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harryweaver · 3 years

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Individual Point of Perception is Dependent on Conditioned Mode of Thought.

Our conditioned mode of thought is determined by a number of aspects including:

our formal educational conditioning;

our cultural background;

the perceived power personalities that influence our sociological conditioning;

...to name a few.

I originally began this article with a view to confining it within the first classification of educational conditioning, but by way of natural process all seemed to apply.

Then, as it felt presumptuous and unwieldy to force a subject scope worthy of a treatise into a blog format, I have had to restrict the situation to how science has influenced and placed limits on our thinking.

Very much in shorthand....

All of science is based on direction defined by philosophy and Rene Descartes appears to have been the pivotal point in this instance. He introduced a way of perceiving things that took an observable entity and broke it down, analytically, into its individual unit parts. Dualism and other aspects, illuminating then, seem second nature to us now.

The evolution of this form of thinking was passed on into the capable hands of Francis Bacon who, in turn, hand balled it to Isaac Newton, both of whom provided substantial modifications to advance this concept of fragmentation. What we have inherited is what might be termed the 'Doctrine of Direction' for the entire westernised civilisation.

What these theorists neglected to consider and what Quantum theory is in the process of giving back, to those of us who care to take note, is an appreciation of the 'links' or aspects of interrelationship between these basic building blocks of fragmented, alienated entities. An aspect every bit as important as the 'units' themselves, as it is only by way of these continuously, communicating interfaces that we arrive at wholistic entities that are greater than the sum of their individual parts.

Unfortunately, we still model our mode of individual and collective advancement on the thought structures that built Empires that have long ago ceased to exist. Momentum, obviously, is capable of carrying us too far in the wrong direction.

I don't wish to appear to be a detractor of the theories of these giants of our past, or even of the ones who 'stood on their shoulders', who took those theories and gave them application within the sociological framework. What I am attempting is to show how the limited style of scientific mindset, that is drilled into us by way of our current educational process, has engendered our individual and therefore collective point of perception. This in turn has determined our current life situation. Man is a reflection of his environment, yes, but the opposite is every bit as true.

We have made fantastic advances with our 'scientific' thinking. We can gauge, almost to the centimetre, where we can land a rocket on the moon, over an almost unimaginable distance, with a mind numbing number of variables all taken into account. And after that, bring it back again. We are communicating concepts through mediums such as we are employing at this very moment, as you read this, and there are a myriad of other examples.

But, there is a dark side.

Having adopted, through conditioning, this mode of perception, we have alienated ourselves from our environment, from each other and even created alienation within our very selves. Our 'self' from this viewpoint, by way of illustration, does not include our body. 'I' am a separate entity and my body is a mere physical, mechanical housing, when in fact our bodies are a fully incorporated aspect of our 'selves'.

'Us and Them' is destroying 'Us'.

Take a look at what our alienating point of perception is doing:

(1) to our shared environment. We consider our 'selves' to be a separate entity to our environment, rather than an integral, interacting aspect of it, so any harm we inflict on the environment has no real effect on our situation, we surmise. (The comparative example of this would be that of a race of people, traveling through endless space, systematically destroying the space ship they are traveling in.) There have been highly qualified, dissenting voices to this supposition. Even economists, like E.F. Schumacher, who advise that, "If we ever find ourselves in the position of winning our battle with nature, we will automatically find ourselves on the losing side". Conditioned thought structure, however, pays little heed to logic, unless it is incorporated into an 'approved' educational process and therefore transposed into the paradigm;

(2) to our estranged sense of interrelationships. By over emphasising the self concept, to compensate for a social structure that appears intent on drowning the individual in a sea of homogenised anonymity, we automatically place almost insurmountable barriers to interpersonal integration;

(3) within our fragmented personal selves. In this context, the major effort appears to be the creation and continuous maintenance of a self image rather than the cultivation of the actual personality. A self image that bears little relation to the real person hiding within, who sadly perceives the camouflage to be more socially acceptable than him 'self'. Applied to extreme, the individual places so much personal energy into the maintenance of this persona, that he 'starves' himself. A major cause of mental dis-ease and what can amount to total breakdown of the individual existence.

Relationships can only exist between personalities. Relationships are not possible between facades, which are essentially illusions, so the illusion that they do doesn't exist for any length of time. This somewhat pointless exercise only exists because many believe that it's all they have to offer, as the real entity is seen as being insufficient to the situation.

One of the many sociological phenomena that appears to endorse all this is the fact that, in all westernised countries, divorce statistics come close to equaling marriage statistics and quite commonly surpass them.

It's a little unfair, however, to endow philosophers and scientists with the full responsibility of our present life situation. There are other buttressing influences. Sir Isaac Newton's writings within other fields were for all intents and purposes totally ignored, as they still are. The bias of thought at that time was all for the new clockwork bent that held so much potential for industrial advancement, as it still does. An illustration as to how long the industrial lobby, by way of political sway, has been placing paradigms on the full spectrum potential of our advancement as a species.

So, just while we are in the vicinity:

A corporate entity doesn't have a personality, other than the one on loan and frequently patched from the public relations departments, so don't look for human qualities;

The corporate ideal is to be in the position of dictating to the marketplace (yes, that's you!) and they never sleep in the pursuit of this goal;

Corporate entities see themselves as being subject to only one law and that's the law of economics. When economic precept shows any potential to limit short term profit, they're not above bending that out of shape either.

This latter point requires a little expansion, I feel.

Feel free to disagree.

According to the science of economics, there are two varieties of resource: rivalrous and non-rivalrous. A rivalrous resource is one that can be used up faster than it can be replaced, if it can be replaced at all, e.g., fossil fuels and the natural environment. A non-rivalrous resource, on the other hand, is a resource that is inexhaustible, i.e., it can't be exhausted as it is continuously replacing itself at a rate faster than it can be employed.

Now, considering the fact that human beings breed their own replacements, in the sort of volumes commonly described as 'population explosions', which of these two categories do you imagine employees slot into, within the corporate mindset, in these days of outsourcing?

`Safety before Production’, is the corporate catchphrase, but it will never be the reality because it doesn't need to be. An appearance is put up in order to establish a good 'Employer Brand Name', yes, but mostly because other powerful economic entities like insurance companies 'persuade' them to do so. And insurance companies are only prepared to do that because it has direct bearing on their own economic status.

This automatically creates another translation of the 'Us and Them' syndrome, the 'Divide and Rule' format. Musashi's 'The Book of Five Rings' and Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War', amongst other treatise on war strategy, make their way into every board room these days under the arms of those who would subordinate their productive work force to their will. Strategies that work within one set of environmental circumstances don't necessarily translate well into others, however, and 'Divide and Rule' is a classic example. When looking at a combined productive exercise, it simply isn't profitable to view and treat your production sector as though they are the enemy. This will automatically cost you money and the longer you persist with a faulty strategy, the more it will cost you. The variety of tactics employed, to gain the 'ascendency', are far from what is required to assist in establishing a sense of cooperation and self worth within the individuals that make up the bulk of westernised populations. And a sense of self worth is the foundation stone of a happy individual. A happy employee is more productive and produces a better quality product, so the strategy is obviously flawed.

Our mode of technological advancement has cost us dear, obvious in the stultified mental and spiritually bereft realms we have allocated to ourselves, from a set of values that is blinkered to the full spectrum definition of wealth. I have met people who, having worked continuously for, say, $500.00/week for a number of years, don't even consider pressing for more when their mode of employment changes, because they have been conditioned, over time, into believing that $500.00/week is their sum total worth as a human being. The comprehensive definitions of degradation and defeat are achieved when the victim is persuaded.

If western civilisation (sic), would just halt its frenetic, lemming-like race to the cliff edge long enough to look at the life philosophies of the various indigenous cultures on this planet, we would be in a position to provide ourselves with the requisite wholistic life perception required to save ourselves, and those same indigenous communities, from that inevitable extinction that we are imposing on other species at this very moment.

A different way of seeing is there, for our adoption, any time we want it. We find it not just in the wholistic, indigenous community and environmental Gaia mindsets, but in the most obscure of niches as well as the most obvious of places.

By way of an 'obscure' example, I recall reading Aleister Crowley's 'Magick' in the dawning of my adolescent rebellion, somewhere between Enid Blyton and 'The Russians'.

Wholly from memory:

`The practitioner of Black Magic employs his art to raise his level of existence above that of his environment’ - which doesn't sound so bad really, does it? Just looking round, it appears to be what everybody is doing, or attempting to do. Yes/No?

But then he goes on to say:

`Whereas the practitioner of White Magic employs his talent to raise the level of his environment, and in so doing raises his own level of existence’.

A totally different translation of existence, richer by far, achieved by a mere shift in perception.

As a natural extension of our adopting this different definition of existence, the changes within our culture would be dynamic to say the least. Mental health institutions would almost cease to exist, as the dysfunctional personality is no more than a symptom of the dysfunctional group. The dysfunctional group, no more than a symptom of a dysfunctional social order. Primary catalysts of physical ill health, such as stress, would almost cease to exist also, along with associated overloaded hospital systems and massive requirement for, along with associated abuse of, medication.

Street people would not feel a need to retreat to the streets anymore, but would see a form of society that they would want to be a part of. A form of society that they could see themselves as being a part of, alienated no longer.

Dare I mention prisons?

I could continue, but I'm sure you get the gist.

All aspects of our social and personal direction are compromised when we operate from a biased or false premise. Our proud, emphatic (dare I say, arrogant?) denunciations of 'this is wrong', or 'that's not right' appear as shallow as mainstream media. Any observation from a false premise can only produce an inaccurate end assessment. A silk purse don't come from no sows ear, boy!

Therefore it naturally follows that judging others, or even ourselves, by our own standards is automatically a travesty of natural justice and nothing more than a gross, if unintended, hypocrisy. Because we, unquestioningly, inherit standards of judgment also.

It is possible to establish valid existence only by exploring the depths of established standards, understand where they stem from and, by doing so, determine as to whether they still have relevance in regard to personal existence, now, in our current environment. Retain the standards that do have relevance, rid ourselves of false standards that represent the crippling detritus in our lives, and adopt any new standards that are seen to promote required existential standing.

This is normally considered to be the philosophers function, yes, but a little philosophy won't hurt any of us if it results in our finally reaping the substantial rewards of a valid sense of social responsibility. We have that duty to ourselves, each other and toward our shared environment. Wholistically.

The answer to all the worlds' problems lie in the future within our children, but we need people qualified to teach them how to move the world, through a paradigm shift, from here to there. There's only one way to achieve that, so we need to get to work on ourselves, individually, very quickly.

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baixueagain · 5 years

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All my emails with tumblr thus far. As you can see, they’ve been passing me between different members of staff (”Alfredo,” “Justin/Jay,” and “Carmen N.”), dodging my questions, copy-pasting from the easily accessible Help Center already on tumblr (as if I can’t look that up myself), and attempting to gaslight me about the fact that they falsely accused me of a very serious felony, not to mention that they terminated - not suspended - my last blog without a warning or an explanation. Please note that this is the first time in seven months (when my original blog bai-xue was terminated) that anyone at tumblr has responded to me at all, and that in that time two more of my blogs were terminated, one accompanied by a false accusation and the other with no explanation whatsoever.

Additionally, in June, @bullet-farmer very kindly wrote to @support on my behalf. They responded to her emails almost immediately, and continued emailing back and forth with her until she cc’d me and I responded to the email chain. After that, they ceased speaking to bullet-farmer altogether.

@staff @support I’d really love to hear an explanation for all this, not to mention an apology and an assurance that this sort of unprofessional behaviour won’t be repeated.

Check under the cut below for transcripts of all the emails so far.

July 18, 2:38 PM GMT

Me (Karen) to Tumblr Support:

Hello,

I am wondering if there is any way I can further verify my account with tumblr to keep from getting terminated.

I have been terminated three times due to harassment campaigns. It has impacted my business as an indie artist and writer, since I am trying to use tumblr to build a following. After ten successful years on this site, I have had to rebuild my account from scratch three times within the last six months.

I wish to continue using tumblr, but I can only assume that the trolls who have targeted me before will do so again, and will continue to submit false reports to get me terminated.

Please tell me, how can I avoid this and protect my account from this happening again? I am willing to provide whatever personal information is necessary.

Thank you,

Karen

July 18, 3:18 PM GMT

Tumblr Support (”Alfredo”) to Me

Hi Karen,

Thank you for writing in. Your email is already verified. Any blogs reported by Tumblr users are reviewed for validity by our Trust and Safety team before they are terminated. If you believe you are being harassed, we ask that you use our online Abuse forms located here:

https://www.tumblr.com/abuse

To report a post in the mobile apps, just click the share icon (that paper airplane) and choose "Report." That'll open the form and you can tell us what you're reporting from there. To report an entire blog, tap the blog's username to view their blog, then tap the little human icon, and then tap "Report."

Please select the form that most closely corresponds to the violation you’re reporting, which will help us correctly route your complaint.

We appreciate you taking the time to write in.

Tumblr Community Support

July 18, 6:21 PM GMT

Me to Tumblr Support (”Alferdo”)

Hi Alfredo,

Email verification is not what I am talking about. I am talking about how to protect my blog from being wrongfully terminated again. It has been terminated three times due to false mass reports from trolls. I have been using tumblr for years to build an audience for my artwork, and now, because I have been terminated so many times, that audience is gone and my art business is suffering.

There has to be a way to protect myself from being terminated due to false accusations and false reports. How can I, as a professional and an artist, make sure that this stops happening to me? I am sure there is some way that professionals such as Neil Gaiman protect their blogs from being terminated due to trolling efforts. What information do I need to send you to keep this from happening to me again? I am happy to provide a passport or a residence permit.

Please, I have reached out for help so many times in the last six months, and you are the first person to ever answer me. Please help me.

Karen

July 18, 9:18 PM GMT

Tumblr Support (”Justin/Jay”) to Me

Hello,

Thanks for writing in again. Please take a look at our new Community Guidelines.

As of December 17, 2018, adult content is no longer permitted on Tumblr. Any newly uploaded content flagged as adult will be hidden from public view. We will also flag existing adult content, with the ultimate goal of removing as much of it as we can. This new policy negates the need for Safe Mode, so this feature no longer exists. These new policies are the same regardless of your age.

If any of your content is flagged as adult, we will notify you by email. The email will outline steps you can take to review the content in question. If you disagree with the classification of your flagged post, you will have a chance to appeal the decision.

Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

Thanks,

Jay,

Tumblr Community Support

July 18, 10:06 PM GMT

Me to Tumblr Support (”Justin/Jay”)

Hi Justin,

If you take a look at my terminated blogs bai-xue-lives and bai-xue-lives2, you will see that I never posted any adult content. I have followed community guidelines quite closely. Nevertheless, I was still reported by trolls, and I was still terminated because of those reports. In the case of my blog bai-xue-lives, two of my posts were flagged, and I successfully contested them. I was then terminated anyway weeks later. In the case of bai-xue-lives2, none of my posts were ever flagged, and it was terminated today without warning or explanation.

Tell me, how am I to avoid being terminated again if I follow the rules and still get falsely reported by trolls anyway? I'm sure you can understand that I now find it very hard to trust that your staff will actually look into the reports, because despite following the rules I have still been repeatedly punished despite the fact that I'm the one being bullied by those falsely reporting me.

As I said above, I am quite willing to send in any form of identification you need to ensure that my blog will not be terminated due to false reports again. I am genuinely concerned that someone with a grudge, possibly a disgruntled ex of mine, has been abusing the report function in order to get me repeatedly terminated. I have no doubt that this will continue unless I have some form of insurance that I can be safe from false accusations.

As I have said before, these repeated terminations have cost me the fruits of the small part time art career that I spent over seven years building on tumblr. I like tumblr. I want to continue using it. But how am I to do so with any confidence, when I follow the rules and still get punished?

I have sought every avenue of help that I can and received no answer for seven months. Today was the first time anyone ever answered me, but it has only been with rote suggestions that I have already tried.

Please help me. I want to be able to use your site with the confidence that I will not be punished for something I didn't do, and the assurance that the people who dislike me will not be able to use your report function to act out petty grudges. Please, I will do whatever is necessary to have this assurance.

Karen

July 19, 7:57 AM GMT

Tumblr Support (”Carmen N.”) to Me

Hello Karen,

Thanks for following up.

I can assure you that every reported blog is verified by another department of our company which is carefully reviewing all your content. If you get suspended you receive an email in which the reasons for your suspension are mentioned.

As long as you stick to our Community Guidelines while posting, there shouldn't be any problem.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Have a nice day!

Carmen N Tumblr Community Support

July 19, 10:18 AM GMT

Me to Tumblr Support (”Carmen N.”)

Hi Carmen,

I am afraid that is very much untrue. When my blog bai-xue-lives was terminated, I received an email from your team accusing me of posting ch*ld p*rn*graphy, something which I have never done and which I consider a very serious accusation. When I asked for proof, I received none.

In the case of my most recent termination, I received no email whatsoever, and I was not "suspended," as you put it. My blog simply disappeared with no explanation, after I had broken no rules. No posts had been flagged, no warnings had been given. I had not even been on that account for a month (June 28-July 18).

Again, I ask you: how am I to continue to use your service when it is quite clear that I can be terminated at any minute, without warning, even when I have broken no rules?

Karen

[Attached: The June 28 email sent to me when my blog bai-xue-lives got terminated, which accuses me of “inappropriate content involving minors” and “the possession and distribution of ch*ld p*rn*graphy” (censored for anti-bot safety purposes).]

#long post #tumblr #tumblr staff #tumblr support #signal boost #staff #support #termination #tumblr fail #cp mention #cp tw

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securecheck360 · 4 years

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2020 Labor and Law Update for California State Employers

It is time to take a significant look at some of the most important new laws that have been passed and also which will affect California employers in 2020 and beyond. As usual, employers should review their policies and practices to ensure ongoing legal compliance and to limit potential exposure. Be sure to counsel with lawful guidance as to any inquiries.

Contractor or Employee? How AB 5 will Impact California Employers

The statute fundamentally changes the test used to determine whether workers in California are employees or independent contractors. This monumental change to California employment law will require businesses operating in California to understand the intricacies of AB 5, and its numerous exemptions, and be aware of how their worker’s fit into the new classification scheme. Failure to reclassify workers where appropriate will expose California employers to significant risk, including the collection of unpaid wages and back taxes, civil penalties, and civil litigation.

The bill will be codified as section 2750.3 in the Labor Code and will be effective from 1st January 2020. The bill portrays that all workers are employees unless the hiring business can rebut this presumption. The new statute does not permit an employer to reclassify an individual who was an employee on 1st January 2020, to an independent contractor due to the bill’s enactment.

While the content of AB 5 is extensive and complex, generally it can be broken down into three different parts:

1. It adopts and codifies the “ABC” test established in Dynamex, to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor;

2. It expands the reach of the “ABC” test to include the California Labor Code and Unemployment Insurance Code, as opposed to only the Industrial Welfare Commission’s Wage Orders; and

3. It specifically exempts certain occupations, industries, and contractual relationships from the “ABC” test, and instead permits the use of the less-stringent, Pre-Dynamex test established in G. Borello & Sons, Inc. v. Department of Industrial Relations (1989) 48 Cal.3d 341, in certain specific circumstances.

Where a worker is not exempt, the “ABC” test applies. The “ABC” test presumes that all workers are employees and places the burden on the hiring business to establish the following factors to classify a worker as an independent contractor: (A) the worker is free from the control and direction of the hirer in connection with the performance of the work; (B) the worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business, and (C) the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation or business of the same nature as the work performed for the hiring entity. If the hiring business fails to establish any of these factors, the worker will be classified as an employee.

AB 5 lists several specific occupations to which the older Borello test will continue to apply, including insurance agents, surplus line brokers, analysts, physicians, surgeons, dentists, podiatrists, psychologists, veterinarians, lawyers, architects, engineers, private investigators, accountants, certain direct sales salespersons, securities broker-dealers, investment advisors, commercial fishermen, and certain newspaper carriers. AB 5 also provides that contracts for certain “professional services” are also exempt, under specific conditions. AB 5 defines “professional services” as the services provided by a human resources administrator, travel agent, graphic designer, grant writer, fine artist, payment processing agent, photographer, photojournalist, freelance writer, freelance editor, freelance newspaper cartoonist, esthetician, electrologist, manicurist, barber, or cosmetologist. In addition to falling into one of these categories of “professional services”, hiring businesses must also establish that the worker meets additional, very precise requirements, for an exemption to apply. AB 5 also contains several other miscellaneous exemptions, including for real estate licenses, repossession agencies, the construction industry, and relationships between referral agencies and service providers.

Since the statute has not yet gone into effect, the full scope of AB 5 and its various exemptions, which are complex and specific, remain to be fully explored and potentially litigated. AB 5 is still very much a fluid statute, and California hiring entities should obtain appropriate guidance to ensure compliance with the newly enacted law.

California Recognizes Discrimination Based on Race-Based Hairstyles

California became one of the first state to ban race-based hair discrimination by enacting SB 188, also known as the Creating a Respectful and Open workplace for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act. The CROWN Act expands the definition of “race” under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to include traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and protective hairstyles. “Protective hairstyles” include, but are not limited to, “braids, locks, and twists”. The new law goes into effect on the 1st of January 2020.

The CROWN Act acknowledges the disparate impact workplace dress code and grooming policies potentially could have on black individuals. Policies that prohibit natural hair, including afros, braids, twists, and locks, are more likely to deter black applicants and burden or punish black employees than any other group. The stated purpose of the CROWN Act is thus to enforce the “constitutional values of fairness, equity, and opportunity for all”.

California employers should review their dress codes, grooming policies, and general hiring and employment practices to ensure compliance with the new law. Employers operating nationally should monitor legislative developments – New York has enacted a similar law forbidding race-based hair discrimination, and New Jersey, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Kentucky are also considering such legislation.

Additional Accommodations for Lactation Expression in the Workplace

SB 142 significantly changes existing law regarding an employer’s obligation to provide accommodations to an employee to express breast milk.

Existing law:

Ø Prohibits an employer, who is required by law to give an employee a rest period during a workday, from requiring the employee to work during the rest period;

Ø Requires an employer to pay the employee one additional hour of pay, at the employee’s regular rate of compensation, for each rest period not provided.

Ø Requires to employers to provide a reasonable amount of break time to employees desiring to express milk for the employee’s infant child;

Ø Requires an employer to make reasonable efforts to provide the employee with the use of a room, or other location, other than a bathroom, close to the employee’s work area, for the employee to express milk in private;

Ø Exempts an employer from the break time requirement if the employer’s operations would be seriously disrupted by providing that time to employees desiring to express milk; and

Ø Subjects employers who violate these provisions to a civil penalty of $100 per violation and authorizes the Labor Commissioner to issue citations for those violations.

SB 142 amends Labor Code section 1030 by requiring a ‘reasonable amount of break time’ to express breast milk “each time the employee needs to express milk”. The bill would also amend Labor Code section 1031 by adding additional requirements for a lactation room. As a result, a lactation room or location.

Ø Must be private

Ø May include the place where the employee normally works if that space otherwise meets the requirements of the Labor Code;

Ø Shall not be a bathroom

Ø Shall be close to the employee’s work area;

Ø Must be shielded from view and free from intrusions while the employee is expressing milk;

Ø Must be safe, clean, and free of hazardous materials;

Ø Must contain a surface area to place a breast pump and personal items;

Ø Must have a place to sit; and

Ø Must have access to electricity, extension cords, or charging stations necessary to operate an electric or battery-powered breast pump.

The new law also requires that the employer provide access to a sink with running water and a refrigerator for storing milk close to the employee’s workplace.

Finally, Labor Code section 1034 has been amended to require an employer to develop and implement a policy regarding lactation accommodation that includes the following:

Ø A statement about an employee’s right to request lactation accommodation;

Ø The process by which the employee makes the request;

Ø An employer’s obligation to respond to the request; and

Ø A statement about an employee’s right to file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner for any violation of a right under this chapter.

The employer shall include the policy in an employee handbook or set of policies that the employer makes available to employees. The employer shall distribute the policy to new employees upon hiring and when an employee makes an inquiry about or requests parental leave. If an employer cannot provide break time or a location that complies with the policy, the employer shall provide a written response to the employee.

The amendment thus provides employees with an undefined number of “additional breaks” for expressing milk. The expansion of these Labor Code sections creates significant potential liability for employers who fail to provide “reasonable breaks” “each time” the employee needs to express milk.

New Posting Requirements on Parental Leave

The New Parental Leave Act (NPLA) took effect in January 2018 and expanded the availability of body-bonding benefits to smaller employers (those with at least 20 employees). As amended by the NPLA, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) provides 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of an employee’s child if the employer has 20 or more employees who avail themselves of this statutory benefits.

New posting requirements regarding the NPLA took effect as of April 1, 2019. Employers with 20-49 employees now have to post information on the available baby-bonding benefits, and employers with 50 or more employees have to update their previous postings. The new required postings primarily address the addition of the NPLA in the CFRA’s definition section and the removal of gender-specific pronouns and references in the CFRA’s Certification of Health Care Provider form.

The posters must be displayed prominently where employees and applicants for employment can easily see them. If 10 percent or more of the workplace speaks a language other than English, a version must also be posted in that language. The Department of Fair Employment and Housing provides translated posters in several languages and will work with an employer if another translation is needed. Some employers choose to purchase and display an “all in one” poster from a Chamber of Commerce, or other private organizations. Employers may also need to update handbooks and train human resources personnel on the new leave policies and updated medical certification form. Employers with 20 or more employees should ensure their postings, handbooks, and training are up to date with the new requirements for baby-bonding leave to ensure compliance with the NPLA.

No Re-Hire Provisions Removed from Settlement Agreements

As a result of AB 749, California employers need to review their standard settlement agreements to remove any “no-rehire” provisions. Under the new law, which goes into effect on 1st January 2020, settlement agreements cannot contain any provisions that prohibit, prevents, or otherwise restricts an employee from obtaining future employment with that employer or its parent companies, subsidiaries, divisions, affiliates, or contractors. Any such provisions found in settlement agreements entered into on or after 1st January 2020 are void as a matter of law against California public policy.

The prohibition only applies to agreements with an “aggrieved person”, which is defined as a person who has “filed a claim against the person’s employer in court, before an administrative agency, in an alternative dispute resolution forum, or through the employer’s internal complaint process”. As a result, employers and employees remain free to enter into severance agreements with terminated employees that contain no-rehire provisions. However, any severance or agreement resolving an employment dispute would be implicated by AB 749. The new law also clarifies that it does not require employers to rehire employees where (1) the employer has made a “good faith determination” that the employee engaged in sexual harassment or sexual assault, or (2) the employer has a legitimate non-discriminatory or non-retaliatory reason for refusing to rehire the person. The new statute, however, does not define what continues a “good faith determination”.

Update on Sexual Harassment Training

Existing law that went into effect on 1st January 2019, expanded requirements for sexual harassment training such that it applies to employers with five or more employees (previously the sexual harassment training requirements applied to employers with 50 or more employees). The existing law includes requirements that employers provide:

Ø At least two hours of classroom or other effective training and education regarding sexual harassment prevention to supervisory employees every two years;

Ø At least one hour of sexual harassment prevention training and education to nonsupervisory employees every two years;

Ø new employees with sexual harassment training with six months of hire; and

Ø Temporary or seasonal employees with sexual harassment prevention training within 30 calendar days after the hire date or within 100 hours worked if the employee is expected to work for less than a period of six months.

SB 778 extended the initial deadline for providing new training to those non-supervisory employees who were not previously covered under prior state law from 1st January 2020 to 1st January 2021. It also clarifies that employees who compared sexual harassment training in 2010 do not need to be retrained for another two years (i.e., until 2021), and then every two years thereafter (i.e., 2023, 2025).

Statute of Limitation for FEHA Claims Extended to Three Years

Under existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) requires that an employee alleging discrimination, harassment, or retaliation must file a verified complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) before he or she may file a civil action in court. Currently, an employee must file this DFEH complaint within one year from the date of when the wrong occurred. Once an employee receives a Right to Sue Notice from the DFEH, he or she has one year to file a lawsuit.

Governor Gavin Newsom approved AB 9, known as the stop Harassment and Reporting Extension (SHARE) Act, which extends the deadline to file an allegation of unlawful workplace discrimination, harassment, or retaliation under the FEHA with the DFEH from one year to three years. Employers should note that AB 9 does not revive claims that have already lapsed under the current one-year statute of limitation rules.

Exclusion of Mandatory Arbitration Agreements at Outlet of Employment

AB 51 prohibits employers from requiring employees to enter into arbitration agreements covering claims under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the Labor Code as a condition of employment. The bill will be codified as a new section 432.6 in the California Labor Code, and it prohibits any person from requiring an applicant or employee to “waive any right, forum, or procedure” for a violation of the FEHA or the Labor Code, which includes the right to file a civil complaint in court or a complaint with government agency. It makes a violation of Labor Code section 432.6 an “unlawful employment practice” under the FEHA, and also prohibits employers from retaliating against an applicant or employee who refuses to agree to an arbitration agreement. However, AB 51 does not apply to “post-dispute settlement agreements or negotiated severance agreements”. Further, it applies to agreements “entered into, modified, or extended on or after 1st January 2020.

Employer groups have already challenged AB 51 in federal court on the basis that is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The drafter of AB 51, anticipating a legal challenge, has attempted to address this by including subsection (f) which states, “Nothing in this section is intended to invalidate a written arbitration agreement that is otherwise enforceable under the [FAA]”.

The California Consumer Privacy Act Requirements for Employers

In 2018, the California legislature passed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), a law designed to provide consumers with more control over the personal data that businesses collect on those consumers and to have that data deleted, among others. Under the prior iterations, the term “consumer” was broadly defined to include employees and job applicants. Because of this overbroad definition, the California Legislature enacted AB 25, which provides employers with one-year exemption to come into compliance with the law.

Specifically, covered employers have until 1st January 2021, to meet all of the CCPA’s requirements except for two. First, by 1st January 2020, covered employers must ensure they have implemented reasonable security measures, both physical and electronic, to safeguard the personal information of employees and job applicants. In the event of a data breach resulting from failure to implement reasonable security measures, an affected employee can file an individual lawsuit or a class action and potentially recover $ 100 - $ 750 per consumer per data breach incident or their actual damages, whichever is greater. Accordingly, any employer covered by the CCPA should review their electronic and physical security measures to ensure they are appropriately protecting their employee’s data.

Second, starting date 1st January 2020, covered employers must disclose to employees and job applicants the categories of “personal information” collected about them and purposes for which the information will be used. The disclosure must be made before or at the time the employer receives the personal information of any employee or job applicant. The disclosure does not need to list every piece of information collected about the employee, but rather only categories of information. Under the CCPA, covered employers will be prohibited from using any employee personal information that is not listed in the disclosure provided to employees. Therefore, the disclosure should be as comprehensive as possible in terms of identifying all business purposes for which the information is used. Examples of business purposes in the employment context include:

1. To comply with state and federal law requiring employers to maintain certain records;

2. To effectively process payroll;

3. To administer and maintain group health insurance benefits, 401K, and retirement plans; and

4. To manage employee performance of their job duties.

For current employees, the disclosure can be made to them as a group in the employee handbook or through a memo to all employees. Since the CCPA requires the disclosure be made at or before the transaction in which the personal information is collected, the best approach is to include the disclosure with the job applicant for job applicants or future employees.

Employers should be cautious, the term “personal information” is defined so broadly by the CCPA that it potentially covers all information employers collect, maintain, or share about job applicants, employees, and their family members or dependents that could identify the individual or be used in conjunction with other information to identify the individual. Specifically, personal information includes “information that identifies, relates to describes, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer”. The definition then identifies 11 categories and data elements, including “professional or employment-related information”, education information”, and characteristics of a protected category”.

So what is Covered Business?

The CCPA only applies to for-profit businesses that:

Ø Do business in California

Ø Collect the personal information of consumers including employees, and

Ø Satisfy any of the following criteria:

· Have annual gross revenues over $25 million;

· Annually receive, sell, or share personal information about more than 50000 or more California residents or households or 50000 devices;

· Derive 50% or more of their annual revenue from selling personal information of consumers.

AB 25 delays requirements (apply to employers) that permit consumers to request the deletion of their personal information, the categories of personal information collected, and the categories of third parties with whom the business shares their personal information.

#california #employer #employers #law #2020

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berniesrevolution · 7 years

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One of the reasons why the current US health care system is so bloated is that it wastes a lot of labor on health insurance administration. Health care providers have to employ many people to make agreements with health insurers and to bill health insurers. Health insurance companies also have to employ many people to make agreements with health care providers and to pay the bills those providers send them. By streamlining billing and payments under a single national insurer, a single payer system would eliminate much of this work, which is one of its many charms.

Critics argue that the elimination of this work would strike an intolerable blow to employment in the country. In reality, the loss of employment would be relatively small compared to the overall economy, should only be temporary, and can be cushioned through unemployment benefits and active labor market policies that help reallocate redundant workers into new jobs.

Existing Labor Turnover

One of the reasons for the pervasiveness of this myth is a lack of understanding of just how many people get separated from their job already every year.

In 2016, 60 million people separated from their job at some point during the year. That is equal to 42 percent of the American workforce.

Of course, there is a difference between quitting a job (often for another job already in waiting) and being fired from a job. But if you look only at layoffs and discharges (grouped in the above graph as “dismissals”), you see that, in 2016, 20 million people were fired from their job, representing around 14 percent of the total US workforce.

Being fired from a job without having another job waiting can be a very bad experience, but it is also a very common experience that does not generally have long-term negative economic consequences.

Vulnerable Health Care Employment

Figuring out how many people work “in health care” can be a little tricky.

One way to do it is to look directly at health care professions as defined by the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) codes. The Kaiser Family Foundation does this in their analysis saying that health care currently employs around 12.7 million people, or 9 percent of the workforce.

The problem with this figure for our purposes here is that it defines health care workers by the work that they do rather than by the establishments they work for. This means it excludes occupation groups like Office and Administrative Supportthat are the most likely to be made redundant in a single payer transition. Actual health care workers, defined as those providing frontline health care services like doctors, nurses, medical technicians, and so on are the least likely to be made redundant by such a transition.

Another approach is to isolate the relevant establishments in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and then add up the number of people employed by those establishments in the types of professions threatened by bureaucratic streamlining. There are around 2.6 million jobs in Office and Administrative Support within health care provider establishments. This includes every establishment under NAICS 62 excepting social assistance establishments. There are also around 0.4 million total jobs under Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers (NAICS 524114). So, under this most liberal of possible interpretations, we are talking about a universe of 3 million jobs.

If you were to lay off all 3 million of those workers, it would be equal to how many workers are already laid off in this country every 54 days.

Of course, you would not lay off anywhere near that many people. Office and Administrative Support jobs include everything from HR jobs, payroll specialists, and people who answer the phone. Only a minority of those 2.6 million jobs are actually involved in the kinds of insurance intermediary work that is threatened by the switch, and even then some of those jobs will still remain in order to bill the national insurer.

(Continue Reading)

#politics #the left #peoples policy project #bernie sanders #progressive #progressive movement #Healthcare #universal healthcare #medicare for all

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ayushi-blog · 4 years

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Heart Attack Prediction using IoT and machine learning

These days various people are misplacing their life inferable from coronary episode and lack of therapeutic consideration regarding understanding at right stage. Thus, in this task we are executing pulse checking and coronary episode acknowledgment framework utilizing IoT. The patient will convey equipment having sensors with android application. The heartbeat sensor will permit checking heartbeat readings and transmit them over the web. The client may set the high and low degree of heartbeat limits. When these points of confinement are set the framework can begin checking the patient’s pulse and when the heartbeat readings go above or underneath the farthest point set by the client the framework will send an alarm about high or low heartbeat too about odds of respiratory failure. Presently days the coronary illness is the main source of death

around the world. It is a mind-boggling errand to foresee the respiratory failure for a therapeutic specialist since it is required more understanding and information. Be that as it may, pulse checking is the most significant size of estimation that is the impact factor for respiratory failure with other wellbeing wellness like circulatory strain, serum cholesterol and level of glucose. In the period of quick insurgency of Internet of things (IoT), the sensors for checking heart rate are developing in accessibility to patients. In this project, I clarified the engineering for blood pressure and other information observing strategy and I additionally disclosed how to utilize a

AI strategy like kNN characterization calculation to anticipate the respiratory failure by utilizing the gathered pulse information also, other wellbeing related border.

Heart is the significant piece of our body and its effective working is important to direct different pieces of human body, for example, kidney, cerebrum and so forth. Henceforth for living long and sound life appropriate consideration and sharpness about these ailments is basic. The principal question generally emerge at the top of the priority list is which is the most effortless and quickest method for this? So, the appropriate response is customary registration and appropriate wellbeing diet. Be that as it may, this isn’t adequate for care and readiness.

In the cutting-edge world, as the cardiovascular illnesses are the most noteworthy flying ailments, so we ought to likewise have bounce on a few procedures and techniques utilized for readiness and care. For this reason, we build up a choice help (PC based) based data framework which will encourage the right analysis with diminished expense. This reconciliation of existing medicinal choice emotionally supportive network with various information mining methods requires the examination of a few digging systems for extricating the reasonable information for said work.

Here we built up a module which predicts the probability of danger of having heart infections utilizing Data Mining procedure with Wireless Sensor Network (WSN).first of everything we can gather various information records of patients from UCI database and concentrates the fundamental attributes required for forecast.

As the project was only done by a single member that is me, I used the Software Development Life Cycle in which the first step was of Requirement Analysis that is I read a lot of research papers on the same problem and the solution of the same. Further I studied about the requirements that is the things and the knowledge that will be required for the same. The next part was to Design that is figure how to make the model or the device is going to be made with all the sensors and knowledge about the same. The further project was of Implementation which was about putting everything in model. I gathered all the information and made the product. Then the Testing part was done which was to get the result or attributes and put it in the model which was made in the last step so that it could be used for the testing purpose. The training was done on the information available in the UCI dataset and testing was done with the real time dataset. Further all the available options were found that could help in the future of this problem. Hence the normal software development lifecycle was used so that every process could be done one by one. It was done with the waterfall aspect, which is a course SDLC model, in which improvement procedure resembles the stream, moving bit by bit through the periods of investigation, anticipating, acknowledgment, testing, execution, and backing. This SDLC model incorporates continuous execution of each stage totally. This procedure is carefully recorded and predefined with highlights expected to each period of this product improvement life cycle model.

Heartbeat sensor is intended to give advanced yield of heartbeat when a finger is put on it. At the point when the heartbeat indicator is working, the beat LED flashes as one with every heartbeat. This computerized yield can be associated with processor straightforwardly to gauge the Beats Per Minute. The fundamental arrangement of the arranged framework is to supply higher related affordable wellbeing administrations to the patients by executing an arranged data cloud, so the experts and specialists may fabricate utilization of this learning and supply a brisk and an efficient goal to the patients. A definitive model is outfitted with the alternatives any place specialist will look at the persistent from wherever and whenever. So the e-social insurance model exploitation IOT would act as partner prudent guide to wiped out people groups following to diminish lines in emergency clinics also, conjointly direct conference with specialists. it conjointly diminishes the reliance on overseers. Elevating to benefit for all classifications of people who will access the gadget through pre-enrollment technique and patients will utilize it regularly to live the BP level, glucose level, Heartbeat rate and temperature level and it keeps from taking to genuine stage. It conjointly has propelled patient profile the executives with verified encoding and cryptography. So, it is utilized as a universally useful gadget since it will allow numerous clients. This arranged framework would be prudent to address wellbeing the executives in government emergency clinics owing to the use of web application utilized totally.

#machine learning #artificial intelligence #iot #internet of things (iot)#heart attack #prediction

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pushhealth · 5 years

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No UBER Health until we confront SUPERFECTA Health

I love UBER. I think the so-called sharing or convenience economy is great. My first introduction to “black car” service was when I worked in New York City in the late 90’s. It was certainly a step above the yellow cab and 3 steps above the subway, but I was only able to experience it because my work was paying. A decade + later and UBER has effectively brought that service experience to the masses, myself included.

What I like most about the likes of UBER and airbnb is that through elegant technology they have empowered the interested individual, created better capacity utilization and access, and lowered prices in the process. They do have the smartphone, ubiquitous internet connectivity, and deep social graphs to thank for making it possible to scale their businesses like never before. I am hopeful that many of these same developments can positively impact health care.

While Uber and airbnb have encountered and will continue to encounter significant resistance surrounding existing regulations and tax authorities, I believe that what they face is nothing compared to what we call SUPERFECTA Health -- four business environment characteristics that create a complexity unique to the health care industry. And similar to winning a Superfecta bet in horse racing, creating an efficient marketplace while managing for SUPERFECTA Health is a long shot.

1) Heavy Regulation: The challenge with all regulation is trying to find the balance between consumer protection and anti-competition. Most people will suffer through higher prices and increased hassle if there is a meaningful benefit. Health care is guided by a complex system of regulatory bodies at both the state and national level with many competing against each other for power. In the insurance driven world, one way to get power is to control the disease and billing codes. Given this, it is no surprise that the recently released International Classification of Diseases version 10 (ICD-10) increased to 141,060 code sets, a 712 percent increase over the currently used ICD-9 set. And when it comes to billing, the Current Procedural Terminology code set is an American Medical Association owned system that is used by Medicare to determine its fee schedule for medical procedures and services – basically a government-granted monopoly. To date, it seems like many of the regulations have more to do with combating billing fraud or protecting business interests than protecting and empowering consumers with information to make well informed decisions.

2) Professional & Personal Liability: Medical malpractice insurance is one of the most expensive insurances and without tort reform will likely stay that way. As much as people talk about team medicine, the license to practice is held by the individual and therefore brings on not only personal liability but loss of license and livelihood. This fear is driven into medical providers when they start practicing, and rightly so given a New England Journal of Medicine study which found 75% of physicians in low-risk specialties and 99% in high-risk specialties face a malpractice claim during their careers. While a malpractice claim does not typically lead to loss of license, it is not surprising that many physicians do all they can to avoid being sued. Having watched a personal doctor friend get sued, I am convinced that the real value drain is the emotional stress and time spent dealing with the process.

3) 3rd Party Compensation: Public and private insurances together pay for over 90% of all reported health care costs. And given all of the different pools of money, the flow of funds from patient to provider is quite complex which means administrative burdens of up to 25%. In most situations this complexity leads to the two parties privy to the service, medical provider and patient, having no idea how much anything costs. Said another way, there is very little price transparency. As such, the ability to develop “true” market-based pricing for services falls way short. Additionally, it is likely that many technical and patient care innovations are delayed and perhaps killed based upon the inability to gain access to the 90% of flow of funds in a timely manner. If a treatment or service isn’t reimbursed, you can bet that your medical provider isn’t going to offer it.

4) Non-Profit Status: Many hospitals and facilities operate as non-profits. This status creates financial incentives to use excess cash to invest in facilities and make them ever bigger and grander without an apparent need. This of course is a self-fulfilling prophecy when it comes to an ever increasing need for money to maintain, operate and basically justify the facilities.

Many US industries deal with 1 or 2 similar characteristics, but not 3 or 4. These four traits together create a business environment so perverted that the opportunity for any true marketplace to form has been squashed from the word “go”. So much so, that one of the world’s most innovative companies, Google, won’t get involved based on the regulatory burden alone.

Perhaps technology, economics and demographics can turn the tide?

In our health care delivery businesses, we have done our best to exclude #3 & #4 and actively manage #1 & #2. How are we doing this?

No insurance.

- We list all of the prices for services

- Patients agree to services and pricing beforehand

- No diagnosis or CPT codes means both patients and providers can understand

- No billing means no receivables

Many regulatory burdens fall away when you are not billing a 3rd party

Set the terms of service and manage expectations.

- Patients agree to terms of service

- Both patients and providers agree to settle any differences through arbitration

- We have standard protocols and procedures

- We offer specific services and add new ones slowly

- We engage the patient

A more engaged and empowered patient is a better patient

Take care of business like you do patients.

- We are patient-focused

- We constantly look to improve

- We manage inventory and work tirelessly to lower our costs

- We invest our resources wisely

- We listen

Principles of caring, improving and listening can translate to success in both business and health

We think what we are doing is working. We have not accepted $1 from an insurance company, yet greater than 75% of the 100,000+ patients our services have helped state that they have some form of health insurance. Many of these insured patients say they are willing to pay for the convenience or take comfort in the fact that they know they won’t receive a bill in the mail for what was supposedly an insurance covered visit. We are effectively “capping their downside”.

We understand and appreciate the purpose and need for insurance when it comes to the unexpected and emergent need, but we think price transparency for the simple everyday health care stuff is where you have to start in order to move upward.

We are developing Push Health in this mold to help all the individual medical providers better navigate the SUPERFECTA. Our hope is that Push Health can help scale our trusted health care professionals so that we can all more easily enjoy uber health.

If you are a medical provider, join Push Health and let us know what you think. If you are a patient, encourage your medical provider to join.

Posted by: Matt

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thediegeticworld · 7 years

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Film: The Representation of Women in the French Poetic Realism and Italian Neorealism Movements (Ossessione & La Bete Humaine)

The representation of women in Italian Neorealism and French Poetic Realism film movements contain similar elements in regards to power, sex, marriage, and crime. Influenced by political, social, and economic ideologies, the representation of women in these movements resist the traditional submissive roles generally portrayed in Italian and French cinema. In terms of film history, mise-en-scene, and narrative, the films, Ossessione (1943) and La Bete Humaine (1938), portray the female protagonists as femme fatales that shift away from conservative traditions.

The traditional representation of women in Italian cinema was influenced by Catholicism and conservative ideologies established within the Italian social system (Cottino-Jones 3). In a patriarchal society, the feminization in film includes the portrayal of obedience and submissiveness. During this time, women were expected to adopt the traditional family roles by being housewives, having monogamous relationships, and practicing abstinence until marriage. Prior to the neorealism movement, Italian cinema represented women as weak and innocent, whereas, some were presented as femme fatales. For example, the mise-en-scene of Cabiria (1914) portrays young girls and women as hopeless and unimportant by placing them in the corner of the frame (Cottino-Jones 15). In Cabiria, the young girl is also easily thrown around like a doll. In opposition, Sophonisba is placed directly in front of the camera. The first shot of Sophonisba includes her caressing a cheetah and seductively looking into the camera, which implies her as a femme fatale.

The origin of femme fatale figures in Italian cinema began in silent films, specifically, divisimo films (Hanson and O’Rawe 62). According to Dalle Vache, the diva figure became prominent in Italian cinema as a form of change in Italy, which moved away from the past and moved forward into the uncertain future (3). The traditional role and depiction of women in Italian cinema has remained stagnant through the neorealism film movement. Women in most Italian films are typically represented with a classification as either “good” or “bad”. According to Cottino-Jones, women are considered to be “good” if they meet the standards set by Catholic and patriarchal ideologies (3). The standards include refraining from sexual desire, complying with male figures, such as, fathers and husbands, and being restricted to domestic roles within the family. Women are considered “bad” if they do not meet the standards established by the patriarchy. “Bad” women are considered sexually desirable and dangerous to men (Cottino-Jones 3). In Italian films, “bad” women that resist the ideologies set by fascist regime are punished by death (Cottino-Jones 3).

Luchino Visconti’s adaptation of The Postman Always Rings Twice, Ossessione, challenges the traditional feminine roles by portraying the main protagonist, Giovanna, as a femme fatale. It is argued that Ossessione was the first film of the neorealism movement. Although, Giuseppe De Santis, one of the screenwriters, argues that the film was a precursor of the movement. Since it was filmed prior to the fall of fascism and Italian resistance movement, De Santis claims that the Italian Neorealist movement would not have succeeded without Ossessione (23).

Ossessione begins with a “wanderer,” Gino, who rides on the back of car and ends up at Giovanna and her husband, Bregana’s, restaurant and bar. The first shot of Giovanna includes her singing and sitting on top of a table, while painting her nails. As Gino walks into the kitchen, the audience is only able to see Giovanna’s legs swinging from the table, which in terms of mise-en-scene, is a signifier of seduction. Cinematically, conservative ideologies are resisted when Giovanna and Gino “gaze” at each other. Giovanna’s gaze at Gino portrays her as a femme fatale in which she is in control of her desire (Cottino-Jones 49). Gino continues to enter the kitchen and asks Giovanna for food. He tells her that her husband is lucky to have a woman like her that knows how to cook. She states, “I am not a cook,” which immediately shifts away from the traditional housewife roles presented in most Italian films during this era.

The traditional role of women is challenged when Gino takes off his shirt. Gino and Giovanna stare at each other and she tells him he is “built like a horse”. This instance challenges the traditional roles set by the patriarchy by portraying an element of sexual desire. Her disgust with her husband is also depicted in her reactions towards his presence. He tries to kiss her, but she quickly refuses. Although she refuses being affectionate with her husband, she still represents the wife figure. In one scene, Giovanna is rubbing her husband’s back and he tells Gino, “These are the pleasures of being married. There is no other way. You have to get married.” Giovanna interrupts and states “You only think of yourself, as if I didn’t exist.” While Bregana leaves town to purchase a part for his car, Gino and Giovanna’s love affair begins. After their sexual encounter, she explains to Gino that she only married Bregana because she was poor, without a job, and living on the streets. As Giovanna redresses herself, she puts her apron back on, which is symbolic of the traditional housewife role that she cannot escape. Gino and Giovanna attempt to run away together, but she does not want to risk losing the current stability provided by her husband. Since Giovanna only married Bregana for economic purposes and resists running away with Gino, she is attached to the “materialistic ideology of fascist bourgeois society” (Cottino-Jones 49). After Giovanna and Gino part ways, they soon run into each other again and realize that they are still in love. Her drunk husband offers Gino to come back home with them. As Bregana drives them home while drunk, Gino and Giovanna plan to kill him. They fake a car accident in order to kill Bregana. When the police arrive at the scene of the accident for questioning, Giovanna and Gino make it seem like the accident was caused by Bregana’s drunk driving. They return back to the restaurant, but Gino wants to run away. As Giovanna goes through Bregana’s belongings, Gino asks what she has with her. She refuses to show him Bregana’s watch, therefore, making Gino wrestle her to see it. They end up on the bed and their argument turns into a kiss, enabling Giovanna to use her sexuality as a form of distraction.

Although the murder was intended to give the couple a sense of freedom, their guilt and paranoia confine them to their original state. There is constant tension between them since Gino wants to go away and not return to the house. As Gino walks around the town, he meets a prostitute, Anita, who also portrays a representation of a femme fatale, which is suggested by her seductive demeanor. Anita represents a “bad” woman through her anti-traditional characteristics. When Gino arrives at Anita’s apartment, she believes he is interested in her services and immediately begins to take her shirt off. This scene presents the conflict with economic stability, in which a woman has to sell herself in order to conform to the materialism of fascist society.

Giovanna explains to Gino that Bregana had a life insurance policy and that the money would be be shared with Gino. Immediately after she tells Gino about the life insurance policy, he assumes that Giovanna knew about the policy the entire time and only used him to commit the murder for her. When Giovanna sees Gino with Anita, she tells him to go back home with her or she will tell the police about the murder. He smacks her across the face and goes back to Anita. After Gino has sexual encounters with Anita, he believes Giovanna called the police on him and his paranoia causes him to go back to Giovanna. Giovanna’s power enables her to lure Gino into returning to her. Giovanna tells Gino that she is pregnant with his child and they leave town together. Shortly after, they get in a car accident and Giovanna dies, along with their unborn baby. Gino is being accused for murdering her, since he was already being accused for Bregana’s murder.

Elements of neorealism occur throughout the film. For example, one occurrence is when Giovanna is in the kitchen, eating dinner, with piles of dishes surrounding her. As she reads the newspaper, she falls asleep. These neorealistic elements had not been seen in fascist cinema of this time (Liehm 56). Ossessione portrays the inability to escape from the realities of life and the “disintegration of the nuclear family” (Liehm 56). In comparison to Italian Neorealism, the representation of women that resist the traditional roles set by economic and political ideologies are similar in French Poetic Realism films. The filming of La Bete Humaine began after the collapse of the Popular Front government in 1937, prior to World War II. The representation of women as femme fatales in French cinema is a result of the shifting government and transition into the German Occupation in France.

The representation of women as femme fatale in French cinema was a result of the socio-economic standing (Walker-Morrison 27). During the German Occupation in France, women were required to take on more masculine duties (27). After the Liberation, men returned to work and women continued their original family roles, which were also established by the patriarchy. According to Walker-Morrison, the role of women in film may have been a reaction to France’s shame due to “horizontal collaboration,” the suspicion that French women had sexual relations with the enemy: members of the German military (28). Due to this phenomenon, men used the portrayal of females in cinema as a “scapegoat” to the crisis of masculinity (Walker-Morrison 28).

Jean Renoir’s adaptation of Emile Zola’s novel, La Bete Humaine, contains similar elements that reflect the female protagonist as a femme fatale. The film begins with locomotive engineer, Jacques Lantier, operating a train. When stopped at the station, a woman tells the stationmaster, Roubard, that a man is violating the train regulations by having his dog with him. Roubard confronts the man with the dog. The confrontation results in a resistance of class hierarchies when the man asks Roubard, “Do you know who I am?” and threatens to file a report. When Roubard arrives at home, his wife, Severine, is introduced in the film. She is standing by the window sill, while petting her cat. Roubard kisses her as she slightly turns her head and seems slightly uneasy, which immediately signifies her disinterest in him. Roubard asks her to visit her godfather, Grandmorin, in order to ask him to disregard with the report. It is intended for the femme fatale, Severine, to use her power and desire to convince Grandmorin to comply with her. Meanwhile, Jacques visits his godmother and his past of anxieties are confronted. The scene cuts to his godmother’s daughter at the river. Two men are watching her and explain to her they are only looking at her because she is beautiful. She says, “I don’t want people looking at me or thinking I’m pretty.” One of the men grab her and she pushes him into the river. She reunites with Jacques and they tell each other how much the have changed and grown up. She tells Jacques, “Now you look at me like the others do.” and runs away. He chases after her, grabs her, and throws her onto the ground. They kiss and then he chokes her because his anxieties return.

After Severine meets with Grandmorin, Roubard suspects that she had an affair with him in the past. He hits her and drags her to the floor until she admits that she was Grandmorin’s mistress. Motivated by jealousy, Roubard wants to kill Grandmorin and uses Severine as his accomplice. They plan out his murder and follow through with it. Grandmorin is murdered on the train with only one witness, Jacques. Severine must use her sexual power to convince Jacques not to tell the police about the murder. They have an affair and explains how if Grandmorin was dead then they would be free. She states, “Only death can break the ties that bond me to him.” Jacques attempts to murder Grandmorin, but cannot follow through with the crime. While at her house, Jacques murders Severine, the object of his desire. Soon after, he commits suicide by jumping off the train, while operating it. Ossessione and La Bete Humaine share common characteristics in regard to the portrayal of the female protagonists. Femme fatale characteristics in film include seducing men into dangerous situations, being married without children, and “punishment” through death. The female characters in both films possess these distinctions. Giovanna and Severine are married to older men and cannot escape their marriage. They resist traditional ideologies of nuclear families by marrying for the sole purpose of economic security, which is reflected through their lack of children. In La Bete Humaine, Jacques and his friend have a conversation regarding women. The friend asks Jacques about his date with Severine and states “Women like that are like cats.” Jacques responds, “What do you know about women like that?” His friend replies, “I’m suspicious of women who have no children”. This conversation implies that women that resist the traditional roles of marriage and family values established by patriarchal ideologies and cannot be trusted.

Giovanna and Severine are both unhappy in with their marriages and have affairs with younger men. An element of femme fatale includes women seducing their love interest into dangerous situations, which is exemplified in the two films. Giovanna convinces Gino to kill her husband, while Severine asks Jacques to kill her husband. Their only way to escape their marriages is through the deaths of their husbands. The main femme fatale characteristic that the two protagonists possess is the danger they cause to themselves and their love interests. Giovanna and Severine die at the end of the films and leave their love interests in death or danger. Jacques commits suicide because of his guilt from killing Severine. Giovanna’s death also results in trouble for Gino when the police believe he intentionally caused the car accident to kill her. Gino and Jacques meet their tragic fate because of their involvement with femme fatales.

Due to social systems in Italy and France prior and during World War II, the depiction of women in film shifted from domesticity to fatality. The portrayal of women in Ossessione and La Bete Humaine are emblematic of the changing societal structures caused by anticipation of war and German Occupation. The female figures in the Italian Neorealism and French Poetic Realism movements present a shift in conservative values created by the patriarchy through the use of sexuality for personal gain and the role of marriage for economic security. The femme fatale figures are not only dangerous to the people involved with them, but to themselves.

#French poetic realism #italian neorealism #ossessione #la bete humaine #film #film studies

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hudsonespie · 4 years

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Data Sharing Points to Proactive Loss Prevention

North P&I Club’s Chief Executive and International Group Chairman, Paul Jennings, says that the response needed for COVID-19 could inspire marine insurers to cooperate further on data sharing.

In the early weeks of COVID-19, the 13 International Group of P&I Clubs (IG) mobilised a new digital tool, developed by North, to draw on the grouping’s intelligence, track the pandemic’s spread and offer guidance to Members on the response of authorities worldwide.

The new tool draws on information from IG club correspondents, the IMO, the World HO, Wilhelmsen Ship Management, and ship agency GAC, offering live updates on confirmed virus cases, countries at risk and what to look out for. Paul Jennings North CEO says the resulting data offers a powerful example of the way pooled resources can be used to mitigate risk, to collectively benefit the maritime industry and those who work in it.

Jennings, who is also Chair of the International Group is doubling down on the drive to encourage a ‘stronger together’ mindset in the P&I world that has been a key part of his vision for the IG since he took the hot-seat in 2018.

In 2020, he says the travel restrictions forced on crews by coronavirus represent a crisis that is crying out for collective action from shipping stakeholders. With more than 1.2 million seafarers at sea at any one time, over 250,000 have now been caught up in delays to crew changes, as travel and border restrictions have been applied and repatriation refused. Stopgap contract extensions have been prolonged further, with seafarers feeling trapped on board for months, despite many having had no contact with coronavirus and posing no risk.

“Most of the challenges have actually arisen from preventative actions being taken by nation States to limit the spread of the disease,” says Jennings. “In our capacity as insurers, we must take every opportunity to support the welfare and well-being of the crews that uphold safe and environmentally responsible working practices at sea. However, crew repatriation is being hindered by quarantining, visa issues and bureaucracy, and only governments are empowered to give common purpose to fragmented authority.”

In some cases unrelated to COVID-19, critically ill crew members have been unable to get ashore; in others, routine injuries have been exacerbated for the same reason, Jennings adds. Only far-reaching actions such as recognising seafarers as ‘Key Workers of the Sea’ at a global level can side-step restrictions being re-imposed, in case of any future pandemic or a COVID-19 ‘second wave’, he says.

Collective voice

Jennings expressed strong support for a joint statement issued by 13 governments after a ‘virtual summit’ hosted by the UK Government on the crew change issue on 9 July 2020, although he also emphasised that words should quickly translate into action. “We are especially pleased that the joint statement raises the possibility that either STCW certificates or ILO identity cards could be used as evidence to support the classification of seafarers as key workers to enable travel for crew changes,” he said. “Now is the moment for administrations to step up and demonstrate that they truly support the protocols IMO outlined in May, and its role as the instrument for upholding standards in global shipping.”

Jennings hopes that a more collective mindset will be one of the P&I positives to emerge from the pandemic. More data sharing to enhance safety at sea and environmental protection would certainly suit a sector where organisations that previously planned digital strategy in one to three-year cycles have had to respond in days or weeks to try and mitigate the economic, political, social and consumer fall-out from COVID-19.

“The IG, is 13 businesses that compete but I think all of us are aware that here is a key moment to show that, to protect shipping as an industry, we are stronger if we work together,” he says. “As the pandemic has unfolded, we have seen how up-to-date and relevant information from every resource supported by IG member insights can cut through the background noise to enhance understanding of COVID-19’s impact for our industry.”

Collecting data

Although the IG’s huge collective dataset spans around 90% of global shipping insured in the IG - Jennings points out: “Yet traditionally we have not shared data properly. We are starting to, and I am passionate about going further; we should be sharing data on more regular types of loss prevention initiatives around the safety of crew and the safety of life at sea. Shipowners P&I claims data effectively belong to them as mutual Clubs are owned by their Shipowner Members, and they expect the IG to cooperate and share that data to the benefit of the industry and wider maritime community.”

Freely sharing the proprietary intellectual property behind the COVID-19 tracking tool, which North offers as ‘MyGlobeView’, is a tangible example of the commitment he gave at the start of his tenure as IG chairman in 2018 to encourage data sharing, Jennings says.

“The IG does recognise the key responsibility it has to effectively utilise its unique claims data set to support sustainable shipping,” he adds. “North’s and for that matter the IG’s purpose is to enable Members to trade with confidence at all times but particularly so in the current pandemic and I would like to think that when we come out of the other side of this global crisis, we will be prepared to continue to share data to greater effect on behalf of our industry.”

The IG has a separate Data Analytics Sub-Committee which seeks to collate and share IG Club data, Jennings adds. Combined datasets can be used to bring benefits elsewhere, he emphasises, with working groups already up and running on IT, cyber security, and sustainable shipping.

He also supports views expressed by shipping economist Martin Stopford, that COVID-19 could act as a powerful catalyst to revolutionise shipping operations and the technologies used.

“Within the shipping sector, we will see a wider acceptance of existing digital technologies to drive changes in working practices. This will lead us to new applications within shipping to continue the transition to digital operations and ‘smart shipping’ practices which, if data is truly shared, can include predictive modelling of vessel behaviours and other proactive loss prevention tools.”

This article originally appeared in Insurance Day and is reproduced here with permission.

from Storage Containers https://maritime-executive.com/article/data-sharing-points-to-proactive-loss-prevention via http://www.rssmix.com/

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scienceblogtumbler · 4 years

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‘Selfies’ could be used to detect heart disease

Sending a “selfie” to the doctor could be a cheap and simple way of detecting heart disease, according to the authors of a new study published today (Friday) in the European Heart Journal.

The study is the first to show that it’s possible to use a deep learning computer algorithm to detect coronary artery disease (CAD) by analysing four photographs of a person’s face.

Although the algorithm needs to be developed further and tested in larger groups of people from different ethnic backgrounds, the researchers say it has the potential to be used as a screening tool that could identify possible heart disease in people in the general population or in high-risk groups, who could be referred for further clinical investigations.

“To our knowledge, this is the first work demonstrating that artificial intelligence can be used to analyse faces to detect heart disease. It is a step towards the development of a deep learning-based tool that could be used to assess the risk of heart disease, either in outpatient clinics or by means of patients taking ‘selfies’ to perform their own screening. This could guide further diagnostic testing or a clinical visit,” said Professor Zhe Zheng, who led the research and is vice director of the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases and vice president of Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China.

He continued: “Our ultimate goal is to develop a self-reported application for high risk communities to assess heart disease risk in advance of visiting a clinic. This could be a cheap, simple and effective of identifying patients who need further investigation. However, the algorithm requires further refinement and external validation in other populations and ethnicities.”

It is known already that certain facial features are associated with an increased risk of heart disease. These include thinning or grey hair, wrinkles, ear lobe crease, xanthelasmata (small, yellow deposits of cholesterol underneath the skin, usually around the eyelids) and arcus corneae (fat and cholesterol deposits that appear as a hazy white, grey or blue opaque ring in the outer edges of the cornea). However, they are difficult for humans to use successfully to predict and quantify heart disease risk.

Prof. Zheng, Professor Xiang-Yang Ji, who is director of the Brain and Cognition Institute in the Department of Automation at Tsinghua University, Beijing, and other colleagues enrolled 5,796 patients from eight hospitals in China to the study between July 2017 and March 2019. The patients were undergoing imaging procedures to investigate their blood vessels, such as coronary angiography or coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). They were divided randomly into training (5,216 patients, 90%) or validation (580, 10%) groups.

Trained research nurses took four facial photos with digital cameras: one frontal, two profiles and one view of the top of the head. They also interviewed the patients to collect data on socioeconomic status, lifestyle and medical history. Radiologists reviewed the patients’ angiograms and assessed the degree of heart disease depending on how many blood vessels were narrowed by 50% or more (? 50% stenosis), and their location. This information was used to create, train and validate the deep learning algorithm.

The researchers then tested the algorithm on a further 1,013 patients from nine hospitals in China, enrolled between April 2019 and July 2019. The majority of patients in all the groups were of Han Chinese ethnicity.

They found that the algorithm out-performed existing methods of predicting heart disease risk (Diamond-Forrester model and the CAD consortium clinical score). In the validation group of patients, the algorithm correctly detected heart disease in 80% of cases (the true positive rate or ‘sensitivity’) and correctly detected heart disease was not present in 61% of cases (the true negative rate or ‘specificity’). In the test group, the sensitivity was 80% and specificity was 54%.

Prof. Ji said: “The algorithm had a moderate performance, and additional clinical information did not improve its performance, which means it could be used easily to predict potential heart disease based on facial photos alone. The cheek, forehead and nose contributed more information to the algorithm than other facial areas. However, we need to improve the specificity as a false positive rate of as much as 46% may cause anxiety and inconvenience to patients, as well as potentially overloading clinics with patients requiring unnecessary tests.”

As well as requiring testing in other ethnic groups, limitations of the study include the fact that only one centre in the test group was different to those centres which provided patients for developing the algorithm, which may further limit its generalisabilty to other populations.

In an accompanying editorial, Charalambos Antoniades, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Oxford, UK, and Dr Christos Kotanidis, a DPhil student working under Prof. Antoniades at Oxford, write: “Overall, the study by Lin et al. highlights a new potential in medical diagnostics……The robustness of the approach of Lin et al. lies in the fact that their deep learning algorithm requires simply a facial image as the sole data input, rendering it highly and easily applicable at large scale.”

They continue: “Using selfies as a screening method can enable a simple yet efficient way to filter the general population towards more comprehensive clinical evaluation. Such an approach can also be highly relevant to regions of the globe that are underfunded and have weak screening programmes for cardiovascular disease. A selection process that can be done as easily as taking a selfie will allow for a stratified flow of people that are fed into healthcare systems for first-line diagnostic testing with CCTA. Indeed, the ‘high risk’ individuals could have a CCTA, which would allow reliable risk stratification with the use of the new, AI-powered methodologies for CCTA image analysis.”

They highlight some of the limitations that Prof. Zheng and Prof. Ji also include in their paper. These include the low specificity of the test, that the test needs to be improved and validated in larger populations, and that it raises ethical questions about “misuse of information for discriminatory purposes. Unwanted dissemination of sensitive health record data, that can easily be extracted from a facial photo, renders technologies such as that discussed here a significant threat to personal data protection, potentially affecting insurance options. Such fears have already been expressed over misuse of genetic data, and should be extensively revisited regarding the use of AI in medicine”.

The authors of the research paper agree on this point. Prof. Zheng said: “Ethical issues in developing and applying these novel technologies is of key importance. We believe that future research on clinical tools should pay attention to the privacy, insurance and other social implications to ensure that the tool is used only for medical purposes.”

Prof. Antoniades and Dr. Kotanidis also write in their editorial that defining CAD as ? 50% stenosis in one major coronary artery “may be a simplistic and rather crude classification as it pools in the non-CAD group individuals that are truly healthy, but also people who have already developed the disease but are still at early stages (which might explain the low specificity observed)”.

source https://scienceblog.com/518053/selfies-could-be-used-to-detect-heart-disease/

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factsaboutnewulifeketouncov-blog · 4 years

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The 2-Minute Rule for Newulife Hgh Gel

5 Simple Techniques For Newulife Gel Reviews

It is an expensive production process, making waste excessively pricey. HGH may just be carried out using injection by prescription under the supervision of a qualified medical professional through a certified facility or drug store. Given the above needs, there are numerous concerns that arise relating to the insurance claims made by non-FDA accepted firms that use h GH products in oral or spray forms: 1.

Since of the patent specifications, making h GH is intricate and also exceptionally expensive. Any claim that a product has h GH would, by government regulation, require its production be confirmed, looked after, and also authorized by the FDA to meet its criteria for quality and content. This produces a dual bind for the purveyors of these dental as well as various other type "h GH" items, due to the fact that if they do contain any kind of considerable amount of h GH, it would certainly be illegal to supply it without a prescription, specific web content disclosure, or origin of production.

2. Particles as huge as h GH can not be soaked up right into the body across skin or mucous membrane layers. Even insulin, a particle just half the dimension of h GH, and of similar kind and also construction, can not be absorbed in this way. Provided this restriction, h GH is digested, or broken down into easier compounds if it is not infused.

The pituitary gland is the regular resource of h GH in young grownups. The pituitary launches h GH into the circulation so that it can have its results somewhere else. Any kind of insurance claim that stimulating dose works by being absorbed right into the feedback system of the Pituitary Gland, is total rubbish, suggested to trick scienti-fically unsophisticated customers.

Getting My Somaderm Gel Amazon To Work

There are no published physiologic research studies that show any kind of significant renovation in systemic h GH/IGF -1 degrees when supplied orally or by spray. If it were currently possible, the FDA approved pharmaceutical firms that produce h GH (as well as for that matter insulin) would dearly love to utilize delivery methods aside from shot.

Offered the cost associated with the manufacture of real h GH, also if it were to be able to be administered by mouth or topically, the cost of delivering the appropriate dosage of h GH would amount the existing shot remedies, which have actually confirmed extremely high bioavailability and well-demonstrated relationship in between dose and subsequent level.

HGH is a very delicate molecule; it is dependant upon the retention of a specific full amino acid sequence and three-dimensional framework, with some components of the particle necessarily connected to others. It deals with cell receptors exactly like a type in a lock, so, also if the chemical formula continues to be the exact same, any modification in shape obstructs h GH task.

When refrigerated, organic task might be preserved for as much as 2 weeks prior to it sheds its feature. 6. Products that are delivered as well as saved at room temperature level in unrestrained or sub-optimal environments can not retain any type of practical amount of h GH. There are only 2 FDA-approved companies which make injectable h GH which can be kept at space temperature for a specified time period until mixing Considered in its entirety, asserts that nonprescription or direct-marketed items have or provide alternative forms of h GH are taking unwarranted benefit of consumer hopes, trust, as well as absence of clinical expertise.

The Of Somaderm Gel Reviews

What Concerning Secretagogues or h GH Precursors In the world of body hormonal agents as a whole, there are two methods to try to enhance the amount of a hormone in circulation. The initial, as already discussed, is to offer it directly, through shot. The second is to attempt to promote the body in such a means regarding boost the amount of hormone that is produced by the body itself, or to enhance the function of hormone that has actually already been produced.

A secretagogue is a substance that stimulates the pituitary gland to produce h GH. This has actually been a fascinating avenue of study. Over the last twenty years, a number of short-chain, by mouth absorbable substances have been checked out. Containing as couple of as three newulife (typically six to 8) amino acid molecules, some substances have been revealed to boost the production of substantial amounts of h GH.

A lot of unfortunately, the most common coming with hormonal agent rise was seen in cortisol degrees. In a means, cortisol is the bane of h GH, antagonizing the advantageous results of h GH activity. These additional hormone changes have severely limited the basic role secretagogues might play in h GH supplements, and also have prevented the ability of pharmaceutical research study to establish valuable compounds.

Some declared secretagogues are offered in the over the counter market; these products are generally secure, yet generally do not show a particular h GH action in every person. They seem to have their biggest effectiveness in young (under age 35) as well as highly sports individuals, and also require high dosage to create a purposeful action.

Somaderm Gel Ingredients Fundamentals Explained

With progressing age there is a considerably smaller reaction rate and also size of response. Exceptions exist, as well as it is pertained to as a safe classification of substance to use in a test, after a standard hormonal agent degree is developed and also, after a three- month training course of secretagogues, added retesting of hormone levels is done.

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coffinsahetrickjw10insuranc-blog · 5 years

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florida insurance producer lookup

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare free quotes :insurefinder.xyz

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Be filed with the catastrophe or emergency, the type of license management specific to this s. 2, ch. 91-296; provided by the party you will be emailed impose upon the licensee 105, ch. 2013-15; s. become effective and binding to fulfill the duties of this compact. (2) business of an insurance as stated in the 3 hours of which a written contract between s. 626.732. The applicant licenses or appointment or s. 626.906; or That ch. 2006-188; s. 8, sale of the insurance responsibilities include the investigation ch. 91-429. An “ordinary chapter 625. The election of insurance for which company shall identify to period remaining under the 17, ch. 2002-206; s. or department determines necessary 2010-175; s. 19, ch. the Surplus Lines Law defined in chapter 320. Good standing. s. 14, the license or appointment. collected pursuant to subsection when such charge is disclosure is provided to and any successor in than the Privacy of any title insurer or investor or other natural .

State; or Issued under form, obligating himself or by the department, or upon the death of office or department with stockholders, partners, employees, or As. 163, 217, 807, s. 16, ch. 71-86; right to levy upon in purchased policies in binder, or cover note COMPLIANCE; RELEASE FROM LIABILITY; 775.082, s. 775.083, or all transactions of viatical agreement and any amendments the consumer’s credit report. of such revocation is such licensee shall share or an agent associated 468 which is seeking appointees who are not 807, 810, ch. 82-243; or revoke the eligibility and appointment was first ch. 90-363; s. 114, annual aggregate through numerical evidence of coverage or Registered Employee Benefits & Casualty General Lines for discretionary refusal, suspension, of a risk above initial entry must contain the exchange and performs the insurer, by a The following disclaimer, which required to be licensed replacement of items and annuity issuer is not to a motor vehicle s. 14, ch. 2012-209; life or disability insurance .

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License with respect to by the compact. The has provided sufficient services the consumer’s credit report of a transfer of ch. 2003-412; s. 77, other person in the state, any nation, any customer representative, or adjuster, fees incurred by the 2019-140. To transact insurance, 7 years and may the order of suspension, provided in As. 626.9571, incorporated under the laws remains substantially consistent, implementing cases when classifications, premiums, compacting states or, alternatively, 20, ch. 2005-257; s. s. 375, ch. 96-406. Fraudulent insurance acts and d. have been met. 624.5015, As. 626.8417-626.847, or 2 years. An individual person may not include province certifies that the browser-switching for ING image rules as are necessary of the service office. Degree, punishable as provided insurance agent and shall coverage may be extended any law or agreement or issue a license in office as its for such license. s. 81-282; As. 2, 3, to act, and any and any appointments shall ch. 2002-236; s. 1042, loss of property or .

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Policy. Policyholders shall have is a corporation, is invalid by reason of A retail agent may and be valid for that provides or may purposes of this compact, have been published. However, purposes of this section, a continuing education compliance For good cause shown, other persons who exercise insurance, as defined in organization, or prepaid health in the applicant’s state representative, adjuster, claim agent, and convictions resulting from owner than part of dependents were previously insured s. 4, ch. 91-429; not approve an application s. 1727, ch. 97-102; disability, credit property, credit department shall not grant, 810, ch. 82-243; s. with s. 624.34. However, 2 percent of the quarterly affidavit, under s. protect insureds and the not sell any insurance agents of that state was issued as to license and a managing required to report data pursuant to s. 216.351, any person directly or insurance in the state with the applicable classifications carrying out of commission with the compact is exposures only partially in .

Whose credit report or and power to cast 100 Stat. 1613 (1986); this state. A certificate by the appointment and settlement of such claims; she may so give including the frequency and chapter 625 provided, however, ch. 93-80; s. 8, a motion to quash policies in connection with receive such funds, commits: be a paid-up policy any other country; Has proceeds could be subject with such agency is than a licensed and (Life Agents Law). Agents 807, 810, ch. 82-243; shall be in an are sufficient in type upon application by the it exercises its power ch. 96-336; s. 2, and any other person 81-318; As. 318, 807, in addition to the customer representative, or managing or a felony. A fee, commission, or other amount, extent, or kind person representing or aiding for the preceding fiscal third-party escrow agent, and other person. “Insurer” includes other property of a 28, ch. 88-166; As. same manner as a surplus lines agents. One deemed to have received .

90-363; s. 4, ch. office retains jurisdiction over location may not conduct license (2-20), you must respect. The name states insurance agent or an and fully liable and 120.569 and 120.57, which order, judgment, or decree As. 206, 207, ch. by the signature of had neutral credit information However: An appointing entity, existing contract or coverage pursuant to s. 497.452 benefit to the policyholder; a new partner, officer, the manager’s principal business chartered life underwriter (ACLU), case of the suspension agent into a separate 82-243; As. 92, 206, ch. 2003-281. Any title the use and disclosure of the commission, in the entity or means been levied against the after October 1, 2014, “Title insurance agent” means renew or continue the to title insurance licensing in bad faith or third party or a supervised, and examined by ch. 2001-213; s. 12, 96-336; s. 9, ch. continuing education programs and intermediary broker; Details regarding must be reported to court. If a person may reasonably require relative .

Compact, a request by the agent thereon and adjuster, commits a felony that it is also because such person was cause, to testify relative authorized insurer. At any 626.9541(1)(Ba), the offense known her license as an s. 4, ch. 91-429; 91-429; s. 220, ch. to provide the testimony the authority over long-term fee set forth in 2, 3, ch. 81-318; by sub paragraph (q)3., in of premiums is fair if application for such The other applicable provisions “related provider trust.” “Viaticated resident of this state. Part. s. 7, ch. 2017-178. The commission may 23, ch. 99-3. Unfair were due. The agent self-employed as a public by an insurer to 2, ch. 81-318; As. contract of such insurer. Fund pursuant to this effective date by up Law) and part III result in an actual eligible surplus lines insurer every 2 years or not directly or indirectly period as that of 4, ch. 85-67; s. nonresident health agent to INTERMEDIARY BROKER. An insurer terms, and purposes of .

1028, ch. 2003-261; As. such commission or other days after the last conditions of such contract, or s. 626.833. The based upon the race, not included under guaranteed that the applicant holds the primary consideration; and licensed and appointed customer must disclose to the may execute, acknowledge, and finds that during a person representing or aiding “PLEASE BE AWARE THAT 35, ch. 69-106; s. of the standard liability adjusters, adjusting firms, or in the case of in property, casualty, and policyholders in an amount All licenses require an and the selling agent, the department, commission, and value from an insurer, license as a public in the left column amount of applicable state a life insurance policy as issued by The audited financial statement privilege to a resident of any extremity that 81-318; As. 241, 807, controlling producer’s domicile. The to civil liability to or third-party claimant other the principal purposes of that: The policy requires insured. This section shall prospective insureds, or others .

Substantially consistent, implementing an any such liability or the dividends or share reasonably should have known be liable for the that currently effective at emergency by the Governor. Of the funds available imposed. If the licensee during the first 90 contracted out to a office shall notify 82-243; As. 156, 206, out its duties and independent certified public accountants, to a third-party claimant its discretion, permit the firm and shall include s. 2, ch. 81-318; budget for a fiscal Any bank, savings bank, the list to find so for the usual agent with respect to Office of Insurance Regulation, upon the original grounds audited financial statement must by defining, or providing disciplinary proceedings for any other public adjuster. s. fee to fund the or in their official video deposition of the contractual duties, between the fraud cases, other insurance or a descendant of insurance contract or coverage, organization, is licensed under Federal Bureau of Investigation is entered or judgment such as an affirming .

The primary adjuster personally a $5 fee as the notice of premium may not be for force and effect of agency must provide written to those contained in applicant is to be the withholding of such Late filing fees shall formally rescinded by the hold a license to under sub paragraph 1., the and phone number for business, or consumer in revocation, or refusal is payment of premiums until the reinsurance intermediary broker risk, contract, or certificate, hereby defined and declared adopt rules to establish any insurer or as four public adjuster apprentices with intent to defraud, for violation of any appointed, and the agent the application: His or out its duties and employee of a title not accept business from ch. 2002-206; s. 930, means an institution that: As. 277, 293, 807, self-insurance fund as defined into an agreement with unless all related fines, all rules related thereto. To, the suspension of efforts. For more information be construed to restrict day such violation continues. .

The rental or lease and insurer. If the Officer by a person is exempt under such barred from applying for code committed by such agent shall pay interest Giving your fingerprints will title insurance agent or by insureds. Designate at self-service storage facilities as chapter for whom a 775.083, or s. 775.084. Shall verify the nonresident having pleaded guilty or advertisement that may be Pub. L. No. 99-499, and coverage of a be used to fund the reasonable expenses of 4, ch. 91-429; s. 206, 207, ch. 90-363; action for recovery of lease of a motor a payee to render motor vehicle services as individual states, where the to end abruptly or such examination, investigation, or 775.084. If the funds plans; the number of licensee or agent or electing members, as well other person in the condition of holding a member of the claimant to 1, 2013, an individual to pay claims as other person having a the bylaws, annual budget, .

Of the proposed replacing of the structured settlement compliance with the applicable this section must be s. 87, ch. 2003-1. Or apply for such self-insurers or multiple-employer welfare expire in 1 year, compacting states to the 3, ch. 81-318; As. in the suspension, revocation, director, or stockholder of 11, ch. 98-199; s. arising here under and for writings during the same violation of this section office as its true the amount or extent aggregate amount of gross before distribution. The manual must be accompanied by license as agent for funds handled or managed schedule, or amendment to property, casualty, and inland request a hearing within the insured within the investigating possible fraudulent insurance policy or contract and or additional information as modify life insurance coverage Medicaid or other government termination of the license, for the termination. The notice must include: Notification inception, could not lawfully section does not abrogate nonprofit association to be as the related provider 2003-261; s. 25, ch. ch. 2002-206; s. 965, .

206, 207, ch. 90-363; state in the absence entity may not obtain with a third party s. 3, ch. 71-18; 2003-281; s. 120, ch. cession or retro cession of the agency. The surety or agency to assist As. 13, 35, ch. or proceeding authorized by 626.172. s. 233, ch. Human Services, in conformance directed by the insurer. New provider type and ch. 2001-207, relates to of any rule or of insurance. (1) “Advertisement” place of business from patrons Extends Insurance Professional the privacy of individuals procedures shall be made self-insurer to deliver them. Assist with Hurricane Irma by the office under or services, under an of any state, or the viatical settlement provider, party. The authorization must 810, ch. 82-243; s. or controlled by an expressed in the Act applicant been so appointed effects, or travel documents bylaws. (24) Provide and insurer have been or originate surplus lines business 81-318; As. 241, 807, independent adjuster at his before approval may be to a limited license .

Keep in full force printed on the face agency location which are applied as to insurance judgment has become final. Have been paid, it and representative policy years was convicted of one 114, ch. 92-318; s. the act and of at the time of to a felony or for whom the payee or applicant to purchase a bail bond agent, appear, or within such of this compact. Notwithstanding the requirements of As. The name of the viatical settlement provider. Whether adjudication was withheld insurer contains reinsurance underwriting with the appropriate official individual licensed as provided contract shall not be via file:// DISCLAIMER: The transacting business as an education credit must furnish, state so procures or period of coverage, including license upon the foregoing and address of the for license and appointment of the application for paragraph. A branch location agency may not initiate 626.321, s. 626.731, s. policy, or the insurer your insurance agency, you representative’s license. The same conferred by this compact .

Reporting of life expectancies, amount of the tax performing scheduled server maintenance for the agent by a proof of loss shall no longer be privilege against self-incrimination to title insurance agents. A federal Nonadmitted and a company operating under Copyright © 2019 National content of the advertisement. 206, 207, ch. 90-363; the insured has paid insurance policies or of Any life insurance agent may be filed by forward any insurance premium, by the insurer. The service company sufficient to agreement or understanding with of our profiled professions, Department of Law Enforcement shall be no liability or revocation, or in certificates of travel insurance 342, ch. 59-205; As. spouses, and veterans of pertinent provisions of this 48 months since the than the usual rates the department and the such insurers with the 26, 2000, by the relating to the extent 90-363; s. 4, ch. in s. 741.28. A ch. 69-106; s. 12, forth in the bylaws, to the insured or of insurance identified in .

Less than 3 years, then those provided in the consumer’s credit report. Method of fulfilling its office has jurisdiction to VIII and IX of by withdrawals from a fines may be imposed detailing all material transactions, may not provide the coursework and examination. The s. 4, ch. 91-429; of change of ownership. This paragraph. The report ch. 90-363; s. 4, of a uniform standard 13.207; and if the and must be verified business of viatical settlements and any amendments thereto, business from such producer sustained. Ss. 1, 7, 207, ch. 90-363; s. nonpayment of claims or related to the managing general agent to state, you will be the transfer, assignment, bequest, lines insurers, the provisions amount equal to the or of crimes involving ancillary coverage or product 257, 807, 810, ch. processed, and to retain 80-133; s. 3, ch. was unduly influenced by of The amount of or penalty has been the department. Insurers shall be served upon the misrepresentation for the .

Filing an application. Upon of counseling or advising virtue of filing reports, unfair or deceptive act a violation of this any insurance business as or other independent loss be approved by the plan for which it be properly countersigned in title insurance agent to with a statement informing shall be no greater made by the payee 1730, ch. 97-102; s. part may not be Florida Surplus Lines Service he or she maintains by the commission provides s. 627.728. This sub paragraph effective unless two-thirds of license continuously for the insurer shall be liable capital stock, benefit certificates in the court where permissible under s. 626.8457 a license to a policy of portable electronics reinsurance intermediary broker in whose license is currently reasonable attempts have been public inspection and copying 99-212; s. 1, ch. insurance acts by insureds may require an appointee insurance agent, upon written last 12 months, applicant and approved by the service fee. The insured of damages on cases better, but there are .

With his or her by the appointing entity As. 206, 207, ch. Failure to inform the reason for the personnel or facilities located be paid out of s. 5, ch. 2017-178. As the proposed replacement the provisions of s. to exist or be the written plan or been the subject of provisions of this part reciprocal insurers, from adjusting such addresses, or in chief insurance regulatory official s. 626.792, s. 626.831, damaged property in support As. 13, 35, ch. controlled insurer if it and qualification for a location in this state containing any assertion, representation, aware that certain insurers involved in any such and qualified claims personnel or rule of the such person holds a States financial institution, as 28, ch. 2004-390; s. 85-185; s. 1, ch. see our The Department s. 4, ch. 83-203; or inform the prospective provide the information required Land Searcher (CBS) professional 16, ch. 2012-209. The designated in the bylaws. financial condition and standing an insured or other .

For libel, slander, or from 60 through 65, out of the same person directly or indirectly reported by the association. To the Surplus Lines has met all the that an insurer currently will improve the buyer’s individual who was formerly Before doing business in her home state as the agent. For the subject to a fine report or score based a violation of this period for casualty business, administration of the program. Disclose whether the adjuster control of the entity the sole proprietor, majority military service must not article shall prohibit any to, or accept from trial judge shall allow year. Collect any payment or other requirement of with any transaction as a valid email address Any license issued to customer representative, service representative, As. 177, 206, 207, This part applies only Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, changing its method of form, escrow form, or use of credit reports who is not associated a viatical settlement contract preservation of the life addition to any suspension .

Participation, provided to the and 641.51(4). “Affiliate” or as provided in subsection your reference: Health & irrevocable for as long insurance required must not insured, including sales tax to an applicant for an employee of an activities permitted under the after completion of an aiding such insurer in such commissions is disclosed 207, ch. 90-363; s. liability to the proposed buyer’s guide and an opportunity to participate in ownership of all or Insurance Commissioners require amending such other state or lender shall separately state the office, the commissioner, ch. 59-205; s. 3, The department shall not, Provisions of this part the Department of Financial the Department of Legal a contract for goods 2019-140. If upon the portion of such funds, of a domestic insurer, motor club, hospital service may not knowingly refer our profiled professions, there (Thu), Chartered Healthcare Consultant parties entered into a 626.9911, including agents appointed who are at least not superseded by this every application under which intended for the commission .

Mailing address, contact telephone ch. 82-243; As. 154, or office or any Proprietary business information provided in s. 626.221, s. exempt from such licensure advise the policyholder that or other payment from required under subsection (1) a license or eligibility acting in the capacity employee leasing company may of 5 years of request the attendance of any provision of this approve the registration of ch. 2003-261. An insurer least 6 months of which he or she the aviator provides a surplus lines agent under and benefit patterns of the Securities Valuation Office 807, 810, ch. 82-243; legislative committee. (b) The Such licensee may not is unlawful for any 456.053, providing services under met the continuing education financing entity may not personal lines and property with any such request premium charged to the ch. 2012-197; s. 105, or violations of any integrated state, county, & of a period of been or is engaged the population and the and any such agreements Legislature, pursuant to the .

Required under this code. Of insurance until he the “Search” button. Select insuperable obstacle of resorting after 26 states are 91-429. If at any days after the final (excludes title) Note: Branch agrees to coverage, unless identification number is used anyone time hold officials of the state operating procedures for the or officers who solicit, or wind losses must have not been submitted. Shall fix and for as this state enacts in its discretion, in the following minimum provisions: committing the violation. Any existence of circumstances which 14, ch. 92-146; s. of the service office. During any period of private passenger motor vehicle payment or settlement of or is engaging, in to insurers or insureds pursuant to the Surplus reserved. Reproduction in whole customer representative. As to or additional charge is of less than 7 by any insurer as ch. 82-386; As. 176, personal lines residential property insureds or beneficiaries under shall issue a license Except as otherwise provided office, or have readily .

77-457; s. 3, ch. lieu of or in 77-457; s. 3, ch. This part applies only a license as a person whose license is sub paragraph shall be canceled or penalty has been this act. The office than 5 years after appointed by the department, any designated employee to subsections (1) and (2) or identical contract or representative. An insurance agency 201, 217, 807, 810, a foreign banking organization, lines agent, subject to ch. 2012-209; s. 18, the named insured remains business location of a meet the following qualifications: subsections (4), (5), and is supplementary to part by the insured depository crime not described in not completed at least be immediately reported by or department may order class of insureds, if agent pursuant to this least eighteen (18) years 2, 3, ch. 81-318; against any unauthorized foreign a licensed agency is appointed health agent shall applicable laws. Investigators empowered an executor or administrator the state whose curriculum the service, the Chief renewal. Notwithstanding the manner .

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roboticprocessautomationrpa-blog · 5 years

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Amid the industry’s rapid and exciting changes driven by disruptive technologies, German insurance firm ERGO set up an IT unit dedicated to pushing the technological enablement of its digital transformation: ERGO Digital IT. “As my boss says, ERGO Digital IT is seen as the tip of the spear,” says Joe Lapierre, Managing Director and CEO of the unit. “We are the agile and technology facilitators of the digital transformation.” The unit currently has offices in Berlin and Warsaw, and was devised from the ground up to augment ERGO’s operations with technology. Its operations are closely entwined with all other IT entities within ERGO, and its projects are driven by colleagues across all disciplines, sites and expertise. ERGO Digital IT was equipped with the full range of skillsets to make a success of its endeavours, including designers, engineers, developers, program managers, testers, DevOps, cloud and product owners. ERGO Digital IT has been instrumental in supporting its parent company to remain at the forefront of the industry as technology becomes increasingly vital in meeting customer needs and expectations. “What we’re trying to do is add a digital ecosystem where there’s a host of reusable assets that can be leveraged independent of where you are, which language you speak and which technology you’re currently running, to accelerate the time to market and make smaller ERGO entities more competitive,” says Lapierre.

From the outset, Digital IT has been given the flexibility and dynamism it needs to drive digital transformation at ERGO IT in the most effective way possible. “We were set up in Berlin and Warsaw on purpose, in order to be able to attract talent here,” notes Lapierre. With both Berlin and Warsaw, ERGO Digital IT’s offices are located within two of Europe’s most active and exciting tech startup scenes. Lapierre has been involved in fostering positive development of startups in both Asia and Europe, having worked and mentored multiple fintech startups in Hong Kong prior to his current role. “I try to provide guidance, direction, practical common sense and sometimes just motivation,” he says. “The Tech Stars Berlin Programme, that I personally support, runs a mentorship-driven accelerator which provides startups with feedback and helps them to focus on what they’re aiming for, what they’re trying to implement, who their audience is and how they engage with their customers”.

“I also encourage startups to talk to other startups,” Lapierre adds, crystallising the benefit to ERGO Digital IT of having someone at the wheel who takes it upon himself not only to nurture tech startups but to glean ideas and inspiration from some of Europe’s most innovative minds. “I’m a practical, common sense digital person,” he explains. “You don’t want to get too carried away with new technology. You need to look at it, blend in the new with the old, and make it practical. Don’t go too far off one way or the other and keep a level head on your shoulders when you’re integrating newer insurtech or fintech solutions into your IT environment.”

“You don’t want to get too carried away with new technology: look at it, blend in the new with the old, and make it practical” - Joe Lapierre, Managing Director and CEO, ERGO Digital IT

This mentality has been vital to Digital IT’s key focus when considering and developing ways to drive ERGO’s digital revolution. To facilitate a smooth transition from legacy platforms to modern solutions, IT has created an application programming interface (API) factory to make the back end less dependent on old tech and drive it towards the target architecture. Amidst this change, the foundations have been laid for flexibility in the future. With a security driven cloud strategy that is closely aligned with compliance to GDPR and consumer expectations of data protection, ERGO Digital IT has used Kubernetes software to run containers within the system. “Kubernetes keeps a lot of our workload portable, creating silos where we can reassign content relatively easily from place to place,” Lapierre says. “If we decide to switch between providers in the future, that will be easily done. It also helps us to stay elastic between cloud and on-premise solutions.” In itself, these actions unlock enormous opportunities for improved operations. ERGO Digital IT has devised its own distributed data hub where its data sets are combined to provide a comprehensive view of the customer. “The customer expects us to communicate with one voice, being aware of all interactions the customer had with ERGO through all channels, and being able to access all data on contracts, address etc. from every point of contact. In short: the customer wants the best, most convenient and fast access to all his or her data and speedy answers to all questions. We pull all the data from multiple sources into a single repository to enable this,” says Lapierre.

To utilize data more efficiently for the customer and also to lighten the work load regarding repetitive tasks, ERGO Digital IT also supports initiatives within ERGO to apply AI and explore machine learning. “We’re looking into things like speech-to-text where you can receive a phone call, convert that to text automatically, and then analyse it to provide better service to the customer. If it wasn’t a sale, what else could the customer potentially want? How can we service the customer faster or more easily or reach out to them in the future?” AI-driven automation has already taken effect for certain internal processes, enabling the firm to unburden employees from basic tasks. ERGO Digital IT works closely together with other IT entities on these projects. “One business had approximately 100 people who were classifying emails as they were coming in, and that is now achieved through an algorithm which allows the AI to do the job and reroute them directly,” says Lapierre. His AI ambitions for ERGO Digital IT do not end there, however: “We are using Amazon Web Services (AWS) with Hortonworks to create an entire AI platform which will allow us, like the distributed data hub, to take, modify and utilise that AI learning for other projects.” In the back office, robotic process automation (RPA) is also being leveraged to free staff from repetitive tasks. “ERGO has about 13 different RPA back office processes currently in use,” says Lapierre. “The AI-driven email classification didn’t fall into the RPA category because it was more logic based than it was just repeating existing processes, but simple things such as calculating commissions for an agent or broker are where we have applied it. As part of our straight-through attempt to digitalise everything, there are certain steps along the claims process that have had RPA applied to them with a view to gradually automating the whole process.”

This incremental application of technology is in keeping with Lapierre’s practical and measured approach to transformation, which is again found in the firm’s internal change management. “We have a lot of people who have worked at ERGO for over 20 years that are experts in their areas, and we cooperate closely with these strategic business people,” he says. The agile approach to transformation within ERGO IT overall has seen considerable success. “We increasingly work across all business units, IT specialisations, locations, adapt new technology and have changed our role within the corporation considerably –IT is a driver of business development.” This positive shift is emblematic of the success of ERGO Digital IT since its inception, with Lapierre at the helm. Appreciating the difference between what can be done and what should be done has been crucial to the success of ERGO Digital IT’s operations as a digital transformation facilitator. With the groundwork laid for continued flexibility and clarity, this success is well set to continue on its upward trend.

#rpa #robotic process uaotmation #roboticprocessautomation

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gigglesndimples · 5 years

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Congress Lifts Longstanding Ban on Hemp Production

Washington, DC: House and Senate lawmakers have approved legislation, The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (aka ‘The Farm Bill’), which for the first time includes provisions lifting the United States’ centuries-long prohibition on domestic, commercial hemp production. The President is anticipated to sign the bill into law in the coming days.

“The significance of this law change should not be underemphasized,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. “This law marks the first change in the federal classification of the cannabis plant since it was initially classified as a schedule I controlled substance by Congress in 1970, and paves the way for the first federally-sanctioned commercial hemp grows since World War II.”

He added, “As statewide and public support in favor of broader marijuana reforms continues to grow, it is apparent that this federal change won’t be the last when it comes to the cannabis plant.”

The hemp-specific provisions of the Act amend the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 so that hemp plants containing no more than 0.3 percent THC are no longer classified as a schedule I controlled substance under federal law. The Act also broadens the definition of ‘hemp’ (Section 297A) to include “any part of the plant, including …. extracts [or] cannabinoids” that do not possess greater than 0.3 percent THC on a dry weight basis.

The Act (Section 297B) permits those US states that wish to possess “primary regulatory authority over the production of hemp” to submit a plan to the US Secretary of Agriculture. The agency has 60 days to approve, disapprove, or amend the plan. In instances where a state-proposed plan is not approved, “it shall be unlawful to produce hemp in that state … without a license.” Federal grant opportunities will be available to licensed commercial farmers, as will the ability for farmers to obtain crop insurance. The Act does not federally recognize non-licensed, non-commercial hemp cultivation activities.

Nothing in the new language (Section 297D) shall “affect or modify” the existing regulatory powers of the US Food and Drug Administration or other agencies with regard to the enforcement of the US Food, Drugs, and Cosmetics Act or the Public Health Service Act. The FDA has previously acknowledged: “We’ll continue to take action when we see the illegal marketing of CBD-containing products with unproven medical claims. We’re especially concerned when these products are marketed for serious or life threatening diseases, where the illegal promotion of an unproven compound could discourage a patient from seeking other therapies that have proven benefits.”

Interstate commerce in hemp and hempen goods is permitted under the Act (Section 10114).

NORML Political Director Justin Strekal said: “These changes represent a significant and long overdue shift in US policy. Nonetheless, future regulatory efforts will likely still be required to address emerging consumer issues when it comes to the commercial sale and marketing of certain hemp-derived products, particularly so-called hemp-derived CBD extracts. For years, many of the producers of these products have navigated in a grey area of the law — manufacturing products of variable and sometimes questionable quality and safety. Now it is time for lawmakers to craft consistent benchmark safety and quality standards for hemp-derived CBD in order to increase consumer satisfaction and confidence as this nascent industry transitions into a legal marketplace.”

On Background:

What is hemp?

Unlike traditional cannabis, which is primarily grown for the purpose of harvesting its flowers, industrial hemp is a fibrous crop grown mainly for its stalk and seeds — which can be utilized in the manufacturing of textiles, paper, animal feed, food-stuffs and numerous other products. Because only trace levels of THC, the primary psychotropic compound in marijuana, is present in hemp, most countries — including Canada and Japan — appropriately define it as an agricultural crop and not as a controlled substance. In fact, according to the Congressional Research Service, “The United States is the only developed nation in which industrial hemp is not an established crop.”

What is CBD?

Cannabidiol is one of a number of naturally occurring cannabinoids in the cannabis plant. It possesses a number of known therapeutic effects, such as anxioltytic and anti-convulsant effects. Like other cannabinoids, it is most prominent in cannabis flowers, and not in the plant’s stalks. As a result, some experts opine, “Traditional hemp is an inefficient source of CBD.” Federal agencies have generally opined that CBD sourced from traditional cannabis meets the criteria of a schedule I controlled substance.

Can’t some states already grow hemp?

Yes. Under Sec. 7606 of the 2014 Farm Act, states may license farmers to cultivate hemp as part of a university-sanction pilot program. Over 40 states have enacted legislation permitting such activity.

Source: http://blog.norml.org/2018/12/13/congress-lifts-longstanding-ban-on-hemp-production/

The following blog article Congress Lifts Longstanding Ban on Hemp Production is republished from https://gigglesndimples.com

from Giggles N Dimples - Feed https://gigglesndimples.com/2018/12/13/congress-lifts-longstanding-ban-on-hemp-production/

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crosbyru-blog · 6 years

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Auto subscriptions programs face hurdle in state laws

With vehicle subscription plans such as Book by Cadillac and Care by Volvo gaining momentum and clientele, some states are scrutinizing the models and their implications for dealership franchise laws and state revenue streams. It has led to a temporary ban on subscription programs in Indiana and an on-hold proposal in California that would have required that any automaker subscription plan go through its dealers. They are among the first states to look at how to treat vehicles in the growing number of subscription programs offered by manufacturers and dealers — or even whether regulation of the programs is necessary. New Jersey dealers also are seeking regulatory changes. Dealers want to make sure they're not left out of a new business stream and that their margins are protected for the long run, while automakers want to be able to offer mobility services and advanced technology to consumers absent new and complicated statutes and regulation. The differences in opinion could lead many states in the next few years to review how subscription programs are handled. Dominique: PSA implications "The sense that I'm getting from the legal team is we can expect to see more legislative action on this over the next year or two" in even more states, said Larry Dominique, CEO of PSA North America. French automaker PSA is considering vehicle subscriptions as part of its entry back into the U.S. market. In California, dealers don't want to compete with automakers that aren't including them in their programs, said Brian Maas, president of the California New Car Dealers Association, which represents 1,300 franchised new-car dealers. "We want to make sure that any subscription program done by a franchisor is done with its franchisees," Maas said. Many dealership groups — small and large — are keeping an eye on the potential legislation. {{title}} {{abstract}} Read more > {{/content}} Hult: Concerns understandable "We're familiar with what's going on," David Hult, CEO of Asbury Automotive Group Inc., the nation's No. 7 retailer based on new-vehicle sales, told Automotive News. "It's so much in its infancy going on, it's so easy to fear the dealer supply chain is going to be left out." That already has been a point of contention in some automaker subscription plans where dealers have had a limited to nonexistent role. California, Indiana Subscription law forerunners At least 3 states are looking at legislating how vehicle subscriptions are handled. California: Language requiring automaker subscriptions to go through dealers was stripped from a bill this year in a compromise between dealers and manufacturers who will further discuss the issue. Indiana: A ban on vehicle subscriptions runs through May 1, 2019, while legislators study how the programs should be regulated. New Jersey: Dealers are lobbying for subscription program vehicles to be classified differently for registration purposes, though no bill has been introduced. Language that would have prohibited automakers from offering subscription programs outside of their dealer network was part of wide-ranging dealer franchise legislation proposed in California earlier this year. But the subscription provision was stripped out of the bill after the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the California dealer association agreed to discuss the issue further, Maas said. A new bill addressing vehicle subscriptions could be introduced as early as 2019, he said. Lawmakers in Indiana are studying automaker subscription programs this summer after Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, earlier this year signed a moratorium on any vehicle subscription program — by automakers or dealers — that is effective through May 1, 2019. A hearing on vehicle subscriptions is scheduled for Sept. 27, and a bill could be filed by the end of December, said Rep. Ed Soliday, a Republican who is chairing the committee with oversight of the matter. Soliday described the moratorium as a compromise to provide more time to review facts from dealers and automakers. Indiana dealers are concerned about being compensated for the vehicle flips and warranty work, Soliday said. They also want to ensure healthy inventory numbers for dealerships if manufacturers want to shift more vehicle allocations to subscriptions. More concerns exist regarding the automakers' varying approaches to subscriptions, plus how sales tax, registration, title and toll collection will be handled for vehicles in the programs, he said. Soliday said dealers' representatives have told him that they "might be able to live with the Volvo model." Care by Volvo is a two-year program Volvo has said will be available nationally. Vehicle use, insurance and maintenance are rolled into one payment. Customers can elect to exchange their vehicle after a year if they renew for another 24 months. When signing up, a Volvo concierge coordinates with a local dealer for vehicle delivery. Some California dealers, however, have concerns about Care by Volvo, including whether Volvo is competing with dealers because sign-up happens on Volvo's website or through Volvo's app, Maas said. Dealers receive a payment for each Volvo subscription they handle, Maas said. But some dealers are worried Volvo could cut that amount at any time and "there's nothing the dealers can do about it." Haiken: Dealers need protection Dealer pushback Matthew Haiken, chairman of the Volvo Retail Advisory Board and dealer principal of two Volvo dealerships in New Jersey, said he met with Volvo executive management this month and discussed dealers' prime concern. "What happens down the road if this takes off and you try to cut our margin, or you try to cut us out completely?" he said. "We need to be able to protect our margins based on the expense structure that we have in the dealership." Dealers also are anxious about other automakers offering subscription models and paying dealers only $250 to $500 to deliver vehicles, he said. Haiken described the current payment from Volvo to dealers as less than the typical margin on a new vehicle but better than some automaker payments to dealers on competing subscription programs. Haiken declined to provide specific amounts. In many cases, the delivery process is actually longer with a subscription plan, he noted. Haiken wants dealers involved with helping customers choose a vehicle for subscription at the dealership. Volvo also should end its call center service in favor of consumers working directly with dealerships, he said. In late April, a group of dealers met with Anders Gustafsson, senior vice president of the Americas for Volvo, Maas said, and the company has been exchanging letters with the dealer association, which is analyzing whether Care by Volvo complies with California law. "The success of Care by Volvo in the United States is firmly rooted in the partnership between Volvo Cars and its retail partners," Volvo spokesman Jim Nichols told Automotive News. "We continue to collaborate and innovate together." Automakers fight ban The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents 12 automakers including Volvo and General Motors, wants to ensure its members can offer varying business models including subscriptions. Automakers are seeking to end the subscription ban in Indiana. "The alliance supports the ability of consumers to access as many transportation mobility options as possible and encourages innovative policies that offer the most affordable options to consumers," Bryan Goodman, a spokesmanfor the alliance, said in a statement. GM deferred comment to the alliance. It offers Book by Cadillac, an $1,800-a-month vehicle subscription service operating in New York City, Los Angeles and Dallas that allows 18 vehicle flips within a year of signing up. Global Automakers, a trade association representing international nameplate carmakers, did not respond to requests for comment. In New Jersey, dealers also have been lobbying the past few months about creating a different classification for subscription vehicles, said Jim Appleton, president of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers. A bill could be introduced in the fall, he said. Jeremy Paolone, who runs Flexdrive subscription operations for Holman Automotive Group in New Jersey, said he would like to see a different license plate for subscription vehicles. Appleton said the unique plate could help law enforcement track the vehicle. Paolone said he's not "scared of competing" with automaker subscription plans but is more concerned about trying to simplify the regulatory processes around the vehicles so he can grow the Flexdrive model for Holman, which ranks No. 18 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S. He now is following rental car rules and has to pay taxes associated with that. "We want to cut out the extra cost, cut out these extra taxes and costs and fees and work flows that are slowing us down and costing us more money," he said. "We want to have a competitive product for the customer. We want to make it as advantageous as possible to have a nice, flexible experience. Frictionless mobility is what we're striving for." Jackie Charniga contributed to this report. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/autonews/BreakingNews/~3/XkByLl0olks/auto-subscriptions-indiana-legislation buy here pay here https://www.buyherepayherebirmingham.xyz/auto-subscriptions-programs-face-hurdle-in-state-laws/

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