EVA Air will increase its capacity to Hakodate, the third-largest city on Japan?s northernmost island, Hokkaido.?
With the launch of its new Taipei and Hakodate service, EVA Air will further cement its credentials as Taiwan?s leading independent airline.
EVA executive vice president, Austin Cheng, commented: ?With the launch of Hakodate service and our existing Sapporo operations, EVA is now providing close to 3,000 seats a week.?
?Our schedule and frequency give business and leisure passengers greater flexibility and more itinerary options, significantly reduce travel time and provide exceptionally convenient service.
?Passengers can arrive in one city and depart from the other.?
Addressing a crowd of passengers and dignitaries at the inaugural flight in Taipei on October 28th, EVA Chairman James Jeng highlighted Hakodate?s long-standing popularity among Taiwanese travellers:
?Hakodate is EVA?s first new route under the Open Sky Agreement between Japan and Taiwan.
?It?s also a route we?ve been serving with seasonal charters since 1998. And while we have provided approximately 400 charter flights since then, our regularly scheduled operations make travel between Hakodate and Taipei far more attractive and accessible.
?Hakodate is a very promising travel market,?
EVA Air will operate two flights a week; on its 252-seat Airbus 330-200 giving passengers more access between Hokkaido and Taiwan than any other airline.
The airline will add a third weekly flight between Taiwan and Hokkaido on Thursdays, starting in December 2012.
The flight time between Taoyuan and Hakodate is about three and a half hours.
EVA has worked closely with the trade to create ticket and hotel packages and guided tours that complement its Sapporo products.
Passengers can arrange trips so that they arrive in one city and depart from the other to see what Japan?s northernmost has to offer from fascinating culture to a wealth of natural beauty.
EVA?s routing within Asia is among the best in the airline industry. From gateways in Europe, Oceania and North America passengers can make one stop in Taipei and easily connect onward to most major business and leisure destinations throughout Asia at very competitive prices.
GENEVA (Reuters) - Donors have pledged more than $2 billion for Burundi's 2012-2015 development strategy to help the central African nation rebuild after civil war, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
"We ended up with more than $2 billion registered commitments at the conference," Pamphile Muderega of the National Aid Coordination Committee said in a statement.
"This represents a doubling of our already optimistic expectations," he said.
The statement was issued by the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) at the end of two days of talks in Geneva, attended by more than 400 representatives from more than 50 governments and the private sector as well as the European Union, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and African Development Bank.
The World Bank pledged $440 million, and the United States and EU made firm commitments, UNDP spokesman Adam Rogers said.
Burundi's poverty-reduction strategy focuses on growth, job creation and development of the private sector, with agribusiness, tourism and mining seen as key drivers of growth.
The government has projected this year's growth at around 4 percent. It relies heavily on external aid to fund spending with donors expected to provide 60 percent of its 2012 budget.
Burundi expects its economy to expand by 5 percent annually over the next three to four years, below the rate needed to lift it out of poverty, finance minister Tabu Abdallah said in an interview with Reuters in Bujumbura last week.
With relative peace since rebels joined the government in 2009 after almost two decades of civil war, it is now working to quit the list of least developed countries and to start self-financing its national budget by 2025.
"Burundi is now out of the post-conflict period and is truly committed to the path of development," President Pierre Nkurunziza said in the UNDP statement.
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Michael Roddy and Jason Webb)
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Fox's competitors didn't have a sporting chance against its post-season baseball broadcasts even though San Francisco's sweep earned a record-low World Series rating.
The Giants' four-game victory over the Detroit Tigers was enough to put Fox atop last week's ratings, according to Nielsen Co. figures released Tuesday. CBS was close behind on the strength of its regular programming, including top-rated series "NCIS."
The fall classic averaged 12.7 million viewers, the smallest audience since Nielsen began measuring with People Meters in 1987.
"It's important for us to remain focused on the series relative to today's competitive environment rather than bygone years," Fox Sports Media Group executive Michael Mulvihill said, noting the contest remained a strong performer.
Baseball cost NBC the chance to extend its four-week grip on the 18-to-49-year-old demographic. But the resurgent network, bolstered by "The Voice" and Sunday Night Football, remained the front-runner among the advertiser-favored age group for the season to date.
The ratings out next week will reflect TV schedules disrupted by the superstorm and its aftermath, with shows pre-empted by news coverage and some networks airing reruns.
Fox averaged 10.69 million weekly viewers in prime time (6.4 rating, 10 share), while CBS had 10.15 million (6.5 rating, 10 share). ABC had 7.6 million (4.9, 8), NBC had 7.05 million (4.4, 7), the CW had 1.07 million (1.1, 2) and ION Television had 970,000 (0.7, 1).
Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision led with a 3.8 million prime-time average (2.1, 3). Telemundo had 1.1 million (0.6, 1), TeleFutura had 690,000 (0.3, 1), Estrella had 220,000 and Azteca had 160,000 (both 0.1, 0).
NBC's "Nightly News" topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8 million viewers (5.4, 10). ABC's "World News" was second with 7.6 million (5.1, 11), and the "CBS Evening News" had 6.4 million viewers (4.4, 8).
For the week of Oct. 22-28, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: NFL Post-Game (New York at Dallas), Fox, 21.1 million; "NCIS," CBS, 17.8 million; NFL Sunday Night Football (New Orleans at Denver), NBC, 17.77 million; "The OT," Fox, 17 million; "NCIS: LA," CBS, 16.5 million; "Big Bang Theory," CBS, 15.8 million; World Series (Sunday), Fox, 15.5 million; World Series (Sunday pre-game), Fox, 15.1 million; "Person of Interest," CBS, 14 million; "Dancing With the Stars," ABC, 13.3 million.
___
ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. CBS is owned by CBS Corp. CW is a joint venture of Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corp. Fox is a unit of News Corp. NBC and Telemundo are owned by Comcast Corp. ION Television is owned by ION Media Networks. TeleFutura is a division of Univision. Azteca America is a wholly owned subsidiary of TV Azteca S.A. de C.V.
Today at the Windows Phone 8 press conference, Microsoft unveiled a new feature for the operating system. Kid's Corner is specifically targeted at your children who are so attracted by the vivid screen of your phone. In that mode, they can safely use certain games or apps.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co's $4 billion deal to buy George Lucas's Lucasfilm Ltd, Disney's third major entertainment acquisition in seven years, started taking shape in May 2011, when the "Star Wars" creator had to show Disney CEO Bob Iger how to use a lightsaber.
Lucas and Iger were at Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park in Orlando, Florida, brandishing the toys at the grand opening of a 3-D version of the park's Star Tours ride, Iger recalls, and "George had to show me how to use it."
Talks heated up this summer when the 68-year-old Lucas recently decided he wanted to retire from running a business to focus on smaller, more personal film projects. Iger was excited about the prospect of adding marquee properties like Star Wars and Indiana Jones to the stable of brand names he's now spent $15 billion to acquire since becoming CEO in 2005.
"We proved with our Pixar and Marvel acquisitions that we know how to expand the value of a brand," Iger said in an interview. "And brands don't get much bigger than Star Wars."
Lucas is expected to serve as a consultant while Disney revs the producer's entertainment company, which generated $550 million in operating earnings in 2005 when Lucasfilms made the last installment of his franchise, "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith".
Lucas, in a video interview released at StarWars.com, said: "I really wanted to put the company somewhere in a larger entity which could protect it. Disney is a huge corporation. They have all kinds of capabilities and facilities, so that there's a lot of strength that is gained by this."
'NOT HEARING ANY FOOTSTEPS'
Kathleen Kennedy, co-chairman of Lucasfilm, is expected to play a major role in the Star Wars franchise, and Lucasfilm said it would retain operations in Northern California.
Disney intends to make a new Star Wars film every two or three years, Iger said. The company will also use the iconic brand to build theme park rides, produce TV shows and sell Darth Vader action figures.
"This is remarkably attractive for Disney," said Matthew Harrigan, an analyst with Wunderlich Securities. "I almost feel like Lucas really wanted it to be with Walt Disney and almost gave them a sweetheart deal."
Iger's big ticket acquisitions haven't always gotten such rave reviews. When Disney bought Steve Jobs' Pixar animation studio for $7.5 billion in stock in 2006, some analysts said at the time that the company overpaid for the producer of "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo".
Disney has since bought back the stock it issued for that deal, as it did after spending $4.2 billion in stock and cash to buy comic book and action film maker Marvel in 2010, said Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo.
Both of those transactions have paid dividends: Marvel produced "The Avengers" earlier this year, which had worldwide ticket sales of $1.5 billion.
Pixar produced two "Cars" movies, which sold $1 billion in tickets worldwide, and helped Disney design the Cars Land section of its California Adventure theme park in Anaheim.
"I think we made believers of those who supported us back then," said Iger, "and maybe turned some of our critics into believers."
When Disney produces the first of the new "Star Wars" movies in 2015, "Star Wars" and a film based on a Marvel character will account for as much as half the studio's action film slate, Iger said in a conference call. Pixar, with its almost-unblemished record of success at the box office, will continue to make another film each year.
"I'm not looking over my shoulder with any of those acquisitions," said Iger. "In football, there's a term for when a receiver catches the ball and gets hit. It's called 'hearing footsteps'."
With the Lucasfilms deal, the Disney executive said: "I'm not hearing any footsteps."
(Additional reporting By Liana Baker in New York; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Edmund Klamann)
As homeowners start to assess the water and wind damage to their properties after Hurricane Sandy, they'll need to know the ins and outs of their insurance. Robert Hartwig of the Insurance Information Institute has tips on navigating your storm coverage.
By Martha C. White
A lot of homeowners in the Northeast woke up today and confronted the specter of flooded structures, fallen trees and other serious property damage. Last year's Hurricane Irene clocked in as the fifth most expensive hurricane in history, with $19 billion in damages, and Sandy's impact is expected to be even larger.
Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, said homeowners who suffered damage from Superstorm Sandy should take a few steps immediately. Here's what you need to do to get repairs under way.
While Hartwig recommends a sit-down with an insurance agent once a year to go over coverage types and levels, many of us don't do that, so the first step is reading your policy to find out whether or not you have covered claims. While wind causes some damage to homes, cars and other property, the big issue is flooding. Flooding is responsible for more than 90 percent of property damage inflicted by natural disasters, although it isn't covered in most homeowners' insurance policies.
Inspect your home, take pictures of any structural or property damage as soon as possible and pull together a list of damaged property along with, if possible, how much those items were worth. Gathering all that information quickly will help your claim get processed faster, Hartwig said. Homeowners who file their claims right away can expect to meet with an adjuster in just a few days, so people who file today could meet with an adjuster by the end of the week. If your home is too badly damaged to inhabit, some insurance companies can give you money for temporary living expenses on the spot.?
To get rebuilding under way, shop around for estimates from contractors. Even though you'll be anxious to get your house and your life back to normal, it's important to conduct due diligence and make sure that whoever's handling the repairs is reliable. Unscrupulous contractors prey on the victims of natural disasters, so ask friends or family for referrals, and be sure to check the contractor's references.
When Sen. Scott Brown won a special election to replace the late Edward Kennedy in January 2010, some Republicans called it a miracle. Now, some of those same Republicans are starting to acknowledge that Brown may need another episode of divine intervention to keep his seat.
Brown got a jolt of positive news on Monday morning, when a Boston Globe poll showed him tied with Democrat Elizabeth Warren at 47 percent when "lean voters" were included. Most recent polling shows Brown trailing Warren, even though he attracts support from a significant number of Democrats. A poll conducted for WBUR by MassInc last week showed Warren leading 50 percent to 44 percent.
Surveys consistently show Brown earning support from as much as 16 percent of voters who call themselves Democrats -- but that's not enough. His campaign has long maintained that he needs at least 20 percent to win.
With the final debate, originally scheduled for Tuesday, cancelled, Brown?s opportunities to pick up ground on Warren are dwindling. The WBUR/MassInc poll showed President Obama leading Mitt Romney by 56 percent to 36 percent in the state, and Warren and her allies have escalated efforts to shackle the moderate Brown to more conservative national Republicans.
"She is trying to nationalize the race," Brown told National Journal in a phone interview on Friday. "This is the race she doesn?t want. She wants to run against everybody but me."
Republican strategists say Warren's strategy is paying off, to their chagrin. After polling virtually even with Warren for months, Brown's numbers started to head south in September. They have not fully recovered.
Democrats who watch polls closely say that's because the undecided voters who remained were overwhelmingly Obama voters; now, those voters have started to back Obama's fellow Democrat.
Brown has never lost a race in his political career. And he's staying optimistic in the homestretch. "I'm very content where we?re at. I?ve always been the underdog, and I?m going to be the underdog again, and that?s what makes it all the more sweet," he said.
The Warren campaign declined to make her available for this article.
Brown advisers have long acknowledged the infrastructure disadvantages he faces in a state that reliably chooses Democratic presidential candidates, noting that the Nov. 6 electorate will be vastly different from the one that elected Brown in the special election two years ago.
A recent local political dimension adds another hurdle for Brown. Since the 2006 gubernatorial primary, advisers to Deval Patrick, then the Democratic nominee and since 2007 the state?s governor, have controlled the party machinery. The advisers, chiefly current state party chairman John Walsh and senior Warren adviser Doug Rubin, have frequently prompted covert eye-rolls among their fellow operatives for their devotion to grassroots politics as a practice rather than a rhetorical device.
But in November, Walsh and Rubin will have run the operation there almost exclusively since Patrick?s first race in 2006, through Obama?s campaign there in 2008, and the current election. Only Attorney General Martha Coakley?s inner circle during her unsuccessful 2010 race against Brown included neither Walsh nor Rubin; in fact, Rubin worked for a Coakley opponent in the primary.
The muscle memory developed during the Democratic regime could prove powerful for Warren, particularly among home-state Democrats who bear Brown?s 2010 victory as a humiliating career failure.
After months of denying it would do so, Warren?s campaign has in the closing weeks made a conscientious effort to tie Brown to his party label and the potential for GOP control of the Senate. Warren's campaign has tried to connect the first-term senator to Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin?s "legitimate rape" comment, even though Brown was one of the first Republicans to disavow Akin's comment. Warren also benefits from Romney?s dismal standing in the state he once governed.
At the same time, some Bay State Republicans harbor a belief in a "reverse Bradley effect," an inversion of the polling phenomenon named for the former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and his over-performance in public opinion polls before the 1982 California gubernatorial election, purportedly due to voters? reluctance to indicate to pollsters that they were wouldn't vote for an African-American candidate. The same aversion, the theory holds, could apply to likely Republican voters in Massachusetts.
Brown is accustomed to overcoming political hurdles. A former state senator, he won that seat in a 2004 special election held the same day as the presidential primary featuring home-state Sen. John Kerry. Brown held the seat in the subsequent general election.
Last week, The Globe, a member of the consortium who were supposed to host the final debate, slotted on its front page an exploration of Brown?s years as a model, much of it plumbed from his 2011 memoir.
During Warren's debate preparation, veteran Boston attorney and Democratic operative Jack Corrigan has played Brown, while Brown spars with his research director, Ed Murphy, who is playing Warren.
Brown was asked on Friday whether, if he loses next week, he would consider running for Kerry?s seat should the senior senator be tabbed as Obama?s second-term secretary of State. That ?what-if? has been churning in Massachusetts for months.
The decline of U.S. housing market? has a compelling narrative. Lenders convinced borrowers to live beyond their means, financial institutions packaged borrowers? debt as a high-grade investment vehicle, and rating agencies went along with the charade ? until the house of cards came crashing down.
However, understanding the effects of the crisis on other countries is a pretty nuanced? task.
The Bank of England?s Ben Broadbent, External Member of the Monetary Policy Committee, spoke at Lancaster University on Monday to explain the nation?s construction market ? specifically, how it experienced a bust without a preceding boom.
As you can see in the charts below, although home prices increased, the UK?s bust was considerably more than its boom ? which itself was devoid of real construction growth:
?
These charts also demonstrate that U.K. construction fared much worse than many of its European counterparts.
Broadbent cites three reasons for the poor performance of U.K. construction leading up to and after the recession.
The first explanation is that although the physical stock of housing increased only marginally, a housing bubble was created in the U.K. through loans to commercial real estate companies, as demonstrated in the chart below:
Bank of England
As Broadbent explains, this reallocation of financial resources wasn?t riskless:
?the debt and the cash ended up with different people. So even if it wasn?t adding much to physical capacity, increased leverage was adding to the economy?s vulnerability to economic shocks.?
Broadbent also claims the crisis was exacerbated in the U.K. because banks were a ?net importer? of the financial crisis, as 75% of bank losses were due to overseas assets. As a result, Broadbent notes, "these foreign losses added to the contraction in domestic credit supply."?
Finally, leading up to the housing crisis, low productivity growth in construction caused prices to rise more than physical capacity. In other words, the value of commercial properties grew more at a faster rate than the stock of housing. Productivity growth was poor in light of building costs that, over the past decade, have increased much faster than inflation.
As Broadbent writes:
In cash terms, and relative to the general rate of inflation at the time, growth in the 2004-2008 period was almost as strong as it had been twenty years earlier and peaked at a slightly higher level. But growth in real investment was much slower. And, despite higher nominal spending (as a share of national income) the peak number of housing completions was lower.
In short, real output in construction did not mirror the nominal rise in home prices. There just wasn't that much actual construction occurring in the run-up to the financial crisis.
As such, Broadbent has effectively demonstrated that not all housing crises are created equal ??and reinforced how adverse effects of the U.S. housing crisis echoed throughout the world.
The strict economic policy which the Belarusian authorities started using at the end of last year allowed forcing back price rises and reaching stability at the currency market in the first 6 months of the current year. This was communicated today by the head of the International Monetary Fund mission David Hoffman. IMF experts also acclaim the plans of the government to balance the budget of the current year and of 2013 - they also correspond to the goals of economic development. Moreover, the representatives of the fund consider that additional measures will be required from the government and the National Bank in the future. (David Hoffman, Head of the International Monetary Fund mission in Belarus)
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The freedom in the world 2012 report highlights Guyana?s freedom status as positive against 195 countries when compared to its Caribbean and south American counterparts.
According to the report Guyana remains on par in achieving its democratic status and ranked number 2 for political rights and number 3 for civil liberties.
The report reflects global events from January 1 2011 through December 31 2011.
The data shows that the political status of 87 countries, which represents 45 percent, are free, 48 countries, representing 25 percent are not free and 60 countries, representing 31 percent are partly free.
October 28th, 2012 | Leave a comment Written by Arpita Posted in Featured, Featured Blogger
Shannon with Daughter Moira
Shannon, our former Featured Blogger Editor and current Pinterest pinner, and her husband, Walker, live in the Pacific Northwest with?their two children. Baby Davis, who was born this past?December?and big sister, four-year-old Moira. Shannon and Walker?recently moved to a larger home with?her parents. Due to?Shannon?s mother?s MS, the two-story home she was residing in?was no longer meeting her needs. Together as a family, they strive to practice equally shared parenting.? Shannon and Walker are eager to share?their love of gaming, music, reading, the arts, cars, and geekery with?their two beautiful?children.
What has surprised Shannon the most about being a parent is the struggle that it is. As a nanny for 12 years,?she always knew that parenting would be harder than?caring for someone else?s children, but she didn?t realize exactly how much harder it can be. While much tougher than she imagined, Shannon is grateful for her time as a nanny as she saw firsthand the benefits of natural parenting. ?My experience as a nanny let me see lots of other parenting styles. The children I knew who were raised in the Attachment Parenting style have turned into the happiest and most interesting adults. I also saw first hand the changes that fear- and shame-based parenting can cause in a child.?
Even through the grind of?daily life Shannon is able to appreciate the beauty of her world around her.? She says ?I think?[being a parent]?has made me a better partner. As I become more practiced at honoring my children?s true selves, I find it easier to do so for everyone. I have read much parenting advice that says you should treat your kids the way you would treat an adult, and I really took that to heart in the other direction. If I don?t think it?s appropriate to yell at my child for forgetting to put her clothes in the hamper, maybe I also shouldn?t yell at Walker when he leaves the sponge in the sink.?
Everyone could benefit by taking a page from Shannon?s book which clearly includes making lots of time for her family as well as honouring the bond she and her husband share. As part of their daily routine, at dinner every night?the whole family takes turns talking about?their favorite part of the day. After dinner is bedtime for the kids?while the adults all spend quality time together and relax.
Sometimes, the way to being the best mother and partner that you can be is ensuring that you are taking time to honour and cherish yourself as well, which is clearly something Shannon and Walker work together on. ?On the weekends, we try to make sure there is time together as a family, as well as time alone for Walker and I each. We also take turns sleeping in.?
Shannon?s blog is always insightful, inspiring, creative, and sometimes just downright funny. Always evolving, she started her blog on LiveJournal quite some?time ago. After her daughter was born?she realized?she had more to share with a wider audience then was available on LiveJournal, and she switched to Blogger.?If you randomly click around her blog, you might stumble upon one of the following posts which are among Shannon?s favorite posts.
??Let?s Talk About Diversity,?is one of her favorites because the subject is near and dear to her heart. She feels pride that our world seems to be moving in the direction of more tolerance and that?her children will look back on the way people treated the LGBT community and wonder what we were thinking.
This is All New to Me?is a post that every new mother can relate to!? It was written very early in her parenting when?she first realized that people were comparing themselves to other parents favorably and unfavorably.?Over four years and two babies later, Shannon?still agrees with what?she wrote. She notes the only?exception is?that the longer?she parents, the less?she?judges others.
Wait, What?? is a wonderfully inspiring post about another topic that is?near and dear to?her heart, size acceptance. Shannon wishes that people could embrace their whole selves, including their body, where ever it is in the size spectrum.
You know you want more Shannon! And you can get it over on?Pineapples & Artichokes!? You can follow her?on Pinterest and Google +?too!??Thank you Shannon, for sharing your journey through parenthood with us! Your blog is always refreshingly honest and inspiring, and it?s a blessing to be able to learn with you through your journey of natural parenting!
Related posts:
Featured Blogger: Julia
Featured Blogger: Amy Phoenix
Featured Blogger: JW
Featured Blogger: Christine Powell
Featured Blogger: Cynthia
About the Author - Arpita
UpDownNatural
Sometimes the world of trying to live greener, and switching to chemical free organics is enough to turn you upside down. However, when these changes are made for our children, and the earth we bring them into, it only seems natural.? My name is Arpita, and I blog at Up, Down & Natural about mine and my husband's journey into natural parenting, and the things we're learning along the way.
KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich's pro-business ruling party led in a national election on Sunday and seemed likely to keep its majority in parliament, exit polls showed, despite a strong showing by the combined opposition.
Two exit polls issued when a day of voting ended showed Yanukovich's Party of the Regions in the lead with between 28 percent and 30.5 percent of the voting in the part of balloting conducted by party lists.
But the united opposition, which includes the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party of Yanukovich's jailed opponent Yulia Tymoshenko, took around 24 percent while the opposition UDAR liberal party of boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko was on around 15 per cent.
There were no immediate available figures for how this would translate into seats in the 450-member single-chamber parliament.
But Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said the ruling party was the clear victor while another senior leadership figure said the final results would show the Regions holding a majority.
"The exit poll data speaks for itself. It is clear the Party of the Regions has won... These elections signal confidence in the President's policies," Azarov told journalists.
But Arseny Yatsenyuk, head of the united opposition in the absence of Tymoshenko, said: "The exit poll results have shown that the people of Ukraine support the opposition and not the government."
Candidates voted in on party lists account for half of the seats while the other 225 seats will be decided by voting in individual constituencies on a first-past-the-post basis - a feature which is assumed to favor the Regions party.
Though the exit polls showed some decline in support for the Yanukovich government which is unpopular because of its tax and pension policies, the figures suggested the Regions might be able to form a majority especially if it was supported by allies such as the communists.
Borys Kolesnikov, a deputy prime minister, went further, saying he foresaw the Regions picking up two thirds of these single-mandate constituencies, handing the Regions a majority.
Victory by the Regions is certain to cement the leadership of Yanukovich who comes up for re-election in 2015 and whose rule has been marked by an accumulation of presidential powers and antagonism with the West over Tymoshenko's imprisonment.
With the West seeing the poll as a test of Ukraine's commitment to democracy, interest will focus on the judgment that international monitors will hand down.
Observers from the OSCE European security and human rights body are due on Monday to give their judgment on how fair and free they perceived the poll to have been.
A positive assessment could improve Yanukovich's image before Ukraine takes over the organization's chair in January.
ISOLATED UKRAINE
The former Soviet republic of 46 million is more isolated internationally than it has been for years. Apart from being at odds with the United States and the European Union over Tymoshenko, Ukraine does not see eye to eye with Russia which has turned a deaf ear to Kiev's calls for cheaper gas.
At home, the government is also blamed for failing to stamp out corruption and has backed off from painful reforms that could secure much-needed IMF lending to shore up its export-driven economy.
But the Regions, which is bankrolled by the country's wealthy industrialists, should have no difficulty in forming a majority with the Communists who also easily passed the 5 per cent barrier needed for parliamentary representation, according to the exit polls.
But it might now face a tougher time in parliament.
Klitschko, the WBC world heavyweight champion, says his UDAR (Punch) party will team up with the opposition led by Yatsenyuk, a former economy minister, to fight corruption, which they say deters entrepreneurial spirit and foreign investment.
He urged voters on Sunday "vote as your heart tells you".
From her jail in Kharkiv in Ukraine's northeast, Tymoshenko last Thursday issued a statement warning that Yanukovich, who comes up for re-election in 2015, would set up a "dictatorship and never again give up power by peaceful means".
Tymoshenko was jailed for seven years last year for abuse of office relating to a 2009 gas deal with Russia which she made when she was prime minister. The Yanukovich government says the agreement saddled Ukraine with an enormous price for gas supplies.
(Writing by Richard Balmforth; Editing by Olzhas Auyezov)
MIAMI (Reuters) - Hurricane Sandy was downgraded on Saturday morning but remained highly menacing as it pulled away from the Bahamas, making a slow path toward the U.S. northeast coast where it threatens to become one of the worst storms in decades.
The late-season storm has been dubbed "Frankenstorm" by some weather watchers because it will combine elements of a tropical cyclone and a winter storm and is forecast to reach the U.S. coast close to Halloween.
Forecast models show it will have all the ingredients to morph into a so-called "super storm", stirring memories of the 1993 'Storm of the Century', whose impact in the United States was particularly destructive.
Governors in states along the U.S. East Coast declared emergencies on Friday, with officials urging residents to stock up on food, water and batteries.
The U.S. Navy ordered all ships in the Norfolk, Virginia, area, including a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, out to sea to ride out the approaching storm.
"We're expecting a large, large storm," said Louis Uccellini, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Center for Environmental Prediction. "The circulation of this storm as it approaches the coast could cover about the eastern third of the United States."
Sandy battered the Bahamas southeast of Florida on Friday after causing widespread destruction in eastern Cuba a day earlier. The storm was expected to crawl northward on Saturday and Sunday and then turn toward the U.S. coast.
On its current projected track, Sandy could make landfall on Monday night or Tuesday somewhere between North Carolina and southern New England, forecasters said.
The storm has the potential to cause widespread power outages and to unleash flooding and even dump snow as far inland as Ohio. It also threatens to disrupt air travel along the U.S. East Coast.
Early Saturday morning, Sandy was about 350 miles southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, packing sustained winds of 70 miles per hour (110 km per hour), just below hurricane strength according to the Saffir-Simpson scale of storm intensity.
It had picked up a little speed overnight but was still moving slowly over the Atlantic at 10 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Sandy was forecast to speed up over the weekend as it moved parallel to the U.S. coast, possibly strengthening into a Category 1 hurricane again on Sunday.
Despite being downgraded, the storm continued to grow in size with tropical force winds extending 450 from its center, forecasters said.
Coming in the final weeks before the U.S. presidential election on November 6, the storm was presenting a challenge to the campaigns of U.S. President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
Romney canceled a rally scheduled for Sunday evening in Virginia Beach, Virginia, while President Obama's re-election campaign announced that Vice President Joe Biden had also canceled a Saturday trip to Virginia Beach.
Ahead of the election, millions of Americans are taking advantage of early voting arrangements to cast their ballots. State officials said they had put in place contingency plans in case Sandy caused extended power outages or other problems that could disrupt voting.
In New York City, officials were considering shutting down the country's largest mass transit system because they were worried the storm's impact could cause flooding or high winds that might endanger subways and buses.
Much of Florida's northeast coast was under a tropical storm warning and storm watches extended up the coast through South Carolina.
Along North Carolina's Outer Banks, which jut out into the Atlantic, vacationers in large camper trailers and motor homes streamed off the barrier islands.
Many forecasters are warning that Sandy could be more destructive than last year's Hurricane Irene, which caused billions of dollars in damage across the U.S. Northeast.
Sandy's powerful winds and rains were blamed for 41 deaths in several Caribbean countries, including 11 in Cuba. Most were killed by falling trees and building collapses.
In eastern Cuba, the authorities continued clearing streets in the historic city of Santiago which was struck on Thursday by 110-mile-per-hour winds.
(Additional reporting by Tom Brown in Miami, Desmond Boylan in Cuba, Neil Hartnell in Nassau, Patricia Zengerle in Washington, Barbara Goldberg in New York and Gene Cherry on Hatteras Island, North Carolina; Editing by David Adams, Lisa Shumaker and Andrew Osborn)
Language, immigration status of hispanic caregivers impacted care of children with cancerPublic release date: 28-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jeremy Moore jeremy.moore@aacr.org 215-446-7109 American Association for Cancer Research
SAN DIEGO Language barriers and the immigration status of caregivers appear to impact the care of Hispanic children with cancer and affect the experience of the families within the medical system, according to data presented at the Fifth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held here Oct. 27-30, 2012.
"Ensuring good communication with patients and their families is as important as the actual therapy we give, regardless of what language is spoken," said Mark Fluchel, M.D., assistant professor in the department of pediatrics, division of hematology-oncology at the University of Utah Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City. "However, for families for whom there is a language and possibly a cultural barrier, extra care needs to be taken to make sure we are providing the best care possible."
Fluchel and his colleagues conducted a study among the primary caregivers of pediatric patients with cancer who were being treated at the University of Utah. Forty-six participants completed Spanish surveys and 323 completed English surveys. Caregivers evaluated various aspects of the child's care, such as how soon after recognizing a symptom they sought care, how satisfied they were with the care, and whether the child was in a clinical trial. The survey also assessed financial, emotional and language barriers to the child's care.
More than 65 percent of the Spanish-speaking respondents, defined as any caregiver who reported Spanish as their primary language, reported problems with their ability to speak English. Seventy percent of Spanish-speaking respondents reported that at least one member of their household had "undocumented" legal status. Thirteen percent reported avoiding or delaying care due to their immigration status.
When asked whether the child was enrolled in a clinical trial, 70 percent of Spanish-speaking caregivers and 40 percent of English-speaking caregivers reported that the child was enrolled in a clinical trial. However, when the researchers verified this information, they found that 32 percent of the Spanish-speaking and 12 percent of the English-speaking caregivers were incorrect about the child's enrollment. Researchers interpreted these findings as the caregivers not fully understanding the informed consent process.
More Spanish-speaking caregivers reported feeling that the potential side effects of therapy were not explained well compared with English speakers. However, Spanish-speaking participants were more satisfied with their child's overall care.
Among Spanish-speaking participants, 37 percent reported feeling not fully understood by the oncology staff, and 22 percent reported that they had falsely claimed understanding the oncology staff because they were embarrassed that they did not speak English. Eleven percent reported being uncomfortable asking for an interpreter, and 33 percent felt that their child would have received better care if English was their first language.
"As is the case with English speakers as well, we cannot assume that everything we say is understood," Fluchel said. "The most important thing we can do is to quickly establish a trusting relationship with patients and their families and make sure they are comfortable asking for clarification. Once that kind of relationship is established, I think communication errors are less likely."
###
Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org
About the American Association for Cancer Research
Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR membership includes more than 34,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and cancer advocates residing in more than 90 countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, biology, diagnosis and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 20 conferences and educational workshops, the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting with more than 17,000 attendees. In addition, the AACR publishes seven peer-reviewed scientific journals and a magazine for cancer survivors, patients and their caregivers. The AACR funds meritorious research directly as well as in cooperation with numerous cancer organizations. As the scientific partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration and scientific oversight of team science and individual grants in cancer research that have the potential for near-term patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and policymakers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer.
For more information about the AACR, visit www.AACR.org.
The impact of language barriers and immigration status on the care of Hispanic pediatric cancer patients. Mark N. Fluchel1, Anne Kirchhoff1, Vannina Gwilliam2, Roberto Montenegro1, Anita Kinney1. 1University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 2Primary Childrens Hospital, Salt Lake City, UT.
Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in the U.S. and childhood cancer treatment centers care for an increasing number of these patients. For Spanish-speaking families, language and cultural barriers may impact patient care and the families' experience within the medical system. We compared Spanish and English speaking caregivers' perspectives on the medical care experienced during childhood cancer treatment and report on whether immigration status affected decisions about their child's care.
We administered N=46 (72-item) Spanish and N=323 (48-item) English-language surveys to the primary caregivers of patients diagnosed ages 0-18 years with cancer, who were being treated at a university-based pediatric hospital. Survey domains included time from first symptoms to diagnosis, clinical trial status, satisfaction with care, measures of financial and emotional burden, and communication barriers. We compared our domains of interest for Spanish and English speaking respondents using chi-square and t-test statistics. Spanish speaking respondents were defined as anyone for whom Spanish was their self-reported primary language.
Most common cancer diagnoses were leukemia (40%), lymphoma (11%), sarcoma (12%), and brain tumor (11%). Median time since diagnosis was 24 months. Of Spanish speaking caregivers, 70% reported their legal status as undocumented. Over 65% of Spanish-speaking caregivers rated their ability to speak English as not well to not at all.
Mean time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis was 15 and 9.6 weeks for Spanish and English speakers, respectively (p=0.15). Of Spanish speaking respondents, 13% reported avoiding or delaying care due to immigration status.
Of Spanish and English speaking respondents, 70% and 40%, respectively, reported being enrolled in a clinical trial, (p=0.007). However, upon verification of enrollment status, 32% and 12% of these Spanish and English speaking respondents were incorrect (p=0.005). Twenty-two percent of Hispanic respondents, and 28% of undocumented caregivers, reported their immigration status affecting their decision to enroll in a clinical trial.
As measured on a Likert scale (0-100), Spanish speakers felt that the potential side effects of therapy were explained less well than English speakers (mean 86 vs. 95, respectively, p=0.002). Yet, the Spanish speaking participants were more satisfied with their child's overall care (mean 97 vs. 92, p=0.01). Perception of financial and emotional burden of treatment did not differ.
Of all Spanish speakers, 37% reported that they felt they were not fully understood by the oncology staff, with 22% reporting that they have falsely claimed understanding due to embarrassment over not speaking English. Lastly, 11% reported being uncomfortable asking for an interpreter while 33% felt that their child would have received better care if English were their first language.
In conclusion, language barriers and the immigration status of caregivers may impact the care of pediatric cancer patients due to delays in seeking care, the inadequate communication of treatment risks, and the reluctance of caregivers to admit misunderstandings. Many families, especially those who primarily speak Spanish, are poorly informed about whether or not their child is enrolled on a clinical trial, suggesting that the consent process is inadequate in this population.
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Language, immigration status of hispanic caregivers impacted care of children with cancerPublic release date: 28-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jeremy Moore jeremy.moore@aacr.org 215-446-7109 American Association for Cancer Research
SAN DIEGO Language barriers and the immigration status of caregivers appear to impact the care of Hispanic children with cancer and affect the experience of the families within the medical system, according to data presented at the Fifth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held here Oct. 27-30, 2012.
"Ensuring good communication with patients and their families is as important as the actual therapy we give, regardless of what language is spoken," said Mark Fluchel, M.D., assistant professor in the department of pediatrics, division of hematology-oncology at the University of Utah Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City. "However, for families for whom there is a language and possibly a cultural barrier, extra care needs to be taken to make sure we are providing the best care possible."
Fluchel and his colleagues conducted a study among the primary caregivers of pediatric patients with cancer who were being treated at the University of Utah. Forty-six participants completed Spanish surveys and 323 completed English surveys. Caregivers evaluated various aspects of the child's care, such as how soon after recognizing a symptom they sought care, how satisfied they were with the care, and whether the child was in a clinical trial. The survey also assessed financial, emotional and language barriers to the child's care.
More than 65 percent of the Spanish-speaking respondents, defined as any caregiver who reported Spanish as their primary language, reported problems with their ability to speak English. Seventy percent of Spanish-speaking respondents reported that at least one member of their household had "undocumented" legal status. Thirteen percent reported avoiding or delaying care due to their immigration status.
When asked whether the child was enrolled in a clinical trial, 70 percent of Spanish-speaking caregivers and 40 percent of English-speaking caregivers reported that the child was enrolled in a clinical trial. However, when the researchers verified this information, they found that 32 percent of the Spanish-speaking and 12 percent of the English-speaking caregivers were incorrect about the child's enrollment. Researchers interpreted these findings as the caregivers not fully understanding the informed consent process.
More Spanish-speaking caregivers reported feeling that the potential side effects of therapy were not explained well compared with English speakers. However, Spanish-speaking participants were more satisfied with their child's overall care.
Among Spanish-speaking participants, 37 percent reported feeling not fully understood by the oncology staff, and 22 percent reported that they had falsely claimed understanding the oncology staff because they were embarrassed that they did not speak English. Eleven percent reported being uncomfortable asking for an interpreter, and 33 percent felt that their child would have received better care if English was their first language.
"As is the case with English speakers as well, we cannot assume that everything we say is understood," Fluchel said. "The most important thing we can do is to quickly establish a trusting relationship with patients and their families and make sure they are comfortable asking for clarification. Once that kind of relationship is established, I think communication errors are less likely."
###
Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr
Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org
About the American Association for Cancer Research
Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR membership includes more than 34,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and cancer advocates residing in more than 90 countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, biology, diagnosis and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 20 conferences and educational workshops, the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting with more than 17,000 attendees. In addition, the AACR publishes seven peer-reviewed scientific journals and a magazine for cancer survivors, patients and their caregivers. The AACR funds meritorious research directly as well as in cooperation with numerous cancer organizations. As the scientific partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration and scientific oversight of team science and individual grants in cancer research that have the potential for near-term patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and policymakers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer.
For more information about the AACR, visit www.AACR.org.
The impact of language barriers and immigration status on the care of Hispanic pediatric cancer patients. Mark N. Fluchel1, Anne Kirchhoff1, Vannina Gwilliam2, Roberto Montenegro1, Anita Kinney1. 1University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 2Primary Childrens Hospital, Salt Lake City, UT.
Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in the U.S. and childhood cancer treatment centers care for an increasing number of these patients. For Spanish-speaking families, language and cultural barriers may impact patient care and the families' experience within the medical system. We compared Spanish and English speaking caregivers' perspectives on the medical care experienced during childhood cancer treatment and report on whether immigration status affected decisions about their child's care.
We administered N=46 (72-item) Spanish and N=323 (48-item) English-language surveys to the primary caregivers of patients diagnosed ages 0-18 years with cancer, who were being treated at a university-based pediatric hospital. Survey domains included time from first symptoms to diagnosis, clinical trial status, satisfaction with care, measures of financial and emotional burden, and communication barriers. We compared our domains of interest for Spanish and English speaking respondents using chi-square and t-test statistics. Spanish speaking respondents were defined as anyone for whom Spanish was their self-reported primary language.
Most common cancer diagnoses were leukemia (40%), lymphoma (11%), sarcoma (12%), and brain tumor (11%). Median time since diagnosis was 24 months. Of Spanish speaking caregivers, 70% reported their legal status as undocumented. Over 65% of Spanish-speaking caregivers rated their ability to speak English as not well to not at all.
Mean time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis was 15 and 9.6 weeks for Spanish and English speakers, respectively (p=0.15). Of Spanish speaking respondents, 13% reported avoiding or delaying care due to immigration status.
Of Spanish and English speaking respondents, 70% and 40%, respectively, reported being enrolled in a clinical trial, (p=0.007). However, upon verification of enrollment status, 32% and 12% of these Spanish and English speaking respondents were incorrect (p=0.005). Twenty-two percent of Hispanic respondents, and 28% of undocumented caregivers, reported their immigration status affecting their decision to enroll in a clinical trial.
As measured on a Likert scale (0-100), Spanish speakers felt that the potential side effects of therapy were explained less well than English speakers (mean 86 vs. 95, respectively, p=0.002). Yet, the Spanish speaking participants were more satisfied with their child's overall care (mean 97 vs. 92, p=0.01). Perception of financial and emotional burden of treatment did not differ.
Of all Spanish speakers, 37% reported that they felt they were not fully understood by the oncology staff, with 22% reporting that they have falsely claimed understanding due to embarrassment over not speaking English. Lastly, 11% reported being uncomfortable asking for an interpreter while 33% felt that their child would have received better care if English were their first language.
In conclusion, language barriers and the immigration status of caregivers may impact the care of pediatric cancer patients due to delays in seeking care, the inadequate communication of treatment risks, and the reluctance of caregivers to admit misunderstandings. Many families, especially those who primarily speak Spanish, are poorly informed about whether or not their child is enrolled on a clinical trial, suggesting that the consent process is inadequate in this population.
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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.
This photo taken Oct. 25, 2012 shows Kelly Cox, co-owner of Shehan?s Transport Refrigeration stands in one of his trucks, in Delhi, Calif. Who are these people who still can?t make up their minds? They?re undecided voters like Cox, who spends his days repairing the big rigs that haul central California?s walnuts, grapes, milk and much more across America. He doesn?t put much faith in Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)
This photo taken Oct. 25, 2012 shows Kelly Cox, co-owner of Shehan?s Transport Refrigeration stands in one of his trucks, in Delhi, Calif. Who are these people who still can?t make up their minds? They?re undecided voters like Cox, who spends his days repairing the big rigs that haul central California?s walnuts, grapes, milk and much more across America. He doesn?t put much faith in Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)
In this photo taken Oct. 25, 2012, Kelly Cox, co-owner of Shehan?s Transport Refrigeration is seen in Delhi, Calif. Who are these people who still can?t make up their minds? They?re undecided voters like Cox, who spends his days repairing the big rigs that haul central California?s walnuts, grapes, milk and much more across America. He doesn?t put much faith in Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)
This photo taken Oct. 25, 2012, shows Kelly Cox, co-owner of Shehan?s Transport Refrigeration in Delhi, Calif. Who are these people who still can?t make up their minds? They?re undecided voters like Cox, who spends his days repairing the big rigs that haul central California?s walnuts, grapes, milk and much more across America. He doesn?t put much faith in Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)
This photo taken Oct. 25, 2012 shows Kelly Cox, co-owner of Shehan's Transport Refrigeration reflected in the mirror of a truck in Delhi, Calif. Who are these people who still can?t make up their minds? They?re undecided voters like Cox, who spends his days repairing the big rigs that haul central California?s walnuts, grapes, milk and much more across America. He doesn?t put much faith in Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)
This photo taken Oct. 25, 2012 shows Kelly Cox, co-owner of Shehan's Transport Refrigeration in Delhi, Calif. Who are these people who still can?t make up their minds? They?re undecided voters like Cox, who spends his days repairing the big rigs that haul central California?s walnuts, grapes, milk and much more across America. He doesn?t put much faith in Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Who are these people who still can't make up their minds? They're undecided voters like Kelly Cox, who spends his days repairing the big rigs that haul central California's walnuts, grapes, milk and more across America.
He doesn't put much faith in either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. But he figures he's got plenty of time ? a little more than a week ? to settle on one of them before Nov. 6. And he definitely does plan to vote.
"I'll do some online research," said Cox, co-owner of a Delhi, Calif., truck repair shop. "I don't have time to watch presidential debates because it's a lot of garbage anyway. They're not asking the questions that the people want to hear."
About 5 percent of Americans with solid plans to vote have yet to pick their presidential candidate, according to a new AP-GfK poll. When you add in those who lean only tentatively toward their choice or won't declare a favorite, about 16 percent of likely voters look ripe for persuasion. That's about the same as a month ago.
In a super-tight race, undecided voters have taken on almost mythic stature. Their questions at the town hall-style debate are parsed. Campaign techies wade through data to find them. The president dialed up 9,000 of them for an Air Force One conference call as he flew to Los Angeles this week.
But the undecided also endure Twitter sniping and late-night TV ribbing. They're derided as uninformed nincompoops who don't merit the power they wield. As David Letterman put it: "You're idiots! Make up your mind!"
Do these wafflers, ruminators and procrastinators deserve coddling ? or scorn? Are they just misunderstood?
A look at who they are and what they're waiting for:
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THEY'RE NOT BLANK SLATES
Two-thirds of persuadable voters have an established party preference, the AP-GfK poll shows. They're roughly divided between those who call themselves Democrats or lean that way and those who are Republicans or lean to that side.
So why not just plan to vote with their party?
"They are really a little bit torn," said Lynn Vavreck, an associate professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles. "They may have some issue positions that are counter to their party, or they're not sure how they stand on some things."
Nancy Hoang, a University of Minnesota freshman studying mathematics, considers herself a fiscal conservative and leans Republican. Yet she vacillated because she agrees with the Democrats' support for gay marriage and opposition to voter ID laws.
"I could have gone either way," said Hoang, 18. Not until after the final debate Monday did she decide: Her first-ever presidential vote will go to Romney.
Most of these undecided voters will come home to their favored party by Election Day, predicts Vavreck, who studies an ongoing survey of registered voters as well as trends from past elections.
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STILL, A GOOD CHUNK ARE INDEPENDENTS
About 30 percent of persuadable voters say they're political independents. That's three times the presence of independents ? just 8 percent ? among likely voters who have decided who they'll vote for, according to the AP-GfK poll.
In an increasingly polarized America, they stand out. Robert Dohrenburg, a small business owner in McAllen, Texas, voted for Republicans Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, but not for Bush's son, George W. He backed Obama in 2008, then had second thoughts this year.
Dohrenburg, 56, watched all three presidential debates before making up his mind to stick with Obama, in part because Romney "says one thing today and another thing tomorrow."
He wishes Ron Paul had won the Republican nomination.
"I'm a very strong independent," he said. "I choose the best candidate."
___
ARE THEY EVEN PAYING ATTENTION?
Professors have a euphemism: low-information voters. The bulk of registered voters who are still undecided fall into that group, researchers say.
"They're basically not that interested in politics," Vavreck said. "They pay less attention to news in general."
Her image of the typical undecided American, based on her research: "the single mom with a couple of kids who just doesn't have time to be attuned to politics but feels like it's her civic duty to vote, and may or may not show up at the polls."
Yet the still-deciding who are committed to voting don't see themselves as out of touch.
In the AP-GfK poll, 85 percent of the persuadables said they have a "great deal" or "quite a bit" of interest in following the campaign, almost as high as among other likely voters.
Rita Kirk, a communications professor at Southern Methodist University, seeks out these involved-but-undecided voters in swing counties of states with close presidential contests. She gathered the groups that recorded their live reactions on CNN during the debates. They are following the race, she insists.
"They know that they're in a county that's going to make a difference," Kirk said. "They're wanting to make a good choice, and they kind of feel the weight and gravitas of that."
___
SO WHAT DO THEY THINK?
They're of two minds.
Persuadable voters are more likely to trust Romney to do a better job handling the economy and the federal budget deficit, the AP-GfK poll shows. And they're about as comfortable with Romney as they are with Obama on foreign policy.
They are more likely to say Obama has a clear vision for the future, however. They tend to say he understands the problems of people like them better than Romney does. They also give Obama a broad advantage on making the right decision on women's issues.
They're worried about the future.
Only 3 in 10 persuadable voters think the economy will improve in the coming year, compared with 6 in 10 decided voters.
"I'm not sure that either candidate is going to be able to correct the issues," said Cox, 43, who watched California's Central Valley suffer through recession and drought. "I'd like to get the jobs back in the United States. I'd like to quit owing China everything. Put the farmers back to work."
___
WHAT'S TAKING THEM SO LONG?
Some see virtue in refusing to rush.
Victoria Cook, a 27-year-old psychology student at Arapahoe Community College near Denver, leans toward Obama. But she stood in line to see Romney and Ryan at a rally with rocker Kid Rock this week.
"I don't want it to get to the point where you just write off the other guys right away," Cook said as she waited. "So I'll listen to what they have to say."
Professor Kirk said many undecided voters are so annoyed by months of TV commercials and punditry and news coverage that they just tune it all out until Election Day nears.
"They want to pay attention at the time they're ready to make a choice," she said. "It's like someone buying a car. That's when they start looking at the consumer magazines and all the attributes and how many airbags do the different models have. Not months in advance."
___
WILL THEY DECIDE THIS ELECTION?
It's possible.
"That small group of people can make a difference if the vast majority of them swing in one direction," said Rutgers University political science Professor Richard Lau, who studies how voters decide.
But that would be unusual. Late deciders tend to be divided, not vote as a block ? unless they are swept up in a bigger wave, Lau said. In 1980, for example, October polls showed President Jimmy Carter in a tight race with Ronald Reagan.
"It was very close up until the last few days and somehow everybody just decided, 'Enough. We're going to change courses here,'" Lau said. "Usually what happens is that the independent voters change in the direction that somehow the nature of the times is already going."
Still, an advantage among procrastinators could swing the race in a hotly contested state.
In the last two presidential elections, about 1 in 10 voters surveyed as they left polling places said they'd settled on their candidate within the previous week. About 5 percent decided on Election Day.
No word on how many made up their minds while standing in the voting booth.
___
Associated Press News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius in Washington and Associated Press writer Philip Elliott in Denver contributed to this report.
___
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