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Help is at hand for those who wish to ripen their prose or add spice to their reports! Greens Dictionary of Slang has launched its on-line version. Coming more than five years after Jonathon Green published the print edition of his exhaustive three-volume reference work, this is excellent news for lexicographers and those who love the English language. As Ben Zimmer, the language columnist for The Wall Street Journal, wrote in the New York Times Book Review at the time, “It is a never ending challenge to keep up with the latest developments in the world of slang, but that is the lexicographer’s lot. Green plans to put his dictionary online for continuous revision, which is indeed the direction that many major reference works (including the O.E.D.) are now taking. In the meantime, his monument to the inventiveness of speakers from Auckland to Oakland takes its place as the pièce de résistance of English slang studies. To put it plain, it’s copacetic.” The online dictionary is a digitized version of Green’s Dictionary of Slang, which originally appeared in 2010, with the addition of over five more years of research. The exploration continues, and for the first time the evolving database will be able to reflect the on-going additions and improvements that make it a unique resource. As Johnson’s 1755 introduction to the Dictionary of the English Language puts it: “I saw that one enquiry only gave occasion to another, that book referred to book, that to search was not always to find, and to find was not always to be informed; and that thus to persue perfection, was, like the first inhabitants of Arcadia, to chace the sun, which, when they had reached the hill where he seemed to rest, was still beheld at the same distance from them.” www.greensdictofslang.com/
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Not For Profit Business Services Ltd (NFPBS) is pleased to announce that Nicki Alvey took up the post of Chief Executive on 28 July 2014, joining the Association Management Company (AMC) at the organisation’s offices in Ware, Hertfordshire. Having worked for the National Housing Federation, Royal Society for Public Health, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Nicki is an experienced management and leadership executive with both trade association and professional membership institute experience spanning 20+ years. Specialising in marketing, and with a business qualification, Nicki has also worked for Brooke Bond Oxo (now Unilever), Dunlop Slazenger International Ltd and Capital Radio. NFPBS Director Paul Neale said, “Nicki has a strong track record of growing UK and international membership, and generating income from both members and other revenue streams. Her extensive experience in strategy setting and driving performance across business functions will be a valuable asset to our clients, both existing and future.” He added, “Nicki’s appointment confirms our ambition to develop NFPBS into the market leading AMC in the UK.” Commenting on her appointment Nicki said: “I am delighted to join Not For Profit Business Services and look forward to being able to use my knowledge and experience for not only the company but also the diverse range of clients that NFPBS services.” Notes to editors: The press release in PDF format can be downloaded HERE NFPBS offers an outsourcing option to trade associations, professional institutions, charities and membership organisations of all kinds. Services include full financial management, membership and database management, events management and administration, Secretariat and Head Office services, Board meeting support, marketing and communications, corporate compliance and setting up new associations. NFPBS is a privately owned Association Management Company (AMC) based at 2 Old College Court, 29 Priory Street, Ware, Hertfordshire SG12 0DE, UK Tel: +44 (0)3707 369369 Email: info@n4pbs.co.uk Website: https://www.n4pbs.co.uk
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A failure by insurance software firm SSP in August saw some 300 brokers unable to do business for several weeks. Users of the ‘Pure’ platform are still waiting for full restoration and, last month, SSP admitted that it could take weeks for some to be fully up and running. Brokers have admitted that the outage has cost them money and reputational problems and some said they may seek compensation through legal channels. Now, the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) has stepped into the fray by holding what was described as a full and frank discussion between some of the brokers and SSP. As a result they have pledged to visit all affected brokers within a month, and help BIBA to undertake a thorough review of each of the six leading software houses and to report the findings to members.
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A GP survey addressing the sustainability of practices in Wales has unearthed serious concerns. The survey, which forms part of a wider campaign to tackle unprecedented pressures facing general practice, saw an overwhelming number of respondents (82.1%) reporting that they are worried about the sustainability of their practice. Launched on 12th October by BMA Cymru Wales’ General Practitioner Committee (GPCW), the campaign – an urgent prescription for general practice in Wales – highlights the challenges faced by GPs, and offers the Welsh Government some urgent solutions to address them. Findings underlined frustration within the profession; GPs facing the strain of working in understaffed practices; practitioners considering reducing their working hours to manage growing pressures; or leaving the profession entirely. Findings also revealed the following: • An overwhelming number of respondents (82.1%) reported that they are worried about the sustainability of their practice. • 61.4% of respondents indicated that they do not have a good work life balance. Additionally 58.1% answered a supplementary question indicating that their work-life balance had worsened in the last 12 months. • Almost three quarters (74.8%) of respondents reported that the health of staff within their practice had already been impacted negatively by workload. • Worryingly, almost half (49.6%) said they would not recommend a career in general practice, however throughout their written answers noted their dedication and the potential for general practice to be a positive place to work. • 27.1 % indicated they are considering a career change and 13.8% are considering moving abroad. Dr Charlotte Jones, Chair of BMA Cymru Wales’ GP Committee (GPCW), said: “There is a significant gap between the demand placed upon general practice and its capacity. The profession is forced to try and cope with inadequate resources, an unsustainable workload and a workforce under considerable strain, across the whole of Wales.” GPCW has produced a solutions document outlining issues highlighted by the profession and urgent areas for action. Key areas that must be addressed comprise recruitment, workforce models, workload, finance, clusters and sustainability. GPCW is calling for the capacity to see and spend time with patients; increased practice funding; more staff to support GPs; and less box ticking.
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On 3 September the UK Spa Association held our latest Networking Event at the new Aqua Sana Woburn Forest. As well as the opportunity to meet our peers, there were talks in the evening from Don Camilleri, Center Parcs development director, and Martin Dolby, chief executive officer at Center Parcs. Charlie Thompson, chair of the UK Spa Association launched the new Code of Practice and Alex De Carvalho, vice chair of the UK Spa Association, demonstrated the new Spa Benchmarking tool. In the evening we had the opportunity to tour the new and exciting Aqua Sana facilities.
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The Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) has welcomed the Committee on Climate Change recommendations for a long term strategy on heat to meet UK decarbonisation commitments beyond 2020. The report calls on government to create a credible new strategy and a much stronger policy framework for buildings decarbonisation over the next three decades. Action is required now to reduce emissions and to prepare for future decisions. Deployment of low-carbon heat technologies cannot be left until the 2030s when low-regret opportunities such as heat networks, heat pumps and bio-methane injection already exist the report concludes. Well-targeted policy measures to support the growth of low carbon heat networks should be developed between now and 2020 so that these opportunities can be supported by existing funding commitments and contribute to the fourth and fifth carbon budgets. Responding to the report, ADE Director Dr Tim Rotheray said, “We welcome the urgent call to action for a long term strategy to decarbonise heat and its recognition of the importance of bringing forward new heat infrastructure.” An investment framework that levels the playing field between heat and other types of networks has the potential to reduce investor risk and attract major international and UK investors allowing these options to succeed without subsidy from 2021.Yet a real question remains over the decarbonisation of industrial heat energy use, which accounts for over 20% of all sectors’ energy use in the UK, and which went unaddressed in todays report. As the government considers its industrial strategy, technologies such as combined heat and power that help to drive efficiency, while improving the competitiveness of British industry, should become the backbone of any plan. The report titled Next Steps for UK Heat Policy can be read at, http://https://documents.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Next-steps-for-UK-heat-policy-Committee-on-Climate-Change-October-2016.pdf
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CHASE 2015 will take place on 17 & 18 February 2015 at the Business Design Centre, London N1 0QH. CHASE 2015 is a free resource for all charity and membership organisation visitors – with no charge for entry to the event or the seminar programme. Opening times are scheduled to be 0900 to 1600 (subject to confirmation).
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The Press Recognition Panel (PRP) has published its first ‘Annual Report on the Recognition System’. It concludes that urgent action is required if the post Leveson system of independent self-regulation is to be given a chance to succeed. The PRP notes that the recognition system envisaged is not yet in place because section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 has not been instigated and calls for its completion. It also declares that until the recognition system is fully in place it cannot judge its success or failure, pointing out that success would be “when all or most publishers were members of one or more recognised regulators” The PRP goes on to say that “it would be premature to introduce statutory regulation of the press as the recognition system must be established first and then properly tested. However, it notes that if it is decided that Section 40 should not be brought into effect then Parliament may want to consider what further action is required to bring about success of the kind contemplated by the Charter.
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The fourth in the series of annual Association Congresses for UK associations, it is the ultimate knowledge-sharing and networking event bringing together like minded professionals employed by national associations to discuss common issues and difficulties that associations face and learn best practice and developing effective strategies.
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