Agentschap Plententuin Meise (Botanic Garden Meise), Bouchout Castle – Meise (Brussels), Belgium

The pro-iBiosphere project supported by the European Commission (DG CONNECT) through its FP7 research funding programme has the pleasure to invite you to join its Final Event.

The project has the vision of implementing an Open Knowledge Biodiversity Management System (OBKMS), i.e. an integration platform that will allow to produce Biotas (i.e. Floras, Faunas, Mycotas and other revisionary taxonomic literature) of the future in a flexible semantically-driven online environment.

During its two year duration, pro-iBiosphere contributed to making fundamental biodiversity data digital, open and re-usable. The achievements of the project will be presented in a series of activities (Event Flyer) detailed below that will take place from Tuesday the 10^th to Thursday the 12^th of June 2014 at the Bouchout Castle (Botanic Garden Meise, Belgium).

Tuesday June 10 (PM)

Workshop on Model Evaluation

Wednesday June 11 (all day)

• Demonstrations on pro-iBiosphere pilots

• Demonstrations on outcomes of pro-iBiosphere Data Enrichment Hackathon

• Workshop on Biodiversity Catalogue

• Training on WikiMedia

• Poster session

Thursday June 12 (all day)

• Final Conference 

• Networking Cocktail

For more information on the Final Event (agenda, logistics,…), visit the dedicated wiki page.

Registration is free of charge but compulsory due to room capacity constraints. You can register by filling out the online registration form at http://tiny.cc/pib-final-event.

In case you are interested in giving a presentation during the Final Event activities or in submitting a poster in the poster session, please contact us at final-event@pro-ibiosphere.eu

The Creative-B project final even will take place on 26 Sep 2014 in Brussels. During this event, a roadmap of global data infrastructures supporting biodiversity and ecosystem research will be presented.

In the last two decades quite a number of activities emerged to manage, share and deploy the fast growing data volumes from observations, collections, sensors and other data sources in biodiversity and ecosystem research. This data "gravity" pushed new applications and services, resulting in the development and establishment of large-scale research infrastructures. Following an initiative of the European LifeWatch research infrastructure, a number of large-scale data research infrastructures* with a global outreach in this scientific area teamed together in the project Creative-B (Coordination of Research e-Infrastructures Activities Toward an International Virtual Environment for Biodiversity)**.

The collaboration resulted in drafting a global Roadmap focusing on common priorities and infrastructure engagement, enhancing infrastructure interoperability, and the legal and governance implications. Specific issues are addressing challenges to sustain data availability and services, user interaction and value delivery, cooperation for infrastructure interoperability as well as legal interoperability, and finally education and training. This Roadmap shows how global interaction is promoting complementary development while fostering synergy for supporting frontier research and addressing global and societal challenges. The event in Brussels will also highlight some implications for other stakeholders such as funding and governmental bodies.

Registration is now open here: http://creative-b-2014.sciencesconf.org/registration

Find out more on the event website, and in the event program.

The final SCARCE International Conference "River Conservation under Water Scarcity: Integration of water quantity and quality in Iberian Rivers under global change" will take place on 20 - 21 October 2014 in Terragona, Spain.

SCARCE is a multipurpose project that aims to describe and predict the relevance of global change impacts on water availability, water quality and ecosystem services in Mediterranean river basins of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as their impacts on the human society and economy. The project has assembled a multidisciplinary team of leading scientists in the fields of hydrology, geomorphology, chemistry, ecology, ecotoxicology, economy, engineering and modelling, in an unknown effort in the CONSOLIDER framework. The topics of the Final SCARCE International Conference are:

•  Integrating the effects of chemical quality with environmental stressors on biodiversity and human risks
•  Linking chemical exposure and biological effects
•  Integrated assessment of water quantity and quality and Global Change
•  Integrating results to predict global change impacts on freshwater ecosystem services
•  Global change and adaptation and mitigation measures
• Prediction of future threats and mitigation proposals in the light of the analysis of the economic and social impacts
•  Water scarcity, freshwater ecosystem services and integration in RBMPs
•  Integrating science and policy

The Conference is planned in form of oral talks, posters and discussions, where experts from different fields can share their knowledge.

The conference invites to anyone working on water sustainability to share knowledge to face a changing world in water resources management.

The final conference programme is available an attachment below.

The ZSL Institute of Zoology is organizing a one day symposim "Space - the final frontier for biodiversity monitoring?" to take place on 29 April 2016. The event will bring together leading experts in biodiversity monitoring and satellite remote sensing to discuss ways to better capitalise on this technology to monitor biological diversity globally.

For more information on participation and logistics, please visit the official event 's page.

The EU BON Final Meeting takes place from 14 - 16 March 2017.

14 March 2017

Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS)
Museum of Natural Sciences
Vautier Street 13
1000 Brussels, Belgium

and

15 - 16 March 2017

Bouchout Castle
Botanic Garden Meise
Nieuwelaan 38
1860 Meise, Belgium

An overview of the programme can be found here.

To register for the Meeting please visit the registration page.

Please see also the Meeting's venues and accommodation pages.

Find out more on the official symposium webpage.

The Green, Green Grass of Home (1982). David’s health situation has made it difficult for our household to maintain this blog. We don’t want it to fade away, though, so we’ve decided to select previous entries from our backlist to republish. These are items that chime with current developments or that we think might languish […]

Under the federal law, nearly all hourly workers in the U.S. are entitled to overtime pay after 40 hours a week. But many salaried workers are exempt from that requirement — unless they earn below a certain level.

The post Biden administration finalizes rule to grant overtime for millions more salaried workers appeared first on Boston.com.

The Baseball Writers' Association of America on Nov. 11 announced the finalists for its Rookie of the Year Awards. Many Boston Red Sox fans take issue with its American League selections. Red Sox rookie Wilyer Abreu was not selected among the three AL ROY finalists. Colton Cowser, Austin Wells and Luis Gil — all AL East rivals — are the three youngsters nominated for this season's title.

Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers and outfielder Jarren Duran were both finalists for AL Silver Slugger awards but neither won. Guardians' José Ramírez won for AL third basemen. Yankees sluggers Aaron Judge and Juan Soto as well as Orioles' Anthony Santander were the three AL outfield winners. BETTING: Check out our MA sports betting guide , where you can learn basic terminology, definitions and how to read odds for those interested in learning how to bet in Massachusetts. Duran, who was a finalist for the first time, led the majors in doubles with 48. He also tied with Arizona's Corbin Carroll for the major league lead in triples (14). He batted .285 with a .342 on-base percentage, .492 slugging

With the Final Senate Races Now Settled, Eyes Turn to House - Who Will Be in Charge?

With the introduction of Tectum DesignArt– Lines Finale PB ceiling and wall panels, Armstrong World Industries offers architects and designers an opportunity to deliver unique visuals created by panels providing excellent sound absorption.

Anaheim, CA – OSHA’s final rule on walking/working surfaces to address slips, trips and falls in the workplace soon could be a reality, agency administrator David Michaels said Tuesday during a roundtable discussion at the 2016 NSC Congress & Expo.

Washington — The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has finalized what it calls “comprehensive” revisions to its procedural rules, in part to reflect technological advances.

Washington — The Department of Labor has issued a final rule that targets “employee misclassification” of workers as independent contractors.

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is increasing the area safety technology may be mounted inside commercial motor vehicles and expanding the definition of “vehicle safety technology.”

The Monitoring Association (TMA) announced the 12 finalists for the 2019 TMA Excellence Awards.

TMA announced the finalists for this year's 2020 Excellence Awards that name the Monitoring Center of the Year, along with the Manager, Operator and Support Person of the Year.

The next and final GHS deadline is June 1, 2016. What does that means for me as an employer?

Washington — OSHA’s changes to which workplaces are required to submit annual injury and illness data are undergoing final review, according to an Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs dashboard.

Washington – Five years after issuing an interim rule, OSHA has published a final rule regarding how to handle retaliation complaints from railroad workers and public transit workers who engage in whistleblower activities.

Washington – A new final rule from OSHA is aimed at improving protections for seamen who inform the government about violations of maritime safety laws or regulations.

Washington — OSHA is asking for public input on an interim final rule that governs the whistleblower protections provision of the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act of 2019.

Q&A with TMA Central Station Manager of the Year Runners-Up

Washington – Manufacturers of new transport airplanes must show proof that the aircraft can safely fly in freezing drizzle or freezing rain, under a final rule issued Nov. 4 by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Washington — A final rule from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will regulate the transport of lithium-ion batteries shipped by air.

Washington – A new final rule from OSHA expands the exemption for digger-derrick operations in the Cranes and Derricks in Construction Standard.

Washington – OSHA is delaying by three years its certification requirements for crane operators, the agency announced in a final rule published Sept. 25.

Arlington, VA – The Mine Safety and Health Administration has issued a final rule intended to improve pre-shift examinations of metal and non-metal mines.

Arlington, VA – The Mine Safety and Health Administration is proposing to amend a final rule intended to improve pre-shift examinations of metal and non-metal mines, as well as delay its effective date until March 2, according to separate notices published in the Sept. 12 Federal Register.

Arlington, VA – The Mine Safety and Health Administration has put on hold until June 2 the effective date of a final rule intended to improve pre-shift examinations of metal and non-metal mines.

Arlington, VA — The Mine Safety and Health Administration has published a final rule on pre-shift examinations of metal and non-metal mines.

Washington — The Mine Safety and Health Administration’s direct final rule concerning advances in electronic detonators in metal and nonmetal mines has gone into effect, the agency announced March 18.

Washington — NIOSH has finalized the beta version of an online software tool designed to provide post-shift assessments of mine worker exposure to respirable crystalline silica.

Washington – Military veterans who operated commercial motor vehicles during their service will have an easier time obtaining learner’s permits and driver’s licenses to become CMV operators as civilians, thanks to a recently published final rule intended to simplify the process.

Washington — Commercial motor vehicle drivers are no longer officially required to take a weekly break of at least 34 consecutive hours, including two breaks between 1 and 5 a.m., to comply with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration hours-of-service regulations, under a new final rule.

Washington — A final rule the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration claims would add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers has been sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review.

Washington — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has unveiled a highly anticipated final rule the agency claims will add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.

Washington — A coalition of safety advocacy groups, in conjunction with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, is petitioning the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to reconsider a controversial final rule the agency claims will add flexibility to hours-of-service regulations for commercial truck drivers.

Washington — Temporary hours-of-service exemptions and other regulatory relief for truckers during regional emergency declarations will be limited under a recently published Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration final rule.

Washington — Effective April 20, the Federal Railway Administration is requiring the nation’s largest freight railroads – known as Class I – and smaller freight railroads with “inadequate safety performance” to develop and implement a formal risk reduction program. However, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, says the final rule does not fulfill a congressional mandate to address rail worker fatigue.

Washington — More than three years after the Federal Railroad Administration published a final rule that requires commuter and intercity passenger lines to develop and implement system safety programs, FRA is amending the rule.

Washington — OSHA is providing specific exemptions and clarifications for railroad roadway work in its Cranes and Derricks in Construction Standard.

Washington — The Federal Railroad Administration is revising its regulations governing Positive Train Control systems – emergency slowing and stopping systems designed to help prevent train crashes and derailments caused by human error – and reporting on their function.

Washington — Responding to a petition for reconsideration of a final rule on its Risk Reduction Program, the Federal Railroad Administration is seeking comment on whether to keep or remove a provision clarifying that certain contractors are considered a railroad’s directly affected employees.

Washington — The Department of Labor has published a final rule intended to help its agencies, including OSHA, improve their collection efforts for citation penalties and other debts.

Washington — OSHA has published final data on the agency’s Top 10 most frequently cited standards for fiscal year 2023.

Washington — The Department of Health and Human Services has reopened until Sept. 25 the comment period on an interim final rule that allows NIOSH to approve a new class of powered air-purifying respirators for workers in the health care and public safety sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic, among other changes.