Falcons top Lions 31-18 for home-field advantage

Atlanta Falcons tight end Michael Palmer, center right, celebrates his touchdown with tight end Tony Gonzalezduring the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)

Atlanta Falcons tight end Michael Palmer, center right, celebrates his touchdown with tight end Tony Gonzalezduring the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)

Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) is congratulated by quarterback Matthew Stafford in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, after breaking Jerry Rice's single-season record for receiving yards, in Detroit on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan prepares to throw during the second quarter of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) celebrates his touchdown with wide receiver Harry Douglas (83) during the second quarter of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White runs for a 39-yard touchdown during the second quarter of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in Detroit, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

DETROIT (AP) ? Matt Ryan got what he wanted.

Calvin Johnson was forced to settle for what he could get.

Ryan matched a career high with four touchdown passes, two to Roddy White, to help the Atlanta Falcons beat the Detroit Lions 31-18 Saturday night and earn home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

"It's great," Ryan said. "Our confidence is high and our experience ? good and bad ? has helped us. The key is to keep the focus where it's been."

In yet another loss, Johnson had a record-breaking night.

Johnson broke Jerry Rice's NFL single-season yards receiving mark of 1,848. After making the record-breaking catch in the fourth quarter, Johnson jogged over to the sideline and handed the football to his father.

"That was a very special moment," he said.

Johnson also became the only player with 100 yards receiving in eight straight games and the first with 10 receptions in four games in a row in league history. He had 11 receptions for 225 yards, giving him 1,892 this season.

"I've been an NFL fan my whole life, dating back to watching Johnny Unitas and Raymond Berry as a kid, and I've coached in this league for 19 years," Detroit coach Jim Schwartz said. "I've seen a lot of Hall of Famers, but I've never seen a better player than Calvin Johnson.

"He just broke a record set by Jerry Rice, who is arguably the best player in this history of this league."

The Falcons (13-2) pulled away with Ryan's fourth TD pass to wide-open tight end Michael Palmer in the fourth quarter and Matt Bryant's 20-yard field goal with 3:05 left that gave them a 15-point lead.

Ryan was 25 of 32 for 279 yards without a turnover.

The Falcons hope playing at home, potentially throughout the conference playoffs, helps them more than it did after the 2010 and 1980 seasons. The Falcons failed to win a game in either postseason, getting routed by Green Bay two years ago and blowing a double-digit, fourth-quarter lead to Dallas three decades ago.

Atlanta advanced to its only Super Bowl with a win at Minnesota after winning a franchise-record 14 games during the 1998 season.

The Falcons won't have much incentive to match that mark next week at home against Tampa Bay, when they'll have nothing to gain and something to lose if a key player or more gets hurt.

Detroit (4-11) has been relegated to playing for pride this month and that hasn't been going very well.

The Lions, whose seven-game losing streak is the longest skid in the league, haven't struggled this much since the laughingstock of a franchise became the league's first to go 0-16 in 2008.

The Falcons led 21-3 at halftime before letting the Lions pull within five points early in the fourth quarter.

Ryan dashed Detroit's comeback hopes.

Facing intense pressure, he converted a third down in Atlanta territory with a pass to White, picked on rookie cornerback Jonte Green by throwing to Jones to pick up more first downs and found Tony Gonzalez open to convert another third down to set up his fourth TD pass.

"We didn't play well in the third quarter," Atlanta coach Mike Smith said. "Matt made some big throws on that drive."

Stafford was clearly trying to get the ball to Johnson on the next drive and cornerback Asante Samuel figured that out, stepping in front of the receiver for an interception to set up Bryant's field goal.

Atlanta running back Michael Turner was tackled in the end zone, after Detroit turned the ball over on downs, to give the Lions two meaningless points.

Ryan went deep to White for the first score, connecting with him on a 44-yard TD strike with 5:50 left in the first quarter. Ryan threw a short pass to him early in the second quarter and the standout receiver did the rest on a 39-yard sprint down the sideline.

Ryan put his third TD pass where only Julio Jones could catch it a corner of the end zone, and he did on a 16-yard reception that put Atlanta up 21-3.

Detroit didn't give up, a game after being accused of doing just that in a 38-10 loss at Arizona.

Jason Hanson kicked a second field goal late in the first half to make it 21-6.

After Atlanta opened the second half with a three-and-out drive, Mikel Leshoure scored on a 1-yard run midway through the third quarter to pull the Lions with eight points.

Hanson's third field goal made it 21-16.

Stafford finished 37 of 56 for 443 yards with an interception and the Lions say he set an NFL record for the most yards passing in a game without throwing a TD pass.

Detroit dug a big hole because the Falcons scored two TDs off turnovers in the first half.

Defensive end Kroy Biermann forced running Leshoure to fumble, giving the Falcons the ball at their 31 and they took advantage. Ryan's perfectly lofted pass to White's fingertips converted a third-and-1 in a big way, putting the Falcons ahead.

The Lions responded with another drive into Atlanta territory, but stalled and had to settle for Hanson's 34-yard field goal in the final minute of the opening quarter to pull within four points.

Atlanta earned a double-digit lead on the ensuing drive.

Ryan threw a screen pass to his left to White, who got a great block from tight end Gonzalez, and the receiver raced untouched for a score that put the Falcons ahead 14-3.

White finished with eight receptions for 153 yards and two TDs. Jones had seven receptions for 71 yards and a score.

Ryan completed his first 12 attempts and, after his first incomplete pass, he converted a third-and-10 with an 11-yard toss to Jacquizz Rodgers. Two plays later, Ryan matched a season high with a third TD pass on the connection with Jones. Prior to the game, Ryan hadn't started a game with more than 10 consecutive completions, according to STATS LLC. He started 10 for 10 last month against Tampa Bay.

Johnson had three receptions for 70 yards in the first quarter, breaking Herman Moore's single-season franchise record for yards receiving.

By halftime, Johnson had 117 yards receiving. He had 100 yards receiving for an eighth straight game, breaking a record set by Charley Hennigan in 1961 and matched by Michael Irvin in 1995. It was Johnson's 11th game with 100 yards receiving this season, tying Irvin's NFL mark.

"Calvin is one of the best players in the game and I think everybody is a big fan of his," Ryan said. "He's one of the most genuinely nice people you could meet."

Stafford connected with Johnson on a short crossing route and the receiver did the rest, outrunning Falcons on a 49-yard gain. Fittingly, the Lions turned the ball over on the next snap in the latest lowlight in a season full of them.

The Lions, Falcons and fans at Ford Field in Detroit honored the victims of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School before the game. Players had memorial decals on their helmets that read "S.H.E.S." in white on a black background, and Detroit's coaches wore pins with a similar design. There was also a moment of silence before the national anthem while the names and ages of each victim were shown on the videoboards. Twenty children and six adults were killed in the Dec. 14 shooting in Newtown, Conn. Adam Lanza killed his mother, shot students and staff, then killed himself.

NOTES: Stafford, in his fourth season, has 1,090 career completions to surpass Bobby Layne's franchise record of 1,074. Stafford is seven attempts away from surpassing the NFL's single-season mark of 691 set by Drew Bledsoe with New England in 1994. ... Backup Falcons CB Christopher Owens had a hamstring injury.

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Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

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Follow Larry Lage on Twitter: http://twitter.com/larrylage

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-23-FBN-Falcons-Lions/id-b69cc1c8f75a414e9510c3c35e5294c3

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Freelance Essay Writing Work Made Easier | About Freelance

For astute freelance writing graduates who?ve read various essays throughout college or high school, writing literary essays would seemingly be an easy accomplishment.? Unfortunately, appeasing your clientele ? who is paying you ? is slightly more ?exacting? than writing papers for professors. For freelancing writing professionals who find following various types of prose is more difficult than they?re prepared to handle, we?ve prepared this segment to include tips for writing a literary essay which will impress your clientele and help you gain insight into what exactly the author was trying to convey when writing the original literature.? Keep in mind that these written works are rather challenging and require time, unblocked concentration and exhaustive effort.

Keep An Informal Style

Since you?ll already need to include many references for this written piece, you?ll definitely need to keep an informal, easy to understand and conversational tone throughout the piece.? In terms of referencing your sources, you?ll probably benefit by using end notes as opposed to an Appendix.? Finally, make sure paragraphs are short, succinct and always leading into the next paragraph with transitional phrases.? Often times, freelance writing professionals will simply follow the clients? lead on format expectations.

While writing the essays are pretty rudimentary, understanding the literature requires attentiveness and the ability to take thorough notes for later writing.? Since you?ll need to include subtexts above each paragraph, it?s important to understand your thoughts and proper placement of these subtext needs. Read the passage at least twice to gain in-depth knowledge of author styles and use of foreshadowing. Finally, take the time for conducting research outside of the passage to see what else you?ve probably forgotten to include within your outline.

Begin Writing

There?s a rather intrinsic outline which must be used when writing literary essays; your clientele will more than likely convey this outline once the assignment has been given.? Generally speaking, follow this outline when writing your various essays in general:

• Introductory statements
• Thesis statements
• First body paragraph which has three sub-points and your ?punch line? statement
• Second body paragraph which includes the same.
• Conclusion paragraphs will reinforce prior statements and leave the reader questioning potential outcomes aside from what you?ve written and what author wrote.

Under no circumstances should freelancing professionals plagiarize to cut corners; the famous adage states that copywriting is not copy my writing which, of course, means you cannot hijack someone?s writing for mere pleasure or vindictiveness.

Something Else To Think About?

College students, freelance professionals and high school students live for exploratory essay styles because, unlike regular essay styles, the writer is free to write boundlessly and never worry about ending the essay.? The main goal is allowing your ?explorative? side to handle researching and writing your essay without having any particular destination in mind; one may call these essays ?educational writings? instead of strictly formatted essays.? Since students still need some idea of what they?ll write about, we?ve written some interesting ideas for freelance writing professionals to follow when they find these assignments are arduous tasks.

Writing literary essays present wonderful challenges which many people need assistance in overcoming.? While different literature passages will require different angles, statements and research, your general outline will be as presented above.? Always remember to write your title to adequately present your reviewed literary piece while adding your own twist.? Conclude your writings by thoroughly proofreading and reviewing the format for fervor before turning in for review.

Finally, locating various ready-made essays to use as guides will definitely prove challenging if you?re searching amiss.? While it appears many people offer these informative essay samples across the internet, you must use your judgment when finalizing the copy you?ll use as your narrative guide.? Finally, make sure you always write your own works and not copy from secondary sources.

Source: http://www.aboutfreelance.com/freelance-essay-writing-work-made-easier/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=freelance-essay-writing-work-made-easier

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British Psychological Society - Job Seekers Website - Psychologist ...

Position: Senior Occupational/Business Psychologist
Job Reference: SP/MH/23262
Department: Human Resources
Company / Division: Emirates Airline
Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Salary: Attractive tax-free package

http://ekgrpapplications.emirates.com/CareersOnlineApps/JOB_VACANCIES/JobDetails.aspx?advno=B9341E68DB6D886E&cid=Jobadvert23262//psychapp

Tomorrow you could be living in dynamic Dubai and earning a tax-free salary with global benefits. Starting with two aircraft and a handful of enthusiastic people, we have grown at a phenomenal rate. We are now one of the fastest growing airlines in the world, flying to over 125 destinations across 6 continents.

We are looking for people to join our global family of over 54,000 people from 160 nationalities across a diverse range of disciplines. If you are a high performer, seeking unparalleled career opportunities, join the Emirates team and help us create the future of travel.

The Position:

Senior Occupational/Business Psychologist - the role holder will assess, evaluate and recommend suitability of candidates for employment or promotion, and act as a consultant to senior managers in the building of strong teams, resolution of work related conflicts and managing the psychological aspects of change in the workplace.

Job Outline
-Research, assess, administer, and recommend the most appropriate psychological tools for recruitment, workshops and training leading to enhanced quality of selection and staff development.
-Ensure tools used are appropriately normed and/or adapted to the needs of the organisation as required.
-Proactively develop and deliver relevant workshops across the Group depending on the business requirement and an understanding of the business and its challenges.
-Thereby support staff and managers facing challenges of continuous expansion, growth and business.
-Support management and the HR-Business Support team in implementing corporate change by facilitating interventions, developing appropriate workshops to assist individuals to cope with change, and provide other support in order to minimize resistance to change and facilitate positive forward movement.
-Facilitate team sessions across the business to support the forming of new teams or the growth and development of intact teams.
-Conduct detailed leadership profiling to support promotion, development and high potential assessment.
-Design and conduct assessment and development centres for various purposes as required.
-Research and benchmark international practices particularly in the area of Aviation Psychology ensuring the Emirates Group continues to follow best practice in this area.

Salary & Benefits: We offer an attractive tax-free salary, paid in Dirhams, the local currency of the UAE.

Experience and Qualifications:
-Masters degree in Occupational or Business Psychology; Chartership or its equivalent will be of added advantage.
-At least 6 years experience post Masters.
-Membership of the BPS, APS or other international professional body.
-Qualifications and experience on the WAVE, Hogan, EQi would be an advantage.
-Experience facilitating team dynamics sessions using a tool such as the MBTI is essential.
-Significant experience designing and conducting assessment and development centres is also essential.
-Should have worked in an occupational setting in a large corporate; aviation experience would be an added advantage as would the change aspects of M&A and other large organisational change scenarios.
-Practical knowledge of the Gulf culture an advantage.
-Fluency in English language is essential both spoken and written.

Source: http://www.psychapp.co.uk/JobSeeker/Search/default.cfm?VacancyID=15255&Action=ShowVacancy&fromRSS=true

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PFT: The Vick-to-Jets rumors have begun

AP

Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall was fined $30,000 for screaming at an official during an October 28 game against the Steelers. Now Hall says the official falsely told the NFL that Hall had threatened to kill him during their heated exchange.

Hall told the Washington Post that head linesman Dana McKenzie told the league office that the reason he ejected Hall from the game was that Hall issued a death threat. Hall says that?s simply not true.

?Yeah, he said that?s what threw the flag for the ejection,? Hall said. ?And so, you know, that didn?t happen. That should have never happened, and we wouldn?t be having this conversation. There?s just a lot of things that are unresolved with that case that have to be resolved.?

Hall said that in the process of appealing his fine, he began to believe that the NFL Players Association never should have accepted the Collective Bargaining Agreement that ended the lockout last year. According to Hall, the players gave the league office far too much authority to discipline them.

?Any time you?ve got one person that?s the judge, jury and executioner ? he makes the fine, then he hears the appeal, then he decides the amount ? it?s just tough. It?s just tough,? Hall said. ?The CBA we agreed on probably wasn?t in the best interests of the players, from my viewpoint.?

Although Hall stopped short of criticizing the union, he said that he now wishes he had immediately hired his own lawyer when the NFL fined him, instead of relying on help from the Players Association, which is what he has done so far.

?I should have took a step back and got independent counsel, figured the right, I guess, path to go on,? Hall said. ?That?s kind of what we?re trying to do now, I mean, because what happened shouldn?t have happened. He shouldn?t have came at me like he did. I shouldn?t have came back at him. But it happened. But after that, I was told that I said I was going to ?[profanity] kill him,? which didn?t happen.?

If there?s still a dispute about exactly what Hall said to McKenzie, that suggests that no audio of the exchange exists, and we?ll likely never know who?s telling the truth. But a $30,000 fine obviously means the NFL thinks Hall said something that went way too far.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/20/start-the-michael-vick-to-the-jets-rumors/related/

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Mayan Apocalypse: One Direction, Ed Sheeran Share Their Plans For Our Final Days

'I don't want to be working!' 1D's Harry Styles tells us about how he hopes to spend December 21.
By James Montgomery

Mayan ruins
Photo: Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1699197/mayan-apocalypse-end-of-world.jhtml

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Shipments of Apple's (AAPL) iPad Mini on Pace to Smash Expectations

FREE Breaking News Alerts from StreetInsider.com!

December 20, 2012 7:58 AM EST
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) shares are ticking higher in early trading amid reports it might see a nice boost in iPad mini demand through the end of the year.

According to Digitimes, Apple increased orders for the iPad mini by 25 percent to 10 million units, as demand for the tablet continues to be robust. Sources have said that total unit volume for the few months since the device debuted in late October/early November will be about 12 million units.

The number is significant in that it could come in 20 percent above Apple's own expectations. The Curpertino, CA-based electronics and media giant had loose predictions of 10 million units being shipped in 2012, adjusting that to about 6 million to 8 million units as component yields waned.

Sources noted that yields have markedly improved and shipments have already surpassed 8 million units.

Upstream manufacturers supplied about 4 million to 4.5 million components in October and November, with the same volume expected in December.

No word on expectations for demand or shipments moving into the first-quarter of calendar 2013.

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Source: http://www.streetinsider.com/Retail+Sales/Shipments+of+Apple's+(AAPL)+iPad+Mini+on+Pace+to+Smash+Expectations/7962491.html

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Study probes impact of climate change on cold-blooded animals

Dec. 12, 2012 ? A new study by biologists at Mercyhurst University focuses on the influence of climate change, particularly warmer winters, on the survival and potential fecundity of cold-blooded animals.

Cold blooded animals, or ectotherms, do not have an internal mechanism for regulating body temperature. Instead, they rely on solar energy captured by the environment.

The purpose of the Mercyhurst study, a collaboration of Michael Elnitsky, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology; and students Drew Spacht and Seth Pezar, is to assess the current and future impacts of climate change on the overwintering energetics and microenvironmental conditions of the goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis). Larvae of the goldenrod gall fly have long served as model organisms for studying the strategies used by freeze-tolerant animals for winter survival.

"We used historical temperature data to estimate the overwintering (November through March) energy use of larval gall flies," Elnitsky said. "Based upon the relationship between metabolic rate and temperature, the estimated energy utilization during winter has increased by more than 30 percent over the last 50 years."

Further, with continued climate change, each additional 1?-degree C rise in temperature during winter is projected to increase energy use by 12 percent. The consequence of this is that the amount of energy remaining at winter's end directly determines how many offspring the goldenrod gall fly can produce.

"Unlike some other insects that are benefiting from a changing climate, goldenrod gall fly populations would be predicted to decline," Elnitsky said.

The research team has begun similar assessments of the impacts of a changing winter climate for other arthropods, such as deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis) that transmit Lyme disease bacteria and the hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae), an invasive insect destroying hemlock forests throughout the eastern U.S.

The Mercyhurst group presented their research at the annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America (ESA) in Knoxville, Tenn., last month. Spacht of Erie and Pezar of Madison, Ohio, were awarded the President's Prize in the Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology section for their poster presentation. The President's Prize is the award given to the top undergraduate presentation in each section at the conference, which was attended by more than 4,000 scholars.

Also at the conference, Chris Strohm, a 2011 Mercyhurst biology graduate and currently a graduate student in entomology at the University of Kentucky, was awarded second place among graduate students in the Systematics, Evolution and Biodiversity section.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Mercyhurst College.

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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/dx4bHNqnOnk/121212162715.htm

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