text:
A Fox Too Stubborn for Defeat – Watch a New Trailer for Stories: The Path of Destinies
April 1, 2016 Inside Indie
Spearhead Games has released a new trailer for Stories: The Path of Destinies which demonstrates just how easily a hero's fate can be decided by one wrong move. And make no mistake: While Stories has a fairytale-like charm, Reynardo's not exactly in for a smooth ride. Take a look at the Narrative Trailer for Stories, launching April 12 on PlayStation 4 and PC.
Reynardo, an ex-pirate fox setting out to put an end to the war consuming the entire realm, has several different cards he can play to try to stop the mad Emperor. But with the Rebellion finished, his next moves will spell out the fate of, well, everything. Surely, he can make this work despite his abysmal track record, right?
Craft swords, upgrade your equipment, and keep an eye out for treasure as you take up arms in a beautifully illustrated action RPG reminiscent of classic choose-your-own-adventure books. If you meet with an untimely end, use Reynardo's mysterious tome to rewind and execute a different plan, all while preserving the knowledge gained from previous storylines.
Live Reynardo's myriad destinies, parse the narrative puzzle, and weave a story worthy of a hero.
Stories: The Path of Destinies unfolds April 12. Pre-orders are open on the PlayStation Store as well as on the Humble Store, with a special 10% discount.
Follow Stories on Facebook and Twitter or head to the official site for the latest updates.
Consoles, PCEvolve PR, Spearhead Games, Stories, The Path Of Destinies
Escape from Tarkov Modding, 1st Twitch Stream & More
ARK: Survival Devolved…Where Dinos Ride Humans
January 08, 2021 Inside Indie Comments Off on Helheim Hassle is coming to PS4 on January 12th
Helheim Hassle is coming to PS4 on January 12th
Norway-based developer Perfectly Paranormal is pleased to announce that their body desecration puzzle-platformer Helheim Hassle is...
December 15, 2020 Inside Indie Comments Off on World of Tanks Console welcomes action heroes Rambo, Snake and Braddock
World of Tanks Console welcomes action heroes Rambo, Snake and Braddock
World of Tanks Console is excited to announce the arrival of 80s action heroes Rambo, Snake...


text:
Mystic Chemist: The Life of Albert Hofmann and His Discovery of LSD
Authors Dieter A. Hagenbach and Lucius Werthmüller, close friends of Albert Hofmann, take readers on a journey through Hofmann's mystical childhood experiences with nature to his chemistry studies with Nobel Prize winner Paul Karrer in Zurich through his discoveries of both LSD and psilocybin at Sandoz; to his adventurous expeditions; to his many years of retirement devoted to philosophy of nature. Hagenbach and Werthmüller document Hofmann's rich social life including interactions with illustrious writers, artists and thinkers including luminaries like Aldous Huxley, Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (Ram Dass).
Throughout Mystic Chemist, the authors reveal the eventful history of LSD, and they chronicle Hofmann's groundbreaking work with the drug that was later featured in the 2022 Netflix documentary series, "How to Change Your Mind." From the start of his experimentations, Hofmann took a positive view towards LSD-assisted psychotherapy in the treatment of illness, and he maintained that mystical experiences and trips to other worlds of consciousness are the best preparation for the very last journey we all must eventually make. Mystic Chemist: The Life of Albert Hofmann and His Discovery of LSD contains more than 500 photos, illustrations and drawings as well as a foreword by renowned Czech psychiatrist Stanislav Grof.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
" American Founding "
" Roosevelt, Franklin D. "
Commonwealth Club Address
| New Deal and Great Society
Commonwealth Club Address Commonwealth Club Address 1 Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) Delivered by Roosevelt to California's Commonwealth Club during his first run for the White House, this speech was penned by Adolf Berle, a noted scholar and a member of Roosevelt's "Brain Trust" who drew deeply upon earlier Progressive thought, especially that of John Dewey. September 23, 1932 ...I want to speak not of politics but of Government. I want to speak not of parties, but of universal principles. They are not political, except in that larger sense in which a great American once expressed a definition of politics, that nothing in all of human life is foreign to the science of politics. I do want to give you, however, a recollection of a long ...
Roosevelt, Franklin D.
Sec. 11.02
Democratic Convention Address
Democratic Convention Address Democratic Convention Address 1 Franklin D. Roosevelt Having launched the New Deal, an ambitious program of political and economic re-engineering aimed at ending the Great Depression, President Roosevelt accepted his party's nomination to run for a second term. In this speech at the 1936 Democratic Convention, he defends his programs—some of which had been struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court—and tags opponents as "economic royalists." June 27, 1936 Senator Robinson, Members of the Democratic Convention, my friends: Here, and in every community throughout the land, we are met at a time of great moment to the future of the Nation. It is an occasion to be dedicated to the simple and sincere expression ...
Annual Message to Congress
Annual Message to Congress Annual Message to Congress 1 Franklin D. Roosevelt As victory in the Second World War looked more and more likely, President Roosevelt turned his attention to postwar America. In this speech he proposes a "second Bill of Rights." January 11, 1944 ...It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people—whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth—is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure. This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength ...
New Deal and Great Society (3)
Commonwealth Club Address (1)
Democratic Convention Address (1)
Annual Message to Congress (1)
Entitlements (1)
Self-Reliance (1)
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (3)


text:
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
Teaching approaches and strategies that promote healthy eating in primary school children: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Dean A Dudley1,
Wayne G Cotton2 &
Louisa R Peralta2
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity volume 12, Article number: 28 (2015) Cite this article
Healthy eating by primary school-aged children is important for good health and development. Schools can play an important role in the education and promotion of healthy eating among children. The aim of this review was to: 1) perform a systematic review of randomised controlled, quasi-experimental and cluster controlled trials examining the school-based teaching interventions that improve the eating habits of primary school children; and 2) perform a meta-analysis to determine the effect of those interventions.
The systematic review was limited to four healthy eating outcomes: reduced food consumption or energy intake; increased fruit and vegetable consumption or preference; reduced sugar consumption or preference (not from whole fruit); increased nutritional knowledge. In March 2014, we searched seven electronic databases using predefined keywords for intervention studies that were conducted in primary schools which focused on the four healthy eating outcomes. Targeted internet searching using Google Scholar was also used. In excess of 200,000 possible citations were identified. Abstracts and full text of articles of potentially relevant papers were screened to determine eligibility. Data pertaining to teaching strategies that reported on healthy eating outcomes for primary school children was extracted from the 49 eligible papers.
Experiential learning strategies were associated with the largest effects across the reduced food consumption or energy intake; increased fruit and vegetable consumption or preference; and increased nutritional knowledge outcomes. Reducing sugar consumption and preference was most influenced by cross-curricular approaches embedded in the interventions.
As with most educational interventions, most of the teaching strategies extracted from the intervention studies led to positive changes in primary school children's healthy eating behaviours. However, given the finite resources, increased overcrowding of school curriculum and capacity of teachers in primary schools, a meta-analysis of this scope is able to provide stakeholders with the best evidence of where these resources should be focused.
The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (2013) [1] states that optimum nutrition is essential for the healthy growth and development of children. Healthy eating contributes to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, and provides protection against chronic disease and premature mortality. Conversely, unhealthy eating early in life, in particular the over-consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods and drinks, as well as physical inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle, are predictors of overweight and obesity [2,3]. There is good evidence that many other non-communicable diseases (such as diabetes, osteoporosis, and hypertension) are also related to unhealthy eating habits and patterns formed during childhood [4]. As such, it is important to establish healthy eating behaviours early, as evidence shows that eating habits and patterns track into adulthood [5,6]. Therefore, childhood is a period where education about healthy eating is essential for establishing healthy eating practices in later years. Schools have been a popular setting for the implementation of health promotion and prevention interventions, as they offer continuous, intensive contact with children and that lifelong health and wellbeing begins with promoting healthy behaviours early in life [7]. School infrastructure, physical environment, policies, curricula, teaching and learning, and staff all have the potential to positively influence child health. Whilst schools have remained a popular infrastructure for health promotion initiatives, teachers will remain the key agent of promoting health and nutrition within schools post-2015 [8]. No systematic review or meta-analysis have been undertaken to date which ascertain the strategies teachers should employ in order to yield maximum effect from their teaching interventions when it comes to fostering healthy eating behaviours in primary school-aged children.
Our aim was to systematically review the evidence related to interventions designed to improve healthy eating habits and patterns of primary school students. Our objectives were to: 1) describe the nature of the interventions that had been conducted (i.e., theories and teaching strategies and approaches); and 2) conduct meta-analyses to determine the effectiveness of these interventions.
This systematic review and meta-analyses report on data extracted and synthesised in 2014 as part of a review project undertaken for the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education and Communities and the NSW Ministry of Health. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis) Statement [9] was followed to ensure the transparent reporting of the study.
Interventions types
We included teaching and school-based elementary school interventions delivered by teachers or teacher substitutes that sought to bring about positive nutritional consumption, preference or knowledge change in elementary school children. The following types of teaching and school-based interventions included:
Curriculum initiatives or evaluations
Nutrition-friendly school initiatives
Community programs linked to curricula or delivered by schools (e.g. community gardens)
Health/nutrition education programs related to improving dietary habits
Environmental school change strategies implemented by classroom teachers
Environmental interventions/industry partnerships focused on point-of-purchase consumption linked through classroom based education; this might include campaigns to draw attention to healthier products in school canteens or school lunch choices
Social marketing campaigns
Policies that seek to improve dietary habits of elementary school children (i.e. school board level, provincial/national level).
Acceptable designs for this review included randomised, quasi-experimental and cluster controlled studies conducted in elementary schools (Grades K-6) whereby the primary change agent in the intervention was the classroom teacher (or their teaching substitute). Relevant clusters within studies included individual students, classrooms, schools or communities as the unit of analysis.
Intervention locations had to include elementary schools and/or their immediate community settings. We excluded programs or strategies delivered solely through homes, religious institutions other than schools, non-governmental organisations, primary health care settings, universities, hospitals, outpatient clinics located within hospital settings, commercial programs and metabolic or weight loss clinics.
Outcomes of interest (Healthy eating behaviours)
Our primary outcomes included student consumption, preference and knowledge of nutrient dense foods. Evidence of intervention effects included measures at individual, family, school or community levels. They also included measures of food consumption, preference or knowledge and change in food environments, food disappearance, and food sales (in school cafeterias). Measures of consumption included: diet and food intake records, self-reported and/or reported by parents, teachers or both; food frequency questionnaires/balance sheets; food wastage and plate waste; and micronutrient measures (i.e., biomarkers of exposure to food). Measures of preference included: questionnaires, surveys or self-report instruments that included Likert scales, pairing activities, or self-reported preferences. Measures of knowledge included: questionnaires or tests on food-related knowledge (i.e., Recommended Dietary Intakes, ingredients, nutritional knowledge).
These primary outcomes were then grouped into four dominant healthy eating outcomes that the authors determined aligned with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and their Healthy Eating for Children [10] Guidelines. Our outcomes were therefore;
Food Consumption and Energy Intake–NHMRC Guideline 1 (Limiting energy intake to meet energy needs)
Fruit and Vegetable (FV) Consumption or Preference–NHMRC Guideline 2 (Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods)
Reduced Sugar Consumption or Preference (Not from whole fruit)–NHMRC Guideline 3 (Limit intake of foods containing added sugar)
Nutritional Knowledge–NHMRC Guideline 5 (Care for food)
Note: The instruments used and the number studies included in the review and meta-analysis did not allow for segregation of consumption and preference of fruit and vegetables or sugar. We acknowledge that preference for certain food types may have a greater affect on long-term consumption habits.
Outcomes of interest (Teaching strategies)
The primary outcomes of interest included any recognised teaching strategy or articulated approach to teaching that has a known effect on student learning and behaviour. The categorisation for these teaching strategies and approaches to curricula were largely derived from (but not limited to) those articulated in Hattie's synthesis of meta-analysis relating to teaching, learning and student achievement [11].
Our search strategy included: electronic bibliographic databases; grey literature databases; reference lists of key articles; targeted internet searching via Google Scholar; and targeted internet searching of key organisation websites.
We searched the following databases, adapting search terms according to the requirements of individual databases in terms of subject heading terminology and syntax: PUBMED; MEDLINE; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL); PsycINFO; ERIC; ScienceDirect; and A + Education. These search terms were based on; 1) participants (e.g. child* OR young people OR youth OR pediatric OR paediatric OR primary school-age* OR elementary school-age* OR primary student* OR elementary student* OR primary school* OR elementary school*); 2) delivery (e.g. teach* OR class* OR health* ed* teach* OR learn* OR teach* polic* OR nutrition ed* OR health* eat*); 3) strategies (e.g. phys* edu* OR health* edu* OR curricul* OR outdoor* OR cook* OR food* OR fruit* OR veg* OR know* OR test*); 4) design (e.g. RCT OR randomi* OR control* OR trial* OR evaluat* OR quasi-exper* OR cluster*). The dates range for search were from database inception to 31st May, 2014.
The search results were then refined to include the full text copies retrieved from these databases and Google Scholar that were published after 1970. These citations were then cross-referenced electronically with 15 reference lists from scoping and systematic review papers in the field of nutrition, education, and health promotion published between 1997 and 2012. A final database and internet search was then conducted to identify studies published between January 2010 (year prior to publication of most recent systematic review) and May 2014.
Screening of citations
Initially duplicate citations were removed from the search by the lead author. The abstract of each citation was then reviewed by a single researcher (DAD) to determine whether it would be included in the systematic review. The full-text articles of all potentially relevant citations were obtained and saved as Adobe-PDF files. Whenever it was uncertain as to whether a citation was appropriate, the full-text copy was obtained. The lead author then screened the citation list. Citations that were deemed ineligible were reviewed by the remaining two authors (WGC, LRP) to determine if any potentially relevant citations were missed, and full-text copies of these citations were then obtained.
Study selection
Following the screening process, full-text articles were then reviewed by the three researchers against the inclusion criteria; if uncertain as whether or not to include an article, the article in question was reviewed again until a final decision was made by majority consensus.
Data was initially extracted from the included studies by the lead researcher from full-text articles and placed in tabulated form (see Table 1). This data included:
Table 1 Studies examining the teaching strategies/approaches used to promote healthy eating to primary school students
Study authors;
Year of publication;
Country (s) of study;
Funding agency of study;
Study design;
Dominant Theoretical Framework used to inform study design
Study sample (Size, Grade, Mean age of participants);
Intervention length;
Whether the intervention was coupled with a physical activity or specially resourced teacher;
Relevant outcome categories
Statistical significance (p value/95%CI)
The effect size of different teaching strategies on each outcome (Cohen's d). Note: If these were not reported in the study and Mean and Standard Deviations could be extracted either directly or indirectly, the Cohen's d was calculated by the lead researcher and verified by the co-authors.
These data were tabulated by the lead author and shared with co-authors for feedback and review. Changes to these interpretations were decided by majority consensus by all three researchers.
The three researchers then reviewed each of the articles independently and each identified the teaching approaches employed in the intervention phase of the studies. Researchers met and cross-referenced their identification of each teaching approach and decided though consensus how each approach would be classified as a wider teaching strategy (if appropriate) that would allow for comparison between studies.
Assessment of methodological quality
Included articles were also assessed for methodological quality using a 10-item quality assessment scale derived from van Sluijs and colleagues [12] (see Table 2). For each included article, three reviewers independently assessed whether the assessed item was present or if the assessed item was absent. Where an item was insufficiently described it was allocated an absent score. Agreement between reviewers for each article was set a priori at 80% [12]. That is, for each article, reviewers were required to agree that the items were either present or absent for 8 of the 10 items. In the case of less than 80% agreement, consensus was reached by further discussion. Results for the assessment of methodological quality are reported in Table 3.
Table 2 Methodological quality assessment items (Adapted from van Sluijs et al. 2007) [12 ]
Table 3 Methodological quality and risk of bias assessment
Effect sizes are the preferred metric for estimating the magnitude of effect of an intervention because they make possible between study as well as within study comparisons [13]. Cohen's d, the effect-size metric constituting the focus of this meta-analysis, is one of the most widely used measures of magnitude of effect and commonly used in educational meta-analyses [11]. The formula for calculating Cohen's d is:
$$ d=\left({M}_1-{M}_2\right)/S{D}_p, $$
where M 1 is the mean of one group of study participants, M 2 is the mean of a second group of study participants, and SD P is the pooled standard deviation for both groups of study participants.
In instances where the groups have been given different learning experiences (e.g. an intervention), d is a measure of the magnitude of effect of the experience on the group receiving the enhanced teaching and learning experience. In cases where SD was not reported but SE (Standard Error) was, SE was converted to SD using the following formula:
$$ SD=SE\ \mathrm{x}\ \sqrt{\mathrm{N}} $$
As Cohen's d accounts for sample size, mean effect sizes for the purposes of the meta-analysis were calculated as follows:
$$ {M}_d={\displaystyle \sum d/{\mathrm{N}}_{\mathrm{s}}} $$
M d is the mean Cohen's d calculated by the sum of all d values and divided by the number of studies (N s ) from which a d value could be extracted for that outcome.
Data pertaining to each study were initially collated and described in a narrative summary (see Table 1). To facilitate comparison between the effect of teaching strategies/approaches, studies were divided according to their outcome measure as follows: Decreased food consumption/energy intake, increased FV consumption/preference, decreased sugar consumption/preference, and increased nutritional knowledge. Meta-analyses were conducted using the standardised mean difference approach (Cohen's d) regardless of their statistical significance where at least two studies existed for a particular outcome measure and sufficient statistical data were reported to allow such synthesis to occur.
Studies incorporated into the meta-analyses included a comparison between teaching strategies/approaches and reported post-test/follow-up values or change scores along with measures of distribution (i.e. mean and standard deviation). For studies that included post-test and follow-up assessments, the assessments completed at the end of the study period (i.e., follow-up) were included in the meta-analyses. The standardized effect sizes were interpreted as minimal (<.02), small (0.2), medium (0.5), and large (0.8) [14]. Analyses also considered whether they represented an effective investment in education given the average effect size of most educational interventions is d = 0.4 [11].
The study selection process is shown in Figure 1. It initially retrieved in excess of 200,000 possible citations. We refined searches to include only full text copies available online and published after 1970 in each of the databases and in Google Scholar reducing this to 18,100 possible citations. These citations were then cross-referenced electronically with reference lists from scoping and systematic review papers published in the field of nutrition, education, and health promotion (n = 15) [15-29] published between 1997 and 2012 that yielded 454 likely studies. A final database and internet search was then conducted to identify studies published between January 2010 (year prior to publication of most recent systematic review) and May 2014. This revealed an additional 23 possible citations totalling 487 publications that were considered for review.
Flowchart of study selection.
These 487 publications were then reviewed based on abstract and excluded if they were not conducted in primary schools or on primary school-aged children. This reduced the number of studies to 233. Studies were then excluded if they were not: a) randomised controlled trials; b) quasi-experimental studies; or c) cluster-controlled trials. This left 55 studies. On review of the full-text paper, another 6 studies were excluded for not meeting the inclusion criteria (i.e. conducted in a laboratory setting) or being a duplicate study. The final 49 studies were all in the form of peer-reviewed journal publications.
To ensure a complete review of the relevant literature is given, all 49 of the included articles are presented in Table 1. Specifically, the table outlines the details of the studies, including author(s), title, year, location, design and stated dominant theoretical framework, target population, and types of outcomes measured. The year of publication for included articles ranged from 1973 to 2011.
Study and intervention characteristics
The final 49 studies included one randomised controlled trial, 13 quasi-experiential studies and 35 cluster-controlled trials. These studies captured data from 38001 primary school children in 13 different countries. Data capable for inclusion in the meta-analyses came from 20234 (53%) participants. All but one country (Trinidad and Tobago) included in these studies were member nations of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Only 27 of the 49 studies reported the theoretical frameworks used to inform their intervention design. Whilst some studies reported multiple theoretical approaches (see Table 1), Social Cognitive Theory was the most frequently used theoretical framework and was reported in 16 of 27 studies.
Teaching strategies/approaches
There were eight dominant teaching strategies or approaches to teaching exhibited across the 49 studies that addressed the pre-determined areas of healthy eating for primary school students (i.e. food consumption/energy intake, fruit and vegetable consumption or preference, sugar consumption or preference, and nutritional knowledge). Some studies included more than one of these teaching strategies/approaches in their intervention group. The dominant teaching strategies/approaches were: 1) Enhanced curriculum approaches (i.e. speciality nutrition education programs beyond existing health curricula delivered by teachers or specialists) (n = 29); 2) cross-curricular approaches (i.e. nutrition education programs that were delivered across two or more traditional primary school subjects) (n = 11); 3) parental involvement (i.e. programs requiring active participation or assistance from a parent within or outside the school environment) (n = 10); 4) experiential learning approaches (i.e. school/community garden, cooking and food preparation activities) (n = 10); 5) contingent reinforcement approaches (i.e. rewards or incentives given to students in response to desired behaviours) (n = 7); 6) literary abstraction approaches (i.e. literature read by/to children whereby a character promotes/exemplifies positive behaviours) (n = 3); 7) games-based approaches (i.e. board/card games played by students at school designed to promote positive behaviour and learning of new knowledge) (n = 2); and 8) web-based approaches (i.e. internet-based resources or feedback mechanisms that could be accessed by students at home or school) (n = 2).
The results of the systematic review indicate that several dominant evidence-based approaches to teaching healthy eating in the randomised controlled trial, quasi-experimental and cluster controlled trial literature. In order to determine the strength of the evidence for these approaches, they are analysed against each of the major outcomes used to determine healthy eating and if the study achieved p-values of p < .05 for 50% of the studies, the magnitude of M d (i.e. minimal, small, medium, large) and/or if M d > .40. The decision to use an effect size of M d > .40 is based on Hattie's Zone of Desired Effects reside above this hinge point [11] and therefore have the greatest influence and represent the best investment for improving educational outcomes.
Food consumption and energy intake
Eleven studies reported on outcomes of food consumption and the overall energy intake of primary school-aged children. Curriculum-based approaches were the most popular (seven studies) and reported achieving statistical significance of p < .05 or better across nine studies reducing food consumption or energy intake outcomes. However, researchers were able to calculate effect sizes across six of the reported outcomes and found that four showed minimal or no effect, one had a negative effect and one reported a small effect size. The mean effect size of curriculum-based approaches is minimal (M d = 0.12) and would suggest that curriculum-based approaches alone are not the best influence on reducing food consumption or energy intake.
Three studies utilising experiential learning approaches (i.e., school/community gardens, cooking lessons and food preparation) reported on outcomes associated with reducing food consumption and energy intake. Two of these studies reported achieving statistical significance of p < .05 or better for at least one food consumption or energy intake variable. Effect sizes could be calculated on three of the reported outcomes from two studies. Two large effect sizes were recorded and the other showed no effect. Whilst there were only a small number of effect sizes that were able to be calculated based on the reporting method in these studies, the mean effect size was M d = 1.31 and within the Zone of Desired Effects. These approaches warrant greater investigation to reduce the amount of variance in the calculated effect but show promise in their ability to reduce food consumption and energy intake.
Fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption or preference
In terms of FV consumption or preference, curriculum-based approaches were again the most popular. 60% of curriculum-based approaches found statistically significant (p < .05) improvements in FV consumption or preference among primary school-aged children. However, it is important to note that many of the studies that used curriculum-based approaches (especially those with stronger p values) also coupled their interventions with secondary approaches (e.g., experiential-learning, parental-involvement). Given the way in which data was reported in these studies, it is difficult at this stage to determine the degree to which curriculum-based approaches alone contributed to statistical significance.
Of the 30 effect sizes that were calculated by the researchers, 33% had a medium to large effect and a further 23% had a small effect size. The mean effect size for curriculum-based approaches was M d = 0.45 indicating that having a nutrition curriculum delivered in primary schools makes an important investment in improving FV consumption or preference based on the educational hinge-point of effect sizes described by Hattie [11]. All but one study that was included in the analysis appeared to be based on behavioural, mastery, or didactic approaches and curricula models. The study driven by a socio-cultural perspective of health [30] had only 33 participants and effect sizes ranging from-0.26 to 1.04 for a range of different FV consumption or preference behaviours.
Experiential-learning approaches were used in eight studies to improve FV consumption or preference in primary school children and proved to be very effective with 75% of these types of studies yielding statistical significance at p < .05 or better. Of the 11 effect sizes that were calculated by the researchers, 45% had a large effect and the remaining 55% had a minimal effect size. However, the mean effect size for experiential-learning approaches that included school/community gardens, cooking skills, or food preparation was M d = 0.68, indicating experiential-learning approaches were within the Zone of Desired Effects [11] for improving FV consumption or preference in primary school children.
Cross-curricular approaches (i.e., learning experiences taught across two or more learning areas/subjects) to improving FV consumption or preference in primary school children also proved to very effective. Of the 10 studies using cross-curricular approaches, 90% of these yield statistical significance at p < .05 or better and of the 6 effect sizes calculated by the researchers, 50% had large effect sizes and the remaining 50% had a small or medium effect size. Whilst there were only a small number of effect sizes that were able to be calculated based on the reporting method in these studies, the mean effect size was M d = 0.63, which was within the Zone of Desired Effects.
Four studies used a contingent reinforcement (i.e., reward for behaviour) approach in promotion of FV consumption or preference among primary school children. All four (100%) of these studies reported achieving statistical significance of at least p < .05. There were six effect sizes reported across only two studies [31,32] and four of these effect sizes (67%) were considered large and two (33%) were considered minimal. Based on these two studies, the average effect size for contingent reinforcement in promoting FV consumption or preference is M d = 1.34. More studies are needed in order to ascertain an average effect size with less variance, however, based on available data this approach is well above M d = 0.4 with strong statistical significance in every study indicates it is a worthwhile investment strategy in improving FV consumption or preference among primary school children.
Parental involvement was incorporated into 10 studies that reported against 23 FV consumption or preference outcomes in primary school children. 91% of the outcomes reported against were statistically significant at the p < .05 level. The researchers were able to calculate 14 effect sizes in five of the studies. The results were varied with three large, two medium, three small, two minimal and four negative effect sizes being calculated. The mean effect was M d = 0.39 that was just below the Zone of Desired effects however it is worthwhile noting that no parent involvement approach was ever 'stand-alone'. They all included elements of enhanced curriculum, cross-curricular, experiential learning or web-based support.
Sugar consumption or preference (not from whole fruit)
Enhanced curriculum approaches (mainly based on behavioural or social cognitive theories) in primary schools provided 10 studies for reducing sugar consumption or preference in students however only three yielded statistical significance of p < .05 or better for reducing any sugar-laden beverage (SLB), fruit juice or carbohydrate consumption. Six effect sizes were calculated from these studies that showed one large, one small and four minimal effect sizes. The mean effect size of curriculum approaches for reducing sugar consumption however was only M d = 0.28 suggesting that greater investment beyond curriculum is required to make a substantial difference in reducing the sugar consumption of primary school children.
Cross-curricular approaches were reported in two studies [33,34] in reducing SLB or fruit juice consumption. Both studies reported statistically significant reductions in both SLB and fruit juice consumption at p < .05 or better. Taylor et al. [34] reported two minimal effect sizes whilst James et al. [35] reported a large effect size. The mean effect size for cross-curricular approaches at reducing SLB or fruit juice consumption was M d = 0.42. This was within the Zone of Desired Effects [11], but more investigation may be required given the small number of studies included in the analysis.
Nutritional knowledge
There were 12 studies that adopted enhanced curricula approaches to improving the nutritional knowledge of primary school children. There were 13 nutritional knowledge outcomes that achieved a statistically significant improvement of p < .05 or better. In fact, 8 of the 13 studies reported statistical significance of p < .001. Researchers were able to calculate 7 effect sizes (3 × large, 1 × medium, 3 × minimal) with the mean effect size being M d = 0.75. This indicates that quality curriculum interventions (largely based on behavioural or social cognitive learning theory) are capable of achieving improvements in student nutritional knowledge with the Zone of Desired Effects [11].
An experiential learning-approach was adopted in four studies and all reported achieving statistical significance of p < .05 across seven nutritional knowledge-related outcomes. The researchers were able to calculate effect sizes for six of them and found five large and one minimal effect size. The mean effect size for the experiential learning approaches to nutritional knowledge was M d = 1.35 indicating this approach is a particularly strong evidence-based strategy for improving the nutritional knowledge of primary school-aged children
This meta-analysis of school-based teaching interventions that have focused on improving the eating habits of primary school children found that experiential learning approaches had the greatest effect on reducing the food consumption, energy intake and nutritional knowledge of primary school children, and a smaller effect on primary school children's FV consumption or preference. The other strategies that had a smaller effect on improving primary school children's nutritional knowledge and reducing sugar consumption or preferences were cross-curricular approaches and quality curriculum interventions, respectively. In regards with improving primary school children's FV consumption or preferences, both cross-curricular and quality curriculum interventions were effective.
In light of these findings, it is important to note that the high levels of heterogeneity among the included primary school healthy eating programs, does not make it possible to make firm conclusions. However, the findings have been supported in other literature, with experiential learning strategies, such as garden-enhanced learning strategies, positively influencing vegetable preferences and consumption among primary school children, which has been found to be the strongest predictor of future consumption [36-39]. Similar to this review, Langellotto & Gupta [39], who used meta-analytic techniques, found that school gardens and associated teaching strategies increased vegetable consumption in children, whereas the impacts of nutrition education programs were marginal or non-significant. There are two possible reasons for these findings: 1) school gardens increase access to vegetables; and 2) gardening decreases children's reluctance to try new foods. Birch and colleagues [38] have also stated that in order to improve primary school children's healthy food preferences, experiences and strategies need to increase availability and accessibility to increase exposure to those foods that will then affect their willingness to taste.
Whilst some studies report FV consumption or preference independently of each other, this tends to be the exception rather than the rule of reporting FV consumption or preference in primary school-based studies. Future studies should seek to promote, analyse and report vegetable consumption independent of fruit consumption to ascertain what physiological and behavioural effects this may have on students and findings of the study. This is because excessive consumption of fruit-based sugars (i.e. consuming fructose >50 g/d) may be one of the underlying aetiologies of Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes [35].
This study has some important considerations with regard to its generalizability. The target population were the students attending primary schools from any country around the world but all the studies bar one [40] were conducted in nations of the OECD. As such, they represent some of the most developed and advanced economies on the planet and should be taken into serious consideration when seeking to generalise these findings. Of the 49 studies analysed, more than half (n = 28) were conducted in the United States followed by the United Kingdom (n = 7). This may be attributed of the growing percentage of children in the USA and UK with non-communicable diseases attributed to diet-related factors [4,41]. It may also be indicative of the capacity of advanced economies, such as the USA and UK, to conduct empirically robust studies in primary school settings [42].
There are several strengths of this systematic review and meta-analysis. First, this is the first known paper to systematically extract specific teaching strategies and approaches that facilitate the healthy eating of primary school children. As such, we conducted a systematic review using broad search terms to increase the probability of identifying all eligible publications, which yielded a well-sized (k = 49) evidence base. Second, the method of meta-analysis allowed for these strategies to be considered against other nutritional as well as the educational meta-analytic literature. Third, teaching strategies and approaches were reliably coded using schema of existing evidence of 'what works' in educational settings [11].
There were a few limitations associated with this review. The heterogeneity of primary school healthy eating interventions is large. This fact alone limited our ability to measure the effectiveness of each teaching strategy in the multi-faceted nutrition education programs. Moreover, it is possible that some strategies are commonly clustered with others, thus our findings should be considered carefully in terms of these strategies having similar effects when implemented on their own. Given that all the articles were identified from the peer-reviewed literature, there is some possibility of publication bias on the nature of evidence available to inform the review. Publication bias by particular journals, or more specifically the inability and discouragement of publishing articles that report negative results, may distort conclusions reached. Further, due to all but one study were conducted in OECD countries, findings from this systematic review and meta-analyses should be limited to informing decision making of stakeholders in those of similar nations.
Most teaching strategies extracted from intervention studies lead to positive changes in primary school children's nutritional knowledge and behaviours. However, the most effective strategies for facilitating healthy eating in primary school children are enhanced curricula, cross-curricula and experiential learning approaches. Other strategies that showed some promising effect, but need to be further investigated include contingent reinforcement and parental involvement approaches.
Complete citations of the studies included in the systematic review and meta analyses are listed as the following in the reference list [30-34,36,40,43-84].
National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian Dietary Guidelines. Canberra: Australian Government; 2013.
Gill T, King L, Webb K. Best options for promoting healthy weight and preventing weight gain in NSW. Sydney: NSW Centre for Public Health Nutrition; 2005.
Khambalia AZ, Dickinson S, Hardy LL, Gill T, Baur LA. A synthesis of existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses of school-based behavioural interventions for controlling and preventing obesity. Obes Rev. 2012;13(3):214–33.
Popkin BM, Gordon-Larsen P. The nutrition transition: Worldwide obesity dynamics and their determinants. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004;28:S2–9. Doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0802804.
Neumark-Sztainer D, Wall M, Larson NI, Eisenberg ME, Loth K. Dieting and disordered eating behaviors from adolescence to young adulthood: findings from a 10-year longitudinal study. J Am Diet Assoc. 2011;111(7):1004–11.
Nicklaus S, Remy E. Early origins of overeating: tracking between early food habits and later eating patterns. Curr Obes Rep. 2013;2(2):179–84.
Lee A. Health-promoting schools: evidence for a holistic approach to promoting health and improving health literacy. Appl Health Econ Health Policy. 2009;7(1):11–7.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Making Education a Priority in the Post-2015 Development Agenda. Paris: UNESCO; 2013.
Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, PRISMA Group. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. PLoS Med. 2009;6(6):e1000097.
National Health and Medical Research Council. Healthy eating for children. Teach your child healthy habits for a healthy life. Canberra: Australia: Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing; 2014.
Hattie JA. Visible Learning: A synthesis of over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement. London: Routledge; 2009.
Van Sluijs EM, McMinn AM, Griffin SJ. Effectiveness of interventions to promote physical activity in children and adolescents: Systematic review of controlled trials. BMJ. 2007;335(7622):703.
Rosenthal R. Parametric measures of effect size. In: Cooper H, Hedges LV, editors. The handbook of research synthesis. New York: Russell Sage Foundation; 1994. p. 231–44.
Cohen J. A power primer. Psyc Bul. 1992;112(1):155–9.
Roe L, Hunt P, Bradshaw H, Rayner M. Health promotion interventions to promote healthy eating in the general population: a review. Health Promot Eff Rev. 1997;6:198.
Campbell K, Waters E, O'Meara S, Summerbell C. Interventions for preventing obesity in childhood: a systematic review. Obes Rev. 2001;2(3):149–57.
Ammerman AS, Lindquist CH, Lohr KN, Hersey J. The efficacy of behavioural interventions to modify dietary fat and fruit and vegetable intake: a review of the evidence. Prev Med. 2002;35(1):25–41.
Burchett H. Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among British primary school children: a review. Health Educ. 2003;103(2):99–109.
Berti PR, Krasevec J, FitzGerald S. A review of the effectiveness of agriculture interventions in improving nutrition outcomes. Public Health Nutr. 2004;7:599–609.
Knai C, Pomerleau J, Lock K, McKee M. Getting children to eat more fruit and vegetables: a systematic review. Prev Med. 2006;42(2):85–95.
Rasmussen M, Krolner R, Klepp KI, Lytle L, Brug J, Bere E, et al. Determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption among children and adolescents: a review of the literature: Part I: quantitative studies. J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2006;3(22):1–19.
Sahay TB, Ashbury FD, Roberts M, Rootman I. Effective components for nutrition interventions: a review and application of the literature. Health Promot Pract. 2006;7(4):418–27.
Howerton MW, Bell BS, Dodd KW, Berrigan D, Stolzenberg-Solomon R, Nebeling L. School-based nutrition programs produced a moderate increase in fruit and vegetable consumption: Meta and pooling analyses from 7 studies. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2007;39(4):186–96.
Oldroyd J, Burns C, Lucas P, Haikerwal A, Waters E. The effectiveness of nutrition interventions on dietary outcomes by relative social disadvantage: a systematic review. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2008;62(7):573–9.
Perez-Escamilla R, Hromi-Fiedler A, Vega-Lopez S, Bermudez-Millan A, Segura-Perez S. Impact of peer nutrition education on dietary behaviors and health outcomes among Latinos: a systematic literature review. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2008;40(4):208–25.
Robinson-O'Brien R, Story M, Heim S. Impact of garden-based youth nutrition intervention programs: a review. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009;109(2):273–80.
Hingle MD, O'Connor TM, Dave JM, Baranowski T. Parental involvement in interventions to improve child dietary intake: a systematic review. Prev Med. 2010;51(2):103–11.
Delgado-Noguera M, Tort S, Martinez-Zapata MJ, Bonfill X. Primary school interventions to promote fruit and vegetable consumption: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Prev Med. 2011;53(1–2):3–9.
Ganann R, Fitzpatrick-Lewis D, Ciliska D, Peirson L. Community-based interventions for enhancing to or consumption of fruit and vegetable among five to 18-year olds: a scoping review. BMC Pub Health. 2012;12:711.
Govula C, Kattelman K, Ren C. Culturally appropriate nutrition lessons increased fruit and vegetable consumption in American Indian children. Topics in Clin Nutr. 2007;22(3):239–45.
Horne PJ, Tapper K, Lowe CF, Hardman CA, Jackson MC, Woolner J. Increasing children's fruit and vegetable consumption: a peer-modelling and rewards-based intervention. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2004;58(12):1649–60.
Baranowski T, Davis M, Resnicow K, Baranowski J, Doyle C, Lin LS, et al. Gimme 5 fruit, juice, and vegetables for fun and health: outcome evaluation. Health Educ Behav. 2000;27(1):96–111.
James J, Thomas P, Cavan D, Kerr D. Preventing childhood obesity by reducing consumption of carbonated drinks: cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2005;328(1):1237–9.
Taylor RW, McAuley KA, Barbezat W, Strong A, Williams SM, Mann JI. APPLE Project: 2-y findings of a community-based obesity prevention program in primary school age children. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007;86(3):735–42.
Johnson RJ, Perez-Pozo SE, Sautin YY, Manitius J, Sanchez-Lozada LG, Feig DI, et al. Could excessive fructose intake and uric acid cause type 2 diabetes? Endocr Rev. 2009;30(1):96–116.
McAleese J, Rankin L. Garden-based nutrition education affects fruit and vegetable consumption in sixth-grade adolescents. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007;107:662–5.
Blanchette L, Brug J. Determinants of fruit and vegetable consumption among 6–12-year-old children and effective interventions to increase consumption. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2005;18:431–43.
Birch LL, McPhee L, Shoba BC, Pirok E, Steinberg L. What kind of exposure reduces children's food neophobia? Looking vs tasting. Appetite. 1987;9:171–8.
Langellotto GA, Gupta A. Gardening increases vegetable consumption in school-aged children: a meta-analytical synthesis. Hort Tech. 2012;22(4):430–45.
Francis M, Nichols SSD, Dalrymple N. The effects of a school-based intervention programme on dietary intakes and physical activity among primary-school children in Trinidad and Tobago. Public Health Nutr. 2010;13(5):738–47.
Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. Health at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators. Paris: OECD; 2013.
Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. Equity and Quality in Education: Supporting Disadvantaged Students and Schools. Paris: OECD; 2012.
Auld GW, Romaniello C, Heimendinger J, Hambidge C, Hambidge M. Outcomes from a school-based nutrition education program using resource teachers and cross-disciplinary models. J Nutr Educ. 1998;30(5):268–80.
Bell CG, Lamb MW. Nutrition education and dietary behavior of fifth graders. J Nutr Educ. 1973;5:196–9.
Edwards CS, Hermann JR. Piloting a cooperative extension service nutrition education program on first-grade children's willingness to try foods containing legumes. J Ext. 2011;49(1):1–4. Article 1IAW3 (Epublication).
Fahlman MM, Dake JA, McCaughtry N, Martin J. A pilot study to examine the effects of a nutrition intervention on nutrition knowledge, behaviors, and efficacy expectations in middle school children. J Sch Health. 2008;78(4):216–22.
Friel S, Kelleher C, Campbell P, Nolan G. Evaluation of the Nutrition Education at Primary School (NEAPS) programme. Public Health Nutr. 1999;2(4):549–55.
Gortmaker SL, Cheung LWY, Peterson KE, Chomitz G, Cradle JH, Dart H, et al. Impact of a school-based interdisciplinary intervention on diet and physical activity among urban primary school children: eat well and keep moving. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1999;153(9):975–83.
Liquori T, Koch PD, Contento IR, Castle J. The cookshop program: outcome evaluation of a nutrition education program linking lunchroom food experiences with classroom cooking experiences. J Nutr Educ. 1998;30(5):302–13.
Manios Y, Moschandreas J, Hatzis C, Kafatos A. Health and nutrition education in primary schools of Crete: changes in chronic disease risk factors following a 6-year intervention programme. Br J Nutr. 2002;88:315–24.
Morgan PJ, Warren JM, Lubans DR, Saunders KL, Quick GI, Collins CE. The impact of nutrition education with and without a school garden on knowledge, vegetable intake and preferences and quality of school life among primary-school students. Public Health Nutr. 2010;13(11):1931–40.
Simons-Morton BG, Parcel GS, Baranowski T, Forthofer R, O'Hara NM. Promoting physical activity and a healthful diet among children: results of a school-based intervention study. Am J Public Health. 1991;81(8):986–91.
Agozzino E, Esposito D, Genovese S, Manzi E, Russo KP. Evaluation of the effectiveness of a nutrition education intervention performed by primary school teachers. Ital J Public Health. 2007;4(4):131–7.
Amaro S, Viggiano A, Di Costanzo A, Madeo I, Baccari ME, Marchitelli E, et al. Kaledo, a new educational board-game, gives nutritional rudiments and encourages healthy eating in children: a pilot cluster randomized trial. Eur J Pediatr. 2006;165(9):630–5.
Anderson AS, Porteous LE, Foster E, Higgins C, Stead M, Hetherington M, et al. The impact of a school-based nutrition education intervention on dietary intake and cognitive and attitudinal variables relating to fruits and vegetables. Public Health Nutr. 2005;8(6):650–6.
Bere E, Veierod MB, Bjelland M, Klepp KI. Outcome and process evaluation of a Norwegian school-randomized fruit and vegetable intervention: Fruits and Vegetables Make the Marks (FVMM). Health Educ Res. 2006;21(2):258–67.
Cooke LJ, Chambers LC, Anez EV, Croker HA, Boniface D, Yeomans MR, et al. Eating for pleasure or profit: the effect of incentives on children's enjoyment of vegetables. Psychol Sci. 2011;22(2):190–6.
Day ME, Strange KS, McKay HA, Naylor P. Action schools! BC–healthy eating: effects of a whole-school model to modifying eating behaviours of elementary school children. Can J Public Health. 2008;99(4):328–31.
Domel SB, Baranowski T, Davis H, Thompson WO, Leonard SB, Riley P, et al. Development and evaluation of a school intervention to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among 4th and 5th grade students. J Nutr Educ. 1993;25(6):345–9.
Duncan S, McPhee JC, Schluter PJ, Zinn C, Smith R, Schofield G. Efficacy of a compulsory homework programme for increasing physical activity and healthy eating in children: the healthy homework pilot study. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2011;8:127.
Foster GD, Sherman S, Borradaile KE, Grundy KM, Vander Veur SS, Nachmani J, et al. A policy-based school intervention to prevent overweight and obesity. Pediatrics. 2008;121(4):e794–802.
Gorely T, Nevill ME, Morris JG, Stensel DJ, Nevill A. Effect of a school-based intervention to promote healthy lifestyles in 7–11 year old children. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2009;6:5.
Head MK. A nutrition education program at three grade levels. J Nutr Educ. 1974;6(56):59.
Hendy HM, Williams KE, Camise TS. Kid's Choice Program improves weight management behaviors and weight status in school children. Appetite. 2011;56(2):484–94.
Hoffman JA, Franko DL, Thompson DR, Power TJ, Stallings VA. Longitudinal behavioral effects of a school-based fruit and vegetable promotion program. J Pediatr Psychol. 2010;35(1):61–71.
Kipping RR, Jago R, Lawlor DA. Diet outcomes of a pilot school-based randomised controlled obesity prevention study with 9–10 year olds in England. Prev Med. 2010;51(1):56–62.
Kristjansdottir AG, Johannsson E, Thorsdottir I. Effects of a school-based intervention on adherence of 7-9-year-olds to food-based dietary guidelines and intake of nutrients. Public Health Nutr. 2010;13(8):1151–61.
Luepker RV, Perry CL, McKinlay SM, Nader PR, Parcel GS, Stone EJ, et al. Outcomes of a field trial to improve children's dietary patterns and physical activity: the child and adolescent trial for cardiovascular health CATCH collaborative group. JAMA. 1996;275(10):768–76.
Mangunkusumo RT, Brug J, De Koning HJ, Van Der Lei J, Raat H. School-based internet-tailored fruit and vegetable education combined with brief counselling increases children's awareness of intake levels. Public Health Nutr. 2007;10(3):273–9.
Muth ND, Chatterjee A, Williams D, Cross A, Flower K. Making an IMPACT: effect of a school-based pilot intervention. N C Med J. 2008;69(6):432–40.
Panunzio MF, Antoniciello A, Pisano A, Dalton S. Nutrition education intervention by teachers may promote fruit and vegetable consumption in Italian students. Nutr Res. 2007;27(9):524–8.
Parcel GS, Simons-Morton B, O'Hara NM, Baranowski T, Wilson B. School promotion of healthful diet and physical activity: impact on learning outcomes and self-reported behavior. Health Educ Q. 1989;16(2):181–99.
Parmer SM, Salisbury-Glennon J, Shannon D, Struempler B. School gardens: an experiential learning approach for a nutrition education program to increase fruit and vegetable knowledge, preference, and consumption among second-grade students. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2009;41(3):212–7.
Perry CL, Bishop DB, Taylor G, Murray DM, Mays RW, Dudovitz BS, et al. Changing fruit and vegetable consumption among children: the 5-a-Day Power Plus Program in St. Paul, Minnesota. Am J Public Health. 1998;88(4):603–9.
Perry CL, Mullis R, Maile M. Modifying eating behavior of children: a pilot intervention study. J Sch Health. 1985;55(10):399–402.
Powers AR, Struempler BJ, Guarino A, Parmer SM. Effects of a nutrition education program on the dietary behavior and nutrition knowledge of second-grade and third-grade students. J Sch Health. 2005;75(4):129–33.
Quinn LJ, Horacek TM, Castle J. The impact of COOKSHOP on the dietary habits and attitudes of fifth graders. Top Clin Nutr. 2003;18(1):42–8.
Resnicow K, Davis M, Smith M, Baranowski T, Lin LS, Baranowski J, et al. Results of the TeachWell worksite wellness program. Am J Public Health. 1998;88(2):250–7.
Reynolds KD, Franklin FA, Binkley D, Raczynski JM, Harrington KF, Kirk KA, et al. Increasing the fruit and vegetable consumption of fourth graders: results from the high 5 project. Prev Med. 2000;30(4):309–19.
Sahota P, Rudolf MC, Dixey R, Hill AJ, Barth JH, Cade J. Randomised controlled trial of primary school based intervention to reduce risk factors for obesity. BMJ. 2001;323(7320):1029–32.
Shannon B, Chen AN. A three-year school-based nutrition education study. J Nutr Educ. 1988;20(34):114–24.
Smolak L, Levine MP, Schermer F. A controlled evaluation of an elementary school primary prevention program for eating problems. J Psychosom Res. 1998;44(3–4):339–53.
Spiegel SA, Foulk D. Reducing overweight through a multidisciplinary school-based intervention. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md). 2006;14(1):88–96.
Te Velde SJ, Brug J, Wind M, Hildonen C, Bjelland M, Perez-Rodrigo C, et al. Effects of a comprehensive fruit-and vegetable-promoting school-based intervention in three European countries: the Pro children study. Br J Nutr. 2008;99(4):893–903.
This study was brokered by the Sax Institute for the NSW Department of Education and Communities and the NSW Ministry of Health. The funding agencies instigated the research questions but had no influence (either directly or indirectly) over the search strategy, included studies, data analysis or findings.
School of Education, Faculty of Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Dean A Dudley
Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Wayne G Cotton & Louisa R Peralta
Wayne G Cotton
Louisa R Peralta
Correspondence to Dean A Dudley.
DAD, WGC and LRP conceptualized and designed the study. DAD, WGC and LRP collected the data. DAD conducted the statistical analyses. DAD, WGC and LRP contributed to the writing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
Dudley, D.A., Cotton, W.G. & Peralta, L.R. Teaching approaches and strategies that promote healthy eating in primary school children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 12, 28 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-015-0182-8
Energy intake


text:
Home HUB IT Reviews Everyday life technology Eng LG G4 preview
The LG G4 (LG's new flagship) will be unveiled on 28th April and no sale from 29th April in South Korea. We can't wait for its arrival, so we've pulled together all the latest product information, updates and rumors' and featured in this post for your anticipation.
Until today, there's only been limited official information about the device from LG but judging by the first images, the company's focus is clearly about design.
LG G4 consumers will be able to choose customize their device with the many different leather cases being made available for the G4
Unfortunately the only news unveiledby LG about the G4's technical features are that it will have a: 5.5 inch IPS Quantum QHD display that, according to LG, is 25% bighterthan the QHD displays used on older LG devices.
We do know that the G4 will be equipped with a F.18 / 16 Megapixel camera, that allows the user to take high quality photos even in dark.
LG also announced that the G4 will use the LG UX 4.0 user interface, where one if its main features allows the user to use the camera with professional settings, the inclusion of a Smart Board which collects information about the users calendar, the music they listened too and their activity via the smartphone apps.
Rumor has it that the G4 will work with a Snapdragon 808 processor (CPU: Dual-core ARM® Cortex™ A57 and quad-core A53 with 64-bit support / CPU: Adreno 418 GPU). With the smartphone will be provided a 64GB microSD.
The feature we are most interested in is apparently the G4 will use a 3.000 mAh wireless ready, battery charge. So, we hope, users will be able to charge this amazing smartphone just by placing it on your HUB IT with the Qi Wireless Charger.
How to cook Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6 in boiling waterThe Ubuntu Phone: The Linux community chooses a European startup to develop its first smartphone
The Ubuntu Phone: The Linux community chooses a European startup to develop its first smartphone
Igor Spinella
Thank you very much for the appreciation!
We work to design the best accessories for the newest smartphones (i.e. hubit.eggtronic.com) so we try to keep all the readers updated with the best news about the lastest technologies…you can't imagine how many phones / tablets and accessories we have in our lab!
24 April 2015	Everyday life technology Eng293


Styrofoam is a brand name of the white material, which is actually called expanded polystyrene (EPS).
This material is used for the production of the foam hinged containers in order to preserve the sandwiches to retain their freshness and taste.
They are perfect for take-out at food stands and restaurants and allows people to freeze, refrigerate, and keep food warm. The majority of people assume that Styrofoam must be safe since it's often what our takeaway comes in.
This material is actually doing numerous bad things to the environment, but it isn't just bad for the environment it's bad for the health, too.
It contains a harmful chemical (styrene) that can leech into food and drink.
Even worse, according to the National Research Council, it is classified as a carcinogen to humans.
According to Cleveland State University, Styrofoam is non-recyclable, carcinogenic, and it needs a long time to decompose (could be a million years).
The expandable foam is particularly dangerous to marine animals, as they can be lodged in their intestines and to act as a sponge for other toxins.
In 2013, because of those reasons, New York City became one of the first U.S. cities to ban the product.
That ban is now finally in effect, as the lawsuits and other hurdles are finished. It became official on January 1st, 2019 but restaurants still can use them until June 1 before they get punished.
According to the EPA, Americans alone throw away 25 billion polystyrene coffee cups a year, so other cities, such as Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Washington D.C. have enacted laws against polystyrene, but not all of them have come into effect yet.


text:
Skip to Main Content | Screen Reader Access | Text Magnifier |
Minutes of Project Review & Other Meetings
OUIDF
Focus Sector
Slum Development & Rehabilitation
Climate Change Adaptation Measures
Approved by the Board
Reimbursement Claim
Appraisal & Lending Procedures
Empanelled Consultants/Bidders
Tender & Advertisement
As per the State Urban Water Supply Policy, all individuals must get at least 70 litres per capita per day (LPCD) of water which should be subsequently increased to 135 LPCD. The continuity in supply has to be progressively increased to attain 24/7. The policy also aims to ensure 100% household level coverage by direct piped house connection.
Water Supply projects are the thrust area sectors of OUIDF in terms of the agreement executed with KfW. For Focus area projects, 60% of the total fund received from KfW is to be invested in this sector.
Water Supply Projects taken-up by OUIDF
Water Supply to Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC)
The objective of the Project is to improve the distribution system in the BeMC area and provide a network for 24x7 Water Supply. Domestic water requirement of Berhampur is 50.63 MLD @ 135LPCD for 375,000 population. The supply at present is 50 MLD of which 30 MLD is from Dakhinpur, 16 MLD from Rushikulya River and 4 MLD from 75 nos. of production wells. The supply reduces in summer due to the drying of the Rushikulya River. During the summers, the water supply is only 42 MLD. The Project is designed for a 30 year period. The design year is 2045 and base year is 2015. The capacity of Under Ground Reservoirs (UGRs), Elevated Storage Reservoirs (ESRs) and the distribution system have been designed for year 2045. In order to increase the capacity of source to meet the water demand of the design period, it has been decided by the Government to integrate the Augmentation of Water Supply from Janivilli source with the distribution network and implement both the Projects as a single EPC Project. The total Project Cost for the same is Rs.489 Cr. approx. Tenders have been invited and 8 bids have been received from potential bidders which are being evaluated.
Augmentation of Water Supply to Gopalpur N.A.C.
The Project proposes to augment the existing water supply for Gopalpur NAC. At present the water supply to the town is 62 LPCD against a demand of 135 LPCD. Thus to eliminate the demand- supply gap, the Project proposes to tap water from the existing Rushikulya Joint Water Supply System to an existing hill top reservoir. The Project components include gravity and pumping transmission mains, underground reservoir and a pump house including all machinery and electrification works. The water shall be distributed to the Gopalpur Town from the hill top reservoir through an existing distribution network. This distribution system is proposed to be renovated and extended in order to cover the entire town. Design period is 30 years. The Project Cost for the same is Rs.5.29 cr. approx. Contractor appointed for execution and the Project is expected to be completed in a years time.
Bulk Water Supply Project for IIT Bhubaneswar, NISER, Infocity-II and Adjoining Areas in PPP
Bhubaneswar having occupied the apex position in the Smart City list declared by GoI, the provision of supplying safe drinking water on a 24x7 basis simultaneously achieving the objectives of State Water Policy 2013 (100% coverage) needs no over emphasis. The State government is committed to develop the Water Supply System for institutes like IIT Bhubaneswar, NISER, INFOCITY-II and the adjoining Municipalities of Khurda and Jatni. The Project was conceived under PPP mode and Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd. (MEIL) has been selected as the Concessionaire by the State Government with the approval of Govt. of India.
The Project involves a total outlay of Rs.188 Cr. approx. and Viability Grant of Rs.37.50 Cr. and Rs.12.50 cr. have been also sanctioned by GoI & GoO respectively. OUIDF has also provided Loan of Rs.40 Cr. for this project. The project implementation is under progress and likely to be completed by December 2017
The proposed Intake location is near Munduli Barrage on Mahanadi. The location is at 100m upstream of existing Intake Structure. The proposed Raw Water Transmission (pumping) main starts at the intake and continues along the (Munduli) barrage road for almost 1 km until in turns to enter WTP. A total of three (3) pumps each of 50% capacity of total flow are proposed. The Treatment Plant is designed for a capacity of 52 MLD of raw water and to provide 50 MLD of treated water of the specified quality with 20 hrs of operation.
The satellite towns of Bhubaneswar (Khorda and Jatni) are growing rapidly. The existing Water Supply System of Khurda was designed for a capacity of 4.5 MLD. This capacity is already insufficient for the current population. The source (River Daya) is not reliable in summer. The existing Water Supply System of Jatni is from tube-wells supplying not more than 2 MLD. In view of the urban expansion in next three decades, the PHEO, GoO in line with the State Water Plan of Orissa has decided to develop the Water Supply System for institutes like IIT Bhubaneswar, NISER, INFOCITY-II and the adjoining Municipalities of Khurda and Jatni.
Disclaimer | Hyper Linking Policy | Sitemap | Contact Us
This website belongs to Odisha Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (OUIDF). This is developed with an objective to provide single point access to all the related information in an uniform manner. The ownership of all contents in this website belongs to OUIDF.
© Copyright 2020, Odisha Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (OUIDF).
Website Designed and Developed by Luminous Infoways | Last Updated on 25-05-2018


text:
Writing is what I do these days to help bridge the gap between life as it is being lived, life as it might be lived and death as it becomes part of us. In A Reluctant Life I speak about grief as I personally experienced it. In Clara at Sixty I created a character who jumped off the pages of A Reluctant Life and told her own story Best Friends, is a story of friendship between two young women, who over the course of 27 years reveal their remarkable lives through letters. What I will write about next is unclear to me. It has all been written -- but everyone of us has a story that creates life in our own special way. Whatever nuggets I discover will be the seed of the next adventure.
This blog will be a continuation of what interests me. But it will hopefully include our collective stories. While I might share the wisdom written before we were born, practices that may apply, destiny still to be reached, I hope that you will share your own take on life, here on these pages.
The days have been cold and wet and has been for some time. One gets these middle-of-the-night thoughts...the one last night was, if not surprising or particularly new, enlightening to me. I suppose transcribing Betty and my letters for the new book I am putting together has placed me back in time. A recognition about how the closest and most important people in our lives move away. Moments that you felt somehow eternal, are transient. They cannot last. People are transient. Losing touch with Betty for twenty-nine years struck that chord. We could not have been closer, and yet that friendship inhabited a particular time in life, and then it ended. I can think of so many other people. She was an unknown by then. It makes it clearer to me what the Buddhists' say about loss, being in the now, and letting go. We do let go, but sometimes it takes time. More to the point seems to be that one can't assume that we will be tied together by virtue of a time spent together forever. There is no forever on this plane. Those ties will loosen and float away. Most often I accept that, as others do. We go on with our lives, remembering sometimes vaguely of those ties which for a period of time bound us to each other. That became clearer to me in the darkness of last night. We are no more, except maybe an occasional surfacing memory that will bring that time back to them or to me, for a moment. That particular kind of loss doesn't always feel real, until it does, and when it does, I understand completely the journey we travel on. The connections we have made and then have let go of. The memory of certain times from a backward look can be visceral and immediate, but no longer have the ability to stay or ever be again. There is sadness in this recognition, but the truth of loss of each moment of our lives that ended when that moment ended is what it is. Life IS immediate. What occupies me now will be over as it is being lived. We will step from each of our now moments to the next now moment. The parade of time really does move forward. You can stand in one place and you will still be moving. Now becomes then just like that. then...is now a memory. It no longer exists. It is a "was", a has- been. It will never happen again...If I counted and contemplated the seconds of my life, I would be struck deeply by the meaning of time, the filling of time. The movement of time. The inevitable change. We are not static. That's the realization which while not very clever, became very real and an amazing understanding that went towards acceptance.
Excerpt from Best Friends
From a work in progress: Best Friends
The interesting thing is that now I have a different view. When I was young I was impatient for my future to begin, and now I am stuck in the life that already was. I have traveled through many years, seen every season many, many times. Sitting here on my tiny deck, a witness to so many decades swirling around my mind, I feel the full weight of those years. I moved through some of them with eyes half closed—at other times fully engaged in the demand that I take part in finding my particular place and recognizing all the reasons for needing to be here, discovering with some relief, that after all, none of this will matter in one hundred years.
About the act of writing
"In many ways writing is the act of saying I, of imposing oneself upon other people, of saying listen to me, see it my way, change your mind. It's an aggressive, even a hostile act. You can disguise its qualifiers and tentative subjunctives, with ellipses and evasions — with the whole manner of intimating rather than claiming, of alluding rather than stating — but there's no getting around the fact that setting words on paper is the tactic of a secret bully, an invasion, an imposition of the writer's sensibility on the reader's most private space" Joan Didion
From David Whyte;s book: Collision:
HEARTBREAK is unpreventable; the natural outcome of caring for people and things over which we have no control...Heartbreak begins the moment we are asked to let go but cannot, in other words, it colors and inhabits and magnifies each and every day; heartbreak is not a visitation, but a path that human beings follow through even the most average life. Heartbreak is an indication of our sincerity: in a love relationship, in a life's work, in trying to learn a musical instrument, in the attempt to shape a better more generous self. Heartbreak is the beautifully helpless side of love and affection and is [an] essence and emblem of care... Heartbreak has its own way of inhabiting time and its own beautiful and trying patience in coming and going.
HERMAN HESSE SAID...
I would simply like to reclaim an old and, alas, quite unfashionable private formula: Moderate enjoyment is double enjoyment. And: Do not overlook the little joys!In certain circles [moderation] requires courage to miss a première. In wider circles it takes courage not to have read a new publication several weeks after its appearance. In the widest circles of all, one is an object of ridicule if one has not read the daily paper. But I know people who feel no regret at exercising this courage.Let not the man* who subscribes to a weekly theater series feel that he is losing something if he makes use of it only every other week. I guarantee: he will gain.
Let anyone who is accustomed to looking at a great many pictures in an exhibition try just once, if he is still capable of it, spending an hour or more in front of a single masterpiece and content himself with that for the day. He will be the gainer by it.
Let the omnivorous reader try the same sort of thing. Sometimes he will be annoyed at not being able to join in conversation about some publication; occasionally he will cause smiles. But soon he will know better and do the smiling himself. And let any man who cannot bring himself to use any other kind of restraint try to make a habit of going to bed at ten o'clock at least once a week. He will be amazed at how richly this small sacrifice of time and pleasure will be rewarded.
Herman Hesse
In Simone deBeauvoir's autobiography, ALL SAID AND DONE, 1972, she talks about something that I have often contemplated and indeed experienced. Her words capture this experience far better than I can:
"Every morning, even before I open my eyes, I know I am in my bedroom and my bed. But if I go to sleep after lunch in the room where I work, sometimes I wake up with a feeling of childish amazement — why am I myself? What astonishes me, just as it astonishes a child when he becomes aware of his own identity, is the fact of finding myself here, and at this moment, deep in this life and not in any other. What stroke of chance has brought this about?
The penetration of that particular ovum by that particular spermatozoon, with its implications of the meeting of my parents and before that of their birth and the births of all their forebears, had not one chance in hundreds of millions of coming about. And it was chance, a chance quite unpredictable in the present state of science, that caused me to be born a woman. From that point on, it seems to me that a thousand different futures might have stemmed from every single movement of my past: I might have fallen ill and broken off my studies; I might not have met Sartre; anything at all might have happened.
Tossed into the world, I have been subjected to its laws and its contingencies, ruled by wills other than my own, by circumstance and by history: it is therefore reasonable for me to feel that I am myself contingent. What staggers me is that at the same time I am not contingent. If I had not been born no question would have arisen: I have to take the fact that I do exist as my starting point. To be sure, the future of the woman I have been may turn me into someone other than myself. But in that case it would be this other woman who would be asking herself who she was. For the person who says "Here am I" there is no other coexisting possibility. Yet this necessary coincidence of the subject and his history is not enough to do away with my perplexity. My life: it is both intimately known and remote; it defines me and yet I stand outside it."
I-Thou--and--Self. Versus the Authentic Self...the Differences
Buber's philosophy of dialogue views the human existence in two fundamentally different kinds of relations: I-It relations and I-Thou relations. An I-It relation is the normal everyday relation of a human being toward his or her surroundings. A person can also view another person as an It, and often does so by viewing others from a distance. In the I-Thou relation the individual enters into the relationship with another human with his or her entire being. This relationship becomes an intimate meeting, a real dialogue between both partners. Buber saw this as a reflection of the encounter between the human being and God. The I-Thou relationship allows for dialogue between the human being and God.
Kahlill Gibran:
My friend, I am not what I seem. Seeming is but a garment I wear — a care-woven garment that protects me from thy questionings and thee from my negligence. The "I" in me, my friend, dwells in the house of silence, and therein it shall remain for ever more, unperceived, unapproachable.
The "friend" Gibran addresses is the idealized self, the self we present to the world, the aspirational self of who we would like to be rather than who we are — a self that invariably obscures our incompleteness and imperfection, which are the wellspring of our richest humanity. Gibran writes:
My friend, thou art good and cautious and wise; nay, thou art perfect — and I, too, speak with thee wisely and cautiously. And yet I am mad. But I mask my madness. I would be mad alone. My friend, thou art not my friend, but how shall I make thee understand? My path is not thy path, yet together we walk, hand in hand.
THE ACHE INSIDE THAT MAKES ME WRITE
When I cannot resolve what is happening, or what has happened in the past, when I can't say clearly to anyone what I am feeling, then it is only in writing that I find my voice. That is why I write. To extract what I otherwise find hard to comprehend at once. I can dig out of the recesses of my consciousness, that which I already know and explore it with a depth that is unavailable otherwise. Writing whether memoir or fiction is a long slow journey. We are explorers of the human condition at large and of our own personal self. Our attempt-- my attempt, is to find what makes us most human.
I have used "self" as a way of making what I write something that hopefully is a universal truth. I hope I have written characters with compassion, even when they are flawed, even those I perceive as having done me harm. It is the personal experiences we write about which help us discover a small truth about ourselves and a bigger truth about our world. When I write in the first person, I think I may be revealed. Or that someone will recognize themselves. and when i manage to write without fear of having to be safe I have the chance of finding that amazing moment, the thing that turns on every light in the house Even while the sun is still shining.
DOING SOMETHING THAT IS NOT ESSENTIAL
"The world is a better place to live in because it contains human beings who will give up ease and security and stake their own lives in order to do what they themselves think worth doing. They help to offset the much larger numbers who are ready to sacrifice the ease and the security and the very lives of others in order to do what they want done. "
Walter Lipmann
Oliver Sacks on Death, Destiny, and the Redemptive Radiance of a Life Fully Lived
From Brainpickings...
"To lament that we shall not be alive a hundred years hence, is the same folly as to be sorry we were not alive a hundred years ago," Montaigne observed in his sixteenth-century meditation on death and the art of living. "The greatest dignity to be found in death is the dignity of the life that preceded it," the late surgeon and bio ethicist, Sherwin Nuland wrote half a millennium later in his foundational treatise on mortality.
Oliver Sacks (July 9, 1933–August 30, 2015
"I have been increasingly conscious, for the last 10 years or so, of deaths among my contemporaries. My generation is on the way out, and each death I have felt as an abruption, a tearing away of part of myself. There will be no one like us when we are gone, but then there is no one like anyone else, ever. When people die, they cannot be replaced. They leave holes that cannot be filled, for it is the fate — the genetic and neural fate — of every human being to be a unique individual, to find his own path, to live his own life, to die his own death."
FORGIVENESS IS FOR THE FORGIVER
"In the end, all forgiveness is self-forgiveness. It shakes loose the calcification that accumulates around our hearts. Then love can flow more freely.
It's a radical form of self-acceptance that allows us to release the holding on that has caused us unbelievable pain. It's about realizing that as long as you hold onto the hot coal of your anger, resentment, and sense of having been wronged, you are only hurting yourself. Unless you release that burden, you will carry it with you for the rest of your life. You will never be free." "Forgiveness is for the forgiver" (sent to me by Colleen Gray) Author unknown
LOVE: INTELLECT VS. HEART
"I had believed that I was leaving nothing out of account, like a rigorous analyst; I had believed that I knew the state of my own heart. But our intelligence, however lucid, cannot perceive the elements that compose it and remain unsuspected so long as, from the volatile state in which they generally exist, a phenomenon capable of isolating them has not subjected them to the first stages of solidification. I had been mistaken in thinking that I could see clearly into my own heart. But this knowledge, which the shrewdest perceptions of the mind would not have given me, had now been brought to me, hard, glittering, strange, like a crystallised salt, by the abrupt reaction of pain." Marcel Proust
Olivia Laing from her book: "Lonely City"
"Loss is a cousin of loneliness. They intersect and overlap, and so it's not surprising that a work of mourning might invoke a feeling of aloneness, of separation. Mortality is lonely. Physical existence is lonely by its nature, stuck in a body that's moving inexorably towards decay, shrinking, wastage and fracture. Then there's the loneliness of bereavement, the loneliness of lost or damaged love, of missing one or many specific people, the loneliness of mourning.'".
Sonnet XCIV. by Pablo Neruda
If I die, survive me with such sheer force
that you waken the furies of the pallid and the cold,
from south to south lift your indelible eyes,
from sun to sun dream through your singing mouth.
I don't want your laughter or your steps to waiver,
I don't want my heritage of joy to die.
Don't call up my person. I am absent.
Live in my absence as if in a house.
Absence is a house so vast
that inside you will pass through its walls
and hang pictures on the air
Absence is a house so transparent
that I, lifeless, will see you, living,
and if you suffer my love, I will die again.
In memory. Dietrich Baeu
Requiem for a Neighbor. How do we deal with loss?
BY BIL jOHNSON FROM HIS WEBSITE: BILJOHNSON.COM
A knock on our door at 8:30 a.m. on a Saturday is an unusual circumstance. We had heard some door pounding the night before on our neighbor's door across the hall --- but it wasn't enough to elicit significant barking from our dog. It happened again this morning and then the knock. Answering, I was met by a young police officer and behind him were the parents (they self-identified) of our young schoolteacher neighbor. They wanted to know if we had seen Kelly yesterday or heard anything from her. We had noticed her car was gone all day, as it always was when she was teaching (we are retired teachers) and was home around 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Beyond that we knew nothing. The officer thanked us and we learned that her parents had gotten a text from her the previous evening that said she wasn't feeling well.
We shut our door, as you do in the suburbs, and then listened and observed, through our peephole and front window, as police were joined by firefighters to break open the front door. My wife thought she heard a policeman radio "dead body" to someone and an ambulance arrived. EMT's made a short visit and our neighbor's family congregated on the sidewalk in front of our house. A priest soon joined them. I waited until the family dispersed and the CMT (which I took to mean Coroner's Medical Technicians) removed the body (I did not see that --- only viewed their van, here and then gone) before taking the dog out for her morning walk. The young policeman and the priest, in a "The Sermanator" baseball cap, were the only ones left out front. By the time I returned with the dog, the priest was leaving and I asked the policeman what had happened. He assured me there was no foul play and that Kelly had nothing serious in her medical records. I asked if suicide was a possibility and he ruled that out --- no evidence to believe that. A heart attack? An aneurism? We would have to wait to find out.
The rest of the day was odd for us, with Kelly's Subaru parked (as it always was, when she was home) right in front of our unit. It was hard to look at it and not remember the hundreds of times in the past three years I had seen her getting in and out of that car, the countless times we exchanged small talk about weather and teaching and the wonder of vacations. And, just like that, it would never happen again.
I remember reading about our ancient ancestors, cave people of some sort, and what it must have been like the first time they experienced death in their tribe. Finding a lifeless body where, only hours before, it had been a living, breathing person. What kind of confusion and mind-numbing loss did they feel? Death intrudes in our daily lives in the news --- but it is a detached and distant event. When it is your neighbor across the hall --- a vibrant 36-year-old human being --- and there doesn't seem to be a reason, it is more than baffling. It reminds us in the most dramatic way of how tentative our grasp on life is, how fleeting it can be. I am almost twice Kelly's age. Why her and not me? What kinds of cards are dealt that way? And what are we, who are left, to make of it. I am as dumbfounded as that cave dweller and there is a sense of loss that is difficult to describe. We were not "friends," really --- we were neighbors (I had never ever been in her condo unit, but only guessed it was a mirror image of ours). We had fleeting, friendly, pleasant conversations and did neighborly favors for one another ("Can you take our newspapers in while we're on vacation?" "I signed for your package from UPS"). Yet there is now some hole in the life of our community, a loss that is quite ineffable.
Writing has always been a source of release and comfort for me. There are times, despite my verbosity, I am at a genuine loss for spoken words. This is one of those times. I was not a friend, so I won't grieve but I do feel a loss that I can't really express in spoken words. So this is my requiem to a soul that has left us for reasons we will never understand and certainly at far too young an age to make any sense. We will watch the grieving parents remove belongings from her home, and eventually drive that car away, and probably, at some point, sell the unit to a new neighbor. Time is strangely elastic in moments like this and telescoping ahead doesn't really make the present feel any better. The world will move on. We're sure her students will severely grieve the loss of a beloved teacher; her family will never fill the hollow that must be, at present, a crater. We are on the outside but close enough to feel the loss of one of our own, a good person now gone and irreplaceable. This is one of those instances that really makes me aware of being not very smart at all --- there is no (rational) sense to be made of such an event.
April 10, 2016 . Bil Johnson . Connecticut
WHEN YOU CLOSE THE DOOR, IT MIGHT BE NIGHT FOREVER.(The Velvet Underground)
I closed the door by expunging all the little keyholes that were still open, I asked that he forgive me. My temptations were no worse than the ones he had suffered from and had acted upon, no worse than his own declarations It was His own temptation that led me on this journey and I am never sure he realized the extent of his trespass into my life. He died for me yesterday, but the mourning continues. I obviously died for him some time ago and he moved on and away, no wish to look back. Now even my good memories are sullied by my own hand. it was the extent to which I was able to move into the dark and morbid world I allowed myself to explore. I haven't learned the lesson of being here, just being. I am history-onlynow--a memory. But the worst part is that even those memories are tarnished irrevocable and I was the one who tarnished them. It should have been him. I was the righteous one. I once had honor on my side, but no longer. I consciously stepped over the line, and then without watching my own back, I allowed to happen what did happen This is a stinging lesson. His forgiveness would give me back some dignity, some acknowledgement that he had the capacity to understand my pain, and hope only that I find a different path. I asked for it, And he eventually accepted my apology with an emoji of a happy face. preview of a short story.
Marshall Arisman_Light Runners Series
"Nourish yourself with grand and austere ideas of beauty that feed the soul… Seek solitude," young Delacroix counseled himself in 1824. Keats saw solitude as a sublime conduit to truth and beauty. Elizabeth Bishop believed that everyone should experience at least one prolonged period of solitude in life. Even if we don't take so extreme a view as artist Agnes Martin's assertion that "the best things in life happen to you when you're alone," one thing is certain: Our capacity for what psychoanalyst Adam Phillips has termed "fertile solitude" is absolutely essential not only for our creativity but for the basic fabric of our happiness — without time and space unburdened from external input and social strain, we'd be unable to fully inhabit our interior life, which is the raw material of all art.
A POEM'S LAST LINES
Ran across this poem and loved the last lines.
BY KATE WALDMAN
Death is a lack, I suppose,
and love more so. One day
(it hurts to think of it),
we may not know each other's faces.
But I will not falter.
I will drive here alone,
release you into air.
From Anne LaMott. About Writing
My writer friends, and they are legion, do not go around beaming with quiet feelings of contentment. Most of them go around with haunted, abused, surprised looks on their faces, like lab dogs on whom very personal deodorant sprays have been tested.
But I also tell [my students] that sometimes when my writer friends are working, they feel better and more alive than they do at any other time. And sometimes when they are writing well, they feel that they are living up to something. It is as if the right words, the true words, are already inside them, and they just want to help them get out. Writing this way is a little like milking a cow: the milk is so rich and delicious, and the cow is so glad you did


Dennis has 10 years of success guiding students in transition from college to career, in addition to another 20 years of experience marketing to the Chief Human Resources Officers at Fortune 1000 companies. He has spent 25 years leading C-Suite executives through career transitions. Dennis has built two major career transition consulting firms with two successful financial exits.
Dennis holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Banking and Finance from the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. He is certified in several personality assessment methodologies and has studied extensively the impact of stress on professional interpersonal performance.
Hillary works directly with the student side managing how a student presents themselves in an interview. She's successfully bringing top college students to great companies. She understands where the students are coming from and connects them with not only great companies but companies in which they will succeed. Hillary uses her creative side to manage the social media platform and creates content to pull in our students and keep them laughing while going through their job search. Graduate from the University of Redlands with a degree in Creative Writing & Art; Hillary has a drive for business.