Walls of Ston, Tembok Raksasa Terpanjang di Eropa

Selama ini jika kita mendengar istilah tembok raksasa atau great wall, yang terbayang di benak kita adalah tembok raksasa di China. Tapi tahukah kamu bahwa sebuah kota kecil di Kroasia telah menyimpan sebuah rahasia.

Sebuah tembok yang berusia ratusan tahun yang merupakan tembok raksasa terpanjang di Eropa dan merupakan terpanjang kedua di dunia. Tapi saat ini masih sedikit orang yang mendengar tentang Walls of Ston ini.

Ston merupakan salah satu tempat kunjungan wisata yang paling rendah di Eropa berdasarkan warisan sejarah. Tempat ini sedikit terisolasi, letaknya di Semenanjung Peljesac, terletak 60 km dari kota besar terdekat, Dubrovnik yang populasinya di bawah 50.000 jiwa.

Tembok Ston ini membentuk segi lima yang tidak teratur dan diperlukan waktu sekitar 200 tahun untuk membangun tembok ini. Tembok Ston ini mulai dibangun pada abad kelima belas, mereka dijaga sangat ketat.

Terdapat 30 menara persegi dan sepuluh titik penjagaan di sepanjang tembok yang memiliki panjang 5 mil ini. Apakah yang mereka lindungi dengan membangun tembok ini?

Selain digunakan sebagai garis pertahanan pertama untuk kota Dubrovnik, Tembok Ston ini juga dibangun untuk melindungi komoditas kota yang sangat berharga, yaitu garam. Pada abad pertengahan daerah ini menjadi pusat untuk pertambangan garam yang berlanjut hingga hari ini.

Tembok Ston ini selain dirancang oleh ahli bangunan lokal yang bernama Zupan Bunic (1455) dan Paskoje Milicevic 1488-1506, juga dirancang oleh seorang Italia yang bernama Bernardin pada tahun 1461 dan seorang Perancis yang dikenal dengan nama Olivier antara 1472 dan 1478.

Sumber :
ngehot.blogspot.com

Amazon Kindle adalah sebuah teknologi revolusioner dengan layar yang tajam dan resolusi tinggi I buku asli. Mudah digunakan: tanpa komputer, tanpa kabel. Amazon Kindle adalah alat untuk membaca buku elektronik^[1], yang dikembangkan oleh Amazon.com, yang pertama kali diluncurkan di Amerika Serikat 19 November 2007. Amazon Kindle adalah alat yang dapat berfungsi sebagai e-book reader. Ia bisa berfungsi sebagai pe-selancar web, pemutar film, musik, juga menjalankan aplikasi. Kindle menggunakan teknologi bernama e-paper. Layar-nya cenderung menstimulasi warna aktual dari kertas buku, sehingga tidak memancarkan cahaya. Oleh karenanya, ia akan tetap terbaca, saat digunakan di bawah sinar matahari. Amazon kindle cukup menarik untuk jadi pengganti buku tradisional, adapun spesifikasinya antara lain:
a. Dapat memabaca dalam kecepatan 60 detik, bisa dibayangkan kecepatannya dengan 3G.
b. Memiliki kontras 50% lebih baik dari ebook lainnya.
c. Desain baru yang lebih slim (6")
d. Daya tahan baterai hingga 1 bulan.
e. Memiliki lebih dari 3.500 buku yang siap menemani kemana kamu pergi.
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HIPAA: What nurses need to know

INTRODUCTION

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is perhaps best known for protecting consumers' health insurance coverage after job changes. However, the law has a broader scope addressing public concerns about the use and abuse of protected health information (PHI) by insurance companies and other involved third parties. HIPAA also provides protection for the privacy and security of patients' health information and mandates significant modifications to the way in which providers handle the submission of claims and other related transactions with particular attention to electronic communications. Compliance with these new standards is legislatively mandated and healthcare providers labeled as `covered entities' (CEs) who are affected by the legislation must be in compliance by April 14, 2003. The advent of HIPAA and the attention now being given to the privacy and security of identifiable health information is changing the standards of how identifiable health information is handled. Healthcare providers must ensure the protection of protected health information from inadvertent and deliberate misuse and disclosure. HIPAA standards determine what information is protected by privacy standards and what restrictions are placed on using and disclosing health information. When a healthcare entity releases information, it should be limited to the minimum necessary to achieve the purpose of the disclosure. A minimum standard for release of information should include who needs to know, what they need to know, and how they will be informed. The policies for minimum necessary may differ in each healthcare setting, according to the setting. The main components of the law of interest to nurses are those of security, privacy, individual rights, and transaction standards.

SECURITY

HIPAA establishes how covered entities interact with patient information. Data security is a top priority for healthcare information. Security standards under HIPAA are closely related to the privacy standards and include such issues as electronic signatures, the safeguard of data integrity, confidentiality, and access to information. The primary focus of security measures is data integrity with backup procedures and proper control of access with passwords and encryption. Security programs must be monitored, and a security officer must be designated. Healthcare facilities must develop policies related to access and restrictions to healthcare information and protection of the integrity of electronic data. Access to and transmission of clinical information over the Internet requires strict, stateof-the-art security measures.

Access to both hardware and software must be controlled through tracking the location of entry devices and access to them; back-up systems; data storage; password protection; access to computer screens; backup and recovery; protection of systems from natural or manmade disasters, i.e. terrorist events; and protection from hackers and viruses. The control/security program in each facility must also include e-mail and faxes.

What is the everyday reality to the nurse? If you work in any environment where you use computer technology that contains PHI, you will see some effects of HIPAA regulations. Many of the privacy provisions will be second nature to nurses, who have long been aware that they cannot divulge patient information freely. Some late entries into the caregiver role, such as patient care assistants, may not have learned to be so vigilant in their preparatory programs. Nurse managers will be called upon to ensure that their employees are not sharing computer IDs. Staff nurses who are charged with the responsibility of overseeing technical personnel or agency staffers may need to be involved in issuing and changing temporary passwords. Computer screens in nursing stations or that are readily visible to non-staff members will need placement changes to protect PHI from readily being viewed. Short screen saver times and screen saver passwords may be necessary, depending on the setting.

PRIVACY

HIPPA privacy regulations are complex and extensive and require that facilities develop plans that ensure compliance in their setting. HIPPA mandates the development of and compliance with privacy regulations covering PHI and the electronic transmission of health information. Information subject to HIPAA regulation includes personal health information for health plans, health clearinghouses, and healthcare providers. This includes claims, claim status, encounter information, enrollment information, eligibility information, coordination of benefits, and payment/remittance advice. Patients have control over the use of their health information, have rights to information on the disclosure policies of healthcare providers, may review and request amendments to their medical information, and may limit the scope of data disclosed to other healthcare providers.

The HIPAA impact on nursing is hardest to define for the standards of privacy. It will differ depending on the healthcare setting. Many modern privacy myths have surfaced. Is it true that in a doctor's office there can be no patient sign-in sheet and that patient's names cannot be called aloud? No, it is not. Reasonable precautions must be taken. In that physician's office, for example, charts left in the rack outside the exam room to facilitate the physician in treatment of the patient might be turned to the wall. Other patients being escorted to an exam room would not then have access to another patient's information. In the hospital or nursing home, a medication or treatment book left on the cart in the hall could be covered with a simple piece of cardboard to prevent passing eyes from seeing the contents of the record.

Sony Ericsson C905: A Complete Package Of Fun And Entertainment

The introduction of Sony Ericsson's mobile phones have managed to generated huge turmoil in the market. They have succeeded to have a foot hold in the communication world in terms of hugely rich features that the phones are incorporated with and their sleek and stylish design. The advancement of technologies have made it mandatory for people to find handsets that suit them the best both in terms of looks and sophisticated features. The gadgets of Sony Ericsson have received great applause and huge response from the international community of mobile phone users. As a result they leave a great impact on people who use these phones. One of such exquisite example that can be given is of Sony Ericsson's C905. This gadget is extremely good looking and has slider design. Along with its appealing look, it also provides great communication facility with 2G and 3G network technologies. Its 2.4 inches TFT screen offers 240 x 320 pixels resolution, thus showing flawless images. Another feature of Sony Ericsson C905 is called accelerometer sensor which enhances its abilities so as to make the phone more interesting. To store large number of files and contact numbers, this gadget is integrated with 160 MB of internal memory. Due to the support of high technologies like EDGE and GPRS, this widget can easily access Internet connection. Its capability of providing accessibility of Web from anywhere in the world, is possible due to its improved features. Mails with heavy attachments can be sent at lightening speed. The Sony Ericsson C905's includes Wi-Fi option which enables users to access Web without messing with connecting wires. Being a modern phone this widget allows to share files with Bluetooth technology and USB connectivity feature. Messages can be sent through various messaging modes like SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email and Instant Messaging. Another exciting feature that is enough to make Sony Ericsson C905 irresistable is its 8 mega pixels camera. It is incorporated with features like autofocus and xenon flash. To capture flawless images this gorgeous handset comes with Geo-tagging, face detection, smart contrast and image stabilization options. Videos and images can be taken with this widget of class-apart quality. The image quality is just unbeatable as it provides 3264 x 2448 pixels of image resolution. There are several exciting range of colours that can be chosen, the colour range includes Night Black, Ice Silver, Copper Gold and Tender Rose. For entertainment purpose some preloaded games are included and permits to download interesting games from gaming Websites.Music player and Stereo FM radio with RDS are options for enjoyment. World class sound quality can be enjoyed with its built-in speakers. Its media player is enabled with the facility of playing various music and video formats. With all such awesome options the Sony Ericsson C905 has very powerful battery. This battery is very competitive in terms of performance and provide long back up. The gadget can be used for as long as 4 hours for 3G network phone and upto 9 hours for 2G network. Some of the dynamic and interesting features that make it an exquisite model are Wayfinder Navigator 7, TrackID music recognition, Picture editor/blogging, TV-out etc.

Microsoft U-turn over redundancy pay gaffe

Software titan reverses position after overpaying some staff during recent layoffs

• Bobbie Johnson, technology correspondent
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 February 2009 02.20 GMT
• Article history

Technology giant Microsoft has been forced to make an embarrassing climb-down after it asked some former employees to return part of their redundancy payments.

In what the company has described as an "administrative error", a handful of workers were given around $5,000 (£3,450) more than the severance pay they were entitled to after being made redundant last month.

Despite the fact that the company initially requested that they return the extra cash, however, it has now said they can keep the money after a storm of protest online.

In a statement, Microsoft said that it had mishandled the affair and would no longer be chasing repayment.

"Last week, 25 former Microsoft employees were informed that they were overpaid as a part of their severance payments from the company," it said.

"This was a mistake on our part. We should have handled this situation in a more thoughtful manner. We are reaching out to those impacted to relay that we will not seek any payment from those individuals."

The gaffe came after 1,400 workers were given their marching orders in January – the first major job cuts in Microsoft's long history, and part of the software titan's plan to reduce its staffing levels by 5,000 posts next year. Most employees affected were given a 12-week severance package as part of the deal.

However, news that the company was asking for the excess cash to be returned spread across the internet last weekend, after one letter demanding repayment was published online.

According to those documents, the letters claimed that an "inadvertent administrative error occurred that resulted in an overpayment," and asked for repayment to be made within 14 days.

Response to the news was varied, but some criticised Microsoft for being hard-hearted during a time of financial hardship for those affected.

"Are you kidding me?" wrote one commenter on the blog Techcrunch, where the news first erupted. "Screw you… what goes around comes around."

One Seattle employment lawyer even suggested that Microsoft might not have been legally able to demand the money back if the error was not immediately obvious to laid-off workers.

"It may depend on whether or not it was obvious that there was an error," Jill Pugh told ComputerWorld. "A lot of the people laid off were salaried employees, who often don't know exactly what they make in a week minus taxes."

In the end, though, Microsoft executives decided that swallowing the $125,000 slip-up would be easier than suffering from bad public relations.

"I don't think it's worthy of us asking them to make that payment back to us," Microsoft senior vice president Lisa Brummell told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.