Engaging toys are great if you have a dog with endless energy you want to tire out, both mentally and physically. This DIY toy, on the other hand uses simple supplies and will keep your pet occupied for hours without much effort on your part.
The internet has made researching a topic easier than ever before. Instead of making a trip to the library, people with internet access can simply pull up a search engine, type, and click away. But, in addition to making it easier to access information, the web has also made it easier to access misinformation.[1][2][3] However, by following some simple rules, you can avoid being fooled or misinformed by a phony, inaccurate, or biased web source.
Decide where to start your search. If your employer, college, or university provides you with a search engine or directory, begin there. If you have access to a library database of research articles, such as EBSCOhost, start there.[4] Library databases provide you with access to peer-reviewed research, which is the gold standard for academic study. “Peer-reviewed” means that top experts in the field have reviewed the research to make sure it is accurate, trustworthy, and informed before publishing it. Even if you’re just trying to learn something for your own personal benefit, academic research will provide you with the most up-to-date, reliable information.
You can usually access these databases through your home library’s website. Some academic and universities libraries may require a password if you are accessing them remotely (from somewhere other than in the library itself).
If you don’t have access to a library, try using Google Scholar for your searches. You can find academic research through this search engine, and Google Scholar will show you where you can find free copies of the articles online.
Look for subject-specific databases. Depending on the area of your research, you have several options for online databases specific to your field. For example, if you are looking for research on education, the ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) is sponsored by the United States Department of Education and provides peer-reviewed research and informational materials on education topics.[5] If you’re looking for medical or scientific research, PubMed, sponsored by the United States National Library of Medicine, is a great place to start.[6]
Ask a librarian. If you have access to a library, make an appointment to speak with your reference librarian. These people are specially trained in helping you access the best research and knowledge available.[7] They can help you find sources and also help you determine whether sources are credible.
Use regular search engines with caution. Search engines crawl the web indexing pages by reading the words and phrases that appear on those pages. From there, the process is automated. Each search engine has an algorithm that’s used to rank results for specific searches. This means that no human is vetting the accuracy of the results. The “top” result is simply the result of an algorithm. It’s not an endorsement of the content or quality of the result.[8]
Most search engines can be “gamed” by savvy websites in order to ensure their content comes up first. Moreover, each search engine has its own algorithm, and some tailor their results based on your browsing history. So the “top” result on Google will not necessarily be the “top” result on Yahoo, even with the exact same search phrasing.[9]
Be aware that simply because you find information online doesn’t make it credible or authoritative. Anyone can make a webpage, and the amount of poor, unverified, and just plain wrong information often outweighs the good stuff online.[10] To help you sift through the useless stuff, talk to your teacher or librarian, and use library or academic search engines when possible.
Choose your keywords carefully. For any given inquiry, there are an almost limitless number of potential word and phrase choices you could enter into a search engine. Therefore, it’s important to think carefully about what you hope your search will find, as well as try multiple different search combinations.
If you’re using an academic search engine, such as your library’s search feature, try using a combination of keywords and Boolean Operators, or words you can use to narrow down your search: AND, OR, and NOT.[11]
For example, if you are doing research on feminism in China, you might run a search for “feminism AND China.” This will return results that include both of those topic keywords.
You can use OR to run searches for related keywords. For example, you could search for “feminism OR feminist OR social justice.” This would return results that contain one or more of those terms.
You can use NOT to exclude keywords from your search. For example, you could search for “feminism AND China NOT Japan.” You would not get any results that included Japan.
You can use quote marks to search for full phrases. For example, if you want to search for academic performance, you would search for the whole phrase inside quotation marks: “academic performance.” Be aware, though, that using quotation marks will kick out any result that isn’t an exact match. For example, you would not get results about “school performance” or “academic functioning” because they are not worded exactly the way you searched.
Use specific keyword phrases to locate the most relevant information. For example, if you are looking for information social welfare expenditures in the U.S., you’re more likely to get the results you want by searching for “total yearly amount spent on welfare programs in U.S.” than searching for “welfare,” which would bring up definitions of welfare, types of welfare in other countries, and thousands more results you don’t want. Be aware, though, that you can’t always find information like this -- the more words you enter, the fewer results you’re likely to get.
Use alternate words or keyword phrases to locate additional research sources. For example, if you are researching “welfare,” consider using “safety net” or “social programs” or “public assistance” in place of “welfare” to find different results. In many cases, your word choice might unintentionally bias your results, since terms like “welfare” are often politically loaded. Using a wider variety of terms ensures that you’ll be exposed to a broader — and therefore potentially less biased — set of sources.
Narrow when necessary. If you’re researching a topic about which you’re relatively uninformed, begin your search with broad terms, then use the information culled from that first search to begin narrowing your search.
For example, in your search for “total yearly amount spent on welfare programs in U.S.,” you’ll quickly discover that there are several different public assistance programs, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Use that information to decide which program(s) you’re interested in, and then perform a new (more specific) search, such as “total yearly SNAP expenditures in U.S.”
Look for credible, authoritative sources. Perhaps the most difficult — and important — task in internet research is ensuring the sources you select are credible. Generally, you want to prioritize information from government sources, academics, and nationally recognized news organizations.[12]
Government sources will often have “.gov” somewhere in the webpage. For example, the United States Department of State’s website is www.state.gov. The official website for Australia’s Department of Defence is www.defence.gov.au.
Websites that end in .edu belong to colleges and universities. However, you do need to be careful with .edu sites, because often faculty and students can run personal webpages that will have the .edu extension, but the information there may not be vetted by the university.[13] It’s better to find academic sources through an academic database or search engine, like EBSCOhost or Google Scholar.
Websites that end in .org belong to non-profit organizations. While some of these are highly credible, some are not. Anyone can purchase a website with a .org extension. Check these sites carefully, and don’t rely on them as your sole source of information if you can avoid them.[14]
Major news sources such as The Guardian, CNN, and Al Jazeera tend to be credible, but you also need to make sure you’re reading a factually based article and not an opinion piece. Many news sites also have blogs and editorial sites where people can state their opinions, which aren’t necessarily backed up by facts.
Cast a wide net. Don’t limit yourself to the first few results in the search engine. Look beyond the first page of search results to find information for your research.[15]
While it’s impossible to view all of the results for most searches, it’s important to view at least several pages of results in order to ensure you’re not missing important information. Because of search engine optimization, if you’re using a regular search engine like Google or Yahoo, the first several pages might contain the links that were most effectively promoted, not the ones with the best information.[16]
Wikipedia can be a good place to start, but websites such as this are open to editing by anyone, which means that their information can be inaccurate, outdated, or biased.[17] If you want to use Wikipedia or another wiki for research, scroll down to the “References” section at the bottom of the page and check those out. Go to the original source whenever possible.
For example, if you are writing a report on penguins, you could start with the Wikipedia page on Penguins. Scrolling to the References section would show you several peer-reviewed academic journal articles on penguins, along with references to book chapters by academic publishers. Look at those sources for more authoritative information.
Find the original source whenever possible. During your research, you will find many statements online, but not all of them are true or useful. Some sources will not cite any references, or they may twist the reference to say something other than what it originally stated. Don’t take anything at face value. Particularly when the website reporting a fact or statistic is questionable, you should attempt to find the original source.
For example, if you’re doing research on changes in welfare expenditures during the past 20 years, there’s no reason to trust Yahoo answers, a blog, or any secondary source. Most credible sources will note that they’re using data from federal agencies. Therefore, it’s usually better to search for the original government data sources and cite them directly, rather than citing a page that is itself just reporting (possibly incorrectly) the data.
Citing the original source will also make your own research more authoritative and credible. For example, it is much more impressive to your teacher if you cite an article from the National Institutes of Health (a US government source) than if you cite an article from webMD -- even if they have the same information. If you can cite the original scholarly research that produced the information you're discussing, that's even better.
Look for consensus. If you can’t find the original source for a fact, your best bet is to verify the fact on multiple, credible sites.
No matter what information you’re seeking, if you can’t find a single official source, it’s advisable not to trust a piece of information until you find identical information on several independent sites. So, for example, if you can’t find an original source for SNAP expenditures in 1980, enter the data you found into a search engine to ensure that the same number is reported on multiple sites and that those sites are not all citing the same (potentially erroneous) source.
Check the source’s affiliations.[18] Checking who owns or sponsors the website will help you figure out whether it is credible or not. For example, the Mayo Clinic website is owned by the Mayo Clinic, one of the most prestigious hospitals in the world. It is a not-for-profit organization, so it is not out to make money from its content. Its articles are written by medical professionals. These are good clues that information you find on this site will be credible. On the other hand, a “health” website that has a storefront or lots of ads, and doesn’t have any institutional or professional affiliations, won’t be as credible.
If you’re using an academic database, check out who published the article or book. Texts from prestigious journals, such as the New England Journal of Medicine, and books from academic publishers like the Oxford University Press, carry more weight than sources from less-known publishers.
If you’ve never heard of a source, the first place to look is the “About Us” (or similar) portion of the website. If that doesn’t provide you with a good idea of who’s producing the web page, try conducting an internet search for the site itself. Often news articles, Wikipedia entries, and the like that reference a source will include information about its affiliation(s), ideology, and funding. When all else fails, consider using a web domain search engine to discover who owns the website. However, if you’ve had to go to that length, chances are good that the site is too obscure to be trusted.
Check out the author. Unfortunately, many internet sources will not list an author. If you are searching online for peer-reviewed research, however, you will usually find sources with named authors. Look at their credentials.[19]
For example, does this person have education in his/her field? Neil deGrasse Tyson has a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the prestigious Columbia University, so it’s likely that what he says about astrophysics is credible and authoritative (meaning trustworthy and up-to-date).[20] On the other hand, an amateur star-watcher’s blog will not be authoritative, even if the information is accurate.
Has the author written anything else on the topic? Many authors, including journalists and academic scholars, have areas of specialty and have spent years studying and writing about these topics. If the author has written many other articles on the same area, this makes him/her more credible (especially if those articles are peer-reviewed).
If there is no author, is the source credible? Some sources, particularly government sources, will not list an author. However, if the source you are getting the information from is authoritative -- such as an article on chickenpox from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- the absence of an author isn’t cause for concern on its own.
Look at the date. It’s important to make sure that your information is as up-to-date as possible, especially if you’re research a medical or scientific topic. Scientific consensus changes with the presence of new studies and information. Check when the article or website was published. Being more than five years old isn’t necessarily bad, but look for the most recent articles you can find for the best shot at updated information.[21]
For example, if you were writing a research paper on treatments for cancer, you wouldn’t want to use only articles from the 1970s, even if they were published in prestigious academic journals.
Look for reliability and accuracy. There are many sources out there that claim to be fact-based but aren’t. Websites that appear to have a clear agenda are usually not good sources, because they may ignore or misrepresent evidence that disagrees with their position.
Look for the site’s sources. A credible internet site will cite its sources. A really great site may even link out to the original research articles so you can track them down. If you can’t find any references for the information provided, or if the references are out of date or poor quality, it’s a good sign that your site isn’t reliable.
Watch for bias. Highly emotional language, inflammatory rhetoric, and informal writing are all signs of potential bias in your source. Most academic writing tries to steer clear of these and aim for impartiality and objectivity as much as possible. If your website uses emotional language like “Manipulative big pharma companies are out to keep you broken and unhealthy to line their own pockets!” it’s a good sign that there is bias present.
Review each website for grammatical errors and broken links. If the website is credible and reliable, grammar and spelling should be accurate and all links should take you to the appropriate landing page. Websites with numerous grammatical errors and broken links may be copying their information from another source or may not be legitimate.
Cite your sources. In order to avoid the same errors made by inaccurate sites, you should always document your sources. This will allow you to return to them later, if necessary, and will allow others (when applicable) to verify your sources themselves.
Bibliography entries for webpages traditionally consist of the author of the web article or webpage (if available), the title of the article or page, the name of the site, the site’s web address, and the date on which you accessed the article or page.
Beware of the ephemeral nature of the web. Just because a source is there today doesn't mean it's going to be there tomorrow. In order to guard against making your research irrelevant, consider your options for preserving web pages.
The simplest way to save a webpage as you see it today is to print a hard copy or save it as a PDF.[22] This will allow you to refer back to the page, even if it's moved or deleted.
Since a hard copy or PDF version will only be available to you, you should periodically check the links in your research if it is published on the web. If you discover a web page has been deleted or moved, you can keyword search for its new location in a search engine or check to see if it was archived by Archive.org's Wayback Machine, which preserves web pages as they previously displayed.[23]
Consider a technological fix. There are numerous free web browser features, apps, and services that can help you save your sources quickly and organize them easily.
Using the bookmarks feature of your web browser is the simplest way to save sources. Rather than saving every source in the parent “Bookmarks” folder, consider creating subfolders for specific topics. For example, if you’re researching welfare, you might want to create a folder for “Welfare” in “Bookmarks” and then maybe even create more folders within “TANF,” “SNAP,” etc.
Build your own archive. Beyond simple bookmarking features and apps, more advanced research software and services can help you create your own personal repository of sources.
Numerous services and apps have made it possible to sync sources to the cloud, capture images of web pages as they appear on the day you accessed them, add keywords to sources, etc.
Many of these services, such as Zotero, are freeware created by academics and other open-source advocates. Others, such as Pocket, offer some services for free and charge for others. If you need functions beyond your web browser’s standard bookmarking features, consider using one of these sources to make organizing your sources easier.
This year my youngest started full-time preschool and I went from packing his sister's five lunches a week to packing 10 lunches a week for both of them. I realized I could save time each morning (not to mention my sanity and some dishwashing) if I packed all 10 of those lunches at once. I started slowly, by packing three days at a time and working my way up to a full week of lunches packed in about an hour on Sunday. Here's what I learned and how I pack a week's worth of school lunches on Sunday.
The onset of fall brings with it a can-do attitude. Summer Fridays are a thing of the past, kids are back in school, and it's time to buckle up and get down to business. To help you maintain your focus and avoid being hangry in a professional setting, we've rounded up 10 snacks to stash in your desk drawer. They're basically guaranteed to help you make the transition from iced coffee to Pumpkin Spice Latte season with poise and dignity intact.
Banana cream pie and doughnuts are both wonderful on their own, but combine the two and you have something truly spectacular. Yes, these doughnuts are stuffed with banana pudding and whipped cream, and then garnished with crushed vanilla wafers. It's a mash-up you don't want to miss.
There are all kinds of home remedies for keeping your house pest-free
, and essential oils are a big player. If you want to repel some roaches, a little peppermint oil is surprisingly effective.
You might know that avocado is delicious on top of a salad or smeared on toast for breakfast, but that's not all this buttery kitchen hero can do. The next time you stumble upon cheap avocados, pick a few up and try one of these unique recipes. From adding avocado to macaroni and cheese, to turning it into crispy fries, these recipes unlock avocado's true potential.
Whipping up a hot breakfast from scratch in the morning — be it on leisurely weekends or busy weekdays — always sounds like a good idea, but sometimes it's difficult to make happen.
Well, these 25 recipes are here to jump-start things for you. If you prep, assemble, or even bake your breakfast the night before, you'll be left with minimal work when you wake up.
A potato chip dipped in some sort of creamy dairy product is one of the most satisfying snacks around, and Bon Appetit has taken the delicious duo to a whole new level with their chip and cheese pairing guide.
Of course, you would never let your tank get so low that the little light popped on warning you that you should really, really refuel, but if you did, this chart outlines exactly how much further you can expect to go on what little is left in the tank.
Haha, we were taught this in boot camp almost 30 years ago to the day. Think 26 Sep 86.
If you’re on a sinking ship or you fall overboard, and you don’t have a legitimate flotation device, it’s time for the pants to come off. This clever survival trick will help you float on the water so you use less energy while waiting for someone to rescue you.
Sunday afternoons are for meal prep and lunch-packing for the week ahead, but after dinner is made on Monday I take 10 minutes to do one tiny task that saves me time each morning. This task isn't critical, but it's just one more way to save time in the morning rush — can you guess what it is?
Here are six of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.
Want to see your pictures on our site? Our Flickr pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right. Choose your best photos, then click “send to group” on the individual images you want to add to the pool.
When people think of robotics specialists, they don’t normally think of luggage makers. But San Fransisco-based company Cowarobot is most certainly both of those things.
At CES Asia earlier this year, the brand announced its first flagship product, the Cowarobot R1. Scheduled to ship in November 2016, the product sports minimalistic good looks and a feature your run-of-the-mill Samsonite would faint over — autonomous following with obstacle avoidance. Yeah, that’s straight out of The Jetsons.
Seriously, see it in action:
GIF courtesy Cowarobot.
So, how does this thing follow you around? There’s an included wristband that looks like a fitness tracker and the R1 locks onto that. The handle packs all the fancy technology, which includes sonar for obstacles avoidance and a depth sensor so it’ll never tumble down a set of stairs. Translation: this thing can seriously see and handle anything.
GIF courtesy Cowarobot.
With a follow rate of up to 4.5 mph, it’s far from being as fast as Usain Bolt, but it can still hang next to you with ease unless you hit traffic on the way to the airport and find yourself sprinting through the terminal like a mad man. There’s even an adaptive handle that lets you switch between autonomous and manual modes. The R1 also has other bells and whistles, like a secondary storage compartment so you can easily grab your Kindle or iPad, and an embedded GPS so you’ll never lose your gear.
GIF courtesy Cowarobot.
One of the coolest features included in the R1 is its TSA-approved Co-Smart intelligent locks, where the aforementioned wristband can be used as a keyless remote. The smoothness of it all feels like it’s straight out of a James Bond flick. Also included is a portable power bank, a nice feature to have, but it’s pretty much standard issue with all modern luggage upstarts nowadays, so no biggie there.
GIF courtesy Cowarobot.
Cowarobot isn’t the only one trying to get into the smart luggage game. NUA Robotics, an Israeli robotics company, is producing a similar solution, though they are roughly a year from going to market. Mashablewent hands-on with their solution, which looks far less impressive from both a design and maneuvering standpoint than what Cowarobot is up to in Northern California.
Sure, robotic luggage that follows you around is a little ridiculous and you don’t really need one of these to travel well, but for anyone who ever hit an airport sans carry-on for a day trip realizes how relaxing it is to go completely hands-free when walking to your gate and snagging some fresh reads at the magazine stand. With the R1, you’ll get some strange looks, maybe some impressed glances, but ultimately it’ll likely boost your flying experience in unexpected ways.
You can still snag the R1 for a discounted $499 through Cowarobot’s Indiegogo campaign. The company has racked up more than $300,000 as of this writing with a November ship date on the calendar. After the pre-order window closes, the price will jump to an MSRP of $699 per bag.
Exciting times we live in. Next stop, levitating luggage?
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We all know the joys of make-ahead meals, but they truly feel like magic when Monday morning rolls around. They're the answer to a quick and ultra-satisfying weekday breakfast — like, one that tastes good and will actually carry you through lunchtime. All that can be yours when you keep these three key pointers in mind.
LONDON: British retailer Marks & Spencer plans to cut a net 525 jobs from its London head office, it said on Monday, as new Chief Executive Steve Rowe seeks to simplify the business and reduce costs.
The clothing and food group also plans to reduce the number of roles permanently based in central London by about 400 across its IT and logistics functions.
It said the planned reduction in jobs, which follows a review of M&S’s organisational structure, would be achieved through a combination of fewer contractors, natural attrition and redundancies for M&S employees. A formal consultation with affected staff will now begin.
“M&S has to become a simpler and more effective organisation if we are to deliver our plans to recover and grow our business,” said Rowe.
“M&S has become too complex and inefficient and today’s proposals aim to address this by removing duplication, driving accountability and establishing clear, consistent processes; which in turn will strip out unnecessary costs.”
Shares in M&S, down 29 percent over the last year, were down 0.7 percent at 352 pence at 1138 GMT.
Rowe, a 26-year M&S veteran who succeeded Marc Bolland as chief executive in April, has pledged to turn around M&S’s struggling clothing business by improving ranges and availability, cutting prices and offering fewer promotions.
However, his plan, outlined in May, came with a warning of a short-term dent to sales and profit and in July the 132-year-old group reported its worst quarterly clothing sales for a decade.
The proposed reduction in head office roles comprises existing vacancies, about 260 M&S roles and about 200 contractors.
M&S currently employs over 3,500 people working across seven UK head offices.
Its more than 71,000 staff in UK stores and supporting customer functions will not be affected by the proposed changes.
M&S said if the proposals go ahead they would deliver annualised operating cost savings of about 1 percent of the UK cost base.
Its cost growth guidance for the current 2016-17 fiscal year remains unchanged at about 3.5 percent.
However, there would be a one off cost of 15 million pounds ($20 million), which includes the changes to the senior management team Rowe announced in May.
The job cut plans come days after M&S announced a 14.7 percent pay rise for shop floor staff but cut premium pay for Sundays and changed the company’s pension scheme.
Rowe said in May M&S’s other big strategic issues, including the size of its UK store estate and international plans, would be addressed in the autumn.
The secret to successful stress-free mornings is a freezer-friendly breakfast burrito stash. Filled with eggs, cheese, and potatoes, frozen breakfast burritos heat up quickly and are filling enough to keep you going until lunchtime.
Preparing a dozen burritos to stock your freezer only takes about 30 minutes, and with a few smart details they will be as delicious on a hectic Monday as they were the day they were made.
Happy National Cheese Pizza Day! Yes, this beautiful food holiday happens to fall on Labor Day this year. If you're still looking for a crowd-pleasing appetizer for your holiday soirée, this pepperoni pizza dip is sure to be a hit.
Hmmm. Something in common in that picture but I just can't put my finger on it.
KLANG: A group of women, who lost more than RM2.5 million to online scammers, have sought the help of Klang MP Charles Santiago in their efforts to seek justice.
One of the victims, who only wanted to be known as “Madam Wong” from Klang, told a press conference arranged by Santiago that she contacted an agent via Facebook, who promised her she could win big in a 4D number draw.
She was told that a “Datuk” could provide her with the winning numbers if she was willing to pay over RM4,300 to facilitate “prayer” sessions and rituals for it.
Later, the same agent told Wong she had struck it big with a RM960,000 win, but that the money had to be transferred to Thailand first, for a thanksgiving ceremony by a bigger “Datuk”.
Her real problems however began when the agent contacted her again, explaining that the man who was tasked to bring her winnings back into Malaysia had been detained by Thai police. The agent then instructed her to pay RM200,000 as a “processing fee” to secure the man’s release.
Still not suspecting anything amiss, Wong borrowed the money from loan sharks and paid the agent, never to hear from him again. Not only was she left with no prize money in hand, loan sharks are now after her for the money she borrowed from them.
Apart from Madam Wong, another case of online duping involved a group of women, who collectively lost RM2.2 million to a conman selling disposable diapers via Facebook.
One of the women, who only wanted to be known as Ayu, said they were promised good returns for selling the diapers, which they bought at a cheaper price, online.
The first three deals went without a hitch, with the women making some decent money. However, hungry for more easy money, the women invested between RM10,000 and RM50,000 with the agent in exchange for more diapers, which never was delivered to them. The agent also went missing.
A third victim, who wished to remain anonymous, said she was conned of her life savings of RM100,000 after believing the business promises of an “international financial agent”.
Santiago said that besides these cases, conmen had preyed on countless other women as well.
“The sad part is, some of them (victims of scams) invested money without their husbands’ knowledge,” Santiago said, urging police to speed up their investigations into the reports lodged by the three victims.
He said the phone numbers and bank account numbers of the conmen provided by the victims to the police should help the authorities trace the culprits.
Santiago also proposed the government set up a Financial Scams Asset Recovery Centre to help online scam victims recover lost money from agents and to create awareness of e-scams.
This centre, he said, should be headed by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), with assistance from Bank Negara Malaysia, the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry, the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the police.
Santiago also called for the Cyber Court, recently set up in Jalan Duta, to also have a presence in all states to assist online scam victims in their time of need.
KUALA LUMPUR: A motorcyclist riding against traffic flow was killed when the machine collided with a taxi at Km 7.3 of the Maju Expressway (MEX) here Sunday.
It doesn’t matter how late you stay at the office
. Your manager is going to appreciate it you arrive early more, a recent study from the University of Washington concluded.
What’s the psychological toll of being a Hooters waitress? Dawn Szymanski, University of Tennessee and Chandra Feltman, University of Tennessee “Breastaurants” – restaurants that feature scantily clad waitresses – will occasionally appear in the news, whether it’s the biker gang fight at the...
SINGAPORE: A widening gap between Asia’s oil production and demand is creating a growing capital drain for the region and leaving countries vulnerable to global supply disruptions and a sudden surge in oil prices.
Asia’s net oil imports surpassed the total amount of oil consumed in North America in 2015 and are set to rise after producers slashed spending on exploration and production on low oil prices, leaving oilfields at risk of sharp production declines in the next decade.
Activities across Asia-Pacific to search for energy resources have nearly ground to a halt in the past year while recent exploration finds have struck more natural gas than oil, analysts said.
As Asia’s net imports grow and crude prices recover, the region’s oil import bill is set to climb back above $500 billion in 2017 for the first time in three years, calculations based on forecasts by the International Energy Agency and a Reuters crude oil price poll in August showed..
“With demand growth set to continue and outpace declining domestic production, this leaves Asia increasingly vulnerable to rising prices,” said Energy Aspects analyst Virendra Chauhan.
Falling output
The oil price slump since mid-2014 had given Asian economies a breather from high import bills.
But oil demand in the Asia-Pacific is expected to grow by 800,000-900,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year and next, while the region’s output could shrink by 240,000-330,000 bpd during the same period, Chauhan said.
The gap between oil production and demand has jumped over 30 percent since 2010 to an estimated 25.7 million bpd in 2016 and is set to grow by another 1.1 million bpd next year. Rising oil prices, however, means the cost could soar by a third in just one year to $566 billion.
“We have seen two years in a row in 2015 and 2016 oil investments declining,” International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol said. “This would mean oil security and oil markets may face a challenge as a result of a huge drop in the investments in a very few years in the medium term.”
Producers across the region are struggling, which is not being helped by international oil companies’ capital and expertise leaving the region, said Chauhan.
Consultancy Wood Mackenzie expects Asia’s oil production to fall to 5 million barrels per day in 2025 from 7.6 million bpd in 2016.
“We’ve seen a number of projects delayed – some canceled – plus the level of investments in existing oil fields is falling,” Angus Rodger, director of Asia-Pacific upstream research at Woodmac said.
“That has a minor impact in the short-term, but if you go out to 2020, it means oil production across the region will have declined significantly.”
China is leading the decline, with output hitting a five-year low in July as producers shut-in marginal fields while imports hit a record.
Indonesian officials said they are looking at ways to shore up a production target of 780,000 bpd in 2017, the lowest since 1969 and 40,000 bpd lower than 2016’s forecast. “We are discussing how to make Cepu block production higher than now,” Director General of Oil and Gas Wiratmaja Puja said, adding that output at the oilfield operated by Exxon Mobil may increase by 15,000 bpd.
Indonesia, the largest oil producer in southeast Asia, faces a potential 20-25 percent natural decline in production unless it steps up activities such as drilling and well servicing, said Muliawan, deputy for operations at regulator SKK Migas.
Mideast supply impasse
China, Indonesia and India have been actively investing in overseas oil production assets to supplement domestic output.
China has also been broadening its sources of supply, taking more oil from Russia and Latin America to reduce its dependence on the Middle East, as well as building its strategic reserves to cushion itself in the event of an oil price shock.
The region’s biggest oil consumer is also turning to gas and renewable energy, but these are long-term solutions.
Asia imports just over half of its oil from the Middle East and will continue to rely heavily on Gulf producers, analysts said, exposing the region to geopolitical risks that have disrupted oil production and exports.
“Asian production is on the decline, notably among others in China, and with increases in refining capacity that are unlikely to remain idle, the dependency of the region to Middle Eastern oil will remain,” BNP Paribas Global Head of Commodity Markets Strategy Harry Tchilinguirian told the Reuters Global Oil Forum.
“It is, as you can imagine, hard to replace Saudi Arabia in your import mix for many an Asian refiner.”
Whenever I roast a whole chicken, I am most excited for two things: the skin and the fat. Not only is shmaltz a great cooking fat, it’s pretty good on bread, and Chef Katie Button has harnessed its greatness by whipping it with butter.
Hahaha “Sarawak is a not a Muslim state. Foreigners (from Peninsular Malaysia) who work in the state should learn our culture before they come here. We respect them and they should respect us,” he said.
KUCHING: Parents and local community leaders in Serian, Sarawak have criticised a principal of a local secondary school for barring students from wearing the cross, rosaries, crucifixes or other Christian symbols, even if they are worn under their uniforms.
A senior female student from SMK Serian was ordered to remove the cross she wore under her uniform while another student was ordered to remove a rosary that she wore that was also under her uniform.
“Besides that, the principal was said to have made an insensitive statement to the student by saying that instead of wearing the cross, it would be good for the student to go and carry one from the graveyard,” DAP Serian branch chairman Edward Luwak said today.
Edward said he received reports from parents who were dismayed by the action of the principal and had brought up the matter with local church leaders and the Serian District Education Officer.
Earlier this morning, Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) Baru President Cobbold John lodged a police report in Serian, citing a violation of the students’ religious rights.
The principal was said to have explained to the District Education Officer that the cross worn was an “extra large cross”. The principal was said to have apologised later.
“To claim that the student, and a girl at that, was wearing an extra large cross is most likely a cooked-up story to justify his action. It would not be normal for someone to wear an extra large cross unless she or he is a church leader putting on a cross in the performance of his religious duties.
“Furthermore the cross is said to have been tucked in,” Edward said when contacted today.
The principal was allegedly transferred out of a teaching position in Mukah, after converting a student against the parents’ wishes.
Edward said the actions of the principal, who is said to be from Peninsular Malaysia, “clearly demonstrated his ignorance of the local situation.”
“He seemed to be unaware that locals were very tolerant of each other’s practices. He also needs to realise that Serian has a majority Christian community,” Edward said, adding that there were also prior reports of cases where bibles were confiscated in the school after searches were made on students’ bags.
“That was an infringement of the principle of religious freedom as enshrined in our constitution. The authorities should reprimand the principal for his actions. Peace, goodwill, harmony, tolerance and understanding must prevail in a peace-loving Sarawak,” he said.
Autonomy advocacy group Sarawak For Sarawakians (S4S) also condemned the actions of the principal.
“S4s wants this case to be investigated and proper action to be taken,” said S4S spokesperson Peter John Jaban.
“Sarawak is a not a Muslim state. Foreigners who work in the state should learn our culture before they come here. We respect them and they should respect us,” he said.
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People may choose to reduce carbohydrate intake for a number of reasons. Those who suffer from type 2 diabetes should strive to balance the need for taking in enough carbohydrates to produce energy while limiting carbohydrate consumption to regulate blood sugar levels. Still others seek to control carbohydrate intake as a way of following a balanced diet that includes healthier foods. Whatever the reason, several strategies can be used to make sure the carbohydrate reduction produces the desired results without leading to a loss of essential nutrients.
Learn what foods include carbohydrates. Carbohydrates come in multiple varieties, but when it comes to diet, most people are concerned with processed (simple) versus naturally occurring (complex) carbs. You will find naturally occurring carbs in grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, nuts, seeds, and legumes.[1] These complex carbohydrates resist digestion more than simple, refined carbohydrates such as those found in flour and sugar.[2]
Sources of simple carbohydrates include white breads and pasta, cake, candy, cookies, and sugar-sweetened beverages.[3]
Generally speaking, complex carbs are better because their sources additionally include vitamins, minerals, protein, and other nutritional value, whereas simple carbs do not. The fiber content in complex carbohydrates also alleviates some of the negative impact on blood sugar.
Avoid or minimize processed grains. White bread, white rice, and flour provide relatively little nutritional value and increase the amount of simple carbohydrates in your daily diet. For fiber intake, stick with small amounts of whole grains. These will cause fewer fluctuations in blood glucose levels as well.[4]
Avoid sugar and sweets. Desserts, pastries, sugary beverages, and other confectionery treats may taste wonderful, but they tend to provide little in the way of nutrition, and they increase the amount of carbohydrates in your diet significantly. Opt for servings of fruits or frozen fruit desserts that are made with no extra sugar if you feel the need for a treat.
When something does call for a sweetener, use alternative sweeteners if possible.
Watch the starch. While you do want to eat more vegetables, limit your intake of white potatoes, corn, and other starchy foods. A five-ounce russet baked potato has 30 grams of carbs, for instance.[5]
Substitute with other root vegetables that contain fewer carbohydrates, and increase the amount of dark green vegetables that you consume at each meal. They tend to have few if any carbs while providing the benefit of a lot of nutrients.
Other starchy, high-carb vegetables include beets, peas, parsnips, sweet potatoes, and some winter squashes.[6]
Select meat, fish, and poultry. Many low-carb diets replace the missing carb calories with high-protein calories. Many red meats have very little in the way of carbohydrates and offer the benefit of plenty of protein. Fish and poultry are also good options that provide nutrients and are filling, which will help to satisfy your body's craving for more carbs.
Broil and bake instead of frying. When preparing meats and vegetables, avoid battering and frying those foods. The flour used for the coating contains plenty of extra carbohydrates that your body does not need. To add flavor, use plenty of herbs and spices while broiling, and use an egg batter/crushed bran flakes combination to bake chicken and fish and enjoy a crispy coating.
Limit portions. Learn the difference between a sliver and a wedge of cake or pie, and get an idea of how much is actually in a single serving. Limiting portions will make it easier to enjoy more of the foods you like without taking in a lot of carbs. It can also be beneficial to weigh foods prior to cooking. For instance, it can help to weight out 4-6 oz of raw chicken before cooking to ensure the proper portion size is being consumed.
EditUsing Strategies to Help Maintain a Lower Carb Intake
Calculate the number of carbs you want to eat. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that carbohydrates make up 45-65% of your daily caloric intake for a standard diet.[7] Based on a 2,000-calorie/day diet, this means approximately 900-1,300 calories each day from carbs.[8]
Lower carb diets typically mean reducing carbs to between 240-520 calories each day, which equates to 60-130 grams of carbohydrates.[9]
Consult your doctor or dietitian. Before making any big changes to your diet, consult your doctor or a dietitian regarding the safest way for you to do so. Current blood work results, existing kidney conditions, and other factors can all contribute to the healthiest way for you to cut back on carbs.[10]
Check labels. Once you know your target for carbohydrates, remember to check labels for the food you buy. Try to balance options in order to adequately reduce carbs to your desired amount.
In addition to grams of carbs and calories from carbs, you may also see carbs listed as “servings.” Each serving of carbs is equivalent to 15 grams of carbs. However, you won’t see fractions or decimals of servings, so each serving isn’t exact. Typically, if a food has 8-22 grams of carbohydrates, then it will be listed as one serving.[11]
Use the glycemic index. This helpful guide makes it possible to determine how many carbohydrates are found in a number of different foods both raw and processed. The index provides a per serving count of carbohydrates, making the process of carbohydrate counting much easier. Using the index allows you to plan for a healthy amount of carbs at each meal while avoiding the chance of taking in too many carbohydrates at a single setting.[12]
Consider dietary changes you can maintain. You’re better off skipping fad diets that you can stick with only for a month or two before burning out on them. Many high-protein, low-carb diets can simply feel too restricting for long-term adoption. Instead, make changes in your diet that you will have an easier time maintaining.[13]
Stay aware of potential complications. The additional fat from many high-protein sources can lead to additional problems when cutting carbs, such as higher cholesterol, which in turn raises the risks of heart disease.[14] High long-term carbohydrate restrictions can also lead to vitamin or mineral deficiencies, bone loss, and gastrointestinal disturbances.[15]
Severely limiting carbohydrates (anything less than 20 grams each day) may also lead to a body process called ketosis.[16] This is when your body does not have enough sugar (glucose) to produce energy, and your body begins breaking down stored fat to operate.[17] Side effects can include nausea, headache, and physical and mental fatigue.[18]
For additional help in meal planning, ask your doctor for a referral to a trained dietitian. The dietitian can design a diet plan that not only helps to control your carbohydrate intake but also balances the need for other nutrients and minimizes the chances of taking in too much fat and cholesterol.
Remember that diabetics do not need to restrict carbohydrates as much as they need to be consistent with them. The spikes of high blood sugar followed by drops in blood sugar are what causes problems. Carbohydrate consistency along with pairing carbohydrates with proteins and fats will help to maintain proper blood sugar levels. Always test your blood glucose levels at two-hour and one-hour intervals after a meal to get some idea of how certain foods impact your blood sugar, and then plan meals accordingly.
This article offers certain dietary information, but it should not be considered medical advice, especially for altering a diet to manage type 2 diabetes. Always consult your doctor before making decisions regarding your management of any disease or condition.
Reducing your carbohydrate intake may reduce muscular flexibility and lead to anxiety attacks or panic attacks if you have a back problem.
SINGAPORE: A widening gap between Asia’s oil production and demand is creating a growing capital drain for the region and leaving countries vulnerable to global supply disruptions and a sudden surge in oil prices.
KUCHING: Parents and local community leaders in Serian, Sarawak have criticised a principal of a local secondary school for barring students from wearing the cross, rosaries, crucifixes or other Christian symbols, even if they are worn under their uniforms.
