In these episodes, Fr. John Parker reads Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heavenby Saint Innocent of Alaska, a beautiful, simple, and short book on the basics of Christianity, authored by one of our North American saints. "Part One: The Blessings that Jesus Christ has granted Us by His Death," pp 8-11. For permission to read, Fr. John thanks Holy Trinity Publications, Jordanville, NY. Indication, ISBN 0-88465-075-8, can be purchased at http://www.holytrinitypublications.com or at good bookstores and websellers everywhere.

In these episodes, Fr. John Parker reads Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven by Saint Innocent of Alaska, a beautiful, simple, and short book on the basics of Christianity, authored by one of our North American saints. "Part Two: How Jesus Christ lived on Earth, and What He Suffered for Us." pp 11-16. For permission to read, Fr. John thanks Holy Trinity Publications, Jordanville, NY. Indication, ISBN 0-88465-075-8, can be purchased at http://www.holytrinitypublications.com or at good bookstores and websellers everywhere.

El Padre Nicolás predicó sobre nuestra ocupación buscando lo eterno o lo temporal. Father Nicholas preached about our occupation looking for the eternal or the temporal.

Fr. Christopher takes a lesson from the life of St. Mary of Egypt on what it means to repent.

Hippocratic pro-life medical professionals are increasingly being pressured to practice their science and art without regard to their personal faith or conscience beliefs.

If you think it is respectable to consider babies, whether born or unborn, to be an inferior stage of human life, you can easily come to think that they have few rights that fully developed persons are bound to respect.

Fr. Pat contrasts the childhood dedication and life of Mary with that of Hannibal.

On the occasion of the third night of Hanukkah, Fr. Pat talks about the divisions God built into creation, about the consecration and desecration of sacred space, and about dedication of God's temple and of ourselves.

Awards include a long service commendation for member of staff who has fielded 999 calls for 40 years.

Cash-strapped Slough Borough Council says it is facing an "unprecedented magnitude" of cuts.

LightSounds runs 23-24 November.

CHRONIQUE. Les accusations de << genocide >> contre Israel se multiplient, revelant la derive antisioniste d'une partie de la gauche radicale.

Patient information in health care systems mostly consists of textual data, and free text in particular makes up a significant amount of it. Information retrieval systems that concentrate on these text types have to deal with the different challenges these medical free texts pose to achieve an acceptable performance. This paper describes the evaluation of four different types of information retrieval strategies: keyword search, search performed by a medical domain expert, a semantic based information retrieval tool, and a purely statistical information retrieval method. The different methods are evaluated and compared with respect to its appliance in medical health care systems.

1. Sauvetage de Casino: les syndicats retirent leur plainte en appel après avoir conclu un accord avec la direction  Le Figaro
2. Plan de sauvetage de Casino : accord avec la direction, les représentants du personnel retirent leur plainte en appel  France 3 Régions
3. Sauvetage de Casino : un accord social enfin trouvé pour clore le dossier  Capital.fr
4. Casino: les représentants du personnel retirent leur appel formulé à l'encontre du plan de sauvegarde  Investir
5. Plan de sauvegarde de Casino : la direction trouve un accord avec le personnel  La Tribune.fr

In the present scenario, the security of medical images is an important aspect in the field of image processing. Support vector machines (SVMs) are a supervised machine learning technique used in image classification. The roots of SVM are from statistical learning theory. It has gained excellent significance because of its robust, accurate, and very effective algorithm, even though it was applied to a small set of training samples. SVM can classify data into binary classification or multiple classifications according to the application's needs. Discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and singular value decomposition (SVD) transform techniques are utilised to enhance the image's security. In this paper, the image is first classified using SVM into ROI and RONI, and thereafter, to enhance the images diagnostic capabilities, the DWT-SVD-based hybrid watermarking technique is utilised to embed the watermark in the RONI region. Overall, our work makes a significant contribution to the field of medical image security by presenting a novel and effective solution. The results are evaluated using both perceptual and imperceptibility testing using PSNR and SSIM parameters. Different attacks were introduced to the watermarked image, which shows the efficacy and robustness of the proposed algorithm.

Physiological indicators are an important basis for reflecting the physiological health status of the human body and play an important role in medical practice. Association rules have also been one of the important research hotspots in recent years. This study aims to create a data mining system of association rules and artificial intelligence in biochemical indicators of sports training. This article uses Markov logic for network creation and system training, and tests whether the Markov logic network can be associated with the training system. The results show that the accuracy and recall rate obtained are about 90%, which shows that it is feasible to establish biochemical indicators of sports training based on Markov logic network, and the system has universal, guiding and constructive significance, ensuring that the construction of training system indicators will not go in the wrong direction.

The patient must follow a good diet to lessen the risk of health conditions. The body needs vitamins, minerals, and nutrients for illness prevention. When the human body does not receive the right amount of nutrients, nutritional disorders can develop, which can cause a number of different health issues. Chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension can be brought on by dietary deficiencies. The human body receives the nutrients from a balanced diet to function properly. This research has a prototype that enables patients to find nutritious food according to their health preferences. It suggests meals based on their preferences for nutrients such as protein, fibre, high-fibre, low-fat, etc., and diseases such as pregnancy and diabetes. The process implements the recommendation based on the patient's profile (content-relied, K-NN), recommendation relied on patients with similar profiles, and recommendation based on the patient's past or recent activity.

This longitudinal, quasi-experimental study investigated students’ cognitive personality type using the Myers-Briggs personality Type Indicator (MBTI) in Internet-based Online and Face-to-Face (F2F) modalities. A total of 1154 students enrolled in 28 Online and 32 F2F sections taught concurrently over a period of fourteen years. The study measured whether the sample is similar to the national average percentage frequency of all 16 different personality types; whether specific personality type students preferred a specific modality of instructions and if this preference changed over time; whether learning occurred in both class modalities; and whether specific personality type students learned more from a specific modality. Data was analyzed using regression, t-test, frequency, and Chi-Squared. The study concluded that data used in the study was similar to the national statistics; that no major differences in preference occurred over time; and that learning did occur in all modalities, with more statistically significant learning found in the Online modality versus F2F for Sensing, Thinking, and Perceiving types. Finally, Sensing and Thinking (ST) and Sensing and Perceiving (SP) group types learned significantly more in Online modality versus F2F.

Aim/Purpose: Medical images are very sensitive data that can be transferred to medical laboratories, professionals, and specialist for referral cases or consultation. Strict security measures must be utilized to keep these data secured in computer networks when transferred to another party. On a daily basis, unauthorized users derive ways to gain access to sensitive patient medical information. Background: One of the best ways to which medical image could be kept secured is through the use of quantum cryptography Methodology : Applying the principles of quantum mechanics to cryptography has led to a remarkable new dimension in secured network communication infrastructure. This enables two legitimate users to produce a shared secret random bit string, which can be used as a key in cryptographic applications, such as message encryption and authentication. Contribution: This paper can make it possible for the healthcare and medical professions to construct cryptographic communication systems to keep patients’ transferred data safe and secured. Findings: This work has been able to provide a way for two authorized users who are in different locations to securely establish a secret network key and to detect if eavesdropping (a fraudulent or disruption in the network) has occurred Recommendations for Practitioners: This security mechanism is recommended for healthcare providers and practitioners to ensure the privacy of patients’ medical information. Recommendation for Researchers: This paper opens a new chapter in secured medical records Impact on Society Quantum key distribution promises network security based on the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics by solving the problems of secret-key cryptography . Future Research: The use of post-quantum cryptography can be further researched.

Aim/Purpose: Given the increasingly important role of knowledge and human resources for firms in developing and emerging countries to pursue innovation, this paper aims to study and explore the potential intermediating roles of knowledge donation and collection in linking high-involvement human resource management (HRM) practice and innovation capability. The paper also explores possible moderators of market turbulence in fostering the influences of knowledge-sharing (KS) behaviors on innovation competence in terms of incremental and radical innovation. Background: The fitness of HRM practice is critical for organizations to foster knowledge capital and internal resources for improving innovation and sustaining competitive advantage. Methodology: The study sample is 309 respondents and Structural Equation Model (SEM) was used for the analysis of the data obtained through a questionnaire survey with the aid of AMOS version 22. Contribution: This paper increases the understanding of the precursor role of high-involvement HRM practices, intermediating mechanism of KS activities, and the regulating influence of market turbulence in predicting and fostering innovation capability, thereby pushing forward the theory of HRM and innovation management. Findings: The empirical findings support the proposed hypotheses relating to the intermediating role of KS in the HRM practices-innovation relationship. It spotlights the crucial character of market turbulence in driving the domination of knowledge-sharing behaviors on incremental innovation. Recommendations for Practitioners: The proposed research model can be applied by leaders and directors to foster their organizational innovation competence. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers are recommended to explore the influence of different models of HRM practices on innovation to identify the most effective pathway leading to innovation for firms in developing and emerging nations. Impact on Society: This paper provides valuable initiatives for firms in developing and emerging markets on how to leverage the strategic and internal resources of an organization for enhancing innovation. Future Research: Future studies should investigate the influence of HRM practices and knowledge resources to promote frugal innovation models for dealing with resource scarcity.

Aim/Purpose: These days educators are expected to integrate technological tools into classes. Although they acquire relevant skills, they are often reluctant to use these tools. Background: We incorporated online forums for generating a Community of Inquiry (CoI) in a faculty development program. Extending the Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model with Assessment Knowledge and content analysis of forum discourse and reflection after each CoI, we offer the Diagnostic Tool for Learning, Assessment, and Research (DTLAR). Methodology: This study spanned over two cycles of a development program for medical faculty. Contribution: This study demonstrates how the DTLAR supports in-depth examination of the benefits and challenges of using CoIs for learning and teaching. Findings: Before the program, participants had little experience with, and were reluctant to use, CoIs in classes. At the program completion, many were willing to adopt CoIs and appreciated this method’s contribution. Both CoIs discourse and reflections included positive attitudes regarding cognitive and teacher awareness categories. However, negative attitudes regarding affective aspects and time-consuming aspects of CoIs were exposed. Participants who experienced facilitating a CoI gained additional insights into its usefulness. Recommendations for Practitioners : The DTLAR allows analyzing adaption of online forums for learning and teaching. Recommendation for Researchers: The DTLAR allows analyzing factors that affect the acceptance of online fo-rums for learning and teaching. Impact on Society : While the tool was implemented in the context of medical education, it can be readily applied in other adult learning programs. Future Research: The study includes several design aspects that probably affected the improve-ment and challenges we found. Future research is called for providing guidelines for identifying boundary conditions and potential for further improvement.

Certain trends in scientific research have important relevance to bioethics theory and practice. A growing stream of literature relates to increasing transparency and inclusivity of populations (stakeholders) in scientific research, from high volume data collection, synthesis, and analysis to verification and ethical scrutiny. The emergence of this stream of literature has implications for bioethics theory and practice. This paper seeks to make explicit these streams of literature and to relate these to bioethical issues, through consideration of certain extreme examples of scientific research where bioethical engagement is vital. Implications for theory and practice are derived, offering useful insights derived from multidisciplinary theory. Arguably, rapidly developing fields of citizen science such as informing science and others seeking to maximise stakeholder involvement in both research and bioethical engagement have emerged as a response to these types of issues; radically enhanced stakeholder engagement in science may herald a new maximally inclusive and transparent paradigm in bioethics based on lessons gained from exposure to increasingly uncertain ethical contexts of biomedical research.

Labor pain and its relieving methods is one of the anxieties of mothers having a great impact on the quality of care during delivery as well as the patients' satisfaction. The propensity of using non-medicinal pain relief methods is increasing. The present study aimed to compare the effect of Acupressure at two GB-21 and SP06 points on the severity of labor pain. In this quasi-experimental single blind study started on December 2010 and ended on June 2011 in which 150 primiparous women were divided into three groups of Acupressure at GB-21 point, Acupressure at SP-6 point and control group. The intervention was carried out for 20 min at 3-4 and 20 min at 7-8 cm dilatation of Cervix. The pain severity was measured by Visual Analog Scale before and immediately, 30 and 60 min after the intervention. Then, the data were statistically analyzed. No significant difference was found among the 3 groups regarding the pain severity before the intervention. However, the pain severity it was reduced at 3-4 and 7-8 cm dilatation immediately, 30 and 60 min after the intervention in the two intervention groups compared to the control group (p<0.001). Nonetheless, no statistically significant difference was observed between the two intervention groups (p = 0.93). The results of the study showed that application of Acupressure at two GB-21 and SP-6 points was effective in the reduction of the severity of labor pain. Therefore, further studies are recommended to be performed on the application of Acupressure together with non-medicinal methods.

If partnering with local firms is an intuitive strategy with which to mitigate uncertainty in foreign ventures, then why don't organizations always partner with local firms, especially in uncertain settings? We address this question by unbundling the effects of uncertainty in foreign ventures at the venture and country levels. We contend that, while both levels increase the need for partnering with local firms in foreign ventures, country-level uncertainty increases the difficulty of partnering with local firms and decreases the likelihood of such partnerships. We also posit that experiential learning helps firms manage the two types of uncertainty, and thereby reduces the need for partnering—yet, experience in the host country makes partnering more feasible and increases the likelihood of such partnerships. To test our hypotheses, we conceptualize the decision to partner with a local firm in a foreign venture as a multilayered decision, and model it accordingly. Using a global sample of venture capital investments made between 1984 and 2011, we find support for the distinct effects of venture- and country-level uncertainty as well as for corresponding levels of experiential learning. These findings have implications for the literature on cross-border venture capital investment and international business in general.

Organizational theorists are increasingly interested in the antecedents of terminating interorganizational relationships, but have paid little attention to the disruptive consequences of such terminations on future tie formation. To redress this imbalance, the present study focuses on how venture capital (VC) firms' withdrawals from VC syndicates are associated with their subsequent syndication over the 1985 through 2008 period. We argue that withdrawals disrupt the relationships of the withdrawing VC firms with the coinvestors and reduce the likelihood of them entering into subsequent exchange (relational consequences). Furthermore, public information on the withdrawals can undermine the withdrawing VC firm's reputation for reliability, making it a less desirable exchange partner overall (global reputational consequences). Finally, we find that abandoned coinvestors can spread negative, private information about the withdrawing firm, reducing its chances of syndication with their other network contacts (local reputational consequences). We also show that the global and local reputational consequences attenuate each other, due to redundancy in the content of information each provides. We discuss the implications of our theory for the research on network dynamics and reputation.

BATU KAWAN: US-based medical devices company Dexcom Inc has officially opened its manufacturing facility, also its first offshore manufacturing site outside the United States, in Batu Kawan, Penang.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the RM2.83 billion strategic investment will bring more than 3,000 jobs to the state, contributing to a workforce set to positively impact the lives of over three million people worldwide.

Dexcom, founded in 1999, is a global leader in continuous glucose Monitoring (CGM) technology for individuals living with diabetes.

“The establishment of this new facility highlights Dexcom’s continued commitment to take control of health through innovative CGM systems. It also reaffirms Penang’s reputation as a global hub for advanced technological industries, reinforcing its position as a preferred destination for high-quality manufacturing and innovation,” the chief minister said in his speech at the opening ceremony here today.

Chow said Penang is on the right path towards becoming the medical technology (medtech) hub of Southeast Asia by leveraging on the state’s over 50 years of industry excellence.

“Housing the largest number of medtech companies nationally and regionally, Penang remains a highly attractive location for its infrastructure availability and ecosystem that meet the needs of the medtech industry.

“For the past five years (2019-2023), Penang garnered a total of RM5.8 billion worth of investments in the scientific and measuring equipment sector, representing 45% of the nation’s total investments in this sector, involving 33 projects and generating an estimated 4,630 employment opportunities,” he said.

Dubbed the Silicon Valley of the East, Penang has the highest concentration of medical technology companies in Malaysia and Southeast Asia to date. – Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: As the takaful industry contends with escalating medical inflation and the rising costs of healthcare, the Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) has called for increased government and private sector collaboration to ensure affordable, accessible protection options for all Malaysians.

MTA CEO Mohd Radzuan Mohamed envisions takaful becoming a leading option for Malaysians seeking protection.

With only 60% of the population currently insured or covered by takaful, he sees untapped potential among the remaining 40%, primarily in underserved and unserved communities.

“Our goal is to make takaful an accessible option, particularly for groups like the BM40 (top 20% of B40 and bottom 40% M40), who often do not receive enough attention from traditional agents,” he told SunBiz at the recent launch of Hijrah27.

Radzuan said the takaful sector has struggled to expand its market share, currently at about 20% after four decades.

In response, he said, they are considering how digital transformation, distribution enhancements and technology can address these challenges.

“Malaysia’s transformation plan and recent initiatives, like the financial sector blueprint, outline steps to close this gap by focusing on underserved communities, leveraging financial literacy campaigns, and engaging technology to make takaful accessible,” he added.

Additionally, he said co-payments, a shared cost model between the insurer and the insured, is seen as a potential solution to rising premiums fuelled by medical inflation.

“Collaborating with the Ministry of Health and Bank Negara Malaysia, takaful providers aim to develop cost-sharing models that help balance affordability and coverage. With co-payments, premiums could become more manageable, helping to mitigate the effects of medical inflation and making Takaful accessible for more people.”
While the adoption of co-payments is currently optional, Radzuan said, making it mandatory could have far-reaching implications on the takaful industry. “A balanced co-payment structure can be beneficial, but affordability must remain a priority to avoid defeating the purpose of protection,” he emphasised.

Looking forward, Radzuan said the association is exploring new technology-driven initiatives, such as the Hijrah27 framework, to improve customer service and operational efficiency. “Collaborations with fintech firms and the rise of AI-based solutions also show promise in elevating the industry’s standards and expanding reach,” he added.

With more than 67 million beneficiaries, around one in five Americans is enrolled in Medicare. The federal health insurance program has helped ensure adults over 65 and individuals with disabilities have access to health insurance since 1965. But with regular changes to the program — and our health system at large — it’s no wonder […]

The post Medicare: 10 Things To Know appeared first on Clark Howard.

Say they want ‘hard facts’ on the matter.

Leonardo DiCaprio treats himself with Mexican getaway on 50th birthday

Leonardo DiCaprio and his girlfriend, Vittoria Ceretti, recently jetted off to Mexico to celebrate his milestone 50th birthday.

The Oscar-winning actor was spotted boarding a private jet in Los Angeles with...

Effective Nov. 1, American taxpayers will begin paying routine medical bills for illegal aliens.

Fernando Valenzuela, the Los Angeles Dodgers pitching ace who helped the team win the 1981 World Series, died of septic shock last month, according to his death certificate.

The latest instalment of the Aichi Targets Passport is available now to download as an app from iTunes and Google Play.

As the flagship publication of the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP), the Aichi Targets Passport provides annual updates on the global biodiversity indicators that monitor progress towards the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the underlying Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

The suite of indicators presented in the Aichi Targets Passport was brought together by the BIP. They are as far as possible, global in their coverage, scientifically valid and peer reviewed, and relevant to the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. In particular, indicators are presented to highlight the progress that has been made towards each target so far and what baselines exist from which future progress can be monitored.

The Aichi Targets Passport was first released as a "proof of concept" in October 2012 and included one or two indicators for each Aichi Biodiversity Target. Since the release of the Beta version, the BIP Partnership has continued working to enhance and increase the number of global indicators available for each of the targets. In its app format, the information contained in the Aichi Targets Passport is at your fingertips at any time.

This latest edition of the Aichi Targets Passport has been released in tandem with the fourth edition of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-4). In addition to information on which of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets is on-course to completion and which targets require more action, GBO-4 presents options that could halt further biodiversity loss.

The indicators presented in the Aichi Targets Passport are those contained in CBD decision XI/3 with some additional indicators that have been, or are being, developed to fill gaps.

To download the Aichi Targets Passport visit: http://www.bipindicators.net/resource/aichipassport 

iTunes: http://goo.gl/dOWujN

Google Play: http://goo.gl/BN6AfG

UNEP-WCMC, Dutch Butterfly Conservation, and EU BON recently convened a workshop of 14 global experts from the field of butterfly monitoring, specifically the tropics and subtropics. The workshop has catalysed the process for the development of global butterfly monitoring guidelines and the creation of a new specialist butterfly monitoring group.

Hosted by GEO BON (Group on Earth Biodiversity Observation Network) at the offices of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) in Leipzig, Germany, the meeting took place on 8^th and 9^th December 2014. The global experts attending the meeting shared their significant experience and knowledge from the tropics, sub-tropics and deserts; including countries such as Papua New Guinea, Belize, Brazil, Colombia, USA, South Africa, Malaysia, and Liberia.

Blue Copper (Lycaena helle); Credit: Chris van Swaay

Butterfly populations have been monitored in Europe for over 35 years. This monitoring has used standardized protocols, produced long-term datasets, and has resulted in indicators tracking the changes in butterfly populations. These data are proving to be very valuable for informing decision-makers on biodiversity changes and are used at local, national and regional levels to inform conservation management decisions and policies. As a result of the success of schemes in Europe, butterfly monitoring is growing and is now being implemented in countries outside of Europe including North America and Israel using similar protocols.

However, the protocols for butterfly monitoring in temperate regions are not applicable in regions with high numbers of butterfly species such as the tropics. In these biomes methodologies such as fruit-bait traps, counts of puddling butterflies, and timed counts have been used. The aim of this meeting, therefore, was to agree a standard set of methodologies that could be applied globally and from which data could be aggregated through an Essential Biodiversity Variable into a Global Butterfly Indicator.

The main agenda items and points of discussion were an overview of current butterfly monitoring, structured by continent and habitat, with emphasis on the different protocols; steps to process count data into indicators and trends; essential variables required to measure changes in butterfly populations; compatibility of different protocols and the logistics of creating a global indicator; whether the entire species diversity should be measured or just a portion; and agreement on a standard set monitoring protocols.

This workshop has catalysed the development of a number of products, including: global butterfly monitoring guidelines; the development of a Global Butterfly Indicator; and a suite of scientific journal articles on butterfly monitoring in different regions of the world. The development of an Essential Biodiversity Variable (EBV) ‘butterfly population abundance’ that will facilitate the harmonisation of butterfly monitoring data from different habitat types and regions is also being developed. A new butterfly monitoring specialist group has also been established to provide support for practitioners working in the field of butterfly monitoring and to continue momentum from this workshop.

The standardization of monitoring protocols that can be implemented in any country is crucial for the robust estimation of butterfly populations globally to assess progress towards the 2020 targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). These guidelines can also provide the foundation for developing scenarios for the future of butterfly populations under different policy and management options. The outcomes of this meeting provide a clear path to increased harmonization among the efforts of global butterfly experts in different regions and towards the establishment of a Global Butterfly Indicator.

We would like to thank GEO BON and EU BON for funding this meeting.

Participants of the butterfly monitoring experts meeting at iDiv, Leipzig, Germany, December 2014

The European Environment Agency (EEA) is organising an open competition with a view to recruiting a contract agent to work as Project Manager within the area of biodiversity indicators and assessments and further with a view to establishing a reserve list.

THE AGENCY

The EEA is an Agency of the European Union (EU) and one of the decentralised Union bodies. The EEA aims to support sustainable development and to help achieve significant and measurable improvement inEurope’s environment, through the provision of timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to policy-making agents and the public.

More information is available on the official EEA page: http://www.eea.europa.eu/about-us/jobs/eeavacancy.2015-01-14.3625557226

Butterfly monitoring at local, national, regional, and global levels is the topic of the first of the GEO BON Technical Series reports produced to provide stakeholders with practical guidance for biodiversity conservation.

The report is jointly produced by GEO BON, EU BON, UNEP-WCMC, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Dutch Butterfly Conservation, as a follow up of a joint workshop, which took place in December 2014, to catalyse the process for the development of global butterfly monitoring guidelines and the creation of a new specialist butterfly monitoring group.

The report titled "Guidelines for Standardised Global Butterfly Monitoring" provides a suite of standard field protocols that can measure butterfly population change over various spatial and temporal scales, and that can be applied in any part of the world.

The importance of butterfly monitoring programmes lies in the fact that they provide information about population trends and changes that can be then used as indicators of biodiversity and environmental change outside of the butterfly context.

The guidelines are intended for scheme coordinators, i.e. people wishing to establish butterfly monitoring in any part of the world. The guidelines explain how to set up butterfly monitoring that can provide consistent and comparable results between sites and between years, consistent with international standards.

The ambition behind this new publication is that butterfly populations around the world are well monitored, thereby providing vital information on how these insect populations and other parts of biodiversity are changing. This information is important for feeding into local, national, regional, and global decision-making to help reduce biodiversity loss as well as raising awareness of butterflies and biodiversity in general.

Original Source:

Van Swaay, C., Regan, E., Ling, M., Bozhinovska, E., Fernandez, M., Marini-Filho, O.J., Huertas, B., Phon, C.-K., Kőrösi, A., Meerman, J., Pe’er, G., Uehara-Prado, M., Sáfián, S., Sam, L., Shuey, J., Taron, D., Terblanche, R., and Underhill, L. (2015). Guidelines for Standardised Global Butterfly Monitoring. Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network, Leipzig, Germany. GEO BON Technical Series 1, 32pp.

The Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP) Secretariat is looking for indicators to fill gaps in the global suite of biodiversity indicators and allow a full understanding of progress towards globally agreed targets.

They are inviting experts and organisations to participate in an open online consultation to fill the gaps in the global indicator framework for the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020. Through this short online survey they want to hear about any existing indicators (both global and sub-global in scale), indicators under development, potentially useful datasets or key experts or organisations in the fields. The main focus is on indicators that respond to the gaps in the global framework, which are listed on the attached flyer, but they are also keen to hear about any other indicators that could potentially enhance the existing indicator suite.

The consultation is open until 30 June 2016. Further information on the consultation is available in the attached flyer, the BIP website http://www.bipindicators.net/gaps, and the CBD notification SCBD/OES/RH/KNM/85710.

Indicators in Environmental Monitoring: Standardization, Assessment and Policy
16 September - 19 September 2013, Trier University, Campus II, Trier, Germany
The high diversity of methods and practices currently used to collect and evaluate environmental data reduces significantly comparisons of results and observations. This international conference of Environmental Indicators will contribute to a harmonization of standards to optimize diagnoses and to improve acceptance.
The use of indicators to monitor our environment and to inform and diagnose environmental hazards and their impacts remains a challenge. Standardization of these monitoring efforts is of great importance in order to get reliable data for an accurate assessment of the current state of the environment and to thus form the basis for policy. This international conference will bring together experts from government departments, consultancies, and academia to meet this challenge.

Further Information: http://www.icei2013.com/