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David Stern's legacy is that of a giant
Vincent Goodwill
January 1, 2020, 9:13 PM UTC
David Stern long stepped away from his official post as NBA commissioner, but his handprints are all over today's game and his fingerprints touch the landscape of sports at large.
It's easy to say anyone could've shepherded the NBA through its golden era of the 1980s. Magic, Larry and others played a game that was easy to digest, and they were drafted by the perfect teams in the perfect cities. But without Stern, his vision and the audacity he possessed when he took over, not many would've been able to absorb the game and embrace the new flavor of the day.
What good is magic if it's in the woods and nobody sees it?
That's where Stern, who died Wednesday after suffering a brain hemorrhage on Dec. 12, came in, helping to change the league's image to the masses with the same heavy hand he was often criticized for in not-so-digestible matters. Although small in stature, the man could command a room with the best of them — with a witty disposition and a voice that reflected his mission.
When he took over as commissioner, the NBA was a distant third in the American consciousness and maybe a step behind that considering how people felt about its players. Viewership was dwindling, and even though its players were dynamic and entertaining, the NBA Finals were on tape delay.
That didn't automatically change with the arrival of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird following their captivating matchup in the 1979 NCAA championship game. The networks weren't lining up to show those two without some serious pushing from the man who took over from Larry O'Brien in 1984.
Stern had to walk delicate lines from the day he took over — fighting the perception that the league was drug-infested and its players were selfish. Even if he knew the overall judgment was unfair, he had to get the public on his side to maximize the growing game.
The game was the game, but it was also a show, too. It needed to be entertaining as much as it was a competition, and as things ebbed and flowed, he did his best to keep it steady.
Davis Stern served as commissioner of the NBA for exactly 30 years. (Mike Young/Getty Images)
He had the temerity to expect his players be placed on the marquee — faces fans could identify with and embrace. The changes were subtle, but Stern wasn't. He possessed an innate ability to see what was ahead, getting in front of the wave and making sure to get off before it crashed.
Before you knew it, NBA players were bankable commodities and ratings were on the rise almost as soon as he took over.
Anyone could've seen Michael Jordan was a little different than the rest, but Stern pushed all the league's chips to Jordan's table, believing he could take the game to places Magic and Larry couldn't — and it paid dividends the league is still reaping all these years later.
Jordan couldn't have been this larger-than-life figure without Stern's tacit blessing — and lest we forget, the whispers of Jordan being favored by the league office didn't come from thin air.
Stern never appeared to deny being complicated, which made him more relatable even from the ivory tower of Manhattan. His "I'm smarter than you" troupe was almost endearing, because most times, he was right and had the skins to prove it.
And he had the foresight to realize the key to making the NBA bigger was by taking things beyond national land — and the evidence is right in front of us. The annual trips to showcase the game outside of the states was Stern's vision and his work — not just to take advantage of the economic benefits but to open its doors to international talent.
The top MVP candidates of today — Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic and many others — have Stern to thank, through degrees of separation, for making the game global and accessible. He pushed the Olympic committee to allow professionals to participate in the Summer Games, which begat the Dream Team ... which begat the first wave of international stars to affect the game, an expansion Stern understood could only make the league better.
His ambition required a stern hand — no pun intended — and it wasn't always well-received as the league went through peaks and valleys.
Crisis management could've been his best attribute, firm in the face of the unthinkable. He didn't banish Magic Johnson from the NBA family when Johnson contracted HIV, which not only threatened the league's credibility but also Johnson's life.
Stern stood alongside Johnson and embraced him, welcoming him back to the game that so loved him that nothing would stop the relationship between the game and its great figure. Of all the commissioners of recent vintage, who was better equipped to handle such a situation with grace, humanity and optimism in the face of the unknown?
By and large, was Stern a cuddly, cherubic figure? No.
He could be a bully and heavy-handed and stubborn to a degree. Things were often going to be his way or no way at all — but he seemed to issue his edicts with a smirk and a chuckle. You may have thought you were on his good side.
He laughed because, in his mind, he educated you.
His lockout beard from the 1998 work stoppage will forever be on his dossier, and even if he had no true regrets from it, he understood the long-term effects.
He let nothing slide, suffered very few fools and always believed he knew best. When the devastating Malice at the Palace happened in 2004, he knew the ramifications could destroy everything he helped build and was willing to be the villain for the greater good.
The dress code didn't sound good or feel good, but its effect reached Stern's desire as the league's image changed for the better.
How great was Stern's mystique? Rumors persist, two decades later, that he told the game's greatest player at the peak of his powers to go sit down for two years in 1993.
The only reason it is truly believable is because of Stern — in some ways, he's Keyser Soze come to life.
He almost felt indestructible, almost always with the right answers, with the right tone even through his faults.
If his 30-year tenure was to leave the game in a better place than when he took the mantle, Adam Silver had fertile ground to continue building upon Stern's massive legacy.
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April 1, 2002, Vol. 14, No. 3, Pages 340-347
(doi: 10.1162/089892902317361886)
© 2002 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Testing the Efficiency and Independence of Attentional Networks
Jin Fan
Bruce D. McCandliss
Tobias Sommer
Amir Raz
Michael I. Posner
In recent years, three attentional networks have been defined in anatomical and functional terms. These functions involve alerting, orienting, and executive attention. Reaction time measures can be used to quantify the processing efficiency within each of these three networks. The Attention Network Test (ANT) is designed to evaluate alerting, orienting, and executive attention within a single 30-min testing session that can be easily performed by children, patients, and monkeys. A study with 40 normal adult subjects indicates that the ANT produces reliable single subject estimates of alerting, orienting, and executive function, and further suggests that the efficiencies of these three networks are uncorrelated. There are, however, some interactions in which alerting and orienting can modulate the degree of interference from flankers. This procedure may prove to be convenient and useful in evaluating attentional abnormalities associated with cases of brain injury, stroke, schizophrenia, and attention-deficit disorder. The ANT may also serve as an activation task for neuroimaging studies and as a phenotype for the study of the influence of genes on attentional networks.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


President Rodrigo Duterte is so furious over the failed arms deal with Israel and Jordan that upon his arrival in Davao City he let off steam by castigating his critics like Senator Leila de Lima, the US, Canada and United Nations for the fiasco.
Concerns over human rights violations in the continuing anti-drug war that has claimed 4,000 lives according to official figures had landed in Israeli mainstream media during PRRD's visit last week. There were also misgivings by Israeli human rights groups including President Reuven Rivlin who were offended by PRRD's previous remarks in which he referenced Adolf Hitler in the anti-drugs campaign. As we know, the President has since apologized for the remark and has insisted that he did not intend to desecrate the memory of the holocaust victims.
To demonstrate his sensitivity to the Jewish people, the President visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Center to take part in the inaugural of a monument to honor the Filipino rescue of Jews during the holocaust.
The Philippines provided sanctuary to some 1,200 Jewish refugees who were then fleeing the systematic murder of millions of Jews by Hitler's Wermacht. This poignant narrative is available online. From 1937 to 1940, about 1,200 Jews found their sanctuary in the Philippines through the efforts of then President Manuel Quezon and an American official. This historical anecdote would have worked in favor of the government's bid for an arms deal because Israel's arms trade is integral to its foreign policy. Apparently, this was set aside over human rights violations concerns, probably aggravated by a previous reckless remark.
The President's arrival statement wherein he emphasized the need for precision-guided weapons in the current anti-drug war indicated that the arms deal with Israel was a top priority in his visit. Israel is one of the world's top weapons exporters, standing head to head with major industrial powers like the US, Britain, Germany and Brazil.
The tiny country with a population of over 8 million also is also a major exporter of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) commonly known as drones. Described as "a powerhouse in the development of military UAVs, and increasingly, commercial UAVs and technologies" the arms deal with Israel would have pushed the PH military to a cutting edge technology upgrade.
The genocide of 6 million Jews across Europe during World War II oftentimes crops up in the conversation among members of the Schoenstatt Movement in the Philippines because the father and founder of the spiritual movement was a German priest and theologian who survived the Nazi concentration camp in Dachau.
Arrested by the Gestapo in 1941 and put to jail in Koblenz and later in the Dachau concentration camp until 1945, Fr. Joseph Kentenich was prisoner number 29392. For more than four years, Fr. Kentenich saw the horrors of the war in the deaths of more than 188,000 prisoners. Many died from diseases, starvation, hard labor, torture punishments, medical experiments while others were killed en masse in gas chambers.
Dachau is just one of 42,000 camps and incarceration sites established by Nazi Germany and its allies from 1933 to 1945 such that any mention of the Holocaust cannot be framed carelessly.
By the way, 2018 is the Year of Fr. Kentenich who died in September 15, 1968.
To celebrate the golden jubilee of his passing, the Schoenstatt family in the Philippines will hold a 3-day National Convention (September 14-16) in the Schoenstatt Shrine in Lawaan 3, Talisay City, Cebu.
The gathering will also feature a "barrio fiesta"-themed celebration and unveiling of the Schoenstatt founder's life-size statue. Cebu Archbishop Jose S. Palma will officiate the Pontifical Mass on September 16. The mass is open to the public.


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TRAFICOM
From ICANNWiki
Headquarters: Helsinki
Website: Traficom.fi (English)
The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (TRAFICOM) is the organization which manages the country code top-level domain of Finland, .fi.
According to legislation approved on November 6th, 2014, requirements have changed for .fi domain name application. Finnish persons living abroad, as well as private companies, may apply for .fi names, and requirements for obligatory name servers configured to domain names will be abolished. Nonetheless, trademark protections will remain unchanged, so that those applying for a domain name must ensure that they are not violating protected or trademarked names.[1]
The .fi domain was first delegated to the Tampere University of Technology in 1986. Over the ensuing decade, registry operations were managed by a variety of organizations, ending with KPNQWest Finland, a for-profit company.[2]
In 1997, "it became obvious that there was a conflict between commercial interests and neutrality,"[2], and the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA) took over administrative functions, establishing a new and stricter set of rules for domain registration.[2]. KPNQWest Finland continued to provide technical registry services, but declared bankruptcy in 2002. FICORA then assumed technical registry operations as well.[3]
In 2019, as part of a governmental reorganization, FICORA was consolidated into its supervising agency, TRAFICOM. TRAFICOM assumed registry operations for the .fi domain at that time.[2]
Policy Evolutions
An automated Domain Name Service was implemented in 2003, around the same time a new Domain Act liberalized .fi domain names so that they were available to companies for purchase.[3]
.fi launched IDNs in 2005, and in 2006, laws were changed so that .fi domain names became available for private persons.[3]
In 2014, the Finnish Parliament approved legislation known as the Information Society Code (previously the Code for Information Society and Communications Services). The legislation is intended to clarify the roles of FICORA and its registrars through the introduction of a registry-registrar model. Under the new operation model, acquisition and maintenance of domain names will be available through a "one-shop stop", where customers can acquire all services from one place.[1]
↑ 1.0 1.1 Finland: Domain name act to be amended, CENTR.org. Retrieved 2015 July 29.
↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 ccNSO Member Profile - .fi
↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Ficora, CENTR.org. Updated 2015 July 29.
Retrieved from "https://icannwiki.org/index.php?title=TRAFICOM&oldid=1305631"
CcTLD Registry
CcNSO Member


Stream the Caykur Rizespor vs Goztepe event live on the net below at watchsport!
This week's match, Caykur Rizespor vs Goztepe will be streamed live for fans of the teams. Football visitors can see the battle on smartphones and tablets with streaming video and audio. Event streams are always updated around 120 mins before tie.
Live channels are updated below from the highest quality services and can be viewed live online. Different football ties are displayed to the far right of WSN, users can stream any of the matches via the net.
Watch Caykur Rizespor vs Goztepe Live & Bet at Bet365!
TV & other streaming: Caykur Rizespor vs Goztepe and today's soccer events will probably be shown on live satellite tv. For Caykur Rizespor vs Goztepe fans in the United Kingdom, see telly listings for SS1, SS2, SS3, BT Sport 1 and 2 as well as ITV4. Football supporters based in states elsewhere, see tv guides for beIN Sports, SportKlub, Sky Bundesliga, Futbol 1 and other sports stations.


Dulquer Salmaan is a popular star in Tollywood. We saw him in Mani Ratnam's 'OK Bangaram' and 'Mahanati'. He is a good actor from Malayalam cinema. Opportunity has come in knocking for this actor once again in Tollywood.
Director Indraganti Mohana Krishna has script which will need two heroes. This one is for producer Dil Raju. If the later agrees to this script, Dulquer might be one of the lead hero.
Natural star Nani will be the other leading man. This teaming might be great, getting two of the hot stars in a film. We will have to wait and see if Dulquer will agree to be a part of this movie.


Call Before You Dig (Marking Utilities before digging for Fence Posts) - Wood Fence Materials and More at Fence Supply Inc.
Before digging for your new fence, it's vital to ensure that all underground utility facilities* are properly marked at the surface. Whether you're a seasoned contractor or weekend do-it-yourself-er, risking damage** to an underground utility line while digging risks harm to yourself or those around you, disruption of service, and the potential for heavy fines and repair costs.
Due to the Underground Facility Damage Prevention and Safety Act, it is now mandatory for any person digging underground to contact an official notification center no less than 48 hours before digging.
While there are numerous call centers across the country that can manage your project, "Call 811" is the most comprehensive and effective resource for anyone beginning a digging project. Simply dial 811 from anywhere in the country a few days prior to your digging project, and your call will be routed to your local One Call Center. Detail your digging project to the operator, and the proper local utility companies will be notified about your intent to dig. Within a few days, they will send a locator to mark the locations of your underground facilities, ensuring the prevention of possible damage. Visit dial811.com for more information.
Click here for more information on the Underground Facility Damage Prevention and Safety Act passed in 1998.
*A utility facility is defined as, but not limited to, a line, cable, pipeline system, conduit, or structure that is located partially or totally underground and that is used to produce, store, convey, transmit, or distribute telecommunications, electricity, gas, water, sewage, steam, or liquids such as petroleum, petroleum products, or hazardous liquids.
**Damage is defined as, but not limited to, (A) the defacing, scraping, displacement, penetration, destruction, or partial or complete severance of an underground facility or of any protective coating, housing, or other protective device of an underground facility; (B) the weakening of structural or lateral support of an underground facility; or (C) the failure to properly replace the backfill covering an underground facility.


ELKHART - Alfred L. "Al" Pettit, 71, died at 12:45 a.m. Friday in Elkhart General Hospital. Survivors include daughters, Tina (David) Ashe, Pamela (Eldin) Lovely and July (Raymond) Ivers, all of Elkhart; ten grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and sisters, Loretta Luke and Freda Pettit, both of Elkhart. Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday in Walley-Mills-Zimmerman Funeral Home, where friends may call from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday.


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Existing Drug Could Reduce Cancer Drug's Side Effects
| Original story from Michigan State University
Credit: Christina Victoria Craft/ Unsplash
Complete the form below and we will email you a PDF version of "Existing Drug Could Reduce Cancer Drug's Side Effects"
A Michigan State University researcher is part of an international team that found an existing drug may help decrease side effects of cisplatin, a widely used cancer treatment that was discovered at MSU in 1965.
Since its discovery, cisplatin has become the gold standard against which all cancer treatments are measured. Currently, cisplatin is used to treat testicular, ovarian, bladder, lung, stomach and head and neck cancers. While cisplatin has proven to be an effective chemotherapy drug to treat cancer, the side effects of the treatment can be debilitating and may result in treatment cessation. Examples of such side effects include peripheral neuropathy, which causes severe pain in hands and feet, and kidney toxicity, which can lead to kidney failure in 35% of patients who take cisplatin. Currently, no drugs are available that reduce these side effects.
Patients taking cisplatin undergo weekly blood tests to monitor kidney function and look for kidney damage caused by the drug to determine whether they can safely withstand another round of treatment. If a patient experiences kidney toxicity, current options include pausing treatment or reducing the dosage of the chemotherapy. Some patients choose to discontinue treatment because the painful neuropathy in their extremities is too intense.
Now, there may be a solution to help patients beat cancer and reduce the severity of their treatment's side effects. MSU researcher Geoffroy Laumet, along with his team and an interdisciplinary group of scientists from the University of Lille, the University of Strasbourg and the Pasteur Institute of Lille in France and the University of Coimbra in Portugal, has found that istradefylline, a drug already approved by the FDA and used to treat Parkinson's disease, can reduce the side effects of cisplatin while preserving its cancer-fighting strength.
Laumet is an assistant professor in the College of Natural Science who specializes in cisplatin-induced neuropathic pain. While the researchers in France and Portugal showed that istradefylline reduces kidney toxicity, together with Laumet, the international team demonstrated that istradefylline also can alleviate peripheral neuropathy and improve tumor control.
"The exact interaction between istradefylline and cisplatin remains to be determined but we do know that tumor cells and cells that are stressed by the toxicity of cisplatin will release a lot of adenosines," Laumet said. "Istradefylline blocks the effects of adenosine."
While istradefylline has been proven to be safe in humans, the current experiments showing its efficacy in combating the side effects of cisplatin have only been conducted on animal models. The next step is for the team to collaborate with researchers that specialize in human clinical trials.
"The preclinical research results have been promising," said Laumet. "In the future with istradefylline, the hope is that patients would be able to keep taking cisplatin without side effects or losing the drug's effectiveness."
Reference: Dewaeles E, Carvalho K, Fellah S, et al. Istradefylline protects from cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity and peripheral neuropathy while preserving cisplatin antitumor effects. J Clin Invest. 2022;132(22). doi: 10.1172/JCI152924
Anticancer Therapies
Discovering and Categorizing Mutational Signatures From Cancer Whole Genomes
The Case for RRx-001 as a Radiation Countermeasure
Recent Advances and Challenges in Oncolytic Virotherapy: The Myoxma Virus Story


Apr 10, 2019 5:53 PM - Published a new event.
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MISSION: Collect, create and disseminate information to enhance and accelerate development of the SME industry in Cambodia.
MISSION: To serve its members and the real estate industry in developing and promoting programs and services that will enhance members' businesses through collective action, which promotes real estate development and ownership values.
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Keep in touch with what AmCham is up to. This includes weekly newsletters, special promotions, upcoming events and so much more.


A veteran in Chaska was wanting to remove a tree safely without damaging his property. His home and property was very special to him and he went online to do a search of the best tree removal Chaska had to offer and Nature's Touch Tree Care & Landscaping was the only company that kept appearing. The reviews left by customers impressed him, so the veteran contacted Nature's Touch Tree Care & Landscaping for tree removal in Chaska.
The Nature's Touch Tree Care & Landscaping crew arrived at the veteran's home and he showed the crew the tree that he was worried about. The tree indeed needed to be removed as it was leaning towards his home and utility lines. We let him know that we use special equipment, so there would absolutely be no damages done to his home or his property. The veteran was glad to hear the news and we returned to his home a few days later with our bucket crane and started removing the tree. Within just a few hours our crew had the tree removed successfully and safely. When the crew was done the customer came out and said he was grateful to have Nature's Touch Tree Care & Landscaping to do the heavy lifting and keeping his property safe and sound. The homeowner said that he would only contact Nature's Touch Tree Care & Landscaping to do all his tree removal and landscaping from now one, because we did such a great job.


I've said before it's a tricky yarn to photograph but I think these colours are as close to lifelike as I'm going to manage. The yarn is from Laughing Yaffle and is a colourway called Electric Sheep. I love how zingy it is.
I followed the pattern as written aside from switching the heel to my favourite fish lips kiss heel which is easy to knit and fits my foot well.
So I have a net loss of 187 yards for last month. Unfortunately that's not helping very much with January's massive gain so my stash is still bigger for this year by 1795 yards. Must try harder lol.
Great socks! I am addicted to them and am only on my 3rd pair but I know I will always have several on the needles for sure! I have not tried the fish lips kiss heel but my next pair I will definitely as so many people say they love it and it's easy. I'm like you, I taught myself to knit and crochet and just about anything else I do! LOL!
I love your keeping track of yarn stash in and out and I want to do that for yarn and also fabric! And maybe junk from sales too! LOL! I'll be back! Have a great day!
Hehe socks are good fun :) When I first started knitting them I tried out various heels to work out which ones suited my foot best. It's amazing how many variations there are!
They are stunning socks and such a beautiful yarn, the colours are amazing. I daren't keep a track on my stash I would have to own up to how much I have.
Happy socks right in your colors. I really want to try this pattern one of these days.
They are gorgeous socks and a lovely pattern. I am trying the fish lips kiss heel on my current socks.
Thank you :) What do you think of it?
Oh aren't they pretty - I love the colour, it's so wonderfully bright and cheery!
You'll get there. I always have a big buy in January since it's my birthday month. I spend the rest of the year trying to counteract that!
good luck with decreasing the stash! That is something I should do but don't.... Lovely socks!!
My favorite colors in one of my favorite sock patterns! Those are great socks.
I admire those of you who are brave enough to apply math to the stash. I don't think I want to know!
I really like the cheerful colors in your finished socks!


Custom built, brick, William Poole design home. Formal living and dining rooms. Open split floor plan has soaring-ceiling great room with fireplace. Granite and cherry kitchen. Huge master suite with large upscale bath, dual vanity, garden tub and separate shower, and big walk-in closet. Powder room. Two additional bedrooms with a Jack-N-Jill bath. Upstairs recreation room or in-law suite has private bath. Mahogany and marble floors, heavy mouldings and interior columns. Two water heaters, two porches, expansive rear deck. Fenced backyard with shed. Very sumptuous and elegant home!
Please: qualified buyers only. Owners required 24 hours to see or show.


Tornadoes over water, also known as waterspouts, are common around the Florida Keys in the summer. As with most waterspouts, this one was narrow and slow-moving, and not produced by a supercell. Thin curtains of rain can be seen as dark, opaque veils to the right and rearward of center.


I'm in Düsseldorf again. Feels like I've always been here, like I've never left. Again with Isabelle Schad, again for An Un-Folding Process / Kids at Tanzhaus NRW. Just four days of concentrated rebuilding, reworking, and two performances. Then back on the train to Berlin.


Jim Churches CEC, CCA is a Corporate Chef and Culinary Sales Manager with Land O'Lakes Dairy Foods. He has 25 years in the foodservice industry, with 15 as a Corporate Executive Chef in Food Manufacturing. Not only does he volunteer as a culinary advisor to many College and High School culinary arts programs, he is also a Culinary Advisory board member with Chef Magazine. For the last two years he has lead the culinary innovation for the CMA Alliance group. Chef Churches is an ACF Certified Executive Chef and Certified Culinary Administrator.


Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life. Because you become what you believe.
Vision has the power to move mountains…and businesses…and lives. But most of us have no clue how to take our visions and turn them into realities.
And yet, optimizing our careers, relationships, families, and communities requires a strong compelling vision to keep us engaging and stepping outside our comfort zone.
But how do you implement vision? What is the difference between deceiving ourselves with an unrealistic fantasy and having an inspiring vision to drive us to our next level of achievement and fulfillment?
Learn why creating a vision works better than fantasizing possible outcomes.
Create a compelling overall vision as well as a vision for each area of your life.
Discover how to practically apply vision each day to be more fulfilled.
Take your career or business to the next level by leveraging concrete, compelling visions.
Deepen relationships and create close connections by using vision as the core.
Identify and break through barriers that have held you back from going for what you want.
For pricing and more information, contact Ruth Hinkle at 312-645-8300 or ruth@wrightfoundation.org.
Transformational Leadership: What's Your Career Vision?
Defining Company Culture: Do You Fit In?


When the economy trends down, it's challenging enough to address people's uncertainty and concerns.
Buyers tend to hunker down and avoid anything that isn't already a project in progress, sometimes even standing by while those projects shut down in mid-stage. You may start to notice a drop off in responses to your email campaigns. This can lead to a bit of uncertainty of your own in regards to your ability to maintain marketing effectiveness during the economic downturn.
Often, in our tendency to respond to this perceived dip in prospect interest, we up our instances of email communications thinking, if we can just get them to pay attention, we'll be okay.
This high-volume repetition of your message is akin to "screaming louder." It's actually perceived as monotonous, annoying and makes people click the delete key even faster to avoid you. Not to mention that it makes your company look desperate. And, that's not reassuring.
Don't panic. Don't make the mistake of swinging the focus back to you. Instead, think about what your buyers need to think strategically during this time of increased stress. Consider how you can deliver thought leadership messaging and content that will be received by your prospects and customers with thanks, because it's designed to guide them through the tough times.
The best course of action is to create an email campaign to deliver high-value content that helps calm your buyers' fears because you've offered useful information they can put into action.
We all stumble in times of uncertainty but, your ability to remain calm and in control will transmit to your buyers and elevate your value to them. The more relevant your messaging, the more opportunities will open up. Business doesn't stop just because the economy takes a hit…or two.
The reality is that for most people, hunkering down seems like the best choice. But, that simply opens paths for their competitors to take over. By lending prospects the strength of your ideas and the certainty that things will come around, you're making an investment in your future. And, you're showing them the importance of continuing to move forward in trying times.
Think of your new campaign as a "Hero" campaign and set out to make each of your buyers become a hero to their companies because they've taken action gleaned from the insights included in your email communications.
Choose a variety of topics representative of your expertise that can easily be tapped to provide relevant insights to help your prospects improve the job they're doing today – without necessarily buying anything.
Create a frequency plan and design a series of 4-6 communications you can send out over the next few months. Hold one article in reserve as a special offer.
Research your topics and write your messaging and content from a purely helpful perspective. Make this campaign all about them dealing with tough times. Make the articles short and meaty – no more than 250 – 500 words.
Monitor your sends and make follow-up calls to build on the dialog you've begun with all the leads who've responded to more than one of your emails. Offer to share that special offer article that you've held back as something special – just for them.
The outcome of this type of campaign will pay you back in huge returns.
First of all, your credibility will escalate in your buyers' minds. When everyone else is desperately trying to sell, you'll have been offering helpful advice and insights they can use. Secondly, business doesn't stop. You'll be top of mind when they need to move forward. And, with your status as trusted advisor, they'll turn to you first.


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The Influence of Sociocultural Factors on Shared Reading in Jordan.
Arwa Nasir, Saif Bawaneh, Bayan Alaraj, Sara Kussad, Laeth Nasir, and 2 more
posted 02 Jun, 2021
Background: Shared reading has many benefits to children's language and literacy development. The practice of shared reading varies widely among different cultural groups and is influenced by sociocultural factors. Promotion of shared reading in the healthcare setting has been shown to be effective in many western countries. Very little data are available from other nations, particularly those in the Middle East about parental experiences and attitudes towards shared reading with children. The aim of this study was to explore sociocultural factors that influence shared reading with children in Jordan, a low-middle income Arabic speaking country.
Methods: We used survey methodology to collect information on shared reading from a sample of parents of children 3-8 years of age presenting to the Jordan University Hospital Pediatrics clinic in Amman, Jordan. Data were also gathered through solicitation of narrative unstructured comments from parents. Qualitative and statistical data analysis were performed.
Findings: Mothers universally believed that shared reading is beneficial for children. However, only a small minority (16.4%) reported reading to their children daily. Shared reading behaviors correlated with frequency of mothers' personal reading and with the number of books in the home. Mothers indicated a preference for culturally appropriate books, written in classical Arabic and books having a moral or a lesson. Barriers to shared reading included a perceived lack of encouragement of this practice from society and schools and lack of access to books and public libraries.
Discussion: Promotion of shared reading is an effective way to enhance the literacy of children from varying ethnic and cultural backgrounds and represents an opportunity to reduce health disparities worldwide. Understanding regional sociocultural dynamics is an essential factor in planning successful interventions to promote literacy. We identified barriers to reading as well as cultural values that may be leveraged to enhance shared reading in Jordan.
Early brain development
home literacy environment
literacy promotion
sociocultural
The advantages of early shared reading on language, cognitive and socio-emotional development of children are well documented.(1–7) Shared storybook reading is associated with better emerging literacy skills, school readiness, reading proficiency and academic success.(8–10) Shared reading also promotes positive interactions between parent and child. (11) It has been proposed that shared book reading models problem solving and interaction behaviors that children can connect to emotionally, thereby enhancing their socioemotional and behavior prediction skills. (12)
Literacy is also strongly linked to health outcomes. Poor literacy in parents or children are associated with worse child health outcomes. (13, 14) The role of health professionals in health promotion generally is closely tied to their role in enhancing literacy. (15–17)(18) The efficacy of literacy promotion by pediatricians is supported by many studies.(16, 19–25)
The home literacy environment has been defined as a multidimensional construct that includes attitudes and practices within the home that promote literacy related interactions. These include shared reading and book ownership. (26) Book ownership and the practice of shared reading vary widely between societies. A report by UNICEF on inequities in early childhood development explored rates of book ownership and shared reading in 37 countries. They found that while income was associated with shared reading, the differences in rates of shared reading between countries were far more pronounced than were accounted for by income levels.(27) Other studies more directly point to cultural factors as being important drivers of differences in rates and types of reading behaviors in different societies.(28, 29) These factors are thought to include differences in cognitive patterns and the social value that society assigns to reading. Socio-culturally mediated differences in parent-child interactions have also been found to affect the engagement of children in storybook reading.(30, 31)(30)(29)(28)
Little is known about rates and patterns of shared reading in Arab countries. Arabic is the official language of 19 countries and is used by as many as 420 million people, making it the sixth most spoken language in the world.(32)
Jordan is an Arabic-speaking Low-Middle Income Country (LMIC) country that boasts a literacy rate of over 98% for both males and females. Around a third of the population in Jordan (34.7%) is under 14 years of age. (33)
Little is known about the practice or patterns of shared reading in Jordan.
This study aimed to investigate the practice of shared reading in Jordanian society and to identify local sociocultural factors that influence shared reading.
We used mixed methods to collect information from a convenience sample of parents visiting the Jordan University Hospital (JUH) Pediatric Clinics in Amman, Jordan. JUH serves a socioeconomically diverse population in the Amman metropolitan area, which has a population of around 2 million inhabitants. JUH also serves as a referral center for specialty pediatric care and receives referrals from across the country.
A survey was administered to the parents by one of the researchers, (SB). Qualitative data was collected by inviting unstructured input or comments by the parent at the end of each question. The study protocol was approved by the University of Nebraska Medical Center Internal Review Board and by the Jordan University Hospital Research Review Committee.
Parents of children ages 3–8 years visiting the clinic were recruited. Verbal consent was obtained from the parents after the study was explained to them. Parents were provided with an information sheet about the research.
The survey was developed in Arabic by the authors AN, SB, BA, SK, LN and EB (all of whom are bilingual). The survey explored the parents' attitudes and experiences regarding reading to children. Demographic information was also collected. We based the validation of the survey on the principles described Boateng et al (34). We also tested the internal consistency of relevant questions using Cronbach's alpha. This was found to be in the acceptable range of > 0.6. Parents were recruited from the General Pediatrics clinic at Jordan University Hospital between September 1-December 31, 2019. SB a native Arabic speaker approached parents in the waiting room. He explained the study purpose and procedures to those who indicated interest, including the voluntary nature of participation. The researcher then administered the survey to the parents, all of whose first language is Arabic. The survey took an average of 12 minutes to complete, and each parent was then given a children's book to take home.
A sample size of 300 parents was calculated to produce a two-sided 95% confidence interval with a width equal to 0.116 when the sample proportion was 0.500.(35) Descriptive statistics (counts and percentages, means, standard deviations, medians, minimums and maximums) were used to summarize the data. The Chi-square test or independent sample test, as appropriate to the data, was used to look at associations between demographic variables and daily reading to children. Variables significant at the < 0.15 level in univariate analysis were included in a multivariable logistic regression model. For the multivariable analysis, a backward selection method was used to determine the best subset of variables associated with daily reading. This method involved running a full model with all the predictors first and then sequentially removing factors that were least associated with the outcome until only variables significant at the p < 0.10 level were left in the final model. SAS version 9.4 was used for the analysis and a p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
305 mothers completed the survey. Only two parents declined participation, citing time constraints. 89 mothers provided narrative comments.
Descriptive data: The demographic data is shown in Table 1. All the participants were mothers, consistent with the cultural norm in Jordan where mothers assume the majority of childcare responsibilities, including education and doctor's visits.
More fathers than mothers had at least a four-year college education (54.4% vs 22.6% p = 0.001). However, the majority of mothers (70.1%) reported having at least a 2-year tertiary education (community college diploma or university). National statistics report that 37% of males and 31% of females in Jordan have attained tertiary education.(33)
In our study 34.2% of mothers reported being employed outside the home, compared to national employment rates for women of 22%.
Most households were middle- to low-income, with only 11.5% making over 1000 Jordanian dinars JOD; (1400 USD) per month (the average household income in Jordan is JOD 445 equivalent to 637 USD per month).
Participant demographics.
Demographic variable
Mean: 5.3
Range: 3–8
Gender M:F
N = 137:168
44.9%:55.1%
Mother's age
Number of children in the house
Mother's marital status: Married
N = 292
Mother's employment: employed
<JOD 500
> 1000
Mother's education
Graduate or professional degree
Father's education
As shown in Table 2, 45.5% of households reported having less than 10 books in the home other than schoolbooks, and 57.1% had fewer than 10 children's books. In contrast, 99.9% of households had at least one television set and one smartphone. 94.5% of households had at least two smartphones.
Mothers almost universally (98%) agreed that reading is beneficial for children, and the majority (69.8%) reported helping their children with schoolwork daily. However, only 16.4% reported reading to their children daily. Additionally, mothers reported little personal reading of books (6.2%), newspapers or magazines (11.2%) daily compared to 48.2% who reported reading articles on the Internet. The majority of mothers also reported higher than recommended screen time exposure and low levels of physical activity for their children.
Number of books in the household other than school books
No books
Less than 10 books
More than 50 books
Number of Children's books in the household other than school books
Do not have any books
Number of Screen devices in the household
One of more TV sets
One or more computers
One or more smart phone
2 or more smart phones
One or more electronic tablets
X box or play station
Mother's activities and attitudes
Read books or magazines daily
Read articles on the internet daily
Read to their child daily
Help their children with school work daily
Believe that reading is beneficial to children
Do not have time to read for self
Do not have time to read to children
Children's books are too expensive
Prefer television
Child activities by mother's report
Watches television more than one hour a day
Plays games on electronic tablet
Plays outdoors less than one hour per day
Does homework more than one hour per day
Reads more than one hour per day other than homework
The factors that were associated with daily, shared reading on univariate analysis were: the number of books at home (p = 0.0004), the number of children's books at home (p = < 0.0001) and mother's educational level (p = 0.0062), mother helping children in the home with homework, (p = 0.007), and mother personal reading (p < 0.0001). Father's education, household income, child's gender, number of children in the household, number of hours watching TV or playing videogames, or playing outdoors were not associated with shared reading (Table 3).
On multivariable analysis, the factors that were independently associated with shared reading included: number of children's books in the home, mother's education, help with homework, and mother's personal reading. Table 3
Multivariate analysis of factors found to be associated with shared reading on univariate analysis.
95% Wald
Confidence Limits
Child books in home: >=10 vs 0/<10
< .0001
Mom education:
Community college/BA/Grad/professional degree vs < = Secondary school
Help with homework: Daily vs < daily
Mom personal book reading: >=once weekly vs Did not do
The odds of daily shared reading were 5.26 times higher if there were more than 10 children's books in the home and 2.65 times higher if the mother regularly engaged in personal reading. The mother's post-secondary education increased the odds of shared reading by 2.1 times and approached but did not reach statistical significance as an independent variable associated with shared reading (p = 0.097, CI 0.87–5.242). Notably, helping the child with homework correlated inversely with shared reading (p = 0.0025). The odds of shared reading were 0.32 if the mother assisted with homework daily compared to those who provided less assistance with homework.
Narrative comments
89 of the 305 mothers provided narrative comments at the end of the survey. The comments were analyzed using a phenomenological and iterative process. Two of the investigators reviewed the narrative comments and independently generated themes. The two investigators met and discussed and reconciled the list of themes that were generated. The results of this initial analysis and the comments from the primary analysis were then reviewed by the other investigators independently and comments were sent to the 2 primary reviewers. The input from the group was incorporated into a final draft that was cycled back to the group for revision and approval.
The parents' narrative comments fit into 2 main themes. The first theme revolved around perceived barriers to shared reading, which included the affordability of books, a lack of public libraries, and the perception that many books that were available were of poor quality. Mothers also reported their perception that the home, school and societal environments did not encourage children to read for pleasure.
The second theme revolved around qualities of children's books that parents thought were desirable. Those qualities included books written in correct Classical Arabic, that are culturally relevant. They also preferred books with a moral, a lesson or having some other kind of educational value. Finally, they liked books that have developmentally appropriate language and realistic and attractive illustrations. The result of this analysis is presented in Table 4, including quotes from the parents.
Analysis of narrative comments.
Themes and example narrative comments
Barriers to Reading
Books are expensive
Quality books are expensive
No encouragement for reading (to children) in the society, schools and homes
Unfortunately, neither the society nor the parents encourage reading
Reading is not encouraged even at schools
there is little interest or emphasis on children's literature from Arab authors and writers
Quality Children's books not available
"it is difficult to find quality children's books, especially for young children".
Lack of access to libraries
We do not have public libraries
Available books lack moral and an educational goal
Unfortunately, most of the available books are silly, without meaning and are pointless.
Electronic devices took away from reading.
smart electronic devices moved us away from reading
Characteristics of books
preferred by parents
Culturally appropriate content
Children's books must reflect our values and traditions
Classical Arabic
We need books in correct classical Arabic, and with diacritics
Developmentally appropriate:
books for younger children
Sentences should be short and the book not too long"
Importance of size of the book, small is preferred
a small book is attractive and encourages reading
Importance of quality of illustrations
I prefer realistic illustrations
Colorful illustrations are important
Understanding local practices and attitudes regarding early reading is essential to the development of effective literacy promotion programs. Our study found that while Jordanian mothers were highly engaged in their children's education, and had positive attitudes toward shared reading, few of them reported reading to their young children regularly. The proportion of mothers who engaged in regular shared reading in Jordan (6%) are at the lower end of the range of rates of shared reading in 36 countries reported by UNICEF, in which the rates of shared reading ranged from 6%-96%. (27) For comparison, rates of regular shared reading in the United States are around 50%.(36) The low reported rates of shared reading in Jordan contrasts with a much higher proportion of mothers helping their school age children with homework on daily basis. This could be because mothers did not associate shared reading and academic achievement, or that academic achievement is specifically valued, and perceived as being distinct from reading for pleasure. It may also be interpreted in more pragmatic terms. Since mothers have to prioritize their time and energy, they may perceive that homework is a more important activity than shared reading for pleasure. Thus homework displaces the latter activity.
Independent predictors of shared reading were the total number of books in the home, the number of children's books in the household and maternal reading behavior. Although the mothers' level of education increased the odds of shared reading, it did not reach statistical significance as an independent factor. This was an unexpected finding, given that maternal educational level was significantly correlated with shared reading behaviors in research from other countries. (37, 38)
The findings from the narrative comments may also be helpful in understanding perceptions of the social role that reading plays in Jordan. Mothers who provided narrative comments reported that there was a general lack of encouragement or promotion of children's reading in school, home or in the community at large. This finding has not been reported before, and requires verification from larger samples. Additionally, mothers indicated a preference for books written in correct classical Arabic and developmentally appropriate language, with realistic and attractive illustrations. They also indicated their preference for books with culturally appropriate themes, including narratives that provide a moral. This finding is consistent with previous research indicating that children's books may play a role in the transmission of cultural values. (39, 40)
Previous research indicates that some cultural groups may not consider shared reading to be important in literacy promotion. A study of literacy promoting activities among Canadian parents reported that the majority of Canadian parents of ethnic Chinese origin tended not to prioritize shared reading as a literacy promotion activity when compared to Canadians of European ancestry. (41) Another study from the Netherlands found that although most ethnic minority families engaged in school related literacy activities, these activities did not necessarily include shared reading. Additionally, many of the ethnic minority parents in the study indicated that shared reading was an unfamiliar activity.(42)
The majority of children in this study were reported to spend significantly more time on screen devices than is appropriate for their age based on the recommendations of the AAP(43) and the WHO. (44)
Currently, the vast majority of published research on shared reading comes from developed countries, primarily the US, Australia and Europe. There are very few studies from Latin America, Africa or the Middle East. Studies that do exist suggest that socioeconomic and sociocultural variables in different populations impact the early home literacy environment, including rates of shared reading activities.(28, 31, 41, 42, 45–50) Studies also suggest that literacy promotion interventions are effective in increasing shared reading behaviors, and that these positively impact child language and literacy outcomes regardless of sociocultural background. (19, 48, 51–53)The promotion of shared reading offers a valuable opportunity to improve child health globally.(54)
Although the families in our sample had a relatively higher level of education and higher rates of maternal employment than average for Jordan, this finding may be related to the demographic targeted; specifically, parents of young children. In addition, the study was of a single center in the capital city of the country. These factors may limit the generalizability of our findings. However, we believe that our findings highlight important sociocultural factors that can inform effective and sustainable interventions to improve literacy in the region. These variables must be further explored in order to maximize the effect of interventions that will sustainably impact literacy rates. In addition, future studies of these interventions pinpointing optimally effective interventions are needed.
In our study, we identified a sociocultural focus on academic achievement in children. Shared reading may provide value added benefit toward this societal goal. Highlighting the beneficial effects of early reading on language development and linking this to future academic achievement may be helpful in increasing Jordanian families' interest in the adoption of shared reading behaviors. We also identified needs for reading promotion in schools and homes as well as improved access to quality children's books. Publicity campaigns that promote reading, book ownership and support for public libraries might also be important to improve rates of shared reading behaviors. Ensuring the availability of books that meet parental expectations might also be helpful in incentivizing parents to read to their children.
The role of the pediatrician or other health care provider in literacy promotion in the primary care setting is based on evidence of this approach in the US and other industrialized countries, where the majority of children have regular contact and a longitudinal relationship with a pediatrician or a primary care physician.(15) Additionally, the advice of a physician or other health care provider is likely to be considered seriously by families even in the absence of the long-term relationship. Distribution of books to children during health care visits has been shown to increase shared reading behaviors in other cultures. Testing this intervention in Arabic speaking cultures might be worthwhile.
This study provides important insights into the ways that culture influences shared reading. It also provides some insight into factors that may be associated with a positive literacy environment in the home. Understanding the unique sociocultural forces that influence reading to children are important in designing literacy-promotion programs cross-culturally and may be important in improving global health outcomes. The development of culturally relevant interventions to enhance childhood literacy potentially represents an enormous opportunity to improve the health of children worldwide.
The study protocol was approved by the University of Nebraska Medical Center Internal Review Board and by the Jordan University Hospital Research Review Committee and performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki for the protection of human subjects of research. Verbal informed consent to participate was obtained from participants and they were provided with study information sheet and contact information of the investigators and ethics boards in both institutions.
Availability of data and materials: Deidentified data in the form of Microsoft Excel are available and can be obtained by direct request from the primary investigator be email at [email protected]
Competing interests: Dr. Arwa Nasir wrote and self-published a few children's books under a pseudonym. She has made 0 income from these books. The books were not related to this research in any way and is mentioned because it may be perceived as conflict of interest. All other authors declare no real or perceived conflict of interest
Funding: Arwa Nasir and Laeth Nasir were funded through a William J Fulbright scholarship in the year 2019/2020.
Arwa Nasir: Conceived the research idea, performed the literature search, designed the methods for data collection, wrote the initial and final research protocol, wrote and modified the survey instrument, supervised the data collection, wrote and approved the final manuscript.
Saif Bawaneh: Participated in the development of the research protocol and the survey instrument, did the majority of patient recruitment and survey administration, data collection and data management. He reviewed the final manuscript and approved as submitted.
Bayan Alaraj: participated in the development of the research protocol, supervised data collection, participated in literature search, reviewed the final manuscript and approved it as submitted.
Sara Kussad: participated in the development of the research protocol, supervised data collection, participated in literature search, reviewed the final manuscript and approved it as submitted.
Laeth Nasir: Participated in the conceptualization of the research idea and research design, participated in literature review, survey development, and had a major role in the writing and revision of the final manuscript, and, approved the manuscript as submitted.
Elizabeth Lyden: Participated in the statistical analysis and interpretation of the data.
Eman Badran: Reviewed and revised the research protocol, participated in the development of the research survey, facilitated patient recruitment and supervised data collection, reviewed the manuscript and approved the final manuscript as submitted.
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Additional Declarations
Competing interest reported. Dr. Arwa Nasir wrote and self-published a few children's books under a pseudonym. She has made 0 income from these books. The books were not related to this research in any way and is mentioned because it may be perceived as conflict of interest. All other authors declare no real or perceived conflict of interest


text:
Q: elasticsearch aggregate array of strings I need an aggregation query to get a bucket with all my root folders. All documents in my elasticsearch have a field named path where I store an array with the paths where the document is located ( e.g. path=[1.3., 1.2.4, 5., 11] ).
If I use the normal terms aggregation
"terms": {
    "field": "path.keyword"
}

I unfortunately get all unique paths:
"buckets" : [
    {
      "key" : "1.3."
      "doc_count" : 6
    },
    {
      "key" : "11."
      "doc_count" : 3
    },
    {
      "key" : "5."
      "doc_count" : 3
    },
    {
      "key" : "1.2.4."
      "doc_count" : 1
    }
]

I've tried to solve it using a painless script
"terms": {
    "script": "doc['path.keyword'].value.substring(0, doc['path.keyword'].value.indexOf('.')  )"
}

but then I only get the last elements of my path array
"buckets" : [
    {
      "key" : "1",
      "doc_count" : 7
    },
    {
      "key" : "11",
      "doc_count" : 3
    }
]

how do I only get the root folders?

A: Using doc["field"].value will give single string of all values in the field.
In script you need to return array of values with root value i.e iterate through all the elements of field and return array of substring.
Sample Data:
"hits" : [
      {
        "_index" : "index84",
        "_type" : "_doc",
        "_id" : "yihhWnEBHtQEPt4DqWLz",
        "_score" : 1.0,
        "_source" : {
          "path" : [
            "1.1.1",
            "1.2",
            "2.1.1",
            "12.11"
          ]
        }
      }
    ]

Query
{
  "aggs": {
    "root_path": {
      "terms": {
        "script": {
          "source": "def firstIndex=0;def path=[]; for(int i=0;i<doc['path.keyword'].length;i++){firstIndex=doc['path.keyword'][i].indexOf('.'); path.add(doc['path.keyword'][i].substring(0,firstIndex))} return path;"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Result:
"aggregations" : {
    "root_path" : {
      "doc_count_error_upper_bound" : 0,
      "sum_other_doc_count" : 0,
      "buckets" : [
        {
          "key" : "1",
          "doc_count" : 1
        },
        {
          "key" : "12",
          "doc_count" : 1
        },
        {
          "key" : "2",
          "doc_count" : 1
        }
      ]
    }
  }

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Moteurs Marine Méditerranée will help you on your way quickly by offering the option to make use of reconditioned MaK parts form the exchange programme.
This is a cost-effective solution, which will allow us to carry out the maintenance or repair work quickly. Moreover, you won't depend on a local wharf as MMM will overhaul the parts in the wharf in accordance with the MaK standards.
Please contact our service department for more information about availability and conditions.


text:
<!doctype html>
<html>
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <title>TDF: Show Error for Fields via Form Demo</title>
  <base href="/">

  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <link rel="icon" type="image/x-icon" href="favicon.ico">

</head>
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: JPA Entities and TransactionContext of EJB method I have an EJB, whose method (among other things) load an entity and modify it. If the method completes then modifications of that entity automatically committed to database without calling EntityManager.saveOrUpdate() method? And when the method fails then the transaction of that EJB method will be rolledback along with the modifications of that entity?

A: With EJB implicitly your method is bound with a transaction.
If you load the entity with the entity manager, the entity is attached with the persistent context, so if you do modifications on the object, upon transaction end, if all goes right the transaction commits and the modifications are flushed to the database, otherwise if some error happens the transaction rolls back, and the modifications are discarded.


text:
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News & Opportunities:
September 2020 round up
Home Blog News & Opportunities: September 2020 round up
Posted on September 24, 2020 by Sami Abdul-Razzak
Categories: News Round-up
Applications are open to the BFI Cultural Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas in England. The £30m fund has two components – one off Safety grants to help cinemas make their venues safe for staff and audiences, and Business Sustainability grants to underpin ongoing organisational viability. Apply by Friday 30 October.
The deadline for applications to the FAN Film Exhibition Fund is 5pm, Wednesday 30 September. The purpose of the fund is to support FAN members to resume cultural film programming and engage a broad and diverse audience as they navigate reopening.
The Film and TV Charity has launched a new Covid-19 Recovery Fund focused on protecting the diversity of our industry for the future. The fund will provide financial and wellbeing support to help recipients sustain their careers through and out of the pandemic.
Screen Scotland has opened applications to the Independent Cinema Recovery and Resilience Fund. The fund aims to bridge the financial gap faced by independently owned cinemas in Scotland during reopening and will cover a proportion of venue fixed costs until the end of March 2021. Apply by Monday 5 October.
Independent cinemas in Wales are among the venues eligible to apply to a £18.5m funding pot as part of the Welsh Government's Cultural Recovery Fund. Grants of up to £150,000 are available, applications close on 2 October.
Cinema For All has launched Lift, a new package to help volunteer-run cinemas reopen their doors. Lift includes a booking scheme with a wide range of titles available at discounted licence fees, a Community Venue Grant, the upcoming Filmbankmedia Virtual Screening Room and more.
BIFA has launched #ThisIsYourCinema, a nationwide marketing campaign encouraging 16-25 year olds back to the cinema. The campaign aims to offer an additional promotional tool for releases of new independent films and showcase the best emerging British talent.
Screen Moguls has launched GO.CINEMA, a service aimed at helping independent cinemas run digital marketing campaigns on a range of social media platforms and reach a targeted local audience.
The Creative Industries Federation has released A Plan to Reimagine, a publication created by 100s of their members from across the UK to share ideas and identify opportunities for practical action to build the sector of the future.
Aged 18-25 and interested in a career in the film industry? You can now register for BFI London Film Festival Film Academy Accreditation, which gives you access to Online Press and Industry screenings, Online Industry events and screenings in the LFF Education programme.
The UK Disability Arts Alliance has published The Seven Principles for an Inclusive Recovery, a document which offers practical guidance to arts and cultural organisations to support disabled artists, audiences, visitors, participants and employees.
Current film job listings include positions at Watershed, Film Hub South West, the BFI and Showroom Workstation.
Leeds International Film Festival is seeking volunteers to join their team for this year's edition of the festival in November. They have positions for both Virtual Volunteers to support the festival remotely and Venue Assistants to help run the physical festival screenings in Leeds.
Indigo Ltd has launched the Culture Restart Toolkit, a new set of free tools for cultural organisations at all stages of reopening, providing vital audience insight for the sector over the next 6 months.
To help organisations prepare for reopening, Spetrix has released a guide which explores audience segmentation and customer service policies, and consists of step-by-step guides, audience strategies and industry expertise.
ExcludedUK is a grassroots organisation supporting those excluded from government Covid-19 support. It has launched a series of Lobby Weeks, bringing together affected constituents to meet their MPs online and discuss their concerns.
If you missed Club des Femmes' online weekender Between Us We Have Everything We Need, you can catch up with some of the events on their website until 30 September.
The Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre has published new research on class imbalances in the UK's creative industries. It found that only 16% of people in creative jobs are from working class backgrounds, a figure which has remained largely unchanged since 2014.
Talent Exchange is a new platform supported by the Creative Industries Federation, providing creative people with the tools and training to transfer their skills into a new sector.
BIFA has released some more sessions for its Unconscious Bias training programme. The course is delivered via Zoom and there are places available from October 2020.
FAN have produced a document to help community cinemas and non-theatrical exhibitors keep their audiences and volunteers safe during Covid-19.
The French Film Festival UK has released its early programme of titles available to book for this year's festival, which will run in cinemas across the UK during November and December.
Back for its fourth year, Little Wing Film Festival is running online from now until Sunday 27 September. The festival screens films exclusively by students, graduates and new filmmakers, and curates sustainable rewards for the winners to try and tackle inequality in the creative industries.
The official selection for Depict 2020 is now live! Watershed's short film competition as part of Encounters Short Film Festival, this year's competition features 22 short films plus a separate strand of films made in lockdown.
The Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival is running online from 17 September – 11 October. Featuring a mix of film screenings, live events, podcasts and essays, the festival highlights some of the most distinctive works of new cinema and artists' moving image being made around the world today.
Running online from 26-30 September, this year's Women Over Fifty Film Festival will showcase 58 short films made by or about older women. Festival passes are available on a sliding scale, with the standard pass priced at £7.50.
The digital edition of Encounters Short Film Festival is now live! Running from 18 September – 11 October, the £10 digital pass gets you access to over 250 short films from some of the worlds best new and emerging filmmakers.
On Monday 28 September, Ourscreen will launch a new Virtual Cinema service. The first event will be a screening of High Rise with an introduction from director Ben Wheatley, with 10% from every ticket sale going to support independent cinemas in the UK.
The UK's leading festivals of African cinema have teamed up to present We Are Tano: a showcase of the best contemporary African cinema from the past decade which will run online from 1-20 October.
Sheffield Doc/Fest has announced its Autumn Programme, which will take place both in Sheffield and online. Running from 2 October – 15 November, the programme features four weekends of screenings, an art exhibition, talks and discussions.
The programme for the BFI London Film Festival 2020 has been revealed. This year's festival will take place both online and in cinemas across the UK from 7-18 October. Get your tickets while they last!
Running from 24-25 October both online and at the Darlington Hippodrome, Women X is a film festival celebrating women and non-binary creatives in the film industry.
This Way Up is going digital! The film exhibition innovation conference will take place 1-3 December, providing a programme of events, workshops, networking, and a space to reflect and share.
Good reads/good watches
Racism in the UK: what needs to change and who needs to change it?
This Work isn't For Us
The history of cinema projection in Britain
Behind the scenes with the projectionists at Il Cinema Ritrovato
Crowdfunding for a major project
Discovering the lost cinemas of Leeds
Irenosen Okojie responds to Claudette's Star
André Aciman recounts his most memorable cinema-going experience
John Akomfrah pays tribute to Dalston's Rio Cinema
Photos which capture a film in one image
The art of subtitling
Cultural Activism and Covid-19: ExcludedUK and the film industry
Why the Cinemateca Brasileira is close to collapse
The history of Black British protest film
The construction of glamourous and decorative cinemas between 1909-1945
A spotlight on Sarah Jacobson
Reopening experiences from Europe's cinemas
Guest speaker recordings from the early years of the Pacific Film Archive
How to keep your social media accessible
An analysis of the BFI Diversity Standards
Second Sight, our national film tour celebrating the UK's Black Film Workshop Movement, is now available to book for both physical and online screenings. Second Sight incorporates key archive films from the period, as well as new short film commissions from contemporary film artists.
A big thank you to the 110 people who applied to our DDM Online course. We're sorry we weren't able to accept everyone this time around, but we will also have an online version of the course available on our website later in the year.
We have launched a blog series where we ask people to share a personal vision of what the future of film exhibition should look like. So far we have had manifestos on Accommodating D/deaf audiences during Covid-19, Valuing Caring Labour, The Power of Pricing and Programming, and A More Inclusive Future.
To aid those affected by the Covid-19 crisis, we have collated a list of the support & resources available to cinemas and people working within the exhibition sector.
Our Developing Your Film Festival online course can be accessed for £50. A great opportunity for film festival professionals looking to build on their existing skills and gain new insights from some of the industry's leading experts.
Our REACH: Stategic Audience Development online training course can be accessed for £50. If you're looking to grow your audience and bring new people into your venue then this course is for you.
We have lots of free online resources to help you evaluate your current strategy and consider future initiatives. These include our recently launched guide to Developing Visually Impaired Audiences and Green Cinema Toolkit.
As ever, we're here to help and support you. Get in touch at info@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk.
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text:
10 Causes of COPD
HomeConditionsCOPD
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a severe lung disease. It affects approximately 24 million people in the USA and ranks at the third most common cause of death. International studies show it is an increasing health threat across the world, although in the US its occurrence in men has declined over the last twenty years. When this disease first starts to make its presence felt people beyond a certain age might misinterpret its early signs, in particular, shortness of breath and coughing, as nothing more than indications of the natural aging process. Quite often these symptoms do not appear at all until the disease reaches its more advanced stages.
There is no dispute that cigarette smoking is the number one cause of COPD. The statistics are startling. At least eighty percent of those who develop this disease are smokers or were previously smokers. Cigarette smoke causes irreversible damage and inflammation in the body's airways. The risks smokers face is so high that as many as one out of four of them can expect to get this life-threatening disease. The decline in the number of American men who smoke explains the fall in the number of people with COPD in the USA over the last two decades. In complete contrast, a higher percentage of women smoking accounts for the rise in the incidence of the disease in female Americans.