SAN DIEGO (AP) ? Social media and text messaging have emerged as indispensable tools for advocates of a sweeping immigration overhaul, but street marches have an enduring allure.
Tens of thousands are expected to rally in dozens of cities from New York to Bozeman, Mont., on Wednesday in what has become an annual cry for easing the nation's immigration laws. The rallies carry a special sense of urgency this year, two weeks after a bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill that would bring many of the estimated 11 million living in the U.S. illegally out of the shadows.
"The invisible become visible on May 1," said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, which is organizing what was expected to be the nation's largest rally.
The May Day crowds were not expected to approach the massive demonstrations of 2006 and 2007, during the last serious attempt to introduce major changes to the U.S. immigration system. Despite the large turnouts, many advocates of looser immigration laws felt they were outmaneuvered by opponents who flooded congressional offices with phone calls and faxes at the behest of conservative talk-radio hosts.
Now, immigrant advocacy groups are focusing heavily on calling and writing members of Congress, sometimes targeting specific lawmakers at key moments in the debate. Reform Immigration for America, a network of groups, claims more than 1.2 million subscribers, including recipients of text messages and Facebook followers.
A text-message blast during a key vote in 2010 on legislation to provide legal status to many who came to the country as children resulted in 75,000 phone calls to members of Congress in two days, said Jeff Parcher, communications director for the Center for Community Change, which works on technology-driven advocacy for the network of groups.
A phone blitz targeting Sen. Orrin Hatch produced 100 calls a day to the Utah lawmaker's office last week, Parcher said. After Hatch was quoted Sunday in The Salt Lake Tribune saying immigration reform couldn't wait, a message went out to call his office with thanks.
Organizers are also reaching out by email and old-fashioned phone banks.
"The general rule is you keep people on the platform they're used to," Parcher said. "If they're on Facebook, we'll ask them to post something to Congress members' pages."
Gabriel Villalobos, a Spanish-language talk radio host in Phoenix, said many of his callers believe it is the wrong time for marches, fearful that that any unrest could sour public opinion on immigration reform. Those callers advocate instead for a low-key approach of calling members of Congress.
"The mood is much calmer," said Villalobos, who thinks the marches are still an important show of political force.
Salas, whose group is known as CHIRLA, dates the May Day rallies to a labor dispute with a restaurant in the city's Koreatown neighborhood that drew several hundred demonstrators in 2000. Crowds grew each year until the House of Representatives passed a tough bill against illegal immigration, sparking a wave of enormous, angry protests from coast to coast in 2006.
The rallies, which coincide with Labor Day in many countries outside the U.S., often have big showings from labor leaders and elected officials.
Aside from Los Angeles, big crowds were expected in New York, Chicago and Milwaukee. At a rally in Salem, Ore., Gov. John Kitzhaber planned to sign legislation to authorize drivers' licenses to people in the state illegally. With Congress in recess, there were no major demonstrations planned in the nation's capital.
Organizers were sending text-message blasts on Tuesday to remind subscribers of times and places for the marches.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) ? The uncle of the deceased Boston Marathon bombing suspect says his family will claim his body now that his wife has agreed to release it.
Tamerlan Tsarneav's (TAM'-ehr-luhn tsahr-NEYE'-ehvs) body has been at the medical examiner's office since he died more than a week ago. Police said he ran out of ammunition before his brother, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (joh-HAHR' tsahr-NEYE'-ehv), dragged his body under a vehicle while fleeing the scene. His cause of death will not be made public until his remains are claimed.
Tamerlan's widow, Katherine Russell, said Tuesday through her attorney that she wants his body released to the Tsarnaev family.
Tamerlan's uncle Ruslan Tsarni of Maryland told The Associated Press on Tuesday night that family members will take possession of the body, though he would not elaborate.
The Bank of Canada had appropriate help Tuesday (April 30) launching its new space-themed $5 bill ? the Canadian commander of the International Space Station (ISS).
"Let me show you an example of how we can reach new heights of innovation," Canadian Space Agency astronaut and Expedition 35 commander Chris Hadfield said, while revealing the astronaut- and robot-arm-adorned bank note from on board the orbiting complex.
Hadfield held up the new blue-color note and let it float in front of him during a live broadcast from the space station. [Chris Hadfield's Video Guide to Life in Space]
According to the Bank of Canada, the new $5 bill features "leading-edge security features" as already present in the $20, $50 and $100 polymer notes now in circulation. The bank also released its new $10 note today, which depicts a Canadian train.
"The polymer series notes are at the frontier of bank note technology. The new $5 and $10 bank notes depict the frontiers of our country and our planet," Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said. "It is fitting that we are today crossing the final frontier for a world first ? the unveiling of a bank note from space."
The new bills include transparent and holographic design elements, making them part of the most secure bank note series ever issued by the Bank of Canada. The polymer series is also described as more economical, lasting at least two and half times longer than cotton-based paper notes, and they will be recycled in Canada.
The Bank of Canada's new $5 bank note features a space-theme with the Canadarm2 robotic arm, Dextre manipulator and a spacewalking astronaut. CREDIT: Bank of Canada/collectSPACE.com
The new $5 bill, as revealed by Hadfield, features images of the Canadian-built Canadarm2 and Dextre, robotic arms and manipulators that were used to build and now maintain the space station. They symbolize Canada's ongoing contribution to the international space program.
Hadfield, who in 2001 became the first Canadian to walk in space while helping to install the Canadarm2 outside the space station, said he tries to inspire young Canadians to aim high.
"This new $5 bill should do the same," he said. "By giving prominence to Canadian achievements in space, this bank note reminds us that not even the sky is the limit."
The note's design also includes a spacewalking astronaut, though the Bank of Canada did not specify if it was meant to be Hadfield. The astronaut can be identified though, as a Canadian by the country's red and white, maple-leaf flag appearing on the arm of the spacesuited figure.
The front of the new $5 bank note features a portrait of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the Prime Minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The previous $5 bill, still in circulation, also features Laurier on one side. The reverse depicts children engaged in winter sports, including sledding and hockey.
The Bank of Canada's new space-themed $5 note is a safer kind of dollar. From left to right: David Saint-Jacques, Canadian Astronaut; the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance; Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of Canada; Paul G. Smith, Chairman of the Board of Directors of VIA Rail Canada. CREDIT: Bank of Canada
The $5 bill is the lowest denomination bank note circulated in Canada. The new space-themed bill will be available to the public starting in November.
This is not the first time that Hadfield has been included in the release of Canadian money. The Royal Canadian Mint released coins in 2006 that featured the Canadarm2 and a portrait of the record-setting astronaut. The silver and gold coins carried a face value of $30 and $300, respectively.
In addition to the Canadarm2 and the two-armed Dextre (the latter also known as the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator), Canada's space achievements also include the Canadarm, the robotic arm flown on board the now-retired space shuttle.
The first Canadarm flown in space was returned by NASA to Canada last year to go on public display at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa.
Click through to collectSPACE.com to watch video of astronaut Chris Hadfield revealing the new Canadian $5 bank note from on board the International Space Station.
Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2013 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
Google Now is, perhaps, one of the more compelling reasons to opt for an Android device over iOS. But, Mountain View is smart enough to realize that its big push to deliver information pre-emptively would be severely hampered if it was isolated to one platform. So, here we are, almost a year after Now debuted with the launch of Jelly Bean, and the (mis)labeled Siri competitor has finally landed on Apple's mobile OS. Obviously, to truly come to grips with a product like this, you'd need days or weeks to truly judge it, but we're familiar enough with the Android version to feel comfortable passing along our initial impressions. So head on after the break to see whether or not Google was able to replicate its virtual assistant magic on iOS.
Mild iodine deficiency in womb associated with lower scores on children's literacy testsPublic release date: 30-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jenni Glenn Gingery jgingery@endo-society.org 301-941-0240 The Endocrine Society
Changes in mother's diet, supplements may prevent long-term neurological impairment
Chevy Chase, MDChildren who did not receive enough iodine in the womb performed worse on literacy tests as 9-year-olds than their peers, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
Iodine is absorbed from food and plays a key role in brain development. Even mild deficiency during pregnancy can harm the baby's neurological development.
"Our research found children may continue to experience the effects of insufficient iodine for years after birth," said the study's lead author, Kristen L. Hynes, PhD, of the Menzies Research Institute at the University of Tasmania in Australia. "Although the participants' diet was fortified with iodine during childhood, later supplementation was not enough to reverse the impact of the deficiency during the mother's pregnancy."
The longitudinal study examined standardized test scores of 228 children whose mothers attended The Royal Hobart Hospital's antenatal clinics in Tasmania between 1999 and 2001. The children were born during a period of mild iodine deficiency in the population. Conditions were reversed when bread manufacturers began using iodized salt in October 2001 as part of a voluntary iodine fortification program.
The study found inadequate iodine exposure during pregnancy was associated with lasting effects. As 9-year-olds, the children who received insufficient iodine in the womb had lower scores on standardized literacy tests, particularly in spelling. However, inadequate iodine exposure was not associated with lower scores on math tests. Researchers theorize iodine deficiency may take more of a toll on the development of auditory pathways and, consequently, auditory working memory and so had more of an impact on students' spelling ability than their mathematical reasoning ability.
"Fortunately, iodine deficiency during pregnancy and the resulting neurological impact is preventable," Hynes said. "Pregnant women should follow public health guidelines and take daily dietary supplements containing iodine. Public health supplementation programs also can play a key role in monitoring how much iodine the population is receiving and acting to ensure at-risk groups receive enough iodine in the diet."
###
The Endocrine Society's clinical practice guidelines on managing thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy and postpartum, including iodine supplementation, are available at http://www.endo-society.org/guidelines/upload/Thyroid-Exec-Summ.pdf.
Other researchers working on the study include: P. Otahal, I. Hay and J. Burgess of the University of Tasmania.
The article, "Mild Iodine Deficiency During Pregnancy is Associated with Reduced Educational Outcomes in the Offspring: 9-Year Follow-Up of the Gestational Iodine Cohort," appears in the May 2013 issue of JCEM.
Founded in 1916, The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest, largest and most active organization devoted to research on hormones and the clinical practice of endocrinology. Today, The Endocrine Society's membership consists of over 16,000 scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in more than 100 countries. Society members represent all basic, applied and clinical interests in endocrinology. The Endocrine Society is based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at http://www.endo-society.org. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/EndoMedia.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Mild iodine deficiency in womb associated with lower scores on children's literacy testsPublic release date: 30-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jenni Glenn Gingery jgingery@endo-society.org 301-941-0240 The Endocrine Society
Changes in mother's diet, supplements may prevent long-term neurological impairment
Chevy Chase, MDChildren who did not receive enough iodine in the womb performed worse on literacy tests as 9-year-olds than their peers, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
Iodine is absorbed from food and plays a key role in brain development. Even mild deficiency during pregnancy can harm the baby's neurological development.
"Our research found children may continue to experience the effects of insufficient iodine for years after birth," said the study's lead author, Kristen L. Hynes, PhD, of the Menzies Research Institute at the University of Tasmania in Australia. "Although the participants' diet was fortified with iodine during childhood, later supplementation was not enough to reverse the impact of the deficiency during the mother's pregnancy."
The longitudinal study examined standardized test scores of 228 children whose mothers attended The Royal Hobart Hospital's antenatal clinics in Tasmania between 1999 and 2001. The children were born during a period of mild iodine deficiency in the population. Conditions were reversed when bread manufacturers began using iodized salt in October 2001 as part of a voluntary iodine fortification program.
The study found inadequate iodine exposure during pregnancy was associated with lasting effects. As 9-year-olds, the children who received insufficient iodine in the womb had lower scores on standardized literacy tests, particularly in spelling. However, inadequate iodine exposure was not associated with lower scores on math tests. Researchers theorize iodine deficiency may take more of a toll on the development of auditory pathways and, consequently, auditory working memory and so had more of an impact on students' spelling ability than their mathematical reasoning ability.
"Fortunately, iodine deficiency during pregnancy and the resulting neurological impact is preventable," Hynes said. "Pregnant women should follow public health guidelines and take daily dietary supplements containing iodine. Public health supplementation programs also can play a key role in monitoring how much iodine the population is receiving and acting to ensure at-risk groups receive enough iodine in the diet."
###
The Endocrine Society's clinical practice guidelines on managing thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy and postpartum, including iodine supplementation, are available at http://www.endo-society.org/guidelines/upload/Thyroid-Exec-Summ.pdf.
Other researchers working on the study include: P. Otahal, I. Hay and J. Burgess of the University of Tasmania.
The article, "Mild Iodine Deficiency During Pregnancy is Associated with Reduced Educational Outcomes in the Offspring: 9-Year Follow-Up of the Gestational Iodine Cohort," appears in the May 2013 issue of JCEM.
Founded in 1916, The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest, largest and most active organization devoted to research on hormones and the clinical practice of endocrinology. Today, The Endocrine Society's membership consists of over 16,000 scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in more than 100 countries. Society members represent all basic, applied and clinical interests in endocrinology. The Endocrine Society is based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at http://www.endo-society.org. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/EndoMedia.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Apr. 29, 2013 ? There is a perception in some tech circles that older programmers aren't able to keep pace with rapidly changing technology, and that they are discriminated against in the software field. But a new study from North Carolina State University indicates that the knowledge and skills of programmers actually improve over time -- and that older programmers know as much (or more) than their younger peers when it comes to recent software platforms.
"We wanted to explore these perceptions of veteran programmers as being out of step with emerging technologies and see if we could determine whether older programmers are actually keeping up with changes in the field," says Dr. Emerson Murphy-Hill, an assistant professor of computer science at NC State and co-author of a paper on the research. "And we found that, in some cases, veteran programmers even have a slight edge."
The researchers looked at the profiles of more than 80,000 programmers on a site called StackOverflow, which is an online community that allows users to ask and answer programming questions. The site also allows users to rate the usefulness of other users' questions and answers. Users who are rated as asking good questions and providing good answers receive points that are reflected in their "reputation score." The higher an individual's reputation score, the more likely it is that the user has a robust understanding of programming issues.
For the first part of the study, the researchers compared the age of users with their reputation scores. They found that an individual's reputation increases with age, at least into a user's 40s. There wasn't enough data to draw meaningful conclusions for older programmers.
The researchers then looked at the number of different subjects that users asked and answered questions about, which reflects the breadth of their programming interests. The researchers found that there is a sharp decline in the number of subjects users weighed in on between the ages of 15 and 30 -- but that the range of subjects increased steadily through the programmers' 30s and into their early 50s.
Finally, the researchers evaluated the knowledge of older programmers (ages 37 and older) compared to younger programmers (younger than 37) in regard to relatively recent technologies -- meaning technologies that have been around for less than 10 years.
For two smartphone operating systems, iOS and Windows Phone 7, the veteran programmers had a significant edge in knowledge over their younger counterparts. For every other technology, from Django to Silverlight, there was no statistically significant difference between older and younger programmers.
"The data doesn't support the bias against older programmers -- if anything, just the opposite," Murphy-Hill says.
The paper, "Is Programming Knowledge Related To Age?," will be presented May 18 at the 10th Working Conference on Mining Software Repositories, sponsored by IEEE and ACM in San Francisco, Calif. Lead author of the paper is Patrick Morrison, a Ph.D. student at NC State.
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Public release date: 30-Apr-2013
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