Arrivederci auto! Italy's bike purchases outstrip car sales.

Despite living in the land of Fiat, Ferrari, and Lamborghini, Italians purchased more bikes than cars last year ? the first time that's happened since World War II.

By Nick Squires,?Correspondent / October 3, 2012

A woman rides a bicycle in front of the Duomo cathedral in downtown Milan, Aug. 28. Italy's two-year borrowing costs fell nearly two percentage points at an auction on Tuesday, as large redemptions and investors' appetite for shorter maturities supported sale.

Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters

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The chaos, congestion, and cobblestones can make cycling in Italy a nerve-shattering affair.

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But crazy drivers, swerving scooters, and gigantic potholes have not stopped a renaissance in cycling, as the economic crisis forces Italians to tighten their belts.

For the first time since the end of World War II, the number of bicycles sold in Italy has overtaken the number of cars, according to new figures from Confindustria, a manufacturers? association. Italy may be home to legendary brands such as Fiat, Ferrari, and Lamborghini, but 1,750,000 bikes were bought last year, compared to 1,748,000 motor vehicles.

Italy has one of the highest car ownership levels in the world ? there are around six cars for every 10 people. Owning a family car became one of the symbols of the country?s post-war industrialization and economic ?miracle.?

But the glory days of streaking down the autostrada or rattling down country lanes seem to have hit the skids, with driving now an unaffordable luxury for many. Gas prices recently hit two euros a liter ($9.50 a gallon) ? the highest in Europe ? and keeping the average car on the road costs around 7,000 euros ($9,000) a year.

Families are ditching their second cars, signing up to car pool schemes, and buying bicycles. Branches of Decathlon, an outdoor pursuits megastore often found on the periphery of big cities, are packed each weekend with people choosing between sturdy mountain bikes, sleek hybrids or, for commuters, collapsible two-wheelers.

Despite the dangers on the road, cycling is cheap and convenient ? in central Rome, where I live, a journey of a couple of miles is often quicker by bike than in a taxi or on a scooter.

In addition to new purchases, Italians have also hauled around 200,000 rusty old bikes from their cellars and garages and restored them to roadworthiness.

People have a new-found appreciation of the convenience of bikes and the fact that they are kind to the environment, Antonio Della Venezia, the president of the Italian Federation of Bike Lovers, told La Republica newspaper. ?People who have only ever driven cars are changing their thinking. I don?t think Italy will go back to the levels of cars sales that we saw before 2008.?

As bike sales boom, the car industry is going through its worst crisis for decades ? in September, sales of new automobiles were down 25 percent compared with the same period in 2011, according to figures for the industry released by Fiat.

Sergio Marchionne, the head of Fiat, said last month that "anyone operating in the automotive sector in Europe today is experiencing varying degrees of unhappiness. The European car market is a disaster."

The company?s most popular model now is the budget-priced Panda, which costs around 10,000 euros (about $13,000). But for families who find even that fairly modest sum too much of a stretch, biking could be the way to go.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/xSlCtxTnnuQ/Arrivederci-auto!-Italy-s-bike-purchases-outstrip-car-sales

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Use The Internet To Market Your Business With These Tips | Bob ...

Internet marketing can help business owners take their business to new heights of success. The Internet provides a wide variety of marketing possibilities that can be used to build your customer base. A lot of them are even cheap, as well as effective. The post below gives you some tips to jumpstart your Online marketing and propel it forward to new heights.

When advertising your business on the internet, be very mindful of the quality and content of your information. Your content should be informative, unique and accurate. Customers that visit your website should be able to learn about your business, so take care to keep your website stocked with up-to-date information.

The internet is an effective free resource to help evaluate your market approach since you may not be able to afford a marketing consultant. Check out online communities for business owners, start following marketing blogs, download free e-books, and check out free seminars.

TIP! Consider which methods you wish to employ on your website. You could for instance write articles for blogs or online magazines, list your business in online directories or share your content on social networks.

It is always best to not spam anyone. Web-crawling software may seem better to use for posting comments on blogs, but they aren?t as effective as you?d like. The vast majority of readers will ignore your automated messages, and you will not earn any favor with the owners of the blogs you spam.

Read up on marketing studies that show what techniques are and are not effective in webpage design and marketing on the internet in general. Colors and themes can have a drastic impact on the way readers perceive your site, regardless of content. Understanding this information can prove very crucial towards maximizing your overall profit.

Regular blogging is an asset to any online marketing campaign. Frequent blogging is a great way of keeping your potential customers informed and up to date about your business. Blogging adds more content to your website, which can give you a larger presence on the internet. This frequently translates into more traffic to your site.

Use a signature on every email you send out, whether it is business related or not. It can also act as a ?cyber business card? of sorts. Offering the person you are emailing a chance to see what your business is can help to increase site traffic and revenue.

TIP! Even if you hit a few bumps in the road when it comes to internet marketing, you must persevere. For all you know, you will give up when you might?ve been on the brink of success.

If you?re writing articles to market yourself online, stay focused on your goals. Take the time to learn what sort of articles will be most effective and which are the best directories to submit them to. Directories have different needs; some might want short articles, while others require long ones. Write with these guidelines in mind to have the best submissions.

Address any complaints personally. While hiring a third party to take care of these issues may sound helpful, it would be in your best interest to try and resolve issues on your own. If a customer emails you with a complaint, personally respond with a constructive solution to the problem.

You should include evidence to back up anything you claim in your advertising. Most people aren?t very trusting and need evidence. If your site has testimonial or references, you appear to be more credible and trustworthy. If you simply make statements without any proof, many people will simply dismiss your product and your business.

Don?t just copy other people if you want success when it comes to internet marketing. Their filters are getting better and better at finding duplicate content, so even if you gain a little in the short term, you will end up losing later on. Stay inventive if you intend to stay on top of the marketing game.

TIP! Try placing banners where they don?t look like banners. Ideally, you want to have ad banners that appear to be links to more content instead of off-site advertisements.

Avoid adding features using AJAX or Flash on your website. These sorts of add-on programs will not help your business get noticed. If Flash is a must for your site, use it with some level of caution. Include plenty of keywords and helpful links too.

The Google PageRank of your website could be boosted by administering a temporary promotional campaign. You can purchase page rank and other consumer sites will use you as an affiliate. This is the same concept as a company selling an item at a loss, with the expectation that it will turn into a profitable situation at a later time.

You possess the skills needed to be successful in internet marketing. You don?t need elaborate software or a wild, far-fetched scheme, you only need yourself. You just have to work hard, and think through your marketing decisions.

You should always include coupons and/or free samples in your shipping boxes that relate to the product that you are sending to the customer. Many consumers view coupons as a bonus, and will feel more compelled to become a repeat customer.

TIP! Become an expert in whatever is on your site. This is vital because you?ll gain credibility for providing proper information, but you can lose it too if you?re seen as dishonest by saying you?re an expert.

As has been revealed earlier, online marketing is an amazing way to reach out to customers and to bring attention to your business and products. The opportunities are endless and the benefits are immense. By utilizing the information in the article, you can build your customer base and bring new recognition to your company

Bob Spiro

For MLM Pros Team Founder mobile marketing techniques

Phone-508 488 9404

Empower Network For MLM Pros

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Chat: Skype: gojikingbob

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PS Watch this most incredible video now?? is coded for your A Weber acount..pretty cool article marketing technique, eh?

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Source: http://www.empowernetwork.com/formlmpros/blog/use-the-internet-to-market-your-business-with-these-tips/

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England World Cup wins and losses linked to 30 percent rise in domestic violence, study finds

ScienceDaily (Oct. 11, 2012) ? Domestic violence rates rose by an average of 30 percent each time England won or lost their games during the 2010 World Cup, but draws had little impact on the statistics.

Those are the key findings of research carried out by statistician Professor Allan Brimicombe and BBC News journalist Rebecca Cafe and published in the October issue of Significance, the magazine of The Royal Statistical Society and the American Statistical Association.

As a consequence of this and previous research, Professor Brimicombe believes there is a strong case for schools to educate pupils of the dangers of domestic violence, event organisers should promote initiatives that tackle domestic violence and that police forces should prepare themselves for peaks in domestic violence around major sporting events.

"Domestic violence is widespread, accounting for 15 percent of all violent crimes and 35 percent of murders in the UK," explains Professor Brimicombe, from the Centre for Geo-Information Studies at the University of East London.

"It is a crime that is estimated to affect some 30 percent of women and 17 percent of men at some point in their lives."

The researchers based their findings on statistics provided by 33 of the 39 police forces in England, which between them cover 77 percent of the country's population.

The data, for the period covering the 2010 World Cup and the same period in 2009, was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which enables members of the public to request official information from public bodies.

The figures showed that when England drew 1-1 against the USA, domestic violence fell by 1.9 percent and when England drew 0-0 against Algeria it rose by 0.1 percent.

However when England won its game against Slovenia 1-0, domestic violence rose by 27.7 percent. And England's exit from the World Cup, after losing 4-1 to Germany, was accompanied by a 31.5 percent rise in domestic violence.

The research aimed to test the validity of an analysis carried out by the Home Office that showed that domestic violence had risen during the 2006 World Cup. "Major sporting events do not cause domestic violence, as perpetrators are responsible for their actions," said the analysis, "but the levels of alcohol consumption linked to the highly charged emotional nature of those events seems to increase the prevalence of such incidents."

Professor Brimicombe concludes that the Home Office findings were right in some respects but fell short in their analysis in other respects.

Professor Brimicombe explains: "Our research shows that increased levels of domestic violence are associated with national football matches, but only if there is a definite win or lose result. The failing of the earlier Home Office analysis was that it ignored the outcome of the match, which as we have seen is crucial.

"The percentage differences that we found are so great that we believe we have established a strong case for linking wins and losses, but not draws, to increased domestic violence.

"I hope that the findings will encourage improved education around the links between major sporting events and peaks in domestic violence and greater awareness of the risk.

"And I would applaud initiatives like the recent beer mat campaign highlighting the dangers of domestic violence, run by the London Borough of Newham and Metropolitan Police during the 2012 Olympics."

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Journal Reference:

  1. Allan Brimicombe, Rebecca Cafe. Beware, win or lose: Domestic violence and the World Cup. Significance, 2012; 9 (5): 32 DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-9713.2012.00606.x

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/living_well/~3/-D07GCCIWyA/121011124444.htm

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Small Businesses' Social Media Mistakes - Internet Threats Blog

About Adriana Munoz

Adriana is a Social Media Coordinator at Greybrook Capital. She assists in the developing, monitoring, coordination and execution of the social media campaigns of BrandProtect, Internet911, IDfraudProtect, among others. Her training in Marketing and Social Media allow her to keep in touch of internet trends and see them through a marketers eye. She also blogs about the dangers and threats Social Media can have on a company's online reputation and image.

Adriana graduated from York University with a BAS - Honours Marketing and attended Seneca college obtaining an ROA in Computer Graphic Design & Layout.

Source: http://threatblog.org/social-media/small-businesses-social-media-mistakes/

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Event: Promoting Healthy Self-Esteem - Dumbo NYC, Brooklyn

From our friends at Abundant Learning:
We all want kids who feel good about themselves AND treat others with fairness and compassion. So how can parents help cultivate those qualities in their kids? Come join me for a Parenting Talk in Dumbo to find out how praise and constructive criticism impact a child?s sense of self, and how problem-solving and age-appropriate responsibility heighten self-esteem.:

Promoting Healthy Self-Esteem
Saturday, October 13, 10 AM to ?11:30 AM
at Abundant Learning
68 Jay Street Suite #513
Brooklyn, New York 11201

$25 dollars per participant, $40 for couples and/or friend pairs. Please email info@familymattersny.com or call 917.509.9531 to reserve your spot(s). And please spread the word to your parent friends.

Source: http://dumbonyc.com/2012/10/11/event-promoting-healthy-self-esteem/

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Robot learns using IKEA-style instructions

DO AS I do, not as I say. That is the idea behind a new way to give instructions to robots. Neil Dantam at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and colleagues are developing a system in which robots learn by example. Instead of programming a robot to carry out a task, a demonstration could suffice.

However, the robot does not simply mimic the human's actions. The prototype system uses an Xbox Kinect camera to observe the human performing an activity, then breaks that activity into a sequence of key actions necessary to carry out the task. These actions are converted into a general set of instructions ? much like those found in an IKEA furniture instruction manual ? that can be interpreted even by non-humanoid robots.

"You want to somehow capture the important aspects of the human's motion and transfer that to the robot," says Dantam. "Think about how you'd tell someone how to make a cake," he says. The way people follow those steps may vary. "An adult might bend down over the counter to work while a child may stand on tiptoes."

Dantam's system has been tested by teaching a robot arm to assemble a Lego-like structure consisting of wooden bars and pegs. A robot can also be taught alternative ways to perform a task by demonstrating it many times ? if it gets stuck doing it one way, it can try another.

"As robots are already widely used within the manufacturing domain, focusing on assembly tasks makes a lot of sense," says Brenna Argall at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

"One of the big wins in teaching robots via demonstration is that the act of developing control paradigms or task behaviours is no longer restricted to robotics experts," she says. "Importantly, it now becomes accessible to a broader population of people, which has a huge potential for making robotics more accessible to the general public."

The team presented the work at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in Vilamoura, Portugal, this week.

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

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Is Your Stepfamily in a Season of Challenge? ? Step Parenting with ...

I love watching the giddiness of pre-married couples in our stepfamily class. They are in love and somewhat blinded to what lies ahead. Maybe that?s a good thing.?Thankfully, they?re trying to educate themselves on how to do stepfamily life before marriage. It?s a beautiful season of refreshment.

We have another couple about four years down the road?and they?re definitely in the stepfamily trenches.?With a few years under their belt, the kids are questioning their authority and as teen-agers, trying to separate?from the family. The stepparents express frustration and bewilderment?in how to move forward with their relationships.?It?s a hard period that can last several years before resolving?the challenges. During this?season, stepfamily authority Ron Deal?says, ?You must learn to endure disharmony.??I completely agree.?It?s a season of challenge.

If you make it through?the season of challenge, you eventually move into the season of rewards. During this period, stepchildren decide you are okay as their?stepparent, and regardless of what the other parent might?say about you, the stepchild chooses to love and respect you because of the significant role you?ve played that they?ve learned to appreciate. The relationship isn?t perfect, but it?s special.?Unfortunately, many stepparents never make it to this season?because they?re not willing to endure the season of challenge.

The?next season is the season of celebration.?The stepchildren leave home and become productive citizens. They aren?t making perfect choices in all areas of life but they?re functioning on their own without your daily assistance. They stay in touch regularly (especially when they need money :) ) and the relationship is generally positive and hopeful.

Other seasons follow (like grandparenting seasons) but I?m stopping here to give thanks that?we?ve made it?to?the?season of celebration.?My stepchildren aren?t perfect and I don?t agree with all their choices, but they?ve launched from the nest and at 22 and 27 years old, are coping well as young adults. My husband and I will celebrate 17 years of marriage this?month and I?m continually grateful we didn?t quit during the?season of challenge. Yes, there were times we wanted to, but those times are now behind us. And they will pass for you too if you learn to endure the disharmony and commit to the end.

I look forward to the years ahead with my?husband.?Although we?worked through?a lot of disharmony during our season of challenge, it?s seems a small sacrifice now for the seasons that follow.We still have one child at home but there are fewer disagreements and stressful circumstances to deal with?since it?s our child together.

Are you in a difficult season??Will you commit to endure your season of challenge?so you can enjoy?the seasons that follow??

Related Posts:

The Myth of the Perfect Stepparent

Change: A Friend or a Foe in Your Stepfamily?

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Source: http://stepparentingwithgrace.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/is-your-stepfamily-in-a-season-of-challenge/

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Uma Thurman Is Up For Getting Down In 'Nymphomaniac'

Uma Thurman is the latest star to become attached to Lars von Trier's upcoming project, "Nymphomaniac." The film is currently shooting in Germany, and Thurman has come onboard in an undisclosed part, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. She joins a pretty loaded cast that already includes Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Charlotte Gainsboroug, Stellan Skarsgard, Jamie [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/10/10/uma-thurman-nymphomaniac/

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Vacation Rental Startup HouseTrip Picks Up $40M Led By Accel In Another Big Round For Collaborative Consumption

housetrip logoHouseTrip.com, one of the startups working at the accommodation end of the collaborative consumption market, with a platform for people to rent out homes online, has picked up a roomy $40 million as it looks to scale up its operations en route to booking 3 million nights of accommodation this year. The C Round for the London-based company is being led by new investor Accel Partners, with existing investors Index Ventures and Balderton Capital also participating. The funding bring's HouseTrip's total raised to date up to $60 million.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/iQOHchFZaxo/

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Specialty contact lenses may one day help halt the progression of nearsightedness in children

ScienceDaily (Oct. 2, 2012) ? Nearsightedness, or myopia, affects more than 40 percent of people in the U.S. and up to 90 percent of children in some parts of Asia. The problem begins in childhood and often progresses with age. Standard prescription lenses can correct the defocus but do not cure nearsightedness, and do not slow progression rates as children grow. But recent experimental work by biomedical scientist David Troilo and colleagues at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry in New York City supports the development of a potential cure for myopia by using specialty contact lenses that coax the eye to grow in a way that can correct nearsighted vision while reducing myopia progression.

Troilo will describe his findings at the Optical Society's (OSA) Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics (FiO) 2012, taking place Oct. 14 in Rochester, N.Y.

Myopia develops when the eye is too long, making it difficult to focus light from distant objects on the retina. Glasses or contact lenses that correct the defocus on the main visual axis can create a slight degree of farsightedness in the peripheral retina, Troilo says. The peripheral farsightedness may worsen myopia because as children grow, the eye grows to move the retina to where the light is focused, naturally lengthening the eye even further.

Troilo has shown that specially designed contact lenses that alter how light is focused in the peripheral retina can induce changes in growth that help reshape the eye in the desired way. The experimental lenses use different focal powers within a single lens: either alternating focal powers across the lens, or confined to the outer edge. Experiments with the new lenses found that they changed eye growth and refractive state, or focus, in a predictable way. The lenses successfully reduced the elongation of the eye that causes myopia progression.

Several contact lens designs may soon be available to help eye doctors manage the progression of myopia in children, Troilo says. Presentation FW1C.1 "Optical Approaches for Controlling Myopia Progression: Evidence from Experimental Models" takes place Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 8 a.m. EDT at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Optical Society of America, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/2379HnPR7h4/121002150033.htm

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