Word: usual
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...According to Appleby, the fact that the NHS lacks any profit motive can be both a blessing and a curse. "One of the problems of a national health service is that there are not the usual incentives for it to be efficient or to find more productive ways of operating," he says. "But at the same time, politicians are not forced into taking a narrow view of what's efficient. In this instance, they can reject threats to staffing levels of doctors, nurses and administrators while accepting other elements of the report...
Most people bring back the usual mementos from their overseas vacations: photographs, T-shirts, diarrhea. The BBC Natural History Unit, however, came home with something better. A crew of scientists, academics and filmmakers from the British broadcaster visited the South Pacific island of Papua New Guinea this past spring to film a nature documentary and in the process discovered more than 30 new species of animals. Among the unknown creatures - all living inside the crater of the extinct volcano Mount Bosavi - was a giant rat that measured 32.2 in. and weighed more than 3.3 lb., making...
...Actually, airlines break their own policies all the time. Indeed, one of the few redeeming features of dealing with airlines is that, if you're persistent and persuasive enough, you can usually find a representative willing to find you a seat on that sold-out flight, waive a change fee, ease your outrage by upgrading you to first class or give you a free meal voucher. When my flight was canceled, Delta waived the usual $15 fee on checked luggage. It's actually smart business; even small gestures go a long way toward defusing consumer wrath...
...handful of conservative U.S. news pundits have been denouncing the guidelines since late August, when they snapped up the online version of the UNESCO working document. The biggest issue for critics is the recommendation that educators begin teaching students introductory reproductive and sexual subjects earlier than usual: from the ages of 5 to 8. More detailed information would then be taught to kids ages 9 to 12. For kids ages 12 to 15, UNESCO recommends that students be instructed about contraception and the differences between "safe abortion and post-abortion care" and the potentially life-threatening forms of improvised pregnancy...
...hearing throughout the recession: men have been feeling the employment crunch worse than women; students are riding out the downturn by staying in (or returning to) school; and old folks are deferring retirement, making it harder for those under 25 to snag a real job. But Pew carries the usual tropes a step further, taking a valuable, in-depth look at gender discrepancies that may shed some light on why women are weathering the storm and men are mourning their lost jobs...