Egypt's top court suspends work in protest

A demonstrator chants slogans as several thousand supporters of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi surrounded the Supreme Constitutional Court on Sunday to prevent the judges from entering and ruling on the legitimacy of the nation's Islamist-dominated constituent assembly, Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012. A ruling from the court was postponed ? but regardless of which way it goes ? would be a direct challenge to Morsi, who last month gave himself near absolute powers, placing himself and the assembly above any oversight, including by the judiciary. (AP Photo/Ahmad Hammad)

A demonstrator chants slogans as several thousand supporters of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi surrounded the Supreme Constitutional Court on Sunday to prevent the judges from entering and ruling on the legitimacy of the nation's Islamist-dominated constituent assembly, Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012. A ruling from the court was postponed ? but regardless of which way it goes ? would be a direct challenge to Morsi, who last month gave himself near absolute powers, placing himself and the assembly above any oversight, including by the judiciary. (AP Photo/Ahmad Hammad)

Riot police form a cordon as several thousand supporters of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi surround the Supreme Constitutional Court on Sunday to prevent the judges from entering and ruling on the legitimacy of the nation's Islamist-dominated constituent assembly, Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012. A ruling from the court was postponed ? but regardless of which way it goes ? would be a direct challenge to Morsi, who last month gave himself near absolute powers, placing himself and the assembly above any oversight, including by the judiciary. (AP Photo/Ahmad Hammad)

CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's top court suspended its work indefinitely to protest "psychological and physical pressures" after supporters of the Islamist president prevented judges from entering the courthouse Sunday to rule on the legitimacy of a disputed constitutional assembly.

The decision by the Supreme Constitutional Court is the latest twist in a worsening political crisis pitting President Mohammed Morsi and his allies against the mostly secular opposition and the powerful judiciary. The standoff began when Morsi issued decrees on Nov. 22 that gave him sweeping powers and granted the president ? and the constitutional committee ? immunity from the courts.

The Islamist-dominated panel drafting the new constitution then raced in a marathon session last week to vote on the charter's 236 clauses without the participation of liberal and Christian members. The fast-track hearing preempted a decision expected from the SCC on whether to dissolve the committee. The judges on Sunday postponed their ruling on that case.

A day earlier, Morsi announced a referendum on the draft charter on Dec. 15 despite opposition protests and questions about the document's legitimacy.

The president's seizure of vast powers has galvanized Egypt's disparate opposition groups, who have united in their demands that Morsi rescind the decrees and create a constituent assembly that is more balanced and inclusive.

Having already held mass rallies last week in Cairo that drew as many as 200,000 people, the opposition parties and activist groups have now called for a march Tuesday on the presidential palace in Cairo's Heliopolis district as a "last warning."

Morsi's supporters countered the opposition rallies with a 100,000-strong rally in Cairo on Saturday to voice their support for the president and the draft constitution. Islamists boasted their turnout showed that the public supports the push by the country's first freely elected president to quickly bring a constitution and provide stability after nearly two years of turmoil.

But the dispute has polarized an already deeply divided Egyptian public, and thrown the country ? already suffering from rising crime and economic woes ? into its worst turmoil since Morsi took office in June as the country's first freely elected president.

The Supreme Constitutional Court called Sunday "the Egyptian judiciary's blackest day on record," describing the scene outside the court complex, with Islamist demonstrators carrying banners denouncing the tribunal and some of its judges.

Supporters of Morsi, who hails from the Islamic fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, claim that the court's judges are loyalists of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, who appointed them. Morsi's backers accuse the judges of trying to derail Egypt's transition to democratic rule.

The court statement said the judges approached the court but decided against entering the building because they feared for their safety.

"The judges of the Supreme Constitutional Court were left with no choice but to announce to the glorious people of Egypt that they cannot carry out their sacred mission in this charged atmosphere," said the statement, which was carried by the MENA state news agency.

The judges also had been expected Sunday to rule to on the legitimacy of the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament, known as the Shura Council.

By suspending its work, the court joined the country's highest appeals court and its sister lower court in their indefinite strike to protest what they see as Morsi's infringement on the judiciary. Most judges and prosecutors in the country have been on strike for a week.

The strikes by the judges is indefinite and there have been calls within their ranks to extend their action to a boycott of overseeing the Dec. 15 referendum, something that would further question the legitimacy of the entire process. The opposition is likely to call on its supporters to boycott the vote.

The tug of war between the two sides also has spilled into the streets. Tens of thousands of opposition supporters staged two rallies last week to press calls for Morsi to rescind his decrees and for the constitution draft to be tossed out. Islamists responded Saturday with large rallies in Cairo and across much of the country.

Morsi's opponents say his call for a referendum broke an election promise not to do so unless there was consensus on the document, something that is missing as the 88 members of the panel who voted on its clauses included no liberals or Christians. There were only four women, all Islamists.

The panel passed the document in a rushed, 16-hour session that lasted until sunrise Friday. The vote was abruptly moved up to pass the draft before the Constitutional Court's ruling, which was supposed to be issued Sunday.

The draft has a distinctive Islamic bent ? enough to worry many that civil liberties could be restricted, though its provisions for enforcing Shariah, or Islamic law, are not as firm as ultraconservatives wished.

The panel's chairman, Islamist Hossam al-Ghiryani, kept the voting at a rapid clip, badgering members to drop disputes and objections and move on. At times the process appeared slap-dash, with fixes to missing phrasing and even several entirely new articles proposed, written and voted on in the hours just before sunrise.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-02-ML-Egypt/id-40615355bcd043e0855df5b4a50a954d

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Change Management | The WritePass Journal

We cannot even endeavor to evaluate and comprehend change management models until we thoroughly understand the meaning of ?change?.? Even though there is no general definition of change, we would correlate it with words such as alteration, transmutation, metamorphosis, evolution, rejuvenation and modification.?? Hughes (2006) has used a generic definition which is ?any alteration in the status quo?. Even far back as 500 BC Heraclius quoted that ?change is constant? it occurs everywhere. It is a defining force in our life, and could be argued that a state of continuous change has almost become routine Luecke (2003). Change is extremely important it will not disappear nor dissipate; it has been studied and researched for many years by different organizations each with the same intention, which is to achieve the ?perfect? effective organizational change which will last (Todnem 2005). Some leaders become successful in implementing change while others fail (Strickland, 1998).? Mourier (1998) reported that failure rates are as high as 60 percent; this is comparable to the 63 percent failure rate for all organizational change reported by Shaffer and Thompson (2002).?? Therefore organizations will continue to search for the perfect change literature, which achieves the inevitable (Balogun and Hope Hailey, 2004).? Efficient management of changes at every level is crucial to the success of a Healthcare organization (Todnem 2005). They have been faced with extraordinary changes due to major developments in clinical practice and reorganization within the work place (Upton and Brookes 2000). Due to the various ways in which organizational changes can be managed, we are in need of a standardized model which can be applied to different scenarios. Due to the risks involved, the Healthcare industry needs such universally applicable, efficient change management models now more than ever. In this paper, we discuss various change management models and their feasibility in Healthcare.

Three important change management theorists:

William Bridges stressed on the importance of people in managing change in an organization and stated that the process of change should begin at a personal level (Campbell, 2008). This is vital when working within a staff team as resistance plays a role in the outcome and effectiveness of the change (Paton et al, 2008).? In his seminal work titled ?Managing transitions?, organizational consultant Bridges accurately identifies change and transition as two distinct processes. He describes change as being situational and states that change, does not necessarily involve transition of people (Bridges, 2003).? However, he describes transition as a 3-phase process. The first phase is called ?Denial? where people initially resist the change and express anger, shock and disappointment.

The next phase is the ?Neutral Zone? where the reactions of people are less strong and they are ready for the transition at a subconscious level. In the final phase is called the ?New Beginning?, the initial scepticism makes way for hope and enthusiasm and people begin to accept the change with a positive outlook.

Bridges (2003) recommends regular interaction and communication with the employees in order to achieve a smooth transition. Being given time to adjust and prepare for the change minimizes resistance (Bernhard and Walsh, 1995).

Example given

Without implementation Introduction of electronic risk assessment form	No training, or enforcing staff of benefits, not? involving them in process	Resulted in resistance from staff
With implementation Introduction of electronic risk assessment form	Excellent training,? staff involved able to understand necessity of new system	Resulted in no resistance, letting go of old system, change went smoothly, clinical governance achieved

?

Additionally, he proposes steps such as rewarding the employees contributing to the transition, implementing efficient temporary systems until the transition is complete and setting benchmarks with continuous improvement in order to achieve positive results from the transition. His recommendations have been instrumental in smoothing the process of transition across various Healthcare organizations.

However, excluding very simple changes, most changes are multidimensional in nature (Campbell, 2008). Therefore, the change management model has to effectively reach all the impacted areas of the organization. Moreover, various people involved in the change process will have different suggestions and opinions about the cause and the possible results, and changes originating due to external factors such as the economy, recent technological developments are seldom predictable. In such cases, the recommendations of Bridges are not enough.

When looking at theorist LaMarsh she proposed a structured change management approach.?LeMarsh (1995) argues that due to the inherent resistance of humans to change, several exceptional ideas and innovative technologies are not adopted and eventually end up being failures. In order to overcome this resistance, she recommends that the people involved in the change process be recognized first. R.Turner, (2003), would agree with this as he recognises the importance that people involved in the change process need to be hightlighted.? Buono (2010) observes that the directed change approach suggested by LaMarsh and R Turner (2003) can cause serious damages if used inappropriately. Due to the unpredictable reactions of the employees who resist the change, organisation members are left to handle emotions such as anger, sadness and loss. Next, since resistance originates from different reasons, (Hargie et al 2004), recommends gathering information about the reasons triggering the resistance from every level. However, she also accurately predicts a temporary decline in the performance of the organization during the implementation of the change at the same time leading to confusion. Therefore, none of these approaches were sufficient by themselves in handling change management challenges in a healthcare organisation.? However, the most radical development in the field of change management came in the form of Kotter, a Harvard professor. In his best-selling book titled ?Leading Change? (Kotter, 1996), he proposed an eight-step change process (shown below) which marked the beginning of a new era in managing changes.

Kotter?s Model described in the box below

Step 1?? Establish a sense of Urgency Kotter (1996) states that successful implementation of a change requires that a majority of the management wholeheartedly support the idea.? This can be done by creating a sense of urgency, communicating openly, which will de activate resistance.? Once people support the change Kotter states, that this will come automatically.

Step 2 Form a powerful collation In order to convince people that change is necessary, a management with strong leadership is necessary.? Build a team of believers by explaining the benefits and inevitability of the change.? Once this is done the change can be implemented.?? (Kotter 1996)

Step 3 Create a shared vision The best way to get people to support an idea is by convincing them so that their support is voluntary and not forced. Therefore, people who are responsible for implementing and executing the change need to be told about the reasons and the vision behind the change and how it can result in common good.? (Hughes 2006).

Step 4 Communicate the Vision If people are to participate in the change process with enthusiasm, they need to be motivated and told about how the change can result in a great future for the organization. This is the most important step of all since this is when resistance will be encountered from various corners of the organization (Day 2007). Step 5?? Empower the people to act Since resistance is expected to arise from different levels of the organization.? Change leaders must be prepared to identify the root of the concerns raised and answer them convincingly. This way, all obstacles can be removed in a systematic and effective manner The employees should be allowed to voice opinions and express their concerns. The concerns should not be suppressed since an organisation can grow only if it has motivated and dedicated employees (Day2007).

Step 6? Plan for and Create Wins Creating motivation is difficult without showing people rewards, by bringing in a ward system you are rewarding them for good work, or victory.? This will inspire motivation, and gratitude towards the organisation.? Ensuring the change goes even smoother.

Step 7? Change improvement check points Kotter (1996) states that ?several changes end up being failures? When looking at change there must not be an end, it is a continual, constant process which should always be checked on, or adapted. To allow the change to last.? As it?s not just time that changes, everything else can.

Step 8: Institutionalize new approaches Along with introducing the change, the change leaders must also ensure that the change is incorporated at all levels. It must become the default methodology for all segments of the organization and not just a one-off thing. In order to accomplish this, the change leaders need to clearly explain the employees the relationship between the recent achievements of the organization and the newly adopted practices. By doing this, any change can be sustained irrespective of the initial resistance it encountered.

?

Among the three profound thinkers and approaches discussed above, Bridges and Kotter have been widely discussed due to the effectiveness and versatile of their approaches. Each approach has its share of merits and demerits. While Bridges observes change as a phenomenon, individual level, Kotter attributes an emotional and situational component to the process of change and proposes ways to manage these components in his eight-step approach. Bridges, in his approach, discusses the important steps and concepts involved in the change process (Campbell, 2008).

When looking at the reorganisation of shift pattern, let us observe how the approaches of?Bridges, and Kotter would be implemented.? Bridges (2003) and Bernard and Walsh (1996) would gradually implement the change by ending the old shift pattern, ensuring the staff get use to the loss and then implement the new shift pattern. Whilst Kotter at this stage, would create a sense of urgency, reinforce the need for change and communication effectively to all members of the multi disciplinary teams who may cause resistance. The next stage, a major difference exists between the approaches of Bridges (2003) and LaMarsh (1995) and that of Kotter (1996). Bridges and LaMarsh continue to use a top-down, directed change approach where the involvement of the staff is minimal. However, Kotter suggests that the staff be completely involved in the transition. This requires gaining the confidence of the staff by communicating with them and convincing them about the effectiveness of the new shift change. Moreover, Kotter is less severe about the pre-set time line of the transition and stresses more on the successful completion of individual stages in order to ensure the success of the complete transition.

Healthcare organizations are complex (Day, 2007) due to several interrelated components which interact with each other in an unpredictable manner. Moreover, since the Healthcare industry depends on government funds, economic scenarios too can cause different changes. Therefore, it is important that they have a standard change management model in place so that they can efficiently manage changes as and when they occur. We have discussed the approaches of three profound thinkers who have contributed significantly to the field of change management. While each approach has its share of advantages and disadvantages, the eight-step approach proposed by John Kotter is more feasible in the present scenario.? This is due to the fact that the emotional involvement of employees is crucial for the successful management of a change. Kotter?s eight-step approach achieves this with the help of transparency and communication. The example of the implementation of shift change proves that in implementing a change successfully, Kotter?s diplomatic approach of allowing the employees and the patients to actively participate in the implementation and allowing them openly voice their opinion proves to be more effective in limiting the resistance.

?In this direction, the dominant, bureaucratic approaches of Bridges and LaMarsh fail since the changes are implemented in terms of changing processes and systems. Since these approaches do not care about the effects on people involved, changes are literally forced on the patients and employees.

• ?? Balogun, J. & Hope, V., (2004) Exploring Strategic Change. 2nd Edition. Harlow:
• ????FT/Prentice Hall.
• ? Bridges, W., (2003) Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change. Making the most of change.? 2^nd Edition. Cambridge: Da Capo Press.?
• Buono, A. F. & Kerber, K. W., (2010) Creating a Sustainable Approach to Change: building organizational change capacity [Online]. Available from http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/SAM-Advanced-Management-Journal/233607213.html ?[Accessed 04 May 2011].

• ?? Campbell, R. J., (2008) Change Management in Health Care ?doi: 10.1097/01.HCM.0000285028.79762.a1.
• CliffsNotes.com, (2011) Causes of Organizational Change [Online]. Available from? http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/topicArticleId-8944,articleId-8884.html [Accessed 4 May 2011].
• Day., K. J., (2007) Supporting the emergence of a shared services organisation: ?Managing change in complex health ICT projects.
• Gittins., N. & Standish, S., (2010) Planning and implementing change in healthcare: a practical guide for managers and clinicians.[Online]. Available from http://www.hlsp.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=e5YB-ctXUXw%3D&tabid=1570.? [Accessed 10 May 2010].
• Golden, B., (n.d.) Transforming Healthcare Organizations [Online]. Available from? http://www.longwoods.com/content/18490 [Accessed 4 May 2011].
• Hiatt, J. & Creasey T., (n.d.) The Definition and History of Change Management [Online]. Available from http://www.change-management.com/tutorial-definition-history.htm ?[Accessed 4 May 2011].
• Hughes, M., (2006) Change Management: A Critical Perspective. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. ISBN: 1-84398-070-3.
• Iles,V., & Sutherland,K., (2001) Organisational Change. A review for health care managers, professionals and researchers. London: National Co-ordinating Centre for NHS Service Delivery and Organisational Research and Development.
• Kotter,J. P.,(1996) Leading change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
• Kotter, J. P. & Cohen, D., (2002) The Heart of Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
• Doyle, M., (2002) Changing the way we change. ?Journal of Human Resource Management. 12 (1), 3-16.
• Leyland, M., Hunter, D. & Dietrich, J., (2009) Integrating Change Management into Clinical Health Information Technology Project Practice DOI: 10.1109/CONGRESS.2009.28
• Mourier, P., (1998) How to Implement Organizational Change that Produces Results. Journal of Performance Improvement, 37(7), 19-29.
• Schaffer, P., & Thompson, D., (2002) Transformational Leadership in the Context of Organizational Change. Journal of Organizational Change, 12(2), 80-88.
• Strickland, F., (1998) The Dynamics of Change. London: Routledge.
• Taylor, F. W., (1911) The Principles of Scientific Management, New York and London: Harper & Brothers.
• Todnem, R., (2005) Organizational Change Management: A Critical Review. Journal of Change Management, 5(4).
• Warrilow, S., ( 2009) John Kotter?s Guiding Principles for Leading Change [Online].? Available from http://www.strategies-for-managing-change.com/john-kotter.html?? [Accessed 4 May 2011].

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Category: Business, Free Essays

Source: http://writepass.co.uk/journal/2012/12/change-management/

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Consumer spending, income stall; Sandy a factor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer spending fell in October for the first time in five months and income growth stalled, leading some economists to cut already weak estimates of fourth-quarter economic growth.

Superstorm Sandy was partly to blame for the pullback in spending as the quarter started, but economists said the data on Friday also underscored the economy's fundamental weakness, stemming from the uncertainty over the course of fiscal policy.

The Commerce Department said consumer spending fell 0.2 percent after a 0.8 percent increase in September. Income growth was flat as wages and salaries dropped 0.2 percent, in part because of work disruptions caused by the storm, which lashed the East Coast in late October.

But even stripping out the $18.2 billion annual rate hit to wages and salaries from the storm, they would have been flat.

"What this is showing is the economy, broadly, is slowing in the fourth quarter and it is concern on the part of businesses and consumers with respect to the fiscal cliff," said David Berson, chief economist at Nationwide Insurance in Columbus, Ohio.

The cliff refers to automatic government spending cuts and tax hikes early next year that could drain about $600 billion from the economy unless lawmakers and the Obama administration agree on a less painful plan to reduce budget deficits.

Fears an impasse could send the economy into a swoon undercut business spending in the third quarter. So far there is little sign of progress in Washington budget talks, which the top Republican in Congress on Friday said were at a "stalemate."

Inflation-adjusted consumer spending fell 0.3 percent in October, the first decline since June, after rising 0.4 percent the prior month.

It was the largest drop in real spending since September 2009 and implied growth in consumer spending this quarter would struggle to exceed the third-quarter's 1.4 percent annual pace, which was the slowest in more than a year.

The data prompted economists to cut fourth-quarter GDP growth estimates, some quite sharply. Estimates now center between a 1.0 percent and 1.8 percent annual pace. The economy expanded at a 2.7 percent rate in the third quarter.

"It's going to be challenging for real spending to grow above the third-quarter's pace. The fundamental drivers of spending are still sluggish," said Sam Bullard, a senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina.

BUDGET TALKS KEY

And the risks to growth are rising. A second report showed that while factory activity in the Midwest rose in November for the first time in three month, new orders tumbled to their lowest level since June 2009.

U.S. financial markets were little moved by the reports as traders kept a wary eye on the budget talks in Washington. Prices for longer-dated U.S. government debt prices were trading down, while the dollar was steady against a basket of currencies. Stocks on Wall Street were little changed.

Major retailers on Thursday reported unexpectedly weak sales in November, which many pinned on Sandy.

Consumer spending is expected to bounce back by December as households replace goods damaged by the storm and income picks up as workers return to work. However, the magnitude could hinge on the outcome of the budget talks.

"If the discussions in Washington linger as they appear they are, then the pick-up in December would be less than it otherwise would be because you still have this level of uncertainty weighing on consumers," said Berson.

The income at the disposal of households after inflation and taxes dipped 0.1 percent last month after being flat in September. Despite weak income growth, the saving rate - the percentage of disposable income households are socking away - rose to 3.4 percent from 3.3 percent the prior month.

Inflation was largely contained, helped by a 29 cent drop in gasoline prices. A price index for consumer spending nudged up 0.1 percent, taking its increase over the past 12 months up to 1.7 percent from 1.6 percent in September.

So-called core prices, which strip out food and energy costs, also edged up 0.1 percent, with the year-on-year gain holding steady at 1.6 percent.

Economists said weak growth and benign inflation could compel the Federal Reserve to keep on an ultra easy monetary policy path.

"We believe the weak tracking of fourth-quarter GDP will reinforce the Fed's case for taking out insurance against downside risks," said Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.

(Editing by Andrea Ricci)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/superstorm-sandy-hits-consumer-spending-income-143401040--business.html

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'Fiscal cliff' talks turn sour: Are prospects for deal vanishing?

House Speaker John Boehner charges that 'no substantive progress has been made' to avoid the Dec. 31 fiscal cliff, but such comments are a part of negotiating, an expert says.

By David Grant,?Staff writer / November 29, 2012

House Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio gestures as he speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill after private talks with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

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Meetings between Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and congressional leaders on Thursday marked?the first post-election acrimony between the parties in their pursuit of a solution to the ?fiscal cliff.?

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Monitor correspondent Liz Marlantes discusses why Democrats have the upper hand over the GOP when it comes to 'fiscal cliff' negotiations.

Republicans stewed over the fact the White House has not offered them specific spending or entitlement changes. Democrats dismissed Republican complaints as empty posturing, saying that the GOP was on the verge of conceding to the Democratic goal of higher tax rates on the wealthy and that the onus is, in fact, on Republicans to spell out the entitlement and government spending reductions they seek.

Together, the statements by both parties end the brief honeymoon at the outset of negotiations and signal the ?push-back moment,? where each party publicly retrenches in hopes of getting more out of its adversary, and where the possibility of a deal could still break for better or worse, says Julian Zelizer, a congressional historian at Princeton University.

House Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio sounded the first sour note of what had been three weeks of "kumbaya" from Washington?s political leadership, a time when leaders of both parties have waxed eloquent about the need to work together to solve the pending fiscal cliff, some $600 billion in higher taxes and lower government spending scheduled to hit the economy beginning Jan. 1.

?Two weeks ago we had a very productive conversation at the White House. Based on where we stand today, I would say two things,? Speaker Boehner told reporters after his meeting with Secretary Geithner, the point person for the White House?s negotiations with Congress. ?First, despite claims that the president supports a ?balanced? approach, the Democrats have yet to get serious about real spending cuts. And secondly, no substantive progress has been made in the talks between the White House and the House over the last two weeks.?

The criticism that Mr. Obama has not laid out specific reductions to discretionary government spending or entitlement programs, such as Medicare, was also on the lips of Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R) of Kentucky.

?To date, the administration has remained focused on raising taxes and attending campaign-style events, with no specific plans to protect Medicare and Social Security or reduce our national debt in a meaningful way,? Senator McConnell said in a statement. ?And today, they took a step backward, moving away from consensus and significantly closer to the cliff.??

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/fErXA2qLyHY/Fiscal-cliff-talks-turn-sour-Are-prospects-for-deal-vanishing

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Patch's Poll: Should the Federal Government Continue its Flood ...

In 1968, Congress created a National Flood Insurance Program when homeowners found that they could no longer buy private flood insurance.

The federal government now partners with private insurers to offer flood insurance, but according to an op-ed piece in Thursday's New York Times, the federal government bears the risk to the tune of "$527 billion of vulnerable assets in the nation?s coastal flood plains."

The Times piece says the program has paid out more than $24 billion in coastal flood plain claims between 1978 and 2011, with Hurricane Katrina alone counting for $16 million. Early estimates for Hurricane Sandy payouts are about $7 billion, and the program is already $18 billion in debt, the Times said.

Some say it's time for the federal government to stop backing up flood insurance, which essentially subsidizes homeowners who choose to live in risky coastal flood-prone areas.

Do you agree?

Take our poll and tell us in the comments.

Source: http://southington.patch.com/articles/patchs-poll-should-the-federal-government-continue-its-flood-insurance-program-d0d87b84

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More Charities Report Fundraising Boost From #GivingTuesday ...

How the Pennsylvania SPCA thanked supporters on Facebook for their #GivingTuesday contributions.

#GivingTuesday, the effort to turn the Tuesday after Thanksgiving into a new national day of giving, is getting more momentum as charities tally their hauls for the day.

In addition to Blackbaud and Network for Good, which on Wednesday both reported more than 50-percent increases in dollars, more Web sites that process charitable contributions are offering similarly sunny data.

? Razoo, whose fundraising Web site lets charities raise money for specific projects, said it received a 50- percent increase in donations on Tuesday compared with last year?s Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

? SofterWare, whose DonorPerfect fundraising platform is used by many small to midsize nonprofits, reported a 46-percent increase that day over the same day last year. The average gift amount rose 25 percent,?from $109.81?to $136.85.

? GiveCorps, a Web site based in Baltimore that raises money for local charities, processed about $25,000 for about 40 charities in the area on Tuesday. Last year, it collected just $200 on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Thrilled by the response, the site urged people to donate more on Wednesday, announcing that a donor had promised the group $2,500 if other donors contributed that much in total. In total, the site has raised about $30,000, says Peter Jackson, vice president for GiveCorps.

Success Stories

More charities are also reporting their #GivingTuesday totals. In two cases, social media played a big role in persuading donors to step up:

? World Concern, a Christian humanitarian aid organization in Seattle, said it raised about $30,000 by encouraging supporters to give through a gift catalog it calls the ?Global Gift Guide.?

The charity also promoted the #GivingTuesday campaign a week in advance through social media and e-mails to donors. That notice prompted people to give a total of $20,000 in online contributions even before #GivingTuesday began, an amount that?s in addition to the $30,000 in matching gifts for the total raised Tuesday. In 2011, the group raised only $1,820 online on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

World Concern says it doesn?t typically raise so much online except on Christmas Day and New Year?s Eve.

Cathy Herholdt, a spokeswoman for the charity, says she?s not concerned that the one-day event will erode giving later in the season. The donors who gave, she says, ?are folks who were already going to donate during the month of December but were intrigued with the concept of #GivingTuesday.?

? The Pennsylvania SPCA, an animal-welfare organization in Philadelphia, said it raised about $20,000, which included a $5,000 matching gift from its board members, by peppering social networks like Facebook and Twitter with appeals. It didn?t hurt that those appeals included pictures and stories about dogs and cats. Its board members also reached out to donors personally, with phone calls, letters, and personal messages through Facebook. During the same day last year, the charity raised $135.

?We saw it as an opportunity to really get together with our donors and get them to give online and think about online giving,? says Lois Giovacchini, director of development for the Pennsylvania SPCA. ?That?s why we joined #GivingTuesday.?

Like World Concern, the animal-welfare group isn?t worried about whether #GivingDay supporters will also step up during the crucial year-end fundraising season this month. ?Rather than cannibalizing year-end giving, we think that it spurred some people to give their gifts earlier, which is a good thing for us,? says Ms. Giovacchini. ?Because the more money that comes in, the better off we are.?

She adds: ?We look at this as kind of a kickoff for our year-end close. We got a running start, and now we?re going to drive all the way through to December 31.?

Tell us how your nonprofit did during #GivingTuesday in the comments below. Did you raise more than the same day last year?

Send an e-mail to Raymund Flandez.

Source: http://philanthropy.com/blogs/prospecting/more-charities-report-fundraising-boost-from-givingtuesday/36527

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Almost everything and anything is available via the internet. There is no doubt that, with the huge number of people who are constantly discovering the benefits of the worldwide web, the gap between supply and demand has diminished. Art lovers can now enjoy shopping for pieces of art online. However, the question that one should ask is how to buy art online and ensure it is original, because the number of crooks and cronies posing to be genuine artists or sellers of artifacts is high.

Well the first step it to narrow down your options and have an idea of the kind of art pieces you seek. You?d have an easier time if you know these art pieces by name. Searching for the online would be easier since you will be directed to the sites containing all you need to know about these pieces. On the other hand, you can base your search on the name of the artist who made the pieces that you seek. After all, many artists nowadays set up their own websites where they can show off every artwork they have worked on. It is also possible that you know the kind of art work that you are looking for although the name of the artist and the art work itself have eluded you. Basically, you would make your search to be about the details of the art pieces, from the material, shape, design and even the medium of painting used.

When looking for certain art pieces that have specific details, you may find yourself having a hard time. Hence, during such situations you can lean on online art galleries to find information. Online art galleries are grat places to do some shopping and learning about artifacts, aside from the actual museums and galleries. Galleries will showcase some of the best pieces for either one or more artists.

This can be under a particular category of art of several. This makes for a treasure trove of information. But online galleries have to be attached to a website with a reputable standing in the arts. Just because they claim to sell art works does not mean you should trust them immediately. Look for any affiliation they have with artists and other art bodies. If you are looking for artifacts with a fixed price, then you are wasting your time. Their prices are, at best, volatile; from one day to the next. Auction sales are sometimes held by these art galleries, and it is at these events that the prices of artifacts could skyrocket to atmospheric proportions. Online auctions have since then become immensely popular as many of the top art galleries are also getting in on the action. Don?t worry, though, because you will still find reasonably priced pieces.

You can also find online galleries that offer artifacts at bargain prices. If you buy art online, you would also end up relying on what bargaining skills or powers that you possess. Yet these art pieces, in the eyes of some people, are still found lacking in terms of emotions, feelings and artistic wealth, especially considering how they can change so swiftly in price.

For further insights and further information regarding great art visit our site http://www.artsia.net

Source: http://www.businesslistingnow.com/blog/how-to-buy-art-online-101-your-handy-online-bargain-hunting-guide/

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