Essential Reading! Get my 3rd book: Eat Their Lunch “The first ever playbook for B2B salespeople on how to win clients and customers who are already being serviced by your competition.” Buy Now A checklist of things you need to provide your sales force.A Great Sales Manager who Leads: Every salesperson is owed a great sales manager to lead them. You should expect any salesperson who isn’t provided with a leader to fail, and it will not every be their own fault. This is the first and most important thing to provide your sales force.Mindset: You have to teach your sales force how to think about what it. Takes to do their job. You have to help them understand what they have to believe in order to succeed. You might think that you aren’t responsible for motivation, and at some level you are right. But you are responsible for giving them something to believe in. Mainly themselves.Skills Training: If you want your sales force to succeed, you have to help them improve their skills. One of the ways you best help them improve is by providing skills training. The best skills training is focused on fundamentals. The game is won through blocking and tackling.A Sales Process: Your sales force isn’t responsible for developing their own sales process. You must provide them with the collected knowledge and wisdom of your sales force on how deals are successfully moved from target to close. They may have their own style, but they should not have their own process.Scripts: Yes, seriously. Unless you believe every single sales call should opened with new and different language, that every question must be unique to one individual client, that every concern or objection must be resolved with some completely original language, you need planned dialogues. Some words are better than others. Some words create a better result. You owe your sales force those words.Nurture Tools: You do want your sales force to create value in front of an ask, right? Then they the tools to nurture their dream clients. They need white papers, case studies, surveys, blog posts, and any other tool that allows them to share some valuable idea or insight. This is what identifies them as a value creator and begins to differentiate them from their competitors.Coaching: Every great performer in every field has a coach. Or coaches, more likely. Your salespeople have blind spots. If they could see their own mistakes, they wouldn’t be making them. Coaching is how you help people recognize and take advantage of new possibilities, and by doing so, improve their own performance. It also makes them responsible and accountable for their own growth and development.Tool Kits: Playbooks. Differentiation charts. Sales call planners. Client questionnaires. Sales force automation software. Technological tools. Your sales force needs to be well equipped to be as effective as they can be. You owe them the tools of the trade.What you do not owe your sales force is a rationale for not providing these things because, “I never had any of those things.”
A question was raised about a story told in a very popular book. The idea in this story is counterintuitive to traditional sales philosophy. It is about making a negative sale, or explaining why a prospect shouldn’t buy what you sell, as part of your sales presentation. The questioner interpreted the story as a rule.There is an important truth embedded in the story, namely that exposing something negative before sharing your pitch can build trust (if you’re the kind of person who discloses your product’s shortcoming, you are likely to be honest about other things).The questioner asked whether or not this approach should be used instead of the approach she regularly employs. And this is the problem with believing that there are a number of rules that can be identified and followed in a complex, dynamic human interaction like sales.Malcolm Gladwell’s work is terrific. Blink is an outstanding piece of work. Paying attention to your intuition is important. Trusting your gut can be good advice. This is a simplification of the book, but it’s how one might apply the work. In many cases, however, careful and deliberate consideration and weighing of options may be a better strategy for making a good decision.Cialdini’s Influence is second to none when it comes to understanding how we are persuaded. One of the first levers, reciprocity, is generally a good and effective tactic. I give you something, you feel a sense of debt, and you try to repay that debt. The need to repay a kindness is a deeply programmed human behavior (read the book). But this presupposes that the person you hope to influence is susceptible to reciprocity. There are people who are not susceptible, in which case another approach may work better.Steve Jobs practiced a reality distortion field. He perceived nothing to be impossible and drove his team to make the impossible real without the resource of time. He wasn’t nice about it. Apple did very well under Jobs’ leadership, so many people tout his quirks as the very reason for his success, leaving out other factors like luck, timing, circumstances, exploitation of opportunities, an exceptional team who compensated for his shortcomings, and dozens and dozens of additional factors. The context is lost.Any process or system built on the idea that there is one way to do anything, one rule that must always be followed, creates constraints. It eliminates choices. By eliminating choices, you eliminate the opportunity to achieve outcomes when something doesn’t work.By recognizing the choices available and making decisions based on the context of your situation, you enable yourself to select a strategy that you believe will allow you to succeed. By looking for the one, single, always correct, infallible rule, you eliminate those choices.There are no rules, and you have to know them all. Essential Reading! Get my 3rd book: Eat Their Lunch “The first ever playbook for B2B salespeople on how to win clients and customers who are already being serviced by your competition.” Buy Now
Essential Reading! Get my first book: The Only Sale Guide You’ll Ever Need “The USA Today bestseller by the star sales speaker and author of The Sales Blog that reveals how all salespeople can attain huge sales success through strategies backed by extensive research and experience.” Buy Now If you neglect to do something for long periods of time, your effectiveness will gradually decline. It will atrophy, or waste away.The more time you spend away from prospecting, the more your mindset atrophies. Because you aren’t picking up the phone, the first thing to wither away into nothingness is your willingness to pick up the phone and call your dream client. As your willingness slowly dissolves, you find it more and more difficult to do the work that creates opportunities.After some time away from prospecting, your skills start to atrophy, too. You lose these skills far faster than you imagine. Every week without dialing the phone, you are little more rusty, a little bit more off your game, and a little less effective with your language.Once the willingness and skills have declined, your confidence begins to decline. Just like muscle, it starts to shrink from lack of use. Your confidence gets weaker and weaker until it is so shriveled up that you are unrecognizable as a salesperson. If you were once a hunter, you no longer look like one now.Prospecting is the lifeblood of a sales organization. It is one of the primary outcomes a salesperson must create. A salesperson who can’t or won’t create new opportunities isn’t a salesperson.Sometimes, when a salesperson is successful, they believe that they shouldn’t have to prospect. They start to believe that they should only be required to create value once a lead has been fully vetted and the prospect is “ready to buy,” an incredibly poor practice.If you stop prospecting, your prospecting muscles will atrophy. When later it becomes important for you to create opportunities, you will have lost your superpowers. You want to keep your mindset, keep your skills, and grow your confidence.Don’t let your prospecting muscles atrophy.
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Panaji: The Goa Police on Friday said it is cracking down on late night parties and musical events which continue beyond the 10 p.m. deadline.The Director General of Police, Muktesh Chander, said, “Instructions about late night parties and music are already there; they cannot continue beyond 10 p.m. There are Supreme Court directions [which also stipulate] that loud music can not be played in open areas [beyond the deadline].”CM’s directiveHe said Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has instructed the police to curb all illegal activities, like Matka gambling, prostitution, sexual abuse of women and children, and drug trade.The tourism and the hospitality industry of the State has been asking for an extension of the deadline, so that tourists can enjoy a better nightlife.‘Tourists spoil culture’Meanwhile, Goa Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar on Friday blamed tourists for spoiling the State’s culture and causing chaos by binge-drinking and merrymaking.Speaking to reporters on Friday, Mr. Ajgaonkar said liquor and music is part of the Goan culture, however, “Outsiders go berserk and create chaos after they drink. They ruin our culture, our Goenkarponn [Goanness].”He added, “Liquor and music is a part of our culture and it cannot be stopped just like that. Goans do not lose control when they drink alcohol. [People] would not even notice that a Goan is [under the influence]. He will not misbehave [after drinking], or show [that he is drunk].”
As many as 12 Ministers, including 10 new, were sworn in when Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik carried out a major Cabinet reshuffle on Sunday. While six leaders were sworn in as new Cabinet Ministers and four took oath as new Ministers of State, two sitting Ministers of State were elevated and sworn in as Cabinet Ministers.The new Ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor S.C. Jamir. The Chief Minister, many of his Ministers and other dignitaries attended the ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan here.The six who took oath as new Cabinet Ministers are Surjya Narayan Patro, Niranjan Pujari, Prafulla Samal, Maheswar Mohanty, Sashi Bhusan Behera and Pratap Jena. The four new Ministers of State who were administered oath are Nrusingha Charan Sahu, Ananta Das, Susanta Singh and Chandra Sarathi Behera.The two Ministers of State who were elevated to the rank of Cabinet Ministers and administered oath of office and secrecy are Prafulla Mallik and Ramesh Chandra Majhi. The portfolios are to be allocated to the new Ministers later in the day. The portfolios of many sitting Ministers are also likely to be changed, according to sources. This is Mr. Patnaik’s first Cabinet reshuffle since he took charge as Chief Minister for the fourth consecutive term in May, 2014.As many as 10 Ministers had resigned on Saturday to pave the way for the Cabinet reshuffle that Mr. Patnaik carried out to give new momentum to his government and revamp the Biju Janata Dal by engaging the leaders who quit as Ministers. Mr. Pujari, who was sworn in as Cabinet Minister, had resigned as Speaker on Friday. The post of Speaker is still lying vacant.
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday lambasted U.S. State department’s proposal to set up special fund to promote religious harmony and end discrimination in India.“American Senate has set up some fund for bringing harmony in India. I want to tell them that let them take care of what is happening in America, what is happening in their universities and what is happening in their restaurants. They should focus on them and spend money for them to reform their people,” Mr. Naidu said while addressing 13th convocation of city-based KIIT University here.According to reports, US State Department had announced a grant of $493,827 for reducing religiously-motivated violence and discrimination in India.“Our country is great. We have a huge population. There may be some incidents here and there. And the society has already understood the reality. We have to work together to see that these tendencies are curbed. There are isolated incidents and actions have been taken,” said Mr. Naidu.“But we cannot accept the view that somebody else is trying to teach and preach us. We should liberate us from prejudices, hatred and intolerance. Education should make us broad-minded, humble, patient and reasoned,” he pointed out. Mr. Naidu further said, “we don’t need any war. India has great history. We have never attacked any country in the world. But other small countries have attacked us. They ruled, ruined, looted and cheated us also. Why? Because we lost unity and forgot our culture. We have to remember the lesson. Others need not teach us lessons.”“You are inheritor of a great culture. I have told you the ancient culture that valued learning and knowledge and the culture that emphasised inclusion, truth and welfares of all. Adopt good practices and do not neglect welfare of suppressed and depressed people,” the Vice President observed speaking to students. “Our forefathers have said that Manav Seva hi Madhav Seva (Service to mankind is service to God). This is our philosophy and culture. This is our heritage.”According to KIIT University, 4,820 students received degrees during 13th Annual Convocation of KIIT University. Nobel Laureate Professor Harald zur Hausen, Padma Vibhushan Raghunath Mohapatra, Chairman Emeritus of Simplex Infrastructure Private Limited, Bithal Das Mundhra, and Chairman of Bharatia Charitable Trust, Kishanlal Agarwal were conferred with Honoris Causa Degree.
The engine of a Patna-bound train detached thrice in a span of three hours as it was travelling through Saharanpur. Early on Friday morning, as the train was approaching the Sarsawa station at 2.30 a.m., the coupling that keeps the engine attached to the the train broke. The engine sped away while the rest of the the train jolted and stopped. No one was hurt. The train stayed at the spot for over an hour and resumed its onwards journey at 3.17 a.m. But a little later, at about 4.25 a.m., the engine detached again as the train was approaching the Pilakhani Station. The coupling was once again fixed and the train left at 5.10 a.m. But it had hardly travelled two kilometres when the same problem cropped up for the third time near the Khan Alampura train yard at 5.35 a.m.According to a local railway official, the rake was finally attached to an alternate locomotive.
The Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Thursday passed the stringent Uttar Pradesh Control of Organised Crimes (UPCOC) Bill, 2017, aimed at curbing organised crime and terror, by voice vote after the Opposition members staged a walkout alleging that it was a “draconian” legislation.A united Opposition expressed apprehension that the UPCOC Bill could be misused against political adversaries and the press and demanded that it be sent to the select committee of the House for scrutiny. The Bill was tabled by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to enact a law on the lines of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). It entails stern punishment for those trying to dislodge the government forcibly or violently. The Opposition members were of the view that there was no need for such a legislation as there were sufficient provisions in the IPC and the CrPC. They called it a “black law”. The Bill is likely to be taken up on Friday in the Legislative Council where the ruling BJP does not enjoy majority. Initiating the debate, the Chief Minister assured the members against any possible misuse of the proposed law.‘Security without bias’ “Ever since the day the draft of the Bill was approved by the Cabinet, I have noticed that the Opposition parties are against it. I can give the guarantee that the BJP has never misused any law and will never do so. We have come to bring development and give security without any bias,” he said. The Chief Minister compared the Bill with similar laws in Maharashtra and Karnataka and said it will create terror in the minds of those who have made “crime a trade”. Seeking the Opposition’s backing for the Bill, he cited its salient features and said it was “unfortunate that they wanted to support those who were indulging in organised crime by opposing the proposed law”. The Chief Minister said that another Bill is on the anvil through which about 20,000 political cases will come to an end.Earlier attempt Tarring the Bill as a “black law” and an “undeclared emergency”, Leader of the Opposition Ram Govind Chaudhary referred to an earlier attempt by the then Mayawati government in 2007 which had got a similar Bill passed but it failed to get presidential assent.Mr. Chaudhary even read the previous speeches of BJP leaders Hukum Singh, now an MP, and MLA Suresh Khanna, who is the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, and stressed that both had opposed the measure expressing fear that it will be used against the Opposition parties.“All rights have been given to the administration and to the police in the Bill. The government which had promised to establish Ram Rajya is making provision for capital punishment,” he said and stressed that the basic ethos of the Constitution are that no innocent should be punished. “I request you against creating a “Bhasmasur” (self-destructive demon)… having the feeling of autocracy in a democracy is not good,” Mr. Chaudhary said. Lalji Verma and Sukhdev Rajbhar of BSP, SP leader Azam Khan and Ajay Kumar Lallu (Congress) alleged that the Bill has been brought to crush the voice of politicians, farmers, social workers and journalists and is against the constitutional right of freedom of expression.
Panaji: The Goa Union of Journalists(GUJ) on Tuesday expressed shock at a new set of “Guidelines for accreditation of media organisation and their representatives” issued by the Goa Legislature Secretariat which proposes to govern passes to mediapersons covering the Assembly proceedings. “The guidelines strike at the very root of the freedom of speech and the right to be informed — both of which are at the core of our fundamental rights as citizens — and more than being an enabler are designed to block access for a majority of media houses and their representatives for covering the Assembly,” said a GUJ press release issued by its president Kishore Gaonkar. It demanded that the guidelines be withdrawn immediately or modified to ensure that no bona fide news organisation and journalist was denied entry to cover Assembly sessions.Naik Gaonkar, president of the GUJ, which represents nearly 200 working journalists, told The Hindu that the body would write to speaker Pramod Sawant asking him to withdraw the guidelines. “Goa is a small state, where very few newspapers have a circulation of more than 15,000 and there is no question of news portals getting 10,000 page views. Going by the guidelines, there will not be more than four journalists who will qualify to cover the assembly session,” he said adding that this was a regressive step in every way and gives the impression that those involved in decision-making are not interested in allowing journalists to cover Assembly proceedings. Interestingly, the guidelines have come a month after a journalist representing a mobile news message service was banned from the Assembly premises after his digital news service gave details related to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s health. A senior legislative secretariat official said the set of norms were based on the guidelines followed by Parliament for accreditation of journalists.GUJ also demanded that a fresh set of guidelines be brought in consultation with the GUJ and the Press Accreditation Committee of the Goa Legislature Secretariat.
Dancing to the tunes from yesteryear Bollywood blockbuster Sholay, the outgoing Superintendent of Police in a Bihar district was caught on camera firing several rounds into the air from his service pistol.The video which showed outgoing Katihar SP Siddharth Mohan Jain indulged in celebratory firing has gone viral on social media and private news channels.Along with several other SPs and DMs of the state, Mr. Jain and Katihar DM Mithilesh Mishra too were transferred and had participated in a farewell party late on Tuesday night.Mr Jain has been sent to Delhi on Central deputation to join CBI while, Mr Mishra has been given the charge of IG (Prison) in Patna.The DM was seen singing popular Bollywood song ‘Yeh Dosti’ on a mike while the SP was dancing and firing several rounds from his service pistol into the air.The farewell party was organised at the local golf course in Katihar, a border district of north-east Bihar. Only last month, three people were injured in a celebratory firing during a wedding procession in Muzaffarpur.
Arunachal Pradesh has expelled 297 people without valid papers in a drive against ‘illegal’ migrants launched amid reports that the ongoing exercise to upgrade the National Register of Citizens in Assam could push those of doubtful citizenship into the frontier State.Officials in Arunachal districts bordering Assam have also warned contractors and agencies involved in construction projects of punitive action if they do not ensure that labourers brought from outside the State have valid documents such as the inner line permit (ILP).The ILP is an official travel document that allows entry for an Indian citizen into a protected or restricted area for a limited period. Apart from Arunachal Pradesh, the ILP is also needed to enter Mizoram and Nagaland.“The district administration has instructed the police to intensify checking of documents at entry gates to keep out illegal migrants who may create law and order problems and disturb peace and tranquillity,” Prince Dhawan, Deputy Commissioner of Capital Complex, said.The police in Capital Complex – it encompasses twin cities of Itanagar and Naharlagun – rounded up 135 people without valid documents on Wednesday and expelled them to Assam.The drive had started with south-eastern Arunachal Pradesh’s Longding district from where 101 people were expelled. Similar drives were carried out in West Kameng (47) and Tirap (14) districts.The officials said the drive will continue.
A video purportedly showing a Sikh policeman saving a Muslim youth from a mob after the latter was allegedly found in a compromising position with a Hindu girl at a temple near Ramnagar in Nainital district had gone viral. ADG (law and order) Ashok Kumar said the incident occurred on Tuesday when a Muslim youth went to meet his girlfriend, a Hindu, at Garjia Devi temple about 15 km from Ramnagar. Locals came to know about it and reached the temple to catch them, “, he said. On being informed about a trouble in the area, Sub-Inspector Gagandeep Singh rushed to the spot where he found a mob preparing to attack the couple alleging that they had been found in a compromising position. He immediately rushed to their rescue drawing the Muslim youth close to him to act as a shield to him, and in the process taking several blows from the mob on himself, the ADG said, adding the mob was dispersed and the couple was taken to a police station from where they were sent back to their families. Five people whose faces are visible in the clip have been booked and a search is on to nab them. A reward of Rs 2,500 has been announced for Gagandeep Singh for his act of bravery, he said.
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Ropila Sangma, the abducted trader’s daughter, has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention in bringing her father back. “I urge upon the Indian government to expedite the process of repatriation of my father from Bangladesh. He was abducted by criminals but is languishing in a Bangladesh jail,” she said.She said that it would not be difficult for the Prime Minister’s office to deal with her father’s case fast since India has cordial relations with Bangladesh.Officials in West Garo Hills said that the Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guards Bangladesh besides intelligence agencies have been kept in the loop for bringing Mr. Arengh back since the issue involves two countries and has to be handled through diplomatic channels.BSF officials in the Meghalaya sector said criminals from Bangladesh at times take advantage of dense jungles along the border in the Purakhasia area to raid villages on the Indian side. The area is fenced, though.Cross-border crimesThere have been instances of Bangladeshi miscreants taking cattle and other valuables from villagers in Meghalaya. An incident similar to that of Mr. Arengh had last year happened with an 18-year-old mine worker in South West Khasi Hills, also bordering Bangladesh.Seven Bangladeshi nationals had abducted Dajied Kynshai Syiemlieh, the mine worker, on April 27, 2017. He was rescued by Bangladesh police but his repatriation had been stuck in paperwork for a long time. The members of the family of a Meghalaya cashew nut trader abducted by Bangladeshi miscreants more than three months ago are expected to have their prayers answered soon.Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said that the case of 66-year-old Phalgun Arengh has been taken up with the Centre and that his government was leaving no stone unturned for the trader’s repatriation.Mr. Arengh, a resident of Hatimara village in the Purakhasia area of West Garo Hills district, was abducted on May 24. The village is on the India-Bangladesh border.According to an FIR filed by his wife Ponji K. Sangma at the police station in Dalu, some miscreants from Bangladesh abducted him. The local police said cross-border criminals could have targeted Mr. Arengh, a prosperous farmer, for ransom.But Mr. Arengh gave his abductors the slip on June 2 and took refuge in a village named Christianpara in Bangladesh’s Sherpur district. The villagers handed him over to the local Sribordi police station.West Garo Hills superintendent of police MG Raghavendra Kumar said Mr. Arengh continues to be under police protection in Bangladesh. “We are hoping for a solution to the matter that has been taken up with the Ministry of Home Affairs,” he said.Daughter seeks PM’s intervention
The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has allotted the government bungalow vacated by Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati to Samajwadi Secular Morcha founder Shivpal Yadav.“I have been allotted the bungalow as there were intelligence reports of threats to me,” said Shivpal Yadav, who is Samajwadi Party (SP) founder Mulayam Singh Yadav’s brother and the estranged uncle of party president Akhilesh Yadav. “I am a five-time legislator and it has been allotted to me as a senior member of the Assembly,” he said.Mr. Shivpal Yadav said he had applied for a government bungalow, and the one at 6, Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg was allotted to him “following all rules and regulations”.The Congress suggested favouritism in the allocation, saying Mr. Shivpal Yadav was working for the ruling BJP.Mr. Shivpal Yadav has, however, ruled out any tie-up with the BJP. A close confidant of the MLA said he might run the Samajwadi Secular Morcha from the bungalow now allotted to him.While launching the Morcha in August, Mr. Shivpal Yadav said he felt neglected in the SP after Mr. Akhilesh Yadav took charge of the party.Mr. Shivpal Yadav has not quit the SP even after forming the Morcha, which he says will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.State government officials did not comment on the bungalow allocation. State BJP spokesman Shalabh Mani Tripathi said “no politics should be seen in it”.“He is a very senior leader, a former Minister and a legislator. His seniority must have been taken into account for the allotment of this bungalow by the government,” he added.Morcha formed under pressure from BJP: CongressWhen contacted, U.P. Congress spokesperson Rajiv Bakshi claimed that Mr. Shivpal Yadav formed his Morcha under pressure from the BJP. “The allotment of a prime bungalow to Shivpal shows that BJP is helping him. Shivpal is working for the BJP,” he said.Ms. Mayawati vacated the bungalow after the Supreme Court struck down on May 7 an amendment to the Uttar Pradesh Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act that allowed former Chief Ministers to retain their government accommodation when their term ended.After this, former Chief Ministers including Ms. Mayawati, Mr. Mulayam, Mr. Akhilesh, Mr. Narain Dutt Tiwari, and Mr. Rajnath Singh had to vacate their bungalows in Lucknow.
Pakistani troops on Sunday resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violations targeting forward posts and villages at four places along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, officials said.The firing was intense in the Krishna Ghati sector, where the Pakistani troops resorted to mortar shelling and firing by small arms from around 04:30 a.m., which was retaliated befittingly by the Indian Army, a defence spokesman said. He said the cross-border shelling between the two sides continued till 07:30 a.m.. There was no report of any casualty on the Indian side, he said.Officials said firing and shelling by Pakistan were also reported from the Balnoi and Mankote (both in Mendhar sector), besides from Shahpur sector, all in Poonch district, for a brief period in the early hours of Sunday. The firing was mild in nature and lasted for a brief period without causing any harm, they added. On late Saturday as well, the Pakistan army had targeted Indian positions In Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district for several hours. There has been a spurt in ceasefire violations by Pakistan after India’s preemptive air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Balakot on February 26 following the February 14 Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.Four civilians, including three members of a family, were killed and several others injured as Pakistan targeted over 80 villages in more than 100 incidents of ceasefire violations along the LoC in the state since then. The frequent ceasefire violations have caused panic among the border residents, forcing authorities to close down educational institutions within five km radius from the zero line in the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri as a precautionary measure. However, most schools reopened a few days back after the intensity of the cross-border firing decreased.
How Earth Became a Jigsaw PuzzlePlate tectonics—the worldwide face-lift that continually, but slowly, reshapes the surface of Earth—occurs nowhere else in our solar system. Yet there is much we still don’t know about what drives it and when it began. Now, a new study may help resolve one question: when and how Earth’s rigid outer shell, or lithosphere, first divided into plates and their global dance began.Death by Amoeba, a Nibble at a TimeSign up for our daily newsletterGet more great content like this delivered right to you!Country *AfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBolivia, Plurinational State ofBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, The Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCote D’IvoireCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and Mcdonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran, Islamic Republic ofIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People’s Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People’s Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorwayOmanPakistanPalestinianPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalQatarReunionRomaniaRussian FederationRWANDASaint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint Maarten (Dutch part)SlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofVietnamVirgin Islands, BritishWallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabweI also wish to receive emails from AAAS/Science and Science advertisers, including information on products, services and special offers which may include but are not limited to news, careers information & upcoming events.Required fields are included by an asterisk(*)Entamoeba histolytica is a mysterious amoeba about a tenth the size of a dust mite. It’s tiny but terrible, infecting 50 million people worldwide and killing up to 100,000 each year. Now, a new report reveals how the microbe does its deadly damage: by eating human cells alive, piece by piece. The finding offers a potential target for new drugs to treat E. histolytica infections.Is Tamiflu Worth It?The antiflu drug Tamiflu can make symptoms disappear a little sooner than they would otherwise, but there is no evidence that it can prevent serious complications from flu, or keep people out of the hospital, says a new study. The results call into question the wisdom of buying massive stockpiles of the drug to prepare for flu pandemics.Cost Skyrockets for United States’ Share of ITER Fusion ProjectITER, an international fusion experiment, aims to prove that nuclear fusion is a viable power source. Although that goal is at least 20 years away, ITER is already burning through money at a prodigious pace. The U.S. contribution to ITER will total $3.9 billion—roughly four times as much as originally estimated—according to a new cost estimate. The numbers are likely to intensify doubts among some members of Congress about continuing U.S. involvement in the project.Elite Violinists Fail to Distinguish Legendary Violins From Modern FiddlesIf you know only one thing about violins, it’s probably this: A 300-year-old Stradivarius supposedly possesses mysterious tonal qualities unmatched by modern instruments. However, even elite violinists cannot tell a Stradivarius from a top-quality modern violin, a new double-blind study suggests.
TOKYO—A multinational organization that coordinates fishing activities in the western Pacific is throwing a lifeline to heavily overfished Pacific bluefin tuna stocks.Speaking today at a press briefing, Japanese officials provided details on a plan agreed to last week that aims to rebuild the spawning population by halving the catch of juveniles and limiting takes of mature fish as well. The proposal calls for total Pacific bluefin catches to be kept below the 2002 to 2004 annual average levels and for catches of fish weighing fewer than 30 kilograms—juveniles too young to spawn—to be reduced to 50% of those levels.Conservation organizations see the proposed limits as a step in the right direction. But they are “far from enough,” Wakao Hanaoka, senior ocean campaigner for Greenpeace, tells ScienceInsider. He says that Pacific bluefin tuna stocks have shrunk to just 4% of the historical population, making proper stock management a matter of urgency.Sign up for our daily newsletterGet more great content like this delivered right to you!Country *AfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBolivia, Plurinational State ofBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, The Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCote D’IvoireCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and Mcdonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran, Islamic Republic ofIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People’s Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People’s Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorwayOmanPakistanPalestinianPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalQatarReunionRomaniaRussian FederationRWANDASaint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint Maarten (Dutch part)SlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofVietnamVirgin Islands, BritishWallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabweI also wish to receive emails from AAAS/Science and Science advertisers, including information on products, services and special offers which may include but are not limited to news, careers information & upcoming events.Required fields are included by an asterisk(*)A subcommittee of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) agreed to the Japan-sponsored draft at a meeting last week in Fukuoka. The full commission will almost certainly adopt it at a meeting to be held in Samoa starting 1 December, explained Masanori Miyahara, an adviser to the ministry of agriculture who chaired last week’s meeting. Reducing the take of juveniles that haven’t yet spawned is one key to achieving the plan’s initial goal of rebuilding spawning stock biomass—the fish population able to reproduce—to the historical median of 42,592 tons within 10 years. The biomass is now thought to be 26,000 tons, very near its all-time low. “Eating fish before they spawn is very wasteful,” Miyahara says.Miyahara says that 80% of all captured bluefin tuna—prized for sushi—end up in Japan. But rebuilding stocks is an international challenge. Pacific bluefin spawn in waters stretching between southern Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines but migrate to the eastern Pacific, where they mature before returning to the spawning grounds.The United States and Mexico are major fishers of bluefins. The United States is one of the 26 members of WCPFC and will be bound by the agreement. But Mexico belongs to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, which manages fishing in the eastern Pacific. “Both organizations have to cooperate to realize the conservation of Pacific Ocean tuna,” said Hisashi Endo, an official with Japan’s Fisheries Agency, at the briefing.WCPFC member countries will have to develop schemes to ensure compliance with the new restrictions. Japan will monitor catches by its 20,000 artisanal fishers and several dozen large operators, Miyahara says, and will issue a warning when landings hit 70% of the limit. “When the catch reaches 95% we will close the fishery,” Miyahara says.Conservation organizations had hoped for more stringent limits. Prior to last week’s meeting, the World Wildlife Fund had called for the total bluefin catch to be cut by half. Miyahara says they had to aim for something achievable, but the plan, which takes effect in 2015, will be reviewed and could be amended as early as 2016 depending on the state of spawning stocks.Hanaoka says Greenpeace will continue to push for tighter regulations. But it is also trying to shift market demand toward sustainable seafood. In August, it surveyed 15 leading supermarket chains about their bluefin tuna procurement policies. None of the 13 companies who responded currently restrict purchases of juvenile fish or those caught just before spawning, but Hanaoka says they did find some reason for optimism. Some companies agreed that conservation efforts shouldn’t be left just to government action; a few said they were planning on reviewing their procurement practices.To keep up the pressure, Greenpeace Japan will add an assessment of bluefin purchasing policy to the criteria it uses to rank supermarkets according to their support for sustainable seafood. Since December, the organization has offered a free smart phone application that allows consumers to check if fish on sale are endangered or overfished. It’s gotten 10,000 downloads. “We’re trying to make supermarkets realize that many consumers are demanding sustainable seafood,” Hanaoka says.
Next time you’re in New York City and wondering where the party’s at, or if you’re going to get stuck on 8th Avenue in traffic from the Rangers’ game, you might do well to consult an unlikely ally: Twitter. Scientists have analyzed 6 million geolocated, time-stamped tweets from New York City and the surrounding area and discovered a “heartbeat” that says a lot about how New Yorkers live. As seen above, the frequency and location of tweets swells and recedes rhythmically, with red representing higher than average use and blue representing lower than average. Unsurprisingly, the study, published today on the arXiv preprint server, found that the most prominent predictor of Twitter usage is our daily sleep cycle. But by analyzing the locations of the tweets, the team was also able to watch New Yorkers commute from the suburbs into Manhattan, gather at stadiums for sports events, head downtown during late-night hours, and more. The team also found that Twitter usage tended to increase in transportation hubs where users are presumably bored with nothing else to do. The scientists posit that analyzing large-scale social population dynamics could help us design safer and more efficient cities—a goal that anyone who has ever tried to squeeze into an F train in midtown during rush hour can certainly appreciate.(Video credit: U. França, H. Sayama, C. McSwiggen, R. Daneshvar and Y. Bar-Yam, Visualizing the “Heartbeat” of a City with Tweets. New England Complex Systems Institute [21 May 2014])Sign up for our daily newsletterGet more great content like this delivered right to you!Country *AfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBolivia, Plurinational State ofBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, The Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCote D’IvoireCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and Mcdonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran, Islamic Republic ofIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People’s Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People’s Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorwayOmanPakistanPalestinianPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalQatarReunionRomaniaRussian FederationRWANDASaint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint Maarten (Dutch part)SlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofVietnamVirgin Islands, BritishWallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabweI also wish to receive emails from AAAS/Science and Science advertisers, including information on products, services and special offers which may include but are not limited to news, careers information & upcoming events.Required fields are included by an asterisk(*)