Union leader criticizes Argentine government (AP)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina ? A top union leader who has been a strong ally of Argentina's government is taking an increasingly critical line, and the conflict could have political costs for President Cristina Fernandez.

Union leader Hugo Moyano said Thursday that Argentine workers will keep pressing for wages that they feel they deserve. He also issued a warning to Fernandez, saying that more than half of her votes in her re-election victory in October came thanks to union workers.

Moyano said in a speech that he is resigning his posts within Fernandez's party as interim president in the province of Buenos Aires and as a national vice president.

"I'm quitting my posts, but not the struggle," Moyano said, paraphrasing Eva Peron, the wife of former President Juan Domingo Peron. "We're going to rebuild Peronism."

He accused Fernandez's party of straying from the values of Peron.

Moyano, who spoke at a soccer stadium flanked by leaders of various union groups, questioned Fernandez for her criticisms of union stances during her Dec. 10 inauguration speech. Fernandez said then that "there is a right to strike, but not to blackmail nor to extort."

Moyano heads the General Labor Confederation, the largest union group in the country. He had smoother relations with Fernandez's husband and predecessor as president, Nestor Kirchner, who died last year.

Tensions between the government and unions have grown as the government has sought to show greater restraint in public spending with an eye to shielding Argentina's finances from world economic woes.

The government has sought to limit wage increases. Union leaders say they are concerned those limits are far below inflation. Private economists say prices are rising at an annual rate of at least 27 percent, while the government insists inflation is about one-third that.

Moyano's labor group has said there should be no ceiling in wage talks. The union leader has also said soaring inflation is a major problem.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_argentina_union_leader

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Nintendo and the Louvre partner for 3DS-enhanced tours (Digital Trends)

As reported earlier by the?Agence France-Presse news agency, the most popular museum in the world is teaming up with Nintendo to bring 3DS handheld gaming devices to patrons of the Louvre. Nintendo is supplying the museum with 5,000 3DS devices in order to replace?traditional audio-guides by March 2012. While the Paris museum has about 8.5 million annual visitors come through the doors, only four percent utilize the current audio hardware offered by the museum for tours at a cost of approximately six euros ($7.81). The?museum?s head of multimedia believes that the majority of people will be?happier using a touch screen rather than figure out how to work the audio guide.?

While visitors that rent the Nintendo 3DS will likely pay a higher fee for the device, users will be able to see a visual representation of their location within the Louvre and choose from several?themed itineraries, some of which have been targeted at children. The museum also plans to include?hundreds of audio commentaries about the exhibits and record the audio selections in seven different languages. The video screens will likely be used to show current and upcoming exhibits in addition to recorded presentations. While Nintendo is developing all the content for the supplied 3DS devices, the?Louvre has final editorial control on the application.

The Louvre also has smartphone and iPad applications available to download and use during a tour of the Louvre. The application allows museum visitors to share exhibits they are currently viewing on Facebook as well as read more in-depth information about each piece. While the iPhone version of the application is currently free, the iPad version comes with more high resolution photos and is a premium app purchase. Both versions of the application require at least 800MB and users are encouraged to download the application before visiting the museum. 

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20111216/tc_digitaltrends/nintendoandthelouvrepartnerfor3dsenhancedtours

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Matthew Lynch, Ed.D.: Classroom Management in a Culturally Responsive Environment

Consideration of classroom management techniques is critical when building a culturally-responsive learning environment. It is imperative that the instructor have a vast body of knowledge regarding culturally-dependent interpersonal behaviors or else it is possible that behaviors that are normal within the scope of a student's culture will be misinterpreted as a behavioral problem or learning disability. In general, it is likely that conflicts between teacher and students will arise if the teacher has not educated themselves about the culture and accompanying behavioral patterns.

For instance, many Asian children are taught by their community that it is a sign of disrespect to look an adult in the eyes. On the other hand, in the European American community it is considered a sign of disrespect if you don't look someone in the eyes when they're speaking to you. If a teacher is not sensitive to such nuanced cultural differences then they may interpret a sign of respect in entirely the wrong way.

To further illustrate, consider the standard style of discourse in a European American classroom. Students are expected to sit quietly in rows of desks and absorb information that their teacher chooses to share with them. If a student wishes to participate then they are required to indicate this by raising their hand and waiting patiently until they are given permission to communicate their thoughts.

On the other hand in the African American culture, interaction is much more assertive and straightforward. If an African American student blurts out the answer to a question without permission, a teacher in a traditional classroom would be likely to mistake profound interest in the material for deleterious rule-breaking. If the teacher quashes such culturally normal behavior then it serves to inform the student that his style of discourse is "wrong" while the instructor's style of discourse is "right."

Instead of engaging in authoritarian classroom management techniques, an instructor in a culturally responsive classroom creates a caring, nurturing bond with their students; such that the students think twice about jeopardizing their relationship with the instructor by making poor behavioral decisions. Potential methods for building rapport with students include spending time on social-building games over the first few weeks of class, starting up conversations with students outside of class, and starting the class in a welcoming manner despite whatever behavioral problems may have occurred during the last meeting of the class. Such an amicable partnership between student and teacher tends to foster an optimal learning environment.

A key principle of culturally responsive classroom management is explicit instruction about rules in a caring way. If students fail to adhere to a rule, contact is initiated in a caring fashion. The instructor should consider that children do things for a reason and that it is the instructor's job to figure out what that reason is. Is it due to a culture clash? Is it a reaction to a perceived power differential or social injustice? If so, the rule itself may need to be revisited.

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Follow Matthew Lynch, Ed.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@lynch39083

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-lynch-edd/classroom-management-in-a_b_1153384.html

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The Higgs boson: What has God got to do with it?

By Robert Evans

GENEVA | Wed Dec 14, 2011 11:05am EST

GENEVA (Reuters) - "We don't call it the 'God particle', it's just the media that do that," a senior U.S. scientist politely told an interviewer on a major European radio station on Tuesday.

"Well, I am the from the media and I'm going to continue calling it that," said the journalist - and continued to do so.

The exchange, as physicists at the CERN research centre near Geneva were preparing to announce the latest news from their long and frustrating search for the Higgs boson, illustrated sharply how science and the popular media are not always a good mix.

"I hate that 'God particle' term," said Pauline Gagnon, a Canadian member of CERN's ATLAS team of so-called "Higgs hunters" - an epithet they do not reject.

"The Higgs is not endowed with any religious meaning. It is ridiculous to call it that," she told Reuters at a news conference after her colleagues revealed growing evidence, albeit not yet proof, of the particle's existence.

Oliver Buchmueller, from the rival research team CMS, was a little less trenchant.

"Calling it the 'God particle' is completely inappropriate," said the German physicist, who divides his time between CERN and teaching at London's Imperial College.

"It's not doing justice to the Higgs and what we think its role in the universe is. It has nothing to do with God."

The Higgs boson is being hunted so determinedly because it would be the manifestation of an invisible field - the Higgs field - thought to permeate the entire universe.

The field was posited in the 1960s by British scientist Peter Higgs as the way that matter obtained mass after the universe was created in the Big Bang.

As such, according to the theory, it was the agent that made the stars, planets - and life - possible by giving mass to most elementary particles, the building blocks of the universe; hence the nickname "God particle."

"Without it, or something like it, particles would just have remained whizzing around the universe at the speed of light," said Pippa Wells, another Atlas researcher.

But Wells also has no time for theological terminology in describing it.

"Hearing it called the 'God particle' makes me angry. It confuses people about what we are trying to do here at CERN."

According to people who have investigated the subject, the term originated with a 1993 history of particle physics by U.S. Nobel prize winner Leon M Lederman.

The book was titled: "The God Particle: If the Universe is the Answer, What is the Question?"

Physicists say Lederman, who over the years has been the target of much opprobrium from his scientific colleagues, tells friends he wanted to call the book "The Goddamned Particle" to reflect frustration at the failure to find it.

But, according to that account, his publisher rejected the epithet - possibly because of its potential to upset a strongly religious U.S. public - and convinced Lederman to accept the alternative he proposed.

"Lederman has a lot to answer for," said Higgs himself, now 82, on a visit to Geneva some six years ago.

But James Gillies, spokesman for CERN and himself a physicist, is slightly more equivocal.

"Of course it has nothing to do with God whatsoever," he says. "But I can understand why people go that way because the Higgs is so important to our understanding of nature."

(Reporting by Robert Evans; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/scienceNews/~3/4sbA3IBruQQ/us-science-higgs-god-idUSTRE7BC28H20111214

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Barcelona beats Al-Sadd to reach Club WCup final

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updated 7:48 a.m. ET Dec. 15, 2011

YOKOHAMA, Japan - Barcelona is back in the Club World Cup final, setting up a match against South American champion Santos by beating Qatari club Al-Sadd 4-0 Thursday.

Adriano scored two first-half goals, while Seydou Keita and Maxwell added the others for the Champions League champions.

Adriano put Barcelona in the lead in the 25th minute after a blunder by Al-Sadd goalkeeper Mohamed Saqr. A cross from Pedro on the left went to Nadir Belhadj, who tried to direct the ball to his goalkeeper. But Saqr failed to pick up the ball before attempting to clear it with his feet and Adriano charged in to tap in from close range.

Adriano doubled the lead in the 43rd with a left-footed shot from just inside the box.

Lionel Messi set up Barcelona's third goal in the 64th with a perfect pass to Keita, who finished with a flick to the left side of the net. Substitute Maxwell added the final goal in the 81st with an angled left-footed shot that deflected in off the leg of Saqr.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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More newsCharles Platiau / Reuters

Paris Saint-Germain fades away

Roundup: Despite winning Wednesday, big-spending Paris Saint-Germain crashed out of the Europa League, a costly exit for an ambitious French club desperate for silverware.

Charles Platiau / Reuters

Extending?

Glasgow Rangers have opened talks with Maurice Edu's agent in hope of extending the American midfielder's stay with the defending Scottish Premier League champion.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45681248/ns/sports-soccer/

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Pre-Sliced Meat, Name-Brand Spices, and Other Overpriced Items You Should Avoid at the Grocery [Saving Money]

Being picky at the grocery store can save you lots of money. Personal finance blog Wise Bread has rounded up the 8 most marked up items at the grocery: Foods to keep out of your cart so you can save more.

Some of the items listed may be alright to buy if you strategically use grocery coupons, but others are so highly marked up that you should either not buy them or look for other places to pick them up.

For example, cubed or presliced meat, according to consumer savings expert Andrea Woroch, is often marked up more than 60%; lesser cuts of meat, like ones used for stews, are marked up as high as 300%. Look at buying these in bulk from Costco, Woroch advises, or only buy these if they're marked down (shopping late in the evening can help).

Another example is name-brand spices, which are marked up nearly 97%. Alternative places to look for these spices, the article suggests, are natural food stores, drugstores, and discount stores.

Hit up the article for the full list of the most marked up items at the grocery. Got any tips for what's best to avoid at the supermarket? You know where to post them.

Photo by Licorice Medusa.

8 Overpriced Grocery Items to Skip | Wise Bread

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/IBb9A51V_TY/pre+sliced-meat-name+brand-spices-and-other-overpriced-grocery-items-to-avoid

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Feds to allow use of Medicare data to rate doctors (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Trying to find a top specialist to assess potentially troubling findings on a routine mammogram? That nerve-wracking process may soon get easier.

Federal officials announced Monday that Medicare will finally allow the use of its extensive claims database to rate doctors, hospitals and other medical service providers.

The report cards could be produced by employers, consumer groups or others, and would have to follow valid statistical methods. Individual medical providers would have 60 days to privately challenge a report before its release.

But Medicare acting administrator Marilyn Tavenner calls it "a giant step forward" to making medical decisions less daunting for patients while holding providers accountable for quality.

Consumer groups that have long pushed for the release of the data said they are still poring over the fine print.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111205/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_medical_report_cards

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