ParkHub.com offers a free aggregative parking reservation and parking search platform to help connect parking customers with available parking.

BAKU, 1 June 2015 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Serbia’s Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić started his official trip to the South Caucasus today with a visit to Baku.

He was received by President llham Aliyev and discussed with him the potential for progress towards a comprehensive peace agreement for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as co-operation between the OSCE and Azerbaijan.

During his visit, Dačić also had meetings with Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, Speaker of Parliament Ogtay Asadov, as well as representatives of political parties and of the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Dačić expressed concern about the unprecedented number of service personnel and civilians reported killed and wounded in the first four months of the year, and stressed the need for all involved to honour the ceasefire agreement. “There is no alternative to a peaceful settlement,” he said. “Serbia’s own experience confirms that it is only through dialogue that a sustainable, peaceful solution can be found, one which would put the region on the path of co-operation, the only way forward in our increasingly interconnected international community,” he said.

Dačić emphasized his full support for the efforts of the Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and his Personal Representative, Ambassador Andrzej Kaspryzk, directed towards promoting dialogue between the parties.

He stressed that, besides offering tools for advancing democratic reforms in its participating States, the OSCE is a good platform for joining forces in addressing transnational threats. “The Organization stands ready to continue to work with Azerbaijan to help boost the country’s capacities to combat such threats,” Dačić said, “as well as to pursue its domestic reform agenda.”

Dačić also visited the premises of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator’s in Baku, where he discussed with mission members ongoing programmatic activity.

The Chairperson-in-Office was accompanied by Ambassador Kaspryzk and his Special Representative for the South Caucasus, Ambassador Angelo Gnaedinger.

Later today, Dačić will depart for Tbilisi where he will hold high-level talks tomorrow. He will conclude the visit to the region on 3 June in Yerevan.

Related Stories

• 68th IPRM meeting takes place in Ergneti
• Urgent steps needed towards full respect for ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, says OSCE Chairmanship Special Representative and Chief Monitor
• OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Steinmeier, in Moldova, calls for swift and full implementation of confidence-building measures

BERLIN, 20 June 2016 - Government experts of the 57 OSCE participating States met in Berlin today  to discuss efforts to continue the important fight against anti-Semitism.

The meeting that took place in the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs was opened by Gernot Erler, Special Representative of the German government for the OSCE Chairmanship, and focused on exchanges of strategies, methods and good practice in combating anti-Semitism.

Erler called for a co-ordinated approach at the international level to combat anti-Semitism and encouraged best use of the OSCE and its institutions in the ongoing struggle against intolerance and discrimination. “Against the international networks of intolerance and hatred we have to stand firm with an equally broad and international alliance of governments, international and non-governmental organizations fostering tolerance and non-discrimination. And we have to embed the fight against anti-Semitism in our societies and our political culture”, Erler said.

Akiva Tor, Head of Bureau of World Jewish Affairs and World Religions from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stressed the need to continue to focus on combating anti-Semitism as the situation of Jews in Europe is a bellwether for the overall situation. “This particular hatred is uniquely dangerous. The growing menace to Jewish communities represents a direct threat to European civilization.”

One focus of the meeting was the working definition of anti-Semitism, which was adopted at the plenary session of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in Bucharest in May this year. Rabbi Andrew Baker, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Anti-Semitism, introduced the history and context of this working definition and called for its adoption and use also in the OSCE. “At a time when anti-Semitism manifests itself in different ways, the working definition is a valuable tool in helping governments and civil society to understand and combat anti-Semitism.”

The experts also exchanged best practice of combating anti-Semitism at government level, namely by appointing a special envoy, introducing parliamentary reports, adopting an action plan‎ or supporting education programmes.

This meeting is part of a series of events focusing on combating anti-Semitism. The German OSCE Chairmanship has made the promotion of tolerance and non-discrimination a priority of its work.

Related Stories

• OSCE States explore role for the Organization regarding migration and refugee flows
• OSCE Chairperson Steinmeier and Secretary General Zannier condemn senseless and horrific violence in Orlando
• OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Steinmeier stresses importance of ODIHR’s work during visit to headquarters in Warsaw

Beware of stress-induced diabetes  The Times of IndiaView Full coverage on Google News

When former TV actor Zhang Shuifa appeared in a sales livestream with some local celebs in July, it sparked nostalgia among netizens who hadn't seen him on screens for years. The 57-year-old's appearance then led to his gradual return to showbiz. Besides turning up in the occasional sales livestreams, the Malaysian is also currently filming local director Jack Neo's upcoming movie I Want To Be Boss, which is expected to be released during Chinese New Year next year. In an Instagram Reel today (Nov 14), Shuifa, who debuted in 1988 with Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC, now Mediacorp), reminisced about the time he filmed a drama with local actor Collin Chee. "I remembered it was over 30 years ago, though I can't remember the name of the drama now," he said. Collin, 57, shared that it was his first drama in 1993.

Three-month-old Roxie choked on her own vomit as fireworks were being set off across Edinburgh on Bonfire Night.

Highlights: GABA and L-theanine are popular supplements for stress relief L-theanine may help reduce stress, whi

GABA and L-theanine are often used to reduce stress. While promising, there's limited research on their combined use, making healthcare consultation essential.

Here's a new phenomenon to consider: "Post-election season stress." This term comes to us from the University of Southern California's Center for Health Journalism, which released on Wednesday a brief study titled "Reflecting on the Election's Toll on Journalists."

Curiosity: Can Humans Handle Mars Travel Stress?  Mirage News

The activation of autonomic and hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) systems occurs interdependently with behavioral adjustments under varying environmental demands. Nevertheless, laboratory rodent studies examining the neural bases of stress responses have generally attributed increments in these systems to be monolithic, regardless of whether an active or passive coping strategy is employed. Using the shock probe defensive burying test (SPDB) to measure stress-coping features naturalistically in male and female rats, we identify a neural pathway whereby activity changes may promote distinctive response patterns of hemodynamic and HPA indices typifying active and passive coping phenotypes. Optogenetic excitation of the rostral medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) input to the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) decreased passive behavior (immobility), attenuated the glucocorticoid hormone response, but did not prevent arterial pressure and heart rate increases associated with rats’ active behavioral (defensive burying) engagement during the SPDB. In contrast, inhibition of the same pathway increased behavioral immobility and attenuated hemodynamic output but did not affect glucocorticoid increases. Further analyses confirmed that hemodynamic increments occurred preferentially during active behaviors and decrements during immobility epochs, whereas pathway manipulations, regardless of the directionality of effect, weakened these correlational relationships. Finally, neuroanatomical evidence indicated that the influence of the rostral mPFC->vlPAG pathway on coping response patterns is mediated predominantly through GABAergic neurons within vlPAG. These data highlight the importance of this prefrontal->midbrain connection in organizing stress-coping responses and in coordinating bodily systems with behavioral output for adaptation to aversive experiences.

Despite the potential for physical, emotional, and mental stress, you can learn to lead a sustainable and healthy lifestyle as an entrepreneur.

complete article

This month almost 135,000 businesses are showing strain, as the impact of a year of Covid-19 restrictions reverberates.Businesses in the services and retail sectors accounted for almost three-fifths of those showing distress, said Mazars. Sectors allowed to reopen were faring better, with construction and manufacturing businesses making up 7.9 per cent and 6.7 per cent of those in distress respectively.

Title: Anxiety, Stress, Worry, and Your Body
Category: Slideshows
Created: 8/22/2018 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 1/12/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Stress
Category: Diseases and Conditions
Created: 2/24/2002 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/15/2022 12:00:00 AM

You may not be thinking about your tax return right now, but summer is a great time to start planning for next year. Organized records not only make preparing your return easier, but may also remind you of relevant transactions, help you prepare a response if you receive an IRS notice, or substantiate items on your return if you are selected for an audit. Tax Time Stress: IRS offers Tax Tips to Reduce Tax-Time Stress

Take our stress assessment and find out!

Certainly. I’ll rewrite and expand the article, incorporating the tips into the main content and optimizing it for keywords related to stress management, relaxation techniques, and mental health. Here’s the revised and expanded version: Comprehensive Guide to Effective Stress Management in Daily Life Stress is an unavoidable part of modern life, with various triggers affecting […]

The post Reduce Stress By Observing These Simple Tips appeared first on Complements For Health.

Easy ways to avoid and get rid of stress and stay healthy, happy in life.

Elder Paisios constantly stressed the power of positive thinking. In this episode, the listener will learn the effects of poor stress management on the body and how positive thinking is important for our health and weight management.

St. Gregory of Nyssa explains to us that the life of the body is one of flux and change. We have sleep to relax tension. But what should this look like, and how can we attain it in a healthy manner? This podcasts looks at the importance of silence and proper sleep as ways to manage our stress and care for our health.

Proper prayer, helping others, hobbies, healthy laughter, simplifying our lives, and singing can all be ways for us to manage our stress and benefit our health and weight. This podcast will review these various concepts and give us strategies for how to implement them into our daily lives.

Stress that is not managed affects our health and increases our appetite. Rita discusses ways to handle stressors during this time of year.

Rita describes the benefits of creative almsgiving for both our spiritual and physical well being.

Many people feel they are experiencing some intolerance to foods (and for sure some people do) but some may be experiencing stress and when their body is in stressed mode it can create physical symptoms that do not feel the best. We will look at the teachings of the Desert Fathers for some wisdom to help with stress. In addition we will explore the program My Beautiful Lent (http://www.mybeautifullent.com) which is an online program being released this Great Lent (2016) to help decrease the stress that somehow appears during this time. The program aids to simplify Great Lent to allow it to be a fruitful season.

Fr. Nick and Dr. Roxanne offer some very practical advise for avoiding the stress and depression that often accompanies the Christmas season.

Fr John reflects on Dr. Peter Bouteneff’s podcast concerning “Post-Episcopalian Stress Disorder,” and suggests a course-correction.

Dr. Rossi interviews Fr. Sean Levine, a graduate of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary and now chaplain in the United States Army, about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Fr. Pat discusses three points related to the account of the seamstress who was resurrected in the book of Acts: the fall, the resurrection, and integration.

Drawn from technology acceptance model, this study establishes a theoretical framework for the analytical interpretation of factors affecting job-seekers intention to use e-recruitment websites. Using the data obtained from 379 respondents in India, ten hypotheses derived from the experimental model are evaluated using a structural equation modelling technique. Vividness, perceived usefulness (PU), and attitude have been shown to have a significant positive impact on the behavioural intentions (BIs) of job-seekers, although perceived ease of use (PEOU) did not. Furthermore, perceived internet stress (PIS) is observed to be a significant antecedent PEOU; and PEOU is of PU. Such findings broaden our knowledge of e-recruiting in various ways and offer qualitative insights into the potential impact of website functionality on the attractiveness of job-seekers.

Aim/Purpose; Fostering student engagement is one of the great challenges of teaching, especially in online learning environments. An educators’ assumptions and beliefs about what student engagement is and how it manifests will shape the strategies they design to engage students in learning. However, there is no agreement on the definition of concept of student engagement and it re-mains a vague construct. Background: Adopting the principles of user-centered design, the author maintains that to design learning experiences which better support student engagement it is important to gain insights into how students perceive and operationalize the concept of engagement in learning. The recent challenges of teaching effectively online prompted the author to reflect more deeply on the concept of engagement and how it might be achieved. Methodology: In the tradition of reflective teaching, the author undertook an informal, qualitative inquiry in her classroom, administering a brief questionnaire to students in her online class. When the themes which emerged were integrated with other literature and findings from the author’s earlier classroom inquiry, some insights were gained into how students ‘operationalize’ the concept of engagement, and weight was added to the authors’ premise of the value of humanistic approaches to university teaching, the need for greater emphasis on student-teacher connection and the necessity of considering the affective domain alongside the cognitive domain in learning in higher education. The insights were brought together and visualized in a conceptual model of student engagement. Contribution: The conceptual model presented in the present paper reflects the author’s present ‘mental model’ of student engagement in classes online and, when the opportunity arrives, in face-to-face classes as well. This mental model shapes the authors’ course design, learning activities and the delivery of the course. Although the elements of the model are not ‘new’, the model synthesizes several related concepts necessary to a humanist approach to under-standing student engagement. It is hoped that the model and discussion presented will be stimulus for further rich discussion around the nature of student engagement. Findings: Interestingly, the affective rather than the cognitive domain framed students’ perspectives on what engagement ‘looks like to them’ and on what teachers should do to engage them. Recommendations for Practitioners: By sharing the process through which the author arrived at this understanding of student engagement, the author has also sought to highlight three key points: the importance of including the ‘student perspectives and expectations’ against which educators can examine their own assumptions as part of the process reflective teaching practices; the usefulness of integrating theoretical and philosophical frameworks in our understandings of student engagement and how it might be nurtured, and finally the necessity of affording greater influence to humanism and the affective domain in higher education. The findings emphasize the necessity of considering the affective dimension of engagement as an essential condition for cognitive engagement and as inextricable from the cognitive dimension of engagement. Recommendations for Researchers: The emphasis in research engagement learning and teaching is on how we (the educators) can do this better, how we can better engage students. While the student perspective is often formulated from data obtained through surveys and focus groups, researchers in learning engagement are working with their own understandings (albeit supported by empirical research). It is crucial for deeper insight to also understand the students’ conceptualization of the phenomena being researched. Bringing the principles of design thinking to bear on educational research will likely provide greater depth of insight. Impact on Society: Empirical, formal, and structured research is undeniably essential to advancing human endeavor in any field, including learning and teaching. It is however important to recognize informal research in the form of classroom inquiry as part of teachers’ reflexive practice is also legitimate and useful to advancing understanding of complex phenomenon such as student engagement in learning through multiple perspectives and experiences. Future Research: Further research on the nature of student engagement in different contexts and against different theoretical frameworks is warranted as is empirical investigation of the premise of the value of humanism and the affective do-main in defining and measuring student engagement in higher education.

Aim/Purpose: The main aim of this study is to identify the factors that influence the continuance intention of use of innovative systems by non-academic employees of a private university and associated academic institutions in Bangladesh. Background: The targeted academic institutions have introduced many new online services aimed at improving students’ access to information and services, including a new online library, ERP or online forum, and the jobs-tracking system (JTS). This research is focused only on the JTS for two reasons. First, it is one of the most crucial systems for the Daffodil Family, as it enables efficient working across many institutes spread across the country and abroad. Second, it is employed in a wide variety of organisational institutes, not just the university. This study aims to discover negative factors that lead to a decrease in users’ intentions to continue using the system. The ultimate goal is to improve the motivation among administrative staff to use technology-related innovation by reducing or eliminating the problems. Methodology: G* power analysis was employed to determine the expected sample size. A questionnaire survey was conducted of 211 users of a new job tracking system from a private university in Bangladesh, to collect data for testing the suggested research model. The data was analysed using the structural equation technique, which is a powerful multivariate analysis mechanism. Contribution: This research contributes to the body of literature and helps better understand users’ continuance intention in the post-implementation phase of the JTS. It complements the micro-level examinations of continuance intention of using IT, by building on our understanding of the phenomenon at the individual level. Specifically, this study examines the role of technostress where organisations invest in IT to make their users more comfortable with innovative and new technologies like the JTS. Findings: This research develops a theoretical advancement of the expectation-confirmation theory, with implications for IT managers and senior management dealing with IT-related behaviour. All proposed hypotheses were supported. Specifically, the predictors of exhaustion – work overload, work–life balance, and role ambiguity – are significant. The core factors for satisfaction, perceived usefulness, and confirmation, are also found to be significant. Finally, satisfaction and exhaustion significantly influence continuance intention, in both positive and negative ways. Recommendations for Practitioners: This study gives an idea about some of the difficulties that people face when implementing new and innovative IT, particularly in academia in Bangladesh. It offers insights into strategies the management may want to follow when implementing new technology like the JTS. This study suggests strategies to increase satisfaction and reduce technostress among new users to enhance organisational support for change. Recommendation for Researchers: Methodologically, the study provides researchers about the technique that reduces the threat of the common method bias. First, it created a psychological separation between criterion and predictor variables. Second, the threat of common method variance was actively controlled by modelling a latent method factor and by using marker variables that researchers can use in their work. This study complements the micro-level examinations of continuance intention of using IT by building on our understanding of the phenomenon at the individual level. Researchers can extend this model by integrating other theories. Impact on Society: The findings of the study indicate that work overload, work–life conflict, and role ambiguity create tiredness, leading to lower user satisfaction with the system. Perceived usefulness and confirmation have an increasingly similar effect on users’ satisfaction with the system and their subsequent continuance intention. These findings tell university administrators what measures they should take to improve continuance intention of using innovative technology. Future Research: Future studies could conceptualise a five-factor personality model from the personal perspective of users. This model can also be extended by including the dimensions of absorptive capacity, i.e., the dynamic capabilities of users. Absorptive capacity of understanding, assimilating, and applying might influence the user’s perception of usefulness and confirmation of using JTS.

Aim/Purpose: To explore the incidence of addiction potential within the Iranian public working population, describing how many Iranian public employees fall within the diagnostic categories of low, moderate, and high addiction potential. Also, to investigate the predicting role of occupational variables such as perceived stress, job security, and job satisfaction on addiction potential and belonging to low, moderate, and high addiction potential diagnostic categories. Background: Substance addiction among employees can lead to several negative consequences at the individual and organizational levels. Also, it is the fourth cause of death in Iran. However, few studies have been conducted on the topic among employees, and non among Iranian employees. Methodology: The study participants were 430 employees working in governmental offices of the North Khorasan province, Iran. Descriptive statistical analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were conducted to explore the incidence of addiction potential within the analyzed population and to investigate whether occupational variables such as perceived stress, job security, and job satisfaction predicted low, moderate, or high addiction potential. Contribution: This paper suggests that perceived stress might act as a risk factor for developing addiction, whereas job security and job satisfaction might be protective factors against the likelihood of addiction development. Findings: More than half of the sample showed moderate to high addiction potential. Perceived stress was positively related to addiction potential. Job security and job satisfaction were negatively related to addiction potential. Recommendation for Researchers: When addressing the topic of substance addiction, researchers should focus on the preventative side of investigating it; that is, addiction risk rather than already unfolded addiction. Also, researchers should be mindful of the cultural context in which studies are conducted. Future Research: Future research might investigate other relevant occupational predictors in relation to employee addiction potential, such as leadership style, work-life balance, and worktime schedule, or expand on the relevant causal chain by including personality traits such as neuroticism.

We develop and test a theoretical model that explores how individuals appraise different types of stressful job demands and how these cognitive appraisals impact job performance. The model also explores how charismatic leaders influence such appraisal and reaction processes, and by virtue of these effects, how leaders can influence the impact of stressful demands on their followers' job performance. In Study 1 (n = 74 U.S. Marines), our model was largely supported in hierarchical linear modeling analyses. Marines whose leaders were judged by superiors to exhibit charismatic leader behaviors appraised challenge stressors as being more challenging, and were more likely to respond to this appraisal with higher performance. Although charismatic leader behaviors did not influence how hindrance stressors were appraised, they negated the strong negative effect of hindrance appraisals on job performance. In Study 2 (n = 270 U.S. Marines) charismatic leader behaviors were measured through the eyes of the focal Marines, and the interactions found in Study 1 were replicated. Results from multilevel structural equation modeling analyses also indicate that charismatic leader behaviors moderate both the mediating role of challenge appraisals in transmitting the effect of challenge stressors to job performance, and the mediating role of hindrance appraisals in transmitting the effect of hindrance stressors to job performance. Implications of our results to theory and practice are discussed. Keywords: stress, leadership, job performance, multilevel modeling

The bereaved families lit lamps in front of the photos of their deceased loved ones, paying tribute to their memory.

Constant bombardment of ‘bad news’ can easily make individuals desensitised and disillusioned

Four-time Grand Prix series medalist Rika Kihira will miss the upcoming figure skating season because of a stress fracture in her right ankle that has not fully healed, the Japanese star announced Wednesday.

The SETAC Europe 25^th Annual Meeting will be held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, from 3-7 May 2015.  

The innovative use of chemicals and nanomaterials in new technologies, industry and agriculture challenges many aspects of the ecosystem functioning of the global environment. However, these new technologies and materials also offer opportunities to remediate or minimise these anthropogenic insults. Finding innovative solutions to environmental problems is ever more important in the current economic scenario.  This international conference brings together experts from government, industry, consultancy and academia to meet this challenge. The conference will focus on the most recent advances in environmental sciences and will provide platforms for implementing this knowledge, for improving the protection of our environment and to shape policies from current viewpoints to future needs.

Learn more here: http://barcelona.setac.eu/general_info/welcome!/?contentid=790&pr_id=766&last=769&sub=790

We want to hear your stories of how you navigate your relationship, or even a past one, this Halloween season.

The post Are Halloween costumes adding stress to your relationship? appeared first on Boston.com.

...and it's best to do something about it before it becomes toxic

Montreal – Emergency dispatchers who work at 911 call centers face a variety of physical and mental challenges in a high-stress environment, according to a study conducted by scientific research organization IRSST.

What importance does scheduling play in the prevention of cold stress?

Arlington, VA — The Mine Safety and Health Administration is reminding mine operators of best practices for preventing heat stress and treating workers who become overheated.

Bilbao, Spain – A newly released electronic guide from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (also known as EU-OSHA) aims to help employers and workers deal with stress and psychosocial risks.