"Dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in the geosciences and the planetary and space sciences for the benefit of humanity."

Although it's here where I'm beginning to question the Groupon model as a whole, whereby the perception may be far more important than reality with the tipping point required, arguably, nothing more than a marketing gimmick designed ... a Twi (via Google Alerts and AlertRank)

(Forrester) le montant des achats sur Internet, en Europe de l'Ouest, devrait atteindre 114 milliards d'euros en 2014 --- 190 millions d'européens achèteront en ligne à cette date (contre 141 millions aujourd'hui). --- La France avec un taux de croissance annuel de +13% contre +11% pour le reste du Continent car le marché nord-européen, est plus mâture. --- En 2014, le marché du e-commerce français atteindra 17 milliards d'euros et le nombre d'acheteurs en ligne passera de 23 à 31 millions --- En 2009, 24,4 millions de français achètent en ligne, soit près de 7 internautes sur 10 estime de son côté Médiamétrie. --- Pour la Fevad, la perspective de croissance reste très forte puisque le e-commerce ne pèse qu'entre 4% et 4,5% du commerce de détail français (hors alimentation et pharmacie). --- Axes: stratégie multicanal, online et offline, modes de livraion

An independent report commissioned by the Government found that patients were abused and neglected by hostile staff and were left in humiliating and undignified conditions. The impact on them was “unimaginable”, the report said. Patients, most of whom were treated at the trust’s main hospital in Stafford, were “robbed of their dignity”, left in soiled bedclothes, unwashed and in states of undress in full view of others, it found. Families of patients had to clean lavatories and public areas themselves, while food and drinks were left out of reach and, it was alleged, patients drank out of vases.