A
As microwave cooking times are much shorter than other cooking times, it is essential that recommended cooking times are not exceeded without first checking the food.

B
Take care when heating small amounts of food as these can easily burn, dry out, or catch fire if cooked too long. Always set short cooking times and check the food frequently.

C
Take care when heating dry foods, e.g. bread items, chocolate and pastries. These can easily burn or catch fire if cooked too long.

D
Some processed meats, such as sausages, have non-porous casings. These must be pierced by a fork before cooking, to prevent bursting. Whole fruit and vegetables should be similarly treated.

E
When heating soup, sauces and beverages in your microwave oven, heating beyond boiling point can occur without evidence of bubbling. Care should be taken not to overheat.

F
When warming up food for a second time, it is essential that it is served ‘piping hot’, i.e. steam is being emitted from all parts and any sauce is bubbling. For foods that cannot be stirred, e.g. pizza, the centre should be cut with a knife to test it is well heated through.

G
It is important for the safe operation of the oven that it is wiped out regularly. Use warm, soapy water, squeeze the cloth out well and use it to remove any grease or food from the interior. The oven should be unplugged during this process.

CHOOSING PREMISES FOR A NEW BUSINESS

What you need

Three factors dominate the priorities of small businesses looking for premises: cost, cost and cost. Nobody ever has enough money, so there is an overwhelming temptation to go for the cheapest property available – a mistake that can lead to inconvenience and even threaten the future of the business.

Ironically, some firms swing too far in the other direction, committing themselves to a heavy initial outlay designed to save them money in the long run – and that does not come cheap. The right compromise is the real secret. That, and choosing premises that are right according to the type of business. But there are some general rules that apply to any operation.

Location

High street premises are important for shops which rely on passing trade – but these are expensive. Rents fall quickly within a few metres of main roads. Offices, however, need not be located centrally, particularly if most business is done on the phone or via email.

Manufacturing and storage relies heavily on access. Think about how and when lorries will deliver and collect goods from the premises. Nearby parking can be important for staff, and public transport can be even more so, as traffic restrictions tighten.

Size

This is a crucial consideration. Safety rules provide basic guidance on how much room is required per office desk or manufacturing operation. But remember to allow for growth.

Growth

Every small business aims to be a big business, but this prospect can be obstructed if the wrong decision is made early on. It is important to consider flexibility and expansion. Can a building be physically altered internally by knocking down walls or by extending outwards or adding extra floors? Is there spare land next door to expand if necessary?

Landlords do not always agree to such changes so it is important to check the contract. Includes details of what will be allowed and how much extra will be charged on top of the original lease if alterations are planned later. Most landlords want long-term tenants and are not always open to discussion about the nature of premises. They may have rigid rules over the increasing density of a tenant. The building may be in a conservation area or near housing, meaning legal and local authority restrictions apply.

CALIFORNIA STATE COLLEGE
WORKING CONDITIONS AND BENEFITS FOR EMPLOYEES

Payday

Employees are paid every other Friday. If Friday is a holiday, payday will be the following Monday. Generally, employees will receive their pay in their department/office, but they will be picked up at the Business Office.

Overtime

All time worked over eight hours in one day or 40 hours in a workweek, and also the first eight hours worked on the seventh day of work in a workweek is considered overtime for non-exempt employees. The supervisor must approve all overtime before it is worked. Double time is paid for all hours worked over 12 hours in one day and for hours worked in excess of eight hours on the seventh day of work. Exempt employees receive no additional compensation for overtime hours.

Parking

All employees who will be parking on campus must obtain a parking permit. A monthly pre-tax payroll deduction can be made by filling out a form or employees can pay cash. Present your staff I.D. and a license plate number to the Cashier’s Office. The Security Department will ticket cars without a permit.

I.D. Card

All employees are required to carry an I.D. card. If an employee loses his/her card, there will be an automatic charge of $5.00 to issue a duplicate. If an employee resigns or is terminated, his/her I.D. card must be returned prior to release of the final paycheck.

Holidays

All regular and temporary full-time employees will receive approximately 13 paid holidays during the course of each calendar year. Regular part-time employees who receive holiday benefits will work using a prorated system, receiving full holiday credit if it is their normal workday.

Personal Holidays

All regular employees are granted one extra day as a Personal Holiday at the time of hire, at the beginning of each calendar year. A second Birthday Holiday may be used at any time during the year on a prorated basis depending on employees’ time. Employees requesting Personal Holiday time will be required to complete Leave Request forms. No more than one Personal Holiday is authorized annually.

Birthday Holiday

All regular employees who are full-time or part-time employees are entitled to take their birthday off with pay. An employee has a fifteen-day window before and fifteen days after their birthday to take their holiday. However, an exception for January 15th is given to those employees whose birthdays fall between December 16th and the end of the year.

A Very Special Dog

Florence is one of a new breed of dog who is making the work of the Australian Customs much easier.

It is 8:15 a.m. A flight lands at Melbourne’s Tullamarine International Airport. Several hundred pieces of baggage are pulled from the carousel. Overhead, the luggage reclaim area is filled with the noise of luggage trolleys and grinding metal. Among the crowd is Florence, a sleek black Labrador, wearing her tag.

Along the avalanche of luggage passing beneath Florence’s all-important nose, a nonscripted handbag catches her attention. Inside the case, vibrant smells mingle—bitter notes of coffee, wrapped in frozen paper, and the lingering smell of lollies and hashish.

The cleverly concealed drugs don't fool super-sniffer Florence, and her persistent scratching at the case alerts her human handlers to hidden substances. While at the same time, in the background, there are other travelers who pass through the airport, some unknowingly carrying drugs solely to earn a few extra dollars.

What began as a simple incident—in keeping illegal drugs out of Australia—has developed into a major undertaking, a highly practical endeavor involving dozens of specially trained dogs who help keep the nation safe.

The Australian Customs have been using dogs to track drugs since 1969. Traditionally, puppies are bred at a facility in Victoria. In 1993, they took the next steps and began taking them to a dog-training facility at the University of Melbourne, and set up a breeding program.

Champness began by defining six essential traits that make a detector dog. First, every good detector dog must love praise because this is the only tool trainers have at their disposal, but the dog must still be able to work for long periods without it. Then it needs a strong hunting instinct and the stamina to keep sniffing at the taxing rate of around 300 per minute. The ideal detector is also fearless enough to deal with jam-packed airport crowds and the rearranging rooms of cargo ships.

The remaining two traits are closely related and creative in nature. A good detector must be capable of focusing on the task of searching for drugs, despite distractions. And finally, with potentially hundreds of thousands of hiding places, the dog must remember and maintain focus for hours at a time. Neurobiologists call this selective attention.

Vandecand and Champness assess the dogs' abilities to concentrate by making them try to find treats in five different boxes, two of which contain food, and three that are empty. Neurobiologists find this exercise useful because it shows the dogs’ potential to recognize the right places where the food is hidden and ignore the distractions. In contrast, dogs that are distracted by the places without food, and fail to perform correctly, show a lack of concentration.

A person’s ability to pay attention, like a dog’s, depends on a number of overlapping cognitive processes. Attention is an important area of research in neuroscience, which can disproportionately affect people with conditions such as ADHD. This can lead to an inability to focus on tasks, leading to poor performance. However, the good news is that neurobiologists are optimistic that with enough stimulus, the brain can learn new tricks and effectively train itself.

Vigilance may look similar to attention but is more multifaceted – which is these dogs essential for their work in law enforcement. While attention can wane as the task becomes monotonous, vigilance will remain heightened in a period limited to no more than two hours. The most reliable dog will be able to maintain its focus for the full two hours.

With the current interest in attentional processing, as well as the conditions that hinder it, such as ADHD, it is prudent that the attention of neurobiologists trying to cure these conditions.