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Creativity Motivation – What is motivation – Corey K Katir
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Describes motivation process for creativity with emphasis on intrinsic motivation by Corey K Katir

The European Institutes for Advanced Study (EURIAS) Fellowship Programme has issued a call for fellowships for the 2013-2014 academic year.

The European Research Council (ERC) has published today a call for proposals for the new funding initiative aProof of Concepta in order to support the commercialisation of ideas from current ERC projects.

Radically new ideas can come anytime, from anybody and from anywhere. They obviously do not necessarily fit within predefined topical calls, nor are they comfortable with strict submission deadlines. FET-Open is specifically designed to be open and responsive to such fresh courageous thinking. It aims to give promising but still fragile ideas the opportunity to mature into a credible and well-founded new direction of research.

The EPSRC is the UK Governmentas leading funding agency for research and training in engineering and the physical sciences.

The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) supports partnerships that create opportunities for Australian researchers to work with overseas agricultural researchers on issues of common concern. The major focus, as part of Australiaas overseas aid program, is to support research that contributes to sustainable agricultural development in the Asia-Pacific region. ACIAR strives to implement project ideas that have proceeded through to full proposal stage, but circumstances can change. ACIARas limited funding must target priorities already agreed with individual partner countries.

The aFonds nationale de la Recherche Luxembourga offers Postdoctoral Fellowships co-financed by Marie Curie aCo-funding of regional, national and international programmesa (COFUND). The programme has no thematic limitations.

The SNSFas international short research visits allow for researchers working in Switzerland to go abroad or for researchers from elsewhere to come to Switzerland. The visits can last between one week and three months and are limited to one person (the visiting fellow) going to one institute (the host institute). Both the visiting fellow and one person from the host institute (the host) are co-applicants of the pro-posal.

Programme grants provide support for up to five years for internationally competitive research relevant to human and animal health. This longer-term funding gives researchers the opportunity to concentrate on a programme of research without having continually to seek funds from a variety of sources to maintain the group. The Wellcome Trust encourage holders of programme grants to pursue new ideas and avenues as they arise.

While the Australian Synchrotron (AS) provides world class facilities for the majority of Australian scientists requiring synchrotron access, it is recognized that certain methods are not currently available in Australia, and others are not planned for the near future. Accordingly, the AS has established the International Synchrotron Access Program (ISAP) to provide travel support to overseas synchrotron facilities, including the emerging fourth generation X-ray sources.

Strategic Awards provide flexible forms of support to facilitate research and/or training that is not possible under existing schemes. The aim is to add value to excellent research groups.

The Jacobs Foundation supports research and intervention projects in the field of Productive Youth Development. In this context, the foundation focuses on the value chain paradigm: innovative research, practical testing of the findings in pilot interventions and market introduction, which ensures the systematic application of tested models on a larger scale.

The Rubicon programme is directed at promising young postdoctoral researchers who are still at the start of their careers but whose academic strengths give them the potential to become established figures in the Dutch research world. Young researchers are encouraged to dedicate themselves to a career in postdoctoral research. It does so by giving them the chance to enhance their career prospects by spending up to two years at a top research institution outside the Netherlands or one year at an excellent Dutch research institution. The Rubicon programme also offers talented researchers from abroad the opportunity to obtain grants to spend one year conducting research in the Netherlands. Proposals will be assessed on the basis of the quality of the applicant, the research proposal and the host institution. The Rubicon programme is open to all scientific disciplines.

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG) is the central, self-governing research funding organisation that promotes research at universities and other publicly financed research institutions in Germany. The DFG serves all branches of science and the humanities.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), through the Scottish Accountancy Research Trust, has an annual budget in excess of APS100,000 available to fund research projects. The general aim is to support and encourage high-quality research that is timely and relevant to the accounting profession. Priority is given to projects that demonstrate relevance (direct or indirect) to practitioners.

Add Hollandaise sauce
From feedproxy.google


TEN YEARS ago Romano Prodi, the-then president of the European Commission, created a stink when he declared that the euro zoneas budget rules were astupida because they were too rigid. But with the onset of the euro zoneas debt crisis in 2010 the response has been to try to make them even stiffer.

At Germany’s insistence, the euro zone first gave the commission more powers to monitor and enforce deficit limits, including the threat of asemi-automatica sanctions for rule-breakers. And second, almost all members of the European Union were dragooned into signing up to the fiscal compact, a new treaty requiring then to adopt binding balanced-budget rules, preferably in their constitutions.

The election of a Socialist, FranASSois Hollande, as Franceas new president, is causing a rethink in Brussels. There is certainly a change of rhetoric about a “growth compact”. But in substance, the change may be rather modest.

To begin with, Germany says the text of the fiscal compact is non-negotiable, a position that Mr Hollande’s lieutenants seem to understand. Instead they want some form of programme to promote growth to be created alongside. Whether this takes the form of a formal protocol attached to the treaty (which must also be ratified), or a looser agreement, is yet to be decided. But with parts of Europe back in recession, leaders agree that they have to be seen to do more to promote growth.

In truth, the idea of growth was never absent from the European response to the crisis. Summits have been debating the issue since January. But fundamentally, in the view of Germany (adopted in large measure by the commission) growth would come firstly from restoring market confidence, by getting a grip on public finances. And secondly it would come from supply-side structural reforms to make countries more competitive and labour markets more flexible. With the rise of Mr Hollande, there is now a greater focus on boosting demand as well.

Although he belongs to the European People’s Party, the same centre-right political grouping as Franceas defeated President Nicolas Sarkozy, the current commission president, JosA(c) Manuel Barroso, warmly embraced Mr Hollande and his call for growth. aI am extremely pleased to see the new momentum that is clearly building in our member states to kick-start the stalled engine of growth,a he said at a press conference today.

Far from being stupid, says Mr Barroso, the euro zone’s budget rules are intelligent, because they allow for aadaptabilitya – though precisely how they can to be adapted remains to be seen (more on this below).

Mr Barroso was careful to say there should be no let-up in deficit-cutting, let alone a splurge of public spending. aDebt-fuelled growth is unsustainablea, he insisted, adding that Mr Hollande emphasised his commitment to bringing down Franceas deficit.

So what to do about growth if there is little or no more money available? One proposal is to recapitalise the European Investment Bank (EIB), which has started to cut back on lending for fear of losing its credit rating.

Another is to leverage uncommitted bits of the EUas budget, in collaboration with the EIB, to raise new joint aproject bondsa to finance new infrastructure projects. A modest sum of a!230m could generate a!4.6 billion worth of projects, says the Commission. It argues that such investments, for things like trans-national electricity grids and pipelines, would not take place if left to member-states.

These ideas are sensible. Channelling the funds through the EIB, provides some assurance that the projects make economic sense and are managed properly. But even if countries agree to provide the EIB with the extra a!10 billion that the commission is calling for, nobody should think that such extra money will lift the most troubled parts of the euro zone out of their recession.

There is a danger, moreover, of assuming that just because some European-level investment can be of benefit, all European spending must by definition be good. Sadly, this is what the commission is doing when seized the moment to urge members to support its demand for an enlarged EU budget, both for next year and for the seven-year period starting in 2014. aIt will be a contradiction to support growth through investment and not be able to commit the funds necessary to work for that at the European level,a declared Mr Barroso.

It is not, surely, a contradiction to point out that an organisation that still spends about four-tenths of its budget on agricultural subsidies is failing to make the best economic investments.

The commission’s proposals are not new, but it is pleased that Mr Hollande has already made them his own and hopes he will champion them. aWe are seizing the moment to advance our previous proposals in the new political climate,a said Olli Rehn, the economic and monetary affairs commissioner.

The novelty may come in the coming days. The European Commission is in the final throes of debating proposals to relax the deficit-cutting targets. The IMF has made clear its view that the adjustment in European countries has often proven to be too harsh. Its latest work on the effect of fiscal consolidation finds that, in a downturn, deficit-cuttting has a strong multiplier effect that pushes countries into unexpectedly deep recession.

Mario Monti, Italyas prime minister, does not seem to have made much headway in his call for spending on ainvestmenta to be excluded, wholly or partly, from the reckoning of a countryas deficit. Instead, the Commission may agree to give some countries more time to get their deficits below 3% of GDP, the threshold set by the euroas original Stability and Growth Pact. This is what Mr Rehn had to say in a speech on April 5th:

Contrary to the misleading impression promoted by some politicians and pundits that the EU fiscal framework forces all member states into a ‘one-size-fits-all’ consolidation straightjacket, the Stability and Growth Pact is not stupid. Yes, the EU fiscal framework is rules-based, with clear reference values for public deficit and debt for triggering the excessive deficit procedure and, if needed, sanctions. But, at the same time, the Pact entails considerable scope for judgement, based on economic analysis and its legal provisions, when it comes to its application. The Pact underlines the structural sustainability of public finances over the medium term and implies differentiation among the member states according to their fiscal space and macroeconomic conditions.

All this verbiage probably spells aless pain in Spaina. Last year it posted a deficit of 8.5% of GDP, substantially higher than its target of 6%. It has been allowed to overshoot its target this year, on condition that it keeps its promise to get the deficit below 3% of GDP next year. Though it is not officially asking for a reprieve, Spain may be granted an extra year to make the target.

An obvious time to announce the change could be Friday May 11th, when the commission is due to issue its spring economic forecast (which will then form the basis of detailed acountry-specifica recommendations at the end of the month).

That said, the commission wants to see greater evidence that Spain is making the full effort to control public finances. It wants to see the budget cuts that Spain has promised this year, and evidence that Madrid is getting a grip on spending in the regions. The commission also wants Spain to draw up a convincing plan to stabilise its troubled banks. Moreover, the commission may push Spain to commit to a two-yearly budget cycle to provide greater clarity. aThe road to medium-term economic sustainability goes through immediate decisive action in structural reforms and financial stability,a said Mr Rehn.

Any move to lengthen the process of bringing down the deficit will have to be weighed against two factors. First is the impact on the markets: will investors fear that such a move heralds the breakdown of fiscal discipline, or rejoice that recession might be less deep? And how to explain the favour done to Spain to other countries, such as Belgium, that were told to cut the budget more deeply to meet their target, or face sanctions?

Whatever the aHollande effecta on European policy towards public finances, the new French president is likely to be confronted with an uncomfortable decision. The commissionas economic forecast is likely to find that, on current policies, France is likely to miss its 3% target next year (the IMF reckons the deficit will be 3.9%). So even before he is formally installed as president, Mr Hollande may be asked to spell out how he intends to keep his promises both to control debt and to relieve Europe of the curse of austerity. Unlike Spain, France is unlikely to get a deadline extension.: it cannot claim to have done everything possible to control the deficit, or that it is the victim of an unexpectedly severe recession.

Europe’s budgetary policy may be getting a dollop of Hollandaise sauce, but beneath it all it will still be the same austere dish.

(Photo credit: AFP)

Germany’s blast at Barroso
From feedproxy.google

MY previous post on the Commission’s flawed proposal on giving itself the power to retaliate against countries that restrict European firms access to public-procurement markets mentions the strong opposition of Germany.

It is striking that Germany finds nothing good to say about an idea so assiduously pursued by France, its closest partner. It may be because Germany runs the EU’s bigggest trade surplus, so has most to lose from a trade war. Or it may be that it understands that dA(c)localisation, which so worries France (with its big trade deficit), is precisely what has helped Germany gain competitiveness by creating a global supply chain that controls production costs.

The full document is here (DOC) The highlights:

- While fully agreeing with the aim of the proposal, to strengthen the EUA’s leverage in negotiations with third countries, we disagree with the tactical approach. It would be difficult to argue against abuy Americana while installing abuy Europeana at the same time. The proposal would seriously damage the credibility of the EU in its fight against protectionist measures established elsewhere.

- The EUA’s leverage in negotiations with third countries can be strengthened by other means.

- The proposal causes the risk of retaliatory measures by third countries.

- [It] would create a afortress Europea at a time when the EU is depending on open markets to work our way out of the crisis. The major aim of public procurement is abest value for taxpayerA’s moneya. To achieving this aim, we need more competition on the procurement markets, not less.

- The proposal would also seriously endanger the internal market and distort competition between EU companies.

- In a globalised economy components of EU products are frequently produced in third countries. This is especially the case in the following sectors: IT-industry, electronic industry, engineering industry and automotive sector. The possible exclusion of tenders could therefore endanger the leading position of many EU companies in several sectors. The Commission proposal would also have a particularly negative impact on small and medium-sized companies.

- The proposal would create new bureaucratic burden on contracting authorities and companies, instead of making procurement procedures more simple.

Funny thing, those hard-fought EU summit statements. Sometimes the most thunderous declarations mean nothing. But sometimes there are those ambiguous little words turn into something big. Such is the case with the preamble of the communique (PDF)of the summit in September 2010:

The European Council discussed how to give new momentum to the Union’s external relations, taking full advantage of the opportunities provided by the Lisbon Treaty. It agreed on the need for Europe to promote its interests and values more assertively and in a spirit of reciprocity and mutual benefit.

aReciprocitya was left undefined. But now we know what it means. The European Commission yesterday (March 21st) issued a much fought-over proposal to give itself the power to close its public-procurement markets to companies from countries deemed not to reciprocate in allowing European firms to compete for their public contracts.

The Commission insists this is not about protectionism, but about becoming an adult in the big bad world. It is about arming oneself to force others to open the door to European companies in a market that accounts for anything up to 20% of a country’s GDP. It is, above all, about confronting China.

“The EU should no longer be naA-ve and should aim for fairness and reciprocity in world trade,a said Michel Barnier, the (French) single-market commissioner who co-sponsored the initiative with Karel De Gucht, the (Belgian) trade commissioner.

My forthcoming column this week deals with the threat of protectionism. For now, I want to delve into some of the detail, and the internal process that led to this deeply flawed proposal.

With difficulty, perhaps, one might believe the Commission’s claim to be seeking greater market access if the proposal had included only Mr De Gucht’s bit. After all, he is from Belgium’s Liberal party and has negotiated many a trade deal. Articles 8, 9 and 10 of the text (the official version is not yet out, but a Commission release is here PDF and my copy of the text is here PDF) set out an orderly procedure for the Commission to investigate market access in other countries, seek redress through negotiation and, only at the end, impose temporary and targeted retaliatory measures. These could include excluding tenders with more than 50% of goods and services from the sinning country, or a price penalty on the offending part of the tender.

Mr Barnier’s contribution to the effort, Article 6, is more worrying. It gives governments, municipalities and other local bodies the power to exclude bidders from offending countries (with permission from the Commission). This would apply to contracts above a!5m (accounting for 60% of public-procurement contracts subject to EU-wide bidding) and where bids contain 50% or more goods and services from non-reciprocal countries.

This local freedom to exclude bids threatens to fragment the EU’s single market that Mr Barnier is supposed to be defending. Not surprisingly, the article was the most contested by heads of cabinet on Monday, and by the commissioners themselves on Wednesday.

More alarming, the 50% rule in both procedures means that European firms that may make up the other half of bids could be penalised.

The proposal has run into opposition from the Commission’s legal services. And despite several changes, the Commission’s own Impact Assessment Board acould not give a positive opiniona. Of those consulted by the Commission, a substantial minority said they disagreed with any new legislation, including two-thirds of contracting entities and government bodies. The rest disagreed over what action should be taken.

Perhaps the most damning opinion came from Germany. Its response to the move, circulated privately, declares bluntly: aThe proposal is unacceptable and should be rejecteda. (see next post for the detail)

So to summarise: the proposal raises fears that it may spark a protectionist trade war, it endangers the single market, it raises questions about its legality, it worries those most charged with ensuring value-for-money in public contracts, it is opposed by Europe’s most successful exporter and, according to the Commission’s best experts, it probably will not achieve its declared objective.

So how did such a poorly conceived project get through the Commission’s college, and why now? During the internal debates, many argued for the proposal to be redrafted because it was patently a mess. At least, the critics said, remove Article 6 entirely. But it stayed in, and the college was split more or less down the middle, with opponents including Cathy Ashton (the British commissioner), Cecilia MalmstrAPm (Swedish), Olli Rehn (Finnish), Stefan FA1/4le (Czech) and, to a lesser degree, GA1/4nther Attinger (German).

The decisive push came from JosA(c) Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission. This a curious step for him. He is usually considered to be a liberal on economic matters, albeit not a very forceful one.

His motives may well lie across the border in France, where the presidential election campaign has at times seemed to be a contest over who could be most critical of the EU. President Nicolas Sarkozy has been beating the drum for protectionism, and for renationalising border controls in the Schengen free-travel area (his speech is here PDF). His Socialist challenger, FranASSois Hollande, wants to renegotiate the newly-agreed fragile fiscal compact to enhance fiscal discipline.

Perhaps Mr Barroso was browbeaten by the French president, or perhaps he concluded Mr Sarkozy was the lesser evil and decided to give his struggling campaign a helping hand.

It is no secret in Brussels that two men dislike each other. But at least they are from the same political afamilya of centre-right parties, the European People’s Party. One diplomat suggests: aThe EPP connection is stronger than people imagine.a

Wolfgang’s woes
From feedproxy.google

WOLFGANG SchA$?uble is, in many ways, the strongest a perhaps even the last a Europhile in the German government. But open the pages of Greek newspapers and there he is, the German finance minister depicted in Nazi uniform. It is not just the inflammatory Greek press that dislikes him. The Greek president, Karolos Papoulias, lashed out at him last week: aWho is Mr SchA$?uble to insult Greece? Who are the Dutch? Who are the Finnish?a

Mr SchA$?uble is, first and foremost, the German finance minister. As such his job is to protect the interests of the German tax-payer, from both the demands of his fellow ministers and the begging bowl held out by his European colleagues. As creditor-in-chief, one would expect him to be toughest in imposing conditions on Greece before granting a second bail-out.

But the SchA$?uble problem goes beyond this necessary parsimoniousness. Consistently through the crisis, Mr SchA$?uble has adopted the hardest positions. First it was a paper circulated by his officials calling for the creation of a budget acommissara with the power to control the Greek budget. Then it was his open talk a Greek default, and the fact that other European countries were abetter prepareda to withstand it. Most recently, he suggested that Greece should postpone its elections so that the technocratic government of Lukas Papademos has more time to implement reforms.

Many think Mr SchA$?uble has been deliberately pushing the Greeks into a chaotic default (one example is here). Even so, why do it so overtly? Why invite the crude and simplistic accusation the modern Germany is repeating the Nazisa jackbooted occupation of Greece? It would be so much simpler to let somebody like the Dutch finance minister, Jan Kees de Jager, do the tough talking (see my previous post) while Germany holds back. Every finance minister of a creditor country must demonstrate that he (or she) is driving a hard bargain. Mr SchA$?uble knows better than most the many doubts that surround even a second vast bailout of Greece (see this report of the IMF’s assessment). In the end, Mr de Jageras menaces count for much less than Mr SchA$?ubleas; if Greece is to be cut loose the decision will be taken in Berlin, not The Hague.

The FT’s Quentin Peel recently recently had an interesting piece on the reasons for Germany’s rigidity:

Postwar Germany is both profoundly provincial and committed to Europe. The federal system keeps central government in check, locked into a system of coalition government that is consensual and slow-moving. Both politics and the bureaucracy are dominated by lawyers (Mr SchA$?uble is one) who believe passionately in the need for rules and respect for the law. It makes for a confusing mixture of compromise and inflexibility. Mixed messages emerge from the different centres of power, not least from the finance ministry and the chancelloras office, until they can agree a common line.

Some argue that Mr SchA$?ubleas very pro-Europeanism heightens his sense of betrayal by Greece, and the prospect that it could destroy the European Unionas greatest experiment in integration. There may be truth in this. But I cannot help but feel that that also something of the bad-cop routine in Mr SchA$?ubleas actions. He must act as if a Greek default is possible, even desirable, in order to turn the pressure on Greek politicians. If that means being portrayed as a Nazi, so be it; the alternative is to let Greek politicians think they are immune because the euro zone will never let them collapse.

Still, Mr SchA$?uble’s claim that the euro zone is ready for a Greek default sounds implausible. Last year European politicians were bending over backwards to avoid any sort of default, lest it destabilise the whole of the euro zone. Yes, the European Central Bankas massive liquidity programme for banks (not sovereigns) has taken the edge off the panic. The reforms being enacted in Italy and Spain have helped too.

But nobody thinks the euro zone has yet overcome the crisis. If it were otherwise, why insist on the fiction that the restructuring of private debt is avoluntarya simply to avoid triggering credit-default swaps? And surely, if Germany were serious about cutting off the Greeks it would be doing more to strengthen anti-contagion measures. On the contrary: Germany has so far resisted a proposal to strengthen the rescue fund by maintaining the temporary European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) even after the creation of permanent European Stability Mechanism due later this year.

The conundrum for the fiscal hawks is that issuing a credible threat to Greece requires issuing a credible guarantee that Italy and Spain would be protected from the consequences. But that is something that Germany will not do, for fear of reducing the reformist pressure on Italy and Spain. So through gritted teeth, Greece must be kept afloat in some manneranot at any cost, of course, but for some time yet, as long as the price is not too exorbitant. aWe continue to believe that Greece can be saved. Or at least we continue to say so,a says one Eurocrat.

The difficulty in imposing discipline and reform on Greece will be familiar to any parent of recalcitrant adolescents who do not want to do their homework. Dad may shout, cajole and threat; the kid may come to hate the parent. But if the kid refuses to study, he cannot be starved, beaten or thrown on to the streets. The parent may enjoy the illusion of infinite power, but authority ultimately involves much bluff.

NOTICE TO BIDDERS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT sealed bids will be received in the office of the Tuolumne County Community Resources Agency at the A.N. Francisco Building, Fourth Floor, 48 W. Yaney, (mail: 2 South Green Street) Sonora, California until 2:15 p.m. on June 7, 2012 (“Bid Date”) after which said bids will be publicly opened and read in the Third Floor Conference Room at 48 West Yaney, in accordance with the contract documents referred to as: Special Districts Pavement Rehabilitation 2012 Contract No. #1640 Any bid received after the time and date listed above will be returned unopened. Bids are required for the entire work described in accordance with the provisions of the contract documents on the proposal forms furnished therein, and in accordance with these Special Provisions and with the Standard Specifications and Standard Plans published by the State of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), dated May 2006. DESCRIPTION OF WORK: The work to be done consists, in general, of rehabilitating pavement surfaces in various County Service Areas with either an asphalt rubber cape seal or crack sealing on existing pavement and other related items of work. No pre-bid meeting is scheduled for this project. Any communications relative to this project should be directed in writing to: Sharon Mikesell, Engineering Technician Community Resources Agency; Special Districts Administration 2 South Green Street Sonora, CA 95370 CONTRACT DOCUMENTS: Plans, specifications, proposal forms, and reduced plans for bidding this project may be examined or obtained at the Community Resources Agency, located at 48 West Yaney Street (mail to: 2 S. Green St.), Sonora, California 95370 (209-533-5601). A non-refundable charge of $25.00 will be made for each document set. COMPLETION OF WORK: The Bidder is referred to Section 8 of the Special Provisions which allows 35 working days for completion of the work. Liquidated damages of $600 per calendar day will be assessed for each day of delay in completion of the work. QUANTITY OF WORK: The quantities shown in the proposal forms are approximate only and given as a basis for the comparison of bids. The County of Tuolumne does not expressly or by implication assert that the actual amount of work will correspond herewith and reserves the right to increase or decrease the amount of any portion of the work or to omit portions of the work as may be deemed necessary. BID SECURITY: All bids shall be accompanied by cash or a certified or cashiers check payable to the order of the County of Tuolumne amounting to ten percent (10%) of the bid or a bond in said amount payable to the County as liquidated damages. Said amount shall be retained by, or said bond shall become payable to, the County if the bidder depositing same does not, within ten (10) working days after written notice that the contract has been award- ed to him, enter into a contract with the County. BONDS: The successful bidder shall furnish a payment bond and a performance bond, each in the amount of one hundred (100) percent of the contract price, and a maintenance warranty bond in an amount equal to twenty five (25) percent of the contract price. ADDENDUMS TO BID DOCUMENTS: The Engineer may issue addendums to the project plans and specifications as he deems necessary to modify the project documents prior to opening of bids. Addendums will be in writing and may modify the content of the project documents as well as the date that bids are accepted by the County. LOCAL VENDORS: The County encourages bidders to consider using local vendors when putting together their proposals. Be advised that the inclusion or exclusion of local vendors will not be taken into consideration when the County reviews the submitted bid proposals. CONTRACTOR LICENSE REQUIRED: The successful bidder, before contract award, shall possess a current Class A Engineering Contractor or Class C-12 Earthwork & Paving Contractor license issued by the State of California Licensing Board. Failure of the bidder to obtain the required license before award of the contract shall constitute a failure to execute the contract and shall result in the forfeiture of the security of the bidder. WAGE RATES: Pursuant to Section 1773 of the Labor Code, the general prevailing wage rates in the County in which the work is to be done have been determined by the Director of the California Department of Industrial Relations. These wages are set forth in the General Prevailing Wage Rates for this project, available at the County of Tuolumne Community Resources Agency and available from the California Department of Industrial Relations Internet web site at http://www.dir.ca.gov. BUY AMERICA REQUIREMENT: This project is subject to the Buy America provisions of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 as amended by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991. PAYMENT RETENTION: Upon the Contractors request, the County will make payment of funds withheld from progress payments, pursuant to the requirements of Public Contracts Code section 22300 if, the Contractor deposits, in escrow with the County Treasurer or with a bank acceptable to the County, securities eligible for the investment of State of California funds under Government Code section 16430 or bank or savings and loan certificates of deposit in accordance with the conditions of the Special Provisions. AWARD OF CONTRACT: The award of the contract, if it is to be awarded, will be to the lowest responsible bidder whose proposal complies with all the requirements prescribed, such award, if made, will be made within sixty (60) days after the opening of the proposals. The award of the contract will be subject to the availability of funds. The County of Tuolumne reserves the right to reject any or all bids and to waive any irregularities in the bidding. Alicia Jamar Chief Deputy Clerk of the Board of Supervisors Dated: 05/15/2012 Publication Dates: May 18 & 31, 2012 The Union Democrat, Sonora, CA 95370

NOTICE TO BIDDERS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT sealed bids will be received in the office of the Tuolumne County Community Resources Agency at the A.N. Francisco Building, Fourth Floor, 48 W. Yaney, (mail: 2 South Green Street) Sonora, California until 2:00 p.m. on June 7, 2012 (“Bid Date”) after which said bids will be publicly opened and read in the Third Floor Conference Room at 48 West Yaney, in accordance with the contract documents referred to as: Jamestown Landfill Storm Damage Repair Any bid received after the time and date listed above will be returned unopened. Bids are required for the entire work described in accordance with the provisions of the contract documents on the proposal forms furnished therein, and in accordance with these Special Provisions and with the Standard Specifications and Standard Plans published by the State of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), dated May 2006. DESCRIPTION OF WORK: The work to be done consists, in general, of providing all material, labor, and equipment necessary to construct reinforced shotcrete facing anchored to soil nails. Work shall include, but not limited to: Mobilization, developing site acess, removing and replacing existing pipe, clearing and grubbing, slope facing, geocomposite drains behind shotcrete facing and in trenches, shotcrete drainage inlet, and plastic pipe downdrain. PRE-BID INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS: A mandatory pre-bid meeting will be scheduled on Friday June 1, 2012 from 2:00pm-3:00pm at the Jamestown Landfill, Campo Seco Terrace, Jamestown, California. Bidders shall address any questions in writing to the County. The County will circulate the questions, along with written responses, to the bidders list by email. Except for questions that might render the award of this contract invalid, the County will not respond to any questions submitted five (5) days prior to the Bid Date. Any oral responses to questions are not binding on the County. Any communications relative to this project should be directed in writing to: Tanya Allen, P.E., Senior Civil Engineer Community Resources Agency 2 South Green Street Sonora, CA 95370 CONTRACT DOCUMENTS: Plans, specifications, proposal forms, and reduced plans for bidding this project may be examined or obtained at the Community Resources Agency, located at 48 West Yaney Street (mail to: 2 S. Green St.), Sonora, California 95370 (209-533-5601). A non-refundable charge of $25.00 will be made for each set of specifications and half size set. A non-refundable $30.00 charge will be made for each set of full size plans. COMPLETION OF WORK: The Bidder is referred to Section 8 of the Special Provisions which allows 30 working days for completion of the work. Liquidated damages of $950 per calendar day will be assessed for each day of delay in completion of the work. QUANTITY OF WORK: The quantities shown in the proposal forms are approximate only and given as a basis for the comparison of bids. The County of Tuolumne does not expressly or by implication assert that the actual amount of work will correspond herewith and reserves the right to increase or decrease the amount of any portion of the work or to omit portions of the work as may be deemed necessary. BID SECURITY: All bids shall be accompanied by cash or a certified or cashiers check payable to the order of the County of Tuolumne amounting to ten percent (10%) of the bid or a bond in said amount payable to the County as liquidated damages. Said amount shall be retained by, or said bond shall become payable to, the County if the bidder depositing same does not, within ten (10) working days after written notice that the contract has been awarded to him, enter into a contract with the County. BONDS: The successful bidder shall furnish a payment bond and a performance bond, each in the amount of one hundred (100) percent of the contract price, and a maintenance warranty bond in an amount equal to twenty five (25) percent of the contract price. ADDENDUMS TO BID DOCUMENTS: The Engineer may issue addendums to the project plans and specifications as he deems necessary to modify the project documents prior to opening of bids. Addendums will be in writing and may modify the content of the project documents as well as the date that bids are accepted by the County. LOCAL VENDORS: The County encourages bidders to consider using local vendors when putting together their proposals. Be advised that the inclusion or exclusion of local vendors will not be taken into consideration when the County reviews the submitted bid proposals. CONTRACTOR LICENSE REQUIRED: The successful bidder, before contract award, shall possess a current Class A Engineering Contractor license issued by the State of California Licensing Board. Failure of the bidder to obtain the required license before award of the contract shall constitute a failure to execute the contract and shall result in the forfeiture of the security of the bidder. WAGE RATES: Pursuant to Section 1773 of the Labor Code, the general prevailing wage rates in the County in which the work is to be done have been determined by the Director of the California Department of Industrial Relations. These wages are set forth in the General Prevailing Wage Rates for this project, available at the County of Tuolumne Community Resources Agency and available from the California Department of Industrial Relations Internet web site at http://www.dir.ca.gov. BUY AMERICA REQUIREMENT: This project is subject to the Buy America provisions of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 as amended by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991. PAYMENT RETENTION: Upon the Contractors request, the County will make payment of funds withheld from progress payments, pursuant to the requirements of Public Contracts Code section 22300 if, the Contractor deposits, in escrow with the County Treasurer or with a bank acceptable to the County, securities eligible for the investment of State of California funds under Government Code section 16430 or bank or savings and loan certificates of deposit in accordance with the conditions of the Special Provisions. AWARD OF CONTRACT: The award of the contract, if it is to be awarded, will be to the lowest responsible bidder whose proposal complies with all the requirements prescribed. Such award, if made, will be made within sixty (60) days after the opening of the proposals. The award of the contract will be subject to the availability of funds. The County of Tuolumne reserves the right to reject any or all bids and to waive any irregularities in the bidding. Alicia Jamar Chief Deputy Clerk of the Board of Supervisors Dated: May 15, 2012 Publication Dates: May 18 & June 1, 2012. The Union Democrat, Sonora, CA 95370

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Capital Online Revenue Introduces Innovate Business Education Techniques


As an alternative to more traditional methods of learning about business and commerce, Capital Online Revenue introduces a new “earn and learn” training program.

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