 2004, when scores of armed insurgents raided an Army battalion in Narathiwat and stole more than 350 military weapons.
Successive governments have been dabbling in peace initiatives, but none succeeded in getting the BRN – which gives all of the armed combatants their orders – to participate in talks.
At a recent public forum in Bangkok organised by Amnesty International, Pauline Ngarmpring, the Mahachon Party’s transgender candidate for PM, spoke in terms noticeably absent from the Democrat and Pheu Thai speeches – mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and cultural diversity.
The Future Forward Party’s representative blamed the 15 years of discord in the South on government mishandling and mistreatment of citizens. There is some truth to this, but it overlooks the fact that the Malays of Patani – the three border provinces – see themselves as having a unique identity that defies full assimilation.
The parties contesting Sunday’s election have generally been careful about the issue as they seek to impress both Muslim and Buddhist voters.
Future Forward has risked campaigning for a reduced military presence in the South and insisted that the diplomacy of give and take be the guide in peace talks.
Political canvassers can earn a lot of money in the far South. From shady warlords and influential figures to Muslim clerics and community leaders, the canvassers have particular attributes or profile in common. All they need to do to succeed is connect with the voters.
Future Forward has scorned the deployment of canvassers, though, dismissing it as part of the patronage system they vow to curtail.
In the 2011 election campaign, all parties but one promised to give the Malay-speaking region “special administrative status”. The Democrats made no such pledge and still won 11 of the 12 available seats.
In this campaign, no one is repeating the promise.
The Pheu Thai Party promised special status in 2011 and won the national election, but then reneged on it once in government. It only served to convince the southerners that promises given them can be broken at no political cost to the one making the pledge.
Prachachat, the so-called “Muslim party” led by Wan Muhammed Noor Matha, a wily politician and close ally of \|Thaksin, has had both Islam and multiculturalism prominent in its campaigning. So far, though, there has been no elaboration on context or intent.
Nor has any party broached last year’s hijab row at Anuban Pattani Elementary School, in which 20 Buddhist teachers walked off the job because Muslim girls came to class wearing headscarves.
About 85 per cent of the region’s two million residents identify themselves as Malay Muslim, not Thai. The teachers seemed to wish to remind the Malays of Patani that they’re a defeated people and must abandon traditions and assimilate as citizens of Thailand.
Thus espousing the common denominator remains the safest track to electoral victory. Politicians know that most voters respond to patriotic evocations of “Thainess”.
Funding from the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s community grant scheme can help your neighbourhood.
Local non-profit organisations can apply for funding of up to £5,000 to help them reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, and protect vulnerable people within communities.
Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner said: “The community grant scheme has been running for a number of years and we have seen some very good projects of many kinds.
“I have funded and visited projects that offer such things as: diversionary sporting activities for young people; advice and support in cases of domestic abuse or child sexual exploitation; and schemes that help people back in to work.
“My grants panel, who meet monthly, are looking for organisations that help to make communities safer places in which to live.
“I look for more groups, whether big or small, who want to make a real difference to people's lives to make an application.
"Grants have ranged from a few hundred pounds to £5,000.
All applications to the scheme must demonstrate that they fall within the Commissioner’s three priorities set out in his police and crime plan and provide evidence on how the funding will reduce crime and anti-social behaviour or protect vulnerable people.
A mugger caught on dashcam as he tried to steal a motorbike has been jailed for 20 months.
A Coventry motorist captured on a dashcam in his car a youth attempting to steal another young lad’s off-road bike.
The footage shows the victim walking away from his mugger with a bloodied face on Addison Road in Kerseley.
The incident happened on Friday September 4 2015 and his attacker was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court on April 13.
Jaguar Land Rover’s £500million expansion plans in Coventry have been signed off by central government.
The secretary of state has decided not to ‘call in’ plans for the luxury car firm to expand its global headquarters at Whitley onto a 60-acre green belt site south of the A45.
The development had been viewed as controversial by some, including the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, who raised concerns about building on the site.
Green belt building plans tend to be called in by the secretary of state, but Greg Clark has decided against doing so in this instance after the scheme was approved by Coventry City Council and Warwick District Council.
A mum kicked a store manager in the groin and threatened to kill him when she stole a trolley-load of food from a supermarket.
Coventry couple Sarah Cooney and Craig Warden became embroiled in the row at a supermarket in Hinckley in February.
Warden said he had tried to rescue Cooney from security but magistrates didn’t believe him.
Cooney, 40, was found guilty of stealing goods worth nearly £400 and assault by beating following a trial at Hinckley Magistrates’ Court on May 24.
Warden, 45, was found guilty at the same trial of assault by beating and obstructing a constable in execution of his duty by giving a false name when arrested.
You can find a piece of Coventry on the largest cruise ship in the world.
City DJ John 'JD' Dalziel found a little slice of home when wandering MS Harmony of the Seas - a vintage Jaguar that takes pride of place on the Royal Promenade!
JD tweeted: "Love the classic Jaguar onboard! Even more so when I found out where it was made!"
The ship cost a staggering one billion US dollars (£695million) to build, and which can carry 6,780 guests and 2,100 crew.
The Royal Caribbean vessel, which has 20 restaurants on board, features a ten-storey water slide called the Ultimate Abyss, which features a 100ft drop, making it the tallest at sea.
Ever wondered which television programmes Coventry viewers think are worth the licence fee alone?
With television licence changes set to be implemented, TV Licensing has examined Twitter mentions of “worth the licence fee” over the past year to draw up a list of our city's most loved shows.
Dramas and nature documentaries are the genres driving online engagement, according to data gathered by TV Licensing, with thousands of appreciations for shows and programmes viewers deem “worth the licence fee”.
The phrase, used more than 12,000 times, shows which programmes, services and presenters or actors licence fee payers truly value.
For the stats, click here.
The Product Realization Network at Stanford (formerly AIM) is a continuous learning community of industrial professionals, academics, and students, passionate about the making of real things that improve peoples lives.
Economic Modeling and Finance - how to estimate costs and manage finances associated with product creation and execution.
Awarding of the certificate requires the completion of four courses, one in each of the three component areas, plus a fourth course from any of these areas. (A letter grade average of 3.0 or better is required.) In addition, certificate recipients are strongly encouraged to enroll in one of the listed seminars depending on the product development community that they are interested in joining.
On-campus students should register their intent to pursue the Alliance for Innovative Manufacturing at Stanford Certificate in Product Creation and Innovative Manufacturing and enroll in the courses through AXESS.
Off-campus students wishing to pursue the Alliance for Innovative Manufacturing at Stanford Certificate in Product Creation and Innovative Manufacturing should register their intent to pursue the certificate with PRN and enroll in courses broadcast by the Stanford Center for Professional Development through the Non-Degree Option (NDO) program. Note: Enrollment through the SCPD NDO should take place even for certificate courses that are only available on the Stanford campus. Honors Cooperative Program master's students (HCP) should register through AXESS and through SCPD.
The NDO program permits professional employees of member companies to register for Stanford courses and earn grades and credit without matriculating as regular Stanford graduate students. The NDO category is available solely to employees of SCPD member companies. NDO students receive all course materials, do homework, and take examinations. They receive grades and units for completed coursework. Stanford transcripts are available on request.
It is PRN's intention that at least one path to the Certificate in Product Creation and Innovative Manufacturing will be available entirely on-line through the Stanford Center for Professional Development. For certificate students from the local area who wish to take courses that are not currently on-line, PRN will do its best to arrange with the instructor to allow these students to attend the courses at Stanford on a space available basis. However, any course that is also offered on-line must be taken on-line by NDO students.
On-campus courses have limited classroom space and may be taken by NDO students strictly on a space available basis and with the consent of the professor. Priority is given to full-time majors within the department.
Note: An NDO student desiring to take a course with an OIT or Acct designation must contact the Assistant Director, PRN [email protected], ph: (650) 723-9038) a minimum of four (4) weeks prior to the first day of classes for that quarter.

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.