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KELLY ANNOUNCES TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY LORENZ’S DEPARTURE

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TOPEKA, Kan. – Today, Governor Laura Kelly announced the resignation of Kansas
Department of Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz.카지노사이트

Lorenz has served as Transportation Secretary since her confirmation in March
2019 and as Chair of the Kansas Infrastructure Hub, which coordinates federal
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, since June 2022. Her final day in both
positions is Friday, December 23.

She will be returning to the private sector.

“Julie has been a visionary transportation secretary, seeing infrastructure not
simply as roads and bridges but as a powerful way to bring people together for
the betterment of future generations,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “Her ability
to envision what could be and her determination to build strong coalitions have
been essential to our success in closing the Bank of KDOT, passing a bipartisan
10-year infrastructure program, and coordinating billions of dollars in
infrastructure funding. I am thankful for her service to my administration and
to all Kansans, and I wish her the very best.”

In addition to leading the launch of the Kansas Infrastructure Hub, Secretary
Lorenz oversaw the creation of the Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program;
modernized the highway system’s infrastructure for electrification; and created
a Division of Safety, resulting in a decrease of workplace accidents by 46%.
Today, KDOT has over 1,000 infrastructure projects in the works across Kansas.

In October, Secretary Lorenz received the prestigious national 2022 George S.
Bartlett Award for her outstanding leadership and extensive service in
transportation.
“I want to thank Governor Kelly for the opportunity to serve Kansas,” Secretary
Lorenz said. “I’m most proud that during my tenure, we were able to craft and
implement our new state transportation program, IKE. Thanks to the bipartisan
support for IKE, we have rebuilt our infrastructure and modernized how we
deliver transportation allowing Kansas to better seize opportunities and meet
challenges now and in the future.”바카라사이트

Calvin Reed, Director of the Division of Engineering and Design, will serve as
Interim Secretary of Transportation until a Secretary of Transportation is
nominated and confirmed.

“Kansas transportation has benefited greatly from the leadership of Secretary
Lorenz,” Calvin Reed said. “Kansans can rest assured that our team is well
prepared to keep construction projects moving and will continue to make
transportation improvements across the state. I’m honored to be entrusted with
leading the agency during this transition.”

Burt Morey, KDOT Deputy Secretary and State Transportation Engineer, also
submitted his resignation. He is retiring after a 30-year career in the field.

“It’s been my honor to serve KDOT in multiple capacities throughout my career,”
Deputy Secretary Morey said. “Thanks to our team, we’ve been able to increase
highway construction and improve worker safety at the same time, and Kansas is
better off because of it.

Greg Schieber, the current Director of Project Delivery, will fill the role of
Interim Deputy Secretary until a permanent replacement is selected.온라인카지노

This entry was posted in Transportation on November 30, 2022 by
faraheunicefernandez.

THIS MALL CHAIN’S CHRISTMAS VILLAGE IS BACK

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This Christmas is going to be one for the books.카지노사이트

The past two years saw Filipinos dialing down on the holiday celebrations as
people exercised caution to fight against the spread of sickness. It is no easy
feat too, given that the FIlipino Christmas celebration is traditionally one of
the biggest events of the year for every Filipino family.

The good—no, the aweSM—news? This 2022, SM is set to give everyone a Christmas
comeback like no other with the return of the SM Christmas Village, now in its
second year.

Currently, SM Supermalls is one of the very first malls in the Philippines to
venture into the metaverse, giving everybody the first mobile brand rewards app
that provides customers with fun and exciting ways to score amazing deals, earn
free shopping money, and win wow-worthy prizes.

To share how amazing it is: The pilot run of the ChristmaSaya Village in 2021
recently won four accolades at this year’s Vega Awards, earning nods for
outstanding innovation in the digital and virtual realm.

Enter the Mall-tiverse

Here is how it works: To join, a user has to register for an account online via
smmetaverse.world. Once registered, you gain access to the virtual SM Christmas
Village, where you can explore different zones, interact with other players, and
collect virtual coins to unlock exclusive shopping vouchers and earn raffle
entries, and just like at SM Supermalls nationwide, #YoureAlwaysWelcomeHere

Excited for supercharged virtual fun? Here is a quick look at what is in store
for you this year:

Bigger rewards, bigger prizes

If you loved last year’s vouchers, you are in for even better rewards this time.
SM has partnered with more of your favorite brands to give you exclusive
shopping discounts and deals (a total of P2-M worth of vouchers are up for
grabs) and is set to give away a whopping P1-M worth of raffle prizes. Plus, one
lucky winner will drive home the ultimate Christmas gift: a brand-new Suzuki
S-Presso.

An expansive game world awaits

Your gaming experience gets a level up with improved game designs and an
exciting game world featuring new areas to explore—from shopping and dining
zones to entertainment zones—like you are really at an SM Supermall. Experience
augmented reality malling, e-meet friends, and play fun games to earn virtual
coins. Before that, have fun customizing your own avatar down to the hair,
outfit, and accessories (shopping bag, included), so you can create a character
that is uniquely you.

Enjoy fresh in-game features

Get your family members in on the Christmas fever with the multiplayer option
and stay connected while you play with the new chat and video-calling features.
Be on the lookout for pop-ups, too, featuring special brand deets and surprise
deals with every visit.바카라사이트

Earn shopping money every day

The more virtual coins you collect in-app, the more “shopping money” you get,
which you can use to redeem vouchers from your favorite brands. Once you have
claimed your vouchers virtually, you can use them at participating SM Mall
branches nationwide—to pay for your Christmas shopping, dining, and more. You
can also use your coins to unlock raffle entries and win one of the 20 major
prizes at the end of the year.

Some tips!

Visit the village every day to earn more coins fast.

You can also spend your coins as soon as you earn them, but it pays to be
patient too because by accumulating your coins first, you will be able to redeem
bigger rewards later on.

Make sure to explore all the zones and keep an eye out for hidden treasures and
bonuses.

A Christmas to remember

With restrictions easing up and COVID-19 vaccination rates at an encouraging
high, this year’s holiday season is shaping up to be one to look forward to.

From the light shows and holiday centerpieces to all sorts of Christmas
attractions, all things merry and bright await you and the whole family—and it
all starts now. Check out all the holiday happenings here and have a
#HappyChristmasAtSM!

The #SMChristmasVillage2022 will run from October 28, 2022 to January 5, 2023.
Voucher redemption will be until January 31, 2023.

To stay updated on all things SM, follow SM Supermalls on Facebook, Instagram ,
and Twitter.

SM implements strict #SafeMallingAtSM protocols nationwide and offers convenient
shopping options via the SM Malls Online app, The SM Store, and ShopSM. For
updates on mall hours and entry guidelines, check out their website.온라인카지노

This entry was posted in Malls on November 23, 2022 by faraheunicefernandez.

THE BEST HOTEL RESTAURANTS AND BARS IN EUROPE, ACCORDING TO HOTELS ABOVE PAR
FOUNDER BRANDON BERKSON

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When it comes to top-tier hotels around the world, Brandon Berkson, Founder of
Hotels Above Par, is the expert. HAP is a unique travel company that creates
expert-curated guides to the world’s coolest boutique hotels and travel
experiences. And of course, who doesn’t love to eat and drink well when they’re
vacationing somewhere beautiful? 카지노사이트

We chatted with this former public relations pro-turned-travel specialist and
entrepreneur on his favorite hotel restaurants and bars in Europe. From stunning
rooftops to ritzy beachfronts, here’s what he had to say about the best places
to imbibe an indulge while in Europe.

ROOFTOP AT ARISTIDE HOTEL – SYROS, GREECE

Greece is always a good idea. If you’re looking for a beautiful island sans
tourists and crowds, Syros is the Cycladic Isle that needs to be on your list.
Located in a restored mansion in the island’s main city, Ermoupolis, the Rooftop
at Artistide Hotel — a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World — is chic to
its core. It’s furnished with, and this is not just me saying this, “the most
comfortable chair in the world,” Honoré’s Vintage Croisette Armchair. The
open-air, garden-style terrace looking out at the azure Aegean Sea is the cherry
on top.”

UN PIANO NEL CIELO AT CASA ANGELINA – PRAIANO, ITALY

Casa Angelina is a hyper-luxe boutique hotel nestled into the cliffs of Praiano,
a town located on Italy’s dreamy Amalfi coast. Almost everywhere at this hotel,
you can see the piercingly blue Tyrrhenian Sea, including while enjoying dinner
at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant Un Piano nel Cielo. Executive Chef Leopoldo
Elefante helms the culinary efforts at this fine-dining restaurant. There’s
nothing better than savoring a dish from their ever-changing menu while looking
out at a magnificent sunset. If I might say so myself, it’s one of the most
beautiful sunset spots I’ve ever witnessed.

LYANESS AT SEA CONTAINERS LONDON – LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

This contemporary London hotel in the city’s South Bank area is aesthetically
inspired by the resident shipping containers populating the locale. One of my
favorite bars in London is Sea Containers London’s on-site watering hole,
Lyaness. First, Ryan Chetiyawardana is at the helm (for those who don’t know who
he is, Ryan is one of the most respected mixologists in the industry).
Design-wise, expect an electric blue setting with an original green marble bar.
When you’re in the British capital next, opt to experience the hotel’s Lyaness
Spirited Tea, which playfully brings cocktails to a quintessentially English
classic afternoon tea setting (it’s a must!). 바카라사이트

KRÖNENSTÜBLI AT GRAND HOTEL KRONENHOF – PONTRESINA, SWITZERLAND

St. Moritz and neighboring Pontresina are chic Swiss mountain towns that are
worth visiting, no matter the season (most people prefer summer or winter, but I
personally believe it’s stunning year-round). The iconic Grand Hotel Kronenhof —
one of my favorite hotels in Europe — is a five-star, historic stay with
panoramic views of the surrounding nature. Placed in an unassuming quarter of
the hotel, the gourmet restaurant Krönenstübli is a Swiss-pine-style parlor
serving the best Italian-Mediterranean and French cooking. The Alps-infused
aesthetic, with all its cozy wood, makes for an exceedingly cozy environment.

KOOK ATELIER AT OP OOST – OOSTERLAND, NETHERLANDS

Amsterdam is the Netherlands’ most popular city. That said, the country brims
with other noteworthy destinations, including Holland’s Wadden Sea Islands.
Located there is Small Luxury Hotels of the World’s Op Oost — a 12-room Dutch
farmhouse culinary retreat guaranteed to expand your horizons about what Holland
has to offer. Its restaurant, Kook Atelier at Op Oost, serves Nordic & Botanical
cuisine. Everything is farm-to-table, and you can expect to eat the best of the
best edible flowers, herbs, and vegetables from the local, as well as meat and
dairy derived from the surrounding locale.

GIACOMO AL LAGO AT GRAND HOTEL TREMEZZO – LAKE COMO, ITALY

It’s not hard to understand why George and Amal Clooney keep vacationing in Lake
Como: the charming villages, summiting mountains, and bevy of ritzy villas plus
hotels imbuing Italian glamour at every capacity are just a few reasons why the
spot swoons everyone who visits. One of Italy’s most iconic five-star stays is
here, Grand Hotel Tremezzo. While you can’t go wrong with any of the hotel’s
restaurants, Giacomo al Lago, their seafood-centric restaurant, is my favorite
(in fact, it’s the only one of its kind with lakeside dining on Lake Como!).

BAR DU NESSAY AT LE NESSAY – SAINT-BRIAC-SUR-MER, FRANCE

Le Nessay is a boutique hotel that occupies a beachfront castle built of stone
and brick in Saint- Briac-Sur-Mer, France. Part of Small Luxury Hotels of the
World, it’s one of my favorite Western-Europe boutique stays. When it comes to
enjoying a glass of wine, Bar du Nessay at Le Nessay, has a west-facing terrace
that, in my opinion, is the perfect place to witness the sunset over the
Atlantic Ocean (especially with your significant other, as the hotel and bar
exude romance on all fronts).

JARA AT THE STANDARD – IBIZA, SPAIN

You know when hyper-cool hotel brand The Standard opens a hotel in Ibiza, it’s
going to be the island’s new “it” hotel. Having just opened this year in Ibiza’s
old town, this 53-key boutique stays feels intimate and unhurried. They have an
ambrosial restaurant called Jara at The Standard, which serves Ibizan dishes
such as sea bass “divorciado” and other “fruits de la mer.” It’s café style,
open from 8AM-2AM, and often, when dining here, you will find yourself
accompanied by a bevy of different performers, from DJs to Drag Queens. 온라인카지노

This entry was posted in Hotels & Restaurants on November 9, 2022 by
faraheunicefernandez.

IS MY MONEY SAFE AT ONLINE CASINOS

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Some people are concerned about the security of their money in online casinos.
The biggest concerns include issues with payments and withdrawals. These
problems are particularly concerning because rogue online casinos often operate
under the radar.

This is possible because the Internet is an anonymous place, and these rogue
casinos are difficult to identify by other customers. In addition, these rogue
online casinos aren’t likely to talk to their clients to find out what’s going
on.카지노사이트

IDENTIFYING ROGUE ONLINE CASINOS

Identifying rogue online casinos is crucial to your safety as an online gambler.
Often, these companies don’t respond to emails or complaints and don’t pay out
money quickly. As a result, you may have to look for an alternative casino. To
ensure your safety and security, here are a few tips to help you identify rogue
online casinos:

The most common way to identify rogue online casinos is to check for signs of
unreliable practices. Check for the lack of a gambling license and player
protection policies. Moreover, avoid sites that use pirated software or have
inconsistent payables. Furthermore, do not sign up for flashy promotions or sign
up for accounts with unrealistic playthrough requirements. Authentic online
casinos always have reasonable terms and conditions.

DEPOSIT OPTIONS

There are a variety of deposit options at online casinos. While the majority of
players use credit cards to fund their online gaming accounts, those who are
uncomfortable providing their credit card information may use other methods.
These include electronic wallets, prepaid cards, and bank transfers. Some of
these methods are particularly convenient because they can be used to fund
multiple online gambling sites. Some of these deposit methods also offer a bonus
to players who deposit a large sum.

Many people prefer using prepaid cards and electronic wallets when depositing.
The most popular electronic wallet providers include NETeller and Skrill. These
services are available worldwide, except for the US, and offer promotional
events. Other prepaid card options include Paysafecard and Ukash. These methods
are particularly convenient if you live in an area that doesn’t have a banking
system.

PAYMENT METHODS

There are many factors to consider when choosing a payment method at an online
casino. The most popular methods are credit cards and debit cards. These two
methods are widely accepted and offer the fastest transactions. Also, most
online casinos will immediately process deposits made via debit cards. In
addition, they are among the most secure options available.

Prepaid cards are another option for depositing cash at online casinos.
Paysafecard is a popular prepaid card that is accepted by most online casinos.
The Paysafecard voucher is PIN-coded and can be purchased from various
businesses. Players can then use this voucher to top up their accounts at online
casinos. Another similar payment method is ecoPayz, a virtual e-wallet that lets
you fund your account instantly and anonymously. 바카라사이트

ID VERIFICATION

Online casinos often ask for ID verification when you sign up and withdraw your
winnings. This is for security reasons. Online casinos are required by law to
verify customers. You need to provide certain documents, such as an ID card or a
driver’s license, to prove that you are of legal age to gamble.

Identity verification also helps to prevent fraudulent accounts and multiple
accounts in skill games. It can also prevent underage gambling. Many teenagers
use their parents’ information to sign up for an account, and this can lead to
fines and other problems. Therefore, ID verification at online casinos is a
necessary step to prevent problem gamblers from taking advantage of promotions.

ID verification at online casinos is mandatory for online gambling
establishments with $1 million or more in gross revenue. These sites must adhere
to the same regulations as banks, and this means that they must be more
stringent with identity verification.

KYC procedures also require online gambling establishments to hire a large
compliance team and incur higher costs for identity verification procedures.
Manual KYC processing is no longer an effective solution for online casinos, and
it wastes budgets and time.

AFTERPAY

You may be wondering, “What is Afterpay, and is my money safe at online casino
sites?” You can also use this service to make payments on your online casino
purchases. It will automatically add your email to their merchant portal when
you sign up for the service.

However, you must be careful to make sure that your Afterpay account is valid
and that you have enough money in it. Also, you must remember that you can only
pay up to EUR 250 with Afterpay.

If you’re looking to buy a lot of things on the Internet, you may be wondering
if Afterpay is the right choice for you. It is different from the other
interest-free finance options that are available. Using Afterpay will ensure
that you pay off your online purchases on time, and you won’t have to worry
about incurring late fees. 온라인카지노

This entry was posted in casino on November 2, 2022 by faraheunicefernandez.

UNIQUE THERAPY THAT ALTERS MEMORY PROCESSES COULD REDUCE PSYCHOLOGICAL
DISTURBANCES FOLLOWING ROMANTIC BETRAYAL

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A novel technique that uses a beta blocker to interfere with memory
reconsolidation shows promise in the treatment of adjustment disorder following
romantic betrayal, according to new research published in the Journal of
Affective Disorders.카지노사이트

Adjustment disorder is a condition that can occur in response to a significant
life event or change. While it is normal to feel some degree of anxiety or
distress in such situations, people with adjustment disorder experience more
intense and long-lasting symptoms that interfere with their ability to cope.
These may include difficulty sleeping, depressed mood, social withdrawal, and
difficulty concentrating. In severe cases, adjustment disorder can lead to
self-harm or suicidal thoughts.

“There is no recognized empirically-based treatment for adjustment disorders,”
said study author Alain Brunet, a clinical psychologist and psychiatry professor
at McGill University. “This is an oddity. We were interested in determining if
the good clinical results we had obtained in treating PTSD with Reconsolidation
Therapy applied to a broader set of trauma-like conditions, hence our interest
for adjustment disorder.”

“Romantic Betrayal (a form of adjustment disorder) seemed like an interesting
topic to study because, first, it is very distressing. Second, it is one of the
most common reason why individuals seek professional help. Finally, there is
very little help available for romantically betrayed individuals who do not wish
to return with their partner.”

Propranolol is a beta blocker that is often prescribed for high blood pressure,
migraines, and certain anxiety disorders. But the drug has also been shown to
weaken the emotional tone of memories by blocking adrenergic pathways.

“Reconsolidation Therapy consist in recalling a bad memory under the influence
of propranolol with the help of a trained therapist,” Brunet explained. “This
treatment approach is a translational treatment stemming from the research in
neuroscience which stipulates that a recalled memory needs to be saved again to
long-term memory storage in order to persist. Interfering with the storage
process will yield a degraded (less emotional) memory.”

In the new study, Brunet and his colleagues recruited adults who met the DSM-5
criteria for adjustment disorder. The participants had all experienced a
romantic betrayal event, such as infidelity, that occurred during a monogamous
long-term relationship.

The researchers asked the participants to write a first-person narrative of
their romantic betrayal/abandonment event. The participants were told to focus
on the most emotionally provocative aspects of the event and to include
stress-related reactions, such as feeling tense, trembling, and sweating. During
treatment sessions, the participants ingested propranolol before reading their
narrative out loud once. Fifty-five participants completed at least one
treatment session, while 48 completed all five sessions.바카라사이트

To assess clinically significant symptoms, the participants completed a widely
used questionnaire known as the Impact of Event Scale — Revised (IES-R) before,
during, and after the treatment phase. The researchers observed a large drop in
IES-R scores immediately following the first treatment. The declines in IES-R
scores continued over the course of the treatment phase. Thirty-five
participants who completed a follow-up survey provided evidence that the
improvements in symptom endured up to 4 months.

“Our study suggests that Reconsolidation Therapy works with adjustment disorder,
in that it is clearly superior to a wait-list group (subjects were their own
control),” Brunet told PsyPost. “The magnitude of the pre-post treatment
improvement compares to results we obtained in our PTSD research.”

Brunet said he was surprised by how high the IES-R scores were prior to
treatment. “Looking at the severity of symptoms, were surprised at how painful
adjustment disorder can be,” the researcher explained. “Adjustment disorder is
no ‘wimpy’ disorder. This is clearly a misconception.”

The study utilized a within-subjects open-label design, which limits the ability
to draw strong conclusions about causality. However, the findings provide an
important foundation for future research. “In spite of its moderate size, the
study is important in that it provides the treatment ‘effect sizes’ required to
launch a placebo-controlled randomized controlled trial,” Brunet said.

The study, “Treatment of adjustment disorder stemming from romantic betrayal
using memory reactivation under propranolol: A open-label interrupted time
series trial“, was authored by Michelle Lonergan, Daniel Saumier, Sereena
Pigeon, Pierre E. Etienne, and Alain Brunet.온라인카지노

This entry was posted in Psychology on October 26, 2022 by faraheunicefernandez.

NEW POST-PANDEMIC CHALLENGES FACING TRANSPORTATION

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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, US — Arguably the biggest news in transportation in 2022
may be what doesn’t happen: a nationwide strike by railroad workers that many
think will push the teetering US economy into a recession sooner than later.
Otherwise, logistics remain a major concern for grains and other agricultural
shippers, even if conditions are considerably different than they were six
months or a year ago. Globally, the grain markets have focused uneasily on an
agreement providing a humanitarian corridor for exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea
ports as the war with Russia again escalates.카지노사이트

Freight rates across nearly all modes of transportation except barges have
weakened from historic highs reached during or because of the COVID pandemic,
but the lack of labor continues to be a challenge to logistics at most levels.
Dockworkers along the West Coast continue to work without a new contract after
the latest agreement expired earlier this year. But a potential strike by
railroad workers looms larger.

Ocean freight routes have been disrupted from the Black Sea region since Russia
invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. While grain export volume from Russia, the world’s
largest wheat exporter, was minimally affected, exports by sea from Ukraine were
effectively shut down until Turkey and the United Nations brokered a deal for
safe transport in late July. The disruption sent shock waves through the grain
markets while sending prices for imported wheat and other grains and oilseeds up
as much as 40% to countries in the Middle East and Africa, including some poor
nations that had the least ability to pay, raising concerns about sharply higher
rates of world hunger. Grain has been flowing from Ukraine since the
humanitarian corridor was opened, and prices for grain delivered in the Middle
East and elsewhere have dropped, but year-to-date shipments from Ukraine remain
far below year-ago levels, and the current escalation in Russia’s bombardment of
Ukraine has many wondering about how long the shipments will continue.

In the United States, high fuel prices have been an added cost for both carriers
and shippers, with higher fuel surcharges in many cases partially offsetting
lower freight rates. On-highway diesel prices reported by the Energy Information
Administration of the US Department of Transportation averaged $4.84 per gallon
as of Oct. 3, down nearly $1 per gallon, or 17%, from the June high of $5.81 per
gallon but up $1.43, or 42%, from $3.41 per gallon a year ago. Prices were
likely to start moving higher after cuts in global crude oil production. The
on-highway diesel price is used by most railroads to calculate per car fuel
surcharges that averaged 68¢per mile per car in September, down 6¢ from August
but up 43¢from September 2021.

“Barge freight and rail car costs, and union negotiations, are the big current
topics in the transportation markets,” said Jay O’Neil, HJ O’Neil Commodity
Consulting, Eagle Point, Oregon, US.

Potential strike outshines rail improvements

Shipping agricultural commodities and food ingredients by rail has proven a
mostly affordable, relatively timely freight option in the early weeks of the
fourth quarter, but a looming next chapter in the rail labor saga could shift
that outlook.

In early September, the question facing shippers nationwide was whether
railroads and employee unions would find common ground and ink contracts before
a mid-month deadline triggering an employee strike. The Association of American
Railroads (AAR) estimated halting America’s 7,000 long-distance freight trains
would cost $2 billion per day in lost economic activity.

Negotiations were prolonged between US railroads and 12 labor unions that
comprise the bulk of employees who keep the trains moving. Some unions had
worked without a contract since 2019. COVID complicated everything. Railroads
furloughed thousands in 2020 amid lockdowns and wild shifts in consumer demand.
When demand settled into new-normal patterns, many rail workers never felt
enough incentive to return to those jobs for a variety of reasons. One was
economic stimulus programs that simultaneously helped to uncork a burst of
consumer demand, which promptly overwhelmed supply chains, including railroads.

A President’s Emergency Board (PEB) laid out a plan for wage increases and set a
Sept. 15 deadline. As it drew near without agreement, some unions were set to
strike and members of other unions were expected to take part in a work stoppage
of solidarity, halting the flow of materials into a broad range of industries
and creating a bottleneck of imported products at ports. Wages were the top
factor, but railroads also said the labor shortages behind chronic performance
shortfalls in service were partly due to absenteeism. Unions fought against
points system attendance policies railroads put in place over the past year and
sought gains in paid time off for medical appointments. In the eleventh hour,
union officials gave their tentative approval to a handshake deal similar to the
one suggested by the PEB, including an approximate 24% in wage increases over
five years retroactive to 2019.

“The rail system literally is the backbone of the nation,” President Joe Biden
said Sept. 15. “It’s just critical in keeping the economy moving.”

US railroads quickly undid pre-strike preparations within a week. For shippers
loading hard red winter wheat in the central and southern Plains, placement of
cars at elevators quickly caught back up and resumed a late summer trend of
improved overall performance. Union Pacific refurbished and returned to service
200 rail cars, a wheat trader told Milling & Baking News, a sister publication
of World Grain, in late September. So improved were rail car placements at
origins, another broker caught up on contractual obligations for the first time
in eight months and was able to sell unused rail cars in the secondary market
when millers, flush with supplies and cognizant of potential demurrage charges,
were not amenable to accepting October wheat early. Wheat shipments by rail
remained timely into the early fall even as corn and other row crop harvests
expanded.

Meanwhile, traders and analysts in the northern Plains/Upper Midwest spring
wheat area said train movement was merely adequate.

“We’re not hearing complaints about not getting cars,” a veteran analyst said.
“A shipper said this morning (Oct. 11) BNSF performance was at a 7 on a 1-to-10
scale. What we are hearing is complaints about spiking freight costs.”

Rail prices in the fourth quarter have ranged widely. Plains shippers in the
first week of October found single cars offered around $200 a car over tariff
drew no bids, but below-tariff offers did. In the case of shuttle trains, the
situation was reversed. Shippers hoped to take advantage of the 110-plus-car
trains to help transport grain while barges in the low-water Mississippi River
faced loading limitations necessary to avoid grounding. But BNSF and Union
Pacific shuttle trains were being bid up to $2,000 per car over tariff with no
offers or were offered as high as $2,300 per car with no bids for last-half
November.

“At those prices, sellers out in the country aren’t buying any freight they
don’t have to,” the analyst said.

Prices could shoot higher in the event a strike was delayed rather than
forestalled. By Oct. 10, four labor organizations had ratified agreements to
resolve the national bargaining round and seven other labor organizations had
tentative agreements subject to ratification, the National Railway Labor
Conference (NRLC) said. The third-largest union representing rail workers, the
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division, rejected the tentative
deal with only 43% of the 12,000 members who voted approving it. But for now,
that union and railroads have agreed to maintain the status quo, so the failed
ratification “does not present risk of an immediate service disruption,” the
NRLC said.

US rail traffic in 2022 through Oct. 1 totaled 19,278,856 carloads and
intermodal units, down 2.7% from the same period in 2021, including 10,259,554
intermodal units, down 5.1%, and 9,019,302 carloads, up 0.1%, according to the
AAR. Of the carload total, grain accounted for 851,497 cars, down 4.6%. In
comparison, grain carloads on Canadian railroads totaled 276,976 units year to
date, down 19%, and Mexican grain carloads were 65,661 units, also down 19%.

AAR data also indicated there were 633,085 carloads of farm and food products
(including milled products but excluding grain) originated in the Jan. 1-Oct. 1
period, up 3.7%. Coal (2,575,059 units, up 3.5%), chemicals (1,301,031 units, up
3.1%) and non-metallic minerals (1,224,869 units, up 4.1%) continued as the top
three carload user segments of the year to date. Motor vehicles and parts
carloads also increased carloads compared with the first nine months of last
year, while forest products, metallic ores and metals, petroleum and products,
and “other” joined grain in the segments losing carloads from the like period in
2021.바카라사이트

Barge rates soar; ocean freight falls

Barge freight rates on the Mississippi River soared to record highs in late
September.

“The barge industry has had to balance a tight supply with increased demand
throughout the year,” the US Department of Agriculture said. “During the winter,
severe storms and icy conditions limited barge traffic on the Upper Mississippi
River. In the spring, rising coal exports to replace reduced Russian coal and
gas from the war in Ukraine — along with high water levels — reduced barge
capacity and increased demand for the use of barges. In the summer, hot
temperatures throughout the Midwest and low river levels in the lower
Mississippi River led to draft and tow reductions. At the same time, the barge
industry, like the rail industry, has struggled to hire and maintain workers.”

Barge freight rates have increased since early August. As of Sept. 27, the barge
rate for export grain at St. Louis was a record high 1,250% of tariff at $49.88
per ton, up 58% from a year earlier and 95% above the five-year average,
according to the USDA. The surge comes just as the corn and soybean harvests in
the Midwest were gaining momentum, and grain movement to terminals for shipping
down river typically increases. More than half of US corn and soybean exports
move down the Mississippi River, while the artery also is critical for barge
shipments of fertilizer upriver. One barge holds the equivalent of about 16 rail
cars or 70 semi-trailers.

Despite the high freight rates, a total 220,300 tons of grain were moved by
barge during the week ended Sept. 24, up 5% from a week earlier and up 17% from
the same period a year ago, the USDA said. In the same week, 136 grain barges
moved down river, six more than a week earlier, and 489 barges unloaded grain in
the New Orleans region, down 16% from the prior week. Year-to-date (through
Sept. 24) downbound grain volume on the Mississippi River was 23.9 million tons,
down 10% from a year earlier and 4% below the five-year average, according to
USDA data. The number of barges unloaded in New Orleans since the first of
September was down 39% from the five-year average.

There were mixed signals for barge freight during the fall harvest and into
2023.

“The tight barge supply is problematic for grain shippers heading into harvest,”
the USDA said. “Unless barge supply improves, the increased demand for barges
from grain shippers during harvest will likely put even more upward pressure on
barge rates.”

At the same time, the USDA noted 2022 corn and soybean production forecasts were
lowered by the USDA in September, and 2022-23 export forecasts are down 8% for
corn and 3% for soybeans from 2021-22.

“Lower production and reduced exports will both translate into lower grain
demand for rail and barge, which should make harvest transportation demand more
manageable, despite ongoing (transportation) supply issues,” the USDA said.

Higher freight rates (whether rail or barge), typically mean lower prices paid
to farmers for their grain, while potentially boosting export prices paid by
foreign buyers.

Ocean freight rates moved in the opposite direction than barge rates as lower
demand and excess capacity sent prices plummeting.

“Dry bulk has been fairly boring lately,” O’Neil said. “There was a considerable
drop off in the index and physical rates in the June-to-September 2022 period.
In October 2021, Panamax grain vessel rates from the US Gulf to Japan/China
reached up to $91 per tonne. In June 2022, the rate for this move dropped to $79
per tonne and on Sept. 1, 2022, it hit a bottom of $57 per tonne. We are now
back up to the $61- to $62-per-tonne level. The past two weeks produced a little
bounce off bottom, and markets are looking for new direction, and elusive
reasons to move back up.

“The second half of 2022 has not turned out as vessel owners had hoped. Much has
hinged on the Chinese economy and their imports of bulk commodities, especially
iron ore and coal. But the Chinese economy has sputtered, and annual growth is
now projected to be just 3.2 %; a far cry from the 6.5% growth predicted at the
beginning of the year. COVID lockdowns have played a part, but mostly it has
been the excess in domestic building projects of the past and the resulting
general economic slowdown. As such, dry bulk freight growth has been restricted.
We will certainly see some volatility in rates over the next six months due to
the Black Sea situation and concerns over global economic growth. A global
recession will not help if it occurs.

“I expect rates to move back and forth a little but end up rather flat for the
balance of the year. I think dry bulk vessel owners will be fortunate to just
hang on to current market values as we exit 2022. Of course, vessel owners
remain optimistic about their prospects for 2023. They are hoping that global
economic growth over the next two years exceeds the current new-build order book
of just 2.3% per year of the global fleet. We’ll have to see what happens with
global economic growth.”

Current spot rates for containers have plunged more than 80% from over $20,000
per 20-foot equivalent a year ago, O’Neil said, largely due to overly aggressive
new vessel orders and a decline from last year’s peaks in consumer demand and
container rates. Containers now are in oversupply and new vessels are being
delivered every month, he noted.

O’Neil said that shipping lines “were very clever with their contract
negotiations” earlier this year with some refusing to issue single-year
contracts that forced some large carriers into new two- to three-year contracts
at prevailing high rates.

“So we now have a very divided market of those with high rate contracts and
those who can book on the spot market at very cheap rates,” O’Neil said. “I fear
that despite the huge drop-off in spot container rates, the cost of importing
goods from Asia will not fall back much until the current two-year contracts
expire. The availability of empty containers for grain exports, however, should
gradually improve, and rates for such should get cheaper as we move into 2023.”

Trucking rates moving lower

Shippers using trucks, meanwhile, have seen falling rates that are expected to
remain under pressure into 2023 due to declining demand amid recession fears and
increased availability of capacity and drivers. Obtaining trucks for specific
agricultural needs has continued to be problematic, with many drivers still
resisting longer hauls to move products such as millfeed from surplus to deficit
regions. The problem worsens during the fall row crop harvests as drivers either
focus on those commodities or are farmers themselves who just drive trucks
during certain times of the year. But overall, the trucking industry has seen
lower rates and increased availability.

“Spot market rates (a more accurate view of the truckload market) started to
push down contract rates (contract rates always are slower to react than spot)
with no end in sight,” said Jim Ritchie, president and chief executive officer,
Logistics Resource Group, RedStone Logistics. “Normally we would see an
end-of-quarter surge, but that didn’t happen in Q3. This could have a
significant impact in Q4, but we’re going to have to wait and see. For many, the
holiday season is already over, so I expect we’ll see continued downward
pressure in both the spot and contract categories. It’s not often we have spot
rates below contract, but as shippers renegotiate longer-term contracts, we
should expect to see carriers get aggressive to keep their utilization high.”

Ritchie said contracted rates for truck freight averaged about $2.71 per mile at
the beginning of October, compared with spot rates at $2.64 per mile. Spot and
contract rates have declined sharply since July.

“I believe we will continue to see pricing pressure in the transportation
markets as shippers are selling through their inventory, keeping demand low,” he
said. “Assuming we start to follow normal trends and cycles in the freight
industry we would expect pricing to remain depressed through the third quarter
of 2023. This creates an opportunity for many shippers to take a hard look at
their supply chain and to try and lock carriers into longer-term rate structures
in Q2 of 2023.

“The industry experienced a significant increase in capacity over the past 12
months in equipment as well as drivers who have come back post-pandemic to
higher paying jobs. It now appears with the softening in demand that many
carriers are looking for the opportunity to jettison older equipment and take
their fleet levels down.”

He noted that smaller carriers have not reduced capacity, but larger carriers
(with more than 100 units) “appear to be the most passionate about managing
their asset levels with the market demand.”

“From a demand perspective it appears that new orders are contracting for the
past three months, which signals that manufacturing is easing and will continue
to do so in the coming months as backlogs of orders continue to be drawn down,”
he said.

Overall, freight demand has declined nearly 19% year over year.

“I expect we will continue to see softening in demand,” Ritchie explained. “We
experienced a significant drop in tender reject rates with truckload carriers in
April, and it has continued a steady decline through October, signaling the
carriers are looking for any freight to keep their assets rolling. Not only are
they taking every tender, but they are lowering their prices. Average base rates
per mile have dropped approximately 10% from June to October on the contract
side, and the spot market has seen some markets drop even further.

“Tender rejection rates are approaching zero, and spot rates seem to have
already taken it on the chin. Volumes, however, still have plenty of room to
fall, along with contract rates. This will be critical to keep a watchful eye on
over the next several months. We believe we’ll see continued slowing across all
modes, and economic trends supported by fiscal policy set on curbing inflation
and spending. This will translate into lower freight volumes until inflationary
pressures have eased and fiscal policy becomes more favorable for
spending.”온라인카지노

This entry was posted in Transportation on October 19, 2022 by
faraheunicefernandez.

MALLS CAN STILL ‘CHANGE’ IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

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September created an opportunity for malls to take a significant step forward,
with signs that some of the economic headwinds were dissipating, according to a
report this week from Placer.ai.카지노사이트

However, there is still ground to make up, the data analyst firm said, as visits
to malls of various types showcase “resiliency.”

During September, visits were down 0.9% at indoor malls compared to 2021, and
they were down 1.8% at OALCs and down 4.5% at outlet malls.

For indoor and outlet malls, those figures are improvements compared to July and
August.
“But gaps remain,” according to the report. “While the numbers aren’t bad
compared to last year, comparing them to 2019 leaves a lot to be desired.”

Placer.ai reported that during September, visits were down 10.1% at indoor
malls, 10.2% at OALCs, and down 11.3% at outlet malls, compared to 2019.

A Week in Sept Indicates Optimism

But traffic is improving, lately. A look at the weekly data shows visits ticking
up as of the week of Sept. 19.

Compared to the previous week, visits then were up 2.6% at indoor malls, 1.7% at
OALCs, and 2.5% at outlet malls — a good sign as the holiday season approaches.

At Simon Malls, Laura Schwartz, Regional Vice President, tells GlobeSt.com that
her company continues to invest in its properties, bringing in new retailers,
adding additional product types and maintaining our properties.

“We’ve seen particularly strong traffic at centers such as Burlington Mall and
Northshore in the Boston market that have recently gone through extensive
redevelopments,” Schwartz said.

Year-Over-Year Data Must Be Referenced

David Greensfelder, managing principal of Greensfelder Real Estate, tells
GlobeSt.com that while shopping malls may be attempting to position themselves
for the holidays, the task may be as futile.

“Owners as sailing into a storm: larger forces are going to carry the season,
and it’s going to be difficult to steer an individual mall’s performance in
light of them,” Greensfelder said.

“Consider that the economy is sending mixed signals such as month-over-month
consumer confidence index numbers being at odds with continued inflation and
higher borrowing costs.

“While retailers’ excess inventory (created by supply chain disruptions) and
related price reductions may be driving some shoppers to stores, it’s important
to focus on year-over-year numbers and not at what happened last month or two
months ago.

Greensfelder said that the year-over-year numbers confirm that mall footfalls
are down compared with 2021 and certainly before the pandemic, fundamentally
changing how we shop for goods and services, particularly for commodities.바카라사이트

“The trend of consumers ‘trading down’ and retailers rightsizing their fleets
(ie. closures) confirm this hypothesis,” he said.

Greensfelder pointed to trends that seem to be positively impacting some malls
include the strength of urban areas, digitally native brand growth (particularly
those where there is a hybrid digital and bricks-and-mortar strategy), and
fitness.

“Those positives are dampened by malls benefiting less from luxury brand
bounce-back, and restaurant visits (all categories) being flat to down,” he
said.

Preserving the ‘Heart and Soul’

Doug Ressler, manager, business intelligence, tells GlobeSt.com that shopping
malls have been defined as “the heart and soul of communities” and have been
under severe pressure from the proliferation of e-commerce and other forces.

“In-person shopping providers are leveraging technology to help their consumers
engage the new range of mall experiences before, during and after a visit,”
Ressler said.

Tech-driven experiences include or will include:

* Interactive kiosks that deliver product information and promotional
messaging;
* Smart touch screens that could help keep shoppers in stores longer and buying
more;
* Interactive wayfinding that helps shoppers pick up items acquired through
BOPIS (buy online, pick up in store);
* Systems that combine digital signage and IoT sensors for queue management and
emergency notifications;
* Large digital video walls that deliver news, weather, ads and other content;
* Augmented and virtual reality tech that lets customers digitally test
products.

Moody’s: Malls Must ‘Dynamically Serve Consumers in Digital Age’

According to Moody’s report The Mall of the Future: How Regional Malls Will
Survive a Rapidly Changing Retail Industry issued in September, malls will need
to revamp their business models and tenant mixes to survive.

It starts with “dynamically serving consumers of the digital age” although
brick-and-mortar stores will continue to be a critical part of retailers’
strategies.

“That is particularly true for regional malls, since among brick-and-mortar
property types, the traditional mall is most directly disintermediated by
e-commerce,” according to Moody’s.

Regional malls will continue to exist – and many estimate that roughly one in
five of the over 1,000 US malls will remain as malls, Moody’s said – but the
“mall of the future” will have a diverse set of draws beyond conventional
department store anchors.

Implementing an “omnichannel” strategy is now critical, not optional, according
to the report.

Online sales as a share of total US sales will grow further, however, a large
majority of retail sales will still occur in physical stores, Moody’s said.

“Even where online sales do supplant in-store sales, e-commerce is becoming less
cannibalistic and more intertwined in a holistic approach to retailing,”
according to the report. “This involves integrating the traditionally siloed
tasks of sales, marketing, customer service, and inventory management across all
digital and physical channels to form efficiencies and connect with customers by
every means possible.”

Regional Mall Business Model Shifting

Successful mall operators will aim to drive rent and foot traffic beyond the
traditional model of department store anchors. To do so, it must rethink how to
use primary spaces, according to the Moody’s report.

“The limited number of traditional retailers available to backfill mall
vacancies, especially large anchor spaces, means landlords must be willing to
look to certain national big box retailers, entertainment businesses, sporting
goods, high-volume restaurants, or some mix of alternative uses such as
logistics, residential, medical office, or service-based retail,” it said.

Shorter term lengths and mall performance contingency provisions will force
landlords to share more in the risks of their tenants, according to Moody’s.

“Some malls will fail because operators will not have (or choose not to deploy)
the capital to do necessary reformatting. All of this makes it ever more
important to have a sophisticated, well-capitalized mall operator to survive the
rapidly changing retail world.”

Give What Online Shopping Can’t Give ‘You’

Wickham Zimmerman, CEO of Outside the Lines, tells GlobeSt.com, that it is
unsurprising that malls are experiencing a resurgence after the public has been
spending so much time at home over the past 2.5-plus years.

“The desire to reconnect with the world around them and return to a more
‘normal’ way of life is palpable,” Zimmerman said. “As consumers seek the
experiences that they have been missing all these months, it is incumbent upon
retail center owners and operators to provide environments that deliver what
people cannot get from online shopping.

“An essential part of these environments are amenities like outdoor water
features that draw in visitors, provide dazzling and beautiful displays, and
help drive foot traffic for these venues.

“With the holidays approaching, water features at retail centers can present
spectacular holiday-themed shows, lighting, and effects that captivate shoppers
and make these centers true destinations for locals and visitors. The addition
of water features has a positive impact on retail sales, while increasing
property value and providing a safe place for people to gather in the post-COVID
era.”온라인카지노

This entry was posted in Malls on October 12, 2022 by faraheunicefernandez.

GOOD NEWS FOR HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS IN SOUTH AFRICA

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The Bureau for Economic Research (BER) has published its Other Services survey
results for the third quarter of 2022, showing that the hospitality sector in
South Africa continues to show positive growth.카지노사이트

Hospitality – including hotels and restaurants – transport, real estate, and
business services make up the other services sector – distinguished from the
retail, wholesale and motor trade sectors, which are included in the RMB/BER
business confidence index (BCI).

Out of the four sub-sectors that comprise the other services sector, hospitality
showed the highest growth year-on-year, the BER noted.

This growth is due to the continued benefit from the removal of all Covid-19
restrictions, with the number of patrons continuing to rise from the previous
quarter, it said.

However, while the rate at which the number of patrons has increased has
tempered compared to the second quarter records, pre-lockdown levels have not
been reached. But the upcoming summer peak season and the gradual return of
business travellers bode well in the short term for both hotels and restaurants,
the economists said.

The BER flagged some points of concern for the sector, namely high menu price
increases and an adverse real income shock to South Africa’s main tourist source
markets. These are likely to hinder the sustainability of the sector’s recovery
as it commences with the off-peak season in 2023, it said.

Ups and downs

Among the other sectors, the BER survey showed that growth in the business
services and real estate sectors subsided in the third quarter, with transport –
in contrast – showing a rebound.

“Although the growth in activity in business services lost some momentum
relative to the second quarter, it remained in good stead compared to its
long-term average,” it said.

Over the past year, real estate saw a surge in activity thanks to the unwinding
of the backlog due to the lockdown. However, this surge has started to subside
as this unwinding ran its course, interest rates began to rise, and flooding put
the KZN market temporarily on hold, it said.

More positively, a revival in demand in the residential rental market is
expected to boost the sector in the near term.

Regarding transport, BER’s survey indicated that activity in road freight
transport bounced back after the KwaZulu Natal floods disrupted the second
quarter. However, High fuel costs and excess supply suppressed freight hauliers’
profitability.바카라사이트

More good news for tourism is that passenger transport is expected to recover
more meaningfully with the return of international tour groups from the Far East
– China in particular.

Prospects

Overall, BER’s survey expects South Africa’s GDP growth in the third quarter to
benefit positively from the continued recovery of the other services sector.

The other services sector’s contribution to GDP is likely to persist into 2023,
as consumer spending keeps on shifting to services, international visitor
numbers recover further, and the utilisation of business services deepens.

However, its support to the GDP thereafter may weaken as its delayed recovery
will have run its course by then, the BER said.

Given that a large part of the demand for the other services sector comes from
the non-services sectors of the economy, the performance of the other services
sector should start to normalise in 2023.온라인카지노

This entry was posted in Hotels & Restaurants on September 28, 2022 by
faraheunicefernandez.

3 COMMON THINKING TRAPS AND HOW TO AVOID THEM, ACCORDING TO A YALE PSYCHOLOGIST

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The mind is a tricky thing. It can lead us to believe that we can confidently
sing “Bohemian Rhapsody” at karaoke even though we haven’t heard the song in
years, or that one terrible review on Yelp is reason enough not to go to a
4-star rated restaurant.카지노사이트

These thinking errors are what people in the psychology community call cognitive
biases. And that’s the focus of a new book out this month, Thinking 101: How to
Reason Better to Live Better, by Yale psychology professor Woo-kyoung Ahn. In
the book, Ahn highlights some of the most pernicious cognitive slip-ups we make
— and how biases can cloud our judgment and affect the people around us.

Researchers suspect that many of these biases are evolutionary, says Ahn. During
times of scarcity, our ancestors had to make quick judgments in order to survive
among predators or thrive in a difficult environment. But in a time of
abundance, she adds, these quick judgments don’t always do us good.

However, we can do our best to try to correct these thinking traps, says Ahn,
which she teaches her students how to do in her popular undergraduate course at
Yale. In general, she says, the key is to pause before making assumptions — and
be aware of our tendencies for different kinds of bias.

THE BIAS: WE OVERESTIMATE OUR ABILITIES

This is known in the field of psychology as an “illusion of fluency,” which
describes our tendency to be overconfident in our abilities without sufficient
evidence. This can lead us, for example, to bungle career-altering presentations
because of inadequate preparation, or dramatically underestimate the time it
takes to complete projects.

In her class at Yale, Ahn uses an experiment to illustrate this phenomenon with
her students. She shows them a dance clip from the song “Boy with Luv” by the
K-pop group BTS. After watching six seconds of the easiest choreography moves
over and over again, she invites the students who believe they have the dance
down to do it themselves. One after another stumbles.

“People can have overconfidence about what they can accomplish by watching other
people do it so fluently,” Ahn says. When the pros dance in a way that looks
effortless, they think they can do it effortlessly too.

How to counteract it: You can correct this bias, she says, by doing what the
Yale students did: Try it out yourself. It will quickly put any feelings of
overconfidence to rest.

You can also fight this tendency by over-preparing and considering potential
obstacles beforehand, says Ahn. For example, if you’re working on a home
remodeling project for the first time and have no idea how long it will take,
don’t try to guess. Talk to friends who went through a recent remodel or consult
with a few contractors to understand how long the project might take and what
problems may arise. The more information you have, the better and more
accurately you can assess a situation.

THE BIAS: WE TEND TO FIXATE ON THE NEGATIVE

The concept of “negativity bias” illustrates our propensity to weigh negative
events a lot more heavily than an equal amount of positive events. It explains
why a friend’s unenthusiastic review of an Oscar-nominated movie, for example,
might spur you to watch something else. Or why you might be less inclined to
hire a potential employee after hearing one negative thing about them, despite
positive referrals.바카라사이트

Negativity bias can be dangerous because it can lead us to make the wrong
choices. It can hold us back from making a decision about something, say a big
purchase like a house, or even a political candidate, out of fear there was once
a negative event associated with an otherwise good choice.

How to counteract it: When making a choice, play up the positive attributes of
your options, says Ahn. Marketers use this tactic all the time. For example,
instead of saying that ground beef contains 11% fat, they label it is as 89%
lean. These are both true and accurate descriptions of the same product, but
flipping the framing of it can make it a more attractive choice for buyers
concerned with fat intake.

THE BIAS: WE CHERRY-PICK DATA TO FIT OUR WORLDVIEW

Ahn considers “confirmation bias” — the tendency to seek out or interpret
information to support what we already believe — the worst bias of all. That’s
because of its potential to lead us to miss an entire range of possibilities for
ourselves and others.

Ahn and Matthew Lebowitz, a psychology professor at Columbia University,
conducted an experiment in 2017 to illustrate the pitfalls of this bias. They
gathered a group of participants and told some of them they had a genetic
predisposition to depression – even though they did not. The results of that
group’s depression self-assessments showed much higher levels of depression than
people in a control group who were told they did not have the predisposition.

Because of confirmation bias, the participants who were told they had a genetic
risk of depression retrieved “only the evidence that fit with that hypothesis,”
says Ahn. And in doing so, they managed to convince themselves that they were
actually depressed. The study shows that if we believe something is a fact, even
if it isn’t, our mind can find information to support those views.

Now imagine this bias at work on a societal level. Ahn says it can lead to
under- or over-representation in say, leadership in politics, business and other
industries, which can feed gender or racial inequality.

She shares an example. Let’s say you’re a male scientist and you’re looking to
hire other scientists to join your company. Because you see that the most
prominent scientists in your field are currently men, you’ve convinced yourself
that the next generation of great scientists will also be men. This colors your
decision-making in hiring — and so you fill the positions with men.

That choice will continue to have a ripple effect, says Ahn. For others looking
at the new hires, it might perpetuate the idea that “only men can be great
scientists — and that’s exactly how prejudice and stereotypes get formed in
society.”

How to counteract it: Allow yourself to examine all possible explanations before
you make a judgment. For example, if an actor landed a part but her parents were
also in the entertainment business, many of us might attribute her employment to
nepotism. Since we’ve seen many examples of parents giving their kids a leg up
in business or politics, another example of a child benefiting from their
parents’ success would fit that theory.

But could it also be true that she gave the best audition? By looking at the
issue from many different viewpoints – not just your own – it challenges your
confirmation bias. And you might realize that perhaps there is another side to
the story.온라인카지노

This entry was posted in Psychology on September 16, 2022 by
faraheunicefernandez.

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY ON AVERTING RAIL STRIKE THAT THREATENED MAJOR
DISRUPTIONS

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SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST: A massive rail strike that threatened major disruptions
has been avoided for now. Rail carriers and unions representing thousands of
workers have reached a tentative deal, which President Biden celebrated this
morning.카지노사이트

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: This agreement allows us to continue to rebuild a better
America with an economy that truly works for working people and their families.
Today is a win – and I mean it sincerely – a win for America.

MCCAMMON: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg helped negotiate the deal, and
he joins us now. Welcome to the program.

PETE BUTTIGIEG: Thank you. Good to be with you.

MCCAMMON: How confident are you, first of all, that union members will ratify
this deal?

BUTTIGIEG: I believe this is a deal that was reached in good faith that the
parties came to after very intense conversations and a lot of clear thought into
what they needed. So, of course, now it has to go up for ratification. But
everybody is invested in that process being successful.

MCCAMMON: And assuming that it is, how soon should we expect to see the trains
moving again?

BUTTIGIEG: Well, right away. But there are some impacts that came just even from
the preparations for the possibility of a shutdown that started at the beginning
of this week. So our Federal Rail Administration is going to continue
coordinating with Amtrak and the rail carriers just to make sure that those
ripple effects are smooth as they work their way through the system over the
next two or three days.

MCCAMMON: Now, workers made clear during these negotiations that they don’t just
care about wages. The quality of life is also important – for instance, being
able to take time off when they’re sick and not face punishment for that. What
kind of a message do you think this sends to other employers?

BUTTIGIEG: Well, this is something that we see a lot, in particular when it
comes to essential transportation workers because of the nature of their work.
Similarly with truck drivers, you know, some of the issues that have really
impacted the availability of truck drivers are not just things relating to their
dollars and cents compensation but the ability to have places – safe places to
park and rest. In their case, even something like access to bathrooms – these
basic quality-of-life issues that stand alongside compensation as a very
important matter. That’s what you saw here, too, clearly a very important issue
for the workers in terms of how their sick time was addressed, especially for
workers who are on call for long periods of time. And because of the nature of
this transportation business often requires very unusual things that most 9-to-5
workers don’t deal with, I think that will continue to be something that is
expressed as a real priority for workers in negotiations and the public dialogue
about what it means to treat essential workers as essential.바카라사이트

MCCAMMON: What do you think it does mean?

BUTTIGIEG: Well, what it means is that it’s important to have competitive pay
and a high quality of life. For the unions, it means, of course, pay increases
and improvements in quality of life for the railroads. It means a way to attract
and retain great workers who are the key to making rail operation work. And for
the country, it means avoiding the disruptions that could have accompanied any
kind of shutdown or slowdown.

MCCAMMON: Now, a rail strike does appear to be averted for the moment, but West
Coast dockworkers are still in negotiations about their new contract. That, of
course, is another key piece of the supply chain. How hopeful are you,
Secretary, that those issues can also be resolved?

BUTTIGIEG: Very hopeful but also continuing to monitor closely. You know, our
supply chains are only as strong as our most congested link. And we’ve seen that
throughout the pandemic period and recovery from the worst days of it, whether
it’s ships, trucks, warehouses or trains. All of these things need to be working
well in order for our economy to thrive.

MCCAMMON: Yeah, maybe on that note, President Biden said in response to the news
of the tentative deal that he’s hopeful that similar agreements can be struck in
other fields as well. What else might be in the works?

BUTTIGIEG: Well, when you look at the things that are important to the
transportation workers, it does, of course, vary by sector. But compensation
will always be important. Quality of life matters, and that means different
things to a rail worker than it might mean to a flight attendant or to a
longshore worker. But what it all adds up to is making sure that people can
build a career, support their families, be satisfied with their career choices.
And all of that adds up into a functioning supply chain who, you know, no matter
how much infrastructure we build – and even today we’re announcing 26 places
where we’re deploying $1.5 billion – that’s just a piece of the puzzle in
helping build our physical infrastructure, supporting supply chain. But for all
of that, at the end of the day, the most important element of our supply chain
is people.

MCCAMMON: My last question for you, Secretary Buttigieg, is just does this deal
go far enough? I mean, if it’s successful, it will make conditions better for
these workers in some ways. But as you’ve alluded to, we’ve seen other labor
shortages in other pieces of the supply chain. What is the administration doing
to push the railroads and other critical industries to just do what needs to be
done to attract and retain these workers and avoid these kinds of disruptions in
the future.

BUTTIGIEG: This is exactly what falls to the parties to come to agreement on, a
solution that makes sense for the workers and for the railroads. Again, every
industry, every sector is a little bit different. But what they all have common
is it’s people make it all possible. And we need to do right by the people who
we count on for transportation and for goods movement, whether we realize it or
not.

MCCAMMON: Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, thank you so much for your
time.

BUTTIGIEG: Thank you. Good being with you.온라인카지노

This entry was posted in Transportation on September 16, 2022 by
faraheunicefernandez.

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