This undated photo made available by NOAA shows a computer displaying an electronic nautical chart aboard a ship.
AP
This undated photo made available by NOAA shows a computer displaying an electronic nautical chart aboard a ship.
AP
NOAA, the federal agency charged with surveying the nation's navigable waters to help keep mariners off the rocks and out of the shallows, will cease printing paper charts after mid-April.
"Since 1862, those lithographic nautical charts—available in marine shops and other stores—have been printed by the U.S. government and sold to the public by commercial vendors. The decision to stop production is based on several factors: the declining demand for lithographic charts, the increasing use of digital and electronic charts, and federal budget realities."
"With the end of traditional paper charts, our primary concern continues to be making sure that boaters, fishing vessels, and commercial mariners have access to the most accurate, up-to-date nautical chart in a format that works well for them," Ocean Survey chief Capt. Shep Smith says. "Fortunately, advancements in computing and mobile technologies give us many more options than was possible years ago."
In recent years, electronic charts accessed on tablet computers and GPS chartplotters have become a popular option for pleasure boats and larger vessels, but many people still insist on using paper charts, at least as a backup, says Bill Griffin, general manager of Fawcett Boat Supply in Annapolis, Maryland.
"Any prudent mariner is going to have paper charts," he says. "I don't see paper going away anytime soon."
All of the charts that Fawcett sells are on-demand and the store sells "hundreds" each year, Griffin tells NPR.
"We used to stock lots of paper charts, but we couldn't keep everything," he says. "With on-demand printing, we can get any chart for U.S. waters at the drop of a hat — and the beauty is it's always updated."
"NOAA sells about 60,000 of the old lithographic 4-by-3 foot maps each year, for about $20 apiece, the same price it costs to print them.
The trouble is that NOAA doesn't print them, but the Federal Aviation Administration does. And they don't want to anymore to save some money, Smith said. The FAA took over federal chart-making in 1999 and on Oct. 15 told NOAA it was going to stop the presses, according to the ocean agency.
Capt. Shep Smith says it costs NOAA about $100 million a year to survey and chart the nation's waters and it will still spend the same money, but provide the information in the less traditional way."
NOAA says it will officially stop supplying printed charts on April 13.
So far, there's been mixed reaction to the move, at least from mariners who tweet:
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Netflix's earnings quadrupled as the Internet video subscription service's line-up of original programming helped attract 1.3 million more U.S. subscribers during its latest quarter.
The July-September financial results announced Monday are the latest evidence of Netflix's increasing popularity as the service's video library expands to include exclusive, high-caliber shows. The strategy is getting rave reviews among investors whose adulation has quadrupled Netflix's market value so far this year.
Netflix's stock soared again Monday, rising $38.01, or nearly 11 percent, to $393 in extended trading after the numbers came out. That sets up the shares to hit an all-time high for the third consecutive trading session on Tuesday.
"They are growing nicely, and they deserve credit for that," said Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter. "But I still don't understand how they can be valued this high."
In a Monday interview, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings acknowledged "there seems to be some euphoria" surrounding the company's stock.
Investors increasingly view Netflix as the leader in a technology upheaval that will redefine the entertainment landscape for decades to come. The Los Gatos, Calif., company is steadily winning new converts to an $8-per-month service that streams TV shows and movies to any device with an Internet connection. Some households are so enamored with Netflix that they are canceling more expensive subscriptions to cable- and satellite-TV services.
Netflix ended September with 31.1 million U.S. subscribers, eclipsing the estimated 29 million subscribers that HBO's 41-year-old pay-TV channel is believed to have in the country.
HBO, which is owned by Time Warner Inc., still has a commanding lead globally with 114 million subscribers around the world.
Netflix Inc., in contrast, has 40.3 million subscribers worldwide after adding 1.44 million customers outside the U.S. in the July-September quarter. The company's streaming service is available in 41 countries, and Netflix plans to enter another yet-to-be identified overseas market next year.
The third quarter covered a three-month stretch that featured the debut of two exclusive series. They were the critically acclaimed "Orange Is The New Black," and "Derek," which also got largely positive reviews. In a Monday letter reviewing the third quarter, Netflix predicted "Orange Is The New Black" — a drama/comedy set in a women's prison — will end this year as its most-watched piece of original programming yet, outstripping "House of Cards," a hit released earlier this year that won three Emmy awards.
Hastings told The Associated Press that "Orange Is The New Black" played such a big role in the company's success during the third quarter that he considered staging a special tribute to the series during a Monday discussion of the earnings that was shown on a video feed. "I almost did the earnings show in an orange jumpsuit," Hastings quipped, adding he was overruled by Netflix's head of communications.
Netflix earned $32 million, or 52 cents per share, in the quarter. That compared with income of $7.7 million, or 13 cents per share, at the same time last year.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 48 cents per share.
Revenue rose 22 percent from last year to $1.1 billion to match analyst projections.
Netflix expects to add another 2.5 million to 4.1 million subscribers worldwide in the current quarter ending in December, including an additional 1.6 million to 2.4 million in the U.S.
The lofty gains in the company's stock price are starting to unnerve Hastings, who recalls the shares increasing by nearly five-fold in 2003, only to plunge by 77 percent the following year as investors fretted about stiffening competition and higher expenses for a DVD-by-mail rental service that was once Netflix's financial backbone. Hastings also watched the stock plummet by more than 80 percent from its highs reached in 2011 after Netflix imposed pricing changes that triggered a customer backlash.
NEW YORK (AP) — Nokia is expanding its lineup of Windows phones and introducing its first tablet computer, all sporting the powerful camera technology found in its flagship Lumia 1020 smartphone.
The struggling cellphone maker is turning to the camera to differentiate its phones from rivals. The Lumia 1020 has a 41-megapixel camera with technology designed to produce better low-light shots and offer greater manual controls than most smartphones.
The new devices will use Microsoft's Windows system and come as Microsoft aims to complete its 5.44 billion euros ($7.4 billion) deal to buy Nokia's phone business and patent rights. The deal is expected to close early next year.
Nokia, a Finnish company, has seen its cellphone business unravel since Apple revolutionized the way people use handsets with the 2007 introduction of the iPhone. Microsoft, meanwhile, is struggling amid declines in sales of traditional personal computers in favor of smartphones and tablets.
Nokia's new Lumia 1520 will have a larger screen, measuring 6 inches diagonally, compared with 4.5 inches on the 1020. Nokia said the new phone's camera will have only 20 megapixels in order to keep the camera sensor smaller and the phone thinner. But that's still more resolution than most other phones.
The 1520 will also come with new apps designed to organize photos based on where you take the shots and to give you more flexibility in determining —after the fact— where the image should be focused. The phone will cost $740, though wireless carriers are expected to offer it cheaper with two-year service contracts.
Nokia will also make a cheaper version, the Lumia 1320, for a contract-free price of $339. It will have a 5-megapixel camera and a slower processor than the 1520. Both run the latest version of Windows Phone 8, which has new features to accommodate larger screen sizes.
Nokia's first tablet will be the Lumia 2520. It will run Windows 8.1 RT, meaning it shares the tile-based interface of the phone software, but can run various apps designed for Windows tablets. However, RT is the lightweight version of Windows, so it will run only apps specifically designed for it. Regular versions of Windows 8.1 can run apps for older versions of Windows.
All versions of the 2520 will come with built-in 4G LTE cellular access. By contrast, iPads and most other tablets make cellular access optional, with their cheapest models capable of using Wi-Fi only for Internet access.
The 10.1-inch tablet will cost $499. An optional cover with a physical keyboard and extended battery life is $149 extra. The camera is 6.7 megapixels, but shares the low-light technology and manual controls found in the Lumia 1020.
All three devices are expected to go on sale by the end of the year. They will come in multiple colors with a hard, plastic back molded onto the device.
This week the MLB's fall classic kicks off as the Red Sox face the Cardinals. If you're not a baseball fan there's still other things to look forward to, with plenty of horror-related Blu-ray releases and the requisite cheesy Syfy movie arriving in time for Halloween. The Nerdist himself Chris Hardwick is also a highlight, as he adds a new late night show on Comedy Central called @midnight to his usual Talking AMC duties. Look after the break for our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and gaming.
Blu-ray & Games
The Conjuring
The Internship
The Uninvited
The Way Way Back
Before Midnight
The Vincent Price Collection
Rocksmith 2014 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
The Sims 3: Into the Future (PC/Mac)
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Director's Cut) (PC)
Monday
How I Met Your Mother , CBS, 8PM
Hart of Dixie , CW, 8PM
The Voice, NBC, 8PM
Bones, Fox, 8PM
Dancing with the Stars, ABC, 8PM
Vikings/Giants Monday Night Football, ESPN, 8:40PM
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images
STERLING, Va.—The polling in the Virginia governor’s race turned against state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli months ago. The government shutdown was blamed on his peers in the Republican Party. (It didn’t help that Sen. Ted Cruz, whom Cuccinelli had praised lavishly, forded the Potomac for a campaign event.) His opponent, Terry McAuliffe, has endured multiple scandals, including a fictional one that led to two Associated Press journalists getting sacked.
“This launch has been a national embarrassment, but it’s just a symptom of much bigger problems,” said Cuccinelli. “I believe President Obama ought to fire Kathleen Sebelius.”
That got the loudest applause of a 20-minute speech in front of 200-odd Republican activists. A blonde, middle-aged female Tea Partier, who had spent the time before the speech telling people nearby not to talk to reporters, shouted, “Sebelius must go!”
So Cuccinelli said it again. “Kathleen Sebelius ought to be fired.” Before the speech was over he’d called on the secretary of Health and Human Services to resign three times, and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrissey (one of four AGs from other states who’d come to campaign with Cuccinelli) chastised Sebelius for “going to a gala” instead of agreeing to testify in front of Congress about Healthcare.gov. When the speech was over, Cuccinelli was asked whether he was asking for something President Obama would never do, something not pertinent to a race for governor.
Before the speech was over, Cuccinelli had called on the Secretary of Health and Human Services to resign three times.
“It's very realistic, certainly given that people in his own party are calling for people to be fired,” said Cuccinelli. “I don't think it's anything novel for someone from the other side to say that, when all we want is competency. And because we did win some of the [legal] arguments, we still have this debate. The Medicare debate is an Obamacare debate. Having the exchanges is an Obamacare debate.”
Democrats fully expect Cuccinelli to lose this election, and they will make no personnel decisions based on his advice. He was actually late to the blame-Sebelius party. The former governor of Kansas has never tingled the conservative id as much as Attorney General Eric Holder or departed Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano (“Big Sis,” as the Drudge Report called her). Savvier conservatives have warned for years that the Affordable Care Act gives incredible new regulatory power to whomever happens to run HHS, but they trained most of their fire on the “Obama” prefix of “Obamacare.”
That changed in October. The disastrous launch of Healthcare.gov coincided with the government shutdown; Republicans were slow to take advantage of the mini-crisis. It was really Sebelius’s interview with The Daily Show on Oct. 7 that made them see the roadkill bleeding out on the interstate. Jon Stewart started the segment by opening a Macbook and offering Sebelius a “dare”: “I’m gonna try and download every movie ever made, and you’re gonna try to sign up for Obamacare, and we’ll see which happens first.” By the end, Sebelius was struggling to convince Stewart—who wanted the law to work!—why it didn’t make sense to delay the mandate until the exchange site was at least as functional as a Geocities page.
Slowly, methodically, as the site errors persisted, Republicans lit into Sebelius. On Oct. 11, Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts called on Sebelius to “resign for gross incompetence” after “even Jon Stewart” saw through the failure of Obamacare. Five days later, at a congressional forum sponsored by the Heritage Foundation, multiple House Republicans told reporters to watch the Jon Stewart interview to 1) learn how journalism was done and 2) see how sensible the one-year delay truly was.
By this time, non-Comedy Central news organizations were running their own investigations into the site failures. (Slate, which has been gathering reports from people signing up this year, published their “site didn’t work” tales on Oct. 3.) The House Energy and Commerce Committee was asking Sebelius to show up on Oct. 24 and explain why the exchange site wasn’t loading Sebelius passed. On Monday morning, hours before the Cuccinelli rally, the same House committee issued a statement asking, “Will President Obama Call on Secretary Sebelius to Skip the Gala and Testify Thursday?” For the aid of lazy reporters, they attached a video of Sebelius getting interviewed by Jon Stewart.
Sebelius has agreed to testify before the committee on Oct. 30. That means nine more potential days of human piñata-bashing. Republicans are making up for two wasted weeks of shutdown politics, arguing that Healthcare.gov’s disaster presages the collapse of Obamacare. They think they got a substantial assist from the president’s Monday speech, where his fellow Americans were asked to remember that Obamacare was “not just a website,” and given the phone numbers to call if the pages didn’t load. All that was missing, snarked Republican Study Committee chairman Rep. Steve Scalise, “was an offer for free T-shirts to the first 100 callers.”
And Obama’s speech probably was a favor to Republicans. Those crusades against high-level members of the administration have largely failed—Eric Holder has a job, Chuck Hagel has a job, and Susan Rise became national security adviser after Republicans thought they’d scalped her. Focusing on Sebelius gets the administration’s back up, because it has no fear whatsoever of congressional inquisitors. It creates the impression that one firing could right the program, like swapping out generals in Iraq kind-of-sort-of-won that war.
“Congress should legally pass a one-year delay of the individual mandate,” said Cuccinelli at Monday’s rally in Sterling. The House GOP had just spent two weeks failing to do as much, but that was before the Big Glitch. “The big boys got their delay illegally from a president who waved his magic president wand. Didn’t know there was one, but apparently there is.”
Personal and social concerns motivate organic food buyers
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
21-Oct-2013
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Contact: Ioannis Kareklas Ioannis.kareklas@wsu.edu 509-335-2781 Washington State University
Study offers tips for green advertising strategists
PULLMAN, Wash. Predicting whether consumers will purchase organic or conventional food is a multimillion dollar gamble within the food sector. A novel paper by Washington State University College of Business researchers will help advertisers more effectively target the fast-growing organic food market.
"We propose that organic purchases are not just made with the intention of benefiting one's self," said lead author Ioannis Kareklas, a WSU marketing assistant professor. "Our paper provides evidence that advertising that highlights and addresses both personal (egoistic) and environmental (altruistic) concerns in tandem may be the most impactful in influencing consumer attitudes toward and intentions to purchase organic products."
The paper is the first in the United States to explore the relative impact of both considerations simultaneously in relation to self-perception. Co-authors include Darrel Muehling, WSU marketing professor, and Jeffrey Carlson, University of Connecticut doctoral student.
Personal values affect advertisement success
Research has shown that promotional messages tend to be evaluated more favorably when they are consistent with consumers' values, said Kareklas. For example, independent, Western cultures that tend to emphasize autonomy and individualism respond more favorably to ads that emphasize personal welfare. Consumers from interdependent cultures, such as East Asian and Latin American countries, prefer ads that emphasize collective welfare.
However, research shows that egoistic and altruistic considerations coexist within all individuals. Therefore, advertising claims focusing on egoistic/altruistic concerns can make consumers aware of their underlying values, thus increasing the effectiveness of promotional messages, he said.
The researchers conducted a three-part study to test their premise. The results of the first two studies suggested that consumers' organic product purchases may be influenced by both egoistic and altruistic considerations. A key finding was that consumers are more influenced by altruistic concerns when considering the purchase of green/organic products compared to conventional products.
In a third study, the researchers tested the effectiveness of various advertising treatments promoting a fictitious new brand of organic meat called "Gold Standard." The ads emphasized personal health, nutritional value, taste, cleaner water, humane treatment of livestock, community support and a combination of these egoistic and altruistic claims.
"We found that the ad featuring both egoistic and altruistic appeals produced more favorable attitudes toward the brand and company and greater purchase intentions," said Kareklas.
Tips for "green" strategists
These results provide an important theoretical foundation that helps explain why and how specific organic food attitudes and purchase intentions vary among individuals.
"It's important to view consumers' organic food perceptions and buying tendencies in relation to self-concept," said Kareklas. "Unlike previous research that often views the two self-views to be mutually exclusive and competing, we find that the goals of the independent and interdependent view of the self are complimentary influences in the context of organic/green purchase considerations."
The researchers suggest advertisers consider designing messages that relate to personal benefits and environmental benefits in tandem, taking note that synergies may be gained by emphasizing both.
###
The article, titled "I Eat Organic for My Benefit and Yours: Egotistic and Altruistic Considerations for Purchasing Organic Food and Their Implications for Advertising Strategists," will appear in the Journal of Advertising and is available online at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2325108.
"The article, titled "I Eat Organic for My Benefit and Yours: Egotistic and Altruistic Considerations for Purchasing Organic Food and Their Implications for Advertising Strategists," will appear in the Journal of Advertising and is available online at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2325108. Kareklas previously published a related article, titled "The Role of Regulatory Focus and Self-View in 'Green' Advertising Message Framing," in the Journal of Advertising: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00913367.2012.10672455#.UmAiLFPORtw.
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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.
Personal and social concerns motivate organic food buyers
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
21-Oct-2013
[
| E-mail
]
Share
Contact: Ioannis Kareklas Ioannis.kareklas@wsu.edu 509-335-2781 Washington State University
Study offers tips for green advertising strategists
PULLMAN, Wash. Predicting whether consumers will purchase organic or conventional food is a multimillion dollar gamble within the food sector. A novel paper by Washington State University College of Business researchers will help advertisers more effectively target the fast-growing organic food market.
"We propose that organic purchases are not just made with the intention of benefiting one's self," said lead author Ioannis Kareklas, a WSU marketing assistant professor. "Our paper provides evidence that advertising that highlights and addresses both personal (egoistic) and environmental (altruistic) concerns in tandem may be the most impactful in influencing consumer attitudes toward and intentions to purchase organic products."
The paper is the first in the United States to explore the relative impact of both considerations simultaneously in relation to self-perception. Co-authors include Darrel Muehling, WSU marketing professor, and Jeffrey Carlson, University of Connecticut doctoral student.
Personal values affect advertisement success
Research has shown that promotional messages tend to be evaluated more favorably when they are consistent with consumers' values, said Kareklas. For example, independent, Western cultures that tend to emphasize autonomy and individualism respond more favorably to ads that emphasize personal welfare. Consumers from interdependent cultures, such as East Asian and Latin American countries, prefer ads that emphasize collective welfare.
However, research shows that egoistic and altruistic considerations coexist within all individuals. Therefore, advertising claims focusing on egoistic/altruistic concerns can make consumers aware of their underlying values, thus increasing the effectiveness of promotional messages, he said.
The researchers conducted a three-part study to test their premise. The results of the first two studies suggested that consumers' organic product purchases may be influenced by both egoistic and altruistic considerations. A key finding was that consumers are more influenced by altruistic concerns when considering the purchase of green/organic products compared to conventional products.
In a third study, the researchers tested the effectiveness of various advertising treatments promoting a fictitious new brand of organic meat called "Gold Standard." The ads emphasized personal health, nutritional value, taste, cleaner water, humane treatment of livestock, community support and a combination of these egoistic and altruistic claims.
"We found that the ad featuring both egoistic and altruistic appeals produced more favorable attitudes toward the brand and company and greater purchase intentions," said Kareklas.
Tips for "green" strategists
These results provide an important theoretical foundation that helps explain why and how specific organic food attitudes and purchase intentions vary among individuals.
"It's important to view consumers' organic food perceptions and buying tendencies in relation to self-concept," said Kareklas. "Unlike previous research that often views the two self-views to be mutually exclusive and competing, we find that the goals of the independent and interdependent view of the self are complimentary influences in the context of organic/green purchase considerations."
The researchers suggest advertisers consider designing messages that relate to personal benefits and environmental benefits in tandem, taking note that synergies may be gained by emphasizing both.
###
The article, titled "I Eat Organic for My Benefit and Yours: Egotistic and Altruistic Considerations for Purchasing Organic Food and Their Implications for Advertising Strategists," will appear in the Journal of Advertising and is available online at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2325108.
"The article, titled "I Eat Organic for My Benefit and Yours: Egotistic and Altruistic Considerations for Purchasing Organic Food and Their Implications for Advertising Strategists," will appear in the Journal of Advertising and is available online at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2325108. Kareklas previously published a related article, titled "The Role of Regulatory Focus and Self-View in 'Green' Advertising Message Framing," in the Journal of Advertising: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00913367.2012.10672455#.UmAiLFPORtw.
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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.
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